by Dara Girard
“Didn’t you?”
Jodi glanced up at her. “No.”
Rania looked at her with a knowing expression.
Jodi sighed remembering her last words to him: I’m glad I never told you I loved you. “I was angry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Have you worn your last pair of stockings yet?”
Jodi shook her head, letting the pieces of the letter fall from her hand. “You’re the one who promised me the guarantee. I don’t see that happening.”
Rania pulled out another envelope, handed it to her then turned to the door. “The choice is yours.”
32
Jodi stared at the envelope stunned. Rania had tricked her but she wasn’t angry, she was relieved. She had another chance. She sank down on her bed, her pulse quickening at the sight of her name and address written in Dylan’s bold hand and then saw the words ‘Please Read’.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
Jodi,
I’m sorry. I should have said that first. I didn’t mean to hurt you. It was the last thing on my mind. I wanted to help you and I thought your sister would understand. You may not believe this but I know that she loves you as much as I do. We weren’t trying to trick you, we wanted to help. But I know it’s not an excuse. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. Please forgive me.
Dylan
PS: Rosie and Merchant miss you and Gus won’t talk to me.
Jodi read his letter through her tears, smiling at the last line. Then she read it again, one sentence standing out to her: I know that she loves you as much as I do. He loved her. He still loved her even though she’d said she didn’t love him in order to hurt him.
She didn’t want to lose him. She didn’t want her fear and shame to continue to hold her hostage. She remembered how awful she’d felt the first day going to the Resource Center. How Dylan had at first been impatient with her and then changed. She had to change too. She had to be strong. She couldn’t run from this. She wasn’t alone. She didn’t need to keep this secret anymore because she had someone who believed in her.
Someone who wasn’t ashamed. When she thought she’d never learn how to read, he believed she could, when she thought she could never follow instructions in a cookbook, he believed she could. He’d always believed in her. It was her turn to believe in herself.
Jodi left her bedroom. She knew what she wanted. She wanted to be with him. She wanted a new life. To do that she had to shed her past.
She roamed around the house then stopped and sat in the living room of the main house and looked around at the bright vivid blues of the furniture that she hadn’t chosen. For the first time the house felt oppressive. She remembered Dylan’s expression as he looked around. She now saw it from an outsider’s eyes. It didn’t matter whether she was in the basement or the main house, she was surrounded by the past: Memories from the life of the former owner’s and her parents. She knew she had outgrown it and needed to escape if she wanted to be where she belonged.
33
Dylan frowned at the sight of the orange octopus—its bright color the same as the autumn leaves scattered on his lawn. He didn’t know how the dog toy ended up on the couch and it was the last thing he wanted to see right now. Losing Roscoe had hurt, but losing Jodi made him feel as if his heart would shatter. He tossed the toy on the ground then turned on the TV and searched for a movie to watch.
Gus came into the room, picked up the toy then struggled to place it in Dylan’s lap, but was too short to do so. He eventually gave up and rested the toy next to Dylan’s foot.
“Silly dog,” he said with reluctant affection. The octopus had become Gus’s favorite as well. “I don’t want it.” He pushed the toy away with his foot and lay down on the couch.
Merchant and Rosie came in. Merchant picked up the toy and placed it beside Dylan.
He looked at the three hopeful expressions. “Is this a conspiracy?” He picked up the octopus toy and waved it. “I don’t want it.” He threw it into the other room.
The three dogs raced after it. When Rosie returned with it in her mouth, Dylan briefly pressed his face into a seat cushion and groaned. He sighed. “Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks didn’t know anything.” He held out his hand in defeat and Rosie dropped the toy in his palm. “Okay, I’ll keep it,” Dylan said, holding it close to his chest. “But if you tell anyone about this you’ll all have to find new homes.”
Rosie jumped up beside him, Gus used his doggy steps to do the same and Merchant settled down in front of him. Dylan reluctantly smiled briefly feeling less alone and closed his eyes.
He woke up an hour later, not aware he’d fallen asleep, when Merchant barked and the three dogs dashed to the door. Dylan opened his eyes and heard a car coming up the driveway. He shoved on his glasses and glanced out the window then jumped up from the couch when he recognized the car.
She was nervous, but determined not to run away. She’d chosen her last pair of thigh high stockings and a bohemian style white dress. She lifted her hand to ring the doorbell, but the door opened before she could. The dogs raced out to greet her. She bent down and stroked them. “I know I’ve missed you too.”
Dylan gave a snap of his fingers and the dogs finished their greeting then went back inside.
Jodi straightened. She motioned to her suitcase and flashed a smile. “I ran away from home and have nowhere else to go.”
Dylan didn’t smile back but he opened the door wider.
She stepped inside and set the suitcase down in the hallway. “I got your letter. And I read every word.”
He closed the door.
“It meant a lot to me.”
He folded his arms.
“I’ve decided to tell them the truth.”
He nodded.
“I realized that I don’t want to be ashamed of my past anymore.”
He rested his hands on his hips and nodded again.
She threw up her hands exasperated. “Don’t do that! It makes me think you don’t care. Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Dylan gazed at her for a long moment before he turned and motioned for her to follow him.
She sighed, then followed him into the kitchen. He pointed to the fridge where he’d used the magnets to say Dylan loves Jodi.
“I know,” she said, tears gathering in her eyes. She went forward and reversed their names to read Jodi loves Dylan. Then turned and hugged him, shocked by how much she’d missed him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”
“I understand.”
“When your family finds out the truth about me—”
He released her and folded his arms. “I don’t care.”
