“So are you excited about your two weeks off?”
“Well, I was. I don’t know that I will get the entire two weeks after today.”
“Why? What happened?”
“I stopped by the station this morning to see if there was paper work to take care of after last night and Ryan got all over me about how he thinks I lost my edge to do the job. When I stopped back to talk to Chief Lorenz after he was gone Chief decided that we are having a division meeting Monday afternoon. He left it up to me to decide on Ryan’s future in my division and after the phone call he made to me about two hours ago I decided he will no longer be working with me. So I have to go in at about 1:00 on Monday to sit down with Chief and go over some things and talk about replacements for him.”
“Holy cow, I guess I thought Ryan was a better person than that.”
“Yeah, so did I. But looking back at it, I can see him wanting to try and get me to relocate or ask to be brought down out of my position because he wants my job title.”
“You think he would do something like that?”
I nod, “Yeah, I could see him trying it.” I look at my watch. A little after 4:00, Annie and Michael should be showing up soon. “So what do you guys have going on for the rest of the night?”
“Well, Noni called and wants us to go to her place for dinner about 6:00 because she wants to give the girls something that she picked up at the farmer’s market today.”
“She needs to stop spoiling them so much,” I shake my head.
“You know that will never happen,” my mom laughs. “That is what she lives for, to spoil those two girls.”
“Yeah, I know. At least it is stuff that she gets like that and not electronic stuff that they don’t need,” I laugh.
“Hey Jo,” I heard Jake call from the patio door.
“Yeah?” I turn and look at him.
“Our dinner guests are here, I just opened the gate for them.”
“Ok,” I get up.
“Who is that?” My mom asks.
“Annie and Michael. She wants to make sure he passes her “Good Boyfriend Material” test,” I laugh and walk to the door. My mom follows. She stops at the bar and I meet Jake at the front door waiting for me to meet Annie and Michael outside.
“You ok?” He asks before we go outside.
“Fine,” I smile. I walk out the door and he follows me. I meet Annie at the end of the walkway and give her a hug.
“Holy freaking mansion,” she whispers.
I laugh, “I know right.” I let go of her and give Michael a hug. “Jake, you remember Annie,” I smile at him. “This is her husband Michael.”
“Hey,” Michael shakes his hand.
“Did you find it ok?” I ask Michael.
“Yeah, it was pretty simple once I got to the gate,” he laughs.
“I bet it was,” I laugh and look at Jake. “Come on in, my mom, John and the girls are inside.” I start toward the door. I feel Annie grab my arm.
“You let the girls meet him already?”
I shrug, “Yeah, I figured after the last couple days I have had things couldn’t get much worse. And after last night I really wanted to see them.”
“You baffle me Jo, one minute you are worried about getting too close to him and the next you are at his house having your friends and family over.”
“I know, but we talked and decided that we are just going to go with the flow of things. So we will see what happens.” We get inside the house and Lizzy is the first one to see Michael and Annie and she comes running at them. Then Abby is right behind her and they drag them off to the game room.
“You brainwashed my kids already?” I look up at Jake.
He smiles at me, “I adore them almost as much as I do you,” he moves a piece of hair out of my face and kisses me. When he pulls away he takes a deep breath. “I don’t know what you are doing to me Jo, but I like it,” he teases me. “And notice that I didn’t ask permission that time?”
“I did. You are getting brave.” I smile up at him. “And doing it with my friends and family close by, that is pretty daring.”
“A chance I am willing to take,” he runs his finger down my neck.
“Stop, before you embarrass both of us,” I walk toward the dining room where my mom and John are still sitting.
“So Jake and I talked and we should go to a couple games this year,” John says to me when I sit down next to him. Jake stands behind me and puts his arm around the back of my stool. He is almost guarding me. It’s kind of calming. I feel safe with him by me.
“Is that so?” I ask John.
“Yeah, I mean I know you have never been to a game, so it only seems fitting that you go see your superstar boyfriend play right?” My mom just about spits out her wine that she just took a drink of.
“John Daniel Madisen! Will you behave yourself?” Both Jake and I laugh.
“What?”
“You are being a jerk,” she scolds him.
He starts saying something but decides not to, I'm guessing because of the look my mom is giving him. I laugh to myself again.
“That is quite the game room you have,” Annie comes into the room. “I have officially lost my husband to a racing game.” She sits on the stool next to my mom after she says hi to them.
Jake walks around to the fridge, “Would you like something to drink?”
“Sure, maybe a glass of wine,” Annie answers. He pours her a glass and looks at me.
“You want something?”
“Sure, I will take a glass too,” I smile at him. He pours me a glass and hands it to me. He walks back to Annie and starts talking to her. I don’t really pay attention to what they are saying, I am just watching him. It is amazing how comfortable he is with everyone. I suppose he has to be able to talk to people though. I take a sip of my wine. I cannot believe that I am sitting here. What have I ever done to deserve this?
“Well, we should head out, Noni will be expecting us soon,” my mom has finished her wine and is standing next to John. “Thank you for having us Jake, it was so nice to get to know you a little more.”
