Six

“A re you sure you don’t want to come over? We’re supposed to get more rain tonight. We could get it on outside, hot and wet.”

Jaxson moaned inwardly at the words dripping from his pickup truck speakers. Not because of what Susan said, but because of the image that immediately sprang up in his mind. Genesis, wet against his chest as she’d clung to him in the downpour. Her body hot to the touch as he cut away the fabric gripping her ankle to try to help ease the pain. The tough-cookie persona with silky soft skin. It was a dead giveaway that beneath all the bravado was a feminine flower with soft juicy petals he’d love to pluck. That was unlikely to happen. Genesis had made it crystal clear that she wasn’t feeling him like that.

“Sounds tempting,” he dutifully responded to Susan’s invitation as he merged onto the interstate that ran from Holy Mound proper to his home in the countryside that locals referred to as “the valley.” “I’m going to have to take a rain check, no pun intended.”

“I’m sure the pun was quite intended,” Susan replied. “And a lame one at that.” A pause and then, “What’s her name?”

“Who?”

“Come on, Jax. You’re talking to Susan, the woman who’s known you since middle school and liked you almost as long. Who’s the latest attraction?”

It was true. He and Susan had known each other forever. He considered her a true friend and was like an uncle to her children. Throughout the years, between marriages and divorces, breakups and separations, they’d comforted each other, shared intimacies and heartaches, and knew where some of each other’s skeletons were buried. She was a woman he trusted not to betray him. Given some of his past experiences, that was a huge trait. He’d always been up-front with her, never played her, never lied. He did sometimes, however, when discretion was called for, omit facts he felt unnecessary.

“His name is Mario.”

She tsked.

“My nephew is spending the weekend. Miss Hazel watched him while I met with Blake.”

“You two decide to make working together official?”

“Yep, had the attorney set up an LLC. I was already earning a nice side stream by working on some of his house-flipping projects. We’re just taking the partnership to the next level.”

“I hear that can be a lucrative business. At least that’s how they make it appear on YouTube and home-improvement channels.”

“Apparently you and half the population believe that. Everybody with a hammer and a hundred dollars is trying to flip a house these days.”

They continued chatting comfortably as a light rain returned. Jaxson exited the county road, and soon the two-story farmhouse that had belonged to his grandfather came into view. The lights were on. His body reacted. Hazel said she’d left Genesis ensconced on the sofa and had cleared enough of Mario’s toys off the bed for her to lie down if she wanted. She’d also flipped the comforter and changed the sheets, even though he’d assured her that Genesis would not likely want to stay at his house. Hazel often seemed to have a sixth sense about life. Could now be one of those times?

He parked his truck, ended the call and headed up the steps. As he crossed the expansive porch, a feeling of anticipation squeezed his heart. He told himself he was being silly, that maybe he should have accepted Susan’s invite after all. It wasn’t like him to feel like a horny teenager, but he’d be lying if he said his body didn’t react to the thought of Genesis asleep in his house.

After testing the door and finding it unlocked, he quietly crept inside. The living room was dark. A narrow beam of light came from the hallway and another from the kitchen beyond. The hall light cast a shadow over Genesis’s face, relaxed and serene, her chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. Without the frown or sneer that was usually worn when they interacted, he was able to appreciate her natural beauty. Long eyelashes. High cheekbones. Soft-looking, full lips. There was a small scar on the right side of her mouth. He wondered how she got it. For someone he’d left alone in his home, he knew very little about her. He wanted to know more.

She shifted and winced. He cleared his throat, not wanting her to open her eyes to find him quietly staring.

“Genesis,” he called out, his voice soft and low. And a little louder. “Genesis, it’s Jax.”

Her eyes flew open. She attempted to sit up suddenly and aggravated her ankle. “Ow!”

“Careful. Watch that ankle.” He took a step closer. “Sorry about that. Didn’t intend to rudely interrupt your sound sleep.”

“It’s all right.” Genesis tried to maneuver to a sitting position.

“Let me help you.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t object. He reached for a couple of throw pillows and placed them behind her, then doubled the pillow beneath her ankle to heighten its elevation.

“Thanks.” She stifled a yawn and amid a half stretch asked, “What time is it?”

“A little before eight. Are you hungry?”

“No, I’m fine. Can you give me a ride back to Uncle Cyrus’s house?”

“Are you sure you want to do that, Genny?”

“Genesis. I left Genny back in high school, and reserve Gen for family and close friends.”

“You’re saying I’m not a friend.”

“Right.”

“Then Genesis it is. Though I’m definitely not a stranger. We’ve known each other for a while.”

“I don’t know you.”

“We’ve got history.” He walked to a chair opposite the sofa and sat down. “Do you want to talk about that night?”

He could almost see her thinking before she replied, “What night?”

“You know exactly what night I’m talking about. Don’t act like you don’t remember.”

“I wish I didn’t. Your little dare back then made my life a living hell.”

“Dare?”

