Someone Like Her (26 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

M
aria made a quick call when Jake excused himself to go to the bathroom. Once everything was set up, she only wondered how to get him there and how to get him to agree. Then she went outside and took a seat across from Logan and Dani, Jake joining them a minute later. By the darted glances between the three of them, they knew something she didn’t.

“No,” she said after Logan told her Fortunada wanted to see her. Standing, she glared at them. “I can’t. I won’t.” Three pairs of eyes watched her pace across the back deck, and the only pair that appeared pleased with her announcement was Logan’s. “You two don’t agree?” she asked, flicking her gaze between Dani and Jake.

“I don’t want you anywhere near him,” Jake said. “But can you walk away never knowing if he’s your father? You don’t owe him a damn thing, so if you want to tell him to go to hell, that’s your choice. I just think you should take a few days to think about it.”

She never wanted to see Fortunada again, yet several times a day she thought of him and wondered. What she’d really like was for him to agree to a DNA test and for it to come back negative. Then she could walk away and never think of him again. In fact, the whole idea of finding her father had lost its appeal.

She turned to Dani. “And you?”

Her sister-in-law shrugged. “What Jake said.”

“If I decide to go, will you go with me?”

“Yes,” Logan and Jake said in unison.

Dani rolled her eyes on a sigh and stood. “She wasn’t talking to you, sweetie. Let’s you and me go watch our son sleep.”

“Come here,” Jake said when they were alone.

He’d moved to a chaise and she crawled between his legs, resting her back against his chest. They still had some talking to do, but she no longer considered him a jerk. Which was good because she’d hate being in love with a jerk. Pushing her hair aside, he pressed his mouth to her neck.

“I’ve got sand in my panties.” Dumb words were coming out of her mouth, but she couldn’t think straight after Logan’s announcement.

His lips curved in a smile against her skin. “Can I see?”

She slapped his hand away when he tried to sneak his fingers under the hem of her shorts. “Stop that. Do you think I should agree to see Fortunada?”

“Not my decision, Chiquita.” He circled his arms around her waist and leaned back. “I just keep remembering your saying how you couldn’t stop thinking about the names in that book. What about the one in San Diego, what was his name? Garcia something?”

“Miguel Garcia. No, I’m done with it. I tried once and look where it got me. My father could just as easily be the one who’s dead. It’s not like I’m a little girl anymore and need a daddy.” She didn’t. Her life was perfectly fine without one.

It was a pipe dream without a happy ending. The little stabs of regret would disappear soon enough, she was sure of it. It wasn’t like she’d dreamed all her life she would someday find her dad.

Damn Lovey Dovey and her stupid stud book. Even gone, it seemed her mother still found ways to mock her.

“I don’t want to see Fortunada. He’s trying to pull my strings, and I’m not going to play his game.” She fiddled with a soft ring on Jake’s finger.

“Good. I was hoping that’s what you’d decide.”

“What’s this?” she asked holding up his hand for a closer view. When he didn’t answer, she craned her neck to look at him. His face had gone blank, which only increased her curiosity. She peered at his finger again and frowned. Was he wearing another woman’s hair braided into a ring?

“Who’s hair is this?” she asked, dreading to hear there’d been someone in his past he cared enough about to wear a part of her. Why hadn’t she noticed it before?

“Yours.”

His answer stole her breath. She twisted around and knelt in front of him. “Mine? I never gave you any of my hair.”

Two spots of red colored his cheeks. “I . . . ah, I took some. When you came to the tent. While you were asleep.”

The rat thief had stolen her hair and made a ring out of it? The smile on her face felt so lopsided she was sure she was grinning like a fool. A man didn’t do something like that if he wasn’t in love, did he?

She leaned closer to him. “I want to kiss you.”

“Hell, yeah,” he said.

Jake had a way of taking over without seeming to take over, something she loved about him. He guided her, set the pace, and made her want to prove she could keep up with him, all the while understanding he took nothing from her she didn’t want to give.

Kissing him was one of her favorite things to do, and she closed her eyes, shutting out everything but the feel of his lips on hers and how his hands felt gliding over her thighs. The hard press of his erection low on her stomach sent fire racing through her bloodstream.

He rocked his hips, rubbing against her. “Maria.”

“Jake.”

“Jesus.”

Logan’s voice penetrated her haze, and she lifted her gaze to her brother. “Go away, Logan.”

Jake ignored the intrusion, not taking his eyes off her. “You tell ’em, Chiquita.”

His grin reminded her of a mischievous boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She grinned back. “Let’s just ignore him and hope he goes away.”

“You left your phone on the kitchen counter.” Logan handed her the cell. “It rang.” He gave her a disgruntled glare before striding back into the house.

As if she hadn’t caught him kissing Dani more times than she could count. The call could be the one she was waiting for. “Just a sec.” She punched in her code and listened.

Jake slipped his hand under her T-shirt and walked his fingers up her stomach to the laced edge of her bra. “Hang up the phone, Chiquita.”

“Sure.” She flipped it closed and hopped off the chaise. “Go home and take a shower. I’ll pick you up in an hour.”

“Because?”

“Because we have somewhere to go. See you in an hour.” The way his eyes devoured her as his gaze traveled from her bare legs to her breasts made her toes curl. If he didn’t stop looking at her like that, she’d melt into a messy puddle at his feet. She left before she decided they should get it on in broad daylight on the back deck of her brother’s house.

