Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

June felt as if she was floating on air. She’d woken up later Sunday morning feeling relaxed and excited about the direction her life was going. She showered, got dressed, and wandered down the stairs to find Cal waiting for her with a huge homemade breakfast. It didn’t matter that it was almost lunchtime. Then they spent the rest of the day and evening hanging out, watching TV, talking. Doing things any other couple would.

For a moment last night, June was worried about where she should sleep, but Cal took the decision out of her hands when he’d led her to his room. They didn’t have sex; he’d refused, saying he knew she was sore, and he was determined to let her rest, but sleeping in his arms was just as good . . . almost.

June had no idea sex could be so overwhelming or amazing. It was cliché to describe what they’d done together that way, but her mind frequently blanked when she thought about everything they’d done.

Today, Cal was taking her to meet with Meg at Hill’s House for her interview. She was nervous because she’d never had an interview before. Cal gave her some pointers, but every last one seemed to fly from her head as he pulled up in front of the cute house. There was a handmade sign in the yard that said HILL’S HOUSE, but that was the only indication that it was a business instead of a personal home.

“You’ll be fine,” Cal told her.

June took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“I mean it. If Meg doesn’t hire you, she’s an idiot. But either way, you have a place to stay . . . with me. At least until you get bored and want to strike out on your own.”

June frowned. “You don’t bore me, Cal. Far from it.”

He shrugged. “You’ve been here for less than a week. And Newton isn’t exactly a hub of things to do. Anyway, just be yourself, you’ll do fine.”

June wanted to continue the conversation, ask him if he thought he’d get bored with her, but Cal said he had some phone calls to make while she was at her interview, and she didn’t want to hold him up. “Thanks,” she said. “Here goes nothing.”

Before she could open the door, Cal reached out and wrapped his hand around the back of her neck. He pulled her toward him and kissed her long and hard. Her lips were tingling and her cheeks were flushed by the time he pulled back.

“A kiss for good luck,” he whispered.

She smiled. “With a kiss like that, there’s no way I can’t get the job,” she teased.

Cal stared at her for a beat before sliding his hand off her skin.

She took that as her cue to get out and reached for the door handle. She waved at Cal, then took a deep breath as she turned toward the front porch.

The house was two stories and fairly large. The porch ran all the way around the front and on one side of the house. The door was painted red, which June thought was a nice touch. She knocked and almost immediately was greeted by a woman who couldn’t possibly be Meg. She was around the same height as June, kind of stooped over, with bright-purple hair. She was also about thirty years older than what June understood Meg to be.

“Hi! I’m Jara! Welcome to Hill’s House. Hill was the name of the man who first opened his home to local residents who were getting up there in age and didn’t have any place to go, nobody to help look after them. And now, eighty years later, Hill’s House is still here. Come in, come in. You look like a sturdy gal, which is good. Sometimes we fall and need help getting up.”

“Jara! I told you to let me open the door,” a woman scolded as she rushed toward them once they were inside.

“I’m old, not helpless,” Jara grumbled as she shut the door. “Besides, you were busy chatting with Austin.”

The other woman shook her head at Jara, then turned to June. “Hi, I’m Meg. You’ve met Jara, she’s one of our residents.”

“The matriarch,” Jara corrected. “I’m the oldest, at ninety-four, so that gives me the right to the title.”

“It’s very nice to meet you both,” June said, not able to keep the smile from her face. “And there’s no way you’re ninety-four, you don’t look a day over seventy.”

Jara beamed. “It’s the hair,” she said knowingly. “I just had it redone. I used to have pink, but I like the purple so much better.”

“It’s amazing,” June praised, and she wasn’t lying. Jara had long thick hair that practically screamed for a bright color.

“I like you,” Jara announced. She turned to Meg. “I like her,” she repeated.

“I heard you. I saw Banks and Sofia setting up a Cards Against Humanity game in the dining room. Why don’t you go and join them while I have a chat with Ms. Rose?”

“Ooooh,” Jara breathed. “Cards Against Humanity, how come no one told me?” Then she turned and ever so slowly made her way toward the other room.

“I’m so sorry,” Meg said with a small shake of her head. “I meant to watch for you, but Austin and I got talking about Scott’s leg—he’s another resident. Austin is our nurse. He’s here every day, and honestly, we wouldn’t be able to run this place without him. Come in. I told everyone to be on their best behavior while we’re talking, but with them playing that game, I’m not sure how long we have.”

