Surviving Broken(77)

Both men seemed at ease with one another and Tom, to her amazement, acted like his pleasant self, not an overprotective parent. They conversed about the eco-friendly humanitarian project that Tom and Tess were heading up in the French Polynesia. That led into a discussion of environmental building materials Reed planned to use on his home.

Tess’s ears perked up when the conversation turned to Reed’s remodel. She had a love for design and architecture. Reed pointed toward the living room and began asking questions about the renovation of the fireplace. Tess motioned him inside. Reed patted JC on the bottom with a slight lift, encouraging her off his lap.

Tess’s passion for building poured out as her voice ascended higher. She offered Reed every minute detail about the hand hammered copper fireplace and the massive two thousand pound boulder molded into the solid concrete hearth.

JC hung back with Tom on the balcony. “So?” she questioned apprehensively, knowing if she dared to ask the question, her stepdad would willing oblige a truthful answer.

“So what?” His blank stare never faltered from the ocean.

“Don’t give me that crap. What do you think of Reed?”

He bobbed his head from side-to-side in a hum-drum sort-of way. “Well, he’s from Texas,” Tom jeered, “so he has manners. He seems confident and smart with a lot of unpolished edges. The complete opposite of any other man I’ve ever seen you with. That being said, he’s alright.”

Anxiety uncoiled from her vertebras in a strained exhale.

“Although, I noticed a flaw right off the get go.” Highhanded amusement now turned into a mocking smile.

“A flaw?” she snickered doubtfully.

“Yep. He doesn’t snowboard or ski.”

“Pshh.” She scoffed, throwing her hands to her hips. JC’s timid stature morphed into that of poised self-assurance. “I’ll fix that over Thanksgiving.”

JC spun on her toes, leaving Tom holding onto the stainless steel railing for support, his jaw nearly brushing the floor.

“Reed, you don’t snowboard?” she interrupted.

“No.” His deep voice dripped with sweetness. “Is that a requirement?”

“Not necessarily.” JC cinched her finger through his belt loop, tugging him closer.

Tom interjected. “As long as you love the snow and you’re prepared to participate in JC’s snowboarding 101 and willing to get pummeled because she won’t show you any mercy just because you’re a newbie,”—he shot his wife a nod of revelation—“JC said she’s going to teach Reed how to board over Thanksgiving.”

“Well,”—Tess’s mouth opened and closed like a fish—“of course, she’ll teach you over Thanksgiving...five months from now.” She silently counted the months on her fingers.

Reed bowed his head, but JC could see a glint of humor deepening his laugh lines as he tried to hide his husky laugh.

Before JC could utter a word of complaint, a chirp chirp chirp interrupted the conversation.

Reed reached into his pocket to answer his phone. “Hello. No problem. I’ll be there for the delivery.” He shut the phone. “I’m sorry, I have several new pieces of furniture being delivered in thirty minutes.”



****



Erotic images of the previous night sifted through JC’s thoughts as she waited patiently for the deliveryman to leave. The man in his early twenties looked like a throw back from the seventies dressed in a tie-dyed t-shirt, cargo shorts and Birkenstocks. He gravitated to Reed as soon as he heard his southern drawl. He’d moved from Austin six years earlier and felt the need to reminisce about all things Texas. After lingering in the living room for twenty minutes, amiably advocating his live and let live mentality, JC thought she might kick him in the shin or drag him out the door by the ear if he didn’t leave soon.

Following a heavy sigh and a pleading get-rid-of-him glance from JC, Reed politely escorted the man out to his truck and flipped him a hefty tip, which he refused to accept seeing how they were practically related now.

Peering down at the chaise, she nudged it firmly with her knee, positioning it to the perfect angle in the corner of the bedroom, casting rays of sunlight across the brindle hide. Seconds after hearing the click of the front door shutting, his mouth was at her ear. His fingers slipped beneath the straps on her shoulder, lifting the dress above her head and tossing it on the end of the bed.

Spikes of sensual energy gathered between them. Reed nuzzled the rasp of his stubble into the sensitive spot on her neck and her skin came to life beneath his firm yet gentle touch. Tremors chased down her spine and desire ached between her thighs. Never in her life had JC been so completely in tune with the bodily forces filling her physically and emotionally.