“I’m not going to do it. So, stop asking.”
“Zane and James, why don’t you tell him about what Bridget said about her brother. He’s the one that talked to Jeremy Hart’s ex-girlfriend,” Carl said, watching Jeff for a reaction. He wasn’t disappointed.
“What about Jeremy Hart?” he asked, coming away from the wall. “Hannah’s not dating him, is she?” That had got his attention. Now he resembled a bull dog.
“No, she’s not, and she promised she would stay away from him. But she doesn’t know why we asked her to,” Zane answered him, trying not to laugh at his reaction.
“Maybe you should tell her, Zane,” Jeff said, starting to get really angry. “If she doesn’t understand, she might get curious.”
“We didn’t think it was necessary to scare her half to death. She’s not interested in him. It’s the other way around. She thinks he’s creepy.”
“She’s too tiny. He’ll kill her.”
“It’s because of her size that he’s interested in the first place.”
“I’ll kill him if he touches her.” This time, Jeff was nearly snarling.
Carl just sat back and grinned to himself. He knew he wasn’t going to have to worry about Hannah getting hurt. Jeff would see to it that didn’t happen. He was just hoping one of the others or himself was around when Jeff got a hold of Jeremy. He didn’t want the guy going to prison. Carl had a feeling he might really kill the guy if it came down to it.
Chapter 23 – Friday, March 1
James was putting the motor of a sixty-seven Camaro back together, and was leaned over the side of the car, concentrating on what he was doing and didn’t realize she had walked in. The second she touched him, he knew she wasn’t Lisa. His head snapped up and he gave her a dirty look. “What do you want, Bridget?” he asked, as he grabbed her hand and threw it off him, unconcerned about how much grease he got on her. “Do not ever grab me that way again.”
“The same thing I always want. And somebody obviously needs to touch you that way. You’re awfully crabby.”
“Well, you’re not going to get it. And the reason he’s so crabby, is because he doesn’t want you touching him.” That got both of their attentions. Lisa had just come back from the bathroom, and had picked up a wrench the size of a child’s arm. For James, it was a tool. For Lisa, it was a weapon.
James turned toward her, debating whether he should try to stop her or not. He ended up deciding to let her go for now, and see where she was going to take this. It would be better if she had this confrontation when he was present. And she seemed really determined to have it.
“From the look on your face, you didn’t realize I was here.” Lisa laid the wrench against her shoulder, and walked across the garage, putting herself between James and the other woman. “I know what you want, and I suggest, if that’s what you really want, you need to go to a bigger city. Like Kansas City or Saint Louis. I’m sure you could find any number of black guys who would be willing to show you how big their... package is. Heck, you could probably see several.” Lisa thought for a second, and then truly sounding concerned, added, “I’d be careful though. I’m sure they’re likely to require payment as you put it. So, I advise you to pick carefully.” She took a step closer and swung the wrench around, just short of hitting Bridget with it. “This one’s taken. And I refuse to share.”
Bridget pulled back, trying to put some space between her and Lisa, and noticed the rock Lisa had on her left hand. “So, you really are engaged now. It’s not just a rumor.”
“Yeah, we are. I was always going to marry him. I was just waiting for him to figure out what I needed from him.”
“What? You wanted a rock the size of a gum ball?” Bridget asked, with a smirk on her face.
“You are so shallow it is not to be believed.” Lisa just stood there shaking her head.
“You’re the one with the diamond on your hand.”
“Because I’m the one he wants to marry. I love him. He’s not just a piece of meat to me. I’ve had this ring since Christmas. If a huge diamond was what I had wanted, we would have already been married.” Lisa shook her head again, wondering why she was about to explain for the second time to someone so simple minded, something so complicated. “All I ever wanted was his love. And I’ve got that.” Lisa took another step toward her and added, “If you don’t stay away from him, I will come after you with that baseball bat I promised.”
Lisa saw the moment it registered that she meant what she was saying. “Okay, I’ll stay away from him. But can I ask you one thing? She just waited without saying a word, figuring the woman was going to ask whether she said she could or not. “How big is it, anyway?”
She just snorted. “You’re never going to know,” she said, with just enough of a grin to imply what Bridget had been thinking was true.
James watched as Bridget walked out of the garage. Once she was in her car and had pulled off, he turned and started walking toward Lisa. He took the wrench she still had dangling from her hand and laid it down on the work table she was standing by. At first, she didn’t seem to know what was on his mind. He knew the exact second she realized what he was about to do. She started backing up. “James, you’re covered in grease. You’ll ruin my clothes. Maternity clothes are expensive.”
Her protest was only halfhearted, and he could tell. “Tiger, I’ll buy you a new set. You deserve a kiss for that. A big one.” He had managed to back her into the red tool box in the middle of the garage. When he reached out and pulled her into his arms, he heard her whisper, “Oh, who cares. Just kiss me.”
A little bit later, when he finally managed to make himself let go of her, she looked up at him, and grinned. He could tell by the look on her face she was thinking something she shouldn’t. “You know I would be willing to go home with you tonight.”
