Not Quite Dating (15 page)

“A fire?”

“Yes. A fire mishap. Don’t worry, your car is—”

“Fine? My car is fine?”

Mr. Gravis laughed. “Your car is a total loss.”

Cue lightning, funnel clouds, and Dorothy’s house flying through the air. “That’s not funny.”

“Well, the car was in need of a lot of work.” His voice was flat.

“It’s my only transportation.” Her voice started to rise, panic started to set in.

“Oh, Ms. Mann, please…it’s OK. We here at Toyota are completely responsible and want to invite you over to pick out a replacement vehicle.”

“A replacement vehicle?” She was back to parroting his words.

“Let me start over. I can tell you’re upset.”

Understatement of the year.

“There was a fire, your car is a total loss, but we are offering you a brand-new car in its place. Unless you have some kind of emotional attachment to the early-model Celica, this will turn out to be a good thing for you.”

Thank goodness she was sitting, because when his words sunk in, Jessie felt light-headed.

“A new car to replace my broken-down
piece of liability?” Her car had probably caused the fire.

“That’s right. When would be a good day for you to come in?”

This wasn’t happening. She was having a dream and she really needed to wake up.

“Ms. Mann?”

She wasn’t waking up. “Yes?”

“Can you come in tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” She stared at the wall across the room.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you can come in tomorrow?”

Jessie slowly started to nod. “Yes, I can come in tomorrow.” The fog started to lift. “Is nine too early?”

“Nine would be great. Just ask for me.” He sounded amused.

“This isn’t a joke, is it, Mr. Gravis? Because I’ve had a couple of really shitty days, and I can’t take a practical joke right now.”

He laughed. “It’s not a joke, Ms. Mann. Be thinking about what kind of car you’d like to drive. Four doors, two doors, truck, crossover, or maybe you’d like a hybrid? Your choice.”

She thought for a moment about Christmas, Danny, the medical bills that would be coming in. “Can I take the money and pick out a used car?”

“Sorry. I was given specific instructions to offer you any new car we had on the lot.”

“Instructions?” The parrot was back.

He hesitated, coughed, and then said, “From my boss.”

“Oh, OK. That sounded ungrateful of me. I’m very grateful. Really.” She was. It wasn’t the new bike Danny wanted, but a new car might make up for it a little. The money she’d save on repairs would help her afford more for her son in the long run. “I’ll see you at nine.”

They hung up just as the door to the
apartment opened.

Monica stepped inside, still bundled in a parka.

The sight of her sister reminded Jessie of Jack.

Monica’s eyes caught hers. She opened her mouth to say something, and then her smile fell. “What happened?”

Tears popped up out of nowhere. “I slept with Jack. He asked me to marry him. I said no. He left and hasn’t called. I think I may have made a huge mistake.”

Monica dropped her bags at the door and walked to Jessie’s side. “Oh, Jessie.”

Her sister’s arms around her brought on a new flood of tears.

Monica pushed Jessie onto the sofa
and let her sob.

“It’s OK,” Monica cooed. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

No! It was worse.

As her tears started to dry up, the words started tumbling from her mouth. “Danny spiked a fever night before last. I called Jack.” Just saying his name brought a physical pain to her chest.

Monica reached over, grabbed a tissue from a box, and handed it to her.

“Thanks.”

“Jack gave you a ride to the doctor?”

Jessie nodded. “Yeah. Danny’s fever was so high. I got scared.”

Monica glanced toward the hall. “Is he OK?”

“The doctor prescribed an antibiotic. He’s sleeping now.”

Jessie grasped a pillow from the sofa and hugged it as she talked. “Jack insisted on staying the night. In case we needed to go back to the hospital.”

“Sounds reasonable. How did the sleeping together fall into place?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “I caved. I couldn’t hold off anymore…ya know?”

Mo smiled and lifted her
eyebrows. “I would have given in sooner than you. You guys have been sniffing around this attraction since you met.”

Jessie’s eyes filled with a new pool of tears. “It was w-wonderful. P-perfect,” she stuttered. “Everything I ever wanted.” The tears wouldn’t stop. Monica handed her fresh tissues and waited for the sobs to calm again.

“Then what happened?”

“Everything was…”

“Perfect, yeah, I get that,” Monica said. “When did he ask you to marry him?”

