Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (4 page)

"Dad," Josh jumped to his feet to hug his father.

"I'll see you later, Henry," Jenny said, closing the door.

"What are you doing here?" Josh asked. "You never leave Washington when Congress is in session."

"Sit down, son!" Henry Grayson said gruffly, motioning to the two chairs in front of Josh's desk.

Josh recognized his father's tone of voice. Despite being thirty-three, disobeying it was not an option.

"I got a phone call from Denise Marsden a couple days ago. I don't mind telling you, son, I never liked that woman, not one bit. I also don't like it when my son hides things from me and it takes someone like her to tell me he is in trouble!"

"Dad," Josh interrupted.

"Don't
Dad
me," Henry bellowed. "I already know. I am a man of power and influence, son. If you don't think I can pick up the phone and find out what is going on, you don't know me very well. I want to know how you let your finances get this much out of control. After that, I want to know how in the hell you lost your position of authority in your home and marriage! I raised you to be the man in your household!"

"I'm handling it."

"Not very well, son." Henry lowered his voice and put his hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Now, start talking and explaining."

"Dad, this has nothing to do with you," Josh protested.

Henry Grayson reared up in his chair. "Since when doesn't a father have a right to know? You are wrong son. What affects one of us, affects all of us. If your momma finds out what is happening, she will blame me for not keeping better tabs on you. You and I know that woman can make my life a misery! So open your mouth and start spewing."

Josh spilled it all. "I'm a failure, Dad. I never thought it could happen to me. I was the one who landed on his feet, no matter what."

"You are not a failure," Henry Grayson denied. "None of my children are failures! Your only failings were not asking for help when you needed it. Cross those college loans off your list and give me the paperwork. I put every one of my children through college except you, only because you would not take the money from me. That was a failure of mine, for not kicking you in the ass and making you take the money. You not managing your marriage caused the rest. The ultimate responsibility lands squarely on you and Jenny, but mostly on you. It's a husband's job to be the head of his household. I admit this mess with our current economy has not helped, either.

"The first thing to do is destroy every damn one of your credit cards. God knows how much of your mother-in-law's closet is filled with expensive junk you are paying for."

"There is a lot of truth to your suspicions," Josh admitted. "I have already destroyed the cards."

"You need a new start, son," Henry said firmly. He handed over an envelope and pointed a meaningful finger at Josh in warning. "Do not get that prideful look in your eye! You are taking this and I will not listen to any backtalk. I helped all my children get a start in life, except for one prideful son…
you
. Tyrell and Hank, Jr. did not start those fancy law firms without my help. Vanessa did not get through fourteen years of medical school, residencies, and fellowships without my financial assistance. I am proud of all my children, including you."

"I know you see yourself as different from the rest of the family, son. Hell, you would be colorblind if you didn't. Being different and being separate, though, are two different things. Social services were a bit desperate when they put you in our home as a foster kid. Putting a white boy in a black family was highly unusual in those days, it still may be. I don't know. They only meant it as emergency housing until they could come up with a permanent placement with what they called a
suitable
family. All I know, son, is it was not a mistake. Your Momma took one look at you and told me, '
Henry, this child needs us,
' and that was that. We took you in and fought social services to keep you. We fought with you, disciplined you and learned to love you, despite you being a hardhead. You are our son, the same as the others. We take pride in pointing at you and saying, 'There goes our son.'

Henry grinned. "It also tickles us, because we like to shake people up and give them something to think about.

"You don't have to worry about this business with Pugh and Barkley, either. I already have Tyrell looking into it. Since he reviewed your contract before you signed it, there should be no problem, except maybe for them. We are a family, son, and we are here for you. Straighten out all this financial business and be done with it. Start over with a clean slate. More important, set your marriage straight. I want you to get back to basics. A man cannot be a man if he is not the head of his home and family.

"One more thing, I won't tell your momma about this business. There is no sense in getting her stirred up. We can tell her later after it is all over and only a bad memory. Now, put the envelope on the desk and worry about it later. I want to play with my grandbabies."

Henry Grayson played with his grandchildren. The Congressman rolled on the floor with his baby grandson, cradled his granddaughter on his lap and read her one story, and then another, and another. Emmie loved hearing her grandfather's loud booming voice.

Later, after Emmie fell asleep, Henry talked to his son and daughter-in-law about the diagnoses they were getting from the psychologist about why Emmie had stopped talking.

"You keep at it, she will start talking when she is ready," Henry said with concern and love in his voice. "Vanessa is already researching it because it's what she does when she is worried. If you don't start seeing an improvement, we'll bring in the big gun doctors. Remember, son, don't tell your mother I was here. She thinks I am having a good time at a Congressional roast tonight.

"There are a few in Congress who I would like to roast, but it would be over a barbecue spit, not a fancy party. This little matter is between us. You stay in touch now. Send me those college loan papers, as in
tomorrow
. If I have to ask for them again, you'll have an ass kicking coming your way. It's the least I can do. Jenny, you treat this boy of mine right. If he is not treating you right, you call me, I will set him straight!"

