Josie woke up with a groan. She swore she’d just hit the pillow when her alarm went off. Stupid fantasies making it harder for her to rest. The dreams that followed left her restless and needy. Just being in the same house with Xander made her hormones go into hyperdrive. She needed a shower and an orgasm. If it was a choice between an orgasm and a shower, she didn’t know which one would win out.
She slipped into her robe, grabbed her toiletry bag, and ventured to the door, listening intently. She couldn’t hear anything. Did that mean Xander was still asleep, or had he already gone to work? She opened her door as quietly as possible and peeked around up and down the hallway. The last thing she wanted was to get caught with bed hair and morning breath. So far so good.
She dashed into the bathroom and shut the door quickly. Once she turned around, she blinked in confusion. Was she dreaming, or was she really staring at a shower with the Twister game all over the walls and floor. She didn’t even want to know what had transpired in this bathroom.
Good God. Xander was such a man-whore. She was going to castrate him if she got anything from his guest shower. The cold tiled floor made her curl her toes in. She tentatively stepped into the shower and turned on the water. The warmth seeped all the way to her bones. It was glorious to have all that hot water pouring down her body and for once not having to worry about using too much.
She took much longer than planned, but it’d been so decadent, she didn’t have it in her to care. Only the thought of how much trouble she would get into if she were late to work made her jump out and get dressed. Stupid real life had to intrude in everything good.
Please don’t let him be out there. Josie wasn’t ready to face him in her work clothes. Her company required her to wear a modern-day version of a maid’s outfit, and the catcalls and whistles grew quite tiresome. Add in curves and it was a recipe for disaster, usually leaving her ready to knock a few teeth out of some rude man’s mouth.
On the kitchen counter was a note with a key on top of it. The writing was immaculate and neat for a man. For crying out loud. She needed to get her shit together. She had it bad to be admiring his handwriting.
Josie,
I will be home about 5:30. If you get here before I do, here is a key. I’ll see you in a few hours. I swear this apartment isn’t me. Give me a chance to show you the guy I am, not the boy I was.
X
She couldn’t help the smile. He was so cute in a little boy sort of way. A kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar explanations. He was an odd mix of feral man and gentleman that drew her in like no one else ever had. If she were truthful, she wouldn’t mind trying that shower with Xander. Maybe not to play naked Twister. She didn’t think she had the flexibility needed for it. But she could sure think of some fun stuff they could do instead.
With a wistful sigh, she headed to work and the grueling day she knew was ahead of her. Snarky comments, bitchy bosses, and dirty toilets. She really hated her ex for putting her in this position.
Standing in the front office after checking in for the morning, she looked at her schedule for the day hanging on the bulletin board. It showed she had a two-hour break between jobs midafternoon. That would be the perfect time to see Nick for a bit.
She hurried to the employees’ lunchroom and dialed Mildred’s number. As normal, the old lady answered with a haughty voice that so disgusted her. But to her surprise, the woman readily agreed to the visit, and Josie was off to her first assignment, happy to get the day going.
Time dragged so slowly that morning, Josie wanted to scream at the clock and call it a lying piece of shit. But she doubted the lady owner of the house would appreciate that.
When she finally parked in front of the Mildred’s house, she stared at the Gothic-looking house with its gargoyle roof ornaments and high peaks. She shuddered. No wonder her sister and brother-in-law didn’t want Nick living here. It scared the crap out of her being so close to it. Not because she didn’t appreciate that décor in the right environment, but in this house, it was creepy.
The front door opened and Nick came running out. Energy filled her and she hurried from the car and scooped up his scrawny eight-year-old body. She squeezed him tightly.
“How are you, little bear? I’ve missed you so much.” She put him on his feet and held him at arm’s length. “I think you’ve grown ten inches since I saw you last.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Aunt Josie, if I was ten inches bigger, I’d be taller than you.”
She looked incredulous. “You don’t think I could’ve grown ten inches too, so we’d be the same still?”
Mildred stepped onto the front porch. “Nicholas, bring your aunt inside.” She waved him in. “Quickly, now, boy. I don’t want anyone seeing her kind as a guest in my home.”
