Redemption Page 2

Martina put her hands on her hips and felt the tired muscles in her back stretch. She did work hard, because she was afraid if she allowed even a moment's pause she'd lose everything she’d made so many sacrifices for. With her bills constantly piling up, closing the sanctuary for even one day could mean losing the land, and the creatures living there might find themselves in danger again.

  That said, she knew she was pushing her very limits with her crazy work schedule. She wasn't a very robust woman and the continual heavy lifting was draining. If she continued on, she might not have the energy to take care of the animals like they needed. She could get sick or injured, and then who would do the daily feedings?

  With everything on the line, would help really be so disastrous to accept?

  She looked at the angry face of Ace, its handsome square features hidden behind a scowl. Help from that guy most definitely might be disastrous, Martina thought bitterly. But she didn't have much of a choice, not until the court had another qualifying man who could join the work program.

  Groaning, she decided to give in, as terrible as the idea seemed. "Fine, I'll give it a week. But he is going to be working on maintenance and landscaping, not with the animals directly. And I want to stay on the list for the program, in case this doesn't work out, so I can get someone else as soon as possible if needed."

  Officer Bennett's face broke into a relieved smile and he put a big hand warmly on Martina’s shoulder. "I really appreciate this. I promise it'll be worth it."

  Martina nodded vaguely, looking back over at Ace. She was entirely unconvinced it would be worth it, but until she could get a replacement, she would deal with Ace. If it helped keep the park afloat, she could make it through anything.

  Right?

  CHAPTER 3

  F rowning, Ace watched his father plead with Martina Fierro. It was clear from the slender woman's stance that she wanted no part of this. Which suited Ace just fine indeed, because he certainly didn't want anything to do with Martina.

  Nope, he didn't want to be around Martina at all. That was, of course, why he had been so mean to the skinny loser in school. Martina was all about working hard, studying relentlessly, and making everyone else look bad. Plus, she did all that while also having an adorably slender waist and a lazy smile that drove Ace up the wall.

  Slender waist? Shit, there I go again. I can't fucking think when she is around, because she messes with my head somehow.

  Ace huffed and dug his hands deeper into his pockets. He really hoped Martina would convince his dad to just take him away. Maybe they could find an alternative business for him to spend the next couple months volunteering at. Hell, he'd be willing to work in the silver mine outside town at this point.

  "Ace, come here! Ms. Fierro has agreed to take you on," his father called, waving him over from the car.

  Fucking great. At least Martina looks as excited about this as I am.

  The animal keeper had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking like she had just drunk rotten milk. Ace's dad, on the other hand, was smiling widely as he waved some signed documents around.

  "There will be a one-week trial run. I'll drop you off here in the morning, then come pick you up at six every night after my shift." Clete nodded towards Martina and dropped into his stern voice. "Ms. Fierro is dong you a big favor by letting you serve your sentence through community service. I expect you to work as hard as you can for her." He paused and leaned close, narrowing his eyes. "And if you give her any trouble, or step even an inch out of line, I swear I'll be here in minutes to take you back to the county jail myself. Do you understand me?"

  "Yeah, sure thing, Clete," Ace said in exasperation. His father hated being called by his first name, so of course Ace couldn’t help but do it.

  His father didn’t rise to the bait, however. "Glad we understand each other." Clete put a hand on Ace's shoulder, squeezing awkwardly. "Well, I'll leave you to get oriented with the new job. I'll be round this evening to pick you up. Thanks again, Martina. I hope he is a real asset to you."

  With that, Clete turned and walked back towards his car. Even though the wind was blowing dust, not a speck seemed to stick to his uniform. Ace shook his head; his father had no concept of what it was like to break the rules and explore the wilder things in life. Even his clothing stayed perpetually clean, seemingly only by the force of the cop’s own iron willpower.

  Once the cop car disappeared from the lot, Ace and Martina were left standing closely. Alone. Neither would look at the other, and both chewed on their lip in anger. It was not an auspicious start.

