Page 35 of A Thistle Beyond Time
The trip to the grocery store turned out to be quite amusing, as far as Jenna was concerned. Cormac couldn’t have looked more shocked if he’d tried. She could see that he wanted to act as if this was no big deal for him, but his facial expressions and the way he wanted to examine absolutely everything was a dead giveaway.
She was bombarded with question after question about the packaging, the products and most of all, the meat. She realized she was woefully lacking in her knowledge of food production.
“Ye mean ye dinnae even know where yer food comes from?” he asked in surprise.
“Well, I know where some of it comes from, but mostly it comes from big companies, I guess,” she tried to explain.
“What are ‘big companies’?”
“You know what, let’s not ask any more questions. Can we just get the things we need and get out of here?” She was missing Dylan about now. He never tired of answering Cormac’s many questions. Dylan might not even know what he was talking about at the time, but he always gave him some sort of reasonable answer.
They got the grocery cart through the checkout stand without incident. She could tell Cormac was biting back his queries and it made her giggle to herself. All in all they managed to survive the grocery store and made it home, where they unloaded the groceries and Jenna set about getting dinner started. Cormac sat at the kitchen counter and watched her every move. She felt a little as if she were on display, but had to admit to herself that she kind of enjoyed his undivided attention.
“Can I help ye with that, lass?” he asked.
“Sure, can you cut up the salad stuff?”
“I believe I can,” he smiled that heart-stopping smile of his and she sighed. It was becoming more and more difficult to ignore her growing attraction towards him.
Jenna directed him on what she wanted cut up and how to cut it and he did an excellent job. He put everything into the salad bowl and watched as Jenna made the dressing.
“I’ve never had salad,” he offered. “As a matter of fact, I dinnae even ken what any of these vegetables are.”
“Really? What kind of vegetables do you have where you’re from?” she asked curiously.
“Carrots, parsnips, peas,” he listed.
She had already assumed he’d never been to a grocery store, and now she was certain he was unfamiliar with a lot of the produce she’d purchased. “Hmmm…”
She was baking potatoes on the grill and they were almost ready when she started cooking the steak. The air was filled with the aroma of barbecuing beef, which she left for a few minutes while she set the table outside. Cormac sat in the spot she indicated. She observed that he seemed quite relaxed and happy, which made her feel the same. It was just the two of them tonight. Dylan was out on his date and he’d informed her that he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow morning. The only company they had was Chester, who was pretty much glued to Cormac’s side. The dog loved him and Jenna was beginning to think she might just understand why.
Candles lit the table as they ate their food. Cormac was very complimentary about her cooking. In fact, he couldn’t seem to tell her enough how grateful he was for the wonderful meal she had prepared. Jenna watched with a smile as he tasted and enjoyed all of the unfamiliar foods that were in his salad. She was sure to keep his wine glass full of the delicious cabernet she had opened.
“This has been a beautiful night, lass,” Cormac stated.
“It has been, but it’s not over yet. Help me clear the table and clean up a bit and I’ll serve our dessert.”
Cormac was a good helper and had no problem doing his part in the kitchen, unlike Jonathan, who’d thought Jenna should be serving him and cleaning up after him all the time, despite the fact that he had no job to take up his time. Jenna was finding more and more things to admire about the man who had appeared out of the fog. If only she knew the truth about him. The story both Cormac and Dylan had told her couldn’t possibly be accurate. Although nothing was impossible in her mind, it was surely improbable – but she couldn’t totally discount his story. She’d decided to reserve judgment for now and enjoy his company.
Jenna grabbed a large bowl and filled it with ice cream from the freezer. She added crushed up cookies and chocolate syrup, and two spoons, carrying it to the cozy sofa outside. She lit the gas fire pit and motioned for Cormac to take a seat. He sat in the corner, arms extended over the back and Jenna nestled herself in next to him, tucking her feet up under her backside. She held the bowl between them and took a spoonful of ice cream and fed it to Cormac. She wished she had thought to take a photo, because the look on his face was priceless. He closed his eyes in obvious delight, relishing the flavors.
“More please,” he requested, with a sheepish grin.
Jenna was happy to accommodate him and realized she really hadn’t needed two spoons, because they ended up sharing one. She couldn’t remember being this happy, not since long before Jonathan and she sighed, enjoying being completely at ease.
“I like it when ye smile, Jenna,” Cormac said, studying her upturned face.
“I like it, too. I haven’t had much reason to smile lately. It feels good.”
“What happened to make ye so unhappy, lass? Was it yer husband?”
Jenna really didn’t want to bring the subject of Jonathan into what was turning out to be a perfect night, but Cormac had asked and she wanted to be honest with him.
“Jonathan fooled me. At first he was everything any woman could want in a man. He was caring, kind, funny…” Jenna hesitated and Cormac put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her into his side. His warmth and strength poured into her and gave her the courage to continue, even though she was embarrassed by her tale. “I didn’t know until after we got married that he has a gambling addiction. He was placing bets on everything, from ball games to horses and he wasn’t very good at it. He racked up quite a large amount of debt with a local bookie and couldn’t pay him back. Eventually, the bookie came looking for his money and he came here, to my home, and threatened me. I, of course, paid the debt and then confronted Jonathan about it. He swore he would never gamble again and seemed so grateful to me for helping him. He said he was going to get counseling to help him break the addiction. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, thinking that everyone deserves a second chance. Next thing I knew, the bookie was at my front door again looking for money. The guy seemed as embarrassed as I was, and he told me that Jonathan was nothing but trouble and that I should throw his ass out. I was shocked to hear him say that, and I started snooping through Jonathan’s things, searching for evidence of what he was involved in. I peeked at his text messages one day while he was napping and I found all the evidence I needed, to know he’d been using me. It started long before he’d even asked me to marry him. He had another woman, whom he had known for years and they’d texted to one another about how he’d only married me to get at my money – and that after a while, he intended to divorce me and get half of everything I had. Then he’d be free to marry her.” Jenna’s voice tapered off, her bitterness at what Jonathan had done squeezing at her throat.
“I’m so sorry, lass. Do ye still have feelings for the man?”
Jenna managed a watery smile. “Oh, God, no! I immediately lost any feelings I’d ever had for him. I marched right over to my lawyer’s office and told him what was going on and he assured me that I could have the marriage annulled, which I did.”