Meg leaned in conspiratorially. “They get a little rowdy, and Banks is super competitive, so any game he plays generally ends when he accuses someone of cheating, but it should keep them occupied for at least a little bit.”

June liked Meg immediately. She was bubbly and friendly and seemed to like her job. June followed her to a small office and sat in a chair in front of a desk that was overflowing with papers.

“Sorry about the mess. I meant to clean things up, but something always gets in the way. If you take the job, I expect I’ll have more time to do things like organize and pick up around here. Which is a good segue into telling you all about what the job entails. You won’t be a maid. Or a cook. Or a nurse. Your job would be to keep the six residents entertained, which, trust me, will keep you more than busy.

“There are three men and three women living here at the moment. You met Jara, and as she said, she’s ninety-four but as spry and lively as someone in her sixties. Her husband died about eight years ago, and even though she really doesn’t need to live in a place like this, she was lonely and didn’t want to leave Newton for Florida, as her kids urged her to do.

“Brenda is seventy-seven and is pretty soft spoken, never married, and never had any kids. She fell a few years ago and wasn’t found for two days, and that scared her enough to want to move here. And Sofia is eighty-four and loves reading and gardening, although the latter isn’t something she can do much anymore. But we try to have lots of plants in the house she can look after.

“As far as the men go, Banks is eighty-two and the joker of the bunch. He loves telling stories and is always the life of the party. Jeremy is seventy-five and cantankerous . . . but in a nice way. Which I know doesn’t really make sense, but I think he just likes disagreeing with people to see what they’ll do. And last, there’s Scott. He’s ninety and one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

“Oh, and we just hired a new janitor. That’s not a full-time job. Tim works late in the afternoons and into the early evening. His responsibilities include mopping, sweeping, taking out the trash, wiping down all the surfaces in the home, and generally keeping things tidy. As a bonus, he said he’s done some handyman kinds of stuff, so we’ll have him do other small tasks as well. And trust me, a house as old as this one constantly has things in need of fixing.”

June listened with a small smile on her face. She loved the affection she heard in Meg’s voice when she talked about the men and women who lived there. It was easy to tell that this wasn’t just a job for her, that she truly enjoyed interacting with the residents.

“Anyway, your job would be to find things for the residents to do. Cards, outings that won’t be too taxing, planning birthday parties, working with the relatives of the residents when they want to visit, and basically just finding things to do to make the days go by. Your hours would generally be from ten to three, Monday through Saturday, which I know isn’t full time, but it’s what our budget will allow. I’m very flexible though, so if there’s something you need to do during work hours, we can always figure it out.

“Oh, and there might also be some times when you’ll need to be here later. Like on Halloween, for instance. The highlight of our residents’ year is sitting on the porch watching all the kiddos in their costumes. We also go all out and decorate this place from top to bottom, and many times the residents want to get dressed up too. Shoot, I’m babbling. Do you have any questions?”

June asked about the pay, and her eyes widened at the figure. Maybe it was because she hadn’t ever had a paying job before, but the salary Meg quoted was way more than she thought it would be. Especially for what she’d be doing. She’d worked her butt off for twelve or more hours a day back in DC and hadn’t gotten a penny.

They talked about the activities the residents enjoyed, and June’s mind immediately began spinning, thinking about all the fun new things she could plan. Meg asked about her work history, and June found herself opening up to the friendly woman about her past. About how she’d never had a “real” job but had been responsible for every part of running a household when she’d lived with her stepmother and stepsister.

After forty-five minutes of talking, Meg officially offered June the job, and she happily accepted.

“When can you start?” Meg asked.

“Oh, well . . . right now, if you need me to.”

“Really? That would be great! There are forms and stuff that I need you to fill out, but once you do that, you can join us for lunch. We have another lady who comes in to cook for us, but you probably won’t see her a lot, as she pops in and out the back door and keeps to herself. Margaret’s a gem, but she’s not very sociable.”

“You’re cheating!” a deep voice shouted from the other side of the closed door.

Meg sighed. “I swear, some days they’re like a bunch of toddlers. I’ll go check on them, and when you’re done with the paperwork, come on out and join us.”

“May I make a quick phone call?”

