Sins of the Past (5 page)

Jacob shook his head as he watched Lorna start to move down the aisle, leaving him standing there. When he had decided he was bored enough to risk driving to go grocery shopping, he never expected so much drama. He had no clue what to even say after Lorna’s comment, although, he wouldn’t have minded one bit if she did have her way with him right there on the floor.

Catching up to Lorna, he said the first thing that came to mind. “Is slutly even a word?”

Lorna doubled over laughing and he couldn’t help but laugh as well. “You stick with me, and I’ll teach you a few things. You’ll learn that I have quite a vocabulary.” She winked at him. “Now, let’s finish shopping because I hate this place.”

Jacob had no complaints about that. All the people slowly trailing behind them were starting to creep him out. He had a feeling they weren’t there because of him either.

Lorna was quiet as they finished shopping. The people in the store seemed to realize nothing more exciting was going to happen and eventually went on about their business. Jacob had noticed Lorna throwing her own things in the basket along with his and held back his laugh when they got to the register and she placed them on the conveyor belt alongside his. She lifted one brow and crossed her arms over her chest when the girl at the register told him the total. Jacob pulled his wallet out and paid for everything, but he had a plan forming in his head.

Once they were at his truck, he grabbed the bags before Lorna could say anything and put them on the backseat, then shut the door. “You can come by the house tonight around six to pick up your groceries. While you’re there, we can have dinner.”

“I saved you from that hoebag and you’re holding my groceries hostage?”

Jacob grinned. “Don’t worry. They won’t be harmed as long as you show up.” He watched several emotions play across her face as he waited for her to answer. Lorna would never win in any poker matches in his opinion.

“Okay, but make it six thirty. I have to go home and shower first.”

She walked off before Jacob could respond. He watched her hips sway and the rounded cheeks of her ass bounce a little with each step she took. Groaning, Jacob got into his truck and started toward home. He still had several hours to get everything ready, but he had a feeling he was going to have to take care of the hard-on currently tenting his pants before he could even begin to function.

What the hell was I thinking?
Lorna grabbed the brush she used to clean the grease from under her fingernails as she stood under the hot water. She felt sick to her stomach and knew it was her nerves getting the best of her. Jacob was the first man who seemed to be truly interested in her. He knew nothing about her supposed reputation. He wasn’t just asking her out just to get into her pants and she had no idea how to handle that. If he had been only after sex, she would have been able to handle the situation with no problem.

Lorna had plenty of practice putting the guys in town in their place. In high school, not only was she known as a slut, but when guys realized she wouldn’t put out, she became a frigid bitch. How she could be both a slut and frigid at the same time, Lorna had no idea. She stopped wondering how the backwoods locals thought a long time ago.

Once she was done cleaning her nails the best she could, Lorna quickly washed and got out of the shower. She ran her hand across the mirror to clear the fog and stared at herself. She knew she wouldn’t win any beauty pageants, but thanks to having a black father and white mother, her skin was a soft caramel color most women would kill to have. She had plenty of women tell her they spent thousands of dollars on tanning beds or spent countless hours out in the sun in an effort to achieve the perfect tan she naturally had.

Lorna kept her black hair short because of her job, but she liked to think the cut was cute. She stared into the mirror at her hazel eyes and wondered if Jacob saw the same things she did. Did he think her breasts were too large or that she was fat? She wasn’t a size two, but Lorna had never been uncomfortable about her weight. She didn’t go out of her way to starve herself or diet. When she was hungry, she ate. When she wanted ice cream or something sweet, she didn’t deny herself.

“If he doesn’t like it, then screw him.” Lorna turned away from the mirror before she saw the lie on her face. For some reason, she cared what Jacob thought. There was something about him that she couldn’t quite figure out. He was different from any guy she had ever met and for the first time, it mattered whether he liked her or not.

“I wish you were here, Uncle John. Maybe you could make some sense of all of this.” Lorna wiped away the tears that trailed down her cheeks. It was times like this that she could really use his advice. She could almost imagine his gruff voice in her ear as he put his arm over her shoulder like he always did. He was the only one she had ever allowed to show her any affection. She wouldn’t even let her own mother hug her. Right now, she really wished she had his comfort.

Taking a deep breath, Lorna headed to her closet. She looked at all her clothes and shook her head at the selections there. She didn’t think she had anything that didn’t have at least one grease stain on it. It was a bad habit of hers to wipe her hands against her clothes while she worked. It was to the point now that she did it without even thinking, no matter if she was wearing what she considered work clothes or not. Over the years, everything she owned somehow wound up as work clothes.

Lorna winced. She didn’t want Jacob to think she was a huge slob, so she settled for the least offensive shirt of the bunch, which turned out to be a blue ribbed tank top that had a small smudge on the side as if she had brushed up against something the last time she had worn it. She paired the top with a pair of cut off jean shorts. Even though it was dark outside, it was still muggy and hot. Looking at herself in the mirror once she was dressed, Lorna nodded. She was comfortable and at least presentable. If Jacob had a problem, then maybe he would be better off with someone like Ashley.

Just the thought of Ashley getting her perfectly manicured claws in Jacob sent her pulse racing as Lorna turned away from the mirror. The thought shouldn’t have bothered her as much as it did, but she couldn’t seem to help it. For once, Lorna was interested in someone who seemed to be equally as interested in her. She wanted to see where things went with Jacob and the last thing she needed was Little Miss Perfect sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.

“If he goes for that skank, then there is nothing you can do about it,” Lorna told herself. If Jacob wasn’t interested in her, then he wouldn’t be the first. Still, she would settle for at least a friend in Jacob even if he wasn’t interested in anything romantic with her.

