Jason started looking at a file “She’s holding up.”
“Well, if you don’t mind I’d like to hitch a ride on your jet when you leave tonight. I didn’t book a flight.”
“I’m not flying out tonight. I’ve got so much to do that I’ll probably have to stay the weekend.”
Franklin gave Jason a hard look. “Jay, there’s not anything here that you can’t handle from home. Don’t you think you should be home with your family…with Vicky?”
“This place isn’t going to run itself. My mother and Shirley are there with her.”
“That’s good but she needs you.”
“Franklin…I really don’t want to discuss the needs of my wife right now.”
He threw up his hands as if surrendering, “Fine. We won’t talk about her. She’s your wife.”
“I’ve got to make this call can I catch up with you later?”
Jason was putting him out of his office. Another first. Franklin took the hint. He nodded to Jason but also decided not to fly to Atlanta tonight. He needed to keep a close eye on him. Jason was going through much more than he was willing to admit.
Chapter 20
It had been a long day. Jason was sitting at the bar waiting for the bartender to bring him his drink when he smelled a familiar scent of perfume and a familiar hand touched his shoulder.
“Hi Jason.”
He turned around to see Bridget Reed.
Albeit surprised, he spoke to her. “Hi. What are you doing here in Minnesota?”
“Surprised? Well, I’m surprised to see you too. I’m here for the opening of Edward’s new foundation. It’s here on Sunday. I just wanted to come over say hi and offer my condolences. I’m so sorry about your loss.”
His smile faltered and his entire body stiffened. It didn’t go unnoticed.
“I’ve been sitting over in the corner wondering for the last fifteen minutes if I should say anything considering.... But, then I thought that was foolish. We’ve known each other forever.”
Jason recovered and gave her that lazy half smile that drove her crazy.
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
Bridget tossed her blond hair over her shoulder, “Really?”
Jason took a long sip of his drink.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
She took the stool next to him and crossed those long sexy legs. She smiled coyly “Well…I don’t know. With everything that happened between us, I thought maybe you hated me.”
“I could never hate you Bridget.”
Bridget knew that losing his son and dealing with the on-going custody battle with the Carters splashed over the papers every day was the reason he looked so strained. Looking at him and just being next to him solidified the fact that she wanted Jason back; there was no question.
However, with everything that was going on in his life she would need to adjust her plan. Now would be a good time to change tactics. Jason looked more like he needed a friend than a lover. Tonight, she’d be a friend. Hopefully, later she’d become a lover. Bridget knew if she could get Jason back in her bed, she could win him back.
Bridget caressed his arm.
She gave a hearty laugh, “Good because after all we once meant to each other, I’d hate to think that we couldn’t at least be friends. Speaking of friends, you’ll never guess who I ran into last week at the club?”
He took another sip of his drink “Who?”
“Remember Ross? When we were about eighteen or nineteen, he was the guy who had that space between his teeth large enough to drive a Mack truck through.”
Jason couldn’t remember.
“Oh come on…you remember him. He tried to eat that soup at Sally Westing’s party and we all watched to see how he would sip it through that space between his teeth.”
Jason finally remembered. The memory caused him to laugh out loud. “Oh yeah, Ross!”
“Well, I saw him last week at the club and he’s finally gotten his teeth fixed. But, I still found myself watching him as he sipped his soup to see if it would dribble down his mouth like it did at Sally’s.”
Jason kept laughing. It felt good to laugh.
“Have you eaten dinner yet, Jason? Because I haven’t and I’m starving.”
“Actually, I haven’t eaten all day. I could eat something.”
“Good. Let’s get a table.”
A call was coming through on his cell. He looked at the screen. It was Vicky. He debated answering it but ended up clicking ignore…again.
Bridget and Jason left the bar area, grabbed a table, and spent the next couple of hours laughing and talking about old times.
*****
Vicky was in bed with Angel curled up next to her debating whether to call Jason again. She’d called him earlier but his assistant said he was in a meeting and would call her later. He hadn’t. Well, he’d left her a message letting her know that some things had come up at work that required him to stay over the weekend. But, he’d said he would call her later.
She watched the clock. It was getting late but she decided to try him again. This time it went straight to voice-mail. Vicky didn’t want to leave him another message. She’d already left him a couple. Instead, she fell asleep with the phone next to her head waiting for his call.
Chapter 21
Jason was tired but made it into the office early Saturday morning. He was probably the only one in the building. He sat down at his desk and just looked at all the papers on it. It was impossible to focus.
He raised his head and stared out into space. Jason wasn’t quite sure how long he’d been like that until Franklin walked in.
“Jason, I need your signature on these documents.”
“Franklin, its Saturday. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Apparently, doing more than you. I’m working.”
“I thought you were flying out to Atlanta yesterday.”
“Something came up so I postponed it until later in the week.”
“I don’t need a babysitter Franklin.”
“Why do you think everything I do is because of you?”
