The Marriage Pact (Viral Series)

by Mara White

  “Yeah, it’ll work,” she breathed. “It always does.”

  Chapter 42

  Ryan

  Ryan thought church might be a sensitive subject for Jackie, that she wouldn’t want to go come Sunday and he had no intention of pressuring her. Without asking, he assumed that the handful of church ceremonies Jackie had been to in her lifetime were to bury her family members. He would understand if she weren’t up for going. Their flight out left Sunday evening. One more full day of his family to survive.

  They’d spent their nights in the basement on the pull-out couch, an old suede sectional that had survived years of gangly, wrestling boys and tentative-first time make out sessions. Diane made the bed up, shaking out old floral sheets from the closet. Ryan knew she didn’t mention anything about wedlock or separate beds, she was so thankful to have Jackie with them, that she didn’t want to jeopardize it.

  Once the lights were out and they were under the covers, Ryan held Jackie as tightly as he could, wanting her to feel comforted by his family, enough to eventually feel a part of it. He didn’t want to ask her, pressure her to talk about what she might be feeling. He knew it was a lot to process and she might even be hurting. Family was one thing Ryan had in spades, and yet it was family that had caused Jackie the most unbearable pain.

  He caressed her long hair and kissed the tip of her nose.

  “Do you think they liked me?” she whispered in the familiar silence of Ryan’s childhood home. Funny how even the energy hum from the refrigerator upstairs or the utility room where the boiler was, sang songs that were memorized in the deepest parts of his memory. The house itself was a lullaby.

  “They loved you. Are you kidding me? What about you? Did you like them?” Ryan whispered back, grabbing both of her hands. What a contrast his life was to Jackie’s. At least the life he’d witnessed those few days after her sister’s deaths, in the rickety farmhouse that was overrun with ghosts and losses too painful to ever recover from. He knew that house was no longer there, bulldozed to make room for a large commercial dairy that had purchased her father’s whole lot.

  The destruction of a childhood home isn’t the random disassembling of support beams, drywall and bricks from the foundation. It’s a trauma, especially when your mother and sisters are dead and that home was the last place you saw them. Ryan had vivid memories of returning to the site in Guatemala where Andres and Carlos’ birth parents had perished. It wasn’t just a stretch of road or a plot of land, it was the epicenter of feelings, ideas of self-worth and awareness. He’d held his brothers while they cried, knew the power of symbols. Jackie’s home was gone and he vowed to build her a new one or die in the process.

  “Diane said I could call her Mom today,” Jackie whispered. Her mouth was right on his ear. He knew the tremor in her voice, he could hear the fear tearing through what she wanted to say. He felt her hot tears slide down his face.

  “You can. Everybody does.” No pressure, no obligations or conforming. He wanted her to do what came naturally, you can’t force family on someone. That had to be earned and it couldn’t’ be rushed.

  “The first thing I thought was, what if she can hear me? What if it hurts her to hear me say mom to someone else?”

  “Come here,” Ryan said. He pulled Jackie on top of him and wrapped both arms around her back. “Call her Mrs. Walters, call her Thumbelina, it doesn’t matter.”

  Jackie kissed him. Heated and urgent. Ryan drowned in her lilac smell and the soft sweeps of her long hair on his neck and his chest.

  “Stay with me,” she whispered.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Ryan awoke to the smell of frying bacon and brewing coffee. Jackie wasn’t in bed, but she was often the first one to rise between the two of them. At home, she liked to bring him coffee in bed and he liked to convince her to crawl back in with him for a while. Ryan climbed the stairs with a look of contentment on his face. Jackie and Diane were at the kitchen table together with a photo album in between them. His mother was pointing to a picture and Jackie was covering her mouth, as light laughter escaped. Pies were on the table as was the tradition in their family. Pie for breakfast after Thanksgiving was almost as good as the meal itself. Ryan opened a cabinet and pulled out a mug. Two pieces of bacon quickly disappeared in his mouth.

  “Good morning, Sweetie!” His mother said. “Jackie gets up at the crack of dawn like I do. I nearly jumped out of my skin when the basement door opened behind me.”

