Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance)

by Mariella Starr

  "A caesarean section is only considered major surgery because they give you anesthesia. It is routine surgery. I have to get so many things. There is so much to be done. Has Kevin finished with the kitchen in my place?"

  "Stop stressing!" Jenny ordered. "The kitchen in your place is gorgeous and so is the one in the main house. The man has talent. I hate to leave you, but I have to go. It was beginning to flurry when I came in. Call as soon as they tell you when you will be released tomorrow."

  "Call me when you get home. I will worry about you out on those snowy roads."

  "I'll try, but you know how the cell phone reception gets around here in storms," Jenny exclaimed, giving her sister a hug. "I am so glad you came to us."

  Mila held her sister a little longer and tighter in a hug. "So am I."

  Jenny did shop, but not for baby things. She and Violet had taken a morning earlier and outfitted Mila with everything she could possibly need for the baby's arrival. Before they left for their shopping trip, Kevin had shown them what he had done to Mila's house. He had authorized his men to complete her space while he was at the hospital with her.

  All the rooms were freshly painted and the old secondhand furniture was gone. New furniture was in its place, couch, comfortable chairs, new lamps, and tables. There was a new bedroom suite in her room. Kevin had turned one of his sisters loose to buy whatever she thought necessary to outfit and organize the small kitchen. One of the best changes though was they had broken through a wall to put an archway between the largest bedroom and a second small room. They transformed the former junk room into a nursery, outfitting it with baby furniture including a rocking chair and decorating it in baby boy blue with little airplanes.

  Josh approved all the changes telling Kevin to submit the receipts for reimbursement. Kevin did so except for the baby's room, which was his personal gift to Mila.

  Jenny hurried to finish her shopping because the snow flurries had quickly changed into a full-out snowstorm. Josh called and told her to drop what she was doing and get home because the snow was accumulating. She still needed to stop at the craft store because Julia had called with news of Jenny's three pieces of textile art selling.

  The depth of snow on the ground surprised Jenny, although Josh had warned her. She wavered between her need to get home and her need to stop by the craft store. She looked around and realized there was still a lot of traffic on the roads, and the Land Rover did have four-wheel drive. The roads were getting difficult to maneuver, but the plows were out. Leaving the supercenter, a young clerk followed her outside to help her load her purchases into her vehicle.

  "Be careful going home, ma'am," the young man cautioned. "The last weather report said we might get two feet."

  "I will. Thank you!" Jenny called. She eased out onto the highway, but at the last second decided it would only take a few minutes to swing by Julia Scarlett's craft store. She had an order in for some more supplies. If she was to be snowbound, she wanted a project to work on. She drove the three miles to the shop and ran inside.

  "Goodness," Julia exclaimed. "I am about to close the shop!"

  "I can come back later."

  "You are already here. I have your supplies in the back, and I will get your check."

  Jenny wandered around for a few minutes and brought three skeins of yarn to the counter as Julia came out of the back carrying three boxes. She put them down and pulled on her coat.

  "I will help you get these to your car and lock the doors," Julia said.

  "I want to order four dozen of each of these.".

  Julia waved her off. "I will call you about it tomorrow and we will settle the next time you come in. I have already closed out the register. You live further out than I do, so you need to get home. Please don't underestimate the hazards of our snowfalls." She handed Jenny an envelope. "You might want to look at this, it is pretty spectacular."

  Jenny broke the seal and pulled out a check. She looked at the numbers and her eyes widened in surprise.

  "Holy smokes!"

  "I put your pieces under open bids," Julia explained. "I do that sometimes to get the best price for unique work, and your pieces certainly fit the category. For a little place in the sticks, I get a lot of trade from tourists and my on-line store. The woman who bought your pieces is decorating a house for a magazine layout. If your pieces appear in the photo spread, you will receive credit in the captions. I need more of your work. I would love to talk more about this, Jenny, but now is not the time. You have to get home."

