Jericho (A Redemption Novel)

by Ginger Jamison

  “What is it, sugar? You regretting your decision to marry me already?”

  His lips unwilling pulled into a smile. It was her accent. So sweet. So Southern, with just a little touch of proper in it. “I might be. You’ve got a mean little baby.”

  “I know.” She turned around to look at her daughter, who was sound asleep in the back of his rented car. “You don’t know how awful I feel about it.”

  “Don’t.” He glanced at Abby. She was a beautiful child and he was about to become her father. More than marrying Georgia, becoming a father scared him. He didn’t even want to touch Abby. She was so small, so fragile looking, that he was afraid that he might hurt her if he did. He didn’t blame her for being scared of him. He still had a hard time facing the mirror himself. “We should probably get her to bed. It’s getting late.”

  Georgia looked out the car window to her surroundings. They’d agreed they couldn’t stay in her tiny apartment. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but the place was a dump and the more time he spent there the more he hated her father for allowing his daughter and granddaughter to live in near poverty. He wanted to show them the opposite side of life. He needed to make sure they wanted for noting.

  So he had taken them to the historic district of Charleston. His parents had bought a home down here his sophomore year of college, when his mother had gotten tired of the long, cold Connecticut winters. He guessed it was his home now, along with everything else his parents had once owned.

  He hadn’t been back to the house since his parents’ deaths. He didn’t want to think about going there. It was too hard. Even though it wasn’t his childhood home, he knew there would be memories and traces of his parents and pain. So he was taking his soon-to-be wife and daughter to a hotel for a little while.

  He knew he had to go back to the place where he was last happy, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it just yet.

  “We should be putting her to bed. We passed a motel when we got off the interstate. If you turn around I think I can remember how to get there.”

  “We are staying here, Georgia.”

  He had parked in front of the Blue House Inn, one of the oldest hotels in the city. From the outside alone it was dazzling with its brick facade and illuminated fountains. But he didn’t stare at the building—instead he watched Georgia, who frowned in confusion before turning back to him.

  “We can’t afford to stay here.”

  “We can.”

  “But, Christian...”

  “It’s okay, Georgia. I promise.”

  He expected her to ask a dozen more questions, but she didn’t. She just stared at him with a worried look on her face. He wanted to reassure her, but he didn’t know what to say. The moment he’d asked her to marry him he stopped knowing what to say to her. She hadn’t said much to him, either, since they’d left her little apartment. It was as if the gravity of what was about to happen to her had finally hit. They were getting married. And while she knew more about him than anybody on the planet, she still didn’t know much about him at all.

  “Grab the baby. I’ll get the bags.”

  The inside of the hotel was even more beautiful than the outside. He watched Georgia look up in amazement as they walked through the lobby. It wasn’t as ornate as some of the hotels he had stayed at in New York City as a kid, but it had a kind of homey luxurious feel, with its large, curving wood staircase and original fireplaces.

  As they approached the front desk, the woman behind it forgot to greet them. She was too busy taking in Christian’s face. He thought it was bad in the hospital, where some of the nurses couldn’t look him in the eye, but now that he was out of the hospital, he felt more disfigured than ever. The guy at the car rental place and the cashier at the department store had both looked at him in wonder.

  He tried to push down the circus-freak feeling that crept up inside him whenever somebody looked at him, but he was having a hard time tonight. His face felt like a mask that he wished he could rip off.

  “We need a two-bedroom suite with a crib, if you have one available.”

  “Of course. Of course.” The woman’s eyes snapped to her computer screen as she furiously searched for what he asked for.

  “He got those burns in Iraq,” Georgia said, a thread of ice in her voice. “I don’t know who raised you, but my mama taught me it was impolite to stare at people. Now, I’ll excuse it if you were staring at him because you find him attractive. I think he’s quite gorgeous. I hope that’s the reason you were struck stupid when we walked up.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the young woman whispered. “He’s probably the biggest man I’ve ever seen.”

  “Oh, he is. Now, did you have any luck finding the room we asked for?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” She looked up at Christian. This time her eyes connected with his instead of his face. “I just need your information.”

  Ten minutes later they were on their way up to their room. Christian thought he would be the one fuming. He thought he would be annoyed with Georgia for making a scene in the lobby and part of him was, but when he looked over at her and saw how tight she held her body he realized his little Southern lady was extremely pissed off.

  “I can’t believe her,” she huffed as she bounced her sleepy baby. “We should be getting a discount on this room. I thought people who worked in fancy hotels would be trained better. She didn’t even say hello!”

  “Ma,” Abby whined.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” She absently handed Abby Christian’s way. “Take her. I’m upsetting her.”

  “Georgia, I...”

  He didn’t have the chance to protest that he had never held a baby or that he didn’t know what he was doing or mention the fact that Abby didn’t want to be held by him, because Georgia had placed her daughter in his hands and paced away.

