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Jennifer comes home to Georgia, divorced. The last thing she expects is loving again. |
| Jennifer groaned at the steady rhythm in her head. She put the pillow over her face and tried to silence the pounding. “Jennifer, wake up!” She jerked up as she realized it wasn't her imagination making that noise. Scott was at her door. She struggled free of the twisted sheets and ran towards the door. “What's wrong?” “Chloe called. She couldn't reach you.” Jennifer's heart started galloping. “Is she okay?” His solemn face worried her. “I don't know. She wouldn't say. Just that she wanted you to come get her.” Jennifer nodded and ran back to the bed for her shoes. After two failed attempts at getting her feet shoved into the tennis shoes, she jerked the closet door open and pulled out her flip flops. Her phone chirped as she was heading out of the room. She grabbed it and glanced at the screen as she rushed down the darkened hallway. Four missed calls from Chloe and the same amount of voicemails. Damn those pills. She accessed her messages as she jumped into her truck and threw it into gear. Chloe's voice shook as she asked Jennifer to call her back. She flipped to the next message. Chloe, sounding a bit angrier but still upset, begging Jennifer to answer the phone. The last two messages were typical, angry teenage variety. “I guess you don't care about me. Thanks for your help.” Jennifer swerved as she started to run off the road. Her hand shook as she found Chloe's name and hit the talk button. The line was busy. She pressed the gas down harder, not caring if she passed Jordan speeding. She slowed enough to make it over the bridge then accelerated again. Just as she reached Main Street, she heard sirens. Her stomach twisted. “Please don't let that be an ambulance.” She spotted blue lights flashing near the city limits. She sighed in relief as she realized it was a police cruiser. Jordan's truck was ahead of the car. They were chasing a red Mustang. The car started to fishtail. Jennifer tried Chloe's phone again. It went to voicemail. She bit her lip as she tried to decide what to do. The smart thing would be to go to Roxanne's. That was probably where Chloe was at. She and Skylar might have had a fight. She groaned as she realized she'd have to wait until Jordan caught the manic driver and cleared the road. It was the only way to Roxanne's house. The sirens quit wailing as the two police vehicles braked. The car ran off the side of the road before jumping back over the curve and coming to a stop across both lanes of the road. Thank God there wasn't any incoming traffic. She slowed down as she reached the group. She put the car in Park and waited. A flash of blond hair in the back seat caused her to lean towards the windshield. Long and wavy, just like Chloe's. Then she saw a mess of long straight black hair. Her heart stopped. She bolted from the truck and ran up to the car. Her feet slapping the sidewalk caused Jordan to turn around as he pulled the driver from the car. Another police officer was doing a similar thing to the passenger. “Jennifer, stay there.” “Hell no. Chloe's inside.” Jordan's eyes widened as he ducked his head into the car. He raised his head, his face contorted with anger. He shook the driver and said something Jenifer couldn’t hear. She watched in surprise as Jordan threw the boy onto the hood of the car and handcuffed him. “Chloe, Skylar, get out now.” Both girls slipped from the car, their legs shaky. They huddled together, their faces pale. Chloe spotted Jennifer and started to run towards her before pulling back. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Jennifer. “Thanks for coming but you're too late. At least you'll be here to bail me out of jail.” Jennifer gasped. Her baby couldn't be locked up. She was a good kid. She jogged over and ran her hands up and down Chloe's body, looking for injuries. She grabbed Chloe's chin and forced her to look up. “What is going on?” Skylar sobbed. “We were supposed to be going bowling. Then these fools started drinking and wouldn’t' take us back home.” Jordan clucked his tongue as he shook a plastic bag. Jennifer felt like she would be sick. “Is that what I think it is?” “Yeah, it's marijuana.” Jennifer's hands curled into fists. She released Chloe and marched over to the smirking teenager. “You're lucky there's a cop standing here or I would put you six feet under.” He laughed. “Chief, you hear that. This bitch just threatened me. She should be arrested.” Jordan continued patting the boy down. “Given that you had her fourteen year old daughter in your car, I'd say she has a right. I have half a mind to let her take care of you.” “That's illegal. I'm underage.” Jordan's teeth flashed dangerously in the moonlight. “You're eighteen, which means you'll be tried as an adult. If Jennifer wants, she can press charges against you for having a minor in the car.” Jennifer nodded. “I plan to. I want to slap him with every charge he can get.” She looked across the hood as she heard retching. Jason stood up and wiped his mouth with his shoulder. She shook her head and looked back at the girls. “I thought y'all were staying home tonight. Does Roxanne know about this?” Skylar looked at the ground, her eyes guilty. “No. We told her we wouldn’t go anywhere. She went to see a man in