Make-Believe Husband

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“I’m just glad he agreed.”

There was a moment’s silence, then Shari stood. “Guess we’d better get started unloading those boxes. It’ll be dark soon.”

“I really don’t expect you to help,” Jessi said, standing. “I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

“Like what? Do my nails?” Shari shook her head. “I realize you’re being paid to cook and baby-sit me—” she smiled, clearly picking up on Jessi’s surprise at that blunt interpretation of their situation “—but I was really hoping we could be friends.”

“I’d like that a lot,” Jessi said, and meant it.

“Then let me do what any friend would do—help you. And in return, you can help me.”

“I’m afraid I’m not much of a typist.”

Shari laughed. “Oh, I didn’t mean that. I want to learn to cook something besides scrambled eggs and toast, which is my one and only specialty. Would you teach me?”

“Gladly,” Jessi told her, impulsively adding a hug to seal the bargain. When she released the slender beauty, she discovered that Shari’s eyes brimmed with tears. Dismayed, Jessi blurted, “What’s wrong?”

“Everything, but it’s going to get better. I just know it” She glanced off into the woods, where Gabe and Anna Kate still walked, arms now loaded with logs. “You’re so lucky, Jessi.”

Jessi followed her gaze and noted how very natural Anna Kate and Gabe looked together. She realized with a start that she must indeed seem lucky. Handsome husband. Darling daughter. From all appearances, she had it all.

But appearances could be deceiving, the reason her gut knotted with something very akin to regret. No handsome husband...at least not in the forever sense. She closed her eyes, for just a second letting her mind wander at will. Not surprisingly, visions of Gabe filled her head. She saw the twinkle in his eyes, those dashing dimples, that sexy smile. And there was more to her fantasy, more of him than that—characteristics, in truth, unseen; characteristics that her imagination supplied with shocking ease.

“Jessi?”

Broad bare shoulders and powerful arms. Great pecs. Narrow waist. Nicely rounded hips and muscled thighs. Her arms ached to pull him close. Her fingers itched to explore. She imagined herself in the double bed in their RV, felt the mattress dip as Gabe slipped between cool cotton sheets to stretch out beside her.

Had she ever felt such pure sexual excitement before? Jessi knew she hadn’t. Les, her ex-husband, was a selfish lover. It hadn’t helped that she’d been inexperienced in such matters. She knew the score now, however—knew that she had a right to receive as much pleasure as she gave.

“Oh, Jes-si....”

Gabe, she suspected, would be good in bed. A thoughtful lover who’d make sex the thrill it should be. Too bad she’d never get the chance to see if their reality could live up to her fantasy.

“Earth to Jessi! Please come in.”

With a start, Jessi realized that a laughing Shari was trying to get her attention.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. I was a million miles away.”

“A million miles,” Shari teased. “Or—” she glanced at Gabe—“twenty yards?”

Blushing, flustered, Jessi dared not reply.

“It’s a shame you two didn’t have time for a honeymoon,” the blonde then murmured as if reading her companion’s X-rated thoughts. “There won’t be any privacy in that RV of yours.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Jessi quickly replied. “We don’t need privacy. We’ve been together for, um, years now. The newness has worn off.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Jessi’s heart stopped. “Excuse me?”

“I don’t believe the newness has worn off. Why, the looks that man gives you could melt steel.” She smiled. “And one of these nights in the not-so-distant future, I’m going to invite Anna Kate to a sleepover that will give the two of you the privacy you deserve.”

“Oh please don’t,” Jessi blurted, horrified at the thought of such temptation. “I mean, Anna Kate can be such a handful.”

“We’ll have a great time,” Shari assured her, smiling wickedly when she added, “And so, I’ll bet, will the two of you.”

Chapter Four

It wasn’t easy to put Shari’s prediction out of her head, but Jessi did exactly that for the rest of that Monday by focusing on her new job as cook. She chose to prepare her first meal on the stove inside the spacious RV she would call home for a while, even though there were other cooking choices, namely an open campfire and a portable barbecue rig. Jessi served dinner indoors that night, too, instead of in the camp dining room, which was really just a centrally located tent with netting sides to keep out insects.

Her hearty tomato-and-beef stew was a big hit with everyone, in particular the men, who helped themselves to seconds and then thirds, complimenting her with every bowl. After the meal, the five of them went outside and, since it was a beautiful night, sat around a campfire that resulted from Anna Kate’s meticulous wood gathering.

The child sat as close to Gabe as she could sit while they all relaxed and talked, but he didn’t seem to mind. Jessi herself sat clear across the campfire from the two of them, with August and Shari to her immediate left. She relished the absence of city noises and marveled at how many other sounds—foreign sounds—filled the air around them.

The buzzes, of course, could be credited to insects, Jessi decided, and the chirps to birds that hadn’t turned in for the night. The tree frogs and cicadas she recognized, too, but what was that weird-sounding yowl? A cat of some kind? A wolf?

Suddenly a little spooked—a feeling not alleviated when she realized Gabe actually had a hunting rifle within reach—Jessi wondered if Anna Kate were frightened by the wild sounds. The child was so young and had never been out of the city. At that moment Anna Kate crawled right into Gabe’s lap, a certain indication she might be a little nervous about their wilderness surroundings, too.

“Tell me a real scary story, Daddy G,” she demanded, grabbing a handful of his shirt and pulling him down so that the tip of his nose was barely an inch from hers.

Jessi wanted to laugh. So much for fear in the under-five set.

Gabe considered her request for a moment, his questioning gaze on Jessi, who shook her head slightly to discourage him. “Will you settle for a tall tale instead?” he finally asked, gently disentangling his shirt from Anna Kate’s grip.

The child nodded eagerly.

“Okay.” Gabe sat in silence for another half second, then nodded to himself as if he’d made a mental selection. “Actually,” he began, “the story I’m about to tell you is said to be true. Maybe it is, maybe not. I really don’t know, so we’ll call it a tall tale.”