Rough Drafts (By Design Book 4), page 9
“Hey, Jonah,” Scott grabbed Jonah’s arm.
“Yeah?” Jonah asked.
“What’s it like having J.D. as a step-mom? Does she read you bedtime stories?” he asked loudly enough that Jameson could hear.
“No, she’s too busy studying the Bible at night with Mom,” Jonah cracked. Scott gave Jonah a funny look. “You know,” Jonah continued. “Oh, God—Bible Study.”
“Jonah!” Jameson turned and fired Jonah a glare.
“What? Shell said it was Bible study,” Jonah said with a smirk.
“Why doesn’t she just rent a billboard?” Jameson complained.
“That was classic,” Scott snickered.
“Works every time,” Jonah laughed.
***
Jonah was markedly quiet as Jameson drove home. Jameson glanced across at him as he gazed out the window. “You okay?” she finally asked.
Jonah turned his attention to Jameson. “No.”
Jameson nodded as she refocused her attention on the road. “Want to talk about it?”
“You know how I told you Laura’s parents are kind of conservative?”
“Yeah?”
“I might have understated that.”
Jameson took a deep breath. “Actually, if my memory serves me correctly, you told me conservative was an understatement,” Jameson reminded him.
“That might not really be adequate,” Jonah said.
“Jonah?”
“Laura’s dad works for FVI,” he blurted the words out as quickly as he could.
Jameson’s grip on the wheel tightened. She kept her eyes squarely on the road, afraid she might swerve otherwise. “By FVI, you wouldn’t be referring to Funny Videos on the Internet, would you?”
“No.”
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Jameson replied. “Shit.”
“I’m sorry, J.D.”
Jameson chuckled. “Funny Videos would have been funnier,” she shrugged.
“You’re not mad?” Jonah asked in surprise.
“Nah. None of us can help who we are born to. Some of us are lucky and get parents who drink beer and drive us crazy talking about their sex lives....”
“Or, just with their sex lives,” Jonah laughed.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Jameson said. Jonah sniggered. “And, some of us get morons. What can you do?”
“Mom is going to flip.”
Jameson chuckled. “You want me to tell her?” she guessed. Jonah sighed. “It’s okay, Jonah. I’ll make sure she is sitting down, preferably with a glass of scotch in her hand,” Jameson said.
“You’d do that for me?” he asked. “J.D., I can’t ask you to…”
“Eh, it’s fine,” she said. “Just name the kid after me and we’ll call it even,” she cast a playful glance his way.
“That’s your demand, huh?”
“Worth a try,” Jameson said. “Did it work?”
Jonah laughed. “Not really my call,” he said.
“You know, you are going to have to talk to your mom at some point about this.”
“I know,” he said.
“And, she is going to want to meet this girlfriend of yours.”
“I know that too,” he said.
“Just do me a favor,” she said.
“Sure, if I can,” Jonah replied.
“Assuming you survive her father, don’t invite the in-laws over just yet,” she teased him.
“Wow, very supportive J.D. You really should rethink that kid thing. You’ve got the torture part down already,” he told her.
“Thanks,” Jameson grinned.
Jonah looked back out the window. Jameson looked over at him occasionally as a thoughtful silence hovered between them. “Thanks, J.D.,” Jonah said sincerely.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said.
“Yeah. You did.”
***
“Hi, honey….What’s wrong? No, I’m not sitting down. Why? Should I be?” Candace asked Jameson on the other end of the line.
“Uh. Yeah, you probably will want to do that,” Jameson answered.
“Oh, I do not like the sound of this,” Candace replied. “You didn’t get arrested or something, did you?”
“What? No!” Jameson answered. “But, if you are in your office, I would open that bottle of scotch you keep in the cabinet for special occasions.”
“Why?” Candace asked. “Oh, God! Who is getting married?”
“No one,” Jameson said. “I don’t think.”
“Who is pregnant?” Candace asked.
“No one you don’t already know about unless you know something I don’t,” Jameson said.
