Controlled Burn (11 page)

“It’s too bad you’re not staying longer.
I could probably get Bruins tickets.”

“I’m not sure which team I’m supposed to root for. I think I’ve heard the news talk about Ducks. Does that sound right?”

His expression made it clear he didn’t think much of that. “You’ve gotta be a Boston Bruins fan. Your family’s from here. This is where you were introduced to hockey. And why have a duck when you can have a bear?”

“There probably
aren’t many Bruins fans in San Diego.”

“That just makes you exceptional in a city with very little taste.”

She laughed and bumped against him, taking him off guard and knocking him a couple of steps sideways. Since his arm was hooked in hers, she went with him. He nudged her back and she was tempted to rest her head against his arm as they walked. It was nice, just the two of them.

But then she saw the car and it brought reality back. This wasn’t a date. It was a family outing planned before she’d even arrived. And they’d agreed they weren’t going to kiss anymore, so there would be no kiss good-night.

Once she was in the car and the engine started generating enough heat to spare some for the vents, Jessica sighed and snuggled into the comfort. Considering how many
people had told her it wasn’t even cold yet and she should experience January and February, she should probably be thankful she was going home soon.

“The Bruins play Monday night,” Rick said as he worked the car through the traffic toward where they’d left Joe and Marie. “I’ll be watching it if you want to come up and watch it with me.”

Okay, that sounded
almost
like a date. “You don’t
watch the games with Joe?”

He shook his head. “He follows the Bruins box scores and he likes the charity games, like tonight, but he doesn’t watch many of the games until postseason. He’s more of a baseball guy.”

“Okay.” She probably should have said no, but that wasn’t what came out of her mouth. “I’ll bring some junk food.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

A plan. Not a date. Just a
plan, like friends would make. But it was a plan she was already looking forward to.

Chapter Ten

On Sunday afternoon, Rick glanced out his window and happened to notice the side door to the garage was open. Since he was too bored to watch television, but not bored enough to reach out to his friends and see if anybody was doing anything interesting, he decided he’d take a walk down and see what Joe was up to.

Rick found him in front of the work bench along
the back wall of the garage, rummaging through one of the many chock-full drawers in the various storage towers and toolboxes. “Hey, Joe. Looking for something specific?”

“No, just looking. When did I accumulate all this junk?”

Rick shook his head. “Before I got here, although I’ve probably helped contribute to the collection since I moved in.”

“Why would I ever think I needed to
save some of this?” He held up a bolt that had seen better days, judging by the fact the nut screwed onto it looked rusted right to the threads.

“You never know what you might need.” Rick was pretty sure it was just a guy thing. He’d never met a garage-owning man yet who didn’t have jars and coffee cans full of miscellaneous metal things. “Soak it in some oil and it’ll work just fine.”

“Can you imagine how long it would take us to muck out this house if we sold it?”

“Are you considering selling?” He wasn’t sure if the subject had been temporarily tabled or if he just wasn’t in the loop, but he hadn’t heard much about it since they filled him in after the appointment with the doctor.

Joe shrugged and opened another drawer. “We’re not
not
considering it.”

Rick
wondered if Jessica had been talking to them, or if they were just naturally working themselves toward that direction. “It’s a big house. Needs a lot of upkeep and I know the utility bills and the taxes must be a bitch.”

“I hate surrendering to it. It’s like an admission I might be getting old.”

“Hell, half the people you grew up with sold their houses and bought condos in Florida ten
years ago or more.”

Joe snorted. “We went to Florida once. I hated it.”

“Well, there are plenty of options around here. Maybe something away from the city, where it’s quiet, and you and Marie can sit on a doublewide swing and listen to the birds sing or whatever.”

“I like this neighborhood. We know where everything is and we can walk to almost anything we want. I’m a city boy at
heart. But it is a big house, and Marie’s not getting any younger.”

It struck Rick how Joe wouldn’t admit to being too old to take care of the house, but maybe he’d consider selling it for Marie’s sake. “How does she feel about it?”

“Same as I do, mostly. We like it here and don’t really want to move. But we also don’t want the other to end up in a bind if something happens, you know?”

“You don’t have to rush into anything. And the most important thing is that the two of you are on the same page about it and screw what anybody else thinks.”

“Yeah. Jessica helped Marie set up an appointment with a real estate agent for Wednesday. She says we can’t really think about our options without a solid idea of what we might be able to get for the house.”

“She’s probably
right.” She hadn’t mentioned the real estate agent to him at all, and it had to have been set up before the hockey game. Even if they’d made the appointment on Friday while he was working, it seemed odd she didn’t say anything to him.

