Snapdragon: Tiny Threads Part 6

Then, forty-five minutes after Tara arrived, my stupid husband finally strolled through the door.

With Lana.

The corn on the cob in my hand fell to the ground, followed by my flimsy paper plate and the food it contained. Her phony smile lit a fire in my soul that I was sure would send the whole house into an inferno. The look I had for my husband could have surely turned him into stone, and he f.u.c.king knew it.

"Royal. Word. Now," I snapped.

I had some choice words for him, so I marched toward the back yard so my children wouldn't hear them.

He followed behind me, his boots. .h.i.t heavy against the tile floor with every step. He was angry-not that he had any reason to be. He had to know what a d.i.c.k move it was to bring her to the party.

Once I hit the edge of the yard, I turned to face him, my face on fire with anger.

"What the h.e.l.l were you thinking bringing her here?" I whispered harshly.

He narrowed his eyes and mirrored my stance with his arms crossed over his chest. "I didn't know what else to do, Jenna. Her car broke down and she called for some help. Her timing belt snapped, so I had to call AAA to have it towed. She was a mess and upset, so I figured it wouldn't hurt for her to tag along."

I felt my eyes bounce around in my head before bulging out in disbelief. "She called you? You didn't think it would matter? Why is she calling my husband to rescue her from the side of the road? What the h.e.l.l is going on, Royal?" I demanded.

I don't know what made me angrier-the fact she called him or the fact that he'd given her his number in the first place. I was steering toward the latter.

"Would you calm the f.u.c.k down? Jesus! Not everything has to be a big conspiracy, Jenna. She's an old friend; we've been through this already. I was trying to help. She's going through a really hard time."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Who gave a s.h.i.t what she was going through?

"Whatever. Thanks for coming through for those that matter-you know, your wife, children, G.o.dchildren, friends. You're a piece of work." I shook my head and walked away, but stopped to say one more thing.

"I'm not done talking about this, but today is about Tara."

I headed back into the house and slammed the screen door with a cringe-worthy slap. The tears were already falling, so I went straight to the back bathroom so I could get myself under control. I had no poker face whatsoever, especially when I was upset. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin Tara's birthday with our drama.

Once I had myself calmed down, I opened the door and found my husband waiting outside. He shoved me back in the bathroom and shut and locked the door behind him. Without a word, he lifted my small frame, sat me on the counter and kissed the breath out of me. His lips were soft but firm, and as soon as his tongue slid over my bottom lip, I moaned in pleasure.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but I couldn't push him away. I loved the way his hands moved over my hips, urgent and needy. It'd been a while since he'd touched me that way, like he meant it. This wasn't a drunk tumble or an attempt to be normal. This was want. Need.

As our kiss deepened, my anger waned. Just as I pushed my fingers through his hair and turned my head to kiss him harder, the sound of my son squealing in the other room burst our bubble.

"Don't be mad, Jenna," he whispered against my lips. "I didn't mean to p.i.s.s you off. I wasn't thinking."

I sighed and leaned my head against his chest. "I don't like you hanging out with her. Don't you get it?"

He let out a long breath and kissed the top of my head. "I do. She just needs someone to talk to sometimes. I feel bad for her."

It was like everything I said went in one ear and out the other. I'd pretty much demanded he stop talking to her, and he was going to do it anyway.

Again, I was furious.

I pushed away from him, swung the door open roughly, and stormed into the other room. As I entered the family room, the look on Macy and Sky's faces. .h.i.t me straight in the gut. The sight of Benji on her lap was the nail in the coffin.

"Macy," I said, turning to my oldest. "Can you take Ben and Lily into the other room?"

She nodded, grabbed Benji off Lana's lap and called for Lily over her shoulder. Poor Tara was in shock, and I didn't allow myself to look over at Abbie. She probably had the same expression as I did.

Rage.

I turned, glaring at Royal. "I think it's time for Lana to leave. We'll see you at home."

I didn't give Lana a second glance. She didn't even deserve my anger, honestly. I stormed into the kitchen and knew Royal was fast behind me. I was about to lose it in a big way, and I needed her gone. Immediately.

