Chapter Forty One

“Hey you….” Jon blearily blinked away the sleep and squinting against the morning sun, gazed across at Rachel, comfortably snuggled against his bare chest.

“Hey……”

They stared at one another contentedly for a few moments, neither of them willing to leave the cosy cocoon they were sharing and both reliving the intense bond they had shared just hours previously mirrored in each other’s sated eyes. Rachel had felt something awaken inside her last night, the feeling of complete trust in another human being that she had forgotten about in her previous existence. A single life, albeit one of a widow hardens a person, so much that independence can be very hard to relinquish. Last night, under the flood of sincerity that had poured from Jon’s crystal blue eyes as he made love to her, she had felt it go and this morning as she lay snug in the security of his strong arms she didn’t ever want independence again; ‘she’ was now part of a ‘we’.

Eventually, Mother Nature began to intervene and Rachel reluctantly sidled out from under the sheets, stretching her stiff body with a small groan. Glancing back at Jon where he lay smiling lazily at her, she shook her head and got to her feet murmuring;

“You’re gonna be the death of me!”

Chuckling, Jon stretched his arms high above his head with a satisfied sigh.

“But what a way to go huh?!”

“I can think of worse ways I suppose…..!” Disappearing into the bathroom with a giggle, she took care of business and was about to step into the shower when Jon stuck his head around the door grinning mischievously.

“No point taking a shower babe, not when I’m gonna get you all sweaty again!”

Rachel dropped her jaw and gaped at him. He couldn’t possibly be that horny again. “Jon! Seriously, not that I’m complaining but…..”

“NuUH!” Jon shook his head disapprovingly and winked at her. “Wipe clean that filthy mind of yours Rachel Braden and get dressed so I can kick your ass running the loop! I’m getting rusty!”

Without waiting for a reply he disappeared back into the bedroom leaving Rachel to determinedly tuck her towel tighter around her, muttering under her breath with a wry smile; “You could’ve fooled me…….”

A couple of hours later and after delaying the inevitable for as long as she could, Rachel was reluctantly packing the last of her things into her case. As much as she wanted to stay, she had a job to take care of and a large house across the road awaiting her attention that still had a list of repairs as long as her arm to be done. Real life waited for nobody. True to form she had kicked Jon’s butt on their run that morning, barely breaking a sweat in their final dash up the river bank while Jon pleaded exhaustion from their bedroom romps over the weekend. Folding the last blouse into the case, Rachel sniggered quietly to herself as she remembered the look of frustration that had been etched all over his face as he had stomped off to the gym to ‘warm down’. The man hated losing and she’d bet a hefty portion of her last bonus that he was still down there killing himself on the treadmill. Taking one last look around the newly redecorated bedroom before tugging her case from the bed, she smiled in appreciation. The fresh paint echoed her own thoughts of a fresh start, a place for new memories that they could both enjoy, together.

The big house across the road felt cold and empty when she finally heaved her case through the front door. Even though it was considerably better furnished now than when she had first arrived, a feeling of sterility still wafted through the large rooms – the house needed somebody to love it, somebody to claim it. Gazing around her she started to envision a family living here, kids happily screaming in the pool outside while steaks sizzled on the barbeque pit, maybe a dog barking happily as it chased a Frisbee down the lawn. With a start as she stared up at the grand staircase, Rachel suddenly remembered why she had once loved her job….. matching the perfect home to the perfect family. It was what she was good at, what she had once thrived on and now, by some miracle, she was feeling it again. This was the stuff that mattered and how she had ignored it for so long astounded her.

Invigorated and refreshed, the day sped by as Rachel busied herself supervising the guys that had returned to patch up the mess Jon’s footprints had made on the deck and catching up on the long list of escrows she had in progress, approving repairs and negotiating new contracts for listings she had recently been assigned. Her workload, although not hugely over taxing was still time consuming and when her phone bleeped with a new message just as she was finishing up, her eyes widened in surprise at the late afternoon hour. Flicking open the text to read it, she grinned at the screen.

16.37 Nobody has fed me today………or made me bad coffee……. Miss you xx

Smartass! With a quick look out the window to check the painters had finished for the day, her fingers flew over the screen and tapped out a quick reply;

16.39 Dinner in an hour……bring your OWN coffee and STAY OFF THE DECK!

When Jon shot back a grinning smiley face in reply, she pushed back from her desk and headed for the kitchen, subconsciously humming along with a song that was playing on the radio. It was fun and catchy, and probably aimed at a much younger generation than hers but the lyrics had caught her attention………

Stopping to listen more carefully, a knowing smile spread across her face. For all the world the young guy singing so cheerily had written the song for her, it was as if he had looked into her heart and put into words all the emotions she was feeling.

