The Jacksons Box Set (Books 1-4)

“I always thought you would get married before Mason.” Ace’s aunt Janet looked at him slyly. “Not one of Celia’s three boys have made it to the altar. I am not implying that there is anything wrong with you, of course. But still…”
She sighed heavily. “Is your brother Trey still fooling around with that prostitute?”
Ace inhaled and counted silently to ten, Janet had no filter; she was his mother's oldest sister and the family busy body. Though these days, she wasn't as mobile as she used to be having broken three of her toes in a freak accident involving her cat.
He was the one who had picked the short straw to visit her and check the progress of her healing. His father, Ace Sr., had flatly refused to attend to her because of something Janet said that had caused them to have a falling out. That, unfortunately, was nothing new.
“I don’t know what is going on in Trey’s love life at the moment.” Ace answered, hoping his voice sounded unbothered.
Janet glanced at him contemplatively. “I won’t even ask about Deuce since he broke up with Kelsey, he has been drifting through life like a straw on the sea. No one to replace her, and she is not coming home. It's quite sad.”
“Straw on the sea?” Ace murmured, “I haven’t heard that description before.”
He unwrapped the bandages and inspected her toes; they were swollen and slightly purple.
“It hurts,” Janet groaned, “am I going to lose my foot?”
“I doubt it,” Ace looked at her, “what happened?”
“Someone may have stepped on it at Mason’s reception last night. It was throbbing all night.”
“You were told to take better care of them.” Ace muttered, “they were almost better.”
“But I had to dance with George Brady,” Janet fluttered her eyelashes, “he is a lovely man. He can’t really dance, and he kept stepping on my poor toes, but I didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop.”
“Here comes husband number two,” Ace chuckled.
“What’s wrong with that? Janet mumbled, “he is a widower, I am a widow. Both of us are lonely. The only issue is he doesn’t want to live in Kingston, and I am not going back to Portland to live. I don’t like the countryside.”
“Well, that is a stalemate, no husband two for you then.” Ace finished dressing her toes and stood up. “You are going to have to keep off them for at least the week.”
“Oh well,” Janet shrugged, “that’s what you get for a night of fun. At my age, nights of fun are few and far between. I had to cease it while I could.”
“How will you get around the house?” Ace frowned. Janet was a retired music teacher and an empty nester.
“Maybe you should ask one of the girls to come by.”
“Oh no, “Janet shook her head, her chin-length silver hair glistened in the weak sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows in her living room. “I love my children and grandchildren, but I prefer them in tiny doses. I'll be fine. I will hop around. I have Mavis, who comes by Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and I have my stick.”
“Okay, if you are sure,” Ace packed up his bag and headed to the bathroom off the living room to wash his hands.
“Well, I have a little favor to ask of you, my favorite nephew.” Janet hopped to the bathroom door and watched him. “I am renting out the garage apartment, since Nigel left it has been empty, and I promised George Brady that his daughter could rent it. Luckily, I hadn’t let it out to anyone yet.
“George said she has been bunking with friends of his and feeling very uncomfortable, and that made him pretty sad. So I told him about my garage suite. She has the privacy, a separate entrance, and I did ask Mavis to go up there and stock the fridge with the basics.”
“That’s nice.” Ace glanced at his aunt as she rambled on, “what’s the favor?”
“I would be eternally grateful if you could make sure that everything is in order, show her around. I can’t climb the stairs, or you know I would. I asked Mavis to clean up there within an inch of its life. So I am sure it is clean because she knows my exacting standards. Give her the tour for me, please. I want her to be happy here.”
“When is she moving in?” Ace dried his hands and then glanced at his watch. He didn’t have anything else to do until five o’clock. Today was supposed to be his lightest day. He usually did his rounds at Golden Acres in the evening.
A car horn blew at the front gate.
“That’s her.” Janet hopped to the front window and almost tripped over the cat again. She opened the curtain and whistled.
“She has grown into a beauty, but then again, what would one expect from her parentage. She looks a lot like her mom, Charlotte, the harlot. Charlotte slept with anything that could move.”
“Aunt Janet,” Ace said, warningly, “don’t call people names or denigrate their character like that.”
“It’s like telling me not to tell the truth,” Janet snorted, “Charlotte was the Biblical equivalent to Gomer and George the Hosea. Every time that woman strayed, he went back for her. The last time he picked her up, she was pregnant and living with Micky Wiley, but George took her back with the pregnancy and gave the child his name and treated her just like his. She's the youngest. I don't think any of the children are even his.”
“Did you say, Micky Wiley?” Ace stiffened.
