Page 21 of Loving Jared

Twelve

The following weeks were some of the best that Amy could remember. Jared came over almost every day, his hands piled high with something new. Either dinner, toys for the girls, or something to make Amy's life easier. It became such a routine that Millie and Sarah would watch out the front window expectantly each afternoon for Jared's arrival home from work. He waved at the girls, going to his place for a shower and then making his way over to theirs.

Even Teagan was beginning to like Jared. Or, more like he met and worshipped Jared's bike. Jared also promised to take him for a ride, which helped ease any potential animosity. Teagan had come home for more clothing to take over to his friend's house and had walked in on Jared and Amy sitting on the sofa watching TV.

At first, he'd been standoffish and angry. His usual attitude. But once the guys started talking bikes, tattoos and other things a teenage boy might be interested in, Teagan loosened up enough to actually have a respectful conversation with Jared.

At first, Amy was surprised at how accommodating Jared was with Teagan, given how pissed off he’d been at the teenager for making Amy's life miserable. But gradually, Amy saw the wisdom in Jared's approach. He took Teagan for a motorcycle ride and Teagan had been hooked on bikes ever since. It was all he wanted to talk about.

Jared promised to show Teagan how to ride by himself but had told the teen it took a great deal of responsibility to own a bike. Jared insisted that Teagan would have to show him what a responsible person he could be if he was going to learn how to ride.

From that moment forward, Teagan began coming home every day, spending the night more often, even helping Amy around the house without his usual attitude. He was determined to show how responsible he could be.

The only bone of contention between Amy and Jared was her job. Surprisingly, it wasn't her nighttime phone sex job he despised, but her morning job at the factory. He hated that she had to get out of bed so early. Hated that she was treated like a second-class citizen at the factory. But he tolerated her job, telling her that she would be quitting sooner rather than later.

Amy let his words roll off her. She was already so happy she could burst with it, but with that happiness came terror. She'd seen just how badly relationships could end, and though she knew she wasn't her mother and Jared wasn't her father, the whole experience left her nervous about allowing so much happiness in her life. A happy person became a vulnerable person, because that happiness could be taken away.

Today, Amy was meeting Jared's friend Jenna for lunch. When Jared had taken Amy on a tour of one of his job sites, they'd run into Vincent and Jenna. Amy thought that Vince was a big grumpy guy, who was better left alone. Jenna, on the other hand, was sweetness incarnate. She looked sweet, acted sweet, spoke sweet.

Amy was instantly drawn to her and after a long discussion, the two women agreed to meet at the mall for some food and shopping. Jared let Amy take his SUV. In fact, he’d been insisting that she take it more and more often while he rode his bike. She suspected he didn’t like her taking the bus all the time.

"Hi girlie, how goes it?" Jenna waved Amy down in the food court where they’d agreed to meet.

Amy walked toward the other woman, her arms laden with a disgusting amount of fried Chinese food. It wasn't often that she ate this much greasy food, but she and Jared had been doing so much home cooking lately she thought it was time to indulge herself in a treat.

"I'm good. How are you?" Amy glanced around. "Where's Lola and Vince Junior?"

Lola was Jenna's six-year-old daughter, just freshly started grade one. Vince Junior was her brand-new, absolutely freaking adorable baby boy. According to Jenna, she was supposed to have a girl, but the couple had been surprised with a little boy. Jenna had been over the moon with happiness and drugs and had subsequently named him after the love of her life.

"They're with the nanny," Jenna answered, leading them to a table. They both sat, setting their trays down.

"You have a nanny? What do they do?" The words slipped out before Amy could call them back and she blushed when she realized what she'd said. She'd assumed since Jenna didn't work anymore, that she wouldn't need a nanny. Plus, Jenna, a former nurse, was down to earth and hands-on. Amy couldn't imagine her giving up any kind of control to another person when it came to her children.

Jenna didn't take offence. She grinned and dug into her plate of California sushi rolls, a hamburger and onion rings. Amy almost wanted to ask her if she was pregnant again. It was a weird combination and a ton of food. But even Amy knew it would be out of line to ask.

"I hated the idea at first, but Vince insisted I needed a nanny to help out with Lola. He wanted me to take time to pursue my own hobbies. Turns out I don't know how I ever lived without Sharon. And it's not even the extra hand when it comes to cooking and cleaning and taking care of the kids, it’s the conversation. She's a good friend."

"Sounds like it. Where did you find her?" Amy was legitimately curious about the nanny situation. Where did one find a nanny? Were they expensive? Maybe if Amy got a third job she could afford one.

“Vincent and Jared knew her from their biker days. I think she hung around the club or something. Jared even dated her for a few weeks."

It was like having a bucket of water thrown in her face. Amy sucked in a breath and told herself to calm down. Of course, a man of Jared's age and experience would have had girlfriends in the past. She just hadn't been confronted with one yet. But a biker chick? How could someone like Amy even begin to compare with that? She’d never even been on a bike until a few weeks ago.

As if reading her mind, Jenna reached out to touch the back of her hand. "Hey, it's not a big deal. Honestly. I think it was a mutual split. They tried dating but were too different to make it work. They each went their separate ways, no hard feelings. They still talk when Jared comes over to the house."

Somehow, that last bit didn't make Amy feel better. "Jared and I don't have much in common," Amy mumbled.

Jenna blushed and set her fork down, a worried expression on her face. "I'm sorry, I'm really bad at this. I shouldn’t have said anything. Honestly, there’s nothing going on between Jared and Sharon. He has no feelings for her other than friendship. Trust me. What he feels for you is way different. It's like, when he's on the job or at the house his mind is always on you and there's always this half smile on his face. Not something I've ever seen before. He adores you and dotes on your sisters. You have nothing to worry about."

Amy sighed deeply and shook her head as if trying to shake away the negative thoughts. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not usually this insecure. But then, I've never dated anyone like Jared before. He's just so… larger-than-life, I guess."

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it. I felt the same about Vince when I met him. Those guys are just too much."

Jenna picked up her burger and took a big bite of out of it, closing her eyes and relishing the taste. She waited to swallow the food before she started speaking again. "When I first met Vince, he seemed impossible to me. Too big, too tattooed, too grouchy."

Amy let out a giggle. Jenna's description of her own husband was very close to how Amy described him in her mind.

Jenna continued, "But he turned out to be everything I could've ever hoped for. He is the exact opposite of my ex-husband. He's kind, gentle with me and the kids, attentive and super protective."

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