by Cee, DW
"Me too!" Josh added. "Who wouldn't want to marry such a pretty and sweet girl? I always thought Max was crazy to break up with her."
"Well, Max's loss was my brother's gain. They are blissfully married with twins and another one on the way."
"I'd like to see Emily again." Josh said with Garret nodding his head in agreement.
"Why don't you guys come over with Max one night? Emily and her family live across the street from my parents' house. You can meet my brother and their beautiful babies. Maybe next weekend?"
"Could I come too?" Hannah added.
"Of course," I said. Though I was unsure about Hannah, she did seem like a perfectly nice person. She appeared to be sweet, Max's family liked her, and there was no awkwardness between her and Max. So maybe I was making something out of nothing. With her living here, I'd have to get to know her whether or not I wanted to get to know her.
"Hannah. Tell me what brought you back to California."
"Oh Max, it's a bit of a long story, but to make it short, I lost my job, my parents are going through an ugly divorce, and I happened to email your mom about a job at her company, and she graciously invited me to live here. I'm sorry that I've taken over your old room. I hope that's okay," she treaded cautiously.
"That's fine." Max didn't sound like that was fine. By the surprised look on his face, I could tell Max had no idea his room was given away. It wasn't very kind of his parents to do this without his knowledge and to take away Max's place in his home. Max wasn't showing any outward signs of hurt, but I could feel it.
"Well, we thought that we owed it to Hannah," his mom answered cryptically.
"Oh Mom. You don't owe me anything. I'm so grateful you've allowed me to stay here rent-free while I try and figure out my life. And it's wonderful to reconnect with Max, Garret and Josh."
"Hannah, we owe you more than a roof over your head." Max's dad finally spoke.
Max and Hannah were both looking uncomfortable. Gawd...will someone explain to me what's going on?
"We should never have disapproved of your plans to get married," Mrs. Davis said calmly, while I was about to jump out of my seat.
Marriage???
"MOM!" Max raised his voice in anger.
Max's mom could care less. She gave her son a not very kind look and continued, "Your father and I blame ourselves for the loss of the baby."
BABY??? What BABY??? Why won't anyone tell me what's going on?!?
"If we hadn't been so adamant about you finishing high school before getting married, Hannah might not have miscarried your baby. We've always thought that our censure and criticism of you getting Hannah pregnant caused her undue pressure and stress. You two could've married right away and made a lovely family by now."
"DAMMIT MOM!" Max roared. "Is this really necessary?"
I don't know what happened from here because everything kinda went dark...
Author’s Notes Part 2:
After finishing Indelible Love and Indelible Love - Jake's Story, I thought I was done with the Reid family and decided to write a stand-alone novel called Entwined. Soon after, many readers wanted to fall back in love with the Reids, so I felt compelled to write about this lovable family, again.
I knew who would star in this new story, and I had a general idea of where I wanted to take the storyline, but for some reason, I couldn't write it in a novel format. Every time I'd start to write, I had so much to say, but none of those thoughts translated to a book.
In the meanwhile, I kept tinkering with the idea of writing some sort of a blog - preferably a food or book blog - but that too was all ideas, with no concrete evidence of my ideas. Almost out of thin air, Indelible Lovin' - Max & Jane's Story was born. Somehow, I decided to turn this story into a blog and this blog into a story, and drive myeiders crazy with cliffhangers and twisted ideas. Everyday has been an absolute joy for me as I think up new characters, link the past to the present and the present to the future, and try to bring everything full circle. Even the titles of each blog have hidden meanings and double entendres. I'm afraid to have this blog end for fear that my "cleverness" will be lost, never to be found again.
I hope you enjoyed Max & Jane's story up until now. The rest of the story continues on Vol. 2. If you've enjoyed this blog book, I hope you'll leave a kind review. A good review helps indie authors like myself, tremendously.
I’d love to hear from you. Contact me at www.dwcee.com. I do answer all emails.
Thank you again for reading my work!
Indelible Lovin' - Max & Jane's Story Vol. 2
By
D.W. Cee
Copyright © 2013 by D.W. Cee
All rights reserved .No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, transmitted, uploaded or downloaded, whether electronic or mechanical, without the written consent of the author.
This story is a work of fiction .Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Smashwords Edition
Books by DW CEE
Indelible Love Series (ebooks)
Indelible Love – Emily’s Story
Indelible Love – Jake’s Story
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Story Vol. 1
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Story Vol. 2
Unlikely Attraction – Delaney’s Story
Near Perfect Attraction – Donovan’s Story
Unyielding Love – Nick & Bee’s Story Vol. 1
Unyielding Love – Nick & Bee’s Story Vol. 2
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Wedding
Finally, Love! – Michael & Chloe’s Story Vol. 1
Finally, Love! – Michael & Chloe’s Story Vol. 2
Indelible Memories – Estelle’s Story
Harmony Series (ebooks)
Unfinished Melody
Perfect Harmony
Stand-Alone (ebook)
Entwined
Paperback Books
Indelible Love – Emily’s Story
Indelible Love – Jake’s Story
Indelible Lovin’ – Max & Jane’s Story (combined volume)
Unlikely Attraction – Delaney’s Story
Coming Soon
10,000 Reasons Serial
This Volume 2 is once again dedicated to all the Reiders .
