Champagne and Candlelight

VI


Victoria froze, aghast at the sight in front of her. She’d gone for a short walk, enjoying the morning air but that enjoyment was shattered by what she unexpectedly stumbled across.

Jarrod was standing with his back against a tree, head thrown back in an expression of pure bliss. His pants were pushed off his hips and his hands were entwined in the long golden strands of Amber’s hair.

Amber was on her knees in front of him, Jarrod’s manhood in her mouth and she was sucking him in and out with abandon. The forbidden act was causing both of them obvious pleasure and Victoria let out a gasp of revulsion as her son started to moan with the imminent release his cousin was bringing him to.

The loud noise caused Jarrod and Amber to stop what they were doing and they stared at her in horror.

“Mother---” Jarrod started as Amber quickly got to her feet.

Victoria just backed away slowly, shaking her head, then turned and quickly strode in the direction of the campsite.

“What are we going to do?” Amber asked, dismayed at what Victoria just witnessed.

Jarrod pulled up his pants, tucking his now-limp member back inside. “I guess I’ll just have to try to explain,” he told her, knowing it wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded. Jarrod pulled her into a comforting embrace and kissed her softly. “We knew we’d have to tell them sometime. Just let me handle it, sweetheart.” She nodded and he kissed her again, drawing strength from the warmth of her lips and the love in her eyes before heading after his mother.

He found her by the stream, scrubbing the already-clean breakfast dishes. “Mother…” he tried, but Victoria didn’t turn around. “Mother, I can explain…”

Victoria whirled furiously on her eldest son. “You can explain?!” she asked incredulously. “How, Jarrod? How can you possibly explain what I saw you doing back there with Amber, of all people?!” Jarrod opened his mouth to try, but Victoria didn’t let him. “Jarrod, how could you do this?!” she demanded. “Amber’s your cousin, for God’s sake!”

Jarrod shrugged helplessly, his eloquence when faced with a hostile witness disintegrating when confronted with his mother’s righteous wrath. “I know that, Mother,” he said, “I didn’t know who she was when we first met and by the time I found out, it was too late.”

“Well, you’ll have to just break it off right now, that’s all there is to it,” Victoria said with an air of finality.

“I can’t do that, Mother,” he told her, not backing down as he defended his position. “I love Amber, and we plan to be married.”

“What?!” Victoria’s explosion of outrage rivaled even Nick’s and Jarrod was taken aback by her vehemence. “No! There’s no way I’ll permit this! Jarrod, you can’t marry your cousin!”

“Yes, I can,” Jarrod rebutted evenly, wishing their relationship had come to light in a different way. “There’s no law in California that says otherwise.”

Victoria was shocked by his revelation, but stood her ground. “That may be, but what the two of you were doing back there most certainly is against the law! And marrying her would be a sin against God and all we stand for and I won’t tolerate it! I want her out of here, Jarrod, now!”

“Fine!” Jarrod snarled back, patience finally gone. “But I’m going with her!” He stalked over to the horses and grabbed the reins of his and Amber’s, already saddled for a ride they were going to take with the family up into the mountains. He led them to where Amber was standing with Nick and Heath. The shock on his brothers’ faces and the tears on Amber’s told him they’d heard every word. He took Amber by the hand.

“Come on, sweetheart, let’s go.”

“Jarrod,” she protested, but he just gave her a tender kiss.

“Trust me,” he whispered and handed her the reins of her horse. They both mounted before Nick put a hand on Jingo’s bridle.

“Jarrod, you just can’t---”

Jarrod shot Nick a look, blue eyes sparking. “Don’t try to stop us, Nick,” he warned. “Besides,” he added less harshly, sorry for the pain he’d caused, “Mother needs you right now.”

Nick nodded and took a step back. “All right, Pappy.”

“Good luck, Jarrod, Amber,” Heath told them.

Jarrod gave his brothers a smile before reining Jingo around, relieved they seemed to be taking things in stride. “See you when you get back to town, boys.” He urged Jingo to a gallop and Amber followed. They didn’t slow until they were out of sight of camp.

“Jarrod, I can’t make you chose between me and your family,” she told him, anguish in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Amber, you’re not. If anyone’s forcing me to make that choice, it’s Mother.” He gave her that charming smile that Amber found so irresistible. “She’ll come around, you’ll see.”

“But what if she doesn’t, Jarrod?” Amber persisted, smile or no smile.

“Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Jarrod wasn’t ready to face that possibility. He knew the family would be shocked, but his mother’s outright hostility was unexpected.

Amber left him with his thoughts for a few more miles, then asked, “Can I know where we’re going?”

Jarrod smiled that smile again. “Why, to get married, of course.”