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Chapter 5
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Jeffrey paced his kitchen while he watched out the window for his brother’s return. He’d lied through his teeth when he told David that he had no feelings for Theresa. Ever since he’d walked up to her on that rainy afternoon in the stable, he could think of nothing else.
The entire afternoon and evening were spent in torment as he wondered what David and Theresa were doing. Knowing his brother like he did, it took little imagination to think what he might be up to, but he didn’t believe Theresa was the type to dive into a sexual relationship so quickly. Yet, his brother was gone far too long to simply be at dinner. He had to be up to something else as well. His blood boiled with jealousy at the mere thought of David’s hands touching her.
He and David couldn’t have been more opposite in the way they dealt with women. It stemmed beyond his resolve to refrain from a relationship after his divorc
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Theresa tossed the keys to her truck onto the kitchen counter next to the mail she’d just brought in. A sigh passed her lips as her fingers slid the envelopes apart for her to get a better look at them. Bills. Lots and lots of bills. She’d been hoping to see a big fat check for the breeding service she’d provided for the Holmes by now. She hadn’t thought Henry Holmes the stingy sort, but getting him to pay his final bill was beginning to become a burden. Fortunately, she had the income from her steadily growing veterinary office to offset the lack of payment for her larger jobs. She’d pay the bills on time, but would have minimal left for her personal comforts.She’d been on at least a dozen dates with David over the last few months. Little by little she was beginning to look at him as an individual instead of someone who resembled her childhood obsession so remarkably that she found it diffic
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“That can’t happen again,” Theresa said as she walked into the living room and handed a beer to David.“You didn’t like it?” David asked with surprise.“I liked it just fine,” she said as she eased herself into the chair. “Although it was a little rougher that I’m used to. What I’m talking about is the absence of a condom. That can’t happen again.”“I take it you’re not on the pill,” he said softly.“That isn’t the point,” she said firmly. “We don’t know each other’s medical history. Having unprotected sex in today’s world is just too dangerous.”“I know my body, baby,” he assured her. “I’m clean.”“So, you’re telling me that you’ve been celibate?” she said with a tone of disbelief. “Or, are you saying that you always use a
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Jeffrey looked at his reflection as he wiped the remains of the shaving cream from his face and sighed. His mother somehow managed to railroad him into yet another dinner for the purpose of introducing him to a nice young girl. He’d suffered through several of them since David starting dating Theresa in hopes of distracting his mind from them, but it hadn’t worked. He’d decided enough was enough and asked his mother to stop setting him up. Somehow, she’d managed to finagle yet another dinner out of him.He smiled at her craftiness. He had to admit that she was good at getting what she wanted. It made him wonder how much of his father’s story about having to chase after her was fact and how much was a figment of his imagination. As crafty as Glenda Holmes was, he was tempted to believe that she’d orchestrated the illusion of Henry chasing her to make him desire her all the more.He slipp
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Disappointment, jealousy, rage, hate, anger, sadness, and insecurity… these were among the myriad of emotions that flooded Theresa while she watched the way Jeffrey fawned over Linda’s every word. He’d never hovered next to her in that way. He’d never hung on her every word, laughed at her ridiculous jokes, smiled back at her with his alluring, sexy mouth whenever the occasion called for it, or kept his body scandalously close, yet far enough away to remain in the respectable category the way he was doing with Linda. She had to fight back the tears as she choked down the brandy enhanced, cherries jubilee Glenda had taken great pains to prepare for their casual dessert setting.It was clear that Jeffrey found Linda to be everything he thought Theresa wasn’t. It was like a slap across her face with a spiked glove.She needed to wake up and face reality. Jeffrey Holmes had never and would never feel about
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A frown formed on her brows as Theresa watched the exchange of hugs and giggles between Glenda and Linda from the opposite side of the room. She had to admit to herself, if not to anyone else, that she admired the confidence Linda possessed. It took Theresa the better part of the summer to open up to Glenda in the way she saw Linda doing after just one dinner. Then, Theresa never did possess the confidence of most women, which was why she remained a virgin until she met Scott while in college. Scott may have been a dog when it came to women, but he was thorough with his education in the bedroom. This fact was proved by the complements David repeatedly gave her about her sexual prowess. She knew David was no stranger to sex; not just by the acts he performed for her pleasure, but by the way he was able to abstain from climaxing for such an extended period of time. It took practice to accomplish such a thing. During quiet times, sh
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Theresa wandered aimlessly around the pasture while she tried to regain composure. She and Jeffrey been gone from the house far too long not to have their absence be noticed. She struggled to think of an excuse to tell them while she fought back the tears of frustration and shame.What had she done? Jeffrey was right. She was a slut. Only a slut would behave in such a way.What was saddest about the entire thing was the fact that, all the while he was calling her a slut and coldly telling her to get out, she was certain she detected remorse for his words in his body language.Was she simply in denial? Was he really feeling remorse about his actions and saying those things to her and treating her so abominably to make her hate him enough to never look back, thus, not hurting his brother any more than he already had. Or, did he really just use her body for his own satisfaction and then toss her away like a dirty dishrag?
