Stone Passions Trilogy (51 page)

Jeremy would have loved seeing the return of her former self. He had loved her spontaneity and slight recklessness. If she believed in Guardian Angels, or whatever, she would think that Jeremy brought Rhys into her life at exactly the right moment just to make her happy. Just to bring the joy and laughter back into her life.

And her dreams last night had been… scorching. She had woken up with her sheets twisted around her body, with one of her hands on her breast and the other between her legs as the thoughts of Rhys filled her head.

She just felt amazingly good, which really surprised her since she thought she’d be drowning in bucket-loads of guilt and self-recriminations. But she wasn’t. Maybe it was silly and irresponsible to consider a relationship of any kind with Rhys – he was too attractive and charismatic by half – but she wanted it more than anything she had wanted in a very, very long time. Even if she felt she didn’t deserve the happiness she craved it.

Jenna glanced over to see what Ferris was drawing and shook her head in amused exasperation because her darling daughter was drawing another gargoyle. Ever since the weekend Ferris had spent with Melanie the girl had been begging for a gargoyle, saying that she would keep it company and take it out for walks and clean up after it, though she didn’t think there was a lot of clean up involved since they probably pooped rocks, and wouldn’t it be great to have a gargoyle.

Ferris had a natural flair for drawing, which was not surprising considering Jenna’s own ability with a pencil or some paint, a hobby that had been put aside when Ferris was born. She’d have to dig out some of her art supplies and do a few sketches, see if she could capture that vitality that radiated from Rhys.

Studying her daughter's art, she was able to clearly make out the three gargoyles that graced Melanie’s building. Crouching down next to Ferris, Jenna smiled, “Very nice, love.”

“This one is Vaughn,” Ferris said, pointing to the lion gargoyle. “And this one is Rhys.” She continued, pointing at the monkey, the one that Jenna had admired so much all of those weeks ago. Pointing to the final gargoyle, a fierce griffin, Ferris continued, “And this is my favorite because he is so lonely and sad and I think he needs a puppy. Or a pony.”

“And is his name Armand?” Jenna teased, loving how Ferris’s mind worked, the fantastical creatures she drew and the stories she came up with to explain them.

“It is.” Ferris nodded her head and continued to draw, oblivious of the wide smile Jenna wore.

“Are you going to draw Aunt Mellie or me as a gargoyle?” she asked.

Ferris looked at her as if she was mad. Cocking her head to the side, she puckered her brow, “Why? You aren’t gargoyles.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jenna murmured, biting her tongue to keep from laughing out loud. Of course, Melanie would understand what Ferris meant and would be able to think up a suitable reply. Unfortunately, Jenna was only human and could think of nothing. Standing up, she lightly tugged on Ferris’s braid, “As soon as I’ve finished the laundry what say you we get the ice cream out and watch a movie?”

“Okay,” Ferris agreed, the slight frown the only indication that she was still a little bewildered by Jenna thinking she’d draw her and Melanie as gargoyles.

The front door opened and slammed shut and Jenna looked at Ferris with a smile, “Do you think Uncle Jensen has decided to come home for Sunday dinner? Or do you think grandma and grandpa are home early from their vacation?”

A blur of purple bolted past the archway and Jenna was puzzled because the only person she knew with that vibrant purple plaid jacket was Melanie. But she was supposed to be spending the day with Vaughn, having sex with the gorgeous man and being deliriously happy. “Why do you think Melanie is here?”

“Maybe she missed me,” Ferris answered innocently and Jenna realized she had asked the question out loud. “And wanted to have ice cream with us.”

Jenna gave her daughter a loud kiss before she followed her sister up the stairs and down the hall that led to her bedroom. She heard Melanie slam the door shut and hurried her pace because her sister never slammed doors. When she arrived at the door, she pressed her ear against the wood and heard loud, gasping sobs coming from within and knew something was seriously wrong.

What was it Rhys had told her the night before? Appearances can be deceiving? Jenna was going to rip Vaughn’s head off if he had done anything to hurt her sister. Melanie was the sweetest, most trusting female in the universe and she didn’t deserve to have her heart broken by some gorgeous bastard. Knocking on the door but not waiting for a response, Jenna turned the knob and pushed the door open, entering the room uninvited.