  “I know,” Ryan said. “All too well.” He winked at Jackie, whose smile was as brilliant as the morning sun streaming in through the window.

  “Farm life,” Jackie said.

  His brothers had slept at the parsonage for the night with the exception of Scott and Inara who had already left for home

  “She’s my rooster back at home.” Ryan helped himself to a slice of apple and another of pecan.

  “Well, maybe girls are different, but that was my least favorite thing about parenting, trying to rouse four teenage boys. Forget it. I needed dynamite and a crane some days.”

  “He’s still a pain in the butt,” Jackie countered. Ryan kissed her cheek and sat down beside her with his plate of pie and his coffee. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. “My pain in the butt,” she whispered.

  Chapter 43

  Jackie

  They went back downstairs after breakfast. The basement was their nook, a place where they could be separate.Jackie worried about Digby. He was at a doggy boarding house but he was so specific in his needs, that she worried. She missed waking up to him sleeping on Ryan’s chest.

  “Do you think he’s alright?”

  Ryan stroked her hair. “Babe, I’m sure Digby is having the vacation of his life right now. Stop worrying.”

  “But he likes particular things. What if he’s whining for us non-stop?”

  Ryan chuckled. “Listen, call and check on him, if it will make you feel better. But I am sure he is doing great.”

  Jackie smiled. “I don’t need to call. I just, I guess I miss him.”

  “Who woulda’ thought. Jackie misses the mangy couch peer.”

  “I miss the other things.” She snaked her arms around Ryan’s waist and kissed his sternum.

  “You look good in my tee shirt.”

  “You look good.” She wrinkled her face up at her terrible comeback. Ryan burst out laughing and threw her on the pull-out sofa

  “Cat got your tongue?”

  She shook her head. Ryan pushed up his tee shirt, leaving her belly and thighs bare to him. His lips barely touched her skin as he kissed a path along her body.

  “Your parents are up,” she said.

  “Uh huh.”

  “Ryan.” She playfully slapped his head.

  He groaned and flopped to the mattress next to her. He looked at the clock on the DVD player. “Mom’s picking out her outfit for church. Dad’s busy watching the morning news and you look too good to ignore. Church doesn’t start for another two hours.”

  “I like your dirty talk.” Jackie grinned and tugged on his sweat pants.

  “Oh yeah?” Ryan lifted his butt enough for the pants to slide over his hips. She reached into his boxers and fisted his length. Slowly, she began stroking him. He tucked his arms behind his head. His relaxed smile contagious. Jackie adjusted her position. She pulled his boxers around his ankles and knelt between his legs.

  “Yup.” She loved the way his body trembled when she first slid him into her mouth. His hands left his head and fisted in her hair, as she found her rhythm. One hand cupped his balls, the other firmly encircled his cock. She sucked and slid her tongue over the head of his penis. Ryan’s groans spurred her on. He held her head in his hands roughly. She adored it. It was passion he couldn’t contain. She reveled in the sweet and romantic Ryan but she basked in the fierce and dominant Ryan in bed. He fit every nook and cranny of her soul.

  “Oh! Oh, whoops.”

  Jackie popped her hea
d up and stared at Ryan. Her back to the voice.

  “Mom!” Ryan yelled and scurried to cover himself up. Jackie didn’t move. She stayed on her knees frozen. She would not look behind her. She would not make eye contact with Ryan’s mother. She would just die. She would die right here.

  “I was just grabbing laundry. Sorry. Okay, bye kids. Have fun.”

  “Have fun?” Jackie barked out. She couldn’t contain herself, as she heard Ryan’s mom’s footsteps march away hurriedly. When the door slammed at the top of the stairs Jackie crumbled to the floor in hysterics.

  “Are you seriously laughing right now?”

  “Are you not?” she quipped. “I mean. Have fun?” Ryan’s face broke out in a grin and his deep belly laugh filled the space between them.

