Enjoy the love! :)
****
Johanna fussed with her hair in the
bathroom mirror. After returning from the hospital, she’d agreed to the boys’
requests that she stay away from the kitchen, dining, and living room areas.
She’d worked a little in her office, showered, and now had on a black tank
dress that cut to a V at her breasts. A bit of makeup graced her face and a
necklace with a silver heart on the end Kam had given her one Christmas was
around her neck. She hoped she had the right look going for whatever Kam,
Holden, and apparently even Ted were scheming to do tonight.
She’d beaten herself up mentally
about cutting into the vision Holden had at the hospital, but he’d looked pale
and hazy. Her first thought had been that Dr. Sakala had delivered some
horrifying news. She should have known he was remembering something by the
faraway expression on his face.
She inspected herself in the mirror
again and said to Miles sitting by her feet, “I’ll make it up to him later
tonight.” She adjusted her breasts in the dress to make more of her cleavage
show. “Hope you can handle Fancy Johanna, Holden Lancaster.”
After smearing on more lipstick, she
snuck into her bedroom with Miles scratching along behind her. She peered at
the alarm clock by her bed. 6:58 p.m. Two minutes until Holden said she was
allowed to make her appearance in the kitchen. Fifty-seven seconds to think
about how wonderful it was to have Holden around. Forty-nine seconds to wonder
if she’d gone overboard with the lavender body spray. Thirty-eight seconds to
think about how happy Kam was about spending time with Holden. Thirty-two seconds
to be impressed by the progress of Ted’s cabin. Twenty-six seconds to worry
about Alex getting beat up in prison. Twenty-one seconds to consider putting on
shoes, then deciding against it. Fourteen seconds to open her bedroom door a
crack and inhale the garlic-scented air coming from the forbidden rooms. Nine
seconds to brush dog hair off her dress, six seconds to give herself one more
look in the bathroom mirror, three seconds to edge down the hallway and…
“Johanna,” Holden said, nearly
bumping into her. “You’re right on schedule, my lady, and you look…holy shit,
you look amazing.” He stared at her for a moment before shaking his head. Ah,
the power of the little black dress.
He bowed before her and held out his
elbow. He wore black jeans and a white T-shirt with a black, construction paper
bow tie around his neck.
“Nice outfit on you too.” Johanna
hooked her arm through his, and he escorted her into the dining room.
He adjusted the paper tie. “Thank
you. We went top-of-the-line on everything this evening.” His grin sent ripples
of arousal through Johanna.
He pulled out a chair and motioned
for her to sit. Miles made a big circle around the table, but scooted into the
kitchen when Kam came into the dining room also wearing black pants, a white
T-shirt, and a paper bow tie. Johanna laughed and held out her hand to her son.
“Come over here.” She wiggled her
fingers. “You look so handsome.” She raised her gaze to Holden. “Both of you
do.”
Ted came hobbling in on his crutches
wearing the same uniform, though his tie was a little crinkled and crooked.
“Wow,” Johanna said. “Ted too. This is
quite an accomplishment.” Ted rarely deviated from his stained, heavy-duty
work pants and threadbare T-shirts.
“It’s for a good cause,” Ted said as
he settled in the chair at the head of the table.
Kam pulled out the closest chair so
Ted could elevate his leg. “How’s that feel, Pep?”
“It feels like a pretty nurse gave me
exactly the right pills.” He ruffled Kam’s hair and turned toward Johanna. “I
may have convinced said pretty nurse to make a home visit to this invalid
tomorrow. That okay?”
“Yeah,” Johanna said. “If I can take
in pilots that fall from the sky, you can certainly have nurses stopping by.”
“No nurses,” Ted said. “Just
one nurse.”
“A very special nurse,” Kam teased.
“Quit it, kid. I’ve got pictures of
you learning how to use the crapper I can show Crystal, or Catherine, or…what’s
her name?”
“I’m not telling you.” Kam stuck out
his tongue at Ted, then looked at Holden. “Can we start now?”
“Yeah, Holden, can we start now?”
