The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (86 page)

“Ah, interesting,” Dr. Falkowski ponders.  “That’s more evidence that helps support my theory.  You see, while taking steroids, your body slows down production of the body’s natural hormone of testosterone.  Decreased testosterone in men can result in heightened anxiety and angst.  It’s possible you may have gone for a period of time without receiving the artificial hormones, leaving your levels low and your emotions unstable.”

“So, why don’t I feel that way now?” Evan asks.

“Hard to say, really.  We don’t know exactly when you started ingesting the steroids, and we also don’t know when you stopped taking them.  If you want more precise information, I could order additional tests,” Dr. Falkowski offers.

“I’m more interested in moving forward, not looking back,” Evan responds.  Evan leans over and kisses me sweetly.  That’s it.  I have the explanation I was looking for, but it’s not the one I was expecting. 

“I understand.  Now that you know how your body reacts to artificial steroids, it’s more important than ever to be vigilant.”  Dr. Falkowski hands Evan the paperwork that lists all the test results.  “These are yours to do with as you see fit,” he suggests.  “I will not be keeping any copies.”

Evan looks down at his watch, “We’ve been here for well over an hour.  Are there going to be patients waiting out there when we leave?”

“No, I cleared my schedule for the entire morning.  I knew we had a lot to discuss and I also wanted to be sure your privacy was guarded.  I gave Michelle the morning off, just in case she recognized you, Evan.  She’ll be off again next Friday if you want to come back at this time for us to check on your blood levels.  You can have Juliette call to make the appointment.”  Evan’s got a very non-committal look on his face.  “I’ll leave the morning open if you change your mind.”

The doctor’s door closes just as we reach the car.  Evan sweeps me up off my feet and stamps my lips with his, reclaiming me as his own.  His tongue probes my mouth savagely, his hunger for me nearly as great as mine for him.  Without breaking our bond, he stumbles with me a few steps and places my ass gently on the hood of my car.  I wrap my legs around his legs and pull him close.  My heartbeat quickens as a familiar throb returns. “Want to go violate me in the back of a car?” I ask.

“There are a great number of things I would like to do to you, right now, my love.  Squeezing into the back of that old clunker of yours isn’t anywhere on my list.  Did you get the answers you need, Juliette?”  He takes my chin in his hand and looks down at me with smoldering eyes.  “Can we move on now?”

“Evan, it really didn’t matter what the doctor had to say, you own me, body and soul.  Take me home, Evan.  I want to go home – our home.”

“I like the sound of that,” he whispers in my ear, pausing to nibble and tease my earlobe, sending shivers racing down my spine.  I slip my hands into the back pocket of his jeans and hold him close. 

Evan slowly backs away and adjusts his jeans as he takes a deep cleansing breath.  “Come on, let’s go before I ravage you right here and now.  Pretty soon, Dr. Falkowski’s going to come out here and start charging admission.”

I look around and suddenly realize that we’re in the middle of a neighborhood making out on the hood of a car like a couple of teenagers.  We quickly get into the car, Evan throws it into drive, and off we go.  I hold his hand as he drives us home. 

“Evan, are you going to tell anyone about this?  You know, about the test results?” I ask.

“No.  I can’t chance it.  No one will ever know except you.”  He squeezes my hand, affirming what I already know.  We are a team.

“What about Adam?” I ask.

“What about him?”

“Are you going to tell him?”

“Do you think I should?”

“Absolutely not,” I tell him in no uncertain terms.  “We don’t know what anyone’s involvement is in this entire situation.  Someone with the team knows something, and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.  I guarantee you that.”

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?” he asks.

“Hell, no.  Evan, this nearly tore us apart.  We’re going to find out who did this to you, to us, and make damn sure it never happens again.”

“Yes, dear.”  Evan’s grin tells me all I need to know.

Rather than bring us to the beach house, he pulls up in front of Auggie’s home.  “Are we picking up your car?” I ask, anxious to finish what we started.

“No, baby.  You’re going to work.  I have an appointment with our accountant.  Make up some excuse why you can’t stay until closing.  Be home by eight.  I’ll have dinner ready.” 

Evan walks me to the door and kisses me before returning to his car.  I watch as he pulls out of the driveway, but stops in front of the house.  He rolls down the window and calls back to me, “Drink plenty of fluids today, baby.  You’re going to need it.”

W
hen I arrive at work, I see that we’re about half full, and it’s only noon.  Not bad for a Wednesday lunch.  My first order of business is to speak with Marcus about Ryker.  At first glance, I don’t see him anywhere, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.  He could be in the back with Reese.  I grab Marcus and bring him into the office.

“Did you do it?” I ask abruptly.  There’s no need to pussyfoot around with Marcus.

“I did.  It’s done.  I called him and asked him to meet me here before most of the staff arrived.  He knew exactly why.  I told him it was time for him to move on and he agreed.”

“Just like that?  Do you think we’ve heard the last from him?”

“I certainly hope so,” Marcus answers.

“Do you think Reese is ready to do this on her own?” I ask.

“Definitely.  Ryker’s been helping me a lot and leaving her to deal with the line on her own more and more.  She’s got this, boss.  Don’t worry.  He taught me a few things, too.”

I walk into the kitchen to check on things, where I find Reese and Emmy deep in conversation.  They seem to be arguing about cars.  “I’m telling you,” Reese says, “you should get a Kia Optima.  It looks like a high end car, but doesn’t cost as much.”

“I don’t know,” Emmy argues, “I really love my Honda Civic.  Maybe I’ll get an Accord this time.”

