Snapdragon: Tiny Threads Part 9

"You can knock that s.h.i.+t off, too." He gave her a pointed look, and she had the good grace to nod in acceptance. He was seldom hard on them, so she knew he was too p.i.s.sed off to mess with.

"Ready?" he asked, smiling-genuinely for the first time in a while.

"Yup." I grabbed his hand and leaned into him.

"Gross," Skylar said from the front seat, making Macy laugh.

"Right? I get in trouble, but they can make out in the parking lot in front of everyone? Ugh."

We didn't stick around to listen to the rest. I wasn't tempting fate-my husband was smiling, talking, and holding my hand. We were going home-alone, and there was a very good chance we were going to have some fun when we got there. I was h.o.r.n.y and happy and my whiney kids weren't going to spoil it.

Chapter 8.

"Jenna, you should slow down. That was a yellow light."

I gripped the steering wheel tightly and bit the inside of my cheek to keep the insults from spewing out of my mouth. We'd barely made it out of Sarah's neighborhood, and she was already throwing her usual jabs.

"Sarah, the light turned yellow while I was in the intersection. Why don't you leave the driving to me, Okay?"

I heard Glenn sn.i.g.g.e.r from the back seat and threw him a dirty look through the rear-view mirror. I had no idea why Sarah insisted on coming with us, anyway. She never went to his therapy appointments, hence the need for me to go. She was adamant about going, though, and I was in no mood to argue with her.

Not after spending the morning arguing with her stupid son.

Things had been going good. We'd been closer than we had in over a year and finally starting to connect on an intimate level. But it was short lived. He was back to being an evasive pain in the a.s.s, and he hadn't touched me in all week.

He was working longer hours than usual and had been making more frequent out of town trips. I understood that he was trying to branch out and get more business, especially in some of the new building developments just out of town. Sadly, all the travel and long hours had soured his mood even more He was emotionally absent, and I was left wanting.

So, yeah, his mother's crazy bulls.h.i.+t was extra annoying.

At least the drive was short, and before long, I was pulling into the parking lot of the clinic. I got out, went to the back of the truck, and dragged Glenn's wheelchair out of the back. I unloaded it, unfolded it, and pushed it to his side of the truck.

It was hard getting him in and out of the truck, and Sarah was no help. He outweighed me by at least sixty pounds, and since he only had the strength of his upper body, he couldn't help much himself. I was waiting for the day when he'd flop out and flatten me against the asphalt of the parking lot.

Not only was it physically a pain in the a.s.s, but he was such a grumpy old bear all the time. His lack of grat.i.tude was grating on my nerves, and I was ready to snap on him any minute.

I tried not to feel that way. I loved him, and what happened to him was a horrible tragedy. It'd been five years since the day he went over the side of the road on his motorcycle, and all of our lives were turned upside down. No one had been the same since. Especially Glenn.

Losing his leg and mobility destroyed him.

Because of that, I never once complained to a soul about taking him to the doctor appointments. Sarah couldn't handle it on her own, and he wouldn't allow Tara to help, so it was me. Our physical therapy visits brought us closer, in fact, although I wanted to punch him in the junk most of the time for being so stubborn.

Once I got him signed in, I took a seat next to Sarah and grabbed my book to read while we waited.

"I'd like to go in with you if that's all right, honey," Sarah said softly, patting Glenn's arm.

A small smile pulled at my lips. Glenn never let me go in with him. I wasn't sure if it was his pride or his stubbornness, or a little of both, but he insisted that I wait in the lobby while he finished his appointments.

It didn't bother me. I waited patiently and read. It wasn't like I could do anything for him in there, anyway. I had to admit that I wasn't too gung-ho on watching him struggle, either. He didn't like being seen as vulnerable or weak, and that's exactly how he'd feel if we were to interfere. I just wasn't sure how Sarah would handle the rejection.

"Sure, Ma. That's fine. You'll be bored, though."

My head shot up, the shock obvious on my face. He shrugged his shoulders and looked down, but I understood the expression on his face. He wanted his mommy. It figured. She babied them-both him and Royal-and they ate it up.

"Will you be all right out here alone, Jenna?" Sarah said, looking concerned.

I smiled. "I'll be fine." I held up my book and gave it a shake. "I have a book to read, and I always wait out here. I just let him do his thing."

She nodded, seemingly pleased that I wasn't upset, and grabbed a magazine off the table next to her. She thumbed through it quietly before she spoke up again.

"Royal mentioned that he saw Lana Adams recently. We'll have to have her over for dinner, Glenn. She was always such a darling girl."

