For Love and Vengeance (15 page)

Aviva was pulled
out of her maudlin thoughts by his quip which took a moment to register with
her conscious mind.

“Really…please,
you need to get over yourself,” Aviva said, rolling her eyes at his outrageous
comment.

“What, you don't
think I'm a stud?” Even as he joked, Jason knew he had to say more, that there
was a real worry beneath her comment and for that reason alone, he had to take
her comment seriously.

“Look, Angel, you
had a dream. It was disquieting, I understand that, but it was just a dream. I
refuse to credit it with anything other than what it is; your subconscious mind
worrying because I went out last night.” As soon as he spoke the words, he
wanted to recall them. He had just given her the perfect opening to question
him about what had taken place the night before. If he knew her, and he did,
the questions were on their way.

“We need to get
up. Jackson only gave us twenty minutes and we've already eaten into the time.”

She knew he had
been waiting for her to begin questioning him about what he and his brothers
had done the night before, but if there was one thing Aviva refused to be was
predictable. Oh, she'd get her answers alright, just not when he thought she'd
be asking the questions.

Jason and Aviva
arrived downstairs thirty-five minutes later to the smells of cooking. Jason's
mouth immediately began to water, and Aviva's stomach grumbled in anticipation.
Whatever was cooking smelled wonderful.

Pushing open the
kitchen door, they found Jackson standing in front of the stove, an apron tied
around his waist. Hearing the sound of the door, the three men who occupied the
kitchen turned towards them.

“Perfect timing,”
Jackson said. “Our meal is just about ready.”

“It smells
wonderful, Jackson. Thank you. I didn't know you could cook,” Aviva spoke as
Jason held out a chair for her to be seated.

Taking his own
seat, he nodded to his brothers. They returned the greeting while drinking
coffee, relaxed in their chairs.

“Good afternoon,
sweet one. How are you feeling today?” Josh asked, giving Aviva the once over,
the gaze of his handsome face directed at her alone.

The other two
Kingdom men stared at her as they too waited for her to answer Josh's question.
Their stillness spoke of their concern for her well-being and it touched her
that they cared so much about her, a virtual stranger.

“I'm feeling much
better today, thank you.” At her answer, the quiet remained for a few more
seconds as they all stared at her in silent speculation. So intense were their
stares, Aviva felt an almost uncontrollable urge to squirm.

“Umm, that coffee
smells good.” She said the first thing that came to her mind, anything to break
their stares.

“I'll get you a
cup,” Jason told her, already in motion to rise from his seat.

“No, you stay
there. I'll get you a cup.” Aviva jumped to her feet and slightly regretted her
hurried movement as her back protested. But anything was better than having
four pairs of dark green eyes pinning her with their intense regard.

As she moved
away, Aviva was aware of the looks that passed between the men. Well,
what
did they expect
, she thought, a little peeved at them. They were staring at
her as though she were under a microscope.

Pouring a cup of
coffee for them both, she turned to inquire if anyone else needed a top off to
find identical dumb grins plastered on all their faces. Their looks of
amusement rubbed her up the wrong way. Aviva sucked her teeth and cut her eyes
at them. “Bloody Kingdoms,” she muttered loud enough for them to hear. Met with
their laughter, she slammed Jason's coffee down in front of him and flounced
back to her seat, determined to ignore the arrogant men.

“Do we unnerve
you, dear one?” Josh asked in his most seductive voice.

Aviva wanted to
kick him for his comment, and then poke Jason and Jake in the eye for laughing
at her while her back was turned. However, such a move was completely beneath
her, well most of the time, plus Jackson was present so it definitely wasn't an
option.

Coming to a quick
decision, Aviva pulled up the most alluring look she could manage at such short
notice, and smiled at Josh beneath her eyelashes. Jason immediately stilled,
just as she knew he would. Watching her intently, eyes moving back and forth
between her and his younger brother, brows knitted in a frown.

“You,” Jason
said, pointing at Josh, “shut the hell up, and you...behave yourself.” He gave
Aviva a warning look.

Josh roared with
laughter as Aviva flipped him the bird as she took a sip of coffee.

