She wasn’t letting it go, asking through tight lips, “When did you buy the house?”
“Two years ago. Bart’s side of the business does the high end residential. This is a Montgomery Construction home. Actually, Uncle Jeb built this and the framework, along with the garage. I got it at half the cost and spent the last two years finishing the interior, which is why it is not furnished. I will leave that to you.”
“What did you specialize in?” She was irritated that she had not asked these questions months ago, “And why is Uncle Jeb moving me?”
Jesse was trying to answer all of her questions, but she was angry and when she was mad, it was like sitting through a session of Crossfire. “I specialize in building residential communities, townhomes, condos, like the one you lived in. I lived in one of the units onsite in your complex while we finished up before moving on to the Riverchase Project. Uncle Jeb’s brother-in-law owns a moving company.”
He poured them both more coffee as he cleared their plates and started some dishwater. “My cousin Paul and his dad Mathew head up the commercial side of the business. There wasn’t a great deal of commercial business, which is why Paul was not in the running for President. However, the contract you helped me land is making the commercial arm a nice profit generator.” He paused for a minute. “Hey, what does my brother-in-law do for living? The subject has never come up.”
“Jerwane is a pediatric physical therapist,” Savannah mumbled.
Jesse looked perplexed, “That is not something I would have imagined a big guy like your brother doing.” Color me surprised, I thought he was a night-club bouncer.
She was still uncertain of what she had signed up for, but he had been smarter than her and got her to accept his proposal before all of this was sprung upon her. “Jesse, what does this mean for us, especially with me being the President’s wife?”
He explained that she needed to find a charity she was passionate about, transition out his mother’s cause, or continue it, whichever was her preference. “On occasion, we will have some clients over for dinner, one of which will be Bob Walker from Walker Industries. We got the contract to build his new manufacturing plant, along with two other commercial deals and a new residential community in Mississippi, from one of those women who were feeling you up in the bathroom with my sister.” Jesse waggled his eyebrows.
“Savannah, I never thought I could do the job and never wanted it, but you convinced me I could do anything. So, I stepped up so I could give you all the things you said you needed to be happy.”
Savannah leaned her face into her hands. “Jesse, having and sharing a life with you is enough to make me happy. Not only have I learned what is important, I also gained a clearer understanding of who I am.” She got quiet and looked at the bare pantries. “How am I supposed to furnish this house? How are we going to afford this?”
He pulled her up from the table and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Savannah, with each contract I bring in, I get 10% off the top. Since you were the one to help me get those four, I will give half of my commissions to my wife. This gives you a nice operating budget for the household. I will pay the mortgage and utilities and you take care of insurance, food, and house shit.”
“You are okay with letting me decorate the house without your input?” She pulled back and looked up at him.
“I can never think of a day or a time when I want to look at fabric swatches, pick china patterns, or determine if a painting moves me. But if you want my input, you got it.”
The ease with which they talked had dissipated her anger. “But, my office is off limits to you and your decorating touch. And ...” he kissed her nose. “... I will make one request.”
“And what would that be, husband?”
“The family room furniture should be a comfortable sectional and I want a big daddy chair that reclines and vibrates. Matter of fact, make it two, for when your brother or my Dad comes over.”
Savannah had relaxed a bit, but she didn’t have any way to get around, and she thought that maybe they would go and get her car later. “Any other surprises, Mr. Montgomery?”
He lowered his head and kissed her thoroughly. “Well, yeah, there are three.”
“Surprises?”
Jesse slipped his hand in hers, grabbed her coat from the rack, and pulled her out the patio door to the side of the house and a small freestanding building. He opened the door of the cottage to reveal a full-fledged workshop for furniture- making. “Of course, you will have to make your own logo to go on your stuff.” Savannah was choked up with emotion. She loved the workshop. Maybe I can make most of the pieces for the house.
“You have full access to the shop. Just put my tools back where you found them and we will be okay,” he told her as he pulled her by the hand to the garage. “The other things I was working on this week were these.” He opened the first garage door to reveal a shiny blue 4-door Chevy S-10.
“I figured you would need something to drive to pick up wood and supplies and stuff.”
Savannah hugged him tightly. It was the most adorable truck, but the second garage door went up, as he told her with pride, “Because I knew you couldn’t haul wood in this.”
Her hands flew to her face as she stared at an upgrade to her dream car. It was a four door Sapphire Gray Metallic E-class, with a big red bow on the hood. The pink front license plate had an unraveling DNA strand that almost matched her lunch bag. Detailed.
“I didn’t fit too well in the C-Class and then I thought about the kids in a few years and knew you needed more room.” She threw her arms around his neck, kissing him before moving over to look closer at her new car. “I don’t know how we are going to afford all of this.” Her fingers trailed over the sleek lines of her new baby.
