To Protect the Heart of a Brazen Woman [Brazen Sisters 6] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

“I wasn’t striking out. I didn’t even think about it getting back to Bobbie.” All he thought about was how he’d rather be going with her.

“Man, tell her before they do.” Tyler had become a really good friend, and Jake knew he was only telling him what he thought was the right thing to do. “It won’t hurt any less coming from you, but maybe she won’t be as upset if you explain it wasn’t a real date. If it comes from someone else you know she’s going to be pissed.”

When he didn’t respond right away his brother said, “Never knew you to be chickenshit. Since you won’t tell her, I will. It’ll be good for her to have a shoulder to cry on, and who knows? Maybe when she’s over you she’ll see what’s right in front of her.”

Jake grabbed him by his collar and pulled him so close they were nose to nose. “Stay the fuck away from her.”

Beau just smiled. “You had your chance. She loves Charlie, and the kid could use a mother figure.”

Jake shoved him away hard enough that the shithead stumbled. His brother was an ass, but he’d found the motivation Jake needed. Hopefully, he’d just bruise her heart with his confession, not break it. He had always tried to protect Bobbie by not letting her get involved with him, but it hadn’t helped. She loved him whether he deserved it or not. Now, however unintentionally, he’d put her in the position of getting hurt. It was only right that he should be the one to tell her. He started back toward the bowling alley.

Bobbie came out the door, followed quickly by her sisters. She moved across the parking lot like someone was chasing her, but they just stood there and watched her go. Jake could only think of one reason that she’d be leaving in such a rush. Like a shot he was off, hot on her heels.

“Bobbie,” he called out.

She glanced back and his breath caught in his chest. He could see her tears running down her face. She looked crushed. Never in the whole time he’d known her had she ever looked at him like that. Jake knew she’d found out. She turned and started to run. He stood where he was for a minute or two, debating whether or not to chase her. He’d almost caught up to her when she stopped by a flashy yellow Jeep and climbed in.

He turned and ran across the parking lot to his truck. His brother already had it running. Jake knew her sisters would have followed her, too, if their husbands hadn’t been there to stop them. He wasn’t fool enough to think they’d be able to keep them there for long, so he needed to handle this fast.

When Bobbie got upset she could sort of be a loose cannon. There was no knowing where she’d go or what she would do. He headed for her house, hoping she might go there. Jake kept looking for the Jeep on the roads he passed. At least with it being so bright it would make it hard to miss. He wondered who it belonged to. With the way the old beater she loved kept dying there was a good chance it was a rental. He still couldn’t believe her sisters had let her drive it out of town. As he turned onto the long driveway, he spotted it parked in front of the house. Bobbie had just hopped out. He slammed on the brakes and jumped out of his truck without even killing the engine.

“Bobbie, please wait. Let me explain.” For every step he advanced, she retreated.

“No. Get off Brazen property and don’t come back.” She turned her back on him and walked up the stairs to her front door.

“Damn it. We need to talk about this.”

“Talk about what? The fact that you’re dating someone? Or that you let me kiss you? Oh, I know. We can discuss that you kissed me back and wanted to screw my brains out in a fucking storage closet.” She wasn’t shouting, or crying. In fact, she was way too calm for his liking.

“For crying out loud, I’m not dating someone. I went to dinner with someone. One date. And it wasn’t even a date.”

“I don’t want to hear it. Why are you even here? You’ve made it completely clear there can’t be anything between us. So let’s just go with that.”

“You don’t mean that, Bobbie. We’re friends.”

“No, we’re not. Friends don’t treat each other this way. I’m sorry, but I think a clean break will be the best thing for both of us.” As if that was the end of the conversation, she walked into the house and slammed the door in his face.

This wasn’t the end of it. The end of them. How could it be the end of them when they hadn’t even started yet? She was going to hear his side of things. He’d give her a few days to get settled in and then he’d sit her down and explain. In the meantime, he was going to have another talk with her sisters and their spouses or soon-to-be spouses. If any of them blew this fucking mess any more out of proportion he’d make sure they got parking tickets everyday for the next year. Jake wasn’t about to ask them to try and fix things, but he just didn’t need them making it worse, either.

This was something between him and Bobbie, and it should stay that way. He saw the curtain move and knew she was watching him. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed her number.

She answered, but there was no sweet hello like he usually got. “Are you going to leave?”

“Eventually.”

“Jake, you can stay out there all night if you want, but I’m going to take a bubble bath and go to bed. Then again, if your girlfriend doesn’t mind, maybe you’d care to join me?”

She hung up on him before he could respond. He knew her offer was sarcasm in its finest form, but it would serve her right if he took her up on it. Jake walked back to his truck and got the hell out of there before he did just that.

Jake glanced around the library as he walked in with his niece, Charlie. He followed her to the children’s section and stood by the wall while she perused the shelves. A few people looked their way, but quickly dismissed them. They were probably looking for something to gossip about. Well, they weren’t going to get it from him.

On the outside, everything about Jake looked normal. He’d made damn sure of it. No one needed to know that on the inside he was fighting a battle he’d already lost. Bobbie’s final strike had come at his own hands. Taking Kerri out—even though it hadn’t meant anything to either of them—may have broken Bobbie’s heart, and the guilt was eating away at his soul.

Not that he had a reason to even feel guilty. He was single and could see whoever he wanted. The problem was he wanted to be with Bobbie, yet at the same time, he felt like he’d be holding her back. She was so damn young. At twenty-one, she had so many opportunities. How many would she give up by attaching herself to a guy like him? Her friends would want to go out and she’d be stuck at home with her old husband. Okay, so twenty-eight might not seem all that old to some people, but Jake knew at times it could feel like a lifetime.

