Second Chance - Ch 4 part B

[cinlaw]

He found Olivia in the kitchen sitting with Chloe while she ate some cake.  "Olivia, may I have a word with you please?"

Olivia looked up at him and gave a nod then stood up to walk into the other room, saying first, "Chloe stay there and finish your cake, okay?"

"Okay mommy."

Once Olivia got up close she realized that it was not Jared standing in front of her because his eyes were different.  "Yes, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" She asked Jason softly.

"I just want you to understand a couple of things before I head out.  First, no harm will come to you or your daughter.  We don't fight woman and children.  Second, this lake house is the most secure place that you can be.  We are on privately owned land which is fenced off and there is only one way in and out which is through a guarded post.  All id's are checked.  Then when you finally get to this lake house, I had it surrounded by a concrete wall after the twins were born.  I have men patrolling the wall since you all are here.  Okay?"

Olivia nodded, "Okay, I would imagine that you would want to make sure your brother was safe during this whole thing but I appreciate you telling me so that I know Chloe is safe.  Thank you for allowing us to come up here." 

Jason gave a little chuckle, "Jared can take care of himself.  Hell for that matter he can take care of all three of you.  I just wanted to give you the piece of mind to understand where you're at."

"Oh!  Okay, well, thank you anyways then."  She said in a surprised tone.

Jason gave her a small smile then turned to walk back outside.  As he reached for the door he turned to look at her again, "Look my brother has been through hell and back.  Now I'm not going to get into everything that he's went through, that is his story to tell, but don't expect too much from him.  He has pretty much cut himself off from a relationship type of thing with women.  I just don't want you to get something in your head that shouldn't be there.  I mean, you've got a kid and all, I can see where Jared would be a prime catch."

Olivia gritted her teeth when she spoke again, "Well Jason, thanks for the most male chauvinistic advice I have gotten yet.  And so you sleep better tonight, understand this, I don't want to sleep with your brother, I don't have any desire to be closer to him and I most assumingly don't want to expect anything out of or from him!  Besides the last thing I want is a man who feels like I've trapped him to be my kid's dad!"  With that she stomped back to the kitchen.

Jason stood there for a couple more minutes with his mouth open in surprise.  Then he slowly opened the door and walked back out to the porch.

Jared looked up at him, "Jas, you okay?"

Jason still appeared to be in shock when he said, "She yelled at me.  If I didn't know better I would think that Laysea had given her lessons on how to do it!"

Jared stood up fast, "What the fuck did you say to her?"

"Relax..."

"Fuck that!"

"I just told her about the lake house being in the middle of a secure area and that the property is surrounded by a wall."

"Well why would that set her off?"  Jerry asked.

"Because that is not all he said, dumbass!"  Jared glared at Jason now.  "What in the fuck did you say to her?"

"I also told her not to get her hopes up where you are concerned.  Look Jared, I don't want some chick to come up and get you into playing daddy!"  Jason glared back at him.

"That is not your call.  So that is why she is now pissed?  Nice going!"

"Jared, I don't want you jumping into something that you aren't ready for.  I need you thinking with the big head not the little one right now."

Ty barely was able to jump between the two brothers before they came to blows.  "BACK THE FUCK OFF BOTH OF YOU AND COOL DOWN!" he yelled at them.

It took a few minutes for them to finally step back from where they smashed Ty between them but they finally did almost reluctantly. 

Jason was the first to break the long, drawn out silence, "Sorry, I shouldn't have stepped in but damn dude, I have watched you handle her today, hell you pretty much offered to father her next child, then we drive up and you two are almost trying to make that baby."

"I know, I know, still not your place though."

"Maybe not, but we all stood by you when they lowered Trista into the ground and you said then, ‘I never want to put another woman into this place because she's with me.'  Have you changed your mind?"  Jason said.

"No." Jared said in a whisper.

"Well I want to make sure, as your brother, that you don't get scammed into something that you don't want.  I was not trying to be malicious just honest with her for my brother."

"Alright, point taken.  But don't fuckin do it again."

Jason nodded at him.

