Breaking Through (Atlanta #3) (4 page)

Still, she didn't want to give up the hope of more time with Luke…if he wanted more time with her, and he probably didn't…or if she could handle Miranda's involvement, which she probably couldn't. What a mess all of this was in her head. And maybe for nothing! He may not be interested in her at all. She didn't see a reason for him to be. And now that Sophie was healthy, she might never see him again anyway.

As much as she had looked forward to today's shift, she looked forward even more to going home. She wanted a mug of tea and a long soak in her tub…and hopefully a restful sleep in her bed. Not likely. Either way, her brain was spinning in circles around Luke Baylor, the badass teddy bear with gorgeous green eyes, whom she would most likely never see again.
 

CHAPTER TWO

Luke was pissed. That nasty piece of work who called herself a mom completely ruined his afternoon. Before CB came in, he and Sophie were having smiles and fun. He and Jenna,
what a beautiful name
, were having a nice conversation while Sophie sat happily on her lap. Good news from the doctor rounded out the best appointment ever. And as he was about to push his luck a bit further by asking out the gorgeous blond behind the desk, Miranda came in and sprinkled her own brand of ugly all over the scene.

In one instant, Sophie's smile faded and Jenna's warm demeanor was forced into professional stoicism. Luke's hopeful smile over a possible date with Jenna turned into a tight set of his jaw. Sophie was taken from his arms where she had been resting sweetly.
Fuck
.
 

He returned the car to CB's house, pulled into the garage, and left the keys on the seat. Without a word, Luke mounted his Harley and sped back to the gym. The heavy bag was in for a shit-ton of abuse after a CB encounter like that. Thank God for the gym. Otherwise, he'd still be picking bar fights for some way to release all his tension. By divine intervention alone, Marcus became his personal get-out-of-jail-free card.
 

He walked into the gym and glared at Marcus with an eyeball-warning to keep back. Luke went to his locker and changed into a pair of black athletic shorts. He didn't bother with a shirt. By the time he was out on the floor, Marcus was waiting for him by the heavy bag.
Fuck again
.

"Hey, sport," Marcus said lightly.

"Shut up," Luke muttered as he forced his fist sharply into the canvas. He continued to throw punches into the heavy bag while Marcus steadied it from the other side, helping him to connect with even more force.

"How'd it go with the doctor?"

"What about 'shut up' did you not understand?" More punches landed loudly on the canvas.
 

"The part where
I own your ass
. What has you so pissed?"

"Fine," Luke snapped, knowing Marcus wouldn't leave him alone anyway. "CB dropped in. I can't even tell you how much I. Hate. Her." Every anger-soaked word about Miranda was punctuated with his fist against dark green canvas. "But I came here instead of throwing a fit. Control, right?" Luke's knuckles were already raw and red from the intensity of his blows.

"Exactly. Now reign it in a little more and let me tape you up. We'll get something good out of this. Go," Marcus said.
 

Luke let up for the moment and let Marcus wrap his knuckles tightly. Luke preferred the painful burn over the protection of the tape, but learned a long time ago not to argue with Marcus. Like he often reminded Luke, Marcus owned his ass since keeping him out of jail after an ugly bar fight. The tape would unfortunately ease his much-deserved pain, but at least would help him become a stronger fighter. Either way, the knuckle-strain helped.

Marcus worked him on the speed bag and then on some training equipment with multiple strike-points. Marcus called numbers for Luke to punch the coordinating pad with the assigned fist or foot, like some violent version of hard-core Twister. Marcus barked out numbers in rapid-fire series, or sometimes slow and methodically. Luke's agility was improving, as was his speed. When fueled by rage and steered with control, a fighter could dominate the ring at any time. Marcus was proof of that and wanted to teach Luke.
 

Marcus put him through drill after drill, helping Luke fight out his anger. They worked on focus, strength, and precision as much as they could with Luke seething. By the end of the workout, Luke was exhausted and no longer tense from the ruined afternoon. The frustration over his situation hadn't changed, but for the moment his body no longer carried the full weight of his stressors.
 

"Hit the showers then meet me in the office," Marcus said. "There's someone you need to meet. He should be here in about ten minutes."

