by K. M. Scott
“Oh, stop! She had a few, but we didn’t talk about it,” she answered. “She saw a jazz band and the whole thing sounded so great! I’d love to get to go to a jazz club and taste some authentic New Orleans food.”
As I listened to her, I made a mental note to someday make those things happen for her. Maybe they wouldn’t on this trip, but we had the rest of our lives in front of us. We laughed about seeing New Orleans for the first time and then fell silent with smiles on our faces. Truly happy, I focused on the road in front of me and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“It feels good doesn’t it?” Jordan said, running her hand over my leg.
I turned to look at her. “What does?”
“Having a plan. I’ve been so stressed out that I haven’t had a moment to breathe. Sounds like you haven’t either.”
I paused and looked out the front window at the sprawling mountains around us. She was right. It had been a stressful time, and it wasn’t over yet. The last moment I’d had to myself had been a painful memory of the last person I failed, so it hadn’t exactly been relaxing. I could use a beer and a comfy chair, but for now I would have to make due with bottled water and the driver’s seat.
“It’s been rough, but it’s been worth it,” I finally answered, brushing some hair off her face so I could see those beautiful green eyes of hers. “I know that sounds crazy, but life’s better when we’re together, no matter how bad it gets.”
“That’s incredibly positive for you, Gage.”
“I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do than make sure you’re happy, Jordan. For now, that means we have to go through some shit to get to the good times, but I believe they’re right up ahead.”
I meant it. I knew at that point what I wanted more than anything was to spend the rest of my life with Jordan and use that time to make her happy.
Her cheeks turn red, and she looked down bashfully. “You do, Gage. You really do. And you know what I always say.”
“What?”
“That good things happen to good people. I used to tell Nina that all the time, and look at her life now. She and Tristan had to go through some horrible things, but they got through it all and they’re happy. We will too because we’re good people too. You especially, after what you did for Justin back there.”
“That was just being decent. I’d never be able to face my father again knowing I let someone die of thirst on the side of the road, even if he deserved it. It’s not right. It had nothing to do with being good, though. Trust me.”
Jordan smiled. “Don’t bet on it, Gage Varo. You’re a good man. You’re just going to have to live with that.”
Changing the subject, I asked, “Do you want to sleep? I would think you’d be exhausted after today. Your body could probably use it.”
Jordan scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “No, I have the hardest time sleeping in cars normally, and I don’t think the pain in my neck is going to help with that. Speaking of that, keep an eye out for somewhere I can get that scarf. I don’t want to be walking around with people thinking you hurt me.”
“Will do. How about the radio, ladies’ choice?”
She turned the stereo on and some terrible pop garbage came out and assaulted our eardrums. “Damn, I shouldn’t have offered ladies’ choice. Who listens to that?”
“What? It’s perfect for driving,” she said in defense of whatever it was blaring out of the speakers. “I mean, I’m not a huge fan, but it’s not bad for pop.”
“Oh, I can think of someone who has a weakness for pop music,” I ribbed, remembering the Saturday morning when she was living out at the Dutchess County house with Nina and through an open bathroom door, I saw Jordan dancing and singing to some song while she did her hair and makeup.
“Wow. You’re really never going to let me live that down, are you?” she asked, pretending to be offended.
“Come on, how could I? Especially with that little butt wiggle move you had going on.”
The woman I loved blushed, her cheeks turning bright red, and giggled. It was a welcome sound, far more welcome than our recent conversations.
“All right, I may have my guilty pleasures, but if you think those headphones of yours hide your deep abiding love for Bon Jovi, you’re wrong. We could all hear you living on a prayer!”
“Bon Jovi is an American treasure.” I said firmly, only causing Jordan to laugh further. “I mean it. Wanted Dead or Alive is a classic. You can’t tell me otherwise.”
She gave me a playful smack on the arm. “I can’t believe we’re sitting here debating Bon Jovi.”
I chuckled and looked at her. “There’s no debate. Bon Jovi are a musical force to be reckoned with.”
Jordan once again rolled her eyes and laughed. “Well, at least we can both agree on one band.”
“And what band is that?”
“ABBA,” she answered with a playful smile.
“You know I only listen to that stuff for you, right? I’d sooner Van Gogh my ears than listen to music like that when I’m alone.”
“Really?” She looked completely dejected from my confession. “I thought that was something we shared.”
I turned to see her bottom lip quivering in disappointment. “I’m sorry. I didn’t ever plan to tell you the truth, but no, I don’t like ABBA like you do.”
“But you spent all those nights at my apartment listening to their music. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I didn’t care about where we were or what music was playing. All I cared about was being with you.”
Jordan sat in the passenger seat saying nothing for so long I wondered if I’d made a mistake telling her the truth. Those nights we spent together in those first months dating were some of my favorite times with her, regardless of the crappy music she made me listen to. We’d hang out on her couch for hours each night getting to know one another. Sometimes we’d end up in bed together, but other times we just talked and kissed like people who’d known each other all our lives.
Finally, after about five minutes, she said, “I can’t believe you sat through all those hours of listening to every ABBA CD I have, Gage.”
