Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) (4 page)
Read Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) Online
Authors: Michelle Day
“Why do you mollycoddle him
so much? He’s in the wrong and still you protect him.” Michael asked her.
“Michael, he was defending a
girl, I find that quite honourable.”
“He just likes the attention
getting into trouble gives him.”
“Don’t be ridiculous Michael,
he was doing what he thought was right.”
“Stop defending him woman.”
Michael bellowed “He’s a trouble maker, he always has been, he’s the one who
knocked Matthew’s teeth out last summer and cost me a fortune in dental bills
and you defended him then, he thinks he can do as he pleases because you pander
to his every whim, I’m sick of it, it stops now.”
“Don’t shout at Mum.”
Paul’s voice from the kitchen door “She hasn’t done anything to
deserve that.”
“Paul
be
quiet.” Monica warned but she wasn’t quick enough to stop Michael as he lunged
at the boy and she felt physically sick as she heard the awful thud of
Michael’s fist connecting with Paul’s face.
The beating continued for a
good five minutes with Monica vainly trying to pull Michael off the boy now
crouched on the floor. Michael, his anger finally spent, grabbed his car keys
and sped away from the house.
Guiding Paul to the bathroom,
she sat him on the edge of the bath and began to clean the bruised and bloodied
face, pushing Paul’s fringe off his face, she encouraged him to look at her
“You mustn’t come between your father and me.” she told him “I can handle him,
you are still a boy, he will lash out at you not me.”
“I hate him.” was all Paul
replied.
Monica decided it would be
best for Paul if he stayed out of Michael’s way until their flight to Spain and
after a brief discussion with her parents, Paul was moved to his Grandparents
home for the next two weeks.
Paul immensely enjoyed
spending time with Monica’s parents, through them he had learned to speak
Spanish and was as fluent as they were, his Grandmother, Paula had begun to
teach him everything he would need to know to run a business, something he had
expressed an interest in as he desperately didn’t want to work for Michael when
he was older but recognised that he would probably have to do a short spell at
Jensen Incorporated in order to earn the money he would require to set up on
his own.
Grandfather Jackson and Uncle
John would take him fishing on their boat, teaching him that he didn’t always
need to be tense. Between them they were also the ones responsible for Paul’s
future love of cars, Jackson being the proud owner of a Silver Aston Martin DB5
and Uncle John had recently purchased an E-Type Jaguar.
Paul was a welcome addition
at the small factory the Paloma family owned to step up the production of their
now designer shoes. He learned almost every aspect of the shoe making process
and while it wasn’t something he wanted to pursue, he found it immensely
interesting and would spend a lot of time with the workers, learning their jobs
or even making cups of tea when they were up against a deadline and wouldn’t
leave their work stations. His down to earth attitude and fantastic smile
coupled with the fact that he would speak their native tongue all day, every
day won him the hearts of the Paloma employees.
“He really is one of us.”
Jackson commented as he watched his Grandson carry a pile of souls from one
work bench to another, laughing and joking with the workers as he went.
Jackson’s office was the floor above the factory, glass walled, he was able to
survey his empire just by glancing up.
“He is a natural leader; do
you see the way the workers respond to him? He does genuinely show an interest
in each and every one of them, the fact that he has learnt our language and
speaks to them in Spanish has won them all over, he works hard too, Michael should
be proud of the boy instead of beating him and suppressing his good nature.”
Paula agreed.
“He doesn’t need Michael, he
has us and Monica and I have to admit, Charles and Penny have been very
supportive of him, I’m sure Michael hates that.” Jackson smiled “We’ll see how
they get on when we return home to Spain,
then
we will
decide if Paul should return home or live with us permanently.”
“I know you love the boy
Jackson but he isn’t our son, I’m sure Monica doesn’t see this as a permanent
arrangement and she will want Paul home before the start of the school year,
she’ll want to spend some time with him before he goes to Boarding School.”
“That’s another thing I
disagree with, why send the boys away? Paul’s happier here. Look at him, he
smiles, laughs and is relaxed around us, do you see him behave like that in his
own home?” Jackson protested, he adored all his grandchildren but recognised
that Paul needed a little more attention than the others and he didn’t like to
think of the boy being suppressed by his father.
“I know how you feel honey.”
Paula came to hug her husband “But we can only guide him, he has to make his
own path, he knows he can come to us if he needs help and we have a month in
Spain to look forward to, Paul loves it out there, he’ll have time to find
himself and it means that Michael won’t put a foot wrong all the time we are
out there plus Paul will speak Spanish all the time which irritates Michael no
end.”
Paul travelled with his
Grandparents to the airport where he was reunited with his siblings and Monica
who wrapped her arms around her son and held him tightly.
“Can’t
breathe Mum.”
Paul laughed when
Monica refused to let him go then when she finally released him “Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, I’ve missed you so
much.” she kissed his cheek.
“I missed you too, bet it’s
been quiet at home without
me
.” he grinned.
“Understatement of the year
dude” Matthew came over and slapped his brother on the back “I’ve missed
listening to you fart all night.”
“Matthew!” Monica exclaimed.
“Sorry Mum.” Matthew led his
brother away leaving Monica to greet her parents “Seriously dude, you really
wound Dad up this time, what
did you do
?”
“I told him not to shout at
Mum and
he
spazzed out.” Paul replied “He has a mean
right hook on him, still, I had a great time with Grandma and Gramps while you
were slaving away at school, even earned a bit of money so all’s good.” Paul
grinned at his brother then noticed his sister and her best friend “Things have
just got considerably better.” he finished.
