Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

T he next morning, BJ opened the door to Jacks. Immediately, his eardrums were assaulted with gales of female laughter. The tasting room wasn't open on Mondays, but work still needed to be done, liquor to distill, machines to check, orders to fill. While they didn't serve any customers, they had a standing poker game every Monday at noon. His mother and her book club—a very loose title since from what he had determined all the women ever did was enjoy desserts, booze, and gossip about the goings on in Kismet—enjoyed their weekly card game in the closed down bar area. He'd never once heard them discuss an actual book.

They used to meet in the basement of the library, but for a crew of senior citizens, the ladies sure were a lively bunch. Their outlandish behavior and inability to stay quiet had gotten them kicked out. Like any dutiful sons, Ace and BJ offered Jacks as a replacement. The women had been meeting there ever since.

"Ladies," he said, smiling as six sets of eyes, three covered with enormous glasses, glance up from their cards. The laughter died down, but their smiles grew bigger.

"Bravo, come here, my sweet boy."

Always happy to put a smile on his mother's face, he willingly stepped to his mother's side. He bent down to place a kiss on her cheek, peeking at her cards as he did. Pair of twos. Rough hand.

"Bravo, I swear you get more handsome every time I see you." Patty Jenkins, wife of the former mayor of Kismet, winked at him.

"Yes, you sure grew them good, Dorothy." Liddy Noel nudged his mother.

"And sweet too," Clara Jones, his sixth-grade teacher, pushed thick, black-framed glasses up her nose. "You were the best sharer in class. And I remember how you stopped Bobby Frinks from picking on Wendell Johnston."

Bobby was a punk ass kid who grew up into a punk ass adult. BJ had never liked the guy. It had been a happy day in Kismet when he left town. As for Wendell, the poor kid had to grow up with a name that practically begged people to pick on him. He'd simply been standing up for the kid like his father always taught him.

When you see something wrong, don't sit there. Do something about it.

Wise words from a man gone too soon. BJ tried his best to live up to them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Dorothy has a magic uterus that produced Greek gods with the virtues of saints. Can we get on with the damn game? I have a killer hand and I need a new set of dentures."

He hid a chuckle as Apple's sour attitude dulled the mood. Everyone glared at the older woman, but no one said anything. Antagonizing Apple only made it worse.

"Don't count those chips yet, Apple," his mother said with a sly grin. "Your hand may kill, but mine obliterates."

Dorothy Jackson may look like a sweet woman, but she had a wicked talent for cards and could bluff with the best of them.

"Put your money where your mouth is, Dorothy Do-Right."

"My pleasure, Crab Apple."

He watched as the table anted up, raising and calling until only his mother and Apple were left.

"All in," his mother said, pushing her pile of chips into the pot in the middle of the table.

"You've got nothing."

One dark eyebrow rose. "Care to risk it?"

Apple narrowed her gaze, shifting from his mother to him. "Bravo, you saw her cards. She holding a Royal Flush, or does her hand need to be flushed?"

Oh, hell no. No way was he getting roped into this. Pasting on his most charming smile, he waggled a finger in the air. "Now, Apple. You know I can't tell you anything. That would be cheating."

"Yes, and Bravo has never cheated a day in his life." Mrs. Jones nodded.

Apple snorted. "You taught him in sixth grade, Clara. I hardly think you know the boy's entire school career."

"Teachers talk, we know all."

He wasn't too sure about that, but Mrs. Jones was right. BJ had never cheated at anything, ever. He figured if he didn't earn it on his own, he didn't deserve it.

"Stop stalling, Apple. Are you in or out?" His mother tapped her fingers on the table.

A hush fell over the room. Tension rose as the two women eyed each other. He knew what was going to happen before it did—because this happened almost every game day—Apple swore and threw her cards down.

"I fold."

With a small, knowing smile on her face, his mother gathered her winnings.

"Are you at least going to show me what you had?"

"No, but if it makes you feel better, you can think of this win as your contribution to Delta and Cassie's wedding gift."

"You better put my name on the damn card."

A new hand was dealt, and the ladies talked about the upcoming wedding. BJ headed behind the bar to start his daily tasks. First up was checking the front stock. As he went through the liquor bottles, counting what they had, what was low, and noting what they needed, his ears couldn't help but overhear the conversation.

"So nice to see those two happy together." Olive's cheerful voice carried in the mostly empty room.

"Yes," Mrs. Johnston chimed in. "But strange. I never imagined Del would be the first to get married. He's always been such a wild one, Dorothy."

His mother's laugh made him smile. She didn't do it nearly enough, in his opinion.

