Unexpected Love (Jo's Story) (54 page)

“Hey,” he says as he sits next to me on the swing.

“Hey,” I feel my heart beating like crazy.  This man has an amazing effect on me.  I look at him and see those blue eyes and know that I can no longer be mad at him.  I belong with him and no matter what he does to make me mad that will never change.  “It didn’t take you long to get here.”

“I was just up the road, I was going to pick something up for dinner then head over to the house and check things out again, and then head home.”

“Oh,” I smile.  “I don’t think I have seen you in a hat before,” I push up the bill of the hat a little.

“I don’t wear them often.  But I need a haircut and this keeps the hair out of my face.”  He grabs my hand and kisses my palm and it instantly sends butterflies through my stomach.  “I have missed you,” he puts his finger under my chin and pulls it up so I am looking at him.  “I'm so sorry I didn’t tell you Jo.  I love you and I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you.  When you walked out of the house on Saturday I knew that I had messed up bad, but I didn’t know what to say to you until you were already to the gate.  I know I should have told you about it, nothing happened she set me up to make it look like we were having a private meeting and had someone take pictures.”

“I never thought anything happened even before I knew it was her.  I know better than that Jake.  I was more hurt that you didn’t tell me about it.  You knew it was going to end up making it on the air, you should have just told me.”

“I was hoping that Joan could have kept it under control but she has ways around Joan that I don’t understand.”

“Just do me a favor and don’t keep stuff from me.  I can’t stand seeing that stuff show up like that.  It is hard enough for me to deal with all of this as it is.”

“I know that and I am so sorry.  I'm trying to make this as easy for you as I can, that is why I didn’t tell you when she did that.  I was hoping I would be able to keep it under wraps.  I'm at the point that I don’t know what I can do anymore to keep her from saying shit.”

“Maybe you’re just trying too hard to keep her quiet?”

“She is only doing this because she is jealous Jo.  She is pissed off because I have moved on.”

“Is that what she told you?”

“No, she just told me that she is going to do everything in her power to make sure that I'm as unhappy as she is.”

“She actually said that to you?”

“Yep,” he pushes a piece of hair away from my cheek and tucks it behind my ear.

“You know that you can file a restraining order against her right, that way she can’t come near you or contact you at all.”

“Joan is already working on the paperwork now.  That is what she called me for when I was talking to you before.”

“Good,” I look up at him.  “I missed you the last two days.”

“I'm so sorry Jo; I screwed up your birthday and our one month anniversary.  I had plans for dinner and everything last night after the game.”

“How was the game, I'm sorry, I didn’t even watch I was so caught up in being pissed off at you.”

He laughs, “We won.”

“Well that’s good.”

“Did you not have the girls yesterday?”

“No, actually Barb took them.  I had some things to take care of at the house.  I had a few repairs to make on my side and Lilly’s side.”

“Look at you all repair girl,” he laughs.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you are the landlord, you have to take care of things like that.”

“Well, I can always help you with stuff you know that right?”

“Are you good at repairs?”

“Well, some of them,” he smiles.  I have missed his smile the last couple days.  “Here,” he pulls something out of his pocket and hands it to me.  It is the littlest box from Friday night that he wasn’t sure if he should give me or not.

“What’s this?”

“Your birthday present, it’s from the girls and me.”

“Shouldn’t the girls be out here then if it is from them?”

“If you want to wait I can go get them.”

“No,” I smile and open it.  Inside is a ring, it has both of the girls’ names and birthstones on it.  “A mother’s ring?”

“It was Lizzy’s idea,” he smiles.  “We went last Monday when I picked them up after school.  She told me that you used to have one but you lost it.”

“I did, but I lost it after Jarrod passed away.  I thought maybe it would turn up in my move but I still can’t find it anywhere.  Thank you,” I slip it on my finger and look at it.  “I love it,” I grab his hand.  “I love you.”

He bends down and kisses me, “I love you,” he says when he backs away.  “I promise, I will never keep anything from you again.  Ever.”

“JAKE!” I hear Lizzy yell from the door way.  She runs across the porch and jumps into his lap.  Abby is right behind her.  “I missed you,” she gives him a big hug.

“I missed you too,” he squeezes them both tight.  “Tell me about your trip to the zoo,” he pulls Abby up onto his lap.