“Of course. While I don’t expect staff to have their noses stuck in their phones all day, you can certainly have time to yourself when needed.”

“I don’t have a cell phone,” June admitted. “I’m planning on getting one, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

“No worries. Go ahead and use the phone on the desk. I’ll see you in fifteen minutes or so.”

When there was more yelling in the other room, Meg gave her a quick hug and said, “Welcome to the family,” then disappeared through the door.

June smiled. Yes, that’s what this place felt like. A big family. The kind where everyone didn’t get along all the time, but there was still love . . . which was something she’d always wanted to be a part of and something she hadn’t known how much she’d missed until coming to Newton.

She set aside the papers Meg gave her and reached for the phone. She’d memorized Cal’s number and now dialed it quickly.

“Cal,” he said when he answered.

“Hi, it’s me,” she said, realizing this was the first time she’d spoken with him on a phone. She’d practically been with him every minute of every day since they’d left Washington, DC.

“Hi,” he said, his voice full of warmth. “Are you done? How’d it go?”

“I’m done with the interview, she offered me the job, and I thought I’d stay for a while. Is that okay?”

“Of course, it is. You think you’ll like it? You aren’t just taking the job because you think you have to?”

“I haven’t met all the residents yet, but I really like Meg. And the pay is amazing.” She told Cal how much Meg was offering, then wrinkled her nose, suddenly unsure. “Isn’t it?”

Cal chuckled. “It sounds above average for what you’ll be doing, for sure.”

June sighed in relief. “My hours are generally ten to three, so do you think you could pick me up this afternoon?”

“Definitely. I’m looking forward to meeting your new charges. I’m sure you’ll have them wrapped around your little finger by the time I get there later.”

June chuckled. “I’m not so sure about that. They seem to be a handful.”

“You’ll be fine. And June?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you. You haven’t even been in town a week, and you’ve already found a job that I know you’re going to be incredible at.”

“Well, it’s thanks to April that I even knew about it.”

“That’s generally how things work. Finding jobs is about who you know, and a bit of being in the right place at the right time, not necessarily about your résumé.”

“Which is a good thing, since I don’t even have a résumé,” June said dryly.

Cal laughed. “Meg’s obviously a smart woman who knows she found a gem in you. Have a good time, and if you need anything or want me to pick you up earlier than three, just let me know. I’d suggest using today as a trial day. If you hate it, or it’s not what you thought, you can always tell Meg that you don’t think it’ll work out.”

June sighed. She didn’t want to do that. It would be rude. But she was done being taken advantage of. Done spending time doing something she hated. She’d managed to escape out from under her stepmother’s thumb, and she wouldn’t live like that again. While this was only a part-time job, she’d be spending quite a bit of time here. “Okay.”

“I’ll see you later.”

“Later,” June echoed. She hung up, staring into space for a moment as she considered her good luck, then grabbed the papers she needed to fill out and picked up a pen.

Cal rested his chin on his hand and listened with a small smile as June told him about her day.

“Banks is hysterical. He’s got all sorts of stories. I’m not quite sure what’s the truth and what he’s making up. Today he told me that he once held the middleweight boxing title. I don’t know what that is, but he went on and on about the bouts, matches, or whatever it is he used to do. Claimed he was a ladies’ man and never went back to his hotel with the same girl twice . . . which I believe, because he’s constantly flirting with everyone. Even Margaret, the cook.

“Sofia told me later that Banks was full of crap, and no one believed any of his stories, but since it was harmless to let him go on and on, they usually didn’t call him on it. Brenda said she used to work with her hands, but didn’t say exactly what she did. Scott’s ninety, and he has the most amazing stories about his father, who was in World War II. I think he served in Vietnam, but he doesn’t talk about it. Oh! Do you think you might come one day and talk to everyone about your service in the Army? Not the specifics, because I know you can’t really talk about that, but in general?”

Cal’s smile grew. “Sure.”

“Awesome! I don’t think it’s going to be hard to find things to do. I mean, all six of the residents seem like they’re up for anything, even if some are pretty quiet compared to others. I was thinking about having a themed movie afternoon, when we could watch some oldies from the sixties and seventies. And maybe have a sock hop kind of thing. And I want to talk to the principal at the elementary school and see if I can arrange to bring the residents and have kids read to them. I’ve always heard that it’s super healthy for older people to be around younger kids, and vice versa.”