She stared at him, surprised by his sudden distance. “That’s what I always found amazing about you,” she said a little unsure. “Why didn’t it ever bother you? You never made me feel stupid.”
“Because you’re not.”
She took a step towards him. “Thank you.”
He held out his hand and took a step back. “Are you here to stay?”
“I just told you, I ran away from home.”
He shook his head. “That’s not the same thing. Are you here to stay for good? If your mother or father calls, will you be running back to them?”
Jodi paused remembering the painful conversation she’d had with them as she packed her things.
“But you can’t leave,” her father had said. “We have all this space. What will we do with it?”
“We can still rent it. I just need my own place.”
“You already have the main house if you want it.”
Jodi folded a shirt and placed it in her suitcase. “It’s time I make my own life.”
“Why are you abandoning us?” her mother said.
“I’m not. I won’t be far and you’ll still be able to reach me.”
Her mother wiped away tears. “You’ll move away and not see us like your sister. You see us as a burden.”
“No, but it�
��s time to let go.”
Jodi remembered those words as she looked at Dylan now, understanding his hesitation. She saw the love in his eyes, but also the uncertainty. She took another step towards him. “Is that a proposal?”
He kept his hand held out, but didn’t move. “Only if you say ‘yes’.”
She pushed his hand away. “I’m not sure that’s how a proposal works.” She wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Is it ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”
Jodi rested her head against his chest and could feel his heart racing, his body felt tense. She never wanted him to feel this unsure about her again. “Of course I’ll marry you, Big Dee.”
Dylan lifted her chin and narrowed his eyes in mock anger. “You know I will get you back for that.”
She smiled. “What happens when you count to ten?” she asked, reminding him of his warning with Gwen.
“You’d better hope to never find out.” He pointed at her. “But that doesn’t mean you’re safe from payback.”
Jodi laughed. “You have the rest of our lives to try.”
Epilogue
Dylan didn’t sell to Flynn’s Fleets and with Jodi’s help he was able to make By Your Side expand at a faster pace than his grandmother’s company could keep up with.
Joyce quit before she was fired and stalked Malcolm for six months when she learned he had used her and never planned to leave his wife. She disappeared before he could press charges.
Gwen didn’t divorce Malcolm, although she made his life miserable for an entire year. Josh stayed on as vice president of Flynn’s Fleets for three years until the constant pressure to compete against his brother’s business caused a nervous breakdown, forcing him to quit. Dylan eventually forgave him but their relationship was never the same. Dylan’s relationship with his grandmother remained strained, but he kept the door open for whenever she was ready.
Jodi reconciled with her sister and Adelaide became the mother figure she’d always dreamed of, though Jodi still stayed close with her parents.
Merchant passed away at the ripe old age of twelve, but Rosie and Gus were still around when Jodi and Dylan welcomed their first child—a girl. Dylan was never without his cell phone ready to take pictures of his wife and daughter like a proud new father.
“That’s enough,” Jodi scolded him as she picked the baby up from her nap.
Dylan gazed down at the image on his phone with a smile. “I’m making up for lost time.”
“I think you already have.” She turned to him then stopped when she saw something on the bookshelf. “What are those?” she asked, pointing to a row of children’s books that hadn’t been there before. In the apple green colored nursery, the white spines stood out on the wooden shelf.
“A gift from Margery. I just put those up. She said she wanted them to be a surprise. I guess she knows our love of reading.”
Jodi nodded, unable to respond because it wasn’t the books that caught her attention—it was something on the spines.
Her heart began to race as she recognized the significance of the different letters that ran across the spine of each book. Letters she wouldn’t have been able to put together before. She remembered Ms. Rehnquist asking her to take a chance to follow something she initially didn’t believe in.
She looked at her husband and daughter, her heart filled with love, amazed that such love could be real. She then stared at the letters again and smiled as she slowly spelled out one word: ‘Stockings’.
Also Available
If you enjoyed Private Lessons don't miss Dara's other works...
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The Black Stockings Society
Power Play (Bk 1)
A Gentleman’s Offer (Bk 2)
Body Chemistry (Bk 3)
Round the Clock (Bk 4)
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Return of the Black Stockings Society
Playing for Keeps (Bk 1)
After Hours (Bk 2)
A Private Affair (Bk 3)
Return of the Black Stockings Society 3 Book Bundle
Just One Look
* * *
It Happened One Wedding
Unexpected Pleasure (Bk 1)
Midnight Promise (Bk 2)
Sweet Temptation (Bk 3)
Always and Forever (novella)
* * *
Duvall Sisters
The Glass Slipper Project
Taming Mariella
* * *
The Henson Series
Table for Two (Bk 1)
Gaining Interest (Bk 2)
Careless Rapture (Bk 3)
Dangerous Curves (Bk 4)
Familiar Stranger (an extra)
The Henson Brothers (Includes the novels Table for Two and Gaining Interest)
Out of the Past (Includes the novels Careless Rapture and Familiar Stranger)
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Discover these books and more at www.iloripressbooks.com
About the Author
Dara Girard, an award-winning, national bestselling author of more than thirty books continues to gain readers with titles such as Always and Forever, Sweet Temptation, and Midnight Promise. Dara loves to travel and hear from readers.
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Sign up for her newsletter and be the first to find out about current and upcoming releases.
For more information
www.daragirard.com
Copyright Information
Private Lessons
Copyright © 2017 Sade Odubiyi
Published by ILORI PRESS BOOKS LLC
Cover and Layout Copyright © 2017 ILORI PRESS BOOKS LLC
Cover Photo © 2017 akz/123rf
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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The scanning, uploading, and distributing of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.