JAXON (The Caine Brothers Book 4) (7 page)

“So you said yesterday.”

He nodded, emphasizing the point. “I decided to take some time away from that lifestyle to figure some things out.”

In light of his confession—and her behavior the night before—Lily flushed with guilt. “And I acted just like one of those women last night. I’m so sorry.”

His nervous chuckle didn’t reassure her. “I didn’t say no, did I?”

“But it’s like taking an alcoholic to a bar one day into rehab.”

This time he snorted. “I don’t know about that. You really did need that orgasm, and I was more than happy to give it to you. But maybe we could just spend some friendly time together before the next one?”

Struck speechless, Lily stared at him. She had no idea how to respond to any of that. Did she really seem like she
needed
an orgasm? He wanted to spend friendly time with her? He expected to give her another orgasm?

“Um. Sure. I guess you can come with me today.”

His face lit up in one of those dimpled grins. Her schedule for the day was hardly exciting, but from what he said he didn’t need any more excitement. He needed down to earth.

“Good. What are we going to do?”

“First up is to take a delivery to a local food bank, then we’ll visit Summer for lunch, then visit the West Side Community Garden. I’m scheduled to give a little talk on organic pest control. Then tonight’s dumpster night.”

“Dumpster night? What’s that?”

The thought of Jaxon digging in a dumpster for food tickled her. This could be a lot of fun. “You’ll see.”

Jaxon spent the rest of the morning helping Lily load baskets and boxes of produce into her old Ford Ranger, then delivering them to the food bank just north of downtown Houston.

When they arrived, he helped her unload, and enjoyed just being the muscle for a change.

“Follow me,” Lily said. She carried a box filled with a couple of flats of the strawberries she’d picked that morning into the storeroom at the back of the food bank. A plump, gray-haired woman smiled when she recognized Lily, and hurried to meet them as they walked in.

“Those strawberries are beautiful,” she said.

“Thanks, Doris,” Lily said. “Happy to help.”

Doris waved over a young man who relieved Lily of the box of strawberries.

“They’ll make someone some fabulous strawberry shortcake, I’m sure,” Doris said. Glancing behind Lily to Jaxon, she said. “What else have you got for us today?”

Lily turned to Jaxon and pulled a squash and zucchini from the box he carried. “Squashes. I’m drowning in squash and zucchini. I always overplant and end up with more than anyone can eat.”

Doris laughed. “I’m sure we’ll find homes for all of it. Thank you again. We get a lot of canned and processed foods, but sometimes it’s hard to come by fresh produce.”

“Well, I could never eat all this even if I canned or froze it. I’m just glad someone will get to use it.”

While Lily and Doris chatted, Jaxon wandered to the door between the storeroom and the front of the food bank. He’d never been to a food bank, so had no idea what to expect. In the front of the store, he roamed the aisles. The huge space surprised him. Thousands of cans and boxes filled the shelves, and a long row of produce and day-old bread ran down the middle of the store. The number of people shopping there surprised him even more. How could that many people need to shop at a food bank?

Lily caught up with him. “Ready to go?” she asked.

“This place is big. And busy.”

“It is.”

“You donate a lot here?”

“I do. And if I don’t have enough produce to give, I try to spend some time helping out.”

“They’re lucky to have you.” He meant it. If people like Lily didn’t exist—and he assumed most of the food and labor for the place had been donated—where would the people shopping there get their food?

She smiled and slipped her hand into his, surprising him how intimate the gesture felt. “Let’s go.”

After they left the food bank, they drove across town to Houston Fresh. It radiated charm and cheer. Outside, a hand-lettered blackboard sign announced the daily specials, and bright distressed yellow tables and chairs offered outdoor seating set amongst a jungle of potted flowers. Inside, white walls and a high white ceiling, vintage mirrors, and lots of natural light brightened the modest space, causing it to seem bigger. Wood floors, vintage hanging lights, and a variety of mismatched tables and chairs added to the quirky charm of the place. The rich, savory smells coming from the kitchen made Jaxon’s stomach rumble.

“Whatever’s cooking back there smells incredible,” Jaxon said.

