Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2) (2 page)

“How’s
Nate?” Jules asked, shifting the focus. “Are things getting better?”

“Oh
Jules, I’m so proud of him. He saw a lot in Afghanistan, and Iraq, and he’s
struggled with it all since his discharge from the Army, but we’ve been talking
a lot, and he’s working on it. He’s had an appointment at the VA, and they’ve
started him on a medication that helps with both anxiety and depression. Plus,
they’ve made the referral to the PTSD program in Minneapolis. A case worker
called a couple days ago and did an intake on him. He’s starting the program
the middle of next week, and it’s going to be intensive. We’ll be spending a
lot of time in the cities, but that’s alright. Thank you for sending the
information you did. It really helped.”

“That’s
great, I’m happy to hear it.”

“I
picked up my wedding dress before meeting you at the airport. I can’t wait for
you to see it. Did you get the bridesmaid dress you liked?”

“Yeah,
I got the light pink one with the rhinestoned sheath and sweetheart neckline,”
Jules answered.

“Nice,
I really liked that one,” Linnie said. “I love that the rhinestones are
different colors, the light blue ones will bring out your eye color.”

“Mmhmm,
I liked that too, it’s one of the reasons I bought it. Once the wedding’s over,
I may have it shortened, and then I’ll be able to wear it somewhere fancy, or
then again, maybe I’ll wait. It’s not like I go many places, let alone fancy
ones.”

“I
think shortening it is a good idea, that’d be nice,” Linnie added. “We’re here
Jules. This is the farm.”

Jake
turned to go down the driveway.

“Really?
Oh, wow! You
have like…cows…and stuff right in the yard practically,” Jules responded, looking
around wide-eyed. “Oh my, look at the size of that barn. It is a barn right? Am
I saying that right? Goodness gracious, are those more cows over there?
Well, and there too?”

Jake
wanted to laugh at her wonderment. It was cute. Heck, this was just every day
ho-hum to him, but that she found it new and interesting made it fascinating to
him too.

“What
are all the buildings for?” Jules asked innocently. “I mean, people don’t live
in any of those do they?” Looking around again, she said, “Where are all your
neighbors?”

Linnie
laughed. “The buildings are just storage places for different kinds of farm
stuff, and our neighbors are a few miles away.”

“Miles?”
Jules asked incredulously.

“Yep, miles.”

Barely
in the yard, Nate was out of the house and headed their direction.

“Oh
boy, here he
comes
Jules, get ready. Your being here,
means it’s really real, and he’s been counting the days till your arrival.”

Nate
opened the car door and had Linnie in his arms in a flash, stealing her breath
with a kiss. Putting his forehead to hers, he asked, “You get your wedding
dress, love?”

She
rubbed his nose with hers and answered, “Yes, I got the dress, and Jules. You
might want to say hi.”

Nate
looked over and smiled. “Hi Jules, I’m Nate, and from the looks of you, I’ll have
two girls to protect.”

Wrong,
Jake thought. One of them will be my job.

Jules
blushed and looked down, then answered softly, “It’s nice to meet you, Nate.”

“Yep,
two to protect, no doubt about it,” Nate said, shaking his head. “One look at
the two of you and they’ll be coming out of the woodwork. Let’s get your things
and head inside, get you settled. Jake’s giving up his room and will be
sleeping on the couch while you’re here. His room’s down in the basement, so
you’ll have privacy as everyone else is upstairs.”

“Come,”
Linnie said, taking Jules by the hand. “Let’s show you around and introduce you
to dad and Kris, he’s the oldest of us
kids,
and the
only one you have yet to meet.
Don’t worry
about your
things, the guys will get our stuff.”

*****

Jules
was in Jake’s room. It was a nice room, nothing fancy, but nice none the less
in its décor of soft blues, browns, and creams. It felt strange though, she’d
never been in a boy’s space before. At the thought, she felt herself flush and
needed to fan her face some. Jake wasn’t exactly a boy, he…he was a man. She
felt herself flush even more, and closed her eyes, as her heart picked up its
pace and her insides tightened. She let out a stuttering breath. None of the
males here were boys. They were all big and…and…and strong. She suddenly felt
shaky and weak. What in the world am I doing here, she wondered.

