Read A Stirring from Salem for Free Online Page B

Jackson a menu.
    “Four…and yes,” Jackson answered with a wan smile.
    “Ramos Fizz?” Kenny asked Abby, knowing her favorite drink.
    “Absolutely,” she said, smiling. “Are you still serving breakfast?”
    “Until noon on holidays, and always for you.” Kenny winked. “She’s a favorite of ours, you know,” he said to Jackson. “And not just because she’s a great tipper.”
    Abby was known for her generosity. She felt good service deserved to be recognized.
    “A Negroni for my future husband?” Abby asked.
    “Exactly,” Jackson said, a bit startled.
    “And kippers and eggs?” she smiled. “Poached easy?”
    “Exactly,” Jackson repeated.
    “Eggs Benedict Royale for me, Kenny,” she added. “And how’s Daisy?”
    “She has a clean bill of health, thanks for asking.”
    Kenny’s Jack Russell terrier had recently had a suspicious lump removed, and Kenny had been a wreck over it.
    “You’ve got a good one here, Jackson,” Kenny said as he left to put in their order.
    “He likes you,” Jackson said, studying the face he’d come to know so well.
    “Christmas was tough for him with his dad gone,” Abby said. “Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
    “I doubt his situation was anything like ours,” Jackson sighed. “But I think we held it together pretty well.”
    Jackson, Chance, and Charley had bonded more strongly than ever that Christmas, following the death of their parents. It was the three of them against the world, and the boys had tried to keep family traditions intact, especially for Charley. Though both brothers had eschewed their religious upbringing, they went to St. Paul’s Christmas Eve festal carol service with their sister. The three then spent the night at Jackson’s and exchanged gifts in their pj’s on Christmas morning.
    “You know you can talk to me about anything,” Abby offered. “Especially now,” she continued, indicating the exquisitely cut ring. “You realize it fits perfectly.”
    “Um-hmm,” Jackson nodded.
    “I promise you I will do everything in my power to make you happy, Jackson. I’ve never felt this loved.”
    The look in her eyes told him that was true. And to his utter and total surprise, he’d never felt this loved, either.
    “One Ramos Fizz and a Negroni,” Kenny said, interrupting the moment as he set the drinks in front of them.
    “Thanks.” Abby smiled warmly and lifted her glass. “To us being the most envied couple in town.”
    Jackson slowly lifted his tumbler and clinked her frothy libation. He was getting more confused by the minute. He was used to women coming in and out of his life. Yet since his parents died, Abby had been there for him every minute. Had he been so absorbed with his own problems that he had neglected to see just how special she was? And had he come to depend on her warmth and compassion more than he’d expected to?
    Abby took a long sip from her glass as she slipped off her sheepskin boot.
    Jackson reacted, startled as Abby ran her bare foot up his pant leg and rested it in his lap. He gasped and his eyes widened.
    “How hungry are we?” Abby asked with just the right hint of seduction in her voice.
    Jackson thrust out his hand as Kenny passed their table. “Could we get our order to go?”
    ***
    The remains of their brunch sat on the table next to the bed as Abby rolled off Jackson. They’d had nearly two hours of wild sex, and both were giddy and exhausted.
    Suddenly they heard a sound. “Well, hello, Abby,” Chance said from the open doorway to Jackson’s bedroom. He was carrying two large bags from Harrods. “Lovely to see you.”
    “You, too,” Abby murmured, mortified, as she pulled the covers over her head.
    Chance could see his mother’s diamond still on her ring finger.
    “Charley?” Jackson asked.
    “Right here, big brother,” Charley answered as she passed behind Chance. “Things going well?”
    “Actually,” Jackson admitted, confused about it himself, “they