Reed tried to comfort her. “Darlin’, they’re good people. They’re gonna be happy for me.”
“I’m sure they’re wonderful people. You still should’ve warned me,” she responded gruffly until she noticed complete bewilderment plastering his face. “It’s like a code, Reed. I know it sounds cliché and juvenile, but believe me, no woman is going to be nice to their best friend’s husband’s new girlfriend.”
Even though Reed’s situation was completely different because he’d experienced grief and heartbreak through a tragic loss of his wife, it’d take a miracle for this woman to accept her. Just because Reed didn’t know who JC was when they first met, any woman with a subscription to People or numerous other magazines would know exactly who she was. Women greeted JC one of two ways until they got to know her: they either acknowledged her with giddy excitement because of her somewhat illustrious modeling career and famous step-father or they out-and-out snubbed her.
Strolling hand-in-hand toward the ranch house, she inspected the gorgeous property. Sam and Jenny’s home was quite a spread, acres of ranchland in an established neighborhood, complete with three dormers and a swing on the wraparound porch. It had all the makings of a family.
JC found herself wondering about Reed’s life when he was married. Envisioning him with another woman was difficult. Especially with a woman he loved so deeply, deep enough to marry and plan a life with. He didn’t say much about Annie, but when he did, there was a light in his eyes. A brightness that glimmered like the setting sun on the ocean and just like a sunset it quickly faded into darkness. He carried the burden and loss heavily in his heart. He loved Annie wholeheartedly and it made her wonder if Reed could ever feel that kind of love again.
Her tummy twisted with butterflies and pings of envy for the woman who’d captured his heart. She exhaled between pursed lips and released his hand, wafting her clammy palms back and forth in the air. “Dang it’s hot here.” She let the one hundred degree plus temperature and high humidity take the blame for her sweaty hands.
“Ready?” He leaned in, pressing a sweet tender kiss on her lips. “Don’t be nervous, darlin’.”
She nodded.
Reed didn’t even knock, he merely turned the knob and walked in. Air conditioning came as a welcomed relief from the oppressive heat.
JC pinched at the fabric of her cotton summer dress, pulling it away from her sticky damp skin. Country music resonated through the surround sound, filling the elegant home with a relaxed atmosphere, but the house was empty.
“Where is everybody?” JC whispered, squeezing his hand, scanning the kitchen through a large archway.
Reed tossed her an anxious smile, making his way through the house to the backyard. Chatter gained momentum, echoing through the room as they reached the sliding glass door. Stepping beyond the glass panel revealed a deluxe outdoor living space. Kids of every age filled the pool and chased each other through the expansive yard with super soaker guns. Barstools flanked a long rectangular U-shaped bar, mimicking the ranch house with rustic posts and clay colored roof tiles.
Reed walked hastily past partygoers congregating beneath the cool misters, heading directly for the huge BBQ at the open end of the bar. A blur of smiling faces caught JC’s attention as people tapped one another’s shoulders drawing their attention to Reed. No one said a word, allowing Reed to sneak up behind the stocky man tending the grill, boisterously going on about the morning events.
Reed clasped his hand firmly on his shoulder with a hardy shake. “Don’t go breaking your arm patting yourself on the back just yet!”
Thunder erupted into a full-bodied laugh as Sam grabbed Reed’s hand, yanking him against his solid frame. “What? You think I’m gonna give you any credit? Hell no!”
Releasing Reed from his grip, Sam immediately turned his attention to JC, giving a curt nod before opening his arms wide. “Hello, sweetheart, you must be Reed’s new someone.”
JC flushed, returning the hug patting on his wide shoulder kindly, stepping back to shake his hand. “I’m JC. You must be Sam.”
A few gray hairs invaded his temple and a web of lines pleated the corner of his eyes. “Sam I am!” he boomed, giving JC and Reed a deliberate once over.
Sam wore his hospitality like a good ole country boy; big, loud and the life of the party. Orneriness shined brightly in his boyish smirk. JC adored him instantly. His wide smile carried the warmth and generosity of her favorite teddy bear growing up as a kid, always there when she needed it.
