Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2) (8 page)

She
nodded and cuddled up, then fell asleep in his arms.

It
was no wonder that four hours later, as she left his arms and passed through
the airport security checkpoint, he felt as if his heart had left him.

CHAPTER
5

Four
weeks later, Jake’s phone rang. “Hello.”

“Happy
Holidays, Jake. It’s Harley at the Bottle Shop in Luck. I’ve got a package for
you. Can you come pick it up?”

“For
me? What kind of package?” Jake asked in surprise.

“Not
sure, just says to call you when it arrived. So, that’s what I’m doing.”

It
was Christmas Eve, and he did want to pick up some beer for tomorrow’s games.
“Yeah, I’ll be in shortly.”

“Alrighty,
see you then.”

Whatever
this was, he wasn’t sure, but what he did know, was that the last four weeks
had been nothing short of mundane. He missed Jules with a passion so deep, he
was drowning. He hadn’t spoken with her, but he’d had pink roses delivered each
week with a note telling her he was thinking of her. If the Packer’s won New
Year’s Eve, he was switching the order to red.

Getting
in his truck, he stopped at the end of the driveway and checked the mail.
Nothing. Damn, where the hell was it? If the last four weeks were good for
anything, it was for him to take an inventory of his life, and see in glaring
detail how little he had to offer a woman. He needed to hear soon, or he’d
never be ready to start classes come January eighth.

Walking
into the Bottle Shop on Main, he waited while Harley finished with a customer.
“Hey Harley, let’s see what you got. I’m not expecting anything though, so I’m
not sure what this could be.”

Harley
lifted a medium sized box onto the counter. It landed with a clunk, and you
could hear glass clank inside. What the hell was it? Opening it, he couldn’t
help but smile, then busted out laughing. Jules had ordered a big box of
Kleenex tissues taped to a case of his favorite beer. She’d also included what
looked like a shirt of hers, that said “Packer Smacker” on it, and he quickly
put it to his nose because it smelled like her. There was a little note inside.
Opening it, he read what she’d written.

“Love
the flowers, been thinking of you too. Jules XOXO”

Ten
feet tall. He felt like he was ten feet tall, and so strong he could bench
press a herd of heifers. Yes! He was floating on cloud nine. Next to her first
kiss, this was one of the best gifts he’d ever received. Smiling like the
Cheshire cat, he looked at Harley. “Thanks. This was worth the drive in, for
sure.”

“You
know what it’s about then? Because I sure the hell don’t. I was told when that
shirt arrived, I was to tape the biggest box of Kleenex I could find to the
beer, put it all in a box, and call you.”

“I
do,” Jake answered happily. “A friend and I have a little bet over the
Packer-Bear’s game next week, and it appears she thinks I’ll need Kleenex to
keep from crying in my beer. But you know what? The Packer’s are going to win,
I can feel it, and I won’t even need to open that box.”

Harley
smiled, and said with a shake of the head, “Gotta love a good old fashioned
rivalry. Nothing like it to get your blood pumping. I’ll be watching the game
too, rooting right along with you. The Pack will definitely be on a bear hunt.”

Grabbing
the box, Jake said his goodbye and headed out to his truck. He was going home
and getting his chores done fast. Then he was going to get Jules’s phone number
from Linnie and contact her tonight. He couldn’t go one more day without
talking to her.

*****

Jules’s
phone started ringing as she walked into her little house located in the Jefferson
Park area of Chicago. Checking caller ID, she picked up the phone. “Linnie, how
are you?”

“I’m
great, how are you? You just getting home?”

“Yes,
I just finished working, and I’m on call tomorrow, so I plan to go in early and
get some things done, clean up my desk a little.”

“I
hate that you’re working on Christmas, and that you’ll be alone,” Linnie
stated.

“It’ll
be alright. So tell me, how’s married life?”

“Fantastic,
I’m loving every minute of it,” Linnie gushed. “I’m sure Nate would agree. He’s
doing well, and is going to the VA several times a week. We’ve seen
improvements, so we’re all happy.”

