Frog Prince Read online

  “What really happened to your brother, Rebe?” Chase asked.

  “He had a car accident.”

  “You two were close?”

  Rebe stopped in her little tour of her home and turned to face Chase. “Very close,” she finally answered. “He was my perfect hero. He loved me fiercely and would have protected me with his life.”

  Chase smiled. “And I remind you of him. See Babe, you chose me because of him. We keep getting back together because of him. I'll bet if he could, he'd put his seal of approval on our relationship.”

  Tears flooded Rebe’s eyes at just how wrong Chase was. If her brother were alive she would have never looked twice at Chase. Would have never taken his cheating, and her brother would have beat the crap out of him for cheating on her, and ….suddenly Rebe could see it so clearly. Jamie would have been disappointed in her for wanting so little. He would want her to find a man who loved her as much as he had. That wasn't Chase.

  “Let me show you where you'll be sleeping.” Rebe turned and made her way toward the stairs, saw her parents and Sam staring at her and wondered what was going on. Sam walked right up to her, tilted her chin and stared into her eyes, then he wiped away a tear with the pad of his finger. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  No, she wasn't okay. She wanted to bawl like a baby the same as she had almost three years ago. She wanted to fall into Sam's arms and allow him to comfort her, but she wouldn't. She needed to talk to her parents. She regretted her actions towards them. Sam was right. Skypeing didn’t take the place of a face to face visit. She should have come home sooner. Every second she was in her childhood home made her terribly aware of that. She’d been a selfish brat for behaving as though she was the only one who’d suffered a loss when Jamie died. She had to apologize to her parents.

  “Sam, would you take Chase upstairs please? Give him the bedroom next to mine.” Glancing at Chase she hurried with an explanation to the question that was on his lips. “Sam has spent a bit of time here with Jamie. I need to talk to my parents for a few minutes.” She gave Chase a light kiss before turning towards Sam. “And be nice to him,” she managed to whisper.

  Moving toward her parents Rebe hugged first her father them her mother. “Mom, Dad…I…I'm sorry.”

  “We know why you haven't been home honey.” Her father said.

  “Did Sam tell you?”

  “Sam?” Her mother laughed. “You're our baby. We didn't need Sam to tell us why you didn't come home, or why you didn't want us to visit you. But you do have Sam to thank for us giving you time to grieve and sort it all out. He's been assuring us you were okay.”

  “But I call you guys almost every day. We even skype.”

  “And you think that's the same?”

  “No…but…I didn't know you were so close to Sam.”

  “Honey, I'd say the last three years you haven't been too aware of anything that's been right in front of your eyes.”

  “You're talking Sam right?”

  “So, you've finally figured it out

  “I have a boyfriend.” Rebe studied her parents. Her mother was biting on her lips as though trying to prevent a laugh while her father rolled his eyes and gave a snort of disgust.

  “I like Chase. He's a lot of fun. He's just what I need in my life, fun.”

  “He's your hero.”

  “Good heavens no. I know that came from Sam, but he has it wrong. Chase is the kind of man I write about, tall, handsome, rich and fun and he does make my…” she laughed trying to find the right word without shocking her parents. After all they didn't need to know every little nuance of her life. “Chase makes me swoon.”

  “Right,” her mother laughed. “What about Sam?”

  “He behaves as though he's my jailer. He’s disgusted with me, and for the past couple of years he's practically hated me.”

  “Yet he's still been looking out for you, hasn't he? Look how long we tried to get you to branch out at the firm. Did you do it until Sam coerced you? No. And your writing, you were going to stay underground and not participate as though your writing was some sordid secrets. He's forced you to admit you love it.”

  “He's annoying. I can't stand it. Sam always thinks he knows what’s best for me. He remind me too much of─”

  “Say it.”

  “No.”

  “Rebe.”

