Breakwater: Hyde (BBW Bad Boy Space Bear Shifter Romance) (Star Bears Book 4) (66 page)

“Actually, Anina, we-” Stacey begun.

But the old matriarch of the clan was still talking, too wrapped up in her excitement to listen to anyone else.

“Yes, yes,” she said to Ben, “and now Kurt and Stacey are happy and settled together. It’s all so wonderful. You next, Reinicke?”

She said this last with a teasing hitch in her voice. Stacey gave a giggle. It was a well-known fact in the family that Reinicke, Kurt’s cousin, hated to be teased. He looked the least excited by whole fiasco, though even he was tapping his fingers against his chair with impatience. He scowled. Reinicke might have been quite handsome, if not for all the scowling.

“No thanks, Gram,” he answered dryly. “You’ve got quite enough baby-making going on without my efforts.”

“Speaking of which,” Kurt tried to interject, but he was cut off once again.

“Well, what about you Hart?” Anina pressed. “Any new girls on the horizon?”

Hart caught his brother’s eye for a moment and they shared a sigh.

“I called Karina at the agency, just like you said,” he told his grandmother, “but she’s short on girls in this area right now. Sorry Gram, it doesn’t look like happily ever after is on my cards just yet.”

“However,” Stacey said loudly, but once again Anina was jabbering away.

“Oh, that’s a shame,” she said gently. “I thought you and that girl from Ben’s wedding were very well suited.”

“She’s gone back to China, Gram,” Ben cut in. “To her
husband
, remember?”

“Gram-” Kurt tried again.

“Ah,” Anina said. “I knew there was a reason that wasn’t going to work.”

“
Gram…
” he tried again.

“Such a shame, she was very pretty.”

“GRAM!”

Silence filled the room. Kurt’s voice had risen to shake the atmosphere, almost as loud as his roar. Anina looked at him, aghast. She seemed as though she might have been about to tell him off for being so rude, and Stacey felt it her duty to step in. She took the old woman’s hands gently, touching as they had when they’d first met.

“Anina, we’ve been trying to tell you our news,” she explained gently. “Kurt and I… Well, I’m two and a half months pregnant.”

Silence followed as the news sank in, then everyone was speaking at once. They rushed to crowd around Stacey and Kurt, congratulating them on the happy news. Even Reinicke got up to shake Kurt’s hand, before making some excuse about finding a vending machine. Amid all the fuss, Stacey looked to Kurt, and this time he shook his head. The crowd was excited enough for one night.

They’d wait until later to tell them it was most likely twins.

Knox

120 Proof Honey II

by

Becca Fanning

Jasmine looked across the desk as the agency employee typed into her computer. Her feeling of unease deepened as the woman kept clicking and clicking.

“Well, Jasmine. To be honest, as I’m entering in your information, there’s not much you’re qualified for. You don’t have any work experience or schooling. All you have is your experience as a housewife.”

The irony wasn’t lost on Jasmine. “Then how do I get experience?”

“You start out low and work your way up or you get some education.”

Jasmine let out a long breath, swallowing hard so the tears wouldn’t rush to her eyes. “Is there anything you can find me?”

“We’ll find something.” She gave Jasmine a resigned look. “It’ll probably involve cleaning, however. Most of those jobs don’t ask for much experience, if any.”

“Okay, that’s fine. I just need something.”

She finished typing and turned to her. “I should have some interviews set up for this week.”

Jasmine left the employment agency feeling deflated. If she hadn’t gotten married so young, or listened to her parents who said you don’t need college, just a good man, then maybe she wouldn’t be in this position. Maybe she would go back to school. But for what? She felt like a little kid asking herself, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Later that day, the phone rang with the number from the employment agency.

“I have an interview for you,” the woman said. “It’s a housekeeping position for a group of five men who live and work together. They’re looking for someone to come in everyday to do things like dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, and other basic cleaning.”

“Okay, that sounds great!”

“Great. I’ll set up the interview for tomorrow then.”

Jasmine hung up, both nervous and excited. This was her first interview, her first time stepping out on her own to be responsible for things like bills. She scoured through her few items of clothing and put together a decent outfit for the next day.

Jasmine stepped off the bus and looked at her directions. She’d gone online to look at maps so she’d know where to go once she got off her bus. It took about twenty minutes to walk there, which was what she had planned. With a deep breath, after smoothing out her skirt, she knocked on the door.

A tall blond-haired man answered the door. She was a bit shocked at first, not expecting someone so close to her age, or someone so good looking and so big in size. With his thick muscles and long hair, he was nothing like her lanky ex. His eyes, too, bore deep into her when he held her gaze and they were an odd sparkling gold. He was her opposite in many ways. She was small and petite, long black hair and an olive-toned complexion. She’d spent so much time around Persian men—her father, brothers, cousins, uncles, and then, of course, her ex, that she didn’t realize someone of such a fair complexion could be so sexy.
 

She gulped and said, “Hi, I’m Jasmine, the employment agency sent me?”

“Yup, come on in.” He stepped aside and held the door open. “I’m Knox. This is my brother, Beck.” He gestured to a man very similar in appearance.

Knox led her to a chair beside the sofa. She sat and took a quick look around. The hardwood floors looked dusty, the coffee table had rings and crumbs. She could see into the kitchen and it looked like the dishes were piled high. A house of five men. Did she really know what she was getting herself into?

When she brought her attention back to them, Knox was staring at her. Beck looked down at a sheet of paper. His hair was shorter than Knox’s, though it hung in his face. He didn’t have Knox’s perfect thin nose, but he did have the same golden eyes. She looked back at Knox for a moment, but had to let her gaze fall when her cheeks went warm.

