Broken Vows (Domestic Discipline Romance) (8 page)

Jenny recognized a dodge when she heard it. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She did not want to get into a screaming match with her mother and knew they were close to it.

"If the box is marked for auction or consignment, yes," Jenny said tightly. "We don't have any need for it, so why not sell it? We can use the money."

"You have stooped so low that you are selling off your possessions." Denise dipped into a box and pulled out an Irish crystal bowl. "If you don't want this, I will take it."

"Not unless you plan on paying for it," Jenny said firmly. "The bowl will sell for a hundred dollars or more at auction."

"Excuse me?" Denise looked horrified. "You would charge your mother for something you are giving away?"

"Do you ever listen? I am not giving it away. I am sending it out to the auction. If you want it, pay for it. I want cash in my hand, too, not some vague promise to pay later. We both know how that works; it is a lie."

"Jennifer! Your father would turn over in his grave if he could hear you!"

Jenny looked directly at her mother. Sometime in the last few weeks, she had grown a stiffer backbone. Maybe it was because she and Josh had come so close to ending their marriage. Maybe, it was because she finally realized she could take a stand against her mother's manipulations.

"I doubt it, Mom. I remember some spectacular yelling matches between you and Dad over the lies you told him and the endless amount of bills he had to pay. If you want the Irish crystal, pay for it. If not, put it back in the box. I have a lot to do today."

"Westland's is having a sale today on cosmetics," Denise said with her single-minded manner of dismissing anything beyond what concerned her. "I thought you would like to come to the mall with me."

"I will not continue to repeat myself, I am not going to the mall. Whatever you want, get it yourself. I have another closet to clean out today. If you haven't heard, we are broke. I can't afford to go shopping, especially when I don't need anything." Jenny was talking with her back to her mother as she cut Adam's vegetables into small pieces so he wouldn't choke.

"You should divorce him," Denise said abruptly.

The knife slipped and sliced into Jenny's finger. She grabbed a paper towel to wrap around her bleeding finger. She glanced over at Emmie, who was staring at her grandmother with wide eyes full of fear. Jenny knew that look… it preceded hysterical screaming.

"Emmie, baby," Jenny said quickly. "Gamma didn't mean that. Mommy and Daddy are not getting a divorce. Would you run upstairs to the bathroom and get mommy a band-aid? You know where they are, please hurry."

She made sure Emmie was out of hearing before she turned on her mother. "How dare you come into my home and tell me I ought to get a divorce in front of my child!"

"Because you should," Denise exclaimed. "He is dragging you down, Jenny. You are a beautiful girl who you can do so much better. I could introduce you to dozens of men at the country club, men from good families who have made something of themselves. Men, who can support you, give you a real comfortable life. You would be able to afford a nanny, and could do so much more with your life. You are wasting your best years on that man. He was a foster child before he was adopted into
that
horrible
family. He is a nobody. He has chained you to this house!"

"
You
chained us to this house!" Jenny snapped. "I was the fool who allowed you to talk me into it!"

"I don't mean this house, literally," Denise exclaimed. "You deserve this house. I am talking about how he has you acting like a servant, cooking, cleaning, and never getting a break from these children! He has turned you into a maid and a nanny!"

"I am a wife and a mother. It is my choice to stay home with the children during their early years," Jenny exclaimed. "Good God, Mom! Emmie and Adam are your grandchildren!"

"A woman should not become a drudge to her children and husband, Jennifer. You need to find a man who makes a decent living or has family money, someone who can afford to take care of you!"

Jenny shook her head. "Don't you mean someone who will pay
your
bills and keep
you
pampered? You have money, Mom, far more than we do. If you want more money, go marry it yourself. Go home! Go away and live your life as you wish, and let me live mine. I love my husband! I love my children, and I love being able to be with them every day of their lives. I do not want
your
life. I do not want my kids raised by a nanny or a housekeeper. Mila and I certainly saw more of them than we did of either you or Dad. I'll tell you something else, Mom. Those nannies and housekeepers cared more about us than you or Dad ever did!

"I am not divorcing Josh so you can put me on the auction block to the highest bidder! That is your life. It was what you wanted and what you got. It is not what I want. Life is not about endless shopping and spas, sitting around a country club with snobbish friends who don't give a damn about you. I will take my life any day over yours. I don't care if Josh moves us to Timbuctoo. At least, we will be together and away from you! Now, get out!"

"That sounds like a great idea," Josh said, stepping through the doorway where he found his arms full as Jenny ran to him.

"Goodbye, Denise," Josh said firmly.

Denise grabbed her oversized handbag and spun around to leave, but Jenny was faster.

"I said pay for it," Jenny exclaimed through gritted teeth as she grabbed her mother's oversized designer bag to remove the Irish crystal bowl and set it down on the sideboard.

"You will regret treating me like this when your n****r-loving husband sends you packing!" Denise screamed throwing out the most despicable racial slur.

Josh sucked in his breath as his eyes reflected instant rage.

Jenny jumped between her husband and her mother, slamming her hand against his chest to keep Josh from advancing towards Denise.

"Get out, Denise!" Josh shouted. "Get out and stay out of our lives. You have crossed the line. We are through with you!"

Denise snatched the crystal bowl from the sideboard and threw it at Josh. He jerked Jenny out of the way, as it hit the refrigerator and shattered, sending glass shards in every direction as his mother-in-law stomped out, slamming the front door in her wake.

"Daddy," Emmie's scream brought both of their attention to their daughter. She ran across the room, Josh caught her as she jumped and hugged his neck.

"Holy crap, who's bleeding?" Josh demanded looking down to see his shirt splattered with blood. He stood Emmie on a kitchen chair visually searching her.

