Gravity: A Country Romance Read online

  There were two bad sections on one side that had caused a lot of damage to the inside of the trailer. The primary enemy of pre-fab homes like this one was water. The materials to make them were often sub-par and one leak could lead to a dozen other problems.

  She pulled off the shingles and roofing paper, saving what she could. Then she removed the bad wood and replaced it with pieces she cut on the chop saw set up on the patio. Once they were in place, she added fresh roof paper and shingles.

  All the flashing on the pitch had to be replaced so she stripped it off and tacked new in place. On the ground again, she finished her coffee then filled her mug from the water hose once it ran cold.

  There were multiple pieces of rotted wood on the exterior and she methodically replaced it with fresh. Two damaged window frames on the roof leak side were stable when she finished with them.

  At noon, Jo went inside for an apple to munch on while she measured conduit pipe to replace the rusted pieces holding up the patio awning.

  She flipped on the radio she kept in her cooler and sang along to Sara Evans while she rolled back the canvas and started removing the rusted pieces.

  JoEllen was on the ladder detaching the corner bracket when a voice scared the hell out of her by asking, “How old are you, kid?”

  The pipe slipped from her hand and she fell back into the roof frame before catching herself and stepping carefully down to the ground. Holding her low back, she sat on the steps of the house breathing deeply.

  “Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you. You okay, kid?” Holden bent over to peer at her face.

  “Call me kid one more fuckin’ time and I’m gonna go seriously white trash on your ass. I’m twenty-two, a high school graduate, a master welder and carpenter, a web designer, and workin’ to become a master electrician.”

  She hated that the country in her voice came out more when she was mad. “I pay all the bills in this house and haven’t been a kid since I was four.” She got up slowly and climbed the ladder to finish detaching the brackets. “What in the hell are you doin’ here? Donna has to be blasted out of her mind to service customers. That means give her until three o’clock. Damn.”

  As she reached over her head to set the canvas on the roof of the trailer, her t-shirt rode up, and he gasped below her. “Jo…you took a bad hit. I probably need to get you to a doctor, honey.”

  It was not easy to beat back the temper riding her but she managed to finish folding the fabric before climbing back down and standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. Even in her work boots, he was still several inches taller than she was.

  That was different.

  “Look, Holden. We don’t need to be buddies and I am not your honey. I’ve taken worse hits than this that were done on purpose. I banged my kidney; I’ll piss blood for a couple of days, sport a nasty bruise, and be all good. Is there anything else?”

  “Your…mother hits you?”

  Was this guy serious?

  “What are you, my fuckin’ caseworker? No, Donna doesn’t hit me, Holden. Her various boyfriends don’t always have such restraint. I have work to finish. Donna wakes up around two, first beer half hour later. By three, she’s happy and willin’. Please fuck responsibly. She has enough issues without an STD. Go away now.”

  With that, she turned and climbed the ladder. Using the drill in her tool belt, she pulled off the bad pipe, took it to the sawhorses on the side of the trailer, and carried up her new pieces. When she’d attached two of the six pipes, she realized Holden was still standing below watching her.

  “Honest to god…what the fuck do you want, dude?”

  “I think you have a bad impression of me, Jo.”

  “I do. That matters why exactly?”

  He cleared his throat and she saw the red rising up his neck. “You’re a good person and I try to be a good person, too. I’m…embarrassed. Humiliated to be honest.”

  Sighing, she came down from the ladder and took a swig of her water before refilling it at the hose. She pushed her sunglasses on top of her hat and stared at him for a long moment.

  “I imagine a guy like you doesn’t usually have to fuck women like my mother.” He winced. “I love Donna but I’m well aware of what she is. I don’t care about your story. Bad breakup, bad day at work, you were lonely, it was just the one time. I don’t care. Do you understand?”

  She propped one hand on her hip. “You probably didn’t even know her name before you had sex with her and she didn’t care what yours was. I’ll give you points for feelin’ ashamed that you were busted rentin’ a trailer park hooker. Happy now?”

