Grumpy Jake

  At A Glance

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  GRIDIRON BAD BOYS

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  UNDER THE KILT SERIES

  Under His Kilt

  Her Insatiable Scot

  Kilted for Pleasure

  Kilt Tease

  Scot Appeal

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  To One Hundred

  Down to Ash

  Bluest of Blue

  Three Little Words

  For the nephew who loved Harry Potter as much as I did.

  Always

  Grumpy Jake

  by Melissa Blue

  Copyright 2019

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product

  of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Any trademarks, service marks, product names or named features in any media form are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if we use one of these terms.

  BLURB

  Bailey Thorne doesn’t hate Jake the Rake, just despises him. She blames the rumor mill at her school…and, okay, him. His adorable son has only been in preschool, but Jake has already made an impressive dent in dating the unmarried faculty. She’s had to hear of his every exploit from the broken hearts he’s left behind. She was fine to loathe him from afar, but now his son has entered kindergarten—and she’s the teacher. It’s going to be a very long school year.

  Jake Polaski was more than fine to avoid Ms. Thorne after it became clear she was not amused by his very existence. But then they get stuck in an elevator for an evening. He finds out that underneath that baleful glare she always gives him, lies a warm, funny and sexy as hell woman. He does his best to not be smitten after every exchange afterward. His son needs him rational, steadfast...and love is the most uncertain thing.

  It was the elevator’s fault. Had it worked like it should, Bailey would have gone on with her life without seeing why so many of her co-workers had fallen for the grumpy single dad. (It’s his dry wit, his playful teasing and the drool-worthy cut of his jawline.) And now she’s caught in the way he doles out smiles and the dark depths of his secrets. If nothing else, she knows from rumor there’s a clock ticking on their affair before it implodes, because things always do with Jake the Rake, but she can’t seem to walk away first.

  Chapter One

  Bailey Thorne didn’t detest Jake the Rake solely because he never returned her I-find-you-suspect smile whenever she saw him. That was fair. Anyone with smarts could tell her smile was disingenuous as fuck even if they were halfway across the school’s ground.

  Her apathy toward him wasn’t even about the way all the moms gravitated to him and praised him for breathing while being a father to his son. That wasn’t entirely his doing, and from what she could see, he never preened about the accolades.

  Jake the Rake, aka Jake Polaski, had broken the hearts of half the unmarried teaching staff that dated men. He managed to do it in the two years of free preschool Obama Elementary offered, and today was his kid’s first day in kindergarten. Her kindergarten class. Sure, sure, the fact he brought his kid to preschool for years made it clear he cared about something other than leading women on, but for those few years she had to listen to all things Jake, in and outside the classroom.

  Her feelings could be best described as the Kardashian effect. She didn’t care about him. Never sought out any gossip about him, and yet she couldn’t avoid the way the grapevine buzzed whenever he so much as sneezed. Eventually she started to grit her teeth at the very mention of him. It didn’t help that whenever she heard about him, the news was nothing good.

  Now she was his student’s teacher. And he was here early in her classroom, beating all of the other parents who would likely want to meet her during their kid’s first official day of school. Sunshine and unicorn fucking farts—It was going to be a very long school year.

  He stood quiet and imposing, waiting for her to acknowledge him. She let her attention slide off him, not entirely rude but also not inviting and focused on the kid. It was easy to bend down with her most genuine smile to meet Jayden Polaski. The biracial boy had a riot of honey-blonde curls, and deep brown eyes and brown cheeks that made his eyes almost disappear as he beamed at her.

  “Hi, Jayden. I’m Ms. Thorne. It’s very nice to meet you.”

  He offered his hand for a shake. From all the gossip, reports and paperwork she shifted through, this moment only confirmed what she’d learned—he was a little charmer. She shook his hand, and much to her surprise it wasn’t sticky or moist.

  “Very nice to meet you, Ms. Thorne.” His voice was clear, his words precise but he still sounded just shy out of toddlerhood.

  Her smile widened. “It’s a little before class starts, I can give you a mini-tour if you like?”

  Jayden glanced up at his dad for permission. She couldn’t help but follow his gaze to the man who had stood by silently during the exchange.

  No curls for him, and he was white. His straight golden-brown hair lost some of its slicked-back appearance to the windy summer day. He had an angular nose that only made his intent stare just shy of broody. His blue eyes were somehow soft, yet she doubted he ever missed a single thing. No laugh lines bracketed his full mouth, but a full beard did. In jeans and a plain white t-shirt, he looked like he should have been in construction. Bailey knew he was an E.R. nurse at the local community hospital. Surprising given had two full sleeves of tats on both arms and even some along his left knuckles. All in all, he was fucking hot. Dammit.

  He broke the stare first to look at his son then placed a wide palm on top of Jayden’s head. “Give me and Ms. Thorne a second to talk.”

