Chapter Six
B irch did a final check of his pockets before leaving the house, groaning when he realized he’d grabbed both sets of shop keys. Glancing at the time, he jogged to his truck and drove off, hoping Ryder wasn’t feeling too chatty.
After all, he had a date. And there was no way he would be able to hide his jangled nerves from his friend for long.
Back in high school he’d taken a few girls on actual dates. Done the whole dressed nice and bring flowers deal. But between the reactions he received from parents when he showed up on their doorsteps and his own father’s unpredictable behavior leading to last-minute cancellations, he eventually gave up.
Lucky for him, Jocelyn informed him they were going on a date. No asking involved. And since she was staying in a hotel, the chances of her parents sending him away were low.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to wine and dine some of the women he’d met over the years, but casual hookups at parties and bars fit better for a guy who needed to be on call for two rowdy boys twenty-four seven. His rare free Saturday nights were spent wondering when his phone would ring to pick River up from the cop shop or pull Grey out of another unsuccessful attempt at a sleepover.
Dating wasn’t in the cards.
Pulling up to Serpent’s Tongue, he left his truck running and ran in, almost knocking Jay off his feet. “Hey, sorry man,” he apologized, tossing the second set of shop keys onto the desk. “You here for that piercing you were asking about yesterday?”
Jay paled and looked over his shoulder at Ryder who was walking out of the back room. “Uh, yeah. Yeah. Just got it.”
“Well damn, show me,” he demanded good-naturedly as he walked over to the mini fridge to grab a juice box. “Unless you got it on your dick.”
Accepting the juice, Jay drank it down in two gulps and crushed it tight in his hand. “Yeah. It’s, um, down there.” Backing up a few steps, he gave an awkward wave. “I better get going. Have a good night, guys.”
Chuckling, he shook his head and turned to Ryder. “I’m just dropping the keys off. Need me to run the deposit in tonight? I’ll be downtown at the theatre so I can swing over to the bank.”
Ryder’s eyes moved between him and the door. “I got it. You taking off right away?”
Remembering his truck was still running, he walked toward the exit. “Yeah, I’m out for the night. See you tomorrow, Drayson.”
A few minutes later he was pulling in front of Jocelyn’s hotel, the sleek modern building standing out against the more traditional construction of Epson’s downtown core. Picking up the box on the passenger seat, he fired off a text to her to get her room number before getting on the elevator and riding up to the top floor.
She was leaning in her doorway halfway down the hall, her blonde hair brushed straight and held off her face by a simple red band. A long-sleeved concert shirt hugged her curves and her shredded black jeans sent his mind to the thought of her thighs pressed against his hips.
“You look gorgeous,” he said, passing her the box. “I couldn’t decide so I bought my top three.”
Smirking, she undid the pink bow and flipped the lid open with a delighted laugh. “Oh my. You actually did it.” She licked her lips and stepped inside her suite, lifting one of the thongs out with her pinky. “Why don’t you wait in here while I change into one of these?”
Although he heard the words, the rush of blood south kept him rooted on the spot for a moment. “You’re putting one on now?”
“I figure if the movie sucks, you’ll at least have something to think about until it ends,” she called through the door, emerging a minute later looking no different than she had when she walked in.
But he knew what was under those jeans, and there wasn’t a film in existence that would be able to hold his attention as long as one of those thongs was in reach.
The theatre was quiet for a Thursday, and the lack of eyes on them relaxed him as they walked up to the back seats, their arms loaded with popcorn and drinks.
For a thriller, the movie was good.
As a distraction, it was useless.
But it wasn’t the thong keeping his mind off the script.
Jocelyn wasn’t a passive watcher. From the first scene, she sat on the edge of her seat, brows knitted as she tried to work out the plot before it was revealed. She was in her own world for most of the film, absently reaching into her bag of popcorn or grasping at her drink, her tongue flicking out in search of her straw.
When she connected the dots a few minutes in advance of the big reveal, she grinned at him, gave a thumbs up, and relaxed back in her seat until the credits rolled.
After collecting their empty cups, he tossed them in the trash as they walked out. “Are you tired or are you up for a drink?”
She took his hand as though it was the most natural move in the world, and not a move drawing raised brows from the couple standing at the exit. “I’m not in the mood to be surrounded by people. Why don’t you take me up to Tower Hill? You do know where that is, right?”
