Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) Read online

  Linnie nodded. “We’re going to need your help, for sure.”

  Glancing over at Dani, Linnie gave her a telling grin, then looked at Jules and said, “Maybe you know the best way to go about this? You know, like how we should teach her.”

  “Oh sure,” Jules answered nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. “We can look to Gestalt’s Theory of Learning and break things down into two basic routes. Then figure out which one comes naturally to Dani, and take it from there.”

  Smiling widely, Linnie gave Dani an I told you so look. “Keep going smarty-pants, give it to us in plain English.”

  “Stop that,” Jules snipped, “my brain just works like that and you know it.”

  Touchy, touchy, Dani thought, taking it all in. Little Miss Brainiac here has a tender spot and Dani found it intriguing that Jules would be self-conscious of being exceptionally smart, when she sat here feeling the same about being stupid.

  “Yes, yes,” Linnie responded with a roll of the eyes. “Now plain English please.”

  Jules talked as she prepped the meat. “Okay, using Gestalt’s Theory of Learning, it comes down to Dani being either a visual-spatial learner, or an auditory-sequential one?”

  Huh? Whatever that was, Dani thought. If you asked her, she would say she was a fly by the seat of your pants, do whatever it takes to survive, learner. Dani went back to looking at Linnie, feeling like she was watching a tennis match.

  Linnie kept at it. “Aha, do you know, or have any ideas of how we can find out which one she is?”

  Washing her hands in the sink, Jules turned off the water and dried her hands on a towel before turning to them. “Dani, when you were in school, did they teach phonics?”

  Damned if she knew. It seemed like they’d tried everything. “Ahhh, if that’s where you break up words into chunks and learn their sounds, yes.”

  “How’d that work for you? Were you able to get the hang of it?”

  Hell no, she wanted to holler, that’s why she was so stupid. It sucked and she hated it. “I, ahh, tried, but it was so damn hard I’d get a headache. I mean why can’t they just tell you the word? All I wanted was for them to tell me the word.”

  “I thought so,” Jules responded smugly. “She’s visual-spatial.”

  “Meaning what?” Dani asked in alarm. Then feeling leery, asked, “Is that bad?”

  “Noooo, not at all,” Jules assured her, as she shook her head. “It’s just not where the emphasis of reading instruction is right now. The push is for students to learn phonics, because the theory is that by knowing how to break and decode words by knowing sounds, you would always be able to figure out how to say or spell a word you weren’t familiar with. But visual spatial learners such as yourself, find it easier to learn using whole word learning systems. Many generations of people learned to read this way before phonics took hold. We’ll get you Dick and Jane books, then go from there, you can learn phonics later when you have more confidence and understanding.”

  Wait a minute here, did she say whole word learning…really? “You mean you’ll just tell me the word and I won’t have to use my dictionary?”

  “What dictionary?”

  Walking to her desk in the other room, she pulled out her electronic dictionary and showed it to them. “When I have something I need to read, I match the letters of the words up to the letters on here, and then press the speak button and it tells me the word. The problem is, it doesn’t work if the writer uses that fancy writing. I can only do it if the print matches up to what’s here.”

  Jules smiled upon hearing this. “You’re definitely a visual-spatial learner. Yes, we’ll just tell you the words. We’ll get you flashcards and you’ll commit it all to memory. It will be easy for you because your neural pathways are already primed for rote memorization as a result of your genetics, and coping strategies learned from years of living in a literate society. You can, and will, learn to read.”

  Dani couldn’t explain it, but somehow, deep down inside, this felt right. Her eyes began to water. It was like her insides just let out a big sigh and said, finally, someone who knows what to do. Looking at the two of them she didn’t know what to say, so she just said, “Thank you.”

  “Told you, didn’t I,” Linnie said, wrapping an arm around Dani, giving her a squeeze from the side. “We’ve got you, and as you are the only serious relationship for Kris other than Vannie, and as he’s as happy as a meadowlark in the springtime, we need to bring you into the fold, because we all like you and Junie.”

