Reilly's Wildcard (Blackwater)

“Do you still love him?”

She snorted. “God, no.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he murmured, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I’d have a problem with that.”

“What about you? Anyone ever get a ring on your finger?”

Reilly shook his head. “Nope. There have been a few…close calls, but for one reason or another, it never seemed right.”

Lucy fiddled with the round black placemat in front of her and asked, “All the Jennings men are single, though, right?”

“Actually, Sammy is about halfway down the aisle. He’s been all smiles ever since he met Julie. She used to waitress at the restaurant, but now she’s more like a business manager. And Vance recently got back together with his high school sweetheart.” He shrugged. “You’ve seen the way Brodix looks at Sarah. I don’t think he’s too far behind the other two.”

“Hmm, I guess that leaves you and your twin.” She bobbed her eyebrows. “The last two single Jennings brothers. I bet you don’t have any problem finding a date.”

“Honestly, I’ve been too busy with the restaurant lately. Between that and my day job, there really hasn’t been much room for fun.”

Curious to learn more about the man who had captured every last drop of her attention, Lucy asked, “What is your day job, exactly?”

“That’s a little hard to explain.” The coffeemaker dinged, and he stood to pour them each a cup. “Do you take anything in yours?” he asked.

“Nope. I prefer mine black, thanks.” He handed her a mug that had a picture of a zombie on the front and boldly stated: Bite Me. Lucy chuckled. “A fan of that popular zombie show, are you?”

Reilly winked as he picked up his own steaming cup, brought it back to the table and sat down. “What can I say? I’m hooked.”

“Me too,” she said, pleased they had something in common. “It grosses me out, and yet I can’t stop watching it.”

“I know what you mean.” They both fell silent for a moment as Reilly blew on his coffee. “You asked what my day job is.” He paused before saying, “I’m sort of a jack-of-all-trades. Mainly I sell baseball cards, but I also work the occasional remodeling job, and in the winter I plow snow.”

“Baseball cards? Really? You make enough to keep a roof over your head with that sort of thing?”

“You’d be surprised. Collectors will pay a pretty penny.”

Lucy couldn’t imagine it, but she’d never been a big fan of the sport, so what did she know? “I’ll have to take your word on that one. Baseball isn’t really my thing.”

He chuckled. “To be honest, I tried the nine-to-five work routine, but I tend to get bored too easily, so I went from one job to another before I realized I needed to make a change. This way, I get to set my own hours, and it never gets dull. River tells me I have the attention span of a gnat.”

Lucy took a sip of her coffee and hummed her approval. It was strong, just the way she liked it. “You love your brothers very much, don’t you?”

Reilly sobered instantly. “Yes. For a long time, we only had each other. Our biological mother was a drug addict. Never knew our real father. We ended up bouncing around in foster care until Wanda and Chet took us in. Everything changed for us after that, for the better. They gave us something we’d never had—love and family.”

Her thoughts turned inward as she imagined a young Reilly, no loving mom to tuck him in at night. No dad to toss a ball around with. She understood that sort of abandonment all too well. “I have a sister,” she said in a quiet voice. “She’s three years younger and pretty much means the world to me too.”

Reilly cocked his head to the side and leaned a little closer, as if riveted to her every word. “Yeah?”

He didn’t push her into talking about herself, but Lucy had his full attention nonetheless. She appreciated that in a man. David had only ever wanted to talk about himself. Selfish to the core. “My sister and I are all we have in the world. It’s pretty much always been that way. My mom died in a car accident when we were both very young. Dad raised us. He wasn’t…” Lucy’s words trailed off as she struggled to describe the way she’d grown up. “Dad had issues.”

Reilly reached across the table and took her hand in his. “What’s your sister’s name?” he prompted her.

“Annabelle. Well, Beatrice is her first name, but if you call her that, she’s liable to black your eye. Annabelle is her middle name.”

He grinned. “Feisty like you, no doubt.”

She tugged her hand from beneath his and sat back. She missed his warmth at once. “Eh, she’s nothing like me. She’s beautiful. Like, breathtaking, to be honest. When we were little, I used to tell her she was an angel who came down from heaven. She has a strong sense of right and wrong, and she’s loyal to the core. She looked a lot like our mom, a fact that often sent Dad into a rage.”

“Was he abusive?”

She nodded. How had they gotten into such an emotional topic? Lucy wasn’t sure, but she was in too deep to turn back now. “He drank. Dad wasn’t a happy drunk either. I tried to shield Annabelle, and we did our best to stay out of his way.” She shook her head. “I suppose I’m a little protective of Annabelle.” Her face heated as she realized she was pouring out her heart to him. “Sorry, I’m not sure how I got into all that.”