A Reason To Breathe (15 page)

“I don’t have time for this either, Jack, in fact, I’ll let you off the hook, thanks for the ride last night, figuratively and literally, but I have a date to get to, so
 you'll have to excuse me, I need to go.”

“Goddammit, Jenn—” I hung up my phone before he finished and heard coughing around the table. Ben’s eyes held sadness and Lorraine actually grinned at me.

“That will get his attention, he’s never had a woman end things with him.”

“What? I’m not trying to get his attention, Lorraine. I knew he was a serial dater, and I still let him in; I’m so stupid. I refuse to end up another name on that list.”
Although technically, I’m on it already, shit!

“Jennifer, even an alley cat meets their match, and Jack isn’t a serial dater, his mom and dad had a beautiful marriage, he’s just been trying to find someone who completes him, just like they completed each other.”
       

“You’re trying to tell me that out of all the women on that list, none of them was marrying material?”

“I’m telling you they all were, just not the right one for Jack. He needs a woman who intrigues him, one who doesn’t lie down and let him walk all over her. One who will do what they want, and ignore his macho man ways. He
needs
 a woman who knows her own mind and isn’t content sitting at home waiting for him to walk through the door.”

“I’m not sure a woman like that exists.”

“I think she does, in fact, I think I’m looking at her right now.” Stunned to hear that anyone saw me as a woman that independent, I smiled at her, and she winked. My phone started ringing again, and I saw “Bossy calling” scrolling across the screen. I looked at Lorraine, then looked to Mandy, and then Ben said, “Answer him Jenny, he’s waiting.” Taking a deep breath, I swiped the phone and put it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“You over your snit?”

“No, but I’m getting there.”

“You still remember what I said about the Mayor?” Rolling my eyes because men moved on from fights like women moved on to gossip, quickly, if you’re wondering? I answered him.

“Yes, I remember.”

“Good, now do me a favor and stop calling these women. I’ll save you some time and trouble by informing you; Amber is the only one who hates me, and once you called her; she's made it her life’s mission to call everyone else. She’ll get the job done for you and free up your day… And just so we're clear, if you think I'll let you walk away from me that easily, you need to think again. After last night, no fuckin’' way am I letting you go, so deal with it.”

“Whatever,” I snipped.

“Smartass.”

“Bossy,” I smiled.

“That’s my girl.”
Oh, my god, I think I am
…. smiling and accepting my fate as Jack’s woman, I told him goodbye.

“I need to go Jack, I have work to do and so do you.”

“All right, Jenn, call me after your lunch with the Mayor.”

“Later, Jack.”

“Later, Jenn.”

I hung up the phone, to meet three smiling faces. “Never thought I’d see the day that some half pint of a woman could bring Jack Gunnison to his knees. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it,” Ben laughed, so I rolled my eyes at him and grinned. These people were as close to family as I had here, and if they thought Jack was worth the time, I guess I did too. I repeated Jack’s message about Amber doing our job, and we decided to head into Gunnison to get my Jeep. Mandy and I were climbing into Lorraine’s car, when Ben pulled Lorraine aside and whispered in her ear, and then looked at his watch. Lorraine grew a smile and then kissed his cheek, and all I could think at that moment was, wait till I tell Bailey that sex doesn’t end at 50 or 60.
 Hell, sex doesn't even end at 70….
Oh, God, does that mean my parents still do it?

Chapter Sixteen

This is really good Wine

       “Just get in and get out Jennifer, be professional, its just lunch, no reason to be nervous.” Since my pep talks about Jack didn’t seem to work, I wasn’t holding out hope this one would either. “Why did I say yes to lunch?”
Because he’s the Mayor, and you’re a reporter with no connections in town.

Looking through the windows of The Lumberjack Steakhouse, I saw the Mayor being escorted to a table; his head held high working the room as he walked…. To say I didn’t want to get out of the car and deal with this man, after a passionate night spent in Jack’s arms was an understatement.

Determined to eat fast, I got out of my car and headed inside the rustic restaurant. Tastefully decorated in authentic Colorado country charm, with knotty pine walls, carved Lumberjacks flanking the outside doors, and a welcoming atmosphere. The wait staff, dressed in red and black checked flannel, were throwing huge dinner rolls across the room to customers when I entered. I’d heard about this restaurant, but had yet to eat here, and I could tell this would be a fun place to eat with friends you actually wanted to be with. Turning in the direction, I’d seen the Mayor walking; I found John seated in a corner, in what I would describe as the most intimate location on the floor. He smiled brightly when I arrived, and then reached out to take my arm and kissed my cheek, then ever the gentleman he portrays in public, helped me sit.

Trying to figure out how to act around this man, when I wasn’t attracted to him, I tried for professional.

“Mr. Mayor, how are you today?”

“Call me, John, please, and I’m fantastic, now. Having a gorgeous woman eat lunch with me always brightens my day.” I smiled, even though I could tell he was trying to charm me, or more to the point charm the pants off of me.

“All right, John, and thank you, you look handsome yourself, but then as Mayor you do have to keep up appearances.”

