Love Songs Read online

  Love Songs

  by

  Constance Bretes

  Love Songs

  Copyright © 2014, Constance Bretes

  ISBN: 9781940744469

  Publisher: Beachwalk Press, Inc.

  Electronic Publication: October 2014

  Editor: Pamela Tyner

  Cover: Fantasia Frog Designs

  eBooks are not transferable. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Back Cover Copy

  Separated by fame, reunited through music.

  When Jennifer Summers returns to the U.S. after spending two years in Africa, she has some decisions to make. Should she resume her singing career or continue to live a secluded life out of the spotlight in the hopes that her stalker won’t be able to locate her?

  Years ago Jake Ackerson let Jennifer go so she could pursue her dreams. When she suddenly returns to their hometown he’s determined to rekindle his relationship with the woman he never stopped loving.

  Jake’s band is temporarily without a singer, and Jennifer agrees to take the position, but in doing so she is once again pushed into the limelight, and she knows it’s only a matter of time before danger strikes.

  Will Jake be able to protect her, and can he convince her to put past hurts aside and give their relationship another shot?

  Content Warning: contains some sexual content

  Acknowledgements

  This book would not have been made possible without the help and encouragement from my critique partners, my Mid-Michigan Romance Writers Association, my family, and friends.

  Special thanks to Pamela Tyner of Beachwalk Press Inc., and my husband, Jim, who always keeps me motivated.

  Chapter 1

  Once Jennifer Summers finished unpacking in her room at the Black Bear Inn she decided she needed a cup of coffee, so she left the inn and drove down to the Jarillo Café on the other side of town. She entered the café and looked around, noticing that not much had changed in the five years she’d been gone. It was still furnished with old wooden tables and chairs, with a barstool-countertop area, and antique kitchen items covered the back wall.

  Jennifer sat down at a table by herself. As she put her sunglasses in her purse, a voice from behind called out, startling her.

  “Hello, Jenn.”

  She knew that voice. Jennifer turned around and watched Jake Ackerson approached her table. She forced a smile. “Oh, Jake. Um, hi.”

  “What brings you back to Jarillo?” he asked.

  Jennifer’s heart was doing flip-flops and she could hear it go thump, thumpity, thump as she stared up at him. He’s still as handsome as ever. His hair was as long as hers and you could make out his Apache ancestry. “I’m in town for a little while to decide what to do with my parents’ ranch. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. I didn’t think you’d come back here to deal with things like that. You could just hire a realtor or something. It’s not like you don’t have any money,” Jake said in a subdued tone.

  “I still have to go through the stuff in the house and decide what to do with it all.” And I wanted to find out about you.

  “Well, good luck with the house. Nice to see you again.” Jake turned and walked away.

  That was abrupt. She knew she would run into Jake at some point, but she hadn’t expected it to happen as soon as she arrived.

  She glanced around to see where Jake was sitting in the restaurant. She spotted him in a corner with a redheaded woman. The sight of the two of them together, the woman clinging to Jake’s arm, left Jennifer feeling unsettled. She had assumed he would be involved with someone else, but she didn’t anticipate it bothering her so much.

  She felt safer in Jarillo than some of the other places she had stayed. Each place she went, Tom Rutherford found her, except when she had gone overseas. She had hoped that by quietly coming back to the United States, and to Jarillo, she would be able to escape from him for a while—at least until she decided what to do.

  “Jenn?” a female voice called out.

  She turned around in her seat and saw Anna, Jake’s sister and her childhood friend.

  “Well, hello, Anna.” She stood up and hugged the beautiful young woman with long, black hair and doe eyes, who was also very pregnant. Jennifer placed her hand on Anna’s belly. “Wow, congratulations.”

  “Thank you.” Anna smiled. “How are you doing, Jenn?”

  “Pretty good.”

  “Can I sit with you?”

  “Sure.” Jennifer motioned with her hand to the chair across from her, and they both sat down.

  “You look as beautiful as ever. Are you still in the music business?” Anna asked.

  “I took a leave of absence from singing the past few years, and now I’m trying to decide what I want to do.” Jennifer thought about the past two years she had spent in Africa. For being twenty-eight, she felt like she had aged to thirty-eight.

  “What brings you back to Jarillo?” Anna asked.

  “I’m finally getting to the point where I need to settle all my parents’ estates. They passed away a few years ago.”

  “Oh yes, I heard about that. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  “Thanks, Anna. Anyway, I decided to come here and check out the ranch. I need to decide if I want to fix it up and keep it, or sell it. I’ve always loved the ranch and the natural beauty around here,” she mused. She had been really happy here until she and Jake broke up. Not wanting to think about the breakup, or her feelings, she changed the subject. “How about you? What’s going on with you, Anna? How far along are you?”

  “Eight months. Rocky and I are pretty excited about the baby. We just got the nursery done and finished Lamaze classes. Now all we’re doing is waiting for the time of delivery.”

  “That’s great. I’m sure you will be wonderful parents.” Jennifer smiled. She had always dreamed that she and Jake would someday have children.

