Love Realized (5 page)

“Maybe he was just mad because Gilly dropped the tray of meat on the ground … he’s a big guy and needs his meat,” Sean added in a sarcastic tone.

Morgan gave her husband an I-can’t-believe-you-said-that look before saying, “Oh yeah, like you aren’t a big guy who needs his meat. Gimme a break, Sean, you are probably considering the discarded stuff that hit the ground right about now.”

“I'm not worried about it; I know my sister would never let me go hungry,” he replied with a smug smile. Morgan rolled her eyes at her husband then turned to Jake and said, “Like she would let any of you guys go hungry—you’re all quite spoiled.”

Jake smiled at that; there was no argument there. He was always being fed in the Baxter household. Gillian always made sure there was enough for everyone in her house and any extra mouths that always seemed to drop in. Present company included. He couldn’t help it. Ryan always wanted to hang out with Dylan, and who was he to disappoint his son.
Man, he really was full of shit.

Morgan interrupted his thoughts. “Hey Jake, why don’t you go check on Gillian, you being a paramedic and all. It’s not like her to not be out here taking care of her guests, and now I'm worried. Do you know if she is allergic to bee stings?”

Hmm, that’s a good question. And now, of course, she had him worried. “Good idea. I'm not sure if she has ever been stung before. But I’ve got my kit in the truck.” He stood up to head inside and asked Sean to keep an eye on the pool. It wasn’t like any of the adults still outside weren’t already keeping an eye on the kids in the pool, but since he had just gotten there, he had no idea who was sober or not. Sean’s nod of compliance was good enough for Jake.

While making his way into the house, he debated on whether or not he should get his kit from the car. He always kept it there for emergencies and knew it contained an EpiPen for situations of severe allergic reactions. Since he had just checked its contents last week, he knew it was in there. After thinking about it, he figured he should just go check on Gillian and then get it if needed.

Someone was trying to talk to him as he made his way toward the house, but he just inclined his head and gave a simple wave to acknowledge to them that he heard them, but was busy at the moment. He was a little distracted with tunnel vision now, looking for Gillian.

He had just made it in the back door when Jonathan, Gillian and Logan’s oldest, stormed past him, bumping into his shoulder. “Hey Jonathan, where’s the fire? Is there a problem or something?” Jake could tell something was wrong with Jonathan just by the look on his face.

“Sorry, Uncle Jake,” was all Jake got as Jonathan continued his little war path out of the house and proceeded to the side gate, exiting the yard and the party. Well, one thing at a time, Jake thought. Let the kid burn off some steam.

Nobody was in the family room or even the kitchen, so he made his way toward the front of the house. He found Madison in there talking on her cell phone and looking completely animated in the process. Man, was he glad he had a son. He didn’t think he could handle all that fire, energy, and attitude that came with a daughter like Madison.

“Seen your mom?” he asked her and was blessed with a pointed finger in the direction of the hallway that led to the stairs and the master bedroom. He assumed they were that direction, but was hoping for a little more info from the teenager. Maybe if he texted Madison he could get more details … isn’t that how to best communicate with the teenage race? That made him laugh a little and shake his head as he made his way toward the stairs. Who was he to talk? He spent plenty of time with his phone.

He had made it to the first step when he heard voices coming from the master bedroom. Glancing toward the door, he saw that it was closed most of the way leaving only a crack of it open. He moved to knock when he heard Logan talking, “Baby, please, let’s just take a minute to figure this out.”

Then he heard Jason grumble at Logan, “Back off man, you heard what your wife said. And honestly, you’re lucky I'm listening to her because I would really love to thump you right now. You have always been one to do stupid selfish shit, but this … you went too far this time!”

What the hell was going on in there? Deciding against knocking, Jake opened the door to see Logan on his knees, holding Gillian’s hands in his and Jason standing next to Gillian with his arm around her shoulders.
Seriously, what the hell was going on in here?
Let’s just set aside the fact that Jason had his arm around Gillian, which admittedly, made Jake a bit jealous. But why was Logan on his knees? The only conclusion Jake could come up with, without assuming the worst, was that it wasn’t good.

All three of them looked to Jake as he made his way into the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Jake asked, looking between the three of them. When nobody answered, he looked to Gillian and continued, “Gillian, I heard you got stung by a bee; are you allergic and I didn’t know?” Jake asked, his eyes full of concern. Of course, being a paramedic, Jake would slip into that mode. Not to mention he was extremely protective of his loved ones. He started to advance on her, reaching for her hand when she stopped him.

“I'm not allergic, Jake, it was just slightly painful, but I'm okay. I need to get some ice on it. Would you mind getting me an ice pack from the kitchen?”

She knew that the pleading look in her eyes would have him off and retrieving the ice pack promptly. As Jake left the room, she turned to both Jason and Logan. “You both know Jake would not be happy with the events that have led to this current problem. You know how he feels about cheaters,” she said, giving Logan a pointed look. He actually looked down when she did, which of course, once again proved how guilty he was. She continued, “So I beg you both, don’t say anything to anyone, at all, about who that woman is and what role she plays in my marriage.”

Jason still had his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to him in a one-armed hug. “You know I wouldn’t do that to you Gillian.” He kissed her on top of her head in the age-old way he did like she was his little sister. “You go get the ice pack on your hand to keep the charade up … I want to have a word with Logan.”

“I have seen your definition of ‘talking’ before Jason. So please, no split lips and no black eyes when you leave this room. That would destroy the charade, too, you know.”