Jason laughed “Because it usually is. You’re either trying to keep me out of trouble or getting me into it.”
“I see this morning you want to be a comedian. Anyway, April called. She wants to get together this weekend.”
“So, how are things going with April anyway?”
Franklin shook his head.
“You…do...NOT want to hear about me, April or my problems.”
“Actually, I would. You’ve always been there for me, let me return the favor.”
Franklin did not want to talk about his disastrous love life. It showed all over his face. Franklin took a seat across from Jason, “So far, nothing is going on between us. We’ve just been doing a lot of talking and we’ve gone out a few times for dinner.”
“Jay, right now April and I are just enjoying each other’s company. Nothing much has changed between us since the last time we talked. Well, that’s not exactly true. Sandy and I have decided to take a break.”
“I hate to hear that but you know I’ll support whatever it is you decide to do.”
“Everybody isn’t as lucky as you were when you met Vicky. I knew immediately you were head over heels in love with her.”
Jason took a deep breath, “Sometimes love is not enough. Sometimes you need more than that.”
Franklin nodded, “Hmm…I think when you really know…love is all you need. My problem is I don’t think I’ve ever been in love so I’m not quite sure what it feels like. I’m done talking about my love life. Are you going to sign these or what? Otherwise, this is a wasted Saturday.”
Jason’s phone rang, “Hold on let me take this.”
“Hey.”
“Hi Jason! It’s Bridget. I was calling because I’m here with Michael and Wendy and Edward and Eliza. The gangs all here for Michael’s opening. Well, everybody except for you.”
He heard them in the background of
her phone laughing and having a good time before screaming ‘hi Jason’.
He hadn’t spent any time with his old friends since Michael and Edward showed up at his house trying to convince him that he was making a mistake with Vicky. He happily left that life behind and had no desire to spend any time with them.
“Jason? Are you still there?”
“Oh..yeah. Sorry. I’m here.”
“Well, I thought it’d be like old times to get together with all of our friends to see the play Lilly on the Water tonight. I thought maybe it might take your mind off of things for a while.”
“Umm…Bridget that sounds like fun but I’ve got a lot of work to do. And, with everything that’s going on, I need to lay low from the press. Can I take a rain check?”
Bridget had miscalculated. She’d hoped being with his old friends might cause him to miss his old life. However, she hadn’t thought about the press still hounding him.
“Of course; I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I’m disappointed but yes. And, I’m going to hold you to that rain check. I’ll be here until the Monday morning. Maybe we can do dinner or something before you fly back to Atlanta.”
“That sounds good. Call me when you get back from the play.”
“I’ll make sure I do that. Talk to you soon.”
He disconnected the call and looked up into Franklin’s suspicious gaze.
Jason wouldn’t even look Franklin in the eye. He bent his head to review and sign the documents Franklin had given him earlier. “Remember, we’re not talking about our love lives.”
“MY love life, not yours. Bridget? What makes you think THAT is a good idea?”
“What makes you think April is a good idea?”
“Sandy is not my wife.”
“Look Franklin, it’s not what you think. We had dinner last night. It was innocent and it was nice.”
“You…had dinner with Bridget…last night?”
“Yes. I did. And, it felt good not to feel any pressure…and laugh. I enjoyed myself for the first time in a long time.”
“Jason, you do know that Bridget is dangerous territory.”
“She’s just a friend.”
“Since when? You were going to ask her to marry you.”
Jason was angry. “Franklin, John Rutherford is in Atlanta!”
“And so is Mrs. Jason Rutherford!”
“You don’t think I know that? That I don’t think about Vicky? Hell…I think about her all the time! That’s all I do. You have no idea what it’s like or what I’m going through right now?”
“Then tell me!”
Jason stood up and knocked everything off his desk, “Tell you what? Tell you that I don’t know if I can keep that bastard Ryan Carter from taking our daughter or tell you that when my son died a piece of me died with him? Or, that I don’t want to look into my wife’s eyes, knowing that she’s depending on me not to let her down again, and I can’t promise that I won’t. So, yes. Maybe it was wrong, but I spent a few hours with Bridget to escape the hell my life has turned into.”
Jason was fighting hard to keep it together and losing the battle. He fell back down into his chair exhausted.
“Did you know I only got to hold my son for about ten minutes before they took him away from me?” His voice broke “He was so small.”
“No, I didn’t. And, I’m sorry is insufficient. But Jason, Vicky doesn’t expect you to carry this load all by yourself. Share it with her. She lost a son too.”
Jason closed his eyes, “You couldn’t possibly understand.”
Franklin sat down too “Maybe I understand more than you think.”
Chapter 22
Vicky had just finished reading Angel a bedtime story when she received a text. Angel had fallen asleep. So, she put the book away, kissed her good night, and walked out of the room. However, she left the door slightly ajar.
It was disappointing that the text wasn’t from Jason. She hadn’t talked to him much since he’d been gone. Vicky didn’t recognize the number but answered it anyway. Her cell was private so it had to be from someone who knew her or Jason. They sent a photo with the caption ‘you might want to see this.’