  "Thank you!" Jenny beamed as she hugged her new friend and agent. She put the check in her purse and grabbed one of the boxes. The two women stuffed the boxes in the Land Rover and said their goodbyes quickly.

  Jenny slowed down as she approached the last intersection with a signal light before leaving town. It had been green and she knew it was going to change at any second. The truck in front of her braked suddenly, hit a patch of ice, and slid sideways broadsiding a medium-sized sedan, sending it spinning into a telephone pole. She slowed to a stop, jumped out of her vehicle and ran over to the car. An older man and woman were getting out and did not appear to be hurt. The man in the truck was slumped over the wheel. However, more people had stopped and were attending to him.

  A few minutes later, two police cars and a rescue vehicle arrived at the intersection. It took Jenny another half-hour to give her witness statement and contact information before she was free to leave. A snowplow was clearing the road heading out of town and the deputy advised her to drive behind it for as long as she could. It grew dark and visibility was bad, it was slow going, but she had no difficulties driving behind the plow.

  Her cell phone rang and she answered.

  "Where the hell are you?" Josh demanded.

  "On my way home," Jenny exclaimed. "I was delayed by an accident. Not me, but it happened in front of me."

  "Where are you?" Josh repeated.

  "About ten miles outside of town," Jenny said.

  "Maybe you should turn around and go back. It is almost white-out conditions here."

  "I'm behind a plow and past the halfway point now. Either way is bad. I'm going to try and make it home."

  "Be careful and keep me posted!" Josh exclaimed.

  "I will," Jenny promised. She stayed behind the plow until she had to turn off the main road onto their property lane. The snow was untouched here, but the Land Rover did well in it. Thank goodness, the previous owner of the property, had installed red reflectors along the edge of the long driveway. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to know where the lane was in these conditions. She was climbing a gradual incline and doing well when suddenly there was a flash of brown and she hit something hard. The vehicle fishtailed, and with a thump, she was off the road surface. After another thud, the rear panel hit a tree where she came to a halt.

  Jenny tried to steer back on the road, but the wheels spun in place. She rocked the vehicle back and forth between reverse and first gear and downshifted, but the car would not budge. She took it in and out of four-wheel drive, but she still was not going anywhere. She tried her cell phone, but there was no signal.

  She estimated it was still a quarter of a mile to the house. She could walk it. She was dressed for the weather, and Josh had equipped both vehicles for winter emergencies. She dug through the boxes and bags in the back to find the black emergency bag. She pulled out earmuffs, an extra scarf, mittens, a flashlight, and a blanket. She added the garments to what she already wore, pulled her purse strap over her head and across her chest, wrapped the blanket around her, and turned on the flashlight to its high beam.

  She was startled when the beam reflected off something on the side of the lane. Then she realized the light was reflecting off eyes. A large deer with a full rack of antlers moved slightly, and she stopped. She realized this was what the Land Rover hit. She slowly moved to the opposite side of the road and kept her distance feeling a little apprehensive. Blood-tinted snow covered the animal and she guessed it
was down because it could not run. Josh had lectured her about never approaching a wild animal, no matter how cute or hurt because they could go into attack mode. Deer were beautiful at a distance, injured they could be dangerous. Softhearted as she was, she could not help the animal. She felt sad for it, but she moved on. She had to get home to her family.

  She trudged through the blowing snow. She was not frightened. With all the layers she wore, she was not even cold except for her face. She had no problem following the lane markers. She got a little concerned with some of the deeper areas of drifting snow, but she kept moving.

  * * *

  Josh was in panic mode. He could not get through to Jenny on her cell, and the house phone was down, which the locals had warned was a predictable occurrence in their area. He was so frustrated he wanted to pull out his hair! He could not go out and look for her, and leave two small children alone in the house.

  When the front door opened, it looked as if the abdominal snowman had arrived. Josh rushed forward as Jenny dropped the blanket and stomped to shake the snow off her clothing. He hauled her inside snow and all and began removing her winter layers.

