Resemblance

by Y. L. Stokes

  “So Mrs. Remington doesn’t actually know whether or not Marcus is Peter’s, right?” Jack inquired, thinking along the same lines as Nick.

  “That’s correct. She’s just desperately trying to flush someone out,” Patrick said.

  “Huh!” Nick grunted.

  Before anyone could question him, a little voice caught their attention. Saundra stared opened mouthed at the little boy in Ashley’s arms. The baby cooed, and when he saw Nicholas, the most amazing thing happened.

  “Dada.” Marcus held out his hands to Nicholas.

  “Well, big brother, aren’t you going to introduce us to our little nephew?” Patrick asked as he walked over to his brother.

  Nick smiled. “Patrick, Sean, I’d like for you to meet my son Marcus, and to the left of me his beautiful mother, and my soon-to-be wife, Ashley.”

  Ashley looked momentarily stunned. “Nicholas, may I speak to a moment, please?”

  Nicholas cringed at the tone of her voice.

  “Hey, I think Nick needs to talk to Ashley alone to work out a few details,” Jack said. “Sean, you and Patrick take Marcus over to the playroom. Mom, you and Nicole come with me. Let me show you the baby’s room.”

  “I’ve already seen it,” Nicole reminded him.

  “Well, it wouldn’t hurt for you to see it again, now would it?”

  Nicole glared at him, and he pulled her out of the room and closed the door.

  As soon as the door closed, Ashley let him have it. “How dare you make a statement like that without even consulting me? I never said that I would marry you. Hell, you never even asked me.”

  “I was going to—”

  “What in the hell do you mean you were going to?” she asked through clenched teeth.

  “Ashley honey, calm down and listen to me.”

  “Why should I listen to you? You’ve already made all of the decisions.”

  Nick sat and waited patiently until she got everything off of her chest. He knew she wouldn’t listen to a word he said, let alone believe him until she was done. Nick stared into space, remembering their love making last night. She was so responsive that he’d lost himself to her. Hell, he’d lost himself to her that day he’d walked into her office when Marcus had been crying. He remembered her telling him that she loved him as she drifted off to sleep.

  “Are you even listening to me?” Ashley asked in a near shout.

  Nick looked up at her and smiled. “You’re even more beautiful when you’re angry. Not as beautiful as you are when we make love, though.”

  His words seemed to knock the wind out of her.

  “Now that I have your attention and your silence, you will listen to me,” he said. “I had planned on asking you to marry me—that’s why I asked my mom to bring me this.”

  He produced a black velvet box from his pocket. She stepped closer. He pulled her down on to his lap and handed the box to her. Ashley’s hands shook.

  “Why?” she whispered. Nick leaned a little closer to hear her. “Why do you want to marry me?”

  Nicholas placed his hand underneath her chin and turned her to face him. “Do you remember last night when we were making love, and I told you that if we went all the way that you would belong to me?”

  She nodded.

  “Did you think that I was talking about just for pleasure?”

  Ashley shook her head.

  “Good. Well, let me tell you why I want to marry you. The night that you invited me over to dinner and I ended up staying overnight, I realized that you and Marcus were the two most important people missing from my life. I knew then and there that I would do any and everything in my power to make you my wife and Marcus our son.”

  “But you still haven’t answered my question.”

  “Don’t you understand, honey, I fell in love with you that night. You gave me something that I hadn’t had since Alicia’s death. Peace. At first I thought maybe I was trying to use Marcus to replace her, but you made me realize that that wasn’t true. That little boy is special all on his own. The night you let me keep him it just felt so right. And when I kissed you for the first time, it was all I could do to keep my hands to myself. And the clincher was when I came into your office and you met Jack; he knew something was going on with me, so he orchestrated that lunch date. When I came to the door and saw the two of you laughing together, the evil green-eyed monster poked up his head. I couldn’t and still can’t believe that I felt jealousy of my own brother.”

