by Natalie Ann
“It did. Roger told Jake to watch himself. That there is a reason I’m so good at my job. Jake started to move toward Roger and I stepped between them and snapped. I told Roger to stop being a jealous fool and if he had something to say about me, to take it up with Mitch. Otherwise he should just do his job if he wanted to keep it.”
“He took that as a threat, didn’t he? I never cared for him, not after all you’ve said. He’s probably pissed that he got passed over for the last promotion and you are technically his boss.”
“His feathers were more than ruffled; they were busted in a lot of places. It’s not just that I was a woman that got it over him, but it’s that I’m ten years younger and haven’t been there as long.”
“You’re good at what you do,” her mother said.
“I am.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the ass that started all the rumors to begin with concerning you.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him either.”
“So back to Jake. What happened?”
“I accused him of being jealous. He didn’t take too kindly to that.”
“You have to know how silly that sounds. Even I want to laugh.”
She knew it was stupid the minute it came out of her mouth. “Then I told him I could take care of it myself. I didn’t need him to make matters worse, which he did. I had to do damage control and put Mitch on alert. I didn’t know if Roger would file a complaint against me for a threat at his job.”
“He wouldn’t dare.” She loved the fire in her mom’s eyes.
“He didn’t. There were witnesses to what he said. Betsy even went into Mitch’s office the next day and brought it up. Roger was called in and talked to. Guess it wasn’t the first time he’s said things about me or others.”
“And it probably won’t stop.”
“Who knows and it’s not my problem.” She wouldn’t let it be.
“No, your problem is Jake. So did you apologize?”
“I shouldn’t have to. He didn’t even try to call me that night to apologize or talk about it. Or last night either. I haven’t heard from him since we left work.”
“Maybe he’s pissed off at you. We all know how your temper can be when someone ticks you off.”
“What did I do?”
“Sounds like you jumped down his throat for trying to defend your honor. You should be thrilled he was doing that rather than be annoyed over the fact he thinks you can’t take care of yourself. Which you and I know darn well you can. Again...back to the thoughts of worth. You have no idea what is going through his mind.”
“Because he doesn’t tell me!”
She hadn’t thought of any of what her mother was saying. That he’d be annoyed she didn’t want him to defend her honor. Wasn’t he one of the most honorable men she knew? Why hadn’t that thought crossed her mind?
Because she was so ready to jump down anyone’s throat that didn’t fit what she was looking for. She was so set in her ways at times and wanting a certain outcome.
She’d always been determined to prove her worth in her job and in her life and to stand on her own two feet.
“Maybe I should make the first move,” she finally admitted.
“No maybe about it,” her mother said and stood up to walk away leaving her there to stew in her own stupidity. Could she have thrown one of the best things in her life away because of her pride?
Felt In Return
Jake felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, pulled it out and saw the text from Rachel asking if they could talk.
He was wondering when she’d reach out to him. He wasn’t about to grovel. He didn’t do anything wrong in his eyes.
Some dick was insulting her and it was his right to stand up for the woman he loved. It didn’t matter she didn’t know how he felt. It mattered to him that any man would say what Roger did about someone. But especially Rachel.
Yet somehow she was pissed off over it and he wasn’t in the mood to deal. She walked away and he did the same thing.
How was he supposed to know she’d be stubborn enough to not talk to him for days?
Then he remembered Reed’s rehearsal dinner was last night and the wedding today. Not that she asked him to go. He couldn’t anyway; he was working.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t have asked him weeks ago.
He would have said no. He would have said he’d feel out of place and she’d be busy all day long. But she could have still asked.
It made him realize that maybe he was the only one losing his heart to her and he was trying to come to grips with it. That there could be a part that she was embarrassed about being in a relationship with a man that had been unemployed for almost a year living back at home with his parents...somewhat.
For a man that never really committed to any woman before, to know he found someone he wanted and she might not feel the same way was a bitter pill to swallow on an already swollen throat.
He still had an hour left of his shift and wasn’t about to get into any type of conversation now. She’d just have to wait like he’d been waiting for days.
When he got out of work, instead of going to his apartment, he drove to her house. He didn’t even tell her he was coming. To him this wasn’t something he wanted to say over the phone. He wanted to see her face when he told her what was on his mind. How he felt about her reaction to the situation. Maybe how he felt about her, if they got that far.
If he had the courage to voice it without knowing what she felt in return.
He still had Rob’s words in his head that life was short. It was precious. Don’t throw it away.
If he wanted something enough he was going to have to fight for it. Begging, he wouldn’t do. Fighting, he would.
There was a fine line and he had to figure out where or if it was going to get crossed.
When he pulled into her driveway, he saw the lights on in her house. It was barely eight and she was probably beat, but he had things he had to get off his chest and they couldn’t wait.
