by Dee J. Adams
Terry’s mouth dropped open, her brain all but fried. It figured Lou Ann would blame this on her.
“Mom.” Jay’s voice sounded razor sharp and he glanced at his dad. “Terry had no idea Marcella had mental issues and I was the one who called her up to the cabin to babysit. Terry didn’t know she was going to be there.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that Terry had the poor judgment to befriend this…this…monster. That tells me all I need to know about her.” Lou Ann held her ground and rage swirled in Terry’s chest like an F5 tornado.
“Does it?” Jay asked, his tone icy. “Because it tells me, she’s a compassionate person who cares for the underdog. It says she thinks about other people’s feelings before caring about what other people think of her.”
Lou Ann rolled her eyes.
“Answer me this, Mother.” Jay said the last word like it tasted rank on his tongue. “What do you think about Jess?”
“That’s ridiculous. I adore Jess.”
“And you don’t think that part of Jess being who she is might be because Terry’s such a great mother?”
Lou Ann’s lips twitched endlessly. “Maybe,” she conceded. Jay may as well have been pulling a train with his teeth to get that admission.
“Maybe?” Jay repeated. “Really?”
Jesse Sr. strolled further into the room and looked at his wife before facing his son. “What’s up?”
“I think Mom should tell us what’s up.” Jay rubbed his head. “Spill it, Mom. I’ve got a headache the size of the mountain we’re sitting on and I’m not playing your games.”
His directness shocked Terry. She’d never heard him speak to his mother like that. “Jay,” she reprimanded quietly.
“Okay,” Lou Ann said, her lips quivering even more than usual. She glanced at Terry then back to Jay with wide, wounded eyes. She cleared her throat and Jay’s lips tightened, a sure sign that his calm exterior might crack. Lou Ann nodded. “This person…” She gestured to Terry. “Came into our lives and brought nothing but trouble.”
“You think Jess is trouble, is that it?” Jay’s tone morphed from icy to molten hot.
“I’m not talking about Jess, specifically. I’m just saying Terry came into your life and everything changed. She’s a taker. You don’t need someone like that in your life. None of us do.”
Terry wanted to say something. She wanted to stand up and let this woman have it, but her chest got so tight, she thought she might pass out.
“I’ve been waiting for you to see the light about her, but you never have.” Lou Ann smoothed back her hair.
Jay took Terry’s hand and squeezed tight. “Listen carefully, Mother, because I’m only going to say this once. Terry is here to stay. I love her and I suggest you get on the same love train or it’s taking off without you. If you want Jess and me in your life, then you better damn well accept Terry with open arms. Without her, I wouldn’t be here and neither would Jess. So you chew on that for a few minutes.”
Lou Ann’s eyes widened and blinked furiously at the same time. “Jesse St. John Jr., I did not raise you to speak to your mother that way.”
“When you’re ready to accept the three of us as a unit, and apologize to Terry, then we’ll be happy to talk.”
Tearing up, Lou Ann dabbed at her wet eyes, her gaze passing between them all.
Jesse Sr. put his arm over her shoulders. “Lou Ann, you never told me any of this. Terry’s been nothing but a sweetheart. You’ve seen how hard she’s worked to take care of Jess and be a good mom.”
Long seconds ticked by while Lou Ann realized she was outnumbered. “All right,” she sniffed, squaring her shoulders as she faced Terry. Her lips quivered the way only Lou Ann’s could as she glanced at her husband. “I was scared for Jay and scared for us.” She swallowed and met Terry’s gaze. “I just didn’t know you and I panicked. I worry about Jay fitting in with his peers at law school with a baby. I know my son. He’ll spend time with his daughter and forgo the networking that will get him a better position at a good firm.” Lou Ann took a breath and glanced at Jess. “But you gave birth to the most amazing little girl.” She stroked her hand over Jess’s auburn cap of hair. “And I was torn because I loved Jess. Then you kept Jay on this tight wire every time you rejected a marriage proposal. Do you know how much that hurt him? How much it hurt me to see him suffer that way?”
