by Faye Sonja
“Today is the big day!” Tommy, the friend in question said, slapping him across the shoulders as he took a seat.
“I am not so sure,” he said sitting back in the wooden chair and looking at the solemn approach of the limping young man who was to serve coffee in this dingy place for the rest of his life.
“Come on Jared,” Tommy said frustrated with him. “You need to have a woman to make you a home before you die. Look at your little brother and how happy he is with his new wife.”
Yes, Tommy had recently been to visit his brother and had been regaling him with tales of their happiness every chance he got. He had a half a mind to put a boot in his hind end, but he knew his friend meant well.
“What if she is nothing like what I hope for?”
“Then,” Tommy said stretching the word out, “we move on to other options.”
Jared sighed. He had given his heart once and she had upped and left him for another man saying he never smiled and she felt like she lived under a cloud of gloom. He had wept for he had honestly been happy, but very few people got that he was not a man to smile and make merry like his baby brother did. He was used to the seriousness of both his job and having to be the man of the ranch at such a young age. It didn’t mean he was not happy, but he couldn’t quite find a woman who understood that.
“I am sure I can find other things to do with my time,” he said resigning to not show up for his meeting with this Jasmine Devore who he was supposed to meet.
“I retire next year Jared,” Tommy said with a sad face. “I don’t want to leave you alone out on the road.”
“You’re what?” Jared croaked out looking at his friend. “You cannot retire. We agreed we would do a couple more years.”
Tommy looked at him and smiled. “That was before I fell in love and had a child. Now I am missing most of my son’s life being out on the road. I have made more than enough money to make my ranch a very productive place and I am tired of spending my nights with you. I am going home to my wife and child. You should find a wife to go home to or soon you will find yourself old and all alone.”
Jared said nothing in response as they ate the breakfast that was placed in front of them. He knew that it was that time in his life and Tommy spoke the truth.
“Okay fine,” he said when they had finished eating. “I will go meet this woman and see what she has to offer me.”
Tommy smiled and dug into his breakfast for once keeping his mouth shut and leaving Jared to think on how his life would change if this woman did prove to be the one he would settle with. A part of him was actually hoping she would be. Truth was he was getting a little lonely, but he would never admit that out loud to anyone.
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3
Chapter THREE
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“ I am supposed to be, but who knows
what the future might hold.”
.
“No!” Jasmine shouted sitting upright in her bed. The Sunday morning rainy breeze blew in through the open window of her small apartment and the puddle below the window told her that chances are she had left it open last night. She pinched herself trying to discern if she was screaming or not, but when another knock sounded on the door she knew she was not simply dreaming.
“Amy?” she called and turned to see the bed empty and well made. There was a note on her pillow.
God Luck with your dream husband today. I left pie in the fridge.
Be nice and do not speak of looting and killing just so you can scare him off.
Come find me at work after.
Love Amy.
“Do not speak of looting,” she read aloud and laughed. She was trying hard to bury that part of her past. Why would she even mention it? It was a question she had asked herself. She was staring at her curtains billowing in the wind coming through the open window and heard a knock on her door.
Who could that be… that question was quickly answered when she remembered today was the day he would come and she had given him her address. Yes, she was expecting a visitor.
The knock came again and this time a whole lot more impatient and she hopped out of bed, grabbing her knife as she went. She couldn’t be too sure. She hauled on her dress from the day before and wiped the sleep from her eyes as she made her way to the door, then decided against answering it just yet.
Patting her hair into place, she ran to the bathroom to make herself presentable and then opened the door without looking out to see who it was.
"There are mad men all about this place, and you just flung your door wide open like that?" Those were the first words from the peachy lips that stood at her door and though they were framed as a question they came off as more of a reprimand than anything else. She tried to talk but the light blue eyes and brown hair that stared back at her stole the words from her.
"Jasmine right?" He asked and didn't wait for an invite. "I am Jared," he said as he stepped across the threshold and turned to smile at her. He didn’t even wait to be invited in.
He didn't seem to be bothered by nor did he care much about her state of complete catatonia. When she finally snapped out of it, he was walking the length of her apartment, side stepping the water from the rain outside coming through the open window and peered out into the drizzle.
"Yes I am Jasmine," she confirmed moments later getting her bearings about her and her green eyes gazed into the blue of his. She was the first to withdraw her gaze, taking in his lean but sculpted body.
All the time on the road had done him well. It definitely did and it produced quiet appealing results. He smiled at her eyes taking him in and she looked away a little embarrassed.
"Can you tell me about you and why you bothered to place that ad?" He asked her, and again it wasn't a question, it was more of a command phrased as one to make her feel like he was really interested in her. For some strange reason she was comforted by his subtleness and his dominant presence. He brought with him an atmosphere of security and reason. His blue eyes, as piercing as they were, didn't bore into her. They looked at her, they saw beneath the facade she was trying to keep in place in spite of feeling like she was falling to pieces but she didn't feel bothered nor violated.