She opened the door right away after he knocked. Her hair was piled on her head, and she was dressed in leggings and an oversized sweatshirt, with fuzzy socks on her feet.
“Jake. I wasn’t expecting you.” She opened the door wider. “Come on in.”
“Cute outfit.”
“Like I said, I wasn’t expecting you. It’s been a long day.”
“And you want to hash this out tonight?”
He was probably coming off like an ass, but he worked himself up on the way over here.
“One of us has to take the first step.”
He nodded his head, took his jacket off, and hung it up, then slipped his boots off and left them at the door. She turned and walked to the back of the house, him following behind.
“So I should start by apologizing,” she said.
“Looks like those words are hard to get past your throat,” he said.
“And you’re only going to make it harder, aren’t you?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He wanted to laugh, but held back. She was feisty and surprisingly it was turning him on. It was no wonder he fell in love with her and she gave him the motivation he needed to get his ass in gear and his life on track. Didn’t he tell her that too? How could she not see how he felt about her?
“Guess we’ll find out.”
“I might have overreacted the other day.”
“Do you think?” he asked.
“It’s been pointed out to me by a few people.”
That got his blood heated. “You needed someone to point that out to you?”
“No. I mean I knew I overreacted that night. Then I got pissed off you didn’t contact me to apologize.”
“I didn’t need to. I was just defending your honor. For all I knew you’d be pissed if I didn’t say something and think I didn’t care enough to. It felt like a no win situation for me.”
“I know you care enough. I get that. I guess my pride just took a hit. I was embarrassed Roge
r said that in front of you. I was afraid you’d think it was true.”
“You think that little of me to believe anything that weasel had to say?” Was that what this was all about? That thought never occurred to him.
“I said my pride took a hit. I’ve had to fight my way in this job. I’ve had to prove to everyone I can do it and work hard at it. It’s not the first time nasty words have been said about me. I told you I get hit on all the time. People see it, comments are made and so on.”
“That dick probably started them all.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him. But the point is, then I lost my temper over my embarrassment. I shouldn’t have done that. I never do. I had to do damage control with my boss. It was all for nothing though.”
“Because no one would believe him over you.”
“No. They didn’t. Then a few more days had gone by and nothing from you and, well, I’m miserable. I watched my brother get married today and I thought to myself, I just threw away the best thing that happened to me, didn’t I?”
He stopped the words that were going to come out of his mouth. “Best thing?” he asked.
“Yes. My mother pointed out to me how stubborn I am. How miserable I was last night and today even though I had a smile on my face. She saw through it all.”
“Family has a way of doing that. My own family has been pushing me for months. On the sly, but it worked. No one has pushed me as much as you though.”
“I haven’t pushed you at all,” she argued.
“You have. The things you’ve made me feel. The things I’ve been able to do since I met you. You weren’t even trying and it was pushing me to move on with my life. To see what was in front of me and make sure I didn’t lose it.”
“You’re here for three months, how can you say that?”
He should have figured she’d bring that up. “I said three months at the job. Not three months here. I thought I was very clear about that.”
“Sort of clear. The thing is, I like where I am. If you moved away, I’m not sure I could.”
He knew that deep down and he was wrong to let her think that. “I like where I am right now too. Whether the job works out or not, I still have time to figure something out with my life.”
“You are. You’re writing.”
“But that doesn’t mean I can make a living at it. I don’t want to commit to someone and not be able to support them. I have to figure those things out in my life. That’s all part of it. That is part of the reason I took the job too.”
“What?”
“I’m sure you aren’t thrilled dating an unemployed writer,” he said, knowing he had to get those words out. It hurt like hell to say them, but wasn’t that part of moving on? Doing things that were uncomfortable?
“First off, that is kind of insulting you’re assuming I’d think that way. And second of all, you’ve never said that before.”
“No guy wants to admit that. I’ve got a nice chunk of cash put away. I’ve never been much of a spender. I’m definitely not poor. I’ve got a roof over my head, but we know it’s not much. I’m not in the same league as you and your family though.”
She started to shake her head rapidly. “Those thoughts never crossed my mind. They should’ve. My mother pointed them out though.”
“So your parents feel that way?” he asked. Shit, he was right.
“No. My mother wondered if you’d feel that way. I told her she was nuts. That you’d never think that.”
So many things he was wrong about. “They’ve crossed my mind.”
“You should have said something. I would have set you straight.”
“You talked about pride,” he said. “We both have it.”
“What other thoughts have crossed your mind?” she asked him.
“Before I get to them, I guess I have to know if we are beyond what happened on Thursday? And that you have to know I wouldn’t have done anything differently and if it happens again I’m going to speak my mind and I’m going to get involved.”
She snorted and he fought to keep his lips from twitching. “I figured as much. I guess I was conflicted. I thought it over, and realized if you didn’t stand up for me, I might have been annoyed too.”
