Eighteen Months Later

 

Jenny glanced around the dining room, nerves fluttering in her stomach. At least, she was fairly certain the fluttering was simply nerves, given the time of day.

And she had plenty of reasons to be nervous. This was their first Thanksgiving dinner in the new house. The long table in the formal dining room was already set with the holiday-themed tablecloth and semi-formal china. The house was filled with the aromas of cooking food: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, sauerkraut—which she didn't really understand but Tyler insisted on it. The food was ready, warming in the oven.

Tyler was out back in the yard with Ethan Kincaid and Kenny Haskell, two of his teammates from the Banners. They were supposed to be deep-frying the turkey but the last time Jenny looked, the trio had been leaning against the deck railing, drinking beer and laughing about something.

Cindy and Lauren—Ethan's wife and Kenny's fiancé—were in the kitchen, organizing the overflowing platters of food.

The boxes she hadn't yet gotten around to unpacking were shoved against the wall of the empty formal living room. Why they needed a formal living room, Jenny wasn't sure. She still thought the house was too big, especially after living in a two-bedroom apartment. But it was in their price range and close to both the Banners' practice arena and the main arena where the team played. And Tyler had wanted it, telling her it gave their small family room to grow.

He had no idea.

Yes, everything was as ready as it was going to be. Jenny was just waiting on the last two guests.

She glanced at her watch. Shouldn't they be here already? No, it was early still. And they were coming from York, well over an hour away. There was still plenty of time for them to show up.

Maybe.

Or maybe they wouldn't show up. Maybe Megan hadn't been able to convince Jason to come today.

Jenny had to stop thinking like that. Megan would come through—she'd promised, after all. She had just as much at stake as Jenny did.

And both women were tired of the feud. It had been going on for too long. It was time—past time—for it to end.

But they were both taking a chance and they knew it. That's why this was a small gathering. Cindy and Lauren were familiar with the feud—so were Ethan and Kenny. Having them here would act as a buffer. And if things got out of hand—

No. They wouldn't get out of hand. Maybe Jason and Tyler were still feuding, but they'd at least been civil to each other on those rare occasions they were together.

Which wasn't often, especially since Tyler was now playing for the Banners.

And if you could call angry silence and menacing glares civil.

Jenny jumped when the doorbell rang. She pressed the palm of one hand flat against her belly and glanced at her watch again. Right on time.

Muttering a quick prayer that they were doing the right thing, that this crazy plan wouldn't backfire on them, Jenny rushed to the door and threw it open. The smile faltered on her face, but only for a second. No, Jason didn't look happy at all. Fair enough, because Tyler would probably be livid when he realized they had two surprise guests.

Jenny ignored her brother and leaned forward to accept Megan's hug. The other woman was just as nervous as she was, Jenny could tell from the slight trembling in her arms.

They separated, exchanged a shared look of encouragement—and worry.

Well, it was too late to back out now.

"Ignore the boxes in here. I still haven't gotten around to completely unpacking." Jenny led them past the formal living room and into the large kitchen for introductions. "Cindy, Lauren, this is my brother Jason and his wife, Megan."

Niceties were exchanged, followed by meaningless small talk. Jenny watched as her brother glanced out the patio door, saw the way his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed. She shot him a warning look then busied herself with taking food from the oven.

She heard the patio door open, felt Tyler's eyes on her. "Jenny, I think the turkey—"

His words died, the temperature in the room dropping several degrees. Not because of the open door or the weather—it was mild outside. No, it was because he'd seen Jason.

Jenny removed a baking dish from the oven and placed it on the counter, taking a deep breath to calm her racing nerves. This would either work—

Or it wouldn't.

She pasted a huge smile on her face and turned around. Doubt filled her as soon as she saw Tyler's face. She had expected confusion. Maybe even a little anger or hurt. She hadn't expected the fury that flashed in his eyes when he looked at her.

He blinked it away, glanced at Jason, then turned back to her. "What's going on, Jenny?"

This was it, the moment of truth.

Cindy and Lauren squeezed past Tyler on their way outside, each of them offering her small smiles of encouragement before sliding the door closed. And then it was just the four of them: Jason and Megan, her and Tyler.

She exchanged a silent look with Megan, who nodded. Now or never.

"This has been going on long enough. Both of you need to stop."