“OH! I know…the Republicans want to endorse me!” Candace cheered. Dana looked at her boss from the sofa and rolled her eyes.
“Candace?” Jameson began. “Are you already drinking?”
“Yes,” Candace said.
“Oh, no. Bad news on the hill?” Jameson asked.
“Don’t change the subject, Jameson. What is it that I need to sit down and drink scotch to hear?” Candace asked.
“Umm… Well… See… Here is the thing…”
“Jameson!”
“What?”
“Just tell me already! The suspense is killing me,” Candace said.
“Are you drunk?” Jameson asked.
“Not yet,” Candace replied honestly.
“Maybe this should wait until tomorrow.”
“Oh, no. I am not having two perfectly good days ruined. Now, what the hell is going on?”
“Okay. Here it is: Jonah’s girlfriend’s dad is some FVI guru… and I don’t mean he makes funny videos,” Jameson said. Candace burst out laughing. “You’re laughing,” Jameson said in amazement. “You must be drunk. Is Dana there?”
“No. Yes, Dana is here, and no I am not drunk, although if you call me in a couple of hours the answers might be different to those questions,” Candace admitted. “I’m laughing because I already know.”
“You already know that you are getting drunk?”
Candace laughed harder. “No, you lunatic. I already know about Laura’s father.”
“Oh…You do? How?” Jameson asked.
“I could ask you the same question,” Candace pointed out.
“Jonah told me,” Jameson said.
“He did, huh?” Candace asked.
“Yeah. He’s pretty worried about it,” Jameson told Candace. “How did you know?”
“Jeffrey stopped by. Longer story. Long story made short? Jonah mentioned Laura’s last name, Jeffrey put two and two together, well with a little digging.”
“How bad is this?” Jameson asked. “Could it derail you?”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m more worried about Jonah,” Candace said. “Lawson Klein is one mean son-of-a-bitch.”
“Maybe you could call him,” Jameson suggested.
“Call Lawson Klein? I don’t think that…”
“No! Call Jonah,” Jameson laughed.
“Oh. I’ll give him a call tomorrow before he leaves. What time are you leaving?” she asked Jameson.
“About seven-thirty.”
“In that case, I will call him tonight. What are your plans after that?” Candace asked. “Headed back to the clinic?”
“No. I got what I needed to start the project. I won’t be going back for a while,” Jameson said. She heard Candace sigh. “I’ll explain when I see you.”
“Jameson, I won’t be home until Thursday night.”
“I know. I will be in Washington tomorrow.”
“You’re coming here?” Candace was surprised.
“Unless you don’t want me to,” Jameson answered.
Candace closed her eyes. “No, of course, I want you to.”
“Good. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Do me a favor?”
“What?”
“Go home and worry about this tomorrow,” Jameson suggested. Candace groaned. “Candace, let Dana do her job. Go home and get some rest.”
“Worried about me?” Candace asked lightly.
“Yes,” Jameson said seriously. “I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” Candace replied.
“Promise me?”
“I promise,” Candace said. “See you tomorrow.”
Dana looked at Candace. “What was that all about?”
“Sounds like Jonah had a heart to heart with Jameson,” Candace said.
“You’re kidding?” Dana responded with genuine surprise.
“No.”
“You don’t sound surprised. I mean, I know Shell and J.D. are close, but Jonah has always been…”
“Quiet?” Candace said. “He still is,” she said with a smile.
“Maybe J.D. can convince Shell to take the job. She seems to have a way with your kids.”
Candace grinned. “She does. But, don’t get your hopes up on that one.”
“Why not? You don’t think she can?”
“No, I’m sure she could. I’m also sure that Shell will reach out to her. She won’t push Shell either way. That’s why they go to her,” Candace said proudly.
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all. It’s kind of nice to not have to do it all alone for a change,” Candace said.
Dana nodded. “I always said J.D. would make a good parent.”
“She would,” Candace agreed.