“Indeed, I’m very careful with my time, appearance and of course the company I keep,” he answered, raising his glass in acknowledgement of me. I checked the eye roll that I wanted to give him and inclined my head at the compliment.

“So tell me, John, as Mayor what do you think are your most important roles for this community?”

“Is this an interview, Jennifer, or a date?” Neither, I wanted to say but bit my tongue.

“Sorry, it’s an old habit I fall into.” John leaned forward and grabbed my hands and whispered, “I’m not going to bite, Jennifer, give me chance.”
Oh, god, now what do I say?
This man was clearly used to getting his way; I’d heard stories about him after I agreed to lunch, but in an attempt not to anger “The Mayor,” I decided to come. Then I met Jack and my desire to be here was nonexistent. How do I get myself out of this without pissing him off? I decided to go with honesty.

“Funny John, of course I don’t think you’ll bite, although I am a little afraid of your claws,” I answered, hoping he would catch on to the fact that I knew he could be vicious in his pursuits. The fact that he wanted to find a way to get Jack voted out and his son in as Sheriff, was not lost on anyone, but he didn’t seem to notice or change course.

“You afraid I’ll scratch you, darlin’, make you bleed?” I shook my head, caught off guard by his provocative tone. Looking for a distraction, I noticed a waiter approaching.

“Oh look, here’s our waiter.” A man with a nametag that read Frank smiled down at our still linked hands. I instantly pulled mine from John’s, embarrassed, then sat back trying to put as much distance between us as I could. Frank introduced himself as the owner of the restaurant, and crooned on about how wonderful it was to have the Mayor and his beautiful companion at his establishment for lunch. Thinking between the kiss on the cheek and the hand holding, if Jack heard about it, he wasn’t going to be happy. Ha, pissed was more like it. Frank pulled me from my thoughts of Jack and his temper, announcing he would fix the Mayor and I, anything our heart desires. A to-go box was on the tip of my tongue, but I bit it.

“Anything you want, on or off the menu, Mayor Hall, and of course for your beautiful companion.”  Wishing again, I’d rethought my decision to come here today, I took the menu and opened it to avoid looking at either man. I had no appetite; I wanted to eat, and then make an excuse to leave. But I wasn’t that lucky, while I was scanning the menu, I heard John order two house specials, a bottle of their best wine, and the instructions that we wanted privacy. Seriously, what if I don’t eat red meat, and what is it with the men in this town, pretty much deciding everything for a woman?

I handed my menu to Frank and smiled tightly, thinking the only thing he ordered that sounded appealing was the wine, and just kept my mouth shut. More than ready for this lunch date to end, I started figuring in my head how long it would take me to eat and then make my excuse to leave. Frank left saying he’d be right back with our bread and wine, so I searched for something to say to kill the time till I could fill my mouth with food, and avoid conversation altogether.

“So, John, tell me about being Mayor, is it as exciting as it seems, or tedious and boring?”

“Exciting is a term I’d use for someone as sexy as you, so no, tedious and boring covers most days, but there are benefits…long lunches with tantalizing reporters, for example.” Oh, my god, this guy was a slimy player with a capital slime. Did women really fall for this guy? Frank rescued me again from answering, by arriving with our wine and bread. After he poured my glass, I reached for it, needing the liquid reinforcements for the lunch ahead, and drank down half of it feeling the effects hit my head, and calm my nerves.

“So Jennifer, you have a daughter at Notre Dame you must be proud?”  Yes, a topic that wouldn’t lead him down paths of flattery or sexual undertones.

“Yes, Bailey, she’s a great kid. Smart, beautiful, funny—’’

“When she comes to town for the holidays we can introduce her to my son Grady, make a foursome out of it.” Wait, What? A foursome? I smiled, but made no comment, no way in hell was I introducing my daughter to his son; he’s probably just as arrogant as the Mayor. Grabbing my wine and finishing off my glass, I wondered how I got myself in this situation. Oh yeah, I said yes, clearly not my smartest move. Speaking of not so smart moves… “More wine, please,” I replied to his request for a double date with his son. John smiled and filled my glass, so I took another drink, or gulp, well chugged, really, I figured a wee bit tipsy might help me get through this lunch. John watched me drink, then asked, “So what do you think?”

“I think the wine is delicious, thank you for ordering it,” John laughed for some reason and topped off my wine again, then smiled sweetly at me. If he smiled like that and didn’t act like an ass, he’d be a real catch. Taking another drink, I felt the warm rush of the wine relaxing my limbs. Much better.

“What I meant was, what do you think about your daughter and my son?”

“I think Bailey would love to meet someone her own age,” I kinda slurred. Wait that wasn’t right, I didn’t want her to meet the Mayor’s son, did I? John filled my glass again, he’s so polite and attentive; so I lifted my glass and took another huge swallow of the best wine I’d ever tasted.

“So what are you doing the rest of the day, Jennifer?”

“Well after this fantastic lunch I was going to go, um go, there was something I was going to do at the office, I think.”

“I have my car with me, if you’d like, we could go for a drive and I could show you some of the country side you haven’t seen yet? I have a cabin about thirty minutes from here; you’d love the views.” Finishing off my second glass or was it my third? I thought about the forest and views and wondered if he’d seen bears there?

