Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Surprise!”
Lucas, who was leading the charge into my mother’s house, stumbled back and slammed into me.
“Granny J!” Juni yelled from behind me.
And indeed, Jase’s mother Janis was in my mother’s living room standing next to my mother, who was beaming.
Chaos ensued. Juni rushed past me and Lucas to get to her grandmother. Jase shuffled us forward even though I wanted him to pull me out of the house and take me back to his house so I could hide under his thick, white, goose down comforter on his bed.
No I didn’t snoop. Juni invited me upstairs Wednesday night so I could see her bedroom. It was adorably decorated in pastel purples.
I also saw Colson’s room, which unsurprisingly had a ton of skateboarding posters on the wall.
There was also what I was sure Jase called a guest bedroom, though I didn’t ask him to confirm my assumption that he thought a lone bed in a room fashioned a guest room. And another room that was mostly empty with a few boxes stacked in the corner.
Then of course, Jase’s room, which Juni had taken me into.
That was the only part of the house that screamed bachelor, crash pad.
There was a king-sized bed. No headboard.
Ugly nightstands that came from a big box store, and two dressers—one tall one, one short, long one.
Neither were worth mentally filling away their appearance because they were dire and in my humble, garage sale diva mind, they both needed to be thrown away.
“Rainy, baby, you have to keep walking so I can shut the door,” Jase said, and I could hear the humor in his rumbly tone.
“This isn’t funny,” I snapped.
“Five seconds ago, it wasn’t,” he agreed, then promptly disagreed, “But now it is.”
“Yeah, Jason, what’s funny about it now?” I continued to snap.
At this point since I wasn’t moving, Colson skirted around my stiff body. And as I was learning, where Colson went, my son followed. Which meant my own flesh and blood had abandoned me in favor of his new friend.
Rat fink kid.
Since his son was no longer wedged between us, Jase pressed his chest against my back and dropped his mouth to my ear to ask, “You love me?”
“Why do I feel like this is a trick question or a trap?”
His soft laughter glided over my neck and since that felt nice, I forgot we had an audience which included his mother, who I was pretty sure hated me, and I melted into him. Though I didn’t get to enjoy the feel of his warmth for long before he turned me to face him.
“I already have you trapped. There’s no getting rid of me. I’m keeping you forever.”
“Then why did you ask?”
“Because I like hearing you say you love me.”
Was he freaking serious?
We were in the middle of a crisis, and he was asking me if I loved him because he liked to hear me say it.
“For future reference, when we’re in the throes of a catastrophe you don’t get to be sweet, it throws me off my game.”
Jase’s lips twitched.
“What catastrophe are we in the throes of?”
“Your mother hates me and this is important.”
“Why on earth would you think I hate you?” Janis asked.
I didn’t get to observe Jase’s reaction to his mother’s question before I dropped my forehead to his chest and muttered, “Damn.”
I might not have observed it but I sure as hell felt it when his body started shaking, then I felt and heard the rumble of his chuckle.
“This isn’t funny, Jason,” I reminded him.
His humor died immediately and he used both his hands to cup my face and tip my head back until all I could see were his beautiful eyes.
“Here’s the deal. Your mom called my mom and told her we were back together.
My mom’s been trying to reach me. Between work, the kids, us spending time together as a family, then us talking on the phone every night in marathon catch-up sessions, I haven’t had time to connect with her.
Though I did call her on my way home and she didn’t answer. ”
“Because I was already here and didn’t want to ruin the surprise,” Janis interrupted.
Jase ignored her and continued. “My mom loves me and her grandbabies, but she didn’t drive over an hour to see us.
She got in her car to horn in on a family dinner that she knows will be the first of many, but she didn’t want to wait until we made the drive to see her, because she loves you and missed you. ”
“My son is right. Though maybe he’ll let me speak for myself.”
Jase’s gaze transferred to his mother. Though the warmth he had for me had gone frosty. Extremely frosty—nearing arctic levels.
Eeekk.
“I’m fine,” I whispered. “Totally fine.”
His attention came back to me. “You’re not. You don’t like surprises—”
“Shh,” I hushed him. “It’s all good.”
“Rainy—”
“Jason, if your mom doesn’t hate me, let’s not give her a reason to. And the kids.”
