Also, my statement effectively deflated the sultry mood that swelled between us.
J.J. smiled down at me. "Go soak in your tub while I bring the rest of the stuff in. Are you still full or do you want a snack?"
"I may never eat again," I stated, knowing it was a lie. Now that I was approaching the end of my first trimester, there were days that I felt like I could eat everything in sight and still be hungry. After I was done puking my guts up, that was.
"Then, I'll put the food away."
"Thanks," I said.
I moved past him toward the hallway, but he said my name and I stopped to look back at him.
"If any other concerns or even random thoughts cross your mind about you, me, or our marriage, talk to me. Please? I would like for us to be a team." He smiled a little. "And when the baby comes, we'll definitely need to work together."
My answering smile was diminutive as well. "I'll do the best I can if you do the same."
Jay stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. "I will."
We stared at each other for a long moment before he removed his hands from his pockets. "I'd better get the rest of the stuff out of the car. I left the back door open."
I nodded and went into my bedroom. I was just about to unzip my dress when I heard the scream.
Heart pounding, I ran faster than I had since I competed in track in high school. I dashed down the hall, flew through the kitchen, out the side door, and found J.J. standing at the end of the carport, staring inside his car.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Stay back," he commanded, raising a hand. "There's a raccoon in my car and they carry rabies."
I pressed my lips together so I wouldn't laugh when I glanced in the car and saw the enormous raccoon sitting in the backseat as if he was ready to go for a ride.
"Rascal!" I said, putting my hands on my hips. "You get out of that car this instant."
A few seconds later, tiny black paws touched the concrete, followed by the hefty belly. Rascal emerged from the car, his head down, as he lumbered past me.
"Lee—" J.J. said, taking several steps toward me as though he were going to pull me away from the animal.
Rascal stopped near my feet and turned back toward my new husband. He rose up on his hind legs, baring his teeth as he hissed.
J.J. stopped in his tracks. "Crap." He shot me a quick look. "Go inside while I keep him distracted."
I sighed. "J.J., this is Rascal. He's sort of a fixture around here." I looked down at the raccoon. "Stop being mean to J.J. He's a new friend."
Rascal lifted his head to look at me, heaved a heavy sigh, and dropped back down to all fours before trudging around to the back of the house to the patio where I kept his food bowl.
When I looked back at J.J., he was staring at me with his mouth open.
"Are you telling me that raccoon is your pet? Don't you know how dangerous that is? They carry diseases. And fleas. That carry more diseases."
"He's been coming around for a while now, since he was young."
J.J. cocked his head and said, "He looks just like the one that comes around my sister's place, but that's over a mile away."
"I don't think raccoons travel that far," I said with a shrug.
"You do know it's not a good idea to feed wild animals, right?"
"Yes, dear," I replied.
J.J. made a sound that was part laugh, part sigh. "And so it begins."
It was my turn to laugh as I approached the car. There were still a few small wedding gifts in the backseat, so I grabbed the bags and carried them into the house.
A few moments later, J.J. followed me inside, two suitcases and a box in tow.
"That can't be all of your stuff," I said, putting the gifts on the kitchen table next to the other bags.
"It's not. I figured I'd go get the rest over the next couple of days. I haven't been back in town long enough to really settle into my new place, so I don't have a lot of furniture."
"You didn't have furniture at your old place in Dallas?" I asked.
He grinned. "When I put my house on the market, the guy buying it threw in extra money for the furniture. He liked what I had and didn't want to go shopping."
I smiled back. "Did you tell him your mom picked it out?" I asked.
He clapped a hand to his chest and stumbled back. "You wound me. You don't think I'm capable of picking out my own furniture?"
"I'm sure you are," I replied, laughing. "But I know for a fact Colette picked it out because she showed my mother some of the pieces on her phone while she was trying to decide."
"I guess there'll be no secrets between us. No mystery," J.J. sighed in mock defeat.
"Our families have known each other too long," I said with a shrug.
"I guess the upside is I don't have to be on my best behavior."
"Uh, no, you still have to do that."
He laughed. "Well, then as a husband on his best behavior, I'm telling you to go soak in the tub while I put everything away. And Dad wanted me to tell you to put some Epsom salt in a foot bath for your feet, but I imagine it'll work just as well in the tub." He paused. "Do you have Epsom salts?"
I nodded. "I do." And now that J.J. had mentioned it, my feet were beginning to throb again.
"Oh, he also said for you to stay hydrated and avoid salt if possible. That should also help with the swelling." J.J. walked over to the fridge, got out a bottle of water, and brought it to me. "So if I'm constantly bugging you to drink water, that's why, and you can gripe at him instead of me when you get tired of it."
I took the bottle. "Thank you. And fair warning, I've been having some mood swings, so the griping thing is a real possibility."
J.J. put an arm around my shoulders for a side hug. "That's okay. I grew up with Cam during her teen years. I'm well-prepared."
I laughed to myself. "I'm telling your sister you said that."
He dropped his arm and gave me a gentle nudge toward the hall. "That's fine. I've said it to her face numerous times. Now, stop stalling and go take a bath. I'm exhausted and I'm betting you are, too."
He was right. I was tired.
But at the moment, things didn't seem awkward. I knew they would be when I emerged from my bath. I wasn't sure how I was going to navigate this marriage.
"It's okay," J.J. said, as if he was reading my mind. "You don't have to do everything. I can handle putting away leftovers and shoving the presents in a corner until tomorrow."
Okay, so he thought I was hesitating because I felt the need to do everything. But he was right, it would be all right. J.J. was obviously making an effort to start off our marriage smoothly.
All I needed to do was make an effort, too.
I left J.J. in the kitchen and took my bath.
13
The next morning, the sound of the front door slamming woke me. I squinted one eye, cursing the fact that I'd forgotten to close my curtains, and then sat straight up in bed when a man walked by my bedroom window.
I was just about to grab my cell phone and call the police when the man returned to the window and stuck his face against it so that his nose turned up like a pig's.