Frigid Affair(45)

“I trust them. They’ve been good to me. Besides, I don’t want people thinking you’re his step-father when you helped me make him. It’s not right.”

“What if you’re wrong about them? I could go to jail.”

“She’s calling me back tonight. I’ll explain everything. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“I hope you’re right, Amantha. I really do.”

He didn’t talk to me for a few hours. I understood why he was upset with me. I shouldn’t have said anything to Eve without talking to him about it first.

It wasn’t until dinner that he finally settled down. We were sitting across from one another, Christopher between us. He had a tray full of green beans and was holding one in his hand.

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

“It’s water under the bridge. I’m probably making a big deal out of nothing.”

“No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have done it without talking to you. We’re just, well we’re happy, and I don’t want to keep secrets from those who helped us along the way.”

He smiled. “We are happy, aren’t we.” It wasn’t a question. He was simply agreeing with me.

I nodded. “I am. It’s been a long time coming.”

“Yeah, it certainly has.”

“Earlier Eve mentioned them not being able to come this year. She said Bob has to have surgery on his knees. I was thinking maybe we could ask her if we’d be able to rent this place instead of having to leave. Christopher is still little. It would give us time to sell my cabin and look for something close to town. We wouldn’t be pressed to move.”

“I like that idea. It’s nice here. It’s a little big for my taste, but I’m not complaining. I just don’t have the money to pay for it.”

“I do.”

“Amantha, I can’t ask you to pay for our home. It’s my job.”

“There you go again with your old fashioned rules. Who says I can’t take care of us for the time being? I know when we move you’ll find a new job.”

“I’ll make it up to you,” he exclaimed. “After everything you’ve given me, I promise I will. I’m going to be there for this family.”

I smiled. We were an extraordinary story, so why not appreciate what had come out of so little? “I know.”

He reached his hand across the table and took mine. “I’m not going anywhere. I said this before, and I’ll say it again, the two of you are my life. I’ll do whatever I have to so you always know that.”

“I feel the same.” My reply was loaded with more than just reassurance. I was falling in love with him, more and more each day. How could I not? He was the father to my child. He’d thrown himself into our life without a single complaint. He’d proven over and over again how much we meant to him, and he’d vowed to stand by us no matter what. Jensen was the whole package, and I wasn’t about to let him get away. Conjuring up the courage to say those three words had been a struggle. Once I said them there were no take backs. Once they came out I’d be admitting this was where I belonged, and our intertwined pasts had brought us to this very point. Telling Jensen I loved him was like saying my family died for my happiness. It might not make sense to others, but it’s how it felt for me and Jensen too. We’d talked about how loaded the word was for each of us, and we’d vowed not to use it unless we were completely sure.

Even though he hadn’t said it to me, I believed in my heart that it was there, lingering. Maybe we weren’t at the same point, but both headed in the same direction.

I’d been in denial for far too long, determined to keep my emotions from leading me to a place I knew could destroy me later. But the time had come. I wanted him to hear it. He needed to know he wasn’t just the father to my child. In our weeks we’d been living together he’d become my future. “There’s something I want to say to you. I just need you to promise you won’t freak out.”



“I do. I swear.”

“Jensen, I…”

The sound of a motor caught both of our attention. Jensen held up his finger for me to wait and headed toward the front of the house. I remained next to Christopher to keep him from trying to climb out of his chair.

In a matter of minutes I heard chatter at the door, and then words I never could have anticipated.

Jensen Weatherly, you’re wanted for questioning in the arson and theft located at this property on December eighteenth two-thousand and …”

While he was being informed of the crimes committed, I rushed over and lifted Christopher out of his chair and made a beeline toward the front of the house. This couldn’t be happening. He was being falsely accused. Eve had promised to hear me out. “Wait, you’ve got it all wrong. He wasn’t involved.”

Two officers stood with annoyed faces glaring at me. “Ma’am, we wouldn’t have come out all this way if it wasn’t serious. This man is wanted for questioning in a case involving breaking an entering, arson and grand theft. He’s facing a lot of time if he’s guilty.”

“No. I was there that night. He saved me from the fire.”

Jensen’s eyes widened. “Amantha, don’t say anymore. I’ll figure this out. It’s going to be okay.”