CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
JAYEDREWINa long labored breath as he and Velvet finished their warm-ups. The outfit she was wearing was so hot-looking, he was panting before they even started the chore of loosening up their muscles. Although, there was a certain part of his anatomy that couldn’t loosen up. Instead, he could feel it getting hard every time he caught sight of her.
As they took off jogging toward the fields, keeping a steady pace together, he looked at her. “Is your outfit new?”
A smile stretched her lips, lips he enjoyed devouring every chance he got. “Yes. It was a thank-you gift from Ruthie for helping out with her shower.”
“She did a great job selecting that outfit for you. You look great in it.”
“Thanks.”
They didn’t say anything for a minute and then he said, “I went to see my mother a while back.”
Velvet stumbled and he was convinced she would’ve fallen if he hadn’t reached out to steady her. “You found her?”
“She wasn’t lost, Vel. Not really. Since my college days, I’ve known where she was and how to get in touch with her if I wanted to. I never did. Neither did Dean or Franklin.”
“I didn’t know.”
“The reason you didn’t know was because I didn’t tell you. That was another mistake on my part. I should have shared more with you instead of holding it in.”
Velvet was quiet, and Jaye wondered if she was remembering all those times she’d tried getting him to talk about the mother who’d deserted him, his father and his brothers. One thing she did know about him was that he never displayed much emotion. For years, he’d thought that was a sign of weakness and made a point to keep his emotions in check. Whenever she’d broach the subject of his mother, he’d clam up.
“She’s living in Texas with her fourth husband. Husband number two, the one she ran off and left us for, passed away after ten years of marriage. However, he left her pretty well off.”
“Who was he?”
He remembered what his father had told him. “She met him at a department store of all places. He had a wife and she had a family. After they sneaked around, having an affair for six months, he decided to divorce his wife and she decided to ditch her husband and children. She divorced Dad, then the two of them moved to Texas.”
After they rounded a bend in the trail, he said, “He died of a heart attack ten years later. Within a year, she married husband number three, a man twelve years younger. He nearly broke her financially. Husband number four was her divorce attorney.”
Velvet eyed him. “She told you all that?”
“No. When I got older, Dad told me about husband number two. And before deciding to go see her, I hired a private investigator. He supplied information on the others. I wanted to be prepared, to know all there was about her.”
“Were you prepared?”
He didn’t say anything for a minute and then admitted, “Not as much as I’d have liked.”
Jaye saw they had already covered the first lap and were back at their starting point. “It’s time for you to split to get dressed for work. Let’s finish this conversation this evening over wine and sitting in our rocking chairs.”
She smiled. “I’d like that, but don’t forget I have gymnastics class after work. Then I’m joining Sierra and Teryn for dinner at the Green Fig.”
“Alright. Thanks for the reminder. I have a dinner meeting with Reid and Vaughn at the Lighthouse.” Since moving here, he’d discovered the cove’s lighthouse-turned-restaurant was one of the best places for fine dining, and you had to make reservations weeks, sometime months, in advance.
There was no need to tell her he was meeting with them to discuss his offer to buy the first piece of oceanfront property in Reid’s new development, and his plan to give it to her, hopefully, as a wedding gift.
“I understand Reid and his wife are leaving on a cruise this weekend,” Velvet said.
“Yes. They’ll return for Vaughn and Sierra’s wedding, and then they are leaving again to take their granddaughters to Hawaii for their college spring break.”
“Sounds nice.”
“Yes, it does.”
When Velvet leaned toward him and tilted her mouth up, he knew what she wanted but teased her by planting a kiss on her cheek. She frowned. “Enough with those cheek or brush-of-the-lips kisses whenever we jog, Jaye. Why are you holding back when I know you can do better than that?”
He grinned. “Can I?”
“You know you can.”
Yes, he could, but he’d been trying to show restraint and control, otherwise he would end up making love to her right in this blueberry field. Wrapping his arms around her, he said, “Let’s see what I can do.”
He loved stroking his tongue with hers and wished they had all the time in the world to stand here and do just that. Driven to get as much of her flavor as he could, he gripped her backside, wanting to feel his hands on her, not caring he’d ridden her ass before going to sleep last night. That didn’t matter. There was never a time he didn’t enjoy making love to her.
When he finally released her mouth, he continued to hold her bottom, pressed close to his front, wanting her to feel the extent of his desire for her. “Thanks, Jaye, I needed that,” she whispered against their moist lips.
“You did?” he asked, smiling, tempted to kiss her again. Knowing he shouldn’t, but still not willing to move his mouth away from hers.
“Yes. I have a parent–teacher meeting with Allen Bordeaux this morning. He’s that father I told you about who refuses to accept his son is failing my class.”