  “How will I ever know for sure? I don't like that Jamie may have picked out a man for me. I don't even like that you two approve of Sam, or that he's had a secret relationship with you and you've never mentioned it. How many times has he been here in the past three years? Don’t try and deny that he’s been coming here often. I could tell right off the bat. He’s too comfortable with you.”

  “He came home with your brother. You know that, you were here.”

  “But I'm talking since. How often has he been here? Does he call you also?”

  “He’s been several times, and yes he calls us, and we call him. So what?” her mother asked.

  “It's like he's been spying on me for all of you, doing a favor for his friend, taking care of Jamie’s little sister. Sam told me that himself. He said Jamie asked him to take care of me.”

  “If Jamie asked Sam to take care of you it wasn’t so he’d spy on you. He knew Sam loved you. He didn’t think you’d ever see that, or that you’d even want Sam, because he’d told you not to date him.”

  “He thought I was too flaky to date Sam. I know that,” Rebe laughed.

  “Sam was his best friend. You were Jamie’s world from the moment you were born. I’ve never seen a bond like the one you had with your brother. You were very fortunate.”

  Rebe went silent for a moment thinking back over her brother’s protectiveness. “But, Mom, Jamie was so adamant that I not date Sam.”

  “He didn’t want the drama that comes with relationships to mess with his friendship with Sam.

  “Then why would he ask Sam to take care of me?”

  For a moment the room was silent. They all knew the answer to that one. Jamie was aware he wasn’t going to make it. Her father gave her mother a stern look, then came and took Rebe in his strong arms and patted her on the back.

  “Your brother wanted you to be happy. That’s all that we want baby, is for you to be happy. I don’t give a damn if you don’t want either of these guys. Don’t allow your brother or your mother to pressure you into making a decision you don’t want to make.”

  When her mother shot her father a dirty look Rebe laughed and put up her hands. “Let’s call a truce. The thing of it is that I do have feelings for Sam. I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him and that he’s the one. But I’ve made a commitment to Chase and I want to honor that.” She looked to her parents for some parental advice. It felt good to be talking to them in person. It was different than skypeing. She’d have to admit that. “Mom, what do you think?” she asked.

  “If you’re in love with Sam, why are you with Chase?”

  “Sam would want more from me than what I’ve given so far to Chase. He’d demand more. There would be drama and tears and breakups. He has the power to break my heart and make me worry about him. If anything ever happened to Sam, I don’t think I’d be able to survive it.”

  “And Chase?”

  “Like I said, he’s fun. But he doesn’t have the power to break my heart. And I doubt that I hold that power over him. When he’s cheated on me it didn’t even hurt my pride, not really. I’ve behaved as though I was enraged because Kandi and Sam thought I should be, but I never was enraged. If I had been, I would have never been able to take him back time after time.”

  Her mother walked around the room pointing toward her then returned to walking. Until finally it was as though she’d figured things out. “So it’s fear?” Her mother asked at last

  “Yes,” Rebe answered. “And I know what you’re thinking. I’m not afraid to admit it. Fear is holding me back. I know what’s at stake and you two can’t talk me out of it. So whatever you’re going to say, y
ou may as well save your breath. I like fun and keeping my heart intact.

  “Rebekah Johnson, you’re being silly,” her mother laughed. “There are more than two men in the world. You don't have to settle for either one if you don't want. I agree with your father on that. It doesn't matter if Sam loves you. If you don’t want to love him, if he doesn't turn you on and make you want to be with him, then you're right to reject him. And if Chase is what you need, then go for it, stay with him until you no longer need him. If that leads to marriage we'll be happy for you.”

  Psychology? Seriously was her mother trying reverse psychology on her? “Thanks, Mom. If Chase asks me to marry him, I'll say yes.” When Rebe saw her mother's gaze flick over her shoulder she turned knowing it would be Sam, Chase, or both. If only she’d not taken the bait and spoken. She didn’t want either man to hear what she’d said.

  “Your boyfriend's taking a shower,” Sam informed Rebe. “He said he was feeling grungy. How are your legs?”