“No, problem. You are welcome anytime,” he smiles at my mom. I get up from my stool and head to the game room to get the girls. I see them playing with Michael. Abby is on his lap racing and Lizzy is next to him trying not to crash into the wall.
“Girls, Gramma and Grandpa are getting ready to leave. You are going to Noni’s for dinner.” I say to them when I am in the room.
“But we are having fun here,” Lizzy pouts. I laugh; she always was into the games. She’s a lot like her dad.
“Sorry honey, Gramma already made those plans before you came here. Besides I hear Noni has something for you,” I smile. I see her eyes brighten right up and I know I won that one. They both run down the hall to the living room where my mom and John are now standing. I feel Michael put his arm around my shoulder.
“Quite the guy,” he smiles at me.
I laugh, “Yeah, he’s something else.” He chuckles and let’s go of me and goes by Annie at the bar. I see Jake and Annie still talking. I walk to the living room and give my mom and John a hug then bend down and get hugs and kisses from the girls. “Have a good night, I will see you tomorrow. We get to watch a football game tomorrow.” I remember that I haven’t told the girls yet that Jake is going to be the one that is playing football. I will tell them when I get to my moms, if she hasn’t already told them.
“So, do I get to tell Noni and your brother about Jake yet?” My mom smiles at me.
“No, not yet mom. One step at a time please.”
“Alright,” she pouts a little.
“Well thanks for coming,” I hear Jake say as he walks up behind me. “And girls,” he bends down on one knee so he is at eye level with them, “it was really good to meet you. I hope you enjoyed my game room.” I see them both smile and they give Jake a hug. “You girls are welcome here anytime, you just have to talk your mom into coming over,” he whispers the last part to them. They b
oth giggle and walk up by my mom. We all say good bye and they leave. I turn to walk back to the bar by Annie and Michael when he grabs my arm. “Is everything ok?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? You seem to be getting on my families good side,” I smile at him.
“Are you ok with that?”
I look up at him confused. “Why wouldn’t I be ok with that?”
“You seem a little distant.”
“It’s just a big change for me right now. So much has happened the last two days and I'm in a whirlwind right now. Just trying to wrap my head around everything that’s all. Don’t worry, you won’t get rid of me that easy,” I smile and put my hand on his arm. I feel him tense up then relax. “Are you ok?”
He puts his hand on mine, “I'm better then ok, as long as you aren’t getting scared off.”
“You met my kids and parents, I don’t think I'm going anywhere any time soon,” I smile at him.
“Good, I'm glad.” He kisses my cheek and grabs my hand and we walk back in by Annie and Michael. “So are you guys getting hungry?” He sits next to Annie.
“I could eat,” Michael says.
“Perfect, I have some steaks in the fridge. I just need to cut up some potatoes.”
“Want me to help?” I ask him as he stands up.
He looks at me, “no, I think us guys can handle this, you sit and chit chat with Annie, we will take care of dinner.” He kisses my cheek again and he and Michael head off to the kitchen to get dinner ready. Next thing I know Annie is on the stool next to me.
“You got it bad,” she smiles at me.
“I'm not sure I know what that means,” I take a drink of my wine.
“That means, you better be careful because you have fallen for him harder than I thought. I hope you don’t get hurt.”
“I don’t think he has any intention on hurting me Annie. I think he has fallen even harder. I can’t believe that I feel as strongly about him as I do. I told my mom I feel like I have known him for years.”
“You two are really cute together,” she smiles at me and takes a drink of wine. I just shake my head and take a drink also. “So how did it go with Chief this morning?”
I almost forgot about that, “it went good. We are having a division meeting Monday afternoon and Ryan will no longer be on my team. He will be transferred to someplace else in the station. He had the balls to call me this afternoon and try to tell me he is going through a lot right now that is why he took his frustration out on me.”
“Really? He tried to use that as an excuse with you?”
I laugh, “yeah, because I have been going through nothing. I just can’t trust him to be on my side anymore so I just think it is better that I get someone else to do his job and make sure that whoever that is has my back at all times.”
“Yeah, I don’t blame you. I feel like this was a long time coming though.”
“Yeah, I guess I never had any problems with Ryan until this morning. But I have passed some stuff on to him that was a little too hard on me, so maybe it is my fault.”
“Jo, don’t go down that road. You are good at your job, we all know that. And now that you are getting other things worked out, like moving, you will get better. I think you were just stuck in a rut because you didn’t know where to go from that certain point.”
“Yeah, I think I made some good choices the last couple days,” I smile thinking about everything.
“I do too, starting with your hunky boy out there,” she points out at Jake and Michael standing on the porch laughing by the grill.
“What’s up with you and Michael? You two seem to be at a cross roads right now.” Annie looks over at me with her “I really don’t want to talk about it look”, but I don’t give in. “You can tell me.”
“He wants to have a baby, and I don’t think I am ready yet. I have so much going on with getting my degree and school starting that I don’t think the timing is good.”
“I thought he was the one that wanted to wait?”
