“I don’t know, you are the one that is turning different shades of red not me.”
“I just don’t like sharing my extremely personal things with people. Especially this personal. This is between you and me, not her. No one else needs to know what happens between us.”
He looks at me and smiles. “I agree,” he kisses me and goes into the house.
“Annie, please shut up about this. It’s between Jake and me.”
“Ok Jo, I won’t say anything. Why are you being so secret about things?”
“Because if you haven’t noticed our relationship is already in the spot light. We don’t need rumors flying about what we do behind closed doors. We don’t need more attention than we already have.”
“I understand and I'm sorry. Can we go down in the pool now and relax? I feel like we haven’t seen each other in forever and I would like to hang out like friends,” she smiles at me. I nod and we walk down to the pool and sit by the bar. Michael gets her a glass of wine and me a beer.
“So they had a good turnout at the station today,” Michael smiles at me.
“Yeah, they did. I hope it helps them.”
“I'm sure it did Jo. What would they do without you there?”
I smile, “I'm sure they would be just fine. And if you think about it, this would have never happened if it wasn’t for your overly pushy wife,” I smirk at Annie.
“Hey, you wouldn’t be as happy as you are if I wouldn’t have pushed you into him. I think a lot of people have been made very happy because of me,” she gets a big grin on her face. I just shake my head at her.
“I am going to go get my suit on, I will be right back.” I walk upstairs and into the house. I see that Mark and Lisa are pulling up to the house and I see Jake standing at the front door. I go in and head for his room.
“Hey, where are you off to?” He turns and looks at me.
“To put my swim suit on. Annie is begging to go in the pool,” I smile. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for my friends,” he smiles that smile at me. I shake my head and go upstairs. I go into his room and get my suit out of my bag. He told me to pack it when we were at the house, but I guess I didn’t really put two and two together because I was in a hurry to get over and see Lewis. I wonder how he is doing as I am in the bathroom changing. I take my phone out of my pocket. Its 5:00. Maybe I should call the center and check in on him. They have given him is own security guard at my request because we found out that the Warrens are trying to buy their way into the center. I do have Dr. Manny’s number; I could call her and see how he is doing. I pick her name and dial her number.
“Dr. Manny,” she answers.
“Hi Dr. Manny, this is Detective Jodene Lewis. You are caring for a Lewis Adams that I have a watch on.”
“Oh yes, hi Detective Lewis.”
“Please call me Jo.”
“What can I do for you tonight Jo?”
“I am just calling to check on Lewis, see how he is doing?”
“He is good; I was actually just down to see him about an hour ago. From what I can tell most of the drugs are out of his system.”
“Perfect, his family is coming into town tomorrow and I have a feeling his parents are going to want to see him.”
“Oh, I bet he would enjoy that very much. He sure isn’t fond of his room right now.”
“Yes, I know that. He told me that yesterday when I was there. But like I told him, I need to make sure that he is safe before I can release him from the hold. I'm assuming that Chief Lorenz has you briefed on everything that is going on?”
“Yes, he has. He told me that if I needed anything to make sure and contact you.”
“Perfect. Well thank you for taking the time to talk to me,” I smile.
“No problem Jo, talk to you soon,” she hangs up. I hang up and look around the room. I see a picture on Jake’s dresser and walk over and look at it. I see him and five other guys. I recognize Lewis, and notice that for the most part they all look alike. I can only assume it is all his brothers. He looks happy. He and his family must be a lot closer then I had realized. I know he has issues with Lewis, but those are obvious to me right now. But the rest of them he hasn’t told me much about yet. I wonder why he is bringing his parents and younger brother and sisters up here instead of sending them to his older brothers or someone else’s place. Maybe this is his way of making sure I meet them. I smile at the thought.
“You snooping through my drawers?” He walks into the bedroom. I set the picture down.
“No, just admiring is all,” he walks over and puts his arms around my waist.
“That’s a good looking group of guys isn’t it?” He kisses my neck.
“Yeah, some cuter than others,” I smile. He turns me around and kisses me.
“You look good,” he runs his fingers down my side and kisses me again.
“Jake, stop,” I try to push him away. “We have company, not now.”
I hear him groan, “Oh all right,” he looks at me. “But promise we will have fun again later after everyone leaves?”
I don’t say anything just smile and shake my head at him. We walk back downstairs and out to the pool. I see that pretty much everyone has arrived that he invited over. I walk around and talk to pretty much everyone. I introduce Jake to everyone that hasn’t met him yet and he hits it off with everyone. I see Mark at the grill and smile. I need to introduce Annie to Lisa. I look around and see Lisa sitting by the bar talking to my mom and Annie and Michael are sitting on the edge of the pool. I wave for her to meet me at the bar. I walk up next to Lisa, “hey,” I smile.
“Hey,” she smiles and gives me a hug. “Sounds like the fundraiser was a success.”
“Yeah, I don’t know numbers yet, but there were a lot of people there,” I smile. Annie walks up and stands next to me. “Annie, this is Mark’s wife Lisa. Lisa, this is my best friend Annie.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lisa reaches out to shake Annie’s hand. Annie shakes her hand. “I have heard a lot about you.”
