LISA
I had things to do. Businesses to run. Employees to yell at. But I wasn't thinking about all that. I was thinking about her.
And here I was in the library, ignoring everything else because I woke up thinking about her and wanted to see her.
I'd spent a lot of time thinking about Jennie Kim since she blew into town. I was surprised that it only got worse the more time I spent with her.
She looked entirely too pretty today, standing there behind her desk, lost in some mental to do list, wearing a curve-hugging sweater in a ridiculously female pink.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her surprise turning to happiness. She closed the distance between us, stopping just shy of touching me. I liked how she was always leaning toward me, into me. Like her body wanted to be as close to mine as possible at all times. It didn't feel clingy like I'd always thought it would. It felt…not terrible.
"Thought I'd take you to lunch."
"Really?" She looked thrilled at the invitation, and I decided I didn't mind that either. Having a woman like Jennie look at me like I was the hero of her day felt damn good.
"No, Daisy. I just showed up here to mess with you. Yes, really."
"Well, I am hungry." Those plush lips painted a deep pink curved in an invitation I wasn't going to ignore.
I was hungry for something other than food. "Good. Let's go. How long's your break?"
"I get an hour."
Thank fucking God.
A minute later, we were walking out of the library and into the September sun. I steered her toward my pickup with a hand on her lower back.
"So what fine dining establishment will we be patronizing today?" she asked when I slid behind the wheel.
I reached into the back seat and dropped a paper bag in her lap. She opened it and peered inside.
"It's peanut butter and jelly," I explained.
"You made me a sandwich."
"There's chips in there too," I said defensively. "And that tea you like."
"Okay. I'm trying not to be charmed by the fact that you packed me a picnic lunch."
"It's not a picnic," I said, turning the key.
"Where are we going to eat our not picnic lunch?"
"Third Base, if you're up for it."
She squeezed her knees together and squirmed a little in her seat. Her lower lip snagged between her teeth. "What about the horn?" she asked.
"I brought a blanket."
"A blanket and a packed lunch. Definitely not a picnic," she teased.
She wouldn't be so smug when I had my hand down those tight little pants she was wearing. "We could just go back and eat in the break room at the library," I threatened.
She reached over and gripped my thigh. "Lisa?"
The seriousness in her tone had my guard going up.
"What?"
"This doesn't feel like we're pretending."
I thumped my head against the back of the seat. I'd known this conversation would be coming and I still didn't want to have it.
As far as I was concerned, we'd both stopped pretending almost as soon as we started. When I touched her, it was because I wanted to. Not because I wanted someone to see me doing it.
"Do we have to do this, Daisy, when you've got a meter running on your lunch break?"
She looked down at her lap. "No. Of course not."
I gritted my teeth. "Yes, we do. If it's something you want to talk about, then talk about it. Stop worrying about pissing me off because we both know it's bound to happen."
Her gaze lifted to mine. "I was just wondering…what we're doing."
"I don't know what we're doing. What I'm doing is enjoying spending time with you without worrying about what comes next or what happens in a month or a year. What are you doing?"
"Besides enjoying spending time with you?"
"Yeah."
Those pretty hazel eyes returned to her lap. "I'm worrying about what comes next," she confessed.
I nudged her chin up so she'd look at me. "Why does there have to be something that comes next? Why can't we both just enjoy this the way it is without worrying ourselves to death over something that hasn't happened yet?"
"That's just usually the way I operate," she said.
"How about we try this my way for the next while? My way gets you a non-picnic lunch and at least one orgasm before one p.m."
Her cheeks went pink, and while her smile wasn't as big as the one I'd gotten earlier for surprising her, it was good enough. "Let's go," she said.
I went instantly hard. All the thoughts I'd had of spreading her out on a blanket, naked and whimpering my name, rushed back. I wanted to taste her outside in the sun, the warm breeze. Wanted to feel her move under me while the rest of the world stood still.
I threw the truck in reverse and hit the gas.
We made it a block before Jennie's phone rang from the depths of her purse. She dug it out and frowned at the screen. "It's V."
I snatched the phone from her and answered the call.
"Lisa!" she complained.
"What?" I snapped into the phone.
"Need to talk to Jennie," V said. He sounded grim.
"She's busy. Talk to me."
"I tried, asshole. I called you first, and you didn't pick up. Got some news about Ruby."
There went my fucking picnic.
