by Lee Wardlow
He laughed. “If I’m gone more than a week care to spend a weekend in D.C. with me?”
“I’ve never been to D.C.”
“You have never been to the Capital of our fair country?”
“I have not. We didn’t have a lot of money for travel when I was kid. Remember eighteen-year-old sister was raising me.”
His voice was soft. Non-judgmental when he replied. “I remember. You definitely need to meet me in D.C. then.”
“I really would like that.”
“It’s a date then. I’m going to head to bed. I have to get up early for my flight.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Oh Nova, sweetheart. They will be sweet if you are in them.”
“Goodnight Jamie.” The tone of her voice was filled with humor. He liked teasing her. She liked his teasing.
“Goodnight.”
The next morning, she called off school. It was a Thursday that was supposed to be sunny and warm. The high in the low eighties. Beau was working in his office. Zach was at class, she hoped. He had texted her to see how she was and said he was going at least.
Lupe let her visitor in the door. He found her on the patio by the pool. She had her cup of coffee in her hand. She nearly dropped it she was so surprised to see him. “Why aren’t you at work?”
“I needed to speak to you. You did well avoiding me at the picnic and yesterday at the hospital. You wouldn’t take my calls or answer my text messages.”
“I did avoid you Tyler for a very good reason. You were with your girlfriend.”
“I wasn’t ashamed of you. You never gave me a chance to explain that to you.”
She turned her head away. She heard the chair he grabbed scrapping across the concrete before he sat down beside her. “Will you hear me out?”
Her head snapped around. “Tyler how can you explain hiding out with me in my apartment…making love to me. No, it wasn’t making love because that indicates that you care for someone. Having sex with me while taking CeeCee on actual dates.”
He leaned over on his knees. His big hands were clasped between his legs. Tyler’s blonde locks were messy this morning. He had been driving with the window open.
He looked like he did after they made love. His shirt was tight across his chest. A color that made his eyes seem even bluer. Although his were a dark blue.
He was wearing loafers and no socks. His jeans were expensive not the Target brand that she would have shopped for before Beau took them in. The brand she still sometimes wore because they fit her well and she liked them.
“I know I hurt you. I am sorry for that. Sorrier than you will ever understand.”
“I don’t think you do know Tyler because Tyler Danner doesn’t get used.”
“I didn’t use you dammit.”
“Sure you did.” Her voice was soft and sad. “Tyler whatever hurt I felt was my own doing. Lola told me so.”
His head shot up. “What?”
“You never made me any promises. You never whispered sweet words in my ear and told me you wanted me to be yours. I allowed myself to dream that it could be possible so whatever hurt I felt was my own doing. Lola pointed that out to me.”
Nova kept going. “She also reminded me that Tyler Danner doesn’t fall for a woman from Greenbriar Street. He finally falls in love with a woman like CeeCee Magnus with the perfect hair and pedigree.” Her curly hair had always been the bane of her life.
“He falls for a woman whose grandfather owned the largest Cotton plantation before the Civil War began. I am born because a slave woman and her lover had a child named Dalia. The slave was named Hadara and her lovers name was Jack Daughtry. The child could have just as easily been the master’s child. Colton’s book tells her story. It was a best seller Tyler.”
“I know. I read the book.” His hand rested on his jaw and he was leaning into the palm of his hand.
“Then you know where you belong,” Nova told him. “CeeCee will take you to the Presidency if that is what you want.”
“I’ve missed you,” he said. “I think about you all the time.”
“Even when you were taking CeeCee on dates?” She asked. “Since you stopped coming around, you’ve gotten serious with her.”
“I deserve that.” He couldn’t meet her eyes. “It’s what my father wanted.”
“Tyler, you are twenty-nine years old. When are you going to start doing what you want to do instead of what Dallas Danner wants?”
“Right now,” he replied. He went to his knees at her side. He cupped her head gently in his palms. Tyler pulled her close to him. She could hear the faint sound of his breathing growing quicker as he thought about kissing her. Their lips were only centimeters apart.
She closed her eyes. She thought about self-preservation. Hers. She pushed him away. Nova didn’t think that Tyler really knew what he wanted. She stopped the kiss before it had a chance to take root and cause her some serious problems. Heartache for one.
Nova laid her hand on his chest and pushed him back into his space. She swallowed hard. “I won’t be your playmate any longer,” she declared.
“What if I told you I wanted more? That I can have everything I wanted and you,” he stated.
She felt the tremble in her hands. Her lips felt so dry. She licked them putting moisture back into them. Her eyes were wide with shock. She shook her head and her honey-colored curls bounced with her.
“It’s too late,” she told him.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Tyler, Lupe said you were here,” Beau said walking out onto the patio.
Nova shot him a grateful look and he returned that look with a smile. Tyler rose to his feet and turned his back on her to shake hands with Beau.
She knew every inch of the man beneath his clothes. From the soft hairs that covered his chest and dipped below his jeans to the curve of his muscular ass. She knew him intimately. Right now, Nova couldn’t breathe.