The feeling of trepidation crept over her but the urge to see what the image was…was even stronger. She clicked on it. The imaged opened to a picture of Jason and Bridgette. Bridgette was looking lovingly into Jason’s eyes with her hand on his arm. Something was apparently funny since they were laughing. It was date stamped a couple of days ago…Saturday. The picture could be innocent but it still made her want to throw up.
Vicky hadn’t seen Jason really laugh or smile since their honeymoon. If she wasn’t sure before she was definitely sure now. He’d been distant because he blamed her for losing the baby. Probably no more than she blamed herself.
*****
The house was dark and quiet when Jason finally made it back from Minnesota. Everyone was most likely asleep since it was so late. Jason took off his suit jacket and loosened his tie as he climbed the stairs. He walked past the nursery. He hadn’t been in there since the before they’d lost the baby.
Angel’s room was right across the hall. He dragged his feet past the nursery to peek in on her. He stood there just watching for a while. She was a beautiful child. Her curls were just as wild as they were the day they’d met. It was splayed out all over the pillow. Jason stepped inside her room. When he bent over to kiss her good night, her eyes flutter open and then closed.
She smiled before whispering, “daddy you home.”
Jason’s throat was thick. He’d heard her the first time she’d ever said it on that night. But, it hadn’t fully registered until now. He kissed her on the forehead before responding, “Yes. Daddy’s home.”
He knew it was selfish but he would have given anything not to have to share her with Ryan.
“I thought I heard someone in here.”
Jason turned around to see Vicky standing in the doorway.
Still unable to look her in the eyes he focused on the photo on wall directly behind her. He stood up to walk out of the room and whispered so he didn’t wake up Angel.
“Yeah…I just got home a few minutes ago.”
Jason gave Vicky a quick peck on the cheek before moving to leave the room. Vicky moved out of his way so that he could step past her.
“It’s late what are you doing still up?”
“I got your message that you were coming home tonight and I…I just wanted to see you.”
They walked towards their bedroom.
“You must have been really busy.”
Jason knew she was probably upset because he hadn’t really talked to her much while he was away; Even though she sounded more tired than angry.
“I was very busy. We were finalizing a couple of big deals and it had to be done by today. I knew you were in good hands with mom, dad, and Shirley. “
Vicky sat on the bed and watched him as he undressed. She wanted to scream ‘but I needed you’! She would have given anything for him to take her into his arms.
She knew he probably wasn’t ready for that yet. But, she hoped in time he could forgive her. Vicky just hoped she had more time.
Jason finished undressing and got into bed and let out a deep sigh “I’m exhausted.”
Vicky climbed underneath the covers too. Jason turned his back towards her and pulled the covers up over his shoulders.
Vicky lay their watching his back from her side of the bed. There was so much space between them. She wanted to say something…anything but she didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t long after that she could hear the even rhythm of his breathing. He’d fallen asleep.
It was close to morning before she fell into a restless sleep. Her dreams were full of Bridget and Jason.
Chapter 23
Miriam Rutherford was working in her garden. She’d been out there all morning. That is where she went when she had a problem and needed to work the answers out. Getting the soil underneath her fingers also
calmed her nerves.
The sun was baking this time of the day. It was almost close to noon. She’d probably have to wrap it up soon. The heat was going to become unbearable. Miriam still had no idea what to do.
“Is Mrs. Rutherford anywhere out here in this garden?”
She looked up to find John standing there with two tall glasses of ice cold lemonade.
Miriam got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and accepted the glass “That’s just what I need right now.”
“So, did you figure it out yet?”
Miriam was just about to take a drink, “Figure what out?”
“Miriam Rutherford, I’ve been married to you forever. I know that you love your gardens but you don’t think I know that you come out here to be alone and work out whatever issue is going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
“I’m worried about the kids.”
“Ah. I figured as much. Miriam, there is nothing we can do. Unlike last time, they’ll have to figure this one out on their own.”
“John, there is so much love and pain there. And they both seem to be dealing with it on their own instead of leaning on each other. Maybe you should talk to Jason.”
“Sweetheart, we’ve never lost a child. Yes, as grandparents, we were devastated when we lost Jason Jr., but I can only imagine it must be a thousand times worse for them. It’s only been a little under a couple of months. They are both still grieving. Everyone grieves differently.”
“I guess you’re right. The added stress of the Carter’s trying to take Angel isn’t helping either. You know that emergency custody hearing is Friday. I’m nervous about that. I can’t imagine what might happen if they lost custody of Angel.”
“John Lucas and his team have it all under control.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Sweetheart…you know I didn’t help to build a billion dollar company on my looks alone. Just know that John Lucas might have a couple of surprises up his sleeve. I know Jason’s been pre-occupied with work, losing his son, and possibly his daughter....”
LOVE, LIFE, and VOWS Page 9