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“I really am. I was thinking … so, fair warning—I’ve been up for a while.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Were you watching me sleep like a creepy vampire?”
“I fondled your boob a little, but mostly I stared at the ceiling and listened to that asshole bird.”
“Unconscious boob fondling. Way less creepy.”
“At least my intentions were clear. You never know what a vampire is thinking. Does he want to eat you? Nail you? Eat you while nailing you?”
“They’re mysterious that way. Nobody knows what brand of sex offender they are until it’s too late.”
A chuckle. “So I think I’m going to cohabitate. Keep my place in Georgetown for when I need to be there, and the rest of the time, I’ll be either traveling for work or here. Think Salma will let me stay?”
“I think she’d be downright offended if you stayed somewhere else. When will you head back?”
“Not until my father leaves.”
“Yeah.” One grim word. “What are we going to do about him?”
“Think your mom might listen to me?”
“It’s possible.”
“Let’s get together with your sisters and see if we can’t come up with a plan after we run.”
“After we fuck,” she said with a dirty smile.
I twisted, putting her on her back, angling for her lips. “Yes, after that.”
The kiss was thick with intent that my hands knew all too well, skimming down her naked body, over her hip, and—
The sharp knock on the door parted us. Confused, we looked in the direction of the sound, then at each other. Jo snatched the sheets and pulled them up to her neck.
Because on the other side of the big window in the door, his shape muted by the curtain, was my father.
I rolled out of bed one way and Jo went the other, taking the sheets with her.
“Just a second,” I said as I snagged a pair of jeans from the chair next to the bed and pulled them on.
When Jo had her clothes and had dragged her bedsheet train into the bathroom, I stalked to the door and opened it.
Everything about him was sharp, his eyes most of all.
“Come to tell me you’re leaving?” I asked.
“We need to talk. Get the Blum girl out of here.”
“I don’t know how you haven’t figured out yet that nobody tells Blum women what to do.”
The bathroom door opened, and Jo walked out. Her hair was up in a bun on top of her head, which she held high even though the color on her cheeks belied her uncertainty. Her heels were hooked on her fingers.
She offered my father a cool smile. “I was just leaving,” she said, picking up her clutch on the way to me. She stopped at my side, giving me a brief look of appreciation and support. “Get your running shorts on and meet me at the farm, okay?”
“Okay.” I leaned in, kissed her tenderly, her hand in mine before it slipped away.
“’Scuse me,” she said a little too politely so my father would get out of her way, which he did, though his expression didn’t change.
When she was down the steps, I moved to let him in.
He let the screen door slap against the frame behind him.
“What do you want?” I asked with my back to him as I headed for the kitchen.
“So you gave the town a check?”
“I heard you did too. But I don’t think our intentions are equal.”
“The objective is the same. How close are you to getting them to sign?”
“I’m not.” I took the coffee pot out of its cradle to fill it up with water.
“Your little Blum girls are trying to keep me away from Dottie.”
“Since when is that new?”
“It’s not new, just more successful.”
“Thought you didn’t have to fuck her to get what you wanted,” I shot.
“Do you have any idea how serious this is? You want to fuck around here to no end when the only reason you came here is that farm. All you’ve managed to do is get that girl to sleep with you.”
“You don’t seem to be faring any better.”
“I’ll concede that it’s harder than it looks, but I have a feeling I’m closer than you are.”
“Go home. I’ll close the deal. Alone.” When the tank was full, I slid the pot home and opened the filter compartment.
“But now I’m having fun.”
“I knew you were an asshole, but I didn’t think you’d take advantage of a widow just to prove a point.”
“Well, you don’t know me all that well, do you?”
I released a slow breath, closed my eyes for a handful of heartbeats. I turned, dropping the vitriol in favor of virtue, if he had any. “You’re not made of only evil. That I know for sure, no one is. So I’m asking you, man to man. Let’s compromise. Leave this town and let me finish the job.”
“Because you fell in love with your mark? That doesn’t make me want to help you, do you realize that?” He stepped closer, his eyes hot with fury. “Why should you get to have it all? No, we won’t be compromising. I’m going to close the deal. I’m going to get your bonus. And you’re going to get back in line. Compromise.” A short, joyless laugh. “No wonder you’re losing.”
