Still Yours (Jennings Family #1)

Chapter 1

Jesse

With one last deep breath, I pull up to Lexie’s duplex. My chest tightens, not with doubt but with the hope that this will mean as much to her as it does to me. She’s never come to church with me before, so I’m looking forward to gaining that deeper connection with her.

We’ve been dating for a few weeks and things have been good.

She’s not very religious, so I make sure not to push her into it or anything.

I told her when she was ready to take that step that I’d be happy to take her…

so here we are. She also willingly did a Bible study with me last night and it went well. She had some good questions.

“Lex? I’m here,” I call out, shutting her front door behind me.

I notice it’s slightly messier than normal; she has a lot of clutter. I can’t say I blame her—the kitchen and living room are within the same fifteen-by-fifteen-foot room. Upstairs, although I’ve never been up there, has only one bedroom and a bathroom.

She lives in an older farmhouse that’s been split down the middle. She rents out one half, and there’s a neighbor on the other side.

Quick footsteps move across the ceiling and a voice echoes down the stairs. “Coming, I just need to switch my purse.”

As she comes down, I mentally pick apart the entire outfit before she even gets to the last step. The neckline is too low, the pants are too tight, and the boots are too high.

I hold my breath for a second. “Lexie, you can’t wear that to church, sweetheart,” I say and realize those words have never come out of my mouth before.

She looks down at herself. “Why?”

“It’s church, not a club.”

“Yeah, and? It’s cold out today. I’m not wearing a dress.”

“You don’t have to wear a dress. Maybe just put something under that sweater and change the shoes? Do you have a long skirt maybe?” I suggest nicely.

She scoffs. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, you can’t walk in there like that. You don’t want people talking in this town.”

“Let ’em talk!” she argues, stomping back upstairs. Did I mention she’s a little stubborn? You could chain her to a boulder, and she’d drag it uphill just to prove a point.

I sigh. “Lex—”

Cutting me off, she argues, “I’ve never even been to church but shouldn’t everyone be more worried about praying rather than my outfit?” Her sarcasm strikes a nerve inside me. While I understand what she’s saying, it’s just how it is.

“Lexie … that can’t be your attitude, babe. Please just trust me?” I say as she continues to storm around upstairs without responding.

Church isn’t the place for showing off or provocative outfits, it’s about God, worshipping him.

I don’t know how to explain it to her without sounding judgmental.

I guess her not growing up in the church like I did is going to be a learning curve for me.

It’s going to take me a minute to gain some extra patience.

“How’s this?” She comes down in shorter boots and an oversized, green knit sweater. My body loosens up, the tenseness disappearing.

“Good. That looks great,” I say and reach for the doorknob.

“Sorry for freaking out. I just don’t take criticism very well.”

“That’s okay,” I say, and she grabs her phone from the counter before heading out to my truck.

The first couple minutes of the drive is quiet until she breaks the silence. “I hope you don’t think I’m going to get rid of my style or clothes because of this.”

“Why would I think that?” I ask.

“Because I don’t want you to think you’re going to change me.”

“I don’t want you to change. You know what I remember my mom telling my little sister a few years ago? When she came downstairs dressed for church in something that was not gonna fly?”

“What?”

“She said, ‘Addison. God sees everything already. You don’t need to make sure the congregation does the same.’”

Lexie laughs. “That’s funny.”

“I’ll never forget it either. Addison didn’t think it was that funny, but we all laughed.”

“Yeah, well, I just thought you liked me for me. How I dress, who I am, my outgoing personality.”

“Sweetie, I do.” I grab her hand. “That’ s what got us together in the first place, isn’t it?” I laugh and think back to that night a few weeks ago.

I was down at the local bar with my younger brother, Cody, and a couple buddies.

Lexie came in with one of her friends and walked over right away.

She was very forthcoming and confident, which I liked.

She didn’t leave me the rest of the night.

We exchanged numbers and have been going together ever since.

* * *

Church went pretty well. I even saw Lexie mumbling along to one of the songs. She handled meeting new people decently too. Everyone was excited to meet her, and I finally didn’t have to deal with anyone asking me about a girlfriend.

Church was the easier part of today, though. I’m more nervous about lunch with my parents.

Sitting around the dining room table with my whole family like we do after church every Sunday, this is the first time in years one of us kids brought along a date.

I’ve been on edge since we sat down. I could already tell my family didn’t love Lexie before we finished passing the food.

Her manners aren’t the best, and she has a little bit of a foul mouth on her.

I get their reservation, but I gotta give it to her, she’s gotten a lot better than she was even just a few weeks ago.

But it’s why I haven’t brought her around much yet.

“Are you going to finish that?” Lexie asks my youngest brother, Mason, pointing to his almost empty glass of wine.

“Nope.” He hesitates slightly but hands it over to her.

She throws it back in one gulp and sets the glass back down. My mom’s facial expression shows she’s clearly unimpressed, and my dad looks away.

Cody interjects, “You know, we have more.” He gestures to the bottle sitting on the table in front of him.

Addison, my usually mature seventeen-year-old sister, giggles and I glare at her. She stops right away.

“Sure, I’ll have another glass.” Lexie shrugs, reaching out for the bottle, then turns to me. “You’re driving me home anyway, right, Jess?” Her brown eyes meet mine.

