Thirty minutes ticked by with agonizing slowness, giving Tom plenty of time to run several different scenarios through his head and prepare numerous questions. Even though the man lying in bed next to his daughter wasn’t Luca, Tom was filled with lethal determination to protect JC, at any cost. Usually JC avoided bringing dates around, because he had inadvertently embarrassed her after he first joined their family by harshly grilling and mercilessly intimidating several of her dates.
After Luca Santini, harsh grilling would be an understatement. Tom wanted full background checks on any man who even intended on taking his daughter to dinner and he’d pull whatever strings he needed to get it.
Tom and Tess sat at the dining table finishing their breakfast when JC emerged from the hallway, freshly showered, wearing an ocean blue summer dress. She meandered toward the table hand-in-hand with her date. From a glance, the tall rugged man looked more like an athlete than the usual man-scaped suit and tie European men that typically stood by her side.
“Hey, Momma. Morning Tom.” JC greeted them with hugs and kisses, before immediately returning her attention to the compelling male companion. “Ummm, Mom, Tom, this is my boyfriend, Reed.” she stammered timidly with pink cheeks.
Taken by complete surprise, Tom’s head flinched slightly, unable to hide a scowl as his gaze darted from JC to Reed.
Reed stuck his hand out toward Tom.
Tom gripped hold giving him a firm handshake. “Tom Clemmins,” he said curtly.
“Reed Rider. It’s nice to meet you sir.” The heavy drawl slipped from his lips as gave a polite nod.
Tess opened her arms and raised to her tiptoes, offering a welcome embrace. “It’s nice to meet you Reed.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ma’am.”
“Please, call me Tess.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Tom caught a peek of his wife who looked as if she might combust from excitement at any moment. Neither she nor Tom missed the introduction of boyfriend or the fact that JC was holding his hand as they entered the room.
JC clasped her arm around Reed’s waist, curling her fingers into the seam of his white cotton t-shirt. He draped his arm over her shoulder, coasting his palm up and down her arm. “Reed’s from Texas.”
“I figured that much.” Tom’s brow puckered deeper into a grimace, examining the glow on JC’s cheeks flushing redder by second.
“Have a seat Reed.” Tess wafted her hand toward a chair tucked under the dining table. “I’ll make the two of you omelets. You wanna come help me?”
JC gave a quick bob of her head and kissed Reed’s cheek. “You do like omelets, don’t you?”
Reed pulled the richly upholstered chair out across from Tom. “I love omelets.”
Tom settled back into his seat taking in the sheer size of JC’s boyfriend. Reed stood a good four inches taller and outweighed him by fifty pounds of fit muscle. It didn’t impress Tom, or scare him or intimidate him one bit.
“Help yourself.” He pointed toward a thermos of coffee and a pitcher of orange juice in the center of the table.
“Yes sir, thank you.”
“Call me Mr. Clemmins,” Tom insisted politely in brusque fatherly tone.
JC hollered from the kitchen, “I heard that Tom Clemmins!”
“Call me Tom,” he corrected, catching a glimpse of JC glaring at him from around the corner. She waved her hand in a circle above her head indicating for him to straighten his halo.
****
JC retrieved the eggs from the fridge. She could hear Tom begin to drill Reed for personal information.
“Rider? That name sounds familiar. What do you do?” Tom questioned in an impeccable voice of commanding influence.
“Oh, for God’s sake. Seriously?” JC groaned loud enough from the kitchen so Tom would hear her from the table.
Her mom brushed her hand across her back and flashed a sympathetic smile. “He can’t help it, baby. He worries about you.”
“I know,” JC acknowledged warmly then raised her voice as a warning for Tom in the other room, “But he better be nice!”
“Well? Who is he? And where did you find him?” Tess cracked three eggs into a bowl.
“He lives next door now. The crazy old lady was his aunt.” JC pointed at the bowl. “Is this Reed’s?”
Tess nodded.
“He’s probably hungry.” JC added two more eggs to the bowl, hiding her scarlet face from her mom’s view.
