by Jamilia Fair
I roll my eyes and squeeze Brooke’s hand. “I really hope the two of you are right. I don’t know what I would do if I lost him, Jacob, or Melissa.” I lean back on the couch and sigh.
“Speaking of Jacob and Melissa, how are things with them? How are they holding up after everything that’s happened?” Barb questions.
“They’re doing as good as what can be expected after losing their mother.” I look at her. “Melissa and I are getting closer, and Jacob really seems to like me.”
“How do they feel about Jeremiah?” Brooke asks.
“Well, Jacob loves him. He tries to spend his every waking moment with him. He wants to be just like his father,” I laugh. “Melissa, on the other hand… she’s not there yet. I mean, things are a lot better than they were a couple of months ago, but she’s still having a tough time trusting him. Though, the other day, the two went out together and came back, I don’t know, happy.”
“Maybe she realizes Jeremiah isn’t as bad as she thought he was,” says Brooke.
“Or maybe the two were bonding over a special moment,” Barb says with a suspicious smile.
“Okay, what’s that supposed to mean? Do you know something I don’t?” I ask.
She smiles. “There are a lot of things that I know, Tabs, that you don’t know. So, technically, yes, there is.”
Brooke laughs.
“You know what I meant, smartass,” I groan.
“Look, all I am saying is, maybe Jeremiah and Melissa are having their own way of bonding that you don’t know about,” Barb says.
“I think they’re hiding something from me,” I admit.
“Hiding something?” Brooke shares a look with Barb then looks at me. “Like what?”
I eye the two for a moment. They, too, are hiding something. Hell, even my parents are hiding something. These last couple of days, everyone has been acting weird, secretive, like they’re fighting to keep something from getting out. Every time I go to the diner, my father is there, which is so unlike him, and he and my mother are always staring at me and smiling. Whenever I ask them what’s going on, they change the subject, just like Barb and Brooke.
“Okay, what’s going on?” I ask.
“What do you mean?” Barb questions.
“The two of you, along with Mom and Dad, have been acting weird with me. You’re acting as if you know something I don’t.” I glare at Barb as she opens her mouth. “You know what I mean.”
She closes her mouth.
“Tabitha, there is nothing to tell. Just calm down and relax. Nothing is going on,” says Brooke.
“Yes, there is, and I will find out what,” I say just as my phone goes off.
“You better get that,” says Barb.
Rolling my eyes, I push to my feet and cross the room toward the house phone. “Hello?”
“Tabitha, hey. It’s Amber.”
“Hey, Amber. How’re you and the family?”
“We’re good. Hey, I was wondering if you, Barb, and Brooke wanted to come over for dinner,” she says. “I’ve already invited your parents.”
“Um, sure. We’d love to.”
“Great!” she cheers.
“We will be there in twenty minutes,” I say.
“Alright. We will see you in twenty minutes,” she says before hanging up.
“Where are we going in twenty minutes?” Barb questions.
I turn to look at them both. “Amber invited us to dinner. She even invited my parents.”
Their eyes widen before full, wide smiles spreads across their lips. “So, everyone is meeting up at Amber’s?” Barb questions.
I nod.
“This is going to be a night to remember,” Brooke says.
I want to ask her what she means but decide against it.
“Let’s just get ready.”
***
The heady aroma of pot roast mixed with roasted peppers, onions, potatoes, and carrots hits me the moment I step into the kitchen. I close my eyes and take a big breath through my nose and let the rich aroma fill me up.
“Amber, honey, please tell me the food is ready,” I hear myself say.
I hear her chuckle. “It just needs another twenty minutes before we can all dig in.”
Opening my eyes, I am met with a pair of piercing green eyes and a wide yet nervous smile.
“Hey,” Jeremiah says, leaning forward to kiss my lips. “You look amazing, as always.”
I quickly look him over and smile. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
He looks relaxed in a pair of dark jeans, a red button-down, and his hair just as curly as before. I just love his hair. I don’t think I’ve ever been so obsessed with someone’s hair as much as I am with his. It’s just so damn dark, curly, and soft.
“Oh, sweetie, you look so beautiful,” my mother says.
I smile at her and my father. “As do you and Dad.” I embrace them both. “You two still have it.”
They laugh. “That we do,” says my father.
“So, Tabitha, how are things with you and my little brother?” Jason questions, moving to his wife’s side and wrapping an arm around her middle, pulling her into his side.
I smile. “Things are great, Jase.” I tilt my head back to look up at Jeremiah. “I’ve never been so happy in my life.”
Jeremiah smiles down at me then dips his head to kiss me. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I smile into the kiss.
“Aww. Aren’t they just adorable?” I hear my mother say.
Jeremiah chuckles and draws back. With a serious yet nervous look, he reaches down and takes my hands. “Can I talk to you, alone, please?”
I raise a brow. “Is everything alright?”
He nods and cups my face. “Everything is perfect. I just need to talk to you before we sit down for dinner.”
“Alright.”
He takes my hand and guides me down the hall, through the kitchen, and through the backdoor. Looking up, I see a beautiful Willow tree right in the middle of Amber and Jason’s backyard. Despite it being dark out, I can see the rich shade of green on the leaves and the dark shade of brown and gray on the bark. The way the moon bounces off it gives it a luminous glow.
