Inked by an Angel (15 page)

“Shit, Muffet.” Jed’s voice was gruff. “That’s rough. So what changed? Why’d you bite the bullet and tell ‘em to take their job and shove it?”

She thought back to that day. How it hurt. “I realized I was invisible.”

Later, Kyle watched as the scenery around them began to change into beautiful cliff sides and deepening greenery. Dips and curves in the road led to hidden treasures of nature tucked away like God’s little secrets.

“Oh, Jed, it’s so lovely out here. I can’t believe I’ve never been.”

He glanced over. “It is pretty. Wait until you see the lake.”

They drove about another hour before he finally pulled onto a small windy, gravel road that led up to a house. As they neared it, Kyle was awed. It wasn’t large, but it was lovely. Its natural stone exterior and green roof blended beautifully with their surroundings and it had several large picturesque windows that were sure to allow in tons of natural light.

He came to a stop and got out. He rounded the front of the car and opened her door. “Welcome to the Gentry lake house.”

When she stepped out, absolute silence greeted her. She’d never heard anything like it. Except for the trill of the birds and the gentle lapping of the water, it was
still.
Was the city so noisy?

He walked her to the front door and opened it. The inside was warm and obviously hadn’t been inhabited for a while, but still clean and homey. He stepped in and walked immediately to the back to open a sliding glass door to allow in some air.

“I’ll go get your stuff from the car,” he said as he walked back by her. “You can make yourself comfortable in whichever bedroom you want while I run back to town to get us a few groceries. Sound good?”

She looked up and got lost in his electric blue eyes. He’d promised they would get some work done in the fresh air. And separate bedrooms—no funny business. But now, as he pinned her with his stare, she wondered if this was a horrible, terrible, dreadful idea coming out here with him. She couldn’t handle him anymore than she could handle a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

She nodded anyway. “Sounds good.”

Kyle wandered through the empty lake house while Jed was gone and listened to the sweet nothingness. She’d never realized there was something so therapeutic about the quiet before, or that her life had become so full of everyone’s noise. She chose the smaller of the two bedrooms and put her things on the bed. She eased her hand across the well-worn comforter and took in the warm earthy tones of the room. She found her soul being soothed already.

Her cell phone rang, making her jump. She fumbled with her purse and pulled it out.

“Hello?”

“You’re not allergic to shellfish, are you?” Jed asked without preamble.

Her eyes darted around as if to search for him. “Uh, no.”

“Good.” He paused. “You like seafood, right?”

She smiled. “Love it.”

“Crab?”

Something about the way he talked to her should irritate her, but it didn’t. He was actually growing on her. The grin nearly cracked her face. “My favorite.”

“All right. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes. You need anything while I’m out?”

She thought about asking him to pick her up some tampons. She didn’t need them, but it would be funny. But even Jed had his limits and he probably wouldn’t see the humor in it. She giggled. “Nope. I’m good.”

He hung up, leaving her to her own devices once again. She wandered the living room and kitchen, taking stock of the meager supplies. She opened the blinds in the dining room, letting in the late afternoon sun and caught her first real glimpse of the lake.

“
Wow
,” she breathed.

The sun sparkled off the surface as it rippled gently with the soft breeze. A short dock led out to the water from the back of the property and an ancient looking tree swayed over the edge of the water like a guardian with a tire swing hanging tiredly from one of its branches. She tried to imagine Jed here as a young boy swimming and playing, but the image wouldn’t come.

She turned from the window and moved to the living area where several small sketches lined the walls. She studied them and realized they were Jed’s early work, his signature scribbled in the bottom corner of each one. She reached out a finger to trace his name.

Next to them hung a few family portraits. She smiled. Jed
did
have hair! Lovely, thick, whiskey brown hair. And not a hint of premature balding. Whoa, he looked different.

She shifted her gaze and studied his family. Of course his mother was lovely. But he definitely took after his father. Identical piercing blue eyes, dominant jaw lines, and perfect lips . . . good-looking men.

In a more recent photograph, her eyes were drawn down to Jed’s left forearm. The koi fish wasn’t there. Something else was, but it wasn’t clear. A black and white outline of an animal? Wait . . . a face? Was it a woman?

. . .
to cover a fuck-up. Not so good for me.

She leaned in closer and squinted her eyes trying to make the image clearer, but it didn’t help. All she could make out was the gray shading of what looked to be either a face or an elephant on Jed’s arm.