“I knew she passed away. That woman certainly lived a long colorful life.” Tess bent slightly in order to observe JC. “Holy crap!” she gasped, giving her the once over as if inspecting her for chicken pox. “How long have you been dating the neighbor?”
“We’ve been hanging out together for a week, but last night was our first official date. And we’re not dating, he’s my boyfriend,” she corrected, separating the yolks from the whites of her eggs into a bowl.
Tess poured Reed’s whisked eggs into the skillet then added JC’s to another. As the two women stood side-by-side in front of the stove, Tess turned to her daughter, studying her acutely once more.
Avoiding her mom’s quizzical gaze, JC fidgeted with the pan, spreading the eggs evenly over the nonstick surface. “Sorry about the…umm…mess this morning. I wasn’t expecting you to come home.” Heat climbed up JC’s neck and color spread to her face. A small grin bubbled over into a wide, beaming smile. “He’s from Texas.”
Tess kept her gaze on the omelets, lifting the edges with the spatula, allowing the uncooked egg to run underneath. “You said that already.”
JC playfully bumped her hip. “He’s really, really nice, Momma.”
She bit back a smile. “Grab two plates. Let’s go save your boyfriend before Tom straps him to a polygraph and asks him for his social security number.”
Entering into the dining room, JC took the chair beside Reed at the long rectangle table.
“Thank you. This looks delicious. Do you have any ketchup?”
“Ketchup? On your eggs?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s the best.”
JC retrieved the ketchup from the fridge. She could practically see the scowl on Tom’s face when he asked Reed if that was a Texan tradition. After drizzling his omelet with ketchup, he held a forkful to his lips and blew gently. Sounds of appreciation rumbled from his throat. JC poured herself a cup of coffee and refilled Reed’s before plunking a strawberry into her mouth and digging into her breakfast.
“So?” Tess asked, settling back into her chair, “how did you two meet?”
“We met at Mom’s,” Reed affirmed weakly with a slight cough to clear his throat. Briefly, he glanced across the table at Tom and Tess.
The pool encompassed her view beyond Tess and Tom. JC chortled and her eyes dropped to her plate as she reached under the table to grip Reed’s thigh. Her chewing slowed to a crawl. When she found the courage to raise her gaze, both parents stared at her skeptically for verification. The weighted energy in the room caused the hair on her arms to rise and she nervously gnawed on her lip.
Tess had the uncanny ability to know precisely when someone wasn’t telling the truth. The burning speculative stare from her mother bore down on Reed. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Tom could read his wife like his favorite book and knew the precise moment she questioned someone’s truth.
JC swallowed her bite of food and swore under her breath. Her fingers squeezed tightly, constricting Reed’s thigh in a death grip.
Tom folded his arms across his chest. “Really? Mom’s huh?” He stared at Reed in a way that made her want to duck from the daggers zinging past Reed’s head.
“Hmmm.” Tess narrowed her brows in concern.
Reed’s body language stiffened and he shot JC a sideways glance, pulling one shoulder into a shrug, clearly looking for some assistance.
With an eye roll and a slow methodical shake of the head, JC tucked her long caramel hair behind her ear. “Oh for crying out loud.”
She leaned in c
loser to Reed. “They know you’re lying. Big rule breaker. No lying. Just tell them the truth.”
Reed turned slowly, giving JC a Hell no, I’m not telling your parents that story glare of terror.
“Is there no limit to your intuition, Momma? No privacy?” JC groaned. “I can’t even keep one tiny speck of a secret?”
Tess raised her hands innocently while satisfaction twinkled in her eyes.
“Fine.” JC rested her wrists on the table beside her plate. “I went skinny dipping in the middle of the night, because I couldn’t sleep and I caught Reed...already skinny dipping in the pool.”
Silence.
Tess and Tom sat rendered speechless with mouths wide open and blinking eyes. Whatever they’d expected to hear, this wasn’t it.
