Alyssa also ignored Jackson’s new rule that female employees were to be escorted outside to their cars at the end of night shifts, and she stomped out the back door while Cody was in the middle of flipping burgers. She was finished with all men—at least for now.
When she made it barely ten yards into the parking lot and somebody scooped her up into his arms, she didn’t even have time to scream.
“Are you trying to sneak away?”
Alyssa’s heart thudded as she turned her head to glare at Jackson. “You scared me to death.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to frighten you, but you shouldn’t just run off. There was a message left for you, and you would have received it if you hadn’t run out the back door.” He strode toward his truck with Alyssa still in his arms.
“What message? Who would be calling me at work?”
“You would know if you hadn’t tried so desperately to get away from me,” he replied as he stopped by his passenger door.
“What are you doing now, Jackson? Do you honestly think I’m going to leave here with you?”
“Yep. That’s exactly what I think.”
How desperately she wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face. “Well, then, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”
“It might be sort of difficult for you to take off on your own, since you have nowhere to go tonight.”
“What are you talking about? I’m going home,” she said, while at the same time realizing that he still held her securely in his arms. “Put me down!”
Slowly, so that every inch of her body rubbed along every inch of his, Jackson lowered her to the ground. She was light-headed for a moment and had to clutch at his arms to stay upright. It had to be because he’d swept her off her feet—literally. It couldn’t possibly be because she had enjoyed the slow slide down his body.
“Your parents left a message.”
She waited in vain for him to continue. “Jackson, you’re being exasperating. Would you give me the message?”
She stepped away and placed her hands on her growing hips. Instead of being upset about her new curves, she was thrilled—well, most of time. Sometimes she did feel she was getting fat, but during her eight years of modeling, she’d had to stay way too skinny, and she was sick of that. Now if she wanted a slice of chocolate cake, she was damn well going to eat it.
This pregnancy business was giving her feminine contours she’d always dreamed of having. In her old line of business, though, the only models allowed to have anything approaching voluptuous curves worked for Victoria’s Secret.
“If you ask nicely, I’ll tell you.”
“Are we suddenly five years old, Jackson? Give me my message.” She began tapping her foot as she stood in front of him. She should have just walked over to her car, gotten in, and gone home. She could get the message from her parents in person—if they were still awake, at least.
“There was a fire—”
She cut in. “A fire? At my parents’ house?” Her heart began pounding violently.
“Whoa, hold on. Don’t get upset. They’re both fine. Apparently there was a short in the wiring in the living room. A loose connection inside the outlet caused a spark, and it set the insulation smoldering. By the time your parents discovered it, the wall was in flames. The fire department got there fast, and the house was saved.”
“What about my parents?” She didn’t care about the damn house.
“They got out of the house in plenty of time. There’s a gaping hole, but their neighbors came up and helped them seal it, and no one can stay there for at least a couple of weeks. Not until the smoke damage is cleaned up and the wall is replaced. Plus, they need to have the rest of the wiring inspected now so nothing like this happens again. The house they bought is a hundred years old, you know.”
“Oh, my.” Alyssa didn’t know what to say.
“Everyone is fine, Alyssa,” he reminded her.
“That’s good. That’s what’s important,” she muttered. But where was she supposed to go now? “I don’t understand why we can’t stay there if the wall is sealed up.”
“The fire was smoldering for a while in the wall, and when it came through, the curtains ignited. It’s unsafe to stay there right now—especially with you pregnant. Those fumes could be deadly.”
It was difficult to process his words. Her head was still spinning over the fact that her parents’ home had caught fire. At least they were safe. She had to keep telling herself that.
“They wanted you to call them as soon as you could. They’re staying with the neighbors so your dad can keep an eye on the place.”
“My mom was so excited to get a historical house,” Alyssa told him. “She has visions of remodeling it, returning it to its former glory. I never even thought about something like wiring shorting out.”
“Yeah, old houses are a lot of fun, but also a lot of work,” Jackson said, “and they need regular inspections. Your mother will eventually have the place back on track to a new youth, but this will put a dent in their plans.”
“If I know my mom, though, she’ll already be using this as an excuse to redecorate. She went through a period where every spring she was painting the inside of the house a new color. She said it made the house feel new. Our home always did look superclean.”
“Then she won’t be too upset.”
“Not a lot upsets my mom. She’s one of the happiest people I know. I wish I could be more like her.”
He now spoke in a lower voice. “You’re more like her than you think.”
“Wait! You said I couldn’t go home, but if they’re at the neighbors’, I can stay there.” Alyssa was afraid to hear what was going to come from his mouth next, because the gleam in his eyes told her he felt things were going his way.
“Unfortunately, there’s not enough room there. The neighbors only have two bedrooms. Their daughter was kind enough to give your parents her room, and she’s sleeping on the couch. They said they found an apartment for you that you can move into next week. They already put a deposit down, but they asked if anyone working here at the saloon had an extra room for you for this week, and I assured them that we’d find you a place to stay until everything was all sorted out.”
Alyssa didn’t need to ask him where the room was. His practically glowing eyes had already told her.