"Yes, he's always been my firecracker, but I think Cassie is the one to keep him burning without blowing up."

It shocked the hell out of everyone, him included, when Del announced he was getting married to their sister's best friend. At first, everyone thought it had been a joke, and it had turned out to be a pretty complex situation. But the look of love and happiness he saw on his little brother's face every time Del looked at his fiancée made BJ smile. And ache. He never wanted to get married himself. After he saw the way his father's death had devastated his mother, he vowed never to bind himself to another person in a way that would cause them such grief in the event of his demise. Since leaving the Marines, his risk of sudden death had gone down drastically. Still, he couldn't seem to align himself to the idea of being someone's entire world.

That being said, he envied what his brother had. Some part of him wished for the close bond Del and Cassie shared. The all-encompassing love he saw when they looked at each other. He didn't want to be someone's everything, but it'd be nice to be someone's desire.

Penny seemed pretty damn eager to eat him up the other day.

He couldn't deny their kiss in his office the other night had been hot as hell. Who knew his geeky best friend had lips soft as silk. Or a tongue that could make a man's mind go wild, imagining it sensually stroking other bits of anatomy.

Even the softer—but no less powerful—kiss they'd shared at her door yesterday had damn near blown his socks off. Shit! He didn't know what was going on with them, but his body sure seemed to like it.

"How long before you hear the pitter-patter of little grandchildren, Dorothy?"

His hand jerked as he wrote down the number of gin bottles they had left, pen flying from his grasp to land on the floor. As he bent to pick it up, he heard his mother chuckle at Olive's question.

"Who knows with these two? They seem to go at Mach speed with everything. I'd wager sooner rather than later."

Sooner. Much sooner than she thought. Because Del and Cassie weren't going to be the first to make his mother change her coffee mug from World's Greatest Mom to World's Greatest Grandma. He was. Penny said his family would be welcome to be in the baby's life. Eventually, he'd have to explain the situation to them all.

That'll be fun. He held back a snort of disbelief.

They'd understand. The whole thing was a little unconventional, but his family would never turn their back on one of their own. No matter how they came to be. Which made him think. This whole artificial insemination thing was fine and all, but maybe unnecessary. He paused in his tasks to mentally list the facts.

Going about this the way Penny planned would cost money. More and more, if she had to try multiple times. Doing things the old-fashioned way, Penny could save her funds for raising the baby. Plus, it would be much more fun. They had chemistry, a freaking boatload if the other night was anything to go by. They were best friends, got along great, had tons of fun together. Hell, what they had was better than most marriages from what he'd heard.

Why couldn't they switch up the plan? They would simply be adding another layer onto their existing relationship. A friends-who-have-a-kid-together type thing. She didn't want a husband. He didn't want a wife. Things shouldn't get too complicated if they added sex in the mix. It was perfect!

Now all he needed to do was propose the idea to Penny. She'd see his logic and agree. They were best friends. Of course she'd like this idea. It might seem a little outrageous at first, but so was her plan to ask him for his sperm. He was simply taking her idea and building on it. The rush of excitement sent his pulse racing. Yeah, this was great. Everything would work out perfectly.

* * *

BJ knocked on Penny's door. He'd texted her earlier asking to come over tonight, but she had some dress-fitting thing for the wedding in Denver plus dinner with his sister and Cassie tonight. So, he'd ducked out of work for a few and headed over in the afternoon. Great thing about being the boss—or one of the bosses anyway—he could take some time for emergencies when needed.

Getting laid is not an emergency. Contrary to what most men thought. Besides, he wasn't going to get laid. He was going to talk to Penny about shifting her baby-making plan. This wasn't about sex…okay, it was a little about sex. He merely wanted to provide her with all her options, make his case, give his two cents in the matter. Because no matter what she said, he was involved in this. He wasn't some random sperm donor. They were best friends. He knew she'd want to give him a chance to be heard.

Penny opened the door with a concerned frown on her face. "Hey, BJ. What's wrong? It sounded important when you texted."

Because this was important. Very important. This proposal could very well change the entire dynamic of their relationship. A small pinch of doubt halted his enthusiasm. Wait…did he really want to do this?

Penny tucked her hair behind her ear, a few red strands catching on her bottom lip, sticking to the gloss. His gaze snagged on those thin, fiery fibers hugging her soft pink lips. The memory of how warm and delicious they felt against his own made his mouth water and his body tighten. Aching with the need to feel them again.

Hell yeah, he wanted to do this.

The only question now…did she? Only one way to find out.

She gestured him inside, closing the door behind him as he made his way into her living room. He turned to face her, deciding the best way to do this was to come right out and say it.