“It was so much fun,” Abby is all smiles.  “We got to see the elephant and penguins,” she smiles.  “Mommy bought me a stuffed penguin, his name is Mr. Wobbles.”

“Oh yeah?” He laughs.

“Yeah, come on I will show him to you,” she jumps off his lap and grabs his hand and starts pulling.

“Ok,” he stands up.  “I have to go meet Mr. Wobbles,” he smiles at me.

I laugh, “Have fun.” I stand up and walk behind him and the girls.  She heads out the sliding door with Jake and I go into the kitchen and sit down at the bar.

“The girls are happy to see him,” Lisa smiles and hands me a glass of wine.

“They are always happy to see him,” I laugh.  “It would break their hearts to not have him around.”

“Good thing he isn’t going anywhere then huh?”

“Yeah, good thing,” I smile and take a drink.  I don’t think I could get rid of this man if I tried.  He loves us, all three of us.  He is not used to having to explain things to someone.  Just like I wasn’t used to having someone be as worried about me as he was with Lewis’ case.  We have things to work on, but we will get there.  I know that he is the one that I belong with, and that isn’t going to change.

“So what are you going to do with your car?”  Jake asks me when we are sitting on the porch at Mark and Lisa’s after dinner.

“Well I’m not sure yet, what would you suggest?”  I smile at him.

“Molly is still looking for a car.”

“She can have it I don’t care, not like it is anything special anyways,” I laugh.

“You can’t just give it to her,” he smiles.

“It’s my car, I can do whatever I want.”

“Ok fine,” he laughs.  “So when are you going to head out?”

I look at my phone and it is almost 7:00 already.  “I should get going soon, I need to get the girls home to bed.  They have to get up for school in the morning and I have to work.”

“Yeah, I should probably get going to, I have practice early.”

“Poor baby,” I laugh and take a drink of my wine.  “It’s too bad that only happens once and a while.”

“Oh whatever,” he laughs at me and shakes his head.  “So when are you going to come to a game?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that.  I am just trying to get through this month, then I will plan the fun stuff.”

“That’s right, Jarrod’s memorial is this Friday isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I look at him.  “Are you going to be there?”

“Do you want me there?”

“I think it would be amazing if you were there.”

“What time is it?”

“I think it starts at 4:30, then they have a dinner after.  It isn’t too many people, they have the guys from his battalion, and a couple of city guys will probably be there, maybe a few people from that community, and then family and friends, most of those you already know.  There might be some people there from my work.”

“Do you give a speech?”

“Yes, just a short one.”  I look out into the yard.  He puts his arm around my shoulders and moves closer to me.

“Sorry,” he kisses my temple.

“For what?”

“This has to be really hard for you.”

“It is, but I think what is the hardest is that the girls won’t want to be there.  Especially Lizzy.”

“Really?”  He sounds shocked.

“She hasn’t been back to the fire station since it happened.”

“I can imagine it is really hard for her.”

“Yeah, and I know it is.  I just hope that someday she is able to understand that her daddy died a hero.”

“She will,” he rubs my arm.  “You want me to go round them up?”

“Sure,” I smile at him.  “I will grab their stuff,” I follow him into the house and go to the kitchen.  I set my glass down on the counter and grab their bags by the doorway.  Lisa and Mark are out back playing with the girls and I can hear them all laughing.  I walk to the door and see that Jake is stuck in the slide that he was trying to go down.  I can’t help but laugh. 

“Lizzy, why did you tell me to go down when you knew I wasn’t going to fit,” he says to her.  She is standing at the bottom giggling.  He squirms his way out and swoops her up when he gets to the bottom.  “Ok girls, say good bye, mommy wants to get you home in bed,” he sets her down.  The girls give Mark and Lisa both hugs and come toward me.

“Thanks again for dinner,” I say to Lisa after I tell the girls to go out and get in the new car.

“No problem, I’m glad you got a chance to talk to Jake,” she gives me a hug.  “You call me if you need anything.  I can talk anytime.”

“Ok,” I laugh.  I turn and head to the front door and I hear Jake say goodbye and walk out behind me.  I toss the bags in the back of the car and close the gate.

“So you’re going to take the new car home?”  He walks up behind me.

“Yeah, I text your sister and told her to come and pick up the impala,” I smile.  “She said she would have Ryan bring her over yet tonight to get it.”

