Diamond in the Rough (Diamond J #2) (9 page)

Gina flashed a warning look at her friend. “Ignore Midge. She’s always saying stuff like that.” But the seed had been planted. Now she was thinking about it. With him.

Midge cackled in an impression of a witch. “Made you think, didn’t it?”

Aidan leaned across the table and whispered conspiratorially to Gina, “Okay, she did make me think about it for just a moment.”

Gina blushed and turned to shoot Midge a dirty look. All she got in return was a big cheesy wink. Aidan cleared his throat and she turned back to face him. Her cheeks were flushed, yet his rough-stubbled face showed no sign of embarrassment. His blue eyes were intent on her, and the corners of his mouth curved up slightly.

Finally, she muttered, “Sorry about her. I keep her around for the comic relief.”

“She’s good at her job.” He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward.

She was drawn forward, toward him. “That she does. Anyway, you were saying?” Gina swallowed hard. This man oozed testosterone.

“I asked if you're still able to join us out at the Diamond J for the barbecue.”

Was he asking her out? She wasn’t sure. What did “us” mean? She would love to go, but would she make an appearance there only to be embarrassed when he already had a rodeo bunny on his arm?

But if she took Toby, he would have a ball and she would have someone to sit with. That’d kill two birds with one stone. Besides, Toby would be thrilled at the chance to go to the ranch, but this time she wouldn't leave him in Aidan's care.

She nodded once, quickly. “Yes, we’ll be there.” She shifted in her seat, conscious of the heat building within her at the thought of going anywhere with him.

His dark brows pushed together as he stared at the invitation still gripped between his thumb and forefinger.

“Do you think your boss will be satisfied with these?” Gina caught her lower lip with her teeth.

He tapped the invitation against the table. “I think she’ll be more than satisfied. They look great. I’m sure it’s exactly what she was looking for.”

“Well,” Gina said, “You take them to her and get her to look at them. If she isn’t one hundred percent satisfied, I’ll redo them.”

“Hmmmm,” he said, with one corner of his mouth twitching up. “You’re pretty confident, aren’t you?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Just the opposite actually. I’m not sure she’ll like them, and I want to make sure she gets what she wants. If she’s happy, she’ll come back. If she’s not, she won’t. It’s good business, plain and simple.”

“I’m sure she’ll love ‘em.” He nodded, then pulled a folded check from his breast pocket and slid it across the table to her. “Here you go.”

She smiled and took the check without looking at it. “Thank you. I appreciate the business.”

He slid the top invitation off the stack and laid it on the table between them. “This is for you, so you’ll have the details. Stick it on your ‘fridge at home. I hope you can make it.”

She picked the invitation up. “Thanks. We’re looking forward to it.”

"Right," he said. The smile faded from his face, and he stood up. She wasn’t sure what that was about. The invitation had seemed sincere. She pushed back from the table and stood also, then watched as he gathered up the completed invitations.

On the way past the center island, he handed an invitation to Midge. “You’re invited, too, and you’re welcome to bring a guest.” His boots made a rhythmic thunk as he strode toward the front of the store.

Midge called after him, “Thanks!”

He walked out the door, letting in a whoosh of spring wind as he went.

Midge looked at the invitation, then said, “You know, I’ve been hearing about the new management out at the Diamond J. We’re going to this, right?”

Gina walked to the center counter and leaned against the support post, “Absolutely. After getting to ride that calf, all Toby can talk about is cowboys.”

"I can see why." Midge grinned. “Cowboys are yummy.”

Gina shook her head, then gazed out the big plate glass window, her thoughts on Aidan. He had such an easy manner about him, yet there was an undercurrent of danger. She asked her friend, “Did you catch that right before he left? Did he seem irritated to you?”

Midge shrugged. "Who can tell with men?”

Gina rolled her eyes as the front door swung open and the bell chimed to announce a customer. One of the Friday night croppers hurried in and pushed the door shut behind her.