  She gave him a fake smile and went back to work. She was pulling the canvas over the new frame when she saw he still hadn’t left.

  Before she could say anything, the door cracked open and Donna poked her head out. “Jo, do you need more coffee?”

  “Yup. Give me five minutes. Come get some fresh air, Donna.”

  “I hate when you call me Donna, Jo.”

  “No, you don’t. You want people to think we’re sisters.”

  She watched as her mother sat daintily in a chair. She was wearing a tank top and pajama pants. Glancing at the man standing ten feet from her, it was clear she didn’t recognize him.

  “Do I know you?”

  To her shock, Holden replied, “No, ma’am. I’m a friend of Jo’s.”

  “Jo, you don’t usually bring men home. Not since…what was that boy’s name?”

  Jo snorted and snapped the canvas in place. “His name was Mitchell and you blew him in the bathroom when I ran up to the store to get milk. You awake enough to talk?”

  Donna nodded, unfazed by Jo’s recall, watching as she got off the ladder and rinsed her hands under the spigot.

  “The roof is fixed, windows are reframed, and I fixed that screen so you can open the kitchen window again. This canopy frame should last you another ten years. I might have to cut you some new canvas next year. I’m going to fix the floor in your room.”

  In a voice that reminded her of a small child, her mother asked, “Why are you doin’ all this work, Jo?”

  “You know why. I’m moving out as soon as I’m done with school in a few months.”

  “You can’t leave me, baby girl. I won’t know what to do.”

  “Donna…I’ll be just up the road. I set up that account for you, remember? You can call me if you need anything and I’ll come once a week to check on you. You can do it.”

  The older woman suddenly looked her age as she tugged Jo’s ponytail. “You grew up really fast.”

  “I know, Donna. You have to eat. If I make you something, will you try?” Donna nodded obediently. “Soak up the fresh air and sunshine. I’ll refill my coffee and be back with food.”

  “I love you, Jo.”

  “I know you do. I love you, too.” Jo went up the stairs into the trailer. She pulled out what she needed before leaning both hands on the countertop and releasing a hard sigh. “I wish I could help you be less fucked up. I really do.”

  A noise made her look up and she realized Holden was standing just inside her front door. “What is with you? Why are you in my house and why did you let Donna think she doesn’t know you?”

  He took a deep breath and walked closer. She stood to her full height on the other side of the island and moved her feet apart for better balance. A long time ago, she’d learned to be prepared when it came to men.

  “I have no idea what it is about you that draws me. I’ve been watching you for months. I ran into Donna outside Walmart and she was an older version of you…I didn’t know how accurate that was at the time. I’m not excusing it, just explaining. I came back to see you…not your mother.”

  Huge palms rested on her counter in a wide stance.

  “I let your mother think she didn’t know me because I don’t want the awkwardness to be any worse.” Never had she seen such intensity in a man’s eyes. “I have a proposition for you.”

  Chapter Four

&nbs
p; A low growl issued from JoEllen’s chest as she mentally prepared to beat the shit out of the man in front of her.

  She leaned over her side of the counter and said through her teeth, “I’m not my mother. I don’t need anything from you and I’m not for sale. I don’t give a damn who you think you are.”

  “Wait…that isn’t what I meant.”

  “What the fuck did you mean, hoss? I’d phrase your answer real careful.”

  “I’ve been watching you work since you went up on the roof this morning. You’re very good and you work hard. There are never enough hard workers in construction. I’d like to offer you a job.”

  “I have a job.”

  “My full name is Holden Mayes. I own Mayes Construction off ninety-sixth in Owasso.” She said nothing and didn’t change her expression. He tilted his head. “How do you have so many trade skills at your age?”

  She rolled her eyes and turned back to the counter. The guy was harmless and she had shit to do. “I graduated two years early. Skipped two grades.” She started prepping eggs and toast for her mom. “Anyway, I have work to do and I need to feed her before she starts drinking or she’ll never eat.”

