Page 5 of Jack

“I’m sorry. I’m…I’ve been out of sorts for the last week.” Jack told her that he understood andwas sorry that he caused her some more stress. “I’m sure that Grandma told you that she’s dying. It’s taken all I have not to be sitting in a corner sucking my thumb.”

“I don’t know what I’d do if my grannie were to be in the same situation. However, she’s a lion, so I don’t expect her to be able to get cancer. That’s a terrible thing for anyone to have.” Her grandma agreed. Taylor looked away, her eyes filling with tears again. “Tell me about the project that you’re going to be doing with Georgie and the foundation. She said if it worked out, there would be more jobs in the area.” She didn’t want to tell him anything. Her heart was like that of late, just shutting down for hours at a time so that she didn’t have to think or be hurt anymore. “Taylor?”

“It’s going to create over five hundred jobs for the area, both before the building is put up and after.” After a few seconds she started telling them both what was going to go on and what kind of sales and such she thought that she’d be getting. “We’ll have a distribution center here that will also sell damaged items to the employees at a great discount. As well as benefits, each person will have insurance if they wish to get it as well as the foundation will provide transportation for the first six months. We both figured that it would take that long for a person to be able to save up for a car or something along those lines. But they’ll continue to help them so long as they’re showing an effort.”

She found it comforting to talk to Grandma and Jack. Leaning back in the chair she was in, Taylor could feel her back begin to relax as well as her entire body. Before she knew it, someone was gently shaking her awake. It took her several seconds to realize that it was Jack and that her grandma had gone on ahead of them.

“I almost didn’t want to wake you. You looked so relaxed and comfortable.” Sitting up, with his help, he asked her to take her time so that she’d not get too dizzy standing. She was feeling slightly wobbly and held onto his hand while she let her legs get under her again. It was then that she noticed his scent.

It wasn’t cologne. Not anything that she’d ever smelled before, anyway. But he smelled good, great even. Burying her nose into the crook of his neck, she inhaled deeply and heard his moan. Her own reaction made her body feel less settled and more carnal.

Like she needed him to strip her down and take her right there on the floor. If he had not pulled her closer, Taylor was sure that she would have done just that to him. When he pulled back, it was everything that she could do not to beg him to take her. When she looked at him, thinking that there would be humor in his eyes, she was startled to see lust from him.

His eyes were dark brown, so dark that they looked black. His hair was a tawny brown color that seemed to have come alive with her touching him. Taylor didn’t have any choice but to touch him, drag her fingers from the top of his head to his ears where she wanted to be in the worst sort of way.

“Taylor.” His voice was husky. Like dark chocolate to her with bits of spice to make her want even more from him. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to drag you to the floor and have my way with you.”

“Promise?” Shivering when he stepped back, she had to reach for him when she had a sudden dizzy spell again. When he took another step back, she realized that they weren’t alone in the room. Baker, her grandmother’s butler, cleared his throat, not for the first time she’d bet, and took the tea trolley out of the room with him. She was both defensive and embarrassed. Before she could snap at Jack, which she knew she was going to do, he kissed her on her mouth and guided her to the dining room. As she was seated, all she could think about was how wanton she’d just acted to a near stranger.

The conversation went on around her. She knew that her grandmother was telling him about her, but for the life of her she couldn’t engage in the conversation once. Even when looked at by them both, her mind couldn’t have picked up on the conversation if her life depended on it. Instead, she ate her soup and tried her best to pay attention to the things going on around her.

“Do you have a place in mind where your plant is going to go?” She looked at Jack, feeling she should know who he was, but her mind again had gone off the rails. “Did Georgie give you an idea where you were going to be setting up?”

“There are several hundred acres that are just out of town near a smaller town. We can startbuilding almost as soon as the paperwork it signed by the partners of Tucker Charities.” She felt good about having that much information at her fingertips. Smiling, she told him that the place would be a good place for her to be able to expand, too. “I’ve not been able to expand in the other places I’ve set up with. I’m excited that in ten years, I’ll be able to close down one of the smaller older centers and redo it to be more efficient and more up-to-date. It’s what they all need, but I’m only able to do it because of the deal that I’ve made here.”

They talked about the expansion as well as the other things that she’d spoken to Georgie about. She also told Jack that she thought that Georgie should be in charge of getting more jobs around the area.

