Good Wood (40 page)
“Yeah.”
“Well, Jay’s a web designer. And Lisa, she’s a photographer. They did all the hard work. I just let them into the shop, showed them the spice box, and brought them to mom’s. Are you mad?”
I looked into her stunning eyes and couldn’t contain a loving smile. “Not at all. I love it.”
“Really?” She asked, and a relieved grin appeared on her beautiful face. “I picked the name…but you can easily change it.”
“Good Wood, huh?” I cocked an uncertain eyebrow.
Her eyes twinkled impishly and she leaned to whisper, “Sex sells.”
The sun was setting by the time we headed home. Molly looked exhausted, but she hummed happily along to the radio as we rolled down the street back to our apartment.
“Joe, I’m sorry my family’s so crazy.” She laughed.
“Baby, don’t apologize. I love them. I’ve wished I belonged to your family since I met the twins in middle school.” I snickered. “That Junior’s a chip off the old bock.”
“He sure is. And Granny! Oh my goodness. Do you think it’s a coincidence that she hung the mistletoe over the pies?”
“No.” I boomed, without missing a beat. I shuddered and Molly uttered a throaty laugh. Her phone rang and she smiled as she looked at the caller ID.
“Dan! Merry Christmas!” I grinned at her and turned my attention back to the road. There was almost no traffic and what was there was easy to navigate. Glancing back at the dishes in the back seat I smiled. Francis was in for a treat. There was home cooking and then there was Hildebrandt home cooking.
It was pretty damn cold now that the sun was down. Colder than it’d been the night I went out to find Francis. It had been easy to get him in the truck and back to my place. It got harder when I told him what I wanted to do.
“Sorry Joe, can you run that by me again?”
“It’s pretty straightforward, Francis. I have an apartment that needs a tenant.” He glared at me with such outrage etched on his face I thought for a second he was going to punch me.
“I don’t need your damn charity, Joe.” I held up a hand to stop him. I could hear the barely contained rage in his voice and understood where he was coming from.
“Francis, from what I understand you were a hell of a salesman back in the day. Is that right?” Confusion blossomed on his face at the sudden change of subject.
“What? Well…yeah, I was the top salesman in the Gulf region for over a decade. And what may I ask does that have to do with the price of rice in China?” His anger was evident.
“I have stuff to sell, but I don’t deal well with people. I just thought that being…I mean…the fact that you were….hmm…how do I put this? I wanted to offer you a job as my salesman. It isn’t the highest paying job in town but I can throw in the apartment. Not that you…” Francis laughed at me.
“Good God. Stop already. Stop. You might be the greatest wood carver the world has ever seen but you suck at sales. You could talk a guy in the desert out of taking a glass of water.”
I showed him the apartment and gave him the gear I had used when I first moved in: a camping air mattress, a sleeping bag and an inflatable pillow. I took him shopping for groceries and a prepaid cell phone. Shitty salesman or not, I managed to overcome his objections by telling him to consider it all a signing bonus. As for the phone, I had to be able to get ahold of him and everyone has a cell phone these days. When I left that night, I explained that we would start work after the holidays and gave him an advance on his salary to go out and get some stuff for the apartment and some new clothes.
Turns out the phone purchase was a better idea than I realized. Without it I would be sitting in jail and Molly would be at the mercy of an insane dickweed. When Molly and I got home, it took me three trips to get all the gifts and leftovers from the truck. Molly tried to help, but I insisted she sit on the couch and rest. She’d been cooking and waiting on everyone all day and I wanted to pamper her.
She was in the kitchen sipping a glass of water when I brought in the food.
“Hey! Let’s take the leftovers to Francis.” She suggested.
We weren’t over there long. Francis seemed surprised and pleased when we turned up with the goods. We all had a beer, but he got a phone call from his daughter. Watching the emotional scene that seemed about to ensue, we wanted him to have his privacy.
We returned to our apartment and I grabbed us each another beer from the fridge. Sinking down on the couch, I let out a sign of contentment and pulled her close. She molded herself against me and tucked her face into my chest.
“I hope you’re done running around, ‘cause I wanna snuggle.” She said in a sleepy yet sultry tone.
“Ready for bed already, baby girl?” I glanced at the clock and it was only six p.m.
She looked up at me with a mischievous grin.