Come on and open up your mind and see like me

(I won't hesitate)

Open up your plans and damn you're free

(No more, no more)

Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours

(It cannot wait, I'm sure)

So please don't, there's no need

(There's no need to complicate)

There's no need to complicate

(Our time is short)

'Cause our time is short

(This is our fate)

This is, this is, this is our fate

I'm yours

When the song finished and blended seamlessly into some other one that she didn’t care to recognise, she switched the stereo off and started rooting around in the refrigerator for dinner ingredients, still happily humming the catchy lyrics. They were true – she was free and Jon was hers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“HONEY! I’M HOME!!”

The bang of the front door announced Jon’s arrival exactly one hour later, his jubilant voice making Rachel shake her head in delight as she finished chopping some onions. When he strode into the kitchen bearing two bottles of wine and wearing a grin as big as the one she bore, she swung around from the chopping board to greet him. Dressed in a close fitting cream polo shirt that showed off his tanned and muscled arms, he was a sight that made Rachel’s mouth instantly dry up. The faded indigo jeans that he always wore so well hung perfectly off his hips and led down to a pair of slightly scuffed leather boots which completed the look – he made casual look so good it should have been a crime.

“Hi!”

Grabbing a cloth to wipe her hands, she bounced over and flung her arms around his neck, reaching up on her tiptoes to share a soft kiss with him. His blue eyes twinkled down at her in amusement as he reached around to safely put the wine out of harm’s way on the counter.

“Hi yourself!”

Settling his freed hands around the base of her spine, Jon nuzzled her neck and inhaled a deep breath of her subtle perfume. “Did you miss me today?”

Smiling up at him, Rachel nodded unashamedly, “I actually kinda did, this place is……quiet! And did you miss me or just my food?!”

“Most definitely your food!” Laughing, Jon winked as his fingers gave her butt cheeks a teasing squeeze. “Your coffee……ummm…….not so much but you………oh yes I definitely missed you!” His lips found Rachel’s once again before he let her reluctantly disentangle herself from his body. “I brought wine……..”

Rolling her eyes Rachel shot him a sarcastic look. “I’m shocked.”

Grinning, Jon playfully swatted her on the curve of her ass and picked up the wine bottles to present for approval. “Whatever! So……..red or white?”

“I thought we’d throw a couple of steaks on the grill, nice and easy – that okay by you?”

Jon threw her a sideways glance and smirked as he picked up the red to uncork it. “A meat eater huh? Why am I not surprised???”

“Hey, at least I don’t cheat and pass off my housekeeper’s creations as my own!” Rachel folded her arms and arched her eyebrows accusingly when Jon stared at her with apparent innocence. “Funny how I found an identical lasagne in the freezer to the one you supposedly cooked for me…..only this one had a complete set of instructions for reheating written on it……. – Busted Jon!”

Jon eyed her carefully for a moment until he smiled guiltily and shrugged. “Well, I can cook in the kitchen or in the bedroom – you choose baby! I can’t do both!”

Sighing dramatically Rachel threw her eyes up to the ceiling despairingly. “Guitar players……..”

Handing her a large glass of the dark red Pinot Noir, Jon sidled closer and murmured playfully into her ear. “I’ll have you know I can shake the maracas too……..”

“Oh yes, you’re just what every father wishes for his daughter aren’t you?”

With a quick kiss to her lips, Jon shook his head and moved away laughing. “You have a very smart mouth Rachel Braden – good thing I like it!”

Rachel smirked and picked up the plate of steaks she had been marinating, “So how was your day? Any news with the football thing?”

A grimace shadowed Jon’s face as he resignedly shook his head. “No, nothing new, we’re just not sure whether it’ll be back or not, we’re working on it.” Taking a sip of wine, he closed his eyes briefly to savour the taste before swiftly steering the conversation away from the tired subject he had been re-hashing all day. “Enough about that, I actually have more pressing matters to discuss with you tonight!”

Rachel glanced back over her shoulder half worriedly as she headed out to the deck to check on the barbeque. “Tell me this isn’t anything that’s gonna spoil my appetite?”

Following her outside, Jon sniffed the air appreciatively as the steaks hit the grill with a sizzle. “Shit, I hope not – those smell good!” Hooking an arm around her waist, he drew her close. “No, I’ve got some appearances coming up that I have to make and I was kinda hoping you’d join me, if you’re not too busy of course.”

Relieved that was all that was on his mind, Rachel leaned happily against him and smiled. “Nowhere else I’d rather be!”

Beaming Jon chuckled against her hair. The casual attitude Rachel always seemed to embrace never ceased to amaze him. “You don’t even know where we’re going!”

Armed with the steak tongs, Rachel flipped the meat over and shrugged. “If you’re there then there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than next to you.”