“I think that they’ve given her that title. She’s been around here longer than we have, and I think she has a better idea of what’s going on than we do.” She thought that it was great that he was willing to admit that he didn’t know much more than a person that had—“You’re frowning again. What is it that I’ve done, and I’ll fix it?”

“Nothing. I’m still processing.” He nodded and put his hand over hers. The simple contact of his skin against hers had her calming not just her thoughts but also her heart, too. “I’m not sure what to think about you being my mate. It’s a lot to take in.”

“For both of us.” She’d not thought of how this would be to him. He’d been around mates in his family before, and she’d not. Taylor couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been on a date. When he laughed, she looked at him, ready to do battle. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if you ask me, I’ll give you the best answer that I can. I won’t—not that I would, but I can’t lie to you about anything. I’ll never cheat on you. You alone hold my heart and soul. You will own my heart forever, Taylor. No matter what, I belong to you.”

“I don’t know what to think about that.” He told her that he could understand that as well. It was different for her, too. “Are you always going to be so nice to me?”

He laughed. It looked as if it had startled him as well, the way that it seemed to burst from his mouth. There was humor in his face and eyes, and his body relaxed a bit more. When she looked around, she realized that the two of them were the only ones in the room. Also, their plates had been cleared away, and a bottle of water was set before her.

“Your grandmother said that she was going to go to bed. She did mention that she felt better than she had in a while, and I’m happy for that.” She asked him if he’d done any magic on her. “I don’t know that I did or didn’t. I know nothing more than that. I believe that we both have more magic. At least you will have something more than me, but I don’t know what. I can change my clothing with a thought. I’m sure that you can do that as well. Whatever else you got, I haven’t any idea. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”

They made their way to the living room again and sat on the couch together. Not close enough for them to touch but not too much distance between them. As they were running out of things to say, she laid her head back and closed her eyes. It was the most wonderful feeling knowing that she didn’t have to go it alone in her life.

Waking up, she was sad to find herself alone on the couch. She didn’t know why but that was the first feeling that she’d had. There was one of the blankets that was forever on the couch over her, and she snuggled down into it. That was when she noticed that there was an envelope on the table across from her.

“Taylor, I didn’t want to wake you, so I let you sleep. I’ve gone home and will call you later. No, that won’t work. I don’t know your number.” His was penciled in at the end of the note. “Have a wonderful day, and I’ll talk to you more tomorrow. I enjoyed spending time with you and hope to do it more as we get to know one another.” Then it was signed “Love, Jack.”

Chapter 2

Gilda Jane was sitting in her kitchen when she realized that she needed to talk to her daughter. It wasn’t fair of her to just leave her to her own devices. Taylor had always made sure that things were taken care of for her and she didn’t understand why things were suddenly different. Jeri came out of the bedroom that they shared with her luggage. That was another thing that she needed to blame on her daughter.

“I’m leaving.” Gilda Jane said that she didn’t want her to leave now that Taylor wasn’t around. “You’re not a lesbian, Gilda Jane, and you never will be the way you feel about same-sex people. I understand that it was a fling for you, you and I together, but you’re breaking my heart more and more daily, and I don’t want to be around when you finally realize what I already know. You aren’t a lover of mine. Anyone’s either for as much as I can see about you.”

“But you must stay with me. My daughter and Grandmother in law have kicked me to the curb.” Which wasn’t right at all. She had a lovely place to live at no cost to herself and pretty things all around her when she wanted them because Taylor made sure that she had money to spend. Jeri moved her two pieces of luggage closer to the door. “Please stay with me. I’ll fix up the other room for you. I don’t want to be alone.”

“And I don’t want to be alone, but living here with you means that I won’t find someone who will love me.” Gilda Jane said that she did love her. “No. You liked the idea of trying to love me, I think, to simply shock your family. They didn’t seem the least bit surprised, so I’m thinking that they’re less predigest than you seem to be.”

“That’s not fair. I tried.” Jeri shook her head and opened the door. “You can even have lovers over if you want. I don’t care. I just don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“Good bye, Gilda. You might have a better chance of finding someone if you let go of your daughter and live your life the way that you want. Not that way that you want your kid to see you.” She told her that she didn’t understand. “Stop trying to shock your family by doing things that you think they’ll have trouble with. Just be yourself.”

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