“Jenny, what happened?” Lisa asked, wrapping her arm around her where she sat at the table, staring off into space.
Jenny just looked up at her sister with a lost little girl look, and shook her head. She still wasn’t acting like she was ready to talk.
“Did he ask you out again?”
“No.” This time she had managed to speak, but Lisa had to lean in to hear her. “He said he was done asking me out. He said he...”
“Come on, Jenny. What’s going on?”
Jenny’s voice dropped to just above a whisper. “He said he was going to just keep kissing me every time he saw me, until...” She got up and turned to walk over to the dishwasher, and started putting the plates in it.
Lisa and Mindi both followed her across the kitchen. “Until what, Jenny?” Lisa asked, turning her sister back to face them.
Jenny took a deep breath, and tried to speak. She honestly looked like she might pass out. It took two more tries, but she finally managed to whisper, “Until I beg him to make love to me.”
“Oh, boy.” Jamie had overheard her, despite how quiet she had gotten.
“He said, once I got to that point...” she had to pause to swallow and try again. “He was going to ask me to marry him.”
“He’s resorting to some serious pushing,” Jamie said, a look of awe on her face. “How’s this going to work at the store?” she asked, shaking her head and walking off, deciding she had heard more than she had wanted to already.
“Not at work. But that’s my only safe zone. Those were his words, exactly. I don’t think I can... How am I... I’m not going to... This is too much.”
Jenny walked back over to the table and fell into a chair. She looked like she was in a daze. “I’m terrified, but there’s no way I’m going to be able to resist him. He has kissed me twice, and both times I just melted. This time,” she said, waving her hand toward the porch, “if he hadn’t stopped, I don’t think we would have. Not until someone come looking for us. Seriously, how long do you think it’s going to take? Maybe I should just go in there, and surrender now.”
“That’s not really a bad idea,” Mindi said with a grin. “It is what you want to do. Jenny, you know he’s not going to hurt you. He truly knows you. He’s in love with the real you. Not just the body.”
“She’s right,” Lisa added. “You two were really close until you realized you were in love with him and started avoiding him. That’s why he stopped coming on Thursday nights. It was too painful for him.”
“I can’t. I’m not ready,” Jenny said with an absolute terrified look on her face.
“I don’t think it’s going to matter if you’re ready or not. It sounds like he’s done waiting, and is taking extreme measures to get what he wants. And what he wants, is you.”
Despite her flushed cheeks and terrified expression, that made her grin. Mindi was right. What she really wanted to do, was walk down the hall, and just surrender. Too bad she wasn’t strong enough.
“We always say the Townsends are good at getting what they want. I think that man could teach us a thing or two,” Jamie said, as she walked back over to the table, unable to keep herself out of the conversation no matter how hard she tried.
*******
It was getting late and the guys were getting ready to leave. They were all standing out in the living room talking, when Mark looked over at Jamie. “Do you mind if I come for dinner next Thursday? I know I haven’t made it a habit to come for the last few years. I’d like to change that if you don’t mind.”
Jamie, knowing full well what Mark was up to, just looked at him and grinned. “Come whenever you like. You can come anytime we’re all doing something together. You don’t have to restrict yourself to Thursday nights. And you don’t have to call and ask. I’ll even make sure and call and let you know myself.” Still speaking to Mark, she turned her head to look at Jenny with her next words. “You’re always welcome.”
Jenny hearing that, turned and walked down the hall to the game room. She wasn’t angry at her mother. She was just needing some space all the sudden. She knew he was going to take every opportunity he could, and apparently her mom was going to help him.
Mark waited till she closed the door of the game room behind her to follow her. Once he was out of sight, Luke chuckled. “He told us what he was up to. Do you think that’s wise, letting them go in there alone? He doesn’t intend to take it too far, but he’s been going crazy for the last three and a half years.”
“How is it the saying goes? Drastic situations, call for drastic measures. She’s not really happy right now, and she’s not really going to be until they’re together. Besides, I don’t think they’re really in any danger of going too far with us just down the hall.”
“Jamie, that door does lock,” Luke said, giving her a skeptical look.
“Luke, I’m trying to let him do this his way,” she said, shaking her head, not wanting to think about it too hard. “Nothing else has worked.”
“Okay, I trust your judgment.” He turned and looked at Mindi, letting the subject drop. “I’m going to get out of here. Are you going to walk to the truck with me?”
“Do you really have to ask?” she asked, grinning at him. She turned to the door and opened it, and they both slipped out after he said goodbye to the others in the room.
“Well, this is where I say goodnight. I’m going to give you two some privacy. I’ll see you later, James.”
“Goodnight, Mom,” he said with a grin.
“See you in the morning, Mom.”
Once her mom was down the hall and out of sight, Lisa turned to look back at James, and grinned. “What are you thinking? I can see the wheels turning.”
“Well, I’m not so sure his method is such a bad idea. The only problem I would have, is I know, I wouldn’t stop.”
“James, don’t.”
“I said I know I wouldn’t be able to stop,” he said with an overly innocent look.
“But I can see it,” she said, backing up a step. “You’re still thinking about it.”
