by Arlene Lam
“You hate to do anything,” Nina said laughingly. “Besides it aint like we going to some big occasion it just a luncheon or breakfast or get together or whatever ya want to call it.” She rambled.
“I’m going as I am.” Amelia interjected heading toward the door.
“Fine we’ll all go looking a damn mess den.” Jessie whined, all along running to catch up with the trio ahead of her already skipping out the door and down the road.
Amelia couldn’t keep her mind off anything other than the life growing inside her. What were the chances, they’d only been together once. Heck she hadn’t even seen Jordan since the morning he took her to swim. What would she say if she had anyway?
She could hear Jessie whimpering about her feet behind her and slowed a little allowing her to catch up. The day was pretty and the sun above was bright and hot causing little beads of sweat to pool at her brow. She looked to give her friend an apologetic nod. She could hear Nina humming ahead and joined in.
They hadn’t been walking long before they heard the tell–tale clattering of horses’ hooves behind them. Each side-stepped off the road to let whoever was behind them pass.
Amelia would have gone right along humming her ditty if not for the skipping of her heartbeat. She need not look behind her either to know just who was approaching. With a determination she willed her heart to quit its pounding and her nerves to stop jumping along with her pulse to stop racing. She wasn’t succeeding well at all with the last two.
Jasper clasped his hands together in silent prayer for the lord delivering him such bounty as soon as he caught sight of the foursome trotting down the side the dirt road.
Clicking the reins he spurred his horse on at a faster pace. Arriving at the side of Amelia he tipped the hat he was wearing to shield the sun and gave her a magnificent smile. “I didn’t think that it was possible for you to get any fairer than you already were Ms. Marriott. I guess the world is full of surprises.” Then he turned to the other three. “There should be law against such beauties roaming the streets for the pure cause of making men go stark mad over them.”
Jessie simply rolled her eyes, Lenora laughed outright, Nina smothered a sarcastic remark in her throat, and Amelia blushed a vivid red.
The man really was pushing it. It sometimes boggled his mind how Jasper could be so damn meddlesome. He was just like a female, going around trying to make things out of nothing and so on and so forth. He had thought it out of the ordinary taking the old road, which would lose them at least fifteen minutes in time. Now came the answer as to why Jasper had chosen the route.
“Jordan, have you ever seen a prettier sight?” Jasper questioned inclining his head toward the four.
“Never.” Jordan said wide grin on his face, eyes ravishing every inch of Amelia’s form. The act didn’t seem to make her all too happy he noted. In her quaint smile lay a hint of exasperation. That only made his smile broaden all the more as he took in the sight of her.
A crisp white dress accompanied by a pale yellow belt seemed the perfect complement to her features that afternoon and he was more than appreciative of the way the fitted dress clung to her chest, waist and hips. “Ms. Marriott you’re downright...” He started.
“Mr. Bradford.” She cut him off before he could finish his statement. She wasn’t going to allow him to start that with so many around. “Mr. McMahon. It’s so nice to see you both, but we must be getting along now or we’ll be late.”
Jordan gave her a wicked wink. “I do understand but I was wondering if I could perhaps have a word with you. You left my employ so abruptly I was hoping to woo you back, and I believe I’d be correct in the assumption that we are headed in the same direction.” With a smile he pressed on. “Of course I wouldn’t dream of holding up the rest of you. I could carry you there on Colossus after we discuss the subject at hand.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but Mr. Bradford if were all heading in the same direction you could just as soon talk to her while we are all on our way.” Jessie uttered not trusting the situation. Amelia had been left alone once with the man already and look at what had happened.
“I’m headed to the Jackson’s Amelia, Jasper had informed me you would be in attendance as well. I have no problem seeing you there. After we discuss business that is.” Jordan started, he wouldn’t let such an ample opportunity be ruined. “Once at the Jackson’s I don’t wish to steal her away from the celebration.”
“I didn’t think it would be that grand of a party.” Amelia mumbled under her breath.
“Neither did I.” Nina seconded.
Now he wasn’t above acting falsely pathetic if he had to. “I beg of you just a moment. Georgia is in dire straits without you.”
“Oh God.” Jasper groaned from atop of his horse. “Ladies it was a pleasure.” And with that he set his horse to trotting ahead of the group leaving Jordan behind.
Amelia looked to the women for another excuse but they seemed to have none. Or they did but they were rude ones. “Go on then, I’ll meet you all up at the house.”
“Alright honey.”
Nina, Lenora and Jessie all but disappeared after that and Amelia gazed down into her hands waiting for the man towering above her on his horse to speak. Instead he reached down to her. “Climb on.”
Was he crazy? What a question to ask. Of course he was. Or maybe he wanted her strung up from the nearest tree she couldn’t quite decide. “No.”
“Scared?”
Yes. She’d never ridden a horse in her life. Then there was the possibility that she might be seen. They could be seen.
“I won’t bite.”
“You’ve said that before, and even though you don’t bite you do a lot of other things.”
“I thought you liked them.”
She just rolled her eyes. Like them or not she wouldn’t let them happen again. “Jordan I think its rude not to arrive at the Jackson’s on time don’t you?”
