Jericho (A Redemption Novel)

by Ginger Jamison

  Life without the military seemed empty to him, but with Georgia and Abby, there were possibilities. He could have another purpose in life. Georgia’s words came back to him. She wanted Abby to be loved for who she was, not thought of by how she was made. He could do that.

  He could show her how a father was supposed to treat a daughter and how a man was supposed to treat his wife.

  “Up? Is that all I’m good for in this relationship?” He lifted her from the crib and kissed her forehead.

  She scrunched her little face, frowning ferociously at him.

  “I don’t care if you don’t like it. I’m going to do it again.” He kissed one cheek and then the other, causing her to sigh and drop her head on his shoulder. “That’s right. Get used to it. I’m not going anywhere.”

  He took her out into the small dining area. “Oatmeal again this morning, BB? Or maybe cream of wheat for breakfast? What do one-year-olds like to eat?”

  “She likes fruit and yogurt for breakfast sometimes. She loves Cheerios, too.”

  He turned around to face Georgia. Her hair was messy, her cheek was marked with the lines of a pillow and she wore the primmest nightgown he had ever seen. But she was still the most beautiful woman he had ever known.

  “You’re up.”

  “Yes. It’s hard to stay asleep when you leave the bed. It feels cold without you.”

  Sunday, he reminded himself. They would make love on Sunday, just a few days away. He had made himself stop last night. He hadn’t wanted to. He’d wanted to drive himself into Georgia until the world no longer existed, but he remembered that she was still innocent in a way. She wasn’t used to being touched by a man, loved by one, and it was evident last night when she’d jumped at his touch and looked away from him as if she was too embarrassed to meet his eyes. He had to do it right. He had to make her comfortable with him; he had to make their first time together mean something.

  “I’ll buy you a bull mastiff after we get married. You won’t feel that way anymore.”

  She grinned at him. “Can I join you two this morning? I promise I’ll be quiet.”

  “I don’t know, BB? What do you think?”

  “Mama. Eat.”

  “It’s a yes. I think I could go for a thick stack of French toast. What about you, Georgia? I haven’t had really good food since I got hurt. I think we deserve to pig out this morning.”

  “And bacon. And maybe a couple of eggs.”

  “Get dressed. I know the perfect place.”

  * * *

  He hadn’t been back to his parents’ old neighborhood since he’d left for the marines. It had been twelve years, and then he was reeling too much from the loss of them to take much note of the surroundings, but now that he was here with Georgia things were different. He could see the beauty of the area, the lush greenery, the eye-catching colorful houses. The history. Charleston was a beautiful city. But it was a place he never wanted to come to.

  He had been so mad at his parents when they’d first moved here. They had sold his childhood home. On breaks from college, instead of going back to Connecticut, where he had grown up, he came here. To the balmy South, where it didn’t even snow, where none of his friends were.

  “That was just about the best food I’ve ever had in my life, Christian,” Georgia said to him as they walked through White Point Garden, a park just a few blocks from his parents’ home. “How did you find it?”

  “My parents’ house is in this neighborhood. My father and I ate here every Sunday morning. That place almost made up for them moving me away from all my friends when I was eighteen.”

  “You’re from Connecticut, right?”

  “Yes, my father grew up in Westport, but I grew up in a big old rambling farmhouse in Litchfield. One winter when I was seventeen we got six feet of snow in just a few hours. My mother, who had fibromyalgia, was tired of being there and so isolated. She thought the warmer weather would help her and it did. They loved it here, but I was so pissed at them for moving. I failed to see how much happier they both were living here.”

  “We could go back to Connecticut if you want, Christian,” she said softly. “I won’t mind. There is nothing left for me here in South Carolina.”

  They could go back, but for some reason he didn’t want to. He knew she was estranged from her family, but it seemed wrong to take her so far away. There was hope for Georgia and her sister. There was love there. He couldn’t take her away from that.