“Do you have bears there?”

“Bears? I’m sure there are, why?”

“I haven’t seen one yet and would love to see a bear, it’s why I moved here.”

“You moved here for bears?”

“Um, yeah, I mean, when I was a little girl I wanted to live with the deer and bears here in Colorado, so when it was time to move, I came here to follow my dream.”

“Well I’m sure if we left out some food, the bears would come. Would you like to do that? Take some food up and look for bears?”

“Why not, sounds like fun.”

John continued to talk about his cabin and the surrounding mountains near Ouray, and I continued to sip my wine. Noticing my glass was empty, he picked up the bottle to fill it again, but it was empty. John raised his hand and snapped his fingers, then asked Frank to bring us another bottle, and I was just about to say thank you, since it was the best wine I had in my life, when I heard a voice above me say, “Dad?” I turned to see a good looking, much younger man, dressed in a deputy’s uniform. Did he call the Mayor, dad?

“Grady, son, good to see you, are you eating here or?”

“I’m here to see Frank about some vandalism. Ms. Stewart, how are you today?” John snapped his fingers at Frank, drawing my attention away from his son, and then he whispered in Frank’s ear when he approached. I turned back to Grady at his question, trying to remember what he'd said.

“I’m peachy keen, would you like to meet my daughter?”

“Ma’am, if your daughter is anything like you, I’d be happy to.”
What a nice kid.
“You wanna come with us to your dad’s cabin? We’re going up to look around and see if I can find my first bear.” Grady frowned, and looked at his father, then shook his head no. He studied me for a moment then answered me, “I’ll pass Ms. Stewart.”

“Oh, call me, Jenn, your boss does,” I giggled.

“Yes, Ma’am, Jenn, I’ll be sure and remember that. Dad, Jenn, I’ll let you get back to your lunch, just wanted to stop and say hello.” His mention of lunch made me look behind him. Since I’d skipped breakfast I was really hungry, and my head was spinning from the wine, so I needed to eat.     

“Is our food here?”

“I thought we might enjoy it more at the cabin, I’m having Frank pack it up for the road.”  Thinking that made sense, but needing to eat to clear my head, I realized I’d lost track of the conversation when cute, man boy, Grady, said, “I wouldn’t advise that, Dad,” then tipped his hat to me as he stepped back and headed quickly outside with his phone to his ear.

After waiting for our food to be packed, John asked if I was ready to go. Needing some air, and a bathroom break, I excused myself to freshen up before we left.
Wow, the room’s really spinning…maybe I should get some coffee? Maybe we could stop at The Bean on the way out of town. Maybe Mandy would like to come on a road trip, or Jack, I wonder if Jack likes taking road trips? We could make a day of it,
“Oh, sorry, wrong door,”
Wow, Mandy should hang out here…like right here, outside the men’s room, it would save you some trouble if you knew ahead of time what their shortcomings were. Ha, shortcomings. Purse, purse, where’s my, did I leave it at the table?
I was rounding the corner heading back to the table to look for my purse when I saw Jack walking in, heading straight for our table.

“Where the fuck is she?”    

“Sheriff, is there something I can do for you?”

“Cut the crap, John, where’s Jenn?”

“She’s freshening up, is there a problem?”

“Just saving my woman from your obvious game of  “Get'em drunk’n fuck.”

“Fuck off, Jack, I didn’t force her to do anything.” Jack tensed and started to move towards the Mayor, so I walked up to him and put my hand on his arm.

“Jack.” He turned to me, gave me a once over for some reason, then took my hand pulling me tight up to him, then nabbed my purse off the chair.

“Let’s go, now,” he growled.

“Is something wrong?”

“Uh, yeah, Jenn, but we’ll talk about that later, once you’ve sobered up.”  Smiling, since I’d rather spend time with Jack. I turned to John and put out my hand.

“Mayor, thanks for lunch, have a safe trip.” John stepped forward looking angry, and Jack moved between us, muttering, “Don’t touch her.” Jack then took my hand and led me to the front of the restaurant and out the door. I had a hard time keeping up with his long legs, so I tugged on his hand.

“Jack slow down, I can’t walk this fast, my head is spinning.” Jack kept walking, and I kept spinning, till we got to his truck, where he swung me around and then pinned me to the door. I gasped in a breath, and looked up at him. His eyes were narrowed, and pissed wasn’t the word I would use, livid was more accurate.

“Jack, what’s wrong?”

“I’m too fucking busy to do what I should do, and I don’t need the hassle of beating the shit out of the Mayor, for getting you drunk.”

“He got me drunk?”

“Ah, yeah, Jenn, and if Grady hadn’t called me, you’d be on your way to his secluded cabin in the woods, where I have no doubt he would have convinced you to sleep with him.”

“I thought we were going bear hunting?” Jack looked at me funny, and then shook his head.

“Jesus, you’d trust anyone wouldn’t you?” Jack whispered, as he pushed into me. His hard body pressing into mine, sent my thoughts in a different direction than the Mayor, altogether.