“The tactic has merit,” he said with a grin, as he countered her step back, with his own step forward.
“James, we’ve...”
She cut off mid-sentence when his arms come around her waist and he bent his head and pressed his lips to hers. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She had a vague notion, maybe he was going to kiss her till she was begging for more. By the time he lifted his head she was panting.
When she turned her head, she noticed Mark was standing there. He looked a little uncomfortable. He was staring at the floor, humming to himself.
“Sorry, Mark. Would you like to leave?” she asked, turning pink.
“I wasn’t saying anything.”
“I didn’t say you were,” she said, trying to stifle a laugh. “Good night you two. I’m going to go check on my sister.”
When she turned to walk down the hall, she heard James ask Mark, “How’s it going?”
“I might have overestimated my self-control.”
She heard James chuckle. “Hang in there. It’ll be worth all the cold showers in your near future.”
When she walked in the game room, she found Jenny sitting on the couch, with her head laid over on the arm. She looked fragile enough to break in a light breeze. “Jenny, are you okay?”
“That man is going to make me crazy.” She sat up and looked her sister in the eyes. “I was trying to rip his clothes off.”
“It looks like he was trying to get yours off you as well.”
Just then Mindi walked in the door. “Trying to get what off... Never mind. I can see.”
Jenny finally looked down at herself, and saw what they were talking about, causing her a wave of embarrassment. Her blouse was unbuttoned all the way to her waist.
“I don’t think I’m going to beg him. I think I’m going to be more likely to just try and take.” Jenny still sounded dazed, and Lisa couldn’t stop herself from
laughing.
“What do you mean?” Mindi asked, only a little confused.
“I may be terrified the rest of the time, but the second he starts kissing me, I become very brave.” Jenny shook her head, rethinking her statement. “Maybe it’s not courage. Maybe I just become mindless. That seems like the more likely of the two.”
Chapter 12 – Saturday, October 20
Lisa had finally gotten over her morning sickness enough she could stand the smell of meat once again, and hold her food down if she took certain precautions. She always had to start her mornings with a few saltines, then give her stomach a little time to settle. After that, she was good to go as long as she made sure her meat was cooked well and nothing was too greasy. This morning she had woke up feeling amazingly well, and craving bacon.
“Hey, Mom,” she walked into the kitchen with a cheery expression. “What’s for breakfast this morning? I’d really love some bacon.”
“I’ve noticed you’ve been doing better lately, but are you sure you’re up to bacon this morning?” Jamie asked with concern. “Have you even been out of bed thirty minutes yet?”
“Yes, Mom. I’ve already had my saltines, as well,” she said, sticking her bottom lip out.
“Lisa, I don’t want you getting sick. You’ve been doing really well this last week. Bacon is really greasy,” she said, shaking her head. “If something’s going to make you sick, it’s bacon.”
“All we have to do is make sure we drain the grease of really well. That’s something you’ve always done anyway,” she said, giving her mother a pleading look. “Please, you know bacons my favorite breakfast meat.”
“I know, Lisa, but even drained well, it could still be too much for your stomach.”
“Aren’t you the one that said if I’m craving something, I’d most likely be able to hold it down?” Lisa asked, giving her a big grin.
“Alright, you’ve got me with that one,” Jamie said, putting the container of oatmeal she had just gotten down back up. “Bacon it is. If you can hold bacon down for breakfast, we better tell your father you’re ready for that steak he promised all of us.”
“Sounds good to me,” she answered back with an even bigger grin.
“After breakfast, can you and some of the younger kids clean the kitchen? I’ll go ahead and run to the store and get the meat for tonight.”
“Sure, Mom.”
“It’s good you’re feeling so good this morning. You’ve got company coming after breakfast.”
“Company? Who’s coming?”
“Makayla Smith. Oh, no. Sorry, it’s Johnson now.”
“Makayla? Are her and Ryan just in for a visit? The last I heard they were still living in Texas.”
“I don’t know the details. She just said she wanted to see you.”
*******
Lisa was in the kitchen, just finishing clean up with Tony and Nathan. Nathan had got roped into helping her because he had spouted off about her not being married to James yet. Even after his mother had just told him two seconds earlier it wasn’t any of his business. He had threatened to kick James in the shins the next time he saw him. Tony got in trouble for horsing around at the table. Tony was the youngest of the Townsend boys and tended to think he needed to show off for the rest of them. Even for Nathan and Gabe. She often wondered if being one of such a large family of kids made some of the younger ones feel like they were just lost in the chaos.
“Hey, Nathan, go answer the door, please,” Lisa said, closing the dishwasher.
“Why do I have to? Make Tony do it,” he said, giving her a stubborn look, crossing his arms over his chest.
“What’s the attitude all about? All I asked was for you to answer the door,” Lisa said, mirroring her brother. “Your acting like I asked you to walk to the store and back, carrying ten pounds of flour in one hand, and a bag of potatoes in the other.”
“Well, all I asked was for you to marry James, not the devil,” he answered, giving her a smug look. “You’re not doing what I asked.”
“Mom has already told you, that is none of your business,” Lisa frowned. “You need to let it go.”