“Yeah, me too,” Annie smiles. “Sounds like you two had a fun time down at the beach.”
“Oh yes, maybe next time you and your husband can join us?”
“Maybe,” I see Annie smile at the thought. “Maybe an adults only weekend?”
“Now that sounds fun,” I smile.
“Jake, they are doing a report on the fundraiser,” I hear one of the new guys yell from behind the bar. Everyone gets quiet and he turns the TV up.
“And in other news it seems some of the guys from the local football team have been spreading some generosity around. The Town Street Fire Department held their annual corn roast today and along with getting some good grilled corn they could also get some good face time with four of the players. Among them were Braden Houser, Matthew White, Mark Brooks, and of course the one and only Jackson Adams. Now reports say that this is the fire house that Jackson’s new girlfriend’s husband was a part of. We did get a little face time with Jackson, but of course he would not comment on the new woman in his life. He was however extremely happy to be able to help out a local cause like this. He says although he is not in the neighborhood of the Town Street Department he knows how much it means to everyone in the neighborhood. When we had talked to Battalion Chief Ed Klug before we left he said they were well on their way to at least double what they had done in the past. I guess thanks should go out to the guys and good job.”
I smile. I knew that they would have a good turnout, but to double what they have done in the past is amazing. I look over at Jake who is standing by the grill and smile at him. He has no idea how amazing he is. And I cannot believe how lucky I am to have him in my life.
~~~~~
“What a day,” Jake crawls in bed next to me. “I'm exhausted.”
“I bet, being admired by a ton of people must really ware you out,” I laugh.
“You have no idea,” he smiles and pulls me close to him. “But I want my time with you n
ow,” he kisses me.
“Jake,” I pull back from him. “Thank you so much for everything that you have done for me. I don’t know what I would do without you right now. You have really shown me a lot in the last few days.”
“Well, you have shown me what it is like to be strong. I don’t know anyone that can handle all of the stuff that you have handled in the last few days.”
“I'm used to handling stuff, and I'm used to doing it on my own, like I have the last two years. I didn’t have a choice but to be strong, I had two girls to raise. I wasn’t going to get a break from life, so I learned to roll with things the best I could.”
“Not many people can do that Jo. Especially alone.” I smile at him. After what I have been through the last few days have been easy.
“Well, I'm not alone anymore am I?”
“Absolutely not and please remember that,” he smiles and kisses me. He runs his fingers up my side and to my strap on my tank top, just then his phone starts ringing. “Who the hell is calling me this late,” he looks at the clock. It’s already 10:30. He grabs it off the night table and answers it. “Molly what’s wrong?” He sits up. “Why didn’t you call me when you left?” He sounds a little upset. “So when does the plane land?” I see him shake his head. “Well thanks for the fifteen minute warning. I will try and get there by then but I can’t promise, you may have to wait for a while.” He stands up and goes to his dresser and pulls out a shirt. “Well, then you should have called me before you left. I'm sure mom has been bugging you all day.” He sits back down on the bed. “Ok, see you soon.” He hangs up.
“What was that about?” I sit up.
“My sister is a pain in the ass. She decided to come home and she is landing in fifteen minutes. So I have to go and pick her up. Apparently my mom called her and told her that she would love for her to be here so she can see her too.”
I laugh, “And she is just calling you now?”
“Yeah, she said she was busy packing all her stuff and getting a last minute flight out. She is so frustrating. But, I have to go and get her. Why don’t you stay here and sleep. I should be back hopefully in like an hour.”
“Ok,” I smile at him. He stands up and puts his shirt on and grabs his keys off the dresser. He walks around the bed and sits on the edge close to me. “I will be back soon,” he kisses me and gets up and leaves. I hear his car pull down the driveway and down the road. I just sit there staring out the window. How did I end up here? How did I get so lucky? I grab the remote off the night table and turn the TV on. I find an old movie to watch and lay down and snuggle with my pillow. It is so weird to be here without Jake. Before I know it I am drifting off into a deep sleep.
I am standing outside Jarrod’s and mine house watching it burn to the ground. I hear him yelling, telling me to get away. I keep telling him no, I can’t I think that the girls are still inside because I can’t find them anyplace. I feel the heat once I get closer and there are flames coming out the upstairs windows. I feel someone grab me by the waist and pull me; I can’t see who it is. All I can hear is my own screams telling them to let me go because I need to find my girls!
“Jo!” Jake is shaking me. “Baby, wake up,” he is looking down at me worried.
“Jake?” I sit up. I'm sweating.
“What’s wrong?” He pulls me close and I put my head on his chest.
“I could feel the heat from the fire. The girls, I couldn’t find them, and Jarrod was there, telling me not to go in after them,” I start crying.
“Baby, its fine, it was just a bad dream.” He holds me close. He just sits there holding me and rubbing my back. I feel how tense he is and I try to relax. Once I have calmed down I pull back away from him a little bit. “Are you ok?”
I nod, “Yeah, sorry I don’t know what that was all about.”
“A bad dream that is what it was.”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t remember ever having those before. At least not like this one. It felt so real.” I look at the clock. It is almost midnight. “Did you get your sister?”
