Desiring the Enemy (14 page)

     “Are ya okay? Do ya need anything?” she asked Jenna, as she looked suspiciously at Wade.

     “I’m fine,” Jenna answered, giving her a look that said everything was okay.

     “Ya let me know if ya need any help at all, ya hear? I can have Bubba here in five minutes, if ya know what I mean.” 

    “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know if I need help,” Jenna said, smiling at hearing the very thinly veiled threat.   

     Midge seemed satisfied with her response and sat down. She stayed for a while then said her goodbyes.

     “Do ya know when yer going home?” she asked.

     “Probably a couple of days, that seems to be the norm.”

     “I’ll come see ya tomorrow then,” Midge said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

     “Thank you for everything,” Jenna said, remembering all the support she had received from her new friends.

     “Don’t mention it.” Midge looked at the baby one more time before she walked out. “Beautiful, simply beautiful.”

     Wade watched her leave the room and thought he could now talk to Jenna. Again he was interrupted before he could begin.

     “Hey Jenna. I brought you some magazines,” Corbin said, handing her a small stack.

     Wade looked at him, not hiding his distaste. He saw the camaraderie between Corbin and Jenna and couldn’t help the feeling of jealousy that crept up inside him. Who was this man? He seemed to be important to Jenna, was he a friend or a lover?

     Corbin made himself at home, showing no intention of leaving. When he finally did leave another visitor came into the room. Between the nurse interruptions and the visitors Wade didn’t find a chance to speak to Jenna. He finally decided to wait until she was home before speaking to her, what he had to say was too important to be interrupted.

     He visited her the next day, trying to make himself useful, but Jenna didn’t need his help, she had her friends there for her. He felt like a third wheel but refused to leave. He knew Jenna was wondering what he wanted, and he couldn’t wait to tell her, but he needed to wait for the right time.

***

     Jenna watched as Wade summoned one of the nurses to help her go to the bathroom. He had been so attentive since he had gotten to the hospital. What was his story? After the way he had treated her before she left the ranch she would’ve thought he would want nothing to do with her. What made him look for her in the first place? It wasn’t the baby, he knew nothing about him. So what was it?

     She was exhausted. Having a baby was draining enough, but dealing with Wade made her doubly tired.

     “Wade, I need to get some rest, can you please leave?” she finally said.

     “I’m sorry. Sure, I’ll leave. You get some rest. I’ll come by tomorrow to take you home.”

     “You don’t need to do that, Corbin is driving me home.” Corbin would be off the next day and had graciously offered to take her home.

     At the mention of his name Wade felt the anger rise in him.

     “Is he your lover Jenna?” he said, color rising to his face.

     “Of course you would think that, I’m no more than a whore who’ll sleep with anyone according to you!” Jenna said, remembering his hurtful words.

     “No Jenna, I don’t think that. It’s just that when I first got here you told me he was the baby’s father, then he was the one you wanted with you when you came to the hospital. What am I supposed to think?”

     “To tell you the truth, I don’t give a crap what you think! It’s none of your business who I’m involved with!” Jenna felt herself getting angrier the more she thought about it. What a nerve he had, thinking that he had any rights when it came to her.

     Wade saw that she was getting upset and decided to drop the subject. He would talk to her tomorrow.

    “Okay Jenna, I’m sorry. Corbin can take you home, but I’ll see you as soon as you get there. We have to talk.”

     Jenna knew he wanted to talk about his rights when it came to the baby, and it frightened her.

     “Okay, we’ll talk tomorrow,” she finally said.

     Corbin drove Jenna’s car to the hospital to pick them up. She had already installed a car seat and she gently placed the baby inside, strapping him gingerly. Per Jenna’s request Corbin drove slowly as she admired her perfect son. When they got to the house she unsnapped the carrier and walked in, carefully removing the baby from the seat and laying him on the bassinet by her bed.

     “Thank you so much for driving me Corbin, you’re such a good friend,” she said when she walked back into the kitchen.

     “That’s me, your good ole friend,” Corbin said wryly.

     Jenna wished she could feel for Corbin what she felt for Wade, he was so much more deserving of her love. She couldn’t control her heart, but she could control her actions. When she saw Wade again she would tell him in no uncertain terms that he could not be a part of their lives. He could see the baby when he came to visit, which hopefully would be rarely, but he would have nothing to do with raising him. She hoped with all her heart that he would just accept this and go, but she knew him too well. He would put up a fight, and she would have to meet him head on.

***

     Wade went to the diner and nursed his coffee as he waited for Jenna to get home, ignoring the hostile stares he was getting from the staff and some of the customers. He saw that Carol wasn’t there and thought that she might be helping Jenna get ready to head home from the hospital. After a while he looked at his watch and figured she must be there by now. He paid the bill and headed toward the bungalow.

