Chapter Six
The tension in the kitchen was palpable now. She could feel it. The air was charged with memories.
She heard him inhale slowly. He said nothing.
Good. She was not prepared to do battle. Not yet.
“Can you get the jam? It’s in the fridge. And the orange juice too, please.”
She forced her tone steady, clinging to the small task like a lifeline. This was not the time to rehash history.
His chair squeaked as he got up and did her bidding.
She shook her head and forced herself to try to remain calm. She still could not wrap her mind around that Axel was here.
But he was here and it felt as if they’d never been apart.
She could feel him all around her. His unique scent, his overwhelming presence, his body heat as he passed her and opened the fridge door. His nearness wrapped around her like a memory she hadn’t invited.
“You still like maple syrup, I see,” he said with a chuckle as he gazed into her fridge.
“Brady makes it from the sap from the sugar maple trees on his property.”
“Can’t wait to try it with pancakes.”
Jenna nodded.
He stood so close to her. She could smell him.
Male. Heat. Soap.
She inhaled him deeply, slowly. She had the urge to look at him as he reached into the fridge, but she didn’t dare.
And then he’d retrieved the orange juice and jam, then brought them to the table where he sat down again as if he just belonged here. As if he hadn’t been out of her life for so many years.
A well of emotion rose inside of her again. She blinked hard, willing the sting behind her eyes to settle. It took all her control not to just fall apart. She focused on breathing slowly and finishing up with the eggs.
After a while Axel broke the silence.
“Do you have a pencil and paper? I can take a look around and make a list of what needs fixing?”
The normalcy of the request steadied her more than she expected.
“Yes, notepad and pencils and pens are right there in the last drawer.”
She wanted to warn him not to make a big list because she was still trying to deal with the chaotic finances Tim had left for her to deal with. But that problem would be temporarily solved when she sold his truck. It should bring in a pretty penny.
Her stomach twisted with grief and resentment and anger at Tim for spending too much, for being so damned charming when he wanted to be and for her not seeing it until he was dead and she was out of the situation for good.
Axel was up again and out of the corner of her eye she watched him slide that drawer open with his large hand and pick out a pencil and notebook. Then he returned to his chair again.
She looked over her shoulder and he was already writing.
That man had never had a problem keeping himself busy. Total opposite of Tim, who’d be bored and looking to her for entertainment instead of finding something to do on his own.
She shouldn’t compare the two men. Should stop thinking ill of the dead.
Maybe it was part of the grieving process.
She sure hoped so because she was so pissed off at Tim.
So mad that he’d died and that he hadn’t been the man she’d thought.
Upon his death, she’d even discovered he’d had a gambling habit, along with his other vices.
Funny how things came to light after someone died.
Axel kept writing in his notebook as she served him eggs, toast, and more coffee.
“I’d forgotten how focused you become when your mind is set on something. Time for you to polish off the eggs and I need to get outside and let the horses out. Mind if I leave?”
Axel nodded and just kept scribbling.
“Okay, see you later,” she said.
He merely grunted and she almost laughed but quickly slipped outside.
The moment the warm air hit her face, she exhaled shakily, grateful for the space to breathe.
* * * * *
After leading all the horses into the adjoining pasture, Jenna sought refuge inside the coolness of the barn with her cell phone. Perspiring slightly, she grit her teeth in frustration as this call, one of many since she’d gotten out of the house, went directly to voicemail.
She disconnected. No use leaving yet another message. Cyn would get back to her in her own sweet time it seemed. She slid the cell phone back into her pocket, trying to steady her nerves before heading back outside.
How had she been so wrong in putting Cyn in charge of Cowboys Online?
The woman had appeared so competent as her assistant.
For several years, she hadn’t made a mistake.
Others in the organization had, but not Cyn.
She thought she could trust the woman, especially after Jenna had taken her under her wing and mentored her.
She’d never expected to be betrayed in this way without being told about Axel and Nick coming here.
Jenna closed her eyes and forced herself to inhale slowly to the count of four, then exhaled to the count of four.
