Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set
Page 206
Spence chuckled. “I’ve gotten used to it in the six years that we’ve been together babe.”
“You shouldn’t have had to. I’ve been such a bitch Spence. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
“Be careful Jez. I might hold you to that.” There was a teasing tone in his voice.
Jez laughed. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did. The condos you’re talking about, those are the ones on the north end of town right?”
“Yeah. We have the one on the right hand side of the second floor. I think you’ll like our neighbors.”
“As long as they’re better than the last ones.”
“They are-believe me. I traded my truck for a sports car. My dad thinks I’m going through a midlife crisis. I have to keep reminding him that I’m not even thirty yet.”
“That’s funny. But you loved your truck.”
“It had too many memories.”
Jez paused. She was sure he was thinking of the times they had made love in his truck. They had both lived with roommates when they first got together. Jez’s had been a born again virgin who barely tolerated the fact that Jez had a boyfriend at all. The one time he had spent the night, Katricia had threatened to kick Jez out. Spence’s roommate had been a painfully shy man who had had sex twice in his life. He listened through the wall when Spence was with a girl in his room. They had stopped having sex at his place when Jez had happened to glance at the doorway one night when they were having sex and seen Cord standing there pleasuring himself.
“We’re going to make better memories Spence. I can’t take back all the messed up shit that I’ve done to you over the years, but I can love you so well from now on that they won’t be so painful anymore.”
“I know baby. I have to go. I have to get to work. They changed my shift again, but I’m making better money so it’s okay.”
Spence was a security guard.
“Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see you in a couple days. I love you Spence. Thank you for being dumb enough to give another chance.”
“Baby, I have been lost without you. I would have helped you with your problems if you had been honest with me.”
“I know. I’ll let you go now. Have a good night at work.”
“I’ll try. Bye Jez.”
“Bye Spence.”
Jez had a hard time sleeping that night. She smoked too many cigarettes and couldn’t keep her mind off of Spence. The drugs had been hell to give up, but she didn’t think anyone around her would be happy if she went without her nicotine fix.
Her last day at work seemed to drag. She was a hostess at an upscale restaurant, and she normally enjoyed her job, but her mind kept drifting back to Spence. She couldn’t wait to see him. Her apartment was already packed, so once she was home she stowed her belongings in the truck and the back seat of her car and headed out to her love.
The trip was four hours, so she reached her destination at almost one o’clock in the morning. She saw a shiny black sports car in the parking lot and wondered if it belonged to her husband. She looked up. Her heart started beating triple time in her chest. Her palms were suddenly sweaty. She wiped them on her jeans. Spence was sitting outside on a kitchen chair, with a big fuzzy collie beside him. The dog was new, but the man was definitely her one and only love.
She walked up the stairs. The dog barked. Spence said “Hush Blue.”
Jez smiled. “Blue?”
“I’m not real good at names. Our kids are gonna be in trouble if you expect me to name them.”
She laughed. “I think we’ll do fine.” She crossed to him and put her arms around him. His arms tightened around her waist. She pressed her body to his and then pulled back enough so that she could kiss him. “I missed you.”
“The feeling is mutual baby. I like your hair. It brings out your eyes even more.”
“Thank you. Can we go inside? It’s kinda chilly. How long have you been sitting out here?”
Spence grinned. “A couple hours. No big deal.”
“You’re still a very silly man.” She took his hand. “Bed sounds really good right now.”
“Of course. You must be tired.”
She winked at him. “Who said anything about sleeping?”
“Should I get your stuff?”
“It can wait. My body has missed your touch for six months.”
“I think we can take care of that.”
He opened the door and led her to the bedroom. Their love making felt like magic to Jez. Spence had always been an incredible lover, but that night, he put any other man she had ever been with doubly to shame. They made love for hours. By the time their passions were sated, it was almost six o’clock in the morning. Luckily, Spence was off that day. They retrieved her stuff from her car, showered and then went to bed.
Jez knew that it wasn’t easy for Spence to even think of trusting her again. She knew that there had been many times in their relationship that she hadn’t been worthy of his trust. But she was so happy that he had given her another chance, that she knew she would do anything to prove to him that she was worthy of his love.
That Kinda Love
Morning looked at her cell phone. She wondered if she had the guts to call him after all this time. She had been the one that had walked away. It had been almost a year since she’d walked away from Parrish. She wondered if he still thought about her, if he could possibly still love her the way that she loved him.
She had told him that she needed time to think and then ran off. They’d been involved heavily for a few months. She’d been terrified because she had never felt for anyone what she felt for Parrish. She had had what she considered to be way too many boyfriends both in high school and in college. By the time she met Parrish, she didn’t believe that any man was worth trusting. But he had proved himself worthy of her trust again and again, and she had run away from him.
