Chapter Twenty Six

A few hours later, after a long bubble bath enjoyed together, darkness had fallen outside and Jenn was once again fast asleep, this time snuggled close against Jon’s chest while he watched the weekend sport round up. Snagging his phone off the floor, he was surprised to see it void of any new messages. Shit, Rich must be seriously pissed at me, he thought. Glancing at his watch and seeing it a little after eleven, he shot a quick message off to him.

11.02pm Sorry bro, just wasn’t gonna happen tonight, studio tomorrow afternoon??

Snapping it shut, he sighed and looked down at Jenn sleeping peacefully curled up against him. He knew he was going to have to wake her again to get her to bed but for the moment he was enjoying the intimacy of just having someone to feel close to. He couldn’t remember the last time he and Dot had held one another close like this. Hell he couldn’t remember the last time they’d had a civil conversation. They had been tight for so long, so many years he’d wanted for nobody else. Yeah of course he’d strayed occasionally, sometimes temptation had just proved too much but it was never anything of significance. A quick fuck here and there, when it was offered on a plate every night what man could have resisted? But at the end of the day, Dot was the girl he came home to, the mother of his children, the foundation of half his life. They’d been through thick and thin together and now it had all crumbled.

Feeling his leg starting to cramp, he shifted his weight, freezing when he felt Jenn waken slightly. Mumbling something, she smiled sleepily and snuggled closer to him, her breathing evening out again. Stroking her head absentmindedly Jon blew out a long breath and resumed his thoughts. Shit when did life get so complicated? From the outside he had the perfect life, leader of a multi-billion dollar rock band, more hit records than he could count, numerous other hugely successful ventures and a beautiful wife and family. Fuck he was even friends with the President for Christ’s sake!! Yet very few knew the turmoil that had gone on in his private life this past year or so. While himself and Dot had led quite separate lives for the past six months now they were yet to officially announce divorce plans. Neither of them had made the move to do it, yet surely it was the inevitable ending right?

A blinking light signified another message on his phone and he laughed quietly as the picture of Richie and Obie’s faces waving beer bottles and grinning goofily at him showed up on the screen. Those two guys meant the world to him and they’d been a solid rock to lean on for most of his life. The cramp in his leg was slowly creeping up his calf muscle, gaining in intensity. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he gently hoisted Jenn off him to jump up and shake his leg out. She woke with the movement and watched in puzzlement at him executing a strange dance in front of her.

“Em Jon?? You doing a rain dance?”

“Yeah baby, sure thing! Go back asleep while I amputate my leg here - fucking damn cramp!”

He was rubbing his leg furiously now all the while hopping on one foot. She giggled and sat up stretching.

“Mmmm come on, bedtime! I’ll rub it for you in bed!”, waggling her eyebrows teasingly, she got up and lead him to the bedroom.

“Baby, you aint rubbing anymore of me tonight or I’m gonna be carried outta here in a stretcher!” limping along behind her, he smiled wryly. Laughing, she pulled back the sheets and jumped in, arms reaching around him as he sidled in beside her. Switching off the lights, they lay together, each in silent thoughts about what was happening with their lives until they eventually drifted off in each others arms.

　

The following morning Jenn was the first to waken. She felt completely rested for the first time since they’d gotten back from Europe but laying next to a slumbering Jon she couldn’t understand the nervous tingling in her stomach. She was feeling completely at ease with the man next to her who lay sprawled on his back, lips slightly parted, one arm stretched out behind her head, the other flung across his forehead. It was amazing how ’normal’ this felt, as if she’d woken up beside him like this a thousand times instead of for the first. She gazed at him a moment longer before quietly slipping out from the sheets to throw her robe on. Seeing it was a little after six am she shuffled quietly to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes on the way in. Smoothing on some face cream, she grinned at herself in the mirror as realisation hit. She wasn’t feeling nervous - she was damn excited!! Today was the official start of her first ‘Resident Trainer’ post. She called the shots from here on in, she had an excellent pupil in Steph and unlimited resources - she finally had her dream job! Suddenly giddy with delight, she finished up quickly and slipped back into the bedroom. Tiptoeing over to the bed where Jon was still out for the count, she leaned over and left a soft kiss on his shoulder, smiling at the faded tattoo. She’d never cared for tattoos much previously but she was starting to come to like these particular ones very much.

Leaving him sleeping peacefully she shut the bedroom door behind her gently with a soft click and busied herself making coffee. Scribbling a quick note telling him she’d be back before eight am in case he woke, she grabbed her coffee and headed down to the lower barn that Paul had left empty for her use. Currently the only horse in residence was Heraldo, having been moved from the main barn the day before to officially start off ‘Team Jovi’ as Paul had been jokingly referring to herself and Steph as. He was even threatening to have saddle cloths done up with the same logo. Jenn in return had offered to paint his barn pink complete with matching pink horses - no way in hell was she having her team compared to a rock band no matter how cool they were - show jumping was a serious business and Steph was going to have a hard enough time being accepted by the seasoned old timers without the added pressure of everyone mouthing off who her daddy is.

