Jodie's Choice, page 6
“Are you sure? We can all eat small portions and load up on the grits.”
“No thank you,” both men said.
“Ashton is more like a brother to me than a cousin. Do you see the rest of your family?”
“Mama, Dr. Elders and Lionel are all the family I have.”
“Is Dr. Elders your father?”
“As close as I’ll ever have.” The strawberries brought a genuine smile to her face. “What did he do, Windex them? They don’t look real.”
Everyone laughed.
Once they calmed, Thomas softly said, “I don’t want to keep you and Ashton apart. I want to clear the way so you can be a couple.”
“You seem to be the only obstacle in our way.” That and Ashton’s obsession about not taking advantage of her.
He flinched, but regained his composure quickly. “Please come sit with me. It won’t take long to cook breakfast food, and it’s disgusting cold. You don’t have to be afraid of me.”
She joined him at the table. “I’m not afraid of you.” I don’t like you. She smiled sweetly.
“I have a few general questions I must ask.”
“As soon as Ashton returns, the questions end.”
By the time they were an hour into questions, they’d discovered she didn’t know how the political system worked or who any elected officials were. She knew bits and pieces about positions such as president, king, dictator…but she couldn’t remember which was used in the United States and didn’t know what state she lived in. She didn’t know the date or time of day, but quickly added she could find that out on the computer. She couldn’t tell time on an analog clock. She confused members of a family outside of mother, father, brother, sister and baby and a whole slue of other things. She’d been homeschooled when she was young, but hadn’t discussed most of this stuff in at least twenty-five years. How could anyone expect her to remember it?
This was the first time in her life she felt completely inept. She just wished Thomas would stop asking questions, but he didn’t. Eventually he pulled out cash and coins. The only reason she recognized some of the bills was because Ashton had paid the carnie with similar ones. And wouldn’t you know it, Thomas asked her how she knew of money. She answered honestly and explained that she thought it strange that she used electronic money and people in the outside world used paper money.
Just as Thomas began another set of questions, Clay said, “I believe that’s enough for today.”
Thomas fixed his mouth to disagree.
“We’ve had enough for today,” Clay repeated.
Humiliated by her ignorance, she wanted to cry. “I’m going to my room.”
“Before you leave, is there anything you’d like to ask me?” Thomas asked.
“Why did my mother do this to me?”
His answer didn’t come, so she turned to leave and bumped into Ashton as he entered.
He took one look into her eyes and drew her into his arms. “What’s wrong?”
“I just want to go to my room.”
He gave her a reassuring hug and released her.
Once sure Jodie was out of earshot, Ashton tore into his cousin. “What the hell happened? She looked so defeated.”
“She doesn’t even know the basics! Linda has—”
“Linda! Linda left a confident, strong woman behind. An hour with you and Jodie is a wreck.” He hit at the island in frustration.
“I had to know exactly what I was dealing with.”
“I can’t believe I was going to leave Jodie in your care, Mr. I-Know-Human-Nature. Exactly how did you think it would make Jodie feel to show her how much she doesn’t know?”
Thomas cursed himself. “I’m sorry. I got carried away. I was just so amazed at all she didn’t know. Question after question…I lost my focus.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that again.” He walked out and went straight to Jodie’s room. It was time to return to civilization.
She looked up from her pillow with tears in her eyes.
“Let’s go.” He approached her with his hands out.
She pushed herself off the bed and went to him. “Where are we going?”
“Home. I’ll call my sister and have one of her ranch hands care for the animals.”
The spark in her eyes returned, and sent his heart thumping. He’d been worried Thomas was correct and the trip into the small town had been too much for her, so she wouldn’t want to go into the “big” city. “Grab your underclothes and a few outfits. I’ll buy the rest.”
“You can’t take her,” Thomas said from the doorway.
“Do you want to go home with me?” Ashton asked Jodie.
“Yes!” She rushed to gather her things.