They
were so different from the guys she’d been around in Chicago. Those guys were
smaller, much smaller, and rounder, from spending time in offices behind
computers reading reports, and hiding behind their lab coats. They didn’t get
dirty, or work up a sweat, or wear jeans and t-shirts that left little to the
imagination. She needed to stop. She’d be mortified if they knew she’d looked,
or if they found out what she was thinking about right now. It was bad enough
they all knew she’d be sleeping in Jake’s bed tonight. Oh God. Picking up a
magazine, she fanned her face. Whew, that was better.

Walking
over to his dresser, she looked at the things on top. Change in a dish, a dress
watch, a few fragrances, a brush, some tools, a couple pens, and a large
trophy. Looking in the mirror, she saw the reflection of trophies everywhere,
all kinds, wrestling, basketball, football, hockey, fishing, and more. There
were checkered flags and hockey sticks hanging on a wall, and he had several
stacks of sporting magazines spread around the room. Apparently, he liked
sports and was an active guy, she thought.

Opening
a fragrance bottle, she sniffed.
Mmmm, nice, Armani.
Opening another, she took a whiff. Mmmm, now this one’s real nice, Kenneth
Cole’s Reaction. The last, Nautica Blue, was not bad, but number two was mmm
mmm good. She smelled it again. Would his pillow smell like this? Maybe she
could put a dab on it, and then she could smell it all night long. Now there
was a thought, she liked that idea. Feeling her insides tighten, she flushed.

What
if some of it got on her hands and he smelled it? He would know what she’d been
doing! Her face was flaming red now. She quickly put the cap back on and headed
to his bathroom to wash her hands. How embarrassing. Enough fantasizing, she
thought, she needed to quit stalling and go help Linnie prepare dinner.

Coming
up the stairs and into the kitchen, Jules stopped and looked around. Were they
having a party? There was so much food on the table. Looking towards the family
room, she wondered where all the people were.

“Ahh,
Linnie, can I help you with something?” she asked.

“Oh
Jules, just in time, I was going to send Jake for you, we’re ready to eat.”

“I’m
sorry, I meant to come and help,” she said, feeling embarrassed. Thank God,
Jake hadn’t come down or he’d have caught her going through his things. She
needed to be more careful.

“No,
no, Nate helped and you needed to get settled. However, after dinner if you
want to help, I’d appreciate it. I need to make the dressing for tomorrow and
clean the turkey.”

“I’d
love to help,” she answered, feeling grateful. Kitchen work would be safe, and
she liked safe.

Linnie
squeezed another dish on the already overfilled table,
then
patted a chair in between two others. “Have a seat here. You’ll sit between Nik
and Jake. Nate’s so
big,
he takes up the room of two,
and most of the time he’s in my space, so you’ll be better off over here.

Jules
wasn’t so sure about that. Her nervous system’s fight or flight response just
kicked in. Her heart and lungs picked up their pace, and she knew her pupils
were dilating in an effort to take in all forms of danger. Did she really have
to sit between them? She felt sick to her stomach. With any luck, they wouldn’t
even notice she was here. She could only hope.

Pulling
out the chair, she sat, trembling as she placed a napkin on her lap. Looking up
just as Jake walked
in,
she swallowed hard and prayed
he couldn’t see her shaking. Glancing at her, he lifted the corner of his top
lip and flicked his head at her casually, then pulled out his chair and sat
next to her. That sly grin of his never left his
face,
and she couldn’t help but feel he was amused by her. She noticed his hair was
wet and he smelled of soap.

Quickly
turning away, she was faced with Nik's privates, depicted in high relief
through his threadbare jeans, as he stood right next to her. Looking up his
body, she noticed he was wearing the tightest t-shirt imaginable, and his grin
turned salacious when he knew she’d seen the total package.