Several men joined in the welcoming committee with wives by their sides, everyone saying polite hellos, asking how Reed liked California. Reed draped his left arm over JC’s shoulder, affectionately claiming her as his own, introducing her to everyone in close proximity. She concentrated on remembering names of each couple.
As the conversation buzzed, JC noticed a few lucid glances between the women, nonchalantly sizing JC up. She’d experienced this exact greeting countless times over the last several years. It was always at this precise moment of introduction she wished no one knew her name. Most of all that no one knew her stepdad’s name. By the end of the evening, she’d be able to tally the question, “So what’s it like to be related to Tom Clemmins?”
Silently, she gave a ghost of a shudder as nerves chased across her shoulders. JC straightened her posture, shaking off the timidity and absorbing the hum of chatter taking place around her.
A petite blonde woman weaved through the crowd. “Bout time you show up.”
She raised to her toes wrapping a free arm around Reed’s neck, carefully coddling a baby between them.
“Well hello, sweetheart.” Reed’s Texas drawl hung heavily like the moisture in the air as he returned the hug, placing a courteous kiss to her cheek. She released Reed, revealing not one but two babies on her hip. Twins. A boy and a girl. Reed touched his thumb to one baby’s cheek then the other. “My gosh, look how big they’re gettin! How old are they now?”
“They’re seven months old now. You’d know that if you came home more often,” she snarked lightheartedly.
Reed jerked his head to the side with whoof, pretending she’d given him a punch to the jaw. “Yeah, yeah, I know.” He wrapped an arm around JC. “Jenny, I want you to meet JC.”
Jenny studied JC as leisurely as the armadillo they witnessed crossing the road. “Hi,” she bit through a forged smile.
“It’s nice to meet you.” JC lifted her finger toward the cooing baby girl stretching her tiny hand toward JC, beads of perspiration gathering on her delicate nose.
Jenny adjusted the weight of the two babies on her hip, keeping them out of range.
JC swallowed the discernments and dropped her hand. “Beautiful babies.”
“Thank you,” she replied with smooth southern charm.
Reed relieved her of the boy, holding him in the palm of his hand. He tossed him into the air while the baby gave a jubilant shriek and kicked his feet. “He looks just like his daddy.”
“He’s as bad-tempered as him too. Especially when he doesn’t get any sleep.”
“You talkin’ bout me or the baby?” Sam snatched the boy from Reed, placing him back on Jenny’s hip. He smooched the top of the twin’s curly blonde hair and patted his wife’s bottom.
“Both!” Jenny taunted with a soft laugh. Her tired eyes gleamed brightly, winking at her husband.
Sam presented Reed with a red apron reading Beef: it’s what’s for dinner. “I need help flipping steaks.”
Rising smoke from the grill carried the distinct aroma of mesquite through the air. Flames licked at the edges of the meat making it sizzle. Reed cupped her jaw, brushing his lips on the edge of her ear. “I’ll be back,” he whispered.
She gave a quick nod and returned the show of affection with a kiss on the cheek before crossing the apron ties at his back and tying it in a knot at his waist.
Jenny watched with a translucent gaze, tucking a piece of her blond bob behind her ear. She was a tiny woman with
delicate striking features, accentuated by her sun kissed golden skin.
JC stammered in attempts of starting a conversation. “You have a lovely home.”
The baby girl began to fuss. “Thank you.” Jenny swayed back and forth, patting the girl gently on the back. She held her silence, focusing on the babies, causing JC stomach to coil.
“What are their names?”
“Annie and Andrew.”
JC’s eyes widened. She tried to suppress the mounting angst from stretching across her face. It should’ve come as no surprise Jenny and Sam would name their daughter after Reed’s wife, but it would’ve been nice if he’d mentioned it. You’re being ridiculous. He barely spoke of her. JC knew the subject was too painful. She gave a slow nod, and empathy tugged between her brows.
“They’re adorable. My nephews are—”
Annie let out a loud wail and threw up in a projectile fashion. Jenny’s quick reflexes kept most of it on the grass, but curdled milk dribbled down the front of her shirt, landing on her bare foot.