They watched Josh's father walk out to a long black limousine, only then realizing his driver had been waiting for him the entire time.

"Why does your father act as if Camilla were some kind of shrew? Your mother is the sweetest woman I know," Jenny asked.

"It's his way of not telling her about unpleasant business," Josh explained with a smile. "Momma probably already knows. She has her own way of staying on top of things."

"Is he paying off your college loans?"

"Mine and yours. He said that combined, they don't come close to what he spent on each of his other children. Dad has this thing about treating his kids equally. He also gave me a check to straighten out our finances, I don't know how much, yet. That is typical of him too. He didn't want me to know until after he left."

"Paying off our college loans will be a tremendous help," Jenny said. "Josh, I have been thinking an awful lot about the mess we are in, and how much of it is my fault. I swear I will cut back on expenses and return to living on a budget. We did it before when we were saving for the down payment."

"We didn't have a choice before. Actually, we don't have a choice now. It is going to be tight and will probably get worse for a while. You also didn't have to deal with your mother before."

"I have to learn to deal with her now," Jenny promised. "We should sell this house and pay off the bills as quickly as possible. More important, we need to pay my mother back and break the hold she has on us. If I have to go back to work, I will. I don't like who I have become in the last several years."

"You are still my Jenny," Josh said, holding her to him. "I haven't been myself, either. My Dad is dead right, we need to get back to basics.
We
need to make the decisions on what is right for us and the kids, no one else should be in the equation.

"If at all possible, I don't want you returning to work. I want you home with the kids while they are little when they need you the most. Besides, it doesn't actually pay for you to work. Once we cover the childcare costs, your salary would be gone and you would still be worrying yourself to death about the kids all the time. No. It is my responsibility and I will figure it out. The word is spreading that I am available for freelance work. Unfortunately, those jobs will only hold things together for the short term."

Jenny nodded as they turned and went upstairs together. At the top, she turned right toward their bedroom. He automatically turned left towards his office. They stopped, turned, and looked at each other.

"Stay with me," Jenny whispered.

"If I do, I won't leave again. I don't want to give up on us, Jen, but we have to take some steps backward, go back to the way it was at the beginning. We were happy with our decisions and how we had structured our lives together. It might be old-fashioned, but it worked for us. We must stop letting outside influences eat away at our relationship. We have to go back to following our plan and our marriage vows to each other."

Jenny nodded. "We were happy then. I hate what we have done to each other. We are ripping each other apart. I don't want to lose us either. We need to be happy with ourselves and each other, again."

"All right," Josh agreed. He walked to her and put his arm around her waist. He kissed her deeply, and the hunger in his lips reminded them both of what they had missed. "This is our goal. We will work our way back to happiness. Are you ready to make changes? Both of us have to go back to basics.

"Do you trust me to take the lead in putting our lives back on track? We will make as many decisions together as possible, but I lead. I am the financial backbone of this family; I have to set things in motion to turn this mess around."

Jenny looked to the only man she had ever loved and nodded. "Yes, I want it back. I want you back."

"You have always had me, but we have had a wedge between us for quite a while. Both of us have to get tougher." Josh led her into the bedroom and surveyed the king-sized bed, which originally had appeared in their room without his approval. "One of the first things we are getting rid of is this monster bed. I want you next to me, close to me, where I can touch you and make love to you. You are my other half and I will not lose you again. I won't give up on us."

* * *

Jenny opened her eyes and snuggled into her husband's arms. Her body still felt a residue of their lovemaking from the previous night. It had been a long time since they had let go of the resentments and petty problems between them. As had everything else in their marriage, lovemaking had become routine. Last night had been magical. Josh had made her feel beautiful, cherished and lusted after. They had always been a physically lustful and daring couple. She had missed his dominance.

She had left home to pursue an education in Art and Fashion Design with the goal of becoming a textile artist. She had been living independently, supporting herself with a partial scholarship, student loans, and part-time jobs. She met Josh in her third year of college when she was twenty, but still inexperienced in relationships. He was the
older
man at twenty-four, already working toward his master's degree in architecture. Only three weeks after they met, she was living with him in his tiny two-room apartment. They married six weeks later to the elation of Josh's family and the horror of hers. Neither her father nor mother understood why she wanted to marry then, or why she would choose a young man with no social standing or wealth. Josh did not have anything, and although it was not important to Jenny, it was to her parents. There were three things imperative to the Marsden's… wealth, position, and power.

Jenny did not care about those things, so they had been happy. Getting used to Josh's old-fashioned ideas of marriage where the husband was the head of his house was strange at first. His belief in domestic discipline was even harder to accept, but she had. In Josh's ideal marriage, honesty was paramount, and he would not tolerate deceit. The concept was easy enough to understand. If she lied to him or tried to hide something from him, she paid for it with a sore bottom.

