Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set

by Misty Reigenborn

  "Tell her. You'll feel a thousand times better if you do."

  "Are you kidding me? Well, it might make me feel better but it sure as hell won't make her feel better."

  "Do you still think that she doesn't have a right to know?"

  "It's not that. I just don't want to cause problems. It's already done. There's nothing that can be done to change it now."

  "I still think you should tell her but I'll shut up about it. I’ll let you decide when you want to go out with me and what you want to do.”

  They agreed on a dinner date a few nights later. Jess figured dinner was safer than the movies. She wasn’t sure how she was going to control her overactive hormones when she was around Daylin, let alone his.

  They spent several nights together, doing no more than kissing. Jess was feeling a lot of sexual frustration, but she knew that going to bed with Daylin again would not be a good idea. Soon it was time to meet Selana and the kids.

  She wasn’t sure how could she be so terrified and excited at the same time. She was wired on caffeine because she’d drunk four cups of coffee. She’d smoked three cigarettes and now there was no more delaying it. She was going to meet Selana, Craig and Chelsea.

  She picked up her overnight bag and her purse and went out the door, locking the house behind her.

  She turned the music up loud and tried not to think as she drove. She was so nervous she was sweating in the unseasonably warm October weather so she rolled down her window not caring that her hair was going to be a tangled mess by the time she reached her stepmother’s house. Her father’s house.

  It was early afternoon when she pulled up in front of Selana’s house. It was a modest three story with a well-kept yard. There was a basketball hoop in front of the garage and three bikes hooked up to chains.

  She took a deep breath as she got out of her car. By the time she had crossed to the trunk Selana had come out the front door.

  Her stepmother, who looked even more like her mother in person, walked across the driveway.

  “Jess. It’s so good to see you.” She looked almost as nervous as Jess felt.

  “Hi Selana. It’s good to see you too.”

  “Did you have any trouble finding the house?”

  “No. I was able to print out a map.”

  “That’s good. Come in honey.”

  Selana led her inside. The house was neat, though cluttered. The walls were covered in pictures. Jess suddenly stood face to face with her father’s life after he’d left her. She blinked back tears as she looked at the family portraits. He looked so happy, like such a proud father.

  Selana led her upstairs to the guest room where she’d be staying. Their conversation was stilted at first, but when Selana started talking about her children she started to open up more. Jess’s heart finally stopped pounding so hard.

  Once they’d eaten lunch Selana disappeared into her bedroom and came back with the last letter that her father had written her. Jess couldn’t bring herself to read it at first. It felt so strange being in her father’s house with him being gone even if Selana was trying her best to put her at ease.

  Finally, she opened the letter and started to read: ‘Jess, There are no words to tell you how sorry I am. I know that by the time you read this, I may be gone. It makes my heart ache to think that I wasn’t able to see your beautiful face again. I don’t want you to think for an instant that I forgot you or stopped thinking of you. You were my world and it killed me to walk away from you. I thought of you every day. There was always a part of me that was broken without you. When you miss watching your child grow you can’t help but feel something’s missing. You can’t help but wonder what that child’s life would have been like if you’d been in it. I hope you can understand that I couldn’t take you away from your mother. Little girls need their mothers. Little girls need their fathers too and believe me baby I never wanted to leave you without a father. I never wished anything but the best for you. It hurt me so much to not be a part of your life. But though I couldn’t be there and it hurt me to think that you could live without me, when I never for one instant wanted to live without you, I always wanted you to be happy. Your smile always brightened my day. I may not have always made the right choices, but I never wanted to hurt you. I loved you until my last breath and if there is an after, I will love you until the end of time. I can never tell you how sorry I am that I couldn’t be there to see you grow, but I can tell you that I loved you from the moment that I knew there was a you. I cherished every moment that I had with you and wouldn’t trade it for anything. My love always and forever, Daddy’

  She wasn’t halfway through before the tears started. Selana crossed to her and took her hand. When she had finished the letter, she let herself be enveloped in her stepmother’s embrace. It was like déjà vu. Selana wore the same flowery perfume that her mother had worn when she was young.

