Title - High Price of Freedom
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG to PG-13 (for some violence)
Category - JMPR, Pretender/Profiler Crossover
Summary - The ramifications of a past mistake come back to haunt Jarod and could be the key to the freedom Miss Parker's searching for. But is the high price worth it in the end?
Disclaimer - Most of these characters don't belong to me. Just using them for a bit. No harm intended.
* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 4
* * * * * * * * * *
"You're right, Jarod," she says icily. "I've had enough, too.
I've had enough of you, your little girlfriend and this whole big
mess you dragged me into." Out of the corner of her eye, she can
see Rachel move slightly as if she were going for her gun as
well. Miss Parker swings the gun in that direction, keeping one
eye on Jarod as well. "Keep your hands where I can see them,
Rachel."
Miss Parker reaches down into the holster strapped around her
ankles and reveals another gun. She takes it out and points that
one at Jarod.
"This ankle holster's a neat little contraption, Rachel. I
should get one too." Miss Parker glares at the woman. This
time, she's the one with the triumphant gleam in her eyes seeing
the fear in Rachel's. Rachel's countenance instantly falls,
realizing that Miss Parker had her gun.
"Jarod, go get the cuffs," she orders.
"Parker, what's . . "
"Jarod, now!" she screams, taking the safety off one of the gun
to ensure them she was serious. He obeys, getting back
instantly, looking to her for the next set of instructions.
"Cuff her," she barks, gesturing towards Rachel with one of the
guns. "Make sure she can't get out."
"Why are you doing this?" Rachel screams, more from irriation
than from actual fear.
"Just shut up," Miss Parker yells back. "Before I have him gag
you as well."
"Jarod, do you see what you threw our future away for? She's a
lunatic," Rachel says, despite Miss Parker's warning. "She's
probably going to kill us."
"You're tempting me, Rachel." Miss Parker moves closer and puts
the gun to the other woman's head.
"Parker," Jarod says softly, placing his hands around the hand
Miss Parker's holding the gun in. For a brief moment, he's able
to catch her eyes with his own. She softens visibly in his
grasp.
"Don't do this. She's cuffed. And she's not going anywhere.
Not without the kids." He's able to slip the gun from her hands,
removing the clip and placing them both on the counter. Miss
Parker
follows suit and places Rachel's gun back into the holster around
her ankle.
Jarod takes Miss Parker's hand again and leads her over to the
couch,
just out of Rachel's earshot.
"We have to get back to Blue Cove now, Jarod," Miss Parker says,
avoiding his eyes so he won't see the tears building up. "I
don't want to take you back, but . . . "
"I know. We made a deal. I made a promise to you."
"Forget about the deal. I would let you walk out of here with
Rachel and the babies if that were possible. As much as it would
hurt me, I'd tell you to forget about me and to go raise your
children with her. But I can't do that."
"You'd miss me, wouldn't you?" he teases, trying to lighten the
moment. But she stays serious, stroking his cheek with her
fingers, as if she were trying to memorize his face.
"Like I'd miss my heartbeat," she whispers. "But I'd do it for
you anyway. Unfortunately it's too late for that option. I've
been gone too long to go back without you. They'd kill me. And
then do God only knows what to Tyler. I can't leave him in there
all alone. I can't believe I've been gone from him for this
long. He must be so scared."
"Your little brother," Jarod suddenly realizes. "I forgot about
him. I didn't realize you two were so close. Parker, we never
should have done this. I never would have asked you to
jeopardize his safety." He pulls her into his arms, forgetting
all about the cuffed woman standing a few feet away from them.
"This was my choice, Jarod." She reluctantly pulls out of his
embrace. "I thought this was my ticket to freedom. For me and
Tyler. I never thought I'd . . . " Miss Parker bites her lip to
stop her flow of words. She couldn't admit that. Not now. Not
like this. She couldn't tell him that somewhere in the middle of
this little adventure she fell back in love with him. She
couldn't reveal that she can't stop thinking about the pure love
they shared as children and how that love has returned full
force. She couldn't tell him how the past week has reminded her
of her childhood dream to marry him and move far away from the
Centre with their perfect babies. But that couldn't be now.
