Unexpected Love (Jo's Story) (14 page)

“Sorry, I just woke up, and then I had to call Jake because he blew up my phone.”

“With this stuff that is on the news I'm assuming?”

“Yeah, I called him last night when I saw the initial story.  He called his PR, but apparently she couldn’t get the lid closed on it, because there I am, all over the news.  I'm a headline Annie.  Do you believe it?” I say sarcastically.

“It’s not that bad Jo.  If it wasn’t true then I would say you can be pissed about it, but it is all true, so roll with it.”

“Jake said he is going to take care of it.  It just scares me because he said they are bringing Jarrod into it.”

“I saw it this morning, Jo, there is nothing bad about Jarrod at all.  To be completely honest with you, they did a great job on it.  They cover him and what happened and that you are a widow and just looking for love and all that mushy stuff.  I promise it isn’t anything bad.”

“I just wanted to tell people before they saw it on the news.  Now I won’t get to do that.  It isn’t like we have been dating for months; I mean we just met a few days ago.  This is crazy!”

“It will be fine Jo.  If Jake says he is going to handle it then I'm sure he will.”

“I'm going to have a panic attack,” I can’t handle this kind of stress.  “I never asked for this.  I told him I was afraid this was going to happen.”

“Jo, I hate to say it, but I think that you two are going to be in the public eye no matter what.  He is a football player and there is nothing private about his life.  All you have to do is Google him and you find out anything you want to.  But, I don’t think that you should let that stand in the way of your relationship.  I have seen you two together and I think you need to just ride it out.  You guys have too good of a thing to just call it off because too many people found out about it.”

“I know, I won’t, I just need to deal with all the pissed off people that are going to be calling me.  I so don’t want to deal with this right now.”

“So don’t.  Get dressed, go to your moms and watch your super-hot boyfriend play some football,” she laughs.

I shake my head, “I will talk to you later.”

“Head up Jo.  It will be ok.”  She hangs up.

I feel like screaming.  This is so screwed up.  Two days ago I was just a normal person living my somewhat normal life.  Now I am dating a millionaire that is the center of the football world and I am caught up in the middle of all the craziness.  I go to the bathroom and get in the shower.  I just stand there for a long time then realize that I really do need to get to my mom’s house.  I throw on some jeans and a t shirt and pull my hair back and walk downstairs.  I peek out the front window and I don’t see any cars or people standing there.  I go out to the garage and get in my car.  I back out of the driveway and head down the road.  My mom lives about ten minutes from me and I swear it is the longest drive I have ever had.  I park in the driveway and go to the house.

“Did you see that you are all over the news?” My brother is sitting on the front porch.

“Yes, I know.” I sit next to him on the swing.  “Are you mad at me?”

“Yeah, right.  How could I be mad at you for not telling me you are dating the best looking guy in the state, possibly the country?”

“Lucas, I'm sorry.  I didn’t want you to find out this way.  I was hoping we could keep it under wraps until I had a chance to tell everyone.”

“Sis, its fine.  I'm happy for you.  I'm glad you found someone.”

“Why aren’t you at work?”

“Closed today.  I decided that football is more important.”

“Yeah, right, did they tell you that you are working too much?”

“Yeah, the inspector was there yesterday and said that we need to shut down for a couple days because he has some things for us to get fixed.  Not a big deal I knew it was coming.  Your girls are going crazy in the house.  Mom told them that Jake was going to be playing football on TV today.  Apparently you failed to mention to them that Jake was indeed Jackson Adams?”

I laugh, “Yeah, I was a little overwhelmed yesterday and didn’t get a chance to tell them.  Not that Abby knows what that means, but I'm sure Lizzy was pretty excited.”

“She has been sitting next to dad on the couch for the last hour waiting to see him on TV.”

“I bet she has.”  I stand up and walk to the front door.

“So when do I get to meet him?”  Lucas gets up and follows me.

“Not sure, I think I am leaving Tuesday for Virginia Beach so might not be until we get back.”  I walk in the house and see Lizzy and John sitting on the couch and my mom and Abby are standing in the kitchen looking for something.  “Hi Lizzy,” I say to her.

“Hi mommy.  Grandpa and I are watching for Jake,” she gives me her big toothy smile.

“What time does the game start?” I ask Lucas.

“I think at noon,” he looks at his watch.  “In about twenty minutes.”

“Gives me a little time to relax,” I walk into the kitchen by my mom.  “Hey ladies, what’s going on?”

“Hi mommy,” Abby gives me a hug.  “Grandma and me are looking for a bowl for popcorn so we can watch Jake play football on TV.”

“Sorry I told them,” my mom smiles.

“Its fine,” I laugh.  “After the morning I just had that is the least of my worries.”

“Yeah, I saw the report.” My mom smiles at me.  “Hope they leave it as nice as it is and don’t turn it bad.”

“Jake says they have no reason to turn anything bad.  He has his PR on it so hopefully it doesn’t get too out of control.”

“Well that’s good news.”  She looks at me, “how are you holding up with it?”

“I could do without it I tell you that much.  I have enough going on I don’t need this on top of it, but I guess that is the price I pay for getting involved with someone like him.”

“Yeah, you will get it figured out I'm sure.  And Jarrod was a firefighter I highly doubt that they are going to try and drag this through the mud to make themselves look better.”

“I hope not,” I sigh.  “That reminds me I need to call Barb.”  I grab my phone.  I have another text from Ryan.  Why won’t he just leave me alone?  I open the last text from him.

Jo, I realize I am probably the last person that you want to talk to right now, but I really need someone to talk to.  I know you have a lot on your plate but Hailey left me.  She said that we grew apart and she doesn’t see us having a future together.

