A Daddy for Jacoby Read online

  “Because we’d be worried,” she said. “You need to let Justin, or any adult you’re with, know where you’re going, especially if you plan to go off alone.”

  Caution, an emotion Justin had witnessed many times since he met the boy, filled the child’s eyes. He looked from Gina back to him. “You’d be worried about me?”

  He could feel Gina’s steady gaze on him, but he kept his focus on the kid. “Ah, yeah, sure.”

  “Cool. Can I go to the bathroom now?”

  Justin nodded, pointing out the entrance to the restrooms. The kid raced off and a long silence filled the air.

  “Oh, Justin, I meant to tell you.” Racy snapped her fingers. “Nikki from the bar said she has a twin bed you can have for free if you can pick it up.”

  “A what?”

  “A bed. For Jacoby. He can’t camp out on the living room floor forever.”

  “Wow, that’s so nice of Nikki,” Gina gushed, crossing her arms over her chest. “But I thought you weren’t interested in anyone’s help?”

  He glared at her, trying to ignore how her actions caused a hint of lace and the smooth skin of her cleavage to appear.

  “Then again, Jacoby is going to need a decent bed to sleep in,” she continued in a syrupy-sweet voice. “But I’m sure you already thought of that.”

  He hadn’t.

  Simple things like sneakers and a toothbrush, sure. But a place to sleep? Hell, he still hadn’t gotten the bed he planned to use for himself put together yet.

  “No, I haven’t thought about getting the kid a bed.”

  “Well, problem solved. You can pick it up on your way home.” Racy wore a quizzical look as her gaze shot between him and Gina. “Aren’t you going to sit?”

  “Ah—”

  “Here, take my place.” Racy stacked her dishes to one side before sliding out of the booth. “I need to get going. Tell Jacoby I’ll see him later. Bye!”

  Gina stepped aside to let Racy get by, but remained standing next to the booth, arms crossed.

  “Waiting for an engraved invitation?”

  Okay, that wasn’t necessary, but at least it got her to sit. She dropped into the booth, her hands now shoved into the pockets of her jacket. An awkward silence stretched between them, so Justin said the first thing that popped into his head.

  “I was an ass.”

  That got her attention. “Yes, you were.”

  “I’m not talking about just now.” He gave his head a quick shake and reached for his coffee. “Last night, too. On my porch.”

  Gina pulled her hands from her jacket and laid them on the table, her silver-tipped nails playing with a stack of unused napkins. “Yes, you were,” she repeated.

  The apology he knew he should give stuck in his throat. “Do you think he’s okay in the bathroom alone?” he said instead.

  Gina glanced across the crowded diner. “He should be fine. You can see the doorway from here.”

  He looked in the direction of the restrooms again, this time noticing their booth seemed to be getting quite a bit of attention from the diner’s other patrons.

  “Is it just me,” he said, his voice low as he turned back to her, “or are people staring?”

  Without turning her head, her gaze darted to the other tables and booths around them. “Well, it’s not too often a stranger comes to town only to disappear after leaving a child behind. I guess Jacoby is news.”

  “And of all people for the kid to be stuck with, it’s me.”

  Like he and Gina hadn’t given the town enough to talk about over the last few months? Now he’d have the entire population watching his every move with the kid.

  “So, you two went shopping?” Gina asked, filling the silence. “I noticed Jacoby’s new clothes.”

  “We hit Wal-Mart after dropping Jack off at Racy’s.” Justin found himself grateful for the change in topic. “Who knew it’d take over two hours to shop for one little kid.”

  “I’m guessing he needed quite a few things. Was the rest of his stuff as bad as that outfit he had on when he first showed up?”

  “Pretty much. We just finished another couple of hours at the laundromat.” He put the coffee mug down. “I washed everything he had in that ratty pillowcase of his, including the case. I tried to convince him to throw it out, but he wouldn’t.”

  Gina’s jaw dropped. “Justin, you didn’t.”

  “What?”

