Prodigal Son (Jensen Family #1) (2 page)

Michael smiled, he had no
intention what so ever of letting this one get away, no woman had ever spoken
to him that way or even dared to stand up to him. He watched the gentle sway of
her hips as she walked away noticing the way most of the men in the room turned
to watch her walk by and although she wasn’t what he would class as his usual
type, he did recognise her classic beauty and felt challenged by her fearless
confrontation with him. He was prepared to be impossibly persistent in wooing
this woman; she would be his before the end of the summer.

And so it began, first the
delivery of fresh flowers every day which Monica would refuse to accept,
sending the florist away. Then the gifts started to arrive, Michael started
with simple things like chocolates and fruit baskets and moved onto more
expensive gifts of jewellery all of which returned to him within the day.

Michael found himself pacing
his office daily in a white hot rage over Monica’s refusal of his gifts, what
the hell was wrong with her? Didn’t she realise the gifts were his way of
asking his permission to court her. He decided to confront her and took a day
out of his busy schedule to pay her a visit.

Sitting across the street in
his sleek blue Mercedes, Michael watched as Monica’s parents left the house. He
waited for their Range Rover to turn off onto the main road before leaving his
car and approaching the house. It seemed to take an eternity for her to answer
the door but when she did, she took his breath away. Her thick dark hair was
tied back in a pony
tail,
she was wearing incredibly
tight cropped, red gingham trousers and a pretty white blouse that did nothing
to hide her shapely figure.

“Michael Jensen.” she said
crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame “To what do I owe the
somewhat dubious pleasure of this visit?”

Michael did not reply
immediately, he looked at her, smiled then offered her the transparent box he
held, the note inside the box read Return to sender.

“I thought, as you have
returned my gifts, that I would deliver this one in person, or would you like
to return this one too?”

Monica glanced at the box,
tutted then replied “It takes more than fancy gifts to impress this girl, you
need to try harder.” she moved to close the door.

“Monica” Michael stepped
forward and put his hand on the door “Won’t you even give me one chance to
prove myself?”

“Maybe.” she grinned and
dropped her head, glancing up at him though her dark lashes.

“May I take you out one
evening?” he asked, feeling silly with the formality of his request.

“You may. Pick me up tomorrow
at eight and we will take it from there.” she stepped back and closed the door
in his face.

The following evening,
Michael rang the doorbell of the Paloma
household,
he
smiled at Monica when she opened the door.

Monica pointedly looked at
her wristwatch “You’re late, it’s a minute past.”

Michael opened his mouth to
speak but then thought the better of it, Monica laughed

“I’m only teasing, come on
in.” she guided him to a tastefully furnished sitting room where her family
were waiting to receive him.

The courtship began with
Michael wrongly thinking her Latin blood would have her all hot and steamy at
his advances. She never let on just how aroused she was by his touch, he
clearly knew which buttons to press but she was determined to wait until her
wedding night, a fact she reminded him of each and every time he tried to push
her further than she was willing to go.

For his own sanity, Michael
slowed things down a little, deciding that trying to push her into bed with him
was not the way to go and recognising that her will was far stronger than his
and that she would ultimately win in a battle of wills.

Within the month he had asked
her to marry him, she completely captivated him and although at first she was
reluctant to accept his proposal, when he told her “I can’t breathe without
you” she realised that this outwardly arrogant, cold man, did have a heart and
it belonged to her. Within moments of accepting his marriage proposal, she had
on her hand the biggest diamond ring she had ever seen.

Michael didn’t want a long
engagement, he insisted that they were married as soon as possible and so the
mad rush of wedding planning began.

Within weeks of returning
from their honeymoon and moving into their beautiful detached house, a joint
wedding present from their parents, Monica discovered she was pregnant. She
couldn’t contain herself long enough for Michael to return home from work so
she caught a taxi to the offices of Jensen Incorporated and waited for her
husband outside.

Michael spotted Monica the
moment he stepped onto the street, he frowned, thinking that perhaps something
was wrong, knowing Monica would never come to the office on a trivial matter
but she smiled as he went towards her then she reached out to touch his
forehead.

“Don’t frown Michael, you’ll
get wrinkles.”

He smiled, she was always
telling him not to frown “Is that better?” he asked.

“Yes” she took his hand as
they began to walk towards his car.

“Are you going to tell me why
you are here?”

“Do you love me Michael? She
countered his question.

“You know
I
do.” he answered, truthfully, he loved this woman deeply.

“How much do you love me?”

“More than the moon and
stars,” he replied, knowing this was the answer she wanted. He stopped by his
car, unlocked the passenger side and opened the door for her.

“Would you love me even more
if I told you that I am going to make you a daddy?” She asked smiling sweetly,
the smile turning to a laugh as his stunned expression changed to a huge grin
as he dropped his briefcase, picked her up and swung her around in a circle.

“You clever girl,” he
whispered in her ear, “I will get you the best possible care, you
wont
want for anything ever again.” he promised.

“I know.”

Daughter Tessa was born on a
hot July day in 1974 after a near perfect pregnancy and a long but pain
controlled labour.

Tessa Marie Jensen weighed in
at a hefty eight pounds and apart from the occasional grizzle, was a model
baby, heart
stoppingly
adorable having inherited her
fathers
blond curls and blue eyes and a hint of her
mothers’ olive skin.

She began sleeping through
the night at just six weeks old leaving Monica free to once again pursue her
husband in her quest for a big family.

