Page 9 of Wed to You

Chapter Two

Jagger satwith his beer on the back patio, overlooking the rolling hills of the Virginia piedmont as the sun made its final descent behind the Blue Ridge. Kaden was hyped up after having dinner with his teacher crush, but Jagger had finally gotten him to bed with that promise that he could ask her for dinner again. Jagger laughed as he brought the beer to his lips. Kaden certainly had good taste. Chelsea Beemer had grown into a beautiful woman. Of course, he’d already known that. He’d realized it eight months earlier at Mitch and Sydney’s wedding. He hadn’t seen Chelsea since she was a teenager, so the contrast between the girl-next-door tomboy and the full-grown woman at the wedding had been significant. And after months of not finding anyone who piqued his interest in Charlotte Tavern, Chelsea had piqued him. Hard.

Up until the wedding and since then, the women he’d met in the small town were either leery of him, presumably because of his reputation, or worked too hard to gain his interest, probably because of his wealth.

The worst experience was when he’d asked Dana Dalton, a single mother whose son was a friend of Kaden’s, to dinner. She’d met him at her door in a negligee. Jagger liked women and sex, but not with just anyone and everyone. Despite what society thought, he wasn’t interested in bedding anything with two legs and breasts.

He didn’t need a woman, but moving to Charlotte Tavern and raising Kaden had made him rethink his life and priorities. He wanted a family, a functional, loving family. He desperately wanted Kaden to have it. Something other than what he’d had growing up. He thought he was doing a good job so far, although Chelsea had questioned that. Kaden had a nice home and routine. He played T-ball and soccer and explored the woods, all the things a five year old should do. He was happy. Jagger was happy too, or nearly there.

He hadn’t been exaggerating about his difficulties assimilating into the community. He’d always be somewhat of an outsider because he wasn’t from there, but his reputation and wealth created an additional barrier. As a result, except for Mitch and Sydney, who were in the throes of newlywed life and didn’t have much time for friends, Jagger didn’t have anyone outside of Kaden and his small staff—Mrs. Stanton, the nanny, Miss Z, the housekeeper and cook, and Mr. Grayson, the driver, butler or whatever Jagger needed at the time.

It wasn’t from a lack of trying. He’d made efforts to join the community, but while the residents were polite, the distance persisted. He suspected living on a grand estate on the outskirts of town didn’t help. There were other wealthy families with homes like his, but they didn’t live full-time in Charlotte Tavern and never participated in the community when they were in residence. His family had been like that during the years his grandfather owned the estate.

For a time, Jagger had considered buying a home in town, placing him and Kaden in the center of things. He could still have the horse farm, but would close up the house like it had been years before. The idea appealed to him a lot. He was tired of his money and reputation keeping him from having a normal, traditional life. But he wasn’t sure living in closer proximity to the residents would change their opinion of him. Once Kaden started school, Jagger shelved the idea of moving into town. It didn’t seem worth the effort and the townsfolk might view him as outlandish for having two homes in one city. Still, he’d continued to seek ways to integrate into the community, especially for Kaden’s sake.

Jagger took another swig of his beer as the memories of seeing Chelsea at Mitch and Sydney’s wedding floated in his mind. Images of her sitting alone, her expression both happy and sad as she watched Mitch and Sydney share their first dance. Jagger thought he understood Chelsea’s dual emotions. She and Mitch were close, like siblings. She had to be happy he’d found, or in this case, re-found, love with Sydney. At the same time, she had to be thinking of her brother, Brian, who couldn’t be there. Who wouldn’t have love like Mitch. Jagger felt sad for her, which was initially why he sat with her at the table.

Up close, she was even more stunning than he’d first thought. The streaks of gold in her long auburn hair shone in the sunlight. Her dark chocolate eyes were so deep, it was a wonder he hadn’t drowned in them. But by that time in his life, Jagger was interested in more than a woman’s beauty and sex appeal. He liked women with a sense of humor, a willingness to speak her mind, and who were genuine, who weren’t acting with guile or an agenda. On that front, Chelsea aroused his interest.

