Imperfect Justice (28 page)

“It’s tragic,” Jared agreed. “I hope she avails herself of some of the social services I discussed with her. She appears to be all alone in the world.”

“I know what it’s like to be alone and she’ll be okay. I’m sure she’s a strong woman after all she’s been through,” Misty observed.

“Speaking of strong women.” Jared smiled and brought her fingertips to his lips. “Now that the Hicks case is pretty much buttoned up how about you and me taking the weekend and going to the cabin? Just you and me and a roaring fire. Clothing optional.”

“Will there be chocolate too?” she asked with a giggle. Truly it sounded like heaven with or without the chocolate. With everything going on they didn’t get enough alone time together. And when the baby arrived it would surely be in short supply.

“Chocolate, strawberries. You name it. Your wish is my command, pretty Misty. So what do you say?”

“I say yes. I can’t wait to be alone with you. I may keep you naked all weekend,” she teased, loving the naughty twinkle in his blue eyes.

Jared raised his coffee cup. “Here’s to naked weekends and warm fires.”

How lucky could a girl get?

Jared wiped his boots on the welcome mat of the family home a few days later. The temperature had risen and it was a nice warm day.

“Hey, Dad. Are you here?”

“In the kitchen, son. I’m making myself a sandwich,” Gerald called from the other room. Jared pulled off his jacket and dropped it on the back of a chair before joining his father.

“Want one?” Gerald held up a loaf of bread. “We’ve got some tasty shaved ham if you’re hungry.”

Jared was hungry but Misty had sent him a text that she was making roast chicken for dinner. “Misty’s fixing dinner but I could go for a handful of those potato chips to tide me over.”

Gerald chuckled and pushed the bag closer to Jared who settled on a bar stool at the kitchen island.

“What brings you here? Is Misty doing okay?”

Funny how now that Misty was pregnant everyone asked about her and no one gave a shit about him. He didn’t mind; it was kind of funny really. It reminded him about what Ty had said.

It isn’t all about you
.

“Misty’s fine. She’s working on this amazing painting of the view from the front porch at sunrise. I’d never really looked at it before until I saw what she’d painted. It was like seeing it through new eyes.” Jared popped a few chips into his mouth. “I came to tell you that Misty and I are going to the cabin this weekend. Ty says Royce has decided to stay a little extra at the rehab center so we won’t miss him coming home.”

Jared had spoken to Royce the week before and for the first in a long time, his brother had sounded sober and clean. Happy and looking forward to the future. Jared was damn proud of Royce and what he’d been through. Hopefully now he could be a real part of this family while their father could still remember things and participate.

“He came by at lunch and let me know that. Royce sounds good. Let’s hope he can stay that way.” Gerald added Swiss cheese on top of the ham and some mustard before slicing the sandwich in half. “Are you sure you don’t want some of this?”

“I’m sure.” Jared chuckled at the look of delight on his father’s face. Lately he’d calmed down and was hardly ever angry. He also seemed to be enjoying the little things in life more than ever. Whether it was the medication or something else Jared didn’t know, but it made the entire family more peaceful.

“Well, I hope you and Misty have fun at the cabin. It’s good to get away for a few days. Are you planning to ask her to marry you while you’re there?”

The perfect opening for the conversation they needed to have. Now Jared needed to scrape up his courage to talk to his father and possibly upset him.

So much for happy and calm in the Monroe household
. It was good while it lasted.

“Dad, about that. The whole question of marriage is between me and Misty. It’s nobody else’s business.”

No point in beating around the bush. Jared threw down the gauntlet.

His father set the sandwich down on the plate and frowned. “This is about an innocent child being brought into the world without married parents, son. This is also about a child being born into the Monroe family without our name. That is my business.”

“No, it’s not,” Jared replied. “It’s no one’s business, actually. This is a private matter. As for what name this child will have Misty and I have already discussed it, and the last name will be Monroe whether she and I marry or not.”

“This is about the Monroe family reputation. How will it look if you and Misty aren’t married?”

That made Jared laugh. His father was grasping at straws. “The Monroe family reputation? Are you kidding? Our reputation doesn’t hinge on whether a tiny little blonde marries me, Dad. Our reputation is about how we treat people. If we’re honest and give a shit about our fellow man. That’s what people care about. If they judge us for whether my child is born in wedlock or out, well, then they aren’t the kind of people that I care to be around.”

“What about me?” Gerald Monroe placed his hands on the kitchen island and leaned forward so his face was inches from Jared’s. “Don’t you care how I feel about this?”

Jared smiled and shook his head. He was truly free and he had Misty to thank for it.

“No, I don’t.” He held up his hand before his father had a chance to launch into a long lecture for his middle son. “I love you, Dad, but I’m done competing for your approval. You either love me the way I am or you don’t. I’ll be sad if you don’t but I’ll have my self-respect from being my own man. Would I like to marry Misty? You bet I would. I love her and I’m figuring out that she’s the one for the rest of my life. But I am not going to manipulate her into saying yes so you’re happy. You’re going to have to decide to be happy or unhappy on your own because it’s crazy to have it be dependent on whether you can get your children to give into your whims. Royce won’t do it. Ty won’t do it. Hell, Becky only did it for the money. I’m out of the Gerald Monroe pleasing business as well.”