“I never meant either of you to feel that way” Terry said, shocked that her vocal chords finally worked. Guilt stabbed her in the heart. “I only said no because I wanted to prove to you that I was a good mother and I wasn’t out for anything but Jay’s love. I wanted you to accept me, not resent me for something I didn’t plan. Jay’s peers are going to love him because everyone loves him. He’s a wonderful person. Law firms are going to see his dedication to his family as an asset. They’re going to know he’s responsible and trust him with big cases. I don’t plan to live off him or you. I wouldn’t be juggling a full load and a job otherwise.”
“I think she’s proved herself, Lou Ann,” Jesse Sr. said, his voice soft in the quiet room. “What do you think?”
Lou Ann’s nostrils flared slightly and her eyes filled with fresh tears. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t realize you were putting Jay off because of me.” She took a deep breath and met Terry’s gaze. “I was horrible to you.” She let her words sink in before going on. “I realize that we’re so lucky to have Jess in our lives…and to have a mother as good as you taking care of her. I hope you’ll give me a second chance to prove I’m worthy of being Jess’s grandmother. Of being your mother-in-law in the near future. I just wish I’d said it without being forced.”
Terry glanced at Jay. She certainly didn’t doubt Lou Ann’s love for Jess. It showed in her smile and in her eyes anytime she greeted Jess or said good-bye after a visit. It was there when she taught Jess little things like using utensils when she ate and helping her clean up afterward.
“Of course, I’ll give you a second chance,” Terry said after realizing Lou Ann had scarcely breathed during the silence.
Lou Ann gave her a smile she’d previously reserved for her husband and son.
For the first time in two years, Terry felt a weight lift from her shoulders.
Jesse Sr. took control of the situation. Somehow he found transportation and met police at the cabin while they collected evidence. It seemed as if he only snapped his fingers and people jumped to help him. She usually only saw him at the house or on an occasional dinner, so watching the way he calmly handled the situation with concise words and undeniable power made her realize there was much more to her future father-in-law than she knew.
Hours later, Terry and Jay lay in a queen-sized bed in the bed and breakfast that Jay had originally secured for Marcella. Jess slept soundly in a cot tucked into the corner, her even breathing drifting softly in the dark room. Terry was still in shock that his parents had let them share a bed while they stayed in a room down the hall. Lou Ann—always the old fashioned southern bell—had serious issues with people sharing a bed before marriage. But maybe the close call had her thinking about other things tonight, so Terry chose to be thankful for the time with Jay.
Exhausted, she spooned a little closer, feeling safe in the comfort of his arms as she fought the lure of sleep. The nightmare of the night kept circling in her head.
“You okay?” His whispered words floated over her ear.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” She faced him, stroked a gentle thumb across his cheek. “I forgot to ask you where was the ATV? I would’ve jumped on it after seeing the tires on the Audi.”
“We keep them in the shed by the dock with the jet skis.”
“I never got that far in the dream so I didn’t see it. My mom woke me up while I was still running after the car.”
“Why aren’t you asleep?” When she hesitated, afraid to be honest, he squeezed her hand and prodded her. “Terry, talk to me. We have to be honest with each other about everything.
It has to start now.”
She exhaled a shaky breath. He was right. “I’m scared to sleep,” she whispered. “Scared to dream.”
Pulling her close, Jay sighed. “It’s okay. We’re okay. It’s not like you have these dreams all the time.” He kissed her lips softly before brushing some hair off her cheek. “Seems like the only time you have them is when you’re in danger.”
“Or you or Jess are in danger,” she corrected.
“Which reminds me. I don’t remember thanking you for saving my life. Thank you. If you hadn’t come looking for me, I would’ve drowned. And you saved Jess by slashing those tires. I, for one, love your good instincts.” His warm palm squeezed her hip. “Next time you have a dream that real, you’ll tell me. We’ll stay in bed the whole day and I’ll make sure it doesn’t come true. You’ll be too busy having orgasms to think about your dreams.” She knew he’d keep that promise. “I love you and we’re going to be drama free for a long time after this.”