As i admired the view of Jennie's shapely ass in front of me, I wondered how my brother was dealing with the long flight of stairs with his injuries. V's place was on the second floor above Whiskey Clipper. And when I'd brought him home the previous weekend, he only made it to the top after I threatened to pick him up and carry him.
He opened the door just as I raised my fist to knock.
He looked pale, tired. And the asshole had his shirt off, revealing his wound dressing. He was holding fresh gauze and a roll of tape.
"You poor thing," Jennie crooned, grabbing the supplies out of his hands. "Let me help you."
V shot me a smirk when Florence Nightingale pushed her way inside. If he kept up the wounded hero routine with Jennie, I was going to raise his damn rent and push him down the stairs.
"This better be good," I warned him, following her inside.
The apartment had high ceilings, exposed brick, and tall, arched windows overlooking Main Street. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom I'd personally gutted, and an open concept living space with a small but kick-ass kitchen.
His dining room table was covered in paperwork and what looked like case files. He clearly had trouble following doctor's orders. Manoban Kids didn't care to be told what to do.
"Sit," Jennie said, pulling out a stool from the kitchen island. He eased himself down on it, his jaw tight as if just that movement hurt.
"You taking your pain meds?" I asked. I'd strong-armed him into filling the prescription. But the bottle was still sitting next to the sink where I'd left it.
My brother met my gaze. "Nope."
I knew why. Because one generation had the potential to poison the next. It was something we both lived with.
"It's not pretty, Jennie," V warned as she headed to the sink to wash her hands.
"Wounds never are. That's what first aid is for."
She dried her hands and gave me a sunny smile as she returned to his side. "You're not going to faint, are you?" I asked her.
She stuck her tongue out at me. "I'll have you know, I have extensive first aid training."
V met my gaze as Jennie gently peeled the tape from his shoulder.
"A few years ago, I came across the scene of a car accident. It was late at night, raining. A deer had run out in front of the driver, and he swerved to miss it. He hit a tree head-on. There was blood everywhere. He was in so much pain, and all I could do was dial 911 and hold his hand. I'd never felt more helpless in my entire life," she explained.
She'd hate that, I realized. The woman who lived her entire life to make others safe and happy would have hated feeling helpless when someone was in pain.
"So you took a class?" V guessed as she eased the gauze away from the wound.
I saw the clench in his jaw, caught the tightness in his tone.
She hissed out a breath, and I looked up.
V's shoulder was bare. It wasn't a nice, neat hole. It was a chasm of angry tissue, black stitches, and the rust of dried blood.
"I took three classes," Jennie said.
A memory surfaced. V on his back on the playground, fresh blood flowing from his nose as Chris Turkowski sat on his chest and pummeled fists into my brother's face.
Chris had fared worse than V that day. I'd gotten suspended for two days. A consequence both my dad and I felt was worth it. "Family takes care of family," he'd said. At the time, he'd meant it.
I couldn't stop staring at my brother's wounds as blood pounded inside my head.
"Lisa?" Jennie's voice was closer now.
I felt hands on my shoulders and realized Jennie was standing in front of me. "You wanna sit down for a minute, Viking? I don't think I can handle two patients at once."
Realizing she thought I was going to faint, I opened my mouth to clear up the misconception and explain that it was manly rage, not wobbly knees.
But I changed my mind and went with it when I realized her concern for me had trumped V's bullet holes.
I let her push me down into one of the leather armchairs in the living room.
"You okay?" she asked, leaning down to look me in the eye.
"Better now," I said.
Over her shoulder, my brother flipped me the bird.
She brushed a kiss to my forehead. "Stay here. I'll get you a glass of water in a minute, okay?"
V coughed something that sounded suspiciously like "faker," but the cough ended in a groan of pain.
Served him right. I returned the one-fingered salute when Jennie rushed back to his side.
"Never saw you go weak in the knees at the sight of blood before," V observed.
"You wanna get to your point, or is this how you wrangle social calls since no one wants to be around your ass?"
Jennie shot me a "behave yourself" look as she opened a fresh strip of gauze. I saw my brother's jaw go tight when she pressed it to his wound. I looked away until V cleared his throat.
"Got some news on Ruby," he said.
Jennie froze, holding a strip of tape. "Is she okay?"
Her twin sister had stolen from her, abandoned her child, and Jennie's first question was whether or not Ruby was okay.
The woman needed to learn that some ties needed cutting.
