✨Previously✨
Jack cleared his throat loudly, grabbing
the bickering pair's attention.
"Uncle, what'd you sign me up for this time?"
His uncle smiled mischievously. "Oh, I think you'll like this one"
🌟Continue🌟
Jack groaned into his hands. "Christ, you've done it again, haven't you?"
"Done what?" Marshall adopted a blank expression.
Jack answered with a weary glance.
"What did you do?" Ms. Mayfield asked Marshall, too curious to correct Jack on his horrid language once again.
Marshall tone was a bit defensive as he turned his attention to Janie Mayfield. "I might of set Jack on a couple of blind..."
"A 'couple?!'" Jack echoed.
"... or, three or four blind dates without his knowledge."
"How does one go on a blind date without knowledge of it?" Janie asked Marshall. Jack answered dryly in his Uncle's stead. "When their uncle tells them it's for a charity case and is ambushed with dinner by candle light."
"Oh Marshall, that is quite bad..." Janie said
"Thank you Ms. Mayfield."
"...how is he supposed to properly prepare for a date if he is not forewarned, I mean look how he is dressed now." Janie said while motioning over Jack.
Jack looked over his attire, he wore what he usually wore to work in, jeans, a fitted tee and steel toe boots. All-in-all he looked fine, never mind that his shirt clung a little tight across his chest do to one too many washings, and duck tape was wrapped around the toe of one of his boats to keep the bottom from falling out. He self-consciously smelt his shirt, he smelt decent too.
"But it isn't like that this time, this little lady really needs help."
Jack gave a dry laugh and slid back under the sink.
"Why, what happened?" Janie asked.
"You remember that little shop that closed down about years back off of East Waco? Well, she bought it off of some realtor site. The site said that the shop and back apartment where fully renovated, with pictures and all. She met the man in person in Austin, and he showed her pictures and had her sign the papers." Marshall took a drink of his tea.
"I'll admit, it sounded fishy when she was telling me about it from the drive from the airport, but she said the site was 'repeatable.' Now she can't find the listing anywhere on the site."
"Oh, that's just horrible." answered Janie.
Marshall nodded his head. "And get this..." he added " she is a single mother." Jack could hear Janie's disbelieving gasp from all the way under the sink. He sighed.
"Leroy," he called out from under the sink "start packing up my truck."
Leroy finished the last cookie on the plate in one bite and gulped down the rest of his tea before running outside.
"Mr. Leroy Finning ..." started Janie, seeing the plate he left, testily while at the same time Marshall asked Jack, "Where are you running off to?"
" I'm done with your sink Ms. Mayfield, might as check on the 'little lady'." He answered dryly.
Marshall didn't even try to bother to hide his delight, rather he clapped both his hands together and rocked onto his feet.
"Leroy, when you're done packing up Jack's truck you can ride into town with me. I need with your help with somethin.'"
Jack arched a heavy brow. "With what?"
His uncle all but pushed him out the door.
"Never you mind that, now get going."
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Jack pulled into the little shop's, or better put, shack's gravel drive way. Annabelle Basil, age 28 single as well as a single parent to a three year old daughter named Lilliana, goes by Lili. She has brown hair, brown eyes, is petite and pretty. His uncle drilled him at least for ten minutes on her information before he let Jack out the door. Jack couldn't help but laugh at the thought of his meddling uncle. After his father practically abandoned Jack as an infant, his older brother, Marshall, didn't hesitate in taking his younger brother's child in. It was only supposed to be temporary till his father got his feet under him, until his father died in a car accident. Marshall has been the only father Jack has ever known. He raised him like a son along his daughter, his younger cousin, Delphi. He never knew his mother, Marshall didn't like to talk about her. And as a child Jack learned to stop asking about her.
Marshall had seemed content with Jack's serial bachelor ways , until Jack turned thirty. Now for the past two years Marshall has been pestering him to settle down, and give him 'fat babies,'to bounce on his knee. All the women Marshall tried to set him up on where all fine. Successful, pleasant, good sense of humor and attractive. It was him that was the problem. There was a part of him that was under bolt and key. Not to say he didn't know how have a good time. He had needs. But anything more serious than a 'good time' he wasn't available for, and he made sure to let his partners know before hand.
After grabbing his supplies he kicked the truck's hatch door, a light turned on towards the back. He followed the grass over grown stone path towards the back. The back entrance, with the wrap around porch and pair of hanging lights, was modeled to look like a front entrance. It was the same dingy worn rusty gray as the front but the paneling looked like it was more sound than the front. Before he had a chance to knock on the solid oak door, it swung open with a soft 'woosh,' the smell of honeysuckle and vanilla wafting over him. He was paralyzed, with his fist in mid air.
His uncle, never one to wax words, described Annabelle as 'pretty.' The description was a foul understatement. The creature before him was stunning. She had a small round face with a little snip of a chin. Pouty rose colored lips and large honey,brown eyes with flecks of green framed by thick black eyelashes and long delicately arched eyebrows. Her hair was bounded in a messy bun, leaving traces of dark chestnut locks to dangle over her sun kissed cheeks. Though she was small, as his uncle mentioned, possibly no more than five foot two, she was lavishly curved, with an ample bosom, flared hips paired with slender toned legs,wrapped only in short-shorts and a pink tee. A flush rose to her cheeks. He was staring. He cleared his throat. Much to his regret, she quickly concealed half of her body behind the door. Damn, he was making her nervous, of course he was, staring at her like a half starved lunatic.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
He held his tool bag up. "My uncle, Marshall, sent me to check your plumbing."
"Oh," she looked surprised. "I wasn't sure he was serious." A trace of a smile reached her lips.
"Your uncle is very.... "
"Nosy, persistent, intrusive..."
"I was going to say kind, " She laughed "but persistent also works." She held the door open wider for him, sheltering herself behind the door as he made himself in. He softly put down his supply's, noticing the form of a sleeping child on a small bed.
"She should be fine, she had a long day." She gently closed the door and quickly tiptoed to adjoining room to the right. In a flash she came out wearing a heavy grey zipper hoodie and white fluffy slippers. He hid his smile as he unpacked his bag. " Thank you for coming out so late, I was looking up motels for tonight, which mean I would need to find another Uber at..." she looked at her wrist "twelve in the morning, since my car won't be here till tomorrow, and .... oh no my parents." She said aghast. "They were supposed to bring the rest of our stuff tomorrow along with my car, in all the madness I forgot to call them. " She wrapped her arms around her self. "Hey, it's okay." He said quickly, noting the rising sound of panic in her voice. "I'm going to take a look at the plumbing tonight and see what needs to be done. Probably an easy fix."
"I don't know if I can pay you, I told your uncle..."
"Let me look at what where dealing with first and then we will go from there, and if you need to go to a motel I can give you a ride."
"Oh no, I couldn't possibly..."
"I live in the other side of town, there are plenty of hotels from here to there we can go to."
She turned pink. Realizing how what he said sounded he felt his own color rise, along with another appendage at the mere suggestion of visiting an hotel with her. 'Dammit,' he cursed at himself. What the hell was wrong with him?
He quickly turned, busying himself with unloading more of his tools.
"Do you need to know where the water main is?" She asked.
"Nope, got it figured." He answered. He lurched to his feet with a handful of tools to the other side of the apartment. Trying to set as much distance between him and the delectable Ms. Annabelle Basil.