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Lisa, we can’t do that. We need to be good.”
“But James, by the time we get married, we may not be able to, until the six weeks after the baby is born.”
“Trust me, I’ve already done the math. I know. But it doesn’t change the fact, we need to behave ourselves.”
“If I beg, could I change your mind?” she asked, running her finger nails down his arm, with just enough pressure to give him chills.
“You probably could, but I wish you wouldn’t try. This is hard enough as it is.”
“Okay, I’ll be good,” she said on a sigh. “But I promise, after we’re married, I won’t make you suffer. You can at least be happy.”
“What?” he asked, his head snapping up, and his eyes growing huge. He had gone back to working on the Camaro and he had rapped his knuckles on the engine block. If she wasn’t careful, he was going to end up smashing his hand, or worse.
“You know what I mean,” she said, a grin spreading across her face.
“Yeah, I do. Will you, please, not talk to me like that right now. I still have work to do. I’m not going to be able to concentrate.”
“I can sneak out tonight. After everyone else is asleep.” Her wicked grin got even bigger. She could see it on his face, he was starting to get weaker.
“Lisa, I heard that.”
She just turned around and looked at Luke. She didn’t feel at all repentant, and she wasn’t going to let herself be embarrassed by it.
“And?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “It’s not like we’re not already committed to each other.”
“Hey, I won’t tell on you. It’s not my place to keep you on the right path.”
“Fine, I’ll try to behave.” After a second or two, she decided to play nice. “How’s your day going? Are you still sticking to your plan to wait for six months?”
“I’m good. And she hasn’t pressured me about it since we agreed on the six months. Thanks for the concern, but if you go home like that, your mom’s going to ask what you were doing.”
Just then Lisa looked down and noticed what Luke was talking about. She had greasy
hand prints in some very interesting places. Now, she was embarrassed.
Chapter 24 – Saturday, March 16 – Wedding Day
Luke walked out of the bathroom to see Mindi trying to zip her dress up the back, and not having much luck. “Here, do you want some help with that?” he asked, walking up behind her.
“Yes, please. I can’t hold it in place and zip it at the same time. These spaghetti straps won’t stay up, so it keeps sliding.”
When Luke grabbed the zipper, he got distracted by the expanse of soft, pale skin exposed by the open zipper. Instead of pulling it the rest of the way up, he pulled it down and ran his hands up her sides and around to her front and pulled her up against him.
“Luke, what are you doing? We’re supposed to be getting ready to leave. We have a wedding to make it to,” she said, her breath catching when his thumbs rubbed over her sensitive flesh.
“I know, but we could be a little late,” he said, breathing in her ear before he nipped her earlobe. “Weddings always start late anyway. They won’t miss us before we get there.
“Luke, put it away,” she said, referring to what he now had pressed against her backside.
“Put what away, Baby?” he asked, sounding distracted. He was now running kisses down the side of her neck.
“Like you don’t know. That very masculine display you got going on in your pants.”
Luke just laughed and went back to kissing her neck. “Are you sure you want me to put it away? Wouldn’t you rather wrap your hands around that very masculine display?” he asked, rubbing himself against her in a very suggestive manner.
“James is probably freaking out, and needs his best man there to help him calm down,” she said, laughing, still feeling a little breathless. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later.”
Just then the phone rang. Luke groaned, letting go of her and zipping her dress before he picked up the phone. Mindi had been right. James was freaking out and was wondering where Luke was. He was afraid they were going to be late. Five minutes later they were on their way out the door.
*******
James still felt like he was in a state of shock. He could have saved them both a lot of misery if he’d had enough guts to tell her how he felt. He had kept telling himself there was no way all she wanted was for him to love her, and for him to want to marry her.
Of course, he wanted to marry her. She was all he wanted. He loved her like crazy. He always had. Ever since he was in high school. He had never even dated. He was always with Lisa. Now that his head was clear of the doubts, he realized, she had never dated either. She was always with him. Looking back now, he wondered at how he could have been so blind.
When they had told his parents that she had finally agreed to marry him, his mom, gentle woman that she is, had unbelievably smacked him in the back of the head, and asked, “Did you finally tell her you loved her? I didn’t think you were ever going to get it.” Apparently, he had been the only one in the dark about what she had wanted. She had been insisting he had to figure it out on his own. And she had been right. If they had told him, he wouldn’t have believed them anyway, and it wouldn’t have helped. It was something he could laugh about now, but it had sure caused him some frustration for a few months.
He had figured it out. He had been struggling with it for months. He was just so scared he had convinced himself he couldn’t be right. He had come close several times to telling her, only to have the fear take over at the last second.
He had gotten lucky. He had gotten so frustrated, he had started ranting, and it had just come out. It was a good thing it was in his nature to start running his mouth, and say things unintentionally when he was upset. If it wasn’t, they might not have gotten here yet.
They had decided to go for a small wedding. He had only been willing to give her a month. He had been going so crazy for the last few months, he just didn’t have the patience to wait longer than that. He needed to be able to hold her at night, and wake up with her sleeping in his arms. He was looking forward to being able to kiss her awake.
