The Road Home

By Bailey

 Introducing Jim Tanner, a new Russell-based character

Chapter One

The party was in full swing, the large convention room festooned with banners and streamers. 

It was a fund raising event that the ‘Ladies for Adoption’ held every year at this time.  Janet Tanner stood in her full-length, white-sequined evening gown and smiled.  Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time.  The band was talented, and versatile enough to play a wide variety of music.  She always hated going to those stuffy parties where they played only classical or parlor music.  She loved all kinds of music and felt people who paid $500 a plate for dinner should be able to dance to the music.  Since there were people ranging from eighteen to eighty she'd fought the committee tooth and toenail to change the band to one who could provide enjoyment for all comers.

She wished her husband could have come. She would have loved to dance with him.  The smile left her face as she remembered their last conversation.

Jim Tanner was just flying home from L.A. after completing the promotional tour for his latest movie.  He was gone only two weeks, but it seemed like forever.  She wanted to accompany him, but at the time she was asked to speak at the fundraiser, his tour was scheduled for two weeks earlier.  When it was changed and conflicted with her speech, she didn’t feel she could back out at the last minute.  He had been angry about it.  He hated traveling without her and she had promised he would never have to.  His first wife wouldn’t travel and it effectively ruined their relationship.

She could have gone for at least a week with him, but the first week was the heaviest and they would barely have time together.  He reasoned that if she couldn’t be there for his last two days, and the first week was all but lost, why should she come at all?  It was a hell of a flight for only three days of actual time spent together.  In the end he told her to stay home.

He had called earlier and told her he’d be at their apartment in Sydney by ten o’clock.  He expected her to be there when he arrived.  “I can’t, Jim. I can’t just walk out.  Part of the reason many people came is because your name is involved.  As your wife, I have an obligation to at least schmooze some of these people.  I’ll be home early tomorrow and we can spend the day anyway you want.  Please, Honey, don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.”

“I haven’t seen my wife in two weeks,” he roared.    He took a breath and lowered his voice.  “I’ve missed you.  I need to see you, hold you.”  He was pleading with her and she wasn’t unresponsive to his feelings.

Janet lowered her own voice to a near whisper. “I need you, too, sweetheart.  I promise I’ll be home first thing in the morning.  I’ll see you then.  Call me when you get to the apartment. I love you, bye.”  She clicked off her cell phone and sighed.   He was the one who'd gotten her involved in this organization, wanting her to have an activity that showed her talents and improved his image.  He was not well-liked by the media and when they married, he'd tried very hard to convince the celebrity rags that he was no longer the ‘bad boy’ they made him out to be.  He wanted it for Janet as much as for himself.

Sheryl Collier walked up and said, “Penny for ‘em.”  A third generation daughter of Ethiopia, Sheryl was a tall slender goddess and a former Miss America with charm supreme.  She was a model and had just begun an acting career when she fell in love with her director.  They married and she gladly stepped out of the limelight.  Sheryl and Janet met at a Hollywood party that Janet’s first husband was invited to.  He was an independent director and though he never won an Oscar, he was continuously turning out provocative films.

When Sheryl and her husband Dave decided to move to Australia, the girls lost touch.  When Janet moved to Sydney with Jim, they renewed their friendship and became known as the ‘salt ‘n pepper duo’ to the media.  They shopped and did all their ‘girly’ things together and the paparazzi seldom left them alone.

Janet understood the media’s interest in Sheryl. She’d been a Miss America and a budding new star, but Janet herself was no more than the wife of a prominent actor.  She guessed their curiosity for her was born from the fact that she was thirteen years her husband’s senior.  They simply couldn’t understand his interest in a woman her age, regardless of her well-preserved looks.  “Must be a marriage of convenience,” they said.

“Earth to Janet,” Sheryl said, waving her graceful hand in front of Janet’s eyes.

“Sorry.  I was just thinking about Jim.  He’s really upset that I won’t be home until tomorrow.”

“Well, girl, if I were you, with a hunk like him, I’d be sneaking out the back door and making for home.”  Sheryl laughed her husky giggle and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“I can’t just walk out.  I mean people would think I was rude.  Some of these people are here because I contacted them personally and asked them to come.”

“Listen, they came to hear you speak and you’ve done that.  They came to have dinner with you and you’ve done that as well.  No one said you had to stay until the last dog was hung.  Unless, of course, you’d rather sleep alone in the hotel tonight, instead of at home with Jim…”

“Are you crazy?  I don’t sleep well in a hotel much less without my favorite heating pad.”  They both laughed.

“Wait a minute.”  Sheryl walked off and returned a couple of minutes later.  She handed Janet an unopened bottle of the champagne that was being served.  “By the time you drive home, your ‘heating pad’ should be asleep and you can surprise him with a bottle of good champagne and even better sex.  I hear sex is better if champagne is served just before or just after.  Imagine what will happen if you do both?  Now go get your overnight bag, check out of the hotel and hit the road.”

Janet gave Sheryl a quick hug and a wink.  It took only ten minutes to pack her overnight bag and check out of the hotel.  She didn’t even change out of her evening dress.  Jim hadn’t seen it yet and she could imagine him slowly removing it from her when she arrived.

Janet could see her husband in her mind’s eye.  He was tall, muscular, handsome in a rugged way, and had the most beautifully disarming smile.  His eyes, though, were what captured her.  They told the story behind the actor façade.   Those blue/grey orbs danced when he laughed, turned near black when he made love, and clouded into pools of sapphire when he was hurt.  God, how she loved his eyes; God, how she loved him.

It was well past ten o’clock when she finally climbed into her deep emerald green Mercedes.  Jim had bought it for her when they were first married.  He said the color matched her beautiful emerald green eyes.  She loved driving, and doing it in a car like this made it a sensual experience.  She turned on the radio, found a favorite station and headed for Sydney, two hours away.

By the time she pulled up to the gatehouse, she had several fantasies already blooming for their reunion.  Bert, the night guardsman, saw her and waved.  He opened the gate and she drove to the four-story building that housed their apartment.  They had the entire fourth floor and the view overlooking Sydney Harbor was breathtaking at night. 

Janet pulled into her reserved spot next to Jim’s Jaguar and grabbed her purse and the bottle of champagne.  She left the overnight bag on the back seat.  She’d retrieve it in the morning.  As she approached the door to the small lobby, the doorman opened it and let her in.  “Good evening.  May I ask who you are here to see?”

She smiled, “Where’s Aaron?”  Aaron was the usual night doorman.  Janet had never seen this one before.

