Page 16 of Love's Patient Journey
“No wipe, mama.” Zac tried everything in his power to escape her attention, but she stepped back from Zac, happy with the amount of pancake mix that she was able to mop off her toddler’s face.
“Zac, why don’t you get the syrup out of the pantry for Mama?” Jenna pointed him in the direction of the pantry, knowing that she had about a ten percent chance of him coming out with syrup and not a box of rice. She headed over to Ryan and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Thanks for everything you did for us last night,” she said, squeezing him. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
Ryan flipped the last pancake on the griddle and turned in her embrace. “Honey, you won’t have to worry about doing anything without me from now on. We’re a team, understand?” He looked at her so seriously, she believed him.
“Yeah, I’m starting to get it. I am just used to taking care of Zac and myself. Please be patient with me, I promise I’m a quick learner.” Ryan kissed her, and she quickly backed away.
“Ryan, you will catch this yucky virus.” Ryan laughed and pulled her in for another deeper kiss. He released her, a little breathless, “Honey, I’d catch just about anything to be able to kiss you.” Jenna walked to the pantry, shaking her head as he swatted her ass.
“Zac, baby, did you find the syrup?” Jenna opened the pantry door to find her son eating from the big bag of chocolate chips that she kept hidden for when she needed a quick hit ofchocolate. “Zachary Ryan, those are not yours! You can’t eat chocolate this early in the morning. Put them up and let’s have pancakes.”
Zac screwed his little face into a scowl and slipped the bag of chocolate behind his back. “No, Mama, I have chocolate chippies for breakfast.” Ryan pushed his way into her too-small pantry and laughed at the two of them.
“Zac, how about we put some chocolate chips on our pancakes?” Her son seemed to love Ryan’s idea, jumping up and cheering while spilling chocolate chips all over the floor.
Jenna decided to let the two of them handle the pancakes while she cleaned up the mess in the pantry. After breakfast, Ryan cleaned up the kitchen while she rested on the sofa.
“I’m gonna take a shower and get Zac dressed. Then, I’ll run him to school. If you feel up to it, we can run to see my friend, Tom. He has time today, and we need to get a handle on the Ashbrook’s’ threats before they get too out of hand.”
Jenna rolled her eyes, “They are already out of hand. They have no claim to him, but they seem to always get what they want. I won’t let them have Zac! I’ll be ready when you are, thank you.” Ryan leaned down to kiss her forehead, and she automatically felt calmer. It was amazing to her that her life could change so much in just a few days. Ryan had already changed her, and Zac’s lives for the better; now he wanted to help her with her ex-in-laws. Why Ryan stuck around was beyond her, but she didn’t want to jinx what they had now.
“It will be okay, baby. I won’t let them have Zac either. We will figure something out.”
Yeah, Jenna could get used to being part of a “we” now.
Chapter 6
The trip to see Tom Gentry six weeks ago didn’t go so well. Ryan was hoping that his old friend could do more for Jenna and Zac, legally. Tom turned the threatening letters over to the local police and helped Jenna get a restraining order against the Ashbrook’s, like that would do her any good. He also said that if Jake wanted to sue for visitation rights or even partial custody, he would be able to do so. Jake would have a better chance of being granted visitation after he was out of prison, but it was not unheard of for a judge to rule in favor of Jake seeing Zac while still in prison, especially given his father’s influence and money. Jenna left the meeting with her head held high and then broke down in his arms once they got to his truck. Hearing her sobbing gutted him. He was sure that Tom being involved would only help her, not cause her so much grief.
The trip home was quiet. He knew that Jenna was overthinking everything, and that scared the fuck out of him. He didn’t want her to second-guess their relationship. Since finding her sick, Ryan had all but moved in with her and Zac, and damn it felt good to be with them. He would help get Zac to pre-school in the morning, and every night, he’d come home from work toa home-cooked meal and a hot woman. Zac had even started running to the door, shouting his name, jumping into his arms. He loved how they had become a family. They would watch cartoons and play with trains. He would help clean up dishes and bathe Zac. They read Zac books and tucked him in together. Then, he would take Jenna to their room and make love to her like a starving man, and she was his next meal. He loved that Jenna was okay with giving him complete control in the bedroom.