That suited her just fine. Her chest ached with a love so strong it hurt. “I love you too,” she whispered. “That’s why I’m marrying you next weekend.”
Jay cocked his head. “Are we getting married next weekend? I don’t think I wrote that on my calendar.”
“Calendar this, homeboy.” Terry wrapped her arms around his neck, set her lips on his and proceeded to kiss the bejesus out of him.
She was pretty sure that worked for him.
Epilogue
Winter, present day
“That story is over the top,” Jess’s husband, Tanner, said from his spot on the sofa. Jess leaned against him, a smile on her face, her eyes sparkling almost as bright as the lights twinkling on the Christmas tree in the corner.
Family get-togethers usually sparked some stories, but since Tanner and Blake’s girlfriend, Abbey, were new to the family, they hadn’t heard most of them. Because Jess and Tanner would be spending this Christmas out of town with his family, and Blake planned to join Abbey with her family in North Carolina, Terry had decided to have an early Christmas with them now. Of course, she still had her other three boys who’d show up for Christmas dinner next week, so all wasn’t lost.
Tonight they gathered in the sunroom, enjoying the view of the backyard, which Jay had decorated with bright, multicolored lights.
“It’s one of the scariest stories I’ve ever heard,” Jess said. “I’m just glad I don’t remember any of it.”
Terry held back a cringe at the thought that recently Jess had been in her own horrible situation, but she was so proud of the daughter Jay and she had raised. Jess was a fighter just like her parents.
“What happened to Marcella?” Abbey asked.
“She ended up in a mental facility.”
“Wow,” Tanner muttered. “Is she still there?”
Jay shook his head. “Nope. Despite murdering her next door neighbor and stealing the car, she was released after twenty years.”
“The initial report said the woman died from slipping in her tub.” Terry shrugged. “Marcella hit her over the head with a pan then made it look like an accident in the bathroom.”
“I keep tabs on her,” Jay said. “She knows not to come anywhere near us or I’ll have her back in that state facility faster than a jack can pop out of a box.”
Tanner looked skeptical. “Doesn’t sound like an insanity plea would work if she tried to cover up a murder.”
“One look at her in the courtroom and you’d think otherwise. She was a mess,” Terry replied. “We’re talking total mental breakdown.”
“What triggered her attack?” Tanner asked.
Terry glanced at Jay. “Her doctors thought it was an accumulation of stress and bad timing that everything happened at once. First, her boyfriend dumped her. I canceled on her with the sitter date and bailing on her shift at the coffee shop cost her the job. I didn’t know she was supposed to be on medication for schizophrenia or that she’d quit taking her medication. Wrap it all up and you have the makings for disaster. She saw Jess as being the only person who loved and needed her. She thought between my job and school that I wasn’t giving Jess enough attention and she was convinced if she took Jess, both their lives would get better. At least that’s how the doctor’s justified it on the stand.”
Abbey shivered and Blake rubbed her arm.
Maybe Jess noticed the way the story affected Abbey, so she changed the subject. “Hey, Mom, you should tell them about when the twins were born!” She glanced toward Blake since he was part of that duo.
“No, no, no,” Blake insisted. “You have to wait until Eric and Danny are here. They hate when Mom tells that story. It’s awesome.” His reckless grin lit up the room as much as the Christmas lights. He squeezed Abbey close again. Though they weren’t engaged yet, Terry had a feeling it wasn’t far off, gauging by the way Blake treated Abbey. They’d been cuddled up on the oversized chair for the last hour.
“Fine. We’ll save that for next Groundhog Day,” Jay teased, stacking the dessert dishes on the glass coffee table. But he smiled at Terry as they remembered the story. Racing to the hospital after her water broke and barely making it into the delivery room before Blake was born a few minutes ahead of his brother Brendan. If Jay had been a mile an hour slower, she’d have delivered those babies in the car.
