Chapter 2

"Follow me back to the apartment so I can grab a bag and then I'll go with you to the ranch. Just remember, you have to get up earlier than usual to take me to work." She smirked when he rolled his eyes and slapped his chest playfully, extracting herself from his arms. "Unless of course you'd rather I just go home tonight after our 'talk'?"

"We'll work out terms later." He teased, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. "Come on."

He threaded his fingers through hers, leading her towards his truck, knowing a parking lot was no place for what he was beginning to have in mind: dessert. When he heard his cell phone beep, he pulled it out and slid open the tiny keyboard, reading the message before sending a text back, letting Arielle know they would be having an extra plate for dinner. He shrugged when Jasina eyed him inquisitively.

"She made me learn how to use it."

"Considering that's all she ever does is text, but I'm surprised she could teach an old dog new tricks." Jasina squealed when Mark poked her side playfully and growled.

Having no idea what his growling did to her, Jasina had to fight back a full body shiver and buckled up, pinching his side with a smirk once he began driving down the road. Mark hated being teased about his age, but Jasina couldn't help baiting him sometimes, like now. It was part of what kept their relationship so alive and fresh, though lately it seemed that something vital was missing. For the life of her, Jasina couldn't figure out what it was, pushing any negative thoughts in the back of her mind.

She just wanted to enjoy tonight with her boyfriend and daughter, their fingers lacing together again while country music played softly through the radio. Arielle had also tried teaching him how to use the video recorder and the camera on his phone, but the only purpose he could see for either one of those involved Jasina in some pretty reputation damaging positions. He figured he'd best not learn how to use them. Mark navigated the familiar roads to her apartment with one hand, completely unaware anything was wrong, perfectly content with the world.

"Want me to go up with you?" He offered when he had parked, shifting in his seat to look at her, his green eyes twinkling impishly.

"No because if you come upstairs, I have a feeling we're not leaving and Arielle is expecting us." Jasina quickly kissed his lips after unbuckling her seatbelt. "I won't be long, promise."

Slipping out of the truck, Jasina headed up to her condo to grab what she needed, wondering what she was doing. Was it wrong that she'd been dating Mark for four years and they still lived separately? Jasina was with him practically every night and half of her clothes were at the ranch, why couldn't they just take the next step? Sighing, Jasina finished packing what she needed and locked her condo, heading to Mark's ten minutes later.

While she had been upstairs getting her things, Mark was wondering why the hell she needed to come here to begin with. Lord knew the woman had plenty of stuff at his ranch, it looked almost like she lived there, even though she didn't. She had a toothbrush next to his, some of her personal items underneath his bathroom sink, which he now avoided at all costs.

It was bad enough having a teenage daughter with that...stuff, at least it had been in Arielle's bathroom and not his. Point was, Jasina practically lived with him, only she didn't. It was actually pretty stupid the more Mark thought about it.

"Sure you got to be up extra early?" He half-joked, raising an eyebrow.

"If I'm even a minute late, Trish will have my ass and I really don't feel like pissing off a pregnant woman who is stressed out about her wedding." Jasina knew Mark couldn't argue with that, knowing Trish was putting her fiancé through pure hell in planning it, forcing him to help her with every single detail. "I'm really glad I'm not in Steve's shoes, she's almost too much to handle at work." They both started laughing and Jasina scooted closer to him as Mark's arm wrapped around her shoulders, her head leaning on his chest while he kept driving. "I bet Steve loves coming to work just to get away from his bridezilla, eh?"

Mark was wondering if he was walking into a trap. Jasina and Trish were best friends...he and Steve were best friends. Steve was the poor bastard fortunate enough to be marrying bridezilla. He knew damn well Steve now kept a case at work in order to drink at the end of the day, or the beginning of the shift -never while on the job and he never got drunk- since Trish was determined Steve give it up before the baby came, on top of the wedding. Poor Steve was going gray...in his goatee, the bald bastard.

"Now darlin', you know I wouldn't know anything about all that." He drawled, knowing that she knew he was blatantly lying to her.