"We don't know her whereabouts, but it seems like there's something in town that she didn't want to leave behind. We found her prints at the storage unit break-in."
I tensed, remembering the conversation in his hospital room.
"What storage unit break-in?" Jennie asked as she moved on to the wound lower on his torso.
"The trailer park landlord reported two separate break-ins. One at his office and one at his storage unit, where he keeps anything of value that tenants leave behind. The storage unit was a smash and grab. The lock was jimmied. Shit was broken. A bunch of stuff was missing. We found Ruby's prints all over the place."
I forgot about my fake fainting spell and got out of the chair. "It's a small fucking town," I pointed out, crossing to the kitchen. "How the hell is she sneaking around without anyone spotting her?"
"Got a theory on that. We got some footage from a security camera at the entrance," V said, using his good arm to pull a file folder closer to him. He tipped it open, and a grainy photo showed a woman with long, dark hair dressed in a long dress.
Jennie leaned across my brother to peer at the photo. I wasn't certain, but I thought V looked like he was sniffing her hair.
I dragged her into my side, away from my brother, and handed her the photo.
"What the fuck?" I mouthed at V.
He shrugged, then winced.
"Stubborn fucking idiot," I muttered. I guided Jennie to a stool out of V's reach, then stomped over to the sink. He still kept his over-the-counter shit and his excessive collection of supplements in the cabinet. I grabbed a bottle of Tylenol and poured a glass of tap water, then slid both across the counter to my dumbass brother.
I spotted a baking dish on the counter with some kind of dessert in it.
Lifting the plastic wrap, I sniffed. Peach cobbler. Nice.
Since I was missing out on my own lunch and V was to blame, I grabbed a fork.
"That's my dress," Jennie said, handing the photo back to V. She'd gone pale. I snatched it out of his hand and stared at the image.
Fuck. It was her dress.
"Figured she was dressing like you in case she ran into anyone in town," V explained. "She must have grabbed it when she broke into your motel room."
Jennie was biting her lip again.
"What's wrong?" I demanded.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
My bullshit detector was activated.
"Daisy."
"It's just Ruby used to do that when we were kids. I was home sick once our sophomore year of high school. She went to school dressed like me and told my history teacher—who I had a crush on—to go fuck himself. I got detention. All because my parents gave me the car the weekend before because she was grounded."
Christ.
"You better not have kept your mouth shut and sat through detention," I snapped, throwing the fork in the baking dish in disgust.
"Did she get whatever it was she wanted?" Jennie asked V.
"We don't know. I heard that Ruby got herself hooked up with some new guy a few weeks back. Bogum did a little digging. Said the new guy was some badass out of D.C. and Ruby bragged to a couple of friends that they had a big score coming up."
"Is that my mom's peach cobbler?" she asked, nodding at the dish I held.
"She stopped by this morning to drop it off. She also stole my laundry and watered my plants." V said.
Jennie gave him a wobbly smile. "Welcome to the family. Prepare to be smothered."
Something was wrong, and she was trying to hide it. I put down the cobbler and picked up the picture again.
"Fuck."
"What?" V asked.
"I saw you in this dress. Outside the shop," I said, remembering her standing in the window of Whiskey Clipper with Leila and Eleanor. She'd looked like a summer vision in the dress.
Her cheeks weren't pale now. They were flushed.
"Which means Ruby didn't take this from the motel. She broke into the cottage."
Jennie busied herself by organizing the first aid supplies.
V swore and rubbed his good hand over his face. "I need to call Grave."
He got up and snatched his phone off the dining table. "Yeah, Grave,"
he said. "We've got a new problem."
I waited until he headed into his bedroom before turning my attention back to Jennie. "She broke into your place, and you weren't gonna say a word."
She looked up as I rounded the island. She held up her hands, but I kept coming until her palms were pressed against my chest. "You do not keep shit like that from me, Jennie. You owe her nothing. You can't live your whole life protecting people who don't fucking deserve it. Not when it puts your safety at risk."
She winced, and I realized I was yelling.
"What are you thinking? You have Ellie. If Ruby and some low-life criminal fuck buddy are breaking into your fucking house, you don't cover that shit up. You don't protect the bad guy—you protect the kid."
She shoved me, but I didn't budge.
