“You’ve been married for 17 years?”
“It would be 17 years in 3 weeks.” Megan just hoped they wouldn’t be celebrating with divorce papers.
“That’s a huge accomplishment; it’s not over yet.”
“I don’t know if I would say that. We have had some turmoil in our past, but I always thought we would be a couple that could get past it. Now, I’m not so sure.”
“Well, it seems to me that it’s important to make sure that you tell him exactly what you told me.”
“How can I do that; if he doesn’t come back to one of these appointments?”
“You don’t have to do it here. Isn’t there some reason you could find that just the two of you could go away?”
“That’s funny; especially considering he doesn’t appear to want to even see me.” She groaned. “We were going to go to our 20 year class reunion this weekend; I doubt that is still going to happen.”
“It would be the perfect getaway; maybe you should try.”
“I don’t know; I’ll see, but I don’t have high hopes.”
“I still would like to see you on a regular basis.”
Megan stood up. “I’ll think about it; I’m pretty busy the rest of the week. I’ll call you later. Thanks Dr. Andrews.”
The older lady smiled and Megan left the office. She didn’t think she would ever go back; there was no point in doing it alone. There would have to be another way.
____________________
Peter stared at his computer clock; it read 10:05 and he knew that he needed to leave or the next day was going to be shot. After his experience with Dr. Andrews he knew that that was going to be the last place he ever stepped foot in again. He was angry that he let his temper get the best of him; he needed to communicate more with Megan, but it wasn’t going to be easy when she probably never wanted to speak with him again.
“Hello? Peter, are you still here?” He looked up when he heard his name called. He went out of his office and saw Kristina standing inside the front door. “You are still here; I saw the light, but I didn’t see you…I…” she was standing in the lobby; her hair and clothes were sopping wet. “I didn’t know where else to turn.” She covered her face and he heard the sobbing and saw her body shaking.
Against his better judgment he went to her. “What’s going on?” He awkwardly placed his arm around her and waited for her to stop crying.
“My dad…he threw me out of the house.” She sobbed heavily and he cringed.
“Stop your crying; it can’t be that bad.”
“He…he…said that it’s time I stand on my own two feet.”
“What does your mom say?”
“She left when I was 6; I haven’t heard from her since.”
He couldn’t believe he didn’t know that about one of his employees. “Oh; I’m sorry.”
“I have nowhere to go; when I saw the light on I took a chance that you were here. Can I stay at the shop? It will only be for a couple of nights.”
He looked over the young girl that was making a mess of the tile floor with the rain water. He couldn’t just leave her there. “You really need to find somewhere else to go. I can take you to a friend’s house; or a boyfriend’s house?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend. I have no friends; they think that I’m too stuck up. I have no one. Why can’t I stay here?”
“You have to get a goodnight’s rest. You work tomorrow. I’ll take you to a hotel.”
“I have no money; I couldn’t pay for a hotel room.”
“I’ll pay.”
“You will; that’s too generous.”
“Don’t worry about it;” he would have done just about anything to get out of there. “Let me shut my computer off.” He hurried in and shut down his computer. This wasn’t how he wanted to conclude his evening.”
He grabbed the one bag that she had and locked up the store. The drive to the hotel was in silence; he thought about taking her to a different hotel than where he was staying, but instead just figured either way didn’t matter.
When they got to the parking lot; he looked over and aw that she was asleep. He cleared his throat and was grateful when she opened her eyes. “We’re here. I will get you to your room and then I’m outta here.”
She nodded as she followed him to the front door. When he got up to the desk the familiar clerk, Josie, was ready to help him. “Good evening Mr. Prescott. How may I help you?”
“I need a room.”
She frowned. “You need another room; isn’t your room…”
He didn’t let her finish. “I need a room for her.”
“Oh; okay.” She punched in the information and looked up. “She will be in room 325 and that will be 52.00.”
“Room 325 would be right next to his. Um…do you have any other room? Like maybe something on another floor;” he hoped that she would find anything else.
“I’m sorry; the 3rd floor is all I have. There’s remodeling on the 2nd floor and the other floors are completely books. I could do another room on the 3rd floor.”
He looked over at Kristina; she seemed unmoved by anything that was going on. “That’s not necessary, but thanks.” He paid for the room and carried her luggage to the elevator.
“What did she mean by you need another room? Are you staying here?”
“It’s a long story, and one I’m not about to share.” He abruptly spoke.
“Okay; enough said.” They got off the elevator and she followed him to the room. “You’re a good guy Peter.”
“Thanks; here’s your bag.” He handed her the key and smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
He started to leave, but she reached out and grabbed his hand. “Don’t you want to make sure I get all settled?”
He quickly pulled away his hand. “I doubt that I need to do that; you seem old enough to take care of yourself.”
She chuckled. He was growing more nervous as she moved closer to him. “I make you nervous; don’t I?”
