Ask Anyone (22 page)

“That's not going to happen,” Bobby said calmly.

“You haven't seen Pennington and Sons in action. I have,” she said fiercely. “They're my family and I love them, but those three can rob a person blind and make him like it.”

“You're saying I'm no match for them?” he said. “Do you think I'm just some small-town hick who can't play in the same pool as the big-city sharks?”

Jenna hesitated at the cold note in his voice. “No, not exactly.”

“Are you or aren't you?”

“I just mean that you don't know them like I do,” she said.

“How well do you know me, Jenna?”

“Fairly well,” she responded cautiously, not sure where he was heading.

“Have you ever known me to bow to pressure or to go back on my word?”

“No, but—”

He frowned. “If you say that I haven't met your brothers or your father yet, I'm going to toss you out of here.”

He sounded so serious that she sank back down in the chair opposite him. “I'm sorry.”

“You should be. I did not do this to hurt you. I did it
for
you.”

“Well, excuse me for not being grateful,” she retorted.

Bobby sighed. “Will you be here for dinner or not?”

“Oh, I'll be here,” Jenna said. “Heaven help us all.”

 

After only five minutes with Randall Pennington, every protective instinct in Bobby went on full alert. He'd thought Jenna was exaggerating her father's attitude toward her, but she hadn't been. Not even a little.

Unlike King, who nagged his offspring to death and tried to manipulate them into doing his bidding, Pennington was an unmistakable bully. It made Bobby's heart ache when he saw the hoops Jenna was willing to jump through to try to get so much as a hint of love, instead of all the harsh words and criticism the man doled out. For all of his faults, King's love had always been freely given.

“I apologize to you for not sending one of my sons down here to handle this,” Pennington said right off, after casting a sour look at his daughter. There hadn't been one iota of warmth in the greeting he'd given her, either. “Jenna gets these crazy notions into her head sometimes. I understand that your father raised three of you without a mother in the house. I'm sure he would agree that it's no easy task, especially with a daughter, when there's no female influence around. I'm afraid Jenna has never understood the proper place for a woman.”

Jenna all but rose out of her seat at his patronizing words, but a warning look from Bobby settled her down.

“And what place would that be?” he inquired, his own mood turning dangerous.

Clearly, Pennington missed the warning signs, because he said without the slightest hint of embarrassment, “At home, minding her children.”

“Not all women have the luxury of staying at home to care for their children. Some, like Jenna, are single mothers who need to make their own way in life. Some, like my sister, need the challenge of a career for their own fulfillment. Actually, my father is proud of the way all of us turned out,” Bobby said, making a mental plea for forgiveness for the flagrant lie. “Especially my sister. She's a lot like Jenna. Strong and independent and smart as a whip.”

Pennington seemed taken aback by the praise for his daughter. So, Bobby noticed, did Jenna.

“What does your sister do?” the man asked.

“She's a teacher,” Bobby said.

Pennington beamed. “Now there's a nice, respectable career for a woman. That, and nursing.”

Jenna started to bristle, then backed down. That left it to Bobby to say what had clearly been on the tip of her tongue.

“Are you saying that working for you is not respectable?” he asked Pennington, keeping his tone mild.

“Well, of course it is, as long as she stays in the office where she belongs. She shouldn't be out here in the field, though. Not only does she not have the experience for it, but men don't respect women who try to step into an authority role.”

“Is that so?” Bobby asked. “Why not?”

Pennington apparently sensed that he was treading on very thin ice, because he backed off at once. “They just don't. You're a man of the world. I'm sure you've seen it.”

“Not really. Of course, I cook for a living, so maybe I have some gender issues of my own.”

Jenna choked, then quickly covered her mouth. When her gaze met Bobby's, her eyes were twinkling with amusement though. He concluded that she was finally prepared to admit that he could hold his own with this particular shark.

Not that Pennington gave up the fight easily. He spent the entire evening going on and on about what a screwup Jenna was. It took everything in Bobby not to grab him up by his shirtfront, drag him outside and pummel some sense into him.

Finally it was Jenna who brought the dinner to a close. “Dad, I'm sure you've given Bobby a lot to think about. We'll be lucky if he lets us erect a playground swing set after this.”

Her father stared at her with a shocked expression, while Bobby silently applauded.

“Let's go,” she said. “Before you do any more damage to our chances to get this job.”

“But we haven't even discussed the details yet,” Pennington protested.

“Bobby and I have covered all of that,” she said firmly, tucking a hand under his elbow and practically lifting him out of his chair.

“Without my input?” he asked incredulously.

“Believe it or not,” she said, “I didn't need it.”

