Chapter Nine #2
their marriage. Sure the sheets got changed every week, but it was still the same bed. Until now, it had never been an issue,
but with Shawna in the mix, there were complications and a whole lot of things she didn’t want to think about, let alone discuss
with Shawna’s mother.
Fortunately the server appeared with their drinks and the subject was dropped. Over the next few minutes, Shawna talked about
save-the-date cards and when was the right time to send them while Jax wished she were anywhere but here. When the food arrived,
she hoped that eating would allow conversation to return to more casual topics, but alas, no.
“As I mentioned,” Lindsey said as she removed the tomato from her sandwich, “no one in our family has been divorced, so we
have no experience with the process. What do you think went wrong in your relationship with Harris?”
Jax felt her mouth drop open. She closed it and told herself to remain calm. Later, she really was going to have to go after
her ex with a very large book. He deserved that and so much more.
Shawna groaned. “You’re making me regret letting you set up this lunch. Mom, you have to stop.”
“I’m only trying to get some information.” She looked at Jax. “How much was Harris and how much was you?”
Irritation flared. Jax set down her fork. “Mrs. Cipriani, I appreciate that you love your daughter and want to help her in
every way possible. As a mother myself, I’ll give you some grace, but my marriage isn’t any of your business.”
They had a brief staring contest which Jax won. Lindsey glanced down at the table and nodded.
“You’re right, of course. I’m being rude. It’s just Shawna doesn’t have a lot of life experience when it comes to situations like this and I don’t know what to do to help her. We want to make sure she’s making the right decision.”
“Mom, I love Harris. I’m making the right decision. This is my forever relationship.”
A wave of guilt washed away all the mad, leaving Jax feeling even more sick to her stomach. Everything about this situation
sucked, she thought. Damn Harris for being such a selfish jerk.
“When we were first married, he was gone a lot,” she said before she could stop herself. “I lived here because of the bookstore
and Ramon.”
“Ramon?”
“The bird,” Shawna said. “I told you, she has a really big bird.”
“He’s an African gray parrot,” Jax corrected. “I got him when I was twelve.”
Lindsey frowned. “You didn’t go live with your husband because you had a pet?”
“And the bookstore. It’s my business and I love it.” She also loved Ramon, but why state the obvious. “My point is, for the
first six years of our marriage, Harris lived somewhere else. Even after the kids were born, he was traveling all the time.
That was hard on us. We never got to establish the normal rhythms of married life.”
She paused as she realized she was telling the truth. Those first years had been difficult, but eventually she’d gotten used
to only being a part-time wife. She’d been in charge of their homelife—making all the decisions.
“When he had to retire from baseball and he moved back here permanently, I was hoping we would settle in to be happy together,
but somehow that never happened. The kids and I had a routine and sometimes Harris didn’t fit in.”
Which was a polite way of saying she’d found him annoying and intrusive, which didn’t make her sound all that amazing.
“Thank you for sharing,” Lindsey told her. “I know we’re practically strangers and you’ve been very kind. I’m hoping over the next few months we can all become friends.”
Shawna nodded vigorously. “I want that, too. We’ll be our own blended family.”
Jax smiled because honestly, words failed her. Fortunately Lindsey just plowed on to the next awkward topic.
“What do you think about the age gap?”
Jax pushed away the salad she was never going to eat. “I haven’t really.”
“I’m concerned.”
“Oh, Mom.”
Lindsey shook her head. “Fourteen years is a lot. Now it doesn’t matter, but what’s it going to be like when he turns seventy
and you’re still active and in your fifties?”
“We’ll be fine.”
“He’s a little old to be starting a new family but I suppose we don’t have a choice.”
Shawna sighed happily. “I promise I will do my very best to get pregnant on our honeymoon.”
Jax held in a groan. Pregnant on her honeymoon? She had a bad feeling Shawna hadn’t mentioned that little factoid to Harris.
Maybe instead of beating him with a big book, she should ask to be in the room when that particular conversation took place
because it would be a heck of a show.
Jax did her best not to think about her lunch with Shawna and her mother. Fortunately the afternoon was busy at the store
and Ramon seemed extra needy, both of which were a distraction. A little after four Cheryl walked over, a small note in her
hand.
“I’ve been asked to get the dimensions for the werewolf,” she said, sounding doubtful. “That would be the one downstairs?”
Jax grinned. “Do you know of any other werewolves?”
