Chapter Ten #2
It had gotten much larger since the last time she’d been there.
Jonah was smart to give Holden a meeting location.
As they drove through the lot, throngs of people were weaving through the cars.
He pulled up to an open space at the curb and looked in his rearview mirror, then out the windows.
It would be a miracle to find him in the crowd.
She leaned forward, scanning the people when Holden came into sight.
He headed straight for the truck at a quick pace.
Roxanne expected him to go to the driver’s side window. Instead, he came to hers. Holden grasped the edge of the door and laughed. “You just saved my ass. And I …” Holden’s gaze darted to Roxanne. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
“Hold,” Jonah called, but his little brother was completely fixated on her. She lifted her hand in a short wave, battling her smile.
“Hi Holden.”
His brows dipped, and the corners of his mouth curled. “What are you doing here?” He darted his gaze between her and Jonah. “Wait, are you guys on a date?”
Roxanne flattened her lips, keeping her smile at bay. He seemed just as excited as she was. If that were possible.
“Holden!” Jonah snapped, stretching his tattooed arm across her lap, card in hand. “A hundred dollars max, and you will pay me back.”
The credit card was enough to break Holden’s trance, and he took it, stuffing it in his back pocket. She expected a quick goodbye, but he leaned down, resting his elbows on the window ledge.
“You guys on a date?”
Roxanne remained silent and peeked over at Jonah, who was sending his brother a harsh glare.
“So where are you guys going? Out to eat? Is it just dinner or are you gonna hang out after?”
“Shouldn’t you be more concerned with your date?” Jonah snapped.
His face lit up, and he pointed at Jonah, shaking his hand. “So this is a date?”
“Jesus Christ,” Jonah muttered, dragging his hand through his hair.
The brothers needed an intervention.
“Yes, your brother and I are on a date. And here’s some advice about girls.” She curled her finger.
Holden leaned closer. “What?”
“We don’t like to be kept waiting. So now that you have the credit card, go find your date and make sure she has a great time. Okay?”
He chuckled and nodded eagerly. “I will. You guys have fun too. Where’d you say you’re going?”
“Holden!” Jonah snapped, and she snickered, turning her body to block Jonah’s view. She pointed to the group he’d come from. “Go.”
Holden straightened and stepped back with a grin. Jonah took off, and a few minutes later they were pulling out of the lot, heading toward the highway. Jonah hadn’t said a word, and there was a slight tension in the truck. But Roxanne knew how to fix that.
“Well, it’s official,” she sighed, meeting Jonah’s stare and smiling, “Holden definitely thinks we're banging.”
“Yeah.” Jonah’s scowl deepened for a second, then his lips spread into a smile. He lifted his chin. “And thanks for that back there. I probably should’ve left him on his own to learn a lesson.”
Roxanne knew little about Jonah’s past. Just some basics she’d heard in passing and never any details. He’d taken over custody of his brothers and raised them after his parents died. It must’ve been hard to balance unprepared parenthood at a young age. By the looks of it, it still might be.
“I think you did the right thing. He obviously appreciated it. That says a lot about him. And you.” She glanced over and shrugged. “To be honest, I would’ve done the same thing. Holden makes me wish I’d had a younger sibling to bail out.”
Jonah snorted, shaking his head. “You want to borrow him? He’s all yours.”
Roxanne had always wanted a little brother or sister. But she had a feeling Holden was harboring a little crush on her, which was far from sibling-like.
“Would you trust him not to flirt with me?”
Jonah slowly angled his head. “No. Offers officially off the table.”
Roxanne burst out laughing and slapped his thigh playfully.
In an unexpected move, Jonah grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.
He rested their clasped hands on his leg, and they stayed there for the entire ride.
She ignored the butterflies in her belly, but it was utterly impossible every time his thumb stroked her skin.
Roxanne was falling for him.
Hard and fast.
****
Jonah was still at odds with her dinner request. He wanted to take her somewhere nice. She was certainly dressed for someplace fancier than burgers and fries in his workshop. He’d offered other options on the ride, but ultimately, she stuck with the original plan.
And here we are.
It was always interesting watching someone in his space.
Aside from a few customers, his brothers and Kenzie, few people came in.
Jonah didn’t have any type of showroom. Most of the pieces were made to order.
But he had a few personal projects he kept toward the front of the shop.
Roxanne seemed enthralled with one of them as she swept her hand over the mahogany chair.
“This is beautiful.” Her dark hair slipped past her shoulder when she bent over, looking closer at the etched detail. “How much does this cost?”
“Twenty-four hundred.”
For anyone outside of the business, it may have seemed over-priced.
Few people thought about the quality of the wood when picking out furniture.
Not to mention all the time spent when it was hand-crafted.
Jonah expected a similar reaction to Kenzie’s.
Roxanne was the polar opposite. She slowly nodded, eyeing the piece.
“You interested?”
She glanced over her shoulder, trailing her gaze down his body. “Are we still talking about the chair?”
Jonah dropped his gaze to the floor, smirking, then peered up. “Yeah.”