  He had to tighten his grip on Abby just so she didn’t slip from his hands. At first he was afraid he had hurt her, but she just frowned at him and then rubbed her eye with her tiny little fist. He held her closer just like he had seen Georgia do. Abby rested her head on his shoulder.

  “No Da,” she said softly as she snuggled into him.

  “Oh, hush.” He brought his other hand up to rub her back. It was an odd feeling holding something so small. He felt the warmth of her little warm body seep into his, and smelled the sweet scent that all babies seemed to have. It was a foreign feeling, but it wasn’t a bad one.

  He caught her studying him out of the corner of her eye, her little forehead furrowed. Maybe she wasn’t afraid of him. Maybe she just didn’t like him. He could deal with that. A lot of people didn’t like him.

  The elevator stopped and Georgia reached into his pocket for the key card, still muttering something about hospitality. He followed her to their room, and when she opened the door she finally stopped being angry. She was too distracted by her lush surroundings.

  “How much does this room cost a night?” She whipped around to face him. “We could probably rent an apartment for a month for this price. We need to go back downstairs and ask for a different room. This is not a room. I don’t even see any beds.”

  “That’s because they are in the bedrooms, Georgia,” he said softly so that he would not disturb Abby again. “This is what I asked for. We are staying here.”

  “But...I didn’t even hear what you said because I was too busy... Oh.” She blinked at him. “You’re angry with me, aren’t you? I never know when to keep my mouth shut. My father used to say I was never going to be able to keep a husband because I would talk him to death and now I’ve gone and made you mad and we haven’t even gotten married first. I just didn’t like the way she looked at you and then this room. You made a decision and I question it. I’m sorry, Christian.”

  “Georgia, come here,” he demanded.

  She closed the gap between them
, her head hanging in shame. Her father was the biggest asshole on the planet. He hoped never to meet the man because he didn’t know what he would do if they were ever in the same room together.

  “What did I tell you about not speaking your mind in front of me?”

  Her head snapped up to look at him.

  “You don’t have to keep your mouth shut. I am not the ultimate decision maker. You may give your opinion anytime you wish. But there are two things you should know first. I don’t need you to defend me, and you don’t have to worry about money anymore because I have more than I know what to do with.”

  “I know you don’t need me to defend you, but I will. I always will, because that’s what a wife does for her husband. It’s my job to take care of you.”

  “I think there are some things we need to talk about.” Like what exactly her idea of marriage was. He knew they were doing this wrong. Other couples had learned things about each other. They made plans of where and how they were going to live. He didn’t even know Georgia’s middle name.

  She nodded. “We do. I need to get Abby ready for bed. Why don’t you go relax and I’ll meet you back here.”

  “No. I want to see how you get her ready for bed.”

  Her eyes went wide again. “You do?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to be her father. I should know how to take care of her.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, grab her bag and come with me.”

  He could tell he had taken her by surprise, but it was important for him to become Abby’s father in every way possible because he knew that it meant so much to Georgia.

  * * *

  When Georgia got out of the shower that night Christian was already waiting for her in bed. She nearly smiled at the sight of it because it reminded her of how they had spent every day besides this one, with him waiting for her in bed.

  This time, though, they weren’t in a hospital but a luxurious hotel suite that probably cost more than she made in a week. And Christian was no longer in his hospital gown or even the pajamas she had bought him. He only wore a pair of boxers. His wide, half-scarred chest was bare.

  Tingles ran through her as she made her way to the bed. The attraction to him hadn’t faded in this different setting. She was relieved to learn that, because this man was about to be her husband. They had been through a lot together, and yet she had the feeling she was marrying a stranger. There was still so much she didn’t know about him. Still so much she was almost afraid to find out.

  “Part of me is thinking that I can’t stay too long because I have to get back to work.”

  His lips twitched at her comment. “There’s no Nurse Chestnut here.” He held out his hand to her. “This bed is big enough for the two of us.”

  She took his hand and climbed into bed beside him. She couldn’t help but to notice how he stared at her. Her nipples tightened as he took her body in. She had never worn so little around a man before, and now she was in bed with one, wearing a nightgown that was so threadbare it was nearly see-through. Her hair was down, too. Christian had seen it down before the day she hit her head, but he hadn’t seen it like this. She spent an extra ten minutes in the bathroom brushing it until it shined. She wasn’t normally vain, but tonight she wanted to look pretty for him.

  This was the first night of the rest of their lives.

  “You’re nervous.” He took one of her hands in both of his. He was always so gentle. She hadn’t failed to notice how he’d been with Abby earlier that night. How he’d rubbed her back and settled her onto his massive shoulder even though he knew Abby didn’t like him. “Why?”

  “No man has ever seen me like this. Or in a bed.”

  “I can sleep on the couch tonight if you want.”

  “No,” she said quickly. She didn’t want to be by herself tonight. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing he was in the other room. “I want to sleep here with you, but I might get up twenty times tonight to check on Abby. I’ve never slept more than ten feet away from her.”

