When Love Comes Knocking, page 16
Sarah started bouncing again.
“Come play, Unka J. Slide!” Sarah demanded, giving me those big doe-eyes that she did so well. Then she wiggled to get me to set her down. She immediately grabbed Julia’s hand.
“Yeah, Uncle J, come play with us,” added Julia, blinking at me with her own version of doe-eyes.
Sarah was enough to get me to do anything, but the two together removed any shreds of resistance.
For a moment, I swore I saw a bit of heat in Julia’s eyes, but she turned quickly and led the two of them back down the path and towards the house. Three steps down the path, Julia looked back over her shoulder at me, a twinkle now in her eye as she smiled. She held my gaze for a moment and then turned back to start skipping with Sarah. The two were skipping and laughing like best friends. I couldn’t help myself as I watched her jean covered rear end sway as she walked away.
Shaking my head, I walked Drago back over to the gate. I shooed Daisy back and opened the gate to let Drago back in, slipping his halter off. The two nipped affectionately at each other before walking off. I took the halter back to the tack room and made my way down to the swing set where Sarah had convinced Julia to help her down the slide.
Sarah was shrieking as she slid down the slide and plopped into the sand pit. Jumping up, she raced around to where Julia was standing at the ladder.
Sarah immediately jumped on the ladder and began pulling herself up with Julia standing behind her, hands held up in case Sarah fell backwards. Sarah got to the top and quickly got her legs in position and launched herself down the slide. I stood next to Julia and watched Sarah come running around, starting the process all over.
“Good lord, where does she get the energy?” Julia asked, giggling.
I laughed, too. “I don’t know, but I’d make a fortune if I could bottle it.”
We watched Sarah start up the ladder again. She was two rungs up when her foot slipped. In a flash, Julia and I had our hands on her to catch and hold her. Julia’s hand landed on top of mine, which had landed on Sarah’s back. I felt an almost electric charge crackle up my arm. Unphased, Sarah regained her footing and started back up the ladder. Julia’s hand brushed the length of mine as I dropped it, that tingle making my hairs stand up along the full path that her fingers traced. It was difficult, but I kept myself from looking at her.
I cleared my throat and hooked my thumb into a belt loop. “Isn’t the pizza going to get cold?”
“Oh no, it's not cooked yet,” Julia replied, not taking her eyes off Sarah. Was she as tingly as I still was? “I had them fix the pizzas up in town and put them in a small cooler box they had. Your Mom put them in the oven while Sarah pulled me out to get you to play.”
“Oh. Cool. I didn’t know that the place did that.”
Before Julia could answer, Sarah made a beeline for her and smacked her on the leg. I just laughed because I knew what was coming.
“Tag, Juweah!” Sarah screamed as she darted under the slide and ran for the other end of the swing as fast as her chubby legs could propel her.
“You little stinker,” Julia cried before she whipped her head around to me. I didn’t get a chance to even move before Julia smacked me in the chest.
“Tag!” she said as she followed Sarah.
The swing set was bigger than your normal setup. I had bought the biggest one I could find when Sarah came to stay with us. It was wooden—almost fifteen feet long—and had two different swings, a monkey bar, a teeter-totter and a castle-like structure at one end with a rock wall on one side, a ladder up into the castle on another side, and the big slide coming out the third side. There was even a pink-and-yellow striped canopy over the top of the castle. I had set up a huge sandpit around it.
In other words, there was a ton of climbing space and many obstacles to anyone trying to catch someone.
“I’m gonna get you, Bugggggg!” I yelled and started doing the monster step after her.
“Noooooo. Donnah get me. Save me, Juweah!” shrieked the little troublemaker as she darted over to hide behind Julia.
The two then took off, staying ahead of me as I roared and lumbered like Frankenstein.
They were screaming and laughing as I stumbled after them. Sometime during the third circuit, I stopped stumbling and dashed between two of the swings to cut them off.