She treated him like a regular guy, wasn’t trying to impress or seduce him, and wasn’t wary of his womanizing past. She was funny and authentic, and he discovered that the more he’d talked to her that day, the more he wanted to talk to her. When she mentioned she was out of wine, he’d been embarrassingly eager to get a new glass for her. As he reached the bar, Mitch approached him, questioning his intentions, and asked him to stay away from Chelsea. Jagger wanted to tell him no, but Mitch was his only friend in Charlotte Tavern. Chelsea had had enough pain in her life already. While Jagger wouldn’t intentionally hurt her, relationships always held that possibility. As much as he wanted a life with a woman, he couldn’t make that promise. And he couldn’t do anything that would potentially hurt Kaden. So instead of bringing her wine, he’d left.

When he’d learned she was Kaden’s teacher, he knew he’d have to see her again. But he was embarrassed by his behavior and not certain he could abide by Mitch’s wishes. So he’d sent Mrs. Stanton to all the school activities, until today. It was so important to Kaden that Jagger see his school, his classroom, and his teacher that Jagger couldn’t deny him.

“I wasn’t sure you remembered me.” Her words came back to him. She actually thought he’d forgotten how he’d left her alone at the wedding. His embarrassment and shame didn’t allow him to bring it up, so he’d gone back further in their history, reminding her how he’d been friends with Brian. The whole evening with her was surreal; it was as if their meeting at the wedding had never occurred.

Then she took him to task for missing Kaden’s school meetings. Jesus, if she only knew why. He rubbed a hand over his face. Even now, the memory of her wild, thick auburn hair pulled back in a messy ponytail, her plain khaki pants and crisp white shirt, appealed to him. Why was it that the one woman he shouldn’t have was the only one that intrigued him?

He downed the rest of his beer.

“Mr. Talbot?”

Jagger turned his head toward his butler. “Yes, Grayson?”

“Miss Z is done for the evening, as am I, unless there is anything else you need?”

Jagger thought Grayson watched too much Downton Abbey. While he didn’t have the British accent, his speech had become even more formal than when he’d worked for his grandfather. “No, thank you, Grayson.”

With a nod, Grayson left Jagger alone on the patio. Alone. He’d have thought he would be used to it by now. He’d always had someone around him. Mrs. Stanton. Servants. Many were good people. But Jagger had never been able to shake the feeling of aloneness. Sure, he’d spent most of his twenties going to clubs and trying out women, but there wasn’t an emotional connection. He’d begun to wonder if that sort of attachment, of feeling like a part of a group or belonging to someone, was a myth. Except he was pretty sure what he saw between Mitch and Sydney was real.

He shook his head of his melancholy. He was the envy of many. No one would empathize with his frustrations, so why linger over them? He had Kaden and was building a good life for him. Except for his seat on the board, he’d been able to extricate himself from the family business and start something new in Charlotte Tavern. He had nothing to be melancholy about.

Standing, he headed back inside, checking that the door was locked so Miss Z wouldn’t hassle him about it in the morning. Tossing his bottle in the recycling, he headed up to bed; there was nothing else to do at nine at night in Charlotte Tavern except listen to the crickets.

“I hopeMiss Beemer likes the cupcakes.” Kaden bounded down the steps of the house. His backpack hung, not quite as heavy as usual, on his back, and he carried a box of Miss Z’s famous sour cream and chocolate cupcakes.

“I’m sure she will.” Jagger caught up with him and they made their way up the quarter-mile drive to the road to meet the bus. It was the last part of their morning ritual. On cold or rainy days, Jagger drove him to the bus stop, but today was sunny. It was mid-May, so it was cool and the promise of warmth hung in the air. The grass and trees were lush and green. Daffodils and tulips colored the landscape. The humidity hadn’t arrived in full swing yet, making it one of the prettiest and most pleasant times of the year.

“She said she’s bringing brownies.”

“Maybe you can steal one for me.”

Kaden grinned at him. “Stealing is wrong.”

“Okay, maybe you can see if you can bring one home.” Jagger rustled Kaden’s hair. “Here. Give her one of these in return.” Jagger jogged over to the nearest oak tree where an explosion of bright-colored blooms grew. He picked a few tulips, knowing their time was coming to an end soon, and thereby reducing the risk the gardener would chew him out. He started to give them to Kaden but realized his hands were full. “I’ll put them in your backpack, but remember they’re there so they don’t get squished.”

“Okay.” Kaden stopped to let Jagger slip the buds into his pack.

“Are you going to miss school?” Jagger patted Kaden’s pack to let him know he was done and they started toward the road again.

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