Full Potential

by L. J. Kentowski

  She could do this. Since she had plenty of experience with kids, coaxing one to open up wasn’t new to her. Several times her cousins’ kids had shut down, and she’d needed to find a way to get them out of their lull.

  As she searched her mental arsenal, Zane spoke up. “Hannah, don’t be rude.”

  Forcing the girl to like her wasn’t the way to do it. The relationship needed to be mutual if they were going to get along. “It’s okay, Zane. I can tell she’s shy.” She gave Hannah her attention again. “What about a game?” Silence. “Want to see the horses?” Her head perked up. “We could pretend we’re princesses, and the horses are ready to take us to a ball to meet our prince.” The toddler’s face lit up, and she stuck a fist out.

  “Oh.” Zane chuckled. “Sorry. That’s kind of our thing.” He did the gesture for a fist bump.

  Jena stuck out her own fist and bumped knuckles with the little girl.

  Hannah spun to face her father. “Daddy. Can we get my tiara?”

  “No, honey, it’s at home.”

  Hannah seemed devastated.

  “I have an idea,” Jena said. “How about we make a tiara? I’m sure Riley has plenty of things here we can use, right, Riley?” She peered up at her friend, who was watching the scene from a few feet away, along with Dax and Tyler.

  Riley thought for a moment. “You know, I think I have the perfect thing. C’mon, I’ll show you.”

  Hannah followed Riley down the hallway as Jena stood. “She’ll be fine, Zane. I’ve got this.”

  “Jena, are you coming?” Hannah called out from the hallway, gazing back at them.

  An amused grin played on Zane’s lips. “It’s not her I’m worried about.”

  Jena laughed and followed the girls.

  Tyler stopped her along the way, leaned in, and kissed her cheek. “I knew she’d love you,” he whispered in her ear. “Have fun, beautiful.”

  With a blushing smile, Jena met up with the others, and as they walked down the hallway toward whatever destination Riley was taking them, Hannah asked, “Is Tyler your prince, Jena?”

  She opened her mouth to answer, but Tyler beat her to it, with a loud, “Yes.”

  Hannah waited for confirmation, so she shot her a wink. “Let’s hope he doesn’t turn into a frog,” she whispered.

  The little girl giggled.

  “I heard that,” Tyler yelled.

  A bunch of deep-toned ribbits sounded from the living room, and Jena laughed as she went on her way to transform into a princess for the day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The last few weeks were the best Tyler could remember having in a long time. When he wasn’t working, or Jena wasn’t watching kids, they were together. Eating dinner, watching movies, hanging out with Dax and Riley, they seemed the perfect couple. Sleeping side-by-side, or rather, in each other’s arms, became a nightly thing, not planned, mostly out of pure exhaustion from trying out every position in the Kama Sutra Bible. They couldn’t seem to get enough of each other as if there was nothing else they’d rather do.

  The day with Hannah had set everything in motion for Jena’s childcare opportunities. She was a natural. Several parents contacted her after word got out she was available for daycare work. Tyler had helped spread the word, as did Riley, Dax, Aunt Terry, and even his mom, which Tyler knew played right into her ultimate plan. From the smile Jena wore every time he saw her with the kids, she loved what she was doing, and he loved seeing her so content. Each day spent with her, witnessing that smile and coming up with ways to bring about others, had him falling hard and fast.

  Jena hadn’t made up her mind about accepting his mom’s offer…yet. She’d gone back home to let her parents know she’d be staying in Seeton until the wedding. While there she packed more clothing and personal items to get by for the next few months.

  Once she was back in Seeton, Tyler intended to talk her into taking the deal. The past few days apart had convinced him he wanted her to stay. He wasn’t ready for marriage or anything, not yet, but he envisioned them together, carrying on the way they had for the long haul.

  It was crazy, he knew. He sure as hell couldn’t explain how he could have such strong emotions for someone he’d known for such a short time. But he did. And the fact remained he was living on borrowed time with her. He’d already experienced what life was like when he thought she wasn’t coming back. If she left after the wedding, she’d be gone from his life for good. Crazy or not, he couldn’t picture himself without her. So, when she returned, that was exactly what he was going to tell her.