Melanie was curled up on the bed, bawling her eyes out with her jacket and boots still on. Jenna’s heart tightened in her chest at the heartbreaking sound and without a second thought, she sat down on the edge of the bed and started rubbing Melanie’s back through the thick jacket, “Honey, what’s wrong? What happened?”

It took a few minutes before Melanie could talk coherently enough for Jenna to understand her, and when she spoke, her words came out broken. “He said he didn’t expect to love me so much and he didn’t tell me sooner because he didn’t want to ruin our time together and he did what he did because he only wanted to protect me and now he’s leaving and I think I’m going to die. It hurts so much, Jenna and I think I’m going to die.”

Stroking Melanie’s hair, Jenna was at a loss for words. Just a few minutes ago she had felt as if she could take on the world, that it was a brand new day full of endless possibilities. But now her sister’s heart was breaking and she didn’t know what to do. And she felt a little guilty because Rhys had told her not everything was as perfect as it seemed and she hadn’t believed him, not really. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Turn back time so that I never agreed to let Vaughn give up his nights for me,” Melanie replied miserably. “Then he could stay with me and I wouldn’t have to make a choice.”

Not understanding what Melanie meant, Jenna tugged at the long, purple coat and urged, “At least get your winter gear off, Lenni.”

Melanie’s half-hearted attempts at helping were enough to get the jacket and boots off, revealing Melanie’s rumpled summer dress and sun-kissed skin. It was apparent that Melanie had spent a lot of time over the past weeks on the enchanted roof of her apartment building and Jenna did not even want to begin to imagine what Lenni had been doing. It was pretty safe to say that her sister had no tan lines.

Jenna’s skin was still slightly golden from the few hours she had spent up there a few weeks before. Since they had complete privacy, they had both taken off their bikini tops and enjoyed the sun on their bare skin. It had been a wonderful experience and she now realized it was also the moment she had started to wake up from her years’ long slumber. She also clearly recalled the gorgeous monkey gargoyle who had been imbued with laughter and he had made her feel happy. Alive.

In a way, the monkey
did
remind her of Rhys; there was something very mischievous about both of them, something wonderful and unexpected. And she was a horrible sister to be contemplating marble statues and sexy men when her sister was crying her eyes out. “Shh; it’ll be all right, Lenni, you’ll see.”

“No, it won’t,” she countered mournfully, looking up at Jenna with glossy eyes and a splotchy face. A shudder worked its way through her distraught body and she squeezed her eyes shut, turning away from Jenna. “No matter what happens it’s going to be awful.”

“You can’t mean that,” Jenna chided, a little spark of anger threatening to flare up inside at Melanie’s callous words. Vaughn was still alive and whatever problems she was having with the man could be sorted out if they chose to do so. She ruthlessly snuffed the flame out knowing that if it weren’t for her sister, she wouldn’t have survived the loss of Jeremy, the birth of Ferris.

“I can’t talk about this right now.” Pulling the cover over her head and shutting Jenna out, Melanie continued to sob inconsolably. Guilt and anger swirled in Jenna’s gut because she wanted to be there for Lenni but she didn’t know what to do. Rubbing the lump huddled on the bed, Jenna watched in helplessness as Melanie cried.

Lying down on the bed, she curled her body around her sister’s, stroking her back and hoping it was giving some comfort. She didn’t talk, just held Melanie, her thoughts racing in circles over what could have possibly happened between last night and this afternoon. The only scenario that she could think up that would be so devastating was if Vaughn was already married and had been living with his brothers while his wife and he worked out their differences. Maybe he hadn’t meant to fall in love with Melanie but it just sort of happened. And of course, once Melanie discovered his secret she couldn’t stay with him because she would cut out her own heart before she got involved with a married man.

When Melanie’s body stopped shuddering, Jenna assumed she had finally submitted to the oblivion of sleep. She was going to rush out and switch laundry loads and then get back before Lenni ever woke. Carefully sliding off the bed so as to not jostle Lenni, she looked up and saw that Ferris was quietly standing just outside the room, trying to peek into the room without being seen. Her blue-green eyes were wide with concern and Jenna knew the little girl would worry until she knew her aunt was going to be all right.

Kissing Melanie gently on the cheek, she walked over to Ferris and held out her hand, “Come on, sweetie. Let’s let Lenni rest.”

