A Daddy for Jacoby(33)

Didn’t she get it?

He was one hundred percent the wrong guy for her. Excon, from the wrong side of the tracks, nothing but trouble…all the clichés fit him perfectly, but Gina was too innocent, too nice to see Justin for what he really was.

He put the prepared vegetables for tonight’s salads back into the walk-in refrigerator and took out the fresh hamburger for the mini burgers. Instead of letting his thoughts stray to memories of warm skin and soft lips while he mindlessly molded perfectly formed patties, he thought about all that happened over the last week.

He’d settled Jacoby in at school and the boy’s doctor’s appointment had gone okay. Gage had called and said he’d found a Mazie Smith living in Templeton, Colorado, but other than learning that Zoe and Jacoby had stayed with her for a few months, and lifted the woman’s stash of emergency cash on their way out, there was still no clue of Zoe’s whereabouts. On a better note, the other two cooks had agreed to shift the kitchen staff hours around, so now Justin worked days and had his nights free.

For a seven-year-old.

That was also when he’d looked at the week’s schedule and seen Gina’s block of hours with a red line running through it. It hadn’t taken long for Ric Murphy, who seemed to have appointed himself Gina’s personal guard dog, to let Justin know she’d grabbed a last-minute cancellation and joined Barbie Felton, and probably a thousand other college kids, at a beach resort on a tropical island.

Justin had never experienced spring break, but he’d seen enough of those videos and reality shows to know all the craziness that went on. He’d found himself more than once wondering if Gina had finally found that inner wild child she’d been hunting for since coming back to town.

Had she joined in on any of those extreme contests that usually involved more alcohol than common sense? Had some muscle-bound college kid helped her to cut loose?

“Hey, aren’t those supposed to have a bit of heft to them?”

Surprised, Justin looked up to find Barbie leaning against the large counter where he worked.

They were back.

Barbie wore the usual outfit of a Blue Creek waitress, a tight T-shirt with the bar’s logo, a short jean shirt and cowboy boots. All designed to show off miles of skin, newly tanned in Barbie’s case.

He half expected Gina to walk through the swinging doors next, dressed the same way.

Mad at himself for the hot flare that shot through him at the idea of finally seeing Gina again, he returned his attention to the hamburger in his hand. It was flatter than a pancake. He folded the meat back into his palm and started over.

“Want to share what’s making you pound that meat into submission?” Barbie asked.

Yeah, like that was going to happen. “No.”

“You know, you’ve got yourself a cute little boy.” She ran a finger along the edge of the tray where the finished patties lay. “He’s got your eyes. I noticed that right off when Gina showed me a picture of him and Jack—”

He cut her off. “Gina has a picture of Jacoby?”

Barbie’s hand stilled, but her mouth rose in a smile. “Yeah, on her cell phone. She got a text message a few days ago while we were rocking the beach in our teenie-weenie bikinis.”

Justin tried not to picture Gina in a ‘teenie-weenie’ anything while figuring out who would’ve sent her a picture.

The answer came to him right away.

Racy.

He and Jacoby had eaten at her and Gage’s house last week. He’d gotten the third degree from both of them after Jacoby had shared the story of chasing away monsters, including Gina’s part in the evening’s events. Later that same night, his sister had asked him if he knew why Gina had suddenly requested a week’s vacation the very next day.

He’d told her he had no idea, which was the truth, in a manner of speaking.

“Hey, Dillon.” Ric Murphy walked into the kitchen. “Your sister is looking for you.”

Justin shook his head at the guy’s ongoing crappy attitude toward him. The last time he’d actually looked happy was months ago when Justin made it clear he had no interest in Gina.

No interest? Yeah, right.

Ric’s scowl turned to a smile when he spotted Barbie. “Hey, the beach girls are back. I wish I’d gone with you all.”

Barbie turned on the charm. “You should’ve!”

“Yeah, well, the log mansion that Murphy Mountain Homes is putting together on the old Harris land needed extra hands and my brothers expected me to pitch in, no questions asked.”