Desiring the Enemy Read Free Page B

with Heather, the day her world had come crumbling down. Her eyes clouded as she recalled the painful memory.
         “Are you okay?” Gretchen asked worriedly.
         Jenna shook her head. “I’m fine. Should we go now?” she said, pasting on a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.   
         “Sure, let me grab some napkins,” Gretchen said warily, but she didn’t question her further.     
         They set out and were soon at the stables. The men had put up a table on a corner and sat waiting for Gretchen to lay out the food. When they walked in Jenna could see the looks of admiration from the men and felt a bit self-conscious as she helped Gretchen put out the food. Gretchen had explained to her that the men would put the dishes back in the cooler when they were done and she would come back later in the day to pick it up. She saw Wade approach the table and quickly turned to leave. As she and Gretchen walked back to the house she could feel the men’s eyes on her rear.
         Gretchen brought up the subject when they returned. “Did you see those guys? You’d think they never saw a woman before.”
         “They were just curious, they’ve never seen me before.”
         “I know the look of curiosity and that’s not what I saw. They were salivating.”
         Jenna knew she was right but decided to close the subject and talk of something else.
     
    ***
         Wade was furious. It was obvious that Jenna was used to stirring up men. Is that how she had trapped his uncle? He might feel guilted into giving her a place to stay, but he’d be damned if he would let her disrupt his men.
         “I’d appreciate it if you’d stay away from the stables from now on,” he hissed when he got back to the house.
         “I was just trying to help Gretchen. I didn’t mean any harm.” She didn’t understand why he was so annoyed with her.
         “Gretchen doesn’t need any help, she’s been able to manage fine without you. Just stay away. Do I make myself clear?”
         “Crystal clear.” This is what she got for trying to help out. “I’m just trying to contribute. I know that my staying here is a burden and just wanted to lend a helping hand.”
         “You can help by staying away!” He roared, storming out of the room without a backward glance, leaving Jenna to stare in disbelief at his retreating figure.
         She went into the kitchen where Gretchen was cleaning up.     
         “Wade just told me to stay away from the stables. He seemed angry that I had gone with you.”
         “Don’t pay him any attention. He gets a little huffy sometimes but he’s harmless. He’s always been a good boss to me but every now and then I can see a bit of a temper. Just stay out of his way and you’ll be fine.”
         Jenna didn’t like feeling this way but knew that she couldn’t really complain. He was letting her stay in his home and she knew he wasn’t happy about that. She would just have to keep her distance.
     
    ***
     
         For the next week Jenna would stay in her room until Wade left to work, then she would head back upstairs when he came back to the house. She noticed that he was getting home later in the day, probably trying to avoid her. During the day she would help Gretchen in the kitchen and then do a little reading. Sometimes she would go to the backyard and swim or sunbathe by the beautiful pool. The whole idea behind going there had been to get some rest so that she would be able to recuperate from what had happened to her, but the truth was that she was bored out of her mind.  This day was no different from the others and she again put on her bathing suit and, book in hand, headed toward the backyard.   
     
    ***
         Wade rarely made it back to the house in the afternoon, but this particular day he needed a tool from his garage and had to go back. The one thing he didn’t want to do was run into