21. Drastic Measures
DRASTIC MEASURES
On Monday afternoon, Jolene was moving around the brewery. She knew Tasha would get off shift soon and she’d be waiting in the break room she’d pass through to get her things.
“What are you doing, Jolene?”
She spun around so fast that she almost lost her balance. “Baker. I was going to come see you soon. What are you doing in here?”
Interesting. She wondered if he was coming for the same reason she was.
All the more reason to stick around and see what happened.
“I’m coming to get water,” he said, holding up his water bottle. “You’re standing there as if you’re waiting for the green flag to fall in the Daytona 500.”
“Can’t get much by you,” she said, her smile wide and welcoming. “I’m waiting for Tasha to get off shift. I haven’t talked to her in a while and I think she only has another week left.”
Not even a flicker in his eyes over that announcement.
“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to not have you bugging her like you do me.”
“I thought maybe you were coming in here to see her too,” she threw out. Might as well. Times like this called for drastic measures.
She knew damn well her husband and Mason were yanking her chain on Saturday.
“Just getting water,” he said, moving to the jug and filling up, then turning to leave.
Her jaw hurt, she was clenching it so tight. He was a smooth one.
Five more employees came in to get drinks or snacks, some to sit and take their break. Rather than look like a fool standing there, she joined a few to chat. Most of the employees enjoyed her company.
“Excuse me,” she said, pushing the chair back and jumping up so fast she almost toppled it behind her. “Got to talk to someone.” She hurried toward her target. “Tasha. How are you doing?”
“Jolene,” Tasha said. “What a pleasant surprise.”
By the smirk on Tasha’s face, she didn’t think so. Things were going well and she had to battle back the urge to rub her hands together.
Just another week or two before she was going to lose her chance with the woman in front of her.
“How are things going? Are you getting excited about returning to your students?”
“They are great. And I am. I do miss them over the summer. When the holidays roll around though, I’ll be wishing for my break.” She leaned closer and whispered, “By then those kids get on my last nerve.”
“Try having five kids home on break acting like that.”
“One is more than enough,” Tasha said, walking out of the break room and toward her locker. “Speaking of kids, I’ve got to get mine.”
Which meant she was going to get the slip. “I was talking to Baker right before you came in.”
“Hmm. I didn’t see him in there,” Tasha said, pulling out her purse and putting it on her shoulder.
But Tasha must have been looking. “No. He left before you got here. I thought for sure he might seek you out.”
Not even a whisper of movement to that comment.
These two were good.
“Did you know he lived near me?” Tasha asked when she was walking away.
“What?” she asked, her voice higher than normal, but not so high that she was actually screaming in excitement. Not like the itch to do it crawling up her spine.
“Yeah. I saw him while walking Micah one day. We are in the same development. Small world. I thought maybe you knew that since you’re trying to pair us up.”
Since Tasha was aware of that fact, there was no use hiding it. Which meant Baker might have told her.
“And is it working?” she asked. Time to just be upfront now.
“Is what working?”
She pursed her lips. “Are you and Baker getting to know each other more?”
“Sure. He seems like a nice guy. I see him now and again here, but soon I won’t. And I’ve got to go.”
That didn’t sound good at all.
Nothing like she was hoping for.
The minute Tasha was out of sight, she made a mad dash for Baker’s office.
There he was, texting on his phone.
It was time to gamble some more. “Talking to Tasha?”
“Nope, my sister,” he said. “Why?”
“I was just talking to her before she left. She brought up that you live by each other. I had no clue.”
He smirked. “Really? I thought you knew everything. Guess not.” The phone rang in his hand. “Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”
Her shoulders dropped as she all but stomped away.
When did it ever seem this hard to get answers before?
Maybe everyone was right and she was spinning her wheels and wasting her time.
Nah. They were all just playing with her.
“Did Jolene run to you after she left me?” Tasha asked Baker when she opened the door hours later.
“She did,” he said. She could see he was hesitating. Should he lean in and kiss her, or just walk by?
She took the decision out of his hands and gave him a quick kiss, then reached for his hand to give it a squeeze.
When she did, she noticed a bag in the other. A gift bag. A big blue one with trucks on it.
Oh, my God. He bought her son a gift!
“You’ll have to fill me in on what she said.”
“Mama!”
She turned just as her son darted toward her, his tiny feet pounding across the floor to see who was at the door. She scooped him up before he could barrel into her legs like usual. It was a miracle her shins weren’t permanently bruised by now.
“Micah, do you remember Baker?”
Her son stared at him with wide, assessing eyes.
Her boyfriend.
That was what he was in her mind, even if the word “boy” didn’t come close to fitting him.
He was a man. All man. And somehow he felt like hers.
A dangerous thought. A possessive one.
The last time she’d felt anything like that, her whole world had crumbled faster than a stale cookie in Micah’s fist.
“Hi,” he said softly. “I brought something for you.”
“Gift?” Micah perked up instantly.
She set her wiggling toddler down. “What do you say?”
“Tank ya,” Micah said, thrusting out a tiny hand. His words not quite perfect but understandable.
He placed the bag in her son’s grip. Micah plopped right onto his diaper-padded butt and tore into the tissue paper, flinging scraps everywhere.
The squeal filled the house. “Tuck! Tuck! TUCK!”
Three of them. Bright, plastic construction trucks perfect for the little sandbox in the backyard.
“That’s great,” she said, her voice going embarrassingly soft.
“I took a guess.”
Micah tossed the trucks back into the bag, then immediately picked the whole thing up and ran, stumbling, tripping over it, kicking it aside as he regained his balance, then headed straight to the glass door that led to the backyard.
“It was a good guess,” she said, opening the door. She stepped outside and lifted the lid to the sandbox. “I’m going to grill some burgers. I’ve already got a pasta salad made. Micah likes burgers.”
“Do you need help?” he asked.
“If you don’t mind sitting out here and keeping an eye on him while I make the patties, that would be amazing. I don’t think he’s going to let me drag him back inside now.”
“I’ve got it,” he said easily. “Want me to light the grill?”
“Yes, please.”
She slipped back into the house, closing the door behind her.
A great guy who brought her son a present, didn’t hesitate to watch him, and offered to help with dinner. Was she living in a dream? Because it sure as hell felt like one.
Maybe things were moving too fast. Maybe she was letting herself get swept away.
But he was here.
He hadn’t hesitated when she invited him.
And he’d walked in with gifts meant to win her son over.
If that wasn’t a man showing intention… she didn’t know what was.
She formed the patties quickly, put them on a plate and then returned outside to see Baker squatting down and showing Micah how to use the little dump truck, pushing the sand into a big pile, then driving the other trucks over it.
He straightened when he saw her. “I can cook them if you want.”
“It’s up to you. Everything else is done and these won’t take long.”
“Bake. Bake.”
“It’s Baker. Ends with an r. Er sound,” she said. “Say it like that.”
“Bakerrrrrrr,” Micah said, then giggled.
She turned to see his laughter. “Now say it fast.”
“Baker. Baker. Tuck. Play with tucks.”
“Looks as if I’m being summoned.”
“I can deal with the burgers.”
Which she did while her son played with the new man in her life.
The one who she had to decide how much more she was going to let in and open up with.
The fact he was here now, not just having dinner with her, but with her son, said that it was time to stop having everything be such a damn secret all the time.