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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“ T hat was so much fun! I can’t believe we did it!

” Jenn’s body still buzzed with excitement after spending an hour soaring above the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico, suspended in a colorful hot air balloon just after sunrise.

It was the perfect day for it—sunny, with a few white, puffy clouds and fair winds.

The pilot had steered them over the Rio Grande River and lowered the balloon enough for them to skim over the water, allowing for a better view of the beautiful landscape.

They’d spotted several bighorn sheep and a bull elk with a massive rack of antlers along the river banks.

It was an exhilarating experience that Jenn would never forget.

It was even more special that she got to share it with Doug.

After setting down at the landing zone a little while ago, they celebrated their flight with a complimentary glass of champagne and received a commemorative certificate.

Then, they thanked the pilot and tipped him before hopping into a shuttle van that transported them back to their rental car at the company’s main office.

Margie’s memorial was two days earlier, and Doug had taken three days off from work so he could go with Jenn and make a long weekend out of the trip.

The deceased woman’s family loved that several volunteers who’d served with her had driven to or flown in for the service.

The memorial was bittersweet, with many of Margie’s former students and teachers also attending.

A catered repast was held afterward at a local VMA hall that her brother belonged to in Albuquerque.

Jenn was thrilled to see Tony and re-introduce him to Doug, who didn’t act like a green-eyed oaf now that he knew the other man had no interest in her.

Secretly, Jenn liked it when his jealousy emerged occasionally.

It got her heart racing and her panties wet.

She’d been happy to learn Tony was in a new relationship and it was going well.

However, his boyfriend, Tad Winslow, a police officer from Hazard Falls, was unable to make the trip because he had a mandatory K9 certification training scheduled on the same day as the memorial.

Tony showed her some pictures of the guy, though, and she had to admit, he was damn good-looking, and they made a cute couple.

She hoped it worked out for them because Tony deserved to be loved by someone special.

Things were tense between Tony and Doug at the beginning of the trip—mostly a clash of alpha protector grunting—but they’d since managed to call a truce.

Jenn might even go so far as to call them friends.

..on a good day. After having breakfast and spending a few hours sightseeing with the couple yesterday, Tony left to catch an evening flight home, promising to keep in touch.

The shuttle dropped them off, and as they approached their car, Doug unlocked it with a key fob and opened the passenger door for her.

“I parachuted a few times in the Marines, but I think I prefer floating over falling. I really enjoyed it.” He leaned down and gave her a swift kiss.

“Although I think the beautiful woman in the basket with me had something to do with that.”

“Hmm. Who knew you were such a sweet talker?”

“Only for you.”

He kissed her again before closing the door and hurrying around to the other side to get in.

As he started the engine, Jenn scrolled through dozens of pictures she’d taken on her phone before, during, and after the high-in-the-sky adventure.

Selecting a few of her favorites, she posted them in the private family Facebook group.

She would put them on her regular Instagram and Facebook profiles in a few days for her friends to see.

One of the first things Uncle Brody insisted on when she moved to Florida was that she keep her social media profiles locked down, allowing only people she knew to view her content.

Another was that she didn’t post anything live that would indicate her current location.

He’d told her how people’s houses were burglarized because they announced to the world they were on vacation somewhere else, or how stalkers easily found their targets because they tagged their locations in posts.

Jenn followed his rules because they made sense.

Her family didn’t post any photos of the kids either—those were sent by encrypted email only.

Speaking of tagging locations on social media, Lainey Hall experienced a massive dose of reality after several videos of her arrest, including Yardley’s, went viral on the internet.

She lost all her sponsors, collaborators, and hundreds of thousands of followers.

Within a week, she took down all her profiles after a flood of hateful comments and mockery overwhelmed her previous posts.

She attempted to crowdfund to cover her legal expenses for the charges she still faced, but the site removed the page since it didn’t allow fundraisers for that purpose.

Jenn didn’t feel an ounce of pity for the woman—she didn’t deserve it after the stunt she pulled.