“So what happened to the internship?” Tanner asked, wrapping his arm around Jess and pulling her closer.
Terry loved seeing her daughter so happy. There was nothing she wanted more than for her kids to find their soul mates. So far, Jess and Blake had found true love. Two down, three to go.
“He got it,” Terry said, answering Tanner’s question with a knowing glance at her husband. She’d always been so proud of him for it. “Jay, can you grab that pile?” Terry asked, heading into the kitchen.
He scooped up the stack of dirty dishes. “Right behind you.”
Together they walked into the kitchen and set their loads on the counter. Jay opened the dishwasher, but Terry took his arm and leaned into him, blocking him against the counter. She noticed the tiny gray patches near his temple had grown, but other than that, he’d hardly changed a day. If anything, he’d just grown sexier with age.
“Yes?” he said as he dipped his head down for a sweet kiss.
“How do you always manage to tell that story and leave out the sex?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and getting comfortable. She loved the way his warm palms skimmed under her top and caressed her sides, up and down in a soft rhythmic glide.
“Not sure. Just talented, I guess.” His rogue smile still knocked her socks off twenty-nine years later.
She slanted her mouth across his and kissed him soft and slow, stroking her tongue into his mouth and tasting the sweet apple pie they’d had for dessert. Her effect on him showed by way of his rampant erection.
“Someone’s frisky,” she murmured at his lips.
“Always.” He went in for another kiss as one hand cupped her ass and brought her closer against him, and the familiar ache of wanting him sizzled through Terry’s veins.
The door whooshed open from the den. “Hey, Dad…oops. Sorry. Not important.” The door clicked closed.
“Blake’s calling,” Terry said at his lips.
“Is that who that was? I was too busy kissing you. C’mere.” Jay took her mouth in a hotter kiss, one that was more electric and the sizzle factor multiplied.
“We should see what he wants,” she said, pulling away a fraction to lay kisses on his jaw.
“He’s a big boy. Besides, he said it wasn’t important.”
“You know,” Terry said when they came up for air a minute later. “I’m thinking they probably know we’re leaving out the sex when we tell that story.”
“Yeah?” Jay stayed busy driving her wild, tracing his tongue along the shell of her ear. “Why?’
“Because they always catch us making out. It’s getting embarrassing.”
He laughed and the sound tickled the air at
her nape. “As long as they don’t catch us naked, I think we’re on the right track.”
“Speaking of getting naked. Let’s get them all out of here so we can do that.”
“Mom, Tanner and I are leaving. See you tomorrow,” Jess called right on cue from the living room.
“Us too,” Blake said. “See you tomorrow.”
Abbey’s voice mixed in with, “Thank you for dinner.”
“Uh, oh. Better say goodnight.” Terry ran toward the front of the house with Jay right behind her, just in time to wave good night to their children. “See you tomorrow.” They were taking Jess and Tanner to the airport tomorrow since they were spending the holidays with his family in Colorado.
Jay wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked inside the home they’d raised their family in.
“Whatcha thinking about?” he asked as they headed up stairs.
“I’m thinking about how lucky I was to find you and how much I love you this many years later.” She gave him a sidelong glance. “I’m also thinking about how many times I’m going to make you come tonight.”
Jay shook his head and laughed as he pinned her against the hallway wall. “If you’re not careful, I’m not even going to make it to our bedroom before I strip you and sink inside of you.”
She lifted one eyebrow, taking the surefire road to getting laid fast. “Dude. That is righteous.”
Something about the eighties still made him hot. His dark eyes smoldered with fresh heat even as a wicked smile curved his lips. “You are in serious trouble, Mrs. St. John.”
“Fer sure, fer sure.”
Jay kissed her and it was like the eighties all over again.
The End
Also by Dee J. Adams
The High Stakes Series
Against the Wall:
4 stars – One Good Book Deserves Another.
“This was an action-packed and pulse-pounding read with some surprising, gasp-worthy twists and turns. I was caught off guard more than once by developments I hadn’t seen coming and moved by characters who left an impression.”
