Chapter 19 – Jennie
When I wake Monday morning, Chris is lying on his back, and I’m pressed up against his left side with my arm over his waist. We’re both still naked, lying skin to skin.
Last night was absolutely amazing. Even without a condom, and without intercourse, it was perfect. I knew he’d be a kind and generous lover. I never once doubted that.
I check the clock on my nightstand. It’s nearly eight, and the house is silent. I guess we all slept in this morning.
Chris mumbles something in his sleep and turns toward me, pressing his lips against my hair. “Good morning.” His voice is gruff from sleep.
His arm doesn’t seem to be bothering him too much because his right hand starts roaming over my naked body, first cupping a breast and thumbing my nipple until it shrinks into a little pebble.
Then his hand moves lower, stopping to stroke my belly.
He doesn’t seem to mind the soft, pudgy parts of me.
Finally, he groans as his hand slips down between my legs, where I’m still wet from last night, and he starts rubbing circles on my clit.
Neither one of us says a word, but my breathing picks up. So does his. I part my legs to give him easier access. As he rubs and rubs and rubs my tender nerve bundle, he trails kisses across my shoulder and the back of my neck. When he hits a particularly sensitive spot behind my ear, I shiver.
I gasp when an orgasm sneaks up on me, making my belly quiver and my thighs shake. I press my face into my pillow to muffle the sounds coming out of me—high-pitched, girly sounds.
All of a sudden, my bedroom opens and Granny peers inside the room. I bite back a squeal. Chris casually pulls the blankets up to cover our bodies.
“Is it time for breakfast?” Granny asks. “I’m hungry. So is Pumpkin.” She pauses a moment to study the man in my bed. “Oh, good. He stayed.” She turns and walks away, muttering, “Him, I like. Not that other one.”
I roll to face Chris and press my face into the crook of his neck. “I guess Granny approves.”
“Thank God,” he says as he pushes the covers back and sits up. “I guess we’d better go make her something to eat.”
This morning, it’s French toast and bacon for breakfast. And coffee, of course, with French vanilla creamer.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Chris asks as we’re eating.
It looks like neither one of us has to go to work today. Chris is on a brief medical leave because of his shoulder, and the diner will be closed for the next day or two for repairs. I’m hoping we’ll be allowed to reopen on Wednesday.
“I’ve got to call the insurance company, and the contractor who’s doing the repairs. And I need to go to the grocery store.”
Chris’s phone rings and he checks the screen. “This is one of my contacts in the DA’s office.” He takes the call. “Sheriff Nelson.”
He listens for quite a while, his expression turning darker by the minute. “All right,” he finally says. “Thanks for the update.” He ends the call and looks at me. “Braggart’s hearing is scheduled for this afternoon at three. His attorney is going to request a personal bond.”
I frown. “What does that mean?”
“It means he can walk right out of jail without having to pay any bail. He’d be out on his own recognizance. The DA is going to ask that a personal bond be denied due to the nature of the offenses and the number of charges he’s facing.”
My chest tightens. “What do you think will happen?”
“I hate to say it, but I think he’ll get what he’s asking for.”
“After what he did yesterday?”
Chris nods. “Afraid so. His parents have a lot of clout. I’m sure they know about Braggart’s arrest by now, and they’ve been busy making phone calls.
We need to plan for the worst, and that means going to the courthouse today to request a restraining order.
If he violates it, I can arrest him again.
And if he gets arrested again, it’ll be harder for him to get bail. ”
I call Dawn and ask her if she can stay with Granny while we go to the courthouse in Estes Park. She says yes.
After I help Granny get cleaned up and dressed for the day, I sit her on her favorite recliner in the living room and give her a skein of yellow yarn to wind into a ball.
This is one of her favorite activities, and it keeps her happily occupied for a good while.
I also put more episodes of Little House on the Prairie on the TV.
“I really need a shower,” Chris tells me when I return to the kitchen. He has already cleared off the kitchen table and is now rinsing the dishes and putting them in the dishwasher. He makes a show of lifting his good arm and sniffing his armpit. He makes a face, which makes me laugh.
“You smell perfectly fine,” I assure him. “I should know.”
He grins, probably blushing beneath his trim beard. “Seriously, though, I do need a shower.” He raises an eyebrow. “Wanna help me?” He nods to his sling. “Cause I’m injured?”
“Yes, I’ll help you. We can shower together.”
That certainly piques his interest. He whispers, as if he’s afraid Granny will overhear us from the other room. “That reminds me—we need to stop at Maggie’s today to get condoms.”
“We can stop on our way home from the courthouse.”
* * *
Dawn comes over at noon, and Chris and I leave shortly after for the courthouse in Estes Park. I drive since Chris is partly out of commission. We arrive half an hour later.
Once we’re in the courthouse, Chris directs me to where I need to go and shows me what papers I need to fill out. I admit my mind is doing its best to dissociate from the process. I did this once. I never dreamed I’d have to go through it again.
“She’d like to request a temporary restraining order,” Chris tells the staffer. “Her ex-husband is likely to be released from jail today, and she needs protection now. I think she’s in immediate danger.”
I submit the paperwork to the courthouse staff who will send it on to a judge for a prompt review.
We sit and wait over two hours before we get a reply.
“Judge Connelly has issued a temporary restraining order in effect until your court hearing,” the staffer says. “The hearing is scheduled for two weeks from today.” She hands Chris a reminder of the hearing date. “Do you have someone who can serve this temporary order to the object of the RO?”