“Alright
children, play time's over,” Jackson told them as he started loading platters
with enough food to feel ten normal sized men. They all knew however, that for
them, the amount of food presented was just about right.

Jason got up to
help Jackson bring the food to the table. He had prepared coq au vin with sweet
button onions, button mushrooms, carrots and diced bacon.
Wow
, Aviva
thought, this man can cook.

“Would anyone
like wine?” Jake asked as he went to the refrigerator and withdrew two large
bottles of water. The men all accepted while Aviva declined a glass of the
Burgandy Jake opened to accompany their meal.

Nobody touched
the food as they all turned to Aviva with looks of remembrance of their last
meal together. Hiding a small smile, she bowed her head, and they all followed
suit without hesitation.

“Thank you, Lord,
for this wonderful meal that has been prepared for us and for which we are
about to partake. Also Lord, I ask that you bless us all as we are once again
gathered together. May the love we share for each other at this moment always
be remembered and remain with us throughout our lives.”

Aviva looked up
just before she spoke the final word to her prayer, and to her surprise, she
saw that each of the other men had his head bowed and his eyes closed. “Amen.”
Four whispered ‘amen’s followed her own.

With tears in her
eyes, Aviva looked around the table and smiled. “Well, what are you all waiting
for? The food’s getting cold. Let’s eat!”

Jason didn't need
to be told twice. Reaching for the dish of coq au vin, he heaped a serving on
Aviva's plate before he passed it along. Next, he piled her plate with wild
rice and then baby potatoes. Aviva could only sit and stare at the mounds of
food he had place before her.

“Baby, there is
no way I can eat all this food!”

“Try.”

“But it's way too
much.”

“How do you know
that unless you try?”

“He's right, my
dear. You only had a few mouthfuls last night so you must be hungry.” Jackson
supported Jason’s statement.

Knowing when to
back down, Aviva shrugged her shoulders and picked up her cutlery. Placing a
piece of the tender chicken into her mouth, she closed her eyes at the taste as
she chewed, and then went back for more.

Many mouthfuls
later, she realized the room was unnaturally quiet. Glancing up, she saw that
nobody else was eating. They were all staring at her as she heaped food into
her mouth. Realizing just how hungry she was, Aviva couldn’t have cared less
that they were all looking at her as though she were a human waste disposal
unit.

“What...this
stuff is really good, so you can all just keep staring at me if you want to.
The way this stuff tastes, I'm getting ready to eat everything on this table.”

Josh laughed and
pulled his plate closer to his body and held on to it with both hands. Jake did
the same and with a straight face, curled his large body over his, and gave her
a horrified look. Jason and his father both smiled, happy that she was finally eating.
Loading his own plate, Jason began to eat. The younger men ate quickly and in
complete silence, proof of just how hungry they were. When they finished their
first plateful, they all went back for seconds.

“Jackson, my
complements. This coq au vin is absolutely wonderful. You really need to teach
Jason how to make it,” Aviva said with a straight face.

“Teach me how to
make it? I don't think so!”

“Jason, you need
to know how to cook. Everyone should know how to cook,” Aviva told him, her
attention still on the delicious meal.

“I tried it,
didn't like it so I don't do it anymore. Cooking is way too fiddly, and I don't
have the patience for it. Plus there are too many restaurants and take out
places for me to worry about whether I can cook,” Jason finished
matter-of-factly, clearly demonstrating that his inability to cook didn't
bother him in the slightest.

“He's in good
company. His brothers can't cook either. God knows I tried to teach them. How
men as intelligent as my sons find cooking something as simple as eggs so
difficult is beyond me.”

“Come on, Dad. We
tried, plus we're pretty good at cooking eggs,” Jake defended himself and his
younger brother.

Jackson snorted
and shook his head at his eldest son's comment. When they remained silent and
their faces began to take on a ruddy hue, he paused with his fork half way to
his mouth.
My God, he was serious,
Jackson thought
.

“You mean to tell
me you weren't both burning everything in sight on purpose?”

