Jesse by Kathi S. Barton Page A

mouth, he knew she’d broken his nose.
    “You bastard.” She left the office as he
dropped to the floor. His head hit the cabinet behind him and just before he
blacked out he wondered if he could have handled that any more badly. Probably
not.
    ~~~
    The dirt was really dark, but she hardly
noticed it. She was going to forget what had happened in the trailer earlier even
if it took the rest of her life. She was reasonably sure it would too. She
threw another shovelful in the pile she was making and thought about the idiot
she’d just had sex with.
    Well, not had sex with so much as he’d
gotten off, as he’d called it. She dipped the shovel in the dirt again and
wondered how hard it would be to bury one in his heart. If he had one.
    Conley clearing his throat made her
turn. He grinned at her. He’d not said a word to her after she’d come out of the
trailer, but she knew he was upset. She didn’t care if he was mad or not. Now
she wondered aloud if he’d been sent to run her off the property.
    “Nope. I did help Jesse into his limo a
while ago. Seems he busted his head and his nose when he tripped up on
something in the office, though. Shame. Poor guy will have to replace his suit.
I sort of dropped him a couple of times when we were coming down the steps.” He
nodded to the truck. “I’m to take you to the greenhouse. Boss said to make sure
you get what you need. Another truck is on the way to get the rock you said
you’d need to build the fountain.”
    Joey thought she must have looked
ridiculous standing there with her mouth open. When Conley pushed her mouth
closed she felt her face heat up. She wasn’t sure which surprised her more,
that Conley had knocked Jesse on his ass, that she still had a job, or that
they were going to put in her fountain. With his, “come on,” she dropped the
shovel and climbed in the big truck.
    “I wish I had learned to drive when I was
younger.” He looked over at her as they left the lot. “My grandmother wasn’t
into driving so she couldn’t teach me and, besides, there wasn’t any money for
a car so I guess it didn’t matter.”
    “You’ll have to learn to drive soon. One
of us might not be available to drive you where you need to go next time. I’m
only going this time because I’m your muscle. To lift stuff, not beat the snot
outta somebody for you.” She looked over at him to see if he was kidding about
the snot knocking comment. But he was smiling, so she let it go.
    Besides, she didn’t think that once she
got the plants and things she needed that driving again would be an issue. Doyle’s
was close enough to where she was currently staying and she hoped with the
money she’d make off this job she’d have enough for a deposit on a more
permanent place and a good job. Maybe if she did a really good job for them,
they’d let her use them as a reference so she could get one working with some
other company.
    Patty’s Petal’s was a beautiful nursery
and owned by Patty Melbourne, a local. Joey had had to come here and work for a
few weeks during school for a project. She’d not had the money for the things
she needed and traded off the items for free labor. She only hoped the owner
was the same. She’d liked the woman.
    Patty met them in the lot. Smiling, she
grabbed up Conley in a bear of a hug and kissed him soundly on the mouth. She
then turned to Joey. Her smile was infectious and Joey found herself smiling
right back.
    “Got yourself a job with a good company,
I see. You should have come to me first off if you was looking. I’d have lied
my ass off about the Stone men just so you’d come work for me again. Ain’t had
another person working for me since that holds a candle.” Patty hugged her
tight then told them to come along.
    Joey thought that once she was finished
she would come and talk with Patty. She was so excited about the prospect that
she nearly forgot to be pissed at Jesse for a little while. But once she was in
the greenhouse she