JC instinctively reached for the baby boy to lend a helping hand, but was quickly rejected with a twist of Jenny’s shoulder. The little girl rubbed her eyes and rested her head on her mom’s chest. “You’ll have to excuse me. She hasn’t been feeling well all morning.”
JC would’ve offered her assistance, but it was clear by the way Jenny retreated to the house she didn’t need or want any help. Strike one! That didn’t go very well. Within a few minutes of being at Sam and Jenny’s home, JC realized this was Reed’s family or at least the closest thing he had left of a family. She wanted to make a good impression. So far, not so good.
JC turned toward the bar, resting her arms on the granite bartop and ordered a water from the young man decked out in a cowboy hat tending bar. She introduced herself to two women sipping Margaritas beside her. The ladies each said hello with a frosty nod, their smiles as fake as their best assets. Judging by the slur in the woman’s L’s and a heavy list in her friend’s posture as she slouched over the bar, it wasn’t their first drink of the afternoon.
After twenty minutes of small talk with the bartender and a few others, JC moseyed closer to the BBQ to be with Reed.
Reed was well-liked by everyone. He attentively led her through the afternoon, his fingers looped through hers or his palm rested on the small of her back. He talked in her ear, telling funny stories from his past. Jenny was nonexistent for most of the day. JC only saw her briefly from a distance, floating between friends holding onto a baby monitor before returning to the house.
The sun started to set and the party began to clear out. They gathered around the bar with Sam and several other couples. His friends were very nice with a down-home charm. She exhaled a sigh of contentment, wrapping her arm around Reed’s bicep, snuggling into the spicy scent of his neck.
This was the first time JC had ever felt like part of a couple, half of a duo. A team. His friends acknowledged them as a couple, referring to them as ya’ll. JC’d never been happier to be part of something. She wasn’t just a piece of arm candy and neither was he. She and Reed were partners and it felt amazing.
Excusing herself from the group, she moseyed her way to the hall bathroom, hoping she’d run into Jenny, but the house was empty. A narrow table in the hall caught her attention. Family pictures adorned the glass table. A large silver frame held a photo of Jenny and Sam’s wedding, another showed off a great photo of the twins. Noticing a familiar handsome face, she reached for a frame wrapped in brown leather.
JC’s chest turned to ice, stealing her breath, staring at a picture of Reed and Annie together with Sam and Jenny. The photo was taken at a restaurant on the beach. Annie and Jenny linked arm-in-arm in the center of the picture with radiating smiles. Annie was beautiful, dark espresso hair accentuated her pale skin.
JC touched her thumb to Reed’s fulsome smile that revealed his happiness, an easiness she hadn’t seen him wear before. She was the love of his life. Will he ever be that content with me? The imaginary bucket she’d been filling full of the positive reassurances, claiming Reed as her own, just had the bottom cut out of it.
Her throat constricted around insecurities and her nose tickled as she fought back the burn of tears threatening to come. How can I ever make him as happy as she did?
She wasn’t certain how long she’d stood in the hallway before the sound of the sliding glass door being opened, jolting her back to reality. She forced herself to return the picture on the table and step into the bathroom.
A chilly shutter trickled through her as she caught a glimpse of self-doubt staring back at her in the mirror. For the first time in her life, JC wanted a man to catch her. She didn’t want to run. She didn’t want to leave his side. She felt more comfortable with Reed than without. He made her feel complete.
She splashed water on her face, grumbling, “He’s already found his true love.” She could see it in his smile. The question she’d been silently asking, stared straight at her out of a leather frame. “How am I supposed to fall in love with him if he’s already found his soul mate? I don’t want to be second.” JC dampened her neck with wet hands “A replacement. A fill in.”
Her insides twisted with uncertainty and she could scarcely breathe. Dr. Phil was in full swing, only it wasn’t her sister she wanted to bear her soul to. It was Reed.
“Pull it together. You can’t do this now.” She brushed the wetness from her cheek. “Suck it up. That’s what Tracy would say. Suck it up, JC. Everything happens for a reason.”
