Love In A Nick Of Time (12 page)

Samantha had been in the hospital for a week, so he figured she had a couple more days before she’s released. Kevin took him by Samantha’s house and Jenna was correct. It would be too hard to maneuver Samantha around her home in her current condition. All of the bedrooms were upstairs and there was really no place to set up a bed in the lower level.

“Caught you alone today?” Michael walked in and took a seat.

“Hey Mike I didn’t expect to see you today. Where’s Jenna?”

Michael sighed and crossed his legs. “It’s a typical Saturday so she’s at home resting for the moment. I thought I’d swing by and take you to lunch.” Michael could tell by the immediate frown on Allen’s face that he was about to decline. “Don’t say no, I know what you’re going through. Sitting here day after day is nerve racking. Plus I think Sam could use a break from your brooding mood.”

Allen gave Michael his full attention. “What is that suppose mean?”

“It means you can’t make Sam better by deeming it so. Also you’re no good to her if you make yourself sick. There’s a little barbeque place not far from here that I think you’ll enjoy.”

Allen knew Mike was right, but there was no place he’d rather be than with Samantha. Granted most of the time she was asleep or in therapy. He wanted Samantha to feel confident that he was in this relationship for the long haul. “Okay lunch sounds good. I’m going to leave a message at the nurse’s station then we can head out.”

***

Jenna looked at the pregnancy test for the third time. It read positive as did the other three tests before this one. She was pregnant, when had that happened? She looked at her calendar but she couldn’t recall the last time she went for her birth control shot. She should have schedule an appointment with her gynecologist, oh shit three months ago. Jenna totally blew her appointment off. She was going to be someone’s mother. “Oh my God! This poor baby.” She hoped Michael would be pleased, he’s going to be a very good father.

***

Allen followed Mike into a run-down ramshackle place to eat lunch. The outside of the restaurant was not impressive. The aroma that hit him as he walked through the front door made up for everything else. The waitress tried to seat them at a table in the middle of the room. Funny thing is that both of them protested.

They ended up sitting against the wall with both of them facing the door. Mike was curious about Allen’s behavior; most people don’t give seating in a restaurant a second thought. “I’m a homicide cop, I like to know what I’m up against at all times. What’s your excuse?”

Allen shrugged. “I don’t like being on display. I’d rather be an observer than the observed.”

“You and I will get along just fine.” Michael ordered a rack of ribs, potatoes salad, sweet potato pie, and a beer. Allen had the same thing with the exception of the pie.

“Why did you really invite me to lunch? We just met and I don’t have to be entertained. I appreciate your efforts but I think your actions are suspect.”

Michael grinned at Allen. “I know what it’s like to stand guard over your woman’s hospital bed. Some crazy stalker attacked Jenna. I was hell to be around and she was only in the hospital overnight. I didn’t even recognize myself; I was acting like a wolf standing over his wounded mate. That’s when I realized that my life meant nothing if Jenna wasn’t in it.”

Allen didn’t know Mike well enough to share his feelings for Samantha. Quite frankly he found emotional people very annoying, but he definitely understood Mike’s actions. He did feel that same way about Samantha. “Jenna is quite the little spitfire. How did you two meet?”

Michael’s mood became serious. “We met at the worst time under impossible circumstances. I was investigating her sister’s murder. You know, I’ve had meaningless relationships here and there. When I met Jenna I felt like an awkward teenager trying to kiss my first girlfriend. It didn’t help that my partner Mack was a witness to our first meeting and he busted my balls for two weeks straight.”

“Did you find the murderer?”

“I got the murderer and the conspirators as well. It turned out that Jenna’s father was behind the whole thing.”

“Her father!”

“Yeah, Jenna’s father wanted control of her sister’s shares in the family business. Evidently a big deal was at stake, something so prosperous that could turn the company around.”

“So Jenna lost her family, because of her bastard of a father?” Allen remembered dealing with several men who wanted to control him and his inventions for their betterment.

“Not only that, our relationship was new. She tried to leave me, told me she was too messed up to be involved with anyone. Of course, I followed her. Before I drug her back home by the hair, we became man and wife. When you find the one, you’ll move heaven and earth to keep her in your life.”

Allen stared into Mike’s eyes before responding. “You’re exactly right. What progress has been made with Samantha’s accident?”

“Well Brian Taylor was brought in for questioning, but he had an alibi during the accident. He has a cousin that stays in trouble and I can’t shake this feeling that he’s somehow involved.”

“I had the misfortune of meeting that coward a couple of days ago. I caught him bringing Samantha flowers and trying to flirt. He’s lucky all I did was knock him off his feet. I wanted to shove his teeth down his throat.”

“Oh shit, tell me you didn’t hit the guy for simply flirting.”

“I didn’t hit him until he started calling my woman derogatory names.”

Michael saw the satisfaction in Allen’s black eyes. “You egged him on didn’t you? You wanted to hit him for being there with Samantha in the first place. What did you say to him that made him snap?”

“I just told him that Samantha is my fiancée. No reason for him to be upset unless…”

Michael smirked at Allen’s not so innocent expression. “Unless he had hopes of getting back with Samantha.”

“Tell me that you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”

“Oh I would have. I would have suckered him into hitting me and then I would have had him arrested for assault.”

Allen laughed aloud. “A man’s got a right to take care of his woman.”

Shortly thereafter their food arrived and it was definitely worth the wait. Allen has eaten barbeque all over the United States, but he never expected to find such tangy, succulent, smoky ribs in a shack in Omaha, Nebraska.”

“By the way, I think I should warn you that Jenna and Samantha are joined at the hip. This means that I’ll have privy to all your business and vice versa. Jenna can’t hold water. She tries to hold her friends confidences, but she’s no match for me when I want answers. The good thing is we’ll always know when something’s going on. The bad thing is they’re always up to something.”