“But—”

“Dad, let's go. We've taken up more than enough of Bobby's time. Where are you staying?”

“Some dump over by the river.” He glanced at Bobby. “That's one of the first things we'll need to address. This town needs a first-class hotel, something big enough for all the conventions you'll be drawing once we put this place on the map.”

Jenna rolled her eyes at Bobby. “No conventions, Dad. Maybe you and I had better go over the plans Bobby has tentatively approved before our next meeting. You wouldn't want him to think we were squabbling over the proposal, would you?”

Pennington was still protesting as she steered him away. Bobby stared after them and shook his head. If it weren't for Jenna, there was no way in hell he'd deal with that man. In fact, he didn't intend to deal with him now—only Jenna. Wasn't that going to be a rude awakening for the pompous idiot?

 

Bobby marched into his office the next morning and asked Maggie to find the Pennington paperwork for the boardwalk project.

“You're giving Pennington the contract?” she asked hopefully.

“In a way,” he said, tossing the papers into his briefcase, then heading straight for the breakfast meeting he'd arranged during a phone call to Jenna late the night before.

Jenna watched him anxiously as he joined her and her father. He gave her a reassuring wink.

“Here's the deal,” he said to her father, holding his pen in hand. “I will sign this on one condition.”

Pennington's gaze narrowed. “Which is?”

“That I deal exclusively with Jenna. She stays here to oversee it from start to finish.”

Both of them stared at him with openmouthed astonishment.

“You still want me?” Jenna asked, looking far more stunned than any confident, talented woman should have.

He grinned at her. “Oh, yeah, but that's another issue entirely.”

“You're making a mistake,” Pennington said. “Either one of my sons—”

“Jenna,” Bobby said flatly.

“But—”

“Do we have a deal?” Bobby asked.

Her father shrugged. “It's your money you're throwing away.”

“Yes,” Bobby agreed, “it is my money I'm
investing.
” His gaze narrowed. “And one more thing for the record. Your daughter is an extremely talented waterfront planner. If I ever hear you make another remark like that disparaging Jenna's ability, I will strongly suggest to her that she open her own company and whip your sorry butt right into the ground.”

J
enna was still reeling from the scene with her father. Never before in her entire life had anyone stood up for her like that. In that single instant, she had fallen head over heels in love with Bobby Spencer. Oh, she'd been well on her way weeks ago, but that moment had crystalized everything she was feeling.

Unfortunately, for the past few days, he had been giving her such a wide berth that they might as well have been living in different states. He was acting as if that admission he'd made that he wanted her had been a slip of the tongue or that it referred to something else entirely. It was as if their near-tumble into bed had never happened, either.

The day after the breakfast with her father, Jenna had ducked into Bobby's office, hoping to catch him alone so that she could thank him properly for coming to her rescue, to say nothing of the favor he'd done her by giving her the job. He'd waved off her thanks and scurried out of the office so fast that even Maggie was left shaking her head.

That evening Jenna had gone to the restaurant for
dinner, but she hadn't caught so much as a glimpse of Bobby. When she'd finally gathered her courage and poked her head into the kitchen, she'd discovered that he'd left not fifteen minutes earlier after making a lame excuse that no one had bought. She had endured the pitying looks of his staff for a few more minutes, then took off herself.

And so it had gone, day after day, until she was ready to scream in frustration. She refused to be discouraged, though. She knew exactly what Bobby had meant that evening at dinner, knew from solid evidence—so to speak—just how badly he wanted her, and all the denials in the world weren't going to change it. She just had to be patient.

Besides, she had a project to oversee, and she didn't intend to mess it up. Too much was at stake: not only her professional reputation, but Bobby's faith in her. She was not going to disappoint him. The boardwalk in Trinity Harbor was going to be as quaint and charming as the town itself, a peaceful refuge from the stresses of the big city. No one understood those stresses better than she did. In fact, just the thought of having to go back to Baltimore someday was enough to make her jittery.

Proving herself to Bobby was one thing. There was also her father to consider. She didn't intend to do anything to confirm his disparaging remarks about her inexperience. If she had to take a crash course in construction and hammer home every single nail herself, this project was going to come in on time and under budget. She intended to put her brothers to shame on that score.
By Memorial Day next spring when it was unveiled right on schedule, the Trinity Harbor boardwalk was going to be the talk of the travel industry in the entire region, and she was finally going to have her father's respect. If she didn't, she was prepared to walk away from the relationship and stand on her own two feet.

Never in her entire life had Jenna been so determined. Okay, maybe when she'd set out to marry Nick, but she wasn't going to linger on
that
mistake. There was no comparison. She might not have understood much about men back then, but she did understand the development business…at least in theory. As a practical matter, she was going to be testing herself, but she could do it. She had to.