Jason and Ty left shortly after that.  Jared stayed outside with Jerry and Trenton going over the watches and the possible hot spots that they needed to keep an eye on.  Finally he could not put off going inside any longer it was dinner time and he was getting hungry.

Dinner that night was nothing really special.  They had hamburgers and chips, the best part of dinner was the company.  Chloe was a delight to be around.  Jared never knew that anyone could talk that much!  Chloe asked so many questions that he was convinced there was nothing else that she would not know.  Of course she always had the answers but asked anyway. 

Jared was beginning to be surprised at how much he was enjoying being around Chloe.  He started thinking about Jason being a father and a little part of him wanted to also experience this event that had changed Jas so much.  Then he looked at Chloe and started think maybe...but would snap himself out of it just as quick.  He didn't think he could handle watching a little child's coffin being lowered into the ground.

After dinner Chloe wanted to watch TV.  When Jared opened up the DVD cabinet to show her all of the DVD that he had brought up to the cabin with her in mind, he experienced yet another first - Chloe standing, her mouth in an O shape but not a sound came out.  It did not last very long but for a couple of seconds he had managed to make her speechless.  Jared had asked his assistant to send all Disney and Pixar videos.  They had the occasional adult film but those were hidden from Chloe's little eyes.  He also had his assistant purchase a game system called Leap Frog for Chloe.  The sales clerk had assured Jared's assistant that this was an educational learning system that would teach the child things they needed to know while not making it feel like learning.  He had hooked it up to the TV also. 

"Oh my gosh!!!! Who are these movies for Jared?" Chloe scream when she got over being stunned.

"Well I thought that you might want to watch something since we have no reception up here, too many trees for satellite and the cable company does not have wires out this far.  So I had my assistant send some movies up that I thought you and your mom would enjoy."  Jared and bent down on one knee to talk to her. 

Without much notice, Chloe threw herself in his arms and gave him the biggest hug her little arms could manage. 

This was the sight that Olivia walked into, her daughter and Jared hugging each other as if they had just received the world from the other.  The strings to Olivia's heart gave a little tug.  Damn she better watch that she would be following him around like a love sick puppy dog before long.  The last thing she wanted to do was prove Jason right.  She did not know how many times she had watched a father and daughter interaction either on TV or in person and wished that her daughter could experience that with someone.  Now here was someone that fit in perfectly, if you don't count that he carried a gun and was a womanizer.  Most importantly you had to get past the fact that he didn't want it and she wasn't into forcing someone to be "daddy".

Chloe realized that Olivia was standing in the doorway, "Mommy come lookie what Jared got me."  She said pointing in excitement to the rows of videos.  "Can we watch them?"

"Sure, pick one but then when it is over you will need to go to bed."  Olivia told her.

Chloe stuck her lip out and began to pout, "No all of them, please momma, I really love these movies!"

"Chloe you do not have time to watch them all tonight."

Tears welled up in Chloe's little dark brown eyes as her bottom lip began to quiver.  Olivia thought does she really think this will work with me?  Then the answer hit her like a flash.  She looked at Jared and knew he had just been wrapped around a tiny little finger.

"Come on Liv, let her watch movies until she falls asleep."  Jared said.

"Liv?  Are you giving me a nickname?" she asked with surprise.

"Yeah, I guess I am.  Olivia seems very old and stuffy.  Liv just seems to suit you better." He said with a shrug.

"Oh." She replied to Jared,  "Alright, Chloe, you can watch them until you go to sleep."  She caved, she knew she had, but something in her wanted to give Chloe a small taste of what it was like to have two parents, even if it was an act. She turned around and sat on the couch next to Chloe waiting for Jared to get the movie ready.

When he was done Jared turned back to them, "I'm going to go out and check how everything is for the night."

"Oh okay."  Olivia said trying to hide her disappointment.  Then she watched him turn and walk out the front door, never once looking back.

Half-way through the first movie, Chloe was out like a light.  She had laid her little head on Olivia's lap and fallen asleep.  She didn't want to move for fear of waking her up.  Olivia had finally decided that she would have to just sleep on the couch all night or at least until Chloe moved.