"Suuure you don't." Jasina snorted, wondering if Mark thought she was that naive, glancing up at him. "That's why when I showed up earlier at the shop, he looked like a deer caught in the headlights and was talking about napkin patterns. Not to mention he suggested a double wedding and Steve pulled him out by his ear."

She couldn't help laughing at the memory of Steve mouthing to them 'HELP ME' while Trish rattled in his ear about different cake flavors. Jasina knew Steve loved Trish unconditionally, especially since they were about to have two children together, but also knew her best friend was pushing the groom over the edge. There was nothing Steve wouldn't do for Trish; everyone who knew Steve and Trish knew that, but even Mark was wondering if Steve had a limit. If so, they were probably approaching it. One issue at a time, Steve could handle, multiple issues and a very hormonal Trish...that was another story entirely.

"Thank GOD you weren't like that with Arielle." He remarked, stifling a shudder "I wonder how you would be on a second child though...I don't remember Trish being such a pain in the- such a handful-" He cleared his throat. "Before."

"Well on top of being six months pregnant and planning a wedding that's going to happen two months after the birth...she has a lot going on."

Jasina hadn't really thought about having a second child –it was physically impossible for her to do so-, suddenly conjecturing why Mark would mention it. "Trish will calm down, but there's a lot to do in planning the wedding of your dreams. Steve needs to understand that and try to keep her as calm as possible. She wants everything to be flawless and perfect..." Jasina didn't even want to know how much money Trish and Steve had already poured into this wedding.

Being a man, as well as the best friend, Mark was on Steve's side. Pregnancy and planning a wedding, that was overwhelming for any normal man, how the hell did Trish even manage it? He personally didn't understand why they didn't plan the wedding until AFTER the birth and postpone the wedding date. He wasn't dumb enough to voice any opinions though, he had done that once in front of Trish and felt like his balls had been removed for a week after. He loved that woman, but damn she was a spitfire.

"I'm sure it will be." He said amicably.

Jasina was the Maid of Honor so she'd already felt some of Trish's bridezilla attitude, which was enough to last her a lifetime. She had her dress, shoes, jewelry, everything she would need to do her part of the wedding. Trish refused to have a bachelorette party, though Jasina was planning on doing something for her, even if it was going to see a movie or a shopping spree. Then again...maybe a shopping spree wasn't such a good idea.

Mark was Steve's Best Man, but so far Trish hadn't really bothered him with the wedding, instead asking Jasina if he'd gotten his tuxedo and everything. Mark had taken care of business, even though he hated the monkey suits, which is what he'd told Trish the day she verbally hacked his balls off. Chewing her bottom lip to keep from laughing, the rest of the drive was made in comfortable silence, each in their own thoughts.

Any part he played in the wedding, or anything Mark had to do the happy occasion, he had so far done almost as soon as she had ever so politely asked him too, mainly to keep her calm and happy. He liked his nuts where they were and he liked Trish when she was calm and happy. Mark wasn't surprised to find Arielle sitting on the front porch, waiting for them when they pulled into the drive, even less surprised to find her texting.

"I'm going to check that girl into rehab, is it natural for her to be doing that all the time? It can't be healthy." Mark grunted, putting the truck in park and cutting the ignition, glancing over at Jasina.

"Believe it or not, Trish does nothing but text as well. It's easier to communicate." Laughing softly, Jasina kissed his cheek and slipped out of the truck with her bag in hand, heading over to her daughter. "Hey sweetie."

Arielle looked up with a big smile on her face, having finished the text message and slipped it in her back jean pocket before rushing to give her mother a loving embrace. Jasina kissed the top of her head, both of them the same height and felt her daughter take her hand, pulling her into the ranch, both of them instantly starting to make girl talk like always. It was always about Arielle's day at school and her upcoming birthday and Jasina telling her about her latest article while Mark stood there with question marks swirling around his head.

He never would understand women.

When Arielle was little, she had been a tomboy through and through, minus her obsession with pink cowgirl boots and hats. Now she was still sometimes a tomboy, but...also becoming a woman. He thanked the lord every day that Jasina was back in their lives because he honestly didn't know how he would handle all these changes without her there to step in when he had absolutely no clue what to do or what he was doing. He followed them inside, leaving them to their chitchat and headed to the kitchen to see what Arielle had left him to finish up.