Reed swallowed hard and gave a respectful nod toward her parents. “I apologize for trespassing.” Smiling a little, he arched a brow at JC. “But we did actually meet at Mom’s.”
Silence.
Tom’s mouth pressed into a tight line. A muscle flinched in his jaw and his hand balled into a fist on the table.
Tess’s soft laughter broke the strained hush.
“It’s a long story,” JC said, trying to ease the pressure building on Tom’s face threatening to blow like Mt. St. Helens.
“Well, thankfully we have all day,” Tess assured. One slender brow arched in amusement as she stood from her chair, kissing Tom’s cheek and whispering in his ear.
JC stared in bemusement, watching in wonder as Tom’s demeanor softened right before her eyes. With every stroke from of her mom’s hand across his shoulders, the tension that lay furrowed on his forehead diminished. How does she do that?
With one kiss and a few quick words of reassurance, her mother had the ability to alleviate Tom’s angry overprotective father syndrome. With Tom’s coloring returning to normal, JC continued candidly, “Codge knows Reed. They’re friends.”
Reed’s gaze caught JC’s and held for a moment, making it perfectly clear he didn’t find it necessary for her to stand up for him.
“Codge and I are friends. He thinks very highly of you and your family.” He looked Tom squarely in the eye, subtleties tossed to the side. “My aunt did too. Speaking of my aunt, we should take a walk. I’ll show you what I’ve done to her place.”
Tom sat back in his seat with narrow-eyed interest.
JC stiffened at the invitation directed to Tom and Tom only. She threw her mom a quick, desperate glance, pleading for a little help.
Tess merely gave a graceful shrug of appreciation at Reed’s boldness.
Tom pushed his chair away from the table. “I’d love to see it.”
JC’s speechless expression seemed to amuse Reed.
He bent, placing a polite kiss of affection to her temple.
“Nothing like grabbing the bull by the horns,” JC mumbled.
“Don’t worry, darlin’, he won’t throw me off. I’ll go the full eight seconds,” he whispered.
As the two men headed out the front door, Tess gathered dishes from the table. Catching a glimpse of his Camaro parked outside, she stopped and rushed after them. “Oh, hey, Reed? When you get back would you mind taking me for ride?” She pointed toward the black muscle car. “That’s my favorite car you’re driving.”
Reed tucked his hand into the slouch of his jean pocket. His defined bicep strained as he pulled out his keys, tossing them to Tess. “Here you go. Take her for a spin, but if JC drives make sure she keeps it under ninety on the freeway.” He flashed JC a wicked grin that made her stomach drop to her toes.
JC thought her knees might give out so she gripped the large iron door handle for support.
“JC drive? Ha! Trust me, she won’t get a chance. And I can’t make you any promises about keeping it under ninety.” Tess jiggled the keys in her hands.
JC watched Reed and Tom round the corner at the end of the drive. For the past several years, every time Tom crossed over that property line, they jokingly hoped he’d come back with no bullet holes. However, now her heart beat in painful throbs hoping Reed would return in one piece.
The mere idea seemed comical because of the sheer size difference between Reed and Tom. Reed could snap him in two without breaking a sweat, however Tom was a very powerful, influential man. He knew all the right people, oozed an absurd amount of charm and possessed a direct confidence everyone loved and admired. But, if someone pissed him off or interfered with his family, career or cause he supported, they’d better be prepared to feel his wrath.
“I can’t stand this.” She grimaced, heading for the gates in a brisk walk. “Maybe I should go with them.”
Tess jogged up beside her and jiggled the keys. “They’ll be fine. Come on. Let’s go for a ride.”
“But, I should—”
“Get in.” Tess led her to the passenger side of the Camaro.
“But—”
“Baby girl, I got news for you, we weren’t invited and your new boyfriend just called your step-daddy out on field to play ball.” Tess affirmed her analogy with a crack of a smile. “Obviously, Reed can handle himself.”
