“No, I want to stay with him,” she answered, she sighed before giving him another dirty look. “Once again, what does it have to do with you?”
He snorted, throwing his shoulders back. “Why do I not believe you?”
She gave him an obviously irritated look. “Because you tend to choose not to listen.”
“I’m getting you out of here.” When he started around the room, five different sets of chair legs scraped against the floor as their occupants stood up. Mike stopped dead in his tracks and stared around at Jenny’s very protective family and husband. He sneered as he thought the word in his head. There was no way he was going to get around these guys. Mark was bad enough, but James, who wasn’t as tall, was wider. He was the size of a padded-up linebacker.
He didn’t figure he’d even make it far enough to reach James anyway, because Zane and Carl were now standing in his way. If he turned and went the other way, he would have to deal with Luke. Luke might not be as tall as the rest of them, but there was something about the guy that just made him seem very dangerous.
He looked back down at Jenny, “What? Is your whole family making you stay with him?”
“I don’t know why you are finding this so hard to believe, but I want to stay with him,” she said sighing. This was something she wasn’t sure she was ready to say, and she knew she didn’t want to say it in front of everybody when she said it for the first time, but she knew she needed to say it anyway. “I am in love with him. It’s not his fault that I had to be drunk to admit it the first time. And you need to leave before there is bloodshed. If you push it, you’re the only one who’s going to get hurt.”
Phillip picked that moment to finally walk in the swinging doors. He slapped Mike on the shoulder and squeezed. From the grimace on Mike’s face he hadn’t been gentle about it. “Would you like me to escort you back outside? Or would you like to walk out under your own steam?”
Mike glanced at the other man, giving him a nervous smile. “I came to talk to your sister.”
“I heard her ask you to leave. And judging by the theatrics on display, she’s not the only one that wants you to leave.” Phillip must have squeezed down again, because Mike made another pained face. “What did you do? Threaten to try and take her? That wouldn’t even last long enough to be entertaining.”
When Phillip finally let go of him, he turned and ran from the room. They heard the front door bang closed behind him, followed by him starting his car and revving the engine trying to get away as fast as he could before one of them came after him.
“Well, what’s for dinner? Sorry I’m late. I had a car I had to finish up before I left the shop. The guy is coming by to pick it up tomorrow,” Phillip explained as if nothing unusual had happened.
Everyone started laughing and the guys all sat back down. The tension drained from the room. All except for Jenny’s. Between Mike’s little drama and admitting out loud how she felt about Mark, it was just more than she could take.
Jenny, unable to handle the stress any longer, jumped up, “I’m really sorry that happened. It was my fault.” And with tears streaming down her cheeks, she stormed out of her mom and dad’s kitchen, leaving her husband and the rest of her family watching with their mouths hanging open. All the sudden they heard a roar from outside. Zane jumped up at the same time that Mark looked at him and asked, “Did you ride your bike here?”
Zane had already made it through the kitchen doors when he answered, “Yes.”
Mark was right behind him now. “Did you leave the key in it?”
“Yes.”
“Zane, if she hurts herself, so help me...”
“I’m not feeling too great myself. I mean, she knows how to ride, but she’s way too upset right now.”
“Come on. Let’s just find her.” Mark headed for his truck with Zane right behind him. By the time Mark had the truck turned around and headed back down the driveway the rest of the Townsends were standing out in the yard, all with different degrees of worry and fear on their faces.
They had only gotten about a mile up the road when they saw the bike sitting on the side of it, Jenny pacing beside it. Mark pulled the truck up behind her and came to a stop. The sound of the engine had barely died away before he had flung the door open and jumped out.
When he reached her, he could see that she was still crying. He pulled her up into his arms and hugged her close. “Angel, please, don’t cry.”
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, probably blowing snot all over his shirt.
Mark chuckled, shaking his head. “Why are you sorry? I don’t see where you’ve done anything wrong.”
She took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears. “Because of Mike.”
“He was the one who showed up uninvited and made a fool of himself. You had nothing to do with that,” he said, cradling her head in his big hands. “It was completely ridiculous of him to show up like that. And downright suicidal of him to think he was going to be able to take you out of there. I honestly would have thought he had more smarts than that.”
She stepped back, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Apparently I did something to cause him to believe I was in love with him. Why else would he keep this up? Why can’t he just let it go?”
Mark scrunched his nose up in thought. “I don’t know. I think he’s delusional.” She couldn’t help but laugh.
Zane picked that moment to walk up. “Hey, do you think we could go back and finish dinner now?”
“Sure. Why not?” She gave her brother an embarrassed grin. “Sorry. Were you afraid I was going to wreck it?”
“Please, believe me when I say I was more worried about you than my bike. And Mark killing me if something happened to you,” he added with his trademark ornery grin. Lord knows he wouldn’t want to come off as being too touchy feely.
“I guess you want to ride it back to the house?”
“Yeah, I think it would be for the best.” Zane reached over and pulled his sister into his arms for a quick hug. “Please, don’t ever do something like that again. As upset as you were, we didn’t know what we would find when we got to you.”