  As they sat talking, Jake and his girlfriend walked up. “Hey, Anna. You still holding on to that baby?” he teased.

  “Now don’t you start,” Anna said, rolling her eyes.

  “Really, Anna. I don’t know how much bigger you can get before you finally deliver that baby!”

  “You just stop that right now,” Anna chided.

  Jake looked back at Jennifer and the smile left his face. “See you around, Jennifer.”

  “Um, yeah, bye, Jake.” Jennifer watched the two of them walk out the door, feeling sadness well up inside her as she thought about their past relationship and breakup.

  “Jake has been awful toward me since I became pregnant. He makes all kinds of smart-aleck remarks about my size. Sometimes I just want to strangle him,” Anna complained.

  “I remember he always used to tease you a lot.” Jennifer smiled at the waitress when she came to the table to refill her coffee cup.

  Anna was silent for a few minutes and then she asked, “How long are you figuring on being here?”

  “I don’t know yet—a few days, a few weeks, a few months. I don’t have a game plan of what I’m going to do at the moment,” Jennifer reflected thoughtfully. She really wanted to feel her way around, see if she could find some sort of security and peace.

  “You know, Jake is looking for a lead singer for his band White Sands. I stopped singing due to the pregnancy being hard on my back, and I don’t really want to go back to singing after I give birth. Why don’t you meet me at his studio for rehearsal and see if you might like to sing with th
e band again?” Anna asked hopeful.

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying here and if I can commit to anything right now,” Jennifer answered quickly.

  “Well, you could try it for a few weeks and then see what happens. Maybe it will help you decide what you want to do. I know Jake would love to have you in the band again.” Anna smiled.

  “We didn’t part on very good terms.”

  “That was a long time ago. I don’t think he’s even thought about it in years. Come on, Jennifer. You can reconnect with the band again, and with your popularity and singing voice, your presence will surely bring the people to see you, and boost sales for the band and the casino. Why not just give it a try and see what happens? I think it will be great!” Anna was all at once enthusiastic.

  Jennifer and Anna spent the next half hour chatting, with Anna catching her up on what everyone had been doing since she left town. “How is the band? Are they still the same members from when I last sang with them?” Jennifer asked. It had been years ago since she left Jarillo and the band, but to Jennifer it seemed like it was just yesterday.

  “Yes, the group is still the same. Vincent got divorced, and Calvin finally married his high school sweetheart. They have a three-year-old son and another one on the way. Jonathan married Rosie, Vincent’s sister, but Bruce never married. I think he’s interested in Vincent’s younger sister, Debbie. Jake never married either. I don’t know if you heard about this or not, but Jake got shot almost two years ago, outside the casino. He was in critical care for a few weeks, and it was touch and go. We weren’t sure if he’d pull through it.”

  “Oh, no!” Jennifer looked at Anna, shocked. “Did they ever find out who shot him?”

  “No, never did find the shooter. We just couldn’t figure it out. Who would want to shoot Jake? He didn’t have any enemies. However, he is seeing someone, Kaitlin is her name.”

  Jennifer took a few minutes to digest the information. So that’s who she is. “I noticed that Jarillo hasn’t changed much, but Hobbs sure has changed. What a town!” Jennifer changed the conversation again to get away from talking about Jake.

  “Yeah, Jarillo is the same as always, but the population has increased quite a bit since you left here. New subdivisions have popped up all over.” Anna shifted in the chair. “It is fortunate that we live as close as we do to Hobbs, because that’s where my doctor is and of course, the hospital. Boy, the baby sure is moving around a lot today.” She grimaced uncomfortably, rubbing her belly. “Guess I better get going. So what do you think? Would you like to meet me about two this afternoon at Jake’s place? He has a pole barn that he built a few years ago, where we do all our rehearsals.”

  “Well...okay. I guess I can try it out if Jake wants me to do it. I’m not all that convinced he’ll be interested,” Jennifer said thoughtfully. She loved the idea of singing in his band again. Even though she didn’t know if she would be staying, she could sing in the band, and it might help her decide if she really wanted to get back into singing again. She hadn’t sung in the last few years and she missed it.

  * * * *

  As Jake and Kaitlin left the restaurant and got in his truck, Jake thought about his encounter with Jennifer. She’s still as beautiful as ever, but her eyes look so sad. Is she having a difficult time dealing with something? Relationship troubles, maybe? He became instantly jealous of any man she might be involved with.

  Her hair was still very long, beautiful and blonde. She had a lovely face with sapphire blue eyes. She could easily have been called Stevie Nicks’s twin. She was tiny—he remembered she stood five feet four in her bare feet and wore a size three. Her skin was creamy white, and her makeup always looked like it had been applied by a makeup artist. Her nails were immaculate, showing just a little white at the tips and not too long. She hasn’t changed much over the years, except she’s matured.

  “What are you thinking about, Jake?” Kaitlin asked, looking over at him from the passenger seat.

