Chapter 8

"Mom?" Arielle called out, walking inside the ranch with a big smile on her face, heading straight for the patio since it was in the middle of the day. "Dad?"

"On the patio, Arie!"

Three months had passed since Randy's death and Jasina had stayed at the ranch, not having the desire to look for another lonely place to live. She paid Mark rent by slipping bills into his wallet without him noticing, since the man always carried money on him. She was shocked he didn't mind her staying at the ranch since Arielle now fully lived with Gary. That didn't stop her from coming to visit them. Jasina was currently sunbathing on the patio, having just gotten off of work and smiled when her daughter came rushing outside. Mark was still at the shop, which is why Jasina was taking full advantage of sitting by the pool with a grin.

"Hey sweetheart, what's up?"

"Nothin', just wanted to come check on you guys, make sure yer still alive. Neither of you ever call and visit." Arielle teased, dropping down into the other lounge chair and leaned back with a sigh, kicking off her shoes. "Being a workin' woman is hard on the feet, I appreciate you and Dad a LOT more these days." She generally stopped in a few times a week, mostly to check in on her Mom, who seemed so much better, but Arielle could sometimes see the sadness still lurking behind those familiar teal eyes.

"You know we love you and there's no reason for calling when you come over anyway." Jasina pointed out, having black shades on with a sky blue string bikini, one arm tossed over her head, letting the sun seep into her tanned skin. "Trish is finally back from maternity leave, how does Gary feel about that?"

"Trish's little girl is SO cute!" Arielle immediately gushed, looking over at her Mom with a smile. "Emily is amazing, Trish brought her in today for everyone. Did you see her?"

"Yes I did, she is adorable." Emily had Steve's incredible blue eyes and Trish's dark hair, definitely a knockout and already had her father wrapped around her finger. "Steve is too cute with her too. He brought her over last night with Trish and was so overprotective. Mark had to smack him upside the head to get him to stop and then in turn, I had to defend Steve by smacking your Dad."

"I'm with Dad, Steve came in with her, so he could take her when Trish was ready to work and he was growlin' at EVERYONE to be careful, even me! Like I ain't ever watched Stevie JR?" Arielle rolled her eyes and huffed. "Just wait until I have a baby of my own, I'mma go round tellin' him to be careful and growlin' at him, see how well HE likes it."

"I hope that's not for several years to come, young lady." Jasina lowered her sunglasses as they slid down her nose, looking stern for a minute. "Your Dad would have a heart attack if you ended up pregnant before you were at least married first." She pushed her sunglasses up when Arielle simply rolled her eyes, both of them going back to sunbathing, enjoying their mother/daughter alone time together.

"Poor Gary, he couldn't even hold Emily because everyone was hoggin' her. And then Trish was immediately orderin' him around. It was hilarious." Arielle was still doing her internship with a new photographer/undercover detective named Ted DiBiase JR, who wasn't nearly as good as Randy was, but he would suffice. Not to mention he wasn't bad looking either. "I think Trish was tryin' to talk Steve into letting Gary be her babysitter so she could keep Emily at work with her, but Steve said that Gary had enough to be goin' on with, what with also being her...mole. Actually, Steve said bitch, that man has gotten bold as brass now that she's not so hormonal, I'd forgotten about how he was when he wasn't worried about his nuts being cut off, it's pretty funny." She took a breath, having been speaking rather fast. "But Trish doesn't want the baby with Steve at the shop all day because the garage is nothin' but guys, which Steve took offense too and I'm sure Dad will too since you know, he raised me. But I personally think you should talk Trish into opening a daycare center on the floor, she could have Emily there with her, but not interferin' with work and the other girls could also bring in THEIR babies. What do you think?"

It took Jasina a few seconds to process all of that, wondering why her daughter was so hyper and sat up a little more in the chair, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head. "A daycare center?" She tapped her chin in thought, smiling at the thought and nodded. "Yeah you know what? That's a great idea, Arie." Jasina honestly meant it, reaching down to take a sip of her sun flavored iced tea with one lemon in it. "I don't blame Trish for not wanting Emily at the shop, but then again look at how you turned out. You're beautiful and smart, somewhat girly and you grew up around that shop, actually helping your Dad run it. Emily could be the same way...though I think Trish would keel over dead if that happened."