“I’m Tom.  Aaron’s sick.  They sent me to fill in for him.  I’m usually at the other building.”

Janet pulled out her private elevator key and showed it to Tom.  “I live on the fourth floor.”  Tom gave her a strange look and she almost asked what was wrong.  When he said nothing, she went to the elevator and inserted the key.   It took her to the fourth floor and the doors opened to the foyer of their suite.  The apartment was completely dark, only the light from the harbor showed through the open curtains.

She quietly slipped her shoes off so the clicking of her 3” heels wouldn’t sound on the marble floor.  She walked to the sitting room and deposited her purse and coat on the chair but took the champagne with her.  Going to the dining room, she carefully opened the beautiful breakfront, removing two fluted crystal glasses.  Padding down the carpeted hallway to their bedroom, she realized the door was closed.  She could hear sounds and assumed Jim had the telly on.  He often fell asleep and forgot to turn it off.

She carefully pushed down on the ‘handle bar’ door handle with her elbow and pushed one of the double doors slowly open.  The telly on the wall to her right was indeed on and it cast the only light in the room.  She looked, toward their bed, expecting to see her husband asleep.  What she saw stopped her dead in her tracks. 

She stared as she realized he was rooting someone in their bed.  She could see his ass as it moved in and out and she could see his well-endowed balls slapping whoever it was in bed with him.  She couldn’t speak, couldn’t even move.  He was like a pig in rut, moaning and pounding.  When he groaned his orgasm, she suddenly came out of her stupor.  She walked slowly to the nightstand and carefully placed the bottle of champagne and glasses on it.  Jim had his eyes closed until then.  When he heard the tinkle of the crystal glasses touch, he opened his eyes and saw Janet standing there. 

Her beautiful eyes held nothing but pain and betrayal.  With tears streaming down her face and emotion cracking her voice she said, “I hear sex is better when you drink champagne just before or just after.”

Janet turned and nearly ran out of the bedroom.  She grabbed her purse from the chair and began to slip her shoes on when she heard, “Janet, come back!  I’m sorry!  Janet!”  She made it to the elevator and hit the button.  Normally it arrived very quickly but tonight it seemed to take forever.  Jim came running up just as the door opened.  He’d stopped to pull on a pair of shorts.  “Honey, please don’t leave.  I’m sorry.  We can fix this, please.”

Janet saw the desperation in his eyes as she stepped back and into the elevator.  As the door closed, she saw the woman he’d been with, walking into the room.  She wasn’t surprised.

Janet leaned on the back elevator wall and cried.  How could he have done this to her?  She knew he’d been unfaithful before, but he’d always been discrete and he never brought anyone to share their bed.  At least not that she knew.  He never confessed to his affairs, but she could tell.  Each time, he had a ‘different’ look, for about twenty-four hours, and he’d make love to her as if it were his last chance.  It was a pattern that started less than six months after their marriage.  She loved him and was willing to turn a blind eye.  She knew he was careful not to bring any disease home to her or himself.  As long as she didn’t know for certain, she could live with it.  She knew he loved her as well.  He just couldn’t seem to be faithful.  That was what really happened to his first marriage.  He blamed his ex-wife for never being there for him.  Janet had believed his story and promised to travel wherever he went.  On those rare occasions she couldn’t, he’d always come home with ‘that look’.

She stumbled out of the elevator and past Tom.  He asked her if she was alright, but she ignored the question. She made it to the Mercedes just as Jim came out the door.“Janet, wait!  JANET!”

Janet left three hundred miles worth of tred on the pavement as she pulled away from the building, the tires screeching and the car fishtailing.  She could see Jim in the rearview mirror.  He ran after the car for a short distance but she lost sight of him as she made the turn down to the gatehouse.  Bert barely got the gate opened before she roared out onto the main road. 

Janet drove to one of the hotels near the airport and parked in the back lot.  She took the time to straighten her makeup then walked to the hotel entrance.  Several men in the lobby watched her as she gracefully walked to the desk.  She was totally unaware of the appreciative stares.  After requesting a single room, she signed her name, refused the offer of a bellhop and went to the elevators.  She'd managed to keep a poker face while checking in but completely fell apart when the doors closed and she was alone.

Thankfully, her room was just two doors down the hall from the elevator.  She opened the door, dropped her overnight bag on the floor, closed and securely locked the door.  She slid down the wall and sat sobbing for a long time.

Jim knew he could never catch Janet before she got to the gatehouse, but he tried.  He couldn’t believe she was gone.  He knew he’d messed up royally this time.  He had to find her, had to make her understand it wasn’t her shortcoming, it was his.  He turned back to the apartment.  “Why didn’t you at least warn me she was on her way up?”  He asked Tom.

“I tried to, Mr. Tanner, but the phone just kept ringing.  I didn’t know what else to do.”  Tom was afraid he’d lose his job. 

Jim sighed. That was his fault as well.  He was so angry with Janet the last time they talked, he’d turned off the ringer in case she tried to call him.

When he walked back in, his ex-wife, Sandy, was standing in the sitting room with one of Janet’s satin bathrobes on.  Sandy and Janet were as different as night and day.  The only thing they had in common was blonde hair.  Sandy was petite with huge, store-bought tits.  She was uncommonly pretty, but her attitude tended to spoil that image.  The robe hung loosely off her shoulders and dragged on the floor.  It fit Janet perfectly, Janet being a taller, larger woman.

“Sandy, get your clothes on and get the fuck out.”  He hadn’t meant to make love to his former wife and certainly not in the bed he shared with Janet.  It just happened.  How was he going to fix this mess? 

“I might as well stay.  She isn’t coming back.”  They had always had an active sex life and the indiscretions in their marriage weren’t totally his.  Sandy was smiling at his situation.

“The last person I want here now is you.  Now get out before I throw you out!”

“No need to get huffy.  I can only imagine how much she’ll take you for, though.  You didn’t sign a pre-nup, did you?”  She laughed as she walked back to the bedroom to dress.

Sandy was right.  He never wanted a pre-nuptial agreement.  He honestly felt the marriage would last.  Janet was the most honest, giving person he knew and when she asked him to have the agreement drawn up he felt it impinged her character.  He couldn’t imagine her asking for half of his wealth per Australian law.  They had their first real argument over that.

Janet felt it would protect her from being caught up in the lawyer feeding frenzy if anything happened to the marriage.  It would also show she wasn’t marrying him for his money.  She had reminded him that her settlement with Connor left her with her home in Oregon and a little money in the bank.  If they married she would lose the alimony Connor currently sent her, but she had never been comfortable receiving it anyway.