He could see he’d shocked his father. The man’s brows pulled down and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “I’ve never made you compete for my approval, Jared Andrew. I’ve simply wanted you to do what’s right.”

Hearing his father was like listening to himself. It’s what he’d always said to everyone. He just wanted the people around him to do what was right. But now he knew better.

Right by whom? There was more than one way to work, eat, play, and live a life.

“Actually you have,” Jared said quietly, not wanting to upset his father any further. This wasn’t about arguing or who was wrong or right. He wouldn’t be pulled into a discussion like that. “You’ve done it our whole lives and we were doing it to the people we cared about. It’s what we saw and knew. But I’m breaking the chain. I’m going to make a life with Misty and that means that her opinions count just as much as mine.”

“You would put her before your family?” Gerald asked gruffly.

“She’s carrying my baby. She is my family,” he said simply. “She’s my life.”

There was a long silence and then his father picked up the sandwich again. “Well, that’s fine. If that’s what you’ve decided. I wasn’t pushing you, you know. I was just giving my opinion.”

Someone alert the local newspaper
.

Gerald Monroe had given in to his middle son. He’d backed down and let something go. But they’d both won because Jared had set the tone for the future. Mutual respect. Just like Misty had at the diner a few days before.

In their own way they’d each had the same issue. It might be one of the reasons they felt drawn to each other.

They were stronger and better together than apart. He’d never been able to say that about any woman before but he could say it about Misty. Sweet, strong, beautiful Misty. Thank heavens she’d picked him up that cold night and given him a ride home.

Chapter Twenty-Three

J
ared’s cabin was adorable. Perched next to a small lake, the tiny log home sported only one bedroom, one bathroom, and a great room area with a roaring fireplace. It wasn’t fancy but it would certainly do for the romantic weekend they both had planned.

While Misty explored the cabin Jared brought in their bags. “How about we go for a little walk by the lake?”

The temperature was in the sixties, sunny and mild, although it would be much cooler in the evening. It would be a pleasure to walk hand-in-hand with Jared or even just sit on the porch and rock. They rarely had time for just the two of them and she was really looking forward to this weekend.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. But we should unpack the food first and put it away so that nothing gets spoiled.”

Jared laughed and shook his head. “Always so practical. Let’s get to it so we can get out and enjoy this day, or what’s left of it.”

Quickly she and Jared made short work of unpacking the groceries. “Leave a package of chicken in the refrigerator,” Jared said. “I’ll cook it on the grill for dinner tonight.”

“I love barbecue chicken and I love the idea of you cooking it,” Misty sighed. “I really am on vacation.”

“You’ll be in charge of everything else so don’t relax too much,” Jared warned with a chuckle. “But I am planning to make some of my famous barbecue sauce, so prepare to be amazed.”

That explained the bottle of molasses in one of the bags plus all of the spices. Even though they’d stopped for lunch on the way, Misty’s appetite was ready for what sounded like a wonderful meal.

“Ready?” he asked as he stowed the last of the food in the pantry and grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa.

“What’s that for?” Misty pointed to the blue and red quilt he’d tucked under his arm.

“In case we want to sit and enjoy the sunshine. I thought it would be nicer if you didn’t have to sit on the ground.”

They had been cooped up in the car for most of the morning and Misty was glad to be out in the clean, fresh air. She placed her hand into Jared’s and let him lead her down the front porch steps and around the back of the house to the large lake. The sky was a soft blue with only a few fluffy clouds here and there. The sun glistened off the water and a warm breeze caressed her face. So much has happened in these last few weeks it felt good to just relax with the man she loved.

And she did love Jared Monroe. She could admit it now, at least to herself. Every day that thought became clearer in her mind and every day the emotion grew deeper in her heart and soul. Of course she hadn’t told him yet. There simply hadn’t been an opening, the right moment, to tell him all that she was feeling. She still wasn’t sure that he felt the same, although when they were together like this she felt that he loved her.

But that nasty fear held her back. What if he only loved the baby? What if he only loved sleeping with her, making love to her? The thought of telling him her feelings and having them thrown back in her face, or the very least simply not returned was frightening.

But today she wasn’t going to think about all the things that could go wrong.

“We could go for a walk or there’s a rowboat we could take around the lake. It’s up to you, honey.”

“Do I have to row?” Misty teased. “I am the pregnant one here.”

“Your slave will do all the work,” Jared laughed. “But I may need a backrub later after all my efforts.”

“I think I know exactly what you need. In fact it will be my pleasure to give it to you.” Misty slid her arms around Jared’s waist and pressed her cheek to his wide chest. She was learning to flirt for the first time in her life. And she definitely wanted to flirt with Jared today and let him know that she wanted this weekend to be the perfect romantic getaway.

Jared dropped a kiss on the top of her head and then nibbled his way down to her ear, gently biting the lobe. A shiver ran up her spine and her body flushed with heat. Misty wasn’t sure she was going to be able to wait until tonight to make love to this most perfect man.

“Maybe we should take that boat ride later,” she suggested. “I have a feeling we’ll both be thinking about the same thing the entire time we’re out on the water.”

“Misty, are you suggesting that we forget about this beautiful sunny day and go inside and make love?”