“I guess Jessica’s flying back to San Diego on Thursday,” Joe continued. “Marie’s going to be heartbroken, even though she knew it was coming eventually, but
I told her we’d finally break down and get her one of those smartphones. Waste of money if you ask me, but they can send text messages to each other and do that video chat thing.”

She was leaving Thursday. She hadn’t mentioned that to him, either. He knew she’d go soon, since her company was having its Christmas party, but he hadn’t known which day. “I don’t think you have to worry about
Jess not staying in touch. It’s meant a lot to her, getting to know you.”

“We wish she didn’t live so damn far away.”

“I know, but I bet she’ll fly out a few times a year to visit. If not more.”

“I hope so. It’s been just Marie and I for so long, so it’s nice to have family. Even if Davey had come back, it would’ve been hard to forgive him for the hell he’s put his mother through.
But Jessica, she’s not like him. And we’re both so thankful to have her now, even if we won’t get to see her all the time. It’s nice knowing we have somebody good out there in the world with our name.”

Rick had no doubt the Broussards would be changing their wills any day, if they hadn’t already started the process, and he didn’t blame them a bit. They were the kind of people who would have
left the house and any money they had to their son simply because he was their son. But knowing they’d be gifting their property to Jessica would make them much happier.

“What do you suppose this went to?” Joe asked, holding up an oddly shaped chunk of metal.

Rick took it from him to give it a closer look. “I have no idea.”

He and Joe ended up killing almost two hours in the garage,
looking through containers and sorting piles of junk. They didn’t really accomplish anything, but sometimes that wasn’t the point. Especially on a lazy, early winter Sunday. The days of digging out hydrants, snow-related accidents, clearing roofs and extra shifts were right around the corner. Spending a couple of hours with a good friend, sorting bolts and talking about everything and nothing
was a good way to relax.

Of course he managed to get dirty enough so when it was time to call it quits, he needed a shower. After stripping down and tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper, Rick turned on the shower and set it to pretty damn hot. The shower was huge, as was the entire master bathroom because Joe and Marie had given him the freedom to remodel however he wanted as long as he
paid for it. And being a big guy who’d gone from growing up in a house with a small shower to renting an apartment with an even smaller shower, the bathroom was where he’d spent the most money.

He let the hot water beat against his skin for a couple of minutes before grabbing the shampoo and scrubbing his hair. Even as his muscles relaxed, his mind turned to Jess and the fact she’d be leaving
Thursday. In just a few days, she’d be getting on a plane to San Diego and he didn’t know when—or really even if—she’d be back.

Last night had almost gotten the better of him. When he’d taken her arm to keep her from falling, he should have let go as soon as she was steady and kept his hands to himself. But they’d just kind of kept talking and kept walking, and he liked the contact. Then
she’d gotten flirty, bumping his shoulder because he was being funny, and he’d thought about kissing her.

He thought about kissing her a lot. Her mouth fascinated him, and he could only imagine how it would feel to press his lips against hers. The feel of her hair tangled in his fingers. The softness of her skin.

After rinsing the shampoo out of his hair, Rick grabbed the bar of soap
and lathered up. He scrubbed hard at his arms, which he’d managed to get greasy as well as grimy, and then rinsed the soap away. It wasn’t so easy to push the image of Jessica away, though, and he found himself wishing she was in the shower with him. It was definitely built for two.

Rick braced one hand against the tile wall and closed the fingers of his other hand around his dick as he imagined
the hot water running down her naked body. The steam would make the hair around her face damp and her skin would be tender and flushed. He’d kiss her while pressing her back against the tiles, and he didn’t have to imagine that. He knew how her mouth felt and how she tasted. But now, in his mind, he slid his hand between her legs.

Picturing her blue eyes widening, he wondered if she’d be
shy and whisper his name. Or maybe she’d be bold and demanding, her head thrown back with abandon.

Stroking himself harder, he imagined the feel of her slick, hot flesh under his palm. The sounds she’d make when he slid his fingers over her clit. Her nipples would be hard in his mouth, and he’d suck each in turn until she squirmed against his hand. He’d whisper in her ear, telling her all
the things he was going to do to her, while she came. And then, when the last shudder faded away, he’d turn her around and have her brace her hands against the tile as he slowly eased his cock into her.

With a groan, Rick came, his dick pulsing in his hand as he stroked and the fantasy faded. Then he leaned his forehead against the shower wall and closed his eyes. The relief would be temporary,
he knew. He wanted the real Jessica, naked and under him, and jerking off to imaginary her wasn’t enough anymore.