“Not nervous, but I am your boss and I…”
She touched her finger to his lips. “I know; you can’t have me doing anything that would be sexual harassment at the workplace, but we’re not at the workplace.”
Before he could say anything she leaned in and covered his mouth with hers. It was only a few seconds, before he pushed her away. “Why did you do that?” He looked around and was relieved that the hallway was bare.
“Relax, no one saw. I was just trying to give you a proper thank you for tonight.”
“You shouldn’t have done that.” He turned away and hurried down the hallway; he didn’t stop until he was safely out of the hotel. He looked back up at the hotel and ignored the fact that the rain had picked up in intensity. He needed to get out of there, but he had nowhere else to go.
____________________
Megan thought she was dreaming when she heard the knock on the door. She looked over at the alarm clock and saw that it was going on 1:00. She heard the knock again and knew that it was no dream. She grabbed her robe and quickly hurried past Jasmine’s room and to the front door. She looked outside and couldn’t believe it was Peter that was at her front door. She opened the door and they just stood staring at each other. “I…” she saw the pouring run behind him, but she didn’t know if she wanted to let him in. “What are you doing here?” She asked quietly.
“I had to see you.” He seemed out of breath as he pushed into the house and placed his lips on hers. She allowed the kiss to deepen for longer than she should have, but it felt good to have him there.
“Hm…” she moaned as he slowly wrapped his hand around her neck. She then slowly pulled away; her mind was racing and she reached her hand up to her lips. She held up her hand and went back to Jasmine’s room. She peeked inside and let out a sigh when she saw that the noise hadn’t caused her to wake up. She closed the door and then went back to where Peter was still standing. “Now, do you mind telling me what’s going on?”
“Nothing; I just needed
to see you.”
“I get that, but we haven’t solved anything and you come in and kiss me like…like…”
“Like what? Like a husband is supposed to kiss a wife?”
“You know what I mean; you can’t just come in and do that without any warning.”
“Why?”
“Why? I don’t know; maybe because we have a lot deeper problems that we need to deal with. The session with Dr. Andrews didn’t’ go well; we have to discuss that.”
“You’re right; so, let’s talk.”
Megan rolled her eyes and looked away. “It isn’t that simple. This hasn’t been going on for just a few days; it’s not like we can snap our fingers and have everything return to normal. We both said a lot of harsh things to each other.”
“I know, but I want to explain.”
“It’s late; can’t this be said another time?”
“It could, but I prefer to say it now.”
“Okay, but we have to keep it down. This would only confuse Jasmine.”
“Understood;” she followed him to the living room and they took a seat. “I want you to be happy; that is solely why I went along with the move. You were determined to and you set your mind to running the B&B; I didn’t want to disappoint you, but I had my doubts. I am sorry that I didn’t tell you.”
Megan stared at him. “So, you really never wanted to move here?”
“I wanted to go where you were, but I thought it would be too hard on our finances. I worked hard to keep everything afloat and I didn’t think I would ever have the chance to get my own place. When it finally happened, I knew that I had to focus on my job and try to get some of these bills paid off. I should have turned to you.”
“Yes; you should have. I love working there, but I would have listened to what you had to say. You didn’t give me that chance.”
“I apologize; I can’t tell you that enough. I want to go back to Dr. Andrews. I know that we have a lot to work through, but I still think we can do that.”
Megan nodded. “I want that too; you don’t think it’s too late?”
“It’s never too late; if two people love each other.” She felt his hand caressing her neck and she closed her eyes. She would have welcomed another kiss, but instead he remained stationary. “I have something I have to tell you.” She reached up and touched his hand.
“You’re starting to scare me.” Megan whispered as she closed her hand over his.
“Please, just be willing to hear me out.” She slowly nodded as their hands lowered away from her face. “Tonight I was at work and Kristina stopped by. She was scared and soaking wet from the rain. She told me that her father had kicked her out and that she had nowhere else to go. So, I offered to take her to the hotel and I got her a room. I swear I was going to then go to my room and be done with it, but before I knew it…she kissed me.”
“O…okay; she kissed you.”
“I promise you; I immediately pushed her away and I left the hotel. I came here and that’s all there is to the story, but I wanted you to know.”
“Um…I…”
“Please, just say something.”
“You’re telling me that she kissed you; right before you came here?”
He nodded. “I never expected it to happen; maybe I was too blind or stupid to see it.”
“You feel guilty?”
“No; I don’t. I have nothing to feel guilty about. I stopped it.”
“I know you did, but you felt the need to come here right after she kissed you and to ease your conscience you kissed me. It’s all starting to make sense now.”
“You have this all wrong; I came here because I know that I need to make things right. I love you and that’s what is for certain. I told you about the kiss, because I don’t want any more secrets in this relationship.”
Megan looked away; she wanted to believe him, but it all seemed so ironic. “I’m glad you stopped by, but it is late and I have a lot to process.”
“Can I call you tomorrow?”