  “That bag, no matter its condition, and what little he might have inside, is all he has. Of course he’d want to keep it. You should know that better than anyone.”

  Geez, the girl was good for a quick swift kick in the butt.

  “I didn’t think—” He slumped against the seat cushion and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How stupid can I be?”

  Gina was right. He should know better because he’d walked out of prison with his entire life’s possessions in a cardboard box. All he owned now was a growing collection of books, a few power tools, a beat-up truck and some meager household items.

  Damn, who knew he and the kid had so much in common?

  “You’re not stupid.” Gina pointed at the pillowcase next to Justin. “Did you see if there was anything in there that might help you find his mother?”

  “No. I got him a new backpack, too, but he only used it to hold his stuff while the pillowcase was washed. Then he loaded everything back into the case, including his bear, which he refused to allow anywhere near the suds.”

  Justin straightened and glanced at the restrooms again. “Hell, I’m surprised he left the table without them, the pillowcase or the bear.”

  “Has he talked about his mother much?”

  Justin shook his head and found himself leaning forward. With a low voice, he relayed the events with the eggs and the food fight from this morning. He didn’t know why he felt compelled to share the story with Gina, but it just fell from his lips.

  “That’s so sad.” Gina inched forward and put her hand over his, giving him a gentle squeeze when he finished speaking. “But Jacoby seems fine now. I think you handled the situation well.”

  She did?

  Justin didn’t know how to respond, to her compliment or the warmth of her touch. All he wanted was to flip his hand over and capture hers in his grasp.

  Damn, he was in trouble here. He really owed her that apology now. Before he had a chance to speak, a waitress came by with her order.

  Gina snatched her hand away and reached for the large paper bag. “Well, this is my food. I need to get going.”

  “Gina—”

  She scooted out of the booth just as Jacoby returned.

  “Where ya going?” he asked.

  “Ah, I have to leave. My brother and sister are waiting for their food, but I’ll see you soon, okay?”

  Justin saw Jacoby nod as the boy stood there and watched her walk away. Justin found himself doing the same.

  There was no way he’d get in that bed.

  No way. No how.

  Jacoby squeezed Clem tighter and kept his eyes glued on the small television sitting on the floor next to the fireplace. His eyeballs were scratchy. It felt like he was pulling a warm blanket over ’em when they closed, but he fought to keep ’em open.

  If he fell asleep he was sure Justin would pick him up and carry him to the small bedroom. He’d put him beneath the covers. Then he’d leave.

  And Jacoby would be alone.

  He didn’t want to be alone. But he wasn’t going to tell Justin that. He’d probably think Jacoby was a baby or something.

  He wasn’t.

  It’s just that there were a lot of strange noises and the windows in that room didn’t have anything covering them.

  He wished Jack was here. Maybe if the dog slept next to him in that bed he wouldn’t be afraid.

  Because he liked it here.

  The cabin was nice and warm, there was always food and he liked that he didn’t have to ask first when he wanted something to eat or to go to the bathroom.

&nbs
p; His mama used to make him do that sometimes, ask before he could do anything.

  And sometimes the answer would be no.

  She’d say no over and over until he’d finally stopped asking. Then he’d pray he wouldn’t have an accident or that his tummy would stop growling until she changed her mind.

  Which she always did, eventually. Then she’d cry and say she was sorry and she wouldn’t do it again.

  But she would.

  But for the past two days, Justin had been the one asking him what he wanted. First, the new clothes, including two pairs of sneakers because they were buy one get one half off. Then he got to pick the color of his new toothbrush and finally the backpack that sat empty near the bookcase.

  He liked the backpack. It was blue and had a cool swirly design on it and none of those babyish cartoon guys. But except for using it to hold his stuff while Justin insisted on washing his pillowcase, it sat empty.

  Jacoby didn’t know how long he was going to be here. His mama had said he was going to stay with Justin and Justin was going to be his dad, but he wasn’t sure he believed her.

  So he’d keep using his pillowcase. He wasn’t going to use anything he didn’t really need, like that backpack and the second set of sneakers.

