I met Lana Littlejohn at a meeting in Sacramento last week. She’s a wealthy woman in her own right and knows how to make savvy real estate deals.
Lana suggested we get together sometime, as she thinks we’d make good business partners and maybe compatible love interests. I laughed her off at first, but she’s kind of been pressing me into asking her out.
A lot of texting and emails have been going back and forth between us, so I finally said what the hell and asked her out.
But now that we’re out together and I can see the real her, I’m not so sure. She’s nowhere near as down home and nice as Jenna.
The waitress brought her a bottled water like she asked for and I thought for a minute there that she was going to toss it into the poor girl’s face when it was the wrong kind.
But she quickly calmed down and even apologized for her behavior. Though I do wonder if that was for my benefit and something that wouldn’t happen in the future once she got really comfortable with me.
It’s been three months since I’ve talked to Jenna. And she has another three months until she tells us what she’s decided.
She’s not spoken to Rod or me. Yet she talks to or texts our mother every day. Mom has been tight-lipped about what Jenna is doing. She did make mention of her having a date with the principal of the school she’s student teaching at.
No more was ever said about that, though. I guess it was a one-time thing, much the way it looks like this might be.
Long red nails inch over the tabletop toward my hand, which is resting on the stem of my wine glass. They gently scratch at my hand as she purrs, “Reed, what are you thinking about?”
How badly I wish it was Jenna sitting in that chair instead of you!
“Nothing.”
“You were a million miles away just then,” she says, and her nails continue to move over my hand.
I take notice that no sparks run through me with her touch. Jenna can look at my hand and it’ll tingle. When she touches it, electricity fills me.
“I’ve been working a lot lately. Just tired, I guess,” I offer for my attention problem.
I have immersed myself in work. It makes the time pass a lot faster. Late to bed, early to get up, has my days long and filled up.
“So, how is it a man of your good looks and money is alone, Reed?”
Because I fell in love with the same woman my brother did before me, and I’m giving her a chance to see which one of us she really wants, if either of us.
“The timing isn’t right for a woman in my life right now,” I say, instead of all that other stuff.
“Reed Manning has enough money to calm down a bit and make time for a woman in his life. As do I,” she says, then runs her hand up my arm as she scoots her chair closer. “And my bed has been cold and lonely for a little too long and needs heating up. If you know what I mean?”
Of course I know what she means!
“You just say what you want, huh?” I ask as I move back out of her reach, as her touch just isn’t doing a thing for me.
“I didn’t get to where I am by not going for what I want. And Reed Manning, I want you.” She sits back and puts one red nail on her lower lip, which is also red.
Her white teeth peek out between her plump lips as she smiles just a bit. I suppose she’s waiting for my response.
“Okay,” I say and look away, as I don’t know what the hell else to say to that.
“Okay? That means you accept my proposition? Me and you, a thing?” She leans in, and the top of her white shirt gapes open on purpose.
Her breasts are perfectly formed as they pour over the top of her white bra. And I think they’re too perfect. I look harder and know then they aren’t real.
My cock doesn’t move with the sight, and that’s a real eye opener for me. But Jenna has yet to get in touch with me and if she has news she is moving on to another man then I need a shoulder I can lean on when I get that news.
And Lana has nice shoulders!
“Do you like Chinese food, Reed?” she asks, as her hand runs over the top of my thigh.
Nothing! Not a single spark, and her hand is inches away from my dick!
“I do like it,” I tell her.
I don’t add the fact that my favorite Chinese restaurant is going to be catering a wedding for me in three months if Jenna picks me or Rod to marry. And if not, it will be a monster party for me and my brother to get the hell over her at.
I don’t think one giant party is going to do that for me, though!
Lana is a beautiful woman. She’s a little older than I am, at thirty, but she’s nice to look at. Her brown hair has some gold streaks in it. But they’re not natural like Jenna’s blonde hair, with its golden strands that occur naturally.
Her face is heavily made up, so I have no idea what she looks like under the thick layer. Jenna wears little to no make-up. Her creamy skin is perfectly tanned, and her cheeks are naturally pink tinged.
Jenna’s breasts are perfect. The left is slightly larger than the right, and the nipples can get erect really quickly. Sometimes with just a look from me.
My finger moves in a swirling motion on the tabletop as I think about running my hands over Jenna’s firm but squishy-in-the-right- places breasts.
“Reed?”
I look back at Lana. “Sorry, did you say something, Lana?”
“I did. I asked you about going to get Chinese food tomorrow in San Francisco. We can take my private helicopter. I love flying it.” She taps the top of her wine glass as she waits for me to answer.
“You know how to fly a helicopter?” I ask with a grin.
She nods. “ A trip in it along the California coastline tomorrow sounds like a great idea, and adding you into that plan sounds like an amazing day to me. How about you?”
“It does sound cool,” I admit.
“So?” she asks, as she stares at me.
I know this woman is not used to being turned down. But I’m feeling like this isn’t going anywhere anyway, and all I can think about is Jenna.
“I’ll let you know by tomorrow.”
She rolls her eyes. “I see. You know, Reed Manning, I never take no for an answer.”
My lips quirk up into a half smile. “Bet you don’t. But I don’t ever say yes to something until I think about it.”
Her lips form a tight line. I think she’s met her match and doesn’t like it too much. Then she smiles. “Reed Manning is a man of decisive actions, from what I’ve been told about you.”
Okay, this Reed Manning shit is getting old so damn fast!
“Lana, look, I don’t want you to feel like I’m wasting your time. I’m going to get right to the point here. If you’re looking for anything more than an occasional date, I’m not your guy,” I say, and watch her frown.
“Then why did you ask me out?” she asks with a snarl to her voice.
“Because you have texted me, instant messaged me, and called my phone a lot since we met at that meeting.” I watch her dark brown eyes grow large.
“Are you saying I was annoying you?” Her hand goes to her chest, and I can tell I’ve offended her.
“No. I’m saying I wasn’t up to dating, and your insistence on it may be bad timing. I think we have a lot of common interests. I like your idea of fun. I do. The timing is off, I think. That’s all.” I pick up my wine glass and suddenly feel like I need something much stronger.
I wave our waitress down and order a gin and tonic, to which Lana adds a Cosmopolitan.
Seems we both need something stronger than the wine!
“You have someone you’re pining after. I can see it in your eyes, Reed. But if this woman is daft enough to leave you hanging, I assure you, she’s not worth your time.”
The drinks arrive, and I take a nice long drink of mine. I hold up a finger, telling the waitress to bring me one more, and she leaves us to do that.
When I pull the glass from my lips, I say, “Lana, you don’t understand. I don’t care to discuss this with anyone. And I won’t. Because it involves too much information on a party who is not present, and it might hurt her if she ever found out I spilled her secrets. But the fact is, I am holding out for a certain woman.”
“Where is this dumb woman?” Lana takes a drink and places it back on the table. I can see she’s getting ready to make a case for me to move on.
“Working and taking the time I told her to take to figure out who it is she loves.” I find my leg shaking, as I hate having to discuss this with anyone.
“She loves more than just you, then?” she asks with a smirk. “Who would the other man be? My God, you’re the catch of the century! Who else could she be in love with?”
I shake my head, as there is no way I’m going to tell her that she loves my grease monkey, ass-whipping brother too.
Who the fuck would understand that?
“Lana, this has been great, but I’ve got to go. Maybe we can do this sometime later. I’m sorry about this. I just wasn’t ready. You’re a great girl.” I get up and walk away, leaving her at the table glaring after me.
I don’t look back. I keep walking until I’m out the door and catch the first cab I see.
The lights flash through the window as he drives me home and I call my mother to see how her day went. “Reed!” she answers.
“Hi, Mom. How are you this evening?”
“I got back home yesterday and I am loving it! I just got off the phone with Jenna to talk to you and was telling her how great it is to be in my own home after what seems like an eternity in the rehab facility.”
“How is she?” I ask, as I run my fingertips over the window and pretend it’s her face.
“She’s doing great over there in Tempe. They’ve offered her a teaching job there, and she’s still dating that principal,” she says.
I stop her. “Still?”
“Yes. She says he’s nice and has this ten-year plan to become the superintendent there. He sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders. I think he’s very good for her,” Mom says, and my heart is thumping hard in my chest.
