Up All Night Long: From Lust to Love (Romance Anthology) (23 page)

"It's beautiful out here." Kari's voice was no more than a soft whisper. He leaned down and kissed the side of her throat, breathing her in as his body roared to life.

"You're beautiful," he whispered, moving back to press his chin on top of her head comfortably. She reached back and rubbed the side of his thigh, the softness of her backside pushing him to want more than a sweet, romantic evening.

"You're biased."

"No, I'm not. We just met, remember?"

She looked over her shoulder and he leaned in to kiss her. She pulled back and smiled.

"We did just meet, didn't we?"

"Feels like I've known you forever." He reached up and brushed his fingers through her long hair, gripping her at the base of her head as he kissed her again.

"Are you staying with me tonight?" She turned around, Jake taking advantage to lean into her, needing to feel her pressed against him.

"If you want me to I will."

"Of course I do." She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down as he obliged her with a long, deep kiss. The heat between them was palatable and the vision of her naked and sitting on top of him stained his thoughts. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he ignored it, taking his time to show her just how much he wanted to stay as well. Finally she pulled back and nodded toward his waist.

"You should get that. It's been going off non-stop."

He sighed and backed up a step, pulling it from his pocket and regretting it the minute he did. Bethany's pretty face popped up on the screen as he and Kari looked down at her.

"Shit..."

Chapter 27

Kari crossed her arms over her chest, as Jake lifted the phone between them and shook his head.

"I'm not answering it. I don't know what she wants, but I'm not interested."

Kari shrugged and reached to pull him down for another kiss. The soft
ding
of a text message sounded between them and worry spread across him. Bethany was never one to need attention, or to be a bother. Something was up and the nagging sensation that he needed to see what it was washed over him. He broke the kiss and shook his head, pulling the phone back out.

"She's never this insistent. Something’s wrong." He unlocked his phone and read her message, his heart almost stopping in his chest.

Mom's dead.

"What the fuck?" I mumbled, moving from Kari and dialing Bethany's number. His dinner threatened to push its way back up his chest as the phone rang, Kari moving to stand beside him, worry on her pretty face.

Bethany answered on the second ring, the sound of her sobs filling up the phone.

"Hey... what's going on, Beth? Whose mom?" he almost yelled into the phone, the idea of something happening to his mother killing him. Bethany and he had been so close growing up that he'd called her mother "mom" and she'd done the same to his. The lack of understanding as to whose
mom
she was talking about was unnerving and yet, even if it was her mother, he would be devastated.

"Oh, Jake. She just stood up tonight from dinner and Daddy said that she looked at him and asked for help." A long sob shook Jake to his core.

"Bethany. Your mom or mine?" He moved away from Kari, the large patio suddenly stifling. He paced as he tried to be patient with the near-hysterical girl on the phone. His heart breaking for the pain in her voice, the sound of her own heart tearing in two.

"My momma, Jake." She sobbed again and Jake stopped pacing and knelt down, reaching out to let his hand touch the wood in front of him as dizziness washed over him. Of course it wasn't his mother. His brothers or father would have called, but damn if he hadn't considered the possibility for a moment too long.

The sense of relief was followed by overwhelming sadness, his eyes filling with tears at the thought of Bethany losing her mother so quickly, so unfairly. Not even time for a goodbye.

"I'm so sorry. I can't began to imagine how much you must be hurting. Is your dad there?"

"He's with momma’s brothers in the back. Jared is coming home soon, bringing his wife and their baby with them. Come home, please."

Jared was Bethany's older brother, he and Jake having been close from so many years of playing football together. He stood and walked toward the ledge, reaching out and touching it for support. Kari stood quietly to the side, but he couldn't make out her expression. His thoughts were rushing all over the place as a light sweat covered his face.

"Of course."

Bethany let out another long shaky sob, her breathing terribly off as if she were hyperventilating.
"Dad says the funeral will be on Wednesday, and of course they want you to be a pallbearer if you would."

"I'll catch a flight out in the morning. Have you told my parents?"

"Daddy called your mother just before I called you." Bethany's soft voice shook and Jake wanted to ask about her fiancé. Would he be there? Why wasn't he calling seeing how messed up the poor girl was.

