Page 50 of Jobe

His words slid through her, moving into barren places, long empty and cold. A slow smile curved the corners of her mouth, as the full meaning of what he was saying penetrated her mind.

“You want to be here with me?” she said, almost afraid that he would immediately retract his sentiments.

Chuckling, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her lips. Chaste. Soft. “Yeah, Baby doll. I’m back in your life and I’m not about to give that up. You and me, with your mom close by…that’s home.”

“So instead of a weekend getaway, how about we get your friends to help us move? That would be the perfect thing to take my mind off of work—making a home here.”

He smiled as he pulled her back in for a kiss. This one deeper. Wetter. Hotter. And then he showed her just how much having a home together meant. All night long.

* * *

That weekend found the Alvarez crew loading furniture and moving while the women all pitched in to help unpack. Most of Mackenna and Penny’s furniture was moved to Penny’s new second-floor condo. She had signed the paperwork with the condo management and since the apartment was empty, she was granted an immediate move in.

Her furniture fit perfectly and Penny’s pleasure showed on her face. Knowing her mom was just two floors down gave Mackenna peace of mind, while knowing that her mom had gained a little of her independence back was priceless.

BJ’s wife, Suzanne, along with Lily worked in Penny’s new place, unpacking the kitchen items and getting them into the drawers and cabinets as directed. Jennifer, Annalissa, and Sherrie took care of clothes and linens. Mackenna ran between the two apartments, making sure that things were going well for her mom and chatting with her friends, before seeing that the items the men brought over for her new home were going to fit.

Jobe could tell she was fretting and finally stopped her in mid-run, with his hands on her shoulders. “Babe, slow down. This weekend was supposed to be non-stressful for you and you’re about to run yourself ragged.”

“It’s all good, Jobe, I promise. This is good stress and I just want to make sure mom’s taken care of.”

Jobe held her stare for a moment. “Seriously? She’s got four other women down there helping. My mom, Miriam, and Rebecca are bringing dinner for the entire gang. I think your mom is fine.”

She puffed some of her reddish-gold curls out of her face and said, “Well, what about here? I don’t want them dumping all my things in here and making you crazy. I mean it may not mesh with your stuff.”

Standing up straight, he lifted an eyebrow. “Mesh with my stuff? Look around, babe. Does it look like I have a style to you? Hell, bring whatever and we’ll make it work. If we don’t like something, we can dump it and buy new shit.”

By the end of the afternoon, Penny’s new apartment was completely set up with her furniture, cable, and the internet. Her books were in shelves, her kitchen was in order, and her clothes were in the closets. Mackenna gazed at her mom’s beaming face with its lopsided grin and her heart melted. Walking over, she hugged her tightly saying, “Mom, I want you to be happy.”

“Oh, bab gir. I am so hap-py,” she said, obviously proud of her improving speech.

Jobe walked over to envelop both women, kissing Penny’s cheek before kissing the top of Mackenna’s head. “Mrs. Dunn, I think you’re going to enjoy living here. And remember, we’re just two floors up.”

His phone vibrated and after glancing at the text, he announced to the large group, “My mom’s here with the food so let’s get up to our place.”

The friends moved out of Penny’s condo to go upstairs, quickly settling into his apartment. Mackenna looked up into his eyes and smiled.

“What’s that smile for?”

“You called thisourplace, not just your place.”

“Well, hell yeah, doll. It is our place,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. Looking around, his mom was running the show from the kitchen, bustling around and giving orders. And smiling so wide, Jobe thought his mother’s face would break.

The group pitched in and the food was laid out on the table so that everyone could grab a paper plate and get what they wanted before settling down anywhere they could. Conversation flowed as old friends and new friends mingled.

Mackenna studied the gathering as she sat on the floor with her plate on the coffee table. She had not been with this many friends since her father became ill. As her eyes moved around the room, they landed on Jobe sitting a few feet away, his gaze on hers. Smiling, she realized that she was home.

That evening, she knelt over a box of clothes that she was placing in drawers as Jobe lounged on the bed. He loved seeing her things in his drawers and closet. As she reached in, her fingers touched the packet of letters that she had thrown in the bottom of the box when packing up her old house. Looking down, she saw the familiar bundle, tied with a ribbon. Letters from the past. Letters that had represented what she had…and what she lost. Now as she wrapped her fingers around them, they no longer gripped her in misery.

He noticed that she had stilled, wondering what she was pondering. Her gaze lifted slowly to his as her hand raised out of the box. She was holding the packet of letters that he had discovered weeks ago. His breath caught in his throat, fearful of what those memories might do to the relationship they were forging now. The cold dread wrapped around his heart as surely as her fingers around the evidence of their past love that he had thrown away.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, seeing the fear and anguish written on his face. “I’m not afraid of these anymore.”

He rose from the bed, walked to the closet and knelt at his locker in the corner. She watched him with curiosity, then her heart pounded as she saw him moving back toward her with his own small packet of letters in his hand. He saw the confusion on her face, knowing that he had confessed to shredding all of her letters.

Kneeling down before her, he said, “These I kept. After…I foolishly destroyed the others. These were the ones you sent me afterward.”

She honestly could not think of a response as her eyes gazed at the worn envelopes, wrapped in a rubber band. Licking her lips, she lifted her gaze to his. “What should we do with these? Mine represent who we were, but we’re no longer those two people. And yours,” she said, once more staring at the envelopes in hand, “represent the bitter end of what we were.”

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