“Yeah, she is downstairs eating. I came up to see if you were sleeping. I'm glad I came up when I did. Are you sure you’re ok?”
“Yeah, I'm fine.”
“You want a glass of water?”
I nod and look up at him. “Thanks. I am going to take a shower and change out of these pajamas. Do you have a shirt I can borrow? I only brought these with me.”
“Of course,” he lets go of me and goes over to his dresser and pulls out a shirt. He sets it down on the bed next to me. “I will go get you a glass of water. I will be right back.” He walks out the door and closes it. I stand up and grab the shirt and head to the bathroom. I am drenched. I don’t remember ever having a dream like that before. I have had them, but none nearly this detailed. I shake my head trying to get the vision out of my head as I reach down and turn the shower on. I close the bathroom door and take off my pajamas and get in. I just stand there letting the water run down my body. I hear Jake knock.
“You ok?”
I smile, “Yes Jake, I'm fine.”
“Ok, I have your water out here when you are done.” I pull back the curtain and see his head.
“Come in here with me,” I smile at him. I see his face light up. He walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. I let the curtain go and go back under the water. I can hear him taking his pants and shirt off then hear them all hit the floor. Next thing I know he is standing in front of me. “Hi,” I look up at him.
“Hey,” he smiles and pulls me close to him. He leans down and kisses me, I am very distracted by the fact that he is standing here with me completely naked. I feel super shy in front of him right now. His kiss gets more passionate and just like a switch goes on in my brain I am completely lost in his kiss. I lose all control of thought and power. He kisses my neck and shoulder then reaches past me and grabs the washcloth hanging on the rack. I can feel his hands working behind me but he never backs away from me. I trail kisses down his chest and over his muscles. I feel him tighten up as I touch him. I bring my hands up and trail my fingers down over his chest and down his stomach. I feel his hands on my back and feel that he has the washcloth. He rubs it across my back and I can smell his body wash. It smells amazing. I bring my hands up around his neck and pull him back so that he is kissing me. I can feel that he wants more. He backs away from me for just a second and looks down at me. I smile and I think he knows that I have the same thing in mind that he does.
~~~~~
“Jo, it’s time to wake up. I have to go to the airport,” he kisses my ear.
“Why do I have to get up?” I roll over and look at him.
“Because you are coming with me. I'm taking everyone out for breakfast.”
“What?” I look up at him. I don’t know if I am ready to meet his family this early in the morning. I had a bad night last night and didn’t sleep well at all. “You want me to meet your family looking like this? I have gotten like four hours of sleep Jake.”
“Baby, you look beautiful all the time, so don’t give me that.” He rolls out of bed. “We have to be there in like half hour, so move it,” he throws his pillow at me.
I laugh and stand up. “Where are we going for breakfast?”
“To this nice little restaurant not far from the airport. I know the owner, and his sister is pretty hot too,” he smiles at me.
“I didn’t know Lucas opened back up.” I smile at him.
“Yeah, he is opening back up today; I talked to him about it last night when he was here. I thought it would be a good place to take the parents, and siblings. Speaking of, you still have to meet Molly. She was excited hoping you were still up last night when we got back.”
“I was after you got back,” I look at him.
“Yeah, well I wasn’t sharing you,” he smirks. “I see you brought my favorite dress,” he looks at me as I pull the pink dress out of my bag.
“Yeah, I thought it would come in handy at
some point this weekend. You are always on me to wear it so I figured today would be a great day.”
“Good choice,” he walks over to me. “We need to get moving,” he smiles and puts his arms around me.
“You’re the one in the lovey mood today, not me,” I smile up at him and put my arms around his neck.
“Yeah, but you distract me,” he bends down and kisses me.
“Sorry, I will go in the bathroom and get dressed,” I laugh.
“Yeah, you do that then I can go down and get my sister ready, because I'm sure she isn’t ready yet. Want me to make you some coffee?”
“Yes please,” I grab my dress and the rest of my clothes and go to the bathroom to get ready. I hear him put his pants on and leave the bedroom. I am standing there looking at what a mess my hair is and smile. Now I remember why I don’t shower before I go to bed and then try to do something with my hair the next morning. And I have nothing to fix it here. I try to pull it back and make it look as nice as possible. It will do. At least I don’t look like I just crawled out of bed anymore. I pull my dress on and zip it up. I do like this dress, and with my new tan it looks good. I grab my toothbrush and brush my teeth and go out into the bedroom. I go over and grab my perfume but change my mind because I still smell like Jake and I like that smell. I look for my flats but remember that I took them off downstairs when we got back after the fundraiser yesterday. I walk out of the bedroom and go to the steps. I can hear Jake talking. I walk down and see he is sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace. He is talking to the girl sitting across from him.
“Molly, I just think that you need to be careful. I mean the guy told you that he was going to break up with you if you came home. I don’t think you get the point of that sentence. He didn’t want you to come home to see your family.”
“How is that any different then you not going home to see mom and dad when you had the time?” She snaps back at him. I know she is talking about last week when we went down to Virginia Beach
Unexpected Love (Jo's Story) Page 24