  "Are you all right?"

  "I will be as soon as I get warm. I was about halfway up the lane when a deer ran into me. I swear I did not hit it. The deer hit me! The Land Rover bounced into a rut or something, and I couldn't get it out. The deer is still out there lying hurt beside the lane."

  Josh stopped rubbing her arms to grab a warm sofa throw and wrap it around her. "I've been worried sick for the past three hours. What took you so long to get here?"

  "Everything," Jenny said as Josh hustled her into the kitchen and put a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. "Are Emmie and Adam okay?"

  "Sleeping, I took them out on the deck for a while and let them play. You know them, they got cold, as soon as I brought them back in and they got warm, they were both sound asleep. Did you leave town when I told you too?"

  Josh was in a scolding mode, so Jenny nodded and told the tiniest lie. "I was in the supercenter when you called. I finished shopping and left. What will we do about the groceries in the car?"

  "Nothing for now. In the morning, I'll take one of the snowmobiles, see how much damage the Land Rover has, and try to get it out of the snow. Whatever food is frozen, will stay frozen, whatever isn't soon will be."

  "I guess," Jenny said with a laugh. "What about the deer?"

  "What about it?"

  "It was lying beside the lane covered with blood and snow. I think it was hurt badly."

  Josh looked out at the whirling snow. "There is nothing we can do about it. Even if I walked down there, there is no guarantee I would find it. It will all have to wait until the morning."

  Jenny looked out the window herself. "I don't want you out there. In the few minutes I have been inside, it looks worse. That was not an order, Josh. It was a concern."

  "A valid one. Come on, I want you to take a long hot bath. Then we will have a movie night."

  "It is so pretty out there from here, but it can be very harsh when you're in it. It truly is the survival of the fittest."

  "This could happen in Connecticut too," said Josh, rubbing her shoulders. "How many times have we both seen a dead deer on the side of the road?"

  "True. Oh, I have good news and maybe a little bit of scary news."

  "Is Mila okay?"

  "Mila is fine. She will be hopping mad, though if this snow keeps her in the hospital another day," Jenny said grinning. She retrieved her purse, pulled out the envelope, and handed it to him. "My pieces sold at the art store."

  He opened the envelope and looked at the numbers on the check. "Honey, this is terrific!" He grabbed her, lifted her, and whirled her around.

  "I know. We didn't have time to discuss it today, but Julia did say she needed more art from me. Those pieces have been in storage for years, now I have to create new pieces. She also said they were going to be used in a house to be featured in Home Beautiful magazine. If my pieces appear in any of the photographs, I will get a credit in a national magazine."

  "That is wonderful. You deserve it."

  "It will probably be months until it happens, but you do realize this means we won't be in hiding anymore."

  "I have the same problem," Josh said. "If we get the Richfield Towers Project, there will be a ceremonial opening with lots of pictures taken. Turner and Whiting Contracting will want to play up that their company is giving the contract to a start-up based on our reputations as architects. It's how you play the game in big business. With Pugh and Barkley losing the contract, and your mother's contacts in her society set, she will hear about it. The Pughs are in the elite social circles of the country club. She won't side with me, you know."

  "I don't look forward to any it."

  "We are strong enough to combat any flack she tosses our way," Josh said confidently.

  * * *

  Josh awakened to the unmistakable sound of a snowplow. He left Jenny in bed, dressed quickly, and went out to see who was clearing his lane. It was not a single plow, but two large Caterpillar plows. Josh recognized Kevin's cousins driving them. They plowed their way through the snow, did a wide sweeping circle, and continued back down the lane for a second pass. Kevin's truck followed them. He stopped in front of the house and rolled down his window.

  "I saw one of your vehicles down the lane. I stopped to make sure no one was in it. Are you two okay?"

  "Yes, Jenny hit a deer last night,"

  "Get the keys and hop in," Kevin said. "Let's see if we can get it out. Can I leave Buddy here with the kids?"