  A squall came over Dani in an instant. Whoa, hold up, there’s a wasp in the bee’s nest, and she didn’t like it one bit. “Just who in the hell is Vannie?” she growled, her temper racing to forefront. “I’ve got a rope and I damn well know how to use it! He’s going to get it!”

  Both Jules and Linnie’s eyes popped open wide, then they busted out laughing.

  Dani threw her hands in the air. “Not this again!” Turning, she started for the door.

  “Stop! Dani wait,” Linnie said sharply. Holding her stomach down low, she limped in Dani’s direction. “It’s not what you think. Seriously, my goodness, when it’s time to go into labor, I’m coming over here, all this laughing should do the trick. Come back, please, let me tell you about Vannie.”

  Stomping her way back over to them, none too pleased, she crossed her arms over her chest and stood looking at Linnie. “Okay, spit. I’ll decide if I’m going to hurt him after. For his sake, this better be good,” she snapped, tapping her foot impatiently.

  Starting to laugh again, Linnie said, “Please, you have got to stop, because it hurts when I laugh. My gosh, the two of you are a match made in heaven. Holy moly. Okay, here we go. Vanessa was Kris’s high school sweetheart. He was a year ahead of her and it was pretty serious between them, then she went off to college. She was coming home for the Thanksgiving holiday after having been gone almost three months and Kris was so excited to see her, missed her something awful, bought a ring, put on a suit and tie, flowers, the whole nine yards.

  “She’d told him to come over because she wanted to see him, and when he did, she broke up with, told him it was the “freshman turkey drop,” then proceeded to prance down the porch stairs and into the waiting car of her new stud of a boyfriend. All in front of Kris’s eyes. He was crushed.”

  Pulling out a bottle of water and taking a quick drink, Linnie continued. “It was a horrible, terrible thing she did, and he’s never truly recovered from it until now. There have been women, but we’ve never seen them and they’ve never lasted long. Ever since that happened with Vannie, he’s always proclaimed he was going to be a bachelor and never have kids. So seeing how he is with you and Junie is very heartening for all of us.”

  Linnie shrugged as she smiled thinking back on things. “It’s like he’s young again. He’s been so intense, aloof, and brooding for so long now, we’d all forgotten what he used to be like. He’s a good man, and I really mean that, I’m not just saying that because I’m his sister. When he loves, he loves deeply, and as a result he was hurt to the core by Vanessa. Honestly, we’re all hoping your developing an affection for him, because we know he has for you.”

  Thinking about it for a few moments, Dani dropped her hands and put them in the back pockets of her jeans. Responding as she shifted on her feet and looked to the floor, she said, “I, ahh…he’s, ahh…he’s very important to me.”

  “Is everything going okay?” Linnie asked softly, searching for more. “I mean, he hasn’t been coming home at night, and we assume he’s been here.”

  “Yes,” Dani answered quickly, as she looked at them. “He’s been here. It’s, ahhh, going...fine.”

  Jules cleared her throat. “I’m sorry if this is too much information, but for whatever its worth, I remember being really nervous when Jake and I were first getting to know one another. I’d never had a boyfriend before him and had never had sex before, and well, sometimes us girls need to talk to someone. I know I did. If you need to talk, we�
��re here.”

  Dani was on the move, pacing nervously. She was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Deep breath, in out, more pacing. Great, she was pacing, her heart was racing, and her mind was spinning.

  “Dani,” Jules said worriedly. “I’m sorry if I upset you.”

  Stopping, she looked at them with intensity, then started pacing again. Back and forth…

  Grasping her hand, Linnie stopped her. “Can you tell us what it is, or do you need help?”

  “Help,” she said, freaking out a little.

  “Okay, it’s going to be alright” Linnie said calmly. “Do you want me to ask you questions and you answer, or do something else?”

  She was so calm, how could she be so calm? “Questions.” she squeaked.

  “Alright, let’s take a deep breath. Here we go. Have you and Kris slept together?”

  The words tumbled out quick. “We’ve been in the same bed.”

  Linnie, pondered that. “Okay, have you and Kris made love?”