The distant
rumb bumb bumb
of Jed’s motor gave her plenty of warning of his return and she walked out to the porch to meet him.

He parked and hefted several bags from the backseat. “You get all settled in, Muffet?”

“Yes, thanks. It’s beautiful here.” She held the front door open and followed him to the kitchen. She helped him unload the bags and put the food away. “Jeez, Jed. How much did you get? We’re only gonna be here a couple days.”

“I got what looked good.” He tucked the milk into the door of the fridge. “Besides, I eat a lot.” As if to prove his point, he grabbed an apple and bit it.

She pulled out the paper wrapped package of crab legs and handed it to him so he could put it in the refrigerator. “So how much do I owe you for my half?”

He swallowed the bite of apple in his mouth and shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

“You shouldn’t have to pay for all of this.” She indicated the groceries with a sweep of her hand.

He eyed her up and down. “We both know
you’re
not going to be eating most of the food anyway. So, like I said, don’t worry about it. But if it makes you feel better, we can tally up what you do eat at the end of the weekend and I’ll deduct it from your paycheck. Does that make you happy?”

She studied his face. He was being a smartass. “Fine.” She would leave him a check or something.

He took another bite of his apple. “Fine.”

Kyle managed to get about five minutes worth of work done out on the back deck. The scenery was too beautiful for working. And Jed was too distracting with his muscular legs propped up, his eyes closed, and his face turned to the sun.

“Can I ask you something?” He spoke without opening his eyes.

She felt like she’d been caught staring and her face flamed. “Sure.”

He shifted his weight and rolled his head to peer at her. “What happened between you and loverboy?”

“Oh. Well . . .” She made a show of tapping the papers on the table and putting them away. Why would he care? He was there the night they broke up and she’d made such a ninny of herself crying like a big baby.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. Just curious. You two seemed like the perfect little couple, is all.”

She grabbed her drink and moved to the chair closest to him. “We were
not
the perfect couple at all. I didn’t love him, for one thing.” She grimaced and sipped her drink. “I think my mother loved him more than I did and I couldn’t let it go on any longer. I was never going to be the wife he needed me to be.”

He tilted his head. “And what kind of wife is that?”

She waved a hand. “Oh, you know. The perfect
club
wife like my mom.” She shot him a sideways glance. “When he told me he wanted me to quit working and stay home to run his house and raise his babies, I told him to get the fuck out.”

Jed’s jaw dropped. “You didn’t!”

“I did.”

He continued to stare a moment. “That night at the shop?”

“Well, no. Before that. He came by the shop to try and work things out.” She glanced down at her lap. “But it wasn’t going to work so I told him to leave that night, too.”

He laughed. A deep, loud, belly laugh. And he kept laughing until tears were streaming down his face.

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, feeling self-conscious.

Finally, he could talk again. He reached over and patted her head. “You told that sissy little prick to fuck off. I am so proud of you. I wish I could’ve been there to see his face.”

She smiled and started to make a smart comment about how she, too, could hold her own. But in the space of a heartbeat, he’d leaned over and settled his lips on hers, stealing the breath from her. The kiss was tender, a mere whisper of his flesh upon her own, but it spoke a million words of communion.

Automatically, she reached out to touch him, gripping the firm muscle of his shoulder. She opened her mouth and turned her head to deepen the contact, but he continued to feed her sweet, delicate, suckling kisses along her lower lip.

Her head was spinning when he pulled back and peered into her eyes.

“So, are you getting hungry for dinner?” he asked, apparently unfazed by the lip-lock.

She let her hand slide down his arm. “Famished.”

He winked and straightened to his full height. “Why don’t you relax and I’ll take care of dinner tonight?”

Somehow she couldn’t picture Jed preparing a meal for her. She tilted her head. “What’s for dinner?”

“You want those crab legs?”

Her mouth started to water. “And
you’re
going to cook them?”

He sauntered to the sliding glass door. “What? You think I can’t cook?”

She shrugged. She wasn’t convinced. He didn’t strike her as Mr. Julia Child. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

“Yes, you will.” He slid open the door and turned back with a devastating smile. “You want a beer, Muffet?”

She glanced down at the glass of tea in her hand.
Why not?
“Sure.” She settled back into her chair and relaxed. She took in the view of the lake with a deep breath and wiggled her toes free of her flip-flop sandals.