“That’s why I stopped and was just waiting for you to get here,” she grimaced. “I realized what I had done once I calmed down a little. I really am sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said, hugging her once more before crawling on the bike and pulling off down the road a-ways, so he could turn it around and head back to the house.
Mark stood there, waiting for a few seconds for Zane to get out of ear shot before speaking. “You said you loved me.”
“I know,” she blushed. “I was hoping I could tell you for the first time when we were alone. But I thought it might get through to him. I’m not sure it did though.”
He nodded his head in agreement. “It probably didn’t. But I still love you. Don’t ever forget that.”
“Yeah. And I love you, just as much.”
“Come on, Angel.” Mark pulled her along behind him to the truck. She got in the driver’s side with him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She felt exhausted. It seemed like lately, she was always exhausted, no matter how much sleep she got.
When they got back to the house everyone was back in the kitchen, pretending to eat. None of them fooled her though. They all looked terrified. She heard a collective sigh of relief when she walked through the swinging doors.
“Sorry, everybody. I’m feeling a little over emotional these days.”
“What are you sorry for? Being crazy enough to date that guy? Why would he even think for one second, he was going to be able to walk in here and take you out against your will? He has to be missing a few screws. And the bolts to go with them,” Mindi said, still shaking from the nerves over her sister taking off like she did. Mindi was obviously feeling a little over emotional herself.
“I don’t know. He thinks he’s in love with me?” Jenny asked, shrugging her shoulders, not feeling certain at all.
“No, he doesn’t,” Zan
e said, with a look of disgust. “Mike is a player. He only dates any girl till she sleeps with him. I’ve heard him say so myself. He thought he was going to ask Amanda out once. I changed his mind about that.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have slept with him.”
“I know that, but he doesn’t know that. And that’s the only reason he’s mad. He figures Mark got what he should have gotten.”
“Zane, that is no way to talk at the dinner table,” his mother hissed, giving him a stern look.
“That may be so, but it happens to be the truth. That’s the kind of guy he is.”
“Well, he needs to start really thinking about what he is doing. I’m not going to put up with much more of his crap. He’s going to have to accept that we are married,” Mark said, looking down at Jenny. He never could help the possessive feeling that came over him when he talked about her being married to him.
Chapter 18
Saturday, September 14
They had finished the Jones’ house. With the number of people from the town volunteering to help, they had finished in record time. Judge John Jones was everybody’s favorite judge. So, they had a lot of people around the town willing to pitch in, and get the house built.
They were now having a barbecue in the Jones’ backyard for a change. John Jones had managed to talk Carl into doing the grilling and Joe Harris had provided all of the hamburger and hot dogs.
John Jones, who was normally quiet in any crowd outside of the courtroom stood up to get everyone’s attention. “Elaine and I want to thank everyone for all the help. Carl and Jamie for letting us stay with them for over a week when the house first burnt down. Then the Honeysuckle Inn for giving us a discount on our rooms for all these months. Then there’s all the money donated for the building supplies. It was an absolute miracle we didn’t have to pay for any of it. Then everybody pitching in and helping us build it ourselves. We had to pay out very little in labor in comparison to what it would have been if we had to pay to have it all done. Because of all the help, we still have a little left in our savings. We’re actually in really good shape considering the way our year started out. But the two I have to thank the most, and I know I’ve said this several times already, is Mark and Zane for getting the kids out. A house can always be rebuilt. We can’t replace Zack and Izzy. And I thank God most of all. For the warmer weather starting up in April. For keeping us safe. And mostly for friends and a community so willing to help. You all are truly a wonderful bunch of people. Now time to eat.”
Everyone was talking and having a good time, when suddenly Izzy started screaming at the top of her lungs. When Mark noticed where she was, he jumped up and ran. She was standing over by the left-over lumber and screaming Gabe’s name. He was worried that Gabe could be hurt. When he got over there, he found Gabe lying under a pile of boards trying to calm Izzy down.
“Izzy, stop screaming,” Gabe grumbled. “Please, you’re hurting my ears.”
Several of the boards had landed on him, but he didn’t seem to be hurt very bad. He just looked up at Mark from where he was laying, and asked in a very exasperated tone, “Can you calm her down?”
Mark done his best to hide a chuckle. “Izzy, I think he’s okay.”
When Gabe started to shift the boards off of himself, Mark saw him wince. “Gabe, what’s wrong?”
“I think my finger is broke. Some of the boards landed on my hand and it got caught between them.”
“Okay. Give me your other hand, I’ll pull you up.”
Gabe stuck his right hand out, so Mark could pull him up off the ground, then looked over at Izzy with a sour look. “I’ll never do that again.”
“What did you do?” Mark asked, looking at Gabe’s other hand. There was no doubt his finger was broke. It was bent at a strange angle. Mark was wondering how he wasn’t screaming his head off. It had to hurt pretty badly.
“I threw a plastic spider on her. Then she started screaming and knocked the wood over on me.”
“I don’t think she did it on purpose,” Mark said trying again to stifle a laugh.
“Well, you’re going to have to go to the ER,” Jamie said, having just made it over there to check out Gabe’s finger. “I wonder if we should put ice on it. It might help to keep it from swelling.”