"Alright. I'll be there tomorrow as soon as I can. Hold tight and call Kade if you need someone to come help you guys."

She thanked him over and over, her tears seemingly stopping as she whispered her last words.

"I'm so glad you'll be here. I can't do this without you. I miss you so much, Jake."

He wasn't sure how to respond as he turned and looked up at Kari, his thoughts on the loss they all had now suffered and far away from the awkwardness of being around Bethany again. It had been three years and they'd hardly spoken a word since that night.

"I'll see you soon."

He hung up and slipped the phone in his pocket, reaching up to wipe the unspilled tears from his eyes as he let out a shaky breath, Kari's hand on his arm a moment later.

*

The conversation was only half heard by her, the girl on the phone too quiet to make out her words. Someone had died, Bethany's mother from what Kari could tell. She crossed her arms over her chest, hating the fact that she was worried about Jake going anywhere near his old flame. He would have to leave the next morning and get back to Texas, but maybe she could go with him. That would at least allow her to know that he wasn't being unfaithful.

"Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves - you, me, even Lisa."
Kari could hear Sicily in her head, chiding her about letting Jake in and giving the opportunity to prove himself without her tainting her perception of him thanks to Frank.

She touched Jake's arm, the vision of him bent over on the floor still haunting her. He'd thought his own mother was in trouble and the very idea of it had crippled him. It would have done nothing less to her. He looked up at her and reached out, pulling her close and burying his face in the side of her neck.

Reaching up to rub the back of his head, she turned her face toward him and laid several soft kisses along his cheek. "It's okay. Do whatever you need to do."

He nodded, not speaking, but his breathing was shaky. He must have been close to Bethany's mom, his life so intimately intertwined with the blond-haired, blue-eyed beauty of his childhood. Jealously reared its ugly head and Kari pulled him closer, the fear of letting him leave her site terrifying her.

He moved back, sliding his hands around her face and lifting her gaze to his.

"I need to go. I have to find a flight, call my folks and pack."

"Do you want me to go with you?" she asked, her hands coming to rest on his.

He shook his head. "No, now isn't the time. Emotions will be high and I don't want you to be uncomfortable or put Bethany in an awkward situation when she's lost to her grief."

Kari stiffened as Jake leaned down and kissed her. She returned the gesture, but his words gave her concern. Was he planning on comforting her with his hugs? His kisses? His body? Kari felt tears well in her eyes and hated herself for being so insecure and selfish. She leaned into the kiss, moving her arms to wrap around his waist. Beating back her emotion was painful, but she managed to do it.

He moved back, the moonlight washing over him and making him devilishly handsome. The thought of not being in his arms all night caused her heart to throb painfully in her chest.

"You gonna be okay? I'll call you the minute I get there." He leaned in and kissed her again, moving back to stare into her face as if asking her permission.

"Of course. I'll be right here, and if you need me to call the school or the fire station, just let me know."

He moved his hands down to her hips, sliding them around to her rear as he pulled her close again. "I wish I could stay here with you. Make love to you all night."

"Me too. Be careful and hurry back to me."

"Of course." He leaned in and kissed her long and slow, the buildup leading to nothing. She pressed into him, needing to remind him with her actions that she was all he needed. He kissed her quickly again and jumped over the side of the porch, landing with a soft 'ump' and jogging to his truck.

Kari moved to the side of the porch to watch him. He turned and waved before slipping into his truck and driving off. Hot tears burned her eyes and spilled over, their night - their week - taken. It wasn't even the idea of him needing to go. It was who he was going to.

Would Bethany pull him back into her web? Would she awaken desires in him that he'd been trying to let die for the last three years? Nausea rolled over Kari in waves, her stomach lurching at the idea of losing him before she really got to have him fully.

She stayed outside for a few more minutes, trying to decide how to tell her friends. They would question the situation to the last degree, but she didn't want her worries to bleed through on them. Tilting her head to the sky, she closed her eyes and whispered for him to return to her as hers and not belonging in any way to the woman he'd spent his younger life with. Tragedy did weird things to people, the need to cling to the living sometimes causing people to make mistakes they wouldn't make otherwise.

