Just a Real Mans' Love

Just A Real Mans' Love

Zoe A. Craig

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Tiffany T.J. Craig and Zoe A. Craig

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work

of this author.

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CHAPTER 1

Please, Finny!, pleaded the voice on the other end of the phone call. I need to see you again, to talk… just talk. I, well, to be honest, I could use a shoulder to cry on.

What’s happened this time, Martin?, Fionna asked in an exasperated voice. I don’t know why I’m bothering to ask, since we aren’t even friends anymore…

But there isn’t anyone else, Finny! They’re all on assignment, or vacation, or something! And I really do need to talk to someone…, Martin begged.

Fionna heaved an ungracious sigh and gave in. Alright, Martin, but make it quick. I was in the middle of something important when you called.

I knew you’d listen, Finny! Well, there’s really no good way to put this, so…Vanessa’s divorced me. Moved out of our apartment, lock, stock and barrel! The papers were tacked to the front door when I got home, with a note attached saying all I had to do was sign on the dotted line! She had it planned for months, Finny! What am I going to do now?, he wailed miserably.

Fionna sighed and replied, Surely, Martin, you can’t say you didn’t see it coming, but I do have a piece of advice for you. She was fast getting angry with the man. Quit sniveling, stand on your own two feet, and be a man! You’re thirty-five years old, for God’s sake! I’m not your mama! I’m not even your casual date anymore! Why, in heaven’s name, would you think that your snob of a wife leaving you could possibly be of any interest to me? And while we’re on the subject… just where do you keep coming up with my phone number? I’ve had it changed six times in the last fifteen months-but, somehow, you always find it out! She was warmed up now, and starting to enjoy herself. This little scene had been building up inside her for a long time. This time, I’m having it unlisted, and if you try to find me again, I’ll press charges against you for harassment! She started to hang up the phone, but remembered something else she’d been wanting to say to him, And another thing… DON’T CALL ME FINNY!!, she yelled into the receiver, just before slamming it down into it’s cradle. Humph!, she snorted, with an altogether satisfied smirk on her face, That settles that… once and for all! Fionna dusted her hands together in contented fulfillment.

Later that afternoon, she managed to feel a small twinge of guilt. Perhaps she had been a little hard on the man. No! Damn it all, she hadn’t! It was time he grew up! She had gone on with her life, and managed just fine on her own. There was no reason in the world why Martin couldn’t do the same. He could be a very gentle, loving person when the mood hit him, which had been often enough for her to stay with him. Mostly, he was overbearing, self-centered, very macho, totally barbaric, and asinine to boot. He would have to change a great deal before a woman decided to stay with him for a lifetime.

Yes, he had definitely deserved that telling off, and she deserved a special treat for finally getting up enough courage to do it! Fionna straightened up her desk, stacked all the designer catalogues neatly, and turned on her answering machine before heading upstairs to collect her seven month old daughter from the nursery.

Martin stared at the phone for a long time before finally hanging up the receiver. He wasn’t angry, he was amazed. Fionna’s outburst had caught him totally off guard, and had served him as well as a slap in the face would have. She was right about him needing to grow up. He had been behaving like a spoiled child for so long that he really didn’t know himself anymore.

He grabbed his jacket and stalked out the door. The next two hours were spent on the college campus, signing up for courses on self-improvement, self-awareness, one-on-one relationships, and family planning… just for good measure. When he walked off this campus, and back into Fionna McCloud’s life, he was going to be a different person…so different that even she wouldn’t recognize him! Maybe then he would stand a chance with her. The second place he went was a gym. A few months of physical training wouldn’t hurt his image a bit. The third stop was a reliable job agency. If he wanted Fionna, he was going to have to go to her, and that meant finding a job in her area. He wasn’t thrilled about moving to Oklahoma, but Fionna McCloud was definitely worth the trouble!

Four blocks away from home, in the little neighborhood ice cream parlor, Fionna stood at the counter trying to decide what flavor she wanted. Her young daughter was already happily covering herself in vanilla ice cream, the only flavor she really seemed to like. Her Mother’s taste buds were more developed, however, and Fionna was having a hard time deciding between Mint Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cheesecake and Brandied Peach. She finally chose a double dip of Brandied Peach. Her reasoning being that the flavor sounded sinfully delicious and rich, just what a special treat ought to be… and also, because it was a brandied peach kind of day. That may have seemed like an odd sort of statement but, to Fionna, it was exactly right. The sky was bright blue, the sun was shining, the weather was downright muggy, and all she wanted to do was put on a white Panama hat and sit on the veranda drinking mint juleps and eating aunt Lulabelle’s blue-ribbon brandied peaches. Too bad she didn’t own a plantation down in Georgia! She would have been perfectly happy to pretend she was a lovely southern belle, with nothing better to do than entertain beaus all afternoon.