“Things haven’t improved with that situation?”
“No.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll handle things just fine.” He leaned in and kissed her again. By the time he broke off the kiss, they were panting for breath.
“I need to go,” she said on a breathless sigh. “My parent–teacher conference is first thing this morning.”
“Okay,” he said, releasing her and taking a step back. “I’ll see you later. If I arrive home before you do, I’ll have the wine ready.”
She smiled over her shoulder. “And if I get home first, I’ll do the same.”
THEMOMENT VELVETwalked into the conference room and saw the deep scowl on Allen Bordeaux’s face, she knew the meeting was not going to go well. “Good morning, Mr. Bordeaux.”
He muttered something that sounded like he’d returned her greeting, but she wasn’t sure. The minute she sat down, he lit into her. “What is the meaning of this letter you sent to me?” he said, throwing the document on the table.”
“Just like the previous two letters, I think the meaning is pretty clear, Mr. Bordeaux. I will be submitting grades this week, since next week is spring break. As Lenny’s parent, I just wanted you to know he still has not improved in my class and will be given a failing grade. There are only two more grading periods this school term for him to improve. If he doesn’t, he won’t advance to the next grade unless he goes to summer school.”
The man’s face hardened. “And like I told you, my son will not be going to summer school. You are teaching him stuff he won’t need when he plays in the pros. Algebra didn’t make sense to me back then and it doesn’t make sense to my son now.”
“Regardless, and like I told you, it is a required core subject to move on to the next grade. If you have a problem with it, then you need to take it up with the school board.”
Without another word, the man snatched the letter off the table, stood and left.
ITWASDARKwhen Velvet arrived home that evening and she smiled when she saw Jaye had made it home before her. Bringing the car to a stop, she grabbed her briefcase and got out. Moving quickly up the steps, she headed for her door.
Inside, she placed her briefcase on the table and removed her jacket. The weather was a little cool and that had her wondering if Jaye still wanted to sit out in the rocking chairs. She smiled when she heard the knock on her back door. Lifting the blinds, she saw it was Jaye and he was holding two glasses of wine.
Opening the door, she said, “Hi. How was dinner?” She took the glass of wine he offered her.
“Great and how was yours?”
“Delicious. Today’s special at the Green Fig was my favorite. Black bean soup with crab meat and andouille sausage.” She sipped her wine and said, “It’s chilly outside. Are you sure you still want to sit in the rocking chairs?”
“Yes. Come see what I’ve done.”
Closing the back door, she stepped onto the porch and stopped. Near the rocking chairs, he had placed one of those portable woodburning firepits. Even from where she was standing, she could feel the heat and it looked cozy and rather romantic. She also saw a blanket thrown across one of the chairs.
She glanced up at him and grinned. “You’ve certainly seen to our comfort tonight, Jaye.”
“It’s too beautiful a night for us not to sit out here. We might have missed the sunset but look up in the sky, Velvet.”
She tipped her head back and saw how the dark sky was sprinkled with what looked like hundreds of stars. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is. Come, let’s enjoy it.”
When they settled into their chairs, he covered them in the blanket that was large enough to spread over both of them. “I love it,” she said happily, taking another sip of wine.
“And what do you love?” he asked her.
“I love our rocking chairs, the blanket, the fire and the sky. I need this after today.”
“I take it your meeting didn’t go well with Allen Bordeaux.”
She released a deep sigh. “Not the way I’d hope. In the end, I told him if he had a problem with the core subjects needed to advance to the next grade, then he could take it up with the school board. Hopefully, they will have the backbone that my principal obviously doesn’t have.”
She sipped her wine and said, “I guess Lenny didn’t talk to his dad about his love for art like I had suggested. You should have seen the way his eyes lit up when I complimented him on those sketches. But he feels he needs to have the future his father wants him to have.”
“That’s sad,” Jaye said. “I know my grandad always wanted Dad to go into construction, but Dad had a good head for numbers. At no time did he force a construction career on Dad.” After taking another sip of wine, he said, “And Dad did the same for me, Dean and Franklin. All three of us were good with numbers, but Franklin was the one who loved working with his hands and building things a lot more than Dean and I. That’s why Grandad took Franklin under his wing and taught him everything he knew. Now, Franklin has the best of both worlds and it has benefited him.” He chuckled. “I’m fine juggling just one. I love banking.”
“And you’re good at what you do.”
“Thanks.”
She said, “Grades for this term go in on Friday and there’s only two more grading periods left. If Lenny doesn’t show any improvement, then he will not only fail my class but the grade.”
“Maybe that’s what he wants to do.”