There was love. And there were children. But the protection of
those children prevented the rest of her dream from coming true.
"Never thought you'd what, Parker?" Jarod is curious.
"Nevermind," she sighs, trying to paste on a reassuring smile.
"Why don't you go get the kids and strap them in the car. We
need to go."
"Where are we going? Where are we taking Rachel and the kids?"
"To my place," she says after a minute to think. "Maybe between
now and then, we can combine our genius and come up with some
other alternative."
* * * * * * * * * *
Jarod looks up from road for a second to take a glance around the
car. Next to him, Rachel was dozing, her head leaning against
the window. In the back, Miss Parker had situated herself
between Madison and Ryan to make sure Rachel would behave.
There's no way Rachel would do anything to endanger their lives.
She had no choice but to comply with Miss Parker's wishes.
What a mess he'd gotten himself in. For a grown man, he has
certainly done some dumb things. Starting with ever sleeping
with Rachel Burke in the first place. He doesn't even know why
he did it. She wanted to talk that night. Talk about his past.
Things he didn't want to discuss. So he seduced her instead.
Then slipped out the next morning, never looking back.
Now, he has two children to protect. And to rescue them from the
Centre, he's sacrificed his life to that very place. Knowing
Miss Parker couldn't resist the chance at freedom, he engaged in
one last game with her. A game she couldn't lose. She'd be able
to take him in, earn her freedom, and have the SIM's as leverage.
He just never counted on falling in love with her. And now the
fact that he'll never see her again was tearing at his heart.
She'll be free. She'll take him in and then walk away, getting
as far away from a place she's been held prisoner her entire
life.
He looks in his rear view mirror again to try to catch another
glimpse of her. Through the darkness, he's able to make out the
wetness of tears on her cheek and he instantly starts to worry.
"Lanie, what is it?" he asks. Her eyes pop open wide in shock.
She can't believe he remembered what he used to call her.
Hearing that name from his lips is somewhat comforting.
"Do you remember when we were kids?" Her voice was low and
gravelly, as if she had been crying for hours. "That day when we
first met?"
"Yeah," he smiles. "The best day of my life."
She gasps outloud, almost in tears at his words and is stunned
into silence for a few moments.
"I loved you so much back then," she says finally. She pauses
when this time, it's Jarod who gasps. "At first, you were just a
distraction for me. My father used to give me trinkets and toys
to keep me out of his hair. I usually got bored with them after
awhile. I guess that's what he was counting on with you. They'd
be able to observe you with me for whatever little studies they
were doing. And I'd have a new toy for the summer. But I never
got bored with you. And after my mother died, you became the
most important person in my life."
"Lanie, you were the only good thing in my life. That place was
. . . . horrible beyond words. But I was able to survive with
you there. And knowing that you'll be safe, I think I'll be able
to survive again."
"I'm sorry, Jarod," she whispers. The tears begin to fall again
as she thinks about the unwinnable situation they're in. "I'm
sorry for making you go back there. But I have to. I have to go
back for Tyler. I can't just leave him there. And I can't go
back without you," she tries to make some sense of their
situation.
"I know. You never would have gotten into this if I hadn't
promised you your freedom," he says.
"That's all I've ever wanted," she says. "To be free. But I
always thought I'd be free . . . . with you."
One of the babies starts fussing and Miss Parker has to settle
him down, essentially ending the conversation. Which was good
for Miss Parker. Too many implications were being made that
needed to be dealt with. She was glad for a brief respite.
"We're almost there, little one," she coos to Ryan, gently easing
him back to sleep. Jarod watches the whole exchange as much as
he can while still concentrating on driving. Seeing her with the
kids always amazed him. There was a gentleness in her that never
got to come out, except for when she was with the kids. Her
whole face lit up and it looked like she was meant to be a mother. A
mother to his children. He pushes that thought back
down, along with the tears that seemed to accompany it. There
was nothing to be done about that now. He's made his bed, with
the wrong woman unfortunately. Now, he has to lie in it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rachel opens her eyes when the car comes to a stop. For the past
hour, she pretended to be asleep and learned some interesting
things about Jarod and Miss Parker from their conversation. For
one thing, Rachel had no clue they shared such a connected past.