Both men pushed
their food around their plates, eyes downcast. Aviva thought them adorable in
their embarrassment. They looked like a couple of schoolboys blushing that
their father thought their attempts at cooking pitiful.

“Good Lord!”
Jackson exclaimed, shaking his head as he laughed at their expense, knowing his
sons could accept his teasing.

“Aviva, I'll be
candid with you. The last time I had to redecorate the kitchen due to smoke
damage was the last day either of them cooked in my house. Oh, and when the
fire brigade turned up, you know what these two wanted to do? They wanted to
fight a two vehicle crew of burly men because the firefighters laughed when I
informed them the cause of the fire was due to my sons practicing their egg
cooking skills, and nearly burned down the house – for the third time!”

Aviva pulled her
napkin off her lap and placed it over her mouth to hold in her laughter.

Jason did no such
thing. He just laughed in their faces. “Jesus, dumb and dumber over there
should be glad they've finally got a brother with some common sense. Boys, I
stopped cooking after the first time the fire brigade had to be called out!” He
finished with a wink, showing his ability to find amusement at his own expense
as well as theirs.

Jackson sat with
a smile on his face. He was pleased, very pleased. His family was intact once
again, and they were teasing each other in a way that only siblings could. His
mind was made up. Now seemed like the perfect time to ask the question that he
had intended to broach before events of the past week had overtaken them.

“Jason, I have
something to tell you and I also have a question.”

“Yes, what is
it?”

“The day after I
became aware of your existence, I had my lawyers change my will to include you.
I also had him draw up some additional papers.”

“Let me stop you
there. I have no need for your money. In fact, I have more money of my own than
I will ever need.”

“Be that as it
may, it's done, and I will not undo it. I mentioned the will merely as a
precursor to the question I really wanted to ask.”

Jason sat replete
after his meal and waited for Jackson to continue. His mood was such that he
was prepared to answer
yes
to whatever question he was asked.

“At the same
visit to my lawyers, I also had another set of papers drawn up. These papers
are to formalize that you are indeed my son. Of course, this also means that I
would like to be added to your birth certificate. Will you do this?”

Jason became
immobile at Jackson’s words. It also struck him as ironic that he was
thirty-four years old and didn't actually know with certainty the day of his
birth. He could see the sincerity with which the question had been asked, yet
part of him wanted to dismiss the suggestion as too little too late. But if
fault was to be laid at the feet of any one individual, it was not at the feet
of this man – his father. Even as he acknowledged this, he also knew he wasn’t
yet ready to give Jackson the answer he wanted.

“I don't really
see the point in what you're suggesting, Jackson. I'm a grown man. I don't need
a daddy anymore, if ever I did.”

All seated around
the dining table immediately recognized Jackson's hurt at his son's words,
Jason included. He was immediately contrite for his blasé response.

“Okay, you can
all stop looking at me as though I’m public enemy number one. I'll think about
it, Jackson. That's all I can say right now...I'll think about it, and
I'm...well, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings.” Jason said with downcast eyes.

Without
hesitation, Aviva got up from her seat and sat on Jason's lap, surprising him.
Taking his face between her hands, she placed a soft kiss against his lips.
“You are a good man, Jason King, and that's another reason why I love you.”

Her words
immediately snagged his attention and the look in his eyes instantly made them
both forgot the other occupants of the room, even as Aviva began to feel the
effect her innocent words and touch had on his body.

“Tell me another
reason.”

Moving her lips
to his ear, she whispered, “I'll tell you later. No, strike that…I'll show you
later.”

“Ahem.” Jackson
cleared his throat to gain their attention.

The sound
startled Aviva back to awareness. Not so for Jason, who remained still, intent
in his eyes. She could feel his muscles bunch and knew if she didn't stop him,
he was going to head out the door with her in his arms in a matter of moments.
Lowering a discreet hand, or at least she hoped she was being discreet, she
gave him a pinch in his midsection.

Blinking, Jason
gave her a warning look. Opening her eyes wide, Aviva moved them to the side to
indicate that they had an audience. Jason raised an eyebrow and grinned before
leaning forward and whispering for her ears alone.

“You started this
and I'm going to make sure you finish it later tonight.”