“You look grim,” Daisy noted, slipping into the booth opposite her at Earlene's the following Monday morning. “What's up?”

“Not grim, determined,” Jenna corrected after a weekend of making charts and timetables and enough lists to choke any compulsive overachiever on earth. “I'm going to build this boardwalk project without one single hitch. Not one.”

Daisy laughed. “Now there's a surefire way to tempt fate. Mistakes happen. Delays are just part of the real world.”

“Not mine,” Jenna insisted.

Daisy's laughter faded. “Has Bobby been putting too much pressure on you?”

Now it was Jenna's turn to chuckle. “Hardly. He's not even speaking to me.”

“Why on earth not?” Daisy asked, bristling with obvious indignation on Jenna's behalf. “What's wrong with my brother, anyway?”

Jenna really wanted to confide in Daisy, but she hesitated. For one thing, Daisy
was
Bobby's sister. Blood would win out every time…except, maybe, in her family. For another thing, Jenna simply wasn't used to discussing her personal life with anyone. Heck, she wasn't even used to
having
a personal life.

“He's been busy,” Jenna said, defending him half-heartedly.

“Like that has anything to do with anything,” Daisy scoffed. “Bobby makes time for what he wants to make time for.”

“Which should tell you something,” Jenna said. “I'm obviously not a priority. And the truth of the matter is, I don't have time for anything personal right now, either. I can't afford to be distracted. He's demonstrated a tremendous amount of faith in me by giving me this contract. I can't let him down. And mixing business with pleasure is probably a really lousy idea.”

Wasn't that a conversation they'd had in detail on his front lawn right after he'd kissed her senseless? Even though she didn't like it, it had been her idea as much as his. It was probably better this way. She could focus all her energy on the work that had to be done. Being around Bobby muddled her thinking.

“Since you're staying here to do this job, I assume Darcy will be going to school here,” Daisy said, wisely
letting the matter of Jenna's relationship with Bobby drop for the moment. “Have you enrolled her yet?”

“I'm going by to do that today, right after I interview contractors.”

“Okay, but a word of warning,” Daisy said. “Remember that this is Trinity Harbor, not Baltimore. Things tend to move at a more leisurely pace. Stop by the bookstore and ask Gail Thorensen about that. It took her forever to get everything finished the way she wanted it. Of course, if you've met Gail, you know she was born in a rush, but the bottom line is, don't expect too much, too soon. The work will be excellent, but it might not happen on your timetable.”

Jenna nodded, but dismissed the advice. She didn't have time to waste, not in completing the boardwalk project. Because until then, she wouldn't have a minute to spare for her other project—getting herself into Bobby's bed and, even more important, into his heart.

 

Bobby found out what job Lonnie was working, drove to the site at the end of the day and waited beside his truck. When Ann-Marie's husband walked out of the house he was wiring and spotted Bobby, his usual sour demeanor worsened visibly. It was hard to believe that at one time he'd been a carefree kid with all the potential in the world. No one had been more surprised than Bobby when Lonnie had given up a basketball scholarship to college and stayed home to apprentice as an electrician. Apparently he'd done it to be close to Ann-Marie—too close, as it had turned out. Bobby tried to
work up some sympathy for him, but under the circumstances he couldn't.

“I have nothing to say to you,” Lonnie said, brushing past him to yank open the truck door.

Bobby latched onto his arm and hauled him around to face him. Even though Lonnie was taller and bulkier, Bobby had always been quicker and stronger.

“Then you can listen,” he told his onetime best friend. “I know about J.C. I'm sorry you got caught in the middle, but that's in the past. We need to figure out what to do about the situation now.”

“The
situation,
as you describe it, wouldn't exist if Ann-Marie didn't baby that boy the way she does.”

“Maybe she's trying to make up for the fact that you ignore him,” Bobby said bluntly. “Everybody in town has seen the way you treat him, even if none of them understand why.”

Lonnie frowned. “So you intend to spread the word that you're a proud papa? I should have known you'd eventually turn up to claim what's yours. Why didn't you do it years ago, and save us all this misery?”

“If I'd known, I would have, but that's water under the bridge. I want to help now.”

“By tossing more money my way to keep me quiet?” Lonnie inquired, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

“No, by providing some guidance to J.C. before he gets into even worse trouble than he's already in—unless, of course, you're prepared to knock that chip off your shoulder and do the job yourself.”

Lonnie shrugged. “Kids fight. It's not a big deal.”

“Maybe—and I do mean maybe—it's not a big deal when kids pick on other kids their own size. But he beat up on a little girl and left her with a broken arm. If you can't see the problem with that, then there's something wrong with you. You're not the Lonnie Gates I used to know.”