  “That’s why I had this brought up when you were in the shower.” He pointed to a white baby monitor on her side of the bed.

  “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

  “Only the things that would keep you in this bed.”

  She looked up into his eyes, surprised by his words. “You think I’m skittish?”

  “No. I think you’re exhausted and I want you to get as much rest as possible.” He lifted his hand to run his fingers through her loose hair. “I don’t want you collapsing on our wedding day.”

  Her eyes drifted shut as his fingers touched her scalp. She never knew fingers in her hair could feel so heavenly. “When are we getting married?”

  “Soon, but I don’t want to do it at city hall. I want a real wedding.”

  She opened her eyes and looked at him just to see if he were serious. He was.

  “My mother would have wanted it that way. I didn’t do much in my life that she would have agreed with. I think she would have liked me to have a real wedding.”

  “Okay,” she breathed. How could she say no to that? “Who do we invite? We don’t have any family.”

  “Mrs. Sheppard. Tobias. The general.” He shrugged. “Are you sure there isn’t anybody in your family you want to come?”

  Georgia hesitated. She wanted her mother to be there, to meet Christian and to see her get married, but she knew her father would never allow her to go.

  “What about your sister?”

  Carolina. She had just been thinking about her, wondering if she could live with her sister and still live with herself. Carolina would come and, more important, Georgia had missed her terribly these past two years.

  “I’ve been mad at her for so long.”

  Christian leaned in closer, placing his lips just beneath her ear. “Maybe it’s time to forgive her. You’re starting a new life. It’s time to put the past behind you.”

  “But—”

  He set a soft kiss on her skin and she shivered from the contact. “But nothing. What better way to get back at them all than by being happy?”

  “I don’t want to get back at them.”

  “Then why won’t you invite your sister?”

  “I should. I will.”

  “Good.” He pushed her back on the bed and wrapped his arms around her, and for the first time in a long time she felt absolutely safe. “Let’s get some sleep. It’s been a long day.”

  “Wait.” She was pressed against him and he was warm and hard and he smelled good and he made her want to get closer.

  “What?” He opened his eyes.

  “Um...” She didn’t know how to ask or even what to ask for. She just knew she wanted more of him.

  He yawned widely and she immediately felt guilty. This was his first night in a real bed, in a quiet room that was very far from the hospital. He needed to sleep.

  “You said we didn’t have to worry about money. How? I don’t think there has been a time that I haven’t been worried about it. I can work.”

  “No. Have you ever heard of Howard and Helga’s?”

  “The ice-cream company?”

  He yawned again. “My father owned it. I own it. We’re going to be fine.”

  “Christian...” Howard and Helga’s was no little ice-cream company. She didn’t think there was a person alive who hadn’t eaten one of their flavors. It was her even her father’s favorite brand. She was marrying a man of means. A millionaire. Something inside of her lurched. She really knew very little about the man she was marrying.

  “There’s a plant just outside of Charleston. I’ll take you there sometime.” He pulled her closer, sliding his hand beneath her nightgown to cup her bottom.

  She lost her train of thought. His hand felt so good there. It was possessive. As i
f it was his to hold. After all that had happened to her, she never thought she would like a man to have free rein over her body, but with Christian every touch was right. Every inch of space he invaded she was more than willing to give away.

  “Are you okay with this?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’ll tell me when you don’t like something?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I kiss you?”

  “Yes. I never thought I would see you again,” she said, touching his face. “So you may kiss me whenever you want.”

  He said nothing more, just buried his hand deep into her hair and set his lips on her. It wasn’t like their last kiss, which was hot and full of need and nearly uncontrollable. He was holding back. He was giving her just enough to make her crave more. She rubbed her body against his, opened her mouth to give him further access, and while she felt his erection between her legs, he never deepened the kiss. He never touched more than her backside. He just continued to give her the longest, slowest, deepest kiss of her life.

  He broke the kiss, dragging his lips across her cheek and down to her throat. He didn’t kiss her, though, just rested his lips there. She wanted to urge him on, to beg him not to stop, but sex...lovemaking...was so new to her she didn’t know how to begin.

  “Your hair is so beautiful,” he finally said after long torturous moments. “Do you ever wear it down?”

  “Only at night. We weren’t allowed to wear it down during the day.”

  “You can do whatever you want now, Georgia. Your life is about to change.”

  And with those words he kissed her face and drifted off to sleep.

  * * *

  Christian woke up just before 6:00 a.m. He could sleep in all he wanted, but the marine in him always woke him up as the sun rose. He was about to give up that life and become a private citizen. He was about to give up everything he had known for the past ten years. He thought that not knowing how he was going to spend the next years of his life was going to throw him into a panic, and normally it would have, but this morning, unlike every other morning of his life, he woke up with a soft woman wrapped around him.