     As he approached the house he saw Corbin driving away. The man seemed to be a big part of her life and he had to wonder what feelings Jenna had for him. The thought of another man loving her killed him inside, but after the way he had treated her he could understand her finding solace in another man’s arms. He tried to put the thought out of his mind as he reached the door. He rang the buzzer and Jenna opened the door, the sight of her again making his heart skip a beat. This was the woman he loved, and he would do anything to get her back.

     “Come in,” Jenna said, stepping back as he entered the room.

     She closed the door behind her and he followed her to the living room.

     “Jenna, I need to explain…” he began.

     “You did enough explaining back at the ranch, I know exactly how you feel about me. I’m assuming you’re here to talk about the baby.”

     “Jenna, I know my treatment of you was loathsome, but I need for you to understand the reason I did it.”

     “What possible reason could you have for calling me a whore? Just because I slept with you? Well you can be sure that will never happen again!”

     “No honey, that wasn’t the reason. I know there’s no excuse but you have to hear me out.”

     “Wade, I’m tired, I don’t want to sit here and listen to your banal excuses. What happened? Did Stanley and Rose force you to come apologize to me?”

     “No Jenna. The reason I was so terrible to you was that I was under the impression that you were Uncle Stanley’s mistress.”

     “What!? That’s just sick, Stanley’s like a father to me!” Jenna couldn’t believe her ears.

     “If you will just listen, I’ll try to explain what brought me to that conclusion.”

     Jenna crossed her arms across her chest. “Okay, explain.”

     Wade told her about the phone call Uncle Stanley had made to him. How due to a bad connection he had heard only parts of what Uncle Stanley had said, and how he had concluded that he was having an affair with her.

     “I tried to fight my attraction to you, but failed miserably. My body wanted you and I couldn’t stop myself. When you told me that the relationship was over I assumed it was your relationship with Uncle Stanley. I finally allowed myself to pursue you, and I was the happiest man alive. For the first time I knew what real love was.” He swallowed hard as he continued. “Then that one day I came home and heard you telling him that you loved him and missed  him, that you couldn’t wait to see him.  I thought that you had lied to me, that you never broke up with him. I became enraged and wanted to hurt you. I’m so sorry,” he took his head in his hands as the tears streamed down his face.

     “Wade, that day my world fell apart. I watched as the man I loved looked at me as if I were trash. You’ll never know how much you hurt me, I don’t think I could ever forgive you for that.”

     “Jenna, please give me a chance. I promise you that I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you,” Wade said, going down on one knee by her side, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips.

     Jenna looked down at him, her mind racing. For so many months she had tried to make herself hate him, to cast him off as another mistake in her life, but seeing him now she knew that hating him was impossible. Still, how could she just forget those hateful words?

     “Wade, a lot has happened in the past few days. I can’t think clearly now, I need time.”

     “Okay, I understand sweetheart. I’ll leave and give you some time to think, but first, can I go see my son?”

     “Of course you can. He is your son, and I want you to know that whatever happens you can come see him whenever you want.” As much as Jenna despised what he had done to her, she did realize that a boy needed his father. Having a relationship with him would be important in his life, even if it was a long distance relationship.

     Wade didn’t want to just come see him, he wanted them to be a family. He would give Jenna some time to think, but anything less than them living as a family was inconceivable to him. Still, the final decision rested with Jenna, and he would abide by it, he had hurt her enough to now fight her.

***

     Wade had called Stanley and Rose and explained the situation. They were relieved to hear that Jenna was okay, and ecstatic about the baby.

     “I’m so happy you’re finally together,” Aunt Rose sniffled.

     “We’re not together, Jenna hasn’t made a decision about us yet. She’s been hurt so much in her life, Aunt Rose, I don’t know that she can forgive me.”

     Rose heard the anguish in his voice and her heart ached for him, and for Jenna.

     “You can’t give up, honey. I’m sure that once she has time to digest what has happened she’ll make the right decision.”

     “You can’t be a quitter, my boy,” Uncle Stanley admonished from the extension. “We Wilkinsons fight for what’s ours, and Jenna is yours just like you’re hers, you just have to make her see that.”

     “I hope I can,” Wade said softly.

     “I know you can, son. Now go fight for your woman,” Uncle Stanley said as he hung up the phone.

     Stanley looked at Rose with a furrowed brow.

     “Darlin’, I think we need to pay our Jenna a visit.”

     “I’m right with you, those kids need our help. I’ll go start packing,” Rose said as she started up the stairs.

***

     Jenna hadn’t been able to sleep for the past two days. Wade had given her space, allowing her to come to a decision without interference from him, but she was so confused. She decided to try to take a nap when she heard a loud rap on the door. 

     “Stanley, can’t you ring the doorbell like normal folk?”

