stood, but the bottom looked like it had fallen out. And as they approached the back door, the same porcelain frog was nestled among a bunch of flower pots.
Dani knelt and opened the frog’s ear. The key was right inside.
Dani took Jonah’s hand and pulled him inside once she unlocked the door. His fingers slid between hers, and neither flipped a light switch. The house sat on a hill and could be seen two miles in the distance. They didn’t need to proclaim their burglary. And, knowing Jake, his job wouldn’t allow the possibility of a forgotten light. But, she used this to their advantage and drew open the curtains. The moonlight lit up the inside, enough for them to make their way around.
The flour was tried first. Nothing. The sugar—nothing. Jonah was convinced it was in a baking container, so they broke apart. He was digging in the coffee grounds when she ran her hands along a picture frame’s edge. Still nothing. She went into Julia’s bedroom, but only did a cursory look over the dressers and bedstands. Going back to the living room, she checked in a few books, anywhere that wouldn’t need to be moved on a daily basis. Julia wouldn’t want to keep moving the picture around.
Dani chewed on her lip, thinking.
The piano was still in the corner, but no. Julia hadn’t been fond of piano, even though she suffered through her lessons.
A picture of Jake and Julia.
A picture of Julia and Erica.
Then Erica…
Dani kept going. There were more pictures, no—she swung back to that picture of Erica. The frame was thin, but her picture looked a little more pressed against the glass than the others. Dani went over, opening it up, and slid a hidden picture out from behind Erica’s.
There it was. It was her, their mother.
Dani stood there, taking in everything about her mother’s smiling face.
She must’ve made a sound in distress or awe because Jonah moved and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her against his chest, propping his chin on her shoulder. Both stared at the picture.
He breathed next to her ear. “She was beautiful.”
Her eyes sparked intelligence. A heart-shaped face surrounded perfectly plush lips. Slender shoulders showed strength and fragility. She’d been graced with the same almond-colored eyes as Dani, and her hair was almost a silvery brunette.
Dani was her mother’s reincarnation.
A ragged breath escaped her. “I don’t remember her like this.” She traced a finger over the picture, over her mother’s eyes. “She looks sad.” But her mother had been sad, Dani realized. She just hadn’t realized it at the time. “She was always so alive. Her eyes were warm, loving. She laughed. Erica had the same laugh.”
A lone tear slid down. Dani wished for her sister, she wished with all her strength. To hear that laugh, just one last time.
“We gotta go,” Jonah suddenly said. “Did you want to snap a picture of it on your phone? Or—”
“No.” There was no question. She wanted the real deal. A copy wouldn’t do it. “It’s going with us.”
“Okay.” He moved around her, put Erica’s photo back, and closed the picture frame. His hand found hers. “Come on. A car’s coming. If we go now, we can be on the road before they turn in.”
Dani followed, in a daze.
Jonah replaced the key. He pulled Dani to the car. Without turning the lights on, he drove around the house, and down the driveway. They turned onto the road. He waited a good distance before switching on the lights. Just then, another car pulled over a hill, slowed, and turned into the driveway.
Julia hadn’t stayed at Mae’s Grill long. Dani didn’t really care. She had what she wanted. They drove in silence until Dani looked up. He drove them to the cabin. “No Mae’s Grill tonight?”
Jonah turned off the engine. “Figured you’d want to put that somewhere safe.”
Oh.
He added, “Didn’t know if you were up to the crowd anyway.”
Boone.
She’d forgotten about him. Then again, that’d been the reason for their burglary mission, but there’d be questions if they didn’t go. Hell, there’d be questions if they did go. Dani had a sudden wish to hear Kate’s laugh and Aiden’s shriek as they mercilessly teased Robbie or Stilts. Dani wanted to hear Kate rate the sleaziness of the girls who propositioned Jonah. Which reminded her…
“Do you really just have to stand in a bar and get hit on? I mean, I’ve seen it, but really? Like you stand there and here come the pick-ups?”
A sheepish look came over him. He cleared his throat, tugging at his shirt’s collar. “Uh, well…yeah, I guess. I mean…I don’t sleep around, and I don’t take those girls home. I’m not a manwhore, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You really don’t even have to work for it?”
He laughed. “Trust me. There are some girls I have to put in overtime.” His gaze fell to her lips, staying there. “Where did these questions come from?”
“That girl was grinding her entire body on you.”
His eyes flicked to hers. A cocky grin appeared. “You noticed, huh?”
Her eyebrows rose. “Was I supposed to?”
