Paradise Falls (Paradise Falls #1-5)(12)

“I should have offered you iced tea,” she said. “It’s too hot for tea.” She didn’t have any iced tea; she could only offer him a half empty carton of orange juice and bottled water from the refrigerator.

She felt silly for the way her eyes widened and her stomach sucked in when her gaze snapped to him. Crossing her arms over herself and looking away until the microwave chimed, she put a teabag in the cup and set it in front of him. He took the string in the tips of his long fingers and bobbed the bag in the water.

“Milk?”

“No, thank you.”

Good. I don’t have any milk. She stopped keeping milk in the house after the fifth or sixth carton went sour. Franklin drank milk like water and she kept it in the house of out habit for a few months after his death.

Her ring itched.

Jennifer pulled out a chair and sat down, folding her hands neatly on the table. Jacob’s hands were huge compared to hers. Delicate and rough at the same time, and his left hand had bendy breaks in the fingers.

Curiosity got the best of her. “Were you in an accident?”

“Yes.” He flexed his fingers. “It’s wasn’t as bad as all that. Miss Katzenberg-“

“Call me Jennifer,” she said.

“Only if you promise to call me Jacob.”

“Jacob,” she said.

“Jennifer, you have to do something about Elliot. How often does he harass you like that?”

She shrugged. “It’s been a while. A year or so. I thought that he was bored with me, and maybe he’d stop.”

Jennifer took her wedding band and twisted it around her finger, feeling the metal rub against her skin. Why was she telling him this?

“My husband was his brother. His younger brother. He could never stand that Franklin ‘won’ me.”

“It’s not your fault.”

She wanted to say something, but she felt like she’d swallowed a mouthful of sand. She was sure everyone in town knew what happened, but only two people had ever told her it wasn’t her fault, Rachel and her sister, Katie. Jennifer’s own mother told her it was her fault.

Jacob smiled as his eyes traced over the curve of her jaw, locking on her eyes before following the path of her shoulders down her arms.

Her heart sped up when she realized he was probably picturing the curves of her body under the baggy blouse. The more intense the feeling grew, the heavier her wedding band became. Jacob was an exceptionally attractive man, and he admired her as if she was an attractive woman.

“I suppose I should get going. It’s a school night, after all.”

Concealing her disappointment was a challenge. “Oh,” she said.

What are you doing? You just met.

He drank the remaining tea, and set the cup on the table. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Don’t go yet!

Why did she want him to stay? She looked around the drab kitchen and wondered what the hell she was doing by inviting him into her house like this. He was already moving.

She nodded as he stood up. Jennifer stumbled over her feet to get to the door and opened it for him. She opened it for him and when he began to step out her arm shot out and she grabbed his wrist. He turned, his eyebrows climbing in surprise.

“I’m sorry I blew you off at lunch. I didn’t mean to be rude, I-”

“It wasn’t rude. You had a lot on your mind.”

Yes, like you. “It was rude. I’d like to make up for it. I’d like to see you.”

“I wasn’t planning to take a sick day.” He smirked.

You know what I mean.

“I mean… see you.” Jennifer mentally damned her thick tongue. Couldn’t an English teacher be more eloquent? “Socially, I mean.”

He turned back to face her stepped back up onto the threshold. He was so damned tall, she had to look up to meet his gaze. She still held his wrist. When she let go, her hand flopped to her side and she had no idea what to do with it.

She stared at his lips while licking her own. He looked away.

“We’ll make plans,” he said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yes,” she said.

He walked down to the car. The rain fizzled out, and the sun peeked from behind the retreating clouds. Jacob waved before sliding into the driver’s seat. The car rumbled to life and he pulled away, leaving her staring after him.

What did you just do? What on Earth possessed her to ask him out? She twisted her ring on her finger and stared out the window. She glanced over and saw the honeymoon picture staring back at her. Her ring dug into her skin.

“I like him” she said, to no one in particular.

She moved away so she couldn’t see the picture, or it couldn’t see her. Her hands shook.

You’re being stupid. He does one nice thing for you, and you’re ready to fall into his arms.

It wasn’t one nice thing. He all but risked his life for her. No one ever tried to defend her from Elliot. No one but Franklin, and Franklin was gone.

Isn’t that a funny coincidence? He just happens to show up at the right time. He knew my name. He’s probably some kind of stalker. Then there’s those scars, and his hand. Accident? What kind of accident? Where did he learn to fight like that?

“Shut up,” she muttered.

After a shower, sleep almost took her a few times, but she chased it away. Jennifer sat upright on the beach towel she spread on the bed for a while and stared at the ceiling, before she put an old oversized Sentinels jersey that hung halfway to her knees, and a pair of thick padded socks with little grippers on the bottom.