* * *

After climbing the two flights of exterior stairs to Rick’s small deck, Jessica raised her fist to knock on his glass sliding door, only to realize she didn’t have to knock. She could see him, and he was looking straight at her.

He was also almost naked.

Obviously fresh out of the shower, he had a towel wrapped around his waist, but there was plenty of skin for her to look at. And look she did. She wasn’t sure if it was his job or the gym or both, but his body was so well toned he could be on a magazine cover. Not so ripped it would be a vanity point, but he was definitely in shape.

And his calves were almost as impressive as his biceps. That
was probably from going up and down the huge ladder on his truck and climbing stairs, but she’d never really noticed a man’s legs before. She certainly noticed his.

Whose bright idea had it been for them to put an end to any making out when they’d only gotten as far as kissing?

Then she realized he was waving her in and felt stupid. Gawking at the man through his door wasn’t one of her
finer moments and she hoped he’d let it go without commenting. She opened the door and stepped inside, sliding it closed behind her.

“Sorry,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

“Marie sent me up to ask you for...a thing.”

“A thing?” He grinned. “A specific thing, or can I just grab whatever’s at hand and give it to you?”

She sighed and held up her hands in defeat. “Look,
you know you’re an attractive guy. You know I like kissing you but we’re not doing that anymore. You also know you’re only wearing a towel and you smell delicious. I don’t think you need to mock a woman for forgetting what she came here for.”

“I wasn’t mocking you. Just clarifying whether or not any old thing would do.”

“Who takes showers at this time of day, anyway?”

“People who
get dirty digging around in decades’ worth of crap in the garage.”

She gave a self-deprecating laugh. “Forget it. You can take showers whenever you want. Just bad timing on my part.”

“Okay, to get back to the thing at hand, what was Marie doing when she asked you to come up here?”

“She was looking through a plastic box that had a bunch of recipes in... Oh! She said you borrowed
her big slow cooker a few weeks ago and she wants to make a roast this week. It won’t fit in her everyday one.” She held up a hand. “I didn’t even know they came in different sizes or that there was such a thing as an everyday slow cooker.”

“She bought a small one because she’s usually only cooking for the two of them and it’s mostly soups and stews. And she makes a mean chili.” He frowned
in the direction of the kitchen, as if trying to remember where he’d left it. “Let me throw some clothes on and then I’ll dig it out for you.”

“Okay.” She would have been more than happy to watch him rummage around his kitchen in just the towel, but she could imagine he might feel awkward. Especially if the towel slipped and ended up on the floor.

Flushed, Jessica waited until he’d closed
his bedroom door and then looked around the apartment. It had been remodeled at some point, far more recently than the downstairs, and she guessed he’d sunk his own money into it. It was as open concept as the old house’s structure allowed, with the living room area flowing naturally into the kitchen. He had a table and chairs set up near the slider, and everything was leather or chrome and
glass. The kitchen island and countertops were a dark granite, and he had nice stainless steel appliances. There was a half bath off the kitchen, but she only saw one bedroom door. Considering the footprint of the house, it must be one hell of a master suite.

There were two big bookcases in the living room, stuffed full of books, and some family pictures sat in frames on top of them. She
guessed one of the photos was of Rick’s brother, along with a woman and two young boys taken on a boat. There was a strong resemblance between him, his brother and their dad, and his mom was pretty, too. She was smiling at the camera in one framed picture, with her husband’s arm around her and her two sons bookending them. Her pride was evident in her body language and expression, and Jessica sighed.

She’d be lying if she said her mom abandoning her when she was little didn’t hurt. Usually it was a dull, barely there ache. But sometimes it was a gaping wound she knew would never heal. Even though she’d learned with age—and through multiple failed marriages on her father’s part—to accept that her mother had probably been leaving her father and not just her, she’d always wondered why she
hadn’t fought for her. Even if she couldn’t handle full custody, she could have stuck around for visitations.

As with his own parents, Jessica’s mother wasn’t a topic her father wanted to discuss. He’d claimed she was unstable and they were better off without her. But he’d said a lot of bad things about her grandparents, too, and now she knew better. Or at the very least, they weren’t the
same people they’d been while raising their son. So maybe her dad was wrong about her mom, too.

The big difference, as far as Jessica was concerned, was simple. Joe and Marie hadn’t fought to see her because they hadn’t known she existed. Her mother had known. She’d made a conscious choice to remove herself from Jessica’s life, and no amount of therapy or logical pep talks could ever make
her understand.

“You okay?”

She jumped at the sound of Rick’s voice, since she hadn’t heard his bedroom door open. “What?”

“You look lost in space, and that’s not a happy expression.”