When she filed for divorce from Connor her lawyer was the one who insisted she ask for the alimony.  She always felt she should make her own way and it went against her grain to accept money from a man she wanted nothing to do with.  Her lawyer reminded her that she was the one in the marriage who kept the vows.  Connor hadn’t.  He said Connor should pay for the public humiliation he’d put her through.  He also reminded her that Connor owed his children security and without his monetary support, Janet couldn’t guarantee that. With alimony and the child support, Janet could provide for her children’s future, one she couldn’t guarantee if she relied on  Connor to ‘do the right thing’. She finally gave in and as a result, she was left financially comfortable.  She didn’t need Jim to support her if they were to ever divorce.

As a compromise to Jim, Janet suggested that the pre-nup should state he would support her until she could find reasonable employment.  His lawyer tried to talk him into it, but Jim refused.  He had trusted her then and he still did.

As soon as Sandy left the room Jim called his closest friend and head of security, Dandy Hanson.  He told him the situation and Dandy went ballistic.  They’d known each other for thirty years and worked together the last ten.  Dandy wasn’t sorry when Sandy left. She was ‘a hickey on the Mona Lisa’ in his estimation.  But when Jim fell for Janet he was half in love with her himself.  He knew Jim and doubted he’d change his ways.  Dandy felt Janet deserved better.  This new development made him ripping mad.  “Christ, mate, how could you do that to her in her own home?  You’re a real piece of shite, you know that?  Fuck!”

“I know what I am, Dandy. I don’t need a lecture, I need help.  I have to find her.  If she leaves Oz I may never get her back.  Please, mate!”

Dandy thought for a moment. “Fuck!  All right, I’ll do my best.  But I swear to Christ, Jim…”

“I know!  Just find her!”  Jim lowered his voice and pleaded, “Please, mate, just find her.”

Janet finally stopped sobbing long enough to get up, take off her gown and hang it in the closet.  She went to the bathroom, took off her underwear and slipped into the shower. The warm water felt good.  She thought she had a handle on things until her mind wandered back to the picture of Jim wrapped in another woman’s arms, finding release in another woman’s body.  The sounds of his pleasure kept reverberating in her mind.  She dissolved into tears again and slid down onto the floor of the tub.  Curling into a fetal position she cried while the water continued to rain down.

She finally realized the water had turned cold, and shut off the taps.  She staggered like a drunk grabbing a towel and sitting on the closed lid of the toilet.  Janet was always a practical person and returned to that part of her personality that would save her emotionally. 

She quickly dried off and combed her waist-length hair, allowing it to dry naturally.  After digging in her overnight bag she dressed in the light-weight jogging pants and tee shirt she was going to use that night after the fund raiser.  She grabbed a J&B from the small liquor cabinet and poured it in one of the glasses sitting on the top of the cabinet, not even bothering to get ice.

Janet knew she had to make plans for her future.  Jim would no doubt try to find her and stop her from leaving Oz.  She'd deliberately checked in under her maiden name and paid with cash.  Walking out onto the small balcony, she sat in one of the sun chairs, sipping her drink.  She hated leaving Australia, Sydney in particular.  She loved the city and its people.  Of course leaving Sheryl was a major part of her loss.  It was because of Sheryl’s husband that Jim and Janet met in the first place.  Janet sat recalling the first time she saw Jim in person.

It was early summer in L.A. and Dave and Sheryl Collier wanted to invite friends to their new home for a party.  Connor and Janet Denning arrived at the beautiful home in the Hollywood Hills, dressed in chic, party-casual attire.  Connor was a good-looking man and dressed to the nines to impress his fellow directors and the actors he worked with.  Janet, though, was never daring in her public dress.  She had a nice figure and good taste.  Even though she wore expensive clothes she never went to a designer for an outfit to be made.  She didn’t see the need to spend that kind of money only to drape it on someone as plain as she felt she was.  Somehow she always looked fabulous to others, but never to herself.

Dave met them at the door and showed them to the pool area where nearly all the other guests were already in attendance.  Jim Tanner was new to Hollywood but had great reviews on his first two American films, and was slated to work with Dave on his next project.  The moment Dave introduced Janet to Jim she felt an electricity when he shook her hand.  It made her nervous and she found reason to move on and talk with the other guests.  She was forty-one, Jim was twenty-eight.  He was a playboy and she was a married woman. 

Jim found her standing near the garden waterfall by herself.  When he approached her she had wanted to leave.  Since Janet could see no way of leaving without looking rude or stupid she waited and talked with him.

“This is a beautiful house.”  He was smiling at her.

“Yes, they were lucky to get it.”  Small talk, she hated it.

“So you’re Connor’s wife.  I pictured someone different.”

“How so?”  Janet was a touch offended.  She knew she wasn’t glamorous but she wasn’t a slug either.

“Well, as controlling as he is, I would have thought his wife would be a mouse with brown hair and glasses, not the beautiful lady I see here.”

She was stunned.  He found her beautiful?  No, he was trying to charm her, keep on her good side in case he needed an ally in the future for some part he might want to bid for.  It never hurt to politic and schmooze.  “Mr. Tanner…pardon me.”  She wanted to dress him down for thinking she was so stupid, but excused her self instead.  She could still remember how his eyes on her made her stomach flutter.

Janet called for room service.  Even though she had eaten at the fund raiser, she had really only picked.  She’d been just too nervous to eat.  The hotel had 24-hour room service with sandwiches and soup available after midnight.  She ordered a tuna on rye and lobster bisque. 

After hanging up she toyed with the idea of calling and canceling the order.  She was so tired, between the fund raiser, the drive home and the crying, she wasn’t sure she’d stay awake until it arrived.  She returned to the balcony thinking the fresh air would help keep her awake but was just slipping off to sleep when she heard room service knocking.

She never even looked through the door peek to verify who it was.  When she opened the door, not only the waiter came in, Jim was right behind him.  Janet didn’t know what to do.  She didn’t want a scene.  Janet waited until Jim tipped the waiter and he left.  “What are you doing here?”

“I just want to talk.”  He walked over to the food on the small table and lifted the lid on the bowl of soup.  “Lobster Bisque, your favorite.”  He didn’t know where to start.  Anything he might say could irrevocably ruin any apology he had already formulated.

“I love you, Janet.  I never wanted to hurt you.  Please believe that.”  He couldn’t look at her, didn’t want to see the hate she must feel for him.

Janet waited a moment gauging her words.  “I knew every time you were unfaithful.”  Jim looked at her, shock on his face.  “What, you think a wife doesn’t know?  We’re so stupid we can’t tell?”

“You never said anything.”