Maria pulled Sally into a parking space at the boys’ club. Jake hadn’t said much since getting in the car, had just mostly stared out the window as she drove. As she’d suspected, his brief show of happiness back at Logan’s house had been mostly an act.

He scowled at the building. “Why are we here?”

Finally, curiosity . . . of a sort. She twisted in her seat and took one of his hands, entwining their fingers. “I need you to keep an open mind and listen. Did you know Rick volunteered here during his free time?”

The barest of interest sparked in his eyes, and he glanced out the window. “No, but what’s that got to do with me?”

“I’m hoping you’ll take his place.” When he swiveled his head back with a look on his face that said she’d lost her mind, she rushed on before he could flat-out refuse. Please, God, let her say the right words.

“It’s the best way there is to honor Rick’s memory. He loved these boys and made an amazing difference in their lives. To know that you picked up where he left off . . . well, it would have meant everything to him. But it’s not just that, although that’s a biggie. You need to do this for yourself. I don’t agree, but you hold yourself responsible for Rick’s death and, for you, this would be an act of atonement.” She caressed the skin between his thumb and index finger. “Who knows, you might even find you like it.”

“I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with a gaggle of boys.”

“They mostly play sports. You’ve played pickup games with Logan and the guys. You were on the baseball team a few summers ago. If there’s a football game on TV, you’re right there, glued to the screen, so I know you can play that sport.” A tiny—so slight she almost missed it—twitch of his lips said she had his attention.

“How do you know so much about me, Chiquita?”

She rolled her eyes. “You think I haven’t been paying attention to you all these years? I studied on you as hard as I studied on any of my law classes. Will you consider it if for no other reason than to honor Rick’s memory?”

Sadness clouded his eyes. “I’d be an ass to say no when you put it that way, wouldn’t I?”

“Totally.” She leaned into him and planted a kiss on his lips. Let him think he was doing this for Rick. “Come on, let’s go in.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. I called, told them we were coming so they’re expecting us.” If she had to, she’d drag him inside, kicking and screaming. If stepping into Rick’s shoes and working with the kids didn’t help him, she didn’t know what would. This had to work, it just had to.

Jake didn’t want to walk inside that door. He turned to Maria, about to refuse, but the hope in her eyes stopped him. For her, he would agree to this one visit, but nothing would come of it. Those boys belonged to Tennessee. What right did he have to them? None.

A kid raced past the car, and Jake followed his progress until he disappeared inside the building. “Let’s get this over with.” He opened the door, exited the car, and strode up the sidewalk, leaving her to catch up.

Hell, he was acting like an ass. Stamping down his irritation, he stopped and waited for her. “Do you know what we’re supposed to do when we get in there?” He wasn’t in much of a mood to stand around watching a bunch of boys staring at him.

“The director, Larry Palmer, he’s expecting us. He’ll show us around, answer any of your questions.”

This shouldn’t take long then; he didn’t have any questions. He opened the door and let Maria pass before following her inside. A man about his age came hurrying over, hand outstretched. Jake slid his gaze to the group of kids too busy picking sides to be paying any attention to him. He held out his hand to the man he assumed was Mr. Palmer.

“You must be Mr. Buchanan.” He gave Jake’s hand a hearty shake.

“Jake will do.”

“Larry Palmer.”

The fond smile he turned on Maria just added to Jake’s irritation. Slipping his hands into his back pockets, Jake turned his attention to the boys and tried to ignore the friendly conversation going on between Maria and the director. The kids had finished choosing their teams and were starting their game. It didn’t take long to realize a few of them were talented athletes.

The boy with the ball dribbled it to the sideline near where they were standing. “Yo, Mr. Palmer, you gonna play or ya just gonna hang there, jabber’n all day?”

“I am going to play, Rudy. I thank you for asking.” Palmer enunciated clearly, making a point—Jake was certain—about Rudy’s street talk. “I’m just taking a minute to recruit another player.”

“Oh, no. Not me. You go on ahead. I won’t take up any more of your time. Nice meeting you.” This wasn’t for him. He had no clue how to talk to a teen, no desire to learn. As for being some kind of role model to these kids, that was a joke. What Maria had tried to do for him, he understood, but there was no way a bunch of gangly, pimply faced boys could help him fight his demons. He was outta here.

Which was why, two hours later—after a game of pickup basketball, a tour of the facilities, and answering a dozen questions from the kids—he was surprised to find himself agreeing to return. It was the despair in Maria’s eyes when he’d tried to leave that had done him in.

It was the light in the kids’ eyes when they found out he was Mr. Bayne’s friend that had made it impossible to say no when they’d asked if he’d come play with them again. Later, as he listened while they’d shared their memories of Tennessee, the strangest thing happened. His. Damn. Heart. Didn’t hurt as much as it had before he’d followed Maria inside. These adolescents—naive in their belief he was a hero just like their friend had been—needed him.

Shit.

They’d held a ceremony for Mr. Bayne after they were told he had died. They had showed Jake the tree they’d planted in Tennessee’s memory. Jake had lost it then. Embarrassed, he’d tried to leave. Again.

Rudy scrambled after him. “Mr. Buchanan, none of us has much. We come here ’cause we got no reason to stay home.”

Jake stilled, not wanting to listen but unable not to. He turned and faced the kid. “And?”

“And . . . these kids,” the boy shifted his gaze to take in the group huddled together, watching them. “Well, coming here keeps them off the street. If they weren’t here, they would be standing on some street corner selling drugs.”