  “I think this is a good neighborhood for Abby.” He looked down at the little girl in her stroller. “There’s a playground not far from here. We could walk to it from my parents’ house if we lived there. I want to show it to you.”

  She nodded. “I want to see it.”

  * * *

  The closer they got to his parents’ house, the quieter Christian became. Georgia wished she knew what to say to him, but there was nothing adequate she could think of. She knew he was alone in the world—maybe it was one of the things that had attracted her to him in the first place—but it wasn’t until now that she realized how hard going through life with no family at all must be. Her family was gone from her life, not dead. If she wanted to, she could see their faces again, but Christian couldn’t.

  She would have to give him children. Just seeing how he was with Abby made her realize that Christian was a man who needed to fill up his life with children, with family. It would make him happy.

  “Do you have any grandparents?” she asked as they turned down a quiet, tree-lined residential street with pastel-colored houses.

  “My father’s mother passed away when I was ten. My grandfather died when I was sixteen. I never knew my mother’s parents. She left home when she was sixteen.”

  “Do you ever think about finding them?”

  “No. They never thought about finding her. Who lets their sixteen-year-old just walk away from them? And what was so bad about them that my mother had to walk away?”

  “Did you ever ask her?”

  “No. I was so young and selfish when they died. I didn’t think about not having any other family until I had none. I wished I could have known more about them before they died. It’s one of my biggest regrets.”

  He stopped in front of a large white house with black shutters and a wraparound porch with two oak rocking chairs.

  There was a garden, which was neglected and overgrown, but there were flowers. Hydrangeas and sunflowers and rhododendrons. Her mother used to garden. Georgia and Carolina would help her weed. She had grown vegetables there, too. Tomatoes and cucumbers, bell peppers. Till this day Georgia still craved fried green tomatoes that came from her mother’s garden. She wondered if she could grow some, if there was space beneath all the greenery to have her own little vegetable garden.

  “I know it’s a little shabby and needs to be updated, but it’s a good house. My parents had it redone about fifteen years ago.”

  She nodded absently and took Abby out of her stroller. She walked up the driveway to the porch. She could place hanging baskets there. Begonias or maybe petunias. They could paint the porch, too, give it a fresh coat of white paint. The flowers would look so pretty against it. It was a large enough space for Abby to play on. They could sit out here in the evenings and watch her play. Maybe they could get a swing. It would be nice to have dessert outside, or maybe breakfast in the mornings. A little café table would fit nicely in the corner.

  “Georgia.” Christian placed his hands on her shoulders. She turned and looked up at him. He looked concerned; a line of worry was creased into his forehead. “I know it’s not the nicest place on the block—”

  “It’s the best house I’ve ever seen,” she said, unable to peel her eyes from it. “I can’t believe you lived here.”

  * * *

  That was all he needed to hear to let the weight
ease from his chest. He thought he would feel more pain seeing his home again after so long. He thought grief would overtake him, but it didn’t. He was more concerned about what Georgia thought of this place.

  She hadn’t said anything when they first saw it. It had been neglected, terribly so. He hired a local guy to come a couple of times a year to make sure the house hadn’t fallen down. Just the bare minimum to keep the neighbors from complaining. The paint was peeling in spots on the porch and his mother’s little garden was so thick and overgrown that he could barely see through it.

  The inside wasn’t much better. Most of his parents’ personal things were gone, in a storage unit that he had never been to. The remaining furniture was covered in dust cloths and the curtains were so bleached by the sun that it was impossible to tell what color they were originally.

  He didn’t feel his parents here like he’d thought he would. He almost thought it would feel as though their ghosts were walking around this place. But it didn’t. This place felt more like a vacation home to him, a place where he had some pleasant memories, but it had never truly felt like home.

  “Why didn’t your parents sleep in this bedroom?” Georgia touched his cheek, pulling him out of his thoughts.