She nodded, but didn’t look his way. He walked to the door and she waited for him to close it. She looked out the window and watched him get in and drive away. She was relieved that he had talked to her about Kristina, but it still didn’t change the fact that he was telling her because he felt guilty it had happened. Megan hoped that he was serious about going back to see Dr. Andrews, because that seemed to be the only way they were going to make it.
Chapter 8
Megan looked down at her luggage that was sitting by the front door. A large part of her wasn’t sure if she was doing the right thing, but she needed time away and if that meant leaving Jasmine with Peter, then that’s what she needed to do. Jasmine was in good hands; it was Peter’s idea for her to go to the reunion alone. She heard the sound of his truck pulling into the driveway before she saw him. She waited until he knocked on the door before answering. “Hello.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek and she smiled.
“I feel kind of bad that you’re missing out; after all it is your reunion just as much as mine.”
“Don’t feel bad; I just hope you have fun.”
“Thank you; Jasmine has just been fed. She’s playing in the living room.”
She went into the room and smiled at their daughter who was happily playing with some puzzles. “Any other rules you need to give me.”
He was smiling and she just shook her head. “It hasn’t been that long. I love you Jasmine.” She kissed the top of her forehead.
“Bye Mommy.”
“Goodbye sweetie. I’ll call you tonight. Thank you for watching her.”
“You know that I would do it anytime. Let me help you with your bags.”
“Don’t bother; I have them, but thanks.”
He stepped back and she grabbed the two pieces of luggage. “Call us if you just need to talk.”
“Make sure you give her lots of kisses before bedtime.”
“I will, but you act like you’re going away for weeks. You’ll be back on Sunday.”
“I know, but this is the first time I will have been gone for so long.” She smiled. “Goodbye.”
“Tell everyone that I said hello.”
“I will;” she quickly grabbed the bags and headed out of the house. She hadn’t figured out what she was going to say to them, but she had 2 hours to figure that out.
____________________
Megan checked into the hotel room and was nearly unpacked when she heard a knock on her door. She was going to call home before doing anything, but she went to answer the door. She smiled as she saw Mary Jo standing outside. “Hello.” They hugged and then Mary Jo pulled away. “Wait a minute; where’s Peter?”
“He didn’t come; come in and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Mary Jo took a seat on the edge of the bed and folded her arms in front of her. “I hope things aren’t worse between the two of you.”
Megan laughed. “No; not exactly, but I needed to take a little breather from reality. Peter knew this was true and told me to come here alone. Jasmine is staying home with daddy.”
“So, are the sessions going okay?”
“We’ve only been to one together.” Mary Jo’s eyes got big and Megan laughed. “It’s a long story. I just really don’t want to go into it.”
“I understand that.”
Megan smiled. “Will I meet Paul?”
“Actually, he’s coming in tomorrow. He didn’t know if he could get off of work, but he was able to. So, I’m really excited for you to meet him.”
“So am I.”
“Did you get the itinerary for this weekend?”
Megan picked up the paper from the table. Yes; it looks to be pretty busy. Tonight we start off with dinner at Billy’s Steak House. Tomorrow is breakfast downstairs and then roller skating, swimming and basketball in the park, and then dinner and dancing in the ballroom. If that isn’t enough, on Sunday we go to the movies and canoeing? Seriously; we’re going to need a nap after this.”
Ma
ry Jo laughed. “It will be fun; these are all things that we did while attending high school. I’m looking forward to them.”
Megan had to admit; so was she. “Have you seen anyone else?”
“I saw Brandon before I came to your room, but I’m sure you already saw him.”
Megan shook her head. “No, actually I haven’t.” She really didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want him to question why Peter wasn’t there. It wasn’t going to be a good situation all around. “Please, don’t tell anyone that Peter and I are having problems.”
“Believe me; you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Thank you; I need to call Jasmine before she goes to bed.”
“Do you want to drive over to the restaurant together?”
“Sure; I would like that.”
“I’m in room 502.”
“Do you happen to know which room Brandon is in?”
“He’s in 510, I believe. They kept all of the alumni on the same floor.”
“Great!” She hoped she sounded convincing. “I’ll come get you after I make this call.”
“See you in a bit.” Mary Jo left the room and Megan took a seat on the edge of the bed. She waited for Peter to answer the phone; it rang several times before he finally picked up. “Hey Peter; it’s Megan. How are things going?”
“They are going well; I just fed Jasmine and we’re about to get her dressed for bed. Do you want to talk to her?”
“That would be great.” She waited for him to put the phone to her ear. She heard gentle breathing and knew she was there. “Hey honey; are you getting ready for bed?”
“Mommy, I don’t want to sleep.”
“I know you don’t, but just think you can wake up and have daddy all to yourself. Tomorrow will be a fun day. “Okay!”
“I love you; sleep tight.”
Forever Love (Love Conquers All Book 4) Page 5