“I don’t know about you,” he smiles.  “Well, I guess I will talk to you later,” he runs his finger down my arm.

“I guess,” I look at him.  “You better say goodbye to the girls,” I smile.

“Of course.”  He walks over to Lizzy’s door and pulls it open.  “You girls be good tonight,” I hear him say.  I walk to the driver’s door and pull it open and get in. 

“Are you coming over tonight?”  Abby asks Jake.

“I don’t think so, I have to get up early for practice,” he tells her.  I see her face drop and she looks like she is going to cry.

“Don’t you like us anymore?”  Oh crap, here come the tears, I should have known this was going to happen, they haven’t gotten to spend much time with him the last few days and they can sense when something is wrong.

“Oh Abby, I love you, all three of you, but this is my really busy time.  I play every weekend now and I have to work hard to make sure that I stay in tip top shape so I don’t get hurt.  Maybe we can go out to dinner or something tomorrow night?”

“We miss you,” Lizzy looks at him.  Crap now she is going to lay a guilt trip on him.

“Girls, you knew that Jake wasn’t going to be able to spend as much time with us, remember mommy explained that to you.”

“But mom, how is it any different than if he goes home?  All he would have to do is get up early at our house, just like he would at home.”  Lizzy says to me.  That girl is too smart for six.

“Lizzy,” Jake says to her.  “Listen, I have to get up really early, earlier than normal.  I don’t want to wake you and your mom up when I have to get up.  It’s not fair to you.”

“So what are you going to do when we move in with you?  We will hear you get up then.”

Jake looks at me.  I don’t know what to tell him.  This little girl is as smart as they come.  “Sorry Lizzy, I am not coming over tonight.”  He says to her.  I think that is the first time he has sounded stern like that with her.  I see her face drop as he shuts the door.  He walks around the car to my door.  I roll my window down.  “Man that girl,” he says quietly.

“Yeah, well, I think she knows what this week is.  I think she will be like this all week unfortunately.”

“Yeah, I suppose.  Listen Jo, are we ok?”

“Yes, we are fine,” I smile.  “When do you want to do something this week?  You are out of town this weekend aren’t you?  Oh shit, that means you leave Thursday doesn’t it?”  I forgot about that.  That means he won’t be able to make it Friday for the Memorial.

“Yes, I am out of town, but I talked to coach about it already I think last week when I realized it was this weekend.  I am catching a plane out on Saturday morning.  I wasn’t going to miss it if you wanted me there with you.”

“You amaze me,” I smile.  “Well, when do you want to do something then?  I know the girls will want to spend some time with you, and I do of course.”

“What days work for you?  We don’t have practice Thursday, most of the team will be gone already.”

“I have nothing going on this week.”

“Ok, well let me see if I have anything this week, I don’t think I do, I will text you later?”

“Works for me,” I smile.  “I need to get the crabs home to bed.”

“Ok,” he grabs my hand. “I’m not ready for you to leave yet.”

“Sorry, they need to get to bed.  You know, you can come over if you want.”

“Really?”

“Yes, why would you think I wouldn’t want you over?”

“I didn’t know after the last couple days.  I didn’t want to push my luck.”

“Jake, I love you, as mad as I was that you didn’t tell me what was happening, I am not going to let you off the hook that easily.  Why don’t you go home, pack a bag and come stay for a couple days with us.  I would love you being there, and so will they.”

“Ok,” he smiles then kisses me.  “Let them stay up until I get there?”

“Sure,” I smile.

“See you in a few minutes then,” he smiles then walks to his car.  I start the car and pull out of the driveway and head toward my house.  I look in the mirror and see both girls are sitting there with sad faces.  I just smile.  They really adore Jake.  I love that they have taken so easily to me dating someone.  I don’t think they will have to get to know another man like this.  I think this is the real thing.  After all we have gone through over the last month I still want to be with him and cannot see my life without him.  A few minutes later I am pulling into the garage at home.  “Alright girls,” I say as I turn off the car.  “Let’s go in and start getting ready for bed.”  I don’t say anything to them about Jake coming over.  I don’t think they heard me tell him to come over.  We get out and go into the house.  I leave the garage open so he can park in there and take them in the house and get jammies out for them.  I am standing in the kitchen getting stuff ready for their lunches and they are in brushing their teeth when I hear the service door to the garage open. 