She closed her eyes and dark, piercing eyes were gazing back at her. Smoldering, sensuality filled their depths. Dammit, she was going to give Jamie a chance. She had to. She might have this physical reaction to Tyler Danner but she could possibly have more with Jamie Stone.
He felt more stable. More real. He invoked a passion in her that was equal or better to what Tyler could. He wasn’t ashamed of her.
Beau didn’t leave her side while Tyler remained in his home. She thanked him for it later. When she went back to her apartment that was a different matter.
There was no stopping Tyler. He bombarded her with flowers. Her favorite Lilly, a Stargazer; the apartment was filled with them. Zachariah was getting annoyed with the overkill of affection that Tyler was sending her way. He was convinced she would cave into his charms.
He was helping her wash the blood from her hair. They hadn’t exactly found the best way to do this yet. Finally, they both put on swimsuits and went to the bathroom. She tilted her head sideways he held her hair out while he washed the blood from it.
“That is as good as I can do it without getting near your stitches.”
He stepped out first. Then he took her hand and helped her to the tile floor. He towel-dried her hair for her. Nova went to the bedroom to change.
He had already changed when she joined him in the living room. She plopped by him on the sofa. When she was comfortable he turned on the television to watch a movie. Before they had watched half the movie, Nova was asleep with her head in Zach’s lap.
Her phone ringing started her awake. She looked up and saw him looking at her. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Two hours. You missed the entire movie,” he complained.
She sat up shooting him a look over her shoulder as she rose to her feet. Then she walked over to the counter where her phone lay. One missed call from Jamie. Ten text messages from Tyler. She ignored the messages and called Jamie back.
“Hi there beautiful,” he said when he answered.
“Hi.”
“
You sound sleepy.”
“I just woke up. I fell asleep watching a movie with Zach. So are you in Atlanta or in D.C.?”
“This is pretty interesting shit going on down here. I’m in D.C. still.”
“So you’re going to be there for a month?”
“Looks that way?”
“When can I come to D.C.?” She asked excited about all the prospects. Seeing D.C. and Jamie. She heard Zach make a noise behind her. She turned and glared at him.
“Next weekend too soon?” He asked.
“Nope. I’ll start shopping tickets.”
“Don’t bother,” Jamie replied. “I already purchased a ticket for you for Friday night. After school. Returning Sunday night, latest flight I could get.”
“Jamie,” she scolded him. “I’ll pay you back. Just tell me how much the ticket was?”
“Nope, my treat. Bring a pretty dress.”
“What constitutes a pretty dress?”
“A formal for a black tie event.”
“Oh Lord no.”
He laughed. She grumbled in his ear.
“Sweetheart, I promise you will be fine.” He was throwing her into the fire. He wanted her to see how well she would fit into his life. Jamie Stone was intrigued. Nova Daughtry was digging her way into his heart.
“Famous last words.”
Chapter 8
The entire week seemed to drag by. When Friday night came she had her bag in the trunk of her car and she headed straight to the airport from school.
At first she read every message from Tyler without responding to them. As the days went by she just deleted Tyler’s text messages without even reading them. He never gave up insisting that they could have something if she would give them a chance.
The flowers continued to arrive every few days. She didn’t say anything about them. Not a thank you. Nothing. She wasn’t screwing this up with Jamie.
The flight was only an hour and half from Middle Regional Airport in Macon. She had barely closed her eyes when the flight attendant was telling them to put their seats in the upright positon. She yawned while she put her tray table up. Then Nova sat her seat up.
Their plane landed a few minutes later. She had seen several monuments in the city as they flew over, to land at Ronald Regan International Airport.
Nova took her time getting off the plane. She was riding down an escalator looking for the baggage claim when she saw him. Standing at the bottom of the steps dressed in black was Jamie Stone holding a sign with her name on it.
She walked up to him and smiled. “That’s me.” She pointed to the sign.
“Hiya Beautiful. How’s the head?”
“Still rock hard,” she answered.
He chuckled. “Come on. We have dinner reservations for eight p.m. That is in…” He checked his watch. “Thirty-five minutes.”
“Am I dressed appropriately?”
“Is that what you wore to school?” He asked checking out her slacks that were linen and off-white. He couldn’t imagine a third grade teacher staying so clean. Her icy-blue, cotton shirt had long sleeves and a wide neck revealing cleavage.
“Yes.”
“Damn, I would have fallen in love with you if I was third grade boy.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Come on Romeo. I’m starving.”
He watched her walk. The sway of her hips. The smile she flashed over her shoulder at him when she checked out to see if he was following her. He was. Hot on her heels. He thought he might follow her anywhere.
He carried her bag to the garage holding her hand in his other. She liked that he made her feel special. Cared for. She liked how he teased her. It reminded her of her relationship with Kale except marked by a strong desire.
