Jesse's Brother

by Wendy Ely

  “I’ll explain later,” she whispered.

  He slid his hand over her cheek, then gently brought his lips to hers. “Over dinner tonight?”

  He took his hand from her face and brushed it down her bare arm until his hand reached hers. Their fingers entwined. “I would love to.”

  “Dance with me.”

  * * * *

  Jesse chose a small formal Italian restaurant halfway between their towns for their impromptu dinner date. The décor was done in rich mahogany and mauve colors. There were no booths, but tables with cream-colored satin table cloths and mauve roses in crystal vases. Each table was separated by a row of plants to guarantee a private and romantic dining experience. A man in a suit

  walked around playing a violin, filling the room with a sweet music.

  Once they were seated at a private table in the far corner of the restaurant, Jesse slid his hand over hers. “Tell me something about you,” he said softly.

  “What would you like to know?” She smiled.

  “Whatever you want to tell me.” He brought her hand up to his lips.

  She didn’t speak, couldn’t breathe, until he guided their hands back to the table. How could this man keep making her breathless?

  “I have a horse,” she said.

  “Oh really? I love to ride, although I haven’t done it in a long time. Maybe we can ride together some time. Go on a picnic?”

  “I would love for you to spend a day with me on the farm, but there’s a problem with horseback riding,” she said, blushing and turning her gaze down to the table. She’d never told anyone about her fear.

  “Oh? What?”

  “I love my horse but…” She looked away, afraid of his reaction. “I’m scared to ride her. I have never ridden a horse before in my life. It’s okay, you can laugh at me.”

  “Why would I laugh?” he asked with a smile, then leaned forward. “I think it’s adorable.” He kissed her again.

  She kept the kiss quick. Once she pulled away, she said, “Yeah, right. It’s your turn. Tell me something about you.” She picked up the menu and scanned it quickly. It didn’t really matter what she ate. She was enjoying the company way too much.

  “I guess it’s your turn to laugh at me,” he said, picking up his own menu.

  “What is it? Come on, tell me!”

  “I like rap music.” He put the menu up over his face.

  “No way!”

  “Yes. Guess what else?” He put his own menu down as if he was as uninterested in the food as she was. “I love your laugh. It’s like tiny bells ringing. That might sound cheesy but it’s what I imagine an angel would sound like. I want to hear that sound many more times to come.”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, heat rose to her cheeks and she continued to blush until the waitress came to take their orders. To her surprise, they both ordered the same dish—veal parmesan over pasta with a glass of wine. A curl fell down on her forehead. She pushed it away with annoyance.

  He eyed it. “Let your hair down.”

  “But we’re in a restaurant.” She blushed and glanced up at the waitress as the woman placed their drinks onto the table.

  “I don’t care. I want to see your curls.” He took a drink of his wine.

  “Jesse…” she protested.

  “Please,” he whispered. He didn’t take his eyes off her as she reached up with her other hand to let the wild bunch of curls escape free from the clip.

  “Better now?” she asked with a wink.

  “Beautiful,” he said, and brought his lips to hers. “Why don’t you wear it down more often?”

  “My mother, I guess. When I was a little girl, she’d always complain about how wild my hair was. Whenever I would get into trouble, she would always accuse me of turning out to be like my unmanageable hair. I started putting it up at an early age so she would think I was a good girl.”

  “You’re amazing. Don’t ever think you’re not.”

  “I wish my mom would realize that.” She caught herself. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be bringing up sad things tonight.”

  “Samantha, we can talk about anything you desire.”

  Anyone watching them would think they were long-time lovers, not on their first date. They had so much passion between them that they were drawn to each other like the currents of the ocean and the phase of the moon. Their bodies pulled to each other on a subconscious level like the pulse of the tide.

  “Tonight has been wonderful,” she whispered. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

  “The honor is mine. It’s been a long time since I’ve been out with such a beautiful woman.”

  The heat returned to her face and to her surprise, Jesse blushed as well.

  “I’d like to see you many more times.”

  “I think I’ll be spending much more time in Alban and you’ll be spending some time in Jackson?”

  “That’s on my list of priorities as of this minute.”

  His hand rested on hers over the table. Contentment fell over the couple. He looked up from his plate and smiled wide at her, and she would return the smile between bites of dinner. This went on for several minutes before he put his fork down again.

  “What are you studying in school?”

  “Business major. I have one more semester to go before graduating.” She smiled, then asked, “What about you? I know you’re a lawyer but tell me a little about that.”