I heard Tara behind us, and since she was out of the loop as far as the Lana situation went, she was chomping at the bit to get details.

When I was out of ear shot of my girls, I grabbed the edge of the table and leaned forward, taking a deep breath. I felt Tara's warm hand on my shoulder and had to bite my lip so I wouldn't cry.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"What do you think?"

Her gaze traveled to Royal, and she glared at him with venom in her eyes. "What the h.e.l.l is your problem bringing her here?"

"She's overreacting, as usual," he snapped. "I'm going out back."

"This calls for booze," Abbie said with a groan. "This is a big fat mess, and it's time to get down to business."

"One shot," Tara said quickly, walking over to the cupboards and digging around on a shelf. "Then, we get that b.i.t.c.h in my living room the h.e.l.l out of my living room!"

Abbie laughed. "Are we just letting her sit out there? Alone?"

"Yes," Tara and I said simultaneously.

"Let her wonder what we're doing in here. The wh.o.r.e," I said.

Tara set the shot gla.s.ses down on the table while Abbie poured and stared at me while tapping her dangerously long fingernails against the polished oak table top. It would've been annoying had it been anyone else. I knew her too well, though. That's how she contemplated things. Planned her next move. She'd tap those d.a.m.n nails.

"Sorry," she said.

"Don't be. I'll talk. I promise. I'm just trying to hold it together. I haven't wanted to burden you guys with things."

"Jesus, Jenna! Burden me, please! I'm dying over here! When did that snake slither into town?" she asked anxiously.

"A couple weeks? I'm not sure," I answered. "A week ago Royal ran into her, and that's all I know."

"Okay, so why did she end up in my house, at my party?"

I took a deep breath. Not only was it humiliating for me, but now we'd brought my friends and family into the situation.

"My husband is an insensitive a.s.shole, that's why. He came home and expected me to be happy about her being back in town. Idiot."

She gave me a rea.s.suring smile and scooted her chair closer to mine. "Jenna, you have nothing to worry about. Roy would never betray you-I know this, you know this. We all do. He loves you and the kids. He can be a real d.i.c.k, but he'd never do anything to jeopardize his family."

I shook my head and snorted. "Some days, I'm not too sure."

"You need to be sure. That's the truth," she said.

"All right. I'm sick of this. My husband's being a jerk; he's been a jerk for years. He's just gotten better at it, I guess." I laughed. It wasn't meant to be humorous, and they knew it, but they also knew I was done talking about it.

"Here, here," Abbie said, handing each of us a shot gla.s.s. "To strong women and the idiots we end up with," she said.

"Cheers," we said in unison, clanking our gla.s.ses together and throwing our heads back as we drained them.

A few minutes later, Royal came back into the room, calmer but still upset.

"I'm sorry, Jenna." he said softly.

I closed my eyes and nodded, but I couldn't look at him. I was mad, hurt, and confused. Hearing about Lana and seeing her were two different things. Just thinking about her sitting in the same car as him-sharing the tight s.p.a.ce-was too much. I didn't trust her or her intentions. The way she looked at me when she walked in hadn't gone unnoticed. She was a threat.

However, I was no longer the nave, love-struck girl she knew years ago. I was a woman, a wife, and a mother. I'd been through h.e.l.l and back, and my family meant everything to me. Nothing in the world mattered more than their health, safety, and happiness, and I'd be d.a.m.ned if I let anyone disturb our unit. Royal and I had things to work on, but he was mine. I loved him. My talons were officially out and ready to rip her eyes out.

"We'll talk when I get back. It won't take me long." He kissed the top of my head before grabbing his keys and walking out of the room. Moments later, Macy walked in, her face determined and her eyes full of hurt.

"I'm going to go with Daddy. I'll be back."

Tara, Abbie, and I watched her walk out and then looked around the table at each other, concerned.

"She's a smart girl, Jenna. She's only trying to protect you. Both of you."

I hated my daughter being put in that position. Anger welled up again, and I couldn't tamp it down. I grabbed the bottle from across the table, filled my shot gla.s.s again, and downed another shot.