It felt like I'd been hit in the stomach by an anvil. I swung my head around to gawk at her. Had I heard her correctly? Had she actually brought Lana Adams up in front of me? Called her a darling girl? And had Royal actually talked about her to his mother?

Flashes of rage blasted behind my eyes like lit sparklers. The woman was crazier than I gave her credit for.

I clenched my teeth-hard-and breathed through my nose so I wouldn't pa.s.s out. G.o.d, the woman could be such a b.i.t.c.h. A b.i.t.c.h with the brain of an idiot. Sometimes, she could be so inconsiderate. I wanted to grab her by the hair and shake the stupid out of her.

Unbelievable!

"I hear she looks better than ever. All that suns.h.i.+ne, I guess. She was always such a beautiful girl, so lively and fun-loving. I enjoyed having her at the house."

Her tone was nonchalant and innocent enough, but I could tell she was throwing a jab at me. For the most part, Sarah was always kind to me. We got along okay, but she always blamed me for Royal dropping out of school, even if she never straight out said so. She should've been proud that he stepped up to the plate to take care of me and the kids, but she could never let go of her dream of bigger and better things.

G.o.d forbid she did better for herself. Leave it to her sons to take care of her.

I never felt an ounce of guilt for the life I shared with Royal, but there had been times when I thought she resented me and the fact that Royal stepped up-unlike his own father. She used their father leaving her alone to her advantage, which p.i.s.sed me off to no end. They'd both been very young. She had plenty of opportunities to do better for herself.

I didn't know much about her marriage to their father, and Royal was only around five when he left, so he didn't know much. Glenn never, ever, talked about him. Ever. But they both lived under the a.s.sumption that that it was their job to take care of her. I always found it admirable that Royal was so close to his mom and that he had so much love and respect for her. As the years went on, though, I saw through her manipulations and guilt trips and read them for what they were-pathetic cries for attention.

She was very calculated. She loved her sons, but she also didn't like to share them. The worst of that came out after Glenn's accident. Not once did she try to convince him to go back to his family, Tara and Lily, even though she knew how miserable he was without them. She didn't get along with Tara, mostly because Tara didn't put up with any of her c.r.a.p.

Sarah brought me out of my inner grumbling with her hand on my arm. "You remember Lana, don't you, Jenna?"

I didn't answer. She was p.i.s.sing me off, and I felt my nerves crumbling. She knew d.a.m.n well that I knew her, and more than that, she knew everything that s.k.a.n.k put me through.

"They don't exactly get along, Mom," Glenn said with a frustrated sigh.

Sarah looked between the two of us before snapping her fingers. "I remember now. They were still dating when Royal met you, right?"

I gave my head a swift shake. "No, Sarah, they weren't dating. He was still s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g her in the back of his van from time to time, but I wouldn't call that a relations.h.i.+p."

She gasped, and I almost felt bad. Almost. She had a way of nudging me toward a cliff, like a splinter underneath your fingernails.

"The woman is a bitter shrew. She needs to stay away from my husband."

"Not sure it's a good idea having her around, Mom. She's always had an evil streak when it came to Jenna."

I leaned forward so he could see me better and mouthed thank you.

Sarah was quiet, probably silently wigging out because of my language. That was just too d.a.m.n bad. Bringing Lana up was rude, and she'd done it on purpose to get a rise out of me. The rise she got was probably more than she expected, especially in public.

Thankfully, Glenn was called in quickly, leaving me in the waiting room alone with my book. I was lost in thought and not really concentrating on the words in front of me when my phone rang.

It was Melissa.

"Hey Melissa, what's up?"

She sighed, and I closed my book and ran my hand through my hair. s.h.i.+t.

I had a bad feeling I was about to lose my days off. Days I needed for my own mental sanity.

"So, I just got a call from my professor and I have to retake this test I screwed up and the only time he has available is today before four o'clock. I'm so sorry, Jenna. I wouldn't ask you-you know I wouldn't-if it weren't super important. I'm so, so sorry."

I knew she was. She was a good girl, and she had a tough schedule between school and working at the salon. It was a lot for a young girl, and she was doing it all on her own. I wanted to support her.

"Okay, Melissa. It's no problem. I'm with Glenn at physical therapy at the moment, so I won't be there for at least another hour and a half. What time do you need to leave? Can Tara handle it until I get there?"

"Thank you!" she cheered. "That gives me plenty of time. Thanks again, Jenna. I owe you one. Seriously."