For the first time in ages, she felt like someone finally saw her.
"Hey," he said walking up to stand a few feet away from her where she stood behind the closed door staring at him. "Are you ok?"
She nodded and made her way to the kitchen, needing something to keep her hands busy. "Coffee?" She asked, not knowing if he drank it or not. His suit and tie ensemble did not make it easy for her to concentrate. It gave him an air of serious confidence, and his eyes played with hers while they talked.
"Yes, please." And moments later he directed her to take a seat in one of her humble wooden chairs and she was praying that they would not fall apart. She wasn’t so sure what impression he would have of her if he fell to his rump and spilled coffee all over himself. She moved the books out of the way and raised an eyebrow at him without saying anything. She was sure he knew what she was thinking- she was supposed to be making him feel at home, but it was happening the other way around. She kept quiet about it anyway. As they sat there each taking a sip from the coffee he repeated his request and she got to talking.
"The ad,” she began. “I guess I am just at a crossroads in my life and I am ready for that next step.”
“You are a gorgeous woman,” he said and she blushed redder than the roses she had been trying to grow for months now to no avail. “You must have many suitors.”
She sighed. “To be honest, I am new to town. Have not been here a year just yet and I am a single woman with no family, so I must fend for myself.”
“Where are you from?” he asked her and she was beginning to feel a little vulnerable. She did not want to lie and so she told him the truth.
“I am from a small Amish community up
north. I left because I was shunned.”
His attention perked up just then. “Seems like shunning is a common thing for you Amish. My brother just married an Amish woman who was shunned too.”
“Really?” she asked smiling. “Our customs are steeped in religion and obedience. I am religious but I find I cannot follow orders blindly, especially when they seek to take my freedom from me.”
“What were you shunned for?” he asked and true to his profession he did not mince his words.
“Refusing to marry a man my father chose for me. A man I did not nor could not love.” The memory of the explosive conversation she had had with her father before she was shunned caused her heart to break. She had loved her father like she would never love another man and she missed him, but this was to be her life and so she shoved the thought aside with a smile.
“Tell me about Amish life,” he said to her and she saw genuine interest in his eyes. She had a feeling he was just trying to wipe the horrid memory from her mind.
He sat beside her and never once moved. When she was done her coffee had gone cold and he stood and walked over to her window, peering down at the alley below while she made quick work of their empty cups in the sink. She was wary of him, not sure what to think because he had given her no specific facial expression or so much as a flutter of an eyelid to say what he was thinking.
Then he spoke.
“Ok Jasmine, I came because a friend pushed me to, but I am not sure you will be a good fit for me.” He paused and put a hand on his hip then looked at her with worry written across his face. “You seem to have many unresolved issues from your past and I am not interested in wrestling anybody else’s demons for them. I hope you aren’t offended by my words.”
Jasmine felt her heart break and the anger welling up inside before she could even do anything about it and she shot him a threatening glare. “Of course I’m not offended.” She answered quickly.
“Ok listen,” he began again and Jasmine knew nothing good was going to come out of his mouth. Nothing good ever began with those words. “I have been around a while and unresolved issues never make for a happy union. Your eyes are filled with turmoil and I just think you should spend some time resolving the hurt that has come from your past.”
Jasmine chuckled to herself as she braced herself on the kitchen counter, trying to keep her anger in check. “I cannot believe you made me sit here and spill my heart for this to be your response,” she whispered angrily.
“You seem to be a nice woman but I have seen the effect of unresolved problems first hand.” This time when he spoke his blue eyes flashed and she wanted nothing more than slap the smug look right off his face. “I am not trying to offend you, I just think you need to resolve your past issues.”
“Out,” she said, trying her best not to shout at him. “You go deal with all your unresolved issues.”
“What did you just say?” he asked her surprised at her response.
Jasmine was not that easily phased and she was grateful Amy was not there to try and tell her to calm down, because she would not allow Mr. Smug and Arrogant to stand in her own house and suggest she was a woman too damaged to be of any good. How dare him! He didn’t know her to be casting this judgement on her, and from experience she knew that those who judged so quickly were usually the ones with the most problem.
“I said, get out,” she said glaring at him murderously.
Jared shook his head as he followed where she pointed and made his way to her front door. “You know a little bit of hospitality would go a long way,” he fired back at her, before he could stop himself.
“I gave you coffee, be happy I am not knocking you over the head!”
She didn’t care if she had just threatened a US Marshall, all the attraction she had felt for him had long since disappeared. “Get out of my house,” she repeated.
