“Jeff, do you remember what we were talking about before the game started?” Zane looked over at him, giving him a warning look. “I will tell her.” That sobered him up really quick.
“Tell me what?” She was looking back and forth between Zane and Jeff with a look of expectation on her face. Zane just grinned, while Jeff looked like he might be sick at any minute.
“Nothing, Hannah. At least not right now.” Zane gave Jeff another knowing look and smirked at him.
She gave her brother a dirty look before turning to look at Jeff. “What’s he talking about?”
“I don’t know.” Jeff tried to lie, but it came out sounding strangled, and she didn’t buy it, even for a second. She walked over to him, and flipped his hat off his head, exposing his face, and looked up at him.
“Right? You’re not much of a liar, are you? That’s not a bad thing mind you, but now, I know something is up, for sure.” She moved in closer, and heard his breath catch. She looked back up to his face, her eyes growing huge when she looked into his. Her mouth dropped open and she froze in place.
If Zane hadn’t started laughing, there’s no telling how long they would have stood there like that. Both of them frozen in place with a look of awe on their faces.
Hannah turned and looked back toward everybody else, her face growing pink. The whole yard had grown quiet except for Zane’s laughter. Without looking anyone in the eyes, she walked back over to third base, and kept her back turned to Jeff. She was still trying to process what had just happened.
“Oh, Man, just give it up already. You have it worse than I thought you did.”
Jeff grumbled, “Shut up, Zane,” never taking his eyes off the tiny brunette. Man, I am in so much trouble.
“At least now you know for sure I was right. She’s got it just as bad as you do,” the man added, smacking him lightly on the back.
“Man, will you let it go already?’
Zane smirked and shook his head. “No, not until you marry her.”
“Marry her?” Jeff blurted, his voice raising a couple of octaves. “What happened to dating her first?”
“After that” the other man grinned, shaking his head. “I’m not stopping till you’re married.”
******
Zane’s team was up to bat again, and it was Mark’s turn. Carl pitched the ball right over the plate, and Mark hit an almost perfect line drive. It missed Carl who had already stepped to the side of the pitcher’s mound. He had known what to expect from earlier and didn’t think his fingers could take anymore. The ball hit Jenny right in the forehead and knocked her down.
Mark dropped the bat and took off in a run straight for her, going just as fast as his feet would carry him. By the time he reached her, she was already starting to come to. There was a lump growing larger in the center of her forehead. Mark reached down and scooped her up into his arms. “Angel, are you okay?”
She closed her eyes on a groan. “No. My head hurts. I feel like my eyes are trying to cross.”
“Do you know what your name is?” Mark asked, only half joking.
She just looked at him for a second, then decided to be difficult. “No, and who are you?”
At first Mark didn’t realize she was joking. “Jenny, it’s not really that bad is it?”
“No, Mark. I know who I am. And I know who you are. You’re my extremely sexy husband. I do need some ice though.”
Mark turned with her still in his arms and headed toward the house. “Mark, I can walk.”
“No,” he grunted out, more stubborn than usual. “I’m carrying you. Deal with it.”
Mark had made it in the house and sat her down on the couch. Jamie had been ahead of him and was already coming back from the kitchen with a resealable bag with ice, and a dish towel wrapped around it. She just shoved it in Mark’s hand without a word.
“Here, Angel. Lay down and put this on your head. Do you need any Tylenol?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Her mother, who had still been standing there, immediately took off for the bathroom.
“You know, Mark, this is going to look really funny Monday, at work,” she said with a grin on her face.
“Don’t worry about work. It probably won’t be more than a bruise by then.”
“Seriously, I hope nobody ask me if you hit me. What am I supposed to tell them?” she asked, closing her eyes to block out the light from overhead. “You did hit me. Just not with your hand, or on purpose.” Mark just laughed.
Jamie came back to the living room with the Tylenol and a paper cup with water. “Here, Sweetheart. Take these.”
Mark had stood and moved out of Jamie’s way and once she had made sure Jenny had taken the medicine, she looked back at him. “Do you think we need to take her to the ER? Carl says you can hit that ball pretty hard.”
He shrugged, frowning in thought. “I don’t know. I was wondering about that myself.”
“I’m fine, you two. I don’t need to go to the ER.”
“Go get Zane,” she continued as if Jenny hadn’t said anything. She gave an exasperated look before adding, “He’s probably just out there tormenting Hannah and Jeff anyway.”
“You caught that as well, did you?”
“I think everyone over the age of twelve did. I have to say, that’s the first time I’ve ever approved of her taste. She’s given Carl and I a lot of sleepless nights over the guys she’s dated in the past. Hopefully, this is a good sign.”
Mark just laughed and headed out the door. Not even two minutes later, he came back in with Zane and Jake right behind him. “I know you asked for Zane, but Jake said he’d look at her.”
“Oh, sorry, Jake,” Jamie answered in embarrassment. “I forget sometimes, you’re an ER nurse.”
The man just grinned back. “Do you not think the jobs manly enough for me?”
