Jordan's Return (18 page)

Her cool tone when she spoke snapped him out of his reverie. “I'll be ready shortly,” she said as she walked to the private bathroom to get changed. Though she didn't slam the door, the soft click still had the sound of finality, like she wasn't just shutting the door so she could change but was shutting him out permanently.

Rob nodded. “I'll wait out in the hallway,” was all he said as he exited the room.

Looking at her reflection in the dingy bathroom mirror, Jordan wished she had a way to fix her appearance. Other than the few toiletries that had somehow appeared in her room, she had nothing to make herself look less like someone who'd suffered a minor trauma and spent the night in the hospital.

Finger-combing her hair, she stared at herself and wondered what Rob would see when he looked at her now. Would he still see her as someone he wanted, or would he take one look at her horrid appearance and thank God he'd dodged this bullet? She could agonize over that one for days and all she would manage to prove was she was nothing more than a coward hiding out in a hospital bathroom. It was an all-time low for her and she knew it.

Jordan gave herself a pep talk about how immaterial her appearance was at this point. It shouldn't matter to Rob, and if it did, she didn't need him anyway. She squared her shoulders and left the safety of the bathroom.

True to his word, Rob was standing against the wall in the hallway right outside her room when she emerged. There was a wheelchair waiting for her beside him, hospital regulations, and he escorted Jordan down to his truck. His silence was a blessing because she still had a twinge of a headache. It was a relief not to have to talk.

Once in his truck, Jordan sat stiffly beside him.

There was so much she wanted to say, that she
had
to say, and yet she could not get her mouth to cooperate. Having no idea where the hospital was in relation to the bungalow, she was unsure how long this ride would even last.

Meanwhile, Rob kept sneaking glances at her and hoping she would talk to him. He didn't care if they only talked about the weather, just as long as she'd talk to him. Her eyes were closed and her head lolled to the side. He knew she had to be exhausted and probably couldn't wait to climb into her own bed and sleep. He really hated the distance between them. Just when he thought he'd lose his mind in the silence, she spoke.

“How were the boys when you got them home?”

“Better. We stopped for ice cream on the way and so it provided a bit of a distraction. Then we got back to the house and tuned in to a
SpongeBob
marathon.” He smiled in remembrance of the way the boys had just laughed at the pure silliness of the show. It hadn't taken long for him to join in.

Jordan found herself chuckling a little as if reading his thoughts. “They do love that show.” And there the conversation stopped. She wished she felt better, that she was up to having an actual conversation with him, but the headache and exhaustion were just a little more than she could bear at the moment. As if willing him to read her mind, Jordan hoped Rob didn't take her silence for still being angry with him. She knew eventually they were going to clear the air and talk things through, but right now it was all she could do to survive the bumps in the road that kept jarring the vehicle. The remainder of the trip was spent in silence.

Once they were back at the bungalow, they were greeted by three smiling faces. Jordan almost cried at the sight of them. She knew it was only a night, but it felt like an eternity since she'd seen her sons. Her sister stood back and let the boys greet Jordan first. When Jordan looked up at her, their smiles met. Laura came and wrapped her arms around her sister and Jordan sagged with relief at her presence.

“Thank you so much for coming, Laura. I don't know what the boys and I would do without you.” Her words were a mere whisper, a choked sob.

Rob stood back and silently seethed.
I would be here taking care of you, proving I love you and you should give us another chance.

“Are you kidding me?” Laura chuckled. “Joseph runs a pretty tight ship around here. He's got it all under control.” Joseph stood a little taller at the praise his aunt heaped on him.

Rob followed them into the house and took note of just how alike Jordan and Laura looked. He didn't remember seeing that in them all those years ago while he and Jordan dated. But now, standing there and watching them, unobserved, he noted their similarities—the dark hair and eyes—but Jordan's features were a little softer and more delicate. Laura's eyes were filled with wisdom and experience, where Jordan's seemed constantly to be filled with wonder and longing. He could stare a lifetime into her eyes and it still wouldn't be enough.

Focusing his attention back to the present, he declined when Laura offered him something to drink. “I'm going to drop off this prescription at the pharmacy for you, Jordan,” he said, not meeting her eyes. Then he turned to Laura. “You can pick it up later or I can bring it back, whichever is easier for you.”

