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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The Pretender and its characters don’t belong to me. But since those who do own them won’t use them I’ll just borrow them for a while. I refuse to let Jarod and those he loves stagnate, to wither and die.
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The Door of Memory
Part 5 – By Phenyx
11/28/04
“Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory. “
Susan B. Anthony
-
Jarod stood in the hallway and fumbled nervously with his jacket. He hadn’t slept at all during the night. He’d lain awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling as he thought through his current situation. Sometime around dawn, he had realized that he was plotting a strategy, running possible simulations and formulating a plan of attack. The sudden awareness of what he’d been doing had made him physically ill.
After he had thrown up, Jarod made a promise to himself and to Miss Parker. He would not use his knowledge of her as a weapon. He would not manipulate her or twist her emotions to fit his own purpose. Others had used her that way in the past. Jarod refused to become one of them.
Jarod vowed to be completely honest with her. He would open his heart and bare his soul, letting Parker see the unvarnished truth about his feelings for her. If she rejected him once again, so be it. But he would not deceive her.
Girding up his courage, Jarod reached up and knocked quickly on the bedroom door before him.
“Come,” Sydney called in his usual clipped tone.
Jarod opened the door cautiously and peeked inside.
“Jarod,” Sydney greeted with a smile. “Come in, come in. I missed you at breakfast.”
“I was finishing the gazebo,” Jarod answered with a shrug.
“I saw it,” Sydney said. “It looks great. Heather seems delighted.”
Jarod nodded.
Sydney grinned at his protégé. “You look very dashing in your tuxedo, Jarod,” he said warmly.
“The best man needs to look his part,” Jarod shrugged. He looked away, suddenly unsure of himself and slightly embarrassed about why he had come.
“Jarod?” Sydney asked concern etched on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jarod answered quickly. “It’s just that…” He paused for a moment before going on. “I wanted to tell you how glad I am that you’ve come. Seeing you again has been really nice.”
“But?” Sydney supplied.
A wry grin spread across Jarod’s face. There wasn’t much he had ever been able to hide from Sydney. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was trying to hide this. Therefore, Jarod decide to stop trying to do so. “I came to warn you.” Jarod smiled.
“Warn me?”
With a nod, Jarod continued. “I know that you are technically Miss Parker’s escort for the day. So I thought it only fair to let you know.”
Sydney cocked one eyebrow and waited for Jarod to explain.
“I plan on stealing your date at some point, Sydney,” Jarod said.
The older man smiled knowingly. “You’re going to make a move on Miss Parker?”
“Several if necessary, “Jarod admitted.
“And you felt the need to tell me this, why?” Sydney asked.
Jarod shrugged, his brown eyes sparkling mischievously. “So you will know when to get out of my way?”
Sydney folded his arms over his chest and gazed seriously at his young friend. “It is my duty to protect her, Jarod,” he said.
“Protect her from me?”
“Especially from you,” Sydney nodded.
Jarod’s dark eyes went wide with surprise and pain. “Why?”
With a heavy sigh Sydney stepped toward Jarod and patted his shoulder in affectionate reassurance. “Of all the people left in this world, Jarod, you are the only one who could break her heart.”
“I don’t want to hurt her, Sydney,” Jarod said softly. “I just want to make her happy. I don’t want her to be alone anymore.”
Sydney shook his head. “You want her to love again,” he said. “You want her to love you again.”
“Again?” Jarod’s shoulders sagged dejectedly. “I’m not sure she ever did.”
“I’m sure,” Sydney said. “As a child, she cared very deeply for you. Whether she recognizes it or not, the friendship the two of you once shared has colored your every encounter. Her affection for that boy, her guilt at abandoning him and his continuing loyalty are all an integral part of who she has become.”
“Do you really think so?” Jarod could hear the hope in his own voice, the desperate need to believe what Sydney was saying.
Sydney smiled sadly. “You’ve never seen it Jarod,” he said. “You’ve never seen her struggle with two opposing truths. One truth given to her by her father, the other supplied by you. She trusted you over him every time.”
“I usually had proof, Sydney,” Jarod pointed out wryly.
“Proof can be manufactured,” Sydney told him. “The Centre did it all the time. Do you think Mr. Parker never had evidence against you? I shudder to think of some of the lies he told about you. But Parker knew better than to believe them. She knew you better.”
“What are you trying to say, Sydney?” Jarod asked in exasperation. “Are you telling me to back off?”
“I’m telling you that if you hurt her, she will close her heart forever,” Sydney said. “No one else will ever be allowed past the walls she will build around herself. If that happens, I will be greatly disappointed in you both.”
“I love her, Sydney,” Jarod shrugged helplessly.
