Chapter Ten

Jon was greeted by two very muddy but enthusiastic girls when he walked out into the parking lot of the hotel. Two big grins beamed at him as he climbed into the front sear beside Jenn.

“Looks like you two had fun! How’d you do hon?” he asked glancing back at his daughter who was splayed across the back seat.

“Oh my God Dad! It was just awesome! Out of this world! I only fell off twice and oh by the way we are soooooo coming back here next year!”, she finished it all off in one breath and slumped back against the leather.

Jon raised his eyebrows and looked enquiringly at Jenn who was still in mud splattered riding breeches tucked into a pair of long leather boots which were equally filthy. She laughed at the look of his face,

“I told you she’d love it! Couple of soft falls later and we’re all good! I’ll bet you fifty quid Heraldo won’t get her off so easy next time!”

“Hmph! Think I’ll keep my fifty bucks judging by the happy smile coming from back there thanks!” Jon was thrilled that the two had bonded so quickly. He had reckoned on having to try out a few trainers before they hit on the right one but Paul had come up trumps first time. Plus he thought, Steph perhaps might not be the only one to benefit if Jenn stayed in their lives. Sitting behind the wheel of the land cruiser, her sweaty hair scrunched up under a well worn baseball hat, quietly cursing under her breath at erratic drivers, she made a comforting sight to him. No six inches of make up, false nails, stillettos etc gave her an almost raw-like natural appearance and he felt a stirring in his crotch.

‘Shit! Focus Jon!’ Adjusting his seat, he squirmed slightly and stared out the window at the passing Irish country side. The weather had closed in now and rain was beating down on the windscreen and creating a large spray back on the motorway they were now cruising down. Jenn noticing the silence glanced over at him.

“You weren’t too bored waiting for us were you?”

“No, no! Not at all, I took a walk around the grounds and talked to Rich for a while on the phone.”

A voice piped up from the back seat,

“You talked to Uncle Richie Dad? When’s he coming to Jersey?”

“He’s in Jersey sweetie, and wasn’t too pleased when he found out we weren’t home! Guess I forgot to call him!” he smiled wryly remembering the attitude screaming down the phone at him.

“Is Ava with him?”

“Uh I dunno honey, he never said.”

“I hope she is, haven’t seen her in ages”, grumbled Steph, all the while busily texting on her phone.

Jenn looked enquiringly across at Jon,

“Richie is your band-mate right?”

“Well more of a brother really, he just fits the guitar work in around his spare time!!” he chuckled continuing “I couldn’t ask for a better friend, we’ve been through a lot together!”

“Ok and Ava is…….?” Jenn was curious to know who all the people who surrounded Jon were. If she was gonna do this she wanted to fit in and not feel like a stranger.

“Oh sorry! We should have explained, Ava is Rich’s daughter. She’s a couple years younger than Steph but they’ve always been good buddies.”

He paused considering whether to embellish the explanation further. Jenn stayed quiet not wanting to pry.

“Ava’s mom is an actress, she and Rich used to be married but uh……” He looked at Jenn motioning to the back seat with his eyes. While he had no problem telling Jenn he didn’t really want to talk about it in front of his daughter who was still upset over the split between her own parents. Nodding to show her awareness, Jenn smoothly interrupted him.

“Oh crap! I better text Karen and let her know what time we’ll be arriving at tonight!”

“No sweat, gimme your phone, I’ll call her!” Jon grinned at her mischievously.

“Ha! You’re having a laugh right! We would like a dinner tonight you know and if you call her I think that may be the end of it!”, she laughed envisioning Karen on the other end of the phone having a mild coronary.

“Oh okay then spoilsport! Steph honey, what time you be ready at to head out tonight?”

Steph snapped her phone shut and looked up at her Dad a little nervously Jenn thought.

“Um……actually I’m kinda whacked after today, em…… I might just get an early night if that’s okay with you?” she finished off with a hopeful glance at Jon.

Hmmnnn, suspicious! Jenn silently thought as she pulled the jeep into the underground car park of their hotel. Jon looked thoughtful for a moment then looked across at Jenn,

“S’ok with me if it doesn’t upset your plans Jenn?”

“Nope, fine by me. I’m sure there’s a couple good movies on tonight!”

She smiled at Steph who nodded gratefully at her, a small blush on her pretty cheeks. Jon jumped out of the jeep and strode ahead to call down the elevator leaving the two walking behind. Jenn had noticed the frantic texting going on in the back of the jeep and was pretty sure she knew the reason behind Steph’s sudden tiredness. Bending closer to Steph, she whispered in her ear,

“How about I text you when we’re heading back to the hotel tonight huh?”

Steph’s face shot up and looked worriedly at Jenn relaxing when she caught the little wink the older woman gave her.

“I won’t tell if you don’t! And you just remind Tommy that I know where he lives so no stepping out of line!” Jenn nudged her gently and laughed.

“Thanks Jenn! You’re pretty cool y’know!” Steph mumbled under her breath as they caught up with Jon. A knowing smile passed between them which went unnoticed by Jon who was too busy grumbling about how slow the damn elevator was! Arranging to leave in an hour for Karen’s house, Jenn stepped out on her floor, an amused smile on her face. Poor Jon, he really hasn’t a clue what he’s dealing with there!!

After a quick call to Karen to confirm their plans, she headed for the shower and found herself eagerly looking forward to the night ahead. Dinner at Karen’s was never a quiet affair and this one was most definitely not gonna be an exception!