  She shook her head rapidly.

  “Alright, are you scared to make love?”

  Dani nodded frantically.

  “Are you scared Kris will hurt you in some way?”

  Damn, she had to answer this one. Snap. Oh God. “Not on purpose.” She knew, she knew! She was a professional for heaven’s sake. Nothing was a secret from these people.

  “Has someone hurt you or forced you into having sex in the past?”

  Stopping, Dani put her hands out against the counter, bracing herself, then closed her eyes as she tipped her head downward and nodded.

  “Do you need to see a doctor or get crisis counseling?”

  She shook her head. “No,” she answered with a rasped voice. “I spent many months in a women’s shelter and two years in counseling.”

  “Have you been intimate with anyone since it happened?”

  She nodded as she closed her eyes fighting back tears.

  “Was it a positive experience or were there problems?”

  “Problems,” Dani responded weakly. Damn, she really was a professional, confident and skilled in getting to the bottom of things.

  “Like?”

  “I disassociate.”

  “Does Kris know?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you want to make love with him?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you afraid of?”

  “Flashbacks.”

  “Tell Kris if you can, he’ll help you through this.”

  Dani nodded. “I know he will, I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about Junie.”

  “Tell me more, help me to understand.”

  “I’m afraid I might start screaming, or crying, or fighting back, waking Junie in the process and scaring her. I’m afraid she’ll think Kris is hurting me.”

  Linnie’s smile was carried through in her voice. “So you need some date nights with just the two of you. I think we could make arrangements. It won’t be long until Nate and I will need date nights too. It’ll help once our house is finished being built, but still, date night is nice. Would she sleep at the farm or would she need to be here?”

  “I think she’d be alright with you at the farm, but we are just down the road if there’s a problem. We can come get her if need be. She must be near one of you at all times though, in case she should wake and not know where she is and become frightened as a result.”

  Looking at Jules, Linnie said grinning, “I think it’s time for a girl’s night with Miss Junebug. We’ll sit around and watch Disney movies, do our hair, and paint our nails.”

  “Oh, she’d love that, she does Kris’s and my hair all the time.”

  “Excuse me,” Jules said, standing tall and arching a brow, “did you say she does Kris’s hair? Like with girls stuff?”

  “Mmhmm, barrettes, bows, clips, stuff like that.”

  Jules’s face took on a deep look of satisfaction. “We will pay top dollar for a picture of that. Name your price.”

  *****

  Opening the door to the house, Kris let his nose lead the way. Something smelled damn good. Walking into the dining room, he stopped. Plates, not bowls, forks, not spoons, a salad, not cereal. Hot damn, they were eating tonight! Wait…candles? Hmmm. He looked around, no toys spread out, no nascent chattering, no little girl. Whooohooo! Dinner and dessert, yes. Wait, it could be appetizer, dinner, and dessert, or dessert, dinner, dessert. “Ohhhh Daaaanniiii, where arrrrre youuuuu?” he called out feeling playful.

  “In the laundry room,” she yelled back.

  Hehehehe, come here my pretty. Stopping at the fridge, he went to grab a beer, when he spied the bottle of wine chilling. Yes! Now we’re cooking. He was glad he’d showered and changed before coming over. Heading to the laundry room, he stopped in the doorway. Hooooly shit! She had on an olive green muscle shirt and a camouflaged mini skirt, and…and…her legs went on forever. Rolling up his tongue and lapping his mouth, he took her in from bottom to top and pleaded with her when their eyes met. “I want eggs, please say were having eggs.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Laughing, she shook her head at his apparent desperation. “We’re going to try, see if we can do it without breaking the yolk and making a mess of things. Your sister said I had to wear this get up and I’m supposed to tell you that you can thank her later.”

  Thrilled with this turn of events, he started laughing as he walked towards her. Taking the towel she was folding from her hands, he tossed it in the air and kissed her on the lips. Picking her up, he headed for the bedroom.

  Passing through the kitchen, Dani stopped him. “Wait, the roast, I have to do what Jules said or I won’t know how to do it.”