"I love Trish, I honestly do, but she has her prissy moments and it confuses me because she's with Steve who is her polar opposite. Makes no sense." Arielle sighed, standing up to go get herself a glass of tea, taking her Mom's glass in for a refill. When she came back out, which was ten minutes later, she was in her old swimsuit. "Can't tan properly in work clothes." She laughed, handing over the glass and settled back down. "Oh, by the way, Ted wore jeans to work today. The man has an ass that is very snatchable, don't ever tell Gary I said that."

"Arielle Marie Calaway!" Jasina blinked when her daughter said that, immediately feeling her cheeks flush, both of them having a good hearty laugh.

Jasina hadn't really noticed Ted because she wasn't ready to move on to another man yet. They either didn't work out or died, Jasina was contemplating cutting herself off of men altogether. She could live being celibate for the rest of her life. That's what toys were made for, which she had several of, though Mark had no idea about them.

"I can't believe you just said that! He's your teacher!"

"Oh come on Mom, I can look I just can't touch. And that man is DEFINITELY touchable..." She immediately stopped when she heard her father's voice calling for Jasina, smirking secretively over at her. "Hey Daddy, we're out on the patio!"

"What she said!"

"And Mom just freaked because I told her my partner's ass was snatchable." Arielle added when he stepped out to join them, smirking when he let out a 'WHAT?', calmly sipping her tea.

"Arie, don't you think, darlin', yer a bit too old to be doin' that to us?" Mark groaned, shaking his head at her smirk and pulled off his stained t-shirt, having every intention of hosing himself down. "Yer SUV pissed oil on me when I was changin' it, I hate that damn thing."

"Well I LOVE it, so can I have it back? I hate the loaner."

Jasina couldn't stop laughing even if she wanted to, shaking her head at her ex-husband, moving her feet back and forth while he went to get the hose. "You know she's a grown woman now, Mark. Gonna have to cut the cord eventually. And if she thinks a man's ass is snatchable, more power to her." Though, that didn't stop Jasina from being shocked at how blunt her daughter was.

"Whose ass is snatchable?"

Jasina bit her bottom lip to keep from telling Gary, especially when Arielle jumped up to hug her boyfriend tightly, kissing him.

The only snatchable ass Gary wanted was his girlfriend's, though he didn't dare do it in front of her parents. "What're you doing here, baby doll? I went home and figured you were here. Hey Jasina."

"Hey Gary, she was checking up on me like always." Jasina sipped more of her tea, noticing for the first time how the sun glinted off of Mark's chest, thankful she had shades on so he didn't know she was slowly checking him out.

"Apparently she thinks Brad Pitt's ass is snatchable." Mark joked, knowing damn well Arielle did not find Brad Pitt snatchable so much as smackable, aiming the hose her way when she shrieked at him.

When Gary pointed out he was also in the line of fire, Mark considered that and returned to spraying himself down, making sure to get the oil off his face and chest. Not even realizing he had soaked his already skin tight jeans, they currently clung and outlined his muscular thighs to perfection. Jasina definitely realized and felt her mouth suddenly go dry, mentally shaking herself as she stood up from the chair, pulling her shades off.

"Brad Pitt has NOTHING on Jason Statham, Arie. Just saying."

She winked over her shoulder and walked past Mark, diving right into the pool, desperately needing to cool off. Mark didn't want her and Jasina had cut herself off from all men, refusing to get hurt again. That didn't mean she couldn't appreciate her insanely gorgeous ex-husband, though it was at a hefty price. This pool was blessing as she resurfaced while Mark began spraying at Arielle again, both her and Gary disappearing into the house.

"Chickenshits!" Mark bellowed after them, snorting and turned to roll the hose up.

"Up yours!"

"Yeah, up yours!"

"Is it me...or since they moved out, they've gotten insanely fuckin' cocky and mouthy?" Mark asked, no real malice in his tone so much as amusement.

