Southern Admirer (Southern Loving Book 2)

by Thorn, Ava

  “I need some advice.” Shane looked over at Benjamin chewing on beef jerky.

  “Is it about the woman you spent lunch time with?” Benjamin smiled.

  “I’m starting to like her more with each passing day,” he admitted as he continued to gaze at the house. “I want to pursue her, but she had a friend.”

  “Why kind of friend?” Benjamin frowned as bit off another chunk of jerky.

  “I don’t know.” Shane leaned his head back on the head rest. “I haven’t dated a woman in over 16 years, and I’m not trying to compete with this dude for her attention. Too old for that shit.”

  “Damn you got some raw feelings for this chick if you’re stressing about her,” Benjamin laughed. “Stop worrying about the other man, if you’re interested in this mystery woman, show her. Make her forget about this other dude.”

  Shane was silent for a moment to allow Benjamin’s advice to soak in. He was sitting here getting his best friend’s advice regarding how to pursue his baby sister. For the past months, he allowed himself to hem and haw because he felt like it was bad and he should be apologizing for liking Jasmine. Shane wasn’t apologizing to anyone about what he was doing with his life and it wasn’t anyone’s business who the hell he was entertaining in his bed or love life.

  I got your sister pregnant and we’re still having sex. Not to mention I might be in love with her, Shane wanted to say. Instead of opening his mouth and spilling the words out, he picked up his Gatorade and swallowed the tangy orange taste of the liquid drink.

  “How does she look? Do I know her?” Benjamin asked with a slow grin on his face.

  Shane breathed a sigh of relief when his partner’s phone started to ring. He didn’t have to tell a lie now. He sat there and listened to Benjamin and his wife have their normal couple spats that seemed to be more frequents than ever. Picking up his cell phone Shane texted Jasmine.

  Shane: How is everything is going at home?

  Jasmine: Fine---^Picture mail of Jasmine and Shay laying the bed.

  Shane: Cute!!! Are you okay… no soreness?

  Jasmine: I feel fine! Don’t worry J

  Shane: Telling me not to worry is an understatement. Did you call the doctor?

  Jasmine: Yes! I have an appointment for tomorrow morning and the invitations for the party are done. I submitted them to everyone on your list including mine.

  Shane: There is no going backward….Are you ready?

  Jasmine: L Heck no... I’m ready to move forward.

  Shane: I’ll be home kind of late, but Margie, my aunt and cook from the main house, will deliver dinner.”

  Jasmine: Thank God… I was preparing for a Ramen Noodle night for us.

  Shane: LMAO! I’ll see you at home around 7 p.m. - try to keep Shay up for me…Please….

  Jasmine: Mama Bear needs to sleep when the cub is sleeping.

  Shane: Don’t worry I’ll be home to help… TTYL

  Jasmine: Be safe.

  ***

  Earlier in the day, Jasmine wanted to cry because she’d wanted to take a shower desperately, especially after she had been peed, pooped and vomited on. Shane had been her knight in shining armor when he walked through the door for lunch. Her spirit and energy were renewed but now she was totally depleted again. She felt like she needed to cry, not for the baby but for herself. All she wanted was a good nap, shower and diapers that didn’t leak when Shay went to the bathroom.

  The knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and the Housewives of Atlanta. Walking to the door, she opened it and stared at a short, old, white woman with creamy skin, her grey hair was pulled back into a bun. Jasmine’s eyes drifted to the casserole dish in the lady’s hand.

  “Hello, you must be Jasmine. Shane told me all about you.” Margie smiled and stepped into the house.

  “Yes, he told me to expect you.” She followed the woman to the kitchen, who appeared to know her way around the house.

  Margie stopped in mid-walk to stare at the Shay in the baby swing. “Oh my.” She had her hand over her mouth and glanced over at Jasmine. “I’d know a set of McBride eyes and nose anywhere.”

  Feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, all she could do was nod her head up and down. “Shay Melody McBride.”

  “Oh, my God,” Margie put the dish on the counter. “This is my niece and ain’t nobody told me.”

