Lucky Break (14 page)

“There's nothin' to keep. We're not a couple!”
Edward shouted at his brother. “Couples mean curses and I've already been down that road.”

“Really?” Thomas asked, an unholy gleam in his eye.

Uh-oh, Jason thought.

“If you're not a couple, then I'm going to do something I've wanted to do since laying eyes on this lovely woman.” Thomas stepped up to Clara and took her free hand in his. “Have dinner with me, beautiful lady?” he asked in his most polished tone.

“I will not!” Clara yanked her hand away immediately.

But Uncle Edward pulled away from her grasp, as well. “I knew it. Old dogs don't learn new tricks. Here you are poaching on my woman again!” he said to his brother.

He physically distanced himself from Clara.

She shot Thomas a deadly stare. “Come on.” Grasping Edward's hand, Clara attempted to lead him away before things could degenerate further.

“I'll be in touch,” Thomas called out to Clara's retreating back, her long dark hair blowing in the wind.

Edward fought her the entire way to the drugstore on the corner.

Jason inserted himself into his father's space. “What the hell was that all about? I thought I told you your brother isn't up to that kind of pushing.”

Thomas blinked, his expression pained. “I want my brother back.” He stared in the direction the other couple had disappeared.

“Then stay away from Clara!”

Thomas shook his head. “Did you notice how Edward accused me of poaching
his woman?
After denying they were a couple? I'm on the right track,” he insisted.

Jason glanced at Lauren, who clearly was keeping out of a Corwin family argument. “Dad, please.”

“I'm a grown man, son. Stay out of it.” Thomas straightened his collar.

The determination in his expression, along with the warning in his voice, told Jason the Corwin family was in for a rocky ride.

 

D
ESPITE THE DOCTOR'S
recommendation otherwise, Lauren needed to see her sister. When she'd told Jason she was taking the afternoon off to drive to the Bricksville prison, he said he'd understood, but his tone and his movements had been cold and brittle. Clearly her sister's criminal actions colored the way Jason viewed her. Something Lauren truly did understand, especially since her relatives had been directly or indirectly responsible for so much of his family's pain.

She knew now that with so much history
between them, there was no way they could ever have more than this short time together. She'd treasure it forever, but this was all there could be. Blood was thicker than water, and he'd support his family while she'd do the same for hers. And in her heart, Lauren believed Beth needed to know someone cared about her despite everything.

So she made the trip to the prison and sat by her sister's bedside. When Lauren arrived, Beth was awake, staring straight ahead.

Lauren brushed her hair off her face, held her hand and talked to her.

“The house is coming along great.” Lauren fudged the truth. “I hired a reasonably priced contractor who's patching the holes in the walls and repainting.” She forced an enthusiasm and sense of normalcy she didn't feel into her voice as she told her sister things she hoped would soothe her. She deliberately omitted the fact that her contractor and her lover was Jason
Corwin.

And she didn't mention that Beth's lawyer needed more money or that Lauren was running short on funds. She only told Beth positive things.

“The contractor is also negotiating good prices with the subs, like the electrician and the plumber,” she said cheerfully. “The water heater broke but I managed to have it replaced. And my contractor is
checking the estimates the plumber gave him before letting him do any more work on the pipes. But we're getting there.”

Beth's eyelids fluttered up and down.

Lauren sighed. “What is it, Beth? Do you want to talk to me?” She squeezed her sister's hand.

“Don't upset yourself,” the nurse said from the corner of the room.

Lauren had almost forgotten they weren't alone.

“I have to try and reach her,” Lauren said. “Someone has to try!” But even as she spoke, she knew the blinking was just a reflexive response, as the nurse constantly reminded her.

“I do have some good news for both of you,” the nurse said as she strode to the barred window and looked outside.

“What is it?” Lauren asked.

“The work on the new wing is almost complete. Pretty soon your sister will have the quiet she needs. They're phasing out the construction crews, and as soon as the inspection's finished, no more workers, no more noise.”

A low gurgle sounded from the bed.

Lauren glanced over but her sister remained staring into space. Lauren turned back to the nurse. “That is good news,” she said. “I'm in the middle of a construction project myself.”

“So I hear,” she said, smiling.

Lauren thought of her monologues to her sister and nodded.

“How is it going?” the nurse asked.

Lauren walked over to the other woman. “Basically the place needs a ton of work. The electrical is sound but the plumbing is a mess, and there are some structural repairs to make. But I'm determined to get this thing finished and sold on time.”

“Good for you. I wish you luck.”

“I need it,” Lauren said. She glanced at her sister.
“We
need it.”

“You're a special person, visiting like this. Not many of the people here have someone who cares.”

“Thanks.” Lauren hoped her sister knew and appreciated that fact, as well.

 

J
ASON HAD NO LUCK
catching mice. The traps had been set for over a week but not one mouse had been caught. Lauren didn't want them killed so he hadn't called an exterminator. Besides he wanted to save her money, and all the exterminators would do was set the same humane traps he had. But the little creatures hadn't disappeared. Far from it. And they were smarter than the average trap or cat. Avoidance was their middle name and even Jason was impressed with the little suckers.

They raced through the walls, despite the fact that he had covered all the holes. He'd heard them—there was definitely more than one—and both he and Lauren had caught glimpses. She was so on edge, she thought she saw them everywhere—when she drank her morning coffee, even when she showered. And she claimed she could
feel
them on her skin. They were creeping her out and Jason couldn't do a damn thing about it.