Knowing she was just stalling, she slid her feet into her flip flops and headed out the door. As she marched across the street, she made a promise to herself to just have fun. She decided to just enjoy Jacob’s company for a change and if something between them happened then she would deal with that when it happened.

Lorna reached Jacob’s house and opened the door when he yelled that it was open. The smells of cooked food hit her as soon as she entered and her stomach growled immediately.

Jacob laughed. “It’s a good thing dinner is almost ready.”

“It’s your fault.” Lorna frowned at him. “If I hadn’t had to use all of my lunch saving your ass today, then maybe I would have had time to eat.”

“My ass thanks you.”

Lorna paused a moment before she doubled over laughing. Not many people could handle her snarky comments. She knew she was rude and crass and Lorna didn’t go out of her way to hide the fact.

“It’s refreshing to finally meet someone that can dish as well as he can take it. You have no idea how boring the local yokels are.”

Jacob nodded. “I take it they don’t get you.” He turned and motioned for her to follow him to the kitchen.

“It’s not so much as they don’t get me as it is that I don’t do what they expect of me.”

“And what is it that they expect?”

“They want me to stand there quietly while they insult or whisper about me and that’s just not me. I’m not someone who runs crying into my pillow at the first sign of confrontation.”

She watched Jacob stir something in a pot before turning toward her again. Her stomach chose that moment to growl again and Lorna felt the blush creeping up her cheeks as her face heated. Jacob’s question distracted her.

“Why is it that this town seems so fascinated with you?”

Lorna snorted. Fascinated wasn’t the word she would have chosen. She knew this particular conversation was coming, but she was hoping to hold off on it for a little while longer. She sighed before answering, “You’ll find out about it eventually, so it might as well come from me. At least that way you’ll get the truth rather than the embellished, over-the-top version.” She smiled before continuing, “I’m not talking until I get fed, though.”

Jacob laughed and motioned for her to sit at the table he had already set. Lorna watched as he strained pasta and placed it in a bowl. He then poured the sauce he had been stirring over the pasta before setting it on the table. Lastly, Jacob pulled a pan of garlic bread out of the oven and dumped the rolls in a basket.

Lorna watched the way Jacob moved around the kitchen. For such a large guy, he moved gracefully and silently even though he was on crutches. She found her mouth watering and it wasn’t because of the delicious-smelling food. It was all because of her neighbor. The man was too sexy for words. Lorna envied the apron he was wearing. She wondered what it would feel like if it were her wrapped that closely around him. She wanted to be the end of the apron string that brushed up against his perfect ass with each step he took.

Lorna felt her face heat at the thought and turned away from Jacob before she did something really embarrassing like throw herself at his large feet and beg him to strip her naked right there on the kitchen floor.

“Lorna, are you okay? You look a little flushed.”

If you only knew.
Jacob’s concerned voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she resisted the urge to fan herself. “I’m fine.” Lorna cleared her throat and hoped she didn’t sound as desperate as she was feeling at the moment. She didn’t know what had gotten into her. Never in her life had she even lusted for a man like she was doing with Jacob. Until recently, all she needed was her rechargeable batteries, her toys, and her fantasies of George Clooney rubbing her down with flavored massage oils. Now, it seemed she turned into a drooling idiot whenever Jacob was around.

“Everything smells great,” she told Jacob, trying to get the conversation back to normal as she watched him ease himself down to his chair.

“Dig in.”

Lorna didn’t hesitate. She loaded her plate with pasta and grabbed a roll. She moaned when she took her first bite of the pasta. The tangy flavor of the tomato sauce filled her mouth and she instantly knew Jacob had made it from scratch. There was no way store-bought sauce tasted like that.

“This is great. Where did you learn to cook like this?”

Jacob blushed and smiled before answering. “I’m glad you like it because it’s the only thing I know how to cook. It was my mom’s recipe.”

“Was?” Lorna noticed as Jacob’s smile slipped off his face and instantly regretted her impulsive question. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that.”

“No. It’s okay. She died about six years ago. I was out on a mission when she was in a car accident. By the time I made it back to the states, it was already too late. She was gone. I never knew my father and it had always just me and my mom until I left for boot camp. She knew the pasta sauce was my favorite so she would make it for me on special occasions. When she died, the recipe was the only thing of hers I kept. It was the only thing I needed.”

“I’m honored you would share it with me.” Lorna didn’t know what else to say. It hadn’t been her intention to bring the mood down and she had no idea how to get back to the light teasing they had shared before her stupid question. “You were lucky. It sounds like your mom really loved you and you loved her.”

“Yeah,” Jacob smiled again. “She was great. She was a single parent, but I never lacked for anything. My mom worked hard to make sure I had everything I needed. Even though she had to work two jobs, she still found a way to be involved in everything I did.”

Lorna sat back and listened as Jacob told her stories of his childhood. He became more and more animated with each story until they were both doubled over laughing. “It seems as though you were a very rowdy child,” she told him.

Jacob winked, “I got into my fair share of trouble, but something tells me you weren’t that different. I bet you got into lots of trouble when you were little.”

Lorna laughed. If only he knew the trouble she had gotten into when she was little. She had enjoyed listening to Jacob’s past, but it looked like it was her turn for show and tell. “My mom wasn’t anything like yours. My mom was known as the town whore, and she spent every day of her life proving it was true.”

She waited for the look of shock to clear from Jacob’s face. She could handle shock, just as long as she didn’t see pity. “The townsfolk are so
fascinated
with me because ever since I started to develop boobs, they’ve been waiting for me to turn out just like her.” Lorna shrugged. “Like mother, like daughter, right?”