“Mom, it’s just my finger,” Gabe said, starting to whine, somehow turning the simple word into three syllables, instead of the one. “Can’t you tape it for me?”
“No, you’re going to the ER. Now. It may just be your finger, but that’s a bad break. I don’t think I could set it,” she said, wincing from the imagined pain. “I wouldn’t even want to try.”
“Mom, I’m starving,” he whined, causing Mark to chuckle at the fact he was doing a whole lot more whining over his stomach than his finger. “It doesn’t hurt that bad. Please let me eat first.”
“You’ll survive. They’ll save you some food” Jamie said, shaking her head. “You’re starting to sound just like Alex. It’s starting to make me wonder if you’re all going to end up nearly seven feet tall,” she said, eyeing Mark hard, with a very thoughtful look.
“Here, Gabe. Put this on your hand,” Elaine said, handing him a plastic bag with ice in it wrapped up in a dish towel. “The less swelling you have, the easier it will be to set it.”
Gabe took the makeshift ice pack and gave his mom a disgruntled look and headed toward the car without a backwards glance.
Jamie looked up at Mark with a very serious expression. “I would think very carefully about the number of children you want to have, if I were you. I love all of my children, and I would never change a thing about my life with Carl, but our lives have always been full of this kind of chaos. Remember that.”
Mark just chuckled as he watched his mother-in-law walk away.
******
When Jamie and Gabe got back from the ER, everybody was done eating, and were just sitting around talking. The second Elaine saw Gabe walk around the corner of the house, she jumped up and started fixing him a plate. “Gabe, what all do you want?”
Jamie tried to wave her off. “Elaine, I can get his plate. You sit back down and relax. You’ve put in a lot of hard work. I’m sure you’re tired.”
“No more than you are. You go ahead and get your own plate. At least I’ve already eaten. I’ll take care of him.” She turned to Gabe and patted him on the back. “What do you want to eat, Young Man?”
After looking at all the stuff sitting on the table, he replied. “The only thing I don’t like is asparagus.”
“Are you sure?” she grinned. “It’s pretty good grilled.” When all he done was make a face to express how gross he thought that sounded she chuckled. “Well, do you want a little of everything else, then?”
“Yes, I’m starving,” he said with an exaggerated expression, rubbing his belly with his uninjured hand. “I didn’t think I was ever going to get out of that ER.”
“Gabe, I’m sorry I caused you to break your finger,” Izzy said, turning red when she apologized.
When the little boy looked up at her, he turned the same shade she was. “It’s okay. It was my fault. I knew you were afraid of spiders.”
“So, Mark, have you and Jenny thought anymore about how many kids you want? Remember what mom and I both have said about chaos,” Phillip said with a smirk.
He shook his head, giving the other man a perplexed look. “Phillip, why do you keep asking me about that?”
“Because, ever since I could remember, Jenny has said she wants a house full of kids. Like ten or twelve. I’m just wondering if you’re ready for that.”
“Well, I think we’ve agreed to have six,” he said, still shaking his head at Phillip.
Just then the Jones’ family cat went streaking across the yard. Jenny got a strange look on her face. “The last time a saw that cat, he was long haired. What happened?”
“Well,” Elaine said, biting her lip. “This story might be one to make you think twice about having so many kids. Of course,
with the number of stories your mom and dad are bound to have, maybe not. You’ve lived through most of those and have firsthand knowledge.”
“What happened?”
“I had the clippers out. I had been cutting Zack’s hair. His hair is really thick, and when it gets a little shaggy, it’s very hot. He starts to complain it makes the back of his neck itch. So, he likes to keep it short. Izzy decided that if Zack’s long, shaggy hair was too hot and itchy, then Mr. Tibbs’ hair must be as well.”
“Oh my,” Jenny said, laughing, and almost choking on a bite of hot dog.
“By the time I got to her, she was over halfway done, so I just finished shaving him, so it wouldn’t look even weirder. He’s been giving me dirty looks ever since. He seems to be blaming me, instead of Izzy. But then again, Izzy has always been his favorite pet.”
“Wait, don’t you mean person? He’s the pet, not her,” Mark said with a grin.
“Mark, have you ever owned a cat before?”
“No. I’m a dog person.”
“It shows,” Elaine said with an answering grin. “Cats look at their owners as their pets. Not the other way around.”
Chapter 19
Friday, September 20
Jenny had come to the copy room to run off some copies for the meeting they were getting ready to have. She could have asked one of the ladies in the front office to get them, but she needed some space. Her husband was very good at keeping his head in the game when they were at work. Much better than she was. Sometimes she had to get away from him for a few seconds to calm her hormones. It had been hard enough before she actually had first-hand knowledge of what it felt like to make love with him. But now it was so much worse. She craved his touch so much now, it was a constant distraction. Sometimes she found it very difficult to be good.
Just a few minutes ago he had been standing so close to her, she could feel his breath on her face. He had been trying to talk about the meeting. She had been remembering the night before. Sometimes she found it amazing she got anything done.
Married in Vegas (The Townsends Book 3) Page 18