“To sleep? No…but I’m
always
ready for bed.” Grabbing my hand, she took me into the bedroom and gave me a scorching-one might even say “mind-blowing”-present. By the time she was done with me, I collapsed, completely exhausted. My stomach growled audibly. Molly started to roll out of bed, but I pulled her back to me.
“Stay in bed, Molly. I’ve got dinner.”
She smiled and settled next to me, running her fingertips over my chest. “It’s Christmas, baby. Nobody’s delivering tonight.”
“Who said anything about take out?” I slipped away from her and threw on my pants.
Her eyes widened in mock fear. “Joe. I don’t know if your homeowner’s insurance covers
you
in the kitchen…didn’t you say you can burn water?”
I grabbed one of the pillows and chucked it lightly at her. She caught it and hurled it back at me.
“Maybe. But there is one thing that I actually
can
cook.” I brushed her dark, silky hair off her cheek with a shy smile. She eyed me curiously and I heaved a forceful sigh. “How do you feel about trying Joe’s famous Spaghetti and Meatballs?”
Molly and Joe return this Fall in...
Thanks to everyone who contributed DNA to the following folks in the Good Wood entourage:
Robin Harper of Wicked By Design
: you are quite possibly the most patient human roaming this mud ball of a planet. Thank you for creating all the various cover mock ups with all of my crappy ideas. Then thanks for ignoring me all together and taking it upon yourself to create the one that we used. Thanks for patiently listening to Michelle’s ramblings about teasers and chapter headers and just smiling and nodding. You’re a sweetheart.
Mindy Badgett of Schooled Editing Services
. Thank you for your prompt and enthusiastic help. It’s awfully swell to have someone around who understands the English language. Also, thanks for saying you loved the book and stroking our fragile egos.
Julie Titus of J.T Formatting
. Have I told you lately that I love you? We’ve been together a long time, you and I. Thanks for being consistently awesome.
A big ‘thank you’ to our beautiful
cover model
,
Ruby Franco
. Michelle searched far and wide to find the perfect muse for our heroine, and your pictures undoubtedly helped to breathe life into Molly. Thanks for agreeing to work with us and for being such a doll.
To each and every one of our
beta readers: Morgan Powell, Laura Wilson, Tamron Davis, Sally Bouley, Lisa Fox, Jaimie Rivale, Stacey Grice, Elaine Mosgofian, Kara Doerfer, Andrea Barry, “The Brett Lewis”, Vanessa Proehl, Kelly Moorhouse, Shaina Abbs, Stacy Darnell and Sarah Griffin
. Your time and dedication is appreciated beyond measure. You were the angels and the demon on our shoulders throughout this process. Thanks for enduring the photo barrages of our muse for Joe, the otherworldly
Jensen Ackles
, (it was quite a chore, we realize) and for discussing fictional characters with us as if they were real people. Additional thanks for those of you nuts enough to saddle up for the sequel.
To Austin
,
Texas:
for bewitching us and lending your funky vibe for our setting. All of your colorful haunts helped round out our tale. Walking your streets and absorbing your energy added just the right amount southern kick to the pages of Good Wood.
L.G. Pace III
has spent several decades pouring creative energy into other things besides writing. He began his current journey by telling his two daughters bedtime stories about a magical realm and a hero named Terel. Though that story is still sitting unfinished in the electronic universe he has managed to bring two other stories out of the dark maelstrom of his mind for others to enjoy.
He dwells in the great state of Texas with his wife, novelist Michelle Pace and their children.
OTHER WORKS BY L.G.PACE III
CONNECT WITH L.G. PACE III AT:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/LGPaceIII
Twitter:
@PACEWRITE
Michelle Pace
lives in north Texas with her husband, Les, who is also a novelist. She is the mother of two lovely daughters, Holly and Bridgette, and one uber-charismatic son, Kai. A former singer and actress, Michelle has always enjoyed entertaining people and is excited to continue to do so as a writer.
OTHER WORKS BY MICHELLE PACE
Something’s Come Up
(with Andrea Randall)
Fury
(with Tammy Coons)
Rage
(with Tammy Coons)
The Perpetual Quest for the Perfect Life
(with Tammy Coons)
Kiss Kiss
CONNECT WITH MICHELLE PACE AT:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleKisnerPace
Twitter: @MichelleKPace
Webpage: http://www.michellepaceauthor.com