  “He said goodnight to you and told you that he loved you every night,” Selana said softly, handing Jess a tissue.

  “I wish. . .” She trailed off because it was too much to say out loud. It still hurt so much to think that her father was gone.

  “I know honey. I know.”

  The front door burst open. Chelsea walked in. She looked shy, though she and Jess had been texting back and forth.

  “Hi Mom. Hi Jess.”

  “Hey Chels. Where’s your brother?”

  “With Steph.”

  “Did he give you a ride home like he was supposed to?”

  Chelsea shook her head. “No. Krissa’s mom gave me a ride.”

  “If you would have called me I would have come and picked you up.”

  “Krissa’s mom was already there. They were coming out this way to visit Krissa’s Grandma anyway. It wasn’t a big deal.”

  “I thought you had dress rehearsal today for the play.”

  “It’s at five thirty. Craig doesn’t have to be there. That’s why he took off with Steph. Can we go to the mall after I finish my homework?”

  “Is that where your brother is?”

  “I doubt it. They’re probably at her house having sex. His car stinks. He let her smoke in it again.”

  Selana sighed. “I’ll talk to him. Again. Do her parents know she’s smoking?”

  “Probably. They’re dipshits. I heard Craig telling Trainor that her parents caught them doing it and they still won’t let her get birth control. I think they want her to get pregnant because they think if she does you’ll let her move in with us. Her Mom’s boyfriend went to jail again. Somebody said he was dealing drugs. Maybe you should let her move in Mom. I don’t think they’d do it right under your nose.”

  Selana gave her daughter a dirty look. “Enough with the gossip Chelsea. I don’t want to hear it and I’m sure your sister doesn’t either. Go. Do your homework. If you get done quickly enough we’ll go to the mall. If not, we’ll go after your practice. I’ll call your brother and see if he and Steph want to meet us for dinner.”

  “Okay. Sorry Jess.” Backpack in hand; she turned towards the stairs and her bedroom. Then she turned back and said “You’re even prettier than your pictures Jess.”

  “Thank you.”

  Selana laughed once her daughter was out of earshot. “I tell her she looks like you but she doesn’t believe me.”

  “She does. It’s so weird.”

  “I’m sure it must be. When I first saw a picture of your mother I thought it was a joke. Then I heard her voice and I really thought your father was putting me on. How he managed to fall in love with two women that looked so similar, I don’t know.”

  Jess didn’t know either, but she just nodded.

  “I’m going to give Craig a call.”

  “I think I’ll go have a cigarette.”

  Selana made a face. “I did it when I was young too. But it really is a nasty habit. I wish you’d quit Jess.”

  “I will. Someday.”

  Selana sighed and then laughed. “Sorry. You’re a grown woman. I won’t lec
ture you anymore. Your brother on the other hand, I don’t seem to do anything but lately.”

  Selana dialed her phone. Jess went outside.

  Once she was done with her cigarette, she went back inside. Selana was still on the phone, having what sounded like a heated conversation with her son. Chelsea came back downstairs, looked at her mother and rolled her eyes.

  “I didn’t like Steph at first. She’s so pretty, but everyone said that she was a slut. She’s got Craig wrapped around her finger, but I think she really does love him. I just don’t want to be an aunt at fifteen.”

  “I can see that.”

  Selana was off the phone. “Did you get your homework done Chelsea?”

  “Yes Mom. Can we go to the mall?”

  Selana looked at her watch. “Fine, but no complaining when it’s time to go.”

  “Yes, Mother. Can we go to the barbeque place for dinner?”

  “If it’s okay with Jess, I suppose.”

  Jess nodded. The drive to the mall was short. Chelsea wanted to take pictures in the picture booth, but there was only room for two people. They ended up having four different sets taken. It was strange for Jess to look at the pictures. You could easily have mistaken Selana for her mother.