Gary and Arielle had...exploded out of shells he hadn't been aware they were cocooned in, knowing it was the excitement of being out on their own and it would eventually pass. When he heard their cars pulling out, he kicked off his boots and shed his jeans, wearing boxers beneath them but since they were also soaked, not much was hidden from the imagination. He threw the damp clothing onto the patio, not about to track water through the house.

"She is your daughter." Jasina stated simply, loving the feeling of the water flowing over her, looking up at Mark and immediately regretted doing that. He was just in his boxers...those long legs...Jasina had to stop the naughty thoughts from entering her mind, instead beginning to move all around the pool. "What did you expect her to do? Be your perfect angel forever? That girl has an evil streak that damn near matches yours and mine put together."

Grunting, Mark sat down on the edge of the pool and dangled his legs in the water, making sure everything was tucked away properly in the boxers so he wasn't flashing his dick or balls in her direction. "She was never a perfect angel, darlin', but she sure did hide that damn evil streak pretty good until recently. She's definitely got yer mouth." He smirked when Jasina gaped at him. "What? I am nothin', but good-tempered and PG-rated."

Jasina laughed hard at that and it was all condescending sounding, wondering if Mark was trying to bullshit her or himself, maybe both. "Good-tempered and PG? You drop more F bombs than anyone I know! Steve can't even match your temper when you're pissed off. Steve would be calling your bullshit right now if he was here and you can get that innocent look off your face. You're anything BUT innocent, Mark Calaway."

"Darlin', unless you can prove otherwise, I am as innocent as the day I was born." Mark said sweetly, a tone that did not suit him at all, his emerald eyes sparkling mischievously. He began laughing, unable to keep up with the charade; she knew him too well and PG was definitely not his style. "Hell honey, I'm more of a mature audience's only kinda guy." He teased, splashing water at her when she swam too close, not trusting her at all; she'd get him if she could.

An evil gleam came over Jasina eyes as she went under water, knowing Mark was watching her every move. She could see him through the water, the chlorine not strong enough to hurt her eyes, and watched as he turned his back for a split second. That was all she needed. Jasina surfaced just beneath his feet and grabbed his ankles, yanking as hard as she possible good. Mark was on the very edge and ended up crashing in the water, Jasina already swimming away from him and surfaced laughing.

"You looked like your ego could use a cool down." She smirked, knowing he thought she would splash him, but Jasina was always full of surprises as she went under water again.

Going under water instead of scrambling out of the pool was her mistake because Mark took advantage. Using his long legs and muscular arms, he cut through the water until he had reached her, diving under in order to wrap his arms around her and began to barrel roll, surfacing long enough for them both to take a deep breath before doing it again, their bodies pressed together tightly. When he finally let her go, he was laughing when they both broke the top of the water, wiping water from his eyes and flicked his hair back over his shoulders.

Jasina had to catch her breath several times and laughed right along with Mark, splashing him lightly in the chest. "You suck." She muttered good-naturedly, knowing she had it coming after pulling him into the water with her, her heart pounding much the same as his.

Then Jasina noticed for the first time the position they were in and felt her heart actually skip a beat because her chest was pressed against his, his arms at his sides since he released her and those intense green eyes were twinkling down at her. What was it about her ex-husband that always turned Jasina into complete mush and made her mind heady? She would never understand, having tried figuring it out since the first night they met.

"See if you would've just jumped in the pool, you wouldn't have had to use the hose. Silly man."

"Darlin', if I woulda jumped into the pool without hosin' off first, I'd of ruined yer pretty swimsuit with all the oil that covered me." Mark drawled, his eyes moving down to that blue bikini she wore. Lingering over some of his more favorite body parts before remembering his manners, Mark returned his gaze to her eyes, still grinning wickedly and shrugged one shoulder when she gave him a look. "Just appreciatin' the suit, darlin'." He rumbled, swimming away from her in a lazy backstroke.

"Uh huh." Jasina fought back a full body shiver at the heated look he had, clearing her throat a little. "Typical man, I swear."

She swam toward him splashing a little more, deciding it was time to get out before she ended up raping him. Then again, Mark looked as though he'd be the dominant one and Jasina immediately stopped her thoughts from heading in that direction. It would only lead to trouble and heartbreak, two things she wanted to avoid at ALL cost.