He tossed her bag into his rented vehicle’s back. An SUV that was big and black. Then he opened her door and let her slip into the seat. One arm rested on the top of the car when he leaned in and kissed her.
Nova slid her hand across his jaw. Her fingers were soft against his whisker roughened skin. Jamie covered her hand with his. “We’d better get going or we aren’t going to make the reservation.”
He pulled himself away from Nova reluctantly. Then he walked around the car and slid behind the wheel. She could tell his shirt was expensive. She reached across the seat and touched his sleeve. The material like silk beneath her fingers. A flash of what the hell am I doing, went through her brain.
“Stop thinking,” he told her.
“How do you know what I’m thinking?” Her voice was whisper soft to his ears.
“The girl from Greenbriar Street is feeling like she doesn’t belong. You need to remember that I’m just the boy from the reservation.”
He was watching traffic as he wove between the cars to their restaurant. “My father at times worked three jobs, janitor at the local school. Night watchman at the plant. During Christmas he worked a third job at the grocery store on the reservation to buy presents for eleven kids.”
“Where are your brothers and sisters now?”
“My mom still lives on the reservation with the younger ones. She was a Lake before she married my dad.”
“How many brothers and sisters do you have?”
“I told you, I’m one of fourteen,” he teased. She glared at him. “All right, I have twelve brothers and one sister.”
“That poor girl. How old is she?”
A smile spread across his face thinking about Kaylee. “She’s twelve going on thirty.”
“Oh, she was born about the time that your father died.”
“She was actually born after Pop died.”
“So she’s the youngest,” Nova spoke without thinking.
“Uh no,” Jamie replied uncomfortably.
“No.” She was confused at first then realized her mistake. She had also missed his earlier statement that his father worked to buy presents for eleven kids. Kaylee wasn’t born yet so she would have made twelve. She should have put two and two together. “Sorry. Did I touch on a sore subject?”
She could see that he gripped the steering wheel a little harder. “You’re fine sweetheart.” But was he?
“You know you can tell me anything,” she told him using his own words on him.
He tilted his head back and he chuckled at her. Then Jamie looked at her quickly before returning his eyes to the road. “You’re a wily little thing,” he remarked.
“Not me.”
“Momma had Bradley and Wyatt after Pop died. You would think that twelve kids would have been enough for her and she had them in her early forties.”
“Maybe it is none of my business but do they have the same father?”
“I don’t think so,” Jamie replied. His unease at this conversation was obvious.
“Oh. So Bradley, Wyatt and Kaylee are at home with your Mom?” She asked trying to get the bigger picture.
“So are Seth, Branch, Bobby and Mikey. Although Seth is eighteen. I don’t know how much longer he’ll stay. Right now, he’s staying just for the younger ones.”
She gazed out the window. Things she had only seen pictures of passed by them. Jamie pointed out the Capital in the distance. The Washington Monument. The Lincoln Memorial. The things that made D.C. what it was, a place for sightseeing and where laws became laws and so much more.
Jamie told her he was taking her on a tour tomorrow. Tomorrow night was the event they were going to. Sunday was brunch and maybe a few sights. Then he would have to take her back to the airport.
He stopped the car on a side-street near the restaurant on the outskirts of D.C. Dinner was in a quaint place. Tables close together with checkered clothes and candlelight. They ordered different Italian dishes and shared with each other.
She was too full for dessert although he tried to convince her. This place had the best Tiramisu he had ever put into his mouth. They each had a glass of expensive Merlot.
They walked back to the spot where he had parked the car. “So tell me about this job or can you?”
“Wow.” She stifled a chuckle that almost escaped. “That is making you nuts too. Isn’t it?”
“It is. I have never found a system I couldn’t break into.”
“So do they have any leads for where this source is from?”
“He doesn’t leave a footprint. They know he updates the firewall code but they can’t trace him.”
“Are they terrorists? The people he’s protecting.”
“I don’t think so. They are a radical group who just wants to stir up trouble. They hacked into Fort Knox this week just because they could. Brought down all the security systems. His firewall protected them from being caught. In and out and done.”
“I have no clue how any of this works.”
“It is definitely complex.”
“So what part is classified that you haven’t told me because you have told me a lot.”
“The name of the radical group is classified. The government hopes by keeping it quiet they won’t feed their ego.”
He opened the door for her. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for dinner. I really enjoyed myself.”
His eyes darkened. His hand went to her waist. His fingers griped her hard. “I enjoyed myself too.”
At the hotel a valet took the car and Jamie took her bag from the back. He guided her through the lobby to the bank of elevators. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Were they sleeping in the same bed again? What were Jamie’s expectations of her? Sex?
Nova liked the pace they were taking. Nice and slow. She wanted to keep it that way but damn she wanted him too. Her brain was running in overdrive trying to process all the emotions running through her at the moment.
They stepped into the elevator and the doors closed. She was standing so that her back touched the right side of his chest. His hand went to her waist holding her a little closer. She felt the little catch in her breathing at his nearness.