“Yup.” Janet chortled, “that girl could be Micky Wiley’s child. As well as not, who knows, her mother had a go-around with any man who could walk.”
Ace looked through the window on the girl and gasped. She was pretty, cinnamon brown skin, thick curly hair that she had in an unkempt ponytail, perfectly shaped eyebrows, and pink lips. No makeup, she looked fresh-faced and young, slightly puffy around the eyes though as if she hadn't slept for a while. She could be anywhere in her twenties.
“George had her staying with some church friends of his in less than perfect accommodations.” Janet murmured. “She looks fresh out of the country and as naïve as a newborn lamb. George kept the girls under tight security and made them dress like destitute nuns. You can understand why he didn't want any of them to be like the mother. You are going to have to keep an eye out for her.”
“Me?” Ace whispered. “I don’t have any time for that.”
“Help your old aunt. I can't do it. I am barely mobile,” Janet said, “show her around. It will take her a while to acclimatize to the place. Kingston is tiny compared to other cities, but it is still a city. She is used to cows and bleating goats and miles and miles of rolling countryside, not the fast-paced bustle that is Kingston.”
“What is her name?” Ace asked.
“Kiya Brady,” Janet hopped to the door, “I must greet her, the poor thing looks like she is about to cry.”
Ace watched as the taxi man dumped Kiya’s bags at her feet, all three of them, she obviously traveled light.
She paid for the taxi and then looked at the door again. Janet opened it just in time before her apprehension could turn into panic. Kiya slumped her shoulders in relief when the doors opened. He thought he saw her whisper, thank God.
“Hello, dear. Come on up.” Janet called from the door. “I am afraid I can’t come to help you.”
Ace walked behind his aunt, belatedly realizing that he should offer his assistance. He was so busy looking at Kiya and her obvious relief to be there that he hadn’t moved.
“Don't worry about the bags. My nephew will help.” Janet smiled. “The neighborhood is fairly good; I doubt they’ll rob you in less than a minute.”
Ace walked to the door, and his eyes connected with Kiya’s, neither of them moved.
“Ace,” Janet whispered fiercely under her breath, “don’t you dare like that girl. Don’t you dare be attracted to this woman.”
“Why?” Ace whispered back.
“You know why,” Janet said, looking at him meaningfully. “She could be Micky Wiley's daughter, and if she is, don’t let me say it out loud…”
“What are you talking about, Aunt Janet?” Ace looked at Janet guiltily. He knew what she was implying, and for a moment, he didn't care.
“You know what I am talking about,” Janet said below her breath. “Just in case you are still unclear about it. Micky Wiley was your mother’s gardener. You look a little bit too much like Micky Wiley for anyone to be comfortable. Come to think of it, your mother was not very much unlike Charlotte in that regard.”
“All of that is just rumor and conjecture.” Ace whispered, he glanced at Kiya was watching him and his aunt furiously whispering a tentative smile on her face.
“Please do not repeat any of this nonsense to anyone, especially Kiya.”
Janet looked at him and forced a smile. “Well, Ace, for the sake of politeness, I am going to let this go, but just remember denial is a horrible thing. And you can deny and hide your head in the sand all you want, but one day you are going to have to face the truth.
“Anyway, I need to go and get the keys. Show the young lady around. Don't get any ideas in my absence. Your conscience should tell you to keep your distance from this particular girl.”
She left to get the keys, and Ace walked toward the gate to help Kiya.
“Sorry about that,” Ace smiled at her, “my aunt and I had a little disagreement. My name is Ace.”
He held his hand for her to shake it, and she wiped it on the side of her Jean skirt and shook it, smiling tiredly.
“My name is Kiya Brady. I am so happy that your aunt allowed me to stay. I was desperate.”
Ace frowned. “Why were you desperate?”
“Because where I'm coming from was horrible. I was sleeping on the floor. I was almost desperate enough to go back to Portland, and that would have been major desperation.”
Ace looked at her quizzically. “Why? What happened in Portland?”
Kiya sighed. “My sister, Gwendolyn, got married to my ex-boyfriend. It's all sorts of awkward at home now. They were living with my father until their place is ready. I just needed to escape.”
“Here's the key,” Janet interrupted when Ace was about to find out more about what sounded like an interesting situation.
Ace took up Kiya's bags. He could take up all three at once, the bags weren't heavy at all. Ace wondered how long she was planning to stay to escape her sister and her ex-boyfriend.