The older man’s smile was warm and bright. “I know you do, Jarod. Just be careful. Hearts can be such fragile things. And the two hearts in question are very precious to me.”
Jarod smiled and allowed his aging mentor to pull him into a warm embrace.
“Jarod?” Margaret’s voice called through the house.
“Coming!” he hollered over one shoulder in response. Jarod stepped back, breaking contact with the older man before saying, “Thank you, Sydney.”
Sydney nodded. “Good luck.”
As Jarod left the room and made his way down the stairs, he felt like skipping with joy. Sydney’s concern for Parker’s feelings had given Jarod the hope that she actually had some. If Parker cared for him in even smallest amount, Jarod knew he could build upon it. The prospects were definitely looking much brighter.
Jarod had just reached the landing on the first floor when he heard a sound behind him. Turning, he looked up to see Miss Parker at the top of the stairway. He grinned like an idiot as he watched her descend.
Parker’s hair was piled on top of her head in that perfectly coifed jumble of curls that Jarod always thought of as her ‘fancy hairdo’. Her shoulders were bare, revealing creamy white skin that Jarod’s fingers ached to touch. The dress was a strapless thing that wrapped tightly around her bosom leaving more than a hint of cleavage. The satiny fabric was an odd color, somewhere between silver and blue, making the color of her eyes even more vibrant than normal.
Jarod’s eyes continued their perusal as Parker came down the staircase toward him. The floor-length dress clung to her every curve. In the front, the skirt was split up to mid-thigh and with every step Parker took, a tantalizing bit of leg appeared.
Jarod fought a sudden urge to grab her. A primal, instinctive need to possess this woman nearly overwhelmed him. He blinked, and in that instant his mind treated him to an erotic fantasy of pressing Parker against the banister and simply taking her. Instead, he waited clasping his fingers behind his back in what he hoped was a casual pose.
Parker stopped on the second to last step, forcing Jarod to look up at her. “Well?” she drawled expectantly.
Jarod had to clear his throat in order to find his voice. “Wow,” he said with honest appreciation.
Parker smiled like a cat about to pounce on a bird. “You like?” she purred.
“You have no idea,” Jarod groaned.
“Enlighten me.”
Jarod’s mind was blank. He had no clue what he should say, no snappy comeback. So he said the first thing that popped into his head. “I’ll bet you taste great.”
Parker laughed with delight. “Better than ice cream, Rat.”
“Really?” Jarod couldn’t stop smiling. Parker’s grin was infectious.
“Guaranteed,” Parker replied in a husky voice.
“Are you going to let me test that hypothesis?” Jarod asked.
Parker shrugged uncaringly. “I’ll think about it,” she said. Reaching out, she brushed her fingertips across Jarod’s shoulder as if removing a stray piece of lint. “You’re looking rather yummy yourself, Pez-head.”
“Want a taste?” Jarod asked hopefully.
Placing one delicate palm against his chest, Parker leaned forward. Jarod licked his lips and closed his eyes in anticipation. They were only inches apart when Parker spoke, her soft breath warm on Jarod’s cheek. “I’ll think about it,” she whispered.
With a wicked laugh, Parker pulled away and gracefully stepped past him.
“Bitch,” Jarod grumped, the smile on his face taking the bite out of his words.
“Always,” Parker replied. “And don’t you forget it.”
“No Ma’am,” Jarod answered.
“Well,” Parker said. “Shall we get this shindig started?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Jarod chirped. He offered Parker his arm and nearly burst into joyous laughter when she placed her hand in his.
As they began to walk toward the door Parker observed, “You’re being abnormally accommodating, Rat.”
“Just doing my best to get into your pants, Miss Parker,” Jarod grinned evilly. He could flirt just as outrageously as she could.
“It’s not going to happen, Jarod,” she replied in a soft, almost forlorn voice. She paused as Jarod’s smile slid slowly from his face. “I’m not wearing any pants,” she added in an exaggerated stage whisper.
Jarod faltered, nearly falling on his face in shock. He recovered quickly and cast Parker a delighted grin. “This is going to be a lot of fun, isn’t it?” he asked.
“I certainly hope so.” Parker smiled back. “It gives our little game of cat and mouse an entirely new slant, don’t you agree?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Jarod replied obediently.
One flawless eyebrow arched regally at him. “Play nice and follow all the rules, then no one will get hurt,” she warned.
“I will do my very best,” Jarod promised as he held the door open for her.
“Or you’ll die trying,” Parker added sweetly.
-
End part 5
Author’s note: Thanks to all who’ve left reviews. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I’m so glad to know that you are having as much fun reading this as I am having writing it. Don’t worry. I’m still a several chapters away from being done. I just wanted to express my thanks.