  “I started out as a criminal attorney but switched over to family law for a short time. I went back to criminal law not so long ago.”

  “Why did you switch back?” She took a sip of her drink.

  “Not enough thrill in family law. I thrive on excitement and try to keep busy. I’m a partner in my father’s law firm. One of the youngest in this state to be a partner.” He beamed.

  “That’s impressive.”

  They had finished dinner and the waitress brought the check. He took it and pulled out his wallet. While they waited for the waitress to bring back his credit card, he held her hand again.

  “What are your plans after college?”

  Should she tell him the truth? Would he think she was naïve? “To be honest, I really don’t know. I’d like to move back to Alban but I don’t think at this point in time, it would be a good idea.”

  “You never know what might happen in a year.”

  “That’s true.”

  The waitress brought back his credit card. After he scribbled his signature, he turned to her. “Should I give you a ride back to your car now?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  She didn’t want this night to end. She was delighted Jesse had been at the wedding to help ease the pain of her no-show date. Even though she was still angry with Noah, things had turned out for the best. She would eventually want to hear his reason for standing her up but it would have to wait until she could stand the sight of him again.

  Once they slid into his sports car, Jesse picked up her hand and rested it on his thigh. They rode in comfortable silence. She’d been to Jackson many times and always enjoyed the trip. The scenery was beautiful during the day with the farms and mountains in the background. The night time was exquisite, with the moon shining overhead. Jesse filled her with warmth as she stared out the window at the twinkling stars.

  CHAPTER 14

  She leaned against her car and looked into his eyes. A smile played on his lips, and he entwined his fingers with hers. She gently kissed him, then pulled back.

  “I wish tonight didn’t have to end,” he whispered before kissing her again. It was like he could read her thoughts.

  This time the kiss was stronger, deeper. After a second or two, their lips parted and she was granted the pleasure of tasting his sweetness. Excitement shot through her like a blast of dynamite and lingered at her most intimate places.

  “Until next time…”

  She got into her car and started out of the parking lot with disappointment. He stood there, watching her until she could no longer see him. H
e had the same attraction for her as she for him.

  It made her stomach turn to jelly.

  * * * *

  The following afternoon, Samantha found herself sitting at a patio table in an upscale diner along the river in Portland. She took a bite of her pasta primavera and smiled at her companion. The place was full of other diners and she was glad she’d agreed to this date with Jesse.

  His blond hair glistened under the bright sun, which shined down on the city. People scurried down the sidewalks and the park was full of people taking advantage of the afternoon.

  The silver sunglasses, matching her dress, were slid in place. A pianist played soft melodies from a corner of the patio. The music was beautiful and she hoped Jesse would ask her to dance. When he didn’t invite her, she picked up the fork to finish eating the rest of the pasta. He leaned back in his chair to watch her. She laughed to break up the uneasiness that had come over her.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You eat fast.”

  “I do,” he agreed, giving a laugh while showing his perfect smile.

  “Why?”

  “Maybe because I’m really busy during the day? I’m lucky if I get to squeeze lunch in each day and dinner some evenings.”

  She traced her nail along the rose etched into the side of the wine glass. “Do you like what you do?”

  “Yes. I love it. Haven’t wanted to do anything else.”

  “I admire that, determination and clear goals. Not many people have those qualities.”

  He snatched the bill from the waiter’s hand before she could glance at it. Three twenties dropped on the table, even though she was sure the lunch had been under thirty.

  “Would you like to go for a walk?”

  She nodded as they walked out of the wrought iron gate into the rush of people in the park. A few minutes later, the crowd began to disperse to other parts, so Jesse and Samantha slowed down to a leisurely stroll. He took her hand, causing her heart to race.

  “Let’s go over there.”

  “Okay,” she said softly. “What is it?”

  She had never been to Portland. So far, it had been exciting, and she loved the fact it was an hour away from Alban. Too bad she’d be going back to school soon.

  “The Saturday Market,” he said, laughing.

  “But it’s Sunday.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s open on Fridays, too. They have a bunch of booths with some great stuff.”

  They walked under a banner stretched over the sidewalk. The smells of food filled the air from the restaurant booths as they walked past. A little girl tap dancing caught her attention. She paused for a minute to watch the girl. A top hat sat on the cement with a sign that read, “Please help pay for my dance lessons.”

  The girl was pretty good for being around six years old. Samantha dropped a ten dollar bill into the top hat, and several other people did the same as they gathered to watch the show. “She’s so cute,” she whispered to Jesse.