  “You cook?”

  “Not that this is real cooking by any stretch of the imagination but yeah. I like to have fallback options. You don’t go away easily, do you?” He gave her a smile and she felt a strange flutter in her stomach that she fought into submission.

  “No, I don’t. Jo?” She glanced at him. “I’ll never spend time with Donna again. I’m sorry it happened.”

  “None…absolutely none of my fuckin’ business.” Her face blushed hot and she shook her head. “My god, I do not want to know.”

  When she looked up again, he was standing beside her and made her jump. “I keep scaring you. I’m sorry.” She shrugged and plated her mother’s food, turning to move past him. “Go out with me, Jo.”

  “No. Not just no…hell, no. Dude, you had sex with my mom. No way.”

  “I’ll work to change your mind, Jo. In the meantime, come work for me.”

  “No. All I need is you mucking up my plans and making things weird for me.”

  “You’re strong for such a young woman.”

  For a long moment, she simply stared into his eyes. “You don’t stay young for long in a life like mine. That is for damn sure.”

  Walking past him, she carried food out to Donna who’d fallen asleep on the lounge chair. Jo felt self-conscious as Holden watched her wake her mother and get her to eat.

  Tipping the brim of her ball cap at Holden, she started unloading lumber to carry to the side of the house. As she turned to go get another load, Holden was behind her with double the pieces she’d carried.

  She sighed. “What are you doing?”

  “Helping. Accept it and you’ll be done in half the time.” He set down the wood and went to get another load. She followed him but didn’t speak. After the last trip, he came inside. Jo was moving furniture in her mother’s bedroom. “Jo, where do you sleep in this place?”

  Laughing hollowly, she pointed at the door to her little room and he opened it.

  She watched Holden examine her space and knew exactly what he saw. There was a twin bed on the floor with a pretty quilt folded neatly at the end and the shelving system she’d built to hold her things was positioned like a headboard with a mini light and alarm clock on small shelves inside.

  There was nothing out of place because she liked things neat. There were cutout calendar images of mountain and lake scenes on the walls and one picture of her as a little girl with her mother at the fair holding a first place ribbon for her science project.

  Stepping back, he whispered, “You…sleep in a closet?” She shrugged. “You don’t even have a window, Jo.”

  “I will soon enough. I’m not worried. This is all worth the life I’m gonna build myself. I take shit now and do what I have to so I can have a window later.”

  “Jo…there isn’t enough ventilation in a closet, honey.”

  Hands on her hips, she reminded him, “Holden, I’m not your honey. I breathe just fine since Mama stopped chain smoking in the house. I keep the door cracked once she’s asleep. Crying over stuff never solved anything. Sweat and hard work are the only things fix anything worth fixing.”

  She knelt and started pulling back the carpet and pad to expose the rotted floorboards on one side of the room. Without a pause, she took a hammer and chisel, wedged up the first piece, and pulled it out.

  Jo opened a window and carefully removed the screen. Then she laid the wood along the side of the house. As Holden watched from the doorway, Jo tore up twenty boards and started removing bad nails left behind. Then she measured each opening and jotted it down before squeezing past him and walking outside.

  She’d stacked the wood in the order she’d removed it and measured each piece against the numbers she’d written down. Each board was cut with her chop saw and she began stacking them up.

  When Holden carried them inside, she started to object. He stopped her with a hard look and kept going.

  Fuck it. He wants to sweat his penance…be my guest.

  By the time she cut the last piece, he’d reattached more than half the lumber. One on each end, they finished putting in the new wood in minutes and she returned the carpet and pad as he started moving the furniture where it belonged.

  A small, irrational part of her mind was furious when she remembered that he’d been in this room the night before having sex with her mother but she quickly squashed it.

  It didn’t matter.

  Jo closed the window and held out her hand. “Thank you for your help, Holden.” He shook and held it a moment too long before letting go.