“Are you car shopping, Emmy?” I ask.

“Yup.  My lease is almost up and it’s time for me to get a new car.  What do you think, Jette?”

“I’m totally with Reese on this one.  The new Optimas look sharp. The white ones with the black roof are gorgeous,” I tell her.  “But the Hondas are nice, too.”

I’m really jealous of Emmy.  If the restaurant keeps doing well like this, maybe I’ll be able to get a new car, too.  We’ve only been open for about seven or eight weeks.  It’s too soon to start thinking about spending all of my profits on something I don’t really need when my car, as ugly as it may be, still works perfectly fine.

“Hey girls, did Marcus tell you about Ryker?” I ask. 

“Yeah, he did,” they both admit. 

“Personally, I think he was just trying to help,” Emmy says.  “We asked him to get involved in our personal business, and now everybody freaks out when he says the wrong thing or does the wrong thing.  I don’t think it’s fair.”  She points to her brand new tattoo, “He designed this for me and he didn’t even get to see it.  It bites, big time.”

“Emmy, you think everything is simple, but it’s not.  Jette did the right thing.  You didn’t hear the crap he was saying about Evan in the kitchen with me.  He thinks Evan is a piece of shit.  After he saw Evan lose it that night, Ryker decided it’s now his job to protect Jette.  It’s like she became his pet project or something,” Reese explains to Emmy as I stand there listening.

“Sorry, but we put him in the middle and now everyone’s upset that he picked sides.  That’s all I’m saying,” Emmy insists.

“I don’t want to know what was said in the kitchen, so please don’t tell me.  But let me just tell you this, Emmy.  Ryker crossed the line.  Period.  End of discussion.  He disrespected Evan, one of the owners of this restaurant.  And if that’s not bad enough, I’m his boss, too, and he can’t just go following me around like that, hiding in the shadows.  I’m not anyone’s pet project or mission.”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Emmy eventually admits.  “Jette, can I use the phone in your office?  I need to make a private call.  It will only take a minute, I promise.”

“Sure, Em – I hope nothing’s wrong,” I tell her.

“Nah, I just have to make an appointment to get my teeth cleaned.”

“Wait, before you go – do you guys mind if I leave early?  Evan and I have a date tonight.”

“No problem,” Reese says.  “I already called Natalie to come in after dinner for a few hours to cover for you.”

“How did you know I was leaving early?  Did Evan call you?  I don’t understand.”

“He did.  He called to ask me if I would stay with Auggie tonight.  He said you wouldn’t be able to go back to take care of Auggie after your date.”  Reese jabs me in the side with her elbow and makes goo-goo eyes at me.

“Oh, shit.  I forgot about Auggie.  I was so excited about my date tonight, I didn’t even think about that.  Evan’s really the most thoughtful man I’ve ever known, don’t you think?”

Just then, Marcus walks in to break up the party.  It seems we just got a rush of customers and he needs Emmy back behind the bar.  Today’s my day to work in the kitchen with Reese.  I’m on pastries and I’m really looking forward to it.  I’ve been spending a lot of my time lately in the front of house working with the customers.  While I’ve enjoyed it for the most part, my passion is in the back of house.

The hours fly by as Reese and I spend the entire day together.  We crank our favorite music on the kitchen stereo and I get to practice my very best bake dancing moves with one of my best friends.  We get the occasional visit from Emmy when things are slow, and I can honestly say that this is one of the best days I’ve had in a very long time.

At seven o’clock, in the middle of the dinner rush, Marcus comes in the kitchen to get me.  Apparently, there’s a delivery that I have to sign for.  When I go out into the dining room, Emmy and Reese follow behind me.  Something’s up, but I have no idea what.

There’s a young man holding a large unmarked box.  I sign for it, tip the messenger, and thank him as he turns and walks out.

“Open it up, Jette.  What is it?” Emmy demands.

“You two are up to something, aren’t you?”  They won’t admit anything to me, but the silly grins and giggles tell me all I need to know.

I cut the tape sealing the box closed and open the flaps.  When I look inside, I’m more confused than ever.  There’s a small gift-wrapped box with a card on top of a pile of junk.  I place the gift box on the bar and look a little more closely at the contents of the box.  There’s an empty water bottle, receipts from work I’ve had done on the car, assorted used cans of car cleaner, a CD case, and a JWU sweatshirt –
my
sweatshirt.  “I don’t understand.  This is
my
junk from
my
car.  What gives?”  I look at Emmy and Reese for an explanation, but they won’t budge.

“Open the present,” Emmy begs.  She’s jumping up and down, barely able to conceal her excitement.

Reese hands me the card, “Wait, read the card first,” she suggests.

I open it up and find a pressed flower inside, a violet I think.  I’ll have to look that one up later.  There’s a hand-written card that reads,

Dearest Juliette,

I’ve donated your car to charity.

You need a new car to reflect your new life and our new start.

I love you.

~Evan

I open the gift box, and there’s a key fob with a Kia symbol on the key ring.  “Emmy, Reese, did you have something to do with this?”

Emmy is bursting and she’s dying to tell me, “Evan called and asked us to find out what kind of car you liked.  He had it narrowed down to two, and all we had to do is find out which one you liked better.  I’m not getting a new car.  We totally fooled you.”  She gives Reese a high five.  “Oh, yeah, and I’m not getting my teeth cleaned, either.  I was calling Evan to tell him what you said.”

“Well, don’t you want to go look?” Reese asks.  The girls drag me outside, and parked in front of the restaurant is a brand new white Kia Optima with a black roof.  And it’s mine. 

Seeing Eye to Eye