  Ashley gasped. “So that’s what the two of you were laughing about.”

  “Yes. Ash, you have to believe me when I tell you that I love you with all my heart. I know you’re being rushed, but I don’t want to give anyone a chance to take you or our son away from us.”

  “I suppose you know that I love you too?”

  “Hell, yes, I know, because of the way you responded to me, but most importantly you told me so last night as you drifted off to sleep.” He captured her mouth with his.

  In the kitchen, Jack, Nicole, and Saundra sat at the table.

  “Well, it appears that all of the shouting has stopped,” Jack commented.

  “She was just letting off steam,” Nicole said, nonchalant.

  Jack rubbed his nape, and Nicole walked over to stand behind him, moved his hand aside, and massaged his neck.

  It seemed an electrical current had shot through his body. Her hands, cool and soft, felt so good he stifled a groan. To keep his mind off of the erotic thoughts her touch inspired, he latched onto her statement about Ashley.

  “Why do you say she wasn’t that mad?” he asked, his voice low.

  “She was yelling in English.”

  Jack waited patiently for her to continue, but she didn’t.

  “How does her yelling in English tell you anything?”

  “When Ashley is really mad, she alternates between English and Spanish, but when she’s at the point where she may throw something, it’s all Spanish.”

  Jack turned and stared at her. “Wait, are you saying that she forgets her English when she’s mad?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Apparently my grandmother was the same way. It worked for her because my grandfather didn’t speak Spanish, but he knew when she was pissed.”

  “Let me guess…because she yelled at him in Spanish?”

  “Yep.”

  Jack grabbed her hands and placed them back on his neck.

  “My goodness, your muscles are tight,” she said.

  So are my pants.

  “My dad can’t stand Ashley’s language change.”

  “I thought your dad didn’t talk to Ashley,” Jack said on a half moan.

  “Only when he wants to say something to hurt her. She usually just ignores him or hangs up on him, but there was this time when he’d said something derogatory about Marcus. Ashley hit the ceiling. Boy did the Spanish fly, and by the time she was done with him he was so embarrassed that he practically ran away.”

  “Where did this happen?” Saundra asked, placing a glass of tea on the table.

  “At his office.”

  Jack let out a hoot of laughter that echoed off the walls.

  “When you’re done being felt up by my future wife’s niece, Jack, I’d like to talk to you,” Nick said from the glass door leading out onto the patio.

  Nicole glared at him.

  He smiled back at her. “I was only kidding.” Laughter tinged his voice.

  “I’ll let you two talk. When you’re done we can leave. I have a lot of studying to get done.”

  Nicole left them, as did Saundra. Jack stared after her, and Nicholas cleared his throat several times before he gained Jack’s attention.

  Jack looked up at his brother and saw the smile on his face. He’d blown it. “What in the hell do you find so damn funny?” he snapped.

  “Oh nothing, bro, absolutely nothing at all.”

  Jack didn’t want to give his brother the chance to lecture him, so asked, “So what was it you nee
ded to talk to me about?”

  “I was thinking that since we don’t have Mrs. Remington’s check book for the names of the women that she paid off, is there any way you could use that favorite box of yours with some type of program that would help us locate some of the other girls?”

  Jack frowned in thought. “I could have my friend at the station see if they have any reports about the little parties that good old cousin Pete tends to have. I’ll get started on that right away.” Jack stood up to leave. He wanted to get away before Nicholas commented on the way he’d watched Nicole, but luck was not on his side.

  Nicholas waited until Jack reached the door. “So, bro, what are your intentions towards Nicole?”

  Jack sighed. “What’s it to you?”

  “Hell, man, what do you think it is to me? She’s Ashley’s niece.”

  Irked, Jack turned to face him.

  “Talk to me, Jack.”