Luke gave him a tired half-nod and turned toward the locker room. Only a few minutes passed before he was clean, dressed and ready to figure out who the hell Marcus was talking about. Luke crossed the gym and went to the office near the front door. When he walked in, Marcus was sitting there with Bill and an older man he didn't recognize.

"Luke, this is George Sudowski. He runs the butcher shop I used to live above. George, this is Luke Baylor, the fighter I told you about."

Luke politely shook the man's hand but had no idea what any of this had to do with him. "Nice to meet you."

George was the next to speak. "Ok, son. Here's the thing. Marcus used to live in a tiny office over my shop I didn't use anymore. Bill convinced me to take him on as a tenant. Best damn thing I ever did. For both of us. I hated losing him. Now Marc's got me convinced to do the same for you."

Luke's eyes widened slightly as he looked back and forth between both Marcus and George. "You're serious?"

George's gruff-but-kind voice uttered a "mm-hmm" along with a businessman's nod. "Rent's cheap, but I expect clean and quiet."

Luke couldn't say a word. His own place? He didn't even have a job. How could George Sudowski trust he'd get paid?

"I don't know what to say," Luke stammered, humbled by the gesture.

"Hold yourself. I'm not done yet," George stated. "Now I understand you need a job. I need an assistant. I have a few guys who work on loading and deliveries, grinders, and carcass trimming, but no one reliable enough to teach any knife skills. I got some machines for some of the heavier cut-work, but I don't trust anyone but me for the details. I keep a sales counter for walk-ins and I supply two high-end restaurants in the area. Customers deserve artisan work."

Luke tried not to smile as he sifted through the implications this meeting offered. A job and an apartment: two steps closer to a real life and a real relationship with Sophie in the role of father rather than babysitter.

"If you're as quick a learner as Marcus says, then we'll get along ok. I'm not taking less than every bit of your work ethic, son," he said pointedly. "There is no slacking in my cutting room and no half-assed effort on the product. This is full-time and full-focus."

"Yes, sir," Luke replied in disbelief of his good fortune. He needed this and would work hard. He hoped George would believe he could bring skill and dedication to the table. "I'm good with my hands. Been working on cars my whole life. Nothing with a knife yet, but I'll pick it up. Thank you."

"Alright. It's set. I'll get you a key this evening. Marcus says you're trustworthy, and I'm jumpin' on blind faith here, kid. Keep yourself good. And I'll see you at the shop around six so I can show you around. You start your job tomorrow morning at four a.m. when the fresh slaughter arrives."

Luke shook the man's hand as he left and looked over to Marcus whose face was set in a wide, happy grin.
 

"Marcus, I don't… this is…" Luke stammered his words because no matter what words he used, his thanks wouldn't come out strong enough. "God, I…"

"Yeah, I got it. Don't screw up your job and don't slack on your training. That's all I ask."

"Yeah, you got whatever you need from me. Thank you."

Marcus grinned again and got up to walk him back out to the floor. He clapped Luke on the shoulder. "George is a good guy. But I'm warning you. He'll work you hard and your apartment is TINY. Not even enough room for a bed. The best you got up there is a giant brown couch that used to be mine. Sleep tight tonight, my friend."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. Why not? What do you have? Big stuff to move?"

"I got a duffle bag of clothes here at the gym. I've been pretty much living out of my locker. Other than that, nothing much," Luke admitted. "I have a few things at a buddy's house, but I guess I can get those tomorrow."

"Then go buy an alarm clock and meet me back here. I'll show you where the shop is for your six o'clock orientation," he grinned. "You'll need the alarm, because if you show up at 4:01 tomorrow morning,
 
you may not have a job by 4:02."

"Ok. Thanks again, Marcus. I don't even know what to say. You just saved me, I think."

"Bill did the same for me. Someday you'll be able to help somebody. Do that when you can. Deal?"

Luke nodded and walked to the door to get on his bike and find himself an alarm clock. For the first time in a very long time, Luke had some hope. Now if he could find an excuse to talk to Jenna again, he might feel down-right happy.
 

