"Of course."
Shortly after that, we watched Jon give the pad of paper to Jessica, and the two adults and two scampering children headed back towards the cabin.
"We just stopped by briefly," Marcy said, getting up. "We know you have a lot to do. There are several other rooms to break in."
I laughed and blushed.
"It would be nice to spend tomorrow together," she said. "We can picnic on the boat, and we can teach you to ski."
"We can arrange times over dinner. I suspect Jon gave us a shopping list."
"He did," Jessica said, stepping up. She kissed me briefly.
"We're invited to dinner," I told her. "What time, Marcy?"
"Five would be nice," she said. "Dress is exceedingly casual. An after dinner swim would be lovely."
"We'll be there."
* * *
We drove the boat over at five and sat drinking ice tea and talking while Jon grilled dinner. Over dinner, Marcy said, "We have a huge favor to ask."
"You've never asked me for a favor before," Jessica said.
"First I have to ask, how long are you up?"
"We took next week off."
"So did we," Marcy said. "We were wondering if you would like a couple of small house guests for a few of the nights. I know it's a huge imposition, but I would really like it if tonight were one of them."
Jessica stared at her. "You would let me babysit?"
Marcy looked her straight in the eye. "Jessica, the only reason I never let you babysit was because I never trusted your girlfriends around my daughters."
"They would never have hurt them!"
"No of course not," she said. "That's not what I meant. But every single one of them was a user. Not a single one of them was good enough for you. Some of them smoked. There was that one who I swear was, um. Under the influence all the time. There wasn't a single one I would trust with my child's safety. That has changed."
Jessica stared at her.
"Jessica, I love you to pieces, and none of them was good enough for you. Do you hear me?"
I saw tears begin to collect in her eyes. I thought about comforting her, but this was between her and Marcy.
"I thought you hated me."
"And you also thought I hated your lifestyle."
Jessica nodded.
"I did. Your lifestyle involved untrustworthy women who used you badly. I didn't like that at all. Jade is the only woman you've introduced me to that was worthy of you."
I smiled and nodded to Marcy. She returned the gesture.
"I could have come over alone to babysit."
"I tried that once. Some girlfriend showed up at the last minute, and you brought her with."
"You could have told me."
"I know. For that, I am sorry. I should have."
"What about the cabin? I had to grovel to use it."
"No you didn't. You thought you did, and it's understandable why. Jessica, you are the only person who I have let borrow it since I bought it from my grandparent's estate. I don't even let my brother use it unless I'm here. I can't stand the idea of anyone going through my stuff. I'm a control freak. We know that. But I let you use it and no one else. Every time you ask, I freak. Someone is going to be going through my stuff. Moving things. Making messes. Then I remember, hey, it's Jessica, and she'll take care of it. That's why I react the way I do. I'm sorry, I can't help it."
"Mommy's a freak!" said Dawn. "Mommy's a freak!"
Marcy turned to her daughter. "Mommy is a control freak. And Mommy will control freak you right to bed without dessert if you don't say it properly."
I had to slap my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing.
"And the ski boat?"
"The ski boat is broken half the time. I hate that boat, and we're selling it this fall and buying one I don't hate. I don't want you going out on the lake and having it break without knowing how to fix it."
Jessica stared at her sister in law, and I saw the tears begin to slide down her cheeks. "I thought you hated me."
Marcy stood up, walked to Jessica, and pulled her into a hug. The two of them held each other like that, and I saw Marcy whispering into Jessica's ear.
Jon looked over at me and mouthed the word, "Thank you."
I shrugged. I hadn't done anything.
Finally they separated, but they held hands while sitting down. "We'd love to have munchkins overnight, whenever you want."
"Don't say that or you'll never have any alone time," Marcy said, laughing. "But tonight would be great, and maybe Monday or Tuesday. We'll see after that."
"Slumber party at our cabin tonight, girls," Jessica said to her nieces.
The two girls looked at Jessica then at Marcy. "Really, Mommy?"
"Yes, really," she said.
"Can we make s'mores?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, honey," Jessica said. "But only a few."
"Four."
"Two."
"Three."
"Two. Each. And you can help make them for Jade and me."
"Okay," Dawn said.
Marcy said, "Bring them back for breakfast. We can all have breakfast here, then you can borrow Jon for that shopping list. Jade and I already arranged a picnic for tomorrow, so I expect you back here and ready to party on your new boat by eleven."
* * *
That night, after the girls had finally settled into sleep, Jessica and I climbed into our own bed.
"Having girls is hard!" she said.
"They are darlings."
"Jade, did you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Make her talk to me?"
"Nope. That was all her."
We cuddled together in our bed, wrapped together and facing each other. "This is our place now," I told her. "I want a rocking chair for two for the deck."
She laughed. "Tomorrow night we're taking the boat out again. I have another fantasy."
"I will not wear naughty adult toys around your family. Never. Do not ask. Period. Do you hear me?"
"We'll see," she said.
* * *
"Jade, are you awake?"