Jason just smiled at her indulgently and said, “It takes a good twenty-four hours before the black eye would show.” And then he scooted her out of her own bedroom. As she made her way down the hallway, she heard the door shut behind her and thought that whatever was going to happen behind that door was most likely going to result in the need of another ice pack. Taking a deep breath to gather her strength, she made her way toward the kitchen and Jake. She prepared herself with a big ass fake smile on her face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Something was wrong. He could tell. He wasn’t sure who the hell she thought she was trying to fool with that smile on her face as she came around the corner into the kitchen. The fact that Logan was on his knees didn’t bode well for him, so one could only assume that he was the cause of whatever emotions she was trying to hide. Oh, she was good at hiding it, but Jake knew her, and he knew that face. She was trying to be strong for some reason. He realized then that he needed her to know that he was there for her, regardless of what was going on, she had his support.

“Let me see that hand, girl.” Gillian stood there looking at him with a blankness coating her features, but he saw it when she schooled her emotions and blinked at him. “My hand is fine Jake—nothing to worry about.”

She attempted to reach for the ice pack he had in his hand, but he was quick and grabbed her other hand in his to have a look for himself. She tensed for a minute and tried to pull her hand back, but must have realized it was useless to try. He gave her a smug smile and proceeded to check her hand. There was nothing on it. No red mark, no induration, no sign of any bee sting.
What the hell. That didn’t make any sense.
He rotated her hand and wrist around, checking all surfaces, and found nothing indicating anything had happened.

He looked up at her face, about to question her, when he saw the pleading look in her tear filled eyes. “Please Jake, I'm fine. I promise.” She placed her other hand on his cheek and gave him a slight nod of the head with a weak smile that clearly didn’t reach any other part of her face.

“Gillian, what’s going on? ‘Cause you sure as hell don’t look fine!” He realized it came out a little harsh, and she didn’t need that from him. He dropped her hand and placed both of his on her shoulders. “Gillian, what’s wrong?”

Gillian closed her eyes, and the tears that had been pooling in her eyes slowly found their escape down her cheeks. She took in a deep breath, in what Jake could only assume was her way of trying to reign in some deeper emotions. He gently rubbed his hands up and down her upper arms from shoulder to elbow, letting her know that she could tell him anything. When she finally opened her eyes, he saw that pleading look again. “Why is it that whenever someone asks you ‘what’s wrong’ it just makes you want to cry more?” Gillian asked with a weak tear-choked voice.
Fuck! What the hell’s going on!
He screamed internally because he knew she didn’t need the overprotective ogre in him coming to the forefront. Oh, he knew she would take him to task if he said or did something to piss her off, but she looked so fragile and vulnerable right now. His internal warning lights went off just in time for him to avoid that mistake. Gillian needed something from him, and it certainly wasn’t for him to act like an ass.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I can’t do this right now!
Of course Jake would see right through her. But she knew that she couldn’t tell him right now. If she did, he would probably go ape-shit on Logan. Not that the bastard didn’t deserve an ass-whoopin’ from the Michael brothers, but there was still a party going on outside. She knew she was going to have to let him in a little, though, or else he would cause a scene—something she was desperately trying to avoid.

“Jake, I can’t do this right now. I beg you to understand that I can’t explain at the moment, but I do need your help.” That’s right, it was low of her, but she wasn’t above playing on his Neanderthal-I-need-to-be-the-hero ways by reaching out to him as if he could save her day.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, my friends.

“I ruined the meat when I dropped the tray. Do you have anything to grill at your house maybe? Or would you be willing to run to the store for me?”

Jake stared at her for a few moments, while he continued to rub his hands up and down her arms, trying to comfort her. Then he nodded and said, “I have some burgers and dogs in my fridge. How about I run and get those, drop them by here and then go get more from the store. That way you can get started with feeding some while I get the rest.”

She felt the tension in her shoulders subside slightly. Jake was giving her a pass. She knew it was only temporary. When he wanted to know something, he was like a dog with a bone. Not much got in his way. What the hell was it with all these pain-in-the-ass-Alpha-males in her life anyway? Seriously! Who was she kidding, they might be a pain in the ass when you wanted to keep them in the dark about something, but in most other situations, they came in real handy. That made her smile a little.

“That would be perfect. Let me just grab my purse to get you some cash.” As she went to leave the confines of his grip and stare, he squeezed his hands a little tighter and said, “Gilly, I'm not sure what’s going on, but you
will
tell me later. I understand and see that you are trying to hold everything together right now.” He then pulled her into a big, comforting hug—the kind that just made you feel better. She sighed and melted into him while trying to hold the tears back again.
Dammit!
She hated feeling this pathetic!

“I don’t need any money, sweetie; you feed Ryan and me so much that I'm sure my tab is in the six figure range. So I got this.” He pulled back as she did and gave her a reassuring smile. “Do you need me to get someone for you? To help you?”

She shook her head silently, while continuing to control the tears that threatened to take over. “I’ll be fine.” He leaned in, kissed her forehead, and said, “I’ll be right back.” Then he turned to leave the room just as Jason and Logan entered the kitchen on their way back toward the back of the house.
Oh crap
! Please don’t let this fall apart now, she thought to herself as she braced for Jake to question them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Jake saw Jason and Logan, he knew for certain that whatever was wrong, it was big. Gillian’s tear filled eyes already told him that, but the confirmation that clearly Logan was at fault was evident. Jake looked at Logan, but the man avoided eye contact with him. Further proof. Jake then made eye contact with his brother. Jason was only two or three inches taller than Jake, but they were close enough in height to where one wasn’t looking down at the other by much. He raised his eyebrow at Jason in silent question as to what was going on. The slight shake of Jason’s head was heard loud and clear. It was a silent message that he knew what the problem was, but this wasn’t the time or place for it to come out. Jake nodded at his brother so he knew the message was received.

“I'm heading over to my place to get some meat out of the freezer to throw on the grill before heading to the store for some more. Will one of you be handling the grill for Gillian?” he asked with a tone to imply that one of them better be doing it.