She took a shaky breath and went back in the house, Sicily and Lisa talking over coffee in the kitchen. She ran her fingers through her hair and took a seat as they both turned their attention to her.

"What's wrong?" Sicily asked, her head tilting slightly as her eyes narrowed.

"Jake had to go. Death of a family friend." Kari shrugged and reached for Lisa's drink, taking a quick sip.

"That's horrible. Is he okay?" Sicily continued the conversation as Lisa stood, walking to the coffee pot and making another cup. She walked back and handed it to Kari, who reached up and smiled.

"I don't think so. He almost seemed dizzy when he got the news, but I think he thought it was his mom that had a heart attack instead of his friend’s." Kari looked over at Sicily, who knew more than anyone else what they felt like.

Sicily's hand came up to her mouth as she gasped softly. "Oh no. Poor guy. It's not his mom though?"

Kari shook her head. "No, a good friend of his. He's going home to pack and then he'll fly out in the morning."

"Are you going with him?" Lisa asked, sitting back and studying Kari, her gaze moving around questioningly.

"No. He doesn't want me to meet his parents under this situation, which I understand." She shrugged, taking a drink of her coffee.

"Something is bothering you about this. I can see it all over you. What's up?" Lisa asked, leaning forward and touching Kari's arm.

"The friend is an old girlfriend, like the one girl friend he spent all his time with when he was a kid." Kari shrugged. "I hate worrying, but I just can't help it."

"It's totally understandable, Kari. You just went through hell and had no clue about Frank's sleeping around. This is a big deal." Lisa growled.

"Yeah, but I can't ask him not to go and I can't force myself on the situation, Lisa."

Sicily spoke up. "It's going to be okay. You have to give him a chance to prove himself one way or the other, Kari. Nothing you can do or say is going to change the character of who he is."

"You're right. I just hate how scared I am." Kari reached for a small dishrag as tears filled her eyes, a few rushing to spill over.

"Oh boo..." Lisa got up and moved over to wrap her arms around Kari. "Frank's such an ass for doing this to you. He's a bad guy at his core. I saw the way Jake looked at you today. He's mad about you."

"You think so?" Kari asked between small sobs.

Sicily moved into her vision and nodded. "Yes, and he wasn't looking at you like his jerk friend was looking at me. He looked at you like he wanted to get you in his bed. Drake kept staring me down like he wanted to get me into his gym."

They all laughed, Kari wiping away her tears and trying like hell to put her fears to rest. Jake deserved the chance to prove himself and he'd not asked for this tragedy. Everything would be fine.

*

Everything would be fine. He drove home more quickly than he might another time, his thoughts on Kari. She looked ill at the idea of him leaving her to go home on the spur of the moment. How would he feel if she were flying out tomorrow to help her ex-fiancé get over the death of his mother?

"Like shit..." he muttered and rolled down the windows, needing air. He knew that nothing would happen between him and Bethany because that life had been buried a long time ago, and though it was hard to stop revisiting the grave, never once had he considered digging it up and starting again.

He was happy for the first time in a long time, the kind of serenity that nothing could replace. He would call Kari the next morning and tell her that he had fallen in love with her. She needed to hear it and even though it was far too soon, and she was likely to not return the sentiment, he needed her to know that she had nothing to worry about.

Bethany would cling to him no matter what. He had been her rock for years and the experiences they had shared in their young lives together weren't easily replaced. He would be there for her as a friend, and if she pushed at allat all he would kindly let her know that he was taken and completely loyal to his new girlfriend. He didn't want to stab her already aching heart, but nothing would cause him to hurt Kari.

He just prayed that she knew that too.

Jake pulled up to the house, getting out and calling his mom as he walked in. They spoke for a few minutes, Jake's dad having already booked him an early morning flight from Maine to Texas. Plans were made and everything was settled within an hour. He texted Bethany about his arrival time and sent Kari a long note letting her know that he would call her in the morning and she was the only thing on his mind.

He should have just stayed the night with her. Making love to her would have helped to warm his soul, comfort his heart as he closed his eyes on the long day. He lay in bed for hours thinking about her, imagining them getting married eventually and having three or four kids. He knew how silly he was being, but didn't care - he wanted a future filled with love and warmth, a wife and kids around him to share everything he had with.