  Chelsea dragged them into clothing stores, a boutique, two music stores and a book store. She seemed to have an endless amount of energy. She was smart and bright and cheerful. Jess liked her sister even more, having met her.

  Since the dress rehearsal would take two hours at least, she and Selana dropped Chelsea off and went to the movies.

  A friend’s mother, who Jess later found out was the mother of the boy that Chelsea wanted to date, dropped her off at the restaurant. They were seated and had already ordered by the time Craig and his girlfriend showed up.

  Steph was beautiful. She was a tall redhead with bright green eyes.

  Dinner was tense at first. Steph had had an argument with her mother and was very upset. Craig wanted her to spend the night but Selana wasn’t agreeable until she found out that Steph’s mother had been arrested on an outstanding warrant and her son’s girlfriend had no one else to stay with.

  So Jess ended up being moved into the room next to her brother so that his girlfriend would be less tempted to sneak into his room. It didn’t work, because a little after midnight when the house was quiet, she heard Craig’s door open. She didn’t mention it to Selana the next morning. She had a feeling Selana had known anyway.

  Friday was a busy day. Selana received a call from Steph’s mother. She was going to be in jail for a while and begged Selana to take temporary custody before social services stepped in. So she spent the morning with her stepmother while she filed for custody of her son’s girlfriend. It was an interesting morning. Selana wasn’t the biggest fan of Craig’s relationship with Steph but she didn’t have the heart to refuse the girl’s mother.

  Craig was thrilled, though Chelsea made faces after they picked her up after school. Her brother’s girlfriend was moving in with them and she still wasn’t allowed to date.

  The play was a surprise for Jess. It was very well put together for a high school production and Chelsea was a wonderful actress. Marc, the boy that she liked had a lesser role. Chelsea raved about his performance when they went out for pizza afterwards.

  Saturday morning, they went out for breakfast and ran into Marc’s family. After talking with Marc’s parents, Selana agreed to let Chelsea go out with Marc as long as Craig and Steph went along as well. Chelsea beamed and even the shy Marc seemed happy.

  She said goodbye to her newfound family at the house, exchanging hugs with everyone, even Steph, who she figured to be her future sister-in-law. It had been a nice visit. Jess left with a small sense of peace. She still felt guilty taking the $35,000 check that Selana handed her but her stepmother wouldn’t let her leave without it.

  She took a small vial of her father’s ashes that Selana had had made into a necklace.

  Chapter 11

  From then on she spent every weekend with Daylin. Though she was spending every weekend with him she still wasn’t sure if she was ready to meet Daylin’s parents. But it was Thanksgiving before she knew it and there was no turning back.

  She was nervous. Daylin’s mother wasn’t doing well and no one was sure of how much longer she’d make it. Jess didn’t want to intrude on what she felt might be Daylin’s last holiday with his mother but he’d insisted.

  He met her at the door on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving and gave her a kiss like he hadn’t seen her in months though they’d been together the weekend before. “I missed you.”

  She laughed. “You just saw me. We talk on the phone every day.”

  He grinned. “I know. But I love you.”

  She still hadn’t said it back though sometimes she felt like it. It would be so easy to say ‘I love you, too.’ She just wanted to be sure she meant it. Things were going well between them. She wasn’t worried that he was seeing someone else because she didn’t know when he’d have time. He was working overtime, talking to her on the phone at least once a day, helping Cam and Lucy. And there hadn’t been a weekend they hadn’t spent together since they’d gotten back together.

  They were going out to dinner with Cameron and Lucy and then to the movies. Lucy had grown on her. She reminded Jess of Starla somewhat. They both said what they were thinking.

  Lucy and Cameron were waiting for them outside the theater. Lucy didn’t look pregnant though Daylin said she was already complaining about her back hurting. She was still slim and beautiful.