Tula.” Jennifer's hands went to her hips. “I thought she wasn't dating anyone.” She pointed a finger at Jordan. “You tricked me.” He looked as confused as she felt. “No, I didn't know. She didn't mention it.” Skylar slid to the ground. “It's her dad. He's dying and has been trying to make amends for the last few years.” Chloe whimpered. “Why didn't you answer the phone?” Jennifer felt the world began to spin. She braced herself against the car as she looked at Chloe. “I took one of my headache pills earlier. I didn't hear it ring. Scott had to practically break my door down to get me up. I'm so sorry baby.” Chloe nodded. She bit her lip as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Jennifer held her arms open and Chloe slammed into her. “I'm so sorry Momma. I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Jennifer brushed Chloe's hair off her sweaty head. “It's okay. We'll talk about it in the truck.” The smell of beer curled her noise. She leaned closer and sniffed. Her head jerked back. “You reek. Have you been drinking?” Chloe stepped away. “Of course not.” “You smell like a brewery.” “So did you last night.” “I'm an adult. You're not. Tell me the truth Chloe.” Chloe's eyes dulled. Her hands twisted in front of her. “I am. But I'm not surprised if you don't believe me.” Skylar stepped forward and put her arm around Chloe's waist. “We weren't Miss Jennifer. I swear.” Jennifer looked to Jordan, unsure whether to believe them. He shrugged. “I can give them a breathalyzer.” Jason kicked the car. “There's no need. They weren't drinking. Chloe hit me when I was taking a drink. My bottle slipped and sprayed over everybody.” “That wouldn't be enough to make them smell that bad.” Jordan shook his head. “I can smell it over here.” “Well, I poured beer over them. Tried to get them to quit being such pansies. Ain't nothing wrong with having some fun.” Jason turned to the kid beside him. His eyes narrowed. Before anyone realized what he'd planned, he dropped his shoulder and tackled the boy to the ground. “I told you not to mess with them, you idiot.” Jennifer looked around, trying to decide whether she should believe the stories. Jordan met her eyes and gave a tilted smile. “I think they're telling the truth. Look at the girls' shirts. They're stained.” Jennifer looked over both girls and sighed with relief. “Can I take them home?” “Not yet. I'll need to get their statements. But you can put them in the truck until I'm ready. It won't be long before I'm through with this chump.” Ten minutes later, Jordan walked to the driver side of the truck and leaned against it, his notepad in hand. He looked furious. Jennifer felt Chloe flinch. “Okay ladies, how about telling me what happened?” Skylar poked her head out from the back seat. “Chief, we're really sorry.” He nodded. “I know. This isn't your fault.” Chloe held her head down. “It was my idea.” Jennifer gasped. “Chloe.” Her head rose and she looked at her mom with defiance blazing in her baby blues. “We were supposed to go bowling with Brandon and his parents. I knew you wouldn't mind, since Miss Ashleigh's your friend. But then they had to go see his aunt. We were walking down the street, trying to figure out how to get back Skylar's. I was about to call Pa when Jason pulled up. He offered to drop us off at the bowling alley. We both figured it wouldn’t be that big a deal, since it's only a mile. And I figured it would be a good way to spy on them, to see if any of the boys were smoking.” She looked at Jordan. “None of them did. Cigarettes, anyways.” Her nose crinkled. “When they passed Quick Lanes, I guessed we were in trouble. I called Mom, but she didn't answer. Pretty soon, you were chasing us down.” Jennifer shook her head. This was all Jordan's fault. If he'd never asked Chloe to help him figure out who burnt the barn down, she wouldn’t have gotten in that car. She could have been killed. Her temper soared. She shoved against the door, knocking Jordan off balance. She pointed towards his truck and marched over. She whirled on him, her hair flying. She jabbed a finger in the air. “This is all your fault.” He looked stunned. “What?” “You and that damn scheme to turn Chloe into your little rat.” Jordan pulled his hat off and rubbed his forehead. “I'm sorry. If I'd known she would take it this serious, I would have thought of something else. I wasn't thinking too well at that time, if you remember.” Her face flushed as she thought of why he'd been temporarily stupid. “If something had happened to her-” Jennifer's voice broke as tears burned the back of her throat. She let Jordan pull her into his arms. He stroked her hair and whispered soothing words. “Jennifer, I swear, I'd never let that happen. I would kill anyone who ever tried to hurt Chloe.” She tried to stem the flow of tears. Jordan pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. She touched soft cloth and used the handkerchief to wipe away the snot and salty tears. She looked up at him. He stared at her, his eyes glazed. She felt something stir against her stomach and jumped away. He cursed and clenched his eyes closed. She watched as he tried to force his ragged breath under control. “I'm sorry, Jennifer. I don't know why this happens every time you get around me.” “Maybe you should hook up with someone.” His eyebrows rose. “You offering?” Jennifer's hands rose