“Don’t worry. I paid for those out of your cut of the commission. The truck isn’t new, but the car is. The title will arrive in the next few weeks.” He started to laugh as she swatted at his arm.
“If we spend wisely, save, and invest, you will never have to worry about being hungry.” He watched her touch the car as if it were going to disappear if she rubbed it too hard. It had an applied-for vanity plate that read TNKRBEL2. She loved it, but what was number one if her car was two?
It was a four-car garage. “What is behind the other two doors?” Door number three held Jesse’s six year old Cherokee and behind door number four was a shiny black Camaro, sitting proudly on shiny custom rims with yellow and red flames beginning at the car’s nose and spreading down the side of the vehicle.
Savannah yelled like she was seeing and old friend, “Tinkerbell!!!!!”
A proud Jesse was grinning like a school kid who just made it to third base on a second date. “Does she run? Can we take her out for a drive? How fast does she go?”
He held up his hands to slow her down and she tried to open the doors. She wasn’t that excited about her own vehicles. Jesse was somewhat amused until she asked the deal-breaking question, “Baby, can I drive her?”
He did not hold his tongue. “I don’t know if I love you that much!”
“You are supposed to love me no matter what, Jesse Montgomery.”
He shook his head. “No, Science Girl, that is Jesus, not me!” They stood in the drive in front of the garages, laughing at each other. “I will take you out for a ride in her. Grab those keys from the key box.”
He pressed the fob once and unlocked the doors. When he pressed it again, the engine started. Savannah slid into the passenger seat like it was their first date. There was so much more to learn about her husband. Next on her list was his music choice.
“I know this is a weird question and a fine time to ask almost a year later, but what type of music do you like?”
“What else? Southern Rock!” He revved Tinkerbelle’s engine, licked his two fingers and touched the gearshift, let up off the clutch, and eased her out of the garage. He pressed the third button on the fob and all the garage doors came down. As Skynyrd blasted from the
radio, they chugged down the road, softly through residential streets. He rubbed the dashboard, telling Tinkerbell, “Not yet, my lovely.”
When they hit the open road, he let up on the clutch, pressed the gas, and shifted the gear, and the car responded by opening up her engines and giving Jesse everything she had. Savannah knew that feeling well. She responded the same way each time he touched her.
Epilogue
Hey there, I am glad you stayed and heard me out. I know, I had a lot of misconceived notions about life, love, and so much more. Jesse was very patient and waited for me to make my own decision, and I am thankful that it was the right one for both of us. We have been married for four years.
The wedding was small, intimate, and at my family’s church. I made sure the ushers took care of the seating so the ceremony didn’t look like a school board meeting on integration. I was also right about the dress. It was stunning once I added the touches to it with decorative pearls and beads. The veil was cathedral length in shimmering white tulle with sewn-in pearls. The blusher was interlaced with live baby’s breath and the whole thing was trimmed in this beautiful lace that my grandmother had given my mom. Not meaning to brag, but I really looked beautiful. I was so stunning that when my brother lifted the veil, Jesse began kissing me before the pastor even started the ceremony. My husband is funny.
As president of Montgomery Construction, Jesse was able to make some much- needed changes in the organizational structure by pooling the resources of the divisions. If things were slow on the commercial side, but booming in multi-dwelling units, he began a cross-training program so every employee and worker could have a forty-hour work week. Lucky thing he did. The commercial side of the business picked up and Montgomery Construction is more profitable than it had ever been. Everything worked out well, even for Darwin, who did so great on the Riverchase Project that Jesse hired him as a full time architect. He now is in charge of the custom home design department.
Big Sam and Ruth retired, and with my percentage from the contracts I help Jesse bring in each year at the conferences, I was able to retire my mother as well. She still works, but her new job is more a labor of love that allows her to walk to work. Darwin designed a custom cottage for her that Jesse had built on one of the back acres of the property. For my mother, the idea of having a nanny was out of the question, and right before I gave birth to our first child, she moved into her new home. She lives close, but still has her own drive, her own address, and her own privacy.
“Mommiiieeeeeee!”
Excuse me for a minute. Sahara, my mother’s new job, is calling me. This little girl is two going on twenty-five and absolutely spoiled rotten. Between Ruth, Jerwane, and Big Sam, she has them all wrapped around her cute little finger, and her father is worse. After her daddy tells her all of the magical stories of special worlds, she loves to don her favorite outfit, the fairy suit that sports pink fairy wings. Trying to leave the house without those things attached to her back is another story altogether. Although I am biased, because she’s mine, that child is so adorable. Sahara is beautiful, with creamy café au lait skin, giant hazel eyes which sparkle when she smiles, two little chubby cherub cheeks, and the dark curly hair that always seems to be a mess.
“Mommmmmiieee, Uncle J got fish!” Let me go and see what this little girl is screaming about from the back door.