There was his opening to come back later and check on her without being too obvious. God, he was a desperate man!

“Laura can get it later,” Jordan said a little too quickly and then wanted to kick herself. Why in the world was she sabotaging everything? Maybe later on in the day she'd feel better and they'd have an opportunity to talk. Maybe she could get Laura to take the boys out someplace for a little while so she and Rob could be alone. Maybe she could free herself from the paralyzing fear of making the wrong decisions. With a cold sense of dread creeping down her spine, she couldn't find the words to take it all back.

Both Laura and Rob turned to stare at her. Sensing the questions in both of their eyes, Jordan spoke, trying to redeem herself. “It's just that you've done so much already, Rob. Besides, it will give my sister a chance to get out and see the town a bit. I'm sure Laura would like to do more than just sit around the bungalow watching me. She does that enough at home.” That sounded believable, didn't it?

“Fine,” Rob said tightly. He looked at Jordan with a clenched jaw and seemed about to say something when Laura, reading the tension between the two of them, stepped in and spoke up.

“Just tell me where I need to go and I'm sure I'll find it,” she said lightly. She smiled at Rob awkwardly and then shot her sister a look over her shoulder. “Jordan, why don't you lie down? I'll be in to check on you in a minute.”

Wordlessly, Jordan chanced a quick look at Rob before turning to walk down the short hall to her room and shutting the door. Laura noted the longing in Rob's expression as he watched Jordan walk away from them. Maybe she had been wrong to discourage her sister from getting involved with this man again. After all, could you really judge a person from what they did at the age of eighteen? If that were the case, she'd personally be excluded from many of the church groups she was involved in now!

Turning to Rob, Laura got directions to the pharmacy and then turned and watched as he said his good-byes to the boys. It tore at her heart to see how much her nephews adored this man. It was obvious the feeling was mutual; they all seemed to cling to each other. Laura noticed the tears in Rob's eyes as he said good-bye on his way out the door. What on earth had gone on here over the last couple of weeks, and what was wrong with her sister?

“Will you come over tomorrow, Rob?” Jake asked. “We can go to the beach and build the sand castles like you told me about.”

It took a moment for Rob to compose himself before he could answer. It would be so easy to give these kids what they wanted, what they needed. But he wouldn't do it by going against Jordan's wishes. Until they had the opportunity to sit and talk and he could finally tell Jordan he loved her, he had no choice but to play by her rules and not overstep his bounds.

“Let's see how your mom is feeling tomorrow before we go and make all kinds of plans, okay?” he said, his voice sounding overly optimistic.

“Okay,” the boy responded weakly before turning and heading back to the living room.

“Thanks again,” Laura said as he turned to leave. “For everything. It makes me crazy just thinking about what could have happened if you weren't here to help the boys out. I mean, I know Joseph is a very responsible boy but…” She hesitated for a moment. “But this is more than he should have to deal with. So really, thank you.”

Rob could only nod. All night and into the morning he'd thought the same thing. The thought of Joseph having to take on all that responsibility and dealing with EMTs and doctors and watching over his little brother was way more than a twelve-year-old should have to handle. The boy needed to be a kid again, and Rob hoped he'd be able to make that happen again soon.

Laura saw the emotions written all over Rob's face and she hated to let him leave like this. She had to
do
something. “Hey, wait!” Rob turned, hand on the front doorknob, and looked at Laura inquisitively.

“The boys tell me you've got a restaurant here in town and I was thinking I'd bring them in tonight, you know…maybe give Jordan a little time alone, some peace and quiet, a chance to catch up on some sleep, that sort of thing. I'm already planning on taking them to a hotel with me for the night and maybe we'll even catch a movie. I'm sure Jordan won't mind the chance to be alone.”

Laura hoped she wasn't being obvious in her attempt to let Rob know that the coast would be clear for them tonight. If she was reading both of them correctly, this would be the perfect opportunity for them to be together, maybe work things out.

“Why take them to a hotel? Are you sure Jordan should be alone? I mean, she just got out of the hospital. What if she passes out again and there's no one here with her?”

Okay, apparently it's not so obvious.

“That ear infection should be responding to the antibiotics she's taking rather quickly. I think what she needs most is to relax and get a good night's sleep.” Laura glanced over her shoulder in the direction of Jordan's bedroom. “I really do appreciate everything you did last night to help Jordan and the boys, Rob.”