  It was Saturday night. He was home from work, planning to eat, shower, and watch a game until he could talk to Jena. She had plans with her parents for dinner and said she’d text him once they were finished. After throwing the mail on the kitchen counter, Tyler checked the freezer for meal options, spotted a pizza, and put it in the oven. While waiting for it to cook, he grabbed a beer and sifted through the mail.

  The bottle was midway to his lips when he caught sight of an envelope stamped with a City of Madison return address. He stared, knowing why it had been sent to him, but too afraid to open it. For months, he’d rifled through the mail, hoping to see a similar letter. But back then, he’d been searching for excitement and thought he might find it in a job opportunity outside of Seeton. That was before Jena was back in his life and had become the center of his everything. She was his excitement now, what he looked forward to every day. Tyler had no idea when it had happened, or how; he only knew he didn’t want it to change.

  He also realized their relationship wasn’t solely up to him. Jena still hadn’t committed to staying in Seeton. He could try to convince her, of course, but ultimately, the decision was up to her. What if she went home after the wedding? Where would that leave him? He’d told her they shouldn’t worry about the future, to concentrate on the here and now, enjoy each other and see where the relationship went, but the letter in his hand reminded him the future still held doubts.

  Setting his beer down, he ripped open the envelope. Maybe it was a letter saying, sorry, we’re just not interested in you. There’d be nothing to think about. But as he skimmed through the correspondence, he realized it was the opposite. They were interested in him and wanted him to call for an interview to become part of the next round of recruits they were hiring in six months.

  Shit. That didn’t give him much time to make a decision, not the kind that could drastically change his life. Before Jena, he would have been on the phone scheduling the interview for tomorrow, if possible. But now? Now, he didn’t know what he wanted, and he had to consider everything. Would Jena living in Seeton really change his mind about wanting something more from his career? Would she be enough? What if she stayed, and things didn’t work out? Would he regret passing up the opportunity?

  The phone rang. He jumped as he pulled it out of his back pocket, glanced at the screen and saw her name. His heart skipped a beat. Jena had no idea about the huge decision he faced. The irony of her being confronted with a similar choice didn’t escape him. He couldn’t tell her, not yet anyway.

  “Hey,” he answered. “I thought you were calling me later.”

  “Oh.” She paused. “I’m sorry, are you busy? I had a moment before heading out and wanted to say hi.”

  He hadn’t meant to sound bothered. Shaking off what appeared to be a bad mood, he set the letter down on the counter, grabbed his beer, and moved to the couch. “Miss me, huh?” he asked as he leaned back into the cushions, crossing his ankles on the coffee table.

  The phone went silent for a moment, and Tyler tensed, his mind working overtime and thinking the worst. Was she calling to tell him she wasn’t coming back? Had Steve Duncan swooped in and seduced her with his gentlemanly ways?

  “Maybe.” He heard the smile in her voice.

  Jesus, he was on edge. The letter had somehow set events in motion he wasn’t ready to deal with yet. He needed to clamp that shit down, and decided right then and there, he wouldn’t m
ention the letter until he could talk to her in person.

  “That’s a yes,” he said, leaning into the couch again, the smile returning on his face. “I miss you too. When you get back, I’m going to show you how much.”

  She moaned into the phone, and it went straight to the big man down below. “Can’t wait.”

  “Then we shouldn’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “What are you wearing?”

  The question was met with silence for a second, but then she whispered, “A skirt and blouse.”

  “Are your panties wet underneath that skirt?” He rubbed his palm over the bulge beneath his jeans.

  He listened to her breathing pick up. “They are now.”

  “Want to know what I’d do with them?”

  “You ready, Jena?” A female voice said, sounding distant through the phone. “Honey, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Mom.” Jena’s voice sounded strangled. “Be there in a sec.”

  She sighed into the phone.