  Nope, no way. He was not losing out over a lump of protein. “How much time is left?”

  Looking at the clock, she said, “Half an hour in the oven, then twenty minutes resting on a plate.”

  Setting her down, he turned off the oven and pulled the roast out, setting it on top and covering it with tinfoil. Turning back, he picked her up and headed for the bedroom.

  Looking at him, she scowled. “That had potential you know, now it’s ruined. What am I supposed to tell Jules?”

  He didn’t give a damn about some old roast, they could have Cheerios for all he cared. “Tell her I was hungry for eggs, and it’s not ruined, it’ll continue to cook on the stove while Chicken Little and I try and figure out if the sky’s falling or not.”

  “I don’t want you to be disappointed,” she responded weakly.

  Standing by the bed, he looked in her eyes, “Dani, you’ve already exceeded my expectations tonight, so no chance of that. We have our code words, what else, positions, talking, what?” She shrunk in her skin and he saw it.

  “Ummm...”

  Okay, asking was not going to work, he was going to have to go on a fishing expedition to figure this out. “I have an idea,” he said, as natural as can be. “We’ve touched a little, how about I just touch you more and you tell me if it works for you or not, then we’ll put the rest together when we know what’s good and what’s not?” Please say yes, he damn near begged aloud.

  “Okay…yeah,” she answered, sounding a bit unsure. “I think that would be okay.”

  Hallelujah! He needed to be thankful she was willing to go with the things he suggested they try. “Alright, here we go.”

  Laying her on the bed in the dim light of the setting sun, he stripped down to his boxer briefs and started by rubbing her feet. Watching her relax, he took his time. “We good?”

  “Sunny side up,” she answered, opening heavy eyes and staring at him warmly.

  Perfect. One hand on her ankle, he slid the other hand up to her knee, then bent and lifted her leg as he began to put tiny kisses all over it, making his way up higher. Stopping at the knee, he switched to the other leg, slowly making his way up. Reaching her knee, he stopped. How was that?

  “Sunny side up.”

  She was looking super relaxed and her eye
s a little dazed. Nice. Taking one of her hands, he massaged and kissed her fingers, then worked his way up to her neck, then switched to the other side and did the same. Now her neck and face, her lips, lots of kissing on the lips, her ear, her shoulder, her collarbone. More of the neck as he slid his hand up her side and along her breast. She squirmed with that, so he checked in, “We okay?”

  “Ummm, yeah, sunny—gulp—side up.”

  “You sure, cause I don’t want to misread the cues?”

  “Take off my shirt.”

  She was breathing fast. “Ahh, you—

  “Don’t argue with me,” she snapped. “You want it off, and I want you to take it off, now take it off!”

  Okay, he prayed she wasn’t rushing it. Leaning over her, he kissed her tummy as he slowly worked her shirt up, then off. Heeeellllooo cupcakes with cherries on top! Nice, no battle armor to wrestle with and get off, just abundant handfuls of plush goodness in God’s gift to man. He was a lucky, lucky man, and he knew it.

  Kissing all around her erogenous zones, he caressed and touched her with care, until he couldn’t take it anymore, he had to have a taste. She moaned when his tongue touched her, and he felt like he’d just scored the winning goal at the Super Bowl.

  “Sunny side up, really sunny up here,” she said, giving him the green light.

  Score! He was on it, he went to town and loved every minute of it. This was no chore. On things went, moving along nicely, until his hand went to her thigh.

  “Kris,” she cried out, as she panted. “Kris,” she yelled, “I want hard boiled, but all I’m getting is scrambled!”

  He was there, next to her, soothing her. “Alright, over-easy, slow it down, tell me what’s going on while it’s happening.

  “I can’t move or get away, I’m trying but I can’t, and my arms are stuck, I can’t make it stop. When I say stop, it doesn’t, there’s just pain.”

  Listening to her, he prayed he got it right. “Okay, I’ve got you, your safe. Those are all fears over loss of power and control. Let’s fix this by giving you control.”