Sarah and Julia were running at full steam, or at least full toddler speed right, at me. As I got to them, Sarah scooted right under Julia’s feet, causing her to do a high-step jig to keep from stepping on her. This unbalanced her and she began to plummet to the ground. I collided with her, and we both ended up on the sand. I managed to get one hand around her to catch her, taking the drop on my knees before we finished collapsing. Julia fell backwards.
In a matter of seconds, I found myself laying over the top of Julia, leaning on my elbows and looking down at her. My lower body met hers in a position that was well known to us from our time together.
The surrounding sounds faded as I gazed down at her. I could feel the blood pounding through my veins and the excitement awakening parts of me. As her eyes captured mine, they closed lightly and her cheeks became flush. Unbidden, I lowered my head, focusing on her lips. I swear her lips parted ever so slightly in anticipation.
I was only a couple of inches away when a small human spitfire jumped on my back.
“I save you, Juweah!” Sarah shouted.
She began pounding her tiny fists on my back and then grabbing me by the ears. Even as she did, I couldn’t take my eyes from Julia’s. Her hand came up to touch my cheek, and I froze.
It was then that Sarah managed to get a good grip on one ear and tug my head to the side. Sighing, I let myself fall easily over to the side and then flip to capture Sarah. Before I could start nomming on her neck, Mom yelled out from the kitchen door.
“Pizza’s ready. Get cleaned up,” she said, the door banging behind her as she stepped back inside.
“Pessa, Unka J!” Sarah exclaimed as she tried to wiggle away.
I got up and scooped her up, then reached down for Julia, who was still watching us from the ground. She grabbed my hand and pulled herself up, dusting off her jeans. Giving me a wistful look, she took Sarah from me and headed inside. I waited a moment to follow and by the time I reached the kitchen, the two were in the bathroom getting cleaned up as I washed my hands at the sink, my head spinning.
I had wanted to kiss Julia. I had almost kissed Julia, and I could swear she had wanted to kiss me as well.
THIRTEEN
As we sat at the table eating pizza, Sarah kept a running commentary with Julia and Mom. I was content to play host, making sure drinks were filled and the ladies had all the things they needed. It was good to hear Sarah laughing and giggling; it was even better to hear Mom’s laughter.
I watched Julia as she was telling Sarah something about Daisy. As she did, she reached up and brushed her long hair back behind her ear. That simple act mesmerized me, and I felt a lurch in my chest as I stared at her. I was so focused on it that I didn’t realize she was looking at me.
Busted.
As my eyes met hers, Julia gave me that half-smile again and a light blush sprang out on her cheeks before she turned to Mom, who had just asked her a question.
“I’m sorry, Mary, what did you say?”
Mom glanced at me and then back at Julia, a knowing look in her eyes.
Focusing on Julia, she repeated her question. “I was asking what you were doing these days.”
“I mostly do event planning for Daddy’s company.”
“That sounds like hectic work,” Mom said.
Julia nodded, a tired look crossing her face. “Oh, it can be. Right now, we are working on Dad’s annual company charity ball. He likes to have one big event each year to generate money that he then donates to various charities.”
“That sounds very worthwhile,” Mom replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin.
“It is, but it is keeping me busy. I’ll be working on it night and day until the end of the month, getting all the details worked out.”
I vaguely remembered the event Julia was talking about. She and I had attended one time together and her father had made it clear that I was not welcome. Julia let him know in no uncertain terms that until I was welcome, she wasn’t. He apparently didn’t believe her resolve. To say he was not happy she failed to show the next year, or even help plan the event, would have been an understatement.
“What’s a chairwaty vent?” Sarah asked, not liking that she was not the center of the attention.
“Well,” replied Julia, as she used a napkin to wipe some stray pizza sauce off Sarah’s chin. “It’s like a big tea party for adults. We dress up in nice clothes and dance and have fun.”
Sarah’s eyes widened, and she leaned forward. “Ohhh, can I go too? Gamma boughted me some dresses. And I got some purple sparkly shoes.”