  “We’ll pick this up when you get home from dinner with your parents,” he said, not leaving her any choice. “No dessert for you. At least, not until you call me back.”

  She giggled but then groaned. “This is going to be the longest meal of my life.”

  “Tell me about it. I’ve got wood the size of the Empire State Building now. I may have to take a cold shower while I wait.”

  “At least you can. I have to sit at a table with my parents for the next few hours thinking about your wooden skyscraper.”

  “Baby, you should always be thinking about my skyscraper.” He heard her laugh again, and thought about telling her how serious he was, but instead, he said, “Everything going okay there?”

  “Yeah. I talked to my parents earlier about everything. They’re totally fine with me going to Seeton until the wedding.”

  “Did you mention my mom’s offer?” He hadn’t meant to bring it up, but now that it was out there, he held his breath for her answer. If she’d talked about the proposition with them, it would be a sign she was leaning towards accepting, a way to find out where her head was without asking outright.

  “No, not yet.” He didn’t realize he’d been silent for several moments, thinking about what not yet meant, until she added, “I might bring it up at dinner, though.” She sounded hesitant.

  “I think that’s a great idea, Jena.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay. Well, I’ll call you later then.”

  “I’ll be waiting. And, Jena? Lock the door to your bedroom before you call. You’re not going to want anyone walking in on our conversation.”

  They got off the phone, each of them worked up again as far as he could tell. He stood, ready to do exactly what he’d said and take that cold shower, but then he glanced over at the kitchen counter. The letter lay open, a reminder Jena wasn’t the only one with a decision hanging over her head. The cold shower could take care of those thoughts for a later time too, he resolved. At least until he found out what direction her dinner conversation took.

  After showering, he ate pizza while watching TV. His mind was nowhere near whatever was on the screen as he found himself desperately wanting to know what was happening with Jena. He’d buried the letter in a drawer to keep his mind off it for the time being, but that wasn’t helping. He had an incredible urge to lay everything out on the line, find out what her decision was, tell her about the letter, and ask what she thought he should do. More to the point, he wanted to find out how much she really wanted him. If all the options were out in the open, he could make a decision based on facts, not what ifs.

  When Jena finally called, she seemed to talk about everything but what he wanted to hear— her mom and dad’s restaurant expansion of delivery service, her cousin’s new job and how it had in-office daycare. She also mentioned the three suitcases she had to bring back to haul all the stuff she thought she needed for the next few months.

  Tyler couldn’t deal with the anticipation anymore and finally decided to simply come out with it. “So, did my mom’s offer come up?”

  “It did.”

  He held his breath, waiting for her to speak before he exhaled. When she didn’t, he blurted, “And?”

  “They said they’d support me with whatever I decide.” He could hear the smile in her voice. She’d been toying with him. “They even said they’d help pay for rent and supplies if I need it. I won’t accept it, of course, not if I can help it. I figure I can take Riley up on the offer to work at the bar if I need extra money starting out. Or find something else. I don’t know. But I’ll exhaust all avenues before I take any more money from my parents. Oh, and they’ll miss me too, but they said my happiness is paramount.”

  She was rambling, sounding both excited and nervous at the same time. He could relate.

  “So, you’re going to accept? You’re going to move to Seeton?” His heart raced.

  “Well, I want to work through all the details before I give a firm answer, but I’m leaning towards yes. It’s a big decision, and scary as hell, you know?”

  Boy, did he ever.

  Silence hung over the line as he thought about what to say. Now was probably the time to tell her about the letter.

  “It helps knowing my parents are behind me, though,” she said. It sounded as if she wanted to say more, but silence took over again.

  “You have me too, Jena. I’ll be there every step of the way, helping you out.” The promise slipped out before he even realized it had formed. And with that vow, the letter got buried deeper in the drawer, locked in with the decision he’d unconsciously made. It was crazy. All of it. Everything was moving so fast, but If Jena’s heart was residing in Seeton, so was his.

  “Yeah? You sure you can deal with me living in Seeton?” she asked.