“I’ll do it,” Chris says. He flashes her his badge.
“Well, I guess you can.” She hands him a copy of the order. “Serve this to the recipient and then file proof of service with the court.”
Once we’re back in my car heading home, Chris watches me as I watch the road.
“Are you doing okay?” he asks.
I nod.
He lays his left hand on my thigh. “You’re awfully quiet.”
“I don’t think a piece of paper is going to stop David from harassing me.”
“Maybe not, but I will stop him. As soon as I get word he’s been released, I’ll track him down and serve him with this temporary protection order.”
We make a quick stop at Emerson’s Grocery Store to pick up a few things I need, plus the condoms. Maggie’s working. When she spots us walking in, she stops what she’s doing and comes to greet us.
“How are you holding up?” she asks as she hugs me.
“As well as can be expected, I guess. We just left the courthouse in Estes Park. I was granted an emergency temporary order, and my hearing for a permanent one is in two weeks.”
While Maggie and I are chatting, Chris wanders away, pushing a grocery cart.
On the drive here, I gave him a list of what I needed.
Basics mostly—bread, butter, milk, chicken breasts, carrots, and a few other things.
He seems to be making his way through the store, so I imagine he’s getting everything.
I notice he stops in the personal care section.
Maggie eyes him a moment before redirecting her attention to me. “How is everything going?”
“Good,” I say.
“Any word on when the diner can reopen?”
“Not yet. I was told it would be a day or two at the very least. I’m hoping to get the report from the fire inspector today, and from the health inspector tomorrow. If everything looks good, we should be able to open on Wednesday.”
Chris parks the cart beside me. “I think I got everything.”
I glance in the cart, noting that everything’s there, including a jumbo box of extra-large condoms, ribbed for her pleasure, no less. I can feel my cheeks heating up.
Maggie notices them, too, and gives me a look that speaks volumes. “Hey, Chris. Owen’s in the back room doing inventory. Why don’t you go say hi?”
Chris rolls his eyes. “That was subtle, Maggie. You could have just told me to go wait in the car so you can grill Jennie.”
Maggie smiles sweetly at Chris. “Either go talk to Owen, or go wait in the car, Sheriff. Your choice.”
“Fine. I’ll go talk to Owen.” He squeezes my hand. “I won’t be far.”
As soon as Chris is out of earshot, Maggie rounds on me. “Okay, time to spill the beans. Why did Chris put a huge box of condoms in your shopping cart?”
I try not to grin. “Because he’s optimistic?”
“I’m serious, Jennie!” She’s trying not to laugh. “Tell me.”
I sigh. “Well, in a nutshell, we’re in love, and we slept together last night. Well, I guess, technically, we made out because neither one of us had a condom. We had to improvise.”
She’s trying so hard not to laugh. “I’m so happy for you, honey.
” That earns me another hug. When she pulls back, she grins as she looks me in the face.
“Everyone’s going to be thrilled when they hear the news.
It’s about time, girl! We told you he was crazy about you.
Is this a big secret, or can I tell people? ”
“I don’t think it’s a secret. Granny knows. She walked in on us this morning.”
Maggie bursts into laughter. “I would have paid good money to see that.”
“It was fine, really. She likes Chris. She told me last night she wanted him to stay over.”
Maggie rings up my groceries, and when we’re done, she uses the intercom to call back to Owen in the storage room. “Honey, please tell Chris the coast is clear. He can come back out here.”
When Chris rejoins us, Maggie gives him a hug. “You’d better do right by her, mister, or you’ll have half the town to answer to.”
“Not a problem.” Chris smiles, and I imagine it’s because he’s relieved the cat is out of the bag. He puts his arm across my shoulders and pulls me close so he can kiss my temple.
“This is going to take some getting used to,” Maggie says.
We head back to my house, and as we’re unpacking the groceries, Chris’s phone rings. It’s his contact at the courthouse.
I can tell by the look on his face it’s not the news we wanted. He ends the call. “He got out on a personal bond.” He mutters a curse under his breath. “What a joke!”
“How could they do that?” I don’t know whether to be disappointed or downright angry. “He forced his way into my house, and then he assaulted me!”
“His attorney argued before the judge that Granny invited him in.”
“She wouldn’t do that. She hates him.”
“I know, but it’s his word against hers, and we can’t very well have her testify.”
“No, we can’t. But what about the assault? He attacked me in my own bedroom.”
“He claimed you asked him to come into your bedroom. He said you were giving him mixed signals.”
That shuts me up quick, because it’s true. I did suggest we take it in the other room. “I was just trying to get him away from Granny. I didn’t want her to witness him manhandling me.”
Chris pulls me close and wraps his arm around me. “I’m sorry, Jennie. His parents are pretty influential in this area. That’s why he got the benefit of the doubt. It’s a good thing we applied for the restraining order. I’ll serve him the papers today.”
I blink back tears. Not only am I not safe, but I’m worried about Granny, too, and Dawn.
“Do you mind if I move in for the time being?” he asks. “Just until this is resolved one way or another.”
Right now, I have trouble seeing any of this ever getting resolved. And I hate feeling like a coward, but the idea of Chris living here with us fills me with immense relief. I cup his handsome face. “I would love for you to stay with us. Thank you.”
“Consider it done,” he says, and then he kisses me.
Granny walks into the kitchen. “More kissing, I see. Well, good for you. Is it time for dinner yet? I’m hungry.”