Stronger With Her (13 page)

S
unday morning wakes me with the sun shining through the mini blinds and the smell of bacon wafting under the door. One of the advantages of living with my mother is that she always cooks a big brunch on Sunday so I never have to worry about being fed. The bad part is that all my brothers and their women show up. It’s not that I don’t love my family, but today I need quiet and solitude to think through how I’m going to handle being in the same room with Stephanie tomorrow.

“Runt, get your ass down here if you expect us to leave you anything to eat,” I hear Joe yell from downstairs. I know he’s serious about them not leaving any food behind so I get out of bed and put my jeans and shirt on as I’m walking down the hall, grateful that I showered when I got home last night.

Once I get to the kitchen the noise nearly knocks me back. We’re an Irish-Catholic family and we don’t do anything small. Everyone is talking over each other, trying to be heard, which just increases the volume. Ma is at the stove finishing a large pan of scrambled eggs, Maureen is helping her, but it looks like Ma would prefer to do it alone. Joe, Jason, and John are arguing about politics and Jacob is sitting in the corner watching it all.

“Where’s Betsy today, Jason?” They’ve been dating for almost a year and she usually comes over.

“She’s at her parents’ this weekend. Something about her grandmother, I don’t know,” he replies and jumps back into the verbal sparring with my other brothers.

I walk over and kiss my mother on the cheek. “Morning, Ma. Do you want some help?”

She shakes her head, not taking her eyes off the stove. “You can help me by getting out of my way. You know I don’t like it when you boys are in the kitchen. Go sit with your brothers. We’re going to eat in a few minutes.” She pushes me away and I follow her direction. No need to have another woman pissed at me.

“So, Runt, are you going to tell me what happened last night or not?” Jacob asks loudly. My brothers stop fighting and stare at me.
Fucking great.

“You need to learn to mind your own fucking business, Jacob, or I’m going to teach you in a way you won’t like,” I say with as much menace as I can.

“Whatever, dude, you don’t scare me. Did you get laid or what?”

“Jacob Owens, you stop that this instant,” my mother scolds him. “I don’t need to know the answer to that question and we will not talk about s-e-x at my table. Go get washed up for brunch, and when you come back you will find a more suitable topic of conversation, understand?” It’s times like this that I love my mother even more.

“Yes, Ma,” he answers, pouting like a petulant child. He doesn’t argue with her, just gets up and goes to the bathroom to wash his hands. My other brothers take the whole thing in while, wisely, keeping their mouths shut.

“Boys, come get these plates and bring them to the table. Maureen, grab the juice out of the fridge and everyone sit down. It’s time to eat,” my mother decrees and we all jump to do her bidding.

After we’ve eaten everything and cleaned up the kitchen, Joe, John, and I are sitting on the back patio enjoying the afternoon sun.

“Tomorrow should be interesting,” Joe says. “I’m curious to see how the rest of the installation and testing go.”

“What installation?” John asks. He’s a gunsmith by trade but chose not to come to work for Owens Ammunition when I opened it. He thinks it would be too much to work with all of us, but he does do some independent testing when we need it.

“We hired a computer expert to get our system compliant with the new DOD contract,” Joe answers. “She’s some sort of genius and was able to hack into our system five different times before she even started.”

“Oh, shit,” John says. “So, what does she look like?” Typical asshole.

“Well, you know I only have eyes for one woman,” Joe replies, winking at me. “She’s fucking gorgeous, nice rack and an awesome ass. Don’t you think, Runt?”

I can feel my fists start to clench while Joe talks about Stephanie like she’s a piece of meat. I want to beat the shit out of him for even thinking about her, let alone looking at her.

“Bro, what crawled up your ass?” John asks.

“What are you talking about?” I bark back at him.

“Well, you look like you’re about to pummel Joe right now. If you squeeze your fists any tighter you’ll probably break your fingers. What’s wrong?” John asks looking worried.

“Nothing, sorry, I’m fine,” I answer quickly.

“Is there something going on with you and Stephanie that Jason and I need to know about?” Joe asks. “You know mixing business with pleasure doesn’t work.”

I stand up and move toward the front of the house. “I’m gonna take a drive. Be back later,” I say as an answer to both of their questions. I’ve got to get out of here before I do or say something stupid.

Once I’m in my truck and heading out of the neighborhood, I start to calm down. What is it about this woman? She’s lied to me, she’s a fucking stripper, but she’s got me all tied up inside. Now I’m thinking about fighting my brother. “Maybe I do need to get laid to get her out of my head,” I say out loud, but not believing it will help. I hit the highway, hoping the miles will fix this problem.

I’
m not sure what woke me up first, the dream about James and what happened last night or my cell phone vibrating on the nightstand. I look at the clock and see that it’s already past noon. I never sleep this late. The phone starts to vibrate again and after checking the display I answer.

“Hey, Becca, what’s up?” I ask trying to sound more awake than I am.

“Oh, sorry, did I wake you?”

“No, it’s fine. I should have gotten up hours ago. Is everything okay?” I can’t hear anything in the background to give away her location.

“Yes, everything’s good. I was just bored and wondered if you wanted to do something today. Colin has to go to the office and deal with something Jude messed up so I don’t know how long he’ll be gone. I need to run a few errands if you want to come with me, or we could just meet for lunch,” she says quickly, as if she’s afraid I’ll turn her down.

