Falling for Jack

Chapter 12

Jack's pov

Saturday is my quiet day. On Saturdays I usually stay at home, chopping wood for the store and taking care of my plants. Yeah, I'm a big dude who likes plants. Sue me.

However, today I have a party to attend. Rhonda always gets overboard with her parties and ends up inviting the whole town. I didn't feel like going to a party today but then I remembered something that made me change my mind. My father told me that Mary was going to be there. Yesterday she was at our store to buy a present for Rhonda's grandson.

When I saw her yesterday at the store I just wanted to ignore her because I was utterly p****d with her. The way she talked to me in the diner the other day made me want to show my bad side. But I controlled myself, took a deep breath and went away. It was better this way, because if I had lost control I would regret my actions later.

But then when she saw me at the store, she apologized to me. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. Usually women are really b*****s around me and never apologize for their actions. My ex wife was like that. Just the thought of her makes me want to punch the wall.

Nevertheless, Mary had one thing right. I could have offered her a glass of water. I could have also made an effort to talk to her more but I preferred to keep my distance. She is the kind of woman who can take down my guard with just a flick of her finger and leave me at her mercy. I don't want that. I don't want to let my guard down with any woman ever again in my life. Although when I look at Mary I start to second guess my resolution.

The first time I saw her at the diner she was with my sister, Cece. The first few things I noticed were her big beautiful brown eyes with lashes that looked miles long, her button nose, her lovely kissable lips, the freckles on her cheeks and her long wavy hair. She was not wearing any makeup but she didn't need it because she was naturally beautiful. She was petite but wore loose clothes, so I could not tell anything about her figure, but I'm sure it would not disappoint.

As soon as I saw her, I instantly put my guard two hundred percent up. I probably came across as rude, but better that than fall again in a woman's web of deception.

I got ready and went to my parents house to pick them up. Cece texted that she would meet us there. We were already late when we arrived. I parked the car and we made our way to Rhonda's house.

As soon as we walked in I started to look around hoping to see her but I couldn't find her anywhere. My father told me yesterday that Rhonda invited her to her grandson's birthday party and I can clearly see the present she bought from us yesterday, on the table next to the other presents. She should be here. Where is she? Did she fall into something again?

The thought of her in that ditch makes me chuckle to myself. She looked like a train wreck, with blood on her face, the crazy headphones and the cuts on her arms. And on top of that she tried to act tough and dismiss my help when she clearly needed it. She can be feisty. I like that. Crap. There my mind goes again.

Fifteen minutes later Cece walks in and makes her way to us. My mother says "There you are! What took you so long? Where were you?"

Cece replies "Sorry, I ran into Mary on my way in. She is the girl who moved here last week and I wanted to introduce her to some people but she said she had to go."

"Did she say why she left?" I say before I can stop myself. Both of my parents look at me inquisitive but I ignore them.

Cece is looking around like she is trying to find someone but still replies "Not really. She asked me to tell Rhonda that the pain in her ankle flared up and that she needed to go home but actually it looked like she was running away from something. Anyway, next week I'm going to arrange a meet up with some of my friends for her to meet them." She stops looking around when she finds Rhonda "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to say hi to Rhonda."

I thought it crossed my mind. Was she running away from me? Did she see me and ran away? No that can't be it.

Suddenly, I no longer feel like being at this party and think to myself that as soon as I can I'm gonna go home. I guess I'm going to have to find another excuse to see Mary again.