Face to Face (3 page)

“Hi.”

“Hi there, darlin’.”

Her smooth whiskey tone soothed his nerves almost
instantly. Only
Jess called him darlin’ and that’s
the way he preferred it.

“What’s up, Jess?”

“I’m
going to be MIA for a while. I mean I’ll still send you a good morning every
morning, but not sure how often I’ll be around for much more for a while.”

“Is
everything
okay? Did something happen?”

“No…well yes, but nothing bad.
I landed a new job. They want me there
by next Monday.”

“Who
wants you where?”

“At Aeronautical.”

“How
did you get involved with Aeronautical?”

“While
taking a tour of the plant here, I noticed a
potential
problem with a piece in the extrusion assembly when they showed us the plans
for the machine we would be designing parts for.”

“Leave
it to you to see a problem.”

“You
know me…”

“Yes,
I do, you have to poke and prod everything.”

Her
laughter fil
tered across the miles through the phone
connection. He loved to hear that
sexy sound. Her laughing meant things
were good, whether he thought they were or not.

“Well,
I just wanted to hear your voice. This conversation will have to hold me over
until I ge
t this move done and adjusted to the new
job. I figure they’ll have me pretty busy at first.”

“
Ya
know, you’re something else.”

“Why
do you say that?”

“Because you are.
You have smarts and know how to use
them. Plus, you’re the bravest woman I know.” He wi
shed
he could tell her how much she meant to him, but he knew she deserved someone
better than him. With nothing to offer her, he di
dn’t
have
the right to think of her as
anything
more than a wonderful friend.

“Nothing
brave about it. I’m scared out of my
mind
, but I need a serious change, and this is as good a chance
as I’m probably going to get.”

“Well,
good luck with the new job and the move. If you need anything I can help you
with, you know where I am.”

“Thanks,
Ash. You’re the best. I’ll call as soon
as I’m
settled.”

Tell her you idiot. Don’t let her go
without telling her how you feel.
“Sure thing, hon. Stay safe and be careful. Love
ya
.”

“You too, darlin’.
Bye.”

The
click of her hanging up sounded too final. What if this was her last goodbye?
He’d b
een an idiot to reject her offer. Hopefully,
she wouldn’t disappear from his life. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he
lost her friendship.

Chapter Two

Finally,
after five weeks, Jess had everything unpacked, the house organized, and the
new job was going smoothly. Now if she could get her personal life rolling,
everything would be perfect. She hoped the date she had at seven o’clock would
go well. Dan se
emed like a nice guy. She already knew
he was a good conversationalist.

They’d
met through her work. He worked for a partner company, visiting for the week.
She needed to get out, to relax and have a little fun. Ash had been quiet other
than their good mo
rning texts back and forth every
day. She had no idea how to tell him she now lived across town instead of
several states away. Keeping the details of her new job from him had been a
mistake. Fear of losing his friendship now kept her silent, but she had t
o fix this somehow.

Jess
knew she’d pushed too hard with wanting to meet.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I should have waited, should have let him ask to meet.
She had to keep busy, had to keep
occupied with anything other than
thoughts of
Ash. Doing her makeup a
nd hair
took her
mind
off him for a little while. Nothing
kept him from creeping into her thoughts for long though.

The
sharp ring of her phone jerked her from
her thoughts. Dan was calling—
either to cancel or make sure things
were still a go. “Hello.”

“Hi
, Jess, just calling to make sure we’re still on for
tonight.”

“Sure,
I’m getting ready to leave now. We’re meeting at The Raven House Theater,
right?”

“Right,
I’ll see you there.”

“See
you in a few, Dan, bye.”

“Bye,
Jess.”

Grabbing
her purse and jack
et,
s
he locked up then climbed
in
to
her car. She stopped herself before she could wonder what Ash would be doing
tonight.
Not now. You don’t go on a date with one
man while thinking about another.
Thinking about him tonight wasn’t what she’d wanted to do.
She’d hoped the date with Dan would keep Ash off her
mind
. Her plan seemed to have the opposite
effect, though.
The
more she tried to clear her head
, the more her thoughts strayed to Ash.

Jess
sta
rted her car, pulled out of her garage, and turned
right heading toward downtown. The Raven House Theater wasn’t too far from her
house. She had been lucky to find a reasonably priced three-bedroom ranch on
the edge of town.

She’d
have to tell Ash sooner
or later, even though he’d
probably never talk to her again. Why she thought it would be a good idea to
move this close to him and not say anything escaped her now.

Pulling
into the parking lot next to the theater, she watched a group of
motorcycles park
in front of
the bar next-door. Would he be there tonight? The place was his usual haunt,
but he said he hadn’t been going there for a while.

She
watched a number of people enter the bar. None were Ash.
Stop
it! You have to get Ash out of your head.

Reaching
for her purse on the passenger seat, she jumped when someone knocked on her
side window. There stood Dan with a wide grin. She smiled back as he opened her
door and offered her his hand to help her out of the vehicle.

“Hi, Dan.”

“Hey,
Jess. When y
ou said ‘see you in a few minutes,’ you
weren’t kidding.” He laughed as he led her into The Raven House. They were
going to see a local group perform
Fiddler on the Roof,
one of her favorite musicals.

After
they took their seats, Dan regaled her with how l
ong
he’d worked with Aeronautics and how he was building quite a nest egg for
himself and that special someone. “And if you play your cards right you could
very well be that special lady.”

Is this joker serious? He can’t possibly
get any more cliché if he
tried
.