“Do you want to be at the Jackson’s?”
“That’s beside the point. When you agree to be somewhere at a certain time that’s where you’re supposed to be. Not somewhere else.”
“I never agreed to go.”
“You just said you did you liar. And even if you didn’t I did.” Amelia said, as she started down the path again in a heavy stride. The girls couldn’t be that much ahead.
“You’re a tad moody aren’t you? Colossus and I can get you there quicker than your own two feet.”
“I’m sure Colossus could, but with you along I don’t think I would get there at all.”
“How so?” He questioned the grin on his face causing her to cast her gaze skyward. “I won’t touch a hair on your pretty little head, at least for the moment.” Jumping down from Colossus he was by her side, hands on her middle hoisting her up and onto the sturdy beast before she could really register the situation.
“Jordan help me down, please.” She hated that her voice sounded panicked, but she was terrified she didn’t particularly care to hide it or care who heard it. Colossus as she just heard Jordan call him was kept shaking his head and stepping side to side. She didn’t like it.
“Princess you look downright pale.” He joked. “Come here.” Taking her into his arms like a child he pulled her from Colossus setting her firmly down upon her feet. “I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.”
With a sigh of relief Amelia pushed away from him. “That’s beside the point. To my recollection things happen all the time that folks don’t want to happen. And the people who thought that they most of all could prevent harm to coming to that body see it happen or are the cause.”
“Colossus wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I’m not up for arguing today.”
“Neither am I Princess.”
Amelia rolled her eyes at that. The man had to be the most impossible being in the world. “We are going to be late.”
“And.”
“We’ll get in trouble.”
“By who? Is
someone going to spank me? Or you for that matter?”
Making an unladylike grunt Amelia started down the road alone. Not getting too far when a pair of familiar hands came about her stomach hindering any further movement for a moment. “Jordan you can play all you want but I said I was going to be at the Jackson’s and that’s exactly where I’m going to be.”
“What is the use in fighting me?” Jordan asked jokingly before leaning down to place feather kisses along her nape. “Princess…” Kissing the side or her neck Jordan almost lost his train of thought as his veins began to fill with fire.
“Oh move! What is wrong with you, do you want me tarred and feathered?” Amelia snapped breaking away from him. “And don’t call me Princess, I’m not a Princess.”
“You’re my Princess.”
“Don’t call me that.” Was the only thing she could think to say to express her view on that last remark. He was being idiotic. “You can’t touch me in out in the open.”
“Why is that Princess?” He said.
“Think about it and I’m sure the answer will come to you.”
Taking a moment to scan the perimeter, Jordan let a deep dimpled smirk grace his face. A frail looking woman a few feet away stood and stared slack jawed at them while her counterpart a younger man shook his head. “I think if we don’t tell, they won’t either.”
“Please…let’s just go.” Touching her hand to her belly, Amelia groaned as it growled loudly. She was hungry, and irritable and tired. She’d address her first issue too if she could be guaranteed more than half of it would stay down in her stomach. She could feel his eyes on her and knew without a doubt that he was grinning “As if you’re never hungry.”
“Oh I get hungry, right now I’m starved.” He laughed letting his eyes roam over her body.
“There is something wrong with you.”
“Nothing that you couldn’t fix if you’d stop being so stubborn we could spend more time enjoying ourselves.”
How in the world was it possible that she was having a baby by this most impossible man? Lord help her if the child took on any of his characteristics. She’d go mad by the time her child reached three. “I’m hungry and aggravated, so I’m going to go on and drag my hide down that there trail, if you want to walk along beside me or ride, you are more than welcome.” She said glancing at the towering beast. “But I’m leaving.”
“We can both ride.” Reaching toward her, he once more had her in his hold, a feeling he could grow accustomed to. “On my life, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Jordan, I just don’t feel like being jostled around I’m not…” stopping herself she gave a weak smile before proceeding. “Well.”
“So that peaked look doesn’t come from fear?”
“No it doesn’t.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I don’t know, I think it’s nothing more than a cold.”
“Princess you ought to take care of yourself.”
“I try. And don’t call me Princess I hate it when you call me Princess.” She heaved. "It’s insulting when in truth you are only saying it to sway me back into a bed.”
“You wound me.” Jordan stepped back as if she had indeed wounded him. In a way she had, though he’d rather die than admit it. She was beautiful, true, and he did enjoy making love to her, he enjoyed it more than he’d ever dreamt was possible, but what he enjoyed more than that was simply her. What she had to say, what she thought, how she reacted, the way she smiled and laughed. “Princess…”
Amelia cut him off quickly. “Don’t call me Princess.”
“I can’t help it.”
“Well I despise it”
“Alright darling.” If she didn’t want Princess she’d have to settle for darling instead.
“Why can’t I just be plain old Amelia?”
“You are not plain old Amelia, that’s why.”
Casting her eyes to the heavens, Amelia soon shut them in surprise as a single raindrop fell and trickled down her cheek. “Foul luck!”
It only took a moment for the heavens to open and the rain to start pouring in droves to the grassy blanket below.