He stops us right in front of the tree and just stares at me.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
He shakes his head and smiles. “You’re just so damn beautiful in this moonlight.”
I chuckle and tilt my head back to look up at the sky. The moon seems bigger and brighter, as do the stars, and closer than usual.
“Shit.”
I look down to see Jeremiah bending down to pick something up. “What’s wrong?”
He cranes his neck to look up at me then stands tall, fisting something in his hand.
“Nothing.”
“What is that?” I ask.
He looks at his hand then me. I watch him take a deep breath before lifting his closed hand up to me then opening it, revealing a small black box. My breath gets stuck in my throat as I stare at what’s in his hand. It can’t be. Only two things can fit in such a small box: a small pair of diamond earrings or … a ring.
I involuntarily take a step back.
“Jer—”
“I love you. I love the mother that you are to Jacob and Melissa. I love how you refuse to be anyone but yourself. And I love how you are still, and will forever remain, the most beautiful woman in the world.” He steps closer and takes a big breath. “You have changed the way I think about love.”
Swallowing, I step closer and take his hands in mine. “Jer, if you’re proposing because my parents or anyone else thinks you should, you don’t have to do this. You don’t have to marry me to prove to me you love me.”
“The day we met, I was supposed to meet someone for lunch.”
I tilt my head to the side. “What?”
“Someone Jason knew—a friend or colleague. Anyway, I canceled it.”
“Why?”
“Becau
se I met you,” he says, taking my hands in his large ones. “I’d already met the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with.”
“Do you ever wonder—”.
He shakes his head. “Not once,” he says softly. “You and our family are all that I need. All I want is to be the man who makes you smile, laugh, and scream. I want to be the man who makes you happy.”
I choke back tears as he gets down on one knee.
“You’re not just the woman I fell in love with, Tabitha Davenport. You are my present, my future, my everything.” He opens the small box. “Will you save the lives of other men by doing me the honor of becoming my wife?”
I laugh through the tears, all the while, shaking my head. “Every day, I fall a little bit more in love with you, Jeremiah Keegan.”
He stares up at me with hopeful eyes.
“Is that a yes?”
I nod. “Yes. I will marry you.”
He quickly removes the ring from the box and slips that monster onto my finger. I’m only able to admire it for a few seconds before I am swept off my feet and spun around. I feel weightless. His lips are all over my face and neck before they finally land on my lips, kissing me deeply. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back with just as much passion. The world is lost to me until I hear voices screaming and cheering, and Jeremiah quickly pulls away.
“I wasn’t done with you.”
He smiles. “We’ll finish later. I promise.”
“You better, Mr. Keegan.”
Past
Tabitha
(9)
“I still can’t believe the three of you kept Jeremiah’s proposal from me,” I laugh, leaning over the table. “You know how much I don’t like surprises.”
Amber and Brooke laugh. I’m very tempted to reach across the table and backhand all of them, but I keep my hands to myself. No need to cause a scene in Mom’s diner, even though I really, really want to.
“What kind of friends would we have been if we told you Jeremiah was planning to propose?” Brooke questions.
“Um, I don’t know, good ones,” I say.
“Jeremiah would have killed us,” Amber adds. “That man is crazy about you, and had we said anything, we would all be hanging over his fireplace with our tongues cut out.”
“Well, okay then, Dark Vader,” Brooke laughs. “Way to make it dark.”
Amber rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean,” she says.
“Yeah, definitely. Our best friend is getting married to a psycho,” says Brooke.
I shake my head. “The three of you are in serious need of psychological help. It’s only been five days since he’s proposed, and already, you’re diagnosing him as a psychopath.”
Brooke shrugs. “I know my stuff,” she says. “Anyway, enough about that. How does it feel being engaged?” Brooke questions with a huge smile.
A huge smile spreads across my lips. “Great. I don’t know why, but knowing he’s going to be my husband makes him so much sexier,” I admit. “I constantly want to jump him.”
They laugh.
“I know how you feel. When I got engaged to Jason, I couldn’t keep my hands off him,” Amber says. “I think it’s because you don’t have to feel guilty about doing certain things in public. Or at least that was my reason.”
“Look, I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but—” Brooke looks at me, “—has Jeremiah found out anything about the son of a bitch who poisoned you?”
I take a big breath. “All he knows is that it’s a woman. The kid who delivered the balloons and latte said a sexy woman with dark hair paid him to deliver everything to my desk.”
“So, some bitch is trying to kill you?” Brooke hisses. “Bitch must be jealous of you.”
“What makes you say that?” Amber questions.
“What other reason does a woman go to such extremes other than to protect their family?” Brooke questions.
“Okay, but I don’t know anyone I’ve pissed off so badly that would want to kill me,” I state, looking at each of them. “I have no enemies as far as I am concerned.”
“Looks like you’ve got yourself one crazy bitch on your trail,” Amber says.
I take a deep breath and sit back against the leather booth. “Looks like it. I just hope Jer finds her before she does something even crazier than before.”
