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Jennifer comes home to Georgia, divorced. The last thing she expects is loving again. |
| Jennifer struggled to get out of Scott's truck without causing any more pain. When her feet hit the gravel, she winced. Scott grabbed her elbow. “You okay?” She nodded. “Fine. Just a bit sore. I am glad to be home though.” He smiled and kissed her head. “We feel the same way. I know Chloe's going to be excited you're okay.” Jennifer's eyes misted over. It was so hard knowing she hadn't been able to see her baby after she'd escaped such a difficult situation. Chloe had called her last night but Jordan refused to let her leave the house. Not that she blamed him for being careful but it still galled her that he thought he could boss everyone around. Especially now that he wasn't part of their lives anymore. The screen door swung open, pulling her from her thoughts. She glanced up. Her breath caught in her lungs. “What's he doing here?” Scott pulled her closer. He dipped his head to speak in her ear. “He's been coming by every hour or so to check on Chloe. It worried him sick when they couldn't find her.” “Probably because he thinks he didn't do his job.” Scott shook his head. “No, it bothered him because he cares about her. And you.” Jennifer scoffed. If he cared about her, he wouldn't have broken off their relationship over something so stupid. He spotted her as he came down the steps. She saw his body stiffen. He nodded in her direction. “Feeling better?” She tried to straighten. When needles of pain shot through her, she tried to hide it. Jordan's jaw tightened, meaning he saw her attempt. “I'm great. Thanks for taking care of Chloe while I was in the hospital. Have you found Jean yet?” His eyes darkened to a stormy blue. “No. We figured out he'd been staying at the abandoned cabin on the outskirts of Pa's land, but he was gone when we got there. His two partners were there though. He'd killed them.” Jennifer's hand flew to her mouth. “Chloe didn't see that, did she?” His eyes softened for a minute. “No. She'd already escaped. She heard it though. But she seems to be doing okay. Worried about you mostly.” Jennifer felt her knees turning to jello. She looked up at Scott. “I need to lay down.” Jordan tipped his hat. “I got to get back to work. I'll stop by later to check in.” He walked away without another word to Jennifer. She felt her heart break. Scott stared after him, a confused expression on his face. “Did y'all have a fight?” She nodded. “Are you going to try and work it out?” Jennifer bit her lip. She tasted blood. “I don't think he wants to.” “That man is miserable. True love is worth fighting for Jennifer. You've come too far to give up. Neither of you will ever forgive yourself if you don't make it work.” Jennifer shrugged. She hobbled towards the porch. Scott supported her weight as she tackled the steps. She heard Chloe yelling as they entered the house. A second later, her daughter appeared at the top of the stairs. Her eyes widened and her face flushed pink. She ran down the staircase at break neck speed. Jennifer wanted to scold her for not being careful but she was too happy to see her baby. She'd been through enough without having Jennifer fussing at her. “Mom, I'm so glad you're home. Come on. Let's get you into bed. Then I'll bring you some lunch.” Jennifer shook her head. “Looks like Ma and Betsy wore off on ya. You think everything can be cured by food.” She wrapped her arm around Jennifer's waist and led her down the hall. The narrow space made it difficult to walk three wide but neither Chloe or Scott would let her go. Their concern touched her. “I know food won't fix you, but I figured you'd be starved after eating hospital food. I remember how horrible it was when I had to stay for my appendix.” Jennifer wouldn't know how the food had been. She'd been too upset to eat. They helped Jennifer into the bed and Scott kissed her head. “Get some rest sweetie. I'll let everyone know you'll talk them later.” He shut the door behind him. Chloe fussed with the covers before walking around the bed and climbing up. She sat beside Jennifer and grabbed her hand. “I'm so glad you're okay Momma. I didn't know what happened to you after those guys took me. I thought the worst.” Jennifer choked back her tears. “It couldn't have been any worse than what I went through knowing you were taken by such dangerous men. I'm so proud of you for getting away.” She shrugged. “I had to be smart. I wouldn't have lasted otherwise.” She shuddered. “One man thought he was going to rape me. I should thank Jean for putting a bullet in him.” Jennifer clenched her eyes closed. “Baby, I'm so sorry for dragging you out here. You've been through so much since we arrived. It's not fair. If I'd stayed in Atlanta like you wanted, none of this would have happened.” She felt Chloe's head on her shoulder. “Don't say that. I'm glad you made me move. I didn't realize how unhappy I really was there. And you. If we'd stayed, you and I would never have gotten so close.” Jennifer laughed. “You are a unique girl Chloe Rachelle. I'm so lucky to have you as my daughter. I love you.” Chloe squeezed her. “You'll love me even more after this.” She took a deep breath. “I hid in the waterfall after I got away. I found some money there.” Jennifer frowned. She'd gotten all the money out before she left. Didn't I? “Really? What'd you do with it?” Chloe tilted her head to look up at Jennifer. “I left it there for now. I figured it was safer until Jean was caught. He has no right to our money.” Jennifer sighed. “It doesn't belong to us baby. My dad stashed his cash there a month before he died. It's why Jean's here.” She watched confusion flicker across Chloe's face. “Why do you think it belonged to him?” Jennifer shrugged. “He always said the waterfall was a magical place that held a ton of secrets. I just put two and two together and figured it out.” Chloe's hair tickled Jennifer's face as she shook her head. “You're wrong Momma. That money didn't belong to Grandpa. It's the money I told you had been hidden.” Jennifer frowned. The action caused a twinge of pain at her eyebrow. She reached up to probe the tender gash. “Why would you think that baby?” “Because I found a ledger inside. I went back out there this morning with a flashlight. Jeremiah recorded his deposits weekly. There's even some old stocks in there. I did the math and figure there should have been almost a million dollars.” Jennifer gasped. She'd taken four hundred thousand dollars with her when she left. