The Spark by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 23
Donovan
Autumn’s car was already parked outside when I arrived.
All afternoon, I’d told myself I wasn’t going to leave work early and drop by Bud’s. I had a dozen hours I still needed to bill today, clients who needed to be called back, and a trial coming up to prep for. Generally on Saturdays, I’d get to the office by seven. But today Bud had been discharged at ten, so I picked him up and drove him home, then settled him in once we got there.
My usual 7AM start had turned into arriving at the office at almost 1PM, and I had to leave by 4:30 in order to fill in for Bud serving dinner tonight. But I figured there was a lot I could get done in three and a half hours. Unfortunately, I hadn’t factored in how distracted I’d be all damn afternoon knowing Autumn was over at Bud’s. Eventually, I gave in and called it quits. I wasn’t getting jack shit done anyway, so there was no point in sitting at my desk.
The front door was unlocked. I shook my head, thinking I’d have to talk to Bud about that. The man had just spent two days in the hospital after being beaten on the street. He needed to be more careful.
I found Autumn in the kitchen washing dishes. She hadn’t heard me come in, so I took a moment to stand in the doorway and watch her. A faint smile graced her beautiful face, and every couple of seconds the corners of her lips twitched slightly—like she was thinking about something that amused her. Damn, she was gorgeous. I’d meant to let her know I’d come in before she saw me so I didn’t startle her, but she must’ve sensed someone watching because her head suddenly whipped up.
“Oh my God.” She lifted her wet, sudsy hand and covered her heart. “How long have you been standing there?”
I smiled. “Sorry. Not long.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“I was going to. But I was too busy trying to figure out what you were thinking about that had you smiling.”
“I was smiling?”
I nodded. “What was on your mind just now?”
She looked away. “Nothing.”
I took a few steps closer and stood on the other side of the kitchen island. “Nothing, huh? You sure about that?”
Autumn cleared her throat. “Bud just finished eating. He fell asleep in his recliner.”
I nodded. “They said he didn’t sleep well at the hospital. I’m sure he was worried about the house being empty for a few days. People around here see an opportunity and take it.”
She frowned. “Why doesn’t he move?”
“Because this is his home, and he gets a sense of purpose from helping the community. Plus, he has his garden in the back and workshop in the garage.”
“I guess.” Autumn shrugged. “Has this type of thing happened before? Where he was attacked?”
“No. People usually look out for Bud because he’s a good person and well respected. It’s a pretty tight-knit community, for the most part. The problem is it’s also easy to score drugs on a half-dozen corners around here, so it attracts outsiders—and not good ones.”
Autumn finished rinsing the last dish in the sink and turned off the water. “You want something to eat? I haven’t put lunch away yet. It’s probably still warm.”
“It smells good, but no, that’s okay. I’d rather you leave it for Bud. It’s not going to be easy for him to do much for a while with that arm in a cast.”
“I made a lasagna, pasta fagioli, and chicken Française. So he’s got at least a dozen dinners in there to start. I froze some and left a few in the fridge for the next few days.”
“Thank you for doing all that for him.”
“I figured you’d be at work all afternoon today, since you picked up Bud from the hospital this morning, and you’re covering his dinner service.”
“I wanted to see how he was doing. I wasn’t sure what time you were coming by.”
From the other room, Bud’s voice boomed. “My ass. He asked this morning if I knew what time you were coming, and I told him you’d called and said you’d be here about now.”
I chuckled and hung my head as I yelled back, “Thanks a lot, Bud. You’re supposed to be my wingman. Not tell my secrets.”
“Can’t say I blame you. She cooks damn good.”
Now Autumn was laughing. She yelled, “Thanks, Bud!”
“No problem, sweetheart.”
I lowered my voice and winked. “I’ll go check on him anyway.”
Bud was in his beat-up old, leather recliner with his feet up.
“How you feeling, old man?”
