by Dyanne Davis
Toreas was glad she had a moment alone with her mother. She had some worries about her relationship with Jared. As much as she didn’t want to tell her mother she seemed unable to keep it from her.
“I’m worried about the way Jared and I are always fighting,” she began.
“Why?” her mother answered. “All couples fight.”
She took a moment to digest that word, couple. Was that what she and Jared were? A couple? “I want to be like you and Daddy,” she confessed. “You guys never fight.”
Her mother laughed till tears ran down her face. Toreas frowned, looking at her mother as though she were a stranger.
“Mom, stop laughing. I’m serious.”
“I know, honey, that’s why I’m laughing.”
Toreas watched her serious mother in awe as she clamped both hands over her mouth. Still the tears rolled down her cheeks and her eyes held a devilish twinkle. Her mother bit her lip, shaking her head in amusement.
“Honey, your father and I fought from the moment we met. When you kids were little we’d hire a baby-sitter so we could go out and fight.”
Toreas was staring at her mother. Now she was sure something had happened in this town. Maybe aliens had invaded and replaced all of the people she knew with pod people. Her brothers were fun, the townspeople loving, and now her mother was telling her the one ideal couple Toreas knew fought.
“Tesa, fighting is healthy for a relationship. Especially when the two people love each other as much as your father and I do. If you want a relationship like ours, then you’re on a good road toward getting it.”
Toreas saw the change come over her mother as she smiled before continuing. “When you love each other, there is a level of respect even to your fighting. The making up is always a lot of fun.” Her eyes twinkled and Toreas’s mouth fell open in shock.
“Mom.” Toreas had to know, and it would tell her if this was truly her mother.
“What is it?”
“Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure, go ahead. You’re my daughter.”
“Were you a virgin when you married Daddy?” She watched as her mother, who never blushed, turned a bright shade of red.
“Billy was a nine pound preemie.”
Okay, this was proof that her family had been replaced by aliens. Her mother had drilled in her head the evils of fornicating the moment she’d learned to crawl. “Mom, I don’t believe it. You? You and Daddy were always teaching us not to fornicate, that it was a sin. I’ll bet I was the only ten-year-old who even knew the meaning of the word fornicate.”
“Tesa, grow up. Do you think you and your generation invented sex or temptation? That doesn’t mean that we wanted our children to give in to it.”
“Mom.” Toreas voice was still shocked. “Did you enjoy it?”
“Of course I did. And I still do for your information.”
“You didn’t feel guilty?”
“A little the first time. We weren’t married, but I loved your father. I got over it.” Her mother’s look became intense. “Do you feel guilty with Jared?”
It was Toreas’s turn to blush. “We’ve never…”
“Never?”
“Never.” Toreas was glad her mother didn’t ask if she’d ever. Both women were silent for a moment. Then Toreas broke the now awkward silence. “Do you think God forgave you?”
“I know he did. God loves us. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He just expects us to try our best.”
The door opened then, ending any further conversation. Jared came in with her brothers and her father, his eyes finding hers.
“Did you have fun?” He came up to her and kissed her lightly on the lips in front of her entire family. Toreas waited for the explosion, the protests, but none came. They were behaving as if he had the right to kiss her. Who the heck were these people?
She watched all of them warily, including Jared. She felt as if she was the only person whose body had not been snatched. All the others were different and happy.
When they sat down hours later to a dinner of pizza, she had to do something to shock them back to reality. Her father eating pizza for dinner? More proof. Something must have happened to her world while she was in Chicago.
“Tesa, your brothers want to know when you’re coming home. They’ll come up and move you.”
She caught Jared eyeing her. This was her chance. “I’ve changed my mind, Dad. I’m not moving back and I’m not going to stop writing romance.”
“We had a deal, Tesa. Are you telling me you’re going back on your word?”
“Yes, I guess that’s what I’m saying. I’ll pay you back every penny.”
“It’s not the money.” Her father looked at her, his expression unreadable. “You gave your word. Tell me why you choose to break it now.” He glanced at Jared.
“God gave me a talent. He gifted me with an imagination and I think I would honor Him if I use it to the best of my abilities.”
“Writing smut? You think that’s honoring God?”
“Romance isn’t smut, Daddy. Besides, I can write it in a way that won’t compromise my beliefs.” She, too, looked toward Jared. He’d given her the idea.
“I thought you told me you had to write those sex scenes or no one would read the books.”
“I could be wrong, Daddy.” She was still looking at Jared, his golden brown eyes telling her he was proud of her. “I think I can do this in a way that you’ll still be able to hold your head up and I’ll still be following my dream.”
“So your word means nothing.” Her father looked around the table then. “How do you plan to support yourself or to pay me back? You said you needed to be home to write. Surely you don’t expect me to continue subsidizing you when you’ve broken our agreement? By your own admission you can’t write and support yourself at the same time.”
“How much longer do you think you’ll need?”
Toreas glanced at her brother Billy, surprised he was asking her this instead of telling her to stick to her end of the bargain.