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen the rest of the money. She looked down at her daughter. “Did you tell anyone else?” She winked. “Yep. Pa was so excited. He said as soon as we can, he's going to get the money and put it in the bank. There'll be enough to cover the mortgage on the ranch, and he wants to start a college fund for me. I figure there should be enough for me to go to any school I want. And think of all the clothes I'll get to buy!” *** Jennifer sat on the front porch, a warm cup of coffee in her hands. Her stomach roiled at the strong smell, but she needed the fortification. She felt chilled to the bone. It'd been three days since she came home from the hospital. Jordan had been to the ranch almost thirty times. He did his best to avoid her every time. Jean still hadn't been found and now she felt like she was coming down with the flu. It had t be her nerves causing her to be so nauseous and light headed. A truck bounced along the potholes in the driveway. She squinted through the curtain of rain to identify the vehicle. Her heart sped up when she recognized the hunter green paint. She put her mug down and smoothed a hand over her hair. Chloe stepped onto the porch. Her face brightened when she saw Jordan getting out of his truck. “Morning Jordan.” He nodded at Jennifer. He turned a smile to Chloe. “Hey Chloe. How are you feeling?” She bobbed her head towards Jennifer. “A lot better than Momma. Can you talk her into going to the doctor? She's being too stubborn to listen to any of us.” Concern flashed on Jordan's face before he masked it. “Well she's a grown woman. I'm sure she'll know when she needs to seek medical advice.” Jennifer's shoulders stiffened. “As a matter of fact, I have an appointment this afternoon.” Jordan smiled at Chloe. “See, she'll be fine.” Chloe frowned. “You look tired.” He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “I've been putting in a lot of hours trying to track down Jean. He still hasn't turned up.” Chloe ran down the steps and threw her arms around Jordan's waist. He stood still for a minute before folding his hands around her back. Jennifer felt a knot form in her chest. Things had turned out so wrong. For all of them. It wasn't fair for Chloe to have gotten so attached to him, only to have him change his mind about a relationship. The sadness turned to anger. She wanted to hit something; hit him. Chloe looked up at him, tears clinging to her lashes. “I hope you find him soon Jordan. I miss having you around.” Jordan's eyes met Jennifer's for a brief minute. He grimaced. Jennifer would have swore it was pain, if she didn't know better. Jordan returned his attention to Chloe. “Hey, I'll always be here for you. All you have to do is call, okay? No matter what it's for.” She nodded, but didn't seem convinced. She stepped away and rubbed her hands over her face. She climbed up the steps and sat down in Jennifer's lap. “Momma, you have to fix things.” Jennifer whispered back, “I wish I could baby. But I don't think he wants that. He's mad at me.” “Why?” Jennifer sighed. “He thinks I kept my father's stolen money.” Chloe's face brightened. “But you didn't. Tell him. I'm sure he'll be happy.” She jumped up and pulled Jennifer to her feet. She walked to the edge of the porch. A wave of dizziness hit her and she had to grab onto the porch railing to keep from falling. Jordan was about to climb into his truck. She forced herself to ignore her body's weakness and rushed after him. “Jordan, wait.” He froze at the truck door. After a long minute, he turned to face her. “Yeah?” Now or never Jennifer. “I didn't take my father's money.” Jordan's lips turned up in a cruel smile. “I suppose you're going to say the drugs made you say that?” She shook her head. “No, the money I have isn't his. It belongs to Pa's great-grandpa. It's our money.” Jordan shrugged. “What's your point?” Jennifer sighed. “You didn't want to have a relationship with me because you thought I'd stolen money. But I didn't. So there's no reason we can't be together.” Jordan shook his head. “Jennifer, regardless of who the cash belonged to, you took it. You used it, thinking it belonged to other people. Finding out it didn't isn't a good enough reason for me to forgive that. I'm a cop. I have to live by the law. I won't arrest you but I can't be with you. I'm sorry. I wish it would have worked out.” Jennifer grabbed his arm. “Jordan, you can't do this. You made me fall in love with you, even though I didn't want to. You made Chloe think you would be around for her, that everything would be okay.” His face turned stony. He jerked his arm away. “I meant what I said to Chloe. Just because you and I won't be together doesn't mean I won't still treat her like a daughter. I have to go.” He jumped into his truck and hit the gas. Gravel flew as he turned towards the driveway. Jennifer stood where she was. She didn't care if rocks hit her. It would be nothing compared to the pain she suffered. |
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