Their Freefall At Last by Julie Olivia
31
Bennett
As we rumble down the road after dinner, Jolene is quieter than usual. Even when I put on her favorite artist, she doesn’t sing along.
“All right, I give up,” I say with a chuckle, shaking her hand in mine. “What’s on your mind, Jo?”
Her mouth is a solid line as she responds, “Nothing.”
“Uh-huh,” I continue. “And what’s the real answer?”
I try to give my most winning smile when her eyes swivel to me once again. It doesn’t change the energy in the truck though. Her back is still ramrod straight, and her lips are pursed as tight as can be.
“C’mon,” I coax, trailing my thumb over her palm.
Finally, after a moment’s silence, she says, “Why haven’t I met your dad?”
Surprised, I accidentally jerk the truck a bit. Her eyes widen. I squeeze the wheel tighter, and the leather whines under my knuckles. I try to release the tightening in my chest by shrugging and rolling my shoulders. It doesn’t help much.
My dad is the divide between my new, wonderful life and younger Bennett. The complicated thoughts of younger Bennett that were left behind the moment I met this redheaded bulldozer I adore.
“My relationship with my dad isn’t great,” I answer. “You know that.”
“This mysterious dad you rarely talk to me about.”
I chuckle. “Well, what do you want to know?”
“Anything.”
“Okay,” I say, nodding my chin to the floorboard. “That letter down there is the last one I got from him.”
“You don’t write him anymore?”
“Haven’t in a while.”
She releases my hand, bending down to pick up the letter before placing her palm back on my thigh, fire-engine-red nail polish gripping my muscle.
“You know what? I think reaching out could be good for you,” she says.
I bark out a laugh at her confidence. “The thought of trying to forge a relationship with Ben Shaw sounds like torture.”
Her face falls, and she releases a mix between a groan and a sigh before tossing the letter back on the floor.
“Well, I hate that I feel in the dark about all this. I don’t know your dad. Is this why …”
I can feel my eyebrows furrow in the center.
“Why what?”
“You don’t even like to look at videos of Lucas.”
I laugh. “Okay … well, because I see him all the time.”
“Do you not like kids because you think you’ll be like your dad?”
I stiffen. This is very new territory. My fingers flex again. I swear her eyes dart to the motion.
I try to laugh it off. “Wow. Digging deep.”
She smiles. “Maybe.”
“First off, I do like kids.”
She sticks out her tongue.
“But I’m not sure if I want kids, to be honest.”
Her face falls.
Quickly, I add, “I’m not sold either way though.” And it’s true. I’ve never wanted them before, but if Jolene did, I wouldn’t exactly be opposed. “Why? Do you want kids?”
She doesn’t hesitate before responding, “Yes, I do.” She’s very quick to answer, which only makes it worse when my gut clenches tight at her answer.
“Well, what else do you want, Jolene?”
“A lot of things,” she replies with a slow, beautiful smile. “Specifically, with you.”
I can’t help but smile back as I turn the wheel into the driveway, winding around the house to park in the backyard.
“Me too, baby.”
But when I cut the engine and catch her gaze again, she’s staring at me with a very different expression. She reaches out for my hand, the one littered with tattoos and my small pink string.
“I’m nearing my late twenties, Bennett. My parents were married young, and so were my sisters. I just always thought I’d have the same timeline. We’ve been together for two years, but we’ve never talked about a future. Is there something I’m missing?”
“You’re not missing anything,” I say with a grin. The secret engagement ring sitting in our bedroom upstairs agrees.
I bought it a couple of months ago. I have every intention of proposing on our two-year anniversary. She’s unlike any woman I’ve ever met. But not that I’d tell her that just yet.
She sucks in a breath and releases it. It’s like she wants to say something, but won’t. But I know Jolene better than that. And it’s only a matter of seconds before—
“Ruby wants the job at Emory’s company,” she says matter-of-factly. “And I think she’d be great at that job.”
My head jerks back. “Okay …”
I try to laugh, but the energy in the truck has shifted too much to ignore.
She pulls in a sharp inhale and releases it. “Don’t you want Ruby to be successful?”
I laugh. “Of course. I’m a little confused why this is being brought up though.”
“You just seemed weird at the idea of her moving.”
“Well, yeah. I’ve been around her since I was seven years old. It’d be weird if she wasn’t here.”
“But you’d want her to move, right? Like, she could do the job?”
“She could,” I agree. “Ruby’s one of the smartest people I know.”
Jolene squeezes my hand with a playful smile. “I’m the smartest though.”
I kiss the tip of her nose. “Of course, Jo.”
The fact is, Jolene is very intelligent. She’s a quick learner. She has a unique way with words, where she can convince literally anyone to sign gym paperwork within ten minutes of meeting them. She picks up on subtle emotions quickly and has a deeper understanding of body language than I ever will.
That type of quick wit makes me wonder why she brought up Ruby and if that’s something I should be concerned about.
Which is probably why Jolene, master of understanding body language, gives a small laugh and says, “Hey, forget I said anything. Want to watch something tonight? I’m even fine with watching wrestling.”
I nod, giving her the best smile I can manage. “Sure. Definitely.”
But even as Jolene and I walk up the stairs and turn on the TV, even as she cuddles into my arms and says nothing sarcastic about the silly dialogue between the wrestlers that is over-the-top but still fun, I can’t decide what Jolene meant by that conversation. And even worse, I suddenly wonder how she feels about the woman wearing the other half of my pink string.