Stone Romance (Stone Passion #2) (10 page)

Armand’s green eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at his younger brother. But then the moment was over and he cracked a half-smile, “Just so long as you don’t give up your nights for Melanie’s sister then we’re good.”

Rhys simply smiled, unable to deny his desire to do exactly that. But Jenna had even more to give up than Melanie – a young daughter who had never even known her father. It would be
insane
to get involved with Jenna, no matter how sweet her kisses and how desperately he wanted to have her in his bed.

It may be
crazy
to get involved but it also seemed inevitable.

B
ecause her parents figured it was easy enough to do her laundry at the main house
,
Jenna’s apartment lacked a washer and dryer.
So once a week she hauled her laundry over to the house a
nd while she washed her clothes, she
frequently
stayed,
especially in the
winter. Usually she’d have tea with her mom or have a soda with her dad but they weren’t back yet from their weekend getaway so it was just her and Ferris, her thoughts and their laundry.

Despite her fears of the night before Jenna felt
marvelous
; she felt the spark of the old Jenna roaring back to life and she wanted to savor the intense feeling. Without Rhys it would have been years before she remembered who she once was, if she ever remembered; he was the catalyst that set the reaction into motion.

Jeremy would love seeing the return of her former self; he had loved her spontaneity and slight recklessness. If she believed in Guardian Angels, or whatever, she would think that Jeremy brought Rhys into her life at exactly the right moment just to make her happy. Just to bring the joy and laughter back into her life.

And her dreams last night had been… scorching. She had woken up with her sheets twisted around her body,
with one of
her hand
s
on her breast and
the other between her legs as the
thoughts of Rhys fill
ed
her head.

She just felt
amazingly
good, which really surprised her since she thought she’d be drowning in bucket-loads of guilt and self-recriminations. But she wasn’t. Maybe it was
silly and irresponsible to
consider a relationship of any kind with Rhys – he was too attractive and charismatic by half – she just knew that she wanted it more than anything she had wanted in a very, very long time. Even if she felt she didn’t deserve the happiness she craved it.

Jenna glanced over to see what Ferris was drawing and shook her head in amused exasperation; her darling daughter was drawing another gargoyle. Ever since the weekend Ferris had spent with Melanie the girl had been begging for a gargoyle, saying that she would keep it company and take it out for walks and clean up after it, though she didn’t think there was a lot of clean up involved
since they probably pooped rocks
, and wouldn’t it be great to have a gargoyle.

Ferris had a natural flair for drawing, which was not surprising considering Jenna’s own ability with a pencil or some paint, a hobby that had been put aside when Ferris was born. She’d have to dig out some of her art supplies and do a few sketches, see if she could capture that vitality that radiated from Rhys.

Studying the art, she was able to clearly make out the three gargoyles that graced Melanie’s building. Crouching down next to Ferris, Jenna smiled, “Very nice, love.”

“This one is Vaughn,” Ferris said, pointing to the lion gargoyle. “And this one is Rhys.” She continued, pointing at the monkey, the one that Jenna had admired so much all of those weeks ago. Pointing to the final gargoyle, a fierce griffin, Ferris continued, “And this is my favorite because he is so lonely and sad and I think he needs a puppy.
Or a pony.”

“And is his name Armand?” Jenna teased, loving how Ferris’s mind worked, the fantastical creatures she drew and the stories she came up with to explain them.

“It is.” Ferris nodded her head and continued to draw, oblivious of the wide smile Jenna wore.

“Are you going to draw Aunt Mellie or me as a gargoyle?” she asked.

Ferris looked at her as if she was mad. Cocking her head to the side, she puckered her brow, “Why? You aren’t gargoyles.”

“Mm-hmm,” Jenna murmured, biting her tongue to keep from laughing out loud. Of course, Melanie would understand what Ferris meant and would be able to think up a suitable reply. Unfortunately, Jenna was only human and could think of nothing. Standing up, she lightly tugged on Ferris’s braid, “As soon as I’ve finished the laundry what say you we get the ice cream out and watch a movie?”

“Okay,” Ferris agreed, the slight frown the only indication that she was
still a little bewildered by Jenna thinking she’d draw her and Melanie as gargoyles.

The front door opened and slammed shut and Jenna looked at Ferris with a smile, “Do you think Uncle Jensen has decided to come home for Sunday dinner? Or do you think grandma and grandpa are home early from their vacation?”

A blur of purple bolted past the archway and Jenna was puzzled; the only person she knew with that vibrant purple plaid jacket was Melanie
.
But she
was supposed to be spending the day with Vaughn, having sex with the gorgeous man and being deliriously happy. “Why do you think Melanie is here?”

“Maybe she missed me,” Ferris said sincerely and Jenna realized she had asked the question out loud.
“And wanted to have ice cream with us.”

Jenna gave her daughter a loud kiss before she followed her sister up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom. She heard Melanie slam the door shut and hurried her pace; her sister never slammed
doors
. When she arrived at the door, she pressed her ear against the wood and heard loud, gasping sobs coming from within and knew something was seriously wrong.

What was it Rhys had told her the night before? Appearances can be deceiving? Jenna was going to rip Vaughn’s head off if he had done anything to hurt her sister; Melanie was the sweetest, most trusting female in the universe. She didn’t deserve to have her heart broken by some gorgeous bastard. Knocking on the door but not waiting for a response, Jenna turned the knob and pushed the door open, entering the room uninvited.