“The music was nothing but background noise, Jordan,” I said taking her hand in mine. “I wasn’t there for the noise. I was there for you. Do you remember that night the heat went out and your landlord wouldn’t let me fix the furnace? I’ll never forget that night.”
She kissed my knuckles and pressed her cheek to the back of my hand. “We spent the entire night huddled together on the couch watching old Star Trek episodes as the temperature got colder and colder because my landlord promised he’d come to fix the damn thing and never showed. You were so pissed you stayed to give him a piece of your mind and he never came over.”
I grinned and looked over at her. “I didn’t stay to talk to him. You know that, right?”
“Well, I figured you stayed for the extra benefits that came from being under those blankets and afghans with me.”
“Damn straight. I don’t think I’ve ever had sex like that before. Between the blankets and the two of us, it had to be ninety degrees on that couch that night.”
“We have had some wild times, haven’t we?” she said with a giggle.
I pulled her hand to my mouth and kissed it. “And we will again. Don’t worry. You can look forward to freaky extra blanket sex the next time it gets cold. We’ll turn down the heat wherever we are and get to it.”
Jordan leaned over and kissed me softly on the cheek. “I love you, Gage. I always have. And I always will.”
As Jordan and I sat in that car driving to New Orleans and recalling our shared memories together, I wished we were back in that freezing cold apartment of hers huddled naked under those scratchy blankets. It was before the letters that drove me form her, before the people who wanted to kill her, before all the madness. Then it was just Jordan and me together with nothing to tear us apart.
She fell asleep before I could tell he
r I loved her too. As the gentle rocking of the car bounced her head lightly, I brushed the hair from her face and smiled down at the woman I couldn’t imagine life without.
Finally, we had a plan. We’d hide out in New Orleans while we worked to figure out what the hell was behind Hailey’s desire to kill Jordan and Daryl helped us unravel this whole mystery. Then we’d return to life where it was just the two of us and I’d finally do what I should have done in the first place when I realized there wasn’t a life for me without Jordan.
Chapter Fourteen
Jordan
I opened my eyes and looked down at a lovely dark green scarf with a small white bow tied around it in my lap. Rubbing my eyes, I guessed I must have passed out after we grabbed some drive-thru food somewhere in Colorado.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Gage said with a cute look that told me he knew how cheesy he sounded.
Sitting up in the seat, I stretched my arms. “How long have I been asleep?”
He looked at his watch and smiled. “Nearly eight hours, I think. You must have been exhausted.”
Eight hours! I spent what equaled an entire night asleep as he drove all that time. “Gage, I’m so sorry. Do you want me to drive? You must be so tired,” I said, feeling guilty about the poor guy spending the whole trip in the driver’s seat.
“Nah, I’m fine, though I think I’ll be enjoying the rest we get tonight,” Gage answered, always being the hero.
I could tell by his eyes that he was weary from driving, but I knew he wouldn’t let me drive. Looking out my window, I knew I’d never been here before. “Where are we?”
“Just past Amarillo, I think. We’re about halfway there.”
The news that we’d only made it halfway to New Orleans made every muscle in my body ache. I wanted to complain, but I didn’t. I’d had eight hours of restful, if not comfortable, sleep, and Gage had been stuck with the thankless job of driving all that way in silence. Knowing him, though, he probably enjoyed the quiet.
“Thank you for the scarf. It’s perfect,” I said, hanging it around my neck to hide the ugly bruises Justin had left.
“I’m glad you like it. There wasn’t much of a choice of decorative scarves at Kmart.”
Envisioning Gage wandering around the women’s accessories section of Kmart while I slept was too much fun and I laughed lightly to myself. “Did I miss anything big while I was sleeping?”
“Nothing spectacular. I think the trip around Kmart was the most exciting thing I’ve seen. It’s mostly been miles and miles of nothing. There was a fairly scary looking hitchhiker, though, who looked like something out of a horror movie, but I figured it would be better with just the two of us.”
He put his hand on mine and smiled. I liked his idea. Just the two of us. No scary hitchhikers. No crazy people chasing us. Nothing but Gage and me and the happiness I knew we could have if life could just calm the hell down.
We deserved to have that feeling after all the crap we had dealt with. I knew it wasn’t over. After all, we hadn’t even begun to discuss Denise and there was still that whole my being married thing, but for now we were safe in the car together and on our way to a safe haven.
“Do you think we’ll be able to see any of the city?” I asked. I knew it was selfish, but I really wanted him to see New Orleans for more than just Mardi Gras.
He sighed, like he didn’t know how to tell me the answer was no. “I don’t know, Jordan. I want to say yes because I know you want to, but we have to be careful.”
“I know.” I hated seeing him so serious, so I quickly changed the subject. “Did you know that Anne Rice used to have a mansion in the Garden District?”
Gage turned to look at me quizzically. “Do you mean the vampire lady?” he asked, surprising me that he even knew that much about her.
I chuckled and nodded, “Yes, she wrote Interview with a Vampire among many others. It’s one of my favorite books actually,” I admitted.
“Well, maybe we can see if there’s a way we can sneak a peek of it since you like her so much.”
“I’d like that.”
