“Thank God,” Kaeden drawled sarcastically.
Once he was inside, he paused in the doorway, wishing his wife was in the kitchen cooking dinner and that his kids were running to jump into his arms. It was a home of great style and substance. A home that was a testament to his business success. A home that was ready to be filled with family and love.
Jade finished her five-mile jog on the treadmill, grabbing her hand towel to blot the sweat from her chest before she stepped down onto the floor. She picked up her water bottle, placing it to her lips before she tilted her head back. Once her thirst was quenched, she stepped forward to study her figure in the full-length mirror covering the entire rear wall of the gym.
She turned this way and that in the white fitted tank top she wore with lime green shorts with a white trim. She frowned a little. It wasn’t that she hated her body, especially considering she had been overweight up until she discovered dieting and exercise in high school. In total irony, the chubby kid shed the fat and revealed a brick house body that drew men to her far more than she wished—and not just because she had a friend. No matter how much she exercised, her assets weren’t going anywhere and neither were her proportions. Full breasts, small waist, wide hips, thick thighs.
Just like her mom—sexy divorcée Deena Rockwell-Prince, who was forty-three but looked and acted every bit of thirty…or younger. Being just seventeen years younger than your own mother had its ups and downs.
In the mirror, her eyes focused on the scene behind her and she rolled her eyes at four men standing together watching her like a hawk. She locked the cap on her water and turned to walk to the steam room. Unfortunately, her admirers were in her path.
“Whaddup, baby girl?”
“Damn, you fine as hell.”
“Whoo-oo-hoo!”
“’Cuse me,” she said politely in that husky voice of hers as she edged between equipment and a tall, buff brother in red who looked like a walking steroid commercial.
Whap!
Jade froze as her eyes widened in pure shock and disbelief. One of them had slapped her bottom as if she was walking the strip during Black Bikers Week. Jade whirled on them, and she knew from the smirk on the face of the light-skinned brother looking like the poor man’s version of Boris Kodjoe that he was the culprit. She eyed him boldly as she placed her hands on her hips and placed one size nine Nike sneaker in front of the other to reach him. “Oh, oh, Jay,” one of the men warned playfully.
Jade reached out and grabbed his crotch so quick that she caught him completely by surprise. “What’s the matter? Don’t you feel complimented by me touching your body without permission?” she asked as she squeezed a bit. “I’m just showing my appreciation.”
“Dayummmmm!” the other men roared in unison.
“Now…let’s both play hands off.” With one last jiggle, Jade released him and turned to walk away, desperate to wash her hands.
She was glad to be out of range of the oversized juveniles. She took a quick shower and then wrapped a towel around her body to enter the steam room. “Thank God,” she sighed, glad that it was empty as she pressed her body against the steam bench and inhaled deeply and slowly.
She knew time was not on her side because she had an early day tomorrow, but for now she was going to enjoy this small luxury.
Jade knew she looked like a video vixen who wanted to be pampered and treasured, but at heart she was—and would always be—a fiercely independent tomboy. She hunted. She fished. She rode horses. She rock climbed. She liked to go camping. She was all about the outdoors.
It seemed only natural for her to start her own business as an outdoor tour guide. Wild-n-Out Tours was her baby and the brainchild of her co-partner, fellow guide Darren Jon. It had been costly to begin the business with purchasing liability insurance, buying the equipment, office space, and used vehicles for transportation of groups, but things were finally beginning to pay off. Thankfully they were able to acquire a small business loan and get lots of help from family. For the first year they mostly operated their services on the weekend, but in the last six months they decided to expand because of the warm weather and increased business. They both were finally beginning to feel good about their decision to leave their factory jobs and join together to blend their mutual off-hours outdoor adventures into a viable business.
She smiled a little at how their business friendship had recently blossomed into them casually dating. So far everything was good. She wasn’t looking for a full-blown relationship, but it was nice to have someone to chill and go to the movies or out to dinner with.
With regret, Jade took one last deep inhale and a leisurely stretch before she rose and left the steam room. She wasted no time dressing in her khaki capris and shirt before throwing her dirty exercise clothes in a bag and heading out the gym.
“Night, Jade,” the receptionist called out to her.
Jade waved and smiled. She was a regular—at least twice a week—and she was sure everyone at the small gym knew her well. Outside the gym she tossed her bag into the rear of her brightly colored Jeep Wrangler that she lovingly called Sunshine.
As she easily shifted the gears of the six-speed manual transmission, the night air breezing against her body felt good and she was glad she had taken the black soft-top off. She had the Wrangler wide open in the wind because she was so ready to get home to the little cottage she rented from the twin brothers who owned Jamison Contractors. The brothers—who both were sexy as all get out and happily married—had completely renovated their grandparents’ cottage and Jade had jumped at the chance to rent it when she decided it was time to move out of her parents’ house.
As soon as she reached Holtsville’s town limits, Jade slowed her vehicle down, not wanting to get a speeding ticket. Holtsville, South Carolina, was the epitome of small-town America, and Jade loved it. There were under a thousand people living in Holtsville compared to the over five thousand people living in nearby Walterboro. It felt like everyone knew each other or at least knew someone that knew someone else. True, sometimes the gossip of the closely knit townspeople worked her last nerve, but she loved the forest in her backyard, the charm of the small Main Street area, and the fact there was nary a traffic light in the whole town. She loved the laid-back pace. The sound of animals talking in the nighttime. The star-filled nights. The natural smell in the air after rain. Country fairs and festivals.
She’d take country living over city living in a heartbeat. She was born and raised up in Holtsville. She would enjoy the rest of her years there as well.
Jade slowed down, making the left by the lone one-pump gas station in Holtsville. Usually if she made it home in time she would stop and sit on the porch with Cyrus Dobbs, the grizzly silver-haired owner who was more false teeth than anything.
Soon she was turning onto the cement-paved driveway of her little two-bedroom cottage. She paused and smiled at how warm, cozy, and inviting it looked. The porch light was on above the built-in swing. Her colorful flower beds perfectly accentuated the wood of the cottage and the black of the shutters and front door.
Pulling forward some more to park in the front yard, Jade grabbed her keys and her bag. She was walking up onto the wooden stoop of the cottage when a car whizzed past and the driver tooted its horn. Jade just threw up her hand in greeting, not even bothering to look and see who it was. In the country, everybody greeted each other in passing.
As she stepped into the house, the scent of her perfumed body spray still hung in the air. She hit the switch to turn on the living room lights and quickly walked around the room lighting the dozens of scented candles she adored.
She loved the little cottage.