  "Well, welcome to The Normanville Animal Sanctuary," Martina said at last, breaking their tense silence.

  Ace nodded, looking around to avoid having to stare into her stormy brown eyes. The property was shaped like a long, narrow rectangle, with a small house, shed and the parking lot at the front. As it stretched back away from the road, he could see rows and rows of various pens and shelters, all shaded by drooping trees. Ace hadn't ever been to the park, because his busy schedule of pissing off his dad and getting high with his friends took up most of his time, but it looked clean, inviting, and orderly.

  Basically, it had the mark of Martina-the-perfectionist-nerd all over it.

  “That’s cool I guess.” Ace shrugged nonchalantly. "So what do you want me to start off doing?"

  She spoke in clipped tones. "I'd like you to work on the fence that surrounds the property. It’s in terrible condition, and I’m afraid it’ll be completely ruined by winter. So, someone needs to walk the perimeter and replace the posts that have rotted, fill in the big holes the local dogs have dug under the chain, that sort of thing."

  "That sounds pretty boring. I’m not going to get to dance with wolves or something?"

  Martina straightened her back, reaching her full height. This still put her several inches below Ace, however, and he tried not to laugh at her tiny display of dominance. "This isn't a trip to the petting zoo, Ace.” The way she said his name sounded like a curse word. “To keep this park running, a whole lot of boring, tedious jobs need to get done. So until you've proven you can do those, I don't think you should go anywhere near the animals."

  What the hell does this girl think I am? A murderer? I got caught with some booze and pills in my car, it's not like I'm a danger to the world.

  Ace rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Fine, I'll put in the stupid fence. Where are your tools?"

  “In the shed. I’ll pack them up for you myself.”

  With a suspicious look, Martina led him over to the shed and loaded up the golf cart with new posts, wire, hand tools and a shovel. Then she drove Ace to the far side of the property and dropped him off with hardly a word said.

  He was tempted to point out that, for someone who wanted an assistant, she seemed to insist on doing everything herself. However, he didn’t want to get fired after twenty minutes on the job. So instead, Ace crossed his arms and glowered. He wasn't even being trusted to drive himself in the golf cart. What was he going to do, steal it? It went maybe fifteen miles per hour.

  I'll show her, Ace thought bitterly as he watched her slowly drive the cart back across the park after she’d practically shoved him out. I'll fix this fence so fast her head will spin. I won't have her lording her stupid perfectness over me. Anyone can dig some holes and stick some posts in, but I’m going to do it like it’s an art form. This is going to be so fucking easy.

  * * *

  "This is so fucking hard," Ace growled, throwing down the shovel in disgust.

  The sun was going down and he had more blisters on his hands than he could count. He had accidentally left his gloves in the golf cart before Martina had driven off in a huff, and he had been too proud to go ask for them. He wasn't going to show any weakness, not after Martina had acted like he was some crazy criminal or incompetent moron.

  He put his throbbing palms on his hips and looked at his handiwork. He had managed to replace nearly the entire fence along one complete side of the property. H
owever, it was the smaller northern side, and it had taken him hours. Once he hit the longer east or west boundaries, it'd probably take him two or three days per side.

  "This sucks."

  He heard the deep crunch of dirt behind him and knew Martina was coming to pick him up in the cart and drive him to the parking lot to wait for his father. He tensed his shoulders, not looking forward to the interaction.

  "Hey," Martina called as she pulled up. Cutting the engine, she sat waiting for Ace to turn around. "How'd it go?"

  Ace picked up his things slowly, taking his sweet time. Martina could wait a minute, for all he cared. Ace wasn't going to be her little servant boy, no matter what the court order said.

  "Ace?" Martina repeated, exasperation coming into her voice.

  Ace turned and smiled coldly at his boss. "It went exactly how digging holes in the heat usually goes. Terribly."