“If I had somewhere to put it, I’d be hitting the ATM but …
” She circled the chair and folded her arms. “My apartment, while amazing, is on the smaller side. I’ve already crowded my living room with more furniture than is appropriately functional.
” She rested her hand on the edge of the chair.
“This needs to be showcased as a centerpiece, not stuffed in a corner where it can’t be fully appreciated. ”
Well, damn. He should hire her as an advertising rep.
Roxanne spun around, looking at his current project. He walked toward her, grabbing her hand and leading her across the workshop. He rarely showed anyone his work in progress. Most people couldn’t visualize the finished product, and his work was personal, so he kept it private.
She gasped, releasing his hand and circled around the coffee table. “This is going to be beautiful.”
“When it’s done.”
She pointed at it. “Is this your current project?”
“Yeah, the client wants it in three weeks. It’s a gift for his wife.”
Roxanne whistled. “Either he loves her a lot or he’s done something wrong.”
Jonah chuckled, moving toward a bench by his tools. He watched her amble around, completely comfortable in his space. I like that.
“Where did you learn how to do all this? School?”
“Yes and no. My dad always worked with his hands. A carpenter by trade. But it wasn’t until I took a class in school that I became interested. After that, he taught me everything.”
She peeked up through her lashes, offering a somber smile. “It’s nice that you have something of your father’s.”
Jonah would’ve been a fool to think she didn’t know his background.
She may not have all the details, but she’d have the basics considering his relationship with her family.
If she wanted to dig deeper, it was as easy as hopping on the computer and searching for his name.
Ten minutes of research and she’d know his history.
She rocked back on her heels, scanning the room.
“My biological parents died when I was about six. I have small memories, mostly just snippets and flashes of the past with them. Ethan remembers more because he was older. We have a lot of pictures, and I’ve tried to piece them to memories, but …” Her voice trailed off.
His chest tightened. It wasn’t relatable to him. He remembered his family, but he’d always had immense sympathy for his youngest, who’d been too young to recall anything.
“That’s what it’s like for Holden.” Jonah cleared his throat, bothered by her silence. “The Garrisons adopt you right away, or were you in the system?”
“Immediately.” She smiled. “We got lucky.”
Yeah, you did.
Roxanne drove her hand through her hair, peering around the room.
“God, I loved them from the second I met them, especially my mom. She just had this loving vibe and nurturing aura. I knew that, as bad as it was, it was going to get better. When we officially got adopted, I wanted to change my name to Garrison, but Ethan insisted we keep Barrett. He said it was important that we keep something from our parents.”
It made sense. He couldn’t imagine parting with his name.
Her somber smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I guess I’m a little like Holden and a little like you.
I remember everything about my mom growing up.
I have tons of memories. I don’t know what’s harder.
Remembering or not.” She shrugged and then glanced up at him.
“Can I ask you …” She waved her hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be intrusive.”
“If I don’t want to answer, I won’t. So ask.”
She drew in a breath, walked over and sat on the stool beside him. “How old were you when they died?”
“Just turned eighteen.”
“And your brothers?”
He folded his arms, thinking back. “Holden was six, Cord was nine and Sawyer was thirteen.”
She knitted her brows. “Sawyer?”
Fuck. He cupped his mouth and drew in a breath. She may have known the basics, but not all of them. “He was in the car with my parents.”
“It was a car accident?”
Technically, yes. Honestly, no. But he wouldn’t be sharing details in-depth.
“They were coming home from Sawyer’s wrestling tournament.
The plan was to stay overnight at a hotel because it was a few hours away.
But my mom wanted to go home that night.
It was a few days before Christmas, and it’d always been a big deal for her.
My dad took the back roads. He thought it was safer, fewer people on the roads.
According to the police report, an animal ran out in front of the car or possibly black ice.
It was unseasonably cold that year. They think my dad swerved, overcorrected, ran off the road and slammed into a tree. ”
She gasped, and her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry, Jonah.”
He stared across the workshop, steeling his features.
“They died on impact?”
No.
Jonah released a long breath. “Yeah.”
She grasped his wrist in a tight squeeze. The room was drowned in silence. This was the last topic of discussion he wanted to have with her on their first date. Or ever. It was too deep, too raw, and too dark.
“I’m sorry.”
He looked over at her. “Yeah, me too.”
For most people, this would’ve put a complete damper on their date. Ending it before it even got started. Opening up and sharing was part of the process, but it was too soon for something like this. Jonah didn’t know how to come out of it.
Roxanne slid her hand over his wrist, down to his hand and threaded their fingers. Jonah met her stare, and her face softened, her lips spreading into a sweet smile. So fucking beautiful.
“You know, topics like this are usually reserved for like the seventh or eighth date.”
He wouldn’t know. Jonah never brought up his family on dates.
“Is that right?”
Roxanne nodded. “But now that we’ve gotten it out of the way, we need to move on to the fun stuff.”
Jonah tugged on her hand and pulled her against his chest.
“Like what?”
She licked her lips. “A full tour of your house. I’m curious about the upstairs.”
Roxanne had done the impossible. Jonah was no longer thinking about the past. His mind was solely set on them and the present day. He straightened, keeping his hand clasped on hers, walking her out of the workshop and into the house.