“Oh, so now you’re the forgetful one.”

“What are you talking about?”

She opened her mouth to respond, closed it and then said, “It doesn’t matter. Let the past be the past.”

“I have only good memories about that night.”

“Negro, please.”

“Seriously. I thought about you like every day until I saw you at the mall. Until you told me you were Hank’s sister and to go to hell.”

“Obviously you don’t follow instructions.”

Jaxson burst out laughing. “Woman, you’re a trip.”

Her words were caustic but not the tone. Whatever it was that made her special a decade ago was still there, buried.

“Were you angry at me because of what happened to your brother?”

“What do you think?”

Jaxson shook his head. “It’s crazy, that’s what I think. What happened to Hank was an accident, plain and simple. I didn’t hear his version until later. Reached out to talk about it, and to ask about you.”

Genesis all but snorted.

“You don’t believe me? Ask him. He made it clear to leave you alone or there would be consequences.”

“Hank said you grabbed his arm when you went for the ball. That’s how it got broken.”

“That’s not true.”

“Why would he lie?”

“That’s a question you’ll have to ask him.”

“I’m done talking.” She began gathering the leftover food and other personal items on the table. “Can you take me home, or rather, back to Uncle Cyrus’s place?”

“I can take you wherever you want to go.”

She was angry. That much was obvious. He hadn’t meant to upset her, but the truth was the truth. At least now he knew why he was the enemy.

“You live in Memphis, right?”

“Back to Uncle Cyrus’s house is fine.”

“Okay, but I wouldn’t advise you being alone. Having experienced the type of sprain you’re dealing with more than once, I can tell you it gets a little worse before it gets better.”

“I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”

Jaxson eyed Genesis for a long moment. He didn’t want her to leave angry. He wished they could keep talking. One thing he remembered about the night they spent together was the easy communication. Like now, in this difficult exchange. They’d argued but no one yelled. Nothing got thrown. He wanted to know more about the dare she mentioned and what he supposedly had to do with it. Another lie, no doubt, but one he wanted resolved. He pulled on the patience he’d learned as a football player to table the discussion. For now.

“Is there anyone you can call to hang out at the farm? I know you think you can handle it, but—”

“I said I’ve got it!”

Jaxson set his jaw. Even with all he’d learned today, he didn’t deserve her misplaced anger. Whatever or whoever she was dealing with, past or present, had nothing to do with him. Plus, she wasn’t the only one who’d been through something. He had a few stories, too.

He looked for her crutches. They were leaned against the wall next to the door. He walked over and retrieved them. “Let’s go.”

Despite his irritation, Jaxson continued to be a gentleman. He helped Genesis off the couch, positioned the crutches beneath her arms and helped her to the door. Once there, he continued to support her as she experienced the pain of navigating steps and getting into his pickup. It would have been much easier for him to carry her as he had earlier that day. He knew she was hurting. More than once he saw the pain on her face. She didn’t complain. He didn’t force it. Some said pride went before a fall. Sometimes it showed up afterward, too.

He jumped into his truck and fired it up. “I’ll bring whatever you left when I pull your car out of the mud.” He exited his drive and started down the muddy gravel road.

“Where are your keys?”

She reached for her purse and then slapped her forehead. “They dropped somewhere in the grass when I fell. I completely forgot about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. Your car is safe. I guarantee the mayors have kept an eye out.”

“The mayors?”

“That’s what everyone calls Hazel and Granville, her husband.”

“Oh, right.”

As soon as they rounded the curve, the bright GMC headlights lit up Genesis’s car. Jaxson parked his truck so that the lights faced where he’d found her lying in the mud.

“Be right back.”

He got out of the truck and into the bed, opened the toolbox affixed directly behind the cab, pulled out an industrial flashlight and headed for the tall grass. After searching about five minutes, he came back to the cab.

“You didn’t find them.”

He shook his head. “I’ll try again in the morning, after the sun comes up.”

“Dammit!”

“Don’t worry. Everything will be okay.”

“No, it won’t. My uncle’s house keys are on the ring and the door is locked.”

Jaxson put the truck in Drive and continued toward Cyrus’s farm.

“Did you hear me? I can’t get inside the house.”

He shrugged. “You made it clear you don’t want to stay at my house. Guess you’ll have to sleep on the porch.”

That shut her up. She didn’t say another word, even after he’d pulled his truck into Cyrus’s driveway. Jaxson only felt a little guilty for purposely working to get a rise out of her.

“Okay, Genesis. Here we are.”

She stared straight ahead. He could almost see her mind churning as she chewed her bottom lip.

“Nipsey’s probably out there somewhere. He’ll keep you safe.”

She sighed heavily and looked at him. “I don’t want to spend the night out here.”

“I can take you back to your car.”

“Okay.” Said quietly but with resolve.

“There aren’t too many wild animals out this time of night. The windows are rolled up, right?”

She turned her head in slow motion. “Wild...animals?”