  Martina wasn't going to take the bait, however. Instead, she closely inspected his handiwork with a critical eye. "Holy crap, I see you've got this whole side done. That's really impressive. Good job." She said it like she meant it.

  Ace's mouth opened and closed several times while he tried to think of a response. She wasn’t joking with him or being sarcastic. When was the last time anyone had said he’d done anything right?

  Shit, probably not since Mom died…

  He shook his head, pushing the memory from his mind. Thinking about his mom would drive him to try and numb the pain, and the court was very clear that he had to keep passing drugs tests to avoid failing out of the work program.

  "Thanks," he said at last, beginning to load his supplies in the back of the cart.

  Once everything was packed, he finally looked up and found Martina giving him a searching look. It felt like the woman was reaching into his soul, and it made Ace's heart beat faster. Which was the last thing he wanted, considering how bleak his soul felt. No one needed to see the pain that dwelled within him.

  He tore his gaze away from Martina's and slunk around to the passenger seat. "Alright, I'm ready to head to the parking lot. Dad will be here soon to pick me up."

  Martina started the cart up and drove them silently back across the sanctuary. She didn't say anything more, or give any further compliments. Ace should have been relieved, but instead he only felt antsy. Part of him wanted her to continue to praise him – a feeling he hadn’t had since he was a child, and had still foolishly believed in goodness and doing the right thing.

  Being around Martina was messing with his head something terrible, and it was only the first day on the job.

  CHAPTER 4

  M artina watched the cop car pull away, then turned and made her way back toward the house. Her clothes were covered in crap from cleaning out animal pens all day, so she pulled off her shirt and pants on the front porch. There was no use in spreading manure around the living room.

  She then opened the door and marched straight to the bathroom, throwing her work clothes in the washer as she passed. She turned on the water, making sure it was piping hot, and climbed in. It had been a long day and she groaned from exhaustion as water ran down her back and legs. Dust and grime ran off of her in a satisfying dark brown river.

  Grabbing some shampoo off the shelf, she thought about Ace. How petulantly the jerk had stared Martina down any time she tried to give directions, and how he hadn't even said goodbye as he’d slouched to the car before heading home. He had been nothing but difficult and annoying. Exactly like she expected.

  Then Martina's mind wandered, quite sneakily, to how Ace had looked at the end of the day. Sweat and heat had made his shirt cling to every groove and ridge of muscle, and it had sent Martina's heart into her throat. How did someone even get that muscled? Martina had spent the last ten years trying to be anything but a slender-framed waif, but it was obviously a lost cause. Ace just effortlessly had the perfect jock physique — the type that drove Martina wild.

  "Too bad he has an asshole personality to go with that body," Martina muttered, leaning back her head to rinse the shampoo from her hair.

  Martina knew she shouldn't be thinking of Ace in that sort of way. Not just because the guy was a jerk, but because he was now her employee. Martina had worked too long and too hard at keeping her little dream afloat to risk it by having a crush on the first bad boy that came in on the rehabilitation program. She wasn’t that type of girl.

  So, to keep her mind off of Ace's muscles, she started thinking instead about the first time they had interacted. It was a painful memory – guaranteed to erase any budding feeling of lust from within her.

  It had been the first month of their high school junior year, during the final class period. Martina had been in the 4H building taking care of the horses. She had waited since middle school to be able to take the animal husbandry elective, a popular class due to the rural nature of the town, and was thoroughly enjoying herself. She was walking on air, petting all the lovely horses, and felt like nothing could keep her down.

  The barn was on the very edge of school property, behind the quarter-mile track. Ace had been running up and down said track, pushing his body to the limit and screaming in frustration. The noise was spooking the animals, so eventually Martina made her way outside to yell at him.

  "Dude, what's wrong? You sound like you are being murdered."