“Oh.” That’s all I can say.
My head hurts; my heart hurts; my whole body hurts.
Mom’s voice goes soft. “You know, Reed, I think you and your brother are better off without her. Rod’s doing great. He’s just working and going home. Staying out of the bars and away from skanky women.”
“Glad to hear that.” I look out the window at the dark night and feel so alone. “I’m glad he’s doing well. I am, Mom.”
Wish I was …
“He’s calling me, Reed. Do you mind if I get off here?” she asks.
“No. Bye, Mom.”
I end the call, look at my phone, and wish like hell Jenna would fucking call me.
After five minutes of thinking that, I press the buttons that take me to Lana. “Hi,” she says.
“Lana, I think I’d like to tell you I’m sorry for my previous behavior.”
“Not a problem, Reed. I accept your apology. Why don’t you come to my place and we can talk some or do whatever you want to?”
“What’s your address, Lana? I think I need to crawl into someone else’s bed for a while,” I say, and feel very numb inside.
But knowing Jenna is dating someone Mom says is good for her has me very full of nothing. No hope, no feelings, and no more wanting to wait.
“Hand the phone to the cab driver, Reed,” she says.
I hand him the phone and sit back and close my eyes.
Will I be able to take it if Jenna has moved on?
Chapter 35
JENNA
Though I’ve told no one about the deadline Reed and Rod gave me, I am asking my mother about how Rod really seems to be doing, as Sue is always talking so positively about Reed and Rod that it’s hard it’s believe.
I have a month and a half to make my decision. My heart has hung on to Reed, but if his family is better off without me around then I’ll leave him alone. But I know Steven is not the guy for me.
I’m still dating him, but not even once a week do I go out with him. It’s mostly a thing at school. We eat lunch together, and all the other teachers leave him alone. I kind of think he’s hanging on to me just to keep the other single women away from him.
They seem to bother him, for some reason.
“I see Rod about once a week when we go into Prescott to get groceries,” Mom tells me.
“Do you talk to him?”
“Your father and I have on a couple of occasions. I know what Sue says, but she’s here in Jerome, and he’s off in that city. The fact is he still rides that motorcycle, and his beard is still long, and the man still looks like trouble.”
“How about Reed? Have you seen him around?” I ask.
“I saw the two of them with a boat one day a while back. Guess they were going on a fishing trip together. They seemed like they were getting along well.”
“That’s what Sue says too,” I say, as I drum my fingers on the countertop I’m leaning on in my little kitchen.
“Have you talked to Reed?” she asks.
“No. I haven’t talked to either of them. But I still have it bad for Reed, Mom. But if I’m that much of a problem for their family that I can break it all up, then I’ll leave him alone.” I turn and look out the dark window at the night sky.
“What about that new fella you’ve been seeing?” she asks, and I hear my father clearing his throat, which means he wants to talk to her about something.
“He’s not the one for me. But I hear Dad, so I’ll talk to you later.” I hang up and look at the phone long and hard, then call Rod.
“Hello,” he says as he answers.
“It’s Jenna,” I say.
“Hi!” I hear something clank and clang and some more racket, then a door shuts. “How are you?”
“Not real bad, not real good. How are you?” I ask, as I put my head in my hand and don’t know why I’m calling him when it’s Reed I want to talk to.
“I’m good, Jenna. Are you calling me to tell me you’re ready to give us a try before your deadline?”
I hesitate, then say, “No, Rod. That’s not why I’m calling you. I’m actually calling to find out how you’d really deal with things if I married Reed. I have to know if you would really do what you said and accept it or not.”
“Oh.” He’s dead silent, then I hear him open a beer. “I thought you were seeing some principal.”
“I’ve dated him some. So how would you take it if I went back to Reed?” I hold my breath for his answer.
“Didn’t Mom tell you, Jenna? Reed has another woman. She’s rich, like he is. She sells real estate like he does. She flies a helicopter, and they came to Jerome in it a couple of weeks ago. They took Mom and Dad on a ride. I thought Mom would tell you about that. I’m sorry to be the one to break that news to you, Jenna. I really am.”
My legs go weak, and I go in slow motion down to the floor where I lay out like I’ve just been shot. “He’s moved on?”
“Yeah, baby. I’m sorry.” I hear him take a drink of the beer. “But I’m still here waiting for you, baby.”
I can’t think. I can’t breathe.
He moved on …
“Baby?” I hear Rod say again.
“I’m here. Um, about you, Rod. I will always have love for you in my heart. I will. We were young and dumb and I forgive you for all we went through together. I do. Honestly. But Rod, I don’t love you like I did back then. It would be a short-lived thing if I came back to you. I don’t want to do that to you or your family. Not that Reed would care, obviously. But I don’t want to do that to you.” I roll over and hold my hand over my eyes to try to hold the tears which are burning the backs of my eyelids.
His voice cracks as he says, “Let me come visit, Jenna. Give me a shot.”
I lie on the floor and open my eyes and look up at the bright kitchen light with its naked bulb in the center and then close them again. “No.”
“Jenna, I really am sorry, and if you could give me a chance I could make it up to you. I know I could,” he says, and I can hear the tears in his deep voice.
“I’m not that girl, Rod. I’m so different now. I’m a kindergarten teacher, and I love that about myself. You drive old trucks and loud motorcycles, and that’s cool. But that’s not me. You can find a woman who likes the things you do. You should do that. I’m not going to have fun riding on your bike or going to bars with you. That’s not me.” I try to get up, but can’t, so I lie on the floor and let my body just give up.
“I can change,” he croaks out, and I know he’s crying pretty badly.
“Why would I even want that, Rod? You’re this dangerous cool guy and a real badass and women love you. Why would I want to make you into something you aren’t, just to please me? And if you did change, then how long would that last?”
A long sigh is all I hear before he says, “You’re right. I know you are. You were a Sunday school teacher when I met you. I wanted to change you then, and I tried so hard to. And for a little while, you and I met in the middle. But in the end, it wasn’t enough for either of us. When given the chance, you went back to the good woman you always were, and I went back to the life I yearn for.”
I let the tears flow then, as this is the first time he and I have ever been this real with one another. “Rod, you’re not a bad man. You like to live life on the edge, and you’re good at it. The things you like, even the sexual things, there are women who like that rough stuff too. Find yourself one of them. And I swear to you, I will only wish happiness for you.”
“You don’t hate me, Jenna?” he asks, and I really break down.
“Rod, did I hate you at any time? After anything you did to me, did I ever hate you?”
He waits for a long time. “No. No, you never did. But I have to know this. If you had still been single when I came back, would you have given me another shot? If there had never been Reed, would you have tried it again with me?”
I know that answer, as it was in my head long before I saw Reed that day at the grocery store in our hometown. “No, Rod. I wouldn’t have. I got myself back, and I was never going down that road again. No one will ever change me again. Not ever. That’s why I have no wish to change you, Rod. Be who you are. You’re a free spirit who loves to fuck hard, play hard, and ride hard. Fucking be that badass motherfucker, Rod!”
He laughs and so do I. “Jenna, you are phenomenal! Can I still call you my friend?”
“You sure as hell better! And I will always call you mine. I love your mean ass, Rod Manning! I always will.” The tears dry up, and I feel like Rod and I have put the past right where it belongs.
“I love you too, girl. You know what? I feel better than I ever have, Jenna. I really do. I’ve been beating myself up over what I did to you and now, since you’ve forgiven me, I can stop that shit and move on with my life. I do like to fuck hard!” He laughs like a wild man.
“That you do!” I laugh along with him. “And some woman is going to love that shit and beg you to spank her ass and you and her will fall madly in love and have those rugrats you wanted. And you better introduce me to that bad bitch when you find her contrary ass!”
His laugh goes up a few notches and mine goes right along with his. I feel free. Really free, for the first time since I can recall.
I take in a deep breath to regain my composure and feel very happy it’s from laughing and not crying. “So, are we good, Rod?”
“We’re good, Jenna. Love you, girl. I’m going out and shooting some pool and being okay with who the fuck I am. Thanks to you, I finally feel okay about that guy,” he says.
“Go! Have fun. Love you too, Rod. Bye.”