Lily grabbed his hand—again—and dragged him through the crowded dining room. He wondered if she held his hand purposely, or if it was a subconscious gesture. Either way, he liked it.

“Let’s go say hi to Summer before we find a seat,” Lily said. “She’ll never forgive me if I don’t.”

He followed along behind, the warmth of her hand in his anchoring them to each other.

In the kitchen—a room more efficient but no less quirky than the dining room—Summer stood behind a big, old industrial cooktop, working like a maestro conducting an orchestra. She barked orders to the sous chef and other kitchen staff who scurried around to do her bidding.

“Hey, Summer,” Lily said.

Jaxon wouldn’t have waded into the middle of that storm as calmly as Lily had. Summer glanced over her shoulder, and when she saw Lily and Jaxon she did a double-take with a giant grin on her face.

“You take my advice, Lil?” she asked, turning to plate a huge, mouthwatering rustic grilled sandwich.

“None of your business,” Lily said, dropping Jaxon’s hand too late for Summer to miss it. Something about Lily being flustered buoyed his spirit.

“If you say so,” Summer said, humor still dancing in her eyes. “Are you here for lunch?”

“Yes,” Lily said.

“Okay, go find a seat and I’ll make something for you. How much time do you have?”

Lily pulled out her phone and checked the time. “Not a ton. I have to be at the community garden for a presentation in a little over an hour.”

“No problem,” Summer said. “Go sit.”

Jaxon followed Lily out to the dining room, where she selected a table near a window that looked out onto an alley patio full of tables and potted flowers.

She fidgeted in her seat, rearranged the silverware and napkins, straightened the salt and pepper shakers, fluffed the flowers in the little vase.

“You’re nervous,” Jaxon said. He tried not to sound sarcastic in his understatement, but it was hard.

“You might find this surprising, but I’m not fond of public speaking.”

“You mean your presentation this afternoon? What’s it about again?”

“Organic pest control,” she said.

“And you know what you’re talking about, right?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m sure you’re an expert,” he said. “So, just talk to them like you’d talk to one person. Pretend someone asked you about the subject, and just chat about it. The trick to public anything is to own it. You know your stuff so just go in there, turn on the charm, make it about helping them. That’s what you do. What you’re good at.”

Her cheeks flushed with pleasure, and it gave him a warm feeling of satisfaction to encourage her.

Summer showed up at their table with two big plates, placing one in front of each of them.

“Simple and fast,” she said. “And one of my specialties. Bon appetit.”

Each plate contained a grilled cheese sandwich with thick slices of tomato and onion, and crispy lettuce on hearty homemade bread, and a pile of homemade fries. He squished the sandwich down a bit, then took a big bite. He groaned as he ate it.

“Good, isn’t it?” Lily asked.

“Oh my God. I’ve never eaten anything this good.”

Summer nodded her satisfaction, then said, “I have to get back to work, but you kids have fun, now.”

“Thanks, Summer,” Lily said. Summer winked at her, then turned and headed back to the kitchen.

“How does she grill it and keep the lettuce crisp?” Jaxon asked.

“Magic.”

“I’m in love. Seriously. I don’t want this sandwich to ever end.”

Lily giggled, a sweet funny sound he wanted to hear more of. “If you keep helping out, I can guarantee continued payment in food,” she said.

“Count me in,” he said. “I’ll do anything you ask as long as Summer keeps feeding me.”

A little bit of sexy seeped into her smile before she turned her attention back to her plate. “I’ll remember that,” she said.

He wondered what she was thinking. Did it involve more time in bed? He liked the idea, but he wanted to get through at least one night celibate on this retreat. It didn’t sound like much of an accomplishment, but at the rate Lily captivated him, it might turn out to be.

“So how did you and Summer meet?” Jaxon asked.

“We’ve been friends since high school. We had big plans to join the Peace Corps and go off to save the world.” Lily smiled. The memory obviously made her happy.

“But you didn’t, I take it? Join Peace Corps, not save the world.”

“We didn’t. We did some traveling together after high school—took that year off—then I went to college and she went to culinary school.”

“Now you just save your own corner of the world?” he asked.