“Fine.” He pointed to his cast. “If this thing were on the other hand, my life would be a lot easier. I’m shit with my left hand.”
“I figured I’d water the plants in the yard so you don’t get that cast wet on the first day home.”
“Oh, good. Pick the tomatoes that are ready while you’re out there, will ya?”
“Sure.”
Bud’s yard was practically a farm, so watering and picking ripe fruit wasn’t a two-minute job. The sun was blazing, and I had on a long-sleeve dress shirt and slacks, so by the time I finished, I was sweaty. I’d tossed a change of clothes into a duffle bag this morning, figuring I’d want to get out of my dress duds before doing dinner service, so I grabbed it out of my car before heading back into the house.
“Mind if I take a quick shower?” Bud and Autumn were sitting together in the living room.
“Use the one in your old room.”
After a quick shower, I reached into the cabinet below the sink, the one where the towels had always been kept. Unfortunately, I hadn’t thought to check whether Bud still filled the cabinet until after I was dripping wet.
Shit.
I pulled the jeans in my bag up my wet legs and snuck out of the bathroom to grab a towel to dry off before I got fully dressed. But as I went toward the hall bathroom, the door suddenly opened. Autumn came out and blinked a few times before her eyes dropped to my bare chest. I’d come out of the other bathroom grumbling with denim sticking to my legs, but suddenly I wanted to kiss Bud for not filling that towel cabinet.
Autumn didn’t even try to hide checking me out. Her eyes took in my chest, slowly worked their way down my abs, and flared when they got down to the top of my jeans. I knew I hadn’t buttoned, and I hadn’t bothered to throw underwear on to go get a towel, but I hadn’t realized that in the haste of pulling up my pants, I’d left the head of my cock pushed up and sticking out. My first instinct was to cover up, not intentionally be a lewd asshole, but when Autumn’s lips parted, I forced my hands to stay at their sides.
Jesus Christ. The way she was looking at me, I wanted nothing more than to walk her backwards into the bathroom and shut the door behind us. And in the moment, I thought she might actually let me. But then—
A loud crash sounded from the other room. “Shit!”
Bud might as well have thrown a bucket of ice water on us. Autumn and I both took off running. We found Bud in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open and a mess all over the floor.
“What happened?”
“I tried to get a spoonful of that chocolate pudding pie Autumn brought over, but the stupid cast got in the way.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head. The glass pie plate was shattered all over the floor, and Bud had no shoes on. “Go sit. I’ll clean it up.”
“Why the hell are you half naked?”
“Because apparently you don’t keep towels in the guest bathroom anymore.”
“Well, go put some clothes on.”
Considering the moment he’d ruined, I might as well. I turned to Autumn. “Leave it. I’ll suck it up with the shop vac after I get dressed. I don’t want you cutting yourself.”
I grabbed a towel from the other bathroom and finished getting dried off. For a half second, I considered whacking off to the memory of Autumn staring down at the head of my cock with her lips parted—a memory that would forever be seared into my brain. But you don’t do that shit in another man’s bathroom, especially one who’s kept your head from falling into the toilet bowl in the exact same room on more than one teenage occasion. So instead, I made quick work of getting dressed and then went out to the garage for the shop vac. When I was done cleaning up the kitchen, it was already time to leave to serve dinner.
I walked into the den and found Bud about to fall asleep in his recliner again, watching some old black-and-white western movie on TV.
Autumn’s nose was buried in her phone. “Did you know Gone with the Wind was the first color movie to win an Academy Award?” she asked, looking up.
I smiled. “I didn’t. I’m not sure how I’ve gotten by without that tidbit of information.”
She made a face, and I laughed. “I need to get going to set up for dinner service.”
Autumn stood. “Do you want some help tonight?”
“Sure, if you don’t mind.” As if I’d ever turn down spending time with her, even if it was in an abandoned house with a bunch of questionable people.