  “Better.”

  “So, Rebe, you're thinking of marrying Chase?”

  “My mom said it would okay with her if I did.” Suddenly Sam's eyes lit up and he smiled at her, the most wonderfully endearing smile Rebe had witnessed in a very long time. He was aware of what she'd done, just as her brother would have been. But with one big difference Sam was looking at her in that way that told her he wanted to kiss her and darn if she didn’t want him to, but not in front of her parents they would begin wedding plans if she did that.

  “Are you staying downstairs in Jamie’s apartment?” she asked.

  “If you don’t mind. If you’d rather I didn’t…”

  “No, Sam. I’m glad you’re staying there. That’s where you always stayed, so why should you change that? I just wanted to go down for a few minutes and…I don’t know. I just wanted to go down.”

  “Do you want to go alone?”

  Rebe shook her head and held out her hand to Sam. As much as she probably needed to do this alone there were too many reminders of her brother in the home. She needed Sam.

  Walking into the area was like a blast into the past, the huge cream colored sofa, so plush that she always fell asleep watching movies on the 70 inch screen, the popcorn machine, the fridge stocked with soda, beer, and wine, the cabinet with all sorts of teas and coffees and a cappuccino maker along with a coffee pot.

  The room was airy and cheery she could tell her parents hadn't cordoned it off and were using it. Good for them. She went to the sofa and sank into the butter cream leather. When Sam sat beside her, she pulled him to her and kissed him like there was no tomorrow.

  Suddenly Rebe heard voices, her mom was talking loudly. Her mother was one smart woman she was warning them Chase wanted to come down. Only she didn't want him to do so, not until she'd had time to feel her brother and release him.

  “Sam…”

  That was all she had to say, that one word, and Sam was racing for the stairs. “Sam,” she called out again. When he turned back she gestured for him to wipe his lips. He laughed and continued up the stairs.

  Closing the door to the basement behind him, Sam glanced in Chase’s direction. “I thought you were taking a shower.”

  “And I thought you were going to stop kissing my girlfriend.”

  Sam shrugged. “Rebe made you that promise, I didn't.”

  “Get out of my way; I need to talk to Rebe.”

  “Not now, Chase. Rebe needs to be down there alone for a while.”

  “You were with her.”

  “Chase, I shouldn’t be telling you this because I do think it’s Rebe’s place to fill you in. But since she’s downstairs I guess the job falls to me. Rebe had a very hard time dealing with her brother’s death. She’s been unable to come home, or to even talk about him with anyone. Think about it. She never told you about her brother. Don’t you think that should tell you something? And just so you know it, we weren’t making out. She just needed someone to hold her for a moment.”

  “If she needs someone to hold her, then that will be me. Thank you very much, Sam, but I’ve had all the help from you that I want.” Chase moved to walk down the stairs and Sam moved to block his way.

  Rolling his eyes Sam stared at Chase for a moment. Seriously, for a lawyer Chase was dense. Couldn’t he see Sam belonged whereas Chase was an interloper?

  “Let's sit down for a moment, Chase.” Sam smiled and turned toward Rebe's parents. “Do you mind if Chase and I have a private talk?” He waited until they’d moved toward the kitchen.

  “Listen, Chase, I’m going to do my best to remain calm and tell you this again. Perhaps you thought I was bulling you. I’m not. Rebe is having a hard time with being home. She hasn't been here since the funeral. She was extremely close to her brother.”

  He moved his ring finger over the little finger to show Chase how close the brother and sister had been. She has to do this without you. Just give her a few minutes. I’m sure it won’t be long, ten, twenty minutes, I’m guessing.”

  “But you're okay to be with her?”

  “You really are dense aren’t you, Chase? I thought if we talked about this, man to man you’d get it. But since you’re stuck on why I was with her and you’re not allowed, I suppose I’ll answer that question for you. Yeah, I'm okay.”