“You’re making this worse,” Thomas said.
“Can I drive?” she asked, voice filled with excitement.
“No!” Thomas barked.
At the same time, Ashton calmly said, “Part of the way.”
“But she doesn’t even have a permit! You’ve gone too far.”
“Is he always like this?” She pulled underclothes out of her top drawer and set them on the bed.
Ashton noticed Dr. Clay Harris seemed amused. Maybe Thomas didn’t have as much support as he thought.
Chapter Four
Clay pulled into Ashton’s luxury condominium parking garage. Thomas had insisted they follow them so he could talk sense into his cousin. Clay enjoyed watching the interactions between Ashton, Jodie and Thomas. Lust, love, gratitude…something had trapped Jodie and Ashton, and instead of fighting against it, Clay knew to work within it.
Volatile came to mind with Thomas and Ashton’s relationship—clash of the Titans so to speak. Thomas was outwardly more aggressive, but Ashton was the dangerous one. Confident in himself, Ashton didn’t need to show the world his bravado or prove anything to anyone. Then there was Jodie and Thomas. She had his number, but he didn’t realize it, or at least wouldn’t admit it.
Clay watched Jodie exit Ashton’s SUV. Beautiful, and he’d venture to guess, smarter than all three of the doctors trying to run her life. He admired her strength. The scared little farm girl they thought they’d find turned out to be a lioness. Tracking her progress over the years would be quite interesting. He followed the group through the garage to the bank of elevators.
Jodie opened the stairwell door. “Do you actually live on the twentieth floor?”
“Yep.”
Her gaze traveled from the stairs to the men. “Mama said city folks are lazy, but anyone who would choose to walk up twenty floors of stairs isn’t lazy.”
Clay chuckled internally as she entered the stairwell.
Ashton took her by the hand. “We don’t have to walk.”
Eyes narrowed, she said, “I don’t fly. How do we get to your floor if we don’t take the stairs?”
He smiled and gently pulled her over to the elevator, which Thomas was now holding open.
“Step inside. It’s not as nice as the Ferris wheel, but is much better than walking.”
She poked her head into the elevator, looked around, then timidly stepped in behind him.
Ashton keyed in his code on the control, which gave him access to the roof or his floor. Tenants above the fifteenth floor had a floor of their own. “Press the twenty, and this compartment will take us up to our floor. It’s called an elevator.”
She pressed the twenty. The doors closed. She latched onto Ashton as soon as the elevator began to ascend. “This is amazing! Can we go to the top?”
“Not tonight,” Thomas answered quickly.
“Let’s get you settled in first and have a little dinner, then if you want to go to the top, we can.”
Seeing Thomas was about to object to Ashton’s suggestion, Clay said, “So how was your ride over, Jodie? What’s your first impression of the big city?”
“Busy. So many cars on the road at the same time. And all of those lights. I mean, I know people need to be able to see, but wow. It’s just a lot. And those giant ads along the road…”
Ashton shifted uncomfortably. “You know, the city isn’t going anywhere. Why don’t we save the top floor for another night?” The elevator stopped on the twentieth floor.
“Do you have a porch? I saw porches.” The doors slid open. They all stepped onto the ceramic tiled hallway to Ashton’s entry.
“Yes, I have a terrace that wraps around most of the condo. No matter where you stand on it, you’ll see views of the mountains or the city.”
“Can we eat dinner on the terrace?”
“It’s a little cool outside, but that’s what jackets are for.” He keyed in the code to his front door and let everyone in.
Ashton set her small garbage bag of clothes on the couch. The four-bedroom condo was cluttered. Jodie began picking up.
“Stop cleaning the house, Jodie. Here, watch television while I find us something to eat.” He quickly swooped the remote off the table and turned on the huge flat screen television.
Sound boomed and images of a thriller movie trailer filled the screen. Shots were fired and before the first casualty hit the ground, Jodie’s eyes had grown large. She covered her ears and shrank to the floor. “Make it stop!”