The doctor hadn’t restricted them yet, but he figured he would at the next checkup. That was Monday. He was planning on making the best out of the two nights he had before then.
They had gotten lucky with the weather. It was a warm day for the middle of March, and there was barely any wind. So, he now stood under the big oak tree in the Townsend’s backyard watching her walk toward him on her dad’s arm.
Her mom, who had been planning the wedding for weeks, had choose pink stargazer lilies and white tulips for the flowers. Her mom had decided on pink lilies because Lisa’s favorite color was pink. The tulips were because they were Lisa’s favorite flower.
Lisa now had a white tulip and pink lily in her dark brown hair and a bouquet in her hand. She wore a simple dress, made out of some kind of breezy material, that flowed around her. He realized he was holding his breath, and had to suck in a big drag of air before he got light headed. Man, she was gorgeous. And she was about to become his wife. She was going to be his forever. No more torturing himself with thoughts of her marrying someone else. He would always make sure she never regretted marrying him.
He had been so deep in thought he had missed Pastor Macy asking who gives this woman. What made him aware he had missed something was when he saw Carl take her hand to place in his. He reached his hand out, and took her pale one with it. She smiled up at him, her face radiant.
The ceremony was a piece of cake. He had been going over the vows in his head for a month now. He had wanted to be prepared. He thought it might help his nerves. It hadn’t helped his nerves, but he hadn’t messed up either.
Finally, he was able to kiss her. He cupped her cheek with his hand and leaned down. When their lips met, the world around them disappeared. He wasn’t sure how many seconds passed, but when he reached down and started to lift her up, he heard someone stifle a chuckle and remembered where they were. He wasn’t quite ready to let go of her yet, and kissed her just a little longer. When everyone started clapping, he reluctantly let go, and smiled down at her.
Once Lisa had gotten past the three months she had been able to eat meat again. She had asked her dad and two older brothers if they would grill for the reception. Lisa had absolutely refused to cut the cake before they ate. She didn’t want to eat sugar on an empty stomach. Everybody else was happy to humor her, and seemed ready to eat as well anyway.
The guys had moved the picnic tables back out in the yard. And they were all sitting down now and eating hot dogs and hamburgers. Her dad had offered to grill steaks, and Joe Harris had offered to chip them in as a wedding present, but Lisa had said she just wanted to keep it simple.
Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. James had been looking around at all his friends and family, for the first time truly realizing how blessed he really was. For someone who’s life had started out in such a tragic way, things had really turned out well for him.
He heard Luke chuckle and looked down the table where he was sitting. He realized Luke was looking across the table at Mark. James couldn’t hear, but he was wondering what he and Jenny were talking about. That was obviously what Luke had been laughing at. Mark almost looked dazed and his eyes had grown wide. When Jenny stood up and lifted one leg over the bench seat, so she could turn to face him, his eyes got even bigger.
“Jenny, what are you doing?” This time Mark had spoken loud enough, everyone had heard him.
By the time she had her hands in his hair and had leaned down to kiss him, the whole yard had fallen silent, and everyone was watching them. And she didn’t seem to be in any hurry to stop. Mark’s hands came up around her waist and pulled her toward him.
It looked like he was about to pull her down into his lap, when everyone started clapping and hollering. That got their attention, and Mark reluctantly let her go.
James was thinking to himself, that must have been a surprise to have her kiss him for a change. He still looked a little dazed, now that
he thought about it.
Zane didn’t necessarily look happy, but he didn’t look pissed off. Amanda had moved into Lisa’s old apartment. She had finally gotten away from Austin. Problem was, she was still working in Ruby Falls, and she still had her apartment there. They hadn’t managed to move all her stuff yet.
That was probably what was causing Zane’s dirty look right now. He had wanted her to make a complete break from Ruby Falls. He knew she had too many ties to that town. She could end up back over there if he didn’t keep an eye on her.
He had tried to get her to move in with him, but she had refused. She said she didn’t think that would be a good idea. James knew why she didn’t think that was a good idea. He was beginning to think Zane knew he was in love with her. He was either in denial, or had convinced himself she wasn’t in love with him. But if she had moved in with him, it wouldn’t have taken long for things to get really sticky.
At any rate things were getting better. They all just needed to keep praying. James figured once Zane realized how he really felt about Amanda, it wouldn’t take much longer for them to get married. And the way it was looking with Mark and Jenny, they could be getting married in the very near future.
Yeah. Things were definitely looking up.
Chapter 25 – Friday, May 3
Lisa came awake at four forty-five with a start and sat watching the clock. About ten minutes later, she reached over and shook her husband. “James, wake up.”
James sat straight up in bed and looked over at his wife. “What, Tiger?” he asked, concern in his voice.
“I’m in labor,” she said, trying to pull herself to a sitting position.
“Are you sure?” he asked as he reached over and helped her sit up. “We’ve had several false alarms already?”
Oh, Baby! (The Townsends Book 2) Page 22