When I'm Gone (Rosemary Beach #11)(11)

“Hey, Jimmy,” Nate called out, and waved. Then he held out his little hand in a fist.

Jimmy knew the drill and blew it up with him. “You want a vanilla Coke, bro?” he asked Nate, who nodded. “What can I get for the rest of you?” Jimmy asked. He walked back to Blaire, took her drink order, and made his way around the table.

When he turned to leave, Harlow called out, “Jimmy, you’re friends with Reese, right?”

I snapped my attention to my sister to see what she was about to say. She’d asked me about Reese casually, and I knew she had been digging for the reason behind my helping Reese. But I had ended that. Or so I thought.

Jimmy grinned brightly. “She’s my neighbor and my new Game of Thrones watching buddy.”

“Isn’t that the person you mentioned to me about cleaning the house?” Blaire asked.

“Yep. That’s the one,” he replied.

Harlow looked at Blaire. “She’s wonderful. You’ll be really pleased with her.” Then my sister looked back at Jimmy. “I was wondering about her hand. Is she doing OK?”

Jimmy’s smile fell. “She’s doing good. She did go to work today, though. I could’ve beat her sexy ass. But she’s a stubborn one. I don’t think she has any family at all. Hell, I don’t think she has friends. She told me I was her first girlfriend a couple of weeks ago. But then we were sharing a bottle of chardonnay, so it could’ve been the wine talking. Regardless, she’s a good girl. A sweet thing. I can’t figure out why she’s single. God knows, every hot man in our building has made a pass at her. Even the married ones.” He shook his head in disgust.

“That’s so sad,” Blaire said, looking crestfallen. “Being alone isn’t easy. I’m glad she has you.”

Jimmy winked at Blaire before turning and walking out of the room.

There was a heavy feeling in my chest. I tried to shrug it off and focus on the conversation around me. But the thought of Reese being alone with no family bothered me. No one but Jimmy was checking up on her. How was that possible? The woman could stop traffic without trying. Hell, she had married men hitting on her.

I would wonder if maybe she was more into girls, but I’d seen her look at my bare chest. I knew better. She hadn’t wanted to look, but she’d looked anyway.

When Jimmy came to clean up our plates, I saw Harlow’s mind working. She was worrying about Reese, too. “Do you know how Reese is getting home today after work? Are you driving her?” Harlow asked Jimmy.

He frowned and stacked another plate in his arms. “No. She had a smaller house today. She’s probably finished by now and heading home.”

Harlow turned to look at me. “Would you go find her and give her a ride? Lila Kate and I can stay here and have dessert.”

I was already standing before she had finished asking.

“Reese ain’t real good with men. They make her nervous. It’s sweet of you to send Mase, but she won’t just climb into the car with him,” Jimmy said, looking at me warily.

“It’s OK. She knows Mase. He took her to get her hand stitched up, and he took her home the other day from my house, too,” Harlow assured him.

I watched Jimmy’s face as he swung his gaze up to me. His eyes widened, and he grinned. “Well, at least she’s got good taste. About damn time,” he mumbled.

“Ignore Jimmy. He’s a romantic. He will make nothing out of something. Just go give her a ride. Please,” Harlow begged. She was worried that I wouldn’t go because of Jimmy’s comment.

I glanced at Jimmy. “I want to talk to you about her walking. That needs to stop. Drive her to her houses. Don’t make her walk from the club.”

Jimmy’s eyes got big, but I didn’t wait around for a response. I knew the rest of them had heard me, and I knew what they were all thinking. But I didn’t care. It was going to take more than that to keep me from going to see Reese again. She needed me. Hell, she just needed somebody. And f*ck if I didn’t want to be there to help her.

This was my mother’s fault. She’d raised me to be this way. That was the only excuse I had.

Reese

I didn’t notice the expensive-looking SUV pulling up beside me until I heard a familiar deep voice call my name. I stopped and looked over as Mase pulled the car up behind me. I hadn’t expected to see him again.

The way my heart picked up its pace and pumped wildly in my chest startled me. What was it about that man that made me feel things I thought were impossible for me?

“Get in,” Mase said, as he walked around the front of the vehicle on his way to open the passenger-side door.

Truth was, I didn’t want to argue with him. He was here, and I had a chance to be near him for a few minutes. I was going to take it.

I let my eyes quickly take in his jeans-clad bottom and the way the navy-blue T-shirt he was wearing clung to him, unable to hide all that definition. His hair was pulled back, but the curls at the ends made the strands look just messy and tempting to be touched.

When he started to turn back and look at me, I snapped to attention and hurried over to him. “Thanks,” I said, as I climbed inside. He didn’t help me this time, but then, this car wasn’t high like his truck. It was Harlow’s car. I knew it looked familiar, but the baby seat in the back was definitely Lila Kate’s. I’d seen that before.