“I didn’t want to know for sure.  I allowed it because I know I’m second best in a world of young and beautiful.  But I never thought you’d be so low as to bring someone home to our bed.  I thought you at least respected me enough not to humiliate me in my own…our own home.  I guess I was wrong.”

“Janet, you were never second best.  I don’t know why I do it, but it isn’t because of you.  You give me everything I ever wanted in marriage.”  He moved to take her hand.  When she pulled away he settled for words.  “I didn’t invite Sandy.  She showed up right after I did, said she needed to talk to me about Davey.  I thought maybe he was sick or something, so I let her in.  She wants to leave him with us while she goes on holiday for a month.  ‘Course I said yes.  We don’t get to see him much.”  He swallowed hard, “When she told me she’s going with Brian Campbell, I got angry.  We had a fight and the next thing I knew we were in bed.  I never expected you to show up.  I didn’t mean to…”

“Oh, I get it, as long as I wasn’t expected, then it’s my fault you got caught.  If I’d stayed at the fund raiser like I was supposed to, none of it would have mattered, right?”  Janet had been in control of her emotions up to that point.  “Do you know how I felt seeing you buried to the hilt in someone else, taking pleasure from her when it should have been me?  I’ve fought an uphill battle with my own self worth and what little I finally gained, you took.”  Her voice was louder now, “What if it had been me in our bed with another man between my legs?  How would you have felt?   What would you have done?”   Janet was near tears now and didn’t want to let him see her cry.  She wanted him to understand how unworthy it made her feel, like somehow she didn’t deserve his fidelity.

“I would’ve beat the shite out of him and thrown you out.”  Jim had no defense, and he could never imagine Janet with someone else. “I don’t know of anyone who could have handled the situation with more dignity than you, Jan.  It just made it worse.”

“Shall I apologize for making it hard?”

“No, Janet.  I was wrong, I admit it.  I’m sorry.  What can I do to fix it?  I’ll do anything, anything you want.  Just please don’t leave.”  He had to make her understand, she was more than worthy of him. He wasn’t worthy of her.

Janet turned and walked out on the balcony.  She loved him so much, wanted him like no one else she’d ever met.  But this was a decision she had to make for her own well being.  She knew he’d never change.

“Jan?”  Jim moved up behind her, watching her as she looked out over the beautiful city.

“No, Jim, I can’t.  It takes too much from me.  I know you love me, but it isn’t enough.  I can’t keep sacrificing myself on the altar of your uncontrollable passions.  Tonight was just the final straw.  I’m leaving and I want a divorce.”

“Janet…no.  I don’t want a divorce.  Please, we can work this out… please?”  Jim had always held his emotions in check.  He was good at acting.  Now, hearing she was leaving him, he couldn’t hold back the tears.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Jim, but it’s better for both of us.  I won’t ask for anything more than what I wanted in the pre-nup.  Just allow me time to find a job to support myself and you pay for the lawyer’s fees.  I don’t need more than that.  Now please leave.”

“Janet…”

“Get out, Jim!”  She didn’t even look at him.  If she had, she could never have made him leave.

Janet continued to stare at the sleeping city.  She heard him say, “I love you, I always will.”  After she knew he was gone she said quietly, “I love you, too.”

Jim wiped the tears from his face as he stepped into the lobby.  Dandy was waiting by the double doors at the front of the hotel.

“Well, mate?”  Jim just shook his head and walked out to the car park.

They drove back to the apartment in silence.  Dandy parked in Janet’s spot and turned off the car.  “Want me to stay the night?”

“No, mate, I made this mess alone; I guess I’ll have to live with it alone.  Thanks for finding her.  I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Jim wandered from one place to another, looking at things that reminded him of her.  The apartment was a beautiful work of art, like one of those metal statues, beautiful, but cold.  When they bought it Jan had commented on it.  Somehow, she’d turned the cold beauty into a warm, comfortable sanctuary, a place where they could escape the world’s prying eyes and be happy.  He thought about the first time he met her, eight years ago.

He couldn’t help the sudden stirring in his groin when he shook her hand.  She was different than any woman he’d ever met.  She was very attractive, but he was used to that.  She had a certain kind of shyness that intrigued him.  He made her nervous, that was evident.  He barely got to say hello before she left to talk with the other guests.  He couldn’t be overt; after all she was married to a well-known director.  He couldn’t ruin his opportunity in Hollywood just to bed a married woman.  He’d have to feel her out and see if she was interested. 

When Jim found Janet at the waterfall, the same feeling washed over him again.  She looked so beautiful standing there by herself.  He could imagine them on some deserted island, playing in the surf, laughing and making love.  When he approached her, though, those thoughts quickly evaporated.  She wasn’t willing to risk her marriage for some sort of fling with a younger man.  She never said it; it was all there in her beautiful green eyes as she excused herself and rejoined the party.  That’s what he thought at the time.

The next time they met was on a movie set.  Jim was working on an interesting little film with Connor.  It would never be an Oscar-winner, but the storyline and the characters were solid and thought-provoking.  When Connor asked him to star in it he was between movies, and it would give him a chance to do something different.  They were nearly finished for the day when Janet showed up.

He hadn’t seen her in almost four years, since that night he met her at the party.  She still had the same effect.  She waited until Connor called ‘cut’ then asked him if she could speak with him alone.  They went to Connor’s trailer and shortly afterward, Jim saw her leaving in tears.  He quickly went to her.

“Janet.  Are you alright?”  He could see how upset she was.   He wanted to hold her and give her some comfort.

“Jim?”  She stopped and looked at him as if surprised.

“What’s wrong, luv?”  He took her hand and searched her face.

“Nothing, I’m fine.  I, it’s good to see you.  I need to go.”  She nearly sprinted away from him.

He found out later, that Connor had an affair with one of the cast members and it was all over the tabloids.  It wasn’t the first and wouldn’t be the last.

Chapter Two

Janet stood at the ticket counter at the Sydney airport.  She hadn’t gone to get any of her things at the apartment.  She would buy a new, more appropriate wardrobe once she got to the states.  The ticket person finished and handed her the ticket.  Janet turned toward the concourse where she’d board her flight to Los Angeles.  She saw Dandy and immediately began searching for Jim.

“No worries, luv.  He’s not here.  I just wanted to say good-bye.”  Dandy had been a true friend to her since before Jim and she were married.  She gave him a hug.

“I’m glad you came, Dandy.  I didn’t want any of this to ruin our friendship.  Is he okay?”

“No.  He loves you, Jan.  I’m not saying what he did was right, but he really does love you.”