Jared chose that moment to walk through the door.  He walked over to them and seen the sleeping Chloe, "Hey, I guess the movie worked, she is out for the night."

Olivia cracked a smile, "Yes, trapping me in the process."

"Do you want me to move her?"

"Don't worry about it.  She will eventually move and I can sneak out then."

"Liv, it is no big deal, she will sleep better in a bed anyways."

"Well okay, if you don't mind." She whispered.

Jared picked Chloe up in on fluid motion and carried her off.  From where Olivia sat it didn't look like Chloe even stirred a bit. 

Olivia stood up and began to stretch out the kinks that had set in. 

Jared walked in at the moment that she bent over to touch her toes.  He saw her ass in the air and was assaulted by all the nasty things he could do to her in that position.  He physically gave himself a shake to rid the thought from his head. 

"Um, well I guess that I'll head to bed and let you get to whatever your doing."

"Hey, Liv, why don't you sit up with me a bit.  We can talk so that we at least get to know something about each other since we will be stuck here together for some time."

"Okay," Olivia said walking back over to the couch, "what do you want to talk about?"

"Listen about Jason..."

"Sorry but I can't talk about that right now I am still mad at him!"

"No, no, come on Liv, we need to talk about this.  Look what he said, I don't think that it is something you'd do to me.  It's just that Jas has been with me through some pretty messed up shit.  I think that it's probably best if you realize that nothing like that can happen.  It's too hard for me to think in that sense.  Because...well let's just say that I'm no good as a husband or boyfriend."

"Jared, I don't want you to think I'm trying to get you into anything."

"I know, I'm just trying to explain."

"Is it because of your wife?"

"Yes, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay so what do you want to talk about?"

"How about the strange way you acted when I started calling you ‘Liv'?"

"Okay, um, my dad died when I was nine and he use to call me Liv.  He hated Olivia because that was the name of my mother's mother and well I guess you could say he had a hate - hate relationship with my grandma.  They both hated each other and spent as much time trying to avoid the other."  She folded her arms over her chest and put her head down so her chin was resting on her chest.  Jared sat down beside her and patted her knee.  "My dad was always nice to me.  He made sure that I was taken care of and that I had everything I needed."

"How did he die?" he asked softly.

"A car accident on the way home from work.  A drunk driver swerved and hit him head on.  He died instantly.  I was waiting in the front window for him because we were going to go skating that night.  Instead I witnessed the police pulling up and walking towards that house.  When they told my mom and me, I cried and she just sat there saying nothing.  A week later she moved her boyfriend in with us.  She had been screwing around on dad for several months. The new boyfriend had a drinking problem and together they made my life hell.  Then I met Rich - Chloe's biological father."

"Why do I get the feeling that was not the best thing to happen to you?"

"It wasn't.  He use to yell at me, threaten to beat me and stole almost everything that I had.  Then I found out that I was pregnant, at first, he wanted me to get an abortion but I refused.  Since he could not scare me into it, he got with the girl that lived across the hall from him.  She did not want any kids and neither did he.  They are a match made in heaven.  When I told my mom I was 6 months pregnant and she was so pissed that she stormed out of the house.  Her boyfriend told me that he had waited a long time for this day to come.  That night he raped me.  My mom was downstairs passed out drunk.  The next day she woke up and told me to get the hell out because she was not going to have a little, pregnant whore trying to steal her man away from her."  She took an unsteady breath in then released it.  "I began living that day forward for Chloe and no one else."

"Do you not want me to call you ‘Liv'?  Because if you don't I understand - I don't want to cause you any hurt.  I know how it feels to lose a parent, my dad died when I was 16.  Talk about some anger issues, me and Jas had them all.  Had it not been for Dad's best friend Sam, I don't think we would have lived to see 18."  He said as pulled her close to him.

"You must have drove your mom crazy!" she turned to him, "I mean with two children to deal with..."

Jared chuckled, "Four."

"FOUR?  Holy crap she should have been nominated for sainthood!  Older or younger then you and Jason?"