Josie stopped dead in front of the old woman, Nick continuing into the house. “What kind is my kind? The nice kind? Hardworking kind? Caring kind?”
Mildred’s eyes were hard. “No, dear. The poor and pathetic kind.”
Oh, yes. That pissed her off royally. If the bitch wanted to get personal, then bring it on, mama. She was ready to rumble.
Josie walked through the doorway, making sure the old bat was a step behind her, then slammed the door shut. Something banged against it, a knee or foot, perhaps. She then threw the door open just as quickly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Mildred. It’s just such a habit to close the door behind myself. I forgot you were behind me.” The woman said nothing; her wretched scowl said it all. She limped through the house. Josie followed, gawking at the tremendous amount of crap stuffed into the place. She felt like she was in an episode of Hoarders.
The walls were lined with artwork that looked like a two-year-old’s barf of peas and carrots. She figured they cost fifty times her annual wages. So many strange knickknacks filled shelves and niches.
The heavy curtains were closed, keeping the space dark and cold. And holy shit. She’d heard about people like this, but she’d never witnessed it in person. Each piece of grand, luxurious furniture—“You have plastic covering your furniture? Seriously?”
Mildred stopped and slowly turned to her. “I understand how dirty and unsanitary you people can be. But in my home, that is not the case.”
Josie bit her lip to keep from spewing venom at the woman. Casually, she stepped closer to Nick’s grandmother—right into her face, actually. “Tell me, Mildred, what makes you so much better than me?”
The old woman straightened. “At least, you know proper grammar. But the answer is easy. I have money, and you don’t.” Josie inwardly cringed at the truth in her words. “I can give Nicolas the best of everything: private schools, Ivy League status, proper clothing and manners, high-society living, a chance for success in life. What can you offer?”
Josie nodded. “I do offer the most important thing, which wasn’t on your list: love.”
Mildred stepped back and sputtered. “Of course, it’s on the list. That’s a given. He’s my grandson.”
“No, Mildred, it isn’t a given. Based on what I know of you, I’m surprised my brother-in-law was such a nice person. My sister wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t.”
“Yes, well, obviously, we should have stayed on top of him better,” she said, disgust clear in her tone. “Letting him marry a commoner.”
“What the hell is wrong with you, lady?” Josie exploded. “We aren’t living in an aristocratic society. We live in a world where children are snatched off the street and murdered. Terrorists can walk into any grocery store or bus and blow it up, killing hundreds of people. Whether or not he has the perfect clothes and manners isn’t going to do him shit if he’s miserable with his life.”
Mildred spun and walked away. “I’ll show you to the kitchen.” She stopped and turned to face Josie. Gave her body a scathing look. “Try not to knock over anything. It is all very expensive.” She continued on her way.
Christ, Josie had never been this tempted to hit an old woman with her own crap at that. She wanted to throw up. Walking behind the biddy, she pulled her chin in and raised her brows, mocking under her breath, “It is all very expens—” Josie jerked to the side, losing her balance. She’d stepped on her untied shoestring. She crashed against a shelf holding fancy dishes.
She heard the grandmother screech as she picked herself up off the floor. “That was an ancient teacup set from the Qin Dynasty.”
Josie dusted her hands off. “Sorry, it’s now a lovely mosaic set.” She picked up a few pieces and placed them against the wall. “You could do something really cool here.” She scooted the pieces around.
“You know, these are pretty dusty,” she said with fake surprise in her tone. “I know a cleaning company who’d come in and get rid of all this crap for you. Might cost a shiny penny, though. There’s a lot of crap here.”
From the corner of her eye, she noted Mildred shaking and her hands had fisted. Maybe it was time to find Nick.
“Grandmother, Aunt Josie, is everything okay down there?” Nick’s angelic voice floated into the room. She followed the sound through a doorway to a set of dark-stained majestic stairs. Damn, she’d always wanted one of these. She pictured herself coming down the steps, elegant in her white wedding dress and glass slippers. The image of some sinfully handsome man like Xander waiting for her at the bottom took center stage in her mind. Great. Just want she needed, to think of the furbidden fruit.