“That’s
great,” Jules said with enthusiasm. “I’m happy for the two of you. It’s
Christmas Eve, do you have plans?”

“Yep,
this evening with his mom and dad, a candlelight church service later, then
tomorrow with my family. So, I wanted to call you before we leave, check on
you, and see if you’re doing alright.”

“Ahhh,
yeah…I’m good.”

“Juuules,
come on. You’re about as good of a liar as me. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,
really.”

Linnie
chuckled. “Oookay, here’s the deal. Jake’s been moping around here for weeks,
basically ever since you left. Then late this afternoon, he comes racing in the
house with a box, and the biggest smile we’ve seen on him since he won first
place at the county fair when he was twelve. Might you know what that’s all
about?”

Jules
couldn’t stop from giggling, then answered with a smile in her voice. “Maybe.”

“Aaaahaaa!
I knew it! Something happened between the two of you, didn’t it? Why didn’t you
tell me? Nate’s going to get it. He hasn’t said a thing, but I bet he knows.
Spill it, Jules. I want details.”

Jules
laughed. “Nothing much, just a friendly bet over the Packer’s and Bear’s game
next week, and we held hands, hugged a little. I didn’t say anything because I
didn’t know how serious it was, but he’s been sending me flowers every week,
and well, yeah... So, I sent him a little something, that’s all.”

Linnie
squealed in delight. “Aaaaannd?” she prodded.

“And
what?” Jules asked in confusion.

“Oh
for heaven’s sake,” Linnie said exasperated. “Do you like him? Come on Jules,
tell me, give me something.”

“Well,
he’s very kind and considerate. He was a gentleman the whole time I was there.
You know how nervous and scared I was, but for whatever reason, with Jake, I
don’t feel so scared, and I’m only a little nervous. So that’s nice. I
certainly think he’s handsome, and when I’m with him, I feel something
different, tingly like, and I had this overwhelming urge to put my head on his
shoulder, so I suppose you could say I’m attracted to him. I think he maybe
feels something for me, because he suggested we make a bet over the game on New
Year’s Day, and we agreed that if the Packer’s win, I’ll come back for a week
over Valentine’s Day.”

“Jules,
he likes you honey, for sure, and yes that tingly feeling and desire to be
close to him means your attracted to him, which is great. Did you two, maybe
kiss, or anything?”

“Um,
well, maybe once, twice. I kind of asked him to kiss me, and well, I’m not sure
that I should have.”

“No
Jules, it was perfectly alright,” Linnie assured her. “It was totally perfect.
That’s how it goes, and it was perfect.”

Jules
let out a huge sigh. “Really? Because, well, I liked kissing him, and I liked
when he kissed me.”

“Yaaaaay!”
Linnie cheered. “Your first real contact with a man, and it was perfect! I’m so
happy for you.”

Feeling
giddy inside, she answered, “That’s true you know, I’ve never let a man kiss me
before. The closest I’ve ever been is a handshake, so it was kind of scary, but
with Jake, not so much so. He was thoughtful, and it was like you said it would
be, he was protective, and took me under his wing. I felt safe. I do feel bad
though, Kris and Nik are angry, but I just don’t feel the same around them as I
do with Jake, if that makes any sense.”

“It
does. There’s always been a bit of a rivalry between the three of them.
Generally, Kris being the oldest just takes what he wants, and Nik being the
youngest usually begs to get what he wants. But Jake, well, he generally works
for what he wants. That’s why of the three of them, he’s the one I would’ve
picked for you, because I knew he’d be patient, taking the time to do what
needed to be done to make you feel comfortable.”

Reflecting
on her stay, Jules answered, “You know, I can see that, I can see what you’re
saying. That’s interesting, I never realized it till now. Nik kind of begged a
lot for my time and attention, and on Thanksgiving, when we were sitting down
for the meal, Kris grabbed my hand and pulled me into Jake’s chair so I’d sit
by him. That was so uncomfortable, I thought the two of them were going to get
into a fight.”

“A
fight? Because you sat in Jake’s chair?” Linnie responded perplexed. “That
doesn’t sound like Jake.”

