Page 35 of Signed, SEALed, Delivered

The woman had no boundaries, no level she wouldn't stoop to. Our mother would have been proud at her antics. It wouldn't surprise me if she had paid a visit to the queen bitch first and got some pointers.

Jason's movements stopped, and I watched sadly as he eyes closed tightly. The feelings changed as I witnessed the smile that slowly took form on his hidden face. With grace and determination he shifted his body, closing the drawer he had been working from, purging himself of the negativity he had been forced to carry for so long.

"You expect me to believe you're pregnant?" There was no mistaking the amusement in his tone, or the anger in his stance. Even knowing I was in no danger from him, I pushed back into Zach’s body, seeking protection that was not warranted.

"The chances of that actually happening are a bigger miracle than Jesus himself walking in here and asking for a piercing. Especially since you haven't let me get my fucking dick near you in over a year." My eyes were wide with shock, my hand covering my mouth to keep me silent. "Only allowing me to pleasure you on occasion, and only when you felt that pussy of yours was, as you proclaimed, perfectly groomed." His anger was evident in not only his tone of voice, but by the redness covering his face. She had hurt him, made him to feel belittled and humiliated when he should have been loved and cherished.

"So you can take your snake oil and peddle it somewhere else, cause I'm not buying." Jason tossed the rag he had used to clean his area onto his empty chair. As he was walking away I noticed Savannah stood at the end of the hallway, her arms open wide and her face covered with a warm smile. I swear I saw him run to her, pick her up and disappear into the back alley.Hannah didn't linger in the shop or even acknowledge my presence. However, it didn't escape me the second she left the shop, her cell phone was pressed to her ear. There was no doubt in my mind who she was calling.

***

Caroline called me out of the blue one afternoon, feeding me some line about how important it was to spend time together as sisters. Zach was assisting his brother with a Monday night game, so I agreed to have dinner with her.She made reservations at one of the city's most exclusive restaurants. You had to be someone, or know someone, to even get a reservation. The interior was designed around old style dining. Plush benches lined the walls, with small tables situated against them and linen tablecloths created the illusion of elegance, yet the room was comfortable. So much so, I failed to look around taking in the design of it, but more importantly the fellow patrons. It was during my initial perusal, I noticed them. Sitting in a corner booth, their hands clasped tightly together, and looking as if they were the only two people in the room. My breath caught, alerting Caroline something wasn't right.

"Kennedy?" Her questioning, concerned tone did nothing to avert my attention.

"Is that...?" I didn't have to finish my question, we both knew who the couple was.

Seeing my father sitting at a table less than thirty feet from us, holding hands with a woman I recognized as Leeann Charles. I had been introduced to her during a charity event my mother chaired. Leeann didn't really fit the image my mother imagined for her worker bees. She had a brain and, much like myself, would, and could, think for herself. Leeann’s first husband, Thurston, died in a plane crash leaving her a substantial amount of money. She continued to support various events, so I had seen her several times. Just never with my father.

My mind started conjuring up different reasons for her to be in this restaurant with my father. Perhaps he was representing her as legal counsel or maybe my mother had sent him to get a donation for whatever event she was currently working on. All that flew out the window when I watched, in shock, as he leaned over the table, kissing her on the lips.

While my mother wasn't the most pleasant person in the world, she didn't deserve to be cheated on. They had been married for over twenty years, I just couldn't understand.

“Kennedy, you cannot be surprised.” Caroline reached for her wine glass, peering over the top at my shocked face.

“Forgive me for assuming our parents would stay within the confines of their marriage.” Tossing my napkin over my empty plate, I could feel the anger raising my blood pressure.

“Women of our social status understand the needs of men as powerful as ours will never be satisfied by a single woman. It is understood we are to turn our heads when we see something unpleasant.”

“Turn a blind eye, you mean? Give him permission to have a girl on the side, so long as the money keeps rolling in.”

“Yes, and if something catches your eye that is pleasing to you, all the better.” Her coy smile gave me all I needed to understand she had cheated on Richard.