“Aunt Josie, come up to my room,” Nick called from the second floor, bending over the railing. She tied her shoe, then hurried up to see him sitting on his bed, waiting for her.
The first thing she did after entering his room was throw open the heavy, velvet curtains. “Let’s let the sun shine in. Whaddya say?” Nick hopped off the bed and repeated her action with the other windows. “And what the hell? The weather is beautiful today. This room needs some airing out.” She rotated the window’s lock and pushed the frame fully open.
A shrill screech blasted downstairs. Josie looked at Nick. He shrugged. “I think it’s the alarm.”
Josie was impressed the woman was advanced thinking enough to have one. Another scream erupted, more humanlike, though. They heard mumbled words along the lines of “I don’t remember the code.”
They both laughed. Nick shut the door to block the irritating whine and together they plopped back on the queen-size bed. Staring at the ceiling, they both sighed at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed again.
Josie returned her look to the ceiling. She didn’t want him to see her face if he gave her an answer she couldn’t handle. “So, you liking it here?”
He snorted. “Are you kidding? I swear it’s haunted. And did you notice the funny smell?” She did, thought it was mothballs or something. She didn’t realize people still used those things. Well, it was the grandmother they were talking about here.
“There aren’t any kids here my age, and Grandmother won’t let me ride my bike in the cul-del-sac. She doesn’t have any video games, or TVs, for that matter.” He sighed. “She doesn’t even want me playing with my toys by the stairs. She said she could trip and fall.”
Josie sighed, feeling bad for him. “Well, you know when your grandmother was born, back before the dinosaurs roamed the earth, there were no TVs.”
His giggles made her heart smile. “I know Grandmother isn’t that old. She doesn’t run very fast and would’ve been eaten pretty quick.”
She burst into laughter, not expecting that to come out of his young mouth. His smiling face turned serious. “Aunt Josie, why does Grandmother want me to stay with her? I don’t like it here.” She rolled toward him and scooted him into a spoon hug and kissed the crown of his head.
“I don’t know why. Maybe she’s lonely by herself.” She thought she knew why too. Who the hell wants to sit on plastic during a tea party? Someone would say please pass the sugar. Then someone would stand, and the plastic would stick to the back of the legs, below the skirt line. The whole piece would slide forward and fall into the seat, making a huge pile of crispy-sounding stuff that would keep them from sitting back down. How FUBAR was that?
“If Grandmother is lonely, why doesn’t she play with me or talk to me? She says good morning and good night, then only speaks when I do something wrong. I miss Mom and Dad.” He sniffed. Her heart broke all over again for her nephew.
It seemed like yesterday when Lucy and her husband were taken from Josie’s and Nick’s lives, though it had been much longer. Lucy had asked if she could borrow Josie’s car to pick up a Christmas tree. Josie’s vehicle at the time had rails on the hood they could tie the tree to. She handed over the keys gladly. She began to worry, when hours later, they hadn’t returned and weren’t answering their phones.
Later that evening, a policeman stood on her doorstep with Lucy’s son staring up at her. The accident had been bad. A driver in a stolen truck T-boned the driver’s side and pushed it into oncoming traffic where the passenger side was then bashed in. Both front seat occupants were killed almost instantly. Nick had been in the middle of the backseat and escaped injury.
The driver of the truck fled. In fact, no one was ever caught. Their deaths went unavenged. That’s what hurt the most. There was no person she could vent her anger on. No one to blame such a senseless act on. But she had to get over that to take care of her nephew. She would be the best substitute mother she could.
“Tell ya what,” she started, “how about I come back later in the week and we’ll go for ice cream.”
He rolled and looked at her with big shiny eyes. “Can I have two scoops?”
“Yes, you can have two scoops.” She laughed. Outside, sirens approached the house. “Well, I think it’s time for me to go. I have another job before I can call it a night.”
He threw an arm over her ribs and hugged her tightly. “Okay, Aunt Josie.” She blew him a kiss when leaving his room, then hurried out of the house before she broke down in tears.