And what had he said? That I was his?
Was he for real? My suddenly pounding heart demanded to know. Or was he just trying to protect me from those he thought were a threat to me? I ached for it to be the former, but feared it was the latter.
I licked my dry lips and watched in fascination as his gaze dropped to my mouth, watching my tongue skim over my lips nervously. “You can’t go around threatening people like that,” I breathed.
The right side of his mouth lifted in a cocky half grin. “Watch me.” He lowered his head and pressed his warm lips against the tip of my nose. That simple, gentle kiss made my entire body go up in flames and I nearly melted against him right then and there. My eyes closed as I tried to hide the sudden sting of stupid tears. I wanted it to be true so badly; wanted to be his just as much as I wanted him to be mine and only mine.
When he pulled back I snapped my eyes open, thankful that my tears had dried quickly. After only a small pause he raised his voice, speaking to everyone in the building it seemed, even though his eyes were still on me. “Anyone touches her, they’re dead.”
A few people cleared their throats and coughed, but the room went back to its low level of conversation once more. And I just stood there, trying to figure out this man that still had his hand on my waist, his fingers rubbing little circles on my bare skin as if to soothe me. Of course, it did. His touch had a way of calming me even as it made me ache for something I had no right to ask for.
I tried to find my voice. “I’m not yours,” I murmured. My heart broke a little more because I knew it was true, yet I wished differently.
“You are, Gracie. You just don’t know it yet.” He lifted his free hand and pushed a few strands of hair that had fallen from my ponytail behind my ear. When my hair was in place his fingers lingered, trailing down my neck caressingly. I couldn’t contain the small shiver that his touch produced. “But you will, sweetheart. I can promise you that.”
He stepped back and I felt like I could finally draw a deep breath again. “I’ll see you at home, darlin’.”
Dazedly I watched him walk away. He nodded his head at Jack and left. I stood there, my knees feeling like they had been turned to jelly. When the door shut behind him I forced myself to get back to work.
The construction workers still sitting in the booth behind me cleared their throats and I felt
my cheeks fill with heat. Oh fudge. I was too embarrassed to turn around and tell them I was sorry. My friend had just threatened to cripple a nice guy and I didn’t know how to handle that. So, clenching my jaw, I approached Jack’s table, determined to pretend like that little scene had never happened. “Decided what you want to eat yet?”
Jack’s eyes glittered up at me, still full of amusement. “You could do worse than Hawk Hannigan. He’s a good boy. I think I like you with him.”
“I’m not with him,” I snapped. I was definitely not going to talk to this man about my relationship—or rather the lack of one—with Hawk Hannigan. And I sure as hell didn’t care if he approved or not. “We’re just friends. Do you want something to eat or not?”
“Just tell Aggie I’ll have my usual. She knows what I like.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Of course she does. I’ll go tell her.”
A large, wrinkled hand landed on my elbow, stopping me before I could even turn around. I glared down at Jack’s hand. “I’d like to talk to you, Gracie. I’m not too fond of you working here either. Come work for me.”
My eyes widened. “And why would I want to do that?” I wanted nothing from him. Nothing. He hadn’t been there for my mother when she had needed him the most, so I didn’t need or want him in my life now.
“Because I can pay you triple what you will make here and you won’t have to kill yourself waiting on other people like you are. You can work in the office at my garage. I need someone to answer the phones, do my inventory, and order parts.”
I blinked in surprise, something it seemed I was doing a lot of that day. Triple what I would make here? For answering the phone and doing a little office work for him? I had to admit that the offer was one that tempted me, and if I could work for him during the day and at Aggie’s in the evening I would have enough to move out of Hawk’s house within a month.
It rankled that I would be working for a man I loathed, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that crap. Instead of giving him a definite answer then and there, however, I wanted to check with Aggie to make sure that it would be okay if I worked the evening shift for her from then on. “I’ll think about it,” I told him and pulled my arm away.
He grinned and it seemed to take years off his weathered face. I hated to admit it but he was still an attractive man, and it was painful to look at him. Jack looked a lot like my mother in some aspects and my heart ached for her almost every minute of the day. “Good, good. If you decide that you want the job, just show up at the garage in the morning.”
I nodded and after a brief hesitation, one where I almost thanked him, I left him sitting there and went to tell Aggie what he wanted to eat.
--
By the end of my shift at six that evening my feet were throbbing, my back aching in a way it had never ached in all my twenty-one years. But I had a little over a hundred dollars in tips tucked into my pocket and an assurance from Aggie that it was more than fine for me to work evening shifts starting the next day. I knew that I’d had a good day tip wise and wasn’t expecting to get the same every day. Two jobs would definitely come in handy for the time being.
It was only as I was walking out the door that I realized I didn’t have a way home. Raven had driven me that morning, so I didn’t have the Chevelle that Hawk let me drive. Since I’d stuck around after she had left to fill out all the paperwork for a new hire and then done all the safety videos and such for Aggie so that I could start my shift on time, I hadn’t gone home with Raven to get it. She hadn’t said she would be back and I didn’t want to call her and ask when she’d already been so helpful.
Sighing, I pulled out my cellphone and bit my lip. There weren’t very many people I could call. Willa would come if I asked, but I’d only seen her briefly since she and Spider had returned from Seattle a few days ago. I wanted to call Hawk, to ask him to have someone drop off the Chevelle so that I could just drive myself home, but figured he would already be at the bar working by now. He always worked on Thursdays.
My thumb hovered over his name on my contacts. I didn’t know if I wanted to talk to him yet or not. He was just going to go on and on about me quitting my job. I didn’t want to argue with him, but I would if he didn’t give in and leave it alone. I needed this job, and the second one I would be starting in the morning.
I had to get out of that house, out of his bed, or I was going to go insane. It was torture to sleep next to him every damn night and to not beg him to touch me, kiss me. Anything that would take away this ache that seemed to have become a festering part of my soul. My heart was going to be nothing but a shriveled-up raisin in my chest if I didn’t put distance between us soon.
The sound of an engine growling as it revved up had me lifting my head. When I saw the Chevelle parked close to the front of the restaurant and Hawk sitting behind the wheel, my heart stuttered in my chest before starting back at double its normal rate. I might not want to get into an argument with him but I was glad to see him.