When
the lights went down in the theater and went up on stage, Dan’s hand landed on
her knee.
Terrific.

The
play was very good, the actors were definitely talented, and did a great job of
helping
her
forget her
troubles
for a bit
. That is until D
an
inched his
hand farther up
her thigh. Dropping her hand on top of his, she whispered, “That’s far enough,
Dan. We don’t know each other well enough for that.”

“Party pooper.”
His quiet chuckle grated on her nerves.

He
flipped his hand over and entwined
their fingers. His
sweaty palms were revolting, but as long as she kept ahold of him, his hand
couldn’t wander.

The
intermission was a chore. As they walked to the lobby, his hand rested on the
upper curve of her butt. “Dan, do I need to re
mind
you we don’
t
know each other that well
again
?”

“I’m
just having a little fun. Don’t be such a prude.”

She
rolled her eyes as his irritating laugh rang in her ears all the way back to
their seats.

Dan
seemed to straighten up and actually enjoy the rest of the play. St
ill, this would definitely be their one and on
ly date. She’d had enough of him
.

As
the play ended and the audience filed out, Dan was all
gentleman
while he guided her through the lobby.

Jess
was pleasantly surprised with the local talent. “Wasn’t the play
wonderful? They did such a good job.”

Dan
pushed the door open, ushering her outside. “I’m glad you enjo
yed the show. It was good
.” His hand wandered low on her hip.

“Dan,
you need to move your hand.”

He
pawed at her as soon as they got ar
ound the corn
er of the building
and
into the shadows. “Stop it, Dan. Go home. This isn’t happening, not tonight,
not ever. Am I being clear enough for you
?”

She
he
ard people leaving the
bar next
door and hoped the
interruption would make Dan give up. Apparently, he was
n’t bothered by the possibility of being caught assaulting someone. He
continued to push her, trying to get under her jacket.

“You
don’t mean that, doll. We clicked, didn’t we? We just need some privacy to get
to know each other better.”

She
pushed at
him, trying to shove him away. “Knock it
off, you asshole. I said no and that’s what I meant.”

“Hey,
buddy, the lady said no. Back off!”

The
deep voice booming from behind Dan was all too familiar.
Oh
shit! Just the person I didn’t want to run into.
Jess
had to
think fast, she had to find a way to get out of the situation unseen.

“
Mind
your own business!”

“The
lady said no. You need to move on or I’ll make you move on.”

“Buddy,
you need to leave us alone. We don’t need you butting in where you aren’t wante
d.”

“I
think we need to let the lady decide what she wants.
Ma’am, now’s the time to leave if you’re going to.”

Ash
walked toward them, and Dan dropped his hold. Jess took advantage of Ash’s
interference and backed a fe
w steps deeper into the shadows
.

Keep
ing her voice a little gruff, she hoped he wouldn’t realize
who she was. “Thanks, mister.” She took off for her car as fast as she could
without running. She had to get away in case Ash walked to the back of the lot
to make sure she got to her car, which i
s something
she knew he would do.

Ash’s
voice carried across the parking lot. “You better get out of here, before
someone calls the cops. Don’t try to follow her either. I’ll be waiting for you
to leave.”

“I’m
going, asshole. The bitch isn’t worth my time
anyway.”
Dan stormed off to his car, gunned the motor as he started the engine, and then
quickly tore out of the lot.

Jess
tried to get her hands to still so she could get the key in the ignition of her
v
ehicle. They wouldn’t
cooperate
. “Shit, come on, get
yourself together. If he sees you, tonight is only going
to get worse.” Talking to
herself
seemed to work. She slid the key into
the slot, turned it smoothly, and the motor started immediately. With a quick
look in her mirrors, she put the car in reverse.

Bam!
The sudden stop confused her at first.
Looking into her rearview mirror again, she saw the rear end of a truck
illuminated in the red glare of her taillights. “Where did he come from?” There
hadn’t been anyone behind her
when she put her car in gear
.

“Perfect!”
She dropped her head to the steering wheel. “This is just wonderful. What else
can go wrong?”

Tap, tap,
tap
.
“Ma’am, are you okay?”

Oh my God, there is what else can go
wrong.
She had been in such a hurry she didn’t notice him backing out. She
could only nod her head at his query. Her heart seemed to
hit the bottom of her stomach when she realized there was no way to get out of
this. He would hate her for sure, but she had created the situation all on her
own. She should have told him exactly w
here her new
job was located and where she would be moving.

Keeping
her head down, she gave him a thumbs up, hoping that would be enough. When Jess
glanced out the corner of her eye, he was still there. She rolled down the
window just enough for him to be
able to hear her.
“Yes, thank you.”

Jess
slowly sat up and looked at Ash through the window. His eyes widened slightly
before he frowned at her.
“Jess?
What are you doing here?”

“Well,
I had a date with a colleague. Guess I should have known better.”

“Why
didn’t you tell me you’d be in town?”

“Um…I
think some people want out. You should probably move your truck.”

As
he turned, he lifted his head to look at the parking lot. “Fine, I’ll move so
you can get out, then I’ll follow you to where you’re staying so
you can tell me what’s going on.”

He
walked to his truck, not giving her a chance to say no. She hadn’t even
bothered to check for any damage she might have caused backing into his truck.
Of course, she’d pa
y
for any repairs needed
,
if he’d let her.

 
“Terrific, I should have just let Dan
grope me all the way to my car so I could have dealt with him myself.”