“See what you’ve done.”
“I have control over the weather now?” Jordan mocked all the while taking her up once more into his arms and placing her atop Colossus, following suit a moment after. “Don’t be afraid.” He whispered into her ear feeling her shaking.
“I’m not.”
“Liar.” Jordan goaded.
“I’m not.”
“Amelia.”
“What?”
“Hold on.” With a slight nudge Jordan sent Colossus forward and into a quick trot.
“It’s not so bad.” Amelia said out loud. In truth it was a little bumpy but not too bad after all.
“Then we should go faster and get out of this rain.” Jordan spurred Colossus on into a run mindful of Amelia’s tight grip and how he could almost feel her heart beating within her chest through her back. The sight of a barn standing out like a beacon caught his eye and soon the trio were going full speed just to reach it.
Amelia didn’t say a word as the horse raced down the hill or when Colossus made a jolting stop. She even remained quiet as Jordan jumped from the horse to pry open the barn door and nearly stumbled in the muddy muck in the process. Didn’t say a word when he jerked her off the horse and pushed her hurriedly inside the stale smelling shelter and pulled in Colossus soon after. No she waited until he had tied Colossus up, stripped himself of his shirt, tugged off his boots and made a move toward her. “Don’t you touch me, this is all your fault.”
He didn’t know what had gotten into her but Jordan didn’t like it. Casting his eyes up to the heavens Jordan spoke. “I command thee stop.” Insultingly he turned to her. “Still not responding to me, you might want to ask God to put an end to it all I’m sure he’ll have more luck at it than me.”
“Everybody round for miles is going to know I’m here with you.”
“How do you figure, the whole city is not at Glen Jackson’s!”
“My folks are , they know I’m supposed to be there and enough folks know that I’m not there because I stopped to talk to you. That means that everybody I know is going to know I’m here with you and know I got held up here because of you.”
“I don’t think you friends are going to go about spreading the word do you?” Jordan questioned not wanting to hear her tirade any more if he didn’t know the reason for it. “It shouldn’t matter to you anyways what people say. I don’t know why it does.”
“I matters because you’re the reason I chose not to marry Morgan you’re the reason that Lorraine won’t talk to me ever again. You’re the reason for me being soaked to the bone when I could be dry with my friends. You’re the reason I have people looking down on me as a whore.” Pushing past him Amelia flopped down onto the haystack below. She didn’t know where that outburst had come from. Yet she somehow felt better even if she knew the blame was to be shared. “You’re so…frustrating.”
Never one to bend to comfort erratic female feelings, Jordan stabbed back just as fast. “I’m sorry but I just can’t understand how deciding not to waste your life on Morgan Hanson has any pitfalls.”
Her ire was once again ignited. “You can’t? Well let me tell you it has many. Folks snicker when I walk by and talk behind my back. No one wants to be my friend. Everyone knows about what I did with you.”
Grumbling to himself, Jordan grabbed for a gray wool blanket and lay it over the hay stack behind him, settling down onto it soon after. Jordan rolled over attempting to ignore her. She wasn’t going to make him feel guilty. She should have been thanking him. Marrying that man would have been the worst thing to happen to her. She was blessed to have him. No she was damn fortunate to have him, countless numbers of women threw themselves at him everyday and he wanted to spend his time with her.
Seeing him down there so smug only served to fuel her anger. It seemed as if the smile t
hat crept onto his face only moments ago kept growing until the dimple in his cheek crept out to be seen. She could only imagine what he was thinking, and her fury surfaced with the thud of her boot, removed in seconds, colliding with his solid back.
The hard hit to his back sent Jordan reeling around in moments. The haughty look of a incensed female greeting him. “Now what have I done?”
“You didn’t even say you were sorry.” Turning from his penetrating eyes Amelia made her way to the door; though shut securely, icy wind still made a path within their sanctuary making it almost unbearably cold. She shivered visibly.
“Take your clothes off, and wrap yourself up.”
“Oh that is something you would say, isn’t it?”
“You’re being a little conceited don’t you think? I was trying to keep you from freezing.” Jordan held a found blanket out to her from his languid position below. “You’ll soak it through if you keep that heavy skirt and blouse on, you don’t always have to be so difficult, especially when I’m only trying to help. Take them off and wrap up in this.”
He was right, and she hated that he was right. “Face the other way.”
“No.”
“Jordan!”
“No.” He stated bluntly. He simply refused not to grant himself this pleasure. It had been months since he’d laid eyes on that creamy brown skin, touched it, and tasted it and only God could make him give up seeing it again.
Pursing her lips together in a tight frown and making her eyes into evil slits Amelia removed her other boot and chucked it at him, just missing his head because of his blocking hands.
Smiling as the boot bounced off his outstretched hand and ricocheted to the unknown behind him, Jordan gave her a wicked wink. “I love a feisty woman.” Jordan stated, while once again placing his hands behind his head to lounge in his comfortable position on the hay.
“How can you say no to looking away? You’re so...”
“I’m so what Amelia? Would you rather I had said yes and pretended to look away, or give you the truth like I did, if anything I’m honest.”