After feeding the poor horse who was looking a bit forlorn all by himself in the huge barn, she stood quietly watching him eat, trying to take stock of all the things she had to organise before the horses finished their quarantine and got shipped here. The horses she had bought in Belgium would be here in two weeks, the Irish ones a little later. In the meantime Jenn had told Steph to take care of anything she needed to get done non horse related, because as she had warned her ‘once we start, we don‘t stop!’

　

Sipping down the last of her coffee, she busied herself in the little office at the end of the barn. She needed to set up a computer station in here to deal with entries, forms and the like. There was a huge amount of paperwork to sort through, not just for the horses but for Steph as well. Accreditations and registrations, vaccinations and passports all had to be documented and filed. Feed orders, bedding and tack supplies all to be sourced and delivered. Getting all of this off the ground and running was going to be a mammoth task but she couldn’t wait to get started. Immersed in shifting furniture around and brushing down cobwebs, she lost track of time until her phone buzzed loudly on the table.

8.55am “Can’t believe you abandoned me in that big ole bed - hungry?”

She couldn’t believe it was already nearly nine am, no wonder Heraldo was stomping round his box with impatience! Sending a short message back to Jon that she was on the way, she grabbed a lead chain and let the big horse out into his paddock on her way back up to the house. Bucking and squealing, he galloped off down the bottom of it to find his buddies, clearly feeling in great form. Jenn made a mental note to get some work into him before Steph came back in a day or so. No good getting the poor girl killed before they even got started.

Pulling off her boots at the front door, she smelt the unmistakable aroma of bacon frying coming from the kitchen.

“I could get used to this you know??” she slid into the kitchen in her socks to give Jon a hug and a kiss as he stood poking the bacon with a fork. “Mmmnn smells great - Good Morning Sir!”

Chuckling he returned her kiss and turned back to the frying pan to flip the sizzling and spitting bacon.

“Good morning to you too baby, I see you’re FINALLY all caught up on your sleep!”

Winking he popped the toast out onto a plate and tipped some of the bacon on top. “Voila!” Sliding it over the table to her, he plonked himself down with his own plate looking particularly pleased with himself. “See? The boy can cook too!”

Chewing on a mouthful of bacon, she had to agree with him, it was pretty damn good. He hadn’t even burnt the toast, something she hadn’t yet mastered and wasn’t ever likely too.

“What’ve you been doing??” Jon frowned and looked her up and down. “You’re covered in dust!”

“Ha! Welcome to my world of dust and grime!” she grinned crunching on a piece of toast . “Sorry should have warned you that you’ve only seen a very civilised form of me so far!”

A smirk played across his face while his eyes twinkled with devilment, “Not sure if I’d classify yesterday’s you as ‘civilised’??”

Firing a bit of toast at him she blushed, “You bring out the worst in me!”

“Well if that’s the worst baby, I can’t wait to see the best!” Winking at her he swallowed down the last of his coffee and pushed his chair back. “Hate to say it but I gotta run, time waits for no man!”

Jenn nodded and stood up to clear the plates. She had a busy day planned herself but that still didn’t take away the little swirl of disappointment she’d felt at the thought of him leaving. The past few weeks had been the happiest she’d experienced since Steve had died. She hadn’t ever dared to dream she could find a man who made her as happy as Steve had.

“Yeah I’ve got heaps to get sorted, won’t do itself!” she smiled softly as she carried the plates to the dishwasher. Straightening up after she’d loaded it she glanced over at Jon who was leaning against the table, arms folded with a small smile on his lips. “What are you grinning at?”

Shaking his head as he laughed gently, he crossed over to her and pulled her into his arms. Planting a sweet kiss on top of her head he held her close, “You know I’m hooked on you just a little bit right?”

Giggling she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, letting her fingers tickle the soft curls of hair at the nape of his neck. Gazing up she looked straight into his blue eyes and murmured softly, “Right back at you……..”

Kissing her softly, Jon released her to pick up his car keys and headed for the door pausing to wink at her before he left; “Don’t work too hard - see ya later baby!”

A quick flash of a smile and he was gone on his way. She stayed where she was listening to his feet crunch on the gravel outside until the rumble of the car engine faded up the driveway. Blowing out a long breath she sat down heavily at the table rubbing her face as she looked around her at the empty house which suddenly felt very big with just her in it. Silently telling herself to get a grip she was about to head for the door again when the house phone came to life, ringing loudly on the hall wall.

“Hello?”

“Morning!” Paul’s voice rang out cheerily from the other end.

“Sue wants you to go car shopping with her today but we weren’t sure if you were……..” pausing he continued with a hint of mirth in his voice “…….ahem….. if you were available today?”

Grinning widely she feigned innocence knowing full well Paul had more than likely been staking out the driveway ever since Jon had arrived yesterday.

“Why in heavens wouldn’t I be available?!”

“Well, you know, we weren’t sure if you still had company….” his voice trailed off hopefully.

“Company? No idea what you’re talking about and yep tell Sue I’ll be right over, See ya!”

Chuckling to herself she replaced the receiver back on the wall. She might have known that Paul wouldn’t miss a beat around here but she had no intention of giving him any fuel for the fire. At least not while she could have a little fun with him! Grateful for the distraction she headed for the bathroom to freshen up - car shopping with the boss’s credit card - always fun!