  “My mother had problem with her joints, the stairs were too much for her, so they turned the den into their bedroom. I slept here.”

  “Did you?” She gave him a soft smile. “I can just imagine you in this big bedroom, in one of those large four-poster beds with one of those pretty girls from the College of Charleston.”

  “I’ve never had a girl in this bedroom. There were women before you, but I’ve never had a girlfriend. Or been in a real relationship. I’m an ugly son of a bitch and I’m not very nice.” His eyes passed over her. She was so pretty. So sweet and small, the opposite of everything he ever was. “Are you sure you want to be married to me?”

  She closed the gap between them and rested her head on his chest. “It hurts me when you try to get rid of me.”

  “I’m not trying to get rid of you. I’m letting you know how I am.”

  “You’re a lot better than you think you are. There have been a lot of soldiers since I worked at Jericho. You’re the only one I’ve ever lost my head over, and my job.”

  “There’s something about you, Georgia.” He kissed her forehead. “You make me want a whole new life.”

  “I can see us here. I can see the future. I want to live in it now.”

  “Okay.” He pressed his mouth to hers and she opened for him. She was learning. Her kisses were still shy, still innocent, but there was something erotic about them. He couldn’t wait to have all of her. He couldn’t wait to explore her fully. He couldn’t wait to have her as his wife. “Let’s go get our marriage license. Then we can start making plans to move here.”

  “That sounds like a very good idea.”

  CHAPTER 17

  After spending the next two days with Christian, Georgia fully understood why he was a commanding officer. He simply got things done. There were workers at their house repairing the kitchen and painters in Abby’s room and movers delivering furniture. He told her didn’t want to start their new life as a married couple in a hotel room. He wanted to start it in their home, and he did everything he could to make that happen.

  They would officially start their life together tomorrow. But to Georgia, it felt as if it had started already. He took care of her and Abby as if nothing else mattered in the world. He was going to be a good husband. She had always thought her father was a good husband. And maybe he was. He was harsh with his daughters, cold and unyielding, but Pastor Williams was a man who loved his wife. Or at least Georgia thought he did.

  Her mother, Fiona, was always a very delicate woman. A daughter of a preacher, too, she never raised her voice or spoke her opinion. She was meek. She told her daughters that their jobs as wives would be to honor and obey their husbands, to look after their homes and children, to treat their men like kings. Carolina had always soaked up those lessons, but they had never sat well with Georgia.

  Obey your husband.

  Why didn’t the husband ever have to obey his wife? But even with that rule, her parents’ marriage seemed to be solid. Even after Abel had died and father turned bitter. Sometimes she would see them sitting at the kitchen table together at night when they thought they were alone. Her father would hold her mother’s hand, and he would look at her with...tenderness. It was the only way she could describe it. He looked like a man who loved his wife. He would speak to Fiona softly. He treated her as though she was fragile. He made his daughters do all the cooking and cleaning, anything and everything to make sure his wife didn’t have to.

  Georgia wondered who was doing that now. The cooking and the cleaning. The washing and the ironing. The polishing of her father’s shoes. Carolina was gone. Her brothers... She didn’t know what had happened to them. Who was taking care of Mama?

  She’d thought about her mother a lot these past few days as the wedding got closer. She thought about the phone call they’d shared a few weeks ago. Her mother had sounded so unhappy. She’d sounded as though she was breaking. And while she felt sorry for her mother, while she wanted to take her away from her world, she was angry at her, too.

  Fiona wasn’t strong enough. She was never strong enough. She never stood up to her husband. She never made her feelings known. She never spoke a word against him even though she knew he was wrong. She just let things happen. Nothing could make Georgia send away her baby. No one.

  “What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Christian asked her with a kiss to her forehead.

  She looked up at him, at this good man who had been placed in her path, and she felt foolish. Bitterness kept rising in her chest these past few days. Before, when she was working and so overtired, she couldn’t think straight. She didn’t have time to dwell on her family, but the past few days since Christian had taken so much weight off her shoulders, she was able to do so, and the more she thought about them, the angrier she felt.