  Although his tone was flat, the resonance of his voice made goose bumps prickle up her arms. There was also a hint of a New England accent, yet not a Mass-hole. Either way, he didn’t sound like he’d been born and bred in the Central Valley of California like her.

  He gestured his head to the side, pulling her out of thought. He said to his son, “Taylor’s here.”

  That’s all Jayden needed to hear. He took off toward the door just as an African American boy entered.

  Her brows raised in surprise. “How did you know that?”

  “Taylor’s come over for playdates during the summer. I’ve gotten to the know the way his shoes squeak when he’s running and not supposed to.”

  Anyone else would have added a self-deprecating smile to that. His expression remained as flat as his tone. All the charm had gone to Jayden, apparently.

  Given what she’d seen of his personality so far, she had to guess his dick was huge. Why else would people fawn over him and then hold onto grudges? A mystery for another lifetime, or never. She forced herself to smile pleasantly. “You needed a moment with me?”

  He reached around to his back pocket producing a folder, bent in half. “You sent this out last week. Jayden’s not the best courier. I wanted to make sure you got this.”

  Confused, she took the folder then cracked it open then glanced at him in surprise. Inside sat her parent worksheet. Getting one back was always a hit or miss. Prior to the start of school, she’d email and mail it, then send another copy home with the kids on the first day. She had only taught for the last three years in total and all of them at Obama Elementa
ry, but too often she would only get half of her worksheets back. At her disposal, Bailey had IEPs or reports from previous pre-school teachers or day care providers, but nothing was like seeing a child through a parent’s lens.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “You sound shocked for some reason.”

  His taking Jayden to preschool for two years proved he cared about his son’s education. Maybe. He could have also seen preschool as free daycare. Him bringing her the worksheet meant he did care. “I’ve heard you’re pretty hands-on with Jayden.”

  “But?”

  “No ‘but.’”

  “I believe you.” Finally, he cracked a smirk that put a light in his blue eyes but didn’t soften a single masculine feature.

  And that was the appeal. So, it wasn’t just a big dick that reeled people in. She held her breath and hoped air deprivation would make the buzz of attraction go away.

  “Anyway,” he added, “I have to get ready for work. Do you need me to get him lined up outside?”

  She was forced to breathe. Dammit. “Him and Taylor, please. I’m going to flip through this before the day gets crazy.”

  “The short version is he’s a good kid, nowhere near shy and he will get away with what you let him.”

  A burning question rose to her lips. She bit her tongue to keep the words in. He narrowed his gaze. “What is it?”

  He was way too perceptive. She had to keep that in mind. “I won’t hold you up. If I have any questions, I have your number and likely your email from the worksheet.”

  He scrubbed a hand through his beard and sighed. “It’s going to be a long year if you keep doing that. Ask me anything. I’ll let you know if you have crossed over into something you don’t need to know.”

  “That’s fair,” she said, sounding cagey to her own ears.

  “And?”

  Even with all the rumors, gossip and broken hearts, one thing Jake never talked about was Jayden’s mom. He never answered the question. Never.

  Her apathetic attitude toward him gave her the courage or a rare moment of stupidity. “Will there be anything about his mother in this packet?”

  Whatever little light had shone in his eyes a moment before, winked out in a flash. “No.” He nodded in acknowledgment and then left.

  Chapter Two

  Jake did his absolute best to avoid Ms. Thorne for weeks after their initial exchange. Who knew someone as petite as her was filled with piss and vinegar? He would have gone on avoiding her if not for Back to School night, which was evil and occurred every year like clockwork.

  His sour mood kept him on edge, bunching the muscles in his shoulders. He tried to hide the brittle tension as Jayden skipped down the hallway toward the classroom. It sat on the second floor of the main school building. Jayden stopped in front of him. Jake had to scramble back to keep from trampling his son.

  Jayden sighed. “You’re wearing your grumpy face.”

  “This is my regular face.”

  “Then your regular face is grumpy.”

  Parents and students walked around them. He tried to ignore the stares as he squatted to hold Jayden’s gaze. “You’re not wrong, kid. How about a deal?”

  “What kind of deal?”

  “I get to wear this face, you get to ignore it, and I give you thirty extra minutes outside when we get home.”

  Jayden considered this, and Jake knew the temptation he’d just laid out. Still, Jayden pressed his fingers to Jake’s cheeks to force a smile. “One smile for Ms. Thorne. She gets this weird look whenever I talk about you. I don’t think she likes you.”

  Jake couldn’t help it. “What look?”

  Jayden pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows. Amused, he brushed a hand over Jayden’s face to clear the impression. “Ms. Thorne is very expressive.” He added, “It just means you can tell what she’s thinking really easily.”

  “She never makes those faces about anyone else’s mom and dads.”

  They probably didn’t try to bite her head off. “One smile and fifteen minutes.”

  They shook on it. When Jake rose, he took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. Ms. Thorne hadn’t asked an out-of-line question. It was simply a question he’d been avoiding for years. Eventually he would have to answer “where’s mom?,” if not to one of Jayden’s teachers who would need that info, but Jayden himself.