I nod. “Yeah. Yup.” I watch her pour herself another glass. This will be her third and, I hope, final. She gets lustful when she drinks, and that’s the last dang thing I need.

After we’re done with lunch, everyone disperses to their normal spots. Addison helps Mom clean up, Dad heads to his recliner for a nap, and Lexie follows my brothers and me to the couch to watch whatever episode of The Dukes of Hazzard is next on the DVD. Our Sunday afternoon tradition.

We aren’t sitting for more than ten minutes before Lexie’s showing me her phone. “Some friends are going to the bar tonight for beers, wanna go?” she says quietly as I read the text.

I don’t really want to go out tonight. I’m not a big bar guy.

Every so often sure, but I like hanging around home, always have.

The unknown of how late she’ll want to stay out, how much she’s going to drink, exactly which friends of hers will be there …

I don’t have all the answers I want right now, but I can’t let that consume me.

I want to make her happy too. She stepped out of her comfort zone for me today, so I feel like I should as well.

“Sure,” I tell her. She smiles and texts them back right away.

“Oh, they’re going now. Ready?” she asks.

I look down at my half-full mug of hot cider Mom just made and brought in for everyone.

“Let me finish this?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes. I hurry up and drink it.

As we drive out our mile-long driveway, Lexie’s already shedding articles of clothing. Trying not to stare, I avert my eyes to our property.

We own a little over a thousand acres. All of us kids live on it, along with Mom and Dad. Cody and I have our own cabins, Mason’s is currently getting built, and Addison’s is next on the list. We also have a guest cabin where clients stay when they come out for a hunt.

My late grandfather started Dakota Flight Outfitters sixty years ago with only one cabin to start, which is now the guest cabin.

The hunters used to have to stay in tents when they visited, but eventually my parents built the big house where they raised all of us and turned the original cabin into the hunters’ lodge.

After my grandfather died, over ten years ago, my dad, Cody, and I took over the business.

We’re the main guides, our primary focus being waterfowl: geese and duck.

Mason, my youngest brother, doesn’t have time to guide, being a cop and all. You’d be surprised at how much stuff goes on in a little North Dakota town where there’s only one stoplight, one bar, one bank, one church, and one grocery store, but he stays pretty busy.

* * *

Well, that’s the last time I go out drinking with Lexie again. First of all, she had way more to drink than I did and still is somehow barely affected. Second, she’s a flirt. Enough so that she’d have to be clueless not to see how it sends mixed signals to every guy in the room, including me.

The anger inside me is overwhelming. The last thing I want to do is start a fight, but I can’t just let it go. It’ll just simmer inside me, and then when something else happens, I’ll lose my cool.

I take a hard swallow, looking to her for a brief moment in the passenger seat of my truck. She’s tired and also a little tipsy.

“Lexie, can I be honest with you right now?”

Her tone drawn out, she says, “Yeah?”

“Well, I need to know if you’re up for a conversation right now. I’m not leaving on bad terms.”

“What’s the problem?” She’s already getting defensive.

“So, I’m frustrated about how tonight went. I didn’t know I was signing up for a night out with Bellamy’s finest flirt.”

She scoffs. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You were flirting with that entire bar!”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, I was not!”

“Yes, you were! You had them all over you!”

“That’s just how men are around me. You know first hand, that’s how we got started,” she points out.

I huff out another breath. “Yeah, and I thought you and I were dating now. You can’t be eyeing up your next victim while you’re still dating me, sweetheart. I don’t play those games.” My voice is tight.

“Wow, you are really mad.” She laughs, and it’s taking a lot for me not to blow up. She’s still striking a nerve deep inside me. One that won’t budge.

“Of course I am! How would you feel if I was in there sweet-talking every girl right in front of you!”

“I wasn’t trying to pick anyone up. I was just being nice.”

“Well shit, if that’s nice then—”

“Would you just stop?! Why are you being like this?!”

“Like what?!”

“Jealous?! Insecure?! I’m not sure!”

“I’m not sure what dating rule book you read, but mine says flirting with someone other than your partner is sort of considered cheating.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Yeah, you’re right. This is unbelievable. You are twenty-eight years old trapped in an eighteen-year-old girl’s body,” I say, and she just grits her teeth. Crossing her arms, she looks out the window away from me. I’d pay any amount of money to be at her house already.

The rest of the five-minute drive feels like fifty. The bigger person in me knows we can’t end tonight like this, and considering she’s acting like a child, I’m not expecting her to fix that.

I barely get my truck in park before she’s jumping out.

“Lexie,” I say, but she slams the door on my voice anyway. I get out and walk after her up to her front door. Her neighbor is of course sitting out on the porch smoking a cigar. Lexie frantically digs through her purse, trying to find her keys.

Quietly, I say, “I want to come in and talk.”

She shakes her head. “No,” she states and pushes her door open.

I let myself in behind her. “Yes.”

“I don’t want to, Jesse. You’re being a controlling jerk!”

“I am not controlling! I’m just trying to tell you how I felt tonight!”

“It’s a stupid way to feel!” she snaps, and I’ve had enough.

“Okay. If that’s how you think, then I can’t talk to you right now.” I shake my head and walk out.