Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (22 page)

"No. The original plan was I would work from here, from home. I am still planning on it, but it might be hectic for a little while. With telecommuting and video conferencing, it is possible. I am excited about this new company, but I made it clear to the guys, I will not become a slave to work. It does mean I will have to do some traveling back and forth to Montrose. It's a two-hour trip and doable, because I won't have to make it every day."

"What about the job here? What about the Bentley house?"

"We will continue work on it. Kevin promised to step in for the day-to-day stuff if I'm busy with projects for Peak Designs. I will be here, Jenny. I will be here for you and the kids. The toughest part of the remodeling is almost complete. Soon most of the decisions will be yours regarding decorating. We will consult on it as needed."

Jenny nodded and kissed him. "I'm in. In addition, Julia called to say she sold several of my pieces, so the proceeds can go towards replenishing our savings. I am so sorry I got us into such an awful mess."

"Don't. You were manipulated by a master, besides it was my job to put a stop to it, and I didn't."

"I realize more and more how much Denise manipulated me," Jenny admitted. "There is one more thing we have to do, Josh."

"What's that?"

"We need to redo our guardianship wills," Jenny said. "When Mila was talking about keeping little David Kevin away from Denise, it scared me. We need to make sure there is no way in this world my mother could get custody of Emmie and Adam."

"I will call Mr. Mitchim as soon as I get to the office," he promised. "Are you thinking of my parents as primary guardians, or Tyrell and Violet?"

"Tyrell and Violet first because they are younger, your parents second, and Mila as a third backup. We can't leave something like this to chance."

Jenny felt she was missing something. She kept checking the seat for her purse and glancing in the backseat, which was unusually empty. They had not taken the kids out with them anywhere after returning to Durango because Tyrell and Violet had been around to help with them. Kevin had finally removed the car seats from his truck and stored them in the garage, which Buddy loved since there was room for him, again. He missed being able to ride everywhere with Kevin, even though he adored the kids.

She realized she was stressing over not having Emmie and Adam with her, which was silly. Josh was more than capable of taking care of their children by himself. That was one complaint she never had with her husband. He was very involved with their children. Even when working in his home office, he usually had one or the other with him. At five, Emmie was already computer literate because she spent so much time sitting in her father's lap while he worked. He was always instructing her on what key to touch, how to move and click the mouse buttons. He even downloaded an assortment of games to his computer for her.

Jenny drove to Durango stopping first at the hospital to visit Mila. Her sister's blood pressure was back to a normal range with the aid of medication. She was healing from the surgery, but she still looked tired. Little Davy had gained two ounces in four days. Jenny dropped off a half-dozen gift-wrapped presents from her and Violet, things Mila would need when she brought the baby home the next day.

"I am so unprepared," Mila exclaimed, opening the gifts. "I thought I had another month to get the baby's room ready."

"Nonsense," Jenny said. "I am on my way to the supercenter, where I will get diapers and little sleepers, and whatever else I think you might need. All Davy really needs is his mother. Emmie slept in a cardboard box in our bedroom at night for the first two months even though we had a complete nursery set up for her. I couldn't bear the thought of our being separated. With Adam, my separation anxiety only lasted two weeks. I guess it is true what they say about second babies. You stop obsessing over every tiny detail."

"I suppose," said Mila smiling. "Davy is
my
first, so I am anxious every time they take him back to the nursery."

"Trust me, it's not about the stuff you give a kid, honey, it is the love you give him."

Mila nodded. "If anyone knows that it should be us. Mom's idea of child nurturing was to have a baby and then hand it over to a nanny. Do you have any memory of Mom or Dad ever hugging us?"

Jenny shook her head. "No, but it is not the way we raised Emmie and Adam. How you evolve your relationship with Davy is something you have to decide. Okay, is there anything you desperately need from the store?"

"I need to go there myself."

"Well, that won't happen for at least a week. You are not to lift anything heavier than the baby. You will stay with us so I can watch over you and Davy for the first couple of weeks. Goodness, Mila, you had major surgery!"

"A caesarean section is only considered major surgery because they give you anesthesia. It is routine surgery. I have to get so many things. There is so much to be done. Has Kevin finished with the kitchen in my place?"