  The movie almost made Jess fall asleep. It did make Lucy fall asleep. Daylin teased Cameron about Lucy’s soft snores.

  Dinner was nice. They talked about the wedding and Lucy’s baby shower. The shower was still a few months down the road but Lucy wanted to make sure that Jess knew she was invited.

  Daylin had talked her into staying the night with him, and she figured that tonight was going to be the night he talked her into having sex with him. She had been feeling the sexual frustration building up between them and was looking forward to letting some of it out. So she was rather disappointed when he turned the light off so quickly and kissed her goodnight. She was tempted to seduce him but in all honesty she was tired herself and figured he was just tired too.

  She awoke to the smell of coffee the next morning. She went out to the kitchen and found Daylin shirtless, standing in front of the stove. He drove her crazy when he did that. She loved to see him without a shirt on; his chest still made her drool. But she was always afraid that he was going to burn himself. He just laughed at her and reminded her that he used to cook naked.

  Breakfast was light since they were headed to his Aunt’s for dinner. It was going to be a packed house. Daylin’s brother and sister weren’t coming. It would be his parents, his aunt and uncle, Cameron and Lucy, Cameron’s sister and her boyfriend, Lucy’s mother and her boyfriend and Jess and Daylin.

  By the time they left the house, Daylin dressed in a collared shirt and slacks, and Jess in the dress that Daylin had convinced her to buy for the occasion almost everyone had arrived. Daylin had to park down the block.

  Introductions were made. Daylin’s parents weren’t there yet. His mother wasn’t feeling well and there was talk of his parents not coming at all. Daylin looked disappointed but tried not to let it show.

  His parents did show up. The turkey had just been taken out of the oven and the table was set and waiting.

  Jess had to swallow hard when she saw Daylin’s mother. She already looked like she had one foot in the grave. It broke her heart to know that Daylin was watching his mother waste away. He’d showed her pictures of his mother before she’d gotten sick. The change was extreme. She went from barely looking her fifty three years to looking a sickly eighty.

  His Dad looked tired. Daylin had a tense conversation with his father after he’d made introductions and ended up storming out of the house. It was several minutes before he came back. Jess
was stuck sitting uncomfortably next to his mother and an empty chair.

  He seemed in better spirits when he came back though. The rest of the meal went well. The food was abundant and tasted wonderful. Jess was stuffed and barely made room for desert.

  Daylin disappeared again after dinner. She went outside and smoked a cigarette with Lucy’s mom and Cameron’s sister’s boyfriend Marty, expecting to find him outside, but there was no sign of him or his car.

  It was over an hour later when he returned. She caught him giving Cameron a thumbs up sign. Lucy gave her a look but Daylin didn’t say anything, just took his place next to her on the couch.

  They left a little after six p.m. They were among the first to leave. Daylin’s parents had been the first to leave shortly before he had disappeared.

  He let her drive home but left her sitting in the car, mumbling something about needing to check something in the house. She had smoked two cigarettes before he came back out a huge grin on his face.

  She followed him into the house and couldn’t believe her eyes. The living room was filled with scented candles. There was a trail of rose petals that ran from the front door and disappeared into the bedroom. It made sense now why he’d asked her what kind of scented candles she’d liked the weekend before. His whole house smelled like strawberries and vanilla.

  He led her into the bedroom where he had exchanged his flannel sheets for satin ones. There were more scented candles in the bedroom. The trail of rose petals ended in the bathroom where he’d ran a bubble bath.

  He kissed her and then helped her out of her clothes. “Do you like it?”

  “Yes. Thank you Daylin.”

  He helped her into the tub and kneeled on the outside, helping her wash herself since the tub wasn’t big enough for two. She laughed at him and told him to climb in her with her anyway.

  It was an incredible night. They made love half the night. At three am when Daylin teased her that they might as well stay up and hit the black Friday sales, she threw his pillow at him and said “No. We’ll clean up the mess in the morning. Goodnight.”