"There is Jason, 5 minutes older then me, then Joey who is 5 years younger then us, and our sister Jeana who surprised us all 6 years after Joey.  I think mom may have been more surprised about her then dad.  All she kept saying is ‘But Doctor, we can't have any more!'  Not sure how she thought they couldn't but it was funny.  Now about your name?  Do you want me to go back to calling you ‘Olivia'?"

"No, its fine, you can call me ‘Liv'."

Jared kissed her forehead and pulled her into his arms for a hug.  "I'm glad."

"Okay so now it's my turn to ask you a question."

"Alright." He replied.

"Well since you have already said your wife is off limits, I'll ask you what happens now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Tom doesn't know where we are but that could change.  What's the plan to keep us away from him?"

"At this point, Jas is having your old cell phone sent south away from us.  It looks like we are going to the island that we own.  Hopefully that will keep him busy for awhile so Jas can get a fix on him then take care of him."

"Are Chloe and I going to be able to live?  I am guessing that the ‘take care of him' means kill but I don't know for sure...nor do I want to know for sure.  I just want to know that in the end we are going to be alive." Jared's eyes got very hard as he sat there listening to her question.  Olivia saw it and figured she better start calming him down.  "It's not like I think that you will hurt us but I just don't want to be stuck in a place where I know too much."  She whispered.

Jared sighed, "I can't promise that wont happen but we won't kill you.  That much I do promise you.  So even though I know this won't happen, you just need to calm down about that."

She gave him a small smile, "thanks for understanding that I won't calm down but it is nice to hear you say it.  I may not feel completely at ease but I feel more then I was."

Jared gave her a smile that couldn't be described as anything other then sexy.  The smile even put a spark into his eyes.  She looked closely at him.

"What?" he asked her a little freaked by how closely she was looking at him.

"Your eyes are...different from Jason's.  It's like they are silver-blue while his is gray with flakes of blue.  Uh, that's strange you know with you all being identical twins and all."

Jared cocked a grin at her, "It's also the only way that Laysea can tell us apart.  Hey do you want to watch a movie?" he asked standing up quickly.

"No thanks.  It has been a pretty long day.  Can you just tell me where my room is?"  She asked.

"Sure."  He said as he held his hand out to her.

She smiled and took his hand.  He led the way to a large bedroom. 

Olivia looked around the room it was large and spacious.  She saw her bag on the bed and walked over to it opening it up she pulled out her clothes to put in the large dresser.  As she walked to the dresser she saw that Jared was still standing in the door watching her.  She smiled at him, and then walked back to the bag and looking in it feeling for her ‘special' bag that she had stashed in to guarantee that she would not end up in bed with him.  She felt around the bottom of the bag and she could not believe what she was feeling or more specifically what she was not feeling. 

"It's not in there."  He said walking over to her. 

She turned and looked at him with a shocked look.  "Why not?"

"Because I put it back."

"Why?  You don't want me for more then a tumble in bed and I already said that I can't do that." 

"Actually I haven't decided anything where you concerned, except that I do want you.  I just don't know if I can give you as much as you want.  I already know your not willing to take as little I want to give.  So, just in case, we both end up frustrated until I decide."  He said as he pulled her in and softly began to kiss her. 

Olivia began to open her mouth to protest but his tongue slipped in and she suddenly forgot what she wanted to say. 

Jared ended the kiss when he began to make excuses to himself why he should just go to bed with her right now.  He stood apart from her while rubbing his hands up and down her arms trying to catch his thought about what he should be doing now.  He seemed to recover faster then her.  He gently kissed her on the forehead and whispered into her ear, "Goodnight and pleasant dreams Liv." 

She watched him turn and start to walk out of the room.  He was closing the door when he stopped, "Chloe is right across the hall and I will be the room next to yours.  That way if someone comes down the hall they pass me before they get to either of you."  With that he was gone. 

Olivia sat down very fast, still trying to recover from the kiss.  When she finally could form a thought it was, That man could kiss, it's going to be a very long couple of days!