  Jasmine walked over and picked Shay up and held her to her chest. “We were planning on telling everyone in four days at a celebration party. Did you get your Facebook invite?”

  “Facebook?” Margie looked at her in disbelief. “I didn’t check no Facebook message. My sister is going to flip when she finds out.”

  “You’re not going…to tell her right?” Jasmine asked. Maybe Shane calling Margie over was a huge mistake.

  “I don’t approve of the decision to keep this gorgeous baby a secret,” Margie said in one those annoying babyish voices as she crowded Jasmine’s personal space. “Baby, you have that look on your face.”

  Jasmine frowned at Margie. “What look?” She wanted to run to the bathroom to see this look on her face.

  “Sugar pie, I gave birth to five kids and can tell you right now, the first three months is not a joke,” she chuckled. “Let me wash my hands and I’ll take this little one for you.”

  “I’m not sure,” Jasmine said, looking down at Shay. No one else had ever held her daughter maybe that was the good part about no one knowing anything about Shay, they didn’t have their family descending down on them and wanting to hold her.

  “Not a problem,” Margie said in an understanding tone. “I was the same way with my first born, wouldn’t allow him out of my sight. By your second one you will be begging someone to hold him or her.”

  Jasmine nodded her head and sat down. “There won’t be a second one anytime soon.”

  Margie smiled and cleared her throat. “Becoming a first-time parent is stressful. Be happy that you don’t have a house full of friends and relatives putting their two cents in. Believe me when I say that my mom and mother-in-law were always giving unsolicited advice.”

  “Since you’re here, can I show you something?” Jasmine stood up and walked to the bathroom and came back with a Ziploc bag. “Her umbilical cord fell off…Do I have to do something special?”

  “Awww, what did the doctor say?” Margie laughed. “I bet you called her.”

  “I did,” Jasmine admitted.

  “Well, you can give this little one her first bath after we rub alcohol around it,” Margie said.

  “Maybe I do need help,” Jasmine confessed.

  “Direct me to the baby items and we can tackle bath time, she will sleep well tonight.” Margie stood up and obtain the supplies; pink bath tub, baby washcloth and towel, and Johnson & Johnson Baby Wash.

  Jasmine started to coo softly as she undressed her small baby, it still amazed her how little those tiny toes were and how soft Shay’s skin was. By the time Margie placed the baby tub on the living room table, Shane was walking through the front door.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, looking from Jasmine and then to the baby.

  “We’re giving Shay a bath,” she said excitedly. “Her umbilical cord fell off today.”

  “What! Did you call the doctor?” Shane sanitized his hands and plucked the baby from Jasmine’s arms.

  “She’s fine,” Jasmine replied. “When it fell off I checked on BabyCenter and I called the doctor who said it’s perfectly fine.”

  “Did you send him a picture?” Shane asked.

  “No.” She laughed when Shane pulled out his phone and took a picture of Shay’s tummy.

  “Shane McBride, did you send that picture to the pediatrician?” Margie asked with her hands on her hips.

  “Maybe we should take her to the hospital, Jazz go get dressed. Why doesn’t our daughter have any clothes on?”

  “Hold up.” Jazz grinned from ear to ear. It was cute that Shane was being a tad bit overbearing. “Dr. Adan said Shay is
perfectly fine, as well as the baby blogs, and you’re in time for our daughter’s first bath…Yippee!”

  “You young folk and the baby books and blogs,” Margie said, shaking her head. “Back in the olden days, we didn’t have books or computers. Good old learn as you go.”

  “OK,” Shane said reluctantly, but still sent the picture to Dr. Adan anyway. Placing Shay on the blanket, he removed the diaper until his darling baby girl was wearing only her birthday suit.

  “I will sit back and teach from afar,” Margie said.

  Jasmine kneeled down next to Shane and took Shay from his arms. She listened to Margie instructions and began to wash Shay’s face first. Everything was going smoothly until they put Shay fully into the lukewarm bath water. Shay wasn’t having it. Jasmine wanted to cry because her baby was crying.

  “It’s okay baby,” Shane said in a soft voice, as he reached for his phone and took pictures and recorded the baby’s first bath.