Morning sighed. She closed her eyes and pictured his face. Parrish was tall and thin with reddish blonde hair and pretty blue eyes. He wasn’t her type. She’d told him that over and over when he’d first asked her out. She considered him to be too darned skinny. She normally liked her men to be built and preferred both dark hair and eyes. But he had been so sweet that she’d decided to give him a chance. And it had been worth it. The months that she’d spent with him had been the best in her life. She’d been too afraid to say “I love you, too” when he’d told her that he loved her, but she had felt it. She still felt it.
Morning opened her eyes. She took a deep breath and let it out. She wondered if Parrish would be home. He didn’t believe in cell phones and still had an answering machine instead of voice mail. She had teased him about living in the dark ages, but she secretly agreed sometimes that it was a pain to always have a phone on your person. She understood the need for some people, but she didn’t think that your average person really needed to be connected 24/7.
She dialed his number from memory with a hand that had a slight tremble to it. She shook her head at herself and listened to the phone ring. After five rings, his answering machine picked up. She swallowed hard when she heard the familiar voice.
“You’ve reached Parrish. This is Tuesday night so I am most likely bowling. If you’re selling something, I’m not interested. If this is Morning, I still love you. Leave your name and number after the beep and I’ll get back to you.”
The phone fell out of Morning’s hand. She looked at it lying on the floor and had the distant thought that she should pick it up. But she couldn’t move. She felt as if she could hardly breathe. She was tempted to dial his number again, just to make sure that she had heard right, but she knew she had. Parrish still loved her. She lay back on the couch, not bothering with her phone. She felt a smile come to her face, even as tears pricked her eyes. He loved her after all this time. What kind of man did it take to hang on like that she thought?
She found herself lost in a daydream of the first night they had made love. It had been incredible. Parrish was so sweet and so
gentle. He treated her as if she would break. She’d teased him while secretly she’d been so touched that she could hardly stand it. No other man had treated her like Parrish did. He’d waited three months to make love to her. She hadn’t held out that long since she was in high school.
She sat up on the couch and wondered how long she should wait to call him back. There was no way she wasn’t calling him back now. She had to tell him that she loved him too. Her mind raced as she finished up her work for the evening. She was lucky enough to work from home, and she made her own hours as long as her work was turned in on time.
It took hours for her to fall asleep that night. By the time she fell asleep, she was doubly glad that she made her own hours.
The next day, she decided that she would wait until Friday to call him. Wednesday and Thursday seemed to pass painfully slowly to her, and Friday felt like torture. Finally, at a few minutes after 7 p.m. she picked up her phone and dialed Parrish’s number. She was disappointed when it rang four times. But by the time the machine had kicked on, she realized that she hadn’t known what she would say to him anyway. She had rehearsed over and over in her head what she would say to him, but none of it sounded right.
She listened to his voice. “You’ve reached Parrish. This is Friday. I’m going to be gone all weekend. Please leave your name and number and I’ll call you when I get back on Sunday. If this is Morning, I still love you.”
Morning cleared her throat. When the beep sounded, she left her number and nothing else. She hoped that he recognized her voice. She smiled as she pushed end on her phone. She was pretty sure that he would.
She finished up her work for the week by the end of the night. Saturday she started packing. She had decided that if Parrish wanted her to, she was going to go to him. Her possessions would fit in the trunk of her car. She had rented a furnished apartment that was month-to-month. She could work anywhere. She knew that Parrish was attached to the small town he had grown up in, and she’d liked it more than she usually wanted to admit, being a city girl herself.
Sunday evening her phone rang. She felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest when she saw his name on the caller ID. She picked up the phone, not bothering to say hello. She was afraid that if she didn’t say what she needed to say, she would lose her courage.
“I love you Parrish. I’m sorry that I couldn’t say it before. I want to be with you. If you want me, I’ll come to you right now. And this is not voicemail you’re talking to. This is Morning and I will always love you.”
Parrish cleared his throat. “You’re going to make me cry darlin’.”
Morning laughed. “Big strong men that hunt and fish and bowl in a league and make their living with their hands don’t cry.”
Parrish chuckled. “I’ve missed you. So much.”
“The feeling is mutual Parrish, believe me. I was chicken. I ran away from you because I was afraid to feel what I was feeling. I’ve never felt this way before. I can’t believe that you’ve hung on for this long. Any other man would have moved on.”
“I’m not any man. I had to hang on. I knew that you were afraid. I will love you like no other man ever will. Come back to me baby. I’ll leave the light on for you.”
Morning smiled. “How long have you had that message on your answering machine?”
“Since about two days after you left. I held out hope for that long that you’d change your mind. Then I realized that I needed to give you your space. But I needed you to know that I still loved you. Did you go back to Charleston?”
“No. I don’t really miss home much. I’m about six hours away from you. I can leave right now and be there around midnight.”
“You gonna stick around this time?” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“Unless you decide you don’t want me to.”
Parrish chuckled. “Don’t count on it darlin’. If you can put up with me, I can sure as hell put up with you.”
Morning smiled. “I’ll see you in a few hours. I love you.”
“I love you too Morning. I’ll be waiting. Your side of the bed has been really cold without you. I couldn’t bring myself to wash the sheets or the pillowcase until your scent had faded from them completely.”