Cal pushed back from the table and pulled June from her seat.

“Cal?” she asked. But he didn’t stop as he hurried her toward the stairs.

“The dishes!” she exclaimed with a small laugh, as she did her best to keep up with him.

The more he was around this woman, the more he needed her.

He’d spent the day talking with a detective in DC about Elaine Green—and getting nowhere. There was simply no proof that Elaine had done anything wrong. Nothing that would make the detective give up precious time on other cases to look into a seventeen-year-old death that had been ruled a heart attack. Though he did point out that June could take on all the red tape and the steep cost of an exhumation on her own.

Cal had been frustrated and irritated, but as soon as he’d picked up June from Hill’s House, his bad mood dissipated. Simply being around her made him feel better.

It was a dangerous precedent though, sleeping with her. Sooner or later, she’d leave. She’d realize how much of the world she wanted to experience, and she’d get restless, feel stifled by living in Newton. Cal knew he should let her go before he got too attached, but tonight, he couldn’t. He needed her.

He closed his bedroom door, and she turned to face him. He took a step forward, and she took one back. Then again. It was like its own form of foreplay.

“Cal?” she asked, looking up at him with a sly smile.

“Yeah?”

“Are you tired? You want to go to sleep?”

“Nope.”

“Your feet hurt, and you need to get off them?” she teased.

She’d backed up as far as she could and was now standing at the edge of his bed.

“No.” Then he shocked himself—and her, if the look on her face was anything to go by—when he whipped his shirt over his head.

Her eyes went straight to his chest, and he had a perverse moment of satisfaction when a look of anger flashed across her face. He much preferred she be angry on his behalf than disgusted by his scars . . . or worse, pity him.

“You saw me before and didn’t freak out. You didn’t run, and you definitely had a chance. I want you in the light again. As much as possible. I want to see all of you, and in return, I’ll give you all of me. That is . . . if you still want me like this.”

She moved immediately, stepping close and kissing an especially gnarly scar on his chest. It went from his breastbone down to his groin. Cal vividly remembered the arsehole who’d done it, how he’d threatened to disembowel him from neck to dick.

“I want you,” she reassured him. She struggled with the button of his jeans for a moment before he brushed her hands away and undid the button and zipper himself.

She smiled at him and went to her knees. She shyly pulled down his pants and boxers, and Cal kicked them away. He’d never been as naked with someone, figuratively, as he’d been with June. He’d gotten naked with women, yes. Before his capture. But he’d never in his life been so vulnerable.

Licking her lips, she leaned in and took hold of his flaccid cock. It immediately twitched. All her concentration was on his dick. She didn’t seem to even notice how torn up his thighs were. Or the imperfections on the cock itself.

She leaned in and took all of him in her mouth. Cal groaned, and his hands immediately tangled in her hair, more to hold on to something than to control her. He loved her enthusiastic, uncoordinated movements. The fact that she’d so obviously never done this to anyone else made him feel a little crazy.

He grew in her mouth, and before long, she was bobbing up and down on half his length as if she was born to it. At one point, she looked up at him with his cock in her mouth and grinned.

It was more than he could take. Cal wanted to explode, wanted her to swallow everything he gave her, but he needed to be inside her more.

He lifted her easily and stripped her in record time. He practically threw her onto the mattress, and she giggled.

The next twenty minutes were full of sighs and moans and cries . . . and more pleasure than Cal could ever remember.

But when they were both replete, with June snuggled into his side, panic quickly set in.

Every time he had her, she got further under his skin. He needed her more, not less. He knew that the longer she lived here, slept in his bed, the more time he spent buried in her hot, wet depths, the harder it would be to lose her. Eventually, he’d get to a point where he wouldn’t be able to fathom such a thing. He’d likely become one of those men who stalked an ex and declared that if he couldn’t have her, no one could.

He closed his eyes as June breathed deeply, already asleep.

He loved her. Might never love another woman like this again—but he had to let her go. For her own good. She’d be upset at first, but eventually she’d be grateful. He wouldn’t be selfish. He’d let her go so she could find her place in the world, somewhere as wondrous and vibrant as June herself.

Newton, Maine, just wasn’t it.

One of her hands rested on his chest, right over his heart, and even as she slept, her fingers moved, caressing him. He needed her more than he needed air to breathe, but he’d be damned if he did anything to hold her back from her full potential.