She just smiled, patting him on the shoulder. “Hey, it takes a real man to be a nurse, and I’ve heard you’re a really good one.”
“So, are you saying the rest of us aren’t real men? Just Jake?” Zane asked with a smirk.
“Oh, you hush. I tell you what, Son, if you couldn’t be ornery, you couldn’t breathe.”
“Here, Jenny, let me see your head,” Jake said, moving around the older woman to kneel beside the couch.
She did no more than drop her hand. She didn’t even bother to open her eyes. Jake lifted the ice off and looked at the knot raising on her forehead. It had already started to discolor. He laid the ice back over it and turned to Mark. “She knows who she is, and who you are. She was joking before you even got her back in the house. I’m sure she’s fine. She is going to have a nasty bruise though. If she starts to get sick or dizzy we can take her to the ER.” He looked back down at her. “Jenny, how’s your vision?”
“I only see one of you.”
“She’s going to be fine. She sounds like herself,” Jake said, chuckling.
“I told them I didn’t need to go to the ER. They just ignored me. They didn’t even acknowledge I was talking to them.”
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious. Especially with a head injury.”
“Oh, you’re as bad as they are.”
“I know, but it’s what I do.”
“Well,” Zane said, “at any rate, the game is over. Dad’s gone to the backyard to start the grill.”
Jake was already headed through the door to the kitchen, and Zane turned to follow him. Jamie reached for his arm, “Hey, don’t aggravate Hannah and Jeff too much. This is the first time she has ever shown any interest in a guy worth having.”
“Mom, come on. He’s a big chicken. He’s liked her since the first time he laid eyes on her, and he won’t ask her out,” Zane said, just sounding irritated.
“When did he first see her?” Jamie asked, wondering how far back this went.
“This past December. Four-wheeler day. Remember? I brought him with me,” Zane said off hand, trying to get away again.
“I don’
t care. Let them work it out.” She added in her head, and I’ll be praying.
Zane just walked off, shaking his head.
Jamie turned back to Mark. “Do you think he’ll listen?”
“He might try, but it is Zane. It’s like trying to hold the ocean back with a snow shovel.”
Chapter 13
Monday, July 22
Monday morning when Mark and Jenny got to work, everything seemed to be going fairly well. The bruise on her forehead had caused quite a stir, but once it was explained everyone had went back to work. All the store employees knew both of them well enough to know they were telling the truth. There were several jokes made, but other than that the subject had been dropped fairly quickly once the story had made the rounds. So, she was taken seriously by surprise while she was in the copy room running some stuff off, when Mike walked in and cornered her.
“I don’t believe that bruise was from you getting hit in the head with a baseball,” he snarled, coming up behind her. “I figure he punched you and you’re just covering for him.”
She had been concentrating on what she was doing and had her head down. When she heard him sneer from behind her, her head snapped up. “What are you doing in here? Your job is on the floor, out in the store. You have no business in this part of the building.”
He stepped closer, nearly running her into the copier. “I don’t believe he didn’t hit you.”
She sighed, and swiftly moved around to the other side of the copier, placing it between them. “I don’t really care what you think. My whole family was there and can verify we are telling the truth. Besides, even you should realize, if Mark had really hit me, like you’re suggesting, I probably would have ended up in the hospital. He outweighs me by more than a hundred pounds, and it’s all muscle.”
“Fine, whatever,” he snapped, quickly realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with his chosen tactic. “So, why did you do it?”
She gave him a confused look, which was reasonable considering what they had just been talking about. “Why did I do what?”
“Why did you marry him?” he snarled, moving like he intended to step around the copier with her. When she moved to counter his steps, he glared at her, coming to a stop.
“I don’t have to answer that.” Jenny saw one of the ladies who worked in the front office walk by and hesitate, and then take off like she had been shot at. She was hoping the lady was going to get Mark. She really didn’t want to deal with Mike on her own any longer than she had to.
He pulled himself up straighter, puffing his chest out and tipped his head back, looking down his nose at her. “Oh, come on. I think you owe me that much.”
She shook her head at him, trying to figure out just where he got off thinking she owed him anything. They had only been out on a few dates. Dates she had been sure to pay her own way for. “I’m sorry. But you and I weren’t serious. This is none of your business.”
“Well, I was serious,” he retorted in a near shout.
She jumped at his tone, taking a small step backwards. “That’s hardly my fault. I told you when we started dating, I don’t get serious. I had warned you.”
“You don’t get serious?” he barked, sounding truly incredulous. “What do you call marriage?”
“It’s really none of your business, but Mark has always been the reason I didn’t get serious with anyone else,” she answered, chancing a glance out the door.
“I thought we were doing pretty good,” he sneered.
“Well, you thought wrong. I was getting ready to end it. Everything else just happened first.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said, sounding like he was starting to get extremely angry.
She eyed him with concern, wondering if it were likely he would get angry enough to try and grab her if this conversation continued.
All of a sudden, a large shadow fell across Mike, causing him to jump and spin around. “We got married in Vegas, and that’s all you need to know.”