He’d tried to deny his feelings for her for so long and failed. Everyone from his brother to her sisters had told him he was making a huge mistake, but he refused to listen. Jake had convinced himself he was doing what was best for Bobbie. Now he wondered if it had been the only way he could keep himself from losing his heart with the chance that someday, she might change her mind.

Jake was ready to admit he’d been a stupid fool, but it was time to face the facts. He was wrong and everyone else was right. There had never been a question about whether or not he loved her, just how long it would be before he acted on it. Now it just might be too late. It was still hard to believe she hadn’t given him a chance to explain things. And worse, with her sisters’ help, she had followed through on her threat to end things between them.

Even though it was a small town, she had effectively cut him out of her life. When they did run into each other she didn’t even acknowledge him. Gone were the winks and smiles she used to send his way. He hadn’t realized how much he would miss them.

He may as well have been invisible. It sucked, but he was the one to blame. Bobbie had waited long enough for him to smarten up. Now she had every right to move on. So why didn’t he just let her? God, he’d give anything for the answer to be something other than what it was.

Jake loved her. It wasn’t just lust or the need to protect her, though he felt those, too. This was deeper, stronger, and he knew exactly what he needed to do. He figured she’d had more than enough time over the past week and a half to calm down. Once he got Charlie back home he was going to find Bobbie, and they were going to talk this out.

“Uncle Jake, we can go?” Charlie started to walk past him and he noticed her hands were empty.

“What’s wrong, munchkin? Didn’t they have anything you wanted?”

“No. I wanted the next book in the series I’m reading.”

“Well, if they don’t have it yet we could take a ride to the bookstore over in Haberville and see if they have it.” Taking Charlie to a bookstore would put a dent in his wallet, but it would be worth it to see the frown on her face disappear.

“They won’t.”

Jake couldn’t believe she was turning down a chance to go to the bookstore. “How do you know?”

“It’s an old, old series.” He didn’t miss the double “old” or the way she almost sighed when she said it.

“Well, where did you get the one you’re reading?”

She glared up at him for a minute before she looked away and quickly started walking toward the door. Jake wasn’t sure what he did to earn that look. He already had one of the most important women in his life so pissed at him he may lose her. He wasn’t about to let Charlie get to that point.

“Hey, kiddo, hold up.” Charlie stopped short and he almost plowed her down.

“Can you take me home now?” Her eyes shimmered with tears and her lower lip trembled.

Though she was almost eleven years old, she didn’t protest when he scooped her up into his arms. Jake walked over to one of the window seats and sat down, settling her on his lap.

“Sweetie, I’m not taking you home until you talk to me. Want to tell me why you’re mad at me?” She shook her head and he decided to try another tack. “Tell me about the books. Where did you get them?”

“Bobbie. She has the whole series and has been letting me borrow them.”

“Did you call and ask her for the next one?”

She shook her head and pushed off his lap, but stayed with him on the seat. “Dad said you guys had a fight and that we’re giving her some space.”

“So are you mad at me because we got into a fight, or because you can’t get the next book?”

“Both.”

“If I promise to get you the next book will you cut me a break?” At least until he could fix things with Bobbie.

“No.” Her firm answer was accompanied with a shake of her head.

“Why not?”

She was silent for so long he didn’t think she was going to say anything. “Because I thought someday Bobbie was going to be my aunt, and I’d get to be part of the Brazen family like Stephanie.”

Wow. He hadn’t seen that coming. Even Charlie had seen them ending up together. It was becoming startlingly obvious that all his posturing had been for naught where his family and friends were concerned.

“Okay, if I go see Bobbie, apologize for being…me, and ask her if you can have the next book, will you still be mad at me?”

“Will you tell me what you guys fought about?”

“No.”

“Neither would my dad. He said I’d understand when I got older.”

“You will, probably sooner than we’ll be ready for, but if not then I promise to explain it to you. For now I have some apologizing to do.”

“Can I come with you?”

Jake thought about it for a few minutes. Bobbie might not flip out with Charlie there, but neither of them would be free to talk with her there, either. And there was a good chance he’d be doing some groveling. He didn’t need his niece witnessing that.

“Not this time. I’ll drop you off at home and then go see Bobbie.” He stood up and held out his hand.

No longer angry with him, Charlie slapped hers into it and they walked out the big double doors. Jake tugged the sunglasses on his head down to cover his eyes. He tapped Charlie’s head, and she laughed and pulled her glasses down, too. As they reached the sidewalk Charlie let out a squeal.

Jake followed her gaze to where Bobbie stood down the road with a group of people. Charlie tore her hand out of his and ran in her direction before Jake could stop her. He had no choice but to follow. Bobbie saw her coming and opened her arms, which Charlie flew into. As Jake approached Bobbie’s friends headed inside the diner, leaving the three of them alone on the sidewalk.

“I was just about to go drop Charlie off and come see you.” Bobbie didn’t respond, or even look at him, so he went on. “Charlie finished the books you lent her and was wondering if she could borrow the next one in the series since the library doesn’t have it.”

“Really? You finished all four?” Bobbie sounded surprised and proud all at the same time.

Charlie nodded. “They were so good I couldn’t stop. And you were right. The girl’s uncle is a really mean ogre.”

“You should have called me.”

“My dad said it wasn’t a good idea.” Charlie’s pout and sigh hit him hard.

“I guess I’m going to have a serious talk with him. You can call me anytime you want.” Jake would have given anything for her to say that to him.

“How about I stop by tomorrow and bring you the next four books?” Bobbie’s offer had his niece practically bouncing in place.