Not taking her eyes from the huddled form on the bed, Ferris whispered, “Why is Aunt Mellie crying? Is she okay?”

“She will be.” Jenna took Ferris’s hand in her own but her daughter didn’t budge.

“Can I go in and see her?”

Jenna shook her head no, “I don’t think that's such a good idea.”

“Please let her come in,” Melanie’s broken voice croaked from the bed, startling Jenna with the fact that she was still awake. She had been as still as the tomb and just as cold. “Please.”

Heaving a sigh, she released Ferris’s hand and the little girl fled to Melanie’s side, climbing up onto the bed where she was engulfed in a desperate hug. Jenna stood in the doorway for a few more minutes, touched by Ferris’s efforts to comfort Melanie and once again awed by their special bond. The familiar ache pulsed in her chest and she rubbed the tender spot. She knew Ferris loved her but sometimes it seemed that her child loved Melanie more.

It was ridiculous to be jealous over her child’s affection for Melanie, especially when her sister’s heart was shattered. If only she could take some of Melanie’s pain away, if only she knew what to say to make everything better.

Quietly leaving the room and closing the door behind her, tears clogged her throat. Maybe she and her sister weren’t meant to have love and romance or maybe Melanie was making a mountain out of nothing and it wasn’t really the end of the world. She had to find out what the heck happened between Melanie and Vaughn and fix it because her sister did deserve happiness. After everything Lenni had done for her, it was time Jenna paid her back, at least in part. There was nothing insurmountable, except for death.

She was just going to have to figure out how to kidnap Vaughn and then lock the two of them together until they worked out their differences. She was fairly certain Rhys would be willing to help her out since Vaughn was his brother and they seemed close. Surely he would want Vaughn to be happy?

And she had to admit to a little bit of selfishness on her part because she really, really liked Rhys and was looking forward to getting to know him better. It wouldn’t be right for her to date the brother of the man who broke Melanie’s heart.

Her face heated with a hint of shame and a dose of remembered pleasure. She still couldn’t believe the things she had done with Rhys’s seductive voice whispering in her ear. Surely a guy who had no qualms about bringing a woman to orgasm over the phone would enjoy a scheme which involved potentially illegal activities and possibly duct tape, but only if Vaughn and Melanie were incredibly stubborn.

Stealing away into her old bedroom, she sat down on the bed and grabbed her notebook and pen and started plotting. After several hours, which included time spent eating dinner, getting Ferris off to bed, and finally locking herself in her room above the garage, she developed an intricate plan involving marzipan, a blindfold, the production of a musical number – if Rhys could pull it off – and three or four ferrets. She even illustrated some of the more complicated steps and she did one brief sketch of Rhys in a superhero costume that consisted of a pair of boots and a cape and nothing else.

Of course, the more elaborate her plan became, the more ridiculous it was and near the end she was giggling uncontrollably, wiping tears of desperation and sadness and laughter from her eyes. The release had been cathartic, making her feel a hundred times better and returning her to a state of near normalcy.

Scrapping the ten page, fully-diagramed scheme, she realized that the simpler the plan the more effective it would be and she knew that for such a plan to work she needed Rhys’s cooperation. Grabbing her cell phone from the night stand, she took a breath and dialed his number, hoping Rhys answered and not one of his brothers. She was eagerly anticipating the moment the man with the smoky, rough velvet voice picked up the phone.

“Hello?” a sinfully delicious masculine voice breathed into the phone. Only it wasn’t Rhys’s and Jenna felt like she was back in high school pranking the hot quarterback and having his disapproving father answer the phone.

“Um, hi,” she squeaked, rolling her eyes at her immaturity. She was a grown woman and she actually had a brain, even if it had decided to take a vacation at the moment. “May I speak with Rhys, please?”

The man on the other end heaved a long-suffering sigh, “Must you? Hasn’t your sister done enough damage?”

That was an odd question to ask, considering Melanie was the one with her heart splattered all over the ground. “You must be Armand.”

“I am.”

His voice, while sexy, sent chills down her spine and not in the good, pleasurable way. Gritting her teeth together, she curled her lips into a smile even though he couldn’t see her. Maybe the smile would make her voice more pleasant or something and he would just give the damn phone to Rhys. “My daughter says you need a puppy.”