“Bye, Jenna.”
I hang up and laugh a little as I pull my ass off the kitchen floor and go to my bedroom.
As I fall on top of my bed, I think about the Manning boys moving on and I think it’s a good thing. Reed has found a woman much like himself, it sounds like. A good thing, I think.
Rod will definitely find a woman who loves him for the bad boy he is. And then there’s me.
Well, I could have this principal. He is interested in the things I am. I suppose he would make a great husband. He has his plans and one day will be a bigwig in the education industry here in Tempe.
I get up and pull my clothes off and get under the blankets naked. I haven’t done that since I moved here. But I like sleeping naked and I am. From now on.
So what if Steve thinks it’s unsanitary!
Who am I kidding? Steven Johnson is not the man for me.
I love Reed. I do. No matter if he’s moved on or not, it’s going to take me a while.
Taking my phone off the nightstand, I open the photo album and scroll through the pictures of him and me. There’s the one where we were coming back from visiting Catalina Island.
We’d made all the plans, and he paid the manager for the whole island for our wedding. We chartered twenty yachts to bring the guests out to the island for the occasion.
In the picture we have on the sunglasses he got us that match and we’re wearing matching white shorts and blue shirts, like a couple of sailors.
Man, we look so fucking cute!
Now tell me how it’s not us who are meant to be together! How is it that he found someone more compatible than we are?
We have magic between us. How did he find that with another woman as well?
It makes no sense. Or is the fact I didn’t stand up for our love the problem?
I walked away so easily. Too easily. It made him lose faith in me.
He must’ve lost faith that I would pick him in the end.
And now he’s moved on. And I’m alone.
How can I keep on going?
The time was right at hand that I was about to end this all and call Reed and tell him he’s the one I want. It really has always been him. From the first time he ever touched me, I knew he was the one.
And now I’ve blown it all. Waited too long.
My Reed is in another woman’s arms. A woman every bit his equal.
I’m just a kindergarten teacher with a limited income base. I’ll never be his equal in the earnings department.
I suppose he’s better off. They’ll be super rich and powerful, I guess.
And the Manning family will go back to their happy lives and I’ll …
Well, I’ll figure something out. But right now, it seems I have to cry, because the tears are pouring out and I’m helpless to stop them.
Why did I wait so fucking long?
Chapter 36
REED
Jenna’s deadline is one month to the date away and I’m back visiting my parents for the Easter weekend. Dad’s outside putting the meat on the pit, as they invited the usual crowd for the party this afternoon.
I keep hoping Jenna will walk through the door unexpectedly and make my world come alive again. This waiting is killing me.
I’ve ended up in Lana’s bed three times, and not one of them have been memorable. She’s just a semi-warm body to try to help me find some comfort at times when I get to feeling very low and lose hope that Jenna will return to me at the end of May.
Lying on the sofa in the living room has me sitting up as the front door flies open and in walks Rod with a woman on his arm. I stare at him, as I have no idea what the hell this means.
Is he out of the running for Jenna?
“Hey, little bro,” Rod says as he brings this new woman with long blonde hair toward me. “Meet Ashley. She’s my new old lady.”
I get up and extend my hand. “I’m Reed, Ashley. Nice to meet you.” My eyes move back to my brother and he looks very happy as he takes a drink from the tall brown bottle of beer in his hand.
Her eyes are blue, and her hair is blonde, and she’s roughly the same height as Jenna. But this young woman has an edge to her that Jenna doesn’t.
She looks straight into my eyes and seems to have little fear of new situations. Her tight leather clothes show she’s not very shy at all. “Nice to meet you too, Reed,” she says, then looks back at Rod. “So on to your parents then, baby?”
He nods, spins her around, and pops her ass as she walks in front of him and she makes a little growling sound. Rod looks back at me and winks.
I follow along behind them, as I have to see what the hell is going on with this man. Waiting patiently for him to introduce her to our parents, I pull him to the side as Mom takes Ashley off to show her around.
“Okay, what’s up?” I ask him.
He smiles. “Jenna and I talked a couple of weeks ago.”
I find myself very hurt that she’s talked to him and not me, and it hits me like a baseball bat to the stomach.
“And what did she say that has you with another woman?” I ask as I take a couple of steps back and sit in a chair by the pool so I don’t fall down.
“She said she didn’t want me to wait for her. She wasn’t coming back to me. But it’s all good. We ended on very good terms. She hasn’t called you, then?” He takes a drink of his beer.
I shake my head. “No.”
His lips go up on one side. “Maybe she’s serious about the principal. She told me she was dating him. Maybe she’s done with the Manning men for good.”
“Why wouldn’t she call me?” I ask myself.
Rod shrugs. “Maybe you two weren’t as close as you thought. You did only see each other for a few months, you know.”
“And we were engaged and inseparable for all but the first week of them.” I hold out my hand. “Beer me, please, bro. And does this mean you’ll accept things if she comes back to me?”
He frowns and pulls a beer out of the cooler and hands it to me. “I will. But Reed, I don’t see that happening. She would’ve called you, man. Don’t let it upset you. I mean, you got that new chick. That rich one. Why didn’t you bring her home for this, by the way?”
I take a long drink of the cold beer, then say, “I was hoping Jenna might show up. And I can’t really take too much time with Lana. She’s kind of overbearing and bossy and she can be a real bitch. You know how our family is. I could see her telling me we had to leave and go get somewhere nice to stay.”
“But you brought her home before. Mom told me you took them on a helicopter ride.” He kneels down to pet the puppy Dad bought Mom last week. “Hey there, Puddles.” The little wiener dog pees a bit as he pets him, hence the name.
“We didn’t stay. It was a quick trip in her helicopter, then we went right back to California. We were looking at a property in Arizona where me might want to join some other investors in a project. That’s the only reason I was with her. And when I told Mom I’d be in the area, she made us stop by.” I down the last of the beer. “So, you think Jenna is serious about this other man?”
“Well, she let me go and didn’t call you, so I’d say she must be,” he says, then stands back up. “Don’t let it get you down. There are more fish in the sea if that rich chick’s not the one for you either.”
I nod my head at the approaching new girl as she’s making her way to Rod. “Where’d you find her?”
“On the Internet. At Jenna’s prompting, I went searching for females who like the things I like, rather than trying to change anyone. I found that little beauty there and we are compatible in all ways.” She walks up to him and runs her arm around his waist, leans into him, then takes the beer out of his hand and takes a drink.
He just smiles at her. She bites her lip after she pulls the bottle down and says, “Oops, I forgot to ask, didn’t I?”
With a nod, he says, “You did. That’s three.”
She gives him a wicked smile. “Only three? I think that deserves five.”
He moans and pulls her to him. “Time to show you my old bedroom.”
She growls and they leave me, thankfully!
Mom kind of hops up to me as they leave. “What do you think of her?”
“They seem to get along well,” I answer.
“He’s told me some about her. I told him he’d better bring her today. It’s so good to see him moving on. And now if you could, I’d be really happy. What about the Lana woman? Boy, she’s got the hots for you. You’re kind of cold to her, but you should let her heat you up,” she says, and I think I might be blushing.
“Mom!”
“What? You should. She’s a lot like you, son. I think if you could forget about Jenna, you and Lana would make a great couple. What do they call it? A power couple! Yeah!” She claps her hands. “Oh, to see both of my sons with women who they love and love them is all I want.”
“Well, I can barely stand Lana, so she’s not going to be your daughter-in-law. When’s the last time you talked to Jenna?” I ask and get up and grab another beer out of the ice chest.
“It’s been about a week. Her calls have slowed down, I think because she’s moving on. And, Reed, I think it’s best she has. Your brother and you have gotten along so well with her out of the picture. I hope you don’t think about going and getting her,” she says, and the thought springs into my head that I do know where she lives and I could do just that.
Tempe is only a two hour drive from here!
“Mom, if she and I do get back together you will treat her right, won’t you?” I ask, then take a drink and watch her kind of squirm.
“Reed, you and your brother would start this fighting stuff up again and I would just hate it,” she says, then knots her hands together. “Just leave her alone, son. Please!”
“Rod and I won’t fight over her anymore. We made a deal. So if there’s no fighting in the family, would you accept it if she came back to me?” I look at her, as she seems very conflicted.