Pulling out of the parking lot, Doug glanced at her. “Okay, Ms. Tour Guide, what’s next?”

They still had another full day and a half before they had to head to the airport for their flight home.

The TS jet had been needed for something, so Doug bought them first-class tickets on a commercial airline, to Jenn’s surprise.

She then insisted on paying for their hotel, which took a little persuasion on her part.

They agreed to split the rest of their expenses, for meals and activities, after a brief argument.

Jenn had to remind her lover that she now had a steady paycheck since starting her new job.

She also had her savings from her parents’ life insurance policies and the sale of their old house in Virginia, but she didn’t like dipping into that unless it was necessary.

Some of it was used for her college education, and a significant amount had been invested under Grandpa Chuck's guidance. She’d waited tables during college to earn spending money, not wanting to deplete her savings or rely on her uncles to cover her personal needs and activities.

She was fortunate to live at the TS compound rent-free, which, in her opinion, was more than enough, while only paying for her phone, cable, and internet.

Doug had savings and investments as well, and also owned his condo, but she refused to expect him to pay for everything if they went anywhere.

She wanted them to contribute equally to their relationship in every way possible, including financially.

“Breakfast first. That muffin I had a few hours ago won’t sustain me until the pub crawl.” She reached over and entered an address from her phone into the car’s GPS. “Margie’s niece recommended this place.”

They’d done so much in only a few short days that she was certain both would sleep during the entire flight home.

After Tony left last night, they’d gone to dinner and then taken a ghost tour around Albuquerque, visiting the most haunted places in the city.

Allegedly haunted, as Doug had whispered to her more than once during the tour.

While they hadn’t encountered any paranormal activity, it was still fun.

Despite his amused pessimism, they were both fans of the show Paranormal Caught on Camera on the Travel Channel, and he’d been just as excited as she was to take the tour.

He took her hand and squeezed it. “Sounds good. I’ll go wherever you want me to.”

Jenn giggled loudly as Doug attempted to get the key card in the slot to open their hotel door for the third time. Leaning against the wall, she tried to remember the last time she’d gotten this drunk. It had definitely been a while.

The pub crawl was a blast. The fourteen other people they’d been with were friendly, and the day was filled with plenty of laughter.

Their guide, a man in his mid-twenties, entertained them by imparting trivia and folklore about Albuquerque’s history, performing a few magic tricks, and telling jokes.

A few of the bars had live music, and one had karaoke.

Jenn and Doug were tipsy enough at that point to perform an off-key duet of “Summer Nights” from the movie Grease .

Neither one had a great singing voice, but they didn’t care because it was fun.

At least the crowd cheered them on and sang along.

Despite noshing on a variety of food at each location, their entire group had gotten intoxicated. Thankfully, she and Doug had the foresight to take a ride-share to and from the event. A few others hadn’t thought of that and needed to leave their cars at the start/end point and take taxis home.

“Stop laughing at me,” Doug said, even though he was chuckling too. The key finally slid into the slot, and the light turned green. “There. Got it. Now, get your cute...” Hiccup . “...little ass in there.”

“Yessss, ssssir!”

He followed her into the room. “Oh, God. Don’t call me ‘sir.’ Ian will beat the shit outta me if he thinks we’re doing any...any BSMD stuff.”

“BSMD?” She flopped backward onto the king-size bed, with her arms splayed out to the side as the room spun a little. “You ding-a-ling. That’s wrong.” Lifting her head a few inches, she eyed him. “Isn’t it?

“DSMB? Fuck. Whatever.” Hiccup. “It means the same damn thing no matter what order they’re in.

..the letters, I mean.” After tossing the key card, his wallet, and his phone on the room’s desk, he kicked off his shoes before crawling onto the bed and over her body.

“Anyway, I’m not giving him any excuse to shoot me, so no calling me ‘sir.’ Got it? ”

“What about Daddy?” she asked with a snicker as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her.