Michael had wanted to wait at
least until Tessa was attending nursery, grumpily admitting that he didn’t
really want to share his wife with any more children just yet. Monica pointed
out that she kept the house and child spotless, had his meal ready for him when
he returned from work and still had more than enough energy to fulfil his
healthy sexual appetite and that more babies wouldn’t make a difference, then,
soon after Tessa began nursery school she fell pregnant again.

The sickness started almost
immediately as well as feeling feint and constantly tired. Jackson and Paula
Paloma began to spend a lot of time with their daughter much to Michael’s
annoyance as he feared they would interfere. He changed his attitude when his
wife unexpectedly collapsed when four months pregnant while making lunch for
Tessa, she would have remained that way until he returned home had his in-laws
not been there.

Monica woke in a private room
of a prestigious Harley Street hospital, wired up to monitors with the anxious
faces of her husband and parents peering at her.

“Where’s Tessa?” she asked,
struggling to sit up.

“She’s with my parents, you
need to lay flat.” Michael answered.

“What happened?”

 “You passed out, you
have started to bleed,
the
doctor has put you on
complete bed rest in an effort to preserve the pregnancy.” Michael told her, he
was tired, it had been almost twenty hours since he had slept, he was sick with
worry for his wife and found he simply couldn’t leave her side.

Monica passed her hand over
her stomach, feeling the unusually large bump of her early pregnancy “Is the
baby ok?”

“You have had an Ultra sound
scan, it would appear that you are carrying twins, they both seem fine.” Paula
leaned over her daughter.

Monica frowned “Is that why
I’m so big, twins?” she paused “I need to see a doctor; I’m not ready for
this.”

Moments later, Michael and
his in-laws left Monica with her doctor, he explained to her that her twins
were not identical but fraternal; each baby had its own placenta. He continued
by telling her that the smaller twins’ placenta had detached slightly and there
was a possibility, even with complete bed rest, that she would lose that baby,
he told her to try not to worry, she must relax as much as she could and that
he would monitor her closely and tell her of any changes, good or bad.

Monica stayed on bed rest for
the remainder of her pregnancy. The bleeding stopped and both twins appeared to
be developing well. Tessa’s care was taken over by Monica’s parents and they
handed over to Michael who had proved himself a loving, caring father, when he
returned from his nightly visit to his wife.

Monica’s consultant decided
it would not be possible for her to attempt to give birth normally as the
smaller twin was in the breach position. Several fruitless attempts had been
made to turn the baby but it had stubbornly returned to its preferred position
after a matter of only a few hours. A caesarean section was planned and Michael
arranged extended leave from work.

Matthew Charles Jensen was
born at midday on 17
^th
October 1977, a robust 7lb in weight with
light blond hair, his brother, Paul Nicholas Jensen reluctantly entered the
world at twelve fifteen on the same day, smaller than the older twin, only
weighing 5lb 6oz but giving the appearance of being exceptionally laid back,
his breach position in the womb had meant he was born with his legs straight.
He had caused the delivering consultant to swear under his breath as he
struggled to deliver the second twin, he could have sworn the baby was clinging
to its mother’s womb in its struggle to remain within the secure environment.
This tiny baby had darker skin than his fair haired brother and a thick mop of
dark hair.

Monica felt an instant rush
of love for her baby boys once she was allowed to see them, her joy was short
lived however when Michael visited her shortly after she had been introduced to
her twins.

Looking into the cot nearest
to him, Michael smiled when he saw the pale skin and blond hair of the eldest
twin, reaching into the cot he picked up the small bundle of baby and held it
to his chest. He moved to the other side of Monica’s bed and the second cot,
peering over the edge, he breathed in sharply     

“What on earth is that?” he
asked upon seeing the olive skin and dark hair of the youngest twin.

“That is your son Michael.”
Monica
answered,
a cold edge to her tone.

“Impossible, all Jensen’s are
blond haired and fair skinned, there have never been any exceptions.”

“Has it crossed your mind
that perhaps he takes after my family?”

Michael ignored the comment
and handed the blond bundle to her, he stepped closer to the second cot,
reaching in for the baby. As his hand went behind the baby’s head to support
it, it let out an ear piercing scream.

“How can something so small
make such a racket?” he asked holding the infant at arms’ length.

“Take Matthew and give Paul
to me.” Monica spoke above the howls of her son. No sooner was Paul in his
mothers’ arms when he stopped screaming, his small mouth searching for her
breast “He’s hungry.” she told Michael “Give Matthew a bottle would you?” she
gestured to the small bottles of formula milk “I’ll feed Paul.”

“Why should my son have to be
fed second rate formula when that runt gets all the goodness of your breast
milk?”

“Paul is also your son and as
he is the smaller of the two he needs the extra nutrients and protection my
milk gives him. Just because he isn’t blond doesn’t make him any less of a
Jensen.” she scowled.

“You can sugar coat it all
you want Monica, Matthew is
my
son, you can do what you like with Paul.”

Monica found it hard to
believe that her husband would reject his child simply for the colour of his
hair but knowing how stubborn and pig headed Michael could be, she knew his
opinion wouldn’t change in the slightest unless this child proved himself to be
something outstanding, then Michael would welcome him with open arms.

Two weeks after the birth,
Monica and her twin boys were allowed home. Michael had returned to work so
Paula moved in to help her daughter. During the day everything went swimmingly,
both boys were fairly content and were growing well. Tessa was enthralled with
her new brothers, spending hours playing with them and whining when it was time
for her to nap.