“Holy shit,” I say without realizing it.

“What?” my mom asks.

“Hailey left Ryan.”

“What?” My mom and Lucas say together.

“He just text me,” I feel horrible now. 

“Wow, I can’t believe that.  I thought those two were going to be the next ones at the altar.”  My mom looks at me.

I'm sorry to hear tha
t
I'm here to talk if you want.

I dial Barb’s number and make sure I call her before I forget.  “Hello?”  She answers.

“Hi Barb, its Jo.”

“Hi sweetie. How are you?”

“I'm fine.  I just wanted to call you and see if you have seen any of the reports they are doing about Jake and me?”

“You mean Jackson Adams?”

“Yeah, sorry, he goes by Jake with friends and family.”

“Yes, I did.  I saw the part about Jarrod, and I was a little concerned at first, but they did a good job.”

I feel like a huge weight is lifted off my chest.  “I was so scared you were going to be mad that they pulled him into this.”

“Oh no, he was your husband, I honestly expected him to come up at some point.”

“Well, I talked to Jake this morning, and he said that his PR is working on getting it under wraps as much as possible and trying to make sure they don’t blow this way out of proportion.  So if anyone tries to contact you or anything he said to just be yourselves.”

“Alright, we can do that,” I hear her laugh.  “Who would have thought that your new boyfriend would cause this kind of commotion?”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” I laugh.  “He definitely has a way of making himself known.”

“Well, we will follow what he says.  And hopefully you guys can get it taken care of.”

“I'm hoping so,” I laugh.  I hear Lizzy get all excited.  “I better go, I think the game is about to start and the girls are all excited to see him play football.”

“Alright, talk to you soon,” she hangs up.  I walk into the living room and sit next to Lizzy.  They are showing some of the players and in the background I can see Jake.  How is it possible that he looks even better in his gear?

“So, Bob, have you heard the latest on Jackson?  That he is dating a local detective?”

“Yes, I did hear that.  Detective Jodene Lewis.  She is from Baltimore and Joe; I don’t know who the luckier one is, Jackson or Jodene.  I mean he is a good looking young man, but take a look at her.  She is gorgeous.  Tough luck for guys around Baltimore.  Another girl snatched up by the rich and famous.”

“I don’t know if I can handle all this attention,” I can’t believe what I just saw.

“Oh sweetie, you will be fine.  Get used to it because I'm sure this will be a normal thing,” my mom grabs my hand.  “Let’s just hope they are over bringing Jarrod into it.  I would hate for the girls to see that.”

“Yeah, that’s the one thing I don’t like about it.”  I sit and watch the TV.  I have a lot of things going through my mind right now, but I am really enjoying watching Jake play.  He is good.  I guess I didn’t pay attention last season.  What was Ryan talking about?  He is a damn good player.  The girls are going crazy cheering for him.  As the game is coming to an end I go in the kitchen by my mom who is trying to figure out something for dinner.  “Mom, let me buy pizza.  You and John took the girls for me this weekend.”

“Jo, you don’t need to do that.  I can find something here to cook.”

“I'm buying pizza,” I grab my phone and dial.  When I am done ordering pizza I grab a beer out of the fridge.  “Is the game over?”  I ask when Lucas walks in from the living room.

“Just about, the girls are bummed out because they took Jake out.”

“Why did they take him out?”

“To give the back up some practice.  They have a few days off before their season starts so I'm sure they are trying to give everyone a little play time.”

“What is he doing with his time off?”  My mom asks me.

“I'm not sure, if I had to guess I would say he is going to go home and see his family.  I know he has been up here for the last couple months doing training so I don’t think he has seen them.”

“Are you going with him?” Lucas asks me.

“Probably not.”

“Why?” My mom asks.

“Because we have been dating three days and this is already more then I wanted.  I didn’t want anyone to know, and now it is national news.”

“All the more reason that you should go with him.”

“Mom, I already told the girls we are going to the beach, and I told Barb she could take them to the cabin for a couple days.  I don’t think I should change my plans at the last minute.  We have separate lives too you know.”

“Yes, I know, but you are both off right now, and I think you should spend time together.”

“I think spending too much time together would be worse than some time apart.”

“I don’t think so.”  My mom looks at me, “I think you need to spend time with him.  It will bring you a lot closer.  And right now I think you need all the support that you can get.  I know you are under a lot of stress with the stuff with work, and now this mess with him.  I just hate to see something like this get between you before you even have a chance to find out what you really have with him.”

“Mom, we will be fine.  He told me he was going to take care of this, and I believe him.  If he can’t I know it isn’t his fault.  It is part of being with someone like him, I accept that.”  I hear the doorbell ring.  “That is probably the pizza, I will be right back.”  I go to the front door and open it.  I pay for the pizza and take it to the kitchen.  My mom calls everyone in and we sat there eating. 

~~~~~

I pull into the garage and turn off the car.  Both girls are passed out in the back seat.  I guess they had a long day.  I laugh at the thought of them cheering on Jake at my mom’s house.  I carry Abby into the living room and lay her down on the couch then go back out and get Lizzy.  I close the garage door and go in the house.  I wake them both up long enough to get the jammies on and go to the bathroom.  Just as I am shutting Abby’s door after story my phone starts ringing.  “Hello?”

“Hey beautiful,” it’s Jake.

“Hi,” I smile.

“How are you?”

“Better now that I get to talk to you.”

“Good,” I can hear his smile.  “Me too.  Did you watch the game?”

“Most of it, the girls never left the couch though.”

“Oh, I have my own little cheer team?”

“That you do,” I walk out to the living room and turn off all the lights and go up to my room.