  She smiled. “You’re used to getting what and who you want. I get it. I don’t have time or patience for a man, Holden. Especially not one I don’t know and who’s been intimate with Donna. I have to be at work in an hour so I need to get ready. As…fucking weird as this is, I do appreciate your help. See you later.”

  “Bye for now, Jo.” He headed out and told Donna she should eat a little more before he got in his truck and drove off.

  Jo showered quickly and was dressed for work in twenty minutes. She went out to check on her mom.

  “You barely ate.” Donna was on her second beer. “You have to work tonight…don’t forget. You can’t keep calling out sick or you’re gonna get fired.” She didn’t add the again that hung in the air between them.

  “They’re mean to me over there, Jo. I don’t like that job.”

  Pressing her finger and thumb on either side of the bridge of her nose, she counted to ten. “Mama, it’s a job. I know Sam and Jennifer from the tech school. They’re real nice. Don’t take things personally.”

  “I’ll try not to but…they rush around a lot and I get my headaches.”

  “I gotta go. Eat and take a shower. You can’t call out sick again.”

  The woman who was supposed to have taken care of her nodded but Jo had seen the signs before and recognized them happening again. Kissing the hair almost exactly like her own with concealed frustration, she locked her truck and headed for the bar.

  Chapter Five

  The first hour of Jo’s shift was spent checking each table and booth for fliers and condiments. They did a hopping food business before and during happy hour.

  She wore a t-shirt and denim capris with sneakers and ankle socks. Her hair was down and pulled back from her face. Park told her she looked real pretty.

  The blush crept over her face. “I look the same as I always do, Park. Don’t make me embarrassed. I hate being embarrassed.”

  He chuckled and took buckets of ice from the bar back.

  A funny prickle on the back of her neck a little after happy hour made her turn and she met Holden’s eyes in his regular booth. Tina gave her a hip bump on the way by.

  “Girl, you get him every night. You’re the only one he wants waitin’ on him.”

  “I just bet.” Wit
h a sigh, Jo headed his direction. “Holden, you can’t ask for me.”

  “You’re the only one I want, Jo. I’d like a burger, medium with whatever comes on it, fries, and half a dozen hot wings. Bud longneck.”

  “You know, you need to stop eating all this fried crap. It isn’t good for your heart. How old are you anyway?” She propped one hand on her hip as she waited.

  He gave her an exaggerated wince. “Wow…that stung so much more than I thought it would. I’m thirty-three. Far too old for you, I realize.”

  “Not if you hadn’t fucked Donna first.” This time his wince was real. “Honestly, I don’t care about age. I’m just thinking you’re huge…your heart must have to work double time to get the blood from your head to your toes. Eat a salad. They make a great barbeque chicken salad. I’ll even have them put double chicken on it for you.”

  “Alright.”

  She smiled. “Doing what I suggest isn’t getting you laid, Holden. I should be clear.”

  Holden leaned on the table. “I know. I should be clear that I’m going to be here a lot until you agree to go out with me.” Laughing as she turned to put in his order, she thought he’d get tired of his little game very quickly.

  She drastically underestimated his stubbornness.

  * * * * *

  Over the next six months, Jo saw Holden the three nights she worked every week. He’d come in just after happy hour and stay until close to walk her home when he realized she never drove her truck to the bar.

  At her door, she would turn to him. “It’s not gonna work, you know. Go find a girl who’ll appreciate all this attention, Holden.”

  “Nope…I’m not giving up.”

  “Goodnight then.”

  “Goodnight, Jo.”

  To have a grown man walk her home every night wasn’t something Jo knew how to deal with. Every Saturday, Holden showed up at her house first thing in the morning with donuts and coffee, swearing to eat right the rest of the day.

  If she had errands or repairs to do, he did them with her. The afternoon Tina called in a panic about a busted pipe that was flooding the little place she shared with her sick father, Holden insisted on driving Jo over in his truck since he had more tools on hand.