She realizes now that she never really stood a chance with Jarod.
A love like the one they described doesn't just go away. She
realizes now that she was nothing to Jarod. Just a blip on his
radar. He's giving up his life for this woman. He's giving up
his chance to raise his children for this woman. And she didn't
deserve him.
She works for the very same place that took her children. They
made a habit out of kidnapping children and holding them hostage
to run tests on them. Rachel can't understand why Jarod would
want to protect that woman. A woman who's hunted him like an
animal for years just to take him back to that torture palace.
It's like an extremely severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. He was
held so long that he sympathizes with his captor. This woman.
This *Miss Parker*. A sick psychological terrorist that needs
to be stopped. And it's going to be Rachel's pleasure to stop
her. A little grin spreads across her face as she realizes she's
not yet out of the game. No Miss Parker - no need for Jarod feel
he has to protect her by going back to that place. He'll be free
to come with her and the babies. It's so simple. She doesn't
know how she didn't think of it in the first place. Get rid of
Miss Parker and Jarod will be hers.
"What are you smiling about?" Jarod asks, noticing the 'cat that
ate the canary' look on Rachel's face.
"Nothing," she claims. "I just never pictured Miss Parker in a
rustic little cabin in the woods. She seems more the penthouse
type."
"I've lived in this house all of my life," Miss Parker snaps.
"It's pretty much all I have left of my mother."
Her words bring silence to them all. Rachel almost feels guilty
for teasing about it. But the guilt is quickly pushed away when
she sees Jarod and Miss Parker each scoop up one of the babies
and take them inside. The anger starts to grow again with each
clank of the handcuffs. Every welt left by the cuffs on her
wrist fuels her resolve to take care of this Parker situation
once and for all.
They all move inside and Miss Parker finally allows for the cuffs
to come off. Jarod hands Madison over to Rachel and then goes
outside to finish unloading the car. Miss Parker and Rachel
handle the tasks of bathing, feeding, and getting the kids ready
for bed. Miss Parker is amused by Ryan's seemingly unending
quest to get his foot into his mouth. He was so determined and
she couldn't help but watch him in amazement.
"He gets that look from Jarod," she comments, catching Rachel
slightly off guard. "His little eyebrows all scrunched up like
that. He's trying to hard to get to his foot. It's like he's
not going to give up until he figures it all out. Jarod looked
like that all the time when he was younger when he couldn't
figure out one of his problems."
"So you two have known each other for a long time?" Rachel asks,
although she knows the answer. She learned all she needed to
know from their conversation earlier.
"Jarod came to the Centre when he was just a boy. Not quite this
young, though," Miss Parker says with a loving smile in Ryan's
direction, tickling the boy on his belly. "We've known each
other for about as long as I can remember. We've been together
for a long time Rachel. Longer than you may have realized.
He's been a part of my life for . . . forever. And I'm trying
to come up with a way for things to stay that way. Despite you.
Despite these children. Despite the Centre. Can't you see it?
Jarod can never be a part of your life. Not the way you want him
to be."
"And you think that's because of you?" Rachel asks incredulously.
"I know it is," Miss Parker responds with absolute certainty.
"I've tried to deny it for a long time, but as cliche as this
sounds, Jarod and I were made for each other. Our lives are so
interconnected that I know I couldn't live without him. And
frankly, I don't even want to try. If you fight me on this, then
you'll lose." Miss Parker finishes up dressing Ryan and lifts
him up to her shoulder. She shoots Rachel one last warning glare
before taking him down to Jarod.
"There's my boy," he says with pride holding his arms out for the
baby.
"Did you get all the stuff inside?" Miss Parker asks, leading
them out to the back deck. He nods his head while opening the
door for her.
"Then why didn't you come up and referee the latest bout between
me and your little chickadee?"
"Had to make a few phone calls. You know how Syd worries."
Jarod settles on the swing with the baby in one arm and throws
his other arm around Miss Parker. "So this latest fight couldn't
have been that bad. I didn't hear any screaming this time. No
gunshots. No blood. I'd say you two were learning to get
along."
