Jack of Hearts (Desert Sons MC Book 1) by Kathryn Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

according to Marshall, he can handle a car like a stunt driver,” Nic said.
     
    Tina mulled over all the new information. “Jack sounds like an interesting guy,” she finally said.
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
    “Join me for a beer?” Jack asked Tina as he locked the door behind Marshall and Nic, the last of the Sons to rumble away on their hog.
     
    “I would like that. Thanks.” She turned for the rec room, what she considered her room now, but he headed toward the back and she adjusted her course to follow.
     
    As they entered Jack’s apartment, he headed straight to the refrigerator and pulled out a pair of dark bottles. He twisted the lids off and placed them on the table. Tina pulled out one of the two chairs and Jack took the other.
     
    “You did good today,” he said after taking a pull on his bottle.
     
    Tina took a sip of her beer. It was a Samuel Adams Boston Lager, a beer she had never tried because of its cost, but she liked it. It was much better than the cheap, watery stuff she normally drank … when she could afford a beer.
     
    “I have to tell you, I was more than a little nervous.”
     
    “I told you it would be okay.”
     
    “I know. But, well …”
     
    “What?” he prompted when she ground to a halt.
     
    “Nothing,” she said, looking at her bottle.
     
    “Come on, spill it.”
     
    “I … just want someone to like me for who I am, that’s all. Not like me even if I am an ex-con. Not like me even though I have messed up. I’ve made some bad choices, but I don’t think I’m ‘bad,’ you know what I mean? I did what I had to do to survive. I didn’t steal cars because it was fun. I did it because I needed the money to have a place to live, to put food on the table.”
     
    Jack looked at Tina, feeling a bit sorry for her. He wondered how she would have turned out if her father hadn’t been killed. Maybe he shouldn’t drag her back into that life when she so clearly wanted out. “I’m sorry, Tina. If it makes you feel any better, I like you. Just as you are.”
     
    Tina gave him a sad smile. “Well, there’s one.”
     
    “I think Nic and Michelle like you as well.”
     
    “Yeah. Maybe. And I like them, especially Nicole. I can’t see us having our nails done together, though.”
     
    Jack laughed. “I can’t see them having their nails done, period. But give us a chance. I think by the time the Sons had left, you had won most of them over.”
     
    “You think so?” Tina asked, brightening.
     
    “I think so. We’ll see next weekend.”
     
    “Uh … Jack … I’m not complaining, but how long do you expect me to work around here?”
     
    “Are you in a hurry to leave?”
     
    “No, but …”
     
    “Will you stay the week? I think you will have paid your debt by then. But I won’t try to keep you longer than you think is fair. You’re free to go at any time.”
     
    “I can leave now?”
     
    “If you want.”
     
    “And you won’t call the cops?”
     
    “No.”
     
    Tina looked at Jack suspiciously. “Why?”
     
    “I said you had to stay to pay for the window. You helped install the new window and you worked your ass off today. And you haven’t bitched about it once. So … I figure we’re close enough to even.”
     
    “So why do you want me to stay next week?”
     
    “I said close enough to even,” Jack teased. “I have a couple of projects I could use an extra pair of hands with, but the work won’t be as hard as it was yesterday and today. And … like I said, I like you.”
     
    “You want me to stay because you like me?” Tina asked, not sure she understood Jack’s meaning.
     
    “That’s most of it, yes.”
     
    Tina was quiet for a moment. She still had half her beer left, but she could tell Jack’s was nearly empty. “You want another?” she asked, gesturing at his bottle with her own. She needed a moment to think.
     
    “I’ll get it,” Jack said as he started to rise, but Tina was quicker.
     
    “Keep your