“First, the kids went somewhere with your mom. And as much as I love my mom, right now, I’m more concerned about you than what she thinks.”
I closed my eyes and admitted, “I hate this part of me.”
“What part?”
“This part. The part of me that reacts really bad when I’m taken off guard. The part that shuts down and blurts out things before thinking.”
“I love that part of you.”
My eyes popped open so I could stare at him in disbelief.
“You don’t shut down or react poorly. You react honestly. You don’t hide. You don’t fake your way through it. So you might hate it but I love it, always have. It’s one of the things about you I’ve always admired.”
He looked like he was telling the truth.
“You admire my freakouts?”
“You don’t freak out.”
Yes, I did.
I freaked out all the time.
“Um, Jase the other day in the parking lot of the ice cream shop I was so nervous to meet your kids I prayed for diarrhea. If that’s not considered a freakout, I don’t know what is,” I blurted out.
Jase’s body started shaking, then the shaking turned into big, wracking quakes before his laughter finally became audible and I realized my mouth had once again disengaged from my brain.
I turned my horrified eyes to Janis to see her smiling at me.
“Um…”
“I’ve missed my girl,” she said in the sweetest voice. “Do you think my son will let you go now so I get a hug? And just a warning, the men folk are out on the sun porch.”
Men folk?
Janis was a hoot.
“I’m really sorry I messed up so huge with Jase,” I told her, and since I’d already started down the road of honesty I continued. “I’m sorry I stopped taking your calls, too. I was—”
“Rainy, darlin’, I was twenty once,” Janis cut me off. “Water under the bridge. Now come here so I can give you a hug, then you can introduce me to your son. Your mom tells me all the time how smart he is and how handsome, but I’d like to see for myself.”
I looked back at Jase who had thankfully stopped laughing.
“You can erase the diarrhea comment from your memory,” I told him. “That never happened.”
“Consider it forgotten,” he lied through a smile.
“Just so you know, that’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you and never stopped.”
“What reason?” he asked, not in a growl, or a grunt, but his voice was thick with emotion.
“I know I’m safe with you no matter what.”
I didn’t let him respond. I didn’t need him to. I said what I had to say and pushed out of his arms so I could get to his mother.
After a rocky start, the rest of the night went off without a hitch.
None of the kids looked upset I delayed dinner.
It had taken my mother less than ten minutes to fall in love with Juni and Colson.
Janis was taken in by Lucas, and she didn’t hide it, therefore Lucas warmed up to her and acted his normal, hilarious self.
It was obvious Jonathan and Allen knew each other well.
And of course, my mother was over the moon to see Jase.
“Gigi,” Lucas called out to his grandmother from the end of the table where the kids were playing Crazy Eights.
My mother’s gaze went down the table with a brow raised.
I knew what was coming.
So did Lucas, and since my kid was smart and he knew that look, he beat her to the punch. “I mean, excuse me, Gigi.”
“Yes, Lucas?”
“Next time we do a popcorn and movie night can Juni and Cole come over?”
I speared my son with a look. He knew he wasn’t supposed to ask questions like that with an audience. It was rude and potentially forced someone to make a choice they didn’t want to make.
“Oops,” he mumbled.
“Of course.”
“Yippy! Can we watch Goonies? Daddy says I’m old enough to watch it now,” Juni asked.
That earned Jase a look from his mother. “Is that the movie with the scary man?”
“He’s not scary, Granny J,” Colson answered. “Juni can watch it. But if she gets scared, we can watch something else.”
More proof that Colson was a replica of his father.
Jase didn’t have a sister. But if he did, those words would’ve come out of a twelve-year-old Jason’s mouth.
Jase leaned over and kissed my temple before going back to the conversation he was having with Jonathan and Allen.
Janis smiled at me, and my mother looked like she was going to start crying tears of joy.
To stop her from doing this I asked, “Mom, do you still have the guest bedroom furniture from the old house in Allen’s garage?”
“She sure does,” Allen answered, like he’d be happy if it found a home outside of his garage.
She ignored her man-friend and answered as well. “I do, would you like it?”
“Please say yes,” Allen said under his breath.
“I heard that,” my mother snapped.