"Stop stressing!" Jenny ordered. "The kitchen in your place is gorgeous and so is the one in the main house. The man has talent. I hate to leave you, but I have to go. It was beginning to flurry when I came in. Call as soon as they tell you when you will be released tomorrow."

"Call me when you get home. I will worry about you out on those snowy roads."

"I'll try, but you know how the cell phone reception gets around here in storms," Jenny exclaimed, giving her sister a hug. "I am so glad you came to us."

Mila held her sister a little longer and tighter in a hug. "So am I."

Jenny did shop, but not for baby things. She and Violet had taken a morning earlier and outfitted Mila with everything she could possibly need for the baby's arrival. Before they left for their shopping trip, Kevin had shown them what he had done to Mila's house. He had authorized his men to complete her space while he was at the hospital with her.

All the rooms were freshly painted and the old secondhand furniture was gone. New furniture was in its place, couch, comfortable chairs, new lamps, and tables. There was a new bedroom suite in her room. Kevin had turned one of his sisters loose to buy whatever she thought necessary to outfit and organize the small kitchen. One of the best changes though was they had broken through a wall to put an archway between the largest bedroom and a second small room. They transformed the former junk room into a nursery, outfitting it with baby furniture including a rocking chair and decorating it in baby boy blue with little airplanes.

Josh approved all the changes telling Kevin to submit the receipts for reimbursement. Kevin did so except for the baby's room, which was his personal gift to Mila.

Jenny hurried to finish her shopping because the snow flurries had quickly changed into a full-out snowstorm. Josh called and told her to drop what she was doing and get home because the snow was accumulating. She still needed to stop at the craft store because Julia had called with news of Jenny's three pieces of textile art selling.

The depth of snow on the ground surprised Jenny, although Josh had warned her. She wavered between her need to get home and her need to stop by the craft store. She looked around and realized there was still a lot of traffic on the roads, and the Land Rover did have four-wheel drive. The roads were getting difficult to maneuver, but the plows were out. Leaving the supercenter, a young clerk followed her outside to help her load her purchases into her vehicle.

"Be careful going home, ma'am," the young man cautioned. "The last weather report said we might get two feet."

"I will. Thank you!" Jenny called. She eased out onto the highway, but at the last second decided it would only take a few minutes to swing by Julia Scarlett's craft store. She had an order in for some more supplies. If she was to be snowbound, she wanted a project to work on. She drove the three miles to the shop and ran inside.

"Goodness," Julia exclaimed. "I am about to close the shop!"

"I can come back later."

"You are already here. I have your supplies in the back, and I will get your check."

Jenny wandered around for a few minutes and brought three skeins of yarn to the counter as Julia came out of the back carrying three boxes. She put them down and pulled on her coat.

"I will help you get these to your car and lock the doors," Julia said.

"I want to order four dozen of each of these.".

Julia waved her off. "I will call you about it tomorrow and we will settle the next time you come in. I have already closed out the register. You live further out than I do, so you need to get home. Please don't underestimate the hazards of our snowfalls." She handed Jenny an envelope. "You might want to look at this, it is pretty spectacular."

Jenny broke the seal and pulled out a check. She looked at the numbers and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Holy smokes!"

"I put your pieces under open bids," Julia explained. "I do that sometimes to get the best price for unique work, and your pieces certainly fit the category. For a little place in the sticks, I get a lot of trade from tourists and my on-line store. The woman who bought your pieces is decorating a house for a magazine layout. If your pieces appear in the photo spread, you will receive credit in the captions. I need more of your work. I would love to talk more about this, Jenny, but now is not the time. You have to get home."

"Thank you!" Jenny beamed as she hugged her new friend and agent. She put the check in her purse and grabbed one of the boxes. The two women stuffed the boxes in the Land Rover and said their goodbyes quickly.

Jenny slowed down as she approached the last intersection with a signal light before leaving town. It had been green and she knew it was going to change at any second. The truck in front of her braked suddenly, hit a patch of ice, and slid sideways broadsiding a medium-sized sedan, sending it spinning into a telephone pole. She slowed to a stop, jumped out of her vehicle and ran over to the car. An older man and woman were getting out and did not appear to be hurt. The man in the truck was slumped over the wheel. However, more people had stopped and were attending to him.

