30. Jacob

CHAPTER THIRTY

jacob

S harp stabs gyrating in my arm pull my groggy brain to consciousness. I'm lying in the hammock with my tingling arm wrapped under Lacey. Despite the need I feel to pull it out and get the blood flow back, I don't dare move. I don't want to wake her.

The morning air is chilly, but we successfully cocooned ourselves in the blanket we brought out with us last night. I pull the blanket up over Lacey's shoulder. Her hand slides innocently down my torso, just low enough, and suddenly, other parts of my body are waking as well. It's while I'm trying to shift my body so I'm not jutting into her that Lacey begins to wake.

"What time is it?" she asks.

"I'm not sure. Close to seven, I'm guessing."

"Mmmm." Lacey snuggles back into me.

"I hate to, Gypsy, but I should probably go."

"No, don't."

"I've got appointments to keep." I kiss the top of her head and pull my arm free.

She clings to me as I climb out of the hammock. After getting on my feet, I help her up, too, making sure she makes it safely inside. Ready for a change of clothes, I hop in my truck and head home.

I unlock my front door and step inside. Something is off. The light is on in my living room. I know I didn't leave it on. I step into the room and encounter a smug-looking Ashley sitting in the armchair with her legs crossed. She sips on a mug of coffee and stares at me closely. I forgot she still has a fucking key.

"You were out late," Ashley says, checking the time on her watch. "Who did you stay the night with?"

"That's none of your business, Ashley. What are you doing in my house?"

I stay standing, ready to escort her out and strip her of her key.

"About that...as it turns out, this house actually belongs to my daddy," Ashley says, a smirk spreading across her face.

"I'm paying for the house. I haven't defaulted on any of the payments."

What game is she trying to play?

"Yes, but Daddy's decided since I'm not living here anymore that he's breaking the contract with you. You're officially being evicted."

Ashley pulls out a paper I didn't notice and slaps it down on the coffee table. I swipe it up and scan over the document. So this is what she's been up to. I should have foreseen it, but my brain doesn't process things like a slimy, vindictive bitch.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I grumble.

Ashley stands. She sets her mug on the coffee table and saunters over to me. She stands so close that our bodies touch, and she slithers a hand up my chest.

"If I moved back in, though, I could talk to him. I'm sure I could work something out with him. You know how Daddy listens to me."

Her hand leaves my chest, headed for my face. I catch her wrist and stop her. She looks up at me, startled.

"Not a chance in fucking hell," I say. "We're done, Ashley."

I drop her wrist and take a step back from her, motioning her to the door. She scowls at me, knowing she's lost. Ashley grabs her purse off the couch on her way to the front door.

"Then you'd better get packing. You're to be out by the end of the month," Ashley says and walks out the front door, slamming it behind her.

I go to the kitchen to get a drink while I process what just happened. I open the fridge door, examining my options. I can't believe Ashley. What did I ever see in her? I slam the fridge door shut again, too pissed off to drink anything, and head to my bedroom to start packing. The fuck if I'm going to stay in this place until the end of the month. If she thinks she can get me back by threatening to kick me out, she needs to realize just how done with her I am. None of the furniture in the house is mine, so it won't be a difficult packing job. I'll be out before I start my day. The house was a rent to own from Ashley's dad. The place was already furnished when I moved in. I only had to worry about my clothes and personal possessions.

The big question is where am I going to go? Real estate is limited in a small town like ours, and I'm not going to be a twenty-eight-year-old living in my parents' basement. I could live in my office, but all I have to sleep on is a couch. I should've been putting more time into fixing up my grandparents' old place that they'd left to me. It isn't livable at the moment, though. I throw the last bag of my belongings into the back of my truck and head to my first appointment of the day.

I'm waiting in Lacey's driveway when she gets home from work. We haven't talked much today, and I assume she's been just as busy as I have. I have a surprise for her, though, and I need to discuss a proposition with her. She ogles at the large item in the bed of my truck that's currently concealed by the blue tarp. I give her a hug and place a kiss on her lips, fisting her gorgeous hair, and gently pull her against me with an arm around her waist, staking a claim on her mouth again.

"Hello to you, too," Lacey says after we finally break apart.

"I have a surprise for you," I say.

"What did you do?" She eyes me suspiciously.

I grab the side of the tarp and give it a yank, exposing a plush mattress underneath.

"You didn't..." Lacey shakes her head at me. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Just my way of showing that I was thinking about you."

"Jacob, this is too much. I can't accept this. Seriously. My grammy will be rolling over in her grave. How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing. It's not a big deal. And I'm about to ask a really big favor of you."

"So you're trying to bribe me . . ."

"No, it's not like that, either. The two events just happened to coincide."

Lacey watches me expectantly. I take a deep breath, feeling uneasy about asking this of her. No point in prolonging it.

"I'll happily explain the whole story to you, but the short version is Ashley got me kicked out of my house. It was a rent to own through her dad, and she got him to renege on our contract. I own my grandparents' house, and have slowly been renovating it, but it's not livable yet. I was wondering if you'd be okay with me crashing here with you until I get my grandparents' place livable."

"You're kidding me! I swear that girl thinks the sun comes up just to hear her crow. Yeah, of course you can stay here. Stay as long as you need but on one condition."

"Yeah?"

"You can't give me any more flak about my camper," Lacey says, wagging a finger at me.

"I promise," I say with a grin. I hook a finger through Lacey's belt loop and pull her to me again, wrapping her up in a brief hug. "Now, let's get this mattress inside."

I lower my tailgate and grab hold of the edge of the mattress. With a yank, the other end is now resting on the tailgate for Lacey to grab. She takes hold of it and walks with me to the camper. Once on the deck, I reach back with one hand to open the camper door, and we start inside. The top of the mattress catches on the top of the doorframe, causing it to come to an abrupt stop and sending me flying backward onto my ass. Lacey laughs hysterically at me from the other end of the mattress.

"Don't worry about me. Not like that hurt or anything," I call through the door. This sets off a fresh round of giggles.

I stand and curse under my breath as I realize just how tight of a squeeze it's going to be to get the mattress inside. Finally, we find the right angle to slide the mattress through, and we position it on the platform bed in the back of the camper.

"You want to do the honors?" I ask, stepping back against the wall so Lacey can get by me.

"It's so high up now compared to what it was," Lacey says. I offer a hand as she prepares to hoist herself up on the bed. "I feel like an idiot now. This is so much more comfortable. I should have done this a long time ago."

I hop up on the bed beside her. I roll over onto my side to face her, propping my head up on my hand.

"So you're not mad at me for buying it?"

"No, I'm not mad. Thank you. It was very thoughtful of you."

My breath stills as Lacey reaches a hand over, rests it on the side of my face, and slowly leans toward me. I meet her halfway and kiss her deeply. Without breaking the kiss, Lacey pushes me onto my back and climbs on top of me, straddling me and running her hands down my chest. My hands creep down to her hips, and she nips my lip, sending electricity through my body. It's then that she breaks away from my lips and trails kisses down my cheek and to my ear, nipping at my earlobe. In a sultry voice she whispers into my ear, "But you're still not getting inside my pants. What do you take me for? Some kind of floozy?"

Lacey laughs as she crawls backward down my body and off the bed. She's still laughing as she walks out of the camper. I groan and sit up, adjusting myself, then follow Lacey back out to the truck and help her carry in the groceries she picked up on her way home.