“But there would be fighting.”
I shake my head. “I think Rod’s found a woman much more fitting for him. And he and Jenna have talked, from what he told me, and it sounds like they have found their closure. We both know Jenna was never the woman for him. She’s an angel, and Rod’s a devil.”
Mom takes the chair next to mine and takes my beer away and downs the rest of it. She sits there for a moment before she says, “Look, I love that girl. I do. But life has been so peaceful since she left.” She looks at me really hard. “But there is something missing in you. I can see it. Just wait and see if she comes back to you on her own. You and your brother both took that girl over. She’s never had a shot at finding out if she likes something else other than being taken over. You know.”
I nod and know she’s right. “But if she does come back to me, you will accept that?”
“Reed, as long as it doesn’t disrupt what you and your brother have managed to regain, I will accept it.” She gets up and walks away, then looks back over her shoulder at me. “But please let her come to you. Let her make a decision for once, instead of a Manning going caveman on her and dragging her off with him.”
I give her a nod and a smile. “Okay, Mom.”
Caveman is not the way I want to go, anyway. But this waiting shit has to end.
If Rod’s out, then the family thing is no longer an issue. And I want Jenna to know that. I want her to know I still want her, and I’m not about to let her pick another man if she’s not head over heels in love with the guy.
What we have is real, and I’m not about to let her throw that away.
But how to get her to call me is a thing I need to work on. Showing up unannounced is kind of caveman.
***
The party progresses, and everyone goes home. It’s late. Very late. And I’ve yet to figure out how to approach Jenna.
The light out by the pool is nice and I unbutton my shirt and lie back on the lounge chair I’m sitting in. I take a nearly naughty selfie and send it to her using Mom’s phone.
I lifted it from her just before she went to bed. She didn’t even notice I took it.
So now I wait to see if she texts back.
An hour later there is still nothing. So I go inside, stopping to pick up a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels, and go to my bedroom. I leave Mom’s phone on the counter after deleting the picture of myself from it.
Pulling my clothes off, I climb into the bed and prop my head up on the pillows. Then I take a nice long tug from the bottle.
It burns as it goes down my throat. I find the pain good, in a way. It means I can still feel things.
She must be done with me too.
But why in the hell can she tell Rod she’s not interested in him any longer, but not me?
Chapter 37
JENNA
“Crap!” I say out loud as I see my phone ran out of charge sometime in the night.
I plug it in and go to get dressed. There’s a staff party this evening, and Steven wants me to go with him.
I’m not really feeling it, but it’s one of those things I do to keep the peace between him and me.
The phone rings and I look at it to find it’s Steven. I ignore the call.
I can’t deal with him yet!
One shower and a cup of coffee later, I go back to get my phone off the table by my bed and see a text message I missed from Sue. At three in the morning.
God! I hope everything’s all right!
With a swipe of my finger, I see there’s no emergency. There is Reed by the pool. His shirt is unbuttoned and he’s looking very sexy.
I fall back on the bed and gaze at him. His tight abs look even tighter than the last time I saw them.
His hair has grown just a bit, and his blue eyes sparkle in the pool’s lights. He’s devastating!
He must’ve taken this with his mother’s phone after she fell asleep. So I don’t bother replying to this text. Instead, I pull up his cell number and text, Looking good.
I wait and he doesn’t text back, so I call Steven back. “You called?”
“I did. I need you there by seven tonight. I’d pick you up, but I’ll be running late. I have some things I have to pick up for the party. Wear that green dress I like and put your hair in the side part thing I like so much. Your gold necklace with that cross will be good too. It’s Easter and all, and the cross works with that whole thing.” He stops talking just long enough for me to talk.
“And how was your night, Steven?”
“Oh, fine. I watched some television, then read until I fell asleep,” he says. “And wear those nude heels. I like the way your legs look in them.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll let you go and see you then.”
“Yes. Oh! One more thing. You told a joke at the last party and I didn’t like that. No jokes at this one. See you at seven sharp.” He hangs up, and I find myself fuming.
“No jokes! He’s a fucking joke!” I toss the phone on the bed and start to get off the bed, but it lights up and makes the buzzing sound it does when I have a text.
“It better not be another thing he needs to tell me how to do!”
But I see it’s Reed. Heard you were happy with a new man.
“Wonder who told him that?”
I text back, Heard you were happy with a new woman.
He texts back, Who told you that?
I text, Your brother and your mother.
He texts back, Funny, those are the same two who told me that about you.
I send, I’m glad you’re happy. Your whole family is a lot happier now that I’m not in the picture.
He sends, Not all of them
So I send back, What does that mean???
He texts, Don’t worry about it. Are you really happy???
Sue’s been doing so well. She’s made a full recovery from the tumor and there’s been no reoccurrence. She’s been so happy with how things are going. And she has not so gently told me about how compatible this new woman in Reed’s life is with him. How well they get along and how happy Reed is with her.
The phone buzzes again and I see he’s written, Are you afraid to tell me you’re happy, Jenna?
I think about it for a while and I know they’re all better off without me. So I send, Yes.
A little while goes by. Then he texts back, Okay, then. Have a nice life.
I quickly type in, You too. Then the tears start to fall.
I can’t breathe. My body aches. I think I might be dying.
I pick the phone back up to call him and think twice about it and put it down. He deserves better than me.
That woman is his equal. I’m sure she’s mentally strong too and I’m weak.
My phone rings and I can’t see who it is through all the tears. But I answer it anyway.
“One more thing,” Steven says. “No drinking tonight. I don’t want us to do any more drinking. I want to have the appearance of an up and coming couple who are about business and education. All work, no play. That kind of couple. A real educational power couple. And I want you to keep going to college until you get your doctorate. So get working on that. See you tonight.”
He ends the call without me saying a word.
Not one damn word!
The phone leaves my hand as I toss it away from me. I want no more of this thing with him.
He hasn’t asked me to marry him, but I saw pictures of engagement rings on his phone the other day. And now all this talk about the future and what I need to do to fit into his ten-year, mother-fucking plan.
Well, fuck that!
I’m done! Done with being led around like I don’t know what I want or am too stupid to know I can do more. I’m sick of it!
Reed never put me in a box. He never said, “Jenna, I want to have sex like this, so you need to learn to do it my way.” He never said, “Jenna, I want you to do this with the rest of your life, so go to school even longer so you can do what I want you to do.”
No, Reed told me I could do whatever I wanted. Anything or nothing. Whatever I wanted.
He let me love him the way I wanted to. He let me do the things that made me happy. He let me plan the wedding around what I liked.
And now he’s moved on to another woman. And I know in my heart it’s because I didn’t stand up and fight for what I wanted.
I rolled over and did what would make everyone else happy. Everyone else but me and Reed. I let him go, to keep the peace. I let him go because it was the easier road to take.
And now he found a woman who’s most likely willing to fight for him. The way I should’ve done.
I could’ve told Rod the same things I told him a couple of weeks ago, to get him to understand that I’ve grown and am not that person he loved. I could have told Rod those things that night, instead of kissing him to see if there was anything there.
Why did I do that?
Why did I allow other people to get between what Reed and I had?
What we had was real, honest, and pure. And I threw my hands up in the air and told myself it was for the good of his family.
So now what do I do?
I’m done with Steven. I won’t be his date tonight, and even though it will be uncomfortable working in the same school as he does, I will not quit my job and hide away as if I’ve done something wrong.
I will face the uncomfortable situation with my head held high and go on. Because shit happens, and it’s not always roses and wine. Sometimes it’s a pile of shit, and you have to step over it and go the fuck on!
The fact is I may have lost Reed. And he may have been the one for me. He may have been the only man who will ever make me feel electricity with his touch.
Reed Manning may have been the only slice of heaven I will ever have on this planet. But I will no longer let some man control my every move.
No joking around, Jenna! No drinking, Jenna!
Who does Steven Johnson think he is?
There’s going to be a new Jenna. One who knows what she wants, and when she finds it—if I ever find it again—she will hold on to it like her life depends on it.
And now I am done talking about myself in the third person because that seems a little crazy to me and I don’t want the new Jenna to be insane!
In an effort to face things head on, I throw on a dress and slip on a pair of flip flops, pull my hair into a ponytail, and get into my car.
