"Shut up, he did not!" Sharon exclaimed, leaning forward against the island where Jenna was pouring ingredients into a bowl."Yes! He broke into my house and tried to terrorize me into doing his dirty work. I nearly had a heart attack, I was so freaked out. He's lucky I didn't call the cops and get him put him in jail right then and there.""More like you're the lucky one, judging from that sex mussed hair I saw this morning," Sharon teased, making Jenna blush and let out a laugh.It had been a little over a week since Sharon started working in the house as a part time housekeeper and nanny. She and Jenna had become fast friends and, after a few days and a few glasses of wine, no topic of conversation was off limits between them. Sharon was formerly part of some kind of clubhouse that Vince and Jared had belonged to. Apparently things went bad, the gang tried to betray the two men and Sharon was caught in the middle. She'd gone to Vince with some information about the betrayal, s
Before she could react and twist around and look at her attacker, her arms were seized, yanked behind her back and tied. She kicked out, her running shoe connecting with something soft. The man cried out in pain and shoved her legs into the van. Jenna could hear Lola's screams and her heart nearly burst out of her chest. Would he go after Lola next? Would he hurt her?Jenna began screaming as he slammed the door shut. Even though she was closed in, she continued to scream, trying to get someone's attention, as he climbed into the driver's seat and reversed out of the space with enough force to send Jenna rolling across the dirty hard surface of the empty back of the van. She slammed into the side, curling into a ball so her head wouldn't hit anything. As soon as she was able to roll onto her back she began screaming bloody murder again. The guy twisted in his seat to look at her and snarled, "Shut the fuck up, Jenna!""Zach!" she gasped, staring at him in disbelief. He did
It took some time to calm Lola down, and it broke Vince's heart to see the little girl sobbing in her mother's arms babbling about what'd happened. He wondered how long the trauma would stay with her and vowed to get hold of a child psychologist who could make Lola better. It took hours that night before she was willing to let her mama out of her sight and finally Jenna had to go lay down with Lola in her bed until she fell asleep. That's where Vince found her, curled onto her side, sound asleep wrapped around her daughter. Lola had her hand tangled in Jenna's hair again and her thumb in her mouth. Jenna had told him that she'd stopped doing that a year ago. It was probably a comforting habit that she needed after such a traumatic day.Vince bent over and gently untangled the little hand from Jenna's bright red locks, then gathered Jenna into his arms, picking her up. She woke up as he was carrying her down the hall. "Where're we going?" she mumbled against his shoulder. "Be
"Heard you have a date with Sharon," Vince said, lighting up a cigar.He wasn't a smoker. Not really, but today was a good day for a smoke. It'd been a month since the accident. Jenna and Lola were fully recovered and happily running Vince and his home. He wouldn't want it any other way. His two girls were the world to him, they belonged to him and he planned on taking very good care of them."What are you, some kind of gossip now?" Jared grunted his annoyance."Hardly," Vince said drily. "Jenna told me this morning before Sharon came over for the day. Apparently they've been planning a spa trip or some shit before the big date.""Jesus," Jared mumbled. "Was just going to take her out for a drink, maybe dinner at Applebee's or something.""You need to up your game man. Spa day means you might get some, but not if Applebee's is your date plan.""I need a smoke," Jared complained, reaching for Vince's cigar.Vince allowed it, glancing down from where they were standing. The
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lola, happy birthday to you!" Jenna laughter at the godawful singing of a house was filled with guests attending Lola's birthday. She laughed even harder, Vince chuckling at her side, as Lola blew on her candles so hard her little face turned red with the effort. It was her fourth birthday and she was beyond excited for the cake, presents and friends. She bounced around like only a little girl on a massive sugar high could."Excuse me," Jenna said, slipping out of Vince's embrace and heading to the kitchen for the plates and forks. Her mother reached out to squeeze her arm as she passed and Jenna grinned and touched her mom back. It had been a heartbreakingly wonderful reunion when she finally went to see her parents again. They had tearfully accepted her explanation of why she couldn't see them until now, listening to her describe her years with Zach and his constant threats. They were grateful for Vince's pres
"Can I borrow a cup of sugar?"The voice came from right behind Jared. A woman. Normally Jared would have heard anyone sneaking up on him, but he'd been so preoccupied with his bike that he hadn't heard someone coming toward him where he was crouched on his driveway. Hands still in the engine, without turning around, Jared asked, "What're you making?""Apple pie."He nodded his approval and turned to look at the woman whose voice was sweet as pie. His eyebrows went up in surprise as he got a good look at his next-door neighbor. Little Amy Funk, all grown up. He straightened from his crouch to get a better look at her. She was short, her head barely higher than his own, and he was still kneeling on the cement. Her shiny black hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun and her eyes were hidden behind a pair of giant plastic framed sunglasses. Her curves were stuffed into a pair of jean shorts that were so small and tight they should've been illegal. Her T-shirt wasn't m
Try as he might, Jared could no longer concentrate on his bike. He cleaned his tools and put them away, then moved his bike back to its spot inside the garage.He strode back into the house, grabbed a beer and his laptop and sat in his favourite reclining chair. He crossed his ankle over his knee and opened the laptop, entering his password. He opened a search engine and typed in the words "Funk family." He wasn't sure exactly what to search. Funk drowning? Funk dad goes to prison? Hell, he couldn't even remember the dad's name. He didn't remember anyone's names except for Amy. Which was weird to contemplate now. Why had he bothered to memorize the name of a teenage girl who'd barely made an impression on him?He didn't need to worry though, just the words "Funk family" brought up a plethora of links. He spent the next few hours poring through news articles, blogs, and Facebook posts. The tragedy was even worse than Amy had hinted at. It seemed, according to the news outlets, th
Amy slammed her front door shut and leaned against it. Her heart was hammering. Not from the exertion of running a dozen steps to her front door, but from spending time with Jared. Her super hot, kind of scary, next-door neighbour.She sighed and closed her eyes as she pictured him, the way he was standing looking down at her from his much greater height. His piercing dark eyes as they looked right through her. His overly long messy curly hair. His scruffy beard.She'd had a crush on him basically from the day he moved in next door nine years ago. She'd been a budding adolescent girl, crushing on her first older man. She'd fallen hard for the biker, but he never gave her a second glance. Over the years, her crush had fallen away, and she'd engaged in normal teenage activities. Dating guys her own age, hanging out with friends and raising her family.Okay, so that last one wasn't exactly normal, but it had become her version of normal.Amy wasn't sure what drove her next door fo