Page 40 of A Second Chance

Fifteen

Jason had showered and had a conundrum at picking out a shirt. He rummaged through his closet, searching for something that would look good on him. It was his first real date in years, at least one where he’d planned, then called and asked. Not simply dumped off alone with her because of his diabolical sister and friends. His nerves progressed from a small flutter to a horde of bees. Which was ridiculous, he’d already slept with the woman and was elated and relieved to remember every second. If there were any justice in the world, he’d get to do it again. Not that he expected it from her.

They’d made zero promises to each other, and he suspected that had to do with their first night together. And in reality, it scared him to tell her everything, because then she’d run. He’d hurt Autumn and only recalled flashes of that day and it ended with him in the back of Weasel’s police car.And no one suffered any lasting impacts, he reminded himself, and he’d gotten the help he needed after that. Mostly, he’d come through the worst of it. His phone buzzed, a text message from Gwen.I’m outside.But they’d planned for him to pick her up, and not for her to show up there.

Gwen stood at the bottom of the front porch steps, looking gorgeous. Her low-cut, fuzzy pink sweater showed a hint of cleavage peeking out and dark skirt. His eyes made a couple quick passes over the top, because it wasn’t polite to stare at a woman’s boobs. They got annoyed when men did, but holy hell those were sexy.

“Hey, what’s going on?” he skipped a couple of steps to get to her.

“Small change of plans,” she said, grimacing. “Rebecca’s mom’s in town and they want to do a group dinner here. They want to show off Rebecca’s work… and honestly, I suspect to take the heat off Weasel.”

He nodded. He’d take one for the team tonight, but his disappointment must have shown because Gwen leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Don’t worry,” she whispered into his ear, “we’ll have some alone time later.” Her hot breath making him want to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to his cave.

“That’s not the only thing,” he replied, dragging his mind, kicking and screaming, from the gutter. He leaned down and brushed his lips across hers.

“Do you think you two could get off of each other long enough to come help me? That’d be great.” Ten yards away, Weasel sat behind the wheel of a golf cart, irritated as hell. Ben and Brandon had two golf carts they used to move back and forth between the business property and their personal residence.

“We’re coming, sweetie!” Gwen called.

“He’s one to talk,” Jason muttered.

“Any day now,” Weasel said.

Gwen looked up wide-eyed and mouthed. “Wow.”

Jason nodded and grabbed Gwen’s hand as they hurried and climbed onto the back of the cart. Weasel hit the gas. This was an odd situation for the usually unflappable detective. He chased drug dealers, got into fistfights with criminals, had been in a meth lab explosion, and shot. Nothing scared him – well, nothing except his mother-in-law.

They rode the path around to the barn and Weasel parked near the front entrance, hopped out, and headed inside without a word. He and Gwen stared at each other. It wasn’t going well for Weasel.

The barn door cracked open. “Get in here,” Weasel hissed and then disappeared.

“You look gorgeous,” Jason said to Gwen then opened the door for her. A smile spread across her face, and the glittery lighting from inside sparkled through those blue eyes.

The inside of the Huntington Farms barn was setup for a classy, high-end cocktail party. The house lights were low, and the string lights on full twinkle. They draped high top tables with a dark purple cloth and small candles, and arrangements with fall leaves decorated every conceivable place. He guessed Rebecca had commandeered almost every decoration the place owned for fall-themed weddings. Soft piano music played over the sound system. Why were they trying so hard to impress her mother?

“Woah, Jay and Gwen?” a voice said. He turned to Eli Morrison, who looked at their hands entwined. “You two are a thing?” They shook hands. “Congrats, lucky guy.” He turned and Gwen hugged him. “You could do better,” he said. She giggled.

“Dude, I’m right here.”

“Keeping ya on your toes, man.” He grinned.

“We’ll find you someone,” Gwen said.

Eli groaned. “You sound like your sister.”

“How’d you get roped into this?” Jason asked.

“It’s my night off. Anderson calls, we answer.”

“You’re a good friend,” Gwen said.

Yeah, such a good friend that he ended up stuck at a party with a bunch of couples. Jason felt his pain.

They wandered through the glittery scene. Ben stood behind the bar talking to a bartender. They were using staff tonight. He found Hannah, Justin, Autumn, and Dan in a circle talking to an elegant looking middle-aged woman wearing a gray silky looking shirt, a pair of tailored pants. Like Rebecca, she was tall with dark hair, but unlike Rebecca’s, cut short. The woman was thin, to the point you wondered if she had any internal organs. Not that her daughter was big. But Rebecca had curves with butt and boobs, that he preferred, not that he’d say that out loud. He didn’t want to die a slow and painful death at the hands of her husband. The two had similar features, but while Rebecca came across as personable and happy, her mom exuded a severe air to her that screamed bitch. He winced at his internal judgment.

Gwen steered them to the group, and he regretted not seeing the table of tiny little food on trays, his stomach rumbled. If their evening plans hadn’t changed, they’d be arriving at the restaurant right about now.

“Hi,” Gwen stepped up to the circle, keeping his hand in a firm grip. He wondered if it were a sign for the group. They received hugs and handshakes from their friends in greeting. Everyone acted nicer than usual. They intruded themselves to Ellen Gilbert and her boyfriend Roger who joined the group holding a drink in hand. Conspicuously absent from this little group was Rebecca and Harlan. It seems they’d gone with his real name for her mother. The smart choice. They all made small talk about the weather and how their travels had gone.

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