I’m going to face Steven when I tell him we’re done.
Tucking tail and running isn’t a thing I’ll be doing anymore.
Steven is getting into his car as I pull into the driveway of the three bedroom brick home he has no immediate plans to fill with children because they aren’t in his life plan.
I pull in behind him and get out of the car. He doesn’t even bother to get out. He just rolls his window down. “Jenna, I need to go. Move your car.”
“This will only take a second, Steven,” I say as I lean in his window.
“Jenna, just do as I say. Whatever you have to say can wait until I get back. You can wait on the patio for me to get back, if you want. It should take me an hour to get what I need to done.”
He looks agitated that I’m still standing here instead of hauling ass to get out of his fucking way.
“I’m not waiting. We’re over, Steven. Done. K. I’ll let you go now.” I turn and walk back to my car.
I hear his car door open. “Jenna, wait!”
I shake my head, wag my finger behind me, and keep walking until I get to my car and slide into the driver’s seat. He stands there just looking at me. “Bye,” I say, and drive away.
My phone rings and it’s him. I ignore the call.
I’ve said all I have to say to him!
No amount of pleading is going to get me to change my mind and go back to being his Barbie doll that he dresses and tells how to act.
The fact that we’ve slept together a whopping three times, and never did I come close to climaxing and never did he care, sits forefront in my brain.
What an ass!
I feel weightless with this off my back. I can just be free. I don’t have to have a man just to fill some space in my life. I can just be me.
The fact is, the love I have for Reed has made me see that I should never settle for anything less than a love like that.
He may have moved on, but I think I’ll just kick back and relax and let myself live with the fact I have a heart that’s full of love for a man who totally deserves it.
He didn’t do a thing to make me stop, and I couldn’t if I tried. So why fight it?
I love a man who doesn’t love me anymore. Okay. I can handle that.
Pulling back into my parking spot at my apartment complex, I sit for a moment and let myself feel what it feels like to be a woman who is free but who also holds a ton of love in her heart.
It feels damn good. Whether it’s reciprocated or not, it’s there, and it feels great.
The first thing I do as I walk into my little apartment is go straight to my jewelry box and take out the ring Reed gave me. I slide it on my finger and look at it and feel happy.
Not sad at all. Reed made me happy once. He taught me how that feels. I can’t hate him for moving on. It was my fault.
But I can feel the way he showed me is possible. I can live my life the way I want.
From the day he talked to me about going to college and doing what I wanted, until the day he told me I could walk away from him if I wanted to see what I felt about Rod or anyone else for that matter, he has taught me a lot.
It’s not the job; it’s not the way you do things that matter. It’s how you feel about it. If you like it, do it. If you don’t, don’t!
I like wearing this ring. I like feeling the way I felt when I was with him. And I can if I want to.
Now to see how long this euphoria lasts!
Chapter 38
REED
I can’t stop staring at my phone. The last text from Jenna isn’t making sense to me.
I know that girl has not found another man who makes her feel the way I do. So I make a quick decision and look online and have flowers and candy sent to her address today.
Then I make damn sure Lana knows we have nothing going on, as she texted me a few times yesterday and I can’t have her thinking she and I are a thing.
So with a swipe of my finger I call her. “Reed! Miss me?”
“Lana, sorry. This isn’t one of those calls where I tell you I miss you and want you to join my family for Easter, sorry.”
“Oh, I see. What is this kind of call then?”
“This is the call where I tell you that you and I are not working out.”
She sighs. “Reed, that dumb girl isn’t coming back.”
“She might not be. But Lana, that girl taught me what true love felt like, and I’m done settling for Mrs. Right Now and not Mrs. Right. She may not take me back, but I’m sure as fuck going to try.”
“And what if she shoots you down?” she asks. “Do you think I’m the kind of woman who will take this from you, then, when you come crawling back after she tells you it’s over, welcome you with open arms?”
“I’m not going to be doing that. If she shoots me down, then I’m going to be thankful for what she’s shown me: how to love and be loved unequivocally. Sorry for wasting your time, Lana. I’m sure we’ll see each other around, and I don’t want things to be weird,” I tell her, then hear something breaking in the background.
“Damn it, Reed. Look, I get what I want!” she shrieks.
“So do I,” I say, with a very calm voice. “And I want Jenna Foster or no one right now. I’ll never be settling again. Not now that I know what real love feels like. Bye, Lana.”
There’s some cursing on her end, but I hang up without listening to anymore.
There was no love there. I was a thing Lana set her sights on. A nice bank account, a handsome face. But she had no real feelings for me. And I sure didn’t for her.
So that’s done, and now on to Operation Get Jenna Back.
A text comes in and I cross my fingers that it’s Jenna. But I see it’s from Lana. Reed Manning, we are through!!!
I laugh out loud. “Duh!”
Jenna or no Jenna, I’m through with faking it just to have a warm body around once in a while.
And I’m through with waiting around for Jenna to realize she’s hurting us both by taking this high road where she doesn’t cause any waves in the Manning family.
Pulling on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and my running shoes, I leave my bedroom and find my mother in the kitchen. “Hey, Mom. You feel like making some lasagna for dinner tonight?”
“It’s ten in the morning, Reed. I haven’t thought about dinner, son,” she says, then drinks her coffee.
I can see she’s slowly realizing what I’m about to do. Her eyebrows go up. “Reed!”
I kiss her forehead as she sits at the kitchen table. “Bye, Mom.”
“But Rod and his girlfriend are here. It’ll be Armageddon!” I hear her shout out.
But I keep on going. I know Rod won’t do a thing. Now Mom needs to see that too, and things will be fine and dandy.
As I slip behind the wheel of the rental car, I put my shades on and turn up the radio. I’m going to jam all the way to Tempe and pick up my girl!
JENNA
The doorbell rings and I get up off the sofa and peek through the peephole. I have no wish to see Steven.
It’s been about two hours since I ended things with him and he’s called several times and texted several messages, but I deleted them all without reading any of them.
All I see are flowers and then the face of a delivery man. “Miss Jenna Foster?”
I open the door. “Those are for me, huh?”
He nods and hands a huge bouquet of red roses to me and a big box of chocolates. Then he seems to be searching for something. He hisses, “Shit!”
“What?” I ask as I put the flowers and candy down on the table by the door.
“The card! Man, I lost it on the way up. I didn’t read who they were from. Sorry, ma’am.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I have a strong idea I know who sent them. I just broke up with this guy. They have to be from him, although, he’s never done a romantic thing before. Thanks.” I hand him a five-dollar bill for his trouble and shut the door.
And it hits me as I look at the flowers and the candy on the table.
Reed is in Jerome!
The text he sent last night was from his mother’s phone and he was at their pool. He’s there. A mere two hours away.
But that woman might be there too!
Oh, that would really start some shit if I showed up. And Sue is doing so well now.
Fuck it!
I spin around, go get my purse and car keys, and take off. I need to go to Reed and tell him how I feel and that I want to get married like we planned.
If I have to beat the hell out of some rich woman to get him back, then that’s what I have to do.
I’ll prove to him I do think he’s worth fighting for. It might have taken me a little while to realize it. But now that I do, anyone who is standing between us is in my way.
And heaven help anyone who does. Because I’m through being the quiet girl who gets out of everyone’s way and does only what makes everyone else happy.
Because the way Reed seemed on those texts told me he isn’t happy. And I’m not happy, so I need to fix things with him.
That man is mine. He knows it and I know. And I belong to him. Heart, body, and soul.
As I slide into the driver’s seat, I put on the shades Reed bought me that match his and I crank up the radio. I’m going to rock all the way back to Jerome and get my man back!
And I hope Sue can forgive me!
Chapter 39
REED
I take the stairs two at a time to get up to her apartment on the second floor. It’s number 212 and as I get to the top step, I see some man pounding on the door.
“Jenna, open up. I’m not going to let you do this to me!” he shouts.
“Hey, buddy!” I say as I come up behind him.
He turns around and looks at me. “Can I help you?”
I shake my head. “Nope. You seem to be looking for my fiancée, Jenna. What can I do for you?”