You are all FANfreakin'tastic!
Author's Note:
This is Volume 2 of Indelible Lovin' - Max and Jane's Story. If you haven't read Vol. 1 yet, please stop and read those blogs first!
Last I left you, Jane found out at the Davis dinner table that her boyfriend had gotten his high school girlfriend pregnant. Max got upset with his parents for revealing his secret, Jane fainted from the shock, and volume two opens with a period of explanation and reconciliation. The level of angst in volume 2 will not disappoint. Even if you've been with me from the beginning of the blogs, you will find new aspects of this story as you read and reread the Reid / Davis / Taylor saga.
As always, thank you for choosing to read my work. There are so many fantastic authors who have produced hours of enjoyment for you and me. I'm honored you'd choose to read what I have to say. Hope volume 2 will meet and exceed your expectations.
Happy Reiding!
March 21, 2013 Fuck! Did That Just Happen?
“Are you sure you’re feeling all right? I don’t need to take you to the hospital?” Max asked, very concerned for my welfare.
“No. You checked me over. I’ll have Jake check me over. I’ll even go see Uncle Henry if necessary. You can just drop me off now.” I opened the door, trying to escape without talking about anything. I pretended to still feel faint during the drive home after the dinner from hell.
“Jane.” Max grabbed my arm. “Hear me out. Let me explain. I don’t want you going dark on me again.”
I paused for a while, and just stared off into space.
“I got the gist of what happened between you and Hannah, thanks to
your mother. Give me time to process, evaluate, accept...and whatever else I need to do. I promise I won’t go dark, but I probably won’t call you or answer your calls for a few days.”
“I’m sorry, Jane. I’m sorry how that all came out. I’m sorry my mother acted so cruelly. And I’m sorry I’m always disappointing you.”
That last sentence broke my heart. “I don’t think I’m disappointed in you because of what happened in high school. I’m upset because...Max, I need to gather my thoughts and think through what happened tonight. I don’t want to say anything that will hurt you even more than you are hurting already. I’m sorry I can’t be here for you right now when you’re struggling, but I need to take care of myself first.”
Was that selfish of me to want to nurse my confused heart, first? Max’s face truly broke my heart. I could feel the tears wanting to form, but I wasn’t going to give in to them.
“All right.” He said in a defeated and somewhat angry voice. “Call me when you’re ready to talk.”
His body turned back to the steering wheel and it was as though he was dismissing me. How dare he dismiss me? That pissed me off so badly, I slammed the door and didn’t look back. By the sound of the car peeling out of our cul-de-sac, I wouldn’t have had time to even look back. Jerk!
I walked straight to my brother and sister’s house to get some answers.
“Is it too late to come knocking?” I was an uninvited, unwelcomed intruder in my brother’s opinion, from the moment he let me in.
“Yes,” Jake answered. “We were in the middle of a movie.”
“Jake,” Emily warned. “How’d it go tonight?” She patted her hand on a cushion telling me to sit next to her on the gigantic sofa. I chose to sit in an armchair across from them.
“Emily, do you know who Hannah is?”
Emily shook her head, no.
“Max dated her in high school?”
Emily still shook her head, no. “Max never told me about a Hannah. I just know about Jennifer, the girl he dated after me.”
I relayed the Davis family story hour and Emily’s eyes bugged out with each layer of drama.
“You need me to check you over? I can’t believe you fainted.” I actually shocked my brother.
“Me neither, but I feel fine right now, I think. It was a good thing Garret was right next to me when I did my head plop. I’ve never fainted before. From what Max told me, I was only out for like a minute. Once I woke up, Max did a thorough check-up and drove me home.”
“Did you ask Max about him and Hannah?”
I shook my head no to Emily, and just sat there for a few minutes.
“I’m not upset about Max getting Hannah pregnant. It was stupid but whatever.... What upsets me is that we talked about Hannah and their relationship on Friday, at the rehearsal tea. Max didn’t want to talk about it, but I forced some information out of him and not once did he hint at the fact that Hannah was a huge part of his life. That’s what upsets me. He lied to me.”
“Jane, I don’t think he lied to you. It’s not easy to tell anyone, especially your girlfriend, that you knocked up a girl in high school.” My brother was actually defending Max. That was a change.