He came back and handed her a cold longneck before going over to the bar-b-que pit at the far end of the deck and lighting it.

She sipped. “What are you grilling?”

“The legs.”

“You’re going to bar-b-que the crab?” She nearly choked on her beer. “I’ve never had it that way. Is it good?”

“The best. You’ll like it. I promise.”

Well, she didn’t like bar-b-qued crab legs. She friggin’
loved
‘em. Jed was one heck of a cook. They drank cold beer and ate hot, messy crab dipped in butter until they couldn’t eat any more. And it was the best meal of her life.

She sat back with a painful sigh. “Holy cow. I can’t take another bite or I will blow up.” She grinned at him. “I’ll concede. You can cook.”

He sucked another piece of crab from the shell and threw the carcass down on their discard pile. “Duly noted.” He reclined back as well, his beer in hand, and gazed out at the lake.

She studied his profile. “My turn. Can I ask you something?”

He took a sip of his drink and nodded. “I guess. Shoot.”

“What happened between you and Kierstan?”

She watched as the lines around his eyes tightened and his fingers turned white where they gripped the bottle. He didn’t say anything for several moments. “It’s a long story, Muffet,” he finally answered. “Let it go.”

She wondered if she should press him. Well, she decided, turn about was fair play.

Kyle couldn’t let it go. She really wanted an answer. She seemed to need an answer. “We have time.”

Jed shot her a glare that would have intimidated her in weeks past, but now it only served to spurn her on. “What? You and Kierstan
seem
like the type of people who would be a perfect couple. You
were
a couple, right?”

“Drop it, Kyle. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Really? Because you didn’t seem to mind asking me about my past relationship.”

“And you didn’t seem to mind talking about it.” He stood. “I think I’ll go inside. I’ll be in my room if you need anything. ‘Night.”

He left her alone with the chirping crickets and the gentle lapping of the water at the shore to keep her company. Well, her mortification too. Why was he so touchy? Kierstan must’ve done a real number on him.

She sipped her now warm beer. “Yuck.” She set it aside. The light in his bedroom window flipped on and his shadowed outline moved behind the blinds. It was too early for bed. What was he doing? For that matter, what was she going to do for the rest of the evening? She glanced over at her laptop.

“Might as well do what I’m here for.” With a sigh, she heaved herself, full belly and all, from the deck chair. She cleaned up their mess, then grabbed her computer and headed to her room to begin work on the mess Jed’s computer had made.

Jed rolled over in bed with a groan. His back was killing him. He reached out and felt the mattress as his eyes slid open and he took in the room around him. A
h, right, no wonder
. He wasn’t in his own bed at home. And as the mouthwatering scents of bacon and coffee began to waft in under the door, he remembered he wasn’t alone and why he’d slept like shit.

He sat up and ran a hand over the stubble on his face. From down the hall he could hear Muffet clattering around in the kitchen and he wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about that. He yanked on a pair of jeans and wondered how they would get through the day, much less the weekend together.

He’d had plenty of time to think last night, because it had been way too early for sleep when he’d retired to his room. And he finally had to admit to himself that he’d been a little too hard on her. She’d asked an innocent enough question. The obvious question. And he’d shut her down and walked away when he could’ve given her a simple answer.

Well, he realized with a sigh, there was no
simple
answer as to what happened between him and Kierstan, at least not as far as he was concerned. But he could give her the CliffsNotes version and be done. Easy, cheesy.

He pulled on his favorite Rolling Stones T-shirt and padded down the hall.

Kyle turned when he came into the kitchen and her immediate reaction was the most heart-melting, genuine smile. “Hi.”

He leaned against the doorway and tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Mornin’.”

She must’ve remembered the tension from last night because her smile faltered a bit. “Breakfast is almost ready. If you want to sit down I’ll pour you some coffee.”

He studied her from the thin headband she wore to keep her hair back, her face freshly scrubbed and glowing, all the way down to her fuzzy slippers. He’d just bet she was warm and soft under that pink fleece robe.

When his gaze traveled back up to her eyes, her cheeks were flaming. He winked. “Sure. Coffee’d be great, Muffet.” He settled down into a seat and waited.

She poured and stirred in some cream before bringing it to him. “Here you go. How do you like your eggs?”

He sipped. She’d gotten his coffee just like he liked it. Observant. “However you’re cooking them.”