This guy is about three inches shorter than I am and he’s wearing a black J.C. Penny’s suit for some reason and smells like cheap cologne. He stammers as he looks at me, “Fiancée? I’m talking about Jenna Foster. She’s no one’s fiancée. She’s my girlfriend! Now who might you be?”
“I might be Santa Claus. Jenna Foster is my fiancée. So, why are you here?” I fold my arms across my chest, which is broader than his, and wait for his answer. But I’m pretty damn sure this is the grade school principal she was dating.
No way she’s in love with this douche!
“She and I had a misunderstanding earlier and I’m trying to get it straightened out before we go to a party this evening.” He turns and bangs on the door again. “And I have no idea who you are. Jenna has been here about five months or so and I’ve never even heard her talk about any man. Much less a fiancé.”
“Well, I am her fiancé, and I’m about to take her back to our Bel-Air mansion, so you may want to go ahead and cut on out of here, buddy,” I tell him as I take hold of his shoulder to stop his incessant pounding.
“Bel-Air mansion?” He shakes his head. “There’s no way we’re talking about the same woman. My Jenna is not that refined. There’s no way she ever lived in Bel-Air in a mansion. Not my Jenna.”
I shift my weight to the other foot. “Okay, let’s get this straight. I have a Jenna. This Jenna is mine. You, well, I don’t know what you think you had, but you never had her. Her heart has belonged to me for some time now. So, like I said, you should go. She’s most likely hiding in there until you leave, anyway.”
His brown eyes go big and he walks to the top of the steps and looks down them to the parking lot. “Hey, did you see a white Mercedes when you parked?”
I shake my head, then recall that I had one just like that sent to her.
She’s not here!
My cell phone rings and I pull it from my pocket and see Rod’s name on it. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I got your girl, Reed. Guess who came looking for you? It’s just like you wished for. She showed up at our front door,” he tells me.
“Fuck! Tell her to wait for me there. Don’t let her go anywhere. I’m at her apartment in Tempe. It’s going to take me a couple of hours to get back. Don’t let her leave, Rod! Promise me, please!” I haul ass past the guy who thinks he knows my girl and get into my car.
The guy comes at me, waving his arms and shouting, “Hey, did you find her?”
I nod and shout as I drive away. “She’s at my house. It’s over, dude. Whatever you had is done. Bye!” I spin out as I leave the parking lot and floor it to get back to Jerome.
She came for me!
JENNA
I tap my foot as Sue stands in the doorway. “Well, he’s not here, sweetheart. I’m sorry,” she tells me.
This is so not like Sue to leave me on the porch. “Look, I know Rod’s here. I see his bike right there. Ask him if he knows where Reed went. I came all the way from Tempe to see him, and Sue, I am going to see him. If that woman is here with him, I don’t care. I have to talk to him.”
“Well, it’s just that I don’t want any trouble, Jenna. Rod is here.” She looks back over her shoulder, then looks back at me then whispers, “Reed’s happy with that woman, Jenna. Just go on back to Tempe and have a great life, sweetheart.”
I tap my foot and watch Rod coming up behind his mother. “Hey, Mom. This isn’t like you, keeping Jenna on the porch instead of inviting her in.” He gently takes her by the shoulders and pulls her back inside. “Come in, Jenna. Please.”
I give him a nod. “Thank you, Rod. Do you have any idea where Reed might be? I’d like to find him before he goes back to California.”
“At this moment in time, I am not positive of my brother’s whereabouts. But what brings you by, Miss Foster?” He reaches out, takes my hand, pulls me inside, and takes me to the sofa. “Have a seat. Would you like a beer? You look a little tense.”
I nod. “One wouldn’t hurt. I am keyed up. But I can get it.”
He presses my shoulder so I have to sit down. “Nonsense. After all the beers you brought me, I can bring you a few. We can relax and talk until Reed makes it back here. He will be coming back. It may be a little while, but we can entertain you until then.”
He walks out of the living room and Sue just stares at me. “Jenna, what does bring you here? What do you want with Reed?”
“Sue, I love you. I really do. And your health means so much to me. But what I want to say to Reed is just between him and me. Okay?” I watch her eyes go big.
I’ve never talked to her this way before. I think she’s kind of freaking out. Then someone comes out of the hallway just as Rod comes back with four beers in his hands.
A woman with long blonde hair, wearing black leather pants and a white halter-top, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand as Rod stops next to her. He smiles at her. “You okay, baby?”
She nods and runs her hand over his cheek. “Are you?”
He nods and my head goes a little wiggly inside. Then he looks at me. “Jenna this is the woman you told me to look for. I found her on a website. And you were right. Finding someone who thinks like I do is working very nicely.”
The pretty blonde, who has the classic good girl looks with a very deep hint of badass, smiles at me and comes toward me with her hand extended. “I’m very happy to meet you, Jenna. Rod has told me all about you.”
I stand up and shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I can see you two get along pretty well so far. Your name is?”
“Oh! I’m Ashley. And thank you for what you told him about being himself and not trying to be anything less than the badass he is. I love this bad ass motherfucker.”
I laugh and look at him. “You did tell her everything, didn’t you, Rod?”
He nods and hands us each a beer. Then I sit down and Ashley sits next to me as Sue’s mouth hangs open.
Rod hands her a beer too and helps her sit in a chair. “Mom, you okay there?” he asks.
“Well, I didn’t think this is how things would go.” She takes a long drink as she looks at Rod as he comes back and sits next to his new girl.
Ashley looks at me and smiles. “So you pulled a switcheroo with brothers. I’d say you’re somewhat of a bad ass yourself!”
I blush and look away as Rod says, “She is. She’s just starting to figure it out, is all.”
Sue takes another drink then says, “Well, I may as well go ahead and say it. I’m sorry, Jenna. I thought this would be a fiasco. A total brawl. But it seems like it was you who told Rod to look for someone more fitting for him and you were right. These two balance each other out very nicely.”
Rod runs his arm around Ashely and she lays her head on his shoulder. “We do, don’t we?” he asks her.
Ashley nods. “We do, baby. We really do.”
She kisses him with a little peck on his lips and I see it in his eyes when she moves back.
He loves her!
And she looks like she loves him. My heart is pumping hard with how damn happy I am.
A tear falls down my cheek and Sue sees it. “Oh no! This is upsetting you. See! I knew it wouldn’t go as easy …”
I stop her. “Sue, no. That’s not it at all.” I wipe the tear away and look at Ashley. “I love this man. Not in the way that I want him. I want him to be happy. I always have. You make him happy. I love that.”
Ashley takes my hand and taps the top. “I know you love him. Thanks for your honesty, Jenna. I love him so much more than I knew was possible. And he loves you. We can all be one big happy family. Well, as soon as Reed gets here and fixes you guys up.”
“Thanks for understanding this craziness, Ashley. If Reed will have me back, then we will be one big happy family,” I say, and then the front door opens and there he stands.
“Jenna.”
I get up and walk to him as I hold up my hand with his ring on it. “Can I still be Mrs. Reed Manning?”
He nods, and then I’m wrapped in his arms. His lips touch my ear. “Angel, I’ve missed you!”
“I’ve missed you too. I don’t want to ever miss you again,” I whisper, because I’m crying like crazy.
His tall, muscular body feels so right as he holds me tight. Then he picks me up and carries me down the hallway to his bedroom.
Rod calls out, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
I hear Ashely add, “Which means go hog wild, ’cause this man will do anything!”
They laugh, and I hear Sue join in. “You crazy kids!”
I bury my face in Reed’s chest and take in a deep breath, taking him all in. He kicks his childhood bedroom door open and takes me inside.
My heart is pounding as he sits me down on the bed and says, “Strip!”
Has Rod taught Reed about punishments?
I trail soft circles with my finger over her naked stomach as Jenna lies back on my small childhood bed and gazes up at me as I lie next to her.
“You had me afraid you were about to teach me a lesson, Reed,” she says with a smile on her beautiful face. A face I have longed to see for months, too many months.
“I am about to,” I whisper in her ear.
A shiver runs through her. “Really?”
I nod and nuzzle her neck, then leave one kiss on it. I had her get undressed, and I did the same, then climbed into bed with her, our skin touching the others.
I craved this for what seems like so long. This simple thing of our skins touching. It makes me feel different. Whole.