“What else would you call someone who doesn’t tell you something that important?”
“How long have you two been dating?”
“Three months.”
“And have you told him everything about your past?”
“What’s there to tell? If there’s anything important, I have no issues telling him.” I didn’t know why Jake was picking on me. I wasn’t the one who knocked up a former girlfriend and didn’t tell his current girlfriend about it.
“So you’ve told him about the loser that you practically lived with in law school?” Jake challenged me. “That same one whose ass I had to kick to the curb when we figured out that he was stealing from you?”
“That’s hardly the same level of secrecy. Plus, I wasn’t trying to keep that a secret. It just never came up.”
Jake was doing the quirking of the eyebrows. “And you told him about the other loser you dated in undergrad? The one you almost got married to in Vegas, but came to your senses at the last minute? That one too...not the same level of secrecy?” He imitated my voice.
Now my brother was just irritating me. This wasn’t about me. It was about the fact that Max purposely kept Hannah from me even though she was back in his life. He should have chosen to tell me all about his past.
“NO! It’s not the same as not telling me about a baby.”
“Don’t be a frickin’ hypocrite. I know Max wasn’t your first. You could’ve ended up pregnant just like Hannah. You just happen to have been more careful, or maybe just damn luckier. Give the guy a break. He’s got a bitchy mother, an almost mother-of-his-child ex who jumps back into his life, and a girlfriend who won’t give him any peace. Give it a rest, Jane!”
I just stared at him, dumbfounded. How did I go from indignant to admonished all within a few minutes?
Emily tried to soften Jake’s blow by adding, “Max was such a lost and private person when I met him in college. He rarely talked about his parents, though he adored his brothers, and he didn’t go home unless he had to go home. I was always happy to have him with me, and a part of me thought he stayed around for my sake, but deep inside I knew something was terribly wrong with his family life. The few times I spent the holidays with the Davis family, I thought I’d go bonkers with all the tension between Max and his parents. If it weren’t for Garret and Josh, I don’t think I could’ve withstood those holidays.”
“I hate the fact that you were alone for so long, Emi.” There goes my brother. One minute he’s berating me, and the next he’s waxing poetic about his wife, when his sister was the one alone right now. Hey brother! How about some love for your only sister?
“I wasn’t alone. I had Max and Sarah and Charlie. They were my friends and family till I got my chance with the illustrious Dr. Jake Reid,” she laughed.
Even in the midst of my pain, Jake and Emily were...being Jake and Emily. I had to laugh and roll my eyes at them.
“Ahem...hello! My issues...not your past issues, please!”
“Sorry.” Emily pushed herself away from my brother’s embrace. “Max hides a lot of pain in his heart, and he’ll keep it hidden away till he’s confronted and has to fess up. But, he loves sacrificially and unconditionally. You must know this by now, Jane. Look at how he broke up with me. Of course he didn’t tell me at the time why he broke up with me, but he did it to send me off to a better life. He was so lost in undergrad that he didn’t want me to wander through life with him, searching for his meaning in life. He thought I’d suffered enough with the loss of my parents. If it hadn’t been for his sacrificial love, I would’ve never met your brother.”
“Max sacrificed for you, but I don’t see that same kind of love for me.”
“Really Jane? Come on. Do you not see how patient he is with you? Do you really not see how much he’s trying to make your relationship work? Do you think he likes seeing you waver between him and Donovan?”
“How’d you know about that?” Are there any secrets around here?
“I see the way you look at him. And I, too, admit...he’s a handsome man—especially when he dresses up, like he did for Gram and Roland’s wedding.” I could see Jake’s body stiffen. “Max sees it too.”
“If he sees it, does that mean he doesn’t care enough to confront me, he doesn’t have the balls to confront me, or he just figures let life fall where it may?”
“He’s never confronted you?” Emily questioned.
“Okay, he has confronted me a few times...I guess I keep breaking my promises to him.” I confessed. “It’s not like anything happened with me and Donovan.”
“I think Max loves you, despite your faults and if you told him you wanted to go to Donovan, he’d probably let you go if he thought Donovan could love you more and give you what you
needed, better than what Max could give you. This unconditional love that he has for you is not a weakness. I think it’s his strength.”
“Listen to Emily, Jane. She makes sense and if anyone knows what’s going on in Max’s head, it’s probably your sister—though it doesn’t thrill me that she knows another man so well.” He turned his wife’s body towards him to address his next beef. “What did you say about my best friend? You find him attractive???” Jake emphasized the last word in horror. “I’m gonna go kick his ass the next time I see him dressed up.”
“Perhaps you should go shopping with him,” Emily teased. “That outfit he wore to Gram’s wedding was pretty hot.”
“Damn it! Don’t ever look at him again, Emi.”
Emily placed her hand on Jake’s cheek and gave him an adored look.