“I know.  But it can’t go on.  I did it once.  I can’t keep doing it.”  Dandy knew about her first husband and how he was caught in affair after affair.  She’d been humiliated time after time in the media and each time her self confidence faded a little more.  When it got to the point where she actually decided to end it all with pills and alcohol, her practical side kicked in and saved her.  She decided her death would only give Connor what he wanted, freedom from his drab wife.  She had two children to think of.  Instead of taking the pills, she’d flushed them down the toilet and left a note to Connor.  She took the children home to Oregon and filed for divorce.

Dandy sympathized with her.  “Just do me a favor, luv.  Let me know where you’ll be staying.  If you need anything, anything at all…call.  Promise?”

“I promise.  I have to go. I’ll miss my flight otherwise.”  She kissed him on the cheek and walked away.

“Take care, Jan.”  He said it too low for anyone to hear.

The flight was a killer.  They stopped over in Hawaii to refuel and change flight crews, then on to L.A.  By the time she checked into her room at the hotel, Janet was exhausted.  She kept trying to decide what to do once she got to the states.  She didn’t really want to go home to her family in Oregon.  They loved her, but she knew ‘I told you so’ would be waiting.  She didn’t need to be reminded by her family that they tried to talk her out of marrying Jim in the first place.  The media was already doing that. 

When she arrived at the airport in L.A. one of the entertainment papers already had an accounting of Janet’s leaving.  She hadn’t known it at the time, but one of the paparazzi that knew her was in the lobby of the hotel she stayed in the night before she left.  He took her picture as she checked in then waited to see if anything else would transpire.  His patience paid off.  He caught Jim as he arrived and again as he left.  When Janet checked out, he followed her to the airport. 

The headlines read:  Tanner’s split.  Janet Tanner, wife of superstar, Jim Tanner, was seen checking into a well-known hotel in Sydney instead of returning to her home after a fundraiser. Questions arose as to the nature of their marriage when he was seen arriving at the hotel several hours after her. Only minutes after arriving, he left, obviously very agitated.  Janet flew out of Sydney on a commercial flight to Los Angeles without her hubby.  Rumor has it that the two-year marriage was hanging on a thread from the beginning.  Tanner is thirteen years younger than his wife.  The former Mrs. Connor Denning divorced her first husband four years ago after the independent director reportedly engaged in several affairs.

Janet didn’t buy the paper, just scanned it.  As she walked out to catch a cab, the media caught her and began asking all sorts of ridiculous questions.  She barely made it into the cab.

After catching a few hours of sleep, she called Sheryl to let her know what was going on.

Sheryl didn’t know quite what to say.  She'd suspected Jim of fooling around, but would never have said anything to Janet.  “I have a sharp butcher knife.  Would you like me to castrate him?  No charge.”

Janet laughed, “You would, too, if I gave you the go ahead, wouldn’t you?”

“Say the word, hon.” Sheryl was nothing if not loyal.  Janet could count on her help to get through this.

“I don’t think that will be necessary.  I just need to decide what to do now.  I don’t want to go home.  The family will support me, but I don’t want to hear the ‘I told you so’s.  God, Sheryl, how could I have been so stupid?  I should have known I didn’t have what it takes to hold a man at home.  I should have learned that with Connor.” 

“Wait a minute!  Stop right there, girl!  What happened had nothing to do with you.  Jim has always been a player.  So was Connor.  Neither one was faithful to their wives, either the first or the second.  They just can’t seem to remember the promise they made.  You know, the one about fidelity?  They expect it from their wives but not themselves.  That isn’t your fault.”

Janet thought about that a moment.  “I suppose I just expected too much.  I just don’t know what to tell the kids when I call them.  How do I explain it?  I can’t tell them Jim was having affairs on me.  They heard that when I divorced Connor.  Now it will sound like the standard cop out.  They’ll see the only constant in the equation is me.  I must be flawed for it to happen again.  Thank God Dan was old enough to see what was happening before.  He knew what Connor did.  Tara barely knows Jim and she hates me. She’ll probably love the idea.  She’s hated me ever since I left Connor.”  Janet never understood how Tara could go to live with her father and completely ignore her mom. Janet had tried very hard to be a good mother and it hurt to know she and her daughter were no longer close.

 “Dan will probably be more upset.  He and Jim have a good relationship.  I think Jim has been more of a father figure to him than Connor ever was.  Listen, I need to go.  I’ll call and let you know where I am once I get there.  Give Dave a kiss for me.”

“If you need anything…”

“I know.  Take care, bye.”

Janet called her son first.  He was attending Harvard, hoping to become a lawyer.  He took the news pretty much like Janet thought.  He liked Jim. They’d become close over the last two years.  Daniel was the older of Janet’s two children and he’d seen far more of what Connor had done to his mother than Janet knew.  He and his dad were not close because of it.  Dan had walked in on his father and a woman while they were making love in the pool house.  He never forgot how angry he was with his dad.  Dan was fourteen at the time.  Jim had seemed different and Dan was willing to accept him because he made his mother happy.

When Janet called her daughter, Tara seemed to be delighted that her mother was publicly humiliated.  After all, she'd watched as Janet ruined their family life.  She made them stay in Oregon, far away from her friends and her father.  She loved her father and he adored her.  As soon as they settled on shared custody, Tara immediately asked to live with him.  She was still living in L.A. with him.  At fifteen, she was already becoming a handful.  Her father had very little control over her.  She hated her mother, and was elated that her mother was being hurt.  It served her right.

Janet never told either of her children the reason for the breakup.  She simply said they had problems they couldn’t resolve.

When Janet called Dandy three days later, he let out a sigh of relief.  The media was camped at the gatehouse looking for pictures of Jim and trying to get answers about the break up.  Dandy knew Janet was probably being stalked by the paparazzi as well. 

“Who was that?”  Jim came into the kitchen looking for tea.  He looked awful.  Dandy knew he’d been drunk the night before and it showed.

“It was Janet.”

“Janet?  Why didn’t you tell me?  I wanted to talk to her!”  He was rip-roaring mad.

Dandy answered in a quiet voice, “She didn’t want to talk to you.  She just called to let me know where she was so I wouldn’t worry.”

“I’m her husband!  Didn’t she care if I was worried?”  Of course she didn’t care.  Why should she?

Dandy didn’t even answer. He just made Jim a cuppa and handed it to him.

Jim looked defeated. “So where is she?”

“She’s stayin’ at the ranch in Houston.”

Jim took his cup and wandered into the sitting room.  He settled into the recliner and thought about the day he'd bought that house.