  It was so scary to bathe her baby for the first time, especially handling a small bundle of joy that was wiggling, wet and soapy. Somehow Jasmine mustered the confidence to get through bath time. They worked together as a team; Shane dried Shay off and put her clothes on while Jasmine took pictures.

  “Thanks, Margie.” Jasmine hugged the woman who was a lifesaver.

  “Dearie, we’re family now call me Auntie Margie. If I knew ahead of time, I would have been here to help out a long time ago.” Margie smiled and patted her softly on the back.

  “Shane can you feed Shay while I take a bath?” Going to the refrigerator Jasmine pulled out a bottle of breast milk she pumped a few hours ago. Placing the bottle under the hot water for a few minutes, she handed it to Shane and went into her room.

  Sitting on the sofa looking into Shay’s eyes as he fed her, Shane could feel Margie eyes on him, he wondered how long he could give his aunt the silent treatment before she asked him a million question about his life with Jasmine.

  “I like her,” Margie acknowledged as she sat on the sofa next to him. “She is good for you.”

  “You don’t know her to like her or to know if she is good for me,” he said sharply.

  “Did you know her eyes lit up when you walked into the room? Or the fact that your eyes sparkle now?” Margie put her hand on his knee. “Have you forgiven yourself?”

  Shane knew what his aunt was hitting at. Sarah’s death was a tragic accident and to this day, he felt like it was his fault. Their marriage was crumbling down at their feet and he had a hard time coping. Her death shattered his world. Shane was left with a gaping hole in his life. The night his wife was killed, they had one of those arguments over the phone, he was pulling an overnight on a case he was working. The last words he told his wife was “I want a divorce”.

  “I’m good,” Shane said, blinking back unshed tears.

  “Are you?” she asked. “One thing I know about you is that sometimes you lack emotions and act like everything is honky dory when it’s not.”

  “I’m fine,” Shane replied as he kissed Shay’s hand. How could he possibly tell family and friends that he was lonely in his marriage way before Sarah died? Shane felt like if he started dating again it would signal that he was moving on. A part of him was stuck in the past because of the guilt he carried every day.

  “Okay…” She patted his leg. “What is this? What is going on between you and that young woman?”

  Taking the bottle from Shay’s mouth, he proceeded to burp her. “I have these feelings for this woman that I shouldn’t have. Her bother is Benjamin St. Clair.”

  “Your partner’s sister?” Margie said shockingly. “Nephew, you are playing with fire. I don’t understand anything about this younger generation. Isn’t there some type of guy’s codes you supposed to obey?”

  “Aunt Margie, only dogs obey.” Shane handed the baby over to his aunt. Bracing his arms against his knees he looked at his aunt who been his confidant for years. “After witnessing the miracle of childbirth, it made me appreciate Jasmine.”

  “You’re falling in love with her. Don’t try to deny it Shane McBride. I noticed how you and she gazed at each other adoringly; the love between you guys radiated from every pore in ya’ll’s bodies.”

  Shane shook his head, he didn’t want to hear about love emitting from the both of them. “I’m going to go check on Jazz, are you okay with Shay?”

  “That’s a crazy question, I reared four kids plus you on the weekends,” Margie said as she gently rocked Shay back and forth. “Shane?”

  “Yes,” he said, turning back around before making his way into the hallway.

  “Are you guys having sex?”

  Margie wasn’t the type of woman to hold back on her words. “Aunt Margie that is none of your business.” Shane blushed.

  “Well son, unless you want this little princess to have a brother or sister in nine months, I suggest you stop having sex unless you want Irish Twins.”

  Shane stood there for a moment to soak in the aunt comment regarding Irish Twins. He was thirty-three years old. Most of his friends and old classmates already had houses full of kids running around not to mention his sister Liz had one child and already working on her second. When he got married to Sarah, they were supposed to have children running around the house barefooted and screaming at top of their lungs.

  Like any normal couple they pushed it back, because at the time Shane’s military career came first, then when he got out and joined the police force, that’s when their marriage started to experience the seven year itch. Not because they lacked communication problems or infidelity it was because his wife was bipolar. There were days where Sarah didn’t take her medication. He would have to come to constant fighting, she was this ticking time bomb and anything was liable to set her off. It was like going home to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He was so tired of his lifestyle at home with Sarah, the day he asked for a divorce was the hardest decision he had to make. Shane could no longer help Sarah, who believed there was nothing wrong with her.