  Did it worry Jake his son never asked? Yes. He wasn’t an expert on kids by no means, but he knew enough that they would and could ask endless questions. Inappropriate wasn’t on their radar, and if it was, kids didn’t give a shit.

  Worries for another day.

  As soon as they crossed the threshold, Jayden broke from his side to tackle hug his teacher’s legs. She took the surprise hit pretty well, a smile widening her mouth. Her lips were plump, painted in a dark red, but he knew they could drop questions like bombs or curl in distaste at the very sight of him.

  One would think seeing her kinky curls that surrounded her face like a halo, her soft brown eyes and brown skin that seemed to glow, that she would be all sweetness and light. To the kids, maybe.

  As though to prove his point, she ruffled Jayden’s hair. “I’m glad to see you, Jayden. Get your desk ready for your father, please.”

  Jake looked away from her. He had to prep his smile in any case. The room had gone through a transformation. Everything before had been a bland white papering with a few decorations that were mostly the squiggly, colorful outlines. The alphabet and numbers were up. So was a calendar. Most impressive was a wall with kid-like drawings and writing prompts for them to fill out their names, birthdates and simple things about themselves.

  He drifted over to find Jayden’s. He knew most of the answers already. Favorite color green. Food was pizza with ranch. He wanted a kitten. It was the family drawing that broke something inside Jake. It was true—there was only Jake and Jayden. Jake’s parents had passed well before Jayden’s birth. Jake’s oldest brother had died in a car crash, on a date night with his wife. There were two aunts and an endless amount of cousins spread across the fifty states and some lived internationally that checked in on social media all the time, but their family was him and Jayden. And his son never asked about his mom.

  He took a deep breath then regretted it. When he hadn’t been paying attention, Ms. Thorne had sidled up to him. She smelled like lavender and something with a bite to it—cinnamon. His mouth threatened to water so he fell back on what he did best—deflect. “He’s a joy to have in class. He’s such a good helper. Though, he has a surprisingly stubborn streak?”

  Her laugh was low. “I wonder where he gets that last from. Obviously, you’re easy-going and the life of the party wherever you go.”

  He snorted then sobered. “I would like to apologize for being short with you the other day.” He glanced around, his senses heightened. Other parents roamed and lingered at their kid’s desks or the whiteboard where the behavior chart hung. Jayden was still digging around in his desk. He smiled. The boy would lose his head if it wasn’t attached.

  She gasped. “Is the world coming to an end? You smiled.”

  He loved she felt comfortable to poke fun at him, and that her reply gave him the best opening. “Jayden said I should because he didn’t think you liked me. You made a face every time he mentioned me.” Jake did his best to recreate the face.

  She dropped her gaze, but he caught the oh, shit expression. Finally, Bailey looked up again. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”

  “We did and we didn’t. I’m…really sensitive when it comes to talking about my situation. People say kids are resilient, but some things stay with you. They stay buried until you’re old enough for it to wreak havoc. I don’t want that for Jayden. I know one day I’m going to have to rip his childhood from him.”

  “Children take their cues from the people around them, especially the people they love. I can’t and won’t tell you what’s best, especially not knowing the details. I can just say the longer you wa
it, the harder it will be for the both of you—Whatever it is you’re dreading. All I can do is offer my support and let you know I am an advocate for Jayden and every kid here.”

  There was no balm to his reality, but her support came close to soothing him. The sensation was uncomfortable, mostly because it was new. “Thank you,” he said anyway.

  “You should have a seat. I’m about to get started. I’ll apologize in advance for the small chairs.”

  “Dad!”

  The single word stabbed into him in the moment, but he drew his attention to Jayden who waved him over to his desk. His son’s expression was filled with pride and happiness. That is what he never wanted to take from him. He trudged over and even managed to work up another smile as Jayden told him about everything in his desk.

  The rest of the night went smoothly, on the surface. In between the endless information she provided, and even the lowkey dread he always carried in the pit of his gut, Jake couldn’t help but think about how good Ms. Thorne had smelled. Her scent lighter than musk, but just as potent. Her smile bright with the ability to draw anyone in.

  Jake couldn’t help but think he should have kept avoiding Ms. Thorne until he died.

  Chapter Three

  Just one day after Back to School night, Bailey closed her eyes and basked in the quiet moment before the chaos with a cup of coffee. Voices filtered in through the hallway.

  “Did you hear about Denise though? They were dating for six months. They were hot and heavy. He never introduced her to his kid, much less had them in the same room. Then one day he was like, it’s not working out.”

  “No.” The other voice sounded scandalized. “For six months?”

  “He took her out every Saturday for brunch. They’d spend the day together. The whole day. By Sunday morning he’d turn back into a pumpkin. They’d text and call during the week. It was a relationship. Then he dropped her cold. Have you talked to the others? It’s the same m.o. Six months at the most and then they are done.”