“That bitch better hope I don’t find out who she is first,” Brooke says with a glare. “Not even God or Lucifer will be able to keep me from ripping her a new asshole.”
Shaking my head, I gather up my things. “I would love to stay and chat about this a little longer, but I have to get home. I have to get dinner started before Jeremiah and the kids make it home.”
“Mind if Barb and I come over?” Brooke questions. “Amber’s house is going to be full already with her parents and Jason’s parents coming over.”
I nod. “Of course. I’ll make sure and leave the door unlocked for you.”
I lean down and kiss them both on the cheek. “Be careful,” Amber says.
“Always.”
***
Ever since I ate dinner at Amber’s the other night, I’ve been craving pot roast. Pot roast served with corn and green beans and mashed potatoes with a two-layered red velvet cake with a vanilla sauce for dessert. I honestly have no idea where the red velvet cake with a vanilla sauce topping came from, but boy, does it sound amazing.
But first, I need a shower. I smell like outside.
Dropping my coat off into a nearby chair, I quickly walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower. Once the water is hot enough, I walk out into our bedroom and set myself out a towel, washcloth, and a change of clothes before quickly removing my clothes. Taking a deep breath, I make my way into the bathroom and into the shower, sighing in relief the moment the hot water hits my skin. The tension in my neck and back instantly melts away as the water hits me and runs down my body.
“Damn. That feels so good.”
I step further under the showerhead to wash my hair. My hair isn’t due for another washing for another week, but I love how curly it gets whenever I get it wet. They curl up like springs in a mattress. A weird comparison, I know, but it’s true.
After a ten-minute shower, I step out and grab a towel and wrap myself in it before walking to the steamed mirror. I go to wipe at the mirror, but the sound of something falling in the next room catches my attention.
“Jeremiah, is that you?”
No one says anything, so being the woman I am, I walk out of the bathroom to check it out. I look around and notice that a picture of Jeremiah and I and the kids has been knocked over by our bed.
“What the hell.” I go and pick it up.
“Wow. You’re sexy as hell,” says an unfamiliar voice from behind. “She never told me how sexy you were.”
Without hesitation, I take off toward the door, but the unknown man wraps his arms around my waist and yanks me back into them. I feel their lips against my neck then their tongue. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
“Let go of me!” I throw my arm back, elbowing him in the jaw. He drops to the floor, and I quickly make another run for the door.
“You stupid bitch!” he growls.
Right before I reach the stairs, he’s grabbing my hair and yanking on it, dragging me back into the room and slamming the door behind himself. By now, my towel has fallen off, and I’m using my hands and arms to cover myself.
“I can see why she hates you. You’re fucking sexy,” he laughs.
“She? Who the hell are you, and why are you here?”
He stares down at me, looking me over, before meeting my gaze and smiling through the black ski mask. “She sent me here to have some fun with you.”
I slowly push to my feet, making sure to keep myself covered, and walk backward, toward the closet door. He crosses the room and grabs me roughly before throwing me onto the bed. I roll onto my back and start kicking and throwing punches and screaming. He tries to pin me down, but
I don’t stop kicking and punching. I hit my attacker wherever I can and punch whatever I can. I pull my knees up to my chest and try and use them to push him off me, but he doesn’t move; he just drops all his weight on me, pinning my thighs to my chest. I grab his face and rip off his mask before digging my fingers into his eyes.
He screams, “You bitch!” He backhands me. I ignore the pain and continue to fight.
“You’re a feisty one,” he laughs. “I love when they fight back.”
I gasp. He’s done this before. Using all the strength I have in me, I kick him in the balls as hard as I possibly can. He lets out a loud, choked yell and reaches down to cup himself. While he’s distracted, I reach over onto the dresser for the lamp and smash it over his head, knocking him to the floor with a loud thud. Quickly, I jump up and run toward my clothes dresser to grab my taser. Turning the voltage up, I turn around just in time for him to backhand me again, knocking the taser out of my hand and me to the floor.
“You stupid bitch! I was going to go easy on you, but I can tell you like it rough,” he growls before kicking me in the stomach.
I clutch my stomach, and he drops to his knees, hovering above me, and wraps his fingers around my throat, cutting off my air supply. He’s trying to knock me unconscious. Panicking, I reach for the taser, but it’s a bit out of reach. He starts laughing and lowers his mouth to my face, licking my cheek. I shudder in disgust before grabbing his face and digging my fingers into his eyes.
“Fuck!” he growls.
He lifts my head then slams it onto the floor hard. The sudden blow and lack of oxygen render me dizzy and causes my vision to blur, but I can still see the taser. Only a few more inches, aaaanddd … got it! Wrapping my fingers around it, I press it against his neck and pull the trigger. His body starts to shake, and his grip around my neck loosens, and I can breathe again. Breathing heavily, I scramble away from him, into a corner, but not before tasing him again and kicking him in the head, knocking him out.
I don’t know how long I’d been in that corner, but it must have been for quite a while because I hear footsteps outside in the hallway, along with seeing two shadows getting closer to the room’s entrance. It’s Amber and Brooke. They stop just before crossing the doorsill and gasp at the sight of the unconscious man in the middle of the floor.