  But she shouldn’t allow her past to haunt her. She had a good man in her life. She needed to make sure he was happy.

  “Nothing.” They were alone in their bedroom now. Christian had just put Abby in her crib for a nap.

  Georgia reached for him, needing to feel his big body wrapped around her, needing those nasty thoughts to dissolve. She wanted to feel his skin and his lips. She wanted to feel his weight on top of her. He had barely touched her since he’d told her he wanted to wait and it bothered her. She slept in bed with him every night and smelled his skin and was surrounded by his warmth and she wanted more. Her breasts ached when she was around him; her nipples turned to hard little points whenever she brushed against him. And that throb between her legs had grown almost painful.

  There was a time in her life when she’d never thought sex would interest her. She’d never thought her body would crave to be with a man, but Christian had come along and he’d changed all of that for her.

  “Will you lie down with me for a little while?”

  “No.” He stroked his hand down her back, sending a rush of tingles along her skin. “Everything is all set for tomorrow, Georgia. The justice of the peace is coming. I called the restaurant to reserve a back room. I got my dress uniform out of storage. There’s only one thing left.”

  She looked up at him. “I need a dress.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m no good at buying clothes. I don’t know where to begin.”

  “You’re beautiful.” He kissed her forehead again. “You’ll look beautiful in anything, but I called for help. Picking out a wedding dress is something you shouldn’t do alone.”

  She frowned at him. “You’re not coming with me?”

  “No. I don’t want to see you in your dress until you’re walking down the aisle toward me. I called your sister. She’s d
ownstairs.”

  “But...” She was speechless and angry and hurt and...relieved. Mrs. Sheppard and her daughter were going to be at her wedding, and they were her friends, but when she was a little girl she had never imagined getting married without her sister by her side.

  “Talk to her. I know you’re mad, but she wants you in her life and I think you should be. I don’t have a family—losing mine made me realize how important they were to me. But you can have yours back, or at least a piece of them. Please take this chance, Georgia.”

  She looked up at him, knowing she didn’t deserve him, afraid she wasn’t going to be enough to keep him happy.

  “I don’t know whether to smack you or kiss you.”

  “Go with the second.” He gave her a small smile before he pressed his mouth to hers. She felt a little burst of heat when his lips met hers and she immediately wanted more. She reached for his face, to pull him closer and kiss him until the world drifted away, but he stopped her and pushed her hands toward her sides. “Not now.”

  She felt a little stung by his rejection, but she knew they would be man and wife tomorrow. She knew in a few hours she could show him all her appreciation and affection. She would give her body to him.

  “She’s in the lobby. I called for a car. Have lunch. Talk to her. Miles and I will watch BB.”

  Georgia nodded, nervous to see her sister again after their fight. “You’re good man, you know.” She lifted his scarred hand and kissed it. “The best one I know.”

  She left the room and their hotel suite without looking back. Miles was in the hallway walking toward her. He was carrying a box of pizza and what looked like beer in glass bottles. “Hello, Georgia.”

  “Hello, Dr. Hammond.”

  “I’m Miles to you and you know it. We’re family.” He frowned for a moment. “I’m sorry about Carolina the other day. I love her more than anything in the world, but sometimes I feel as if she’s been raised in a bubble. I blame Oakdale. The town is run by your father’s church, and it was bad before you left, Georgia.” He shook his head. “In the time you’ve been away, it’s gotten worse. Your father is a miserable man who preaches hellfire and brimstone, and your mother is at the point where she’s going to break. I want to get Carolina away from there. I don’t want to raise our baby in an environment of hate, but she doesn’t want to leave your mother. I’ve been offered a partnership in a practice here. I’m going to take it. Now that you are in Charleston it will be better for us. You’ll be good for her. She needs you.”