Morning laughed. “I’m not sure whether that’s really romantic or kinda gross. Maybe a little of both. I’m gonna let you go now Parrish. I’ll see you soon.”
“Not soon enough darlin’. I’ve waited for you for almost a year, don’t make me wait any longer. Drive safely. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Bye Parrish.”
“No goodbyes anymore love. I prefer ‘til we meet again.”
Morning shook her head. “Okay Parrish. Until we meet again.”
“You’d better get your pretty little butt here in the next eight hours or I’m gonna get in my truck and come looking for you.”
“I’ll be there. I promise.”
“I’m holding you to that Morning. Oh, you made the happiest man in the universe by the way. But I’m letting you go now. I’ve missed the sound of your voice, but I want you here beside me where you belong even more.”
“I’ll be there before you know it.”
“You’d better be baby. I’ll see you.”
“That you will Parrish.”
Morning pushed end on her phone. She had her trunk packed and was ready to go in less than half an hour. She took one last look at the place she had called home for almost a year and smiled. She wasn’t sad to be saying goodbye. She had a much better life to say hello to.
The drive seemed to take forever and fly by at the same time. When she pulled into Crestview, she smiled. Everything looked just the same as she remembered it. The small town locally owned businesses and the many churches. She drove to Parrish’s house on streets that were empty since it was so late on a Sunday night.
He was waiting on his front porch when she pulled into his driveway. His grin was so wide that she thought it was going to split his face when he opened the car door for her. He took her hand and then swept her right into his arms. He kissed her slow and easy and then pulled back, cupping her face in his hands.
“You are a sight for sore eyes woman.”
She put her hand over his. “So are you. You’re even more handsome than I remembered you to be.” She winked at him.
He shrugged. “Me? Handsome? You gotta be kidding.” He dropped his hands from her face and twined his fingers through hers. “Let’s go inside. We’ve got a lot of lost time to make up for.”
“My bags.”
Parrish shook his head. “Your bags can wait darlin’. My bed has been waiting for you for almost a year.”
She smiled. “I love you Parrish.”
“I love you Morning. I hope my boss can live without me for the next few days. We’ve got a lot of love to make.”
She laughed as he let them into the house. His dog Werner barked, and then wagged his tail in greeting. He licked her hand. “It looks like you’re not the only one that missed me.”
“He wouldn’t eat for almost a week after you left. He missed his Mama.”
“You silly man. Take me to bed.”
“That I can handle beautiful.”
They made love for hours. Morning was so happy she could hardly stand it. She couldn’t believe that she’d found the love that she was beginning to think didn’t exist anymore. They were married six months later, and within a year she was pregnant. Morning was sure that they had the kind of love that would last forever.
The Right Kind of Man
Forever was sitting in her living room alone. It was Valentine’s Day, but she was thirty and unmarried so it certainly wasn’t the first lovers holiday that she had spent alone. She sighed, and brushed a strand of dark hair out of her face. She’d always thought that her hair was her best physical quality. She certainly didn’t think it was her body.
Forever was overweight. She hadn’t had a date in a year and a half. She grown tired of dating men that tho
ught she would put out on the first date because she was desperate. Sometimes, she did feel a little desperate. Tonight, she was just depressed. She felt her mind drift to what she thought of as her untouchable crush at work.
His name was Shiloh and he was gorgeous. They were both editors for a small book publisher. Forever loved her job, even if some days she felt like she was being driven to insanity by the work of talented authors that was still riddled with grammar errors and typos. Their lunch break was at the same time, so she saw him in the break room. They’d talked, and were friendly, but Forever didn’t think she’d ever have a chance with a man like Shiloh. Sometimes, she could fool herself into thinking that he was flirting with her. Like at work that day when he had teasingly asked her if she had a Valentine.
Forever sighed again. Maybe if she was thin, she could believe that Shiloh thought of her as more than an office buddy. But Forever had not been thin since she was eight years old. She had nice hair and pretty dark eyes, but she thought of herself as the girl that people said things about like “Oh she would be so pretty if she was thin” or “She’s cute for a fat girl.” Forever was tired of it. She’d tried to lose weight, but even when she did it always seemed to creep back up on her a few weeks or months later.
Shiloh was her age. He was tall and had dark hair that was buzzed close to his scalp. She normally preferred guys that had hair that was a least a bit longer, but it looked good on him. Then again she thought any haircut would probably look good on Shiloh. He was built like he worked out and had a tattoo on his neck. He’d laughingly told her that it had hurt like hell to get it when she’d asked him about it. He had pretty hazel eyes and a voice that she found to be musical.
She had decided that it was time to retire to the bedroom when there was a knock at her door. Her cat looked up from his perch on the arm of the couch and gave her a look that might as well have said “Are you going to get that?”
Forever wondered who it could be as she walked towards the door. She had few friends, and most of them still lived back in their hometown or at least a lot closer than she did anyway.