Johanna mimicked Kam’s pleading tone and clapped her hands together. “What
smells so good?”
“Me,” all three of the males answered
together.
“You’re all so modest.” Johanna
laughed.
“Kam, come help me.” Holden directed
the boy back into the kitchen leaving Johanna and Ted in the dining room.
“What’s going on here?” Johanna
asked.
“A little appreciation, that’s all.”
Ted waved the bottle of wine he’d uncorked and Johanna handed him her glass. As
he filled it, he said, “You take care of everybody, Johanna. Tonight is to show
you how much we love you.” He tapped his glass to hers and they both took a
sip.
Love. Johanna let this word
cycle around her head. She knew Kam loved her. He said it all the time and
well, they had ten years together under their collective belts. Ted loved her
like a daughter as she loved him like a father. Her own father had died before
she’d gotten married and truthfully, she’d never been that close to him. Not as
close as she was to Ted.
But Holden? Does he love me too?
Do I love him? She could see how easy it would be to fall completely in
love with Holden, but was that wise? She kept telling herself that his past
wouldn’t change things, but her more logical side knew that wasn’t necessarily
true. He could remember something that would make it impossible for them to be
together. That thought made her stomach protest.
“Hey.” Ted’s voice made her look at
him. “Don’t think too hard, sweetheart. Enjoy the night. Holden and Kam worked
hard.”
“Under your expert guidance, no
doubt.”
Ted held out his hands. “Of course.”
With Miles on his heels, Kam came
back into the dining room toting a bowl of salad, Holden right behind him with
dressings and a basket of bread. When everyone had a full plate and a chunk of
bread, Holden stood at his seat and cleared his throat.
“This evening is in tribute to the
wonderful…”
“the amazing…” Kam added.
“the superfantasticspectacular…” Ted
chimed in.
“woof…” Miles inserted.
“Johanna Ware,” Holden finished. “I
know I haven’t been here as long as these other two guys, but you make me feel
as if I have.”
Yeah, definitely easy to fall in
love with him.
He motioned to Kam who reached under
the table and presented Johanna with a neatly folded T-shirt. When she shook it
out, the words, “World’s Best Everything” graced the front of it.
“We were going to make you a trophy,”
Kam started, “but then no one else will know how awesome you are. This you can
wear in public.” His little face beamed at her, and Johanna squeezed him around
the waist.
“Thanks. All of you.” Her throat was
tight as she fought not to cry like a blubbering idiot.
Holden held up his wine glass. Ted
held up his, and Kam held up his glass of milk.
“To Mom!” Kam roared.
They clinked glasses and dove into a
meal Johanna would never forget. Stuffed mushrooms. Eggplant parmigiana with
pasta. Fruit plate. Chocolate velvet pie for dessert. Each course brought her
new levels of bliss. No one had ever cooked for her like this. Not her mother
when she was a child. Not Alex. Not even restaurants she’d gone too, even the
fancier ones when on a business meeting.
And it was more than the food being
tasty. The guys had somehow managed to bake their gratitude into every bite.
“You’re all magnificent,” she
announced when only crumbs remained on their dessert plates. She got up and
kissed Ted on the cheek and Kam on the forehead. When she got to Holden’s seat,
Ted nudged Kam.
“Come on, kid. Let’s get started on
cleaning that kitchen. She ain’t going to think we’re that magnificent if she
sees the mess in there.”
When they were gone, Holden pushed
his chair back from the table and patted his lap. Johanna lowered and slid her
arms around his shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He reached up and kissed her lips. A
few slow tastes, but that was enough to get her hungry for more.
“This was a lovely night, Holden.
Lovely.” She cupped his face in her hands and got lost in the blue of his eyes.
“Was?” He arched an eyebrow. “Who
said it was over?”
****
Want some more love? Download Kisses to Remember today! From Amazon here and Nook here. Only $2.99.
Toodles,
Chris
2 comments:
Great excerpt, Chris. I know I'm pulling for Holden and Johanna.
What a terrific scene. Men everywhere should read this and try to emulate!
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