  Chapter 44

  Ryan

  For Ryan’s parents, it was a given that Sundays were spent at church, usually with the whole family. So far, none of his brother’s wives had opposed it, even if they weren’t raised Methodist or hadn’t converted. And in truth, it was more of a family gathering than a serious affair of worship, but Ryan felt obligated to reiterate that there wasn’t any pressure or expectation. That Jackie could opt out without any guilt or without feeling the need to explain herself.

  He tried in vain all of Saturday night to bring it up, but he couldn’t bring himself to broach the subject. Then his Mom happened. He knocked back out on the couch after their escapade, it was Jackie who woke him up, a steaming mug of coffee in her hands. She’d already been upstairs to smooth things over with Diane.

  “Sport!” she nudged him gently, then slapped his thigh and he sat up, disoriented. “Church starts in T minus thirty. Wasn’t sure if you wanted to shower first.”

  Ryan drank in her warm brown eyes and pondered, just for a second, how she’d made all of his dreams come true.

  “Are you sure you want to come? You don’t have to—everyone would understand and—”

  “Ryan, of course, I want to go. Are you crazy? I need to repent for what your mother saw.” He took a sip of coffee and watched her face closely for a tell. Jackie wasn’t into God and Ryan believed that she had every right to feel that way considering the hand she’d been dealt wasn’t exactly the kind that would make a believer out of someone. Her hair was a mess, there was a bit of mascara smeared dramatically under her eyes. He sat up and attacked her mouth, slipped the straps of her tank top off of her shoulders. Vulnerable Jackie was gorgeous, she was absolutely irresistible. Ryan rolled her underneath him and spread her thighs with his knees. He devoured her neck with love bites, as his raging erection slipped from his boxers. Pre-cum dotted her thighs. Jackie’s mouth opened as she arched her back. She gulped all of the air in the universe into her lungs.

  “Every damn day I wonder how the hell I got so lucky,” Ryan murmured, as he entered her tight wet heat. Jackie threw both arms above her head as Ryan drove inside her. Her eyes were closed, mouth open, as she moved her head side to side. Jackie bore down on him and Ryan could feel the greedy squeeze of her muscles as they clenched. They’d made it three days without sex, the longest interval since they reunited.

  “Come inside me,” Jackie said. She was gone, whispering to him over the divide, the far-away place she escaped to right before she’d come.

  Ryan withdrew, slapped her thigh and turned her onto her belly. With his forearm under her hips, he pulled her up until her round bottom was high in the air. When he entered her from behind, Jackie moaned loud enough to wake the sleepy neighborhood. His fingers wrapped around the back of her neck and his grip tightened, as he pressed his whole length into her.

  “Baby, I’m going to come.” Her voice was muffled in the pillow. As her words unwound and spun into the air, so did Ryan’s ejaculation. He pulled out just in time to anoint her ass with torrid spurts of semen. She rode her orgasm high and massaged herself down with her own fingers. Ryan collapsed onto her back, where they lay in a pile recovering their breath.

  “I hope no one heard that. We almost made it through, figures we’d give up on the last day.”

  “I had no idea church was so sexy,” Jackie said. Her voice nearly suffocated in the pillow.

  “Daily worship,” Ryan added breathlessly, his pulse still high, ticking in his temple and his wrists.

  Jackie wore a dress, a little black shift and a white cardigan sweater. She had clogs with a little bit of heel on her feet. The girl Ryan knew from college wore clothing reluctantly and what she chose made the statement that she didn’t care what she looked like. Was it defensive? Maybe. She adored his football jersey and the gesture spoke leagues to him.

  A single strand of pearls circled her neck and the tiny silver necklace Ryan had spent practically his entire savings at the time on, never left her neck. While he was on his mission in Guatemala, he and Jonah had taken a trip to the Escobal silver mine in San Rafael de las Flores. They were there for sightseeing as well as an attempt to connect with some of the environmental scientists from international aid organizations investigating the fallout on the drinking water and soil in and around Escobal. Jonah had it set in his mind that they could get them to come out to El Tintal and do some similar tests. They’d toured the mine and spoken to both workers and families. The vast craters in the earth made Ryan feel small and insignificant. They also made him a bit fidgety and uncomfortable. Jonah invited two representatives from the National Science Foundation to lunch and Ryan felt like he was on the moon, both from the conversation and the scenery. He was so far from home. And even worse, so far from Jackie. After lunch they’d walked through the small town and picked up some souvenirs for Pedro and some of their fellow mission workers.