“Probably another two years.”
“I’ll take care of your expenses for a year,” Billy offered.
“I’ll take care of the other year,” Michael chimed in. “You keep writing, Tesa. We’re behind you.”
A lump filled her throat and tears poured down her face. She was right. Someone had taken her family.
Her father was standing beside her pulling her up. “Is this really so important to you that you’re willing to defy me?”
“My writing is important,” she answered her father, not wanting to say it was important enough to defy him.
She felt as well as saw his hand coming up to her cheek. For a moment she thought he was going to smack her but he didn’t. He rubbed the tears away with the pad of his thumb, his touch rough and loving.
“I’m proud of you, Tesa, for standing up for what you truly believe. You’ve always been so rebellious that I thought this writing thing was just to annoy me. I never knew you considered it a gift from God. A talent. I’m sure if that’s the case the good Lord will send you the words to express what you both want to say.” He hugged her close. “And I’m proud of you boys for standing up for your sister.”
“So am I.” Toreas disentangled herself from her father’s arms and went to her brothers, kissing and hugging them both. “Thank you. I’m so surprised I don’t know what to say.”
“Surprised? Why should you be surprised?” It was her father’s booming voice. “Your brothers have always looked out for you and taken care of you, even volunteering to take your spankings. You should have known they would come through for you.”
Toreas’s thoughts were muddled. She glanced first at her brothers, then at Jared. Nothing was as she remembered. Suddenly it was as if a veil were lifted and she saw clear images of her brothers battling bullies in her defense, of them giving her their last piece of candy, of them sneaking the spinach off her plate and eating it because she was crying an
d their mother refused to let her down from the table until she was done.
They all hated spinach, but they’d both eaten hers countless time to stop her tears.
Toreas wondered where she had buried those memories. Until now she only thought of her brothers as the two baboons who tortured her, teasing her endlessly. She’d completely shoved aside all the loving acts.
Maybe she was the one who’d been replaced by a pod person. They seemed to have always been here for her. She wondered what had happened, how she had managed to twist everything up so horribly.
Again she sat on the sidelines listening to the men talk, wondering at the overwhelming feelings of love she had for her family.
Every once in awhile one of her brothers would ruffle her hair or throw an insult her way. She noticed them constantly smiling in her direction. They loved her, they always had.
Chapter Twenty-One
Toreas stayed up with her family, following Jared down the basement stairs when everyone decided to turn in because of the seven A.M. Thanksgiving worship service.
“I’ll be up in ten minutes, Dad. I need to speak to Jared.” She wanted to assure her father that she wasn’t trying to rebel at this moment.
She wouldn’t dare attempt to stay in the room where Jared was sleeping. Her brothers would kick her butt and Jared’s if she tried. Her memory hadn’t failed her on that score.
She didn’t know how to begin. She didn’t want to offend Jared but she had to warn him about the church service, so she dove right in.
“Jared, I was thinking you might not want to come with us to early morning worship.”
“Why?”
He wasn’t making this easy for her. “In this town…in this family…” She stopped again. “Going to church together, us, the two of us,” she pointed toward Jared, then herself, “we will be considered a couple.”
“Aren’t we?” He smiled at her as though there was no problem.
“We’ve never defined our relationship but yes, I think we are a couple but we’re just beginning to be a couple. We haven’t had an opportunity to prepare for the expectations. My family, the church, they’re all going to make more out of this. They’re going to assume we’ve made a commitment.”
He was staring at her, an amused smile on his face. His brown eyes filled with passion and she doubted his mind was on church. Still, she had to get it through to him that church was very serious to her family and to her.
“What will you think if I want to come to church with you, Toreas? Will you think that I’m making a commitment?”
“No, I’ll probably think you’re being stubborn and that it’s another opportunity for you to show that famous testosterone.”
“As long as you’re clear on what it would mean, then I don’t think we have a problem.”
He smiled at her and she wanted to hit him and kiss him in that order. “Jared,” she had to try again. She wound her arms around his neck, twisting her fingers in his hair, wishing they were back in Chicago, in her bed. The phone would definitely be off the hook. “I’ll make coffee for you. When you get up just turn it on. We should be home around nine.” She kissed him then and walked up the stairs, satisfied that she’d put an end to that discussion.
At six A.M. she found Jared up with her family, drinking coffee and dressed for church. She frowned at him and he smiled at her, coming to kiss her good morning.
If it didn’t feel so right she would have pushed him away. Didn’t he know that a proper Baptist girl didn’t go around kissing guys in front of her family? Especially a guy she wasn’t married to? Even if that girl was almost thirty. It just wasn’t done.
***
It felt strange and right to have Jared sitting alongside her in the family pew. She barely heard the minister. Jared was holding her hand, squeezing her fingers, lightly scratching the palm with one fingernail, making her hotter than anyone should ever be in church. She deliberately searched her head for her critics. Nothing.