"Funny," she chuckles. "You can give up on us ever getting
along. You know how selfish I am. I'm not going to sit back and
let her take what's rightfully mine."
"Rightfully yours? Why am I starting to feel like a slab of
meat?" he laughs.
"Whatever. You know you love this. Isn't this every man's
fantasy? Having two women fighting over him. I'm surprised you
haven't built us a mud wrestling pit."
"Ooh, good idea, Parker. I didn't think the fantasy of two women
fighting over me could be topped. But two dirty and slippery
women fighting over me is an even better image," he teases with a
big grin.
"You're incorrigible," she groans, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, but you love me anyway," he says, leaning forward to rest
his forehead on hers.
"Yeah, I do," she admits quietly. Suddenly, this wasn't a joke
anymore. She was very serious. She lifts her hands to his face,
gently running her thumb across his lips. "I really do love you.
I always have."
"I know," he whispers. "I love you, too, Mary Elaina Parker.
Always remember that. No matter what happens . . . "
"Jarod, don't," she interrupts him. "Let's not think about what
may happen. Let's just enjoy this moment. Right here, right
now. I've been waiting too long for this."
"For what?" he manages to gasp. Her warm breath washing over his
face was starting to make him dizzy.
"Our second kiss," she says before closing the gap and covering
his mouth with her own. She leans as close to him as she can,
keeping in mind that the baby was between them. For a moment,
she just enjoys the feel of his lips between her own before they
both begin grunting impatiently for more. Her tongue begs for
entrance and he eagerly complies, allowing her to explore the
deepest recesses. Her hands move up his neck into his thick hair
and she gently massages his scalp.
"Wow," he says as he breaks away.
"Wow," she repeats. Her eyes are heavily lidded with desire she
can't hide.
"That was almost worth the wait," he says breathlessly, placing
small butterfly kisses along her jawline.
"Almost," she responds, equally breathless. "But you better not
make me wait that long again," she warns playfully, tilting her
head to allow him better access.
"Wild horses couldn't stop me," he groans before capturing her
lips once more to start the dance all over again.
To be continued . . .
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG to PG-13 (for some violence)
Category - JMPR, Pretender/Profiler Crossover
Summary - The ramifications of a past mistake come back to haunt Jarod and could be the key to the freedom Miss Parker's searching for. But is the high price worth it in the end?
Disclaimer - Most of these characters don't belong to me. Just using them for a bit. No harm intended.
* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 4
* * * * * * * * * *
"You're right, Jarod," she says icily. "I've had enough, too.
I've had enough of you, your little girlfriend and this whole big
mess you dragged me into." Out of the corner of her eye, she can
see Rachel move slightly as if she were going for her gun as
well. Miss Parker swings the gun in that direction, keeping one
eye on Jarod as well. "Keep your hands where I can see them,
Rachel."
Miss Parker reaches down into the holster strapped around her
ankles and reveals another gun. She takes it out and points that
one at Jarod.
"This ankle holster's a neat little contraption, Rachel. I
should get one too." Miss Parker glares at the woman. This
time, she's the one with the triumphant gleam in her eyes seeing
the fear in Rachel's. Rachel's countenance instantly falls,
realizing that Miss Parker had her gun.
"Jarod, go get the cuffs," she orders.
"Parker, what's . . "
"Jarod, now!" she screams, taking the safety off one of the gun
to ensure them she was serious. He obeys, getting back
instantly, looking to her for the next set of instructions.
"Cuff her," she barks, gesturing towards Rachel with one of the
guns. "Make sure she can't get out."
"Why are you doing this?" Rachel screams, more from irriation
than from actual fear.
"Just shut up," Miss Parker yells back. "Before I have him gag
you as well."
"Jarod, do you see what you threw our future away for? She's a
lunatic," Rachel says, despite Miss Parker's warning. "She's
probably going to kill us."
"You're tempting me, Rachel." Miss Parker moves closer and puts
the gun to the other woman's head.
"Parker," Jarod says softly, placing his hands around the hand
Miss Parker's holding the gun in. For a brief moment, he's able
to catch her eyes with his own. She softens visibly in his
grasp.
"Don't do this. She's cuffed. And she's not going anywhere.