Axel was here with another prisoner. She’d seen their gear stacked up on one of the white wood chairs on her porch.
The same chair Sam had sat in when he’d last been here.
She wished she’d been insistent on him giving her a phone number where he could be reached.
She could question him if Cyn had approached him about bringing in two prisoners to help him with his farm.
But surely if that were the case, he would have said something?
She shook her head in frustration and opened her eyes and suddenly caught movement past the open barn doors where she spied Axel standing in front of the ranch house gazing upward toward its roof.
His silhouette had her breath quickening again.
But this time not in anger or panic, but in that familiar excitement of arousal.
Suddenly her breasts felt heavier, her pussy dropped and felt oh so puffy and swollen and her ass throbbed with an intense need to be penetrated.
No. No. No.
Just don't look at him. Get back to work. Ignore him.
She blew out a tense breath. She just couldn't stop watching him. He was like a magnet. Had always been a magnet.
She observed as he scribbled something on that notebook and then he strolled to the corner of the house and disappeared on the other side.
All her tension suddenly left her shoulders as she realized something.
She wouldn't be out here all alone tonight. She had Axel and Nick.
She let out a long breath.
She really was safe.
* * * * *
Axel spent the next hour or so inspecting every inch of the house, inside and outside and discovered a lot of repairs needed to be done.
A tinge of anger zipped through him as he remembered how some inmates would brag about how much their wives or girlfriends did for them, expecting nothing in return.
Had Jenna’s late husband been a taker? Had he taken advantage of her giving nature?
He sucked in a deep breath and removed himself from his anger as he’d been taught to do while in prison in the mandatory anger management classes. He didn’t know her husband and he shouldn’t jump to conclusions about him.
Earlier he had seen Jenna head to the barn and let out the horses. Now she was working with them one on one.
Cyn had said she was training horses, and he didn’t want to disturb her in asking her if he could go into her bedroom. He’d gone into the other rooms to check for wood rot, water stains and structural issues, but her room was intimate. It was a room she’d shared with her husband.
Had her late husband made Jenna cry out as pleasure raged through her while he made love to her? Did he enjoy bringing out the woman in her over and over again, like Axel had?
Axel hesitated and inhaled the fresh air. He’d been here not even a morning and yet it felt as if he’d been out of prison and living here forever. As if prison was just some far off experience.
How odd that he was so quickly adapting to life on the outside. Maybe because he was with Jenna?
Axel headed into the ranch house by the back door and stepped into Jenna’s bedroom with full intention of measuring the window frame for a new glass pane and getting right out.
But her scent lingered everywhere. It bombarded him. Brought back memories of them being together.
A wave of regret washed over him as he stood there, unable to ignore the truth. He and Jenna had truly been good together.
The memory of what they’d shared brought a sharp pang of guilt twisting inside him.
He cursed himself for the umpteenth time for letting his own actions destroy what they had.
She had promised she would wait for him.
Had said she would stand by him, and they would pick up where they’d left off when he got out.
Why hadn’t he just let her stand by him? Why had he pushed her away, unable to accept the hope she had offered? The questions echoed relentlessly in his mind as the crushing weight of his choices pressed in around him.
No, she had deserved better. He hoped she’d gotten it with her husband.
He gazed around her bedroom room. It was a soothing blend of comfort and elegance.
The walls were finished in tongue and groove boards painted a crisp white, which was enhanced by the cheerful light spilling in from the open bedroom doorway and the hall beyond.
Coordinated light blue and white comforters had been hastily thrown aside as if she’d suddenly gotten out of bed.
Which, of course, she had if she’d been asleep when the window had been broken.
The bed was an oak pencil post Queen-sized bed, edged by matching oak night tables. Two oak dressers were set on each side of the room. The dated simplicity of the decor invited a sense of calm and order.
On one of the dressers sat a wedding picture of Jenna and Tim. In the photograph, Tim stood tall, his posture confident, his smile…cocky. Yeah, cocky.
Immediately Axel didn’t like him. Was he jealous of his replacement?
Probably.