  “I’ll be back,” Shane said. Walking down the hallway he knocked on Jasmine’s door. Opening it slightly, he could smell white calla blossom body wash emitting from the bathroom. Going further into the room his eyes traveled to the crumple with sheets on the bed that was evidence of their afternoon lovemaking. His cock hardened just thinking about Jazz being beneath him and how her body responded to him. Stepping into the hot bathroom, Shane saw her in the white claw bath tub with her eyes closed and head leaned back against the pillow.

  “Is this your habit McBride?” she asked.

  The bubbles covered her delectable, brown figure. Licking his lips he tried to focus on why he came into the bathroom. “I didn’t…come in here to re-enact events from earlier.”

  “Really,” she laughed. Opening her eyes, Jasmine looked down at his pants. “You have a woody…yep it looks like it growing by the second.”

  Shane couldn’t help but laugh with Jasmine, her laughter and smile was infectious. “I wanted to talk, that’s it.”

  “Last time we talked,” she waved her hands to emphasize her point, “ended up in bed.”

  “Do you regret that?”

  “No…I’m afraid I don’t…Do you?”

  Kneeling down, he dipped his fingers into the warm water. “No, I don’t.” He stared into the dark brown eyes. “What do you want? It’s not all about sex. We’re parents raising a baby, but at the same time we can’t deny the attraction and chemistry between us.”

  Jasmine started to twist a tendril of her black hair. “I’m looking for more than just a roll in the hay as you would say. I had stability before you begged me to come back to Texas.”

  “I don’t want just a roll in the hay,” he drawled, as he touched the side of her face. “I want us to think about the future together.”

  Jasmine moved her face away from his touch. “I’m not interested in getting hurt by you, Shane. We bother know that you can’t offer me what I need besides a nice romp in the sheets.�
�

  “You make me happy.”

  Jasmine thought about those words. You make happy. She didn’t only want happiness, Jasmine wanted more. There was this list she made her senior year in college that she remembered verbatim, but Jasmine knew Shane couldn’t fulfill her requirements.

  “It would be wrong if I said you didn’t make me happy...I would be settling…and I refused to do that.” Jasmine stood up and grabbed the plush white robe and wrapped it around her body.

  “What?” Shane said looking dumbfounded. “You’ll be settling?”

  “Yep and so would you.” She walked into her room and took out black and white shorts and placed them on the bed along with a tank top.

  “How would you be settling?” he asked.

  “Because you're only looking for a companion, there is no love. We’re only civilized with one another.” Jasmine paused and looked up at him. “There is a fire between us but at the end of the day…I need more.”

  “Does Max give you that?”

  “Max is not up for discussion.” She rolled her eyes. There was no way Jasmine was going to talk about that relationship with Shane because it was none of his business.

  “Why not? I should know who the mother of my child is socializing with.” Shane knew he sounded like a jealous boyfriend, but he didn’t want another man around Jasmine or their daughter.

  Jasmine rolled her eyes again. She couldn’t believe Shane was all up in her business. “I don’t owe you an explanation, unless it’s pertaining to our daughter.”

  “What’s his last name?” Shane didn’t agree with Jasmine and he wasn’t going to back down until he got the information he wanted.

  “N-O-N-E-O-F-Y-O-U-R-D-A-M-N-B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S!” she spelled out. Jasmine laughed when Shane’s face turned beet red.

  “You know I have a way of finding things out,” Shane said with an amused look on his face.

  Jasmine arched her eyebrow at him, realizing why Shane was talking like this. “Wait a minute, are you jealous?” she asked, smiling big. A small part of her was happy to see Shane jealous, all those years she was envious of his marriage. Shane wasn’t an insecure man so him becoming territorial it must have meant something, but Jasmine wasn’t going to put too much thought into the green-eyed monster in front of her. In some ways, she was going to relish in his disliking of Max and her dating life.