We said goodbye to a sleepy Bud, and I told him I’d be back tomorrow to check on him. He wouldn’t have been Bud if he hadn’t argued with me that he didn’t need any help. But I’d be back no matter what he said.
Outside, I told Autumn to hop into my car, and we’d drive together to pick up the food I’d ordered before going to serve dinner. I might’ve stretched the truth and told her Bud’s place was on my way back home, so it would be easy to pick up her car. I mean, it was if I took the completely out-of-my-way route to get home. But I liked her close.
Since I had assumed I’d be working in my office up until the very last minute this afternoon, I’d ordered a few six-foot heroes and some salads for dinner. It made things smoother since we didn’t have to worry about keeping food warm. But I was glad Bud hadn’t asked what I was serving, because anything other than a hot meal wasn’t acceptable to him.
Throughout the evening, I kept close tabs on Autumn. She attracted a lot of attention behind the serving table, most of it friendly, but you can never be too careful. Some of the people who ate here weren’t in a stable frame of mind, which is the vibe I got from two guys who stumbled in just as we were about to call it a night and shut down.
“Aww, come on, pretty lady.” The taller of the two held his plate out to Autumn. “You can give me more than that, can’t you?”
I recognized the shorter one as a local drug dealer—at least he had been back when I’d lived in the neighborhood. He was probably about ten years older than me, and had been in and out of jail, though I didn’t keep tabs on people in the neighborhood anymore. Considering my own past, I tried not to judge, but I didn’t like the tone his buddy used.
I walked over and stood next to Autumn. “Can I help you guys with something?”
The guy sneered. “Nope. Everything’s looking good right here.”
The shorter one squinted at me. “You’re Decker, right? Used to live two blocks over from here?”
“That’s right.”
He held up his fist to bump. “How’s it going, man? You’re a big-time lawyer now or something, aren’t you?”
I bumped fists with the guy. “I’m a lawyer, yeah.”
“You do criminal?” his buddy asked.
I shook my head. “Not the kind you might be interested in.”
The guy pulled his head back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I specialize in white-collar crimes—embezzling, corporate fraud, stock rigging, that type of thing.”
“Too good for where you came from, huh?”
This conversation was going a direction I didn’t like. “Not at all.” I shrugged. “It’s just what I’m good at. If you’re ever in a jam for something like that, I’m your guy.”
I could tell from the look on his face he wasn’t sure if I was being sincere. He eyed me for a few heartbeats before nodding. “Yeah…okay.”
The two of them went to sit down, and Autumn glanced over at me. “I bet you get that a lot—people from here who don’t like that you’ve done well for yourself.”
I shrugged. “It is what it is. I get it.”
“Storm hides the fact that he gets straight As from his friends.”
I smiled. “I used to do the same thing. Most people want to see you do well, but very few want to see you do better than them. It’s hard to be a teenager and be different under normal circumstances, but here? It’s more than hard. It can be dangerous.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Maybe, but it’s the truth. On the street, if people can’t relate to you, they don’t trust you. And when you don’t have much else but your word, trust means everything.” I glanced over at the two guys.
The guy I knew from the neighborhood was busy eating, but the other guy was looking at Autumn. His eyes shifted to meet mine, and I held his stare until he looked away.
Fifteen minutes later, my buddy Dario made a surprise visit as we were breaking down the tables I’d brought. We shook.
“How’s Bud doing?” he asked.
“Good. Though he’s in a cast, so he’s gonna need some help for a while.”
“That’s what I came to talk to you about. The crew and me got the next five days. I know you need to work late, and the old bastard doesn’t trust anyone.”
I blew out a deep breath. “Thanks, Dario. That would really help.”
He pointed at me. “But you’re covering next Saturday night. My lady needs some loving on the weekends.”
I smirked. “Is that what you’re calling your right hand these days. Your lady?”
Dario punched my arm. “Dick.”