“Lunch sounds wonderful. Since it’s Sunday we’ll have to go to either Raffiki’s or Cheddars. I can be there in thirty minutes.” I get out of bed and go to my closet to pick out something to wear.

“I’ll meet you at Cheddars. I’m in the mood for one of their salads. See you soon,” she says as she ends the call.

I smile at my reflection as I put my phone down. Becca continues to amaze me with her positive outlook on life. I need to try and be more like that, I think as I step into the shower for a quick rinse and to get my hair under control.

Twenty-five minutes later I’m standing in the entrance of our third favorite restaurant waiting for the one person who’s never on time for anything. Christin gives her a hard time about it, probably more than she should, but I just know what to expect. It takes another ten minutes before Becca comes into the building in a rush.

“I’m sorry, Steph. Traffic was a bitch,” she gives her usual excuse. We all know that traffic really isn’t as bad as Becca’s inability to plan her trips.

“No worries, my friend. I’m just glad you got here in one piece.” I nod at the hostess indicating that we’re ready to be seated.

Once we’re settled into the booth and our orders have been taken, we slip into the comfortable conversation we always have.

“How are you? You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“You don’t miss anything do you? I thought we all agreed that you wouldn’t psychoanalyze any of us despite your degree,” I say laughing, trying to take the focus away from myself.

“I’m not doing that, I just know you and something seems off,” she says looking me directly in the eye.

“Nothing you need to worry about. I’m finishing that new contract this week and it’s taken over a lot of brain space,” I reply skirting the issue.

“That’s exciting. Can you talk about this job or is it like your other stuff?” She knows that much of what I do is confidential or classified so she understands that what I can disclose is limited.

“No, I can talk about the basics. I’m building a secure network for Owens Ammunition for some contract they have. It’s not a big deal, but it is the first thing for EPOM, which is really exciting.”

“You’re so good at all that technical stuff. I’m lucky to know how to turn on my laptop,” she says as she starts typing on her phone.

“What are you doing? I know you have this weird ability to multi-task, but you’re freaking me out right now.” I really don’t know how she can concentrate on two completely different things at the same time.

“I was pulling up your employer to see what they do exactly. Oh, the CEO is hot,” she exclaims.

“Keep your voice down, silly. You sound like a teenager in heat,” I laugh.

“I’m not wrong. Wait, there are more of him? Three brothers run this company and they’re all gorgeous. How have you been able to work in that environment and keep your panties on?”

I shake my head at her. “You’re engaged, remember, and your guy is equally as hot. Plus, you get to go home to him every night so just stop ogling my bosses,” I say as I take her phone. I spare a glance at the screen and my eyes are immediately drawn to James standing between his brothers. He’s just so strong, confident, successful, hot, muscular, amazing. I’m not sure that I can narrow anything down, but I really like it.

“Wow, you’ve got it bad,” Becca says as she takes her phone back. “Which one is it, no, let me guess. The one on the left looks like he’s fun, the one on the right looks pretty serious but I’m guessing you’re lusting after the one in the middle. James Owens, CEO of Owens Ammunition. Am I right?” she asks still looking at her phone. I don’t answer and she looks up at me.

“Yep, I’m right. Your eyes are dilated and your cheeks are flushed. And before you start, I’m not “shrinking” you,” she says making quotes with her fingers. “I knew it had to be a man to make you so distracted.”

“It’s nothing, just let it go. I don’t have time for a relationship right now.”

“I didn’t say anything about that. You’ve been thinking about it, though, haven’t you? What is it about him, huh? You can tell me anything, you know that, right? I’m good at keeping secrets.” She smiles kindly and I know she’s sincere.

“There’s not really just one thing, it’s everything. When we shook hands the first time I felt a zing up my arm like I’d been electrocuted. It sounds stupid, but that’s what happened. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since that day.” I leave out everything about the club and what happened afterward. Becca is my best friend and accepts everything about me, but even that would freak her out.

“Did he feel the same way? Have you been working with him every day?” She’s always looking out for me.

“I think he did, maybe. I don’t know. This is just stupid. I’ve always stayed focused on the job and that’s what I’m going to do. I’ve seen him a couple times over the past few weeks. He comes and checks on the progress of the project. We’ve had lunch once, but the brothers were with us and they’re much more involved in the day-to-day operations.” I frown at the thought that I haven’t gotten to see him as much as I would like. Unfortunately, Becca notices.

“You’ll find a way to make it work. You’re a strong, independent woman who doesn’t take any crap from anyone. If it were Christin, I’d be worried, but since it’s you, I know you’ll be fine,” she smiles sweetly.

“I hope you’re right because James Owens could make or break my new career, you know?”

“Oh, I know very well,” she says softly. I don’t bother to ask her to elaborate because I completely understand what she meant.

After our very long lunch, we decide to go our separate ways. I’m not up to grocery shopping and I feel like I need to try to start building a final repair code for Owens Ammunition. I give Becca a big hug at her car before I go home.

“Remember what I said, you will figure this out,” she reminds me as she squeezes my hand.

“I know and if I have any issues you’ll be the first one I call,” I say as we embrace one more time before I take off.