He shrugged, his grin widening. “Nice to know you noticed, but I’ve found it’s easier to let the girls do their thing and think they’ll get what they want. Hawk or Carl would’ve hit on her eventually, and she’d get tired of me, and start liking the attention from them. She was one of those girls who gets more aggressive if you put ‘em off, you know?”
“Right.” She mocked in disbelief. “That was her not being aggressive.”
“I don’t think I want to have this conversation anymore.”
“Why?” Her voice was mocking.
“Because.” He gripped the back of his neck. “Not with you.”
She’d never seen the infamous Jonah Bannon uncomfortable and self-conscious. It was a sight to behold. She was grinning so hard now.
“What? Why? Unless it’s not true. Are the girls actually hitting on you? Maybe they’re a show?” He was squirming, and she was loving it. “I bet you don’t sleep with any of them, do you? Just like that one girl you had Hawk take home and you were hiding from.”
“I’m not a whore.”
She pretended to gasp, opening her eyes wide. “What if it’s the opposite, and you don’t sleep with any of them?”
“Dani.” He groaned. “Look. I’m healthy, I’ll just say that.”
“I bet you don’t even like sex, and you bake! With flour!”
“I don’t—” He broke off and shook his head. “I like sex.”
“Do you do kinky stuff with flour?”
“Where in the hell did this come from?” He scowled, getting out of the car. Dani followed, and she led the way inside. When the lights turned on, the words died in his throat.
Dani frowned, confused at the sudden speechless look on his face.
A slow smile spread across his face. “You look happy.”
She was. Dani frowned. How could she be happy? She turned away sharply.
“Don’t.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Don’t shut down because you’re experiencing a moment of happiness. You got your mom’s picture.”
Dani looked down to her mother. It was like the world righted itself, just for that moment. “She died when I was nine. I just have these little bits of memories of her. I think we were happy. Her, me, Julia, and Erica. The four of us.”
“I bet you’re just like her.”
“No.” Dani shook her head. “Erica was like her. Everyone loved my mother. She had this warmth about her.” That was what Dani remembered. She’d been the dreamer, but she inspired everyone else to dream. Erica had the same charm. “I think I’m like my father, whoever he was.”
She placed the photograph on her dresser. She’d hide it the next day, but she wanted to see it before she slept and when she woke. She wanted to see her mother bathed in the morning’s sunshine, no matter how cheesy that sounded.
Jonah was wait
ing in the doorway.
Why was he different than Boone? Why did she allow him to see her when she shut out everyone else?
Caught in a spell, Dani stood there and held his eyes. Slowly, his eyes moved back to her lips. Dani caught her breath. Neither moved.
And his phone rang.
She jumped while Jonah cursed. “Yeah?” He turned and moved back into the living room.
Dani sat on her bed and exhaled. Lying down, she closed her eyes and listened to Jonah’s one-sided conversation. Aiden wanted to know where he was and if he was going to Mae’s Grill. Jonah didn’t know. Why not?
Dani grinned as she heard Jonah successfully block that trail of questions when he asked if Robbie was bringing Lori or Brooke. Even from the bedroom, she could hear Aiden go off, ranting about both of them.
Jonah moved to the doorway and watched her back. That phone was pressed to his ear, but his eyes were on her. Hers were on him, and for a moment, Dani knew what she wanted. She sat up, still holding his gaze, and he murmured, “No, Aiden. I don’t know. I’m working tomorrow.”
Aiden’s voice was even clearer. Could he barbeque with Bubba? You know it’s Bryant’s favorite meal. And he hasn’t seen you for a few days.
“Aiden,” Jonah interrupted. “I don’t know. I’ll try. I took Bry and Amalia swimming recently.”
She knew, but she was just saying. Bryant misses his favorite uncle.
The guilt trip worked wonderfully because Dani heard Jonah sigh, “I’ll come for dinner tomorrow night. Yes, I’ll barbeque.” He cleared his throat. “I have to go.”
He had never looked away from Dani. And he murmured now, tossing his phone onto her dresser, “I always fall for it. She dangles my niece and nephew, and I do whatever she wants.”
Dani heard him, but she wasn’t listening. She was paying attention to what her body was saying, what it wanted.
There was a pause that hung between them.
Jonah asked, “Do you want to go or…?”
She knew what would happen if they stayed, and drawing on strength that she didn’t know she had, she stood up. “Let’s go to Mae’s Grill.”
Two shots equaled…
No. That wasn’t right. She had more than two shots. How many? Her fingers would tell her. She knew it. They never lied. How many fingers did she have?
“There you are.”
