Surviving Broken(83)
JC swallowed the discernments and dropped her hand. “Beautiful babies.”
“Thank you,” she replied with smooth southern charm.
Reed relieved her of the boy, holding him in the palm of his hand. He tossed him into the air while the baby gave a jubilant shriek and kicked his feet. “He looks just like his daddy.”
“He’s as bad-tempered as him too. Especially when he doesn’t get any sleep.”
“You talkin’ bout me or the baby?” Sam snatched the boy from Reed, placing him back on Jenny’s hip. He smooched the top of the twin’s curly blonde hair and patted his wife’s bottom.
“Both!” Jenny taunted with a soft laugh. Her tired eyes gleamed brightly, winking at her husband.
Sam presented Reed with a red apron reading Beef: it’s what’s for dinner. “I need help flipping steaks.”
Rising smoke from the grill carried the distinct aroma of mesquite through the air. Flames licked at the edges of the meat making it sizzle. Reed cupped her jaw, brushing his lips on the edge of her ear. “I’ll be back,” he whispered.
She gave a quick nod and returned the show of affection with a kiss on the cheek before crossing the apron ties at his back and tying it in a knot at his waist.
Jenny watched with a translucent gaze, tucking a piece of her blond bob behind her ear. She was a tiny woman with delicate striking features, accentuated by her sun kissed golden skin.
JC stammered in attempts of starting a conversation. “You have a lovely home.”
The baby girl began to fuss. “Thank you.” Jenny swayed back and forth, patting the girl gently on the back. She held her silence, focusing on the babies, causing JC stomach to coil.
“What are their names?”
“Annie and Andrew.”
JC’s eyes widened. She tried to suppress the mounting angst from stretching across her face. It should’ve come as no surprise Jenny and Sam would name their daughter after Reed’s wife, but it would’ve been nice if he’d mentioned it. You’re being ridiculous. He barely spoke of her. JC knew the subject was too painful. She gave a slow nod, and empathy tugged between her brows.
“They’re adorable. My nephews are—”
Annie let out a loud wail and threw up in a projectile fashion. Jenny’s quick reflexes kept most of it on the grass, but curdled milk dribbled down the front of her shirt, landing on her bare foot.
JC instinctively reached for the baby boy to lend a helping hand, but was quickly rejected with a twist of Jenny’s shoulder. The little girl rubbed her eyes and rested her head on her mom’s chest. “You’ll have to excuse me. She hasn’t been feeling well all morning.”
JC would’ve offered her assistance, but it was clear by the way Jenny retreated to the house she didn’t need or want any help. Strike one! That didn’t go very well. Within a few minutes of being at Sam and Jenny’s home, JC realized this was Reed’s family or at least the closest thing he had left of a family. She wanted to make a good impression. So far, not so good.
JC turned toward the bar, resting her arms on the granite bartop and ordered a water from the young man decked out in a cowboy hat tending bar. She introduced herself to two women sipping Margaritas beside her. The ladies each said hello with a frosty nod, their smiles as fake as their best assets. Judging by the slur in the woman’s L’s and a heavy list in her friend’s posture as she slouched over the bar, it wasn’t their first drink of the afternoon.
After twenty minutes of small talk with the bartender and a few others, JC moseyed closer to the BBQ to be with Reed.
Reed was well-liked by everyone. He attentively led her through the afternoon, his fingers looped through hers or his palm rested on the small of her back. He talked in her ear, telling funny stories from his past. Jenny was nonexistent for most of the day. JC only saw her briefly from a distance, floating between friends holding onto a baby monitor before returning to the house.
The sun started to set and the party began to clear out. They gathered around the bar with Sam and several other couples. His friends were very nice with a down-home charm. She exhaled a sigh of contentment, wrapping her arm around Reed’s bicep, snuggling into the spicy scent of his neck.
This was the first time JC had ever felt like part of a couple, half of a duo. A team. His friends acknowledged them as a couple, referring to them as ya’ll. JC’d never been happier to be part of something. She wasn’t just a piece of arm candy and neither was he. She and Reed were partners and it felt amazing.
Excusing herself from the group, she moseyed her way to the hall bathroom, hoping she’d run into Jenny, but the house was empty. A narrow table in the hall caught her attention. Family pictures adorned the glass table. A large silver frame held a photo of Jenny and Sam’s wedding, another showed off a great photo of the twins. Noticing a familiar handsome face, she reached for a frame wrapped in brown leather.