Melanie was curled up on the bed, bawling her eyes out with her jacket and boots still on. Jenna’s heart tightened in her chest at the heartbreaking sound and without a second thought, she sat down on the edge of the bed and started rubbing Melanie’s back through the thick jacket, “Honey, what’s wrong? What happened?”

It took a few minutes before Melanie could talk coherently enough for Jenna to understand her, and when she spoke, her words came out broken. “He said he didn’t expect to love me so much and he didn’t tell me sooner because he didn’t want to ruin our time together and he did what he did because he only wanted to protect me and now he’s leaving and I think I’m going to die. It hurts so much, Jenna and I think I’m going to die.”

Stroking Melanie’s hair, Jenna was at a loss for words. Just a few minutes ago she had felt as if she could take on the world, that it was a brand new day full of endless possibilities. And now her sister’s heart was breaking and she didn’t know what to do. And she felt a little guilty because Rhys had told her not everything was as perfect as it seemed and she hadn’t believed him, not really. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Turn back
time
so
that
I never agreed to let Vaughn give up his nights for me,” Melanie replied miserably. “Then he could stay with me and I wouldn’t have to make a choice.”

Not understanding what Melanie meant, Jenna tugged at the long, purple coat and urged, “At least get your winter gear off, Lenni.”

Melanie’s half-hearted attempts at helping were enough to get the jacket and boots off, revealing Melanie’s rumpled summer dress and sun-kissed skin. It was apparent that Melanie had spent a lot of time over the past weeks on the enchanted roof of her apartment building and Jenna did not want to even begin to imagine what
Lenni
had been doing. It was pretty safe to say that her sister had no tan lines.

Jenna’s skin was still slightly golden from the few hours she had spent up there a few weeks before. Since they
had complete privacy, they had both taken off their bikini tops and enjoyed the sun on their bare skin. It had been a wonderful experience and she now realized it was also the moment she had started to wake up from her years’ long slumber. She also clearly recalled the gorgeous monkey gargoyle; he had been imbued with laughter and he had made her feel happy.
Alive.

In a way, the monkey
did
remind her of Rhys; there was something very mischievous about both of them, something wonderful and unexpected. And she was a horrible sister to be contemplating marble statues and sexy men when her sister was crying her eyes out. “
Shh
; it’ll be all right, Lenni; you’ll see.”

“No it won’t,”
she countered mournfully, looking up at Jenna with glossy eyes and a splotchy face. A shudder worked its way through her distraught body and she squeezed her eyes shut, turning away from Jenna. “No matter what happens it’s going to be awful.”

“You can’t mean that,” Jenna chided, a little spark of anger threatening to flare up inside at Melanie’s callous words. Vaughn was still alive; whatever problems she was having with the man could be sorted out if they chose to do so. She ruthlessly snuffed the flame out knowing that if it weren’t for her sister, she wouldn’t have survived the loss of Jeremy, the birth of Ferris.

“I can’t talk about this right now.” Pulling the cover over her head and shutting Jenna out, Melanie continued to sob inconsolably. Guilt and anger swirled in Jenna’s gut; she wanted to be there for Lenni and she didn’t know what to do. Rubbing
the lump huddled on the bed
, Jenna watched in helplessness as Melanie cried.

Lying down on the bed, she curl
ed her body around her sister’s,
stroking her back and hoping it was giving some comfort. She didn’t talk, just held Melanie, her thoughts racing in circles over what could have possibly happened between last night and this afternoon. The only thing that she could think of that would be so devastating was if Vaughn was already married and had been living with his brothers while his wife and he worked out their differences. Maybe he hadn’t meant to fall in love with Melanie but it just sort of happened. And of course, once Melanie discovered his secret she couldn’t stay with him; she would cut out her own heart before she got involved with a married man.

When Melanie’s body stopped shuddering, Jenna assumed she had finally submitted to the oblivion of sleep. She was going to rush out and switch laundry loads and then get back before Lenni ever woke. Carefully sliding off the bed so as to not jostle Lenni, she looked up and saw that Ferris was quietly standing just outside the room, trying to peak into the room without being seen. Her blue-green eyes were wide with concern and Jenna knew the little girl would worry until she knew her aunt was going to be all right.

Kissing Melanie gently on the cheek, she walked over to Ferris and held out her hand, “Come on, sweetie; let’s let Lenni rest.”

Not taking her eyes from the huddled form on the bed, Ferris whispered, “Why is Aunt Mellie crying? Is she okay?”

“She will be okay.” Jenna took Ferris’s hand in her own but her daughter didn’t budge.

“Can I go in and see her?”

Jenna shook her head no, “I don’t think that is such a good idea.”

“Please let her come in,” Melanie’s broken voice cracked from the bed, startling Jenna with the fact that she was awake. She had been as still as the tomb, and just as cold. “Please.”

Heaving a sigh, she released Ferris’s hand and the little girl fled to Melanie’s side, climbing up onto the bed where she was engulfed in a desperate hug. Jenna stood in the doorway for a few more minutes, touched by Ferris’s efforts to comfort Melanie and once again awed by their special bond. The familiar ache pulsed in her chest and she rubbed the tender spot; she knew Ferris loved her
;
it was just that sometimes it seemed that her child loved Melanie
more.