Not without the kids." He's able to slip the gun from her hands,
removing the clip and placing them both on the counter. Miss
Parker
follows suit and places Rachel's gun back into the holster around
her ankle.
Jarod takes Miss Parker's hand again and leads her over to the
couch,
just out of Rachel's earshot.
"We have to get back to Blue Cove now, Jarod," Miss Parker says,
avoiding his eyes so he won't see the tears building up. "I
don't want to take you back, but . . . "
"I know. We made a deal. I made a promise to you."
"Forget about the deal. I would let you walk out of here with
Rachel and the babies if that were possible. As much as it would
hurt me, I'd tell you to forget about me and to go raise your
children with her. But I can't do that."
"You'd miss me, wouldn't you?" he teases, trying to lighten the
moment. But she stays serious, stroking his cheek with her
fingers, as if she were trying to memorize his face.
"Like I'd miss my heartbeat," she whispers. "But I'd do it for
you anyway. Unfortunately it's too late for that option. I've
been gone too long to go back without you. They'd kill me. And
then do God only knows what to Tyler. I can't leave him in there
all alone. I can't believe I've been gone from him for this
long. He must be so scared."
"Your little brother," Jarod suddenly realizes. "I forgot about
him. I didn't realize you two were so close. Parker, we never
should have done this. I never would have asked you to
jeopardize his safety." He pulls her into his arms, forgetting
all about the cuffed woman standing a few feet away from them.
"This was my choice, Jarod." She reluctantly pulls out of his
embrace. "I thought this was my ticket to freedom. For me and
Tyler. I never thought I'd . . . " Miss Parker bites her lip to
stop her flow of words. She couldn't admit that. Not now. Not
like this. She couldn't tell him that somewhere in the middle of
this little adventure she fell back in love with him. She
couldn't reveal that she can't stop thinking about the pure love
they shared as children and how that love has returned full
force. She couldn't tell him how the past week has reminded her
of her childhood dream to marry him and move far away from the
Centre with their perfect babies. But that couldn't be now.
There was love. And there were children. But the protection of
those children prevented the rest of her dream from coming true.
"Never thought you'd what, Parker?" Jarod is curious.
"Nevermind," she sighs, trying to paste on a reassuring smile.
"Why don't you go get the kids and strap them in the car. We
need to go."
"Where are we going? Where are we taking Rachel and the kids?"
"To my place," she says after a minute to think. "Maybe between
now and then, we can combine our genius and come up with some
other alternative."
* * * * * * * * * *
Jarod looks up from road for a second to take a glance around the
car. Next to him, Rachel was dozing, her head leaning against
the window. In the back, Miss Parker had situated herself
between Madison and Ryan to make sure Rachel would behave.
There's no way Rachel would do anything to endanger their lives.
She had no choice but to comply with Miss Parker's wishes.
What a mess he'd gotten himself in. For a grown man, he has
certainly done some dumb things. Starting with ever sleeping
with Rachel Burke in the first place. He doesn't even know why
he did it. She wanted to talk that night. Talk about his past.
Things he didn't want to discuss. So he seduced her instead.
Then slipped out the next morning, never looking back.
Now, he has two children to protect. And to rescue them from the
Centre, he's sacrificed his life to that very place. Knowing
Miss Parker couldn't resist the chance at freedom, he engaged in
one last game with her. A game she couldn't lose. She'd be able
to take him in, earn her freedom, and have the SIM's as leverage.
He just never counted on falling in love with her. And now the
fact that he'll never see her again was tearing at his heart.
She'll be free. She'll take him in and then walk away, getting
as far away from a place she's been held prisoner her entire
life.
He looks in his rear view mirror again to try to catch another
glimpse of her. Through the darkness, he's able to make out the
wetness of tears on her cheek and he instantly starts to worry.
"Lanie, what is it?" he asks. Her eyes pop open wide in shock.
She can't believe he remembered what he used to call her.
Hearing that name from his lips is somewhat comforting.
"Do you remember when we were kids?" Her voice was low and
gravelly, as if she had been crying for hours. "That day when we
first met?"
"Yeah," he smiles. "The best day of my life."