She nodded. “Good answer.”

He enjoyed his coffee and the view of her puttering around the kitchen cooking his breakfast just a little too much. She was so damn cute! Especially when she stopped what she was doing, nearly burning her hand, to point excitedly at a hummingbird buzzing around outside.

She flushed, embarrassed, and got back to cooking when the tiny bird flew away.

“Order up.” She served his plate with a small smile.

“Thanks.” He waited until she was seated before digging in. “You never told me you could cook, Muffet,” he spoke around bites.

She dipped her head at the compliment. “Don’t be misled. My talents are pretty much limited to a few breakfast items, spaghetti, and baked potatoes.” She shrugged. “I’m no Betty Crocker, that’s for sure.”

He nodded and kept eating. “But I’ll bet you could tell me the Texas tax code number for commercial property, something or other. Whatever. Right?” He glanced up from his food.

She looked startled. “Well, some of them I know by heart. I’d have to look up others, depending on what you’d want to know or what was needed.”

“So it doesn’t matter if you’re not a chef, sweetheart. You’re a damn fine CPA.”

“I suppose so.”

“I know so.”

She didn’t say more as she pushed around the food on her plate for a few minutes. Finally she stood and took her dishes to the sink. “So listen, Jed. I worked on your accounts until after midnight and got about half of it done. I can probably finish up today if I lock myself in my room and then start on the audit stuff for—”

“No.”

“No?” She turned from the sink with water dripping from her hands.

He dropped his fork onto his empty plate. “You heard me. No. You’re not going to be doing any work today, and you’re definitely not locking yourself away in your room. I didn’t bring you all the way out here to work you to death.”

“Oh. Well, I thought . . .”

He stood and brought his plate to the sink. “What did you think?”

She searched his eyes as he closed in. “I thought, after last night . . .” She took a breath. “I thought it best if I back off and just do my work and give you some space.”

He placed both hands on the counter on either side of her, closing her in. “You thought you’d give me space?”

Her eyes drifted to his lips, then back up. “I made you angry. And I’m here to work.”

He stepped back and she drew in a breath. “I owe you an apology for last night, Muffet.”

“You do?”

“Yes. And an answer to your question.” He looked her in the eye. Now that the time had come, the words wanted to stick in his throat.

She picked up his mug and turned to rinse it. “You don’t owe me anything, Jed.”

He was thankful that she had her back to him. He wasn’t sure he could take the look in her eyes as he spoke. “Kierstan and I were together. Engaged, actually.”

Kyle didn’t acknowledge he had spoken. She continued to rinse the dishes.

“She cheated on me with a tattoo artist I had working with me. When I found out, let’s just say I sent him packing.” He left out the most painful pieces. He couldn’t say them out loud. Not yet.

Now, she turned from the sink. “Why are you telling me this?”

He gave a half shrug. “Because you asked and I’m getting tired of not answering. She’s like a lead fucking weight around my neck.”

She furrowed her brows, confused. “Why? Why don’t you just get rid of her? Can’t you fire her?”

“That’s the real kick in the balls, Muffet. When we were planning our rosy future together, we bought Gentry’s. Together. She owns forty percent and she won’t sell it back to me.” He rolled his head back and gazed at the ceiling. “She’s like a leech, sucking the life from me every day. She cheated. She didn’t want me, but she won’t leave either.”

He watched as everything he told her registered across her face. He would’ve expected her to run screaming in the other direction or shake her head in disgust. He was, after all, the big scary looking guy who was permanently chained to the lecherous bitch-whore who’d shredded what little heart he had.

No, instead, her eyes filled with empathetic tears as she did the thing he least expected. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held him.

She pressed her soft lips to his neck. “I always knew she was a skanky bitch,” she whispered and he felt the curve of her smile against his skin.

He laughed. “Where were you when I could’ve used that warning?”

She pulled back, her arms still looped around his waist. “Still slummin’ it on the country club circuit?”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “So, Muffet, as much as I’d love to have my way with you right here in the kitchen—” He waited to see if he’d get the desired reaction—he did—“we should get out and do something today now that we’ve gotten all that serious stuff out of the way.”

She flushed adorably and tried to pull away but he held her tight. “Do something?” She looked everywhere but at him. “Like what?”

He released her and she nearly stumbled. “I dunno.” He glanced out the window toward the lake. “Ever been fishing?”