Over his shoulder, I watched the last two guys leave—the one I knew and the one who gave me a bad vibe. My shoulders relaxed a little. Autumn had stepped away to take a call right before Dario walked in. She came over and smiled.
“Autumn, this is Dario. Whatever he says, he’s full of shit.”
Autumn laughed. “Donovan has mentioned you before. It’s nice to meet you.”
Dario lifted Autumn’s hand to his lips and kissed the top. “The pleasure is all mine.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Take it easy, jackass.”
Dario’s eyes flickered with amusement. He knew how to get my goat. “Donovan says you’re smart. So I figure you probably pick personality…” He patted himself on the chest before thumbing to me with a frown. “…over good looks. This bastard will age, but I’ll always be entertaining.”
Autumn laughed. “I’m sure you will.”
She’d looked upset on the phone a few minutes ago, so I nodded toward the cell in her hand. “Everything okay?”
She sighed. “One of my kids was caught with weed tonight.”
“Is he in lockup? Does he need help?”
She smiled and shook her head. “Luckily it was just someone at the group home and not the police. But thank you for the offer. I actually need to make another call about it, though. The service cuts in and out in here, so I’m going to step outside for a minute.”
I looked toward the front door. Everyone had gone, but that didn’t matter. Congregating was a sport around here. So I gestured toward the back door. “Why don’t you try out that way instead?”
“Okay. Let me help you pack everything up first.”
“I got it. Go make your call.” I motioned to Dario. “This bozo is going to help me anyway.”
Since we’d only served sandwiches and salads, it took just five minutes to pack everything up. The only thing left to do was load the car with the tables and chairs and the cooler. I glanced out back. Autumn was still on the phone, so I told Dario to give me a hand carrying everything out. After we packed the trunk and backseat, I noticed the guy I knew from the earlier twosome still hanging around a few houses down. But his friend was missing.
“Hey,” I yelled. “Where’s your buddy?”
He pointed toward the yard. “He went to take a piss. Dude must’ve gotten lost.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I didn’t waste time shutting the trunk before I took off for the house. I ripped open the front door and ran straight through to the back. The dirtbag was only a few feet from Autumn. He backed up and held his hands up in the air when he saw me fly through the door.
“What the hell are you doing back here?”
The guy kept stepping back. “Just talking to the pretty lady.”
I looked over at Autumn. “You okay?”
Dario busted through the back door.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She looked a little nervous as she glanced between the two of us, but she shook her head. “He was just leaving.”
“Why don’t you get going, Eddie?” Dario gave a curt nod and glared at the guy.
I scowled. “Don’t make me ask, too.”
Eddie looked pretty pissed off, but that was nothing compared to the anger radiating from me. The vein in my neck bulged and my heart pumped a million miles a minute.
At least the jerk was smart enough to realize walking away was the only option he had. He huffed, but walked around the side of the house without another word. I followed to make sure he really left.
As soon as he hit the street, I turned back to Autumn. “You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little shook up. He didn’t do anything, just caught me off guard because I’d been on the phone, and suddenly he was standing a few feet away in the dark. He asked me if I wanted to party, and I told him I thought it was best if he left.”
I rubbed my neck and blew out a jagged breath. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
“I was only out here a few minutes.”
I shook my head. “That’s a few minutes too long.”
It took until we’d gotten in the car and driven six or eight blocks before my heart started to slow down. Autumn just kept staring at the window, her arms wrapped tightly around her body.
“I’m sorry, Autumn.”
“It’s fine. It’s not your fault, and nothing happened.”
“It is my fault, and you don’t look fine.”
She frowned and turned back to stare out the window some more. Bud’s house wasn’t too far, so a few minutes later, we pulled up outside. I put the car in park. I was never going to be able to relax just letting her drive away. “Would you mind if I followed you home?” I asked. “Or better yet, you can leave your car here, and I’ll drop you?”
She looked down for a minute before nodding. “You can follow me. But come inside when we get there. I want to talk to you anyway.”
