“Darlin’, I can neither confirm nor deny that statement. You’ll have to tell me.” She laughed again. We filled the brief ride into town with chitchat. I didn’t ask her about Jonathan. I’d wait until after dinner to ask about him. As we pulled into the parking lot of the steakhouse, I could see they were busy. Luckily, I’d made a reservation. After I helped her out of the truck, I tucked her under my arm and escorted her inside. I gave the hostess our name, and she took us right to our table. I could see the men’s heads turning to look at her. They all had interest and lust in their eyes. She seemed to be oblivious to the attention. I sent them all glares, and they quickly turned away.
We’d barely sat down before the waitress came out to ask what we wanted to drink as she left us the menus. “Jocelyn, would you like a cocktail or something else?” She asked for iced tea, and I ordered water with no lemon. No way would I drink when I was driving with her. We discussed the menu. When the waitress came back, we gave her our orders. As we waited, I asked her about herself. I wanted to know everything there was to know about her. Where she came from, how she became a paralegal, how damn old was she? She didn’t look older than her late twenties, which would have made her like ten when she had Devyn, which I knew wasn’t possible. But she had to have been young. Where was Devyn’s dad?
“You’ve only been here in Hunters Creek for a little over a year. Where did the two of you live before you moved here?”
“We lived in Louisville, Kentucky. When Devyn graduated high school, she wanted to go to a school down here that had her program. She wants to be a pharmacist. We didn’t have anyone or anything keeping us in Louisville, so I moved with her. I got lucky that Mr. Sanders was looking for a paralegal at that time.”
“You don’t have anyone? What about parents or Devyn’s dad? Isn’t he in the picture?” I hoped I wasn’t being too forward with my questions. I was a direct guy, sometimes too direct, or as some might say, rude.
She looked uncomfortable for a moment. I was about to apologize when she answered. “My family disowned me when I got pregnant with Devyn. I was sixteen and refused to have an abortion. I lived in a home for unwed teenage mothers until I was eighteen. Devyn’s dad was never in the picture. He left as soon as I realized I was pregnant. As far as I know, he doesn’t even know if he has a son or daughter or if I even had the baby.”
I could hear the hurt in her voice, but also anger. How could anyone leave her? She was smart, beautiful, and sexy. Every guy’s dream woman. And how could her parents disown her? I wanted to find out their names and pay them a fucking visit. Just the thought of her being young and alone filled me with anger. I clenched my fist under the table. “How did you raise a daughter and still become a paralegal? I remember it was tough raising Harlow, and I had help from my whole damn club with her.”
“While I was at the home, they helped me with her so I could get my GED. Then they assisted me to find a job and a cheap apartment. I worked for a lot of years as a waitress, bartender, house cleaner, you name it, I did it. I’d take classes at night while she slept. I had a few neighbors I could trust who helped me out by watching her while I worked and went to school. It took me way longer than I wanted to get my degree, but I finally made it five years ago. I wanted to go on to law school, but with Devyn getting close to college age, I decided it was better to help her out. I don’t want her to have to struggle like I did. Maybe one day I’ll go back. Now, enough about me. You said you raised your daughter alone. May I ask what happened to her mom?”
“Sure. My wife, Kelly, died when Harlow was five years old. She got breast cancer. She died way too young. We’d been together since we were in high school. The club helped me raise her. When she turned eighteen, Harley went into the Marines. She spent six years with them. After she got out, she ended up with the president of our Dublin Falls chapter. She and Terror have been together for five years. My grandson, Hunter, is four and my granddaughter, Emerson, is almost one. I’m not sure they’re done yet, so I might get another grandkid or two out of them.”
She threw me a puzzled look. “What is it, sweetheart? You look like you're confused.”
She looked down at her hands, then back at me. “Sorry. I was trying to figure out if you and your wife were teen parents like me. You can’t be more than in your early to mid-forties. From what you said, your daughter is twenty-nine.” I laughed.
“Didn’t the gray give it away? Darlin’, I was twenty-three when Harley was born. I’m fifty-two.”
Her eyes grew round in shock. She shook her head. “Nick, there is no way you’re in your fifties! Yes, you have gray hair, but a lot of guys do in their thirties.”
“Well, you sure are good for my ego. I assure you. I am fifty-two. Which makes me seventeen years older than you, Jocelyn. Does that bother you? I’m technically old enough to be your dad.” I waited to hear what she said. I was holding my breath that she wouldn’t let the sizable age gap make a difference. I knew I wanted to continue to see her. She intrigued me.