“He was, at first. Then I decided to go for my masters and we decided together that we would wait until I was almost done and start trying.”
“Well, you are almost done right?”
“Yeah, but I just don’t know if I am ready.”
“Annie, I will tell you from experience, you are never ready to start having kids, unless you already have them and you want more. Jarrod and I were not ready for Lizzy, but when I got pregnant with her we were so excited.”
“Yeah, but you guys wanted to have kids from the get go, we didn’t know at first if we wanted kids.”
“We didn’t know we wanted kids right away. We figured eventually we would have them, but for me to get pregnant on our honeymoon was very unexpected. We were hoping to have a little time to ourselves, but it didn’t work that way. And looking back at it, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I have two great girls.”
“I know, it’s just crazy to think of us as parents.” She laughs. “I mean look at us, we are so consumed by our jobs and school right now, and we don’t even know what is going on tomorrow.”
“I'm like that right now and I am on vacation.”
She laughs at me, “Yeah well you have two kids to take care of, a new house to get organized, and now a new boyfriend.”
“There is that word again,” I smile at her.
“Well he is.”
“It’s just so weird,” I giggle.
“Yeah, but he is a good choice I think.”
“So what were you two talking about before?”
She looks at me with that look like she wants to tell me but doesn’t know if she should. “He was asking me about how you would react if he asked you to go to Texas with him for a couple days to meet his family.”
My mouth drops open, “already?”
“That is what I told him. I think it is too soon for you to do that. I think it’s a little different him meeting your family because they are from around here, plus you have the girls and most of the time he will be with all three of you.”
“I overheard him tell his sister that he wants her to meet me when she comes into town next weekend.”
“Does he have a big family? I saw the pictures on the fireplace when we came in and it looks big.”
“Yeah, he has five brothers and six sisters.”
“Yikes, could you imagine having that many kids?”
“Oh no, no way I would have that many kids.”
“So did you decide when you are going to Virginia Beach yet?”
“No, I will probably leave like Tuesday and come back Friday. I will try and avoid the super craziness that I know is going to be there over the weekend. Now that I have that meeting on Monday I have to be here for that. I could leave after but I don’t know how long that will take and it is a good four hour drive from here.”
“What are you going to do with the girls?”
“Do with the girls for what?” Jake walks back into the dining room.
“For my meeting on Monday,” I smile at Jake. He looks so good just hanging out and talking with me and my friends.
“I can come by and hang out with them,” Jake smiles.
Annie smiles and winks at me, “That would be good bonding time for them.”
“Are you sure?” I ask him.
“Yeah, after scrimmage tomorrow we have morning practice Monday, I will be done by 10:00. I can just come right to your place from there.”
I smile at him, “If you want to I am sure the girls would love that.” Annie frowns at me. I know why, she thinks I am being stubborn about it.
“Perfect,” he doesn’t seem to notice at all. “Just came in the get the plate for the steaks, they should be just about ready. You want to set the table outside or inside?”
“Outside,” Annie pipes in. “Where are the plates and stuff we will grab them,” she grabs my arm.
“In the kitchen, first cupboard on the left and silverware is right below it.” He smiles and walks back outside.
“What do you mean?” I ask as she drags me into the kitchen.
“The man is crazy about you, and your kids, and you are brushing it off as some guy coming over to hang out with them for a little bit while you go to a work meeting.”
“Isn’t that what it is?”
“Not even close!” She grabs plates out of the cupboard and then silverware. “He is trying so hard to show you that he accepts that you come as a package, it is either all three of you or he gets nothing. He is trying to show you that he understands that.”
“I think you are reading way too much into this Annie.”
“No, I'm not. Trust me!” She turns and walks out of the kitchen and out the patio door. I hear it close but I just stand there staring ahead at the counter. Is she right? Is that what he is doing? I already know that he accepts my kids; he proved that to me today when they were here. What is he doing then? I don’t know, I shake my head and turn to leave and he is standing in the doorway.
“Shit, Jake you scared the crap out of me,” I put my hand on my chest to catch my breath.
“Sorry,” he steps closer to me and rubs my arm. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Jo, ever since we got here this afternoon you have been a little off. I don’t know if this is just too much too fast or what but I would like to know.”
“If I knew I would tell you. Something just seems, I don’t know, off. I don’t know if it is us, me moving, or this crap with work. I don’t feel like I am completely together today. I think it is just this stuff with Ryan to be honest with you. I have lost a lot of people out of my life since Jarrod died, but I didn’t think I would ever lose him.” I look up at him.
“Where you that close with him?”
“Jake, he was my partner at work. We took care of each other when things got bad. There have been a lot of things that we have gotten each other through. Jarrod’s death was one of the things he helped me through. It hurts to think that he doesn’t have my back anymore, and also makes me wonder how long he has thought that I can’t do my job.” I take a deep breath. “Then there is this,” I point between the two of us, “This is completely unexpected.”
“I didn’t expect this either,” he starts, but I cut him off.
Unexpected Love (Jo's Story) Page 10