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The Door of Memory
Part 5 – By Phenyx
11/28/04
“Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory. “
Susan B. Anthony
-
Jarod stood in the hallway and fumbled nervously with his jacket. He hadn’t slept at all during the night. He’d lain awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling as he thought through his current situation. Sometime around dawn, he had realized that he was plotting a strategy, running possible simulations and formulating a plan of attack. The sudden awareness of what he’d been doing had made him physically ill.
After he had thrown up, Jarod made a promise to himself and to Miss Parker. He would not use his knowledge of her as a weapon. He would not manipulate her or twist her emotions to fit his own purpose. Others had used her that way in the past. Jarod refused to become one of them.
Jarod vowed to be completely honest with her. He would open his heart and bare his soul, letting Parker see the unvarnished truth about his feelings for her. If she rejected him once again, so be it. But he would not deceive her.
Girding up his courage, Jarod reached up and knocked quickly on the bedroom door before him.
“Come,” Sydney called in his usual clipped tone.
Jarod opened the door cautiously and peeked inside.
“Jarod,” Sydney greeted with a smile. “Come in, come in. I missed you at breakfast.”
“I was finishing the gazebo,” Jarod answered with a shrug.
“I saw it,” Sydney said. “It looks great. Heather seems delighted.”
Jarod nodded.
Sydney grinned at his protégé. “You look very dashing in your tuxedo, Jarod,” he said warmly.
“The best man needs to look his part,” Jarod shrugged. He looked away, suddenly unsure of himself and slightly embarrassed about why he had come.
“Jarod?” Sydney asked concern etched on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jarod answered quickly. “It’s just that…” He paused for a moment before going on. “I wanted to tell you how glad I am that you’ve come. Seeing you again has been really nice.”
“But?” Sydney supplied.
A wry grin spread across Jarod’s face. There wasn’t much he had ever been able to hide from Sydney. He wasn’t exactly sure why he was trying to hide this. Therefore, Jarod decide to stop trying to do so. “I came to warn you.” Jarod smiled.
“Warn me?”
With a nod, Jarod continued. “I know that you are technically Miss Parker’s escort for the day. So I thought it only fair to let you know.”
Sydney cocked one eyebrow and waited for Jarod to explain.
“I plan on stealing your date at some point, Sydney,” Jarod said.
The older man smiled knowingly. “You’re going to make a move on Miss Parker?”
“Several if necessary, “Jarod admitted.
“And you felt the need to tell me this, why?” Sydney asked.
Jarod shrugged, his brown eyes sparkling mischievously. “So you will know when to get out of my way?”
Sydney folded his arms over his chest and gazed seriously at his young friend. “It is my duty to protect her, Jarod,” he said.
“Protect her from me?”
“Especially from you,” Sydney nodded.
Jarod’s dark eyes went wide with surprise and pain. “Why?”
With a heavy sigh Sydney stepped toward Jarod and patted his shoulder in affectionate reassurance. “Of all the people left in this world, Jarod, you are the only one who could break her heart.”
“I don’t want to hurt her, Sydney,” Jarod said softly. “I just want to make her happy. I don’t want her to be alone anymore.”
Sydney shook his head. “You want her to love again,” he said. “You want her to love you again.”
“Again?” Jarod’s shoulders sagged dejectedly. “I’m not sure she ever did.”
“I’m sure,” Sydney said. “As a child, she cared very deeply for you. Whether she recognizes it or not, the friendship the two of you once shared has colored your every encounter. Her affection for that boy, her guilt at abandoning him and his continuing loyalty are all an integral part of who she has become.”
“Do you really think so?” Jarod could hear the hope in his own voice, the desperate need to believe what Sydney was saying.
Sydney smiled sadly. “You’ve never seen it Jarod,” he said. “You’ve never seen her struggle with two opposing truths. One truth given to her by her father, the other supplied by you. She trusted you over him every time.”
“I usually had proof, Sydney,” Jarod pointed out wryly.
“Proof can be manufactured,” Sydney told him. “The Centre did it all the time. Do you think Mr. Parker never had evidence against you? I shudder to think of some of the lies he told about you. But Parker knew better than to believe them. She knew you better.”
“What are you trying to say, Sydney?” Jarod asked in exasperation. “Are you telling me to back off?”
“I’m telling you that if you hurt her, she will close her heart forever,” Sydney said. “No one else will ever be allowed past the walls she will build around herself. If that happens, I will be greatly disappointed in you both.”
“I love her, Sydney,” Jarod shrugged helplessly.
The older man’s smile was warm and bright. “I know you do, Jarod. Just be careful. Hearts can be such fragile things. And the two hearts in question are very precious to me.”