  “That’s like asking me if I can handle giving you multiple orgasms every day. And Red, that’s exactly what you can expect.”

  She laughed. “Oh, yeah? How about a preview?” Her voice was low, seductive. He was instantly hard from it.

  “You lock your door like I told you?” he asked, trying to control his rapid breath.

  “Yes.”

  He smiled and told her exactly what to expect when she got back…in shameless detail.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “So, when are you going to tell her?” Riley asked, flipping through a book the deejay had given her to pick out songs to play at the reception. Jena had come out to the farmhouse around noon, and they’d been knocking off some of the details left to finish up for the wedding. “Oh. ‘Cupid Shuffle.’ That’s a definite yes. Or should we go old style and have ‘Macarena’?”

  “Uh…neither. How about the whole wedding party learns to do that dance for Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’? You know, the one from the dance school video? That would be fun.”

  Riley roared with laughter. “Oh, my God. Can you imagine the guys trying to do that? Dax, Tyler, and Wade? I mean, Dax has some freaking moves, if you catch my drift, but they seem too…alpha…for synchronized dance. I wouldn’t mind seeing all of them doing that hip move, though. Yum. They’d be like…the Seetondales.”

  Jena nearly spit out her beer. “Oh, oh,”—she waved a hand in the air—”and Tyler and Wade could wear their uniforms. Dax could…well, he could just come out in jeans, no shirt, with a bar towel hanging over his naked shoulder.” She was rambling on, talking out loud as the thoughts hit her. Riley’s eyes bulged. “Shit, did I say that?”

  “Thought about this quite a bit, have you?”

  “Not until now. And never again. I promise.”

  Riley giggled. “It’s okay. My man’s hot. They all are. If you hadn’t noticed, I’d think there was something wrong with you. Besides, you couldn’t stop telling me how sexy Dax was when we first came to Seeton, so I already knew what you thought of him. This town breeds hot men like wild kittens.”

  “You better be prepared if that little human in
side you is a boy, you know. You’ll have a little heartbreaker on your hands.” Riley had since confirmed with her doctor that she was pregnant. Eight weeks. According to her, Dax had been ecstatic over the news. They weren’t going to tell anyone, however, until she was further along.

  “All I know is he’s going to learn how to treat a girl with respect. And I’ll be kicking any hoes lurking around to the curb before they even get a chance.”

  Jena laughed at her friend’s overprotective motherly instincts. “And you’ll have Aunt Jena right there to back you up.”

  “Aunt Jena,” Riley said as dreamily as Jena felt over the title. “I still can’t believe you’re going to be moving here. I can’t even tell you how happy that makes me. So, when are you telling Lynn again?”

  “I still want to hash through some of the details before I go all in. Everything is happening so fast, and I don’t want to feel like I’ve made this huge rash decision. I want to talk with Chris about getting a business loan for renovations and supplies. My mom and dad offered to help with that, but I’d like to do as much of this on my own as I can. I also want to look for an apartment to rent. How I’m going to pay for that, I have no clue. I do have some money saved up, but that’ll blow through quickly. There’s just…a lot of little details I have to figure out before I feel comfortable about pulling this off.”

  Riley put the book she was skimming through down and moved to the couch where Jena was checking off a list of RSVPs they’d received back for the wedding. Sitting close, she grabbed Jena’s hands in hers and waited until her friend peered up at her. “Dax and I want to help. Ach.” She closed her eyes, shook her head, and held a palm up when Jena started to argue. “You’re going to concede to the pregnant, hormonal lady, and let me finish. We want you to stay in the apartment above the bar for as long as you need, free of charge. It’s been empty since I moved in here, so there’s no loss. Now, before you give me a list of stupid reasons why you don’t want to, I’m going to give you a list of valid reasons why you should. One, if it weren’t for you, Dax and I wouldn’t even be together, getting married, having a baby, and being extremely happy. Two, you’ve always been there for me in my business endeavors, helping me fulfill my dreams. Three, I’m selfish. I want you here, sharing this experience with me, being close to your godchild.”