"Yes, Jessica."
"I love you."
"I love you, too."
* * *
"Jade, are you awake?"
"No."
"Mine."
"Yours."
"Do you know what a forever collar is?"
* * *
"Jade, are you awake."
"Jessica, stop that. The girls are right next door."
"Then you better not make very much noise."
* * *
I'd never been so happy.
About the author:
Julia P. Lynde is the pseudonym of a writer living in Minnesota. The persona of Julia represents who Julia would be if she could. The reality of who we are on the inside and who we are on the outside rarely match.
Julia is older than most of the characters in her books. She has blue eyes and grey hair. She enjoys hiking in the mountains (difficult to do in the mid-west) and hosting dinner parties.
Julia can be reached via email as [email protected]. Twitter: @JuliaPLynde
Julia's other works include:
Novels
Rewind:
Emerging from traumatic events of her past, Shane is left dealing with newfound self-revelations until she seeks help from an unexpected quarter.
Veronica is a stunning and powerful businesswoman who knows what she wants and lives for the seduction involved in getting it.
Complicated doesn't begin to describe the results.
Rewind features graphic sex between consenting women and some light BDSM.
Pulled to the Dark: The Siriena Series Volume 1:
Felicia Conner begins having recurring dreams of the woman who gave her a great new job. Night after night, Petra appears in her dreams. Petra begins to teach Felicia the wonders of the dream world she inhabits while Felicia begins to wonder how she can have such lifelike dreams night after night.
This complete novel of 95,000 words contains swords, magic, intriguing characters, an easy-to-hate villain and graphic sex scenes between Felicia and Petra.
Bidding War (Coming Soon)
Pamela's friend, Samantha, is in charge of a bachelorette auction for charity. Sam is in trouble after a last minute cancellation of one of the bachelorettes, so Pamela demands to be allowed to help. The only thing is, she doesn't ask the right questions.
What ensues is at times funny, poignant, playful, and adventurous as Pamela learns a few things about herself, and about what it might be like to love the right person. Or people.
This novel of 84,000 words features warm, sometimes troubled characters, sweet and lovely dates, and perhaps a little bit of hot, graphic sex.
Novellas
Unwilling
Alexandra and Melissa are coworkers who entirely hate each other, each for her own reasons. One Friday night, Melissa desperately needs Alex to save Melissa's job.
Alex gives Melissa an offer: be her servant for a month or join the unemployment line, believing Melissa would rather take her chances than bow to Alexandra. Instead, Melissa accepts.
This 30,000 word novella (about 100 printed pages) features domination, submission, bondage, and just a touch of some hot sex.
Paying the Price
Princess Meorie is kidnapped from the Norinian capitol, finding herself aboard a warship of Tendaria, a victim of treachery and dishonor. She discovers her captor is Dareena, daughter of the Tendarian queen, who intends to return Meorie to Tendaria to stand trial for war crimes of four years ago.
Dareena promises justice, but Meorie knows she will only receive vengeance. She is offered the choice of spending the voyage trussed like a turkey with an equally undignified delivery to the Tendarian palace, or she can accept a magical slave collar of obedience, to be removed upon delivery. She accepts the collar, binding her to obedience to Dareena.
As the voyage progresses, Meorie attempts to defeat the collar while learning how deep the treachery towards her has extended. She also finds herself falling in love with her captor.
This novella of 43,000 words, about 130 printed pages, is the darkest story Julia P. Lynde has written.
Shorts
Bound in Arrogance
"You wouldn't last two hours of my attention," Penny told me, turning it into a wager. Foolishly, I rose to the bait.
Bound in Arrogance features Veronica and Penny several years prior to the events in Rewind. It features light BDSM.
Emily's Gift
Succubus Volume 1
Emily's daughter has taken a bad path, and Emily turned to the fae succubus, Anita, for her own brand of help.
This short story of 9400 words features intriguing characters and some steamy female on succubus sex.
Snow Bound
First in the 5-part Snow Bound Series.
After a near experience with a deer, Allison is pulled from her car by Sarah, troubled twenty-five-year-old photographer. Sarah drives Allison to Allison's secluded cabin on a lake, where the two become snow bound.
Allison finds Sarah deeply attractive. Will Sarah's troubled past interfere with a possible future?
This short of 10,000 words contains graphic sex, light bondage, domination, and a mind game or two.
Holiday Escort
Madeline Burnet is out of work after ten years as the highly-skilled personal assistant to the owner of a luxury travel agency. During a job interview, she meets Karen Green. The job requires skills Madeline doesn't have, but Karen offers an unexpected alternative arrangement.
She needs a fake girlfriend to help her get through the holiday season. Madeline's affections are not aligned towards women, but she accepts for the money and the chance to make more contacts.
It turns out that being a fake girlfriend can be a very confusing job.
Holiday Escort is a delightful tale involving two very different women. This story is sure to bring pleasure to the reader.
Northern Proposals
Copyright 2013 by Julia P. Lynde
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
* * *
License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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