Apologizing, Ashton quickly turned off the television.
“What is wrong with you?” Thomas bit out at Ashton.
Ashton knelt low and wrapped his arms around Jodie. “I’m so sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Marking his territory, Ashton had easily blocked Thomas’s interference. Clay would give Ashton a week, if that long, before he completely made Jodie his. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. They were both of age, but consenting on Jodie’s part was questionable at best. She would naturally gravitate to Ashton, and though Ashton seemed like an upstanding man, there was only so much temptation he’d be able to take, and Jodie was quite tempting.
“What kind of monitor is that? It’s so large, so loud. I don’t like it. I like mine at home better.”
“It’s not a computer monitor, but a television. Think of it like books that are acted out and you watch them on the monitor.”
Confusion remained on her face. From what Clay could remember, he didn’t see any novels on the bookshelves, only cookbooks and handyman type literature.
“Well, I don’t want to watch the television anymore.”
He tossed the remote control across the room. “I’m starving.”
She smiled. “Of course you are.”
He pulled her up and into the kitchen. “Thomas, raid the take-out drawer, and I’ll find something to hold us over.”
Clay stood off in a corner and continued watching interactions. Thomas snatched a drawer full of menus open and set a few on the table. Ashton opened the freezer and began sorting through gourmet frozen dinners—an oxymoron if Clay had ever heard one. Jodie quickly lost interest in the frozen dinners and joined Thomas at the table.
“Have you ever had Chinese food?” Thomas asked and handed her a few menus.
She quickly scanned the menu items. “Oh, yes. I cook all types of cuisine. I love cooking.”
Microwave started, Ashton left the kitchen and returned with his laptop. “Come over here. You’ll like this.” He opened an electronic reference library. “Do you know where Chinese food comes from?”
She scooted her chair beside his. “I thought it was a style.”
“It is. It’s a style that originated in a country called China.”
“This sounds familiar,” Jodie said, voice filled with enthusiasm. “I remember learning something about different regions a long time ago. I just never connected the food with the regions. Probably because I was a child when I learned about them, then I didn’t learn how to cook until I grew up. I just forgot, I guess.”
Ashton and Jodie were oblivious to or ignoring Thomas, but Clay took note of how he glared at his cousin as if he wanted to strangle him. Was it too soon to start teaching Jodie about the world she belonged to? Clay didn’t see the harm in it, but Thomas was much more conservative, and controlling than he.
“Look, Vietnam!” She tapped the map. “Vietnamese food, right?”
“Umm, looks like we’ll be eating in style.” Ashton laughed. “What else do you know how to cook?”
“Ethiopian, Indian, French, Italian, Moroccan, Mexican…” she continued running down her list. Clay had lied earlier to keep her from feeling bad about not having enough food for everyone. He was starving and bet she could throw down in the kitchen.
The microwave dinged. Ashton began to rise, but Clay stopped him. “I’ll get it.” He removed the Chicken da Vinci meal and replaced it with another. The warmed meal smelled so delicious, his mouth began to water. After quickly plating the meal, he took it over to the table and set it before Jodie.
“Thank you, but Ashton’s stomach is louder than that television contraption up front. I’ll wait for our order to come.” She gently pushed the plate over to Ashton, but stopped and smiled at Clay. “I heard that.”
She had heard his stomach growl. He flushed with embarrassment.
“I think you two should split this meal. Make that you three.” She looked at Thomas with a knowing smile and everyone laughed.
By the time their rib plates arrived and were devoured, Thomas had joined in the education of Jodie. Watching her excitement as they went from map to map was exhilarating, yet disconcerting at the same time. Clay could see something was bothering her, but couldn’t quite tell what. She had a question, but didn’t seem to know what or how to ask it.
“It’s getting late and you have a busy day tomorrow,” Clay said. “Thank you for the meal, Ashton. And thank you for the company, Jodie.” He began clearing the table.