JC gulped down her angst and begrudgingly opened the car door. “Are you sure, Momma? Maybe we should go chec—”
“Will you please just get in?” Tess opened the door, climbed into the car and eased down into the black leather seat, making a loud comfortable sigh. She adjusted the seat and wiggled her eyebrows. “I kind of like Reed already. He has superb taste in cars.”
With the turn of a key, they took off, thundering down the road. It didn’t take long for JC’s smile to mimic her mother’s. Both wore huge grins plastered across their faces. Thirty minutes into the drive JC and Tess were on their third Nickel Back song and singing at the top of their lungs, flying down Highway 1.
An hour later, they returned home to find Reed and Tom drinking coffee on the back balcony. JC took one look at Reed and her heart went into overdrive. She picked up her pace, nearly shoving her mom out of her way. What the heck is wrong with me? Relax. Don’t tackle him to the ground in front of your parents.
She deliberately forced herself to slow down when all she really wanted was to run to him, throw her arms around his neck and nuzzle into his woodsy scent.
By the time she reached his side, her chest heaved up and down. She took a seat right on his heavily muscled thigh, constraining herself for three whole seconds before leaning back into his chest and placing a kiss of affection on his warm cheek heated by rays of sunshine.
Conversation hummed easily between Tom and Reed, but she only picked up a few key words sifting through the smog of lustful thoughts encompassing her brain. Cravings pinged through her body and she tried to focus on their discussion through her haze of desire, but one look into his glacier-blue eyes made her head swim.
Both men seemed at ease with one another and Tom, to her amazement, acted like his pleasant self, not an overprotective parent. They conversed about the eco-friendly humanitarian project that Tom and Tess were heading up in the French Polynesia. That led into a discussion of environmental building materials Reed planned to use on his home.
Tess’s ears perked up when the conversation turned to Reed’s remodel. She had a love for design and architecture. Reed pointed toward the living room and began asking questions about the renovation of the fireplace. Tess motioned him inside. Reed patted JC on the bottom with a slight lift, encouraging her off his lap.
Tess’s passion for building poured out as her voice ascended higher. She offered Reed every minute detail about the hand hammered copper fireplace and the massive two thousand pound boulder molded into the solid concrete hearth.
JC hung back with Tom on the balcony. “So?” she questioned apprehensively, knowing if she dared to ask the question, her stepdad would willing oblige a truthful answer.
“So what?” His blank stare never faltered from the ocean.
“Don’t give me that crap. What do you think of Reed?”
He bobbed his head fr
om side-to-side in a hum-drum sort-of way. “Well, he’s from Texas,” Tom jeered, “so he has manners. He seems confident and smart with a lot of unpolished edges. The complete opposite of any other man I’ve ever seen you with. That being said, he’s alright.”
Anxiety uncoiled from her vertebras in a strained exhale.
“Although, I noticed a flaw right off the get go.” Highhanded amusement now turned into a mocking smile.
“A flaw?” she snickered doubtfully.
“Yep. He doesn’t snowboard or ski.”
“Pshh.” She scoffed, throwing her hands to her hips. JC’s timid stature morphed into that of poised self-assurance. “I’ll fix that over Thanksgiving.”
JC spun on her toes, leaving Tom holding onto the stainless steel railing for support, his jaw nearly brushing the floor.
“Reed, you don’t snowboard?” she interrupted.
“No.” His deep voice dripped with sweetness. “Is that a requirement?”
“Not necessarily.” JC cinched her finger through his belt loop, tugging him closer.
Tom interjected. “As long as you love the snow and you’re prepared to participate in JC’s snowboarding 101 and willing to get pummeled because she won’t show you any mercy just because you’re a newbie,”—he shot his wife a nod of revelation—“JC said she’s going to teach Reed how to board over Thanksgiving.”
“Well,”—Tess’s mouth opened and closed like a fish—“of course, she’ll teach you over Thanksgiving...five months from now.” She silently counted the months on her fingers.
Reed bowed his head, but JC could see a glint of humor deepening his laugh lines as he tried to hide his husky laugh.
Before JC could utter a word of complaint, a chirp chirp chirp interrupted the conversation.
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