Read Online The 90 Day Rule by Diane Nelson - Free Book Online

‘B’?”
    “Yeah, you’d think but the granddaddy’s had a word first, I’m guessing. I’m named after mom’s father, Cade after my dad’s oldest brother.”
    “Did anyone stay on the ranch?”
    “Funny thing was, Cade moved back, along with Agnes. Astride and her family live close and help out. We tend to like big families where we come from.”
    Jack’s thumbs circled the fleshy bits nestled on his arms. The movement did little to distract me from concentrating on the hard length of his erection pressing solidly on my lower back.
    “So, you went military too,” I could feel his chin nodding against my scalp, “and then college and now here?” I was worming my way to the real questions. The ones that would pull the rug from under my feet, metaphorically speaking.
    “I met Racine at Virginia Tech. I was still a grad student. She played forward. We, uh, got on good.”
    That seemed like an odd way to put it. There was no way to see his face but tension in his upper body was a dead giveaway. Everything around us stilled, his thumbs, his breathing, even the air settled in a dome of silence over top of us.
    Jack’s voice seemed to echo down a long tunnel. “Racine got pregnant. She didn’t tell me until it was too late. It was the end of her career. Almost the end of mine.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Racine’s … black.”
    “Oh.”
    “Yeah. You have to understand, back then they just paid lip service to interracial marriages, especially in the south. Anyway, I did the right thing. Went against both our families’ wishes. We had my girls, I got work, made enough to support us doing a job I loved.”
    A long silence followed. What came next would be painful. I liked this man … a lot. There was no need for him to air his grief.
    Apparently Jack Ryan thought differently.
    “We came up here but Racine never fit in. She hated it here. She’d escaped a small town in Tupelo. This wasn’t what she wanted.”
    “Jack…”
    “She left, just up and left. Packed a bag. Walked out the door. Didn’t even call for somebody to look in on the girls. They were five at the time. Neighbor lady called me at the gym. Heard the girls crying in the apartment.”
    I husked, “Oh Jack, I’m so sorry.”
    I wanted to turn around, hold him, comfort him but he refused to release me. His chin settled on my left shoulder, the words muffled.
    “I sent them to live with Annie, my oldest sister. There was no way for me to care for them. Not with traveling, coaching. The hours are killers.” I nodded understanding. “I did what I thought was right.”
    Before I could process what I’d learned, Jack scrambled to his feet. I followed suit, both of us swaying from the effort.
    He leaned in and cupped my face in his huge hands. I swallowed once, twice … waiting. I thought he might kiss me. Instead he whispered, “Thank you,” and took my hand, leading me back to the house.
    The steam from the heated water in the hot tub rose like a silver veil in the approaching twilight. I’d lost track of time.
    The excuses came quickly.
    Thank you for a pleasant afternoon.
    I need to get home now.
    I have to get ready for tomorrow…
    I’m sure you have things to do.
     
    “Stay, Jes. Just a little longer. You need to soak, otherwise you won’t be able to move tomorrow.”
    While I watched, dumbfounded, the man stripped, laid his glasses on the table, and climbed into the super-heated water with a sigh. And for an instant I wondered if everything he’d confided in me had been a ploy, a ruse to relax me and to bring me to this point. Softened, suppled, sympathetic.
    “I won’t touch you. Not unless you want me to. I promise.”
    Biting my lower lip hard enough to draw blood, I wallowed in my misgivings. Then I made a decision. An adult decision.
    “Turn around.”
    Jack stared, confused.
    “Turn. Around.”
    “Oh, yeah.” He put his back to me and I clearly heard, “Fucking rules,” but there was a hint of laughter in