"I made an appointment with your doctor."

The worried expression melted into a bright smile. "You did? That's great."

"Yes, but I don't know if I should keep it."

Her smile faltered. "You don't…what? Why? Have you changed your mind about helping me?"

"No." He grasped her hands in his. "I just have an alternate proposition for you."

"Alternate proposition?"

He nodded. "I've been thinking a lot about this. About how amazing of a mother you'll be. How lucky that kid will be to have you in their life." The smile returned to her face, blinding him with its brilliance. "I know you don't want to get married, but I also know I'm going to be in this kid's life, too."

"Of course, I'd never hide your existence. We agreed you'd be in the child's life, a support system, but I'm not demanding anything of you."

"I know. But it got me to thinking. If we're going to do this thing, make a kid together, why not do it the old-fashioned way?"

Hazel eyes grew round with surprise.

"Think about it. You won't have to pay a doctor for any of the…tries. All that money can be saved for the baby."

"You want to have sex? With me?" She shook her head. "But…we're friends. We don't have sex with each other. We don't think of each other that way."

"Really?" He raised a brow. "You think we don't have chemistry?"

"Well, um…"

"Because I'm pretty sure we do. Unless that was a ghost grabbing my ass the other night in my office."

Her face flushed, brown freckles standing out against the pink of her blush.

"But mixing a relationship with friendship is always a bad idea. What if it goes wrong?" Her gaze dropped to the floor. "I don't want to lose you, Bravo."

Releasing her hands, he placed a finger under her chin; gently bringing her gaze back up to his.

"You could never lose me, Penelope. And I'm not suggesting we start a relationship. Neither of us wants that. I'm suggesting we knock out this weird new chemistry thing we have going on and get you the baby you want."

Her brow furrowed, fingers tapping on her thigh as she considered him.

"What will we tell everyone?"

"Who cares? It's nobody's business but ours. Besides, everyone was going to know the kid was mine." Jackson genes were strong. There'd be no denying the paternal parent once the kid was born. "We're two friends having a kid. Who cares how the baby comes about as long as they're surrounded by love?"

She nodded. "That's true. It's not like I was planning on hiding who the father is."

"And doing it this way will be much more fun. I can guarantee you that." He winked with a smile.

Her eyes narrowed. "Now you sound like you're thinking with your penis."

He dropped the teasing, cupping her face to gaze directly in her eyes to let her know how serious he felt about this.

"Something is happening between us, Penny. I don't know what it is or if anything will come of it, but I want to explore it. I want to give you a baby, but the way you want to do it…it doesn't work for me. For us. It's too detached, too cold. That's not us, honey. You and me? We're a team. Always have been. We might not be in love , but what we have is better. Closer. And if I'm going to be a part of this kid's life, help you out when you need it. I want to be there from the very beginning in every way possible."

She sucked in a sharp breath. He could see her brilliant mind going a million miles an hour behind those pretty hazel eyes.

"I…I need some time to think about all this."

"Of course, but until you decide." He pulled her closer, his hands sliding from her face to grasp the back of her neck. "Think about this."

Bending his head down, he kissed her.

Holy hell! How could every kiss be better than the last? It didn't make sense. She tasted like strawberries. She liked flavored lip gloss, but he never suspected he'd enjoy them, too. Damn, he knew the scent of strawberries would forever get him hard now. He wanted to feast on her, eat her up, devour her until this driving need inside him was sated. Where had this come from? Had it always been there, lying just beneath the surface? This ravenous hunger for his best friend?

Penny clutched at him, gripping his shirt in her fists to pull him closer. Hell yes! He roared inside. Grateful he wasn't the only one being carried away by this unexpected sudden attraction. She made a soft moan that he swallowed, going rock hard as her tongue rasped against his own, reminding him of what he really wanted to do right now.

But he wouldn't take this any further. Not until she had time to think. He knew his best friend. He'd dropped a whopper on her, and she needed time to get that wonderful brain to process all the angles of their new plan. As much as he wanted to strip off her clothes and spend all night making her scream his name in pleasure, he wouldn't.

Not yet.

There'd be time enough for that later. If she agreed to his plan. For now, he reluctantly pulled away, taking pride in the soft, panting rasps coming from her. The glazed look in her eyes, the flush on her face caused by excitement instead of embarrassment. Damn, she was beautiful. How had he never noticed it before? He knew Penny was pretty, but he'd never looked at her and wanted to take her to bed before.

He did now.

But not now. She needed space, time. With one last gentle kiss to her perfect lips, he whispered a soft goodbye, and left.