Last night, she let him tie her to the bedpost and seeing her completely at his mercy made him feel so damn proud to have her trust. His cock swelled now just thinking about how she looked tied up, spread open for him. At first, she was a little timid about giving him full control over her body. But once she let go and just trusted him to take care of her, she seemed to enjoy it as much as Ryan did. He loved the way she tried to squirm while he kissed her entire body. He loved her breathy moans and gasps when he ate her pussy and then bit his way up to her mouth. Hell, she even seemed to like seeing his marks on her skin this morning, but probably not as much as he did. He wanted to mark Jenna as his, claim her, and tell the world that she belonged to him. She made him feel like a caveman, primal in his need for her. And damn if he didn’t want to thump his chest and drag her off by her hair to his cave. Control was something he craved, but never to the extent that he did with Jenna. She seemed to need his control just as much as he did, and that’s why he had to see Jake.
Ryan was sitting in the parking lot of the prison where Jake was being held. He knew what he needed to do, but he also knew that it would piss Jenna off. He promised to only control her in the bedroom, but this needed to happen. Ryan sighed and turned off his truck. The sooner he saw Jake, the sooner he could be homewith Zac and Jenna.
∞
Jake looked hard and mean through the glass at him, and Ryan couldn’t see any trace of his old friend. The boy with whom he was best friends as a child was gone. In his place sat a hard, thin, angry man, and Ryan couldn’t find any compassion for him. The asshole tried to kill his brother and Karlie, and God—Jenna and Zac. Jake deserved everything he was getting. He deserved more, but because of his father’s money and connections, he was only getting a slap on the wrist for his crimes. Ryan felt sick that he hadn’t been there for Jenna and Zac while she was going through the hearings and court appearances to put Jake away. He knew that he couldn’t change his past mistakes, but he also knew that he would never make them again. This was just the first step in making sure that his family would never have to deal with Jake again.
“Ryan, I would say it’s good to see you, but—” Jake’s smirk made Ryan want to go through the glass partition and choke the cocky asshole. “So, what brings you here? Wait, let me guess. Hmm.” Jake was milking the whole situation, pressing his finger to his lips as if deep in thought. His smile pushed his finger away, “That skanky bitch of a wife of mine sent you, am I right?” His smile grew wider, meaner. Ryan knew that he needed to maintain his calm if he was going to get what he wanted from Jake, but all he wanted at the moment was to kill the bastard.
“Jake, you look,” Ryan paused and smiled in return, “well. Prison seems to agree with you, and orange is definitely your color. Really brings out your eyes.” Jake’s scowl was back, and he fidgeted in his seat. Ryan knew that the best way to deal withhis old friend was to act like he had the upper hand. Jake had no compassion left when it came to Jenna and Zac. He had to tread lightly but show Jake no fear. Otherwise, he would be leaving today, not being able to help the woman that he loved.
Ryan sat back in his chair and waited Jake out. Each minute that passed, Jake seemed to grow more restless. “I’ve got no place to be, Jake, so we can do this all day. You gonna play nice, or should I come back with an attorney?”
“And why would you need an attorney, Ryan?” Jake sneered. “Could it be that you and that bitch want something from me? You know that will never happen. I owe you nothing.”
“You tried to kill my brother and his wife. You tried to kill the woman that I love and her son.” Ryan was finding it harder to remain in his seat.
“My son—he’s my kid. Don’t you come in here and tell me that you love what’s mine.” Jake looked like he could start foaming at the mouth. Yeah, Ryan was letting things get a little out of control. If Jake got mad enough, he might slip up and say something to help Jenna’s case. On the other hand, Ryan would be giving up his chance to get what he needed from Jake.
Ryan heaved a sigh and held up his hands in defeat. “You win, man. You’re right, she was your wife, and he is your son. And I was your friend. I want to still be your friend, Jake.” Jake sank back into his chair, as far as his handcuffs would allow.
“That’s why I’m here, man. I want you to help me do right by your son. I’m here today to ask you to sign off on Zac’s paternity. I brought the paperwork with me from Jenna’s attorney. I want to adopt Zac.” Ryan held up the attorney’s papers as if they would explain all.
Jake barked out a mean laugh, “So, my old man was right. You are back in town, and now you’ve taken up with my cunt ex-wife. Tell me, Ryan, why would I give you MY son?” Jake puffed out his chest as he pointed to himself. Okay, Ryan could play caveman if that’s what Jake wanted, since playing nice wasn’t working. Ryan sat a little taller and slapped the papers against the glass.