Allen smiled at Mike, “I look forward to the challenge of taming my woman, may it continue forever.”

Michael became serious. “I can count the number of friends I have on one hand. Jenna is the same way; her friends are like her family. I just wanted to let you know that I’ll look out for your woman when you can’t.”

“Thanks man, Samantha means more to me that life itself.”

***

By the time Allen got back to the hospital, he found Samantha picking at her lunch. “Do you want me to feed you?”

“I’m sure you had something better than broiled fish and rice. Have you realized that they serve rice with almost every meal?” Samantha covered the half-uneaten meal and pushed the tray away.

Allen wasn’t having any of that he uncovered the tray, put the straw in her milk, and held it up to her lips. “Come on baby just a couple of swallows. You’re making good progress and you need to regain some of the weight you lost.”

Samantha didn’t even bother to argue with him, she just drank the milk it was after all a small battle. “Where did Mike take you to lunch? I assumed it was Mike, the nurse told me you left with a man nearly as tall as you.”

Allen sat next to her bed. “Yeah Mike took me to this fabulous barbeque place a couple of blocks away. Those ribs practically melted in my mouth and the potato salad was really good too.” Allen looked into Samantha’s eyes and he felt guilty. She’d been eating God-awful hospital food for the last week and here he sat teasing her. Allen picked up her hand and kissed the palm. “I’m sorry baby I didn’t mean to tease you. Lunch was good and when you’re better I like to go there again.”

Samantha knew Allen was talking about Lonnie’s. It was one of the better barbecue places in the Midwest and the peach cobbler was to kill for. “I can’t believe Mike took you to Lonnie’s and didn’t have you bring me back some peach cobbler. Mike knows how much I like peach cobbler.”

“I make a mean berry cobbler myself. You keep on improving for me and I’ll make one for you. When did the doctor say you’ll be released?”

“He said in a couple of days. He told me my internal stitches would be absorbed in my body and the staples could probably be removed next week. But I can’t do any strenuous activities for at least two weeks. Where are you taking me when we leave the hospital? I hear you talking to Mary on the phone when you think I’m sleeping.”

Allen got his laptop out of his briefcase and brought it around so that Samantha could get a virtual tour of the condominium he purchased on the downtown waterfront. “That’s a really nice location. I heard about those condos, but I never got around to checking them out. They’re really roomy with a lot of kitchen space.”

“I purchased a two bedroom unit; I think it will be better for you to sleep alone until you’re better. I don’t want to jar you in the night.

“I understand you want to make me as comfortable as possible. Why did Mike take you out to lunch?”

Allen frowned at the abrupt change in topic. “What’s wrong with Mike inviting me to lunch?”

“Oh please, he’s not your friend. He probably just wanted to warn you about my friendship with Jenna. You wouldn’t believe the depths he would sink to get information from her.” Samantha rolled her eyes in her head. “I mean Jenna caves in every time he whips it on her.”

Allen couldn’t contain his laughter. “You mean he controls her with sex, how unoriginal. I would have thought that little baggage could handle Mike with her hands behind her back.”

Samantha swallowed hard. Allen eyes suddenly got heavy-lidded as his piercing black gaze swept over her. Samantha held up both hands. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s Jenna who’s controlled by the slow pole not me.”

“Once you get all better, we’ll put it to the test.” Allen kissed the cut above her left eye, the slowly fading bruises on her jaw, and then he kissed her full on the lips. Allen whispered, “We will definitely put it to the test.”

***

When Michael got home from having lunch with Allen, he didn’t expect to see Jenna’s car. She was always running errands somewhere and never stayed in one place. He went into their bedroom and Jenna was lying on the bed fast asleep. Now he was worried, this wasn’t like her at all. Michael took off his shoes, got undressed, and climbed into bed with her wrapping his arms around her. He palmed one breast and began kissing her neck. “What’s wrong?”

Jenna came wide-awake as soon as Michael arms wrapped around her body. “You smell like food. Did you and Allen have a good lunch?”

Michael pulled the sheet back and gazed at Jenna’s perky pink breasts. Lately they seemed a little heavier than usual. He had his suspicions for a couple of weeks that Jenna was pregnant, but so much has happened he hadn’t gotten around to her talking about it. “Is there something you want to tell me?” He kissed his way down her body, his hands rested heavy on her stomach before continuing down to the full lips of her vagina. He eased one, then two fingers into her tight sheath while using his thumb to flick her clit.

Jenna immediately responded to the stimulus of Michael’s administrations. “Michael I love you so much, make love to me slow and hard.”

Michael moved between Jenna’s legs placing the blunt end of his cock into the well of her vagina slowly pumping in and out of her wetness. “Is this what you want?” He laved the nipple of her right breast, he was careful not to hurt her. They had a very active and exhausting sex life and he would have to adjust himself accordingly to protect the baby that was certainly growing in Jenna’s womb. Jenna was almost at her peak and he began moving a little faster. “Tell me baby, what’s been bothering you since I’ve been gone.”

Jenna matched Michael thrust for thrust, if she wasn’t pregnant already, she was sure she would have been after today. “Nothing’s wrong, matter of fact things couldn’t be more right.”

Michael came in a sudden rush. It was as if his cock became a water hose. He jerked inside of Jenna three more times before pulling out of her tightness. He laid back against the pillows rubbing his hand over her stomach. “Tell me.”

“I’m pregnant at least I’m quite sure that I am.”

“I thought you might be.” Michael’s hand moved up and tweaked a nipple.

Jenna raised her head off the pillow and looked at Michael. “What do you mean you thought I might be pregnant? You thought I was pregnant and you didn’t say anything?”