Velvet frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s a kid and probably figures if he fails, then that will keep him from having to play ball. He knows his father won’t see it as his fault but yours, mainly because Allen Bordeaux expects you to do for his son what his teachers did for him.”
Velvet thought about what Jaye had said. “I hope what you’re saying isn’t true.”
“Not saying that it is, but it might be a possibility you shouldn’t dismiss.”
Not wanting to talk about the Bordeaux family any longer, she decided to change the subject. “Now, finish telling me about your visit with your mother.”
“She was so different than I remembered,” he said. “Older, of course. But still pretty. She’s taken care of herself and has a classy look about her. Had I passed her in the street, I would not have known her. That’s sad, isn’t it?”
“No, not really. You were pretty young when she left, right?”
“Yes. I was twelve, Dean was ten and Franklin was seven. And none of us had seen her since. She never called or reached out to us on our birthdays. She walked out and never looked back.”
“Was she surprised to see you?”
“Yes and no. I didn’t just show up, if that’s what you’re asking. I called a week ahead and asked to see her. I invited Dean and Franklin to go with me, but they weren’t interested.”
It was hard for Velvet to wrap her head around a mother who would just leave her family like that. “Did she say why she did it?”
He took another sip of wine and looked at her. “Bottom line, she didn’t offer any apologies for what she did and said we were better off without her. She wasn’t cut out to be a mother and Dad was talking about having a fourth child because he wanted to try for a daughter. She felt that she needed to leave before she had a breakdown. Those were her words, not mine.”
Velvet didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Are you glad you went to see her?”
“Yes,” he said, quickly, as if he didn’t need to think about it. “For years I thought my parents’ breakup was my fault.”
She tiled her head. “Why?”
After taking a sip of his wine, he tilted his head back and stared up into the sky. When he finally looked at her, he said, “Although I was young, I knew what my mother was doing. At least I soon figured things out. Dad didn’t know she was leaving us home alone while she met up with her lover, sometimes even at night, when Dad worked his second job at the university. I would wake up from a bad dream and she wouldn’t be there. I was getting scared and when I got scared, Dean and Franklin did, too. Mom always got home before Dad got off from work and made it seem as if she’d been there all along.
“One night, Dean woke up with a bad tummy ache and Mom wasn’t there. He was throwing up all over the place and I got scared. I didn’t know how to reach Mom, but I knew how to get in touch with Dad at the university. I called him and he came directly home. He rushed Dean to the emergency room. It had been his appendix. Dad said if I had not called him to get Dean to the hospital, his appendix might have burst and killed him.”
“Oh, my goodness.”
“Dad was furious. I think that’s when he found out what she’d been doing and about all the times we’d been left alone. Mom told me that it was my fault. I was the oldest and should have known what to do.”
“What! You were only twelve.”
“It didn’t matter to her, but it mattered to me. She left after that and filed for a divorce to be with her lover. For years, I blamed myself just like she wanted me to do. I grew up believing all women were like her, or close to it. It would be just my luck to give my heart to one who would destroy it the way she destroyed Dad’s.”
“When you went to see your mother, did she have any remorse about what she’d told you all those years ago, when you were a child, and letting you think everything was your fault?”
“No. I knew then that she was right—the Colfax family had been better off without her. It took me coming face-to-face with her and talking to her to accept that. She thinks she has it all now, with her lavish lifestyle and a husband who dotes upon her. Little does she knows things aren’t as peachy as she thinks.”
“What do you mean?” she asked as he poured a little more wine into their glasses.
“That private investigator also had information that her present husband is having an affair with one of his employees, and soon he’ll serve Jessica Colfax-Percy-Owens-Goodman divorce papers to marry a woman thirty years younger.”
“Oh, well,” Velvet said. “What goes around, comes around.” No wonder he’d avoided talking about it. “What made you go see her, Jaye?”
“I needed closure. Since I was a kid, I’d allowed her to take up space in my head. I was messed up and she was somewhere enjoying three more marriages. Well, maybe husband number three wasn’t such a joy since he screwed her over, but still.”
“What did your dad think about you going to see her?”
“He felt it was time. Maybe it’s a good thing that neither Dean nor Franklin wants to see her. They didn’t have the issues about her leaving as I did.”
Jaye grew quiet. It was as if talking about his mother had drained him mentally. He stood up and stoked the fire and when he sat back down, he said, “Did I mention the co-op program my bank has initiated with the schools here?”
She knew his question was his way of changing the subject, and she understood. He had shared more with her than he’d ever had before. “No, what program is that?”
She could tell from his smile that he was excited about it. “It’s a co-op program where the bank will work closely with both the junior and senior high schools to give students the chance to learn hands-on how their financial decisions can affect their quality of life. I think it’s best to introduce it to them before they leave for college or start their lives in the workplace.”