She gasps outloud, almost in tears at his words and is stunned
into silence for a few moments.
"I loved you so much back then," she says finally. She pauses
when this time, it's Jarod who gasps. "At first, you were just a
distraction for me. My father used to give me trinkets and toys
to keep me out of his hair. I usually got bored with them after
awhile. I guess that's what he was counting on with you. They'd
be able to observe you with me for whatever little studies they
were doing. And I'd have a new toy for the summer. But I never
got bored with you. And after my mother died, you became the
most important person in my life."
"Lanie, you were the only good thing in my life. That place was
. . . . horrible beyond words. But I was able to survive with
you there. And knowing that you'll be safe, I think I'll be able
to survive again."
"I'm sorry, Jarod," she whispers. The tears begin to fall again
as she thinks about the unwinnable situation they're in. "I'm
sorry for making you go back there. But I have to. I have to go
back for Tyler. I can't just leave him there. And I can't go
back without you," she tries to make some sense of their
situation.
"I know. You never would have gotten into this if I hadn't
promised you your freedom," he says.
"That's all I've ever wanted," she says. "To be free. But I
always thought I'd be free . . . . with you."
One of the babies starts fussing and Miss Parker has to settle
him down, essentially ending the conversation. Which was good
for Miss Parker. Too many implications were being made that
needed to be dealt with. She was glad for a brief respite.
"We're almost there, little one," she coos to Ryan, gently easing
him back to sleep. Jarod watches the whole exchange as much as
he can while still concentrating on driving. Seeing her with the
kids always amazed him. There was a gentleness in her that never
got to come out, except for when she was with the kids. Her
whole face lit up and it looked like she was meant to be a mother. A
mother to his children. He pushes that thought back
down, along with the tears that seemed to accompany it. There
was nothing to be done about that now. He's made his bed, with
the wrong woman unfortunately. Now, he has to lie in it.
* * * * * * * * * *
Rachel opens her eyes when the car comes to a stop. For the past
hour, she pretended to be asleep and learned some interesting
things about Jarod and Miss Parker from their conversation. For
one thing, Rachel had no clue they shared such a connected past.
She realizes now that she never really stood a chance with Jarod.
A love like the one they described doesn't just go away. She
realizes now that she was nothing to Jarod. Just a blip on his
radar. He's giving up his life for this woman. He's giving up
his chance to raise his children for this woman. And she didn't
deserve him.
She works for the very same place that took her children. They
made a habit out of kidnapping children and holding them hostage
to run tests on them. Rachel can't understand why Jarod would
want to protect that woman. A woman who's hunted him like an
animal for years just to take him back to that torture palace.
It's like an extremely severe case of Stockholm Syndrome. He was
held so long that he sympathizes with his captor. This woman.
This *Miss Parker*. A sick psychological terrorist that needs
to be stopped. And it's going to be Rachel's pleasure to stop
her. A little grin spreads across her face as she realizes she's
not yet out of the game. No Miss Parker - no need for Jarod feel
he has to protect her by going back to that place. He'll be free
to come with her and the babies. It's so simple. She doesn't
know how she didn't think of it in the first place. Get rid of
Miss Parker and Jarod will be hers.
"What are you smiling about?" Jarod asks, noticing the 'cat that
ate the canary' look on Rachel's face.
"Nothing," she claims. "I just never pictured Miss Parker in a
rustic little cabin in the woods. She seems more the penthouse
type."
"I've lived in this house all of my life," Miss Parker snaps.
"It's pretty much all I have left of my mother."
Her words bring silence to them all. Rachel almost feels guilty
for teasing about it. But the guilt is quickly pushed away when
she sees Jarod and Miss Parker each scoop up one of the babies
and take them inside. The anger starts to grow again with each
clank of the handcuffs. Every welt left by the cuffs on her
wrist fuels her resolve to take care of this Parker situation
once and for all.
They all move inside and Miss Parker finally allows for the cuffs
to come off. Jarod hands Madison over to Rachel and then goes
outside to finish unloading the car. Miss Parker and Rachel
handle the tasks of bathing, feeding, and getting the kids ready
for bed. Miss Parker is amused by Ryan's seemingly unending
quest to get his foot into his mouth. He was so determined and
she couldn't help but watch him in amazement.