     She heard Rose’s voice and flew to the door.

     “Rose, Stanley, I’m so happy to see you! I’ve missed you so much,” she said, enveloping them both in her arms.

     “We’ve missed you too, darlin’. We tried to find you, but apparently you didn’t want to be found. Now how do you think that made us feel?” Stanley said as Rose elbowed him in the ribs.

     “Don’t you listen to him.  Wade told us what happened.  I would have done the same if I were in your shoes.”

     “Thank you Rose.  You know how much I love you both, but I was ashamed and just wanted to hide away.  I was going to contact you later but then I found out that I was pregnant and I couldn’t risk Wade being told about the baby.”

     Jenna showed them in and they sat on the couch. Rose took a deep breath, she knew how delicate the situation was and wanted to choose her words carefully.

     “Sweetie, Wade is a good man. I know what he did to you was terrible but he was under the impression that you had betrayed him.”

     “Couldn’t he have asked me what happened, instead of treating me like some slut?  In my entire life no one has ever talked to me the way he did.” Jenna could feel the anger rising in her as she remembered his vile words.

     “Jenna, these past months have been torture for him. When he found out the truth he was determined to find you and make things right. When all attempts to find you failed he became a shell of a man. He barely ate and was getting no sleep. We were actually afraid of what would happen to him if he continued on that path,” Stanley said.

     Jenna had noticed that he lost weight and looked lost, but that shouldn’t be any of her concern, should it? 

     “I suffered too. Being pregnant and alone is no walk in the park.”

     “We know that, you both suffered. But now that everything has been clarified shouldn’t you give your love a chance. If not for you, then for the baby? A son needs his father,” Rose said, taking Jenna’s hand in hers.

     “That’s a low blow,” Jenna admonished.

     “If all else fails…” Rose said sheepishly.

     “I’m too overwhelmed right now. I can’t make such an important decision without a clear mind.”

     “I understand, dear, you have a lot of thinking to do. We just needed to put in our two cents. You and Wade are very important to us and we want to see you both happy,” Rose said, her eyes welling with unshed tears.

     “I know you do.”

     “Now, where is our great-nephew? We need to see this strapping boy,” Stanley said, searching the room with his eyes.

     Jenna laughed as she led them to the bedroom.             

***

    She had just fed the baby and placed him in his bassinet when the doorbell rang. She looked through the peephole and saw Wade’s face. He looked so drawn, as if he was also sleep deprived. She braced herself and opened the door.

     “Hello Wade. I hope you haven’t come for an answer, I don’t have one yet.”

     “Jenna, I know I told you I’d give you time to decide, but I’m going to have to break my promise. I’ve come to tell you that I love you with all my heart, I want to take you and the baby home. The ranch needs a little boy’s laughter, don’t you think?” he said, his eyes moist.

     “Wade, I love you too, but I don’t know if this is the right thing to do. We really don’t know each other, and to be frank with you, your behavior that last night scared me. What if whenever we have a disagreement you attack me the way you did then?”

     “Jenna, that’s not me. I don’t lash out at the people I love. It’s just that I felt betrayed, I thought that you had used and made a fool out of me. That will never happen again, I swear it.” He saw the indecision in her eyes. “Why don’t you come back to the ranch with me on a trial basis? We’ll get to know each other better and I can guarantee that you’ll realize that we have to be together, forever.”

     “I can’t go back. What about my job? I will not become dependent on you. Here I have friends, people who care about me. I can work from home and take care of my baby without any financial support from anyone else, I don’t want to lose that. What if things don’t work out between us?”

     “You know Mitch owns a large accounting firm. That’s what you did for Uncle Stanley, wasn’t it, accounting?”

     “Yes it was. But Mitch is loyal to you. Again, what if things don’t work out? Would he be willing to keep me on knowing that you and I are no longer together?”

     “Mitch is a kind and decent man, you know that. There’s no way that he would fire you just because we broke up. Just ask Uncle Stanley and Aunt Rose, they’ll vouch for his integrity. Honey, I want to marry you, but if in the end you don’t want to marry me I won’t hold it against you. I will respect your decision, even if it kills me,” he said pleadingly.   

     Jenna looked in his eyes and finally allowed herself to believe that there could be a future between them. She took a deep breath and hoped she was making the right decision.

     “Okay, I’ll go back to the ranch, the baby deserves a chance to be raised by both of us. But you have to understand that this is on a trial basis, in the end we both have to agree that staying together would be the best thing for us.”

     “Jenna, I’m going to prove to you that the jerk who hurt you is not the real me. I will spend my entire life proving it to you.”

     He pulled himself up and sat next to her. He took her chin in his hand and lowered his head, taking her lips in his with such tenderness that Jenna couldn’t help but believe him.