Page 56 of Jag

River

Using my heel, I kickedthe door shut and leaned the boxes against the wall. I dropped Dom at Soft Tails to handle a problem with the remodel, instead of him getting to come to help me at the house. He said he would get someone to drop him off when he finished, so I wouldn’t have to stop in the middle to do it. My plan though was to get it all done by the time he did get here. Leaving him with the loading of the Escalade.

Between the boxes and the luggage in my closet, I would be able to get all my clothes and personal items packed. The furniture and all the other household stuff would be dealt with later per Dom.

That morning I mentioned renting the house, and Dom told me that Tank, one of the members, had wanted to buy it before, but I had beaten him to the punch when Sami had put it on the market. Since Dom would be at Soft Tails and so would Tank, he was going to ask Tank if he was still interested. As I looked around the house, I hoped if Tank did decide to buy it, he might want to take some of the furniture off my hands. It would be less to move out of the house if he did.

Grabbing the boxes, I moved to the stairs, the sooner I started, the sooner I’d get home to Poppy. I’d grown attached to her and hated to be away for long. Though she was in good hands with her grandpa. I was thankful when he volunteered to watch her because the packing would be able to take place without interruption. It didn’t escape me that I thought of Dom’s place as home, even though I lived in this one longer. It really was true that people were what made a house a home. At least for me because I couldn’t imagine living any place Poppy and Dom weren’t.

Pulling out the clothingin the last drawer in the dresser, I placed them in the box and sighed.Done. I reached for my cell on the top of the dresser and checked the time and saw the reason for my tiredness, I had been packing for two hours.

Since Dom hadn’t shown up yet, I picked up the one empty box that remained and headed for the stairs. My goal, packing the cleaning supplies in the cabinet under the kitchen sink. When I reached the bottom of the stairs and started toward the kitchen, I heard the front door open and close.

“I just finished with my clothes. I’m going to fill this extra box with the stuff from under the kitchen. Should only take me a few minutes. Not like we can’t use cleaning supplies.” Realizing Dom hadn’t spoken, I stopped and turned, then dropped the empty box when I saw the man who was there looking back at me.

“Hi, River. You should remember to lock your doors.”

“Most people aren’t rude and knock whether the door is locked or not. What are you doing here, Thomas?” I asked and looked at the man I was married to not so long ago. He wore jeans and a button-down shirt that had wrinkles in it. His hair showed signs of where he had run his fingers through it, enough to have pieces sticking up. So unlike the man, who no matter what he was doing, his appearance was pristine.

“I wanted to talk with you,” he said and took a few steps toward me.

“But I don’t want to talk with you. That’s why I changed my number.”

“Like I couldn’t locate the new one. I had the number within days of you changing it. I’ve been calling, but you have me blocked.” Every time he spoke, he took a few steps toward me.

He was right, I’d blocked his number as soon as I changed mine and bought the new phone. Knowing Thomas, it explained at least one thing.

“And you felt the need to hire a PI because of it. We are divorced, Thomas, I blocked your number because I have nothing to say to you. I moved here, so I wouldn’t even run into you by accident. Why do you think I didn’t call you after you had my mother call and tell me that you wanted to talk to me? Did you think going that route would make me? I am no longer the woman who goes along with whatever her mother says. And knowing my mother, she would have called you the minute I hung up on her. You cheated, Thomas, you got another woman pregnant. As if that wasn’t enough, you blamed me instead of acting like a man and taking responsibility for your own actions.

“You have no clue what it was like for me every month to take the test and the result come up negative. When you wanted to start a family, I may not have approved of your reason. No one should have a child to further their career, and it wasn’t right for your dad to put that pressure on you. But I wanted a child, Thomas, so I went along. That is on me. So when I confront you because I overheard whispers of you sleeping with someone on the side, you go into the poor pitiful me act.‘I just needed someone, River, that wanted to have sex with me, and not because they were ovulating.’Blah, blah, blah. What do you think it was like for me, Thomas? Oh, that’s right it only affected you. Then to find I did everything possible to get pregnant, only to find out I was the infertile one, was the ultimate blow. Because you had no issue getting your girlfriend pregnant. I wanted children, Thomas, and the knowledge I never would hurt. Then I was ashamed that I felt relieved I couldn’t conceive because of what you did.

“We married because Alfred, my mother, and your father thought we should. And you and I always went along with what they wanted so we married for them, not because we loved each. Things happen for a reason. I never believed that before. I do now, because I can have children. Accept that you and I didn’t conceive because someone or something was watching out for us and didn’t want us to make yet another mistake. We’ve both moved on. Be happy with your girlfriend and upcoming baby, Thomas. I’ll do the same with Dom and our child.” When I started, I couldn’t stop. It felt good to vent at Thomas, liberating actually. It felt good getting everything off my chest, but then I knew I had to finally let the hurt and pain go. I might not have been happy with Thomas coming to Shades Valley or even feeling he had some right to walk in my house, but he needed to know that I no longer held anything against him.

I hadn’t planned to tell him about the baby or Dom, but I needed him to know that I was happy, and he should be, too.

When Thomas pulled out a gun, I realized that had been a huge mistake, along with the fact, I evidently didn’t know Thomas as well as I thought.

He lunged, and I screamed.

Jag

“Thanks for the lift. Been a long time since I’ve ridden in a sheriff’s car.” Will chuckled.

“No problem. We were almost done eating. And if you had waited for one of your men to get freed up with the bar so busy, you’d still be waiting. Or would have had to call River to pick you up,” Will said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“I can’t wait to hear the rumors that are sure to fly around town because you know they will. The bar was busy, and people were leaving and pulling in when Will opened the back door of the car and you got in.” Carly laughed. “You really need to let me take a picture before you get out, so I can show Russ.”

“No! Because your ass won’t just show Crusher. You’ll show that shit to the whole club.”

“You’re no fun, Jag. I thought being with River would relax you and take some of the assholishness out of you,” Carly looked over her shoulder and said. I flipped her off.

“I’m right here,” Will commented, and I grinned.

When River and I told him about the baby, I hadn’t been sure how he would take it. Even though he told me that I would need to push her, I’m pretty sure knocking her up wasn’t what he meant. But like he’d also said, he wouldn’t stick his nose in our relationship, and he proved it. He’d taken the baby news in stride along with River staying at my house and helping me with Poppy.

“Sorry, boss,” Carly said.

“Sure, you are, deputy,” Will answered, then turned down the street to the house.

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