“So let me get this straight, you pretend to have a headache so Richard can go off and shove his dick in one of your friends. Or perhaps you invite all of them over and crawl under the table to suck each other’s husbands off. Taking turns as if it is a goddamn carpool.” I want her to be as angry as I am, to see for herself how ridiculous she sounds by her admission.

“Don't you judge me, Kennedy. You have no idea what it is like to marry a man because of where he can take you. You can’t imagine sleeping beside a man who has no clue how to please you sexually. Look around this room, Kennedy. Half the women here find letting their husbands do as they please a small price to pay for living as we do.”

“Then buy a fucking porno and a vibrator. Or better yet, show him how to make you scream his name, not hand him off to your girlfriend so she can babysit him while you diddle the pool boy. You will have to forgive me, my small minded need to have my husband love me, taking joy in fucking me until I lose consciousness.”

“Then you had better get comfortable being alone. There isn’t a man out there who can be everything you need.”Having heard enough of her justifying her actions, I tossed some money on the table, pushed away and left. Outside, I waved down the first cab to come in my direction. It was late, nearly midnight, as I stood on the wooden front porch of the home Zach had purchased. I knew Zach would be asleep, but I didn't care.

I could hear the sounds of the doorbell chiming inside the house. With my fist pounding on the wooden door, I begged him to come and open the door, to rescue me from the nightmare that had unfolded inside the restaurant. I could hear the sounds of his feet descend the stairs, getting closer to the place where I needed him. The light above the door illuminated as the locks on the door clicked open. The opening door gave my body permission to break down. Zach stood in the dark house, shirtless, with only a pair of gray basketball shorts on. His sexiness was lost on me as the tears started to fall, making my body rock with emotion.

"Baby?"Zach pulled me to his chest, slamming the door behind us. He didn't ask me any questions as he picked me up and carried me into his kitchen, the hum of the refrigerator's motor the only noise in the room. He placed me on the counter wrapping me tightly in his arms without a millimeter of space between our bodies. Clasping my arms around his midsection, my hands came in contact with the gun he had tucked in his waistband. He had never hid the fact he owns a gun. Given his former job, it is to be expected

"Are these tears a result of something I did?" His usual commanding voice was raspy, no doubt from his disturbed sleep. I shake my head against his chest as he rubs my back gently. As cliché as it sounds, he allows me to cry myself out. He never moved or tried to get me to talk, held me as my body shook with my sadness. When the last hiccup escaped me, he let go long enough to pull a glass from his cabinet, fill it with an amber liquid and instruct me to sip it.

Zach continued to touch me in a way letting me know he was waiting until I was ready to speak. With the glass half empty, I looked up at him and told him what I had witnessed. Taking the glass from my hands, Zach leaned back against the counter on the opposite side of the room. His right hand scratching at his chin.

"Kennedy, I can see how that would upset you. I can't imagine my father stepping outside of his marriage. Zane either, for that matter." I could tell by the way his words came out, a but was about to be delivered. "Please understand, I'm one hundred percent on your side in this, but—" I took a deep breath and wondered if he knew something I didn't? Maybe he had heard something from his parents about mine and hadn't had an opportunity to tell me.

"Your parents' marriage really isn't your business. Don't get me wrong, I know this hurts like hell, but your father is a grown man. If he wants to have an affair, it's between him and your mother."

As much as I wanted to argue, he was right. The relationship my dad had with my mother wasn't really my business. "You're right, I just don't understand. I mean, my mother is no saint, but no one deserves to be cheated on. Caroline said this was something I would have to do. I would have to turn a blind eye to my husband’s infidelities." Zach shifted his position resting both elbows behind him on the countertop.

"I agree with you, Sweetheart. I can assure you I would never be able to do that to you, nor will I ever expect you to act like your sister. But do you know for certain they are having an affair? I mean, there could be a valid reason for his actions." I loved this about Zach. He was rational and able to look at this from a multitude of angles.

"Somehow, I don't think so. The way he touched her was too—"

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