Gina pushed aside thoughts of the cowboy and called out, “Hello, Linda! I ordered in that billiards paper to scrap your Vegas trip – let me run back and get it for you.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

If It Can Go Wrong

As soon as Gina locked up the store, she hurried home, anxious to see her little boy. She brushed aside thoughts of Aidan and focused on Toby. No matter how long of a day she had, he could make her smile -- and today had been long. Her fingers ached from all the inking and stamping she had done, her feet were tired and swollen from standing all day, and her eyes were dry and scratchy from reading the computer screen all day. But she couldn’t complain, she had a job that she loved, even if it was hard sometimes.

She heard Toby before she saw him. He was singing, “Pokémon! Got to catch them all! I know it’s my destiny! Pokémon!”

She could picture the images of brightly colored pocket monsters flashing across the screen. Toby’s voice was much louder and overshadowed the television. His squeals of delight made her heart sing and when he came around the corner from the living room, she wondered if every parent felt this way. At times, she loved him so much it was like a physical pain. She missed him when she wasn’t with him, and everything he did brought her joy. He ran toward her, his arms outstretched, and the last step was a leap into her arms. She reached out and caught him, then swung him around which led to squeals of delight – from both of them. Sandy came around the corner. She leaned against the door jam and propped a fist on her hip.

Sandy asked, “Long day?”

Gina nodded, “It’s always a long day when I’m away from my little rascal.”

She lifted him up and hugged him to her. “Were you watching Pokémon?”

He looked down, suddenly looking bashful. He murmured, “It’s a kid show, but I still like it.”

She kissed him on the cheek and said, “I’m a grown up and I like it.”

“I’m older than both of you and I like it.” Sandy smiled and said, “Hate to run out on you, but I need to hustle. I need to stop by and see my neighbor.”

Gina looked up. “How’s she doing since her surgery?”

“Pretty well. Still moving slow, but that’s to be expected after back surgery.”

As the older woman gathered up her things, Gina pulled a five dollar bill from her billfold and slipped it into the other woman’s hand. “Tell your neighbor to let me know if there’s anything I can do. Give her this, or use it to buy her something.”

Sandy tucked the bill into her purse. She leaned down just in time to catch Toby as he launched himself at her for a big hug. “Bye, Nana Sandy!”

Sandy kissed the top of his head. “Love you too, my big boy.” She slipped out the door.

Toby ran into the living room, where he plopped down and grabbed a toy horse then galloped it across the wood floor. His lips moved as he made whinnying noises. While he was occupied, Gina flipped through the mail. Bills, bills, and more bills. She added them to the basket on the kitchen counter already overflowing with bills. Given that she didn’t have much of a life, didn’t live extravagantly or shop excessively, the bills sure stacked up. Rent was due, the car payment was due, homeowners insurance was due, car insurance was due, all the friggin’ utilities. There was no end to it. A sigh escaped her lips.

She let her head fall back and she stared at the ceiling. Too bad she couldn't find a knight in shining armor who could whisk her away and make her problems disappear. She could sure use one right now. With a huff, she put her Tupperware container from lunch in the dishwasher, then added the other dishes that were sitting on the counter. She added soap then started the machine.

It sputtered, coughed, then made a loud screech. She lunged forward and punched the button to make the machine stop, but it continued squealing like a stuck pig. The sound of water jetting into the machine told her that it continued to fill. Suddenly, there was a horrendous shudder, the machine belched smoke from the front panel and then it was quiet.

Toby ran from the living room, eyes wide. “Sounds like a monster in there!”

Gina could feel herself wilting. There wasn’t enough money in her checking account to have the dishwasher fixed. Definitely not enough money to buy a new one. Her credit card was maxed. And she already owed Bob’s Appliance Repair for coming out to fix the washing machine, so she couldn’t call him.

Damn.

It made her physically hurt sometimes to be so broke. Thank God for the child support Steve paid. That allowed her to raise her son on the salary she earned at the scrapbook store, but it didn't leave much extra.

Toby, in that little voice that made her heart melt, said, “It’ll be okay, Mom.”

“I know, sweetheart.” She bent down and gave him a hug. “Guess we’ll be doing dishes the old fashioned way.”