“You know you are too easily riled up,” he said and stepped outside. “I was not trying to offend you.”
Jasmine thought long and hard before responding. “I know I have issues from my past to resolve, but who are you to say it makes me less than worthy to be loved? Tell me, don’t you have issues you need to resolve yourself?” She said to him as he stood outside her doorway.
His silence was response enough, but the flash of sadness in his eyes was what gave her the real answer.
“It was nice to meet you Mr. Jared Matton. I wish you nothing but god’s speed as you make your way out.”
“Jasmine,” he said as he watched her fight the tears of disappointment. “I meant no offense, please believe that.”
The way his voice pleaded with her not only confused her, but for a moment she saw a boy in his eyes and it was then she realized what he had done.
“You were afraid I would not like you,” she said. She didn’t quite know how she knew these things but she was rarely ever wrong when it came to gut instincts. “It is not that you think I need help. Is it?”
Her response stunned him and he turned away from her intending to walk away and he was sure she would allow him to if he did. But for some reason he turned around and stepped up to her without respecting her space. His breath caressed her face and she willed herself to move but again found it a little difficult.
“Okay, maybe we got off on the wrong foot,” he said smiling sweetly at her and it was clear he had no intentions of leaving.
She rolled her eyes and walked away from the door. “Or maybe you are just plain mean and I am going crazy.”
“Those two are strong possibilities,” he confirmed, lifting his hands in surrender when she glared at him again.
“Ok Jasmine let me be very clear here.” He cleared his throat and paced her floor. She sighed and took a seat looking at him. He looked like he was lost in thought and she couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to know she wasn’t the only one that felt that way.
“I am not sure what I have to offer you, but you are right,” he said and she could hear how painful it was for him to admit that.
“I was right about what?” she asked him, giving him all of her attention.
He looked at her. “I too have issues I need to work through and they may very well become your problems too.” He stared at her flatly and not the slightest bit amused at her sarcastic reference before walking up to her and staring down at her where she sat. “You understand me?”
“How did you ever get a job as a US Marshal?” she asked him and when he stared back at her blankly she ran a hand across her face and prayed for deliverance.
“Don’t be mean,” he said as he sat down beside her. “It is unbecoming.”
“You are a crazy man,” she said looking back at him with a frown.
“There is a strong possibility of that,” he said closing his eyes and running his hand through his hair in frustration. “And I have not courted anyone in a while so maybe I am just horrible at this.”
She chuckled and shook her head. Jasmine was trying hard to mask it but his presence was comforting and she was tired of trying to keep it together all on her own.
“Now you think I am a joke.”
He looked offended as he stood and straightened out his britches.
“No,” she said with a sigh. “I am just wondering why you men all think you must be big and strong all the time. It is okay to be vulnerable sometimes, Jared.”
He looked at her in shock as if those were the last words he expected her to say, before a hint of a smile ran across his face. Just as she was about to smile back a scowl set in and she turned away from him.
Jasmine began to feel anxious again, and she was beginning to think that maybe it would be good to let him go after all.
“Want to go grab another cup of coffee or something?” Jared asked her as if he had read her mind. She looked at him and smiled. For a moment he was indeed her knight in shining armor, but she wouldn’t get too comfortable with that thought. Minutes later they were walking out into the light drizzle and he stepped up to her and pulled her co
llar up against the breeze.
“My carriage is over there,” he pointed.
“I prefer the walk,” she said to him and turned down the road expecting him to follow without question. He did just that and she smiled. He was a strange man, but there was something about him that was oddly endearing and she felt at ease in his presence. She was looking forward to the conversations to come, but first she would take him to meet Amy. She would certainly have a lot to say about him.
The wind picked up as they stepped into her favorite diner, and Amy and her big mouth was the first to greet her at the door.
“Hey Jas!” the bouncy red head walked up to her and hugged her before she could pull herself out of her coat. “Did you get my note?” Amy asked with a glare before she looked behind Jasmine at the man who helped her out of her coat.
Jasmine saw the look in Amy’s eyes and knew what was coming before the red head opened her mouth again. She tried to offset it with an introduction. “Jared this is Amy. Amy this Jared.”
“Oh, he is gorgeous.” Amy pinched her on the arm. “You have to tell me all about it,” she whispered suggestively at Jasmine.
“No, no, no! Don’t get ahead of yourself,” Jasmine said trying to let her friend know that the blue eyed beauty wasn’t hers just yet.
“No need to be all modest about it,” Amy said and walked away leaving Jasmine red in the face and Jared with a pleased grin on his.
“She thinks I am gorgeous,” he said her and the devil in his eyes took her mind away from the unresolved issues in her life for a moment. She rolled her eyes at him and walked off leading him to the seat she usually sat in when she visited the place, and like a stroke of good luck, the seat was empty.