Dana looked at Candace curiously. Candace had a faraway look in her eye. “Do I detect something in that statement?” Dana wondered.
“No. Only that I know she would be. That makes me love her all the more,” Candace confessed. “I know she says she doesn’t want that. I just can’t help but wonder if she knows what she is missing.”
“I don’t think she is missing anything,” Dana said.
“I hope you’re right,” Candace replied.
“I am.”
Chapter Seven
Candace walked into her townhouse and immediately kicked off her shoes. “I hate these goddamned things,” she groaned. It was already nine o’clock. She hadn’t eaten since noon, and she was dog tired.
Jameson leaned in the doorframe that stood between the foyer and the spacious living room. “Long day?”
Candace looked at her wife and smiled. “Too long,” she said.
“I have the perfect remedy,” Jameson promised.
“What’s that?” Candace raised her brow.
“A touch of home,” Jameson said. Candace was curious. Jameson held out her hand. “Hungry?” Jameson asked.
“Starving.”
“Chinese food sound good?” Jameson wondered.
“Perfect,” Candace replied as she followed Jameson through the townhouse to the kitchen. She startled slightly and stopped abruptly when she felt something brush against her leg. “Jinx?”
“Yeah, he missed you too,” Jameson said.
“You flew Jinx here?”
“No, I drove Jinx here.”
“You…Wait…Where’s…”
“My car is in the garage you never use,” Jameson laughed. “I figured we could drive back Friday, or we can stay the weekend here. Whatever you want.”
“Don’t you have to work?” Candace asked suspiciously.
“Yes. I am meeting with a client in Virginia tomorrow. In fact, Melanie is meeting me there. Other than that? I can work here.”
“Jameson, I am all right,” Candace said.
“I know you are,” Jameson said. She moved to take Candace in her arms.
“You do?”
“Yeah, I do. The last week has been…”
“Crazy?” Candace said.
“Emotional,” Jameson admitted.
Candace stroked Jameson’s cheek and Jameson closed her eyes as she leaned into Candace’s touch. Jameson was not always comfortable expressing her emotions verbally. Candace contemplated her wife’s expression. “Jameson?” Jameson shook her head. “Did something else happen?”
“I talked to Scott,” Jameson said.
“And?”
“I don’t know. Just…there’s so much. I just want to sit and watch you open your fortune cookies with a glass of wine. Then, I want to take you to bed and make love to you slowly,” Jameson told Candace.
“I see only one flaw in that plan,” Candace commented.
“There’s a flaw?”
“Mm. Let’s take the wine and fortune cookies to bed,” Candace suggested.
“Candace Reid, you are kinky,” Jameson teased.
“If all it takes to qualify as kinky is wine and fortune cookies, we need to talk,” Candace laughed.
“Hey! I can be creative,” Jameson said.
Candace raised her brow. “Oh? Good. Then grab the wine and the fortune cookies and meet me upstairs.”
“I thought you were hungry?” Jameson called after her.
“I am,” Candace called back.
Jameson looked down at Jinx. “She calls me a lunatic?”
“Quit filling Jinx’s head with your jabbering and get that wine!” Candace called from the hallway.
Jameson shook her head and laughed. “Let’s see what my fortune says,” she whispered to Jinx. Jameson grabbed a fortune cookie and cracked it open. She read the message and grinned like a Cheshire Cat. “Ha! You will soon be the center of attention – In bed!” Jameson laughed. “Gotta go, Jinx!”
“Jameson? Are you coming?” Candace called from upstairs.
Jameson snorted. “Well, according to my fortune…”
***
“What are you thinking about?” Candace asked Jameson as she caressed Jameson’s back gently.
“How much I love fortune cookies,” Jameson replied.
“I’m sure,” Candace chuckled.
“I told you that I could be creative,” Jameson gloated.
Candace laughed softly. “And, I told you that I had no doubt. Now, come on…I am thrilled that you are here, believe me.”
“But?”
“But, I know when something is on your mind,” Candace said.