  Chase glared. “Screw that. I'm going down and if you try to stop me…”

  Sam sprang up so quickly one would have thought he was a super hero with special abilities like super-fast reflexes. “If you attempt to go down there and bother Rebe, I will stop you. So stop being a baby and wait until she comes back up.”

  “Get out of the way, Sam.”

  “I'll tell you what. You either go ahead and take a swing at me or sit your ass back down. What's your pleasure?” When Chase sat back down Sam narrowed his eyes and glared at him. He'd had no intentions of hitting Chase, not in Rebe's parents’ home anyway, so Rebe's hero backing down was appreciated. Sam paced for a moment for affect and to allow some of his anger to flow away, then he too sat

  “Are you in love with Rebe, Sam?”

  “Are you?” Sam asked.

  “That's none of your business. Rebe and I are a couple. You should respect that. We're in a committed relationship. How many times do we have to repeat that to you?”

  “Until I believe you. By the way you never answered the question. Are you in love with Rebe?”

  “Screw you, Sam,” Chase hissed'

  “You can't say the words can you? Listen, Chase, if it's true it's very easy to say. I love Rebe. And I'm in love with her. Can you even say you love her as a friend?” When Chase refused to answer Sam laughed. “Go take your shower. I'm going back down with Rebe. And for God's sake be an adult and don't make a scene in her parents’ home. Just so you know, I have no plans on telling Rebe about this childish discussion.’

  Sam turned to walk away, thought better of it then turned back toward Chase.” The door will be locked. When Rebe is ready to come up we'll come up. With those parting words Sam opened the basement door and locked it behind him. Shaking his head he moved toward Rebe wondering how much longer it would take for her to dump Chase.

  “Is everything okay with Chase?”

  “Sure. But I thought he needed an explanation about what was going on with you. I told him as soon as you can handle it you’d be up. He hadn’t taken his shower, so I’m thinking he’s going to do just that.”

  Rebe was giving him a look as though she wanted to ask a question but she didn’t. She sighed and continued looking through a photo album she was holding. Progress, he thought and joined her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A couple of days with her parents had turned out to be the very thing Rebe needed. After the first day when she’d disappeared into Jamie’s apartment and had reemerged she’d known instinctually something had happened between Sam and Chase but decided not to deal with it. By nightfall Chase had done what he did best, charming women. Her mother had become enamored of Chase. While her father was
reserving judgment, he was friendly. With time whatever had happened between Chase and Sam appeared to have smoothed over.

  Sitting at the breakfast table she caught Chase staring at her and smiled in his direction. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I was wondering if you’d tell me about your brother. I know he’s no longer here, but he was important to you and I’d like to get to know him.”

  Shock wasn’t the word, Rebe was flabbergasted. Daring a glance toward Sam she could see the surprise in his eyes. It was as though everyone was on pins and needles waiting for her to collapse with the mere mention of her brother. Had she really gone that bonkers? Had she really done that to her family? Not anymore

  “I’d love to tell you about Jamie,” Rebe said and smiled.

  And for the remainder of breakfast she continued to do just that with everyone telling stories. They were laughing the entire time and it felt good, cathartic. Rebe smiled again at Chase when finally they dispersed and walked to him and gave him a kiss and a squeeze of his hands. “Thanks, that was just what I needed.”

  For the first times since he’d known the man Chase had done something right as far as Sam was concerned. He’d shown genuine interest in Jamie and had helped to get Rebe to open up. Just what I needed, he’d heard her say to Chase and he’d swallowed the lump in his throat. She’d then kissed Chase and had looked at him as though he were her hero come to life. Sam had not realized until that moment how much he’d hoped Chase would show his true colors. Who would have expected for a man concerned with his own comforts would have a moment of sympathy for Rebe, or would be able to get her to talk freely and openly about Jamie.

  Inwardly Sam cringed wondering if he were jealous of having that special bond between him and Rebe breached. For all this time he’d been Rebe’s only ear. She wouldn’t speak of Jamie to Kandi or her parents, only him.