Laughing, he opened the passenger door for her. “Yeah, I think I remember where Plough-Her Hill is.” Getting in the driver’s seat, he started the truck and backed out of the stall. “You do remember what goes on up there.”
“From what I heard in high school, a lot of stargazing and deep discussions about ethical business practices.”
“You hung out with the wrong guys,” he said with a smirk as he turned onto the road.
She smiled and leaned back, closing her eyes while he wound out of downtown and toward the hill overlooking his neighborhood. His engine revved as they hit the gravel road leading to the base of the water tower and backed onto the flat peak, the grass worn down from where other cars had parked over the years.
Killing the engine, he turned off his headlights to let their eyes adjust to the darkness.
“Out we go,” he stated, reaching into the back of the cab to grab an old blanket he kept for winter emergencies.
Popping the tailgate, he spread the blanket out, helping her hop into the bed of his truck before he joined her. He lay back and stretched one arm out, his heart rate picking up when she rested her head on it, her fingers tangling in his.
He spent more than his share of time on the hill in his youth, copping clumsy feels in the backseats of girls’ cars before their curfews. Hell, he’d lost his virginity three spots over with a cute junior when he was fourteen.
But stargazing in the back of his truck at thirty-one with Jocelyn Carter curled up tightly to him shoved all those other memories into the whatever pile.
“I can see my hotel from here,” she murmured, gesturing toward their feet where the lights of the town were visible.
He pointed at the base of the water tower. “Straight line from there, past the blue light of Patty’s Bar, three houses in. That’s my place.”
“You left the lights on,” she said, as she sat up to get a better view.
Easing her back onto his shoulder, he shook his head. “Grey’s the guilty party. He doesn’t pay the electric bill, so every light inside is probably on too. At least I know I don’t have to text him and ask if he made it home safe.”
*
Jocelyn watched the sky as more stars made their appearance in the dark night. “That must have been tough, raising him and River when you were still a kid yourself.” She could feel Birch tense beneath her and she slid one arm across his chest, as though it might keep him from bolting. “We don’t have to talk about it. I was just thinking about what kind of guy would take on that much responsibility, and how incredible it is to know an amazing guy like that.”
He remained quiet for a minute, his muscles slowly relaxing under her before he spoke. “Grey was almost four and River was eight when our mom took off, so Winter and I had basically been raising them for six years already when our dad died. And since there was no way in hell I was going to let them be split up and sent to foster care with strangers, it made sense to keep going like we had been. Nothing amazing about it.”
“I guess we’ll agree to disagree.” She skimmed her fingers along his ribs. “Do you ever regret it? Or resent it?”
“Regret, never.”
“But resent?”
He wrapped one arm around her, his hand on her waist. “I guess at times. It was hard enough to get a job around here with the Baker name, so when I’d get fired for being called away too many times to pick up River from the cop shop for fighting or vandalism, yeah, I resented it. Grey wasn’t as much of a delinquent, but he had other issues keeping me home even when he was old enough to stay by himself. Still does, in all honesty. I guess I resented it a few times, like when I missed a concert or a party I was supposed to go to but had to cancel because Grey was freaking out or River went off the rails. But they’re both coming out the other side halfway decent, so it was worth it.”
“I couldn’t even keep a fish alive without my parents’ help when I was eighteen.”
His hold on her tightened. “Yeah, but you were doing other cool shit. After going through the process with Grey, I have a new appreciation for how much hard work it must have taken for you to get a full scholarship to New Jersey. I mean, damn. Those applications leave no room for a single stupid choice during high school.”
Misplaced or not, a thread of guilt wormed through her.
She spent her twenties getting a degree, training and competing in marathons, establishing herself in her career while maintaining a solid social life.
Birch spent his making sure his brothers were fed and clothed and twisting their odds to give them the future he didn’t have.
“I can actually hear the pity in your head,” he stated, patting her backside. “Stop it.”
She tossed one leg over his hip and straddled him, placing her hands on either side of his head. “No pity. I’m just blown away when I think about how grown-up I thought I was in college because I lived in a dorm away from home. And here you were, keeping two whole humans alive.”
“If you’re going to be impressed, be impressed over the fact we only had seven ER visits after I took over. In a house full of boys, we should have been at the hospital every two months.”
“I am definitely impressed.” She lay her head on his chest as his arms wrapped around her, his finger playing with her hair until the chill in the air brought their evening to a chaste end.