Jenna and Cassie were both scheduled to work the entire day on Thursday. Jenna was glad to have a chance to tell Cassie everything. Since there was no chance of going out with Luke, she could talk things out with Cassie without any pressure to mention names. Cassie didn't need specifics to fuel her perpetual hope with regards to Jenna's love life.
 

The two of them showed up at the clinic at almost the exact same time and walked into the break room together to prep for their shift. Cassie was at her locker stuffing her purse in while eyeing Jenna again.

"You've lost the gooey-factor. What happened? Didn't he come in?"

"Perfect afternoon turned nightmare," Jenna explained with a shrug. "He came in with his daughter and we had a nice conversation. He was looking at me again, with that intensity, you know? His eyes are so deep, and a gorgeous color of green."

"So where's the nightmare? Because everything you described sounds awesome."

"His ex came in. Nasty piece of work. She talked down to him and made about everyone in the place completely uncomfortable. Even her daughter quit smiling. He didn't get dramatic, though. He stayed as nice as he could, considering."

"Yikes," Cassie said, shaking her head. "And…"

"And nothing. I watched that train wreck and wanted no part of it. Gooey-factor gone," Jenna stated, sounding less convinced than she tried to.

"Just like that? Even with his intense stare?" Cassie asked knowingly.

Jenna walked toward the front desk with Cassie right on her heels.
 

"Just like that," Jenna confirmed.

Cassie shook her head again. "Who was it?"

Jenna chuckled. "Still not telling. What's the point? Nothing's going to come of it. He probably won't even come back in. The mom kind of went all control-freak on him."

"Too bad. It sounded like he was really into you."

"I doubt it, but whatever. Hand me the keys? I'm going to open up."

Cassie passed Jenna the keys to the clinic's front door and eyed her again. "I'm not buying it, you know."

"What?"

"You're still gooey-by-stealth and want him to come back, crazy ex or not."

This time Jenna shook her head and smiled at her bold friend. "Don't you have some charts to pull?"

Cassie grinned smugly and unlocked the cabinet as the first patients arrived.

Jenna groaned internally while they started checking families in, because deep down, she knew Cassie was right. No matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, she wanted Luke to come back, with or without Sophie. She wanted him to finish the question interrupted by Miranda Walsh. That was about all she could think about since he walked out the day before.
 

She even dreamed about Luke. In her dream, there was no crazy ex. There was only Luke, Jenna, and Sophie on a fair-grounds carousel. Everyone smiled while they held their cotton candy. The dream was a cheesy kind of cliché, but Jenna didn't care. She found the vision beautiful and she wanted to hang on to the picture. But that's all it was…a dream never to come true. She tried to brush the disappointment off with an internal
oh-well,
but couldn't. Her mind still swirled around Luke…for days.

By Wednesday the next week, she had given up on the hope he would come in just to see her. What a ridiculous concept anyway. She scolded herself for the hundredth time and focused instead on the afternoon schedule. She began pulling charts when she saw the name Sophie Walsh on the list. Sophie had an appointment? Was the poor thing sick again? Jenna hoped not, but she did hope desperately Luke would be the one carrying her through the door at 3:40.
 

She glanced up at the clock. Two hours and forty minutes until she'd find out. Two hours and forty minutes until she potentially saw Luke again. Her entire body reacted to the possibility. Cassie pegged it: the gooey-factor hadn't eased up at all. Jenna couldn't deny her feelings any longer. She wanted to see Luke again. And honestly, she was looking forward to seeing the adorable little Sophie, too…hopefully without her mother.
 

Those two hours and forty minutes dragged on again like the last time she had to wait in hopeful anticipation of seeing Luke. Darn it, she had it bad. Thank goodness Cassie only worked the morning hours. She was sitting for another nursing exam afternoon. After that test, only one more exam remained before her practicals. Jenna was so proud to see Cassie moving up in her career.
 

Jenna herself didn't think she'd have the drive or skill to tackle a home-study course. She liked her assisting job, anyway. Instead of pushing forward, Jenna's focus remained on work and keeping her finances in order so she could keep her apartment. Thanks to Cassie introducing her to the world of thrifting, she was keeping up with her budget just fine. Her most expensive part of life was the occasional lunch splurge at a sandwich shop rather than her typical brown-bag fare.