A few minutes later, two police cars and a rescue vehicle arrived at the intersection. It took Jenny another half-hour to give her witness statement and contact information before she was free to leave. A snowplow was clearing the road heading out of town and the deputy advised her to drive behind it for as long as she could. It grew dark and visibility was bad, it was slow going, but she had no difficulties driving behind the plow.

Her cell phone rang and she answered.

"Where the hell are you?" Josh demanded.

"On my way home," Jenny exclaimed. "I was delayed by an accident. Not me, but it happened in front of me."

"Where are you?" Josh repeated.

"About ten miles outside of town," Jenny said.

"Maybe you should turn around and go back. It is almost white-out conditions here."

"I'm behind a plow and past the halfway point now. Either way is bad. I'm going to try and make it home."

"Be careful and keep me posted!" Josh exclaimed.

"I will," Jenny promised. She stayed behind the plow until she had to turn off the main road onto their property lane. The snow was untouched here, but the Land Rover did well in it. Thank goodness, the previous owner of the property, had installed red reflectors along the edge of the long driveway. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to know where the lane was in these conditions. She was climbing a gradual incline and doing well when suddenly there was a flash of brown and she hit something hard. The vehicle fishtailed, and with a thump, she was off the road surface. After another thud, the rear panel hit a tree where she came to a halt.

Jenny tried to steer back on the road, but the wheels spun in place. She rocked the vehicle back and forth between reverse and first gear and downshifted, but the car would not budge. She took it in and out of four-wheel drive, but she still was not going anywhere. She tried her cell phone, but there was no signal.

She estimated it was still a quarter of a mile to the house. She could walk it. She was dressed for the weather, and Josh had equipped both vehicles for winter emergencies. She dug through the boxes and bags in the back to find the black emergency bag. She pulled out earmuffs, an extra scarf, mittens, a flashlight, and a blanket. She added the garments to what she already wore, pulled her purse strap over her head and across her chest, wrapped the blanket around her, and turned on the flashlight to its high beam.

She was startled when the beam reflected off something on the side of the lane. Then she realized the light was reflecting off eyes. A large deer with a full rack of antlers moved slightly, and she stopped. She realized this was what the Land Rover hit. She slowly moved to the opposite side of the road and kept her distance feeling a little apprehensive. Blood-tinted snow covered the animal and she guessed it was down because it could not run. Josh had lectured her about never approaching a wild animal, no matter how cute or hurt because they could go into attack mode. Deer were beautiful at a distance, injured they could be dangerous. Softhearted as she was, she could not help the animal. She felt sad for it, but she moved on. She had to get home to her family.

She trudged through the blowing snow. She was not frightened. With all the layers she wore, she was not even cold except for her face. She had no problem following the lane markers. She got a little concerned with some of the deeper areas of drifting snow, but she kept moving.

* * *

Josh was in panic mode. He could not get through to Jenny on her cell, and the house phone was down, which the locals had warned was a predictable occurrence in their area. He was so frustrated he wanted to pull out his hair! He could not go out and look for her, and leave two small children alone in the house.

When the front door opened, it looked as if the abdominal snowman had arrived. Josh rushed forward as Jenny dropped the blanket and stomped to shake the snow off her clothing. He hauled her inside snow and all and began removing her winter layers.

"Are you all right?"

"I will be as soon as I get warm. I was about halfway up the lane when a deer ran into me. I swear I did not hit it. The deer hit me! The Land Rover bounced into a rut or something, and I couldn't get it out. The deer is still out there lying hurt beside the lane."

Josh stopped rubbing her arms to grab a warm sofa throw and wrap it around her. "I've been worried sick for the past three hours. What took you so long to get here?"

"Everything," Jenny said as Josh hustled her into the kitchen and put a cup of hot chocolate in front of her. "Are Emmie and Adam okay?"

"Sleeping, I took them out on the deck for a while and let them play. You know them, they got cold, as soon as I brought them back in and they got warm, they were both sound asleep. Did you leave town when I told you too?"

Josh was in a scolding mode, so Jenny nodded and told the tiniest lie. "I was in the supercenter when you called. I finished shopping and left. What will we do about the groceries in the car?"