Jarod smiled and allowed his aging mentor to pull him into a warm embrace.
“Jarod?” Margaret’s voice called through the house.
“Coming!” he hollered over one shoulder in response. Jarod stepped back, breaking contact with the older man before saying, “Thank you, Sydney.”
Sydney nodded. “Good luck.”
As Jarod left the room and made his way down the stairs, he felt like skipping with joy. Sydney’s concern for Parker’s feelings had given Jarod the hope that she actually had some. If Parker cared for him in even smallest amount, Jarod knew he could build upon it. The prospects were definitely looking much brighter.
Jarod had just reached the landing on the first floor when he heard a sound behind him. Turning, he looked up to see Miss Parker at the top of the stairway. He grinned like an idiot as he watched her descend.
Parker’s hair was piled on top of her head in that perfectly coifed jumble of curls that Jarod always thought of as her ‘fancy hairdo’. Her shoulders were bare, revealing creamy white skin that Jarod’s fingers ached to touch. The dress was a strapless thing that wrapped tightly around her bosom leaving more than a hint of cleavage. The satiny fabric was an odd color, somewhere between silver and blue, making the color of her eyes even more vibrant than normal.
Jarod’s eyes continued their perusal as Parker came down the staircase toward him. The floor-length dress clung to her every curve. In the front, the skirt was split up to mid-thigh and with every step Parker took, a tantalizing bit of leg appeared.
Jarod fought a sudden urge to grab her. A primal, instinctive need to possess this woman nearly overwhelmed him. He blinked, and in that instant his mind treated him to an erotic fantasy of pressing Parker against the banister and simply taking her. Instead, he waited clasping his fingers behind his back in what he hoped was a casual pose.
Parker stopped on the second to last step, forcing Jarod to look up at her. “Well?” she drawled expectantly.
Jarod had to clear his throat in order to find his voice. “Wow,” he said with honest appreciation.
Parker smiled like a cat about to pounce on a bird. “You like?” she purred.
“You have no idea,” Jarod groaned.
“Enlighten me.”
Jarod’s mind was blank. He had no clue what he should say, no snappy comeback. So he said the first thing that popped into his head. “I’ll bet you taste great.”
Parker laughed with delight. “Better than ice cream, Rat.”
“Really?” Jarod couldn’t stop smiling. Parker’s grin was infectious.
“Guaranteed,” Parker replied in a husky voice.
“Are you going to let me test that hypothesis?” Jarod asked.
Parker shrugged uncaringly. “I’ll think about it,” she said. Reaching out, she brushed her fingertips across Jarod’s shoulder as if removing a stray piece of lint. “You’re looking rather yummy yourself, Pez-head.”
“Want a taste?” Jarod asked hopefully.
Placing one delicate palm against his chest, Parker leaned forward. Jarod licked his lips and closed his eyes in anticipation. They were only inches apart when Parker spoke, her soft breath warm on Jarod’s cheek. “I’ll think about it,” she whispered.
With a wicked laugh, Parker pulled away and gracefully stepped past him.
“Bitch,” Jarod grumped, the smile on his face taking the bite out of his words.
“Always,” Parker replied. “And don’t you forget it.”
“No Ma’am,” Jarod answered.
“Well,” Parker said. “Shall we get this shindig started?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Jarod chirped. He offered Parker his arm and nearly burst into joyous laughter when she placed her hand in his.
As they began to walk toward the door Parker observed, “You’re being abnormally accommodating, Rat.”
“Just doing my best to get into your pants, Miss Parker,” Jarod grinned evilly. He could flirt just as outrageously as she could.
“It’s not going to happen, Jarod,” she replied in a soft, almost forlorn voice. She paused as Jarod’s smile slid slowly from his face. “I’m not wearing any pants,” she added in an exaggerated stage whisper.
Jarod faltered, nearly falling on his face in shock. He recovered quickly and cast Parker a delighted grin. “This is going to be a lot of fun, isn’t it?” he asked.
“I certainly hope so.” Parker smiled back. “It gives our little game of cat and mouse an entirely new slant, don’t you agree?”
“Yes Ma’am,” Jarod replied obediently.
One flawless eyebrow arched regally at him. “Play nice and follow all the rules, then no one will get hurt,” she warned.
“I will do my very best,” Jarod promised as he held the door open for her.
“Or you’ll die trying,” Parker added sweetly.
-
End part 5
Author’s note: Thanks to all who’ve left reviews. I truly appreciate every single one of you. I’m so glad to know that you are having as much fun reading this as I am having writing it. Don’t worry. I’m still a several chapters away from being done. I just wanted to express my thanks.