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Theresa did her best to slide into the passenger’s side of the cab without wincing from the tenderness of her most private area. All thoughts of guilt oversleeping with Jeffrey were replaced by worry and trepidation over the fact that David would expect sex once they got to her place.He took her hand in his and inspected the engagement ring he’d slid onto her ring finger only a few hours earlier. “Look at that sparkle. Are you happy with it?”Theresa looked down at the three and a half carat solitaire diamond and smiled. “How did you know my ring size?”“I snuck into your jewelry box and took your ring to the jeweler,” he admitted.“How long have you been planning this?” she asked with wonder.“Since the day I looked at your tight ass while swinging on the gate, baby,” he said with a grin.“Do men only think of sex?” she mused, more t
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Indian summer turned to fledge on fall and fall turned to winter with no interaction with Jeffrey. Theresa wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Most of the time she hated him for using her in such an abhorrent fashion that Sunday afternoon. But, there were moments when she forgave him and even understood that he’d done it out of pain and guilt. The more she learned about Jeffrey Holmes, the more she realized how damaged he was by his divorce from Penelope. She questioned if he’d ever heal. Her mind repeatedly assured her that she was getting the better brother in marriage, even if her heart didn’t believe it.She’d spent a considerable amount of time with Glenda Holmes as they planned for her marriage to David. The fact that her own mother passed when she was just a young girl and her father shortly after she entered veterinarian school, made it easier to accept Glenda and Henry’s input. She barely remembered her mot
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It was her first day back to work. Jeffrey was reluctant to let her go, but she eventually convinced him that she was well enough. Her cast was off, the scar on her face was less angry, and she felt fairly strong. She saw no reason to sit around and get fat any longer.Insisting on driving her to her office and picking her up when she was ready, she kissed him good-bye with the promise that it would be a short day.As she unlocked the door, memories of Jeffrey making love to her in her office flooded her mind. Her body tingled at the thought until her mind shifted to David’s vicious assault. Cold sweat coated her body and her fingers trembled as she opened the blinds and replaced the closed sign with an open one.Jeffrey was thoughtful enough to have cleaned things up before she returned to work, so there was no sign of what occurred. He even managed to have fresh flowers in a vase waiting for her. It had a card declarin
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Jeffrey saw no sign of David during the two-week vigil he held in Theresa’s room. It was just as well. He was still angry enough to pound first and ask questions later.Theresa was awake for a few days when Glenda brought the news that David and Pattie were married. It seemed that Henry put his foot down and threatened to disinherit David if he didn’t do right by Pattie. They’d done a paternity test and the babies David fathered were his. When Jeffrey asked about Linda, Glenda said that when they demanded a paternity test, she admitted that she’d arrived in Montana with the baby already in her womb and that she was just trying to be crafty and railroad a man into marrying her. Had Jeffrey been fool enough to sleep with her, he’d have been labeled the proud father. Joan was so disgusted with her niece’s antics that she disowned her. The last they heard, Linda was packing up and heading back in
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Pain pierced his jaw as Jeffrey slowly tested whether it was broken. He couldn’t say how long he’d been out and he had no idea where David and Theresa had gone to. He struggled to stand, but his equilibrium was off, so he sat on the floor and leaned against the desk.Worry over Theresa’s safety overshadowed his hesitancy in admitting that he’d been caught having sex with her in her office by David. He pulled out his cell phone, took a deep breath, and dialed his father’s telephone number. Henry picked up on the second ring.At normal speed, Theresa’s office was twenty minutes from the ranch. Henry made it in fifteen. Jeffrey was leaning on his truck when he pulled into the parking lot. He leapt out and immediately inspected Jeffrey’s jaw.“I don’t think it’s broken,” he said with concern, “but you’re going to have a doozy of a bruise. What did he hit
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It seemed like days, instead of hours, since she left Jeffrey sitting at her kitchen table. The memories of his half-naked body sitting casually at her table with a steaming mug of coffee in his hands plagued her throughout the day. He’d looked so sexy. More than once she had to take a deep breath to calm her desires as the vision of him floated through her mind. Oh, how she wished she’d stripped him bare and taken him right there in the kitchen. The question of STDs flitted through her mind at the thought. She’d been extremely cautious about who she had sex with. She wasn’t lying when she told David he was only her second sex partner. Her fear was just that great.She trusted David when he said he was faithful. Besides, he’d agreed to have the tests run and came through clean as a whistle. As for Jeffrey, she’d heard enough complaints about his celibacy from his parents and his brother