Oh, Jesse and Jerwane have just returned from fishing and my brother has a string of stinky fish he is going to insist upon cleaning in my kitchen sink. Yes, the two of them are best buds now, especially after Jesse surprised him for his birthday a few years ago. Jerwane was beside himself when Jesse showed him the plane tickets to Vegas. As strong as my brother is, I have never seen him cry, not even at our father’s funeral, but he cried like a six-year-old girl when my husband presented him the tickets to see Floyd Mayweather fight at the MGM Grand on that Vegas trip. Jesse got him the V.I.P. treatment. He even called in a few favors and Jerwane got to meet Pretty Boy Floyd in person. I’m not sure what else happened on that trip, but Jerwane came back with a busted lip and Jesse had Sahara tattooed across his heart and Savannah tattooed across his butt cheek. Every now and then, they share a look and a sly smirk. Well, what happens in Vegas... They both came back happy.
As for me, I am happier than I have ever been. I smile all the time and even tell a few jokes. They are science jokes, but hey, I’ve lightened up a lot. It took a year for me to grow up and understand that the things I thought were necessary for a good life were not, sharing your life with someone who makes you happy is important. Sharing your life with someone who appreciates you for who you are is even more imperative. Jesse makes me happy and I love our life together.
I can hear the pitter-patter of Sahara’s little feet coming this way and I know what she wants. It is Saturday. Each Saturday afternoon is her time with Daddy. If it is not tea parties or something else, he straps her into the back seat for an afternoon drive in Tinkerbell. Each time he revs the engine, Sahara giggles like it is the greatest thing in the world. Truth be told, so do I.
“Mommy, I called you,” Sahara tells me as she rounds the corner.
“Sweetie, Mommy is moving a little slower these days,” I tell her as I slowly try to stand.
“Is it because of Daniel?” She wants to know as she places her tiny hands upon my enormous belly.
“Yes, Sahara. Daniel is getting too big to stay inside of Mommy’s tummy much longer.”
I am smiling as she places her ear to my stomach, attempting to hear Daniel who unfortunately, becomes very active each time he hears his sister’s voice.
“Is he done yet, Mommy? Is he ready to come out of there?”
It takes a little effort, but I squat down to give her a juicy wet kiss on the cheek, “Not yet, my lovely, but soon.”
-Fin-
Smile for the camera Sahara...
A Note from the Author
Often times when I write, I include specials shops, items and stores I spot on my travels. It is even nicer when I have one of those sweet shops in my neck of the woods. One of my favorite shops is the Pilgrim Soap Company in Augusta.
Join me for my Virtual Book release party on June 5th, for your chance to win some goodies from one of my favorite stores.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Olivia Gaines is the author of numerous best selling novellas and books including Two Nights in Vegas, A Few More Nights, and have had several number one best sellers with The Blakemore Files including Being Mrs. Blakemore and Shopping with Mrs. Blakemore.
She lives in Augusta, GA with her husband, son and snotty cat, Katness Evermean.
Connect with Olivia on her FaceBook page at http://on.fb.me/1eorEAr or her website at http://oliviagaines.com.
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Also by Olivia Gaines
Modern Mail Order Brides
Oregon Trails
On A Rainy Night in Georgia
Buckeye and the Babe
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Sunflowers and Honey (Coming Soon)
Bleu, Grass, Bourbon
Serenity Series
Welcome to Serenity
Holden
Farmer Takes A Wife
Slice of Life
Friends with Benefits
Slivers of Love
The Cost to Play
Thursdays in Savannah
The Blakemore Files
Being Mrs. Blakemore
Shopping with Mrs. Blakemore
Dancing with Mr. Blakemore
Cruising with the Blakemores
Dinner with the Blakemores
Loving the Czar
Being Mr. Blakemore
A Weekend with the Blakemores
The Davonshire Series
Courting Guinevere
Vanity's Pleasure
The Delgado Files
Killers
Becoming the Czar
Yunior
The Men of Endurance
A Walk Through Endurance
A Return to Endurance
A Walk Through Endurance
The Technicians
Blind Hope
Blind Luck
Blind Fate
Blind Copy
Blind Turn
Blind Fold (Coming Soon)
The Value of A Man
My Mail Order Wife
A Weekend with the Cromwells
Cutting it Close
The Zelda Diaries
It Happened Last Wednesday
A Frickin' Fantastic Friday
A Tantalizing Tuesday
Standalone
Santa's Big Helper
A Menu For Loving
North to Alaska
Turning the Page
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Watch for more at Olivia Gaines’s site.
About the Author
Olivia is a USA Today Best Selling and multiple award-winning author who loves a good laugh coupled with some steam, mixed in with a man and woman finding their way past the words of “I love you.” An author of contemporary romances, she writes heartwarming stories of blossoming relationships about couples not only falling in love but building a life after the sensual love scene.
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