Chapter Sixty Eight

Jon sat back and leaned against the headboard and sighed. Another long day ahead to deal with shit no doubt. He had damage control to do and fast, for his kid’s sake. Looking down he watched Jesse sleep soundly. The way her hair was strewn across her face, and the tight pout her lips were in almost caused his lower body to stir. He didn’t have time damn it. Reaching out he traced the tip of his finger down her jaw line till she stirred.

She looked up with sleepy eyes and managed a small smile “What time is it?” she asked as she shuffled her body upright. He reached over and pulled her into his chest wrapping his arms around her. Breathing deep the smell of her, vanilla and soap it was a comfort for him right now before he needed to go and face the world.

“Just a little after twelve” he whispered into her soft tresses.

“God I feel like I need to sleep for a week” she sighed into his warmth while he stroked her back gently.

“Mmm” was all he managed to reply as he gazed out the window.

Jesse noted his distant tone and soft fall of his chest. She looked up see the curve of his jaw line pointing away. “What’s wrong?” she asked noticing the soft frown that had appeared on his forehead.

His blue eyes looked down at her, full of concern. “Dot just rang before. Our engagement made the papers, and the kids know” he paused “as well as my mother”.

Jesse pulled away and sat up “Really? Shit, Jon… I didn’t think... The launch! I’m so sorry” she said. She should have thought about that on the night, that things would get out from the launch to the media, she’d spent all night introducing Jon as her fiancé it was only going to be a matter of time.

His frown deepened “Hey hey, this is not your fault. I knew the press would be there that night. I had planned to tell the kids and Dot the morning after but of course the Jason showed up. I just lost track of time being worried about you, it was just an accident, and once I explain that to them they will be fine” he reassuringly nodded. He wasn’t totally sure of that, but he’d have to damn well try at the very least.

“Was she upset? How are the kids?” she asked worried knowing he held his kids welfares above all else.

Jon shook his head “I don’t know, Dot just said that they were disappointed that they had to hear it through the press than from me, and she’s right in a way, I’ve always made a huge deal about telling them everything before it hit the media, and then the most important thing of all, I slipped up.” he ran a hand through his hair and sighed hitting his head back against the wall.

Jesse closed her eyes. This was supposed to be the happiest time in a woman’s life, engaged to someone she deeply loved, friends and family alike celebrating the good news. But not in this case, they seemed to be just making more waves wherever they went, whether it was unintentional or not.

Jon could see she was calculating thoughts in those big brown eyes, she’d gone so quiet.
He pulled her against his chest again and held her even tighter than before.
“Now listen here Jesse Adams, we’re going to work through all this. I know we are we’ll find a way. We have to” he said placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

She laced her fingers through his “I know we will. I just don’t want to face it all right now, can we run away instead?” she asked quietly. That idea was much more appealing than facing Jason again today and his parents. She had a lot to work through with him now, would they divorce? Or were they already officially since his death already had dissolved the marriage? God this was just a mess.

Jon chortled “God Jess, I would want nothing more than to pack you up and go lye on a remote island somewhere where no one knew who we were, yep, lets do that” he managed a smile. If only life was that simple right now. He was used to having so much control in his situations, choosing when and how he dealt with people and problems, but this had him completely thrown.

He held her in the simplicity of their silence just for a few moments longer before they both knew that they had to get up and face the world. A world that promised so many challenges right now. He nuzzled the crook of her neck with his nose before kissing the soft skin there.

Once they both had redressed and had a quick bite to eat that consisted of cheese on toast accompanied by very strong coffee, Jesse stood holding his hands in hers as they kissed goodbye and made plans for that evening. She would bring a couple of bags of clothes back with her, she couldn’t stay with Jason it just felt too weird.

“Just remember ring me if you need to ok, I’ll come, do whatever you want” he said running his finger across the band of her ring.

She smiled “Same goes with you, I’m looking forward to that pizza, wine and that couch just like you promised” both thinking they’d very much need to relax after the day were over so Jon had suggested that’s exactly what they did tonight.