She collected herself and made her way into the hallway, taking another agonizing look at the picture of her boyfriend with the love of his life. Hearing voices in the kitchen, she replaced to picture to its designated spot and trudged toward the foyer. JC stopped dead in her tracks, overhearing her name mentioned in between the clatter of dishes.
“How’d she land him anyhow?”
“I don’t see what’s so great about JC Mathews anyway,” a woman sneered in a mumble.
JC edged closer to the kitchen, patiently waiting on the other side of the wall for them to leave so she could escape the hallway.
“She’s probably after his money. I’ll give him six months and he’ll be broke, crawling back in Texas, lickin’ his wounds and beggin’ Sam for full partnership.”
Recognizing the voices from the bar, she folded her arms across her chest, scowling in silence at the loathsome ridicule.
“Maybe her daddy is out of money. I don’t even like his movies. She’s not even that pretty!”
JC’s eyes narrowed deeper and her neck and ears burned with irritation. It was one thing to make erroneous statements about her, but saying unwarranted lies or bullshit about her family was an entirely different ballgame. It was like striking a match to a tumbleweed. She crept from behind the wall, still hidden from the view of the kitchen.
“Annie wasn’t that pretty either,” came a pitiable slur.
“Now, she was after his money.”
JC’s jaw flexed. She grimaced at the deplorable stabs.
“Annie was just a sugar baby trying to marry up. He got lucky if you ask me. He might’ve been stuck with her forever.”
“Or divorced for half his money.”
The conversation carried on, spewing out disparaging words, painting Annie as a gold digger looking for a sugar daddy. A culmination of jealous slurs filtered through the kitchen, pouring fuel on JC’s mounting anger.
JC dropped her arms to the side. Her fists clenched in tight balls as angry heat raged at the obnoxious hateful remarks being made about a woman who wasn’t even there to defend herself. Before she realized what she was doing, JC marched passed the archway straight into the kitchen.
The unsuspecting women who’d been downing Margaritas at the bar caught site of JC. Each put on their best forged intoxicated smile.
“Hi, JC. We were just saying how lucky Reed is.” Her tone dripped with spite and her smartly painted brows pinched upward as she struggled to hold on
to the counter for support.
JC’ lip furled. “Is that so?”
The curvy brunette smudged her finger beneath her false lashes, her blank gaze never leaving JC. “How lucky are you to date Reed. He’s quite a catch, honey.”
JC’s blood boiled. Her shoulders held rigid, ready to jump over the counter and pummel the bitch. “Get it fucking straight. I’m not his date. I’m his girlfriend, honey.”
The dark haired woman was sober enough to back step, but the other was running on liquid courage, scoffing at JC’s obvious outrage. “You better enjoy him while you can. Once a Texan, always a Texan. He’ll be movin’ home when he’s through with you. You wait and see.”
A muscle jumped in JC’s jaw. In three long strides, she stood six inches from the blond, glaring down at her perfectly etched face now heated red from annoyance. A wave of fury clouded her logic as her temper boiled over. “If Reed moves back to Texas, you can bet I’ll be at his side,” JC snarled though gritted teeth.
The woman bobbled, a frosty glare of doubt clouded her eyes.
“You can say whatever you want about me, but if I ever,”—JC quavered all over, lowering her face even closer, gaining the woman’s full attention. “ever hear you say one bad word about his wife again, I’m gonna find a shovel and bury you in a hole beside her.”
She stood frozen with her back against the counter, staring up at JC through bloodshot eyes.
It took every ounce of self-control for JC not tear her limb from limb.
Both women’s wide-eyed gape now focused beyond JC toward the kitchen archway.
Shaking with rage, she cringed inwardly. JC didn’t need to look. She knew it’d be Reed standing behind her. Slowly she inched away from the woman’s sobering face. A rush of embarrassment flooded over her. JC wasn’t sure how much he’d heard, but the scenario looked bad. She’d never attacked anyone and couldn’t manage the courage to even look at him.
Surviving Broken Page 22