Rob smiled sadly. “I'm just glad I was close by and could be here. The thought of Joe having to handle it all on his own…” The rest of what he was going to say was clogged in his throat.

Laura's heart went out to him and she shuddered at his words. Jordan had been lucky Rob had been nearby and able to help. They would all forever be in his debt. Hell, Laura knew she could stand here and thank him all day, but she knew she needed to tend to Jordan and figure out what in the world was going on. “So, I guess we'll see you a little bit later.”

“Yeah, sure. That would be great. Mondays are normally quiet, so I'm sure there will be more than a few tables open for you. If I see that it's getting busy, I'll put a reserved sign on a table for you.”

“Thanks, Rob. I'm sure the boys will enjoy it. I hear there's an arcade and everything.” Rob smiled sadly at her, barely meeting her gaze as he left the house. Laura pivoted in her spot and turned toward Jordan's bedroom. “Okay, little sister, now let's hear your story.”

Jordan was lying stiffly on her bed and physically cringed when she heard Rob leave. She'd had the perfect opportunity to see him again when he offered to bring her prescription back for her, and she had foolishly spoken up and shot that to hell, too. What was the matter with her?

The man had rescued her kids, made arrangements for their safety and well-being, picked her up from the hospital and brought her home,
and
he was dropping off her prescription for her! What more did she expect from him after breaking his heart? Shaking her head with disgust, Jordan realized she was being unreasonable. Curling up in the fetal position and squeezing her eyes shut, she cursed herself a thousand times over.

“You are unbelievable, Jordan Manning!” Those were Laura's first words as she walked into Jordan's room, brown eyes ablaze with fury.

Jordan was temporarily taken aback by her sister's outburst. “What are you talking about?”

“I'm talking about the fact that that sweet man is absolutely gaga over you and you fairly threw him out of here! What were you thinking?”

Sitting up on the bed and braced for battle, Jordan responded. “First of all, aren't you the one who advised me not to get involved with him?” Laura at least had the decency to look ashamed of her earlier comments. “And secondly, he isn't
gaga
, for crying out loud. Where would you even get that idea, Laura?”

“From the way he looks at you, for starters. Then there's the way he looks at your sons, who, by the way, look at him the same way.” At Jordan's wide-eyed expression, Laura ranted on. “And let's not forget the way he came rushing over here to help you and the boys when Joseph called him or how he took care of them until I arrived.”

Jordan sat up a little straighter in the bed and rolled her eyes at her sister's dramatic tirade. “And when he's not busy rescuing lonely women and protecting their children, he spends his spare time flying around in his red cape stopping all the evil in the world and getting stranded kittens out of trees!” Jordan said sarcastically. “Are you done or did you have more to say about ‘Super Rob'?”

“No, Miss Smarty-Pants, as a matter of fact I'm not done. Did you know he spent the entire night at the hospital after he left here?” Laura asked.

Jordan opened her mouth to speak but the shock of Laura's words promptly shut her up.

“I didn't think so. He was so out of his mind with worry for you last night that I almost had
him
admitted to the darn hospital! When he got back there and they wouldn't tell him anything about your condition, he called me on my cell phone to ask me to call the doctors and get an update for him.”

She took a deep breath to calm herself a little because she was severely frustrated with her sister. “He stayed there, even though they wouldn't let him stay with you and no one would even talk to him about you. Now, tell me what on earth is wrong with you that you would treat him the way that you just did!”

The floodgates opened and Jordan burst into tears—heart-wrenching, body-shattering tears that caused her already-throbbing head to feel as if it were ready to burst. Could life get any worse?

“I'm an idiot, that's what's wrong with me!” Jordan cried. “I was so afraid to believe that something good could possibly happen to me or that someone could actually
love
me that I forced Rob away. I'm too afraid to trust my own judgment anymore, Laura, and I hate that about myself!”

Laura instantly felt remorseful for her harsh words and her eyes softened as she watched her sister fall apart. She sat down beside Jordan on the bed and hugged her. “I find all of that hard to believe, Jordan. First of all, why don't you trust your judgment?”