“The apartment is through that pathway.” Janet pointed to a cobblestone walkway. “You don’t have to open the garage doors to go up the stairs, there is a side door. It is a lovely one-bedroom suite. It is very quiet and peaceful here as far as it can be peaceful in Kingston. We have an active neighborhood watch, and of course, there is a security system.”
Janet held out a piece of paper to Ace. “These are the codes, show Kiya how to arm and unarm the place.”
“I wish I could show you around myself, but…” Janet pointed to her newly bandaged toes. “I damaged my toes again. But don’t you worry, Ace has been up to the apartment before. He'll give you the tour.”
“That's okay, Mrs. Forbes. I'm so thankful to be here, and I am so happy that my father went to the wedding yesterday. When I called him this morning to complain, he said you had a place I could stay."
“Call me Janet.” Janet smiled, “Mrs. Forbes is so formal. I'm hoping that we can be good friends and neighborly with each other, your father’s family and mine go way back.”
Ace walked along the pathway. Kiya took the keys from Janet and walked behind him.
“It's nice here,” she said, in awe. “It doesn’t feel like a city at all, I love the garden.”
Ace looked back. “My aunts and mom are all into gardening and floral arrangements. It's their thing.”
“Oh, it's my thing too.” Kiya smiled. “I have my degree in AgroSciences.”
“You do?”
“Yes, I do,” Kiya smile. “I'm the only one from my family to graduate from college, it is a big deal, my father has my certificate framed and hanging in the shop.”
Ace chuckled. “Maybe he wanted to send a message to your other siblings.”
“Maybe or he just wanted to express his relief that I actually finished.” Kiya smiled. “I almost didn’t. It was taking me too long to get the degree.
"We expanded the shop. We are more like a mini mart now, and we have a jerk center. It was hectic juggling that with school.”
“I noticed the expansion.” Ace said, “I didn’t know that was your doing.”
“It was me and my sister’s idea, we wanted to modernize the place." Kiya grimaced. "But sometimes, Kav is not up to the work, she has sickle cell, and she gets tired easily. I had to work late most days. I missed some exams because of it, and I flunked some courses, and then I stopped going altogether. So school wasn’t making any sense for me.”
“But obviously, you took it up again.” Ace said, “that’s admirable.”
“All credit goes to my friend Lucia, she paid for my final year through the Farm Help Society. She knew I wouldn’t want to waste the charity’s money. She said, you do a whole year without stopping and get that degree, and I did.”
Ace frowned. “The Farm Help Society, isn’t that Guy Wiley's thing?”
“Not anymore," Kiya said. “Lucia is in charge of that charity now, and she does really good work with the people in the neighborhood. She is focusing on education.”
“That’s great.” Ace stopped before the door. "I know Lucia quite well; we had a relationship of sorts. I mistakenly believed that she would choose me over Guy Wiley. Of course, I didn't know him well or how deep their bond went. It was a long time ago, though.”
Kiya frowned. “I can’t imagine Lucia without Guy. They seem so perfect together.”
“I agree.” Ace cleared his throat. He really didn’t want to discuss how wrong he was about the Lucia and Guy situation at the time.
He showed Kiya how to arm and unarm the place. She learned very quickly.
“My grand-aunt had something similar at her house," Kiya said. “It was used to have us running scared when it went off. The irony was, without her hearing aid, my grandaunt couldn't hear it at all, so we would be running around like crazy people while she would just calmly sit there unaffected.”
Ace laughed. “Well, if you just follow the steps here, you’ll be fine. Just unarm it before it goes off.”
He started up the stairs. “Why is it that I haven’t met you before?”
It was surprising really. He thought he knew everybody in that area of the valley. He hadn’t even known that George had such a pretty daughter with a lively sense of humor.
He had liked Kiya almost instantly because she was attractive, but now, he realized that she was quite easy to talk to. They were talking as if they were old acquaintances. He couldn't recall when was the last time he had found that sort of combination with a woman he was attracted to.
“I was always working at my father's shop," Kiya said. "If you ever visited my father's shop, you would have found me there. I never went anywhere; it was just church or work.”
“You were a homebody,” Ace smiled. “well then, that’s why I never saw you. I lived in the neighborhood for a year, and I have visited George’s place. I remember being served by a tall, light-skinned girl who was grumpy, I think she even growled at me.”
Kiya laughed, “that sounds like Kavina. She was probably having a bad day. Maybe I wasn’t around that day, maybe I was at school ...”
“Such a pity, I never met you then.” Ace said. “I think we would have been great friends by now.”
Kiya looked at him and smiled. “Maybe...but you’d be into Lucia; you may not have given me a passing thought.”
