Page 98 of Forever Fickle

“How about April so we don’t have to wait so long,” she smiled.

“Spring break?”

“Oh goodness,” she laughed against his lips, as his arms curled around her, pulling her closer. “I didn’t even think about that, or my job. Spring Break would be perfect and gives us a week to escape for a honeymoon.”

“I like that part,” he chuckled lightly, kissing her again. “I’ll handle that part and you can handle the wedding details.”

“Uh huh…” she drawled knowingly, throwing back her head to laugh as he laughed with embarrassment, before moving to kiss her neck the moment it was exposed.

“I’ll definitely handle that, Mrs. Sorensen…” he breathed softly. “Gosh, that sounds good, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does…” Karen melted at the feeling of his lips underneath her ear, his breath tickling the skin.

“I think they are making out down here and not even talking, Ma. All I can hear is my nauseating brother panting like a dog in heat… Poor Karen! How does she even stand him…”

“JANA!” Jace snapped, tensing immediately, as Karen burst out laughing in mortification, burying her face against his neck.

He started to move towards the basement stairs, and Karen stopped him.

“Hey…” she smiled. “Let her get her digs in. It’s just playful ribbing because she’s jealous…”

“What do you mean?”

“She looks up to you,” Karen smiled tenderly. “You are her incredible big brother, and she sees you moving on. She needs a friend, someone to talk to, and maybe she needs to find someone that makes her happy. Trust me, these moments will fade when she finds her place in your life again. She’s missed you since you went into the Air Force.”

“I guess I could put up with it…” he grumbled and looked at Karen. “Smart, sexy, and beautiful. April sounds perfect.”

“Or May…”

“I might have a hard time getting off in May.”

“September? October?”

“Just not November…” Jace shuddered, closing his eyes. “I don’t think I can handle waiting a year to make you mine.”

“I love you, too,” she smiled, putting her hand in his. “Let’s go talk with your family.”

Hours later, they were all talking happily in the kitchen, moving around each other like a well-oiled machine, laughing and cutting up. Things seemed so much smoother now that they were free to discuss key points, and she had a list of things to work on in the meantime.

Jace and Karen were going to call her church on Monday morning to try to narrow down a date. Once they had a date, then she was going to reach out to Dixie to make the wedding cake. There were the flowers, the invitations, the reception hall… and Jace had a brilliant idea.

He suggested reaching out to Harley and Thumper to see if they could use the hangar for the reception. It would be free, plenty of parking, and they could ‘escape’ from there.

Everything started to smell wonderful, and the phone was ringing off the hook in the house, drawing Lindsey or Jim away for moments at a time. It surprised her to see Jace hug his sister affectionately – especially since they’d been at each other’s throats every time Karen turned around.

“Jana, can you handle this for a few? Karen and I need to call her mother about the engagement and wish her a Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Sure,” Jana smiled happily. “I love cornflower blue, Karen. We’ll have a lot of fun with that, and I’m coming down early before the wedding to help set up. Can you deal with me crashing on your couch for a week or two?”

“Absolutely,” Karen smiled, moving to hug the woman that she would be proud to call her sister-in-law. “You’re the best.”

“I was thinking the same thing…” Jana said tearfully, grinning. “Now, go call your mom.”

They disappeared into Karen’s room, and she called her family using FaceTime, so they could video chat. Sure enough, everyone was there and beaming happily the moment they saw her.

“Hey baby!”

“Hey Mom… Hi Daddy,” Karen began, laughing. “Oh, I see Chase and Emily. Great – everyone’s there.”

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