Page 41 of Fighting Jacob

After raising his hands in the air, faking innocence, he skirts past Maggie. I keep my eyes locked on him until he disappears from my view—then, I collapse onto the floor.

Chapter Twenty

Jacob

“You gave her a heart attack.”

“Me?” I slide into the passenger seat of Noah’s truck as he slips behind the wheel. “You got her all flustered.”

An amused mask slips over Noah’s face. “Here, let me help you, young man." I grin at his impersonation of the waitress's voice. "Oh, so hard, young man.”

Chuckling, he fires up his engine then pulls away from the curb, sending a plume of smoke into the air. His truck is a gas guzzler, but its sentimental value far exceeds its dollar worth. This is the truck he was rebuilding with his brother before his demons got the better of him.

We drove into town this morning to pick up parts required to make Noah’s truck’s exterior as shiny as her core. He finished rebuilding the motor over a month ago, so this week, we’ll refurbish the interior. Since it was after midday when we arrived in town, we stopped at a café to grab a bite to eat. While the waitress filled my cup with coffee, she made gaga kissy faces at Noah. He got in on the act by giving her a playful wink. She was near eighty, so what’s the worst that could happen... ?

Scorching hot coffee landing in my crotch instead of my cup, that’s what.

In haste, I jumped out of the booth, shifting the scalding beverage from my cock to my thigh. Mortified she burned my cock on a stake, the waitress grabbed a wad of napkins off our table to soak up the coffee. To say I was embarrassed a lady older than my grandma was patting my dick like he was as good boy would be a major understatement. I was horrified.

Noah wasn’t mortified, though. He was far from it. He was so close to breaking, he was biting his fist to stifle his laughter.

No amount of gnawing held back his laughter when the waitress said, “Oh, so hard, young man.”

Noah lost it, which meant every pair of eyes in the café turned to gawk at me. With cheeks the color of Noah's chortling face, I snatched the napkins out of the waitress's hand, then sank low into my seat.

I got a free lunch out of the catastrophe. I would have preferred to pay.

“She was talking about my thigh muscle.”

Noah’s laughter gets a second wind. “Sure she was, Jake. Whatever you say.”

I’m about to retort, but my ringing cell phone stops me. After yanking it out of my pocket, I glance down at the screen. I don’t recognize the number, but it does have a local area code. With a shrug, I swipe my finger across the screen then press my phone to my ear.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Jacob, it’s Maggie.”

My brows stitch. “Oh, hey, Maggie.”

Noah’s eyes stray from the road to me, just as surprised about Maggie’s call as I am. I have her cell number stored in my phone in case of emergencies, but I’ve never had any reason to use it.

Maggie exhales a big breath before asking, “I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”

Her unease upsets my stomach. She’s usually so confident. “Sure. Anything.”

She always lends an ear when I'm frustrated about shit she has no interest in, so the least I can do is help her back when she needs me.

When Maggie remains quiet, I ask, “Are you alright?”

Hearing the panic in my tone, Noah pulls his truck to the side of the road. After shutting down his engine, his eyes wordlessly seek information.

I shrug, as lost as he is. I hold my finger in the air when Maggie slowly breathes out, “I’m okay, but Lola is a little rattled.”

“Lola? What happened?” The pounding of my heart is audible in my questions.

"It's not my place to say." She breathes out slowly as if worried she's making a mistake. "She doesn't know I'm calling, but I don't want her to go home alone. I'd take her, but I can't find anyone to cover my shift, so could you drive her home for me?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Even though I sound calm, I’m anything but. “We’re in town, so I’ll be there in around five minutes.”

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