“No, I'm not,” Lonnie said flatly. “That Lonnie died when I realized my wife was still in love with her ex-fiancé and had given birth to his baby.”

The statement and the obvious pain behind it rocked Bobby back on his heels. “I'm sorry,” he said, and actually meant it.

“Yeah, well, we get what we ask for, don't we? That's what happens when you marry your best friend's girl.”

“Lonnie, I really am sorry, but none of that is important now. Can't we work together to help J.C.?”

“You help him. I want no part of him. He's a constant reminder of everything that's gone wrong in my life,” he said bitterly. “I lost my best friend
and
my wife over that kid.”

“You can't seriously blame him for that,” Bobby said.

“It may not be right, but I do,” Lonnie said. “I can't change how I feel. He'll be better off with you as a role model. In fact, he'd be better off living under your roof, if that's the way you want to go.”

“Ann-Marie will never agree to that,” Bobby said.

“She will if I have anything to say about it,” Lonnie said grimly. “It's the only way to save our pitiful excuse for a marriage.”

This time when he brushed past Bobby to climb into
his truck, Bobby let him go. Ten minutes later he was on Ann-Marie's doorstep. There was no sign of Lonnie.

“Well, well, what brings you by?” Ann-Marie asked, her expression coy.

Bobby frowned at her. “What do you think? I'm here to see my son.”

She looked as surprised as if she'd forgotten all about his relationship with J.C. “I thought we were going to talk and work that out.”

“I've spoken to Lonnie. He and I have come to terms. And I'm sure you won't stand in my way,” he said, staring her down until she blinked and backed away.

“Come in,” she said flatly. “We're telling him together, okay? I'm not leaving it to you, so you can bad-mouth me to my own boy.”

“I would never do that,” Bobby told her. “But before you get him, there's one more thing. Lonnie thinks that for the sake of your marriage, J.C. ought to live with me, at least for a while. How do you feel about that?”

The color drained from her face. “You're taking him away from me?”

“No. But it might be a good idea for him to spend some time with me. You've had him for ten years. I've never spent ten minutes with him.”

Her expression turned resigned. “When?”

“Not today. He needs to get used to the idea that I'm his father, but soon—say in a few weeks?”

“Can we see how it goes?”

Bobby nodded. “Fair enough.”

“I'll get him,” she said, and went upstairs.

When she returned a few minutes later, J.C. trailed along behind, his expression sullen. When he spotted Bobby, alarm flared in his eyes.

“What do you want?” he demanded. “I didn't do nothing. I been locked in my room for days now.”

“J. C. Gates, you have not,” Ann-Marie protested. “But you have been grounded. Staying in your room has been your choice.”

He shrugged. “Whatever.”

“Have a seat,” Bobby suggested. “Your mother and I want to talk to you.”

J.C. regarded his mother uncertainly, looking as if he might refuse; but when no one spoke to challenge him, he finally sat.

“Ann-Marie, you want to start?” Bobby asked.

She regarded him gratefully, then swallowed hard and faced her son. “J.C., this isn't easy. I owe you an apology.”

Surprise flared in the boy's eyes. “An apology? Why?”

“Because there's something I kept from you, something you had a right to know. I just never knew how to tell you,” she said, glancing at Bobby.

Bobby nodded encouragingly.

“Your father,” she began, her voice dropping. “Well, he's—”

“A mean son of a gun. Is that what you're trying to say?” he asked bitterly, then dared a look at Bobby as if expecting his disapproval.

“No,”
Ann-Marie said emphatically, then sighed. “Lonnie…” Again, her voice trailed off.

“Lonnie isn't your biological father,” Bobby said quietly, as the boy's mouth dropped open. “I am.”

“You?” J.C.'s voice squeaked. “I don't get it.”

Bobby glanced at Ann-Marie for permission to continue with the explanation. She nodded.

“A long time ago your mom and I were in love. Then she fell in love with Lonnie and we split up. What we didn't know was that she was already pregnant with you.”

J.C. absorbed this news with a bemused expression. “Is that why Lonnie treats me the way he does, because I'm not his kid?”

“Someday you'll understand,” Bobby told him. “That's a tough thing for a man to handle. He's done the best he could. I'll always be grateful to him for looking out for you.”

J.C. snorted. “As if…”

Bobby regarded him sternly. “The point is, I know now that you're my son, and I want to get to know you, to spend time with you.”

“Forget it,” J.C. said, jumping up. “Lonnie might not be my real dad and he might be mean, but he's been here from the beginning. Where the hell were you?”