“I think it is my business,” he pouted.
“Why?” She gave him a puzzled look, shaking her head. “I’m not your responsibility.”
“You’re still my sister.”
Tony, realizing they weren’t going to quit arguing anytime soon, turned to go answer the door, leaving them both unaware he had even left the room.
“Well, even with that logic, I hardly think those two requests are of equal importance. They certainly don’t carry the same consequences if they were the wrong decision.”
“You don’t know that. You don’t know who’s on the other side of the door,” he sneered.
“I have a pretty good idea, and even if I’m wrong, I hardly think it’s the boogeyman at the door.”
“I promise, I’m not the boogeyman,” a voice said from across the room. “And Tony’s already let me in.”
“Makayla,” Lisa said, turning to greet her friend. “How are you? I haven’t seen you since the wedding. You and Ryan left for Texas so soon afterwards, I didn’t even really get a chance to say goodbye.” She gave her friend a hard look. She was starting to feel concerned. Makayla didn’t look happy.
“Wedding? Is that what that was? Somebody should have told the groom,” she said with a little hurt mixed in with the sarcasm.
“Is something going on with you and Ryan?” Lisa asked, leading her over to the table.
“Yeah, he cheated on me,” she whimpered, right before bursting into tears.
“Oh my, that just don’t sound right. I would have never thought that was even possible with Ryan.”
“I wouldn’t have either, before,” she said with a sniffle.
“Are you sure? Did you walk in on them?” Lisa asked with caution.
“No, but I found enough proof,” she said, squaring her shoulders back.
“Did you confront him about it?”
“No. I left and filed for divorce when I first got up here.”
“When was that? I hadn’t heard you were in town.”
“I’ve been here seen Wednesday.”
“You’re telling me he doesn’t even know yet?”
“I’m sure he will before the end of this coming week. My lawyer said he would have someone drive down there and deliver the papers personally.”
“Is Sanders your lawyer?”
“Yeah, he’s the only divorce lawyer in this town.”
“Well, there’s Jeb Henry.”
“That’s true, but Jeb usually handles the cases involving child custody,” she added. “I forgot how small this town was. I’m never leaving Sapphire Springs again.”
“Good,” Lisa said cryptically. She was glad Makayla didn’t want to leave home again, but she also knew that Matt Sanders would make sure Ryan knew of the divorce before Monday, if he didn’t already know. He’d do his job, but he would have called Ryan and told him what was going on as a heads up.
“You should have told him where you were going. You know he’s going to worry.”
“Why would I care? He cheated on me. I doubt it will take him long to figure it out though. Where else would I go?”
“Good point,” Lisa said, chewing her bottom lip. She had only brought it up to see if she had calmed down enough to realize Ryan would figure out where she was. Her guess was, in probably less than a week, they were going to have a very angry man up here looking for his wayward wife. There was no way she was going to believe he was cheating on Makayla without proof. Then she still might not without a written confession from the man himself.
Makayla had, had a lot of disappointments in her life, and she seemed to always be looking around the corner for the next one. Ryan was used to it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be furious about this.
“Besides, the address will be on the papers. That should definitely give him a glue.”
“You do reali
ze he’s going to come after you, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I know how he is, but it’s not going to do him any good. I won’t put up with being cheated on.”
“You should give him a chance to explain. You could be reading the evidence wrong.”
She just snorted, giving Lisa an as if look. “I’m starting to think there’s just something wrong with me. Like I’m living under a bad sign You’re lucky, you’ve got James. He won’t cheat on you.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Lisa said with a shake of her head.
“I heard about the baby. Aren’t you married?” she asked, giving Lisa a perplexed look.
“No, but I was referring to the other part of that statement. The part about living under a bad sign.”
“Her and James should be married, but they won’t let me kick him in the shins,” Nathan stated giving Lisa a dirty look.
“I see he’s gotten even more opinionated since the last time I saw him,” Makayla said with a laugh.
“Don’t encourage him. I assure you, he doesn’t need any. Nathan, go on and go play games with the others.”
“No, I’d rather stay in here. You need to marry James.”
“Do I need to let Mom know you’re still harassing me about marrying James when she gets back from the store?”
“Fine,” he snapped, turning to leave. At the last second before exiting through the batwing doors, he turned back and stuck his tongue out at her.
“What’s with him?”
“Hunter told him what sex was before he was ready. Well, he didn’t give him details. He just told him it’s how you make babies.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, he’s always been a bit intense, but I think this has made him a little worse. There’s no telling what he’s going to be like when he’s an adult.”
“So, why aren’t you and James married?”
“No, you first. I’ll tell you after you tell me what you meant by a bad sign.”
“You know what I’m talking about. My life has been one bad situation or disaster after another. First my parent’s divorce. Then Mom got killed in that accident. Then I broke my leg and shattered my dancing dreams. Casey killed himself over that drug trial. He told me two days before he did it, he wasn’t going to prison for any reason. I should have realized then what he was planning. I’ve learned to always expect things to go wrong. I should never have married Ryan. He would probably be faithful to any other woman but me.”
Oh, Baby! (The Townsends Book 2) Page 10