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Theresa twisted her cup of coffee between her hands as she sat at her kitchen table and thought on what to do. She needed to leave for work, but Jeffrey was still sound asleep in her bed. Should she wake him or leave him where he was? She just didn’t know.If she woke him, she’d have to face him. After the confession he made about loving her, she wasn’t sure she was up to that. The thought of him withholding his feelings from her for so long and mistreating her because of them just made her blood boil. She knew she’d eventually forgive him for being an ass after they’d made love. After all, she was pretty riddled with guilt about it herself. People acted oddly when they were overridden with guilt. Forgiving him for not telling her that he loved her when he knew how she’d felt about him since she was a young girl and allowing her to move forward with David… well…. she wasn’t sure
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David slid his cell phone into his pocket as he stepped onto Linda’s front porch. He sighed as his index finger pressed the doorbell. For the first time in his life, he had regrets for his behavior. With the exception of Theresa, the women he’d bedded in the past were carefully chosen for their tastes in the bedroom, as well as their ability to be discreet.Theresa was the woman he intended to marry. It was vital that she did not learn about the other women. She’d never understand, and she’d probably break it off with him. The thought of losing her because of a loose mouth made his blood boil.It wasn’t just the thought of losing Theresa that bothered him. It was also the thought of losing the money she was to inherit. He needed that money in a bad way. No one -not even Jeffrey- knew of the dire straits his financial portfolio was in. He’d made some seriously bad investments and was almost br
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Theresa nervously fluffed the accent pillows on her sofa while she looked at the clock. Jeffrey would arrive at any moment. More than once, since she’d agreed to let him pay her a visit, she’d questioned the wisdom in it. Her feelings for him were a complete mystery to her. She had no idea how she would behave once she was behind closed doors with him. Would she cry her eyes out and tell him how much he’d hurt her, or would she grab a knife from the knife block on the kitchen counter and stab him in the heart with it? Just to be safe, she tucked all of the knives away in a very inconvenient kitchen drawer.Even though she told herself that she wanted nothing to do with Jeffrey Holmes and that she was only letting him come over so that he could explain himself, she took extra care with her hair and makeup. When she was tidying up her bedroom, she told herself it was out of nervousness and not because she expected to take hi
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Indian summer turned to fledge on fall and fall turned to winter with no interaction with Jeffrey. Theresa wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Most of the time she hated him for using her in such an abhorrent fashion that Sunday afternoon. But, there were moments when she forgave him and even understood that he’d done it out of pain and guilt. The more she learned about Jeffrey Holmes, the more she realized how damaged he was by his divorce from Penelope. She questioned if he’d ever heal. Her mind repeatedly assured her that she was getting the better brother in marriage, even if her heart didn’t believe it.She’d spent a considerable amount of time with Glenda Holmes as they planned for her marriage to David. The fact that her own mother passed when she was just a young girl and her father shortly after she entered veterinarian school, made it easier to accept Glenda and Henry’s input. She barely remembered her mot
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Theresa did her best to slide into the passenger’s side of the cab without wincing from the tenderness of her most private area. All thoughts of guilt oversleeping with Jeffrey were replaced by worry and trepidation over the fact that David would expect sex once they got to her place.He took her hand in his and inspected the engagement ring he’d slid onto her ring finger only a few hours earlier. “Look at that sparkle. Are you happy with it?”Theresa looked down at the three and a half carat solitaire diamond and smiled. “How did you know my ring size?”“I snuck into your jewelry box and took your ring to the jeweler,” he admitted.“How long have you been planning this?” she asked with wonder.“Since the day I looked at your tight ass while swinging on the gate, baby,” he said with a grin.“Do men only think of sex?” she mused, more t
