Page 47 of Promise of a New Beginning
“You sure he’s not gay?”
“One hundred and fifty percent sure.” Savannah leaned on the desk beside Aida. “What am I going to do? I can’t keep my hands off of him, and I love his voice. His voice is like…it’s like hot chocolate on a cold day.”
Aida rolled her eyes. “Uh oh. Here we go down La-La Lane.”
“I’m being serious. When he talks to me, I swoon like a teenager. And when he touches me, I turn into a sex-starved seductress.”
“Hmm. Now, that could be interesting. Do you have anything in common? Besides sex, I mean.”
Savannah shrugged.
“Wait. You think you love him and you know nothing real about him? Savannah Braden, what would your father say? Or Treat? Treat would not be pleased.”
“Actually, I told Treat that I really liked him and he was supportive.” Savannah stood and pulled up Jack’s website on the computer.
“Treat was supportive of a guy you’re sleeping with and know nothing about?” Aida shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“He checked him out. You know my brother, always overprotective. He said he’s a good guy. He just has a lot to deal with. Listen, I like him, okay? A lot. I think I…” She trailed off, then whispered, “Love him.”
“Yeah, I got that. So when can I meet him? Let me see for myself.” Aida pushed away from the desk and looked over Savannah’s shoulder at his website. She squinted, moving closer to the screen, then backed away again. “The man is hung like a horse. Look at the bulge in his jeans.”
Savannah clicked off the website. “Geez, Aida. Is that really all you saw?”
“No. I saw woods, dark hair, dangerous eyes, and a killer body with a huge schlong. No wonder you like him so much.”
Savannah pointed to the door. “Out. I gotta get this document finished.”
“Fine, I’ll go, but I want a date and a time. If you really are falling for some mountain man, I gotta check him out myself.” She pulled the door open and looked over her shoulder. “And I promise not to look at his package.” Aida flashed a smile and walked out.
Aida had uncovered a new issue that Savannah hadn’t yet contemplated.The idea of being in the city with all those eyes on me makes my skin crawl.Her life was in the city, and no matter how much she enjoyed a brief woodsy retreat, she’d worked too hard for too long to give up her career, and her career was in the city. She looked at her cell phone and wondered if she’d hear from Jack soon. He’d said he was going to see Linda’s father. His emotions were already so raw, and Elizabeth had told her that Ralph was ill. She hoped the visit didn’t prove to be too much for Jack.
What am I doing?
We aren’t planning a future.
We’re…falling in love.
I’m in big trouble.
Chapter Twenty-Six
JACK HAD FORGOTTEN how much he enjoyed driving his father’s old Ford F-150. He’d given it to Jack when he and Linda had purchased the chalet. Jack was a motorcycle guy, not a truck guy, and at the time, he’d taken the truck as a way to hold on to the memories of riding shotgun with his father when he was just a boy. For all his father’s gruff exterior, when he was in the old truck, that facade seemed to fall away. He’d ramble on about life, war stories, but not in the preaching way he usually did. When they were in the truck, it was almost as if his father forgot that Jack was his eldest son, and instead he spoke with the ease of a storyteller. Jack loved the old truck because of those memories. At first when he’d driven it, it had felt too confined, too slow, and too plain for Jack’s taste, with the navy blue stripes above and below a wide silver band that ran around the body of the truck. Over the years, Jack had used it to haul lumber, move rocks, and pick up furniture, and such. Now, as the old truck ambled up the driveway on his way back from Home Depot, Jack took comfort in the vehicle. He liked knowing that his father had driven it before him, and he was coming to terms with the size and heft of it.It only took twelve years.
He parked the truck and unlocked the front door of the chalet, thinking about his visit with Ralph. He hadn’t been prepared for the reality of Ralph’s deteriorating condition or for his reaction to all that had transpired between them. Ralph’s love for Jack, and his acceptance of the idea of another woman in Jack’s life, should have been all Jack needed to move forward, but mending the fissure with his own family still loomed over him. He used the good that came from his visit with Ralph to spur himself into action. He couldn’t change the past, but he could create a better future. First he had to gain control of his own life.
Jack carried the new door over his head as he mounted the stairs to the second floor. The sight of the splintered wood on the floor of the nursery turned his stomach.What if Savannah had seen this?Jack didn’t work very hard at fooling himself. He knew that Savannah had seen that angry side of him. In fact, everyone had. But she didn’t need to see the evidence of his broken shell. He didn’t want to be that angry man anymore, and with Ralph’s blessing and a plan in mind, he was determined to change.
With the new door installed and the old one in the back of the truck, he swept the last of the rubble into the dustpan, then vacuumed the small room and drew the curtains open. The afternoon sun had already disappeared, and evening was creeping in. He checked his watch and wondered what time Savannah got off work.Savannah.Even her name felt exotic. She’d blown his mind last night with her honesty, her openness, and her loving touch. It wasn’t the physical act of being intimate. It was the way she put her heart into every stroke of her hand, every spoken word, and every kiss of her full, soft lips. She accepted his baggage. Instead of pushing him to move past it or ridiculing him for being weak, she’d simply led him away from the bedroom. Jack imagined that was not how most women would have reacted. Then again, Savannah wasn’t like any woman he’d ever known. He’d been so nervous when he’d touched her, and she felt so good beneath him and on top of him.So very good.But there was more to a relationship than sex, and if anyone knew that, it was Jack. When he was in the military, he’d seen too many marriages fall apart while the men were on tour. A third of his team lost their wives to infidelity. He hadn’t understood it then, and he didn’t understand it now. Sex was a great release, but intimacy encompassed so much more, and it was the closeness of knowing each other that he missed most.
Jack went downstairs and pulled his cell phone from the drawer in the kitchen. He typed in Savannah’s number, which had been running through his mind since the evening before, and created a contact for her. He scrolled through the few names in his address book. Elise, Kurt, Linda, Mom and Dad, Ralph, Rush, Sage, Dex and Siena. He scrolled back up to Linda’s name and hovered over the edit icon.I will always love you.He clicked edit, took a deep breath and closed his eyes, steeling himself against whatever emotions might fight back, and then Jack opened his eyes and clicked delete. He released his breath and stood frozen in place, waiting for the emotional onslaught to hit. The house was silent, save for the fluttering of the curtains. Jack’s pulse remained constant. His gut didn’t take a nosedive. He carried the phone to the back deck and sat on a chair.
“I did it. That’s a step.” Jack looked up at the sky, contemplating his next move. He felt like he was in a giant chess game and the right move would bring him to the other side, but the wrong move might take him out of the game altogether—and he’d already been out of the game for way too long. He called Savannah, and she answered on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey, beautiful.” Her voice sent a thrill through his chest.
“Jack, hi. How’d it go?”
