Together they walked around and mingled until Jake walked over with a smile, carrying a couple of plates. “Mind if I steal your cousin?” he asked Peyton.
“Go for it! I’ll talk to you later, Mal!”
“C’mon. I grabbed us two of the most perfect burgers ever grilled,” he said, leading her down toward the boathouse. “And I thought we’d eat up on the party deck. Is that okay?”
“It sounds perfect. But we need to grab some more food.” While there were only burgers on their plates, there were about five tables lined with all kinds of food. “Let’s grab some salads and maybe some desserts before we go.”
He readily agreed and it took a little longer than either wanted before they were finally sitting up on the deck. They were the only ones up there, but for the peace, quiet, and view, it was worth it.
“Burgers are a little cold now,” he said with a frown. “That’s why I grabbed them up so fast – so they’d be hot when we ate them.”
“Oh, stop. They’re fine.” Although, once she took her first bite she had to admit they would have been better five minutes ago.
But she kept that to herself.
“So…I guess we’re probably not going to see each other later tonight. With your whole family here and all, it wouldn’t be right,” he said, looking out at the water.
“Probably not, but between all the activities today and the fireworks tonight, we’ll have the entire day together.”
Jake placed his food down and reached for one of her hands, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. “I know. I’m finding I enjoy sleeping with you in my arms. Even if it isn’t for the entire night, it’s just something that makes me feel good.”
“Me too,” she replied softly. They finished eating in silence when an idea came to her. Quietly she cleared her throat. “Um…is anyone over at your house?”
He shook his head. “They’re all over here. How come?”
She shrugged. “I just thought maybe we could take a walk and…you know…have a little alone time now. You know, in private.”
A slow grin spread across his face. “Why, Mallory, are you suggesting we sneak off and get naked for a little while?”
She could feel her cheeks heating. All she could do was nod.
In the blink of an eye he was on his feet and clearing the table. “We can throw this in the trash inside the boathouse. There’s a path right along the water that no one really uses. It can get us around to my place without anyone seeing.”
With a giggle, Mallory was on her feet and giddily following him. And as they made their way up the pier and then into the woods, her entire body tingled with excitement.
And a few minutes later, it tingled with absolute pleasure.
12
It was the end of July and Jake was walking around the property with Zeke and going over all of the work they accomplished over the summer.
“The pier’s in great shape as is the boathouse. We hung the swing over in the garden like you asked and built several benches which we placed along the path. The landscaper came through and put fresh mulch in all the places Mallory cleared out.” And just the mention of her name had Jake’s mind going to how cute she had looked in her cutoffs, with dirt on her face, and her hair in a ponytail all those days she’d worked out there. It was hard to see her like that – like the girl he’d always known – and then reconcile the fact that she was also the incredibly sexy woman he was falling in love with.
“My girl did quite a good job out here,” Zeke said as they examined the freshly mulched beds.
Jake agreed. “We put some reinforcements on the deck, replaced about a third of the boards and re-stained them all to match.” Beside him, Zeke nodded. “You know, you’ve often talked about doing a gazebo over on the east side of the property. The weather’s been cooperating and it wouldn’t be that hard to draw up some designs and get that built for you. It would make a nice addition for all the fall events you host back here.”
Zeke stopped beside him, considering Jake’s words. “I don’t think we’ll have time for that before you leave for school. And you’re the only one I’d trust to do it and make sure it’s done right.”
Oh, right. That.
For the better part of a month, Jake kept the news about not going to Boulder to himself. He wasn’t ready to talk about it and certainly didn’t want to deal with anyone’s pity. Although, he almost brought it up to Mallory several times – especially when they were talking about the end of the summer and how sad she was that they were going to be so far apart.
And yet for some reason, he kept his mouth shut.
“Of course, with you not getting your scholarship, I figure you might be considering staying around for a while.”
Wait…what??
Jake knew his jaw was just about on the ground and he tried to find the right words to say. Shock, however, kept him mute.
“Don’t know why you didn’t come to me,” Zeke went on, as if oblivious to Jake’s despair. “I went and talked to your folks because I wanted to throw a party for you and…well…they told me. They were reluctant, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out something was wrong.” He paused and gave Jake a firm look. “You’ve been planning for this for years. Why would you just give up?”
Dammit.
Raking a hand through his hair, Jake walked over to one of those new benches they’d been talking about and sat down. “It’s not like I want to give up,” he explained, “but I don’t really have a choice.”
Zeke studied him for a moment before slowly ambling over and sitting beside him. “We’ve talked about his before, son. You know I’m more than willing to give you the money you need for school.” He placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “No one has to know about it if you don’t want them to. You’ve always been like family to me and it would mean a lot to me if you would let me help you with this.”
He shook his head. “I…I just can’t, Zeke. That’s not how I was raised.”
“You were willing to let some faceless committee give you the money via a scholarship, but you won’t let me do it? What kind of logic is that?”
How could he even begin to explain it when he didn’t quite understand it himself? For his entire life, Jake dealt with the fact that he lived next door to one of the wealthiest families in the county. Only…they’d never made him feel like he was less of a person. That was Zeke’s doing. But there were many years when his own family had struggled – years after his father lost his job and they had to go on public assistance just to survive – and his father refused any handouts because of his pride.
Clearly that stuck with Jake.
“Don’t consider it charity, son,” Zeke went on. “Consider it that I’m investing in your future. A future you say you want with Coleman Construction. The way I see it, me helping you get the education you so desperately want, is gonna benefit me and my company just as much as it’s going to benefit you.”
“Zeke…”
“Had I known you were gonna be this stubborn, I would have created my own damn scholarship and awarded it to you anonymously,” he said with a hint of annoyance.