"He gets that look from Jarod," she comments, catching Rachel
slightly off guard. "His little eyebrows all scrunched up like
that. He's trying to hard to get to his foot. It's like he's
not going to give up until he figures it all out. Jarod looked
like that all the time when he was younger when he couldn't
figure out one of his problems."
"So you two have known each other for a long time?" Rachel asks,
although she knows the answer. She learned all she needed to
know from their conversation earlier.
"Jarod came to the Centre when he was just a boy. Not quite this
young, though," Miss Parker says with a loving smile in Ryan's
direction, tickling the boy on his belly. "We've known each
other for about as long as I can remember. We've been together
for a long time Rachel. Longer than you may have realized.
He's been a part of my life for . . . forever. And I'm trying
to come up with a way for things to stay that way. Despite you.
Despite these children. Despite the Centre. Can't you see it?
Jarod can never be a part of your life. Not the way you want him
to be."
"And you think that's because of you?" Rachel asks incredulously.
"I know it is," Miss Parker responds with absolute certainty.
"I've tried to deny it for a long time, but as cliche as this
sounds, Jarod and I were made for each other. Our lives are so
interconnected that I know I couldn't live without him. And
frankly, I don't even want to try. If you fight me on this, then
you'll lose." Miss Parker finishes up dressing Ryan and lifts
him up to her shoulder. She shoots Rachel one last warning glare
before taking him down to Jarod.
"There's my boy," he says with pride holding his arms out for the
baby.
"Did you get all the stuff inside?" Miss Parker asks, leading
them out to the back deck. He nods his head while opening the
door for her.
"Then why didn't you come up and referee the latest bout between
me and your little chickadee?"
"Had to make a few phone calls. You know how Syd worries."
Jarod settles on the swing with the baby in one arm and throws
his other arm around Miss Parker. "So this latest fight couldn't
have been that bad. I didn't hear any screaming this time. No
gunshots. No blood. I'd say you two were learning to get
along."
"Funny," she chuckles. "You can give up on us ever getting
along. You know how selfish I am. I'm not going to sit back and
let her take what's rightfully mine."
"Rightfully yours? Why am I starting to feel like a slab of
meat?" he laughs.
"Whatever. You know you love this. Isn't this every man's
fantasy? Having two women fighting over him. I'm surprised you
haven't built us a mud wrestling pit."
"Ooh, good idea, Parker. I didn't think the fantasy of two women
fighting over me could be topped. But two dirty and slippery
women fighting over me is an even better image," he teases with a
big grin.
"You're incorrigible," she groans, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, but you love me anyway," he says, leaning forward to rest
his forehead on hers.
"Yeah, I do," she admits quietly. Suddenly, this wasn't a joke
anymore. She was very serious. She lifts her hands to his face,
gently running her thumb across his lips. "I really do love you.
I always have."
"I know," he whispers. "I love you, too, Mary Elaina Parker.
Always remember that. No matter what happens . . . "
"Jarod, don't," she interrupts him. "Let's not think about what
may happen. Let's just enjoy this moment. Right here, right
now. I've been waiting too long for this."
"For what?" he manages to gasp. Her warm breath washing over his
face was starting to make him dizzy.
"Our second kiss," she says before closing the gap and covering
his mouth with her own. She leans as close to him as she can,
keeping in mind that the baby was between them. For a moment,
she just enjoys the feel of his lips between her own before they
both begin grunting impatiently for more. Her tongue begs for
entrance and he eagerly complies, allowing her to explore the
deepest recesses. Her hands move up his neck into his thick hair
and she gently massages his scalp.
"Wow," he says as he breaks away.
"Wow," she repeats. Her eyes are heavily lidded with desire she
can't hide.
"That was almost worth the wait," he says breathlessly, placing
small butterfly kisses along her jawline.
"Almost," she responds, equally breathless. "But you better not
make me wait that long again," she warns playfully, tilting her
head to allow him better access.
"Wild horses couldn't stop me," he groans before capturing her
lips once more to start the dance all over again.
To be continued . . .