When they got to Mae’s Grill, Kate declared it was Shot Night, and the title was self-explanatory. Shot after shot after…shot…after…Dani lost count. She hadn’t meant to take them, but they ended up down her throat. Somehow. And now the world was all fuzzy, but not Jonah. He bent down in front of her, and she could only smile at him. “You’re so pretty. Do you know that?”
He chuckled as he slid his arms underneath her, lifting her in the air. “Up you go. It’s time for bed.”
She touched his face. It was so smooth and so masculine. His jaw was one of those that made women melt. Strong. Square-like. Oh yes. He was very delicious. She understood why that woman rubbed herself against him, like a cat. She said, “You’re not hairy. Cats are hairy.”
“Yes. They sure are, and I’ll tell you what I am. I’m sober.” He carried her back to the parking lot, putting her in the front seat of his car. Then he pointed to the backseat where Kate was. “Unlike you and Kate. Come on. I’m driving you both home.”
Dani turned around. “Hey, Kate!” She frowned. “You’re not hairy either. That’s good.”
Kate groaned, her voice muffled against the carseat, “I love him. Why do I love him?”
“Who do you love?”
But Jonah answered, getting into the car, “Because Robbie is intelligent, good-looking, and he’s the yang to your ying. Right, Katie?”
“That’s right.” She sniffed against the seat.
Dani frowned. “What are you crying about?”
“I love Robbie, and he doesn’t love me back.”
“Robbie doesn’t want Lori,” Jonah clarified, pulling out of the parking lot. “He just thinks he does, but he doesn’t.”
“What do I do, Jonah? What do I do?”
“You flirt with him, and then you flirt with someone else. You go on a date with someone else.”
“I don’t want to go on a date with someone else. I want to go on a date with Robbie. I want to have sex with Robbie.” She giggled. “S.E.X.”
“Trust me. Date someone else and Robbie will wake up.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
Kate sighed. “I’m so glad you’re around lately. You’ve been around a lot more than usual. Nights like these you’d usually be off getting s.e.x.” She laughed, hiccupped, and groaned. “Not again.”
Dani laughed and then clamped her mouth shut. Vomit. Vomit was coming. She couldn’t speak, but she patted Jonah’s arm.
Jonah swerved to the side. “Shit!”
Dani shot through the door and emptied her stomach onto the county highway’s pavement.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Go to sleep.” Jonah moved around the car, kneeling beside Dani. His hand began to brush her hair back and he sank down until he was sitting. “Okay. That’s not good. Get it all out, Dani. You’ll feel better afterwards.”
She didn’t need to be told. She was already doing it, or her stomach was doing it. Over and over. And over. There was nothing left inside when she finally stopped, breathing raggedly. Her hair was a mess. She had puke breath, and she was sweaty all over.
“Fuck.” She moaned.
Jonah chuckled softly, rubbing her back. “You think you’re done?”
She shook her head, so weak. She knew there was more. Her stomach was already cramping. A groan came from her, and soon she was going once again. Jonah sat with his back to the car. He pulled Dani onto his lap with her head hanging off to the side, far enough to not splatter either of them.
After another round, she asked, spitting extras from her mouth, “What’s Kate doing?”
“She passed out.”
“That was fast.”
“The booze helped.” Jonah rubbed her shoulders and arms.
“I can’t feel my arms. I can’t feel my legs. I can’t feel my lips. Nothing.”
“But you can still feel him, can’t you?”
“Yes,” Dani relented. “God, yes.”
Oh yeah. That was how those shots got down her throat. She went to Mae’s Grill and saw that woman Boone had been with. He wasn’t there, but damage done. She didn’t wait for Kate to offer the first round of shots. A tray was brought to the table, and Dani grabbed one and threw it back.
Boone. She felt him all night, which was so ridiculous. She’d been making out with Jonah earlier. Ooh Jonah. She lifted her head up and looked at him. He was so pretty. And his kisses were amazing, and she couldn’t have any of them that night. She was a mess. He wouldn’t want to kiss her again.
She was going to ask, to make sure he wouldn’t hold this night against her, but nope. Another round was knocking on her throat’s door. She lurched again.
Jonah just kept rubbing a hand down her back. “Is that why?”
“Yes.” She collapsed against Jonah’s chest and pulled his arms tight around her. She was done. Her stomach was finally settled, but Boone was there. He was in town, and he’d been holding that woman’s hand. “I keep people away.”
Jonah’s arms tightened.
“I’m drunk and telling you my biggest problem. There’s probably cows over there.”
Jonah stroked her hair, kissing her forehead. “You’re telling