Jason crossed his arms in front of him, the muscle ticking in his jaw as he glared at Tyler. Her husband had a similar expression on his face, but he didn't waste time in a staring contest with Jason. He moved across the room, his body tense as he pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He twisted the cap off the bottle, took a long swallow, then turned to her.

"There's nothing to get over. You know that."

"You're being ridiculous." Jenny moved to stand next to Megan and linked their arms together—a united front against two stubborn men.

Megan nodded. "Both of you are."

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but it's not going to work."

Jason pushed away from the island counter, his hand reaching for Megan's. "Come on, we're leaving."

"No." Jenny shook her head and repeated the word, her voice more forceful. "No. This has to stop. You two have taken this whole thing entirely too far."

"Jenny—"

"Megan—"

The two men stopped, glared at each other again.

Megan's eyes narrowed at the two men. "Oh my God, this is ridiculous. Look at you!"

"You're taking testosterone poisoning to a whole new level!"

"Dammit, Jenny, this isn't funny. You expect me to just forget? After everything he said to you? After what he did?"

"What I did?" Jason took a step toward Tyler, anger coloring his face. "What about what you did? Sneaking behind my back and—"

"Enough! Both of you. Just—stop." Jenny's outburst surprised both of them into silence. Her stomach twisted, threatening to turn inside out. No, please no. Not now. It was the wrong time of day, she wouldn't allow it to happen.

She pressed her hand against her stomach again and swallowed, trying to control her traitorous body. One deep breath, then another, until her stomach finally settled. Megan squeezed her hand and nodded, silently telling Jenny it was time.

This would work...or it wouldn't.

Jenny took one last deep breath, her gaze moving between the two stubborn men she loved—even if she did want to smack their heads together.

"You need to stop. Both of you."

"Jenny—"

She shook her head, interrupting both men. Her hand gripped Megan's tighter as the words spilled from her mouth. "We want our kids to grow up together."

Silence descended on the kitchen. Absolute shocked silence. She watched Tyler's face, saw the way his complexion paled, saw the way his grip on the bottle tightened and the way his knees started to buckle. Oh my God, he was going to faint. He was going to fall flat on the floor and there was nothing she could do, she couldn't reach him in time—

She didn't have to because Jason was beside him, holding him steady. Or maybe Tyler was holding Jason steady, because her brother looked like he might hit the floor, too.

"Wh-what?" Jason croaked the word, his pale eyes filled with disbelief as he stared at Megan.

"Both of you?" Tyler's words sounded like they'd been forced from a raw throat, hoarse and scratchy.

Megan and Jenny shared another quick look then turned back to the men, nodding at the same time.

"Yes. Both of us."

"But...how?"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "It's not like we planned it."

"Yeah. It just sort of worked out that way."

The kitchen erupted in loud noises. Jenny didn't understand them at first, was worried that their plan to tell Tyler and Jason together had backfired and the men were suddenly yelling at each other, ready to come to blows once more. But these weren't yells of anger—they were whoops of joy. Jenny felt herself being pulled away from Megan, felt herself being picked up and spun around. Strong arms held her close, steadying her as Tyler placed her back on her feet and kissed her.

Warm, gentle. Full of promise.

She pulled back and gazed into his eyes, felt Tyler's love wash over her. His arms tightened around her and he glanced over her shoulder, anger and tension replaced by something else as he stared at her brother.

Jenny held her breath, waiting as silence settled over the kitchen once more. Then Tyler's mouth curled in a crooked grin, the left side slightly lower as a dimple appeared. He reached out with his right hand, extending it toward her brother.

Jenny held her breath, waiting, watching as her brother stared at her husband—

And breathed a sigh of relief when he finally accepted Tyler's hand.

Maybe things weren't completely settled between them, but it was a start. The rest would come eventually, Jenny was certain of it.

Tyler spun her around again, then kissed her once more, pulling back with a grin.

"I just realized where bad ideas lead."

"Huh?"

"I just realized where bad ideas lead." He repeated the words, his grin growing wider.

Jenny frowned, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "Where?"

"To heaven."

She opened her mouth to ask him what he meant, then decided it didn't matter, not when his mouth closed over hers once more.

Full of warmth. Full of promise.

Full of the only thing that mattered: a future filled with love.

 

 

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