Page 15 of Forever My Soldier

Mom put the towel down and came to stand next to me at the kitchen table. “Your grandmother has taken a little spill. She’s okay, but has a broken shoulder, so she’s going to need some help and your father and I decided to stay with her while she recuperates, but only if you’re okay with it.”

Shit, so they were going to North Carolina.That bought me a little time. I’d be able to stay here without their constant presence, spend time with Jenna, and maybe even have time to find a place of my own. I was sorry for Granny, but I couldn’t deny how relieved I suddenly felt. “I think that’s a nice thing to do. I have no problem with it, either. As I told Dad, I’m a grown man, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re in a good frame of mind,” Dad said, making me feel like shit all over again. But I was used to that with him, so I let it roll off my back.

In the corner of my eye I noticed Mom smirking, but she said nothing and instead lifted her coffee mug to her lips.

I wanted to ask her what she had on her mind, but I knew better than to do that in front of Dad, so I held back. “Thanks. I hope Granny gets better soon.”

Mom nodded. “Me, too. I’ll tell her you send along your love and well wishes for a speedy recovery.”

Dad interjected, saying, “Then there’s no reason for us to wait to move out until tonight. We can leave this morning. Everything’s packed. All we have to do is get on the road.”

Mom nodded her agreement. “I’m all ready and prefer driving with the sun up anyway. I’ll just be a few minutes, Jay,” she said to my Dad.

“Let me help you with your suitcases,” I offered and walked from the room.

Less than thirty minutes later, I had their bags safely in their trunk and the house to myself. Dad was at the wheel and Mom was on her way out, purse in-hand. I kissed her on the cheek and promised her I’d be fine.

Inside, I walked to the kitchen and tossed Dad’s newspaper in the trash. I never read the damn thing and by the time he returned, it’d be the definition of old news. Everything else appeared to be in order and cleaned up, Mom having done what she does best when I was moving their luggage. Except a lone piece of paper sat propped up against the faucet at the kitchen sink.

I walked over and picked it up, wondering what she could’ve possibly left behind. It had an address in a residential area of Miami.

Damn, Mom was good.

It became very apparent this was what had Mom smirking before. She really did always know what her sons needed, I mused. I’d have to call her to say thank later, but right now I had something else I needed to do.

* * *

I rang the doorbell once and waited. Nothing. Her car was parked outside, so I knew she was home. I rang it again, this time knocking, too. “Just a minute,” I heard Jenna shout.

She was out of breath when she flung the door open, standing there on one foot in a red high heel, the other barefoot, crossed over her knee. She was holding the other heel in her hand. “What time is it?” she asked me, as she left the door open and put her other heel on.

“Just after ten, why?”

“Damn,” she muttered. A hand flew to her neck and she cursed again. “Where is it?”

“Where is it what?”

I closed the door and watched as she raced past me. “Woah, stop right there,” I cautioned, “you’re going to trip in those things.”

“Can’t stop.”

She was obviously late for something, what I wasn’t sure. She bolted upstairs and was just as quickly back downstairs, running to the kitchen counter to swipe a black purse off it.

I walked behind her and laid my hands on her shoulders, massaging the kinks out as best I could. “Breathe,” I insisted.

She began to relax at my touch, her body going limp.

“Does that feel better?”

Jenna nodded. “Much.” Taking a deep breath, she passed me a necklace and asked me to put it on her. It was a pearl necklace and matched the pearls she had in her hair, against the tight, serious knot she wore.

I obliged and breathed in her floral scent. It was almost surreal to be sharing space with her again.

When she finally turned around and took a second to take in the fact that I was standing in her kitchen, I was finally able to revel in the beautiful woman Jenna had become. She was wearing makeup, a black and beige shirt with a bow in the middle, a sexy black pencil skirt that hugged her in all the right places, and red heels.

“Want to tell me what has you racing around the house?”

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