I'm sorry, Marc," Jacqui groaned as her husband sat on the bed beside her, stroking her crumpled hair. "There is no way my head or my stomach are going to make it on a plane ride today. I way overdid it at the gala last night. I am not getting out of this bed.""It's okay, baby," Marc told her. "Maggie and I will make it a father-daughter day. Besides, it'll give you some recovery time. You did put away quite a few appletinis last night." He said that last sentence with a grin spreading across his face.She groaned again, wanting to bury herself in the pillow. "And I'm definitely paying for it. I spent most of my night in the bathroom praying to the porcelain god."He laughed as he moved his hand to her back, caressing it. "I know. I was the one holding your hair out of the way.""I was wondering how that happened." Maggie ran in and Marc caught her before she could leap onto the bed. "Mommy has a headache," he whispered to his daughter."Is Mommy still going on the plane ride with us
Morgan jerked the legs open of a folding table he had bought on his way to the new office. He had purchased some cheap folding chairs and office supplies, as well. While he wouldn't order furniture until the interior had been remodeled, he still needed a place to work until the temporary trailer arrived, which was to be there Monday. He at least needed a place to interview people. Barbie, Neal's assistant, had called that morning and told him that a man named Vince Andrews would be stopping by around lunch to be interviewed for the foreman position. If Morgan liked him, then the two of them could get things rolling and hire an office staff. "Hire more than you need, at first," Neal had told him. "It gives you a group to cull the weak ones from and prepares you for the influx of work that, hopefully, comes our way." Neal's motto was prepare for success and you may actually get it. Neal Rutherford was always successful. Morgan now stood inside the moldy smelling building staring at the b
Jacqui just stared. She had not been expecting anyone except Morgan to be there. When she saw Vince, it had completely thrown her off her reason for even being there, not that she really had one. She suddenly felt very silly. She wanted to turn and run but didn't want to seem like the idiot she probably already appeared to be for just stopping and standing there. With a deep breath and a forced smile, she continued to walk toward the two men standing by a cheap folding table. She had no idea why Vince Andrews was there, but she should not have been surprised that he would squirm his way into her project. It had been well over a year since she had last seen him, bought him out of the company he started with her husband and sent him on his way. She felt her face blush at the memory of why that had happened. "Good morning, Mr. Brewer. Mr. Andrews." She glanced around at the empty office. "When will you start making this your home?"Morgan stared at her, his smile making her look away.
Morgan flew out of the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport at five that morning. He could have taken a later flight, but he was eager to get to Dustin for their overnight visit. He wasn't sure when he'd be able to see his son again and wanted as much time with him as possible. Morgan's back ached from being on the plane for over three and a half hours. He would have slept if he could, but a single mother of three had taken the same flight and little children don't do well on planes, at least not the ones on which he was a passenger. Of course, he didn't do well on planes either. He much preferred his truck and a road trip as opposed to being cooped up with a bunch of strangers who wanted to be nice and make small talk. He hated small talk. The only plus side to a plane trip was the female passengers, if he was able to get near one, that is. This trip, luck had been against him and he had to sit next to an obese man who didn't believe in deodorant. Or soap. At 9:30, the cab dropped
"Why don't we eat out on the back porch? It's gorgeous out and I'm tired of being cooped up inside." Bert sat in his wheelchair at the kitchen table as Jacqui chopped up green peppers for their salad. Sophia visited family and did personal things on Saturdays and Sundays, which gave Jacqui a chance to spend time with her father. At least, that was the goal. It didn't always work out that way, though. Work kept her busy far more than she wanted, but it was necessary. There were people hurting. She didn't want them to suffer simply because she took time off. Enough suffering had been caused because she had enjoyed herself too much.She didn't even glance at the back porch. "How about the front yard? We can make a picnic on the lawn. You're right; it is a lovely day out.""Front lawn? Why the hell would I want to sit on the front lawn? The back porch has tables, a view of the water, no nosy neighbors asking what I'm eating and making redundant statements like 'Having a picnic on the front
Jeannie had agreed to meet him at the park. It was always somewhere other than the house. Never the house. Since the divorce, he had never crossed the threshold of what was now his ex-wife's home. He doubted it had changed much, since it was the same house they lived in while married. Still, it was sad that he was no longer welcome in a house for which he was technically still paying. He just shook his head as he stepped out of his truck and into the April sunshine. No sense in drudging up my financial loss and her gain.The day was bright with a slight breeze keeping the sun from being unbearable. Winter never lasted long in Florida if it even showed up. April was back into the high seventies and low eighties, a perfect day for the park. Children were taking full advantage of the Saturday as they swung from jungle gyms and screamed down slides. Parents, mostly moms, sat on benches or stood at the edge of the playground, keeping an eye on their children, while chatting amongst themselv
He slipped his hands into his pockets and took a sigh. "Neal has me in Biloxi overseeing a new project and beginning a new office. I've rented an apartment. I came back this weekend to pick up some things and get stuff settled here. I'll come back to see Dustin as often as I can and I was hoping you'd be flexible on me seeing him. I'd also like to fly him out there to spend some time with me, maybe bring him up for a week. I don't want to disrupt his schedule too much, but I also don't want to go long periods without seeing him.""Then you should have told Neal no. I don't like the idea of Dustin on a plane alone. There's too many evil people these days.""Then I'd drive down and drive him back up. Biloxi is a nice area. I'd even bring you up and put you up in a hotel, so I could spend some time with him. You could have a small vacation." He kept his hands in his pockets, trying his best not to look argumentative. Jeannie never missed a chance to fight, no matter how hard he tried to a
"What are you working on now?" Jacqui's father sat in the recliner, staring at a newspaper that she doubted he even read. Still, he had held one every morning since she was old enough to remember. It was always the morning paper and a cup of coffee with her mother, the two of them so busy talking that neither would ever read the paper and the coffee always grew cold before it was sipped. Yet, they did it every morning—right up until the cancer claimed her mother's life four years ago.Her father had finally come out of his room after lunch, acting as if nothing had happened, grabbed the paper and slid himself out of his wheelchair and into the recliner. He didn't mention the earlier incident, only asked for a cup of coffee as he flicked the paper open. She had only rolled her eyes as she got out of her comfy spot to get him his coffee. It was better than listening to him grumble again.Jacqui glanced up from the stack of files she had been thumbing through. "The final notes for the com