“Well, the first one is actually at my house – a fundraiser for Barack Obama’s Presidential bid.”

Rachel hesitated before replying, a small frown etched across her brow. “Jon……I’ll do my best to support you in anything that’s important to you but…….” Twisting in his arms she looked up at him in concern. “…..but you need to know I’m not an overtly political person although from what I do know I’m not convinced Barack Obama has the experience to do this job.” When Jon made to speak she held up a finger motioning for him to let her finish. “It’s not a big issue with me and I’m happy to keep my opinions to myself when we’re in public but I need you to know this so we….well you know, so we don’t butt heads over this further down the line.”

Jon blew out a quick breath and tightened his arms around her. “That’s fair enough Rach, everyone is entitled to their own political views and let’s face it – I don’t need you to be as willing and pliable out of bed as I like you in bed!” His eyebrows waggled cheekily as he dropped a kiss onto her worried forehead. “But I have one other piece of news……..”

Rachel tipped her head back and groaned dramatically. “Uhoh, why do I have the feeling that Barack Obama is not the most pressing issue here tonight?”

Jon simply smirked and handed over her glass of wine. While he knew potential future presidents of the country were unlikely to faze her, he had a sneaking suspicion these particular visitors just might ruffle a few feathers.

“My parents are coming for a visit.”

With that bombshell dropped, he watched grinning as her face paled ever so slightly, her fingers tightening just a fraction around the base of the wine glass. “I did warn you! I said she’d be here within ten days and I was right – they’re coming tomorrow.”

Taking another large swallow of wine, Rachel dismissed him lightly. “I’m sure they just miss their grandchildren………”

“Oh no, no, no, no! You don’t know my Mom.” Shaking his head laughing, Jon stepped back to wag his finger at her. He couldn’t resist adding a little more fuel to the fire. “She’s coming to check YOU out! And she’s dragging my ol’ man along under the pretence of seeing the grandchildren!”

Rachel fixed him with a long stare, her narrowed eyes attempting to work out the truth to his claims.

“Are you always so suspicious of people’s motives?”

“Only the people I know really, really well! And my Mom? I can read her mind – she’s as transparent as they come!”

“Well then……” Turning back to the spitting steaks, Rachel shrugged casually. “I guess it’s not gonna be a naked weekend after all……..”

With a low groan Jon nodded in resigned agreement. “No, unfortunately not. Think you can keep your hands off me in front of my parents and my kids?”

Reaching for a plate to take the meat off the grill, Rachel snapped her head up. “You didn’t say anything about meeting your kids………”

Jon calmly placed his hand over hers and held her gaze. He had been most apprehensive about this part of their conversation. It wasn’t something they had ever discussed but it had to happen sooner or later.

 

“Hear me out, I’ve thought a lot about this and I think the more casual we are about it the better. I’m taking my parents out to dinner with Dorothea and the kids tomorrow night to celebrate Dorothea’s birthday but then I thought I might throw a BBQ Friday night…..invite my brothers and their families – the more the merrier. That way we can kinda ease into things……and with so many people around it’ll be a little less intense for the kids – what do you think?”

“I think I need to get these steaks off the grill before they go up in smoke…….” Grabbing the dish, Rachel focused on removing the meat off the flames, her mind reeling with everything Jon had just told her. He really had given it a lot of thought and it probably wasn’t the worst plan in the world but there was something odd that puzzled her slightly.

“You still celebrate your ex-wife’s birthday with her?”

Watching her carefully for a reaction, Jon shrugged and bent to knock off the gas cylinder beneath the grill. “Yeah, we try to do things together with the kids as much as we can – keep’s them in a more normal family scene. So what about Friday night? You okay with all that?”

Moving back inside to start dishing up dinner, Rachel thought quietly for a few more moments before replying. “Yeah I guess I’m okay with it, obviously you know your own kids and to be honest I’m trying to imagine how I’d have handled it as a parent in this situation.” Topping up their wine glasses, she handed one to Jon as she sank into the seat he had pulled out for her. “Tyler would have been resistant to a new man for sure……and Lauren…..well I don’t think she’d have liked a new woman hanging off her daddy so yeah……it’s a tough call no matter what way you go.”

Chuckling Jon eyed her playfully as he pulled up his own chair and reached for the salad bowl. “I hardly think I need worry about you hanging off me in front of my kids – you can manage to keep your clothes on in the presence of my minor children can’t you?”

Rachel smirked as she spooned some potato salad onto her plate. With a coy wink she placed the dish back on the table and took another sip of wine.

“Hmm………..the odds of me behaving are much better if you take extra good care of me tonight!”

Jon matched the cheeky smirk with one of his own and lifted his wine glass in a toast.  

“Oh you can count on that baby!”