Reba asked herself inwardly, ‘Do I feel anything? Yeah, I do. I’m not made of stone. I can’t put up any walls against those sweet words.
‘Am I moved? Absolutely. He genuinely cares about me. Are we gonna get remarried?‘
When that question came up, Reba paused for a second, but quickly collected herself and made her decision.
His words now were warm and gentle, but it was hard to forget how cutting and cold his words used to be.
She cared too much about thosements that made her doubt her own worth–so much that she could force herself to stifle the spark that almost reignited in her heart.
“Let me know once you’ve decided,” Jeffrey said, not realizing Reba had already gone through a whirlwind of thoughts in just seconds. “Try to decide within a week.”
“I’ll leave it to you,” Reba replied. She knew he’d be fair, and that she’d never win against the Hanson family anyway. “I trust you.”
Jeffrey said, “Okay.”
“Alright,” Reba replied.
Their conversation couldn’t have been more ordinary, but Jessica couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the calm before the storm–a sense that the real fireworks between them were still toe.
She had no clue how long this peace wouldst, or just how wild the storm might get. All she knew was, right now, she totally felt like a third wheel.
Jeffrey said, “Samuel’s heading off to summer camp early Monday morning. Why don’t you stay over for the next couple of days?<b>” </b>
He made the suggestion with a hint of hope. “You can use the master bedroom with him, and I’ll take the guest room.”
Reba looked up at him. As Reba hesitated, Jeffrey reached for her hand, his warm palm settling over
hers<b>. </b>
Then he said in a gentle, almost expectant voice, “Is that okay?”
Reba agreed, “Okay.”
Since he was finally being sincere about this, she figured she’d cooperate.
She’d wait until the timing was just right—until Jeffrey waspletely calm and steady–before she broached the topic of an amicable divorce. She knew it was never a good idea to provoke Jeffrey.
“Riley, can you take Jessica home after dinner?” Jeffrey said, ncing over at Riley, who was sitting on the
garden railing.
Riley shot him an OK sign.
Then Jeffrey turned to <b>Jessica </b>and said, “This happened because of me. I know today really shook you up. I’ll have a <b>new </b>car sent over in a couple of days to make it up to you. Just be sure you’re around to sign for it, alright?”
Jessica couldn’t help but feel a jumble of emotions inside. It wasn’t the promise of a new car that got to her–it <b>was </b>the way Jeffrey spoke.
He didn’t try to pin anything on <b>Reba </b>or shift the me. He put it all on himself, making it clear the car was meant to ease her nerves after everything that’d happened.
In this high–<b>ss </b>circle, Jessica had seen way too many scumbags who’d do anything to dodge responsibility, spew nonsense for their own benefit, and cover their tracks. All kinds of people, really.
But someone like Jeffrey–so wless when he was good, and so upfront about his ws when he was not? That was a rare breed.
“I’m gonna skip dinner,” Jessica said, getting to her feet. She just needed to go home and sort herself out. “Got things waiting for me back at home.”
Jeffrey didn’t insist. Then Reba walked her out.
Before getting in the car, Jessica pulled Reba in for a quick hug, whispering close to her ear, “Take care of yourself, alright? Ian and I will speed up the search for Andrea. Once we find out anything, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Okay,” Reba replied without fuss.
“If anything happens, call me,” Jessica said as she let go. “Even if I’m not nearby, I’ll make sure someonees over right away.”
Reba agreed, “Sure.” Then she watched Jessica leave.
As the car faded from her view, Reba suddenly felt her hand enveloped by a warm, steady palm. In a blink, Jeffrey was right beside her, those bottomless eyes fixed softly on her.
He said, “Come on, let’s go
inside.”
Reba nodded. As they walked forward, she silently and gently withdrew her hand from his grasp.
When her hand was withdrawn, Jeffrey’s eyes grew a shade deeper, and his fingers hung suspended in the air for a moment, as if reluctant to let go.
That evening, Jeffrey, Reba, and Samuel sat down to dinner together. Watching Reba serving food to Samuel and him returning the gesture, Jeffrey couldn’t help but wonder if they’d time–traveled back to the old days.
“Are these yours, Ms. Jensen?” Victor suddenly asked as he picked up a stack of documents.
EZ 55 vouchers
Reba turned at the sound and immediately stood up from her seat, walking over. “Yeah, they’re mine. Give them to me.”
After taking them, she made sure to ce the whole stack face down, keeping the contents hidden.
Jeffrey asked, “Work stuff?”
Reba replied, “Just something personal.”
Jeffrey let it slide. Everyone had their own secrets, and if Reba wanted to keep hers to herself, he wasn’t going to dig.
After dinner, Reba hurried to stash the documents under her pillow in the bedroom. She was determined to keep anything about her mom from Jeffrey–and especially didn’t want him meddling.
Now that she’d made up her mind about the divorce, her own family affair was something she had to settle herself.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey was reminding Samuel, “Make sure you don’t kick the nket off tonight, and try not to keep your mom awake, alright?”
Samuel eyed him suspiciously, feeling confused. “Are you really being nice, though? Are you really willing to let me sleep with Mom?”
Jeffrey said softly, “Let’s just say I’m being the bigger adult here.”
Samuel squinted, “No way, that’s not it.”
Jeffrey shrugged. “Alright, then sleep alone. Just don’t regret being so paranoid in the following days.”
Samuel was speechless.
Samuel’s round eyes swiveled as he thought about it. Other than making Reba less annoyed with him, sleeping next to her didn’t seem to have any hidden traps.
After giving it some serious thought, he finally said, “I’ll sleep with Mom.”
Jeffrey nodded.
When Samuel saw how straightforward Jeffrey was, without any extra words or reminders, his suppressed suspicions started rising again.
His instinct told him that there had to be a trap here, but he couldn’t figure out what kind of trick Jeffrey could be setting him up for.
Samuel got his answer in the middle of the night.
At around three in the morning, Jeffrey crept into the master bedroom on tiptoe and, careful not to make a sound, gently scooped Samuel up and carried him back to his own room.
Then, moving with barely a whisper, he lifted the covers and slipped into bed behind Reba, wrapping his
arms around her from behind.
The instant her warm and softly fragrant body rested against his chest, the restless storm inside Jeffrey finally subsided, settling him into unexpected tranquility.
He didn’t do anything else that night. Even though the temptation to do more was stronger than ever, he simply held her close and drifted off to sleep.
Reba waspletely oblivious. Half–asleep and bone–tired from the day’s emotional toll, she vaguely sensed someone new in bed–a feeling that maybe Jeffrey had joined her.
But she was so drained, she could barely tell whether it was just a dream or real at all.
The next morning, Jeffrey, not wanting to get caught, woke up at the crack of dawn. He’d barely finished getting dressed when he opened the door and came face to face with Samuel, sitting right there outside.
He had no idea when the little guy had woken up. Samuel was still in his tiny pajamas, and that small chair looked like he’d dragged it all the way over from his own room.
“What are you doing out here?” Jeffrey asked, putting on his coolest dad act, all casual concern like he was some model father.
Samuel stood up, shooting Jeffrey a grumpy re. “Liar!”
Jeffrey raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”
Samuel’s voice was cute but deadly serious. “I’m gonna tell Mom everything you did, so you’ll never get to be my <i>dad</i>!”
“If you tell her what happened, she’ll just end up upset,” Jeffrey said, knowing exactly how to work his son. “Do you really want to see her unhappy?”
Samuel was speechless. He thought, ‘What a brat. He even tries to trick a kid!”
AD