“Yeah. Bears, deer, coyotes, and of course a stray bull every now and then. But it’s cool. You’ll be fine.”

He put the car in Reverse.

She squeezed the dash with her hand. “Wait!”

He thought about dragging out the ruse, but no. Time to put her out of her misery. He threw the car back in Park.

“Wait here.”

He grabbed the flashlight, jogged past the rotting steps and over to a hydrangea bush in dire need of pruning. He reentered the car whistling, with dangling keys.

“Your uncle’s spare house key.”

“You... Ugh!” She tried to smack him on the arm but with little success. Good thing, too, because amid his hearty laughter it was hard to defend the blows.

“Stop it, Genny! Stop!”

He wrapped her in a bear hug, pinning her arms at her sides. Her squirming did things to his insides, and lower.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to leave you in the dark to make your way up those stairs alone.”

She pushed him off her. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I couldn’t resist.”

She took a deep breath, sat back in the seat. Slowly, her lips twitched, barely repressing a smile.

“You are such an asshole.”

“Sometimes. I’m sorry.”

“Not sorry.”

“You have to admit that was pretty funny. You’re a true soldier, though, ready to brave the dark alone until I mentioned that bull.”

They both laughed openly now.

“What was he doing out there, anyway?”

“I lease some of my land to a breeder. Runaway Randy has figured out a way to be free.”

“He’s got a name?”

“He earned it.”

She sobered. “Are there really bears and other wild animals out here?”

“Black bears are spotted every now and then. It’s a rare occurrence. The coyotes appear more frequently.”

She shifted and winced with the movement.

“Come on. Let’s get you in the house.”

A hardheaded Genesis allowed Jaxson to help her out of the pickup, but then insisted on climbing the steps on her own. He unlocked the door and gave her the key.

“You going to be all right?”

“I’ll be fine.” She stepped over the threshold and turned slightly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Granville will help me find the keys and get your car out of the mud. We’ll drop it off in the morning.”

“I really appreciate it.”

She looked ready to close the door. He didn’t ask to go inside. Both his ego and manhood had taken a beating. Tomorrow was another day.

Granville was his alarm clock, knocking on his door before 7:00 a.m.

“C’mon, partner!” he yelled through the screen door. “The early bird gets the worm.”

“The early bird is going to get shot,” Jaxson replied after rolling out of bed and lumbering down the hallway to the screen door. “You’re taking a real chance knocking on a brother’s door before coffee.”

He undid the latch and headed to the kitchen without waiting to see if Granville followed him inside. After his thermos was filled with two cups of joe, he hopped in his neighbor’s tried-and-true pickup. It was fitted with a larger hitch than the one on Jaxson’s truck, which would make freeing her car from the mud a much easier process. Butch, the dog, jumped in the truck bed.

“Was that one of Cyrus’s granddaughters?” Granville asked as they bumped along the gravel-and-dirt road.

“She refers to him as uncle.”

“Must be the great-niece he sometimes mentioned.”

She’s great, all right. Jaxson blew on the steam rising from the thermos opening. Forced his thoughts in another direction. Genesis made it clear that the past was the past. Given how four years later he was finally healing from everything that had happened in Phoenix, it was probably best.

“Walker’s kid.”

“Walker?” Jaxson asked. “I don’t remember that name.”

“Walker is Cyrus’s nephew. He was born and raised in Memphis but got married and moved away a long time ago.”

Granville adjusted the sound of his favorite country station. “Is she good-lookin’?”

“Genesis? Very attractive. Got an attitude, though.”

“Aw, heck, son, you don’t want nothin’ to do with that. Better to have an ugly woman with a heart of gold than a pretty one with no heart at all.”

They reached Genesis’s Kia. While Granville positioned his truck to hitch up the car, Jaxson searched the grass for the lost keys. Thankfully a beam of sun bounced off Genesis’s key chain. Within minutes they had the car pulled from the ruts and rolling behind Granville’s ride. They arrived at Genesis’s house before seven thirty. Imagining she’d probably be asleep and not wanting to wake her, Jaxson placed the keys under the mat and sent her a text.

Car’s in the drive. Keys under mat. You’re welcome.

As he walked back to Granville’s truck, Nipsey rounded the corner, barking loud enough to wake up the dead. Butch leaped out the truck bed and returned the greeting.

“Nipsey! Butch! Stop all that barking,” Granville demanded in a voice that was loud enough to wake them himself.

“Hey, Nip.” Jaxson petted the dog that he felt belonged to him as much as Cyrus. Nipsey quietly wagged his tail and enjoyed the mini massage. “That’s right. Protect your property like a good watchdog.”

He turned to Granville. “We should go before all this noise wakes up Genesis.”

Granville pointed at a light inside the house that had just come on. “I think it’s too late for that.”

Jaxson cursed under his breath, then slowly made his way to Genesis’s front porch. He didn’t know whether “pretty” or “ugly” would greet him. He was about to find out.