"Please tell me you remembered to boil the noodles first!" Mark called when he seen lasagna in the oven.

"Oh ha-ha, Dad, that was only once...maybe twice..."

"Okay, so getting back to your party, is there anything you want besides the usual?" Jasina sighed when Arielle said the word 'car', rubbing her temples because she had no idea what to get her daughter. Mark had already taken care of the car, but Jasina wanted to try getting her daughter's mind off of it. "Okay a car, I got that, but what ELSE?"

Arielle chewed her bottom lip and shrugged, staring down at the table. "I don't want anythin' else, Mom. I can't help it. I'm gonna be seventeen and I'm going to graduate soon. I want a car, I deserve a car. I just want a car and I'll be the happiest woman on earth if that's all I do get for my birthday."

"What about jewelry or DVD's, music, clothes?" Jasina looked up when Mark walked in the dining room with a bowl of salad in hand. "Hell, even tickets to go somewhere or a concert?" She wasn't giving up easily, even when Arielle just shrugged her shoulders again.

"Arielle, quit stallin' and answer the woman. We already know you want a car, don't try tellin' us there ain't nothin' else you want." He ordered, knowing damn well she had been eyeballing a couple things she said were 'college essentials'.

"Maybe a new laptop? Mine's two years old and dying."

Mark looked at Jasina.

"Oh, and one of those skins for it would be cool too, if you don't think a laptop counts as a birthday present so much as a college thing."

"Laptops have skins?"

"Yes Mark, they're these thin peel offs that you can order or get at certain stores. Though you have to have the right size or else the skin won't attach to the laptop correctly." Both women nodded while Mark looked absolutely clueless and Jasina wanted to slap her forehead. Did Mark know anything about the twenty-first century or the technology? "Okay a laptop, what else? Have you been looking at the new Kindles or maybe even an IPAD?"

"I'm not really interested in an IPAD..." Arielle watched her father pale and blinked, looking at her Mom. "Is Dad alright?"

"Mark, what's the matter sweetie?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Mark held up both hands to stop them right there, not entirely sure he wanted to know, but also having to make sure he was understanding what they were talking about. This was just too damn weird, even for women. "We give those out as birthday presents now? What the hell?"

"IPADS? Yeah, what about it?"

"Since when are tampons and maxi-pads fucking birthday presents?!"

Both Jasina and Arielle looked at each other with wide eyes and suddenly began rolling with laughter, glad they were sitting down or else they'd be on the floor. Jasina was in pain from how hard she was laughing, not believing Mark actually thought an IPAD was...It just caused her to laugh harder while Arielle doubled over, tears falling down her face. It took a full ten minutes before they calmed down again and Jasina tried so hard to keep a straight face, knowing she would have to explain what an IPAD was to Mark.

"Sweetheart, an IPAD has nothing to do with a menstrual cycle or a woman's vagina. It's a tablet computer designed to market as a platform for audio and visual media like books, movies, music, games and you can even get on the internet." Jasina managed to explain without laughing, giving herself credit.

"Basically pops, it's a mini computer you can lug around with you wherever you go." Arielle summed up, trying not to start laughing again. "It's just another one of those IPOD contraptions, like the one I have upstairs in my room, only bigger and A LOT more advanced."

It took him a full minute to digest that and when he had, he felt like a world class fool and it wasn't helped by the fact that they were still laughing at him. Growling playfully, mostly, he bent down and picked up each woman, each one under an arm. "Keep on laughin'." He warned, heading back towards the kitchen, and the back door.

"It was funny, Daddy! How would you use an IPAD as a pad? You'd electrocute yourself or somethin'!" Arielle was crying and laughing at the same time, though when she realized where they were heading, she began shrieking. "Not the pool!"

Jasina immediately began struggling against Mark's arm, which was like moving a concrete block from around her waist, her eyes wide as saucers. "Mark no! You can't, we have our cell phones!"