Fionna shrugged her shoulders. Oh, well! Back to the old grind, little dumplin’!, she said to the sticky mass of chubby baby flesh in the stroller. Little Rachel laughed happily and slapped her hands into a puddle of vanilla ice cream that had landed on her leg. Fionna cocked an eyebrow at this behavior and observed critically, It’s not considered good manners to play with your food, dumplin’, but since you need a bath anyway, I promise not to tell a soul! She ruffled the soft curls on the top of her daughter’s head and smiled at the contented gurgling noise the action produced. What a joy it was to be a mother… a dubious joy, granted, but a joy none the less. How curious to think that her last night with Martin Henley had given her the one thing she really wanted in life. Not that he would ever know, of course! Thank God that little Rachel looked more like her than Martin! Even if he did see the baby, he would never, in a million years ever realize that he was her father!

Back at the house, she gave Rachel a quick bath and laid her down for a nap. When she was asleep, Fionna went to the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee and headed back to the desk, determined to finish the interior layouts for redecorating Mrs. Ridgeway’s early nineteenth century home. There were a few minor details to be worked out, but the antique furniture was waiting to be delivered, and the custom-made drapes were ready to pick-up. The Aubusson carpeting had been installed earlier in the week, and the painting had been finished two weeks ago. Everything was right on schedule. In another three weeks it would all be over, and she would have a nice fat check to deposit in her already large bank account. There were three other jobs filling her head with details, but one had been completed just yesterday, and the Fulkes-Jameson estate would be done by the end of the week. She had four appointments with prospective clients, scheduled for next week, and Monday morning was kick-off day for the Seminole Arms, a Bed and Breakfast Inn that was opening at the end of September. It was owned by Aron Jameson’s parents, who had contracted with her after examining the fruits of her labors at his ancestral home, the Fulkes-Jameson estate.

This coming week she would be in Laredo, Texas, buying all the authentic western furniture she could get her hands on. The weekend shopping spree was for the benefit of her Seminole Arms job. The Inn would be her first try at the popular new ‘Santa Fe’ style of decorating, and she had to acquire a storeroom full of furniture to choose from when the time came. Since she had already been given a preliminary tour of the building, Fionna had a pretty good idea of what would be acceptable to the owners when the time came to pick out furniture. It all had to be old, hand-made, authentic, and the more scars the better. In other words, the Jameson’s were looking for realism, and nothing short of bullet holes, saber scars, knife cuts and burn rings would be able to peak their interest. Fionna wasn’t fond of the necessary buying trips, but this one might actually be fun. Texas had a lot to offer in the way of history, and if she was lucky, she just might be able to buy some of it this week!

Her mind wandered back to the man she had originally been thinking about, Aron Jameson. She had started dating him about three months ago. They had met, for the first time, at her lawyer’s office, where Aron had escorted his elderly aunt so she could sign the contracts for having the mansion redecorated. The two of them had taken to each other immediately, and two days later, Aron had called to ask her out. He was really a very nice man, and he got along well with Rachel, but Fionna wasn’t exactly happy about the fact that Aron seemed to be getting serious. Not that she didn’t enjoy his company… she did, but the feelings she had for him were more along the lines of friendship, not love. She could do a lot worse than marrying Aron, she supposed. After all, he was rich, although the money didn’t matter, since she had plenty of her own now. He was handsome, caring, gentle… well, the list went on and on. He was definitely somebody’s dream man, but not hers. At the moment, she had no desire to marry, and she certainly wasn’t going to tie the knot just to get a father for Rachel! No, if she married, it would be for love… not for convenience.

CHAPTER 2

Friday evening, Martin left the Oklahoma City airport at seven-fifteen. He grabbed the first available cab and asked the driver to recommend a reasonably priced hotel. When they pulled up in front of the motel belonging to a country-wide chain, Martin thanked him, paid his fare, and headed for the reception desk with his luggage.

Ten minutes later, he was inside the room. He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his tie, and fell backwards onto the bed. It felt wonderful! So wonderful, that he decided to take a nap before showering and grabbing a late supper. The plane trip wouldn’t have been too bad but, combined with a six to two job, and a two-thirty to four-thirty class in self improvement, not to mention the hurried drive to the airport in order to catch his flight… well, to put it mildly, he was exhausted!