“I’ve had his donuts and they’re damn good.” Jett scraped some of the whipped cream off the top of his cocoa and dropped it on the little plate that held his mug, and Lenny gasped.
“You eat his donuts, and you scrape off my whipped cream? Let me tell you what I think, Mr. Hot-Shot quarterback. That bastard doesn’t make his own donuts. He sources them out and then he resells them to humans and dogs. He’s got long hippie hair and no manners. I can’t believe he gets returning business with the way he’s running things.”
Jett stared at Lenny with surprise as the older man proceeded to tell him his life story. About how his wife ran off with his brother. How his dog got hit by a car fifteen years ago and he’d never gotten over it. He told Jett about Flutterbug, his cat who has peed all over his carpet and brought down the equity in his home. His car didn’t start this morning, and he wasn’t about to take it to Wren’s Mechanic, because one of the guys that works for Wren stole his lunch box when they were kids. So now he’d have to walk the whole block home.
“Wow. That’s—a lot.” Jett drank the last of his cocoa and I didn’t miss the empathy I saw when he looked at Lenny. Alec found Lenny to be annoying and wouldn’t sit through a conversation with the older man, so I never brought him back after the first time he’d come here with me.
“Thank you. And did I tell you most of my friends are all dead? Yep. And they all had open caskets at their funerals, which wasn’t a good thing. Can’t get that image out of my head now. Not that it’ll matter much in the future with my cataracts. Won’t be seeing much by next year this time anyway, and God knows my teeth are no good. Hell, these top ones I’ve got here,” he held up his gums to show Jett his unusually white top set of teeth, “these aren’t even mine.”
“You don’t say,” Jett said with a smirk.
“I do say. I swear that scoundrel dentist of mine gave me my dead friend Peter’s teeth and called them veneers. He thinks he can just paint dead men’s teeth white and sell them for new. He’s nothing but a crook, that Dr. Jason. And who uses a first name after doctor? A thief, I tell you.”
Jett chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. “You want me to borrow my friend Shaw’s truck and come jump your car later today?”
Lenny looked from me to Jett and smiled. The man actually smiled. Those ungodly white teeth nearly blinded me, and I used my hand to cover my mouth. “Well, look at you, Mr. Hot-Shot quarterback. That would save me from going to that scoundrel for a jump.”
“Consider it done. I’ll stop by tonight.”
Lenny pushed to his feet when the door flew open and Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith walked in.
“You know a lot of people say those two might be swingers. Do you know what that is?” Lenny whisper-shouted so anyone within earshot could hear him.
Jett put a fist over his mouth, trying to hide his laugh. “Yeah, I know what that is.”
“I think she’s been hitting on me for years. You know. Trying to recruit me as some sort of sex slave.”
“We can hear you, you crazy old bastard. We’re barely gettin’ it on ourselves these days, what with my sciatica and her bad hip. No one’s recruiting you for anything more than some goddamn hot chocolate. So, get your ass over here and make us two specials, you grumpy old fart.”
“How’d he hear me?” Lenny asked as he walked toward the counter.
“I heard you loud and clear and I’m older than dirt,” Old Lady Winters said.
“Shall we?” I asked Jett, barely holding back my laughter.
“See you later, Lenny,” Jett called out as we made our way outside and he slipped his jacket back in place.
“Holy shit, Ace. That was fucking amazing.” His dark eyes danced with mischief and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Stick with me, kid. I’ll show you all the magic that is Willow Springs. How am I doing so far?”
“I’ve got to say, you’re two for two. That dude is one crazy, grumpy old fucker, and I kind of love him.”
“Right? He’s one of my favorites.”
“And for your information, I’ve heard the same rumor about the Goldsmiths.” Jett winked and my stomach did some kind of flip.
I didn’t analyze it or wonder what it meant.
I was just enjoying myself.
We walked through town and I pointed out Lulu’s Boutique where I always found my dresses for dances. And the old-fashioned candy store that I’d been going to since I was a kid. We paused at the fountain in the courtyard and I handed him a penny and we both made a wish. I reminded him that come spring the azaleas would be in bloom and the sidewalks would be lined with pink and red flowers.
“Have you ever taken a ride on the Texas State Railroad?” I asked, as we approached the small train station.
“Nope. Shaw told me and Jax it was haunted when we were kids, and I’ve stayed the hell away.” He laughed.
I laughed with him. “Buckle up, Stone. Prepare for the beauty of East Texas’ piney woods. Hopefully, we don’t see any ghosts.” I teased, bumping his shoulder with mine.
“I don’t fuck with ghosts, Ace.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and the corners of his mouth turned up.
As we boarded the train, I realized this wasn’t only a tour for Jett.
This was the most fun I’d had in Willow Springs in a long time.
And I was in no hurry for this day to end.
Chapter Fourteen
Jett
“What can I do for you, Jett?” Wren asked, as he pushed to his feet. I’d heard he spent his days at the auto shop that he owned, and I knew Clyde wasn’t going to give me those fights without Wren’s approval. His office was fairly spacious, and he came around his desk, so we were standing eye to eye.
“Well, it seems that I can’t get my name down for any fights because you aren’t allowing it.” I crossed my arms over my chest and my worn leather jacket stretched with the movement.
“I don’t think your mom would be all too happy if you got hurt when you’re just a few months away from leaving for school.”
Who the fuck did he think he was?
Even if Wren was my sperm donor, he hadn’t been in my life the way a father should be, so he had no right to tell me how to live.
Not to mention the fact that if he were my father, it meant that he’d violated my mother in ways I couldn’t allow myself to comprehend. Because that would mean that I’d have to hurt him. Make him pay for what he’d done.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” I squared my shoulders. He was about my size in both height and weight, but I figured I had youth on the old bastard, although he struck me as a bit of a badass.