“Out of the blue. The next morning. He helped Danny with breakfast, kissed me, then wham. He asked me to marry him.” Even now, the memory shocked her.

“I take it you weren’t happy.”

“I was shocked. I mean, we’d only just slept together. Who goes from sleeping together to marriage overnight?”

“Jack does…apparently.”

“But he knows more than anyone that I wouldn’t jump on board the marital train like that. I got scared, Mo.”

Monica curled her knee up on the couch. “You told him no?”

“I told him he’d regret marrying me.”

“Regret?”

“Yeah, sooner or later he’d realize that marrying a woman with a child would be a burden and he’d hate the fact that we’d hold him back. He has so many ambitions, Mo. Even more than I do.” As she said the words again, she felt some of her pride returning.

“So your saying no has less to do with his lack of money and more to do with what you want for him.” Monica gave her a half smile.

“Of course. He might think he’d be happy married to me. But he wouldn’t. I have a ton of baggage. Becoming an instant dad might sound novel, but it’s a
job. I can’t chance Danny thinking he finally has a father, only to have Jack up and leave.” Danny would just have to wait a little longer for a positive male figure to enter his life.

Dammit.

“Jack isn’t like our father, Jessie.”

“I know that,” she said, tapping her head. “In here. But in here,” she tapped her chest, “I can’t risk it.”

Monica took her hand and squeezed. “If you really feel that way, then why are you so upset and torn?”

“Because the thought of never seeing him again hurts. The pain is so deep, and the air is so thick I can’t breathe. What if I’m wrong? What if we could work it out? He stormed out of here so fast. I’ve never seen him so angry.” She brushed away a tear and forced the rest back.

“He asked you to marry him and you said no. He’s probably hurt, too.”

Jessie’s lip quivered. “I know.”

“Do you love him?” Monica whispered.

Jessie drew in a sharp breath. “I can’t, Mo. I can’t.” But God help her, she did.

“You know what I think?” Monica tapped her hands and smiled. “I think if he really wants you, loves you, he’ll be back.”

Jessie started to shake her head.

“And if he doesn’t love you, he won’t be back. And if that’s the case, then you made the right decision.”

“You’re right.” Thank God her sister was there to talk reason into her.

“I’m right. But it still hurts.”

“It does.”

When Monica hugged her again, the last of the day’s tears fell.

Jack’s eyes fluttered open as lightning
attacked his brain. With his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth and the taste and smell of stale whiskey coating his lips, he thought maybe he had woken in hell.

“So, you decided to wake up?” The unsympathetic voice of his sister forced his gaze across the room.

Katie lounged in a chair opposite him. Her slim legs poked out from under a tight skirt while her high-heeled foot tapped against thin air.

Maybe he was still asleep. Jack closed his eyes and ignored the pain exploding in his head.

“Oh, no you don’t, Jacko. I’ve been watching you sleep for too many hours to let you fall back under again.”

Again? How long had she been there? Jack remembered a phone conversation, then a whole lot of nothing.

“What are you doing here?”

“Pulling your sorry butt out of your pity party.”

Jack popped one eye open and saw her push out of the chair. Blonde, slim, beautiful, and loaded, Katie looked as if she was made of porcelain and might break if shaken. Jack knew better. Katie Morrison took crap from no one, ever. When the girl had it in her craw that she needed to fix someone or something, there was no stopping her.

Jack decided right then to keep his lips shut about Jessie. He didn’t need his sister interfering.

Katie stood over him and handed him a glass. “Here. Drink this.”

With his throat dry enough to compete with a desert, Jack drank before he asked what it was. One gulp and Jack sat up, sputtering.

Whiskey.

“What are you trying to do, kill
me?”

Katie laughed. “Hair of the pooch.”

“Dog. Hair of the dog,” he corrected.

“Whatever,” she said, sitting down beside him after he’d made room for her on the sofa. “It works when you’ve been as blitzed as you were.”

Jack rubbed a hand over his face and took another gulp for good measure. “How long have you been here?”

She rested a hand on his arm and turned her soft blue eyes on him. “Long enough, big brother.”

No, no, no, no…not good. “How long, Katelyn?”

“Oh, I’m Katelyn now. Must mean you’re sobering up.”