  Jack walked over to where his brother and best friend stood. “I got it bad, man, and I don’t know how in the hell it happened. When I went to the house this morning and she opened the door, my mind went into total shut down. I couldn’t think or speak. She offered me breakfast. Even though I’d already eaten, I couldn’t turn her down.”

  Nick looked stunned. “You mean you ate breakfast twice?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. Man, I even ate a second helping just so she’d have a reason to sit there and talk to me.”

  Nicholas let out a loud whistle.

  “I know. I told you I had it bad.”

  “So what are you going to do about it?” Nick asked.

  “I’m going to marry her, what else?”

  Nicholas slapped his brother on the back. “That’s all I wanted to hear.”

  “Yeah, but I think I’m going to take it slow. I don’t want to scare her off. Anyway, are you going to do anything about Nicole’s dad?” Jack asked.

  “I’m going to go by his office and see him Monday.”

  Jack smiled.

  “His office is near one of the construction sites I have to visit.” Nick scrubbed his jaw.

  “Have you told Ashley that you’re going to see him?” Jack asked.

  “Nope, and I’m not going to.”

  Jack didn’t agree with that, but let it go. “What are you going to say to him?”

  “I’m going to let him know what’s going on. He probably won’t believe me, but I don’t care. I’m also going to tell him that if he ever says another derogatory thing to his sister again I’m going to beat the hell out of him.”

  Ashley stood in the kitchen doorway and frowned at his promise. “Who are you going to beat, Nicky?”

  Jack burst into laughter at the look on his brother’s face. By the way Nick held his head down, Jack guessed his sister-in-law-to-be had heard enough to know that Nick had been talking about her brother.

  “I’d better leave you two alone,” Jack said. “I know Nicole said she had some studying to do.”

  Jack was still laughing as he walked past Ashley. He stopped and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

  Chapter Nine

  Jack pulled out of Nicholas’ driveway, Nicole seated beside him.

  “I know you have to study, but do you mind if we stop by my place first? I have to send a couple of emails to a friend of mine on the force,” Jack said.

  “No, I don’t mind. So you were on the police force?”

  “Yeah, for a while, but when I happened to witness the accident when my niece was killed, I couldn’t stomach it any longer.”

  “Nicholas had a daughter?” Nicole asked, the shock evident in her voice.

  “Yeah, she was the sweetest thing, and she loved her daddy and her uncles.”

  Reaching out, Nicole placed a comforting hand on his.

  “Do you mind telling me about it?” she asked, not sure why she needed to know.

  Jack told her about the tragic day and how it had affected all of them.

  “I didn’t think Nick would ever be able to get past losing her. He was so enraged we literally had to move him away from Alicia’s mother.”

  “Why, did he blame her?” Nicole asked.

  “Hell, yes, she was the one to blame. Nick had told her to wait until he got home; he didn’t want anyone watching Alicia but him or one of us, but Trisha just couldn’t wait, so she left the baby with her sister, who just happened to be a drug addict, and as soon as Trisha left, she called her boyfriend, and he came and picked them up….”

  Nicole gave his arm a gentle squeeze.

  Upon arrival at his house, Nicole noticed how nice it was. It wasn’t as big as Nicholas’, but it was by no means small.

  “Go ahead and have a look around,” Jack told her as he headed for his office.

  Nicole did as he suggested and ended up in the kitchen with the need to cook. Looking into the refrigerator, she found some pasta and chicken and the ingredients to make her aunt’s homemade Alfredo sauce.

  A while later, Jack entered the kitchen. “What smells so good?”

  “Oh, just something that I threw together,” Nicole said over her shoulder.

  “When I offered dinner, I didn’t mean for you to cook it. I had planned on taking you out.”

  Nicole thought he was joking, but by the look on his face he wasn’t.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but we have this problem. When something is worrying us we tend to cook.”

  Jack leaned lazily against the counter. “What’s worrying you?”

  “I don’t know, I just felt the need to cook,” Nicole said, trying not to notice the way his muscles bunched and flexed as he moved.