  They passed a silver shop and Jonah asked Ryan if he’d like to go in.

  “I don’t really have anyone to buy jewelry for. My mom doesn’t wear anything besides her wedding band.”

  “Suit yourself,” Jonah said. “I’m going to check it out. It’s supposed to be cheaper than anywhere else on the planet.” Ryan reluctantly followed him in, conflicted about the toll the mine took on the local population and the land, as well as the environment. It seemed like a contradiction to buy something. He followed Jonah in the store, noting that all the signs were in English. He was hit with a blast of cold air conditioning upon entering. It was the first time he’d felt controlled temperatures in months and it seemed very decadent. The amount of jewelry was astounding and his eyes hurt from how hard the bright lights reflected off of the flawless silver.

  Carol wore some jewelry, but he didn’t want to send the wrong message or give her false hope about their relationship. Jackie wore a little silver bracelet and strangely, sometimes a thumb ring. She also had her nose pierced and occasionally wore the tiniest diamond in her right nostril. He walked over to where an old man was engraving jewelry by hand. He wore a visor and glasses, his hands were arthritic and gnarled, but he used his tool with a grace that can only be acquired by years and years of honing your skill.

  “Buenas tardes,” the old man greeted him. He looked at Ryan through watery eyes and Ryan felt that he was too old to be working, wondered if he had an apprentice and if his skill would be passed down.

  “Cual le guste?” the old man asked him. With a flourish, he swiped his hand over a velvet table laden with designs. A pendant of two birds taking flight immediately called to Ryan. It was delicate, yet viscerally strong. The power in the strength of their fragile wings spoke directly to him. Ryan picked it up and imagined it laying against Jackie’s collarbone.

  “They can engrave on the spot. You won’t find craftsmen like this anywhere in the States,” Jonah said walking up. He held a small silver bowl and a few chains draped over his hand.

  Ryan passed the birds to the man and he wrote on the slip provided “Angel Mia.” It wasn’t until he’d handed the slip to the man engraving that he realized the pendent would say, “My angel” in Spanish and Jackie’s sister’s names in English. He loved the double meaning of the special charm. It felt sign
ificant, out there, in that hostile and uninhabitable mine land, that his heart would feel so tethered to Jackie’s, despite so many years and so many miles apart.

  Jackie had been wearing it for years now. In fact, she admitted to him that she had never taken it off. She fingered it nervously on the drive over to church. He remembered viscerally the nerves that attacked him when he finally sent it to her after they’d started exchanging letters. He held his breath for days every single time the postman came. Eventually, Jackie had sent a letter.

  “Ryan, this is, without a doubt, the most precious thing in my life.” Relief had flooded his body like adrenaline when he read it. He remembered how much his hands had been shaking. Never on that day when he bought it or even in their time apart, did he indulge in the fantasy of actually being back together.

  But here he was, taking Jack to his parent’s church. It was real. It was his life. And he had finally started living it.

  Jackie was a natural caretaker and the one thing Ryan wanted more than anything else, was for her to surrender and let him care for her.

  He reached over the console and grabbed Jackie’s hand.

  “I won’t know any of the songs, Sport. Or when to sit down and stand up—you’ll have to jab me.”

  “Did you memorize the prayer I left on your toiletry bag?”

  “What!?”

  He was smiling because her anxiety was adorable. Jackie who always faced the world with one fist up, ready to fight and conquer, was nervous about sitting through a church service. Vulnerability was always sexy on her.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. My dad is really laid back. Sure, he references from the Bible and all the works, but he’s not fire and brimstone. His sermons are pretty relatable, he often talks about us.” He ran his fingers up and down her thigh, appreciating the sensation on his fingertips of her skin underneath the nylon.