“What? You don’t let her speak for herself?” Mike sneered, trying to look menacing, and only managing to look sick.
“Jenny, do you have anything else you want to add or say differently. Not that he’s going to listen. He’s already got the story wrote in his head, and anytime you disagree with it, he’s going to say I won’t let you tell your side. So, he’s going to be saying that a lot.”
Jenny finally snapped out of the panic induced paralysis enough to dash around the copier and over to her husband. When she reached him, he stepped forward placing himself between her and Mike. He could tell by the way she was acting Mike had her really shook up.
Feeling much safer with Mark between them, she took a deep breath and looked around his shoulder. “Like he said, Mike, we got married in Vegas. That’s all you need to know.”
“Mike, if I find you have cornered my wife again,” Mark said, his tone becoming very possessive, “I’m going to make you long for death.” Mark’s demeanor took her by surprise. She had never heard him sound so vicious.
Chapter 14
Thursday, July 25
It had been a really slow Thursday, at least for Jenny. The store had been busy with lots of customers, but everything had been running smoothly and she had decided to take an extra hour for lunch. It was now two o’clock in the afternoon and she was just getting back from having lunch with Mary Ellen, Jessie and Lucy. Well, it had been a good thing she had taken two hours, instead of the normal one. Lucy had been nearly forty-five minutes late. That most likely had something to do with it being close to impossible to pry her away from Tyler these days. Now that they had finally revealed their feelings for each other, they were deliriously happy and spent as little time apart as they could. Now all they had to do, was figure out how to get through to Brock and Mary Ellen. They were both stubbornly refusing to be the first one to admit to their love. Of course, then they would need to find someone for Jessie. Jenny pondered, wondering who out there was still single that would be a good fit for her other friend.
Jenny smiled to herself, still thinking about her friends’ love lives, as she walked through the outer office, heading to the one she shared with Mark. She smiled at Jane, the only one in there at the moment. The other two obviously were out doing something somewhere else in the store. When she made it through the door, she had a surprise waiting on her. Sitting on her desk was a gigantic bouquet of pink and white roses. There had to be at least two dozen of them. When she took the time to count them, she discovered there was actually three.
At first, she just stood there staring at them, wondering where they had come from. It didn’t immediately occur to her that they were from Mark. When she noticed the little white envelope sticking out of the middle, she reached for it with a little smile on her lips. The card simply read, ‘I love you just for being you. Love Mark’. Apparently, her husband was going to try and spoil her despite the number of times she had told him he didn’t need to buy her gifts. Not to surprising either, he seemed to know that roses were her favorite flower, and pink was her favorite color.
When she heard the office door open behind her, she turned around and looked at him, still unable to stop herself from smiling. “Hello, Sexy.”
He chuckled, smiling back. “Hello back, Beautiful. Do you like your flowers?”
She shook her head. “Of course, they’re wonderful, and there’s so many of them. But you just sent me for a whole day at a very expensive spa Tuesday.”
He shrugged his shoulders, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I know. I just felt like you needed a day to de-stress. Especially after Monday.”
“Maybe, but you didn’t have to buy me roses.”
“I wanted to buy you roses.”
She took a few steps forward, coming to a stop right in front of him. “So, is it okay if I give you a proper thank you?”
“I don’t know,” he grinned. “What’s your idea of a proper thank you?”
“A big kiss. A really big one.”
>
“Maybe. Do you think you can control yourself?” he teased.
“I’ll try, but I can’t promise you anything,” she said, putting her arms around his waist. “Do you realize no one has ever bought me roses before? I never dated anyone long enough to give them a chance.”
“I’m happy to be the first. And the last,” he said weaving his fingers through her hair.
“Thank you,” she said, reaching up to pull his head down to claim his mouth with hers.
When she finally let go of him, they were both breathless. She figured a change of topic was needed to get their minds off the kiss. “So, are you ready to help cook dinner again, tonight?” she asked, taking a deep breath to clear her head.
“I don’t know,” he said with a grin. “Are you going to be there to keep me out of trouble?”
“Of course,” she grinned back. “I wouldn’t dream of letting you burn dinner. I’m going to be eating it with you.”
******
Mark and Jenny left work and headed straight for her mom and dad’s. When they got there, Carl hadn’t made it there yet and Jamie was busy getting dinner ready with Hannah, Lisa and James. Since there were already enough hands in the kitchen they decided to go watch TV until everyone else started showing up.
When they walked into the game room, it looked like a three-ring circus had broken loose. Most of the younger Townsend children were in there running crazy. So, it took a few minutes for it to sink in that Tony was standing on the ping pong table, and even longer to realize what he was getting ready to do.
The realization dawned on Jenny about the same time he launched himself at the old black leather couch like it was an opponent in a martial arts tournament. When his body collided with the back of the couch, it teetered up on its back legs, and for a split second balanced there, before it finally fell backwards and landed with a thump, throwing her little brother out in the floor.
Married in Vegas (The Townsends Book 3) Page 14