  “Let’s go. There’s better stuff to see.”

  “I’d like to watch her for a little bit,” she said.

  “Let’s go,” he repeated and pulled her away. “We’re not here to see every performer and booth—just the good ones.”

  “I thought she was good,” she said as she tossed a look back at the young dancer.

  “You’re in my world now, Samantha. We have standards here.”

  * * * *

  Daddy was sitting at the kitchen table when Samantha entered the kitchen at six the next morning. She couldn’t stop thinking about her date with Jesse and dreaded the thought of seeing Noah again.

  As soon as the clock had struck five-thirty, she had hopped out of bed to get ready for the day. She’d keep busy on the farm, she had thought, but realized that was a sure-fire way to run into Noah. It would be in her best interest if she stayed away from him.

  “Good morning, Daddy,” she said as she plopped into the chair across the table from him. She poured herself a glass of orange juice and the relief of her mother’s absence washed over her. She didn’t even ask where her mom was.

  “Hi, sweetheart. How did you sleep last night?”

  “Okay.”

  “Any plans for today?” He glanced over the top of the newspaper.

  “I want to hang out around here. Probably work in the garden.” “Noah handles the garden now, Sammy. I had him take it over so you’d be able to enjoy your summer.”

  “I miss working in it. Noah won’t mind. It’ll give him a chance to do something else.” She’d been looking forward to getting out her frustrations while working with the flowers and glanced down in disappointment since that wasn’t going to happen.

  He nodded. “Fine. You can help Noah then.”

  “But, Daddy, I’d like some time alone. Can you please tell him I’ll be doing the garden today so he won’t need to go over there? He’ll have less work to do so it’ll be like doing him a favor.”

  “Samantha…”

  Calling her Samantha was a red alert of Dad’s irritation. He knew she was avoiding Noah.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy, but I really need to do this. I don’t want him to bother me so please call and tell him.” She gave him her most loving daughter look. “Please?”

  “I won’t disrupt his morning but when I see him, I’ll tell him. Is that fair?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Okay, so maybe her plan wasn’t going totally her way, but this was better than nothing.

  Once she reached the garden, she let out a sigh of relief when she saw no sign of Noah. She sat down to start her work. To her surprise, Noah had kept the garden up to her standards, with some of the areas even better than what she’d done. In her late high school years, she had gardened as a project for one of her classes and had gotten hooked on it. The garden was filled with vegetables, fruits, and the outside was bordered with flowers. A bench sat in the middle of her little plot of land for her to relax, making it the best place to read.

  She blocked out all of her troubles once she began to pull the weeds from the soil, ignoring the growing ache in her legs. Some of the vegetables were in bloom and she couldn’t wait to pick them so she could make a salad for dinner.

  Heavy footsteps approached the garden. Hopefully it was Dad. Not wanting to be disappointed, she kept her eyes on the job in front of her.

  “Oh,” said Noah, “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “My dad didn’t call you?” She refused to look at him. Her gaze remained fixed on the section of garden she had been weeding. “He was going to have you do something else today.”

  She glanced up as he took a step closer. “Haven’t seen him, but I would’ve come here anyway,” he replied, putting his hands into his back pockets.

  “What for?” The hand tool dropped down on the soil and she stood up, more to stretch her legs than anything else. Her arms were crossed over her chest.

  “About the wedding…”

  “If you didn’t want to go, then you should have said so. It would’ve been okay.” So that was a lie. After all, he had lied, so why couldn’t she?

  “Sammy, I did want to go.” He stepped toward her again.

  “I don’t like to be stood up and I don’t feel comfortable with you calling me Sammy.” She reached down and picked up her gardening tool. The metal jabbed into the dirt with as much force as she could find. She was pissed. Not only because he had stood her up, but because he’d made her cry again.

  “Will you at least listen to me?”

  Don’t look at him, she ordered herself, then answered, “Fine.”

  “I took some cold medicine and set my alarm so I’d be up in time to get ready for the wedding.”

  She let go of the small shovel and dropped down to the dirt. She didn’t care if her butt got dirty.

  “I didn’t know you were getting sick.”

  “I tried to stop it before it reached that point. I didn’t want to let you down, Sammy.”

  “Okay,�
� she whispered. She didn’t want to accept his apology or try to understand why he’d stood her up. Instead, she wanted to forget about Noah and move on to Jesse, but her heart suddenly screamed otherwise. Damn it, Mom was right. She had to be dumb if she didn’t have enough sense to realize something else could’ve been wrong with him.