Lone Star Burn: Love On Tap (Kindle Worlds Novella) (6 page)

“Ask him.”

“What?”

The party
, she silently mouthed.

Gray put an arm around Matt’s shoulder. “I know you have a birthday coming up this weekend and I thought we’d do something different this year. Would you like to have a birthday party?”

Matt stared up at his uncle, wide-eyed. “You mean, like, inviting friends and stuff?”

Gray didn’t know the first thing about having a child’s party, but he was about to find out. “Sure, why not. What would you like to do?”

“Can I have a sleepover, right here in the house?”

Jennie saw the spark of happiness dance in Matt’s eyes. Grayson had no clue what entertaining a bunch of young boys entailed.

“Sure. How many kids would you like to have?”

Matt thought a moment. “I have eight friends that I’d like to invite. Brandon, Kenny, Dave, Jose, Steve, Manuel, Jace, and Jimmy.” His excitement faded all too soon. “It’s too late to ask them if we’re going to have it on Saturday. We need invitations and stuff.”

“Saturday,” Gray repeated, just realizing that was his busiest night of the week, but the happiness in Matt’s eyes said this party meant a great deal to his nephew. Why had it taken only a few words from Jennie to point out some of the mistakes he’d been making?

The disappointed expressions on Grayson and Matt’s faces urged Jennie to step up to the plate. “It’s not too late if we work on the invitations this evening. If you have a color printer, we can make them and you can give them out to your friends in school tomorrow.”

“I have a printer connected to the computer in my room!”

“Did you have a special theme in mind?” Jennie asked.

Matt jumped up and down and shouted, “Star Wars!”

Jennie smiled at the picture on the front of his PJs. “How did I not know that? I can get ideas on Pinterest.” Jennie paused. “I need you to do something for me.”

“What?” Matt asked with a great deal of skepticism in his voice.

“Clean your room.”

“My uncle cleans my room for me. He’s been working a lot and hasn’t been able to pick up the mess.”

Jennie’s eyes darted to Grayson. “You clean his room?”

“We have a deal. He doesn’t give me any hassle in the morning when I wake him for school, and I clean his room.”

“You two are unbelievable! That doesn’t cut it with me, and if I’m going to be the housekeeper for the next two weeks, I’m initiating a whole new game plan.” Jennie held out a hand to Mathew. “Let’s make a deal. You are in bed by nine-thirty with the lights out and I promise not to dump a bucket of cold water on your head in the morning when I wake you up for school.”

“Would you really do that?” he asked.

“Yup! My mother did that to my brother and it worked every time. You will also take total responsibility for keeping your room clean.”

This lady is scary,
Matt decided, but shook her hand before he looked up to his uncle. “Will you help me?”

“Sure, buddy.”

“While you’re doing that, I’ll put together a couple of invitations and you can choose which one you like.”

“You go ahead. I’ll be there in a few. I want to talk to Jennie for a moment.”

Chapter 4

“I take it you’re staying.”

“Looks that way. I’m sorry I called you a cold-hearted bastard. I get on my soapbox and the words just come out.”

“I can be one at times, but you’re helping me out more than you know. I’m sorry I was so nasty, but you opened my eyes. I’m not used to people, especially women, being honest with me and pointing out my inadequacies. I’ve kept it low-key until it’s official, but I’m in the process of adopting Mathew and I’m waiting to get notification of my final home visitation from child services. I’ve been going round and round with the establishment for the past year and I keep hitting roadblocks. When I question Dottie Dimple, his caseworker, she keeps giving me the same old sob story. I have to wait and everything will work out. She’s a nice lady, but I think she’s a little dippy.”

“I take it he was in the system?”

“My younger sister Crystal and Todd, Mathew’s father, weren’t married, but they were happy and lived very quietly. Matt was in the car when my sister and her husband were hit head-on. The car seat saved him, thank God. He was put into foster care for a year until they tracked me down.”

Gray reached for Jennie’s hand and threaded their fingers together. “I love that kid. I may not show it, but he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Tell me what I need to do to make sure this adoption goes through.”

“Gray, I don’t have all the answers.” Jennie’s voice was filled with understanding. “I’ve never been a mother and my parent clock has just about run out.”

“Parent clock?”

“You know. The woman thing: hormones go crazy, mood swings, hot flashes. Menopause. I’m only forty, but you can’t fight Mother Nature.”

“Ah, now I understand. That’s a shame, because you would have made a great mother.”

“It’s not that I didn’t want to have a child. I went with a guy for three years and we got engaged. Three months before the wedding, he announced we’d never have children because he had to concentrate on his career. He was a lawyer. I told him to shove the ring up his ass. He’s a card-carrying member of my Men Are Assholes club.”

“Sounds like a real jerk.”

“Oh, he is. He married his boss’s daughter and they have three children. I saw him five years ago and he wanted to pick up where we left off. Of course he was still married. I got on my soapbox in the middle of a five-star restaurant and called him a lying, cheating snake and told him he didn’t deserve to be a father.” Jennie shrugged. “After that, I never met anyone who made my heart go pitter-patter. When I think about it, I only wanted to get married because my friends were getting married and had kids.

“I’ll help you out as much as I can, but you have to assess the priorities in your life and make changes that are the best for you and Mathew.”

“I appreciate everything you’ve pointed out, but there’s something I want to point out to you.” Gray tightened his grip on her hand and pulled her close, so close he wanted to feel her breath catch when their bodies touched. His arms slid around her so she couldn’t get away, and he kept his voice to a husky drawl.