“Fishing?”

He grinned. That was a great idea. He hadn’t been fishing in ages. “Yes. You know, you have a pole and you throw your line in the water and hopefully reel in a
fish.
” He wondered if the fishing guide service he’d used before was still in business. There were great and served a pretty tasty lunch too as he recalled. He’d have to see if he could dig up a business card or find them in the yellow pages.

She planted a hand on her cocked hip. “Yes, I know what fishing is, smart ass. And I’ve even done it a time or two.”

“So, you wanna go?”

She studied his eyes for a moment. “Sure. Why not? I’ll go get dressed.”

She left him to make the arrangements. He dug through the kitchen junk drawer and found a yellowed card for Em-N-Em’s Fishing Guide Service. He dialed the number and walked to the window while it rang.

A short while later, a very sweet lady named Irene informed him that they were booked solid for the day but they were more than welcome to join them tomorrow. She was even kind enough to suggest some sights in the area and some restaurants.

“They filmed
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
in that house before it became the Highlander Restaurant, you know,” she said to try and tempt him with a smile in her voice. “Very cool. And the food’s not half bad.”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said before hanging up.

He pivoted on his heel when he heard Kyle’s footsteps. She’d been cute in her robe this morning and adorable in her shorts and tank top yesterday. But,
wowza
, she was smokin’ in this morning’s getup. Tight jeans, simple white T-shirt, baseball cap. Every man’s fantasy. Or at least his.

“Ready?” she asked.

“Small problem. The fishing guide is booked today. I’ve got us in for tomorrow.”

“Oh.” She pointed to the window. “Well, can’t we just go down to the dock and do it here?”

“We could, but the other is much more fun. Plus you’ll get to see more of the lake that way.”

“Oh. Okay.” She rubbed her hands along her thighs, making his mouth water. “Then what’ll we do today?”

“Well . . .” He caught her eye. “Ever seen
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
?”

Michael ran through the pouring rain and into the weekly AA meeting with Uri directly on his heels. The skinny little dude nearly bowled him over. “Look out, man.”

Uri peered up at him through his fogged-up lenses. “Sorry.”

Mike stepped out of the way and let him pass. Uri obviously had something pressing on his mind today. Mike watched as Gabriel immediately called him over for a hushed conversation. Uri made exaggerated hand motions and appeared downtrodden, nodding vehemently and indicating his direction once. Mike quickly took his seat and tried to act nonchalant. What could they be talking about?

Uri was wiping his bloodshot eyes as he slunk into his seat a few minutes later.

“What’s going on, dude?” Michael whispered.

Uri shot him a tired glance. “I think I might be out of Love Detail before I’ve even started.”

“What? Why?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Turns out I’m a better Devil than angel,” he said, quoting Michael. “Now neither of my human assignments will speak to me so I can no longer do my job.” He took a ragged breath. “I’m done.”

Michael felt the guilt weighing him down to his seat. “Oh, man. I’m sorry. I never thought . . .” He glanced to the front of the room. “What did Gabe say?”

“That we’d discuss it during the meeting. Whatever that means.”

“Oh . . .”

Gabriel banged his gavel and called the meeting to order as the doors locked and the light shone down upon him making him look every bit the angel he was. His golden gaze took everyone in. “Attention!” he called, his tone unusually harsh. “Can I have everyone’s attention!” He waited until the room was silent.

Michael felt prickles of apprehension up his spine. He hadn’t meant to harm Uri’s assignment. Had he inadvertently broken a Commandment? He turned his eyes downward in shame.

“I will start with this week’s updates,” Gabe began, his voice booming like Moses’s the day he’d parted the Red Sea. “Uriel. I know you’ve hit a bit of a stumbling block in communication with your humans, but I’m pleased to report that I have heard from other sources that Bethany and Steven have, in fact, hit it off and are now dating.”

Michael felt Uri sit up a bit straighter in his seat. “But,” Gabe continued, his tone still firm, “this does not excuse what you did to alienate them. You were dangerously close to breaking the Fifth Commandment though you were unintentional about it.” He held up a hand to stop the questions before they came. “I know you did not question nor impugn Father’s will, but you were very close to not fulfilling your mission to the very best of your God-given ability. Don’t let it happen again.”

“No, Gabriel. I won’t.” Uri took a breath. “Does that mean I get to stay?”

“Of course. You will be reassigned after the meeting.”