Jordan's eyes widened with disbelief. “Do you really have to ask? I was completely oblivious to what a snake Eric was before I married him! I was clueless to everything he was planning while we were married and then, to top it off, I still trusted him a little after the divorce! Look where that's gotten me!”

“Okay, but if it makes you feel any better, we were all taken in by Eric's deceit. None of us knew what he was really like, not just you. Stop beating yourself up over it.”

“It's not the same, Laura! I was
married
to the man! I shared his bed, lived with him every day! I should have been able to see what he was really like.” Jordan stopped to wipe her eyes. “Maybe I didn't want to see what he was really like. I mean, he was there for me when Rob and I broke up and I guess it never occurred to me that he was anything but decent.

“Then again I thought that about Rob, too,” she said with a mirthless laugh.

“Oh, sweetie, Rob is nothing like him.”

“Rob wasn't honest with me either.”

“You were kids back then, Jordan! He is nothing now like he was back then. Even I can tell that after spending some time with him. So what is it you think you've done to force him away?”

“The list is endless.”

“Come on,” Laura coaxed. “It can't be that bad. Tell me.”

Jordan told of the time they had spent together, including the afternoon they'd left the boys with Claudia. “When we came home here that night, he asked me to move here and I just, I…I…clammed up. I told him I needed to think about it and he said that if I didn't know what I wanted with him by now, we weren't on the same page.” Taking a tissue from the box Laura held out, Jordan attempted to clean up her face.

“I told him he was being unreasonable; I needed time to think about it because I wanted to be sure. He never once said he loved me. There was no mention of feelings; it was all just ‘Move here, Jordan.' In the end, he drove off and I didn't hear from him until I woke up in the hospital.” Taking a deep, cleansing breath, she looked at her sister. “Oh, Laura…I've made a mess of everything. Again!”

Big sisters were great for many reasons, Jordan realized. The main one being that they didn't judge too harshly and always seemed to know what to say.

Laura sat back down on the bed beside her sister and hugged her while Jordan cried it out. Sometime later, Jordan just seemed to sag against her. “Why don't you rest for a little while? I'm going to see what's in the house for lunch. I'll come back in a few minutes and check on you, okay?”

Jordan nodded and reclined against her pillows. It felt so good to get it all out in the open. She was thankful to Laura for listening to her, and she found herself fighting to keep her eyes open. As soon as her head hit the cushioned softness, exhaustion claimed her.

Casually walking down the hall and into the kitchen, Laura suggested the boys go outside and play while she made lunch. Once the door was securely closed, Laura went in search of Jordan's laptop, booted it up, and began a people search. Only partially finding what she was looking for, she grabbed her cell phone and called information in search of her old friend Claudia.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Laura was wiping tears of laughter from her own eyes. She and Claudia had been close in high school, and this conversation had really reminded her of how much she had missed her old friend.

“You know, as much as I could sit here and reminisce with you all day, we have got to do something to help these two out,” Laura began.

“The way I see it, you've got to orchestrate a way for them to be alone. How hard could that be?”

Laura described to Claudia how she'd tried to do that earlier and how Rob clearly had not taken the hint.

“Men,” they said in unison.

“Do you think this is going to work?” Laura asked.

“It has to, Laura. I've been worried about Rob all week long. I told them both I wasn't sure if their getting involved again was a good idea, but I thought they deserved a second chance. Seeing them together that day? You'd have to be blind not to see how much they feel for each other.”

“Same here. After seeing the two of them together this morning, well, it just about broke my heart watching him leave the boys. I wish Jordan wasn't so stubborn!”

“Please!” Claudia laughed. “My brother goes full throttle like a steamroller when he wants something. No doubt he just started making plans for them without even talking to Jordan about it first. Men can be such idiots.”

“That I have to agree on.”

“I tried explaining to him, from a woman's point of view, why he needed to give Jordan some time, but he just couldn't see my point.” After a derisive snort, she added, “Well, maybe I should say he
wouldn't
see my point. He always was a stubborn one.”

“I think Jordan's giving him a run for his money. She is so convinced she is incapable of making the right decision about anything that she's afraid to take a chance on this relationship. I never thought of her as being insecure, but after sitting and talking with her today, I am well and truly shocked.”

“Her ex must have been some monster to turn her into such a mess.”