“It’s killing me to stay away from you. I’m forty-two, old enough to be able to keep my libido in check, but lady, you’ve unleashed a dragon. I want to make love to you so badly all my male hormones have settled permanently in my groin.” To prove his point, his flattened hands slid lower and he cupped her nicely rounded cheeks to bring her flush against him. “The next time you visit my bedroom and I’m stark naked, don’t walk away. You left me with such a hard-on, my teeth hurt. I found out the hard way that cold showers don’t work. The last time I used my hand, I was fourteen.”

“It’s tit for tat.” Jennie lifted her arms around his neck and used the tips of her fingers to gently massage the warm skin at his hairline. “Grayson Wolff”—she sighed with too much longing—“you made me wet. Feels like you and your hand are going to become best friends. If I do enter your inner sanctum, you’d better be prepared to let your dragon breathe lots and lots of fire.”

“Malibu Barbie, you are a wicked tease.” He groaned and strengthened his hold. “Get down off your sexy soapbox, because I’m going to kiss you. It’s going to be hard and quick because I have a date with a ten-year-old to clean up his room.”

“And after you kiss me senseless, I’m going to my room to change my panties, grab my tablet, and search out party ideas. We’re going to have the best damn Star Wars party no galaxy far, far away has ever seen!”

Gray let out a hearty chuckle. It had been a very long time since he had something to laugh about. Jennie was a treasure.

Monday morning, Jennie got up at five-thirty, took a quick shower, and managed a half-hour of yoga. She also sent her brother Preston a quick text, asking him to call her as soon as possible. The school bus picked Matt up in the front of the house at seven-fifty, and Grayson had to leave by eight-thirty for a meeting at his brewery in Fort Mavis.

She made French toast for breakfast. She really wanted to make pancakes, but couldn’t find a box of mix, or flour to make them from scratch. Until she got to the store, Matt’s lunch would have to be one of the prepackaged lunches that came with a drink.

Last evening, Mathew was ecstatic about his party, and he’d put the invitations in his backpack before he went to sleep. He had warmed up to her a little bit, but she wouldn’t push.

She was just beating the eggs and milk together when Gray came into the kitchen. Her body, mind, and heart weren’t prepared to see him in a richly-cut dress suit of dark smoke gray. His shirt was a deep mauve with a lighter gray and black tie. His cheeks were smooth, and his Polo cologne overpowered the scent of the coffee he’d just made. He was so damn handsome, she wanted to swoon. There was that stupid word again, she chided herself.

“This is how you go to work every day?” she asked, picking up her own cup of coffee with a slightly trembling hand.

“No, thank God. It reminds me too much of my father. I have a big meeting with beer wholesalers and distributors. My operations manager and I are giving them a tour of the brewery and doing a sample run. Then I’m taking them to lunch. I’m meeting with a second group tomorrow. We plan to get my new beer into production by the summer.”

“I didn’t realize how big an operation you have. I’m impressed.”

So she really knows nothing about my family,
he said to himself. Gray handed her a credit card and a sticky note with the name of the grocery store in Fort Mavis, along with a password. “Use this card to order everything you’ll need for the party. Pay for priority delivery. You’ll have to order Matt a sleeping bag.”

Jennie tucked the note and card into the pocket of her jeans. “What about you?”

“Why would I need one?”

“You’re going to let nine little boys sleep un-chaperoned in your living room?”

“I hadn’t thought of that. Where are you going to sleep? I’d be happy to share my sleeping bag with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“In my bed.” She laughed and dipped the bread into the egg, milk, and vanilla mixture before placing it on the hot skillet. “If they get too rowdy, I’ll threaten them with a bucket of cold water.”

“Do you think I should have one of my bouncers here to keep them under control?”

“You’re serious?”

“No,” he said, wondering what he was getting into. “Vanessa fills our grocery order online and they deliver same day. I have a running account. Order plenty of nutritious food,” he added with a smile.

“Count on it. What time does Matt get off the bus?”

“Four-thirty. He has soccer practice on Mondays and Thursdays. Baseball won’t start for a few of weeks. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday the bus will be here by three-fifteen. Vanessa lets him relax a little while and have a snack before he starts his homework.”

So he does have some idea about Matt’s afterschool care,
Jennie said to herself. “I’ll stick to that routine to keep things as normal as possible. Do you know what Matt likes to eat? His favorites.”

Grayson was oblivious to her questions. He was already thinking about his day ahead when he became aware of a delicious scent. Jennie set a platter of French toast in the center of the table that had been set for two, along with glasses of orange juice.

“Sit. Breakfast is ready. I couldn’t find any powdered sugar, so you’ll have to settle for pancake syrup.”

“This is a treat. I don’t think about eating until lunchtime. I depend on coffee to keep me going.”

Matt came running into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of his uncle sitting at the table. Panic filled his young features. “Uncle Gray, I don’t have a sleeping bag! We need to get one for my party!”

“Jennie is going to order you one today.” Gray placed a piece of French toast on Matt’s plate. “Sit and eat breakfast. Jennie made us a special treat.”

The adults were puzzled when Matt sat down and just stared at the food on his plate.

“If you don’t like French toast, you can have cereal,” Jennie said quietly.

“My mom used to make this for me and spread it with peanut butter. Sometimes she’d put bananas on it and make a face with jelly.”

Jennie’s heart was breaking for this very special boy, and she forced a teary-eyed smile. “We don’t have any bananas, but I’m sure I can make something similar.” She smoothed the peanut butter on his slice and quickly outlined a smiley face in jelly. The grin he gave her when she set the plate in front of him couldn’t be purchased for a million dollars.

A plethora of emotions gripped Gray’s insides. This was the first time Matt had offered something personal about his relationship with his mother or father. While in foster care, he received some counseling because of the accident, but since coming to live with Gray he’d been a normal kid. Gray refrained from talking about Crystal and Todd because he was afraid it would upset Mathew. This was something else he’d been doing wrong. It was time to tell Matt about his wonderful mother’s growing-up years.