Her scent has my mind filled with only thoughts of pleasing her in ways that will assure her this is where she belongs, in my arms, forever.
“I’m going to teach you that you and I belong together.” I move my hand down until I get to her sweet spot and she moans as I run my fingertip lightly over her clit.
“Reed.” She moans out my name, and her body shivers again. “I missed your touch so damn much. I’m so sorry I ever let you go. It was the stupidest thing I have ever done and as long as you want me, I will never make that mistake again.”
“Good.” I kiss her neck, then give it a little nip as her hand travels up my arm and halts on my bicep, where she gives it a squeeze. “Did you miss the guns?” I chuckle.
“I did.” She turns and looks at me as I lay by her side.
She puts one leg over me and I roll onto my back and pull her on top of me. She sits up, straddling me. Her moist heat is on my stomach, and her breasts rise and fall with every breath.
I take her left hand and kiss the ring I gave her. “So you really want to marry me, huh?”
She nods and runs her hands over my pecs. I run my hands up to take her pert breasts into them. She sighs as I do and licks her lips.
“I don’t know what came over me this morning. Something in my brain clicked into place and I knew I had to get to you. I was ready to fight everyone to do it too.”
“How un-Jenna-like,” I say as I move my hands around and cup her ass in them as I push her to me.
Her lips fall on mine for only a second, then she sits back up. “I hope you like this new Jenna. I’m done being the silent little thing who lets everyone else’s happiness get in the way of hers.”
“And mine,” I add, then push her back to me.
Her mouth lands on mine and this time I move my hands to hold her face and kiss her long and hard. Our mouths mingle like they never were apart.
As if a day hasn’t passed without us touching one another. But days have passed. Too many of them, and now that my body knows she’s here, it wants her very badly.
My cock grows with an ache to be inside her and I roll her over without letting our mouths part. She pulls her legs up, bending her knees, and I push my aching cock deep inside her.
Our moans fill the room, and I have no doubt anyone who might be walking by the bedroom door can hear us. But I just don’t care.
Immediately our breathing increases and so do our heartbeats. I pull my mouth away to let us both get some much-needed air. Her green eyes glisten with tears as she looks up at me and cups my face in her soft hands.
“I have dreamt of this. I never stopped loving you, Reed. Not for one second. Nothing feels the way you make me feel. I know without a doubt you and I are meant to be.”
I make a hard thrust and give her a smile. “We are, Jenna. We belong to each other. And very soon in name as well.”
The heel of her right foot grazes my calf as she runs her foot up my leg, sending a heat through me. “Faster,” she whispers.
I give her a hard thrust and do it over and over until she’s about to burst. But then I pull out of her and she frowns at me.
With a kiss to the tip of her nose, I flip her over, then pull her back until she’s on her hands and knees. Standing beside the bed, I’m at the perfect level to ram deep into her and she makes a terrific groan as I go back inside her.
“Reed!” She puts her head down on the bed and her ass goes up higher as I yank her back by her waist to meet every hard thrust I give her.
I slam into her over and over until I feel the slightest tremor inside her that tells me she’s about to climax. Then I pull out of her and she moans and falls to the bed.
“Reed, this is torture.”
“But the sweetest kind of torture, my angel.” I pick her up in my arms and take her to the wall and hold her hands up over her head. “Wrap your legs around me.”
She smiles as she pulls her legs up and wraps them around my waist. My cock slides into her again and the way her face glows lets me know it makes her extremely happy.
I slam into her over and over. Then I move her hands to wrap around my neck and kiss her as I press her body against the wall. Her tits smash under my hard pecs. Her stomach is soft against my tight abs.
Her legs start to shake, and I know she’s near again. This time, I let her.
She makes a high shriek and my mouth stifles what would be a very loud sound if we weren’t kissing. Her body convulses around mine and I have no choice but to climax right along with her.
I move back to the bed with her and nearly fall on it as our bodies fall apart together, hers milking every last drop it can from my cock which fills her up.
Our mouths part only a little as her hands run over my cheeks. “Reed, I love you. I love you so much. I’ll never stay a night away from you ever again. Not ever. I love you, I love you …”
Pulling back to look at her, I see tears streaming down her reddened cheeks. “Jenna, I love you. It might’ve been a tough bunch of months, but it served its purpose. I know you truly love me. I know you won’t be leaving me one day for something you thought you might have lost with my brother. I know you won’t be wondering if another man can make you feel like I do.”
She sniffles. “No one can make me feel like you do, Reed. I know that now.”
I kiss her cheek and find the salty tears on my lips, which I lick. “I love you, Jenna. I won’t ever let you get away from me again. Not ever. You’re stuck with me, girl.”
“I’m very glad to hear that.” She pulls my face back down to hers and kisses me sweetly.
And finally, our lives can really begin!
Epilogue
JENNA MANNING
“Maddie, have you seen Glen’s left shoe?” I shout toward the kitchen.
Reed smacks my ass as he comes up behind me. “Here you go, Mama. The always evasive shoe our son keeps hiding in a different place every time we go to leave anywhere.”
“After three boys, how did we get one who hates to leave the house?” I ask as I hold our one-year-old down and try to get him to let me get the shoe on.
Reed takes the shoe from me. “Here, you hold ol’ Wiggle Britches here, and let me stuff his chubby foot into his shoe.”
Out of the kitchen, and into the little den area off of it where we are, come our other kids: Tanner, who’s eight, Roland who’s five, and Panther, who’s three.
Yes, Reed got to name one of our four sons!
But that’s the last one he’s getting to name. And Panther is the only one who got his father’s dimpled chin.
Tanner shouts, because he apparently knows no other way to communicate, “Come on! Gee whiz! You have one kid to get dressed, Mom!”
I wipe the sweat off my brow from the struggle with our youngest and shoot a wicked look at our oldest child. “One kid? Tanner, this one kid is like three of them.”
With his shoe on and his brothers running through the room on their way to the front door, Glen busts out of my hold and follows as fast as he can after them.
Reed opens his arms and I fall into them. “Whew! And only three minutes behind schedule.”
He laughs. “You’re nearly on time, Jenna. Come on, I’ll give you guys a ride, then go to the office for a bit. Then I’ll go back to the school and pick you up for a nice lunch. How does that sound?”
His arm wraps around my shoulders as he leads me out to our Suburban. I lean into his firm body. “That sounds fantastic. Since I moved up to being a third-grade teacher, things have been rough.”
He nods as we get outside and I see the others have left Glen to try to climb into his car seat on his own. “Dang it, Tanner!” I shout. “Can’t you see your baby brother needs some help?”
“I tried to help him and he bit me!” he shouts back at me.
Panther lets out a loud growl. “And I’m the one named after a wild animal. You should switch our names!”
And just like that, Reed and I stop and look at each other. “Oh, no!” we say simultaneously. “Just like Rod!”
Reed opens the passenger car door for me. “Climb in. I’ll strap the little devil down.”
I get in and look back as Glen hits at his father and then lunges at him with a screeching sound. Roland is in the seat next to him and watches the scene with a little bit of horror in his expression.
Reed manages to get the baby strapped in and wipes the sweat off his forehead. “Shit, son!”
I remind him of the young ears in the car, “Reed, the kids.”
With a wink to me he says, “Sorry, boys.”
He closes the door and walks around to get in as Tanner says, “That’s okay, Mom. We’ve heard worse words.”
I shake my head and turn around as Reed gets into the driver’s seat. “Now how many more of these things did you say you wanted?” he asks with a grin.
With a smile, I answer, “I want a girl, Reed.”
He shakes his head and pulls away from our home, which many see as a mansion, but really is a home to us and our kids. No matter how fancy it may seem, it’s full of love and hopes, dreams, and lives that go on just like anyone else’s.
And I love this life we have!
REED
Of course, it has to be storming like crazy when Jenna goes into labor with our daughter. We had one more son after the notorious Glen, who is nearly the spitting image of my brother. And if Rod had been anywhere near my wife in the time frame she got pregnant, I’d have given that boy a DNA test.
As Rod had been in another state for the whole year, I had no choice but to accept the fact the little devil came from my own loins.
Two years after Glen came another son we named Patrick, after Jenna’s dad, who passed away that year. Her mother was invited to come live with us, but said she’d rather stay in the house she and her husband had lived in their entire marriage.