"That would be me," Jenny said holding up a finger dripping blood. "Emmie, honey, did you get Mommy a band-aid?"

Emmie nodded pointing to the box on the floor, but Josh was already dragging Jenny over to the sink. He turned on the water and pushed her hand under the faucet.

"Emmie, don't get down. There is glass everywhere," Josh ordered.

Jenny yanked her hand out from under the water. In one movement, she unhooked the tray to Adam's high-chair, scooped him out of the chair, and handed him to Josh. "Glass could be in their food and clothing. Take him and Emmie, and strip them. They may also have been hit with glass shards. Put them in the playpen, Emmie too, she can keep Adam occupied until we clean up this mess."

The next few minutes were hectic as Josh wrapped Jenny's finger temporarily and traded jobs with her. She inspected their children while he went into the kitchen and swept, vacuumed, and wiped down every single surface several times for fragments of glass.

Jenny came back into the kitchen, snagged a box of crackers, took it to the kids, and returned. "I cannot believe she did that! Of all the stupid, irresponsible things, I cannot believe she endangered Emmie and Adam!"

"I think I got it all," Josh said looking around. "Did anything hit the kids?"

"Emmy has a tiny prick on her arm. My God, she could have blinded them!"

Josh closed his eyes and put his arms around his wife. "She is not welcome in our home again. She has gone too far this time!"

He turned his attention to Jenny, pulling her over to the sink to unwrap her finger. "This could probably use a stitch or two. It looks deep. Don't look," he scolded. "I don't need you passing out on me."

Jenny let out a half laugh, half sob. "You arrived at an inopportune moment."

"I don't know," said Josh cleaning the cut, which started bleeding heavily again. He applied pressure to it. "I think Denise finally showed her true colors. Throwing a glass bowl with the children here and saying what she did… it is unforgivable. Otherwise, what I heard was pretty darn good. I heard my wife defending me and declaring she loves her kids and me. It can't get much better."

"Welcome home." Jenny went to lay her cheek against his chest but drew back immediately. "Ouch!
And
yuck! You need to change your shirt."

Josh chuckled and kissed her. "Honey, I'm home!"

He asked their next door neighbor if she would watch the children while he took Jenny to the Quick Care Emergency Center a few miles away. Emmie was okay with staying at Mrs. Blumb's, without a fight or screaming. Emmie had known the elderly woman since she was a baby and his daughter loved Mrs. Blumb's little dog.

Josh did change his shirt before taking Jenny to the Quick Care facility. A shot of Lidocaine, two stitches, and a bandaged finger interrupted any further discussions until they were back in the car.

"She screamed 'Daddy' this time," Josh said with a pleased smile as they were discussing their children. "Have you had much trouble with Denise since I've been gone?"

"Nothing more than what I told you on the phone. Today was the worse," Jenny admitted. "She has been driving me crazy. She has been always calling or coming over to entice me away from packing. It was her typical shenanigans. She wanted to go to the mall, or the day spa, or out to lunch. She offered to pay of course, but I have learned my lesson. I refused. I told her I did not have any cash and we had canceled our charge cards. She is so tedious."

"Has she ever said such things about my family before? Has she ever been as disgustingly bigoted as she was today?"

Jenny turned her head and looked out the window. "Yes, and I apologize for her. I am ashamed of what she said today."

"You didn't say it, so you cannot apologize for her. In fact, an apology from her would not be enough to dismiss such racist hatred. I am white and my adopted family is black. I thank God for them every day of my life." He choked up and could not continue for a moment. "I won't have bigotry around my children. I don't think Emmie has ever given a thought as to why her grandparents, aunt, uncles, and cousins are a different color than her. She only knows she loves them and they love her. I would like to keep it that way."

Jenny laid her hand on her husband's shoulder. "We will," she promised.

* * *

Josh spent his first evening at home playing with his children, giving them the attention they had missed during his absence. It was much later when the kids were asleep when he and Jenny went to their own bedroom.

"You never said how your trip went," Jenny said, coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and braiding her hair.

"I have two job offers. One is in architecture at Peak Designs, but it won't be available right away. The other is permanent for at least a year and I want to take it. It involves you, too!"

"Me? How?" Jenny asked.

"An old friend of mine has a place about eighteen miles from Durango, Colorado. He inherited a large house, which needs renovations. He wants me to take on the project. The job comes with a house, rent-free. It is a small, two-bedroom guesthouse, cozy, but workable. The main house and the housekeeper's quarters both need major renovations. He has some basic ideas, but he wants me to do the architectural designing, and you to do the interiors."

"Me?" Jenny demanded. "I don't have any experience in interior decorating."

"Yes, you do," Josh exclaimed. "I have shown him pictures of our apartments, and our house, and your textile art. It is exactly what he wants. He doesn't want a magazine showplace. He wants a livable, comfortable home that still looks good. A home encompassing four-thousand square feet, excluding the guest house and the housekeeper's quarters."

"Do I know this friend of yours?" Jenny asked.

"No, and you probably won't meet him either for a while. He recently came into a large family inheritance, and he is a little spooked by it. He wants to keep a low profile until he can get used to his newfound wealth. We can easily work out the details on-line, sharing digital designs and photographs.

"This is a perfect job, and it gets us away from here. It's our fresh start, Jen. We can work when we want, and have the kids with us all the time. Durango is a small city of under twenty thousand people. It's a snow lover's paradise. We love snow. We used to go north all the time when we lived in New York. There are snowmobiles in the garage. We don't even have to take our cars. There are two four-wheel-drive Land Rovers already there for our use. We can take this job in Durango and see how we like living in the area before I commit to the job at Peak Designs.