Unexpected Calling

Chapter 4

I woke to Jay wrapped in my arms and snuggled against my chest, using my arm as a pillow. When I was semi-awake and realized our position, I blushed. I prayed she wouldn't wake up. That would be awkward. I moved slowly and slipped my arms from around her.
  She hadn't slept well since we left. I slid out of the bed and crept quietly toward the door. As I opened it, I heard Jay stir. I turned to face her as she propped herself up on her elbow. Her shoulder length brown hair stuck out at odd angles and some fell forward in her face. She sat up the rest of the way and rubbed her eyes with the heel of her palm. I saw her chin was wet and couldn't help but smile.
“Where are you going?”
Her voice was gravelly from sleep.
“Just down stairs. You probably don't remember, but