“You’re coming with us, aren’t you? To see my mom?”
Shocked, he stumbled over his words, “If you want me there, I’ll be there.”
“Thank you. She’ll need therapy when she sees I’m in the city.”
Ashton and Clay laughed. Clay had explained about therapy when he and Jodie had spoken earlier and how he thought she, Linda and Dr. Elders should have family therapy. Since he was handling Jodie’s case, he could continue giving her therapy and even bring her family in from time to time when needed. He just hoped he’d be able to convince Linda and Dr. Elders to seek therapy also. Their whole family needed it.
Thomas grumbled and helped clear the table. “I think I may stay the night.”
“Just when I was starting to like you, you go back to your grumpy self. I hope you don’t think we don’t know why you want to stay.” Yawning, Jodie took the broom out of the closet and began sweeping. “You need to come in the morning also so you and Mama can drive each other crazy.”
“Why don’t you get ready for bed?” Ashton suggested. “We can finish up in here.”
“I don’t mind cleaning up.”
“You’re a guest in my home. Go away,” he said playfully
She handed the broom over to Thomas, then hugged Ashton. “How can I resist such an invitation?” She released Ashton and hugged Clay. “It was nice meeting you.” She paused before Thomas, then hugged him also. “Stop being so controlling. Goodnight everyone.”
“Goodnight, Jodie,” said all of her men.
A few minutes after Jodie left the room, Thomas raged, “There is no way in hell I’ll allow Jodie to stay alone with you tonight.”
“Like you have a choice in the matter.” Ashton washed the few dishes they’d used. “Make yourself useful and tell me how to keep her from being overwhelmed when we visit Linda. She had a million and one questions on the drive over here, think of what will happen when she sees the city during the day.”
Thomas released an exasperated breath. “You should have thought of that before you decided to drag her away from the only life she knows. You’ve always been too impulsive. You are going too fast. Did you see her reaction to the maps?”
“Yeah, she loved them.”
“But they brought up more questions. Questions she didn’t even know how to ask.”
“There is nothing wrong with questions. She should have questions.”
“In Thomas’s defense, I noticed the same thing. Maybe when you two are alone, she’ll feel more comfortable and explain what’s going on in her mind.”
“Keeping her trapped on that farm wasn’t the answer,” Ashton shot back.
“I agree, but…there is a right and a wrong way to go about this. I know you think I’m only interested in making her into a study. I know I’m the reason she isn’t comfortable expressing how she really feels or the questions that are in her mind. I made her feel small, stupid. I messed up and lost focus, but I’m back on track. You need to take a step back.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Ashton admitted. “I don’t know what to do. I just feel she belongs with me.”
“What do you think, Clay?” Thomas asked as if he knew what the answer would be.
“I think Jodie is an intelligent woman who has been sheltered her entire life and will resent both of you if you continue down this path. Give her the facts and allow her to absorb them. Except for the television, nothing in this new world of hers has scared her. And that sudden noise scared the hell out of me also.” He chuckled.
“But she’d been overwhelmed this afternoon by the carnival,” Thomas pointed out, obviously rattled by Clay’s answer.
“First off, people feel overwhelmed every day, yet still manage. Stop treating her like she’ll break if she comes up against challenges. Secondly, what makes you think it was the carnival that had her overwhelmed? Her mother has lied to her about the world. This is not a movie, but real life. Linda kept her hidden away in this little box and deceived her about what is outside the box. And we’re not talking little deceptions and lies of omission. Place yourself in Jodie’s shoes for a bit and tell me you wouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the betrayal.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket. “It’s time for us to leave. And I might as well tell you now that I will not be recommending for Jodie to be taken into protective custody.”
“But—”
“It’s my call and I’ve made my decision.” Clay nodded toward Ashton. “I’ll meet you at the hospital. Let’s say around nine.”