I pretended they were getting ready to embarrass me and start bickering like an old married couple. Though I was sure Janis and Jonathan wouldn’t be surprised, since they bickered a lot.
“Not for me, but Jase needs it.”
“I do?” It was Jase’s turn to butt in.
“You do.”
“Bedroom furniture?”
“Yes.”
Jase glanced down the table at Lucas and smiled.
He thought I wanted furniture for my son in his home.
It was funny how only a few days ago him thinking that would’ve sent me down an overthinking spiral. But sitting next to him after the fourth family dinner, two of these being two nights in a row, my mind was quiet.
“Not for Lucas,” I whispered.
His brows pulled.
Janis decided to jump in and tell Jase, “Your guest room leaves a lot to be desired, Jason.”
“I agree with you, Janis, but first I need to put his current dressers out of their misery.”
“What’s wrong with my dressers?” Jase asked. “They hold clothes.”
His question shocked me into silence. He’d been married. I knew Shay. She was beautiful and always dressed well, and I’d even been to a party at her childhood home and had seen her bedroom. She had good taste as a teenager. There was no way she hadn’t decorated the house she’d shared with Jase.
“What’s wrong with your dressers?” I sputtered. “Really?”
He shrugged.
“Yes, I agree with you, Rainy.”
“What’s wrong with my dressers?” Jase repeated.
“Honey, they’re so awful I feel it is my duty as the woman in your life to have them removed from your home. Actually they’re so horrible, I don’t even feel bad for over-stepping at this early juncture—”
“Early juncture?”
“Um… yeah, very early juncture, normally it would be an—”
“How do you figure it’s early? I keep telling you and I don’t mind repeating it, but baby, you gotta get with the program.
I’ve loved you for more than half my life.
That’s not early, that’s fu…freaking past due.
If I could I’d pack up your house and move it into mine tomorrow, I would.
So you want to toss my dressers, toss ‘em. You want to make my guest room suitable for my mom since she’s the only one who’s ever used it, have at it.
But don’t break the bank, because as soon as I can swing you, your furniture’s gonna be in that house. ”
I was staring at him with my mouth open.
Juni’s mouth was open, too, but she was using hers to speak. “Yay! Rainy and Lucas are moving in? We can totally move the boxes of Christmas ornaments out of the extra room into the garage and Lucas can have that room. It’s right next to mine.”
What was happening?
I felt a freakout coming on. A big one. A motherlode of a freakout was bubbling up. But then something that Colson said struck me.
“Those boxes are your Christmas ornaments?” I gasped.
“Yeah.”
“Where are the rest?”
“That’s it.”
“Say what? Those four boxes are all your Christmas ornaments?”
“Dear Lord,” my mom mumbled while at the same time my son thought now was the time to put in his two cents.
“Christmas is my mom’s favorite holiday. The day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas music starts. December first, she decorates. Every room. Even the dishes have Santa on them. And did I mention the music?”
“You love music,” I defended.
“Yes, Mother, I love non-Christmas music. From January until the first day of summer, I have Christmas music nightmares.”
“I love Christmas music,” Juni informed me.
I didn’t know if this was true but I loved her for siding with me.
“Just for that, Juni gets another cookie.” I pushed back from my chair. “Come on, Juni Bug, let’s go stuff our faces with sugar and leave the Scrooges to their Scrooge ways.”
Before I could step away from the table, Jase grabbed my wrist. “I don’t care about Christmas music, or you decorating December first, or Santa plates, or anything else as long as it’s you playing the music and decorating our house.
But I’m putting my foot down on those big, stupid blow-up things that go in the front yard. ”
I’d never lived in a house as an adult, which meant I’d never had an actual yard, so I’d never had any of the big blow-up decorations. Though I’d planned on getting some this year if they weren’t too expensive.
Jase let out a harassed sigh.
I bent down and gave Jase a short, hard kiss.
“Hope you boys are ready for snowmen and reindeers in the front yard,” Jase muttered.
And with that, I took Juni’s hand and walked with her into my mother’s kitchen.
I didn’t miss my mother sniffling. Neither did I miss Janis clearing her throat.
But it was me who had tears swimming in my eyes.
Thankfully, Juni didn’t notice when they finally fell.