Chapter 5

It was late when they headed back to the farm, but neither of them was eager to go. Neither wanted the evening to end. It had been a perfect day. Jonathan, eased the Jag on to highway 295, building up to the speed limit. Traffic was nearly nonexistent because of the hour. He shifted the car into fourth gear, and sat back, his arm on the back of the seat.

Jennifer watched him. His handsome features highlighted by the lights of the dash and the light reflected in his eyes made them shine. She was pretty sure she had never been happier.

"Penny for your thoughts?" his voice broke through her speculation.

"Is that all you have?"

He laughed at her, "No."

"Good. I'm sure it's going to cost you more than that to hear all of my thoughts." She smiled coyly at him.

"Of that, I have no doubt."

"Hey!" She playfully punched him.

"Ha! And I will gladly pay…"

"You better…. What's that?" The lights had reflected on something in the median, catching her eye.

As the car drew closer to the object, Jonathan began to slow it down. "Looks like someone dumped a box." He started to speed back up, "The wind must have..." he halted mid-sentence when they both saw more movement. Instinctively Jonathan stopped the Jag. "Did you see that?"

"I think so. Where did it go?"

"I'm not sure…" They watched for a minute before they saw it again. "There."

"Oh… oh my goodness." She was out of the car before he could stop her. She whistled. "Come here, baby… come on. It's alright." He watched her with a fascination. Pretty soon, the little head peeked over the box. "Aren't you sweet? Oh, baby, yes, you are!" In the light of the headlights, the smile she flashed at Jonathan was mesmerizing. "Do you see this little ball of fur?" She called back to him. She picked the little puff up, cradled it in her arms, glanced inside the box, and then she returned to the Jag. "Look at this poor baby!"

"He's a cutie, for sure."

"Someone must have dumped more than just him. There is another in the box who did not survive." She turned to face him, "Darling. We can't leave him here…"

"I agree. Get in." Jennifer opened the door and climbed in with her package. The dog jumped off the seat and crawled under it as Jonathan pulled the Jag back onto the road.

They hadn't gone far when they heard the rustling of the bag in the back. "Oh, no. No. No." Jennifer turned around and leaned into the back, her knees still in front, trying to get the bag from the dog. "Come here, baby!" He growled at her and wriggled back under the seat.

Jonathan worked to avoid being kicked by Jennifer as she was trying to get their dinner leftovers from the puppy. Without thinking, he reached up and used his arm to brace her backside, his hand resting on her natural curves. She stopped moving. "Jonathan?"

"Yes, Darling?"

"Please move your hand."

"Sorry. I didn't want you to fall."

"I'm sure."

He eased the car back off the exit and headed down the back road toward her parent's farm. "Do you need help back there?"

"Not yet. But I hope you didn't plan on eating the rest of your meal. The little one has pulled it back under your seat. I'm afraid if I go after him any more, he will back out and get mixed up with your feet. Not a safe way to drive."

"It's ok, let him have it. I'm sure he's hungrier than I am."

She sat back next to him. "So I guess I haven't asked… are you a dog person or cat."

"I guess I've never really thought about it." He turned to face her, looking into her eyes, he knew what was going to happen. "I'm betting I'm about to become a dog person…"

"Do you mean it? Can we keep him?"

"We can't leave him. Yes, we can keep him. We will have Max have him checked out tomorrow."

"Oh, Darling!" She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "What do you want to call him?"

"I haven't had a real good look at him yet. What about you? Any ideas?"

"Well… How about Freeway?"

Suzanne stood at the stove when Jennifer, already in riding clothes, and hair pulled back, walked into the kitchen. "Bonjour, Jenny."

"Good morning, Momma," she answered with a yawn. "How did you sleep?"

"J'ai bien dormi et toi?" she asked, watching her daughter as she made her way to the table.

"Like a dream, Momma, like a dream." Jennifer watched her mother warm the milk for their coffee. Suzanne hated cold milk in her coffee, and watching her work with such diligence on a small detail like that, made Jennifer smile. It was one of the things she loved about her mother, the attention the elder Edwards lady paid to detail. Jennifer tried to emulate that same attention to detail in her writing. After she poured the first cup of coffee, Suzanne brought it over and set it down in front of her daughter, then placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Merci, Momma."

"Mon plaisir." She quickly fixed her own cup and made her way back to her daughter's side. "So much I want to hear, Jenny! S'il vous plaît, how was your date yesterday with Jonathan?"

Jennifer took a sip, sighed, and looked at her mother. "Oh, Momma. It was…" she looked for the best word to describe the feelings she had, "fantastique. He is nothing short of amazing." She got lost in her thoughts for a moment, "He took a small conversation we had in London, and turned it into one of the most wonderful evenings I've ever had." She laughed lightly, "You remember him saying he grew up in the orphanage?"

"Oui, so heartbreaking."