I wanted to tell Macy there was nothing to worry about, but that was a lie. Royal and I were teetering on a rickety step. Our bond was fractured, and that tiny fissure allowed for disease to invade. Lana was that disease-a virus ready to plague my life and family, and my heart couldn't take it. Something had to be done; I just wasn't sure what that was.

When they got back, Macy was quiet, but she didn't say anything more about it. Royal came back with a renewed att.i.tude and was attentive and sweet. The tension had dissipated a little, probably due to the alcohol, but I was still angry.

Him? It was either guilt or booze that had him giving me that attention, but I didn't care. I was desperate for his d.a.m.n attention. I craved it. Yearned for it.

After we tucked the kids in for the night, we showed our love in a way he hadn't in longer than I could remember. There was no hesitation, no performance issues, nothing but the love I'd wanted and needed from him. The way he filled me, and the way his bare chest pressed against mine when he moved inside of me was everything. The sounds that filled our room, the room we'd loved, fought, and held each other in for so many years brought a sense of relief I couldn't express.

The same fire that burned inside of me the first time his eyes blazed into mine was fresh and new with hope for us.

Chapter 6.

After the incident at Tara's party, things were good for a few days. He'd talked to me about my concerns with Lana, and I was sure we were on a better track. s.e.x was better, tension was gone, and things seemed like they were going back to normal.

Eventually, that faded, and we were back in the same funk. It wasn't nearly as bad, but it wasn't great either.

After a rather heated argument one night, I woke up the next morning ready to put the silent treatment bulls.h.i.t he'd left the house with to rest. We had the kids to think about. That was getting us nowhere.

Since I had the day off, I decided to surprise him at work-something I hadn't done in years. We used to do it often, and I missed it. It was nice spending the afternoon being Royal and Jenna instead of parents. We spent those lunches touching and flirting like lovers and friends, and it was part of what had been missing in our marriage and something we desperately needed to find again.

I showed up at the work site just before noon in a brand-new outfit and att.i.tude. I wasn't sure I could pull off the skirt until I started walking across the lot and heard the cat calls and wolf whistles.

"Holy s.h.i.t, check out the MILF," a younger guy called out.

I giggled. MILF my a.s.s. I didn't know if that was supposed to be a compliment or not, but I was steering toward probably.

"Oh, I'm checking her out. Wonder who she is?" another guy piped in.

Oh, they were flattering, for sure, but I only had eyes for the man standing between them, looking both amused and surprised to see me there.

"That, youngsters, is my wife," he said proudly.

"d.a.m.n, boss," the younger one said, clucking his tongue. "You've got skills."

Royal shook his head and smirked. "Just luck, son. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see what brings my beautiful wife here to see me."

He walked toward me with a satisfied smirk on his face and a gleam in his eye that told me his thoughts were going in the same direction as mine. Dirty thoughts, like being bent over his desk with my skirt up around my waist.

I flushed and ducked my head as he approached, feeling a little naughty about my intentions.

"Hey, you," he said, pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. "What brings you up here? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. I... um..." I stuttered, shaking my head.

I was so nervous. This was my husband. I had no reason to be anxious, but I was. Terribly.

It was time to bite the bullet.

"I brought you lunch. I thought it'd be nice to eat together. We haven't done that for a long time." I held up a small white bag and gave it a shake.

I was being forward and flirty, and I could see he was dubious of my motives. The shaky foundation of our marriage had become such a tangible thing, and yet, we'd completely avoided it. The tippy toe conversations had to stop. I didn't know what he needed or wanted from me, and frankly, I wasn't even sure I knew what I needed in return.

He smiled down at me and nodded. "I like that idea. Come on," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me toward the trailer. "You look great today. Since when do you wear skirts to work?" he asked.

It didn't escape my attention that his eyes lingered a little longer on my bare legs. All trepidation about my outfit went out the window.

"Thanks. I took the day off so I could spend the afternoon with you."

His smile grew. "I'm glad you did. This is a nice surprise."

We walked up the steps to the office, and he held the door open for me to go inside. "After you."