“Oh, Jaye, I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
“Thanks. We will teach a banking class at both the junior high and senior high levels. We’ll set up an actual bank within the schools where students can open accounts and learn how to save and invest. The principals and the school board have given their approval and are excited about it. We hope to have it implemented at the beginning of the next school year. Isaac Elloran has agreed to build most of the software. It will be the first of its kind here, and I hope to expand it to partner with my other banks and the schools in their areas.” Isaac, who was married to Donna, was a technology expert, born and raised in the cove, who’d moved away after college. A few years ago, he’d retired and returned home.
She sipped her wine. “I can certainly see something like that being beneficial to Catalina Cove.”
“I can, too, and honestly, you gave me the idea.”
She was surprised. “When?”
“That day you told me how that kid in your class doesn’t think he needs math because of all the millions he plans to make. Making millions is fine but knowing how to keep it and grow it is monumental.”
“Well, I’m glad I was able to contribute even though I didn’t know I was doing so.” She set aside her empty wineglass.
He reached over and took hold of her hand. “Have you thought about what I asked a few days ago, Velvet? Is there someplace I can take you on spring break for unrestrained indulgences?”
She looked at him. “There is a place I’d like to go.”
“Where?”
“The Keys. I’ve never been there before.”
He leaned closer and placed a kiss on her lips. “Then consider it done. I’ll make the arrangements.”
LATERTHATNIGHT, they stripped and fell into each other’s arms in bed. After sharing what he had with Velvet about his mother, Jaye wanted to make love to her with a new perspective and deeper meaning.
He kissed the top of her head. “I’m glad you’re here with me, Vel.”
She lifted to stare down at him and then shifted their positions when she eased her body over his. “And I’m glad you’ve agreed to take me to the Keys.”
If only she knew. He would take her anywhere. “Whatever you want, Velvet, I’ll give it to you. No matter what it is, and in this case, no matter where it is.”
Pain flashed across her eyes. It had been so quick if he hadn’t been staring into them, he would have missed it. “Don’t say things you don’t really mean, Jaye.”
He reached up and cupped her face in his hands and said in as tender a voice as he could, “Trust me, I won’t.”
She lowered her mouth to his and Jaye took it with a hunger he felt in every cell of his body. And then her tongue began mating with his. Soon it became obvious that she wanted to own this kiss and he let her, while loving every stroke and lap of her tongue. This was the kind of kiss that affected him in all kinds of ways, and she had to know it. He’d always had a weakness for her kisses. He’d taught her well.
When she finally released his mouth, Jaye exhaled a shuddering breath, but soon discovered she wasn’t through with him. Leaning in, her tongue licked his bottom lip, then moved to the top one. By then, he was a mass of greedy need and he intended to make sure she felt the same way. He might not be able to tell her in words yet, but he intended to translate it with his actions every chance he got.
When she went for his mouth again, he used that moment to flip their bodies and now she was the one looking up at him. He leaned in and kissed her the same moment he slid into her body and began thrusting hard. Then harder and harder still. The deeper he went, the more his senses became overloaded in pleasure. It was as if something that had been holding him back had finally loosened him from its grip. Telling Velvet about his mother had broken chains and he was no longer bound. He was free.
Jaye loved seeing her thrash her head back and forth against the pillow, and the way she was lifting and rolling her hips against him, as if enticing him to go deeper still. Somehow, he was able to oblige her. Her inner muscles clenched and it felt like he’d gone to heaven and back, and was getting ready to go there again.
“Jaye!”
The sound of her screaming his name compelled him to increase the pace of his thrusts. Passion had taken over and all he could do about it was growl his pleasure and hold tight to her hips, tilting her to hit the spot that he knew would push her over the edge again. They were skin to skin, flesh to flesh and, whether she knew it or not, heart to heart. One day she would know it and would never have reason to doubt that he loved her and just how much.
They climaxed together and sensations he only felt with her rolled through his body and curled his toes. He tightened his hold on her, feeling totally in sync with her. A short while later, he slowly shifted off Velvet and held her in his arms. He would have her for a week in the Keys, and their time wouldn’t just be behind closed doors. He couldn’t wait to take her out and engage in regular activities in the open like a normal couple.
“You’re going jogging with me in the morning, right?”
She looked at him through glazed, satisfied eyes. He thought she looked amazing. “Hmm?”
“Tomorrow morning. Me and you. Jogging in the blueberry field. Okay?”
“One of these days we need to do something other than jog in that blueberry field, Jaye.”
“You got any suggestions?”
She leaned in and whispered a few, which got him aroused all over again.
“And one day we will,” he whispered before claiming her mouth.