~

Jason sat in the living room of his house with his parents, it had been an emotional reunion, and they’d been so shocked but overwhelmed with joy that their son was alive. They couldn’t believe that they had made such a mistake with his death, but realized that wasn’t important anymore. After the initial tears and explaining he watched his mother lean back and look around.

“Where’s Jesse?” Jane asked noting that she hadn’t been here the whole time.

Jason cringed “She’s at Jon’s, she is coming back today supposedly” he explained. She still hadn’t definitely told him it was over between them, so a small flicker of hope burned inside him.

Jane raised her eyebrow “She went to his house when YOU were here last night?” she shook her head “I expected better of her to be honest”.

“Mom! You can’t blame this on her, she did exactly what I asked her to do, and that was move on. She’s still in shock” Jason explained. He got that, he knew that she’d done nothing wrong moving on with Jon, but he still couldn’t help the niggling feeling that it had felt like she’d cheated on him.

“That be so, she left you in the house alone to go back to her little fling with the rock star?” she asked incredulously.

Jason sighed and sat back “Well its no fling, she’s supposedly marrying him” he said. Both Peter and Jane’s eyes widened.

“What? You have to be joking, well that’s liable to change now that you are home, and alive surely. You’re her husband” Jane said clicking her nails together. She was marrying the rock star? She liked Jesse, she always had, very career driven and independent and she had made her son very happy. But this was unacceptable the way she had treated him.

“No I’m not. I’ve seen them together, and the way they look at each other, it’s real. I can’t change that Mom. If she doesn’t want to come back to me, she doesn’t” he said. Jason knew that this was the truth but he wasn’t prepared to at least go down without trying. She can’t of lost five years of feelings in just six months surely.

Just then the door opened and Jesse herself came in. Jason stood up “Hey” he said.

“Hey, Peter, Jane good to see you again” she smiled through gritted teeth with surprise as she had expected that Jason would be at their place hoping she’d have time to just pull herself together first before all this, but no. She was head first into the fire.

Jane smiled “Jesse... so good to see you again, isn’t this a miracle! Our Jason back here with us, who would have ever thought that this day was possible” she said gushing. Jesse just raised her eyebrow, well hell she’d changed her tune. Jesse wasn’t stupid though she knew she was doing it because Jason was in the room.

Jesse managed a genuine smile as she patted Jason’s arm “Of course it is, it’s a miracle for sure” she gave him a small smile as she excused herself to get changed, since she was still in the damn dress from the launch being the only thing she had taken to Jon’s as she was wearing it at the time. She quickly change into a pair of jeans and a black cashmere sweater before heading back downstairs.

They all looked up at her when she came in “What’s wrong?” she asked. Jason looked slightly sheepish before Jane spoke up.

“Well Jason was just telling us about your engagement, and I was saying that all changes now doesn’t it Jesse?” she asked, her lips curling at the edges.

“Um, I would rather talk to Jason privately about all that if you don’t mind” she said as she picked up the mail that had arrived for the day.

“Dear, we’re all family here, and we know how loyal you are to Jason, so its only natural that you return to him and break it off with this Jon character” she said.

Jesse saw red and dropped the letters “As I said, this is between Jason and I, things are more complicated than just loyalty, I love Jon, and I know you don’t like him the way you treated us” she spat. She watched Jason raise her brow.

She grinned at Jason ruefully “Oh yeah they made Jon feel uncomfortable and made me feel like I was committing a cardinal sin by seeing someone else six months after my husband had died…”

“Mom?” Jason asked. That didn’t sound like his parents at all. They usually always had supported Jesse no matter what.

Jesse managed to laugh “Oh but it gets better, when I told them that I was seeing Jon and nothing would change that, they had the nerve to dump all the pictures of us they had over the years in a box on MY doorstep, do you know how that made me feel? After everything we had been through with his death? How long it took ME to get over the guilt of seeing another man? Yeah well, there you go Jason, mommy dearest, not so dear after all” Jesse said standing defiant in the living room with her hands on her hips daring her to speak back.