Matthew turned to see what
his brother was looking at “Oh yeah, Mum said Tessa could bring a friend as she
gets left out when you and I go off.”
“I love my sister.” Paul said
“She has the best friends.”
“Suzanne’s way out of your
league bro, there’s no way she’s going to be interested in you virgin boy.”
Matt mocked.
“And you have loads of
experience I take it? Do you think I care if she’s in my league or not? She’s
just so nice to look at; I think this holiday is going to be awesome.”
“I have more experience than
you, lost my cherry last week actually” Matt boasted.
“Nice one Matt.” Paul gawped
at his brother “Always thought I would be first.”
“You have some catching up to
do brother.”
Two
Suzanne Smith, Tessa’s best
friend was a petite blond who had developed early and had an absolutely
stunning figure, the perfect hour glass. She had known Tessa since nursery
school and subsequently the twins. She had watched the boys grow into tubby
toddlers and then teenagers.
The teenage years had been kind
to the Jensen twins. Matt had remained stocky and the shorter of the two boys ,
his love of sport had toned his puppy fat into rippling muscle while his blond
hair had been allowed to grow from its normal tight crop and was showing signs
of beginning to curl in a most endearing manner. Matt was quick to smile and
treated her as a sister making an effort to include both girls in many of his
activities when they appeared to be at a loose end but she had caught his
appreciative glances when the weather allowed her to wear tiny skirts and even
tinier tops.
Paul had grown tall and lean
with a naturally athletic body which he had no problem displaying as he would
quite often appear in the family kitchen or living room in just a pair of jeans
or boxers while seeking Monica to find out where a certain top or other garment
would be. He was the quieter of the twins but equally the more confident of the
two, he wouldn’t get embarrassed when Suzanne caught him on more than one
occasion looking at her breasts encased in one of her tight tops and he would
meet her eyes with a cocky grin twitching at the corner of his mouth. Paul had
also noticed that she had a particular fancy for dark haired men, recognising
that he was exactly her type boosted his confidence immensely. She had no doubt
what so ever that Paul had already had the pleasure of exploring at least one
of the many females that flocked around him at school. His dark good looks and
volatile nature made him her perfect match; she was looking forward to this holiday
and seeing just how far she would be able to push him.
In recent years Michael had
purchased a private plane, mainly for business use but it came in handy for
group holidays such as this and was so much nicer than standard first class.
The previous two weeks since he had laid into Paul had been peaceful with the
removal of what he considered to be his wayward son from the house. He felt a
flash of anger upon seeing the boy now and the way the rest of the family
welcomed him back into the fold and he just knew the boy would spend the next
month mocking him in Spanish and he wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about
it.
Tessa, Suzanne, Matt and Paul
commandeered the seats at the rear of the cabin away from the adults. Sinking
into the lush white leather seats to await take off and the customary snack
provided by the small, highly paid staff, Suzanne noticed that Paul had turned
a most unattractive shade of green.
“What’s up with your
brother?” she leaned closer to Tessa.
“He doesn’t like to fly.”
Tessa replied surveying her younger sibling “It’s not that bad Paul.” she
teased “Statistics say that we probably won’t crash”
,
the plane had begun to taxi along the runway.
“Shut up.” he murmured
gripping the arms of his seat as the plane began to speed up.
“Anyway, if we did crash, the
plane would just explode into a huge fire ball in a matter of seconds, we
wouldn’t know what hit us.” Tessa continued as the plane completed it’s take
off.
Paul unfastened his seatbelt
and bolted for the bathroom at the back of the plane.
“That was uncalled for” Matt
told his sister.
“It was a little mean”
Suzanne agreed.
“Oh give up you two, he
teases me about everything, this is the only thing that I have to get back at
him.”
Monica has also left her
seat, chatting with her parents and brother as she made her way to the galley
to check their food was being prepared before heading back to check on her
children. Noticing the empty seat, she asked.
“Is Paul in the bathroom?”
“Yeah, he went a fantastic
shade of green before he took off.” Matt told her.
Monica made her way through
the small games room and to the planes luxurious bathrooms, knocking on the
only locked door, she called her son’s name. Paul appeared shortly after her
knock looking pale and most unwell.
“Come back to you seat son,
you’ll feel better when you have eaten.”
She walked with him back to
his seat;
“Dude, do you want to sit by
the window? The view is awesome and it might take your mind off feeling sick.”
Matt offered.
“Because looking at the
ground hundreds of miles below is going to make the sickness and my fear of
flying any better?” Paul snapped at his brother.
“It was only a suggestion.”
Matt huffed.
“Be nice.” Monica warned
“I’ll get you all something to eat, try to do something to take your mind off
the flight.”
Monica was right of course,
Paul did feel better after he had eaten and although it was only a short
flight, he decided the best way to pass it would be to sleep. He reclined his
chair, turned onto his right side and was asleep in moments leaving the other
teenagers to amuse themselves.
He slept so soundly that he
didn’t even wake when the plane landed. He was shaken awake by Suzanne and was
pleasantly surprised to find that he was eye level with her breasts as she
leant over him to nudge him awake.
“That’s a nice sight to be
woken up to.” he stretched and met her pale brown eyes.
“You have no shame” she told
him.
“Not when you wear tops like
that.” he answered, his eyes dropping once more to her breasts wishing they
could stay as they were right now so that he could reach into her top and guide
the delightful orbs between his lips, he began to smile as he noticed her
nipples hardening and once more looked into her eyes “One day.” he said
allowing his seat to glide into the upright position, unclipping his seat belt,
coming to his feet and enjoying the flush that spread over her cheeks.