Jim and Sandy’s marriage was already on the rocks when she announced she was pregnant.  Jim wanted a divorce but tried to stick it out for the baby’s sake.  He was still married to Sandy the day he saw Janet on the set.  When he heard she left L.A. and was in the midst of a divorce, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.  Sandy announced her plans to divorce him only three months after their son was born.  She had what she wanted, connections in the industry and a monetary tie to his fortune.  Even though his lawyer was smart in drawing up the pre-nuptial, Sandy still left the marriage very well off.  Between the child support and the beautiful house she received in Sydney, she would never have to work again.  Not that she’d done it much before they met.

A year and a half later Janet had returned to L.A. to attend Connor’s mother’s funeral. She had remained friendly with his family and when they called to let her know her ex-mother-in-law died, she assured them she would come for the funeral.  They had never given up hope that she and Connor would eventually remarry.  That hope died just before his mother when he announced he’d married one of his leading ladies in Las Vegas a few days before. 

Jim had just arrived in L.A. when he heard the news about Connor’s mother.  Jim went to the funeral to pay his respects.  When he walked into the chapel he was surprised to see Janet there.  She looked radiant even in her sadness.  He watched as Connor gave her a kiss on the cheek and thanked her for coming.  Her son, Daniel, was with her and it was evident from the way he stood off from his father that they didn’t get on. He was a good-looking kid, almost seventeen, and just beginning to show the promise of a muscular build.  His hair was dark brown and he had his mother’s exceptional green eyes. 

Her daughter, on the other hand, looked like Connor with dark hair and aquamarine eyes.  He remembered her as a gangly child.  She was fast becoming a woman and would no doubt give Connor headaches with plenty of suitors.  She treated Janet like the plague and seemed to make it a point to fawn over her new step-mother.  He knew Rita Jennings.  He’d worked with her before.  Not a more spoiled or selfish woman drew breath.  He smiled thinking Janet was going to get pay-backs through her ex-husband's new wife.

He waited to approach Janet until after the funeral was over and they arrived at Connor’s home for the post funeral get together.  He watched her talking to different people and when he saw her walk out to the pool he followed.

“Janet?”  He was standing right behind her.

When she turned, he could see she’d been crying.  “What’s this, then?  I’m sorry about Connor’s mum.  Were you close?”

Janet wiped her eyes with a hankie.  “Yes, she was a very good person.  I think our divorce hurt her as much as anyone.”

“I know.  I heard it was messy.  Are you back for good or just for the funeral?”

“No, just for the funeral.  How are you doing?  I heard you had a hard time of it, too.  I also hear you have a little boy.”

Jim couldn’t help smiling when he thought about his son.  “Yeah, he was the other ‘best day of my life’.”

“Other best day?”

“He was the first.  The day my divorce from Sandy was final was the other.”  He giggled, “I actually gave a party.”  He sobered. “The only hard part of it is being without my son.”

“I know.  Children make a bad marriage almost bearable.”

“Well, you look no worse for the wear.”  He smiled and could tell he flustered her.

“I guess I should get back inside.”  She couldn’t handle the way he was looking at her.

“Why is it every time I get close to you, you look to run away?  I promise I won’t bite,”  he laughed.  “That is, unless you ask me to.”  He grinned and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.

He caught her off guard with that and she couldn’t help but laugh.  “That’s better.  How about having dinner with me?”  He could see she wasn’t too sure.  “Just dinner.  Don’t believe everything you read.  I’m not as bad as all that.”

“Um, all right. When?”

“Tomorrow night…seven?” 

“Okay.  I’m staying at the Wilshire.”  Janet couldn’t believe she’d actually said yes.  She must be crazy.

“I’ll call and let you know where we’re going.”  He couldn’t believe she accepted.  He was actually holding his breath until she did.

“I need to get back inside.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”  She smiled and walked away.

True to his word he called her and let her know they would be dining at a new expensive place in Beverly Hills.  She met him in the lobby and nearly took his breath away.  The words 'classic beauty' came to mind.  They enjoyed eating and talking.  Once she got over her initial shyness, he found her to be intelligent and funny.  When the evening ended he asked her to come to his suite at the Bel Air.  She politely declined and it made him want her even more.

The next morning he was reliving the evening with Janet.  He knew she would be leaving L.A. that afternoon and desperately wanted to spend more time with her.  He had to find a way to keep her from going back to Oregon.  He picked up the phone and dialed her hotel.

“Janet, I need your help.”

“What’s wrong, Jim?”

“I told you I was here in the states to buy a home but I need an objective eye.  I was hoping you’d help me.”

“What?”  Was he asking her to look for a house for him?

“I’ve already decided I want to buy a place in Texas, somewhere around Houston.  It’s more centrally located and I need a woman’s eye for practicality.  What do you say?  Will you come and help me?”

“I don’t know, Jim.  I’m supposed to fly home today.  What about Daniel?  What would he think if I just up and went off with you?”

“Why don’t you ask him?  He’s what, nearly seventeen?  He certainly doesn’t need you to fly home with him.  Come on, I really need the help.”  She was wavering, he could tell.

“Let me call you back.”

“Right!” 

Ten minutes later she called to let him know she would go.  He made fast plans to have his private jet ready so they could leave that afternoon.  He also had to call a real estate agent and get some places lined up to look at.  He really hadn’t thought about Texas seriously, but it was away from the usual celebrity haunts and would afford him a reasonable amount of privacy.  By the time he met her at the airport he had everything set.  They touched down in Houston at seven that evening and decided to eat a quiet meal in his suite.

He used his laptop to show her the virtual tour the real estate agent posted on her web sight and they discussed some of the things he was looking for.  She wanted to get a feel for what he wanted and needed before they began looking the next day.

Jim could have cared less about what house he bought.  It was only a place to hide out when he didn’t have time to fly back to Oz.  He didn’t want an apartment in L.A. or New York.  He liked the idea of open spaces and privacy.  He was looking for a ranch, nothing too big, but large enough not to see his neighbor. 

What Jim really wanted was to get Janet into his king-size bed.  He thought all day about how to approach her.  She seemed to sense he was hitting on her but didn’t take it seriously.  When she announced she needed to get to bed, he almost asked her to stay with him.  He walked her down to her own suite and stood at the door, hoping for a kiss.  Something about the way she smiled when she said good night told him it was best to wait.  He spent two hours in bed trying to fall asleep.  When he finally did, she haunted his dreams.  That had never happened to him before.