The service ended and she heard the minister ask if anyone wanted to say thanks for some special gift. She felt Jared tug his hand free from hers and stand. Her eyes followed his movement, the flow of his body up and up. Liz was nuts to think she preferred small men.
Jared was what her mother referred to as a long drink of water. She watched as his full height extended higher and higher up toward the rafters. He was so tall and she loved it.
Toreas waited, expecting to hear Jared say he was thankful to be with her family. That wasn’t what he said at all.
“I’m thankful that I’ve fallen in love with the woman I want to marry and I was wondering if you would marry us right now, sir.”
At first Toreas was stunned. She had to be dreaming, but the smiles and clapping of the congregation told her she wasn’t.
He’s kidding, she thought. That is, she thought that until he pulled gently on her hand, forcing her to stand.
“Toreas Rose, I’m madly in love with you. Will you marry me?”
“Are you crazy?” she attempted to whisper. “It’s not a requirement to make a commitment. Let’s sit down.”
“Women can be so dense,” he whispered into her ear. “Didn’t you hear me? I love you.”
Apparently he wasn’t concerned with her answer on marrying him. He’d turned his attention back to the minister and was asking him again to marry them.
“You need a license,” she heard the minister say.
Then another voice piped up and said he would go to the courthouse and come back with one. Toreas couldn’t believe it was Brian Johnson’s father. “I have the keys. Give me a half hour,” he offered.
Jared looked at her again. “Well, what do you say?” His eyes clouded and he frowned. “I’m sorry, you probably want a gown and a big wedding. What was I thinking?”
“No, that’s not it. None of that’s important.”
He dropped to his knee and reached for her hand. “Will you marry me?” He was smiling, a little nervously, she noted, and that pleased her. He wasn’t being his usual arrogant self.
“Jared, we haven’t had a chance to talk about this. Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you but,” Toreas looked toward the pulpit, “let’s go somewhere so we can talk in private.”
“Do you love me, Tesa?”
Tesa. He was calling her by the name her family used for her, he wasn’t playing fair.
“Te…sa…”
Now he was caressing her name.
“I love you, Tesa.”
“But, Jared, we don’t really know each other. This is crazy.” Her heart was pounding. How she wanted to say yes, but she didn’t want Jared to be caught up in the moment.
“How so?”
“Get up, Jared.”
“Not without an answer. You tell me no and I’ll get up and I’ll go back to Chicago alone because I know what I want. There is no need for any more games.”
“All we do is fight. If we marry we’ll probably be divorced in less than a week.”
“You have no faith in me, do you?”
“Jared, let’s go someplace and talk.”
“Not until you tell me if you’ve ever thought about this, my asking you to marry me.” He gave her a stern look. “And tell me the truth, Tesa. Have you had thoughts about spending the rest of your life with me?”
Toreas’s eyes shuttered closed. She licked her lips.
“Don’t lie to me, it’s too important,” Jared whispered roughly.
Toreas opened her eyes and glanced around the sanctuary. She couldn’t believe Jared was doing this.
“Answer me, Tesa, or I will walk out of your life forever and I’m not kidding. Do you want to marry me?”
Threatening her was not exactly the most romantic way to go about it but Toreas was not stupid enough to let him leave either. “Yes, I’ve thought about marrying you.”
“Then I’ll ask you again. Will you marry me?”
Toreas fell to her knees beside him and whispered in his ear, “We’ve never
made love, Jared. What if you don’t want me after…what if I don’t satisfy you…what if…”
He kissed her thoroughly then, while they were both on their knees in the church.
“Is that a yes?” the pastor asked above the noise.
“It’s a yes,” Toreas answered. “Yes, Jared, I’ll marry you, right here, right now, without a wedding gown.”
“You could wear my gown.”
Toreas looked up into her mother’s eyes which were brimming over with tears.
“I know it’s much too long but we can pin it. I’ll go home and get it.” Her mother was turned around to make the trek back to the house before Toreas could even say thank you.
“How long will that take?” she heard Jared asking. She was still in shock.
“The whole thing shouldn’t take longer than a few minutes.”
Toreas watched as her very own mother took orders from Jared. She stood there in amazement as he confirmed the time with the minister.
There were so many people talking at once that Toreas was lost. She saw her parents leave for home and the gown and Mr. Johnson leave for the license.
She heard someone say they were going for flowers and another woman began to organize the women into groups to prepare food.
She heard enough of the conversation to know they would have a wedding breakfast.
People were kissing her and pumping Jared’s hand, congratulating him. She watched as one by one they disappeared to complete whatever chore had been assigned to them.
Finally she was left with Jared. The two of them stood alone in the sanctuary. Everyone else was milling about outside the door, ecstatic about attempting to pull off a wedding and a wedding breakfast in less than an hour from the ending of service.
“You never said if you love me. Do you love me, To…re…as?”
He was caressing her name, making her want him more than she’d ever wanted him. Her heart was pounding so loudly she could hear it in her ears.
“I love you, Jared,” she whispered, then quickly looked around the room.