As for the house, things were progressing. He'd assigned Connor to the garage, cleaning and painting the walls. Ross and Nate he'd settled outside, one cleaning leaders and gutters, the other stripping and staining the wood, returning the old Victorian to a clean, New England blue.

He'd hired an electrician to come in and take stock of the wiring in the house, making sure it was ready for inspection and up to code on the day of the closing. Rocco De Martino, a friendly competitor of his father and uncle, assured him all was well.

That left Jason and Lauren working on the main house by day. Thanks to her fear of the rodents, she stayed in whatever room he was in. If he was patching and spackling the walls in the living room, she carted furniture outside and boxed up things for Goodwill.

Nights were even better. He'd lugged Fred over
to his uncle's house so Hank could take care of the dog for as long as Jason was away.

They'd crawl into bed exhausted—but not too tired for sex. He couldn't get enough of her and the feeling was apparently mutual. Afterward, she'd roll over to fall asleep, claiming her space. He didn't know if it was deliberate or force of habit.

The first night, he'd taken her physical withdrawal like a punch in the gut. Ironic for a man who'd spent the last who knows how many years screwing snow bunnies and showing them the door. He'd given Lauren her space, but it had taken him hours to fall asleep. He needn't have worried. Her fear of the mice led her right back into his arms.

Most mornings he woke up with her curled into him, splayed on top of him, or clutching a certain body part in her hand. At which point she more than made up for rolling over to her own side of the bed the night before.

True to his word, Jason had gotten J.R. to take a huge chunk off the plumbing estimate by promising the man he'd do the same when he finished his basement after the first of the year. He wished he could have saved her even more, but she hadn't mentioned being short of cash lately, so he assumed it must have helped. And she was definitely grateful.

Today was master bedroom day. While he
spackled and painted, she emptied drawers and closets, moving items to various piles to keep or give away.

He looked across the room and caught sight of her bending over the bottom drawer of the large chest in the corner. Her shirt rode up, revealing her slender back and fair skin, while her tight jeans dipped low, exposing the edge of what appeared to be black lace panties.

He sucked in a shallow breath and his entire body went into heated overdrive. He'd been aroused all day, watching her breasts rise and fall beneath the tank top she'd changed into after she'd started perspiring. His attempt to keep his mind on work had been downhill for him after that.

A glance at his watch told him it was almost five o'clock. Even a slave driver wouldn't object to him taking a break. He quietly climbed down the ladder and approached her from behind, slipping his hand down the inside of her jeans.

She squealed and jumped up, turning so he immediately caught and pulled her into his arms.

“You're so bad,” she said, teasing him, her eyes dancing with delight.

“I couldn't resist another second. Do you know how many times I nearly fell off that damn ladder watching you?”

Lauren wrapped her arms around his neck. “Next time just tell me before you sneak up on me. My body is on constant rodent alert,” she chided, but her eyes were already dilating with need.

He slid his hand back into her jeans, letting his first finger dip between the fine crack and settle there.

A soft moan escaped her lips. “We still have work to do.” The words didn't come out like much of a complaint.

“We've made remarkable progress this past week.” They also made an incredible team, tackling one room at a time.

They'd completed the work faster than he'd anticipated. Probably because he'd known she was waiting for him at the end of each day, soft, willing and ready for him. He wondered if she realized how in sync they were with each other.

“You do have a point.” She thrust her fingers through the back of his hair, making him glad he'd been too lazy to go for a haircut.

“I suppose you could convince me to take a break,” she said, arching her back so her pelvis rocked directly into his erection.

“Babe, the things you do to me defy description.” He nuzzled his lips into the side of her neck, breathing in the scent of her skin and taking in the
slight tremors of arousal that shook her as his tongue slid down her neck.

“You don't need words. You're showing me just fine. It's just that—”

“What?”

“I'm all sweaty,” she said, glancing down self-consciously.

“Doesn't bother me.” He slid the straps of her tank top off one shoulder and planted slow kisses over her skin.

Just then, her stomach growled, reminding him they hadn't eaten since an early lunch hours before. And though he could live on another kind of food, she obviously needed the real thing.

“I guess I'm hungry.” Her cheeks flushed pink.

“Then what do you say we go out for dinner?” he asked. The plan he'd been hoping to put in place this weekend suddenly made sense for tonight.

“The pizza place in town?” she asked hopefully. “Because nothing against The Diner's food, but I can't eat from there one more night.”

“Amen.” His arms encircled her waist. “I was thinking more along the lines of somewhere nice. Away from here. Boston maybe?”

The idea had come to him earlier while he'd watched her take out her clothes to dress. He'd realized he'd only seen her wearing old jeans,
tanks and T-shirts to clean the house, while inside the closet he could see at least a couple of dresses, shoes with heels and other female accessories.

The urge to see her dressed up for him took hold along with the desire to take her somewhere she wouldn't easily forget.

“Really?” Her eyes lit up at the idea. “Like I can shower, change and we can go to a real restaurant?” The excitement in her voice, the flush in her cheeks told him he'd been on target.

“Exactly like that. A real date,” he said, wanting his meaning clear. “I ask, you say yes, I pay.”

“Pay.” She pursed her lips and grew silent as she weighed her options.