Suppressing a grin, I chimed in on the conversation. “Sorry, Bug, but it’s for grownups only,” I said.
Instantly, I knew that was not the right thing to say. Sarah’s face fell and Julia reached over to rub Sarah’s shoulder as the little one’s bottom lip started to quiver.
Julia leaned in close to Sarah. “How ‘bout we have a tea party?” she asked.
Sarah’s face brightened immediately, and her lip stopped quivering. Her eyes grew as big as quarters. “Can we?” she asked breathlessly.
“Sure,” Julia replied, “If it’s okay with Jake and your Grandma.”
Sarah turned her big puppy dog eyes on me and mom. I held up my hands in surrender. Tea parties were not high on my list of fun things. Building blocks, card games, those things were more my style.
I chuckled. “This sounds like a great chance for all the girls to play.”
Sarah looked at me and I swore her bottom lip started to quiver again. God, it must be ingrained in their DNA.
“You… you don't wanna play tea party wid me?” she asked, as the first small unshed tear showed up in the corner of her eye
“Yeah, Uncle Jake, why don’t you want to play?” Julia chimed, her tone dripping with honey. She gave me her own version of a pout, lowering her head just slightly and staring up at me through her eyelashes.
That look. It took my breath away. It was seared in my memory from times before when that pout normally led to a different kind of play.
I shook my head and tried to keep my memories from causing my body to react in ways that weren’t appropriate at the moment. As I was struggling for control, Mom decided to add her comments to the battle. Thankfully, it was a distraction that helped me regain some composure.
“Yeah, Jake. What kind of uncle doesn't want to have a tea party with his niece?” she asked, giving me a smile that oozed enough sweetness to send someone into a diabetic coma.
I glanced around the table at the three females and—like any God-fearing red-blooded male—knew that I had lost this fight. Turning my attention back to Sarah, I put a big smile on my face.
“Of course. I would love to play tea party with you, Sarah.”
The squeals of joy echoed around the kitchen. I would have been hard pressed to tell which of the three were the loudest.
Following the tea party, Sarah conned Julia into playing dolls, which in turn led to more time outside. Julia stayed for dinner, and we finished off the pizza.
The one good thing about all of these activities was that Sarah was running on empty earlier than normal. She begged Julia to give her a bath and then read a story and then tuck her in.
I watched from the doorway as Julia helped Sarah into bed and then began straightening out her sheets and unicorn bedspread. Once properly tucked in, Sarah pointed to the book on the bedside table. Julia picked it up and sat down on the edge of the bed and scooted in to sit next to the droopy-eyed little girl.
Julia read softly to Sarah, who in turn couldn’t take her eyes off Julia. I felt an overwhelming wave of sadness tear through me. I had to get away from the doorway quickly before either of the two noticed the tears that threatened to slip down my cheek. I walked quietly to my bathroom, stepping up to the sink. Turning on the faucet, I splashed my face with cold water, taking a minute to study myself in the mirror. I needed to get a grip on what was running through my head.
What was I going to do? Julia was inserting herself into our lives, and I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. On one level, I missed her closeness, missed holding her, waking up next to her. On another, I was still angry and hurt, though that seemed to be fading.
On top of everything else, Sarah was bonding with her. Given the losses she’d already had in her small life, I didn’t want to even think about what losing Julia would do.
After a few minutes of pondering my reflection with no solution, I wandered back to the kitchen to find Mom and Julia giggling as they hunched over their phones. My ex and my mom, giggling. That can’t be good for me.
As I stepped into the doorway, they both snapped their eyes to me and stopped mid-giggle. Both attempted to put on an innocent face. Both failed miserably.
Mom just met my gaze. I could see the laughter in Julia’s eyes and her jaw clenching as she tried to hold it back. Both women slowly put their phones down and adopted a look of pure innocence.
“And just what, may I ask, was so funny on your phones?” I asked.