The next morning was gorgeous, warm and sunny.  They met for breakfast in Jim’s suite, then headed out with the real estate agent who met them in the lobby.  Mrs. Carlson came highly recommended and Jim could see why.  She was helpful and gracious as well as very knowledgeable.  She had three of the places lined up for them today and three more for tomorrow.  “Of course, if you see the one you want today, just tell me.  We can cancel the remaining appointments if necessary.”

All of the ranches were larger in acreage than Jim intended, but he could always sell the land he didn’t need.  The houses were the main concern.  Janet had to admit they were exceptionally beautiful.  She never thought a ranch could have so many extra creature comforts.  There were hot tubs, swimming pools, immense bathrooms, etc.  These were mansions, not ranches.  She got Jim laughing hysterically when she quipped, “I wonder what Roy Rogers would think about this?”

They finished looking at the last ranch near four o’clock the next day.  Jim wasn’t sure what he wanted and was trying to get her to choose for him.  On the way back to Houston he finally asked her, “If you were buying one for yourself, which one would you want?”

“Truthfully?”

“Yes.”

“None of them.” 

“You didn’t like any of the ones we looked at?”  He thought she’d be bowled over by the opulence of at least three of them.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like them. I just wouldn’t want to live in them.  They aren’t my style, Jim.  I’m too simple for those homes.  I wouldn’t be comfortable.  That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want one of them for you.”

They were driving down one of the rural roads on a long, straight strip.  Off in the distance Janet could see a two-story house with a veranda that ran around three sides.  She pointed to it and said, “That’s my idea of a ranch house.”  As they approached the turn off leading to the house, they could see a ‘For Sale’ sign near the mail box.

“Mrs. Carlson, please pull into that drive.  We’d like to look at that house.”

“Mr. Tanner, that isn’t a listed home.  It’s apparently being sold by the owner.”  In other words, I won’t get paid why should I bother?

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Carlson, if I buy it I’ll pay your commission as if it were listed.”

She turned onto the paved road and drove up to the parking area in front.  “Let me go see if the owners are home.  They may not want to show the house on short notice.”  She was really thinking that a man with his kind of money should buy something more appropriate to his standing.

Janet leaned over to Jim and said quietly, “Why are you doing this?  This isn’t what you wanted.”

“How do I know until I see it?”

The house was painted white with green trim.  It had window boxes full of flowers with more flowers along the front of the house and a lush green lawn.  Several huge trees stood on the western side, giving shade to the entire house in the late afternoon. There was a large barn and two corrals.

Mrs. Carlson motioned to them to come to the house.  Jim helped Janet out of the car and they walked the three steps to the top of the veranda.  “Mrs. Horner, this is Jim and Janet.  Mrs. Horner has agreed to let you see the house.”

“Come in, come in! Don’t be shy.”  Mrs. Horner was obviously a born and raised Texan.  She was a lively lady with white hair and blue eyes.

She ushered them through the screen door into the living room.  It was large and comfortable.  The fireplace sat on the left in the center of that wall, its mantle covered with pictures of what must have been her family.  All the furniture was leather or antique wood.  The over-all effect was ‘homey’.  To the right was an arched doorway leading to a hallway running parallel to the living room.

Next, she took them to the kitchen, which sat behind the living room.  It was enormous, a real country kitchen.  “We had it redone about five years ago.  It has all the modern conveniences.  There’s a disposal, a dishwasher and an over-size refrigerator.”  On one side there was a heavy kitchen table that could seat at least twelve people and a laundry room off the kitchen.

She led them back through the living room to the arched doorway that led to the bedrooms.  The hallway ran from the front of the house to the back.  Toward the back was one bedroom.  “I can’t show you that room just now.  My husband Charles is sleeping.  He’s the reason we’re selling.  He has cancer and we need to live closer to the center in Houston.  We bought an apartment there.”  They could see Mrs. Horner didn’t want to leave.  “We came here as newly weds fifty-five years ago.  I can’t imagine leaving,”  she sighed.  “The other bedroom is down here and there are three more upstairs.  Why don’t you go ahead and look at them?  I have a hard time getting up the stairs these days.  I’m going to check on Charles while you look.”

There was a bathroom off the hallway between the two downstairs bedrooms near the room Charles occupied.  They peeked in the end bedroom near the stairway. It was neat and comfortable.  Then they climbed the stairs to the upper floor.  The master bedroom ran the full width of the house and looked out over the front of the house.  It had a huge walk-in closet and a private a bath with a shower and a claw-footed bath tub.  The inside wall was one giant, heavy wood, built in, dresser drawer set.  It had a huge mirror that reflected the light from the windows on the other side of the room.  A king-sized bed made of the same heavy wood sat in the middle of the room. 

Janet fell in love with this room.  She told Jim, “Now this I could live with.”

“It is beautiful.  I wonder if the furniture comes with the house?  This room wouldn’t be the same without the furniture.  Do you suppose the bed is as comfortable as it looks?”

Janet was standing next to the bed and Jim was just behind her.  On impulse, he grabbed Janet and pulled her down on the bed.  It was every bit as soft as it looked.  He wasn’t paying any attention to the feel of the bed; he could only feel Janet as he held her close.

The move took her by surprise and she immediately started to sit up.  Jim just held her and before he knew it he was kissing her.  That kiss was full of passion and desire, yet it was the most tender kiss he’d ever given anyone.  He tried to convey, in that one fleeting moment, everything he felt for Janet.  It was everything he felt for her then and it was nothing compared to what he felt for her now.

Janet wandered from the living room into the kitchen and back.  She couldn’t seem to relax.  She loved this house the moment she walked in.  It was a home, not a show place.  She never liked living in the house Connor chose for them.  Janet was pregnant with Daniel when Connor made the decision to move them from Chicago back to L.A.  He flew there looking for a place to stay with the understanding that she would follow when he found something.  She hadn’t expected him to buy a house. He was only supposed to rent or lease one.  When he told her he'd bought a place, she was angry that he hadn’t even consulted her.  Connor was like that.  If he liked something, then everyone else had to like it as well.

When Janet saw the house she hated it.  It was huge and austere.  There wasn’t a warm feeling in any part of it.  Connor didn’t worry about warm and comfortable. His concern was ‘making an impression’.  “We’re living in Beverly Hills now.  Get the grass out from between your toes.  I need a wife who can show some class, not a hillbilly from Dexter, Oregon.”

Connor was just being recognized as a solid director after showing two of his works at Cannes.  Both films were very low budget, yet he’d managed to deliver each story believably.  He, of course, went for the showings but left Janet at home.  After moving to Beverly Hills, she hated staying alone even more than she had in the beginning.  She never went with him on location. He didn’t need her there.  She began to think of the house as a very expensive prison.  There was no comfort in its cold walls.  Even their bedroom looked more like an expensive brothel than a place where a loving couple spent intimate time together. 

