Strike (Completion Series) (5 page)

I hid Don Gato
under Reed’s jacket when I got on the bus. I looked like I was six-months pregnant, but there was no way I could walk the entire way. It was now a little more than an hour after Jon and Bitsy had left for school. Don Gato was still alive when I knocked on Reed’s door.

During the entire trip,
I swore I wouldn’t cry. Reed answered the door with bedhead, no shirt, low-slung sweatpants, and a sleepy adorable look on his face.

“I need your help and…and I’ll sleep with you to get it.”

Anger quickly replaced the sleepy look and, for a moment, I thought he would close the door in my face.

“What
. The. Fuck, Jaycee?”

I started crying. It wasn’t soft or delicate, pretty
, or feminine. It just poured out. I unzipped the jacket and uncovered Don Gato.

“I don’t want him to suffer
, but I couldn’t kill him. I don’t have the money to have him put down and I couldn’t do it.” I was repeating myself and blubbering like a fool.

“Christ.”

His arms closed around Don Gato and me at the same time he backed us into the house. He just held me for what seemed like forever. When his arms finally slipped away, he took Don Gato and carried him to the nearest couch.

“How long has he been this way?”

I wiped my eyes and sniffed. “For about twenty-four hours. I’m sorry I came here, but Bitsy loves him. He’s just a darn old cat, but he adopted us after our mother died and he helped Bitsy when she really needed it. He hunts mice, so I don’t need to buy much food and he’s never needed anything else but a scratch here and there.” I looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that. Let me get a shirt on and we’ll go to the vet. I don’t know that there
’s anything that can be done, though.”

“There isn’t, but I don’t want him suffering
, and I want it over before Bitsy gets home. May I use your phone to call my boss? I’m supposed to work this morning’s shift.”

“You can use my cell phone in the car. I think we should hurry. Will you lose your job over this?”

“No, Dwaine will understand. I’ve never missed a day before. He teases me all the time...” My voice trailed off and I started to apologize again, but Reed left the room. He hadn’t said anything about my offer to sleep with him, but I figured we would have plenty of time to discuss it later.

This time
, he didn’t turn up the music in his car. I figured it was out of deference to Don Gato.

“When did your mother die?” He watched the road
, not looking at me.

“
Three years ago.”

Just a quick turn of his head before
he turned back and watched traffic. “You were seventeen?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get custody of Jon and Bitsy?”

“I turned eighteen
a few months after she died. They were both in state custody until then.”

“What about you?”
His voice was low and coaxing like he knew I didn’t talk about this.

“I refused. The state actually has a program that got me my own place and paid my bills.”

I could see emotions crossing his face; his lips tightened, his forehead creased, but he kept his tone even. “How did you end up at the trailer?”

“
The money stopped when I turned nineteen. One of the social workers owned the trailer and gave it to us. We’ve been lucky.”

His lips mashed
tighter and the outline of his jaw became more defined. “Nothing about your life has involved luck, Jaycee. Christ!”

Pity
mixed with anger dripped from the words, and my fighting attitude reared its ugly head. “What…and the baseball player got his big house and fancy car because of luck?” I snapped.

He gave me another quick
, frustrated look. “Yes. I make good money playing ball, but I inherited a shit load too. I’ve never worked a real damn job in my life. I play ball because I’m good at it and because I was born with good genes and natural athletic ability. Luck. And because of it, I have a big house and fancy car. If my career continues the way it has been, I’ll make even more money.”

Wow, I had no idea
, but it still didn’t mean I needed his pity. “They gave my mother six months to live. She lived a year. The first social worker on our case said I would never get custody of my sister and brother. I found a full-time job, signed up for college classes, and received custody anyway. I’ll admit, getting caught breaking into your house was very unlucky, but we’re on our way to a vet. I think it’s the way you look at life. You should try the glass is half full approach some time.” I sounded like my mother even though I believed the opposite. I just didn’t want this man’s pity.

His lips twitched and I watched a slow
grin appear on his face. I could only see his profile, but loved the glimpse of that sexy smile. He made me think about my earlier dreams that would never come true—the dashing prince, the glittery castle, perfection. All fairy tales. Real life was actually the wicked witch and doom.

“I need to call
Dwaine.”

Reed
pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. After a moment, while I figured out how it worked, I put it to my cheek. The damn thing actually smelled like him. A phone for god’s sake. I spoke to Dwaine and tasted Reed on my lips. I wanted to lick the cover plate.

I was perfectly pathetic.

We pulled up at the clinic a few minutes later. Reed carried Don Gato inside. I was glad. I loved the stupid cat and this was the hard part. After filling out a short form, the tech took us back to a private room. She was young and pretty. She ignored me, but stared at Reed like a lovesick fool. Yep, I knew I had the same look and it pissed me off.