Growing up, she’d been the dishwasher. This wasn’t the end of the world. She tousled his hair and said, “Want me to read a book before you go to bed?”

He clapped his hands and jumped up and down, then raced down the hall shouting, “Harry Potter!”

She shot a withering look at the offending dishwasher, then put her hands on her knees and pushed herself upright. She walked down the hallway and turned into Toby’s room. It was small, only big enough for his twin bed – his “big boy bed”, as he proudly told everyone who came in – a small dresser, a bookshelf and a toy box shaped like a train engine.

Toby tugged his pajamas out from under his pillow, then flopped down on the floor to pull his pants off. He struggled, tugged and pulled, but when Gina tried to help, he insisted that he could do it himself. He succeeded, finally, in pulling his jeans off and heaved a big sigh.

“Good job, Toby!” Gina gushed.

He looked at up at her from under his thick fringe of dark lashes. Very seriously, he lifted his hands up and said, “I’m tired now. Help.”

She pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the corner with his jeans. Everything about him was perfect. She tickled his tummy, which elicited a round of giggles, then helped him get into his Scooby Doo pajamas on. They were the ones with feet, which he loved, and so did she. It reminded her of her own childhood. Because hers hadn’t been the best, she was determined to keep his childhood as carefree as possible.

He tilted his head to the side, as if thinking. “I’m gonna brush my teeth now.”

And with that, he ran out of his bedroom and into the bathroom. She could hear water running in the sink. She sank to the floor and leaned back against the bed. It was the first time she had sat down all day. She looked around the room, at the simple furnishings, all cheap pine furniture. It wasn’t what she had imagined her little boy’s room would look like when she used to dream of having babies, but the creative touches made it special.

Her favorite part of the room was the paint job she’d done. It had been her first try at tackling painting a room anything other than plain old painting. She started with spring grass green below the chair rail, and blue above the chair rail, then hand painted trains running around the room on the chair rail. Little Toby had been fascinated with trains from the time he was a toddler, and his obsession had grown as he’d gotten older. Thomas the Tank had been his favorite television show, making it easy to pick Thomas gifts for every holiday and gift-giving occasion.

And then last year he discovered cowboys and horses.

But she had worked so hard on this room - no way was she changing it.

She could hear him humming Happy Birthday to himself in the bathroom, which made her smile. He was so proud of being able to do things himself, just like his mama.

Her independent streak had definitely been passed down to him. That was a mixed blessing. Though it was nice to have him do things like brush his teeth and get dressed on his own, she knew it was just a matter of time before she wouldn’t be able to do anything for him, because he would insist on doing everything himself.

The sound of running water stopped just after he finished humming the song, and a couple of minutes later she heard the toilet flush. Toby marched into the room and climbed into his big boy bed. She tucked him in, then turned to run her index finger along the spines of the books on his bookshelf.

“Hmmmmm,” she mused, “What would you like to hear tonight? Perhaps Where the Wild Things Are?”

"Harry Potter!"

"That's too long. What else?"

“Polar Express!” he shouted gleefully.

She smiled at his suggestion and said, “But that’s a Christmas story.”

“Polar Express!” he insisted. His chubby little face was set, and she knew there was no changing his mind. She pulled the book from the bookshelf and sat on the floor, balancing the book on his mattress.

She started to read, “On Christmas Eve, many years ago, I lay quietly in my bed . . . “

As she turned each page, Toby said something about the illustration and every now and then she turned the book toward him so they could look at the illustrations together. By the time the little boy returned to his house, Toby’s eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and even. His cheeks were plump and rosy, and he had that angelic look that little kids have when they sleep.

A smile touched her lips as she quietly closed the book, returned it to his bookshelf, then scooped up his dirty clothes. On her way out of his bedroom, she flicked the light switch off and closed his door, leaving it open just a crack. He insisted he wasn’t scared of the dark, but liked being able to see the light from the night light in the hallway if he woke up.

After she dropped his dirty clothes into the clothes hamper in the bathroom, she returned to the kitchen to deal with the obstinate dishwasher. Her legs felt like they were made of lead. It would be nice to get through a single week without something breaking.