That was the problem.  They weren’t a loving couple even back then.  Connor had a wandering eye from the beginning.  He seemed to look upon Janet as a convenient bed warmer when no one else more exciting was available. 

She committed the ultimate sin while he was away working on his newest film.  She stripped and re-decorated the bedroom.  Connor returned to lace window dressings, new furniture and a rose covered quilt and matching bed skirt.  Janet was proud of what she’d done.  The room was bright and soft and looked like love, not strange sex.  Connor went ballistic when he saw it.  He wanted the red velvet and silver wall paper returned to the walls.  The four poster bed with the hard canopy and mirror had to be recovered.  “And get the red velvet curtains back.  That lacey shit makes me sick!”

Standing in the living room she realized the only thing Connor and Jim had in common was their infidelity, yet they differed even in that.  Connor had affairs and made no attempt to cover or deny them.  He seemed to want to drive home the point that Janet wasn’t and never would be good enough for him, never took her to premiers or high-profile parties where the media would see her.  He attended the Oscars every year and not once invited her to go.

Jim, on the other hand, made her go with him to Rodeo Drive so she could pick out a special gown to walk the red carpet in.  He initially wanted her to order a gown from Vera Wang, but she nixed that idea.  They had been married only three months and he wanted to ‘show off’ his beautiful bride.  He presented her with jewelry that she assumed was borrowed.  But when he told her they wouldn’t be picking it up, she realized he’d bought it for her.  He held her hand the entire night and after the post Oscar parties wound down, he took her back to the hotel and made special love to her.  Several times he mentioned how stunning she looked and when they were together, he never, but never, showed interest in other women.  He only had eyes for her.  Connor was always checking out someone else.

Janet picked up the phone and dialed Jim’s number in Oz.  It was midnight there and she hoped he was still awake.

“’Lo.”  His deep voice sent a wave of longing through her.

“Jim?”  Her voice was so low she wasn’t sure he could even hear her.

“Janet?  Jan, is that you?”  He sounded groggy or drunk maybe.

“Yeah, it’s me.  I…I just called to see how you’re doing.  Is everything okay?”

“No, nothing's okay.  My wife left me.”

“Jim, I’m sorry, I…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have called.”

“Wait!  Janet, don’t hang up!  Can’t we just talk, you know, like people, friends?” 

She needed that as much as he did.  “Can we talk about things besides us?  I can’t talk about that yet.”

“Whatever you want, sweetheart.” He waited tentatively for her to speak.  When she didn’t he asked, “What have you been doing with yourself?”

Janet began telling him about some of the things she did to the house.  “I bought some new chairs for the veranda and I wallpapered the down stairs bathroom.  It’s light blue with this really pretty pattern.  I can’t explain it; you’ll have to see it to understand.”  She didn’t mean that as an invitation.

“When can I come?”  He hoped she meant it.

“Well, I didn’t mean it quite that way.  I mean you have a right to see what I’m doing to your house, but…”

“It’s our house, Jan, remember?  We picked it out together.” 

“Jim, this was a bad idea.  I’m sorry, good night.”

He lay in bed listening to the buzz of the disconnected line.  It wasn’t much, but she'd initiated the call.  She was thinking about him. Maybe it was a beginning.

He returned to that first kiss on the bed.  He could feel her fear as she'd initially tried to pull away from him.  Once she relaxed and gave in, it was like butter melting on hot toast.  Her body blended with his and for the first time in his life he felt physically and emotionally bonded to another person.  When he pulled away from the kiss, he held her close and never wanted to leave that place.

They heard Mrs. Carlson climbing the stairs and quickly got up, straightening the quilt.

“Well, have you seen enough?  It will be dark before we get back to Houston.  If you want to see any of the other houses again, I’ll be happy to make arrangements.”

“I’d like to talk to Mrs. Horner for a minute.”  He grabbed Janet’s hand and led her to the stairway.  They didn’t even look at the other two bedrooms.

“Mrs. Horner?  How much are you asking for the place?” 

Mrs. Horner smiled, “One point two-five million.  That includes four hundred acres, all the equipment, the house and the furniture if you want it.”

“Sold.”  Mrs. Horner, Mrs. Carlson and Janet all stood with their mouths open.

Janet was the first to speak.  “Are you sure, Jim?  I mean this isn’t what you started out looking for.”

He looked directly into Janet’s eyes when he answered.  “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”  When he smiled and took her hand, he was sure Janet got the double meaning.  She smiled back and squeezed his hand.

That night at the hotel Janet stayed with him in his suite and they made love several times.  He had never found such sweetness or fulfillment with any other woman.  He knew by dawn this was no short-term love affair.

Janet couldn’t believe she’d been so weak.  She shouldn’t have called him.  The impression she’d left was that she was willing to be friends.  That could never be.  She would never see him as just a friend.  They were friends, but it was so much more.  How would she ever be able to stand in a room and talk small talk without wanting him to hold her?  

That day at the ranch when he'd kissed her ended any possibility of a simple friendship.  She would have gladly made love to him on that fabulous old bed had it not been for Mrs. Carlson showing up.  When he announced he was buying the house, it was evident that he did it for her, for what he felt during their first kiss.

Mrs. Horner misunderstood their relationship and commented, “Well, I guess this old house will see a few more years of happiness after all.  Are you newlyweds?  Will there be children soon?”

Janet had almost choked on that.  “No, no, we’re just friends.  I’m thirteen years older than Jim.  Children would be impossible.”

Mrs. Horner laughed.  “Maybe, but I remember when Charles and I married.  He was eighteen, I was thirty-one.  We were the talk of the town, me so much older and a divorced woman, and him the youngest son of a prominent rancher.  It couldn’t last, they said.  Well, we proved them all wrong.  Fifty-five years and five children later I still love him as much as when he brought me here as a new bride.  Oh, to be certain, it wasn’t easy, but if it’s real it lasts through good times and bad.  And it was worth all the struggle.”  She swallowed hard as tears formed. “I don’t know what I’ll do when he’s gone.”

They flew out of Houston the next day.  Janet had to return to Oregon and Dan, and Jim had to fly to New York for meetings with the producer of his new movie.  The three days they spent together was like a whirlwind courtship.  When Jim put her on the plane to the west coast he promised to call her when he got to New York.  She missed him even as she boarded and found her seat.  He stood at the window, waiting for the plane to taxi away.  She could see him and waved. 

ON TO PART 3

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