“There might not be any winning with you at times.” She was going to be a challenge for him that he was actually looking forward to.
“So I’ve been told before.”
“Guess that’s something I’ll have to get used to.”
“Meaning what?” she asked, tilting her head. There was hope in her eyes, just what he wanted to see.
“That I’m shocked you can’t see what I feel for you. That I have to be the one to say it first.”
She grinned this time. “The woman shouldn’t always be the one to say it first.”
He laughed. “No. Like you said, one of us has to make that first step. So I guess it will be me. I’m not perfect. I’ve got issues and a past I’m trying to overcome. I’m going to get moody if my writing doesn’t pan out the way I want. I’m going to have days I don’t want to talk to anyone and just want to brood about things I’ve lost. Then there are going to be days I just want to hold you tight and thank the heaven and stars that you sought me out for a job I thought I’d never want to do and hope that I’ll be enough for you.”
He watched as her eyes started to fill with tears, giving him the hope that she felt the same as him. “Are you saying you love me, Jake?”
“I might be. Would you be okay with that if I did?”
She walked up and hugged him, then kissed him hard. “I’d be more than okay if you said you loved me. Then I could say it back.”
This time his heart was racing for a number of reasons and none of them had to do with the annoyance and frustration that brought him over here to hash it out with her. “Even with everything I just told you?” he asked.
“If you can deal with my stubbornness and quick temper at times, then I can deal with your moodiness. People who love each other learn to live with those faults.”
He hugged her tighter. “Which one of us do you think has more faults?”
“It might be a toss up. I guess we’ll have to stay together to find out.”
“I guess we will. I love you, Rachel.”
“I love you, Jake.”
Epilogue
“So you got past your three months and are staying on?” Rachel said to Jake when he picked her up for their date. His three months were up last week, but he hadn’t said a word. She figured it was time to put it out there.
“Yeah. Things are working out and I’m working almost full time at the moment by the time I cover shifts and get called in.”
“You’re fine with the uncertainty of it all?”
“It’s not as bad as I thought. I know when people are off a few weeks in advance and we are rotating the on call now. I figure it will all work out and I’ve still got plenty of time to write.”
“Which we know is what your true passion is. And the fact you got your second book done already is even more impressive. I’m so proud of you.”
He’d finished that up a few weeks ago. She still hadn’t read anything he’d done. He wasn’t letting her and was waiting to see if the agent he hired could pull some publishing contract together. She hadn’t wanted to ask too many questions.
“I felt better about the second book when it was finished than the first,” he said.
“Maybe you’ll let me read one of them someday?” she asked.
“Soon,” he said. “Are you ready for this?”
“I guess I don’t have a choice.”
She wasn’t thrilled with his idea of a date, but she didn’t want to say no to him either. He’d been through so much and she’d been hoping that since he took the job and didn’t make her go up in the chopper with him first that he’d forgotten those words he’d thrown down that day.
She thought wrong.
“We all have choices in life,” he said.
“That
’s true. I could say no, but I have a feeling this means a lot to you and for that reason I can’t turn you down.”
“It will be worth it. You didn’t drink anything, did you? Liquid courage?”
“No. I trust you.”
He drove to a small airport where he paid for the use of a chopper for the day. “I won’t let anything happen to you. It took me some time to find someone to let me use their chopper.”
“How did you find a place?”
“One of the guys at work, his buddy owns this chopper. He was willing to let me rent it.”
“That’s nice,” she said, her teeth clenched. He shook his head at her nervousness and when they pulled into the parking lot and she saw the small chopper sitting there, her hands started to sweat. “This isn’t what I had in mind. I kind of thought it’d be something bigger.”
“You said you trust me,” he reminded her.
“I do. I’m not sure how much I trust that though,” she said, pointing and knowing her finger was shaking. “Now I wish I had a little bottle of something.”
He laughed at her. “It won’t be a long flight. I’ve got a place I want to take you.”
She’d take his word for it. She climbed in with his help, put the headset on, and did everything he asked of her. Then she held her breath when they took off. This was much smaller than anything she’d been in before. Anything she’d thought she’d ever get in.
The things she did for love.
The flight was short. Less than thirty minutes she was guessing. But they’d been flying in all directions and she had no idea where they were other than by a body of water. “Is this Lake George?”
“It is,” he said. “Good eye.”
“My parents have a camp here,” she said, smirking at him. “Though I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this side of the lake before.” He helped her out of the chopper and her legs were steadier than she thought they’d be.
“I didn’t realize they had a place here.”
“We can come back again for a weekend. You’ve been working and we’ve been busy. I bet you could get a lot of writing done here. I’ve got some vacation time I can take. How does that sound? Just the two of us here alone, running around the place naked?”