She asked Reed about Don Gato and he turned to me. It was petty of me
, but I was glad she had to take notice that I was in the room. I told her what I knew and she immediately turned back to Reed.

“Dr. Lyston will be with you in a moment.”

I wanted to slap her hand when she placed her fingers on Reed’s arm. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Thank you.”
He gave her the same heart-stopping smile he gave me on occasion.

Now
I wanted to rip her pretty little face off.

I looked down at Don Gato. His eyes were only partially open and he remained listless.
I guessed his age to be about fifteen, but I actually had no idea. Reed kept a hand against Don Gato’s side, lightly rubbing his fur.

Dr. Lyston finally
entered the room. He at least looked at me after I answered the first of his questions.

“We can do some blood work and take an x-ray to see if he has
a blockage.” A touch of censure entered his voice. “It’s hard to tell by what I can see. If he was an indoor cat, you would know about his bowel movements and eating habits, but I can only work with what we have. His temperature is slightly elevated and he could be fighting off an infection.”

The doctor
was making this hard. “He needs to be put down. That’s all I want.”

He gave me a
stunned look. “I assure you, he may only have an infection.”

I straightened my shoulders and refused to cry no matter how much I wanted to. “I don’t have the money. Mr. Tyler agreed to pay for the euthanasia. Don Gato has been a good cat and he doesn’t deserve to suffer because I can’t afford his treatment.
”

Reed took my hand. “Run the tests
, doc. I’ll cover the cost. If the best thing is to put the cat down, I’ll trust you to tell us. How long do you think this will take?”

I tried twisting my hand loose
, but Reed wouldn’t release it. I would never be able to pay him back for this. I had nice tits, but I didn’t see Reed wanting me for more than a quick fuck or two. The novelty of the poor little burglary chick would wear off quickly. I cast my angry gaze his way, but his eyes told me I wasn’t going to win this argument. At least not at the moment.

“It would be best if you left him here until this afternoon. I’m sure he needs fluids
, and even if we start him on some antibiotics, we need to keep an eye on him. My nurse can call you later and give you an update.”

Now the doctor wasn’t looking at me either. His attention was on the man with the money.
I had to ask. “How much is this going to cost.”

“Don’t worry about it
,” Reed said, cutting off any reply the doctor could make.

They had
Reed’s cell number, so we left. I sat in the car, crossed my arms, and tried not to cry again.

Reed
pulled out of the clinic parking lot, placing his hand over mine and giving it a slight squeeze. “It’s okay, Jaycee. If it makes you feel better, I’m doing this for Bitsy. I think she needs that cat and maybe the doctor can get a few more years out of him.”

One tear, then two
, spilled from my eyes. I turned away, looking out the window. “Believe me, you’re getting the poor end of the deal. My body isn’t worth this much.”

Luckily, I had my seat
belt on or I would have hit my head against the windshield. Reed turned sharply into an empty side lot and slammed on the brakes.

Oh no, I’d really pissed him off now.

“You seriously think I would sleep with you because I’m paying the damn medical bill for a cat? I’ve offered you an honest job. Sex was not part of that offer. I’ve never been so hard up I needed to pay for it. This…” he waved his hand in the air, “is a gift. I can afford to have Bitsy’s cat looked at and fed caviar for that matter. You said a social worker gave you that trailer. You took that, so you can damn sure take this.”

He turned the car around and jumped back into traffic. He didn’t take me home
; he pulled up in front of a diner, parked, and turned off the engine.

“I’m hungry and I’m buying you a meal. Don’t even think about saying no.” He unsnapped his seat
belt and got out of the car.

I followed his angry strides with a slight smile on my face. His ass was so sexy. The smile left my face a second later. He wasn’t taking me up on my offer to sleep with him
, so there was really nothing to smile about.

I decided to sulk.

Reed didn’t care about my mood disorder; he just started pumping me for information. “Tell me about your classes?” he asked after we placed our orders.

Someday I’d get the unsociable girl attitude down properly. I gave in with a small puff of air, which moved a few flighty strands of hair
from my face. “There are only two this semester—math and English. At the rate I’m going, I’ll graduate from college in ten years.”

“You
’re taking an advanced math course.”

“I tested out of basic
, took two math courses last semester, and decided to push myself a little this time. I know it’s weird, but I like anything to do with numbers. ”

“Do you ever play Sudoku?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not anymore. They’re too easy.”

“Prove it.” He stood up
and walked to the diner’s front counter, grabbing a newspaper.

I used to play the puzzles from the newspapers at the library
, but seriously, they became too easy. He went through the paper and folded it before placing it in front of me.

“Are you going to time me or what?”
I was having trouble not laughing at how sure he was that I couldn’t handle the puzzle in the newspaper.

