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Chapter 60
Settled on the beach, Frankie and Dakota made sure that Stevie had plenty of sun screen on and took him to the edge of the water to play while Jesse pulled out her own sun block. For April, it was unusually warm and she didn't want to burn. It had been a long time since she'd been able to lay out.
"Hand me the bottle," instructed Richie.
Jesse handed it to him and he put some on his hands, then spread it over her back and shoulders. Then he made her stand in front of him so that he got the backs of her legs good.
"Want me to get your back?" she asked when he was done.
"Yeah."
Jesse took the bottle from him and as he pulled his shirt over his head, she put lotion on her hands. He had to kneel down in front of her so that she could get his shoulders good too.
Sufficiently protected from the sun, Jesse lay on her stomach, her chin resting on her arms, and she watched her brothers and Stevie playing in the water.
"Jesse, I've been thinking."
"About what?"
"How you don't like it that I give you so much and you can't do the same for me."
"And?"
"I need a personal assistant. Would you want to do that?"
"What would I have to do?"
"Keep track of my schedule, set up personal appearances - group related as well as personal, handle my business outside of the group."
Jesse thought about it. "Is it a lot?"
"Sometimes it can be. With me on tour, it won't be quite as much."
"Don't you already have a personal secretary?"
"Yeah."
Something in his voice made Jesse look around at him and a sinking feeling came over her. "You promised me I wasn't the 'other' woman."
"You aren't'."
"Then why do you need a new personal secretary?"
"She quit."
"She?"
"Amy."
"You two were dating too?"
"I took her out some."
Jesse sat up and turned to face him. "Tell me all of it."
"There's nothing to tell, Jesse. I called her the night I met you, told her to get out, and....."
"You were living with her?"
"She...."
Fire exploded in her and she didn't wait to hear him finish what he was saying. She stormed away from their spot on the beach.
"JESSICA!" called Richie but she didn't stop. Then mumbling to himself, "Just fuckin' wonderful! I've managed to piss her off not once in less than twenty four hours but twice."
"What's wrong?" asked Jon as he sat down in Jesse's place. "'Outlaw' looked pissed."
"That's putting it mildly. One of the things she hated was being the 'other' woman and when I told her Amy had quit, she thought she was just that."
"And she didn't give you time to explain?"
"No, she didn't." Richie looked around at Jon. "What are you doing down here?"
"Agent Hunt stopped by to see you two."
"What did he want?"
"Well, he brought this by for starters," and Jon handed Richie the engagement ring Jesse's mother had stolen. "He also said he'd hang around to talk to the two of you."
Richie let out a sigh of relief at having the ring back. "Jon, do you think I'm rushing things with Jesse?"
"Yes and no. There's no time frame for love...you know that...and you two are DEFINITELY in love. Anyone who sees you together can see it. You do need to be more patient with her though. She's suddenly found herself in a world that's very difficult for a newcomer. You and I eased into it with our music but Jesse...she's suddenly the girlfriend of a major musician. She also knows your reputation with women and is a little unsure of herself. Plus, she just went through a very traumatic experience."
"I know you're right."
"Richie, you're too close to all this and can't see it. Want me to talk to her?"
"Nah, I'll talk to her. Here, hold the ring and stay with our stuff."
"What are you going to do?"
"Talk to her."
Richie left Jon sitting on their towels and headed down to where Jesse was.
"POP! Are you going to help us with our castle?"
"Not right now, buddy. I need to talk to your mom."
Frank and Dakota looked at their sister knowing she was mad and back at Richie.
"Good luck," whispered Frankie to Richie.
"Some brother you are," she glared and started down the beach.
Shaking his head, Richie took off after her catching her easily. He scooped her up in his arms and walked out into the ocean.
"Put me DOWN," she demanded.
Richie ignored her until he was waist-deep in the water, then he dropped her. He held onto her arm and helped her get her footing. "Cooled off now?" he asked.