"You saw my motel room. You heard what V said—the storage unit was trashed. That's what my sister does. She destroys," Jennie snapped. "If Ruby broke into the cottage, she would have wrecked the place. She never could stand the idea of me having anything nicer than what she did. So yeah. Maybe I noticed a few things out of place once or twice, and I chalked it up to Eleanor or you or Leila. But Ruby didn't break in."
"What are you sayin'?"
She wet her lips. "What if someone let her in?"
"Someone meaning Eleanor?"
Jennie shot a nervous glance in V's direction. "What if Ruby got word to her that she needed access, and Eleanor left a door unlocked? You were the one who yelled at me for leaving the back door unlocked. Or what if Ruby told her what she needed, and Eleanor got it for her?"
"You think that kid would give Ruby the time of day after she's had a few weeks with you? With your parents? Hell, even fucking Jimin and Leila. You made one big happy family for her. Why would she risk fucking that up?"
"Ruby is her mother," Jennie insisted. "Family doesn't stop being family just because one of you does shitty things."
"That's exactly what happens to families, and you need to quit this loyalty to your fucking sister. She doesn't deserve it."
"It's not loyalty to Ruby, you idiot," Jennie shouted back. She shoved against my chest again, but I was immovable.
"Educate me," I insisted.
"If Eleanor had anything to do with letting Ruby in, how is that going to look in the guardianship hearing? How am I fit to take custody when I can't even keep criminals out of my house? They'll take her away from me. I'll have let her down. I'll have let my parents down. Eleanor will end up with strangers—" Her voice hitched.
I grabbed her and pulled her into me. "Baby. Stop."
"I tried," she said, fingers curling into my t-shirt.
"Tried what?"
"I tried not to hate Ruby. My whole life, I tried so hard not to hate her."
I cupped the back of her head and buried her face in my neck.
"Don't fucking cry, Daze. Not over her. You've given her enough."
She sucked in a breath and blew it out.
"You can use me as a pillow if you wanna scream it out," I offered.
"Don't be sweet and funny right now."
"Baby, those are two things no one has ever accused me of being."
She pulled back and took another steadying breath. "This is not what I was expecting when you said you were taking me to lunch."
"I expected the yelling, just thought we'd be doing it naked. We good?"
Her fingers were tracing little circles against my chest. "We're good. For now. I'm going to go collect myself in the bathroom."
"I'm gonna eat some more of your mom's cobbler."
She gave me another one of those wobbly smiles that made me feel things I didn't want to feel. I reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"It's gonna be fine. No one's takin' Ellie. V and I'll take care of it."
She nuzzled her cheek against my hand. "You can't solve my problems for me."
"Oh, but you can solve everyone else's?" I pointed out. "You gotta stop worrying about making everything okay for everyone else and start thinkin' about making it okay for you."
She didn't say anything, but I felt like my words had landed.
I gave her a playful slap on the ass. "Go on. Go scream into some hand towels."
A minute later, V came out of the bedroom. "Grave is sending some boys out to see if we can lift any prints. Where's Jennie?"
"Bathroom. You find any prints in the landlord's office?" I asked V.
He shook his head. "It was a clean job."
"What are the odds they split up? Ruby took the storage unit, and the boyfriend took the office."
V thought about it. "It plays."
"Jennie doesn't think Ruby broke in. She's worried Ellie let Ruby in. Worried how that'll play in the guardianship shit."
V blew out a breath. "Any judge that looks at those two sisters and decides Jennie isn't fit has their robe on too tight."
"She's a worrier. Which is why I don't want her worrying about some stranger sneakin' into her home and going through her things."
"Better the devil you know," he said.
I nodded.
"Speaking of, you going to see him this weekend?" V asked.
Deliberately I took another forkful of cobbler even though my appetite was suddenly gone. "If he's there."
"Give him this from me." V limped over to the table and picked up a backpack. "And maybe think about not handing over cash."
"You're lucky I'm tired of fighting about this," I told him and took the bag.
"People keep telling me how lucky I am," he said.
"You're still here, aren't you?"
"You remember what she was wearing when she walked by your window," he said, nodding at the bathroom door.
"Yeah. So?"
"She means something to you."
"Does blood loss make you stupid?" I wondered.
"I'm just sayin', you care about her. Any other woman you wouldn't have bothered calling her on her own bullshit. You wouldn't have known any other woman well enough to know she was bullshitting you, let alone care that she was."
"Getting to your point any time soon?"
"Yeah. Don't fuck it up like you usually do."