“No, I just want to see you
try one. They didn’t have a pencil,” he said as he handed the pen over.

“
I don’t need one.” This was my element and my middle name was cocky.

“We’ll see
,” was his smartass reply.

I wondered why he thought a Sudoku puzzle was so special. There were much harder
math brainteasers out there. I looked the puzzle over and the numbers started falling into place. Our food arrived as I was finishing up. Far too easy.

I
turned the paper upside down, lifted my fork, and took my first bite.

Reed looked back and forth between the paper and me.
“You can finish after you eat. I don’t mind waiting.”

“
I’m done.”

He gave me “the look” and I couldn’t help laughing.
“You wanna check my work?”

He turned the newspaper
over and started examining the puzzle.

“How’d you do that?”

“Eat your food, jock man. Why is the ability to do a Sudoku puzzle so important to you?”

He took a bite of food and I watched his mouth while
he chewed, loving the way his jaw moved. Was anything this man did non-erotic? His eyes were bright and he ate slowly, savoring each bite of the diner food. He swallowed and I watched his Adam’s apple move as I slid my gaze back up to his eyes.

He was watching me, just the corners of his mouth tipping up. “
A friend of my father’s is obsessed with Sudoku puzzles. He got me addicted and at least once a week, I spend a of couple hours figuring it out.”

“A couple of hours?” He had to be kidding.

“Yes, Miss Brainiac. They calm me down and require all of my focus. I like to work on one when I’m nervous before games.”

He was the rising star in baseball.
“How can you be nervous before games?”

H
is face flushed slightly. “This isn’t good table conversation.”

I laugh
ed. “What do you do…puke?”

Reed Tyler’s cheeks turned
completely red.

“Seriously?”
I asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Not if I work on a puzzle. The guys tease
me about it, but we each have our own way of dealing with game day stress. But now I don’t know if I can ever do one of these again.” He flipped the paper over. “You just completed one in under ten minutes.”

“Closer to five.”
I couldn’t help tossing that out.

“What
are your plans when you graduate?” he asked between bites.

“I’ll need false teeth by then
, so they’ll come first.”

“Hmm, some things
could be pretty interesting with no teeth.”

I choked on the bite of food I’d just put in my mouth and picked up my napkin
, trying hard not to spit it out.

He threw back his head and laughed.

I swear my ears turned pink.

“We aren’t going there yet
, Jaycee.”

I managed to swallow
, but I wanted to hit him. He gave off so many mixed signals. He looked at me like he wanted to fuck my brains out, but then he backed off. I’d offered to have sex with him in exchange for the vet bill and that pissed him off. Then he made jokes about blowjobs. God, at least I think that’s what he referred to. Every time I looked at him, I thought about sex. He wasn’t a boy, he was a man. So why the hell were his signals so messed up?

He winked.
“I’m not going to ask what you’re thinking right now, so let’s change the subject.”

It was a good idea
, so I took a small bite of food and let him do it.

“Let’s talk about you moving in with me.”

I managed to continue chewing and watched as he took another bite. He acted like what he said was no big deal.

It had to stop.
I took a deep, calming breath so I could explain it to him unemotionally. “So…I move in. Uproot my sister and brother. Don’t sleep with you. Do your house management thing while you’re out of town. And then what? Or, let’s say I sleep with you. What happens when you’re bored, Mr. Jock Man? My sister and brother have started a new school, but it’s time for us to move along. If we lived over the garage, Bitsy will think of you as a big brother or, better yet, a father figure and poof—no more hero.”

I watched his lips pull in tightly as I talked. He was a nice guy
, but he had no place in my life and I had no place in his.

“Eat your food,” was his reply.

Maybe things were finally sinking in. I broke into his house for god’s sake. He played professional baseball and made a gazillion dollars each year. We were like Apple and Microsoft. We didn’t belong anywhere near each other.

***

Reed took me home after the veterinary office called and said they needed to keep Don Gato overnight. I knew Jon and Bitsy were there and I was incredibly relieved that I didn’t need to tell Bitsy her cat was dead.

“Thank you.” It came out softer than I meant it to.

“Was that so hard?”

His bad mood was gone and a
crooked smile flashed across his face. Suddenly, all I could think about was our last kiss. “Yea, it was kinda hard, but really, thank you.”

“I
heard what you said earlier, Jaycee, but I still want you to think about my job offer. I can have the trailer towed to my house so it’s available if you need it. I could use the help while I’m gone, and having you there will keep my mind on the game. Spring training is a lot of work. We go straight into regular season after that and I’m away as much as I’m home.”

I shook my head.
“You’re full of shit and you don’t really need me.”