  Or that bed.

  But he would like to see Gina again.

  A sharp pain caused his belly to hurt and he hugged Clem tighter to his chest. Was it because he’d rather see Gina again than his mom?

  But Gina was nice. And she smelled good, too, like his favorite cookie, snickerdoodles, and she didn’t talk to him like he was a baby.

  Maybe he should ask if she could come over again.

  Then again, Justin had gotten a funny look on his face whenever Jacoby asked about her.

  Maybe he didn’t like Gina. Naw, Justin would hafta be stupid not to like Gina.

  Wouldn’t he?

  Chapter Five

  It had been a hell of a weekend. Justin was ready to collapse and the kid who’d been his constant companion for the last forty-eight hours was halfway to snoozeville himself.

  Trouble was, the kid refused to go to bed.

  Correction, the kid refused to sleep in the twin bed they’d set up in the second bedroom this afternoon.

  Just like he’d done last night.

  He hadn’t thought anything of it when the boy had asked if he could sleep in front of the fire like he’d done his first night at the cabin. At the time, the bed had been in pieces. They’d spent most of today cleaning both bedrooms, getting rid of years of accumulated junk and debris from the previous owner. Then they put the kid’s bed together, along with a matching dresser, but the boy wanted nothing to do with the room.

  Justin didn’t get it.

  And to top it off, he continued to ask when Gina was coming by to see them again.

  Running into her yesterday at the diner had left a hard lump in Justin’s chest that still hadn’t gone away. He didn’t know if it was from the fact he never got to apologize for the way he’d talked to her Friday night or maybe it came from the phone call he’d made to Gage late yesterday afternoon.

  Despite the sheriff’s inquiries, there were still no leads on Zoe’s whereabouts.

  How could a woman walk away from her child? Didn’t she wonder if her son was okay? Wasn’t she worried he didn’t have any idea how to take care of a kid? Then again, considering the boy’s strange behavior this weekend, maybe having Zoe out of his life wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

  But where did that leave Justin?

  “Are you mad at Gina?”

  Jacoby’s question pulled him from his thoughts. He looked down at the boy who’d rolled over to face him. “What? No, why’d you ask that?”

  “You look mad. Just like you did when I asked if she was going to come visit again.”

  He relaxed his facial features. “I’m not mad.”

  Jacoby shrugged and turned away. He clutched his bear closer to his chest. “You should be nicer to her.”

  “To Gina?” Justin dropped to the sleeping bag, ignoring how his cell phone pressed into his groin. “Why’s that?”

  The boy shrugged again. “My teacher said boys are supposed to be nice to girls. Even if they can’t play ball and they giggle a lot.”

  Did Gina giggle? No, her laugh was low, smoky and smooth, much like a fine, aged whiskey. He remembered the first time he’d heard it, less than an hour after they’d met. It had brought to mind Hollywood’s leading ladies of the ’40s from those old movies he’d always liked to watch. The sound didn’t fit her age, but he’d learned Gina wasn’t like most girls her age in a lot of ways.

  He shifted. “Ah, you should be getting to bed.”

  “I am in bed.”

  Justin sighed. He really needed some alone time. Time to think about what he was going to do next in this crazy twist his life had taken. “I mean in your own room.”

  “I’m not…sleepy.” Jacoby continued to face away from him, but Justin heard him yawn. “My mom lets me stay up as late as I want.”

  That was the first time he’d mentioned his mother all weekend. “Really?”

  The kid’s head bobbed up and down. “Sometimes she and Miss Mazie would both be passed out and I’d stay up for hours watching television.”

  Passed out? “You mean they fell asleep?”

  “Well, they’d drink and laugh. Miss Mazie loved to drink. And my mom would smoke these funny-smelling cigarettes and they’d make her sleepy.”

  Justin held back a groan. “Does Miss Mazie have a last name?”

  “I don’t know. I just called her Miss Mazie.”

  “Think hard. Did she ever tell you her name?”