“You have no idea.” Laura sighed. “But to be honest with you, we've been dealing with her physical recovery for what seems like forever, and I guess Jordan didn't want any of us to know how much damage he'd done to her psychologically. I never saw this coming.”

“And then there's my brother just plowing through and pushing her to do things his way and on his timetable. That poor woman hasn't had a chance to figure out which end is up in her life.” Claudia got quiet for a moment. “I can only hope he'll learn something from this and figure out not everyone thinks and feels the same way he does.”

“Amen to that,” Laura said.

At the sound of the front door opening and the boys coming in, Laura cut the conversation short. “I'll call you later,” Laura whispered into the phone as she quickly hung up.

“What's going on there, big man?” she asked as she put the finishing touches on the soup and sandwiches she had prepared while on the phone.

“Is lunch ready, Aunt Laura?” Joseph asked, poking his head through the doorway.

“Sure is, handsome! Tell your brother to come on in, too, and wash up while I go see if your mom is awake yet.” Joseph agreed and ran around to the backyard to expedite the process of getting to lunch.

Gently knocking on Jordan's door before entering, Laura found her sister just beginning to stir. “Hey, are you hungry?”

“I don't deserve to eat,” Jordan mumbled and pulled the blankets over her head.

Laura rolled her eyes, walked over to the bed, and yanked the blankets out of Jordan's hands. “Okay, drama queen, that's enough now.” After a brief tug-of-war with the blankets, Jordan finally sat up.

“Look, you can sit and wallow in here all day if that's what you really want, but I'm telling you, it's not healthy, it's not going to help anything, and your children would really like to spend some time with you. I think it would go a long way toward making them feel better if they saw you up and about, trying to interact with them.”

Laura simply stared down at Jordan and waited for her to make a move to get out of bed. Seeing she need a little more convincing, Laura sighed wearily, sat down on the bed, and offered up a lengthy list of reasons why it was important to get up and to be done with her pity party, for the boys' sakes.

After a long pep talk, Laura led Jordan out of the bedroom and helped her to the living room sofa. She stood in the kitchen and prepared Jordan a sandwich while Jake and Joseph chatted quietly with their mother about all they wanted to do that day with Aunt Laura. Jordan smiled at them and once again felt grateful for her sister's presence.

“Hey, guys, you know what I was thinking?” Laura said from the kitchen as she placed Jordan's lunch on a tray to carry out to her.

“What?” they asked excitedly.

“I was thinking that maybe we should give your mom a little peace and quiet tonight since I know she didn't get much of that at the hospital last night. I thought we'd grab some dinner, see a movie, and then maybe, just maybe, we could…oh, I don't know…maybe we could…get a room at that hotel I saw on my way into town. What do you think?”

“Yea!” they squealed with delight. Jordan cringed at the loud tone of their voices. “Can we, Mom? Can we? Can we go with Aunt Laura to the hotel?”

“Can we have dinner at Rob's restaurant?”

“Can we get the extra-large soda at the movie theater?”

“There's a really great ice cream guy down by the beach. Can we go there, too?” Laura's head moved back and forth as if she were watching a tennis match as she tried to keep track of her nephews' endless chatter.

“Laura,” Jordan began in a hushed tone, hoping to prompt her boys into lowering their own voices. “You don't have to clear out the house for me, you know. I'll still sleep if you're all here.”

“Well, maybe I'm not doing it for you,” she said with a smirk. “Maybe the thought of sharing the bed with you or sleeping on the couch is unappealing to me.” Her eyes twinkled with amusement. The sisters looked at one another and laughed.

“I don't kick anymore, Laura,” Jordan said teasingly.

“Sure, and I don't snore anymore, either.” They burst into another fit of giggles while Jake and Joseph watched them in confusion.

“Grown-ups are weird,” Jake whispered to his brother.

“Look, if that's what you want to do, then far be it from me to stop you. All I ask is that I have my prescription here so I can sleep.”

“Great. We'll hang out here until around four o'clock and then we'll be out of your hair. Besides, that hotel I want to stay at is right on the beach! It's not every day that I get the chance to sleep in oceanfront property.” Waggling her eyebrows, she added, “I'm considering this a minivacation. Just don't tell Mark I said that! He'll think we cooked up the whole thing as an excuse for me to get away!”