“I would have.” Ace said, “trust me, I would.”
“What were you doing in Port Antonio?” Kiya asked, trying the keys one by one in the door without success.
“I was wrapping up my father’s practice, but in the interim got caught up in taking on his retiring partners patients. I loved living in the Rio Grande valleys, especially when it rained, there was this fresh smell to the air.”
“You're a doctor?” Kiya looked stunned. “I was thinking more along the lines of model.”
Ace laughed and followed her inside when she finally opened the door. “Model! I have not heard that for a while, people say that about my brothers, especially Trey, but never about me.”
Ace placed the bags on the welcome mat just inside the door and turned on the light. “Well, here is home.”
Kiya stood still, her eyes wide. “Wow. I didn't expect this. I was expecting it to be a cramped little space that I could barely turn around in. This is luxurious. Kav is not going to believe this when I tell her. I can't believe it!”
Ace walked into this spacious garage-apartment with its open floor plan and looked around. It was nicely done.
“Aunt Janet had her grandson living here,” he said. “He lived here for some time while going to university, but he's now in Japan.”
Kiya still had not closed her mouth. She wandered around the spacious floor, looking and rubbing her hands along the furniture. “I can't believe this.”
Ace enjoyed her look of wonderment.
“Fully furnished, my own room, my own kitchen.” Kiya opened the bedroom door and stood at the entrance. "At home I ended up having to share with Kav when Gwen moved in with Sylvester.
“The bed is huge!”
Ace watched her indulgently.
“Now this is prayers answered,” Kiya said, “I am living the dream. Gwen would eat her heart out if she knew what was happening.”
“So Gwen is the sister who married your ex?”
Kiya made a face. “Yes, that's the one.”
“And she moved back in with your ex, into the house that you are living in currently. It sounds uncomfortable.” Ace folded his arms, waiting to hear more.
"It was super uncomfortable," Kiya shuddered, "especially when they were kissing and acting lovey-dovey. He was my boyfriend for five years, and we were engaged. I mean, we were picking out dresses and stuff. Then he met my sister and three months later they were married. I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry.”
“Or thank God you missed a bullet.” Ace murmured, “how long ago was that?
“Six months,” Kiya sighed. “I just couldn’t take it anymore, living with them.”
“I can’t imagine how you stayed for six months.” Ace said.
“I had to,” Kiya shrugged, “the house is located behind the shop. I worked at the shop; I was the one who managed the whole thing. If anyone was to leave, it should have been Gwen and her husband.”
“What does your sister and your ex do?” Ace asked curiously.
“Gwen is a dressmaker, and Sylvester is a carpenter. He’s very good at it too. You should see some of the pieces he’s made.”
Ace smiled, "It seems as if you still have a thing for him."
“No, not in the least. I think I feel more betrayed by my sister.” Kiya headed for the fridge in the kitchenette. “Your aunt has this fully stocked. When she said she had everything fully furnished, I didn't expect to get food as well.”
Kiya looked at him guiltily. “Sorry for chatting your ear off. I like to talk a bit too much, and I am a bit overwhelmed by all of this.”
Ace smiled. “I don’t think you talk too much, and that feeling of being overwhelmed will subside eventually.”
Kiya made a face. “I don't know if I'll get used to it, but I hope to.”
“So, what will you be doing here exactly?” Ace asked, “My aunt just said you wanted a place to live. Are you going to work here in Kingston?”
“Oh, yes.” Kiya nodded. “At my lowest point, when I thought I couldn’t stand a minute more of Gwen and Sylvester, Myrtle Wiley mentioned to my dad that Guy was going to need a manager for his farm store in Kingston because his old manager was leaving. My dad told me, and I called Lucia, who told Guy that I could do it, and here I am. I got the job.”
Kiya sat down in the settee and grinned. "Now, this is comfortable."
She yawned and closed her eyes, “I know it’s the middle of the day, but I could sleep right here.”
She was obviously tired, and he needed to leave her to get some rest.
He searched her features for any hint of a Wiley and then stopped himself. What was he doing? Janet’s little jibe had gotten through to him and was working to inoculate him against Kiya, but a little part of him resisted.
He was instantly attracted to her; she was not only pretty; she had a sense of humor that he liked. He made up his mind not to let his aunt’s doubts affect the potential for a relationship that could mean something.
“I am leaving my business card on the counter,” Ace said out loud. “My cellphone number is written at the back, call me if you need a lift to work.”
“Thank you, Ace,” Kiya opened her eyes and smiled at him sleepily. “You are one in a million.”