Jake by C. Petit (top novels TXT) 📗

It didn’t take long for him to shift his thoughts from Mrs. Kemper to Sara. He pulled up before her father’s business less than a minute later and stepped down. He wouldn’t have been surprised to find Sara waiting for him on the bench, but it was still too early.

After tying off Vulcan, he entered the store wearing a smile in anticipation of finding Sara waiting for him. His smile instantly vanished when his eyes revealed the other Smith daughter looking back at him. While Kay wasn’t as big as he expected, she was noticeably heavier with an even more impressive bosom. Despite the shock, Jake continued walking closer while Kay seemed to be evaluating him. He didn’t even notice her father and brothers as he drew nearer to his ex-girlfriend. But he did wonder where Sara was.

Before he stopped before her, Jake smiled and said, “Hello, Kay. How are you?”

He expected her reply to be nothing short of a verbal slap in the face, so he was surprised when she smiled and quietly answered, “I’m fine, Jake. It’s good to see you again. You changed quite a lot over the past few years. You’re even bigger than your father.”

Jake didn’t comment on his father or her noticeable changes, but said, “That’s what everyone keeps telling me. Sara said that you have three baby boys already. That must keep you busy.”

“It’s a challenge most of the time. Sara’s watching them right now, but I promised her that I’d return soon, so she could go to lunch with you. Can we sit on the bench for a little while?”

“That’s fine. You can tell me about your boys.”

Kay continued to smile then took his arm before they walked to the door. Once outside, they turned right and soon reached the bench. Jake waited for her to sit down, so he could leave space between them, but soon realized it wasn’t possible. Kay sat in the center of the bench leaving less than three feet of clear space on either side.

Jake sat on her right as far as possible, but he still felt his left thigh pressed against her right. He had no idea why she would force the contact. Surely, she didn’t believe that he was going to commit the sin of adultery with her. His father may have had fallen prey to his lust, but he wasn’t about to take that path. Suddenly, his decision to arrive early was nothing short of a disaster. Even if Kay had to relieve Sara by eleven o’clock, that still left almost an hour of embarrassing conversation with Kay as the townsfolk passed by. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

Kay smiled at him as she asked, “Are you really going to leave to find your father, even after you told Sara that you would court her?”

“I need to find him, Kay. I hope to return soon, though.”

“Sara is already very excited and I’m sure that you’ll make her happy.”

Jake was growing suspicious of Kay’s ultimate goal. After his and Sara’s joint discovery of Kay’s motives that drove him to enlist, he found it difficult to believe that she would be pleased with Sara’s happiness.

But he smiled back and said, “I’m excited myself and I’ll do all that I can to make her happy.”

“I’m sure you will. But what if your father returns? She told me that you would have to leave again if he did.”

“I’ll worry about that when it happens, but whatever the future holds, I’ll still marry Sara and do my utmost to be the best husband possible and a good father to our children.”

Kay then asked, “How long do you expect to be gone?”

“I have no idea. Originally, I thought it might be as long as three or four months, but now, I doubt if I’ll spend more than a month on the road.”

“Orville and Emmett were gushing about their new horses and Sara said you were going to give her one, too.”

“I’m going to give her Vulcan. He’s standing right there.”

She glanced at the horse and asked, “You’re going to give her that big animal? She can barely ride a pony.”

“I’ll teach her after she moves to the ranch. I’m sure she’ll learn quickly.”

Jake wasn’t surprised when Kay asked, “Will your give one to me when you return? After all, we were close to being husband and wife.”

“Of course. After I return, you can visit and choose one. I’ll even give you a set of tack.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”

Jake nodded and still had no idea of Kay’s motives which he believed were hidden deep within her mind busily selecting each word she spoke. He began to wonder if she knew about his father’s affair with Mrs. Kemper and planned to spring it on him shortly.

“May I select a horse as handsome as the one you gave to Sara?”

“I doubt if you could find another one to match him other than Mars. He’s my dark red horse and Vulcan’s older brother. But you can search the entire ranch to find one you like.”

“I’ll do that.”

Then she put him on the spot when she asked, “Why didn’t you comment on my figure, Jake?”

“It wasn’t my place to mention it. You’re Mrs. Homer James, and only your husband would be allowed to speak of such things.”

She laughed then said, “He does speak such things, but they’re always complimentary. He’s very fond of my larger breasts and hips and was actually annoyed when I started losing weight. In another few months, I’ll lose even more and have a figure that is closer to the one that excited you so much.”

Jake finally got an inkling of Kay’s intentions and said, “I’m sure that Homer will appreciate you even more when you do.”

“Sara will never be as voluptuous