out in front of her chest. She shook her head hard. “Uh no. I meant someone else. I doubt there’s a drought for women eager to warm your bed.” “If I can’t have the woman I want, I'll do without.” Jennifer struggled to remain unaffected. As if it wasn't weird enough to have a man interested in her, Jordan had to point out that she was the only woman he wanted. She felt another chip go down in her resistance. “I need to get the girls back to Roxy's.” He looked towards Jennifer's truck. “I have all I need. I'll see you tomorrow night. Don't be too hard on them.” Jennifer gave a brisk nod and hurried back to the truck. She rolled the windows down to counteract a hot flash. “What did the chief say?” Jennifer jumped at Chloe's quiet voice. “He said that he's sorry for ever asking you to help out.” Chloe gasped. “Momma, tell me you didn't blame this on him. It was my screw-up.” “Because of an idea he planted in your head.” “I have a confession to make.” Jennifer's hands clenched around the steering wheel. She couldn't handle all the problems falling into her lap. She tried to look calm. “Okay.” “I didn't think about snooping until that guy pulled out a joint. I'm still adjusting to this kind of life. I wanted something fun to do, and riding around seemed about the only option. I figured this was a small town so I wouldn't have to worry about the people being stupid, like they are in the city.” She smacked herself in the forehead. “Boy, was I wrong.” Jennifer felt lightheaded. Her daughter had gotten into a car full of boys, because she'd made her leave all her friends behind. Jennifer felt like jumping in front of a speeding truck. She once again considered if it had been the best thing, moving Chloe away from everything she'd ever known. “Momma?” She glanced over. “Hmm?” “Skylar had nothing to do with it. She didn't want to go, but she refused to let me get in the car by myself. Please, don't be mad at me. I know it was stupid and I'll never do it again.” Jennifer reached over and squeezed her daughter's hand. “I know. I think it would be best if you two came back to the ranch tonight. Maybe you can stay with Skylar another time.” After they got back to the ranch, the girls went straight to bed. Scott had stayed up to wait for them. Jennifer gave him a condensed version of the events before he went to bed. Her mind in a whirl, Jennifer went to the porch and sat on the steps. The chirping of the crickets lulled her into a meditative state until something brushed against her head. She jerked up, expecting Jordan to be standing in front of her. “Spirit! Boy, you scared me.” The horse nickered and nibbled at her hair. She laughed as she stroked his nose. “I've missed you.” He bobbed his head. Jennifer glanced at the darkened house before jumping up. She rubbed her way down his thick neck, stopping to scratch at his ear. When she reached his back, she grabbed a handful of mane and pulled herself onto his back. He craned his neck to look at her before turning and trotting towards the back of the house. Jennifer held on tight as she familiarized herself with his graceful movements. When they reached the fence a half mile from the main house, Spirit broke into a run. He bolted over the two feet high fence and veered towards the right, following the tree line. Jennifer sighed as she let the tension roll out of her. She tilted her head towards the sky, admiring the blanket of stars covering as far as she could see. The stars twinkled against the inky black. She felt Spirit slow down and looked ahead. They were moving into the tree line. She ducked down, so that she was lying across him as he maneuvered through the trees and down into the creek bed. “You know just what I need, don't you boy? Why can't you be a man?” He snorted as he clambered up the other side of the creek and followed it a few more miles. Jennifer detected the sound of water cascading and held her breath. The first time she'd been out here, Spirit broke into a hard run, only to stop so quick that Jennifer flew over his head. She waited to see what he would do this time. Instead of tossing her, he eased his way down a small trail that descended to the giant lake. He stopped at the water's edge and pawed the ground. Jennifer slid off and looked up. She grimaced at the forty foot tall cliff above. Funny how it hadn't looked that big on their way down. She kicked off her flip flops, pulled out her cell phone and wadded into the water, Spirit at her side. The warm liquid sloshed around her as she dipped beneath the surface. She stayed under until her lungs burned. She came up, gasping for air. Water splashed around her and pelted her in the head. She turned her face up, enjoying the feel of the natural-made waterfall. She tread water for a bit before deciding to check out her secret haven. Making sure Spirit was still around, she swam behind the fall and hoisted herself onto the limestone rock. One more jump brought her into the hidden cave. The smell of sulfur took her breath away. “Ugh. I don't remember it smelling that bad.” She plugged her nose and walked further into the eight foot high cavern. Steam billowed up from the pool in the middle of the area. She dipped a toe in the water before lowering herself down. She propped her head against a rock and let her thoughts wander. |
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