"I can't believe you dropped me," she hissed wiping the water out of her face.
"Are you ready to listen to me?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"No," he replied. He hadn't let go of her hands the whole time so he continued as she glared at him. "Yes, I took Amy out a few times. Yes, I had sex with her but I was NOT in love with her. She applied for the job to get close to me. I NEVER asked her to move in with me and she was the one who wanted more from the relationship. After I left for the tour, she decided to move in knowing I was going to be gone for a while and would not know. I found out when I called to ask her to open up the house for me so I could go see Ava play in that tournament that you went with me to see. When I met you, I told her to get out of my house. I fired her too because I knew she was going to cause problems for us." He put his hands on her waist now seeing that she wasn't angry any longer. With her pressed against his body, he said, "Jess, I know you're scared but I love you and I meant every word last night, and that night at my house when I played for you and every word in every love song I've ever written."
Jesse's anger had dissipated the minute he'd started to explain and she put her hands on his chest now. "I'm sorry for being jealous."
Richie smiled and put his finger on her chin to lift her face to look into her eyes. "I love how you got jealous and the way you huffed off!"
"You're mean," she pouted.
"And you're beautiful!" Richie put his hand on the side of her face and kissed her. "I love you, Jess, so much and I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I threw you into my world and didn't give you much of a chance to adjust. I never told you who I'd been dating before you either."
Jesse slid her hands to the back of his neck. "Richie, I love you and I love being a part of your world. Just...help me...be..."
"I'll be there for you, Jess...just like the words in the song."
They'd been standing in the ocean, the waves splashing around them but until now, they'd ignored it.
"Richie, I'm FREEZING!"
"I can tell!" he smirked. Then added, "You're lips are turning blue. Come on. Jon is waiting for us."
Arm in arm, the couple made their way back to their spot on the beach where Jon was waiting. Richie grabbed an extra towel and wrapped it around Jesse as they took their seats.
"Nice tat," smirked Jon as Jesse sat down in front of Richie.
"Why are you here, you big geek?" teased Jesse.
"Geek? I'm hurt! Why would you call me a geek?"
"'Cuz you're wearing long pants on the beach."
Jon shook his head as he laughed. "You know, I've only met one other person with an accent that thick."
Richie and Jesse both laughed as Jesse said, "Let me guess...Jennifer Nettles?"
"Yep!" Reaching in his pocket, he handed the ring to Richie. "Brought you something."
"OH MY GOD! My ring! Where did you get it?" squealed Jesse as she dropped the towel and moved to hug Jon.
Holding her, Jon explained, "Agent Hunt brought it by this morning so I thought I'd bring it down to you. He's at the hotel waiting to talk to you."
Jesse let go of Jon and moved back to sit between Richie's legs. "Do we need to leave?" she asked as Richie reached around her to put the ring back on her finger.
"No, he said he could wait...for you to enjoy yourself."
Playing with Richie's fingers, Jesse said, "Jon, I just want you to know, I'm not in this to hurt Richie. I'm in it for love."
"Yeah, I see that and Richie shouldn't have told you what I said."
"She has an uncanny ability to read my thoughts," replied Richie.
Jesse shook her head. "His voice....changes when he's keeping something from me."
"Uh oh, Richie. You're in deep shit if she can tell when you're holding back already. You're not going to be able to keep anything from her," laughed Jon.
"Don't want to," answered Richie as he hugged her.
"I'm going to clear out and let you finish your morning. I'll see you two at soundchecks," said Jon as he leaned to give Jesse a kiss on the cheek.
"Thanks, Jon," said Jesse.
"Catch you later," said Richie. Alone, Richie nuzzled her neck. "So, you can tell when I'm holding back by my voice?"
"Yes. There's a catch in it and your accent is really thick....like when we're making love."
"Mmm, how do you feel now?"
"Safe...loved."
"Good."
"Richie." She turned her head to look into his eyes. "Do you still need a personal assistant?"
"No, she's in my arms now."