She shrugged. “We do our best. If you’re interested, tomorrow is meal delivery day. Summer donates meals to people who are shut in and can’t get out for food. I volunteer a couple of days a week to deliver.”

“How can she afford to do that? The restaurant business isn’t that profitable, is it?”

Lily said, “Houston Fresh is doing really well. She takes tax deductions for the food as charitable donation, but even if she couldn’t do that she’d probably still give the meals away. She and her mom were homeless for a couple of years when she was young and depended on people to help them out. It’s important to her to return the favor however she can.”

“Makes sense.” Jaxon tried to remember any time as a kid that his dad had helped anyone other than himself. He couldn’t think of anything. Filthy rich, his father had instilled a different set of values in his sons—work hard, fight for what you want, never give up—all admirable qualities, but Jaxon had no idea the rest of the world didn’t live like them.

He’d gone on to live in the insulated world of celebrity and not given much thought to what happened outside of it.

Remorse hit him hard. How could he have been so oblivious? He and Cory had wanted to make a difference in the music world, but what about the real world? Suddenly his priorities seemed out of whack.

“I’ll be happy to help with deliveries,” he said.

After lunch they piled into Lily’s truck and she pulled them out into traffic. Jaxon enjoyed the companionable silence and his full belly as they drove, his eyelids getting heavier the longer they traveled. He’d almost drifted off to sleep when they pulled into a parking space near a large lot surrounded on three sides by older apartment buildings.

“We’re here,” Lily said.

A wrought iron fence ran the distance of the fourth side, hung with a sign that said West Side Community Garden. Inside, raised beds overflowed with vegetation and the place swarmed with all kinds of people working their plots. It was the picture of bucolic urban agriculture.

“You organized this?” he asked as he yawned and climbed out of the truck.

“No. I’m on the board of Houston’s urban garden league, so I help out with gardens all over the city, but I didn’t organize this one specifically. There’s a team that manages each garden.”

A Hispanic man in dirty work clothes and gloves approached with a big smile and pulled Lily into a hug.

“Lily. I’m so glad you’re here, mi amiga. And you brought help. Good. Everything is growing so fast nobody can keep up with it.”

“Carlos, this is my friend Jaxon. He’s staying at the estate for a while, so of course I dragged him along to put him to work. Give him some gloves and point him where you need him. He probably won’t do too much damage.”

She winked at him, and he figured he’d do anything she asked if she continued to pay him that kind of attention.

When she turned away he said, “Wait, you’re leaving me? I want to see your presentation.”

“I’m nervous enough as it is. I don’t want to feel like you’re watching and judging me.” It gave him a warm little boost that his presence would do that. Only a person who meant something would make someone nervous.

“I’d never judge you.”

“It would probably bore you anyway,” she said.

She glanced down at the pavement and shifted from one foot to the other, obviously jittery. He didn’t want to add to her anxiety, as much as he wanted to see her teach her class.

“It’s okay,” he said. “I’m happy to help Carlos however I can. Go have fun.”

Her relieved smile was infectious and he found himself returning it. She bounced up and kissed his cheek, then hurried off to mingle with the other gardeners.

Carlos led Jaxon to a row of wooden bins at the edge of the garden, filled with what looked like dirt and garbage.

“This is our compost area,” he said. He handed Jaxon a pair gloves, then gestured to a pitchfork leaning against the end of the row. “I’d appreciate it if you’d turn it.”

“Turn it?”

“Use the pitchfork and stir it up. Shift the stuff from the bottom to the top. Churn it around.”

“I can do that.”

Jaxon spent the next couple of hours turning piles of compost that smelled like shit, then filling wheelbarrows with it and distributing it wherever Carlos directed him. By the time he finished, his shoulders and back ached and he smelled as bad as the piles of mulch.

But he felt like he’d accomplished something concrete. He’d met a lot of nice people, learned some stuff about growing a garden in the middle of a city, and worked at something that didn’t depend on his fame. He got absolutely nothing out of it other than satisfaction. It felt pretty damn good.

He couldn’t have been happier that not one person recognized him. Nobody swamped him asking for autographs, or tagged along behind him like a spontaneous entourage. He couldn’t believe how freeing it was to be invisible.