“Hey,” Jake says as he peeks around the corner at me. 

“Well that didn’t take you long,” I smile.

“Nope, just got done doing laundry today so all my clothes were sitting downstairs.  Just had to throw them in a bag and go,” he smiles.  “Are the girls still up?”

“They were brushing their teeth,” I smile.

“Perfect,” he smiles then turns and walks toward their bathroom.  I hear them start giggling and assume he told them he was staying.  I smile and finish packing their lunches and put them in the fridge.  “They are all ready for bed.  Mind if I read them a story?”

“Nope, go ahead,” I smile.  “I will take a shower then.”

“Sounds good,” he smiles and walks over to me.  “Baby I missed you so much the last couple days, and I cannot wait to hold you all night.”  He bends down and kisses me.  I put my arms around his neck and pull him into me.  I have missed him so much the last couple days.  My need for him has gotten stronger since I haven’t talked to or seen him.  He pulls away from me.  “I’m thinking that you have missed me as well,” he smirks.

“A lot more than I had anticipated,” I smile.

“Well, you get in the shower, and I will get the girls to bed and then we will make up for the last two days of not seeing each other,” he kisses my cheek.

“Ok,” I say and pull my arms away from him.  He turns and goes toward Lizzy’s room and then I hear the door shut.  I smile and make sure that the garage door is shut and make sure all the doors are locked and the lights are off.  Once I check everything I go up to my room and grab some pajamas and go to my bathroom.  I turn the shower on and get in.  Once I am done relaxing and wash up I get out and dry off and get dressed and go to my room.  Jake is not in there yet, which doesn’t surprise me.  I assume they have probably talked him into a few books.  I lay down in bed and cover up and turn on the TV.  I avoid any news channels because I don’t need to see our faces on the news right now.  I don’t know if there is anything about us, but I don’t want to chance it.  I find a show to watch and just lie there. 

“Hey,” Jake is rubbing my arm.  I open my eyes and look at him.  “Tired?”  He smiles.

“A little,” I laugh.  “Get the girls to bed finally?”

“Yes, they are both out like a light,” he says then crawls into bed next to me.  I sit up a little for him to get in.  Once he is lying down I snuggle up next to him and he wraps his arms around me.  “What are you watching?”

“Not sure, anything but news,” I say.

“There shouldn’t be any more reports about us Jo.  I told Joan that this needs to end at some point.  Trisha can’t be getting around her anymore.  I don’t need the press dragging your name through the mud.  I told you I would protect you from that part of my life and so far I have failed horribly.  I’m really sorry that this has been such a bad first month for us.”

“I don’t think it has Jake.  Sure we have had a few things that were aired about us that weren’t pleasant, but I don’t think I could ask for anything more from you.  You have been amazing to the girls and me.  Until a month ago I thought I would be alone forever.  I had no reason to think I would find someone else to spend my life with and then I ran into you.  I couldn’t be happier.”

“I couldn’t either.  I was so scared I had lost you Jo.  I was stupid and I’m sorry.  I have never had to deal with something like this before.  I was heartbroken when you walked out of my house Saturday, and I thought for sure that I would never see you again.  I’m sorry I went crazy and went to everyone’s houses, but I was desperate to talk to you about it.  I know I should have just told you about it when I got home, but I didn’t know how you would react.”

“I have no reason not to trust you Jake.  How many times do I have to tell you, I am committed to this, and you told me that you were too?  I believe you, I have no reason not to.  You love the girls and me, and I know that.  There is so much that you have done for us, and you wouldn’t do those things if you didn’t want to be with us.  Hell most guys don’t stick around with the kids in the picture.  You know, in the last month we have committed to a lot with each other.  We are moving in together once the house is built, we decided that we will get married eventually, and I told you that I want a family with you.  I know that you will always consider the girls as yours and I love that, but I know how much you want your own family as well.  Jake, I have never been more sure about something in my life than I am about us being together.  Even when I was pissed off at you this weekend I still wanted to be with you.  You have my heart.  You have since you walked through my front door on our first date.”  I look into those amazing blue eyes and smile.  “I love you Jake that is not going to change now or ever.”  He smiles that smile and me and pulls me close to kiss me.