Chapter 9: Jason

Talking around the situation with Di reduced the tension Jason felt. They dried off, drove home, and slipped into a quiet Sunday listening to music as he helped her fold their clean clothes. His phone rang after a lunch of soup and sandwiches and he saw Lauren's name on the display.

"Hey sis," Jason said as he placed a folded undershirt on the stack sitting on the coffee table.

"Wha'sup my brotha?" she sang in a fake accent.

"Not much," he sang back at her. "Wha'sup witchoo?" Di looked over and smiled at him.

"Michelle and I are shopping in Bryson City with the kids and wondered if you had plans for dinner before we head back to Franklin?" Jason could hear the chatter of their four young children in the background.

"Why don't you stop by and eat here. I was thinkin' about grillin' some chicken thighs. We've got a couple of dozen marinating in a nice lemon pepper sauce."

"We?" she asked with a slow rising tone.

"I told you a couple of weeks ago. I gotta foster kid living in your old room to help me out around the house."

"Oh yeah," she said with a unconvincing tone of surprise.

"If you guys wanna meet her just say so."

"Oh, yeah, we wanna meet her."

Lauren sounded amused but then he heard Michelle in the background yell, "It's a her?"

Jason laughed and asked, "When are you getting here?"

"How about five? The kids eat early and then they can play while we visit," Lauren said.

"See ya then," he said and stood up to stretch his back when he dropped the call.

"How many?" Di asked.

"Lauren, Michelle, and their four kids."

"So no leftovers? You may have to fudge my budget this week."

"Maybe we'll go out a couple of times instead of eating leftovers," he said.

"Okay," she said and sighed. "I'm a little nervous about meeting your sisters."

"You'll be fine. Like I told you, they're gonna love you." Just like I do.

She seemed to hear his unspoken addendum and smiled at him. "Go grill. I'll take care of the rest."

Jason got the pan of chicken and a beer from the refrigerator and made his way out the back door. The porch opened to a view up the rocky face of a mountain. The gray and white rock was dotted with stunted fir trees growing in the crags. The snow melt and summer rains fed a stream that fell in splashing torrents down the rocks and into a culvert to the highway.

The sound of the wind and falling water concealed the noise of the highway and made it easy to imagine being far from civilization. Jason stacked charcoal and wood under the grill, then lit a fire and arranged the chicken. Sitting down on the wooden chair, he put his foot up on the porch rail and leaned back to sip his beer. Grilling is thirsty work.

He stared at the passing clouds and considered his future. He had wanted to build back his grandfather's garage business and find someone to spend his life with. In an odd way he was doing it, albeit without the prospect of a physical relationship. It had always seemed so important before, but for the first time he wanted something more than sex.

Jason finished his beer and stood to turn the chicken over. The fire was hot and produced thick smoke that would add to the flavor. He had just finished turning and closed the grill when Di opened the back door.

"Need a refill?" she asked as she extended him another cold beer, then placed a clean serving platter next to the grill.

"Thanks," he said and handed her the empty.

Returning to his chair, Di stepped closer and placed her hand on his shoulder as she looked at the mountain. "It's nice out here."

He leaned his cheek against her hand for a moment, then took a sip of beer. "It is."

"I read out here sometimes, but I end up watching the waterfall." She ruffled his hair and turned to go back inside. "When do they get here?"

"About an hour."

"I made baked beans and cornbread."

"Perfect. I love your cornbread." She added yogurt to the mix so it came out more like a cake than bread.

"I'm gonna shower and change," she said, then picked up the dirty marinating pan and walked back inside.

And just like that his mind painted a picture of what she would look like in the shower. He shut his eyes and forced the vision away. It was hard enough seeing her in the pool all morning with her wet hair slicked back and the swimsuit clinging to her lithe body. He had touched her more than necessary, unable to resist the temptation.