Quintessential Gage. Even when he had to tell me no, he found a way to soften it.
* * *
Nearly half a day later, we finally arrived in New Orleans after the longest trip I’d ever taken in a car, and that was saying something since we’d driven nearly across the country just a few days before. Even after only grabbing a short nap along the way, Gage still had a smile for me when I messed up the directions and sent us to the wrong street in the Garden District. Aptly named, every house, or more truthfully every miniature mansion, was framed by the most beautiful trees, shrubbery, and flowers. Leave it to Tristan’s family to have a house in such a gorgeous place.
Though nearly every home had a small fence either in front of or surrounding it, it was like the original settlers had decided to let the vegetation decide the boundaries of the homes. In some places, the trees intertwined with those from the property next to it, creating an elegant canopy that framed the yard. Many of the homes had pillars that reminded me of Greek architecture.
“What do you think?” I asked Gage as I tried to ignore the pain in my neck in favor of looking at every sight around us. It was impossible not to want to look at every home. Better Homes and Gardens must have had entire issues dedicated to the place, and still that wouldn’t have been enough.
“This is impressive and from what Tristan told me of his father, not where I would expect him to have a home,” he replied, driving slowly so we could admire the beautiful houses. It was nice to see that he was interested as I was in the area. I liked a man who could appreciate the beauty in life.
“Probably his mother’s idea, to be honest. Not that a man can’t like a place like this, but I would think a woman would be drawn to it more. Some of the homes remind me of dollhouses. Nina would love this place. Maybe we can all vacation here together one day,” I wondered aloud, thinking how great it would be if all of us and the kids could come down here for some time away.
“Maybe,” Gage said.
“The Stone kids would love this place. It’s a hide and seek gold mine,” I joked.
The GPS told us in its monotone voice that our destination would be on our left and I looked over past Gage in anticipation. We pulled into the long driveway and my mouth nearly hit the floor of the car. The only word that came to mind to describe the two story white home was grandeur. Everything about it, from the tall pillars on the front porch, to the regal balcony that adorned an upstairs room and the black shutters framing the windows, screamed status. Large bushes covered in small white flowers lined the front yard, and I could see what looked like a fountain peeking out of the backyard.
“It would probably be best to park back there away from the road,” Gage said, all business as always as he directed my attention past the garden to a tool shed in the backyard.
We got out of the car and somehow the back of the house was even more impressive than the front. The porch wrapped around the entire house with white wooden floors that matched the home’s paint color. All of the trim was black, including the black wrought iron fence that surrounded the property. It was the very definition of posh and stood in stark comparison to the much more traditional looking Southern style homes that flanked it on each side with their soft yellows and pinks. The Stone residence was regal and stood like a proud woman amidst the more mellow colored houses.
The backyard had a stone path that ran through the middle but otherwise was full of brightly colored plants. We walked along it to the tool shed and saw hidden behind a bush a box with the house key, just as Tristan had told us it would be when we spoke to him a few minutes earlier.
“After you, my lady,” Gage said with a bow before guiding me down the path and up the back stairs.
“Shouldn’t we get the bags?” I asked, looking over my shoulder at the car.
Gage unlocked the door and looked at me with a smile. “I think we deserve a break that doe
sn’t consist of us being in the car, don’t you?”
“Well, when you put it that way,” I said as I nodded, leading the way through the back door.
We walked into a large kitchen with more counter space than I had room in my small apartment. In fact, the kitchen alone may have been bigger than my entire place.
“Gage, this is amazing,” I finally said after gawking at the place in silence for a few moments. “Nina must have died when she saw these cabinets. This even puts her kitchen to shame, and that’s saying something.”
I’d always loved a white-on-white kitchen, and this one had it all. An enormous white island with white marble stood in the center of the room, surrounded by tall, white wood cabinets leftover from when the house was first built and stainless steel appliances. It was the perfect mixture of new and old.
We walked through a doorway into what looked like a sitting room or parlor, and Gage ran his hand gently along the back of the exquisite burgundy couch. “I guess we can see where Tristan got his sense of good taste.”
I noticed a photo on the mantle and pointed to it. “Look, there’s a young boy in this picture. Do you think it’s Tristan?” It certainly looked like him with his brown eyes and dark hair. But then again, his brother Taylor had been his twin, so it could have been either one of them.
It seemed strange, though, because there wasn’t another one to match it or any with both boys. I’d have to remember to ask Nina about it. Maybe she’d know why.
Gage took my hand and tugged me toward a gorgeous staircase that reminded me of the one from Gone with the Wind. “I think we need to check out the bedrooms.”
The look in his eyes told me exactly what he was thinking. I smiled coyly as I agreed. We walked up to the second floor to the first bedroom we found, and as I stepped into the room, I gasped at how stunning it was. The Richmont hotels had nothing on this place.
“Gage, look at this,” I said as I stared up at the chandelier hanging over the foot of the dark cherry wood sleigh bed.
The walls were painted warm brown and espresso colored draperies hung over windows that stretched from the floor to just a foot below the ceiling. On the wall opposite the windows was a fireplace painted to match the wood of the bed. The room was all at once majestic and grand while being welcoming and cozy at the same time.