  “So let me get this straight. Whenever you’re worried about something, even when you don’t know what that something is, you cook?”

  Nicole nodded.

  “Does cooking help you sort it out?”

  “Kind of. I find it comforting, and it seems to help me put things into perspective.”

  Jack waited a moment before he asked his next question. “Does Ashley do this also?” She nodded, and Jack rolled his eyes. “I’d better tell Nick so he can keep his membership at the gym. Hell, I’ll have to think about getting some better equipment to work out on myself.”

  A little puzzled by his statement, Nicole frowned. “Why would you need to get better exercise equipment because I cook when I’m worried?”

  Jack walked over to her and gave her a quick kiss. “Don’t worry about it, honey. I’ll explain it to you in due time.”

  Nicole couldn’t find the courage to further ask him what he’d meant, so she dished up the food and placed it on the table.

  “How did you learn to cook so well?” Jack went for his second helping.

  “Ashley. She has a dream to open a restaurant and a gourmet catering service, so while she was in college, she majored in architectural design and gourmet cooking. Naturally, she came home and experimented on me.”

  “Are you worried about how your father’s going to take the news?”

  Nicole flinched.

  “Ah, I see I hit the nail on the head. Why are you worried what could he do?”

  It was useless to try and deny it, so she didn’t. For some unexplainable reason she wanted to share her fears and concerns with Jack. It just felt so right. “I’m worried that he’ll try and hurt Ashley through me, like he did before.” She stood and walked to the sink.

  “What do you mean like before?”

  Nicole hesitated. “My father knows how much Ashley wants to open up her restaurant, and he knew that she was saving every extra dime she had. He also knew that she wouldn’t touch the money for anything for herself, so my father, being the devious man that he is, decided to stop paying my tuition. With him being who he was, the school let the fees mount up, figuring that he’d forgotten, but when they called him he was always unavailable. So finally they tried Ashley, telling her that if the tuition wasn’t brought current and paid for the rest of the year, I would have to leave the school. The woman
explained that they had tried repeatedly to get my father, and since he refused to return their calls, they would not accept anything less than a full year. Ashley went into her savings for the restaurant and paid for the delinquent amounts and up to when I graduate.”

  Jack focused on his plate. “Do you know why he wouldn’t want her to open a restaurant?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. My mother thinks it has to do with him being jealous of Ashley. She says that he was an only child for so long, and that when his mother became pregnant, all of the attention was diverted to Ashley.”

  “So you believe that once it all comes out about Ashley marrying Nick, he’ll try to hurt her through you again?”

  Nicole clutched the sink edge, trying to get her emotions under control. Jack came up behind her and touched her shoulders. She jumped. He turned her around to face him and pulled her into his arms. Nicole could no longer keep the tears at bay. She let them flow. For the first time in her life, she had someone to share her pain with.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wet up your shirt by crying all over you. I’m usually better at keeping my emotions under control,” Nicole rambled and quickly closed her mouth.

  “You don’t have to apologize. It’s just a shirt, and I can change into a dry one with no problem.” He proved his point by taking off the shirt.

  His chest drew her gaze, and she stared, fascinated at how well-built he was. His dark chocolate skin looked so smooth. Her hands itched to touch, and her mouth wanted to taste. Before she could stop herself, Nicole raised her hand and ran her hands across his constricting chest muscles.

  Jack’s arms went around her waist, bringing her body flush with his. Their kiss was filled with so much passion and heat that it felt to Nicole as if the oven was still on. Jack ended the kiss, both of them panting and breathless.

  “I’ll go and um, change my shirt,” he stammered out. “Just put the dishes in the dishwasher, and I’ll run it when I get back.” Jack practically ran out of the kitchen.

  Nicole smiled.

  Minutes later, they drove to Ashley’s house.

  “I have to get a few measurements for the security system then I’ll be out of your hair,” Jack commented upon their arrival.