The Dangerous Curves Series

Chapter 16

“It used to be," Sarah said. "Over the past few years, I’ve managed to introduce quite a few differences into his routine. To break up the sameness, and teach him some skills to cope with change, in case we need to go to the doctor, say, or a repairman needs to come into the house. So, before we used to do the exact same thing every day, but now we do different things every day, but we always do them that day.”

He c****d his head. “Huh?”

“OK, like… today is Monday. So, every Monday, Noah has orange juice, Cheerios and strawberries for breakfast. I have to use the orange bowl, plate and cup. Tomorrow, it’s pineapple juice, Frosted Flakes and orange slices, with the red bowl, plate, cup. And on and on like that.”

“Holy s**t, Sarah,” Jax said. “How the hell do you remember it all?”

She shrugged. “I take care of him, mostly. If I don’t remember, who will?”

“So… wait. You take care of Noah? All by yourself?”

“I have some help on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but the rest of the time, yeah. It’s mostly me.”

“Your Mom? Dad?”

“Mom works in a diner, and has lots of early and late shifts. And my Dad left a while ago. He… he had a hard time with Noah.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Jax said softly. “That’s a lot for you to handle on your own.”

She glanced at him. “I’m managing.”

“I’d say so.” Jax sipped his coffee. “And he’s painting right now? You said he had four minutes to get to his paints.”

“Oh, yeah.” Her face brightened. “That’s something that he loves. On afternoons that we’re here, he paints for exactly four hours, fifty-seven minutes and eighteen seconds.”

Jax blinked at that. “Why so precise?”

“Because he listens to the same three classical music recordings, and that’s exactly how long they are when they’re played back-to-back. He’s actually an amazingly talented painter.”

“He is?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh. So, when he’s painting, I do my own work. It’s the only chance I get, until the evening. Noah has dinner at six o’clock exactly, then he has a bath and watches a recording of a show he likes, then he goes to bed every single night at exactly eight o’clock. He sleeps like a rock and never leaves his bed. So I can also get some work done after he goes to sleep.”

“What’s your work?”

“I’m a freelance designer. I do logos, websites, magazines, promotional materials. Right now, I’m working with a local restaurant and designing everything from scratch: menus, business cards, vouchers, logo, website. Everything. It’s great, and I have the flexibility that I need to take care of Noah.”

Jax was quiet again.

“Jax? What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“When?”

“Yesterday. Why didn’t you tell me why you had to get home by a certain time? Why did you – I don’t know. Act so squirelly when I showed up today? Closed the door, wouldn’t let me into the house? You still won’t let me in.”

She looked down. “Yeah. I’m sorry about that. It’s just – I don’t know you, Jax, and I’m always in defensive mode when it comes to new people. People are sometimes… cruel.” She glanced over at the lot across the street, at the kids sitting there. “They say and do terrible things to Noah and he may be autistic, but he’s not stupid or deaf. He knows when people are being awful, and it hurts him. It hurts me, too.”

“And you thought I’d say or do something cruel?”

“No, I never thought that about you,” Sarah said. “But I wasn’t sure how Noah would react to you. He’s not – not good with men. He’s scared of them, quite often. Especially big men.”

Jax studied her. “Hey, Sarah. Look at me.”

She raised her eyes to his, saw something in those green depths that she didn’t understand or recognize.

“Can I ask you out?”

She started at the dramatic change in topic. “You – what?”

He enjoyed the look of surprise on her beautiful face. “Yeah. As you may recall, I actually owe you a fruity drink.”

“Oh, Jax… it’s OK. You can forget about it.”

“What if I don’t want to forget about it?” he asked. “What if I want you to come back to the bar and have your drink? Maybe stay for two drinks? Go for a ride after?”

She blinked. “I – really?”

“Yeah. Really.” He smiled. “How about tonight? After Noah goes to bed at eight?”

“Not tonight.” She shook her head. “My Mom’s working until ten at the diner, and I can’t leave him alone.”

“Tomorrow?”

“I have a deadline for Wednesday morning. I’ll be working late tomorrow night.”

“Wednesday?” Jax was determined to keep asking until she agreed.

“I – uh.” Sarah hesitated. “Ummm. Yeah, actually. Wednesday would be OK. Mom will be home by about six-thirty, and she’s good at putting Noah to bed. So… I guess I could.”

“You don’t have a car right now… should I come and pick you up here?”

Sarah thought about her mother’s reaction if a huge, tattooed biker showed up to get her for a date. “Um, no. I can find my own way to the bar. If I come.”

“OK, then,” Jax grinned. “Wednesday. Yeah?”

“Oh, Jax… I’m not sure that –”

He stood up. “I’ll be there from seven o’clock on, so I’ll see you any time after that, OK?”

She looked up at him. “I haven’t actually said yes, Jax.”

“Yeah. But you haven’t actually said no.” He headed down the porch steps. “A man can only hope, Red.”