“The gap doesn’t make a difference to me. Age is just a number. I know people like me that had to be more of an adult in their teens than some are in their forties.”
“Good. Because I’d hate to have that stand in the way of seeing you more.”
She gave me a shy glance. “So, you want to see me again? We haven’t even finished this date. What makes you sure you want any more to do with me?” she asked with a slight challenge in her voice.
I leaned toward her. “I knew as soon as I saw you with that shotgun in your hands, I wanted to get to know you. One date will not be enough. But we can talk more about this later. Here comes our dinner.” I sat back as our waitress set down our food. Jocelyn kept giving me brief glances throughout the meal. We concentrated on eating and only talked a little about the food. When we were both done and she had refused dessert, I paid the bill and led her to the truck. The night was still young, and I didn’t want to let it end. As I started up my truck, I turned to her.
“It’s still early. I’d like us to hang out longer. Can we go somewhere and talk?” What I wanted to do was take her back to my house and fuck her all night long. She had my body tied in knots and my cock was semi-hard all night. All I had to do was look at her and I was fantasizing. She squirmed a little in her seat. I reached out and took her hand. “Jocelyn, it’s okay if you don’t want to. But know, I really want to get to know you better. I promise, I’ll do nothing to hurt you.” I waited.
“I’d like to spend more time with you too. Devyn is at home, but we could go there and talk.” I nodded. As long as I got time with her, I’d spend it at her place if it made her more at ease. I didn’t think she’d be asking me to stay, but I’d work on getting her comfortable with me. It may kill me, but I’d take as much time as needed to make her mine. I was already positive I’d found what I never imagined I’d have again—a woman to be mine for the long haul.
When we pulled up to her house, I could see Devyn had left the porch light on. I helped Jocelyn inside. She moved through the house to the living room. Devyn was sitting on the couch on a laptop. She looked up to speak and then froze when she saw me.
“Oh, hi, Bull. How was your dinner?”
“It was great. Your mom and I were just going to sit and chat. Will we disturb you if we’re in here?” I didn’t want to chase Devyn away in her own house. Though being honest, I would have rather had Jocelyn back at my place. I didn’t plan on us doing more than talking, but I found I wanted her in my house, which for me was totally out of character. I never had women in my house. Devyn shook her head.
“No, I was about to take a break, anyway. I can hang out in my room, so you two can talk out here.” Her mom protested, but she insisted on leaving. As she left, she gave me a smile and a wink. Damn! Was the little minx encouraging me to go after her mom? Not that I needed any. Tonight had only confirmed I wanted Jocelyn in my life. Jocelyn asked if I wanted anything to drink. I told her iced tea would be fine if she had it. Of course, she did, like any good southerner. She went to the kitchen and came back with tea for both of us. She sat down on the couch and I took a seat next to her.
I could see she was a little nervous. I leaned back. “Can I ask you something?” She nodded. “When I talked to you in the parking lot at your office on Monday, why didn’t you tell me that Jonathan had assaulted you?”
She startled and then looked at me through narrowed eyes. “What makes you think he did?”
So, she is trying to play coy. I wondered if she was doing it because she was afraid of how I’d respond or if she thought it wasn’t any of my concern. “Devyn mentioned it earlier when we were waiting for you to get ready. Don’t get upset with her. She assumed I already knew. Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have never let his ass get away with it,” I growled.
“Nick, you don’t know me. Why in the world would you want to get involved with something like that? I honestly didn’t think to tell you.”
I scooted closer to her and took her hand. “Darlin’, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m very interested in you. And even if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t want any woman manhandled or threatened. Me and my club don’t believe in that shit. Tell me what he said and did to you. Has he bothered you before?” I knew damn well he had from what Devyn had told me. She looked uncertain, then she sighed.
“Jonathan is always creepy. He has this way of looking at a woman like he’s seeing through your clothes. He’s brushed against me and tried to act like he’s accidentally touching me whenever we’re in the office. He’s asked me many times to go out with him, and I’ve always said no. When he saw you there on Monday, it pissed him off. He asked me about you, and I refused to tell him anything. When I left work for the day, he caught me in the parking lot and continued grilling me about you. He made some comment about if I liked it hard and dirty, he’d be able to show me that. Then he kissed me. I bit his lip and stomped on his foot. He called me a bitch, and then you rode up. That’s it. He said nothing to me the rest of the week. Yes, he still stares, but he hasn’t said or done anything.”