  “Now you really sound mad.”

  “I’m not mad,” Justin repeated, slumping back against the pillows. He’d let it go for now. “I’m confused. Why won’t you go sleep in that bed? You were so excited when we put it together.”

  “I thought Gina might come over and see it first.”

  “Gina, again? What made you think that?”

  “Because I know if you said it was okay, she would come!” Jacoby jumped up. “I’m not going to sleep in that dumb old bed or in that dumb old room, and you can’t make me.”

  Before Justin could move, the kid took off. By the time he got to his feet and followed, the bathroom door slammed shut. A sharp click sounded.

  Damn! He’d forgotten about the lock. Maybe it was so old it wouldn’t catch. He grabbed the handle and twisted. No such luck. “Jacoby, open this door.”

  “No!”

  Justin shook the handle. “Open this door right now.”

  “No!” The boy’s voice rose another octave. “I’m not openin’ nothin’ until Gina comes.”

  Oh, hell no. There was no way he was calling her.

  Justin took a step back and looked at the door. Solid oak, probably close to a hundred years old with hinges on the inside. Taking a screwdriver to the original hardware was unacceptable.

  His fingers curled and he was tempted to puncture his words with a few sharp raps on the wood. “Jacoby, you need to open this door…now.”

  Silence. Justin relaxed his hand. Scaring the kid wasn’t going to help. Instead, he sighed and dug into his pocket for his phone.

  “Are you still a virgin?”

  Gina froze midbrush, the minty froth of her toothpaste causing her to gag. She turned to find her younger sister, Giselle, standing in the doorway of her bathroom.

  Clenching on to the toothbrush with her teeth, she spoke around the bristles. “Whad did yuz sway?”

  “You heard me.”

  Giselle moved back into the bedroom and dropped to Gina’s bed, rolling to her stomach so that she faced away from her. Gina shot a look at her bedroom door, grateful to find it closed.

  She rinsed her mouth and tossed her toothbrush into the cup on the sink. Wiping her hands on the closest towel, she did her best to wipe the shock from her face, as well.

  “You want to run that by me ag
ain?” She joined her sister on the bed, a stack of pillows at her back.

  “Do I have to say it again?”

  “No, but how about you tell me why you’re asking?” Gina nudged her sister’s jean-clad thigh.

  Giselle offered a dramatic sigh, something she did often and with great skill, and flopped over onto her back.

  Two months away from graduating high school, she’d celebrated her eighteenth birthday, along with her twin brother, Garrett, just a few weeks ago. Having left home when the twins were in the first grade to attend a private school for the gifted, Gina wasn’t close to her younger siblings. She had come back on breaks and vacations, but she and the twins were always more polite strangers than family.

  When she’d returned home for good this time, she’d been determined to change that. She and Giselle had spent a lot of time together, shopping and going to movies, but this was the first time one of their girl talks had ever approached such a serious subject.

  “Hello?” Gina prodded.

  “I was just wondering because…” Giselle’s voice was soft, her gaze glued to the ceiling. “Well, I’m eighteen now and so many of my friends aren’t virgins anymore. I’m not…completely innocent, but I’m still— Were you a virgin when you graduated high school?”

  “I was fifteen.” Gina offered a smile. “So, yeah, I was.”

  Giselle snorted. “Like age means anything nowadays.” Then she looked at her. “But you’re not now, right?”

  “I’m also five years older than you.”

  Giselle sighed and grabbed one of the pillows, hugging it to her chest. “Stefan and I have been exclusive since the prom last year. He’s wanted to—you know—for a while, but I’ve been holding off. I’m not sure I’m ready.”

  “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. Seems pretty simple to me.”

  “What if I’m ready in my heart, but my head keeps telling me to hold off?”

  Gina fingered the hem of her plaid flannel pants, her standard pajamas along with her favorite University of Notre Dame sweatshirt. “Have you tried talking to Mom about this?”

  Her sister’s blue eyes widened. “Are you nuts? Mom is still buying me dolls for Christmas.”