  Ace had pulled up short in front of the barn, panting and wheezing. They had seen each other around school, but had never really spoken. Now that they were finally up close, Martina had immediately been struck by how blue Ace's eyes were – they were like icicles. And his face was square, with such handsome angles; his jaw seemed locked perpetually into a position of defiance, and it added an edge of danger to his appearance.

  "Just trying to get my times down. I barely missed going to State last year," Ace had explained, swaggering over. "Best way to do that is to run until it hurts. You’re Martina, right?"

  "Yeah, that’s me. Sorry about you missing out on State." Martina's mouth was dry as Ace got closer, and she fumbled with her words. She’d long ago given up on attracting any guy’s attention, as she was the biggest nerd in school. However, her hormones were out of control now that she was just a few feet away from the stunning Ace. It made her want to flirt, to make him like her.

  "Meh. State is just another thing I've failed at," Ace said, sourness twisting his lips briefly before he shrugged it off. "Anyway, what are you doing in the barn?"

  "I'm brushing the horses and giving them some afternoon treats. It's not required for class, but I like to do it. They were getting antsy about your yelling though."

  Ace laughed, a deep sexy chuckle that made Martina's stomach lurch. "I'll try not to scare the wildlife."

  Ace stood directly in front of her now, so that she was looking straight up into his blue eyes. They weren't the color of ice anymore; they were a swirling cacophony of blues that reminded Martina of the ocean. She felt heat radiating between their bodies as they stood so close, and she wanted to reach out and touch Ace's hand, to feel his skin on her own. Ace was also leaning closer, and for a mad moment Martina had thought the jock had felt the same electric pull.

  "Hey Ace! Where are you?" came a booming drawl, breaking the quiet moment.

  Ace had jerked back, his eyes narrowed. He looked over his shoulder, where several of his friends stomped into sight through the open barn door. They were the beefy, mean guys who tended to make life difficult for Martina, and she was not happy to see them.

  "What are you doing over here?" the ugliest guy called, a frown making his face even sourer as he looked between Ace and Martina.

  A moment of silence passed, and then Ace had put his hands up and shoved Martina lightly away. "Ugh, this weirdo was hitting on me!"

  Everyone had laughed as Martina's cheeks turned a bright red. She knew she was rather plain, with crazy brown hair that she could never style right, and skinny, short legs. She’d never been asked to a school dance, or had anyone offer her a ride home. And apparently t
he idea that she could even want a boy to like her was so hilarious that several of the bullies were now crying in laughter.

  If she had been more charismatic, she might have shrugged it off and made a joke to save the situation. But Martina was never one to hide her feelings well, and all she had managed to do was make a small yelp of anger before turning and running further back into the barn. She’d hidden there with the horses the rest of the day, feeling like the world’s ugliest duckling.

  "And thus began Ace's relentless program of teasing," Martina said darkly, opening her eyes and finding herself back in the shower, older but still hurt. The pain of that day was fresher than she liked to admit. "Fuck Ace. I can't risk having any dirty thoughts about him. I know exactly where that ends up leading. Pain and disappointment and lots of low self-esteem."

  She slammed off the water and grabbed a towel to wrap around her body. She had had quite enough introspection for that day and wanted nothing more than a little quiet, mindless fun that evening.

  * * *

  Martina was camped out on the couch, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and one of the park's macaws sitting on the chair next to her. They were watching a cheesy horror movie, to mixed results. Martina was enjoying it because the blood kept her mind off of inappropriate sexy feelings towards certain bad boy jerks. Azul, the macaw, was busily screeching whenever the monster appeared on screen, however.

  Martina threw popcorn at the bird's head, hoping to quiet him down. He only screeched louder; she’d never known that the bird was such a scaredy-cat.

  Over the bird's yells, she heard someone knocking at the door. The park had a large gate that was locked at night, so she knew it must be a family member who had let themselves in with a key. Tossing a final piece of popcorn at Azul, she got to her feet and padded to the door.

  "Hello?"

  "Mar, it's me," came the soft, feminine voice of her sister, Concetta.