She always was a sassy girl growing up. He could see nothing had changed. Jack finished the contents of the glass in his hands and felt the headache beginning to ease. His clothes were a mess, he smelled bad—even to himself—and if his life depended on it, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone what the date was. The memory of Jessie’s refusal added a familiar ache in his chest.

Dammit.

Where is that bottle?

“Come on. Get your ass in the shower and put on some clothes. I’ll have a plate of steak and eggs up here by the time you’re out. Then we’re out of here.” Katie stood and pulled on his arm until he was standing beside her. With her heels on, she was nearly his height.

“Where are we going?”

“Home. The plane is waiting.” She pushed him toward his room.

“I’m not leaving.”
Not without Jessie.

“Yes you are. Sitting here feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to have you thinking clearly. Not to mention the alcohol factor. You need to jump on Dancer’s back and ride the fences. Then maybe you can pull your head out of your
ass and figure out what to do. Sitting in this hotel room isn’t going to do it.”

Dancer…he hadn’t thought of his horse back home for months. Riding along the fences of the property was mindless and helped to clear his head. The fact his sister remembered that about him made him smile.

“I think you might be right.”

“Hon, I’m always right. Now shower. You stink.”

He stumbled into his bathroom and the phone in his pocket rang. He managed to pull it out and recognized Dean’s number. “Hello?”

“Well, hell, at least you sound sober this time.”

“I take it we talked last night?” Not that Jack remembered.

“You slurred, I listened.”

“I’m sure it was very entertaining.” He sat on the edge of the counter and pulled off his socks.

“Enlightening, actually. I just wanted to call and make sure you were OK.”

His heart was shattered in a zillion pieces. He was anything but OK. “I’m fine.”

Dean snorted into the phone. “Right. Listen, while you’re sober I thought I might try and give you some advice. You know when you told me that Maggie and I had two different ideas on what life was all about?”

“Yeah.” It took Maggie dumping Dean for Jack to tell his friend he was better off without her.

“Well, this girl, Jessie…she’s a waitress at Denny’s, Jack. Not exactly the kind of woman you’ve dated before.”

Jack’s jaw started to throb as his back teeth gritted together. “Dean,” he warned.

“I mean, a waitress. C’mon. Did she even finish high school?”

“It’s a damn fine thing you’re calling on the phone, Dean, or my fist would
be through your face.” Jack clutched his phone with one hand and pounded on the counter with the other.

“Whoa, OK, Jack. Calm down. Just wanted to point out that these things happen for a reason. You said the same thing to me not too long ago.”

Yeah, he had. But this was Jessie they were talking about.

“I’m going to forget we ever had this conversation.”

“Just trying to help.”

“Well, next time…don’t!” Jack hung up and tossed the phone on the counter.

Katelyn watched her brother wobble to the bathroom while talking on his cell phone. She waited until she heard the sound of water before reaching for her phone. She’d learned more of Jack’s story than he could possibly remember.

Arriving near midnight, Katie had found Jack sprawled on his sofa, moaning about his life. It took her hours to decipher it, but when she did, she knew she had to help.

Her brother was bonkers over this Jessie he had called out to repeatedly. From what Katie could tell, her brother had decided to find true love by keeping the truth of his wealth from the single mom. Then when the chips fell, the wise woman refused his proposal for fear he’d leave her when he decided to follow his dreams.

He even drove his old beat-up pickup truck he’d had since he was sixteen. No wonder Jessie said no.

“She thinks I’m a w-waiter, here at the hotel,” he’d said last night once Katie got him going. “A temporary holiday waiter.”

Katie wanted to reason with him, but knew he wouldn’t remember much, if any, of their conversation in the morning.

Jack had even showed her a
picture he’d taken with his phone of Jessie and her son. The expression on Jessie’s face was one of pure devotion. Her son, Danny, had a beaming smile for the camera.

Katie had taken the time to jot down a few phone numbers he’d put in his phone. For later use, she’d told herself, justifying her invasion of his privacy.

But she knew better than to push a man. Her father was just as stubborn as Jack was, or maybe it was the other way around. Still, the two men had one very big thing in common. When they fell in love, they did it all the way. No second time around for either of them. Watching her father pine for her absentee mother for years had made Katie hate her mother more and more.