I opened the door and got out
, knowing he watched. I knocked on the trailer door. Unable to help myself, I turned and looked at Reed. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but his fingers came off the steering wheel in a semi-wave. I didn’t return it.

Bitsy’s
smile disappeared when she saw I didn’t have Don Gato and her lips started quivering. Jon looked resigned.

“He’s at the vet
, Bitsy. They think he has an infection and they’re keeping him overnight for fluids and medicine.” I turned to Jon so he would understand. “Reed gave me a ride to the vet’s office.”

Jon’s eyes
narrowed. “Is he paying for it?”

I looked back at Bitsy and smiled at her. “No, the doctor said he would take the bunny money as payment in full.” If I was going to start a lifetime of lying, I might as well make it good.

There was no chance Jon believed me, but he would keep quiet with Bitsy within earshot.

I cooked dinner and had just enough time to make it to my evening class. I only had to go to the community college once a week because I used
a computer at the library and took most of the course online. It was easier to work around my schedule this way. I turned in my assignment, did my lab, and walked outside to catch the bus.

Several guys stood about ten feet away
and I quickly looked past them. Then I did a double take. Reed stood with his arms across two guys’ shoulders, a third taking their picture. He was killing me. How the hell did he know where I was?

He
watched me as I approached.

“Hey, sorry, my girl’s here. I need to get her home.”

His girl? What the fuck?

Were we back in high school and no one sent me the memo?

After they shook Reed’s hand, he walked over to me, kissed me on the cheek, threw a casual arm over my shoulder, and started leading me out to the parking lot.

“What are you doing here and how did you know where I was?” I whispered harshly.

“Your brother told me. I went back to the trailer to give you something and you weren’t there. Again, you needed a ride, should have told me, but didn’t.”

My teeth ground together. “You are not my boyfriend
, Reed.”

“Oh, I see. You can
offer to use my body, that’s okay, but if I want to provide taxi service, I’m just not good enough.”

I no longer whispered. “I did not
offer to use your body.”

We were at his car and he stepped in close
. I moved back and the cold metal of the car pressed against me. Reed’s warm body took away the chill and he’d done it to me again. Backed me into the kissing corner. I stared at his lips, waiting for them to descend.

And waited.

Instead of where I wanted them, his lips brushed against my ear while his hands held my head.

“I know you want my body
, Jaycee, just admit it.” His warm breath whispered over my skin.

I would have hit him
, but then he took my earlobe between his teeth, bit down, released the pressure, and sucked.

He sucked my
fucking ear.

Electricity shot to my
groin and I melted into a pool of sticky hot wax.

His lips moved to my neck and his fingers
feathered across my skin. Frustration made me moan. I wanted him to take me right here in the parking lot. I didn’t care who saw us.

“Just kiss me
, you bastard.” I barely recognized my throaty voice.

“So not nice.” He was still whispering and the husky timbre raised goose bumps on my skin. “You haven’t met my mother
, but I assure you, her and my dad were married when I was conceived.” He pulled back, reached behind me, and opened the car door. “Get in, Jaycee.”

He was such a
Mr. Bossy Pants. I got in because it wasn’t worth the fight and because I wasn’t thinking clearly. Passion was making me a sex-starved lunatic.

I
covered my face with my hands. “Why are you here?” I mumbled.

“I bought you a cell phone and wanted you to have it so I could get ahold of you tomorrow in case we can pick up Don Gato.”

“A cell phone?” What was he doing? He couldn’t just go around buying girls cell phones. I peeked out between my fingers and saw his stubborn-man face. Yes, he could.

“Does anyone but me ever tell you no?”

He smiled. “Rarely.”

The sad
, pathetic truth was that I needed a cell phone. Jon’s and Bitsy’s schools had my trailer park manager, college, and job phone numbers, but it scared me to death that something would happen and they wouldn’t find me. I shouldn’t fight this one.

“Are you calming down yet?”

“No.” I was such a stubborn brat.

“Well then
, I’ll just go ahead and tell you so you can work all the anger out at once…I bought a phone for Jon too.”

I took my hands away from my face and slammed my head back against the seat. It felt so good, I did it again, and again.

“Is that helping?”

“Yes
,” I said between strikes.

“How about I put some good head
banger music on to help you with that beat?”

“I hate you
,” I said with my eyes closed, my head continuing its movement.

“Will you sleep with me?”
There was laughter in his voice.

He was such a pig
. “No.”

The music crashed throughout the car.

He handed me the phone box when we got to the trailer. “My number’s programmed in. Jon has it too.”

A sigh of frustration escaped me. “We are not your charity case
, Reed.” I was so tired and, more than anything, I didn’t want to fight anymore.

His fingers moved across my jaw. “Say thank you and go inside
, Jaycee. I’ll see you tomorrow when we pick up the cat.”