“No,
over my plate of food.”

“What?”

“Kris
made a huge mess of my plate while serving me, and Jake fixed it by giving me
his plate instead. Kris was furious.”

“Oh
boy, I didn’t know that happened. I’m sorry, Jules. I guess that explains how
he got rid of Kris, and then we had the snowmobiling incident with Nik. So in
other words, he pretty much claimed his territory.”

Jules
suddenly felt nervous. “I’m worried, is everything going to be okay?”

“Yep.
They must’ve worked it out. It’s a male, slash, brother pecking order kind of
thing. It doesn’t matter if it is over girls, or popsicles, it’s all the same.”

Jules
sighed. There wasn’t much she could do about it anyways. “Okay, if you say so.”

“So,
how about New Years, do you have plans?” Linnie asked, changing the subject.

“Maybe.”

“Really?
Like what?”

“Well,
I thought I’d possibly spend it in Luck, with you. If you’ll be there, that
is.”

Linnie
squealed for the second time. “Yes, yes, yes! When?”

“Well,
I get Thursday and Friday off in lieu of working Christmas day, and then Monday
will be New Year’s Day, so I won’t have to be back till Tuesday. How about I go
into work early on Wednesday, and then fly out Wednesday afternoon?”

“Perfect!”
Linnie exclaimed.

 
“I’d like to keep it a secret from Jake
though, make it a surprise. What do you think?”

Linnie
laughed deviously. “Oh yeah, let’s keep it a secret. Rule number one, Jules,
never make it too easy on them. Keep them guessing.”

Now
Jules started laughing. “Linnie, you’re terrible, poor Nate.”

“Oh,
please, poor Nate my butt. He’s lucky, that’s what he is, and he’s going to get
it for not telling me what’s been going on.”

Jules
giggled. “I’m glad you called. I miss staying up and gabbing with you like we
used to do.”

“I
miss it too. We’ll see you in a few days. Let me know your arrival time, and
I’ll be there.”

*****

Dishing
up a plate of food, Jake felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Nate was going
to try and get Jules phone number so he could call her. After gulping down his
food and washing his dish, he headed for his room. Pulling out his phone, he
looked at the message. Score! Nate had gotten it, and added a little note that
he’d managed to get it without Linnie knowing. Even better, he thought. He
wanted to keep this quiet in case nothing came of it.

Opening
up a text message screen, he began typing. “Hey Precious, love the gift. Will
make good use of the beer, but you should have kept the box of Kleenex because
I won’t be needing it. Better get that dress shortened, sweetheart.” After
hitting send, he got up to get a beer when he heard his phone ding. Had she
answered him? Already? Checking his phone, he read the message.

“Already
done, bebis,” she’d replied.

Bebis?
What the hell is bebis? He texted her back, “What’s bebis?”

She
responded, “Look it up, amo.”

What
the hell? He texted her back, “You playing with my head again, sweetheart?”

She
answered, “Si, novio.”

Damn,
now he had homework. Getting out his computer, he looked up the words. It took
some time, but he found them. Bebis was the Swedish word for baby, amo was the
Latin word for love, and novio was the Spanish word for sweetheart, or
boyfriend. She could speak all these languages, he knew it without even asking.
He shook his head in wonder. She was so damn interesting, and the best part of
it all, he’d barely scratched the surface. Damned if he didn’t feel like
beating his chest like an ape and howling like a wolf again, and she wasn’t
even here.

He
texted her back, “Can I call you?”

She
hit him back, “Si, tesoro mio.”

Okay,
what did that mean? He grinned. She was flirting with him, and he loved it. Si
means yes in Spanish, so what does tesoro mio mean? Hmmm. Found it! His heart
stopped. Awww man, she was something else. Si, tesoro mio, “yes, my darling” in
Spanish or Italian. He picked up his phone and called her.

 
“Buongiorno,” she said, when she answered.

He
stopped, thought about it, then answered tentatively, “Hello.”

“Very
good!” she said excitedly. “Mi sei mancato cosi tanto, Jake.”