I chuckled and threw my bookmark between the pages to save my place. "You bet you do. I'll see you in a bit."

"Here, wear this one."

It was bordering on ridiculous that my husband had to be so difficult about even the simplest of tasks.

"I hate this s.h.i.+rt. Why am I getting dressed like this again? We're not even going anywhere."

I huffed. He acted like it was going to kill him to wear a dress s.h.i.+rt for one night. He'd live-I wasn't going to give in. I didn't want t-s.h.i.+rts at the dinner table.

I grabbed my brush from the vanity and dragged it swiftly through my hair.

"Because I want to have a nice dinner party. I worked hard on dinner, and we're having guests. I told you all of this three days ago."

Of course, he probably hadn't been listening to me, but I was used to that. I just wanted to have a nice, normal dinner. I wanted to set the table with my best dishes-the ones I never got to use-have my family interact like normal human beings and enjoy our guests. It wasn't a lot to ask, but apparently, everyone wanted to make it difficult.

We hadn't had a real dinner party in years. Usually dinner with friends and family was an all-out fiasco with kids, the grown kids, and lots of beer and food. For once, I wanted to do something really nice.

Plus, I had ulterior motives. I'd met a very nice guy when I'd taken Melissa's clients a few weeks before. As soon as he walked through the door, I knew he'd be perfect for Abbie. She needed a guy like Jason. He was older but so handsome and had one of the best smiles I'd ever seen. Right away we hit it off, and I learned quite a bit about him in the half hour it took to cut his hair.

He was a widower, had just relocated from Texas to get away from the memories of losing his wife and to start over. He decided he wanted to be by the ocean and settled on our little Northern California beach town to make his new beginning.

Plus, he was a doctor.

"Who's this guest again?" Royal said, interrupting my inner ramblings.

"Dr. Hutchens-Jason."

"Oh," he said. "We call him Jason?"

I turned around and gave him a warning look. "Don't be like that. G.o.d! He's a very nice man, and he's new to town and alone. Can we just be nice and keep him company?"

He groaned but made no other comments while he b.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt. I hadn't expected him to be thrilled with my idea, but some cooperation once in a while would've been nice. Sometimes he was difficult just to be difficult.

"I'm going to finish up in the kitchen. My bread is probably ruined."

I turned to walk out of the room but stopped and turned back to face him. "And Royal, please be on your best behavior tonight. He's not one of your rowdy friends. Let's make him feel welcome, okay?"

He smiled, and it made me nervous. I cursed myself for even bringing it up. My husband could be a real s.h.i.+t.

Difficult f.u.c.king Graingers.

I'd stressed over what to prepare for dinner for days but finally settled on prime rib. Everyone loved my prime rib, and it always turned out perfect. I usually reserved making it for special occasions, but I wanted to do something special. I paired it with seared garlic green beans, twice-baked potatoes, and homemade sourdough loaves.

The whole house smelled delicious, and I hoped it'd make Jason feel welcome. The girls were getting excited about our new guest, especially Skylar. She'd shown an interest in medicine as a career path and had a specific interest in sports medicine. She was looking forward to picking his brain.

I'd just set the bread on the counter and wrapped them in cloth when the doorbell rang. I was equally nervous and excited. Nervous about how Royal would behave, worried about having Tara and Glenn in the same room, and excited about having everyone in the same room together for the first time in a long time.

It was technically Glenn's birthday dinner. Using that as an excuse was truly the only way to get everyone to agree to come over and pretend to get along.

As mentioned, the family was nuts.

"I'll get it!" Delaney bellowed as she ran to the door. I smiled. She was the perfect hostess to greet Jason at the door.

I wiped my hands on a dish towel and removed my ap.r.o.n before following after her. I chuckled under my breath at the sight of my three daughters being just as dazzled as I'd been the first time I met Jason.

"Girls, ask the poor man inside! Where are your manners?"

Jason peered over their heads and winked at me before stepping over the threshold and into the house.

"Jenna, h.e.l.lo. Thank you again for having me. It smells delicious-someone's been busy."

I smiled. "It's almost ready. Let me grab your coat."

He handed me a bottle of wine and then his jacket, and I turned to hang it up while introducing him to the girls.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he said, smiling kindly. "Your mom sure didn't exaggerate about how beautiful you are. I shouldn't be surprised; you all have your mother's smile."

The girls muttered and fidgeted nervously under his compliment. They weren't strangers to being told they were pretty, but they were under the same spell I had been the first time I spoke to Jason Hutchens.