"It certainly could be. However, Jonathan has such a great attitude about it, and he doesn't let it become an issue." Jennifer took another sip, "When we drove into town to Western Regional park to fly a kite on one of the football fields, it never occurred to me he had never been kite flying before. At first, he wanted to be the one to put it all together, but when he got out the directions, I told him to let me help, and as I put it together, we started talking about things he's never done simply because of the way he grew up." Jennifer set her cup down and faced her mother. "Momma, he's never ridden a horse!"

"Not too many in an orphanage in the middle of a city, mon chérie."

"No, I suppose there isn't." She stood up and made her way to the cupboards, and began pulling out the makings of sandwiches.

"You take him today?" Suzanne asked, indicating her clothing choice.

"Oui." She looked at her mother over the counter, bread in one hand, knife in the other, "We had planned to yesterday, but he ended up going to the office instead. However, he wants to learn, and I like the idea of being able to teach him."

"C'est bon, Jenny." Suzanne took a sip of the warmth in her cup, "And Papa tells me he interrupted you a bit…"

Jennifer could feel her face blush, "Oui, Momma." She packaged the finished sandwich. "Jonathan walked me to the door last night. He started telling me he had a great time. When we got to the top step, he pulled me close to him and suddenly..." she started giggling at the image in her mind. "He started floundering"

Her mother stopped her, "Floundering? Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"Bégaiement. He kept losing his train of thought, stumbling over words, nothing he said came out as he intended. He was acting so shy, which he never had before. It was adorable. It wasn't until Jonathan finally kissed me, and Papa cleared his throat that I knew he was standing behind the door watching! I think Pa thought we were taking too long to get out of the car."

Suzanne laughed with her daughter, "Pauvre bébé."

"Oui, poor Jonathan!"

"Did I hear my name?" He smiled as he stepped into the room.

"Jonathan!" Jennifer greeted him with a hug. "I did not hear the front door open."

"Don't you look cute this morning?" He welcomed her with his arms.

"Oh, thank you very much. Coffee?"

"That'd be great." While Jennifer poured him a cup, Jonathan turned his attention to her mother, "Good morning, Suzanne."

"Oui! Bonjour, Jonathan! Are you ready for today's adventure?"

"Absolutely." He grinned and winked at Jennifer, "I'm always up for a good adventure. Will you be joining up, Suzanne."

She giggled, "Oh, wouldn't that be fun?" She turned to her daughter, "Momma, as a chaperone for my Jenny?"

"Papa would be happy…" Jennifer quipped, and she and her mother giggled at the image.

"Merci, Jonathan, but no. Stephen and I have an appointment in town that we must attend today." She turned to her daughter, "What will Monsieur Max be doing today?"

Jonathan answered, "Max took the Jag into town. He was going to check in with Leonard, see a vet and run some paperwork in for me. Kingston Motors needs a couple of things from me."

"Oh?" Jennifer questioned. "Do you need to skip this morning?"

"No, Darling. I took care of everything last night, and Max is running it all into the office for Harry to finish it up. I am all yours for the rest of the day."

"Fantastic! What do you think, Momma? Should I take him to the backside of the lake? Or up in the mountain?" Turning back to Jonathan, "On a clear day, you can see the Chesapeake Bay from there."

"Oh, Chérie, you know the mountains are my favorite place to ride."

"It sounds amazing," Jonathan said, not taking his eyes off Jennifer. "A sight not to be missed, I'm sure."

"Without a doubt." Jennifer grinned back at him.

"And you will be back for dinner?" Suzanne spoke up. "I look forward to tonight. The four of us, no?"

Jennifer quickly swallowed the sip of coffee she had just taken, "Oui, Momma. We will be back in time, and are looking forward to Walter's steaks."

"Excellent!"

Picking up the bag now full of sandwiches, Jennifer kissed her mother's cheek, "Tonight then. Shall we venture, Jonathan?"

"Lead the way, Darling." He, too, leaned over and kissed the cheeks of Suzanne Edwards, "Have a great day."

"Oui, mes chéris. Au Revoir!"

The two horse and rider combinations crested the top of the mountain about 90 minutes later. The view was one of the most breathtaking Jonathan had ever seen. Green, hilly, and lush everywhere he looked until his eyes landed on the redhead to his right. This one became one with the horse the moment she mounted the saddle. Until that moment, he didn't know how elegant riding a horse could be, but there was no other word for her. Elegant in everything, watching her was like watching a painting in motion. He watched as she dismounted, lead her steed towards the little stream, and dropped the reins to let him drink.

"What a view. What do you think, Darling?" Jennifer asked him.

"Breathtaking. Beautiful. Exquisite. Lovely. Absolutely gorgeous. And I don't mean the view." Jonathan also dismounted and followed her moves. Then he walked up behind Jennifer. He slid his arm around her shoulder and pulled her body into his.

She responded by resting her head on his shoulder. "You really are very kind, Mr. Hart."

"I mean every word." She turned around and wrapped both arms around his waist. "You, Jennifer Edwards, are…"

She reached up with her finger and placed it on his lips. "Shush. You will give me a big head!" Instead of continuing, he leaned in and kissed her. Deeply.