Chapter Thirty Five

Jenn smiled as she gazed out the window, watching Jon grapple with the finer arts of the Gaelic game of ‘hurling’ that most Irish people were fanatical about. Mark had offered to give him a little lesson out in the garden now that the rain had finally relented and Jon had jumped at the chance, not having the first idea of exactly how difficult it was to pick a ball up on a wooden stick and hit it with as much force and as far as humanely possible. Mark was enjoying showing off to his new ‘rock star friend’ and she could see the frustration mounting in Jon’s face as he repeatedly swung at the ball and failed miserably.

She reckoned it was about time he let off a little steam, he had been as solid as a rock for her all throughout the funeral. Shaking her head in wonder, she marvelled at how well he had adapted to the ‘Irish’ way of things, talk about being thrown in at the deep end! She was full sure he had met every one of her living relations, neighbours and friends. At all times he had been the absolute gentleman, easily chatting with people about possibly every topic that existed under the sun. Of course, he had caused a bit of a stir about the village himself, once news broke that a bona fide rock god was in their presence. Naturally everybody was quite respectful taking into consideration the sorrowful occasion but on a light note there had been a few instances of some of the younger members of the village ogling for an autograph. Jon had of course quietly obliged and they had gone on their way happily after throwing guilty looks in her direction. Jenn had been grateful for the distractions and had been amused at their devious ways of catching Jon’s eye on the quiet.

　

She laughed aloud as Jon finally admitted defeat and fired the hurley stick into a nearby bush, a stream of profanities gushing from his mouth. Mark was doubled over, no doubt tickled pink that he had something ‘over’ his new best friend. Jenn watched as he clapped a hand on Jon’s shoulder to console him and said something she couldn’t quite make out from watching his lips. She smirked, it was obviously typically smart ass as Jon shrugged him off giving him the two fingered salute.

It was a wonder the two of them got on so well, they were practically the polar opposites of one another. Mark was a drinks rep for one of the big corporate beer names and spent his life in a suit that was always slightly too small for him, sweet talking all the pub owners into buying his wares. Jon on the other hand, well he spent his life behind a guitar and a mic stand travelling the globe in a private jet and entertaining thousands upon thousands of people night after night. Either way, both men had hit it off and for that she was glad.

Turning her attention to the sheet of paper she had been scribbling on she sighed heavily as she ticked off another item on the list. It had been Karen’s idea to write down everything that needed sorting after the funeral, bills to be paid, legal stuff to be taken care of etc. When she’d started the sheer volume of it all had threatened to engulf her but finally two days after the burial, most things had been addressed. Earlier today, she had gone for a walk on the beach with Jon, the bite of the wind off the Irish Sea clearing both their heads. They had talked long and hard about a lot of things but when Jon had quietly slipped in that Dorothea had started divorce proceedings she had stopped walking in the sand to stare in horror at him. Right there and then, Jenn had realised exactly how unbelievably unselfish he was. The guy had signed his divorce papers and then jumped on a plane to career across the Atlantic straight into her nightmare. Watching him stare hard out to sea as he spoke about the pending divorce, she had felt an incredible sadness for him. Ending a marriage no matter how long, must be one of the most difficult things in the world to endure.

They had walked on in silence for a time after that, fingers entwined, the crashing of the waves breaking on the shore providing the only background noise. Scrambling up on rocks under the cliff face at the far end of the beach, they had both gasped as the salty spray from a breaking wave stung their faces. Turning Jenn to face him as they balanced on the uneven boulders, Jon had tipped her face and stroked her cheek softly.

“You’re coming back with me right?”, he had softly asked.

She had simply smiled as she cupped her hands around his neck. “From the moment you showed up here, that deal was signed…”

A wave of relief had visibly washed over him, as his features relaxed and a broad grin broke out on his face, melting her heart all over again in an instant. In the first days after she’d arrived home in such turmoil, she honestly hadn’t known where her future had lain but from the minute she’d felt his arms around her and seen those piercing blue eyes melt in solidarity with her, she’d known. She’d loved and lost before - there was no way she was letting it escape her this time.