Read Online Good Wood by L.G. Pace III - Free Book Online Page B

hear his footsteps coming down the stairs after me.
    “I need to see your truck so I have a decent alibi.”
    “Right this way, Ma’am.” The delivery of the term was even more delicious this time around. He led me several cars down and popped open the tailgate of a partially restored old school Ford.
    “This is yours?” I’m sure my eyes were as big as platters. He nodded and I laughed uproariously.
    “What’s so funny?” He lifted a disapproving brow.
    “You drive a ‘little old man truck”.
    “Hey now, watch it little girl. It’s a classic.” He sat his plate and cup down in the bed and turned to me. He grabbed me by the hips and boosted me into the bed.
    “Well…ok, then.” With a quick sip of my drink, I attempted to cool the fever his touch caused me. When he lay back in the bed propped up on one elbow, I tried not to think impure thoughts. He bit into the burger in a ferocious masculine display. I understood then that everything Joe did was going to be sexy, so it was best to just acknowledge that reality and move on.
    “So,” he said wiping his mouth. My eyes lingered on the curve of his bottom lip just a second too long. “I hear Mac is having a good time with his ex. I told him before they got married that he was making a mistake.” There was sadness in his voice even as he tried to hide it behind a smirk.
    “It’s getting ugly. She talks a good game about being mother of the year but she isn’t fooling any of us. It’s about money. If the court agrees with what she is asking for in alimony and child support Mac is going to end up back in the old apartment you guys shared…with two new roommates.” Joe gave a humorless laugh.
    “Yeah, the whole thing sucks. It just goes to show you that you never really know a person, no matter how much you convince yourself that you do.” He looked away as he downed the last of his burger.
    “Well, he isn’t the only one guilty of that... Hell, today would have been my third wedding anniversary.” Joe’s head shot back to me and he gave me an odd look.
    “Was it hard getting down the aisle in your cradle?” His grin was infectious and I found a smile breaking across my face. Punching him lightly in the arm I narrowed my eyes at him.
    “Nice try, Jensen. I was of age when I got married.”
    “Barely. Jailbait.” The one time I’d actually had the balls to flirt with Joe, he’d called me jailbait. It’d been a devastating moment compounded by the fact that I’d been out with a fake id and was truly drunk for the first time. Looking back, I’d been insane to think that a guy like Joe would be tempted by the fifteen year old version of me. I blushed at the embarrassing memory. Bouncing my shoulder off his, I rolled my eyes. The smile I got from him seemed a lot like the old Joe I used to know.
    “What was Granny whispering in your ear?” We’d abandoned our plates and polished off our beers. We were both lying flat on our backs in the wooden truck-bed admiring the afternoon sky. Wispy streamers of cottony clouds broke up the pale blue expanse and it was just hot enough out to be relaxing.
    “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” I grinned as he mocked a fearful expression and shook his head. “That woman has a filthy mouth. She must have been something else back in the day.”
    “No doubt. Apparently she used to look just like me. Without the whorish tats, of course.”
    “Ouch.
    “Yeah. You gotta love old people.” I hoisted myself up on one elbow. Just as I turned sideways he shifted to face me, and we practically smacked into each other face first. The expression on his face was anything but platonic, and my inner teenager swooned as dormant butterflies sprung to life. We were only separated by about three inches. His glassy eyes dilated as they dropped to my lips again, and it lit a carnal bonfire in me. In the small truck bed, I had no graceful escape. I noticed he had ketchup on the side of his mouth. I reached out and cupped