Jameson closed her eyes and enjoyed Candace’s arms around her. “Sometimes, I wish we could just stay like this.”
“I know the feeling,” Candace agreed. “What happened with Scott?” Candace asked gently.
“We talked,” Jameson said. “Well, I might have yelled a bit,” she admitted.
Candace listened without interrupting for almost an hour as Jameson recapped her conversation with her cousin. Jameson would grow quiet for long moments before launching into a myriad of thoughts and questions about Scott and Craig. Jameson admitted that she remained conflicted. She wanted Scott back in her life. That much she knew. She wasn’t sure how she could make that happen.
“It still hurts to be with him,” Jameson confessed.
Candace kissed Jameson’s head and held her close. “I know it does. Give it some time,” she suggested. “You can’t expect the last sixteen years to just disappear.”
“I know. I wish they would, though,” Jameson said. Jameson pulled herself up to look at Candace.
“What is it?” Candace asked.
“Jonah.”
“Jonah?” Candace shook her head in confusion.
“He’s a lot like you,” Jameson said with a smile.
“Oh? Just what did you two talk about after I left?” Candace inquired.
“A lot, actually,” Jameson answered honestly. Candace smiled. “Does that bother you?”
“No. Not at all. I’m just curious,” Candace said. Jameson leaned in and kissed Candace gently. “What was that for?”
“I just wanted to kiss you,” Jameson said.
“Are you sure you didn’t just want to change the subject?” Candace lifted her brow.
Jameson chuckled. “You know, he does that too.”
“Huh?”
“Jonah. He lifts his eyebrow like that,” Jameson said.
“Does he?”
“Yeah. He’s so quiet usually. I mean, he looks like you, but I never realized how much he is like you.”
“How so?” Candace wondered.
“He worries about everyone else first,” Jameson said. “He’s worried about Laura. He’s worried about you. Hell, he’s even worried about my mother!” Jameson shook her head in affectionate disbelief.
“How is that like me?”
“You’re joking. Candace, you worry about the kids, Pearl, me, my family, Dana, Steve, your staff, the state of New York, for God’s sake—before you ever think of you in the equation,” Jameson said.
“That’s not true, Jameson. I wish I were as selfless as you make me out to be.”
“Candace, you are the most selfless person I know,” Jameson said.
“Looked in the mirror lately?” Candace returned.
“Oh, no. We are not talking about me.”
“Maybe we should be,” Candace said.
“What do you mean?”
“Jameson…I don’t know what I would do without you,” Candace admitted softly.
“Hey,” Jameson lifted Candace’s chin with two fingers. “Where is that coming from?”
“You just…Look at you with Jonah and Shell. God, Spencer is attached to you like you were his umbilical cord. You just have so much to give.”
Jameson smiled and kissed Candace’s lips. Candace still worried from time to time about the age difference between them. Jameson suspected that might always be the case to some degree. She was positive that Candace felt secure in their commitment, but Jameson also understood that Candace sometimes feared she might be holding Jameson back in some way. No matter how many times Jameson reassured her wife, some small fragment of doubt lingered. “Candace,” Jameson directed Candace to look at her. “Do you know why I love Jonah and Shell…Hell, why I love Marianne for that matter, or Spencer and Maddie, even why I love Pearl so much? Because, I do. I do love them.”
“I know you do.”
“That’s because I see you in each of them. Sometimes it’s in little ways. Sometimes, Shell or Jonah…or Spencer, they remind me so much of you, I almost want to cry.”
“Jameson…”
Jameson’s only reply was a tender kiss that swiftly deepened. “It’s true,” Jameson whispered in Candace’s ear. She kissed a trail down Candace’s neck to her throat. Her hands fell to Candace’s hips and she pulled Candace closer. With each touch, each taste of the flesh beneath her, Jameson lost herself a little more in the woman she loved. Candace was helpless to resist. She threaded her fingers in Jameson’s hair, delighting in the soft waves as they fell through her fingers.