I bet it’s really because our house is kind of chaotic, with all the boys running wild, though!
I make my way to our bedroom where Jenna is walking around, trying to get through another contraction, it looks like, as she holds her back and stops to lean against a wall.
“She’s on her way, my angel. The midwife will be here as soon as she can. The weather is pretty awful.” I run my hands all over her back as she makes little panting sounds with her breathing.
The pain subsides, and she turns to me. “Reed, I don’t want to do this anymore. Can we stop after her?”
I laugh. “As if it was me who told you to keep having babies, Jenna. But if you want to hear it come out of my mouth, then here you go. Jenna, honey, can this be our last little bundle of joy?”
She nods. “Yes, it can. If that’s how you want it, darling.” She smiles, and I take her hand and lead her to the bed.
“You should get all comfy until your midwife gets here.”
The door flies open and in run the five boys, who all jump on the bed. Glen shrieks, “Baby?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I’ll bring her out to meet you guys as soon as she gets here. Now kiss your momma and let me get you back to your bedrooms. You all have school tomorrow, and it’s late.”
After exchanging a lot of I love yous and kisses and hugs, I manage to wrangle the boys back to bed at eleven p.m. When I get back to my wife, I see the midwife is drenched, but she has made it.
“Thank God! I was afraid I would have to deliver this one. She’s going to be our last, I’ve been told,” I say as I climb on the bed next to Jenna and hold her hand as she starts taking in deep breaths with another contraction.
The midwife checks Jenna and looks as us with a smile. “She’s at ten. She can push with the next one. I did cut it very close making here in time.”
Jenna looks at me with a red face and tears fall. “Reed, we’re about to meet our daughter. Our baby girl.”
I kiss the tears away and give her hand a little squeeze. “I know. Are you happy, Jenna?”
She nods. “More than I ever thought possible. Thank you, Reed. Thank you so much.”
I tweak her nose. “Thank you, Jenna. You’re the one who made this life we share possible. I love you more than you will ever know.”
“And I love you.” Jenna’s lips touch mine. Then they harden as she pulls back from me with a deep groan. “It’s time!”
We look back at the midwife, who’s wiping tears out of her eyes so she can see. “You two are so perfect for each other. It pulls at my heart. Okay.” She sniffles. “Let’s see what we have here. A head full of blonde hair, it seems.”
Jenna pushes, and her face goes really red. Then she stops and looks at me. “Wow! That was hard, and she’s not even out yet.”
I gently stroke her arm. “You’re doing so good, Mama.”
With another wave, Jenna goes red again and makes a loud grunting sound. Then I hear our daughter crying.
It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. “You did it, Angel.” I kiss her cheek, and she closes her eyes.
“We did it, Reed. You and me. Together, we made ourselves a family.” Her head leans against my shoulder as the midwife holds up our daughter and we gaze at her like she’s a precious work of art.
We did it!
ROD
My brother moved his family out to a place in Wyoming to get his kids out of the city and into the country. Seems his twelve-year-old son, Glen, was getting into trouble already, and they wanted to see if a change in environment might help him to straighten up.
When Jenna called and asked if I could bring my family to come see their new place and maybe see if there was anything I could say to Glen to get him on a better path, I had to come.
“Wow,” Ashley says as we turn into a driveway lined with giant trees. “This is gorgeous. I like it better than the mansion they had in Bel-Air.”
I roll down the windows and take in the fresh air. “You and I are going to take the bike out for a ride while we’re here. The kids can visit their cousins for a little while, so you and I can spend a little Mommy-Daddy time.”
Our two daughters in the backseat of the truck both groan. Miranda, our fifteen-year-old, whines, “The cousins!”
Her twelve-year-old sister, Hope, joins her. “Dad, do we have to? Can’t you take us with you?”
“No room. Sorry,” I say, and give Ashley’s hand a squeeze. “Your Aunt Jenna will probably take you girls shopping. That will be nice, won’t it?”
“I guess,” Miranda says. “But this isn’t Beverly Hills, Dad. It’s the middle of nowhere.”
I pull up in front of a monster-sized place that looks like a hotel instead of a home. The front door opens and there stand my brother and his wife.
My heart always does this little dance when I see my old flame. I love that girl still, but in a sister-in-law way now.
My legs are stiff as I climb out of the truck, followed by my family, and Jenna has me in a hug before I know it. “Rod! I’m so happy you came all this way.”
After exchanging hugs and hellos we go inside, and I see young Glen looking at me with eyes just like mine. The steel-blue in them glistens as he sees me.
That kid and I are cut from the same cloth, and he saunters his little twelve-year-old body up to me. “Hey, Uncle Rod! How’s it hanging?” He holds out his hand, and we do this little hand clasp thing I showed him.
Out of the corner of my eye I see Reed rolling his eyes. I chuckle. “It’s hanging, little man. I hear you like to take cars out on your own already.”
He shrugs and leans back against the wall, putting his foot up behind him. Jenna calls out to him, “Glen, what have I told you about putting your feet on the wall?”
With a smirk and a nod, he takes his foot down and puts his hands in his pockets. “The car was this guy’s mother’s. This guy hit my little brother, Pat. I told him if he ever did that again, he’d be sorry he did.”
“I see,” I say, as I lean up against the wall with him. “And how did his mother’s car help you make him sorry?”
“After I told him that, he ran to his mommy like a little snitch and told on me. She came up to me at the playground and griped me out. So then I needed to teach her not to ever talk to me like that. Two days later that guy hit Pat again at the same playground. So I went to her car and got in. She’d left the keys in it, another thing my taking her car was going to teach her not to do again.”
“Of course,” I say, as I listen to his logic.
“And I started the car and proceeded to chase the guy down with it. My parents didn’t see what I did as a good thing. Especially since it ended with me hitting the monkey bars, because the little chicken climbed up on them to get away from me. His fault, I thought.” He nods and looks at me for confirmation that he did all the right things and everyone else was wrong.
“You know, Glen, I was a lot like you when I was a kid.”
Jenna adds, “And a grown up.”
I glance sideways at her. “Okay, fair enough. Anyway, like I was saying, Glen, I was a lot like you when I was younger. I thought I needed to teach lessons. But what I found out is that’s not up to me. I just needed to live my life and let the lessons in other’s lives get taught to them in their own ways. Leave the punishing by the wayside. People get what they have coming to them in other ways. It wasn’t up to me. You’ll do better the quicker you figure that out.”
He nods then looks hard into my eyes. “So, you’re saying, if another guy hits my brother, let my brother deal with that?”
I nod. “Or your parents. It takes a load off your shoulders if you let someone else figure out what to do about something you think isn’t right. And just live your life. Saves you a ton of trouble, I assure you. Don’t try to change a person. Pick people to be in your life who are already like you or like the people you want to be around. And leave the punishing and teaching up to someone else. You get me?”
A smile moves over his face. “I got you, Uncle Rod.” He slams his fist against mine as I hold it up.
I run my hand over his little dirty blond head, the only kid they have with the same color hair I have. “Wanna go with me on a ride? I brought my Harley.”
“Will you teach me how to drive it?” he asks with a gleam in his eyes.
I see Jenna shaking her head and Reed nodding his. “Yeah, I’ll teach you how. Come on.”
And maybe I can help this kid not to be a screw up like I was!
JENNA
The stars in the Wyoming sky are a bit brighter than anywhere else I’ve ever lived in. Reed and I sit under a tree in our backyard and look up at them, as everyone else has gone to bed.
His lips touch the side of my head. “Maybe Rod’s being around Glen will change things.”
“I hope so.” I turn and take Reed’s mouth in a hungry kiss. “Want to make love to me under the stars?”
“Do you even have to ask that?” He pushes me back and I run my arms around his neck.
Next week is our twentieth wedding anniversary and, still, Reed’s touch sends me to another place in my head. A place where only he and I exist.
His mouth leaves mine as he looks down at me. “I love you, my angel.”
With a smile, I say, “I love you, my prince. And I always will.”
As he takes my mouth with his, I think to myself how lucky I am to have found the man who can make me feel so amazing, and I will never let him go for the rest of my life.
And we all lived happily ever after …
The End