  “Nothing.”

  “Jennifer sure is beautiful,” Kaitlin remarked. She looked out the window.

  “Yeah, she is,” Jake agreed. He ran his right hand over the scar below his heart where he had gotten shot.

  Chapter 2

  Jennifer drove out to her parents’ ranch just outside Jarillo. It was located southwest of town on a sprawling twenty-five acres of rolling hills. It had been years since she had been in this house. Slipcovers covered the furniture, the drapes were pulled shut, and there was no power. She walked around, checking to see what was there, if anything was missing, and if anyone had broken in. She also checked to see what she might need in order to reside there for the time being.

  The three bedroom ranch was smaller than some of the other houses her parents owned, but it had always been her favorite. The outside of the house was done in stucco. The furniture and appliances were dated to the eighties, but were still in good working order.

  The master bedroom held a king-size bed, two dressers, and a television. There was also an adjacent full size bath. What used to be her room had a queen-size bed and two dressers. The smallest bedroom had just a regular size bed with one dresser. In between the two smaller bedrooms stood a large bathroom. Off the kitchen, there was a hot tub room, a utility room with a washer and dryer, and a small half bath where people could change their clothes to swim. There was also a formal dining room with a bar in it.

  The back door opened up to the pool and deck. She walked outside to view the yard and saw a lot of overgrowth. She pulled out her cellphone and called the electric company to arrange a time for them to turn the power on. She did a search on her cellphone for a landscaping business located in the area, and found only one. She called and scheduled an appointment for them to come out on Thursday to give her an estimate on what it would cost to get the landscape around the house back in order. The in-ground pool in the backyard was covered. She reached down and pulled the cover back slightly, looking inside, and decided she’d have a professional take a look at it before she filled it up with water.

  Standing on the deck, a flood of memories came to her as she recalled the countless number of parties her parents had given and how, as a young child, she always liked entertaining out there, next to the pool. She also remembered some of the romantic nights she and Jake spent on the deck and in the pool. She had known him since sixth grade. They not only went to the same school together, but she also sang with the band he formed when he was fifteen years old. She prided herself on her voice. She had taken voice lessons from an early age, at the insistence of her parents. Her world was complete back then, and she was happy. She wondered if she would ever be happy again.

  Despite the fact that her parents were wealthy, they lived in the smallest of all their houses during most of her childhood. They all loved the homey atmosphere the house provided. Jennifer had lived a rather sheltered life. Jake was her only boyfriend in school. She gave her virginity to him and hadn’t been with another man since. When he ended their relationship, she’d been devastated, it had felt as if her heart had been ripped right out of her. She’d never stopped loving him.

  Jennifer broke away from the memories and looked at her watch. She needed to be at Jake’s at two and it was already one-thirty. She closed the house up and left. As she drove her red Corvette to Jake’s house she called the pool company and arranged for them to come out the next day.

  She pulled into Jake’s driveway and met up with Anna, who was waiting outside the studio door for her. Jake’s home was located north of Jarillo on a large plot of land. He had two pole barns—one next to the house that was his studio and another one where horses were kept. His property went all the way back to a river that meandered around its edge.

  “I’m so glad you decided to come. I just know this will all work out great.” Anna put her arm around Jennifer’s waist as they walked up to the studio.

  “I hope you’re right, Anna,” she said nervously.

  As t
hey walked inside, she could hear various instruments being tuned. Jennifer looked around in awe and amazement at the collection of instruments the band had obtained through the years, especially Jake’s drum set. Jake stood with his back to Anna and Jennifer, adjusting his drums. Kaitlin sat in a chair next to him.

  “Hey, Jake. I talked to Jennifer at the coffee shop and she’s agreed to rehearse with you today. She could fill in for a few weeks while you decide what to do about the lead singer spot. Maybe Jennifer could even take that spot,” Anna blurted out, excitement in her voice.

  Jake spun around and looked at Anna and then at Jennifer. He looked stunned to see Jennifer in his studio. He stood staring at her for a few minutes before Anna interrupted his thoughts.

  “Jake? Jake, are you there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here,” Jake responded in a deep, husky voice. “What’s this all about?”

  “I asked Jennifer if she’d sit in for a few weeks as lead singer while she decides what she’s going to do with her parents’ home, and you decide what you’re going to do about the lead singer vacancy. I thought this would be a perfect match, and Jennifer agreed to come and rehearse.”

  “Well, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Jake said, still not taking his eyes off Jennifer.

  “What can it hurt?” Anna asked, clearly surprised by Jake’s remark.

  “I don’t have to do this, Jake. If you don’t want me to, I understand.” Jennifer turned to walk away.

  “Really, Jake. What’s there to lose?” Anna prodded again.

  “Wait, Jenn,” Jake called out as she was heading toward the door.

  Members of the band gathered around to join in the conversation. Vincent Carter, who played bass, and Calvin Hathaway, who played keyboards, both welcomed Jennifer to the studio. They asked what she had been doing and what had brought her to town.