Page 13 of Love’s Patient Journey (The Relinquished #2)

Staying away from Jenna and Zac had been damn near impossible.

It had been a day, and Ryan felt like he was going out of his fucking mind.

Once he got back into town, the first stop he made was to Jenna’s front porch.

He wanted to be with her all the time. He should be there, helping with Zac and taking care of both of them.

His mom told him that Jemma was sick too and that it was best to stay away from Drew’s house, to prevent him from catching the bug.

She said that he needed to be careful with starting his new job.

Ryan didn’t know how to tell his mom about everything that happened with Jenna and Zac, so he just didn’t tell her anything.

He didn’t even know where he and Jenna even stood, so it was no use getting the woman’s hopes up.

She’d start buying Zac toys and presents before he could even get the whole story out.

She constantly hounded him about settling down with the right woman and having kids.

He knew she’d love Zac and Jenna as much as he did, but his future with Jenna was up in the air.

He knew that he couldn’t force Jenna to love him, but he also knew that she did.

She was just having trouble coming to terms with it.

He had some time to sort out his shit before coming home and realizing that he was in love with Jenna was easy.

Deciding what to do about her was the hard part.

He didn’t want to push her into something she wasn’t ready for.

At the same time, if he gave her too much space, she might talk herself out of their relationship, and that wasn’t acceptable.

“Fuck,” he pounded his fist on the kitchen table. He turned, hearing his youngest brother, Shephard, laughing at him from the kitchen door.

“Easy there, big guy,” Shep coaxed. “She can’t be worth all that anger.”

“Who the fuck says it’s a woman who has me pissed?” Ryan growled at his brother, not seeming to be able to control his anger. He sighed, trying to rein in his anger.

“Sorry, man.” Ryan got up from the table and crossed the room to hug his little brother. “It’s good to see you, Shep.”

“Yeah, you too, bro. It’s been a while. Where have you been hiding?” Shep patted Ryan’s back, releasing him to grab a cup of coffee.

“You know, just finishing up with the Navy. I’m sure Mom told you that I’m sticking around. I got a job at the Department of Defense.”

“Yeah, she’s told me, Maddie, and half the town. She’s happy you’re home, cut her some slack.”

Ryan nodded his head, “I know, it just takes me some time to readjust to Mom’s ability to spread the word. That woman would have been useful in a war; she could get the news to just about every place.” They both laughed.

“So, who’s the woman that has you beating the shit out of mom’s furniture?” Shep smirked, the asshole.

Ryan sighed, not even trying to deny the truth to his brother’s question. “Jenna Ashbrook. God, that woman makes me so mad, so crazy, and so—hot.”

Shep was laughing again at him, and Ryan knew that his scowl wasn’t helping. “Shut the fuck up, man. Tell me what’s new with you before I decide to beat your ass.”

Shep’s smile seemed to deflate a little with his brother’s threat. Being the oldest did have some perks, even though on most days, none of his younger siblings showed him any respect.

“I’m in the police academy now. I’m just about done training.

You’d think a college degree would prepare you for all the crap the academy puts you through, but it doesn’t.

My criminal justice degree sure didn’t teach me how to handle the ass whooping that I have to go through every day for training.

” Shep rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.

“But I love it, man. I feel like it’s’ what I’m meant to do with my life. ”

Ryan smiled at his little brother. “You seeing anyone?”

“Who has the time? I get up, train, and sleep as much as I can. If I’m lucky, I get to eat too. Someday, I may settle down, when I’m an old man, like you.” Shep walked across the kitchen and caught Ryan up in a bear hug. Damn if his little brother wasn’t bigger than him.

“Got to go, man. I just wanted to stop by and welcome you home. Glad you’re sticking around for a while.” They patted each other’s backs—man code for the hug needs to end.

“Thanks, Shep. That means a lot.”

“See you later, man. And don’t give mom too hard a time, she means well.”

Ryan knew that his mom only wanted the best for them all.

In her defense, raising the four of them wasn’t easy.

His parents were good people. His dad had to travel a lot for his job as a pharmaceutical sales rep, but his mom was always around.

She said that her “job” was to raise the four of them.

He liked knowing that she’d always be there if he needed her.

He liked coming home after school to find her in the kitchen working on dinner.

Her rules were tough sometimes, but they had to be because Ryan and his two brothers could cause some trouble.

Maddie had her parents wrapped around her finger; really, she had all of them under her spell.

She was probably the rottenest one out of the bunch.

He needed to call her and catch up with her at college; he hadn’t seen her in almost a year.

Ryan decided that not only was he getting out of the Navy to lay claim to Jenna and Zac, but he was going to build stronger relationships with his family.

That was going to start now, all of it. Jenna was in for a rude awakening if she thought that he’d just leave her alone.

He’d given her a day, and that was enough time. He was done waiting.