  Thirty minutes later, a dented Land Rover was in front of the house, and the men unloaded the boxes and bags into the house.

  "Kevin!" Jenny exclaimed. "You always come when we need you."

  "We help our neighbors out here. If you are thinking of being here for the rest of the winter, you might want to hire someone to make sure the lane gets cleared. My cousins make a lot of money plowing."

  "Have them send a bill," Josh said.

  Kevin grinned, "The first time is a neighborly gesture, after that you pay."

  "Or get a truck with a plow like you have."

  "A wise investment in Colorado, especially if you have a lane as long as yours," Kevin agreed. "I will be going back to town. It is still messy out there so I will swing by and spring Mila from the hospital to bring her home. In another couple of hours, the main roads will be in decent shape."

  "Did you find the deer?" Jenny asked.

  Kevin turned to her. "It is probably long gone, Jenny."

  "No, I found it a couple hundred feet above where the Land Rover went off the road, it was injured."

  "I'll look for it on my way out," Kevin promised. "The boys will be clearing driveways and parking lots for a couple of hours this morning. When they are done, they will report for work in the main house."

  "All these vegetables and fruits are frozen and ruined," sighed Jenny laying out packages to throw away.

  "Only the salad makings," Kevin interjected. "There is not much you can do with frozen lettuce or cucumbers that I know of, but the potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and any vegetable you can buy frozen, can be used. Let them thaw out enough to clean. Then slice and dice them, and throw them in a pot for soup or chicken pot pie. You can make the fruit into pies or jams."

  Jenny shook her head. "I am way too much of a city girl! I never gave it a thought that I often buy these things already prepped and frozen. Soup and apple pie are on the menu tonight! Does it hurt milk to freeze it?"

  Kevin chuckled. "No, not a bit. I'll bet you were one of those city school kids who answered the question 'where does milk come from' with 'grocery store' instead of 'a cow'. "

  Jenny laughed. "I think I did."

  * * *

  Kevin took the time to go home, change clothes, and stop by a florist shop on his way through town, before arriving at the hospital. Mila smiled when he appeared in her room.

  "How is my little
namesake this morning?" Kevin asked, swapping the large bouquet of flowers for the tightly wrapped bundle of newborn.

  "He gained three and half ounces as of this morning," Mila said proudly. "Are you here to rescue me?"

  "That's the idea," Kevin admitted. "My chariot awaits, complete with a snow plow and an NCAP NHTSA top-rated infant car seat. I don't know what the heck those acronyms stand for, but you have the best-rated car seat in the U.S. and Europe."

  "Very appropriate," Mila laughed. "I haven't been able to get through to Jenny or Josh today."

  "I warned you cell reception is iffy in our San Juan Mountains. The landlines go down long before the cells. I have already been out to their place and had my cousins plow their lane this morning. There was a deer-versus-vehicle fender-bender last night, but Jenny was not hurt. Are you signed out?"

  "No, I wasn't sure anyone would be able to get me."

  Kevin looked out the window and from his viewpoint could count a dozen plows busy at work. "This much snow might bring cities to a grinding halt back east, but we are prepared and welcome it since it sends skiers our way."

  "For which I am very glad," said Mila pushing back the sheets to get out of bed.

  "No, stay there," Kevin said, handing her the baby. "I'll get the nurse."

  "It sure takes a lot of paperwork to get this little guppy released," Kevin said following Mila as a nurse wheeled her to the hospital lobby."

  "It is, considering you don't need a license to get pregnant," Mila agreed.

  "Don't give the government any ideas," the nurse whispered loudly, leaning down into Mila's ear. "With some of the idiot parents I have met, it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least make them go to a parenting class."

  "Alma, don't you be giving the government any ideas," Kevin teased the older woman. "You raised eight and I doubt you ever attended a parenting class."

  In her seventies, the woman, straightened, and glared up at him. "In my day, girls were taught how to be mommas and wives. Not like today, when women don't want to stay home and be mothers."