“So, Jasmine is it?” Beck asked.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“What experience do you have cleaning?”

She had been afraid of this question, though she fully expected it. “Well, I’ve cleaned my house for six years now, but I don’t have any employment experience just yet. To be honest, I’m new in the work force and I’m trying to gain experience. But I clean very well.” The woman at the agency had told her it was best just to be honest and that people may have sympathy for someone just starting out.

Beck nodded, made a note, and Knox watched her.

Beck continued, “We’re looking for someone to come every day. Can you do that?”

“Yes, absolutely. I’m looking for full-time work.”

“You do know there are five men who live here,” Knox asked. “We can be very messy. Is that a problem?”

“Not at all,” Jasmine said.

Knox smiled.

Beck glanced at Knox, then asked, “What about references?”

“References?”

“Someone who can vouch for your work ethic and ability, or even your character,” Beck said.

“Oh, I…” The only one who would know about her cleaning ability would be her ex or her family. No way would she list her ex, and her family was all in Iran. She had made a friend at the shelter where she was staying. “Would a personal reference be okay?”

“Sure,” Beck said. “What are the names and phone numbers?” He held a pen, ready to write.

“Her name is Sarah. I don’t know her phone number off the top of my head, but I can get it for you.”

“Okay.”

Was it just her, or did this Beck sound exasperated? She swallowed hard, ignoring the way her throat was growing thick. She glanced over at Knox and he smiled at her.

“What do you think your best skills are?” Beck asked.

“Well, I’m very punctual, I clean well, and I’m friendly. I work very hard.”

Beck nodded and made more notes on his paper. “We have several other applicants,” he said. “What sets you apart from all the others?”

Jasmine felt the panic rise in her throat. There was nothing that set her apart. She had no experience, no good references, nothing to prove that she could do this job well. She wasn’t even so sure of her own skill, to be honest. Nothing was ever clean enough for her ex, so maybe she wasn’t even very good at that. She glanced over at Knox again, who gave her an encouraging look.
 

She chuckled a little, and, hoping it would come off as endearing, said, “My good looks?”

Beck blinked at her, but Knox looked like he was holding back laughter.

“You’re serious?” Beck asked.

“Umm.” She gulped and her eyes pricked. He didn’t find it amusing or charming. This man clearly hated her. There was no way he was going to hire her. “I’m sorry. I am just started out, and I really don’t know how to answer that. I will work hard and clean how you like and I am reliable.”

Beck nodded at this, what was clearly a much better answer. She should have said that in the first place.

“Okay,” Beck said and stood. “We have one more interview, and then we’ll make a decision and let you know.”

She and Knox also got to their feet.

“Thank you very much.” Jasmine held out her hand to shake Beck’s. When she shook Knox’s hand, she noticed how much warmer it felt and how he held it just a moment longer.

“I’ll walk you out,” Knox said.

She followed him back to the front door and walked through it when he held it open. He looked outside, confused. “Did you drive here?”

“No, I took the bus,” she said.

“The bus? Isn’t the closest stop over a mile from here?”

“Yes, it’s about a twenty-minute walk.”

“That’s nuts. I’ll drive you, hold on.” He went back into the house and came out a minute later with keys in his hand. “That’s okay with you? If I drive you home?”

“Oh, s-sure.” She took in a slow, deep breath. It would save her a lot of time and money, but to be alone with him? Her palms broke into a sweat.

Knox led her to a pickup truck, blue and covered in mud splatters on the side. He opened the door and took her hand to help her up the high step. She buckled her seatbelt while he walked around and got in.

“Where do you live?” he asked as they turned out of the driveway.

There was no way she was going to tell him about the shelter. “Oh, can you take me to the drugstore on Eighth Street? I need to stop and get some things. It’s only a block from there.”

“Sure.” They drove in silence for a few minutes. Then he asked, “Do you have family around here?”

“No, not really. Are you related to the men you live with? Like cousins or brothers?”

“Beck is my brother. The other guys are just my business partners and best friends. We’ve all been best friends for most of our lives.”

“Oh.” Beck was his brother? There was no way she was getting this job, then. Even if he had seemed to like her, his brother clearly didn’t, and blood always came first. “What’s the business?”

“We make honey. And other things.”

They turned onto Eighth Street and she saw the drugstore. “This is it, right here.”

“I can wait and drive you home after you get what you need.”

“Oh, no, thank you.” She pulled the door open. “I really appreciate it.”

“You sure? I’m happy to wait.”

“Oh no, really, this is perfect. Thank you very much.” She hopped down to the curb.

“Alright then. Have a great day.”

She waved and they exchanged smiles. When she closed the door, he didn’t pull away, though. She went quickly into the drugstore and ducked into an aisle. She watched until he drove off, waited a few minutes, making it seem like she was looking at the makeup selections, then walked the block to the shelter.

Jasmine had spent the whole day after the interview and all the following morning feeling full of dread. She’d blown it. There was no way they were going to hire her. After breakfast, she opened her newspaper to the employment section and started looking. She’d have to go with a minimum wage job that needed no experience and hope she could earn enough to get her own place soon.

Her door was partially opened, and Sarah knocked, then stuck her head in. “Hey Jas, you have a call.”

She hopped up and dashed downstairs to pick up the phone. “Hello, this is Jasmine.”

“Jasmine, hi, this is Knox. Knox Ryker. We talked to you yesterday about the housekeeping position.”

“Oh yes, hello.” Her heart squeezed itself tight in her chest, ready to be let down.

“I just wanted to give you a call and see if you’d like to accept the job.”