“No, but why does anyone care?”
“Because I rent out Doug.”
The older woman stared at her. “You named the werewolf Doug?”
“I did.”
“And people rent him?”
“Every now and then. I have the dimensions in my office. If I remember right, he’s six foot five.”
Cheryl glanced at the note. “They need his chest measurement so they can get him a T-shirt.”
“That I don’t know, but you’ll have to tell them they’ll need to cut it along the back and use hook and loop closures or something
to keep it on him. They can’t pull it over his head.”
“Because he won’t cooperate?”
Jax laughed. “His arms don’t move. Come on. Let’s go measure Doug.”
They stopped by the supply closet where she pulled a fabric tape measure out of one of the drawers then headed for the basement
stairs. A stylized sign with a hand pointing down proclaimed: Games of All Kinds, Billiards, Ping Pong, Plus Horror Books and Doug.
“I’ve seen the sign a hundred times but never put it together before,” Cheryl murmured. “Doug. Seriously.”
“Who did you think he was?”
“I never thought to ask.”
They made their way down the wide, well-lit staircase. Expanding it from the original narrow, steep version had been a project
and a half. Fortunately, her grandparents had taken it on in the early 2000s.
The basement was the same size as the main floor of the house. To the right was a massive open game room with the promised
pool and Ping-Pong tables. Two walls held shelves with every board game imaginable along with decks of cards and hundreds
of jigsaw puzzles.
To the left was the horror room. Jax headed in that direction, passing through an arched doorway into the dark purple room. There were black light posters on the wall and the requisite shelving for books. Doug had the place of honor in the center.
He was tall and muscled, covered in faux fur, with his hands raised, elbows down, and his fangs bared. Tattered and torn pants
covered his werewolf privates. Jax climbed the platform and measured his chest.
“Fifty-four inches,” she said.
“Doug’s a big guy.” Cheryl looked around. “How do you get him out of here?”
“The platform has wheels and there’s a ramp in the back. Whoever rents him can wheel him out.” She patted Doug’s butt. “I
charge a thousand dollars a night. Doug’s a great income stream.”
She heard a faint clicking sound and turned back toward the stairs as she called, “We’re in here.”
“What’s that noise?”
“Ramon. He’s hopping down the stairs. For some reason he won’t fly into the basement. He’ll fly once he’s in the basement
but to get here, he hops.”
“He’s an odd one,” Cheryl said, but her voice was affectionate as she spoke.
Sure enough a few seconds later, Jax heard the familiar flap of wings. Ramon flew through the archway and landed on Doug’s
right arm.
“You getting laid?” he asked the werewolf.
Jax sighed. “I thought you’d moved on from that.”
“Never surrender.”
“I guess not.”
The Doug situation handled, Jax, Cheryl and Ramon returned to the main level. A few minutes later, Marcus wandered over to
tell her the guys were done for the day and would be back on Monday morning.
“How was your day?” she asked.
“Good. We’re making progress. Yours?”
She groaned. “I had lunch with Shawna and her mother.” At Marcus’s blank look she added, “The new fiancée and her mother.”
“No.” He stared at her. “The three of you? That can’t have been comfortable.”
“It wasn’t. Lindsey, the mom, wanted to get to know me. Apparently she and Shawna are supertight and their family doesn’t
believe in divorce so it was up to me to share with them the intimate ins and outs of why my marriage failed.”
She paused, then offered a faint smile. “It’s possible that came out a little more harshly than I intended.”
“You had lunch with Shawna and her mother? Hey, you’re handling it better than I would.”
She looked at him, taking in the nice-looking features and how he was always so calm and in control. He was good at his job,
patient with Ramon, and his guys respected him. From what she could tell, there was no bad here. He was the kind of man who
could very much interest her. Not that he did, because she wasn’t ready to play any boy-girl games at the moment. Still, she
found herself thinking it would be nice to spend time with him.
The thought startled her so much, she nearly bolted in the opposite direction. Spend time with him? As in . . .
Oh, wait. It wouldn’t be for her. Marcus was perfect for Ryleigh, so as the responsible older sister it made perfect sense
for her to thoroughly vet the man.
“Can I buy you a beer?” she asked impulsively.
One eyebrow rose. “Interesting. Sure.”
She smiled. “I was thinking upstairs. This time of day the widow’s walk is in shade and has a nice breeze. Plus, I know a
guy so we never have to wait for a table.”