Snapping
her head down, she focused on her napkin. Her chest burned as her heart raced.
This is why she didn’t want to come. She attracted male attention like a
magnet, and they made her nervous. Things got so awkward when she was around
them, and Linnie was here with four of them, four virile ones. Oh, Lord, she
could use that magazine again to fan her face.

The
men started dishing up, plates and bowls going every which way. Jules noticed
Nate was serving Linnie, and as she did, Jake held a spoon with food on it over
her plate. She looked at him, and he waited for her. She wasn’t sure if she
should take the spoon or not, so she just nodded her head and he put some of
the food on her plate. This went on dish after dish, she’d nod, and he’d give
her a scoop of food, then she’d scoot it around on her plate to where she
wanted it. Finally, they began eating, and she found herself watching more than
anything.

It
was strange to be here, to be a part of this. The closest she’d come to
anything like it was the lunchroom at the all-girls school, and even there
they’d been expected to act like ladies. Short of the time she’d lived with
Linnie, she’d eaten alone for years. Even while at work, she ate at her desk.

This
was like a party, she supposed. She didn’t do parties. They were talking and
laughing in between giant bites of food. Half the time she didn’t think they
even chewed. It was a raucous affair, and she was stunned by the amount of food
these men consumed. They’d virtually polished off everything that’d been on the
table. Not to mention every time she had an empty spot on her plate, they’d try
to give her more to eat. She couldn’t even finish what Jake had given her the
first time around!

Simply
put, she wasn’t used to all this attention. Short of going to a restaurant from
time to time, she could barely remember being served by Nana. Poor Nana, her
arthritis had been so severe that Jules had to learn early on how to do most
everything. Then, as the years went on by and her condition progressed, Jules
had needed to feed her.

Nik
pushed his chair back and patted his stomach. “That was great Linnie, but there
ain’t enough left for a midnight snack.”

“Yeah,”
Kris added, “Probably would’ve been had Jules not eaten so much.” The two
chuckled at the joke.

Turning
to her, Nik asked, “What’s Jules short for? Or is that your given name?”

Oh
Lord, he was talking to her. “Um, my name’s Juliet, but everyone calls me
Jules,” she answered shyly. Did he have to talk to her? Couldn’t they just
pretend she wasn’t there?

“Just Juliet?
Or do you have
a middle name?” Kris quizzed, staring intently.

Staring.
He was staring,
she thought. “Ahh, my full name is Juliet Rose Blomgren,” she answered
tentatively, feeling like she was under the microscope. Leaning back in her
chair, she felt her shoulders butt up against something. Jake. His arm was
lying across the back of her chair, and she found it a little unnerving, but
then again, kind of okay, too.

“Blomgren’s
Swedish, is it not?” Linnie’s dad, Karl, asked as he chewed on a toothpick.

Now
Nik was staring too. “Ahh, yes, my great grandparents were from Sweden.”

Nik’s
face became all excited as he snapped to attention. “Say, do you know how to
make them Swedish meatballs?”

She
looked down as she nodded.

“I
love meatballs!” Nik exclaimed. “Can you teach Linnie? Maybe make a batch just
for me?”

He
winked at her when she looked up. Darting her eyes to Linnie, she felt herself
turning red.
“Umm, yeah, I guess, we’ll see,” she answered
weakly, optically pleading with Linnie to help her out.

Jumping
in with a smile, Linnie said, “Maybe not this time, but possibly the next. We
don’t want to keep her in the kitchen the whole time she’s here.”

Nik
continued staring at her, then said all warm and syrupy, “How long ya stayin,
Juliet Rose?”

Ohhhh
God, no! “Ah, I need to be
back
Monday,” she answered
in a rush with a quiver in her voice. She began twisting the napkin in her lap.
When was this going to end? Couldn’t they talk about cows, or farm stuff, or
something?

“Really?
That ain’t
long. Heck, we’ll barely get a chance to show you around,” he said all dejected,
laying it on thick. “Say, how about tomorrow I take you around to see some of
the sights?” he offered, as he tried charming her with a nod and a smile.