Chapter Twenty-Two

Deacon

Jenna shivered and I wished like hell I had a jacket to give her. Compared to the heat index outside it was downright frigid in the hospital. She paced back and forth and only stopped when she saw her mother walk down the hallway to the waiting area where we were.

"How did this happen?" Jenna asked before her mother even got inside the small space.

I rested my hand on the small of her back and waited for what her mother was about to say. "The doctor said it was stress induced. It's that damn job of his."

"Does he need surgery?"

"No. They're just monitoring him. Apparently, it was minor and he got help right away," she said, turning to me, actually looking at me for the first time. "I suppose I have you to thank for that."

I brushed her off, waving a hand in the air as if to suggest it was nothing.

"What is she talking about?" Jenna finally asked.

Eyes downcast, she looked sad as she explained, "Your boyfriend here was with your father when he had his heart attack. He called for help right away and a cardiologist was at the club when they were there, so he very well might have saved your father's life."

"I don't understand." she asked me, turning to me now, eyes wide with curiosity. "Is that how you knew and called me?"

I nodded, rubbing her back still.

"But I thought he was at the club. Were you at the club with him?"

"Yes, that is something I'm not clear on, either," her mother interjected.

I dropped my hand and took a step back ready for the onslaught of questions, accusations. "We were talking."

"Did you upset him? Is that why he was stressed?" her mother asked me pointedly. Figures. "Of course, I should've known," she muttered under her breath. Her gaze was brimming with blame.

Jenna admonished, "Mother!"

"What?" She widened her eyes and asked, "Since when does he go around meeting with your father at the club?"

"You just suggested I saved his life, now you're blaming me?" I asked in hushed tones, very aware of all the other people in the waiting room with us.

Unfazed, she nodded her head, her teeth coming to bite down on her bottom lip like she was ready to rip my heart out if need be. "Actually, yes."

"I had something to talk to him about." I knew it was cryptic, but it was the best I could do. It was the most they were getting out of me right now.

"Like?" Jenna waited, her hands on her hips as she looked to me for my response.

I wasn't sure how much I wanted to say, especially here and now. I wasn't looking to send her mother into the hospital bed next to her father. "You," I finally caved and said.

"Me? Why? Does he know about the job offer?"

Her mother's ears perked up. "Job offer?"

Jenna brushed it off, though. "It's nothing."

Nodding, her mother watched, taking in our every move. It was the most quite, docile I'd ever seen her. Doing my best to act calm and confident, I answered honestly, deciding it was better if I just came out with it. "I want to marry you one day and thought it was nice we had a conversation man to man." Anything else I said would have been a lie and Jenna would have probably seen right through it, as would have her mother.

Her mother inhaled and brought a manicured hand to her mouth. "What did Stephen say exactly?"

"That he knows I love your daughter and wouldn't stand in our way."

"Well—" she started, but Jenna stopped her.

"He said that?" Jenna asked.

"Yes. In fact, he told me a story from your childhood."

"Really?" she asked, ignoring her mother who was visibly upset beside us, but remained tight-lipped.

I nodded and speaking more to her mother, I answered, "Yes. How when you were little your parents almost took you to the Caribbean."

Jenna cocked her head. "How funny. I never knew that. Why would he tell you that?"

"I guess he wanted me to understand how much you're loved and where your mother and him come from in showing that love," I answered, outright looking at her mother now, as if trying to tell her I did understand them better. Perhaps not fully, but more so than ever before. "Why they want to protect you, even if it isn't always the right thing to do."

"Hmm," Jenna hummed as if thinking about it, but not grasping exactly what I was saying.

But when I looked at her mother, I knew she did. She understood what I was saying. That I knew and that I wasn't a threat to Jenna.

"My husband is a foolish man," she said, "but if he helped you to see that, then I hope you can forgive me. You, too, Jenna. I was wrong to butt into your life like I had. I should've never insisted I knew what was best for you, especially when it comes to your love life."

Jenna turned and looked at her mother, as if seeing her for the first time. "I'm missing something here," she said, but she was ignored for a beat.

Eyes still fixed on her mother, I nodded. "It's okay. I personally can forgive you, but you need to know I love your daughter and I'm not going anywhere."

Coming around to what I was saying, even if she didn't understand why I was saying it all, Jenna added, "You have to let me live my life, Mother. You have to know I love Deacon and he is my future."

Her mother cleared her throat. "Yes, well I see that now. I won't be interfering anymore."

"Mother," Jenna probed.

"I mean it and I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving my husband, Deacon. He and I may not always see eye to eye, but I do love him and I trust him, so if you two had as good of a conversation as you say, then I can live with this," she said, winking at me, something I never thought I'd see.

Gesturing, I brushed her thanks aside again. "Glad to hear it. And no thanks necessary, I'm just glad I was there and a doctor was there having breakfast, too."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to see my husband if they'll let me finally."

"Of course."

Jenna leaned over and kissed my cheek. "You know, I'm surprised by this turn of events, but I am happy about them, too. It's nice to think that we finally got through to her."

"I think we just may have."

"But you still need to explain this whole Caribbean trip to me." Her brows stitched with confusion. "I feel like there's a really good story there."

"Another time," I promised and wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her against my body. "Another time."