Still, it had been an adjustment. Her parents' marriage and lives were full of lies and deception. Her mother said or did anything to get her way, and she always managed to get away with it. She was a shrew to her daughters and husband, but a beloved member of the country club set. Her father was loud, yelling and swearing in their home, but always appearing as a perfect 'gentleman' in public. Jen grew up witnessing the duality of selfish, non-caring parents in private, and doting parents in public who were pillars of the community.

With Josh, she had learned to be honest for the first time, all the time. She had no need to grovel for his attention or feel she was not worthy of his love just because she might disagree with him. He loved her freely and expressed it to her daily in both words and actions. He was also her biggest supporter as he encouraged her talent.

There was not a day or night when they were not eager to make love. A lack of a social life did not bother them when they were using their time to enjoy each other's bodies. They both walked around in love and sexually satisfied. Josh's dominant side appeared the most during their sexual life and she enjoyed every second of it.

His architectural designs, even as a graduate student, were already winning awards. With his master's and her bachelor's in hand, they moved to New York City, found a tiny apartment in Queens, and settled in. Josh took a job with a giant in the architectural design industry. She worked several jobs before landing one as a tailor for an up-and-coming designer. They had been on top of the world until external circumstances crushed their little part of it.

First, the housing bubble burst, then the economy tanked, and the recession followed. Josh took a pay cut to secure his job. Several months later, her employer eliminated her position altogether. She worked for temporary agencies doing clerical work, but even those jobs were hard to come by. They were surviving, but on far less income. They set their hopes on a quick economic turnaround, but it did not happen. Then her father suddenly had died of a stroke.

Her mother, Denise Marsden, was a socialite and a corporate wife. Her life revolved around her husband's position in his company and their society and country club communities. Jenny had gone to try and help her mother since Denise had resisted any and all advice from her lawyers and financial experts. The estate attorney finally stepped in and it had taken him months to straighten out Stanley Marsden's estate. As the stock market took a dive, so did his wealth. There were debts to be paid and the estate attorney did his job well. Her mother was not destitute by any means, but her wealth was considerably diminished. Denise blamed her husband, her attorney, and at times her daughter, for not fighting for her and against the estate trustees. She thought it unfair her husband's debts had to be paid out of her share of the estate. It was then that Denise began her campaign to have her daughter move back to Waterbury, Connecticut.

Josh resisted the idea until two cataclysmic events collided. He was laid off from his job in Manhattan and Jenny announced she was pregnant. As a young couple, they were thrilled with her pregnancy and at the same time terrified of their prospects. Career choices were scarce. Josh finally took a job at Pugh and Barkley with another pay cut, but the job came with benefits. Meanwhile, Jenny was bedridden for the last two months of her pregnancy with Emmie. She had to stay at home and not work on her art. It, like her job, went by the wayside.

Jenny knew exactly when their marriage shifted off its foundation. She hated to face it, but she was the one who had steered them off the cliff. She and Josh had decided to borrow money from their 401K accounts and use it as a down payment on a small starter home. They spent months searching for the right house at the right price. They found one needing a little work and repair, but since Josh had worked with a home-repair service during college, he could make the repairs himself.

A week before closing on the house, Josh had to go out of town on business. He gave Jenny authorization to sign the closing documents for the purchase of the house. While he was gone, Denise took her daughter through newer, better houses until their little house looked shabby in comparison. Jenny allowed her mother to talk her into purchasing a brand new home. It was more than three times the size and price of the home she and Josh had agreed on, but in a neighborhood her mother approved and pricey enough to impress her mother's friends.

When Jenny picked Josh up at the airport and took him to their new
home,
Josh had been furious. Then he discovered his mother-in-law had
given
Jenny a sizeable amount of money to cover the increased down payment so she could spend their down-payment savings on furnishings for the new house.

When Josh started yelling, Denise interceded telling him about her
gift.
She told him he was unappreciative of her selfless act to make sure her daughter and granddaughter were taken care of decently and not living in a hovel.

Jenny had seen hurt, humiliation, and defeat in her husband's eyes. She had experienced those same feelings many times herself in her dealings with her mother. She damaged their marriage that day, and Josh had never forgiven her for it. Their constant tension and disagreements about Denise's influence over Jenny had harmed them and their relationship. Nevertheless, neither one of them had been able to escape Denise's clutches. Jenny was caught in the guilt her mother heaped on her every time she wanted something. Josh had grown to despise Denise. When she entered a room, he walked out.

* * *

"Good morning," Josh whispered into her ear as he nipped it. "Was I too rough last night?"

Jenny turned over to face him. "Never, last night was spectacular."

Josh glanced at the clock as he reached her. "We have time enough…"

The high-pitched screams were so loud they seemed to echo. Josh and Jenny jumped apart.

"Emmie!" they both gasped scrambling out of bed.

Jenny was ahead of him by a few steps. "Put your shorts on!" she yelled as she ran out the door, pulling on her robe.