Julia looked at Mom and then back at me, smiling.
“Nothing.” they said in unison, sending a chill down my spine.
Julia’s face was contorted from her efforts to hold in her laughter. I looked over at Mom to see tears running down her face as she fought to contain herself.
Placing my hands on my hips, I continued to stare at them, switching between the two. Mom was the first to crack, breaking out into fits of quiet laughter. Julia crumbled as soon as Mom’s first laugh came out, her shoulders shaking as she covered her mouth to try to be quiet.
I darted to the table, reaching for Mom’s phone, but she was faster. She snatched it up and shoved her hands below the table. I tried to pull her arms up, but she leaned forward and laid against the table edge, laughing. With Mom burrowed in like a tick on a dog, I turned my attention to Julia.
With a small shriek, she jumped up and put the table between the two of us. I started to go left, and she mirrored me, keeping the tabletop between us as she grinned at me.
After several darts and dashes, it was clear I couldn’t get to her the normal way. My only chance was to take a more direct route. When she saw me eyeing the table top, she realized I was about to go up and over instead of around.
“Jaaakkee…” she drawled as she stepped back, watching as I put my hands on the table, preparing to vault it.
Before I could do my best imitation of a pommel horse mount, Julia shocked the crap out of me. She pulled her shirt forward and shoved her phone into her bra. The small rectangle made a definite bulge. Crossing her arms across her chest, she stared at me with that ‘what ya gonna do now?’ look.
For about five seconds, I gave retrieving the phone from her bra serious thought, to the point that I started stalking around the table toward her, my eyes locked with hers. Julia’s eyes widened in shock.
“Jake, you wouldn’t,” she gasped as she started inching away from me.
When she got behind Mom—the table between us—she made a break for the back door. I ran around after her, but Mom stood up and got in my way, wrapping me in a hug and cackling as she did.
Seconds later I heard Julia’s car pull out, her escape complete. I glared back at Mom, who had sat back down, shaking with laughter.
“Why did you do that? I could have caught her!”
“Pffft. And do what? Were you going to reach into her bra and take that phone?” she asked, smirking up at me.
My thoughts immediately went to the soft, yet firm, breasts that I knew were encased in that bra. Flesh that I had known and explored in great detail. Memories washed over me like a flood, and I felt a small surge of excitement.
Mom noticed my silence.
“Do I need to hose you down?”
Mom’s comment pulled me out of my increasingly carnal thoughts to see her giving me that raised-eyebrow Mom-look.
“Well?” she asked, folding her hands in front of her
I decided offense and deflection were the best defenses to answering her questions.
I leaned casually on the table. “What were you two looking at on your phones? I know it had something to do with me.”
“What makes you think it had anything to do with you?” she asked, before taking a drink from her beer.
I rolled my eyes. “Because I’m not totally stupid.”
She snorted. “Well, at least you admit you’re partially stupid. Recognizing the problem goes a long way toward fixing it.”
Slightly offended, I crossed my arms and glared at her, but she countered my look with her Mom stare.
I didn’t stand a chance.
Giving up, I threw up my hands and turned, throwing a quick, frustrated “Fine!” over my shoulder.
I huffed my way into the living room and plopped down on the couch. Grabbing the remote, I began flipping through the channels before settling on a baseball game. I could hear Mom starting to work on the dishes.
About ten minutes later, she joined me in the living room, bringing me a beer. I kept watching the game as Mom sat in her chair and picked up her book. I didn’t need to glance at it to know she was reading some romance novel.
She was addicted to them.
“Was kind of nice having Julia here tonight,” she said, breaking the silence.
“Yea, it was,” I replied.
“Sarah’s taking a real liking to her as well.”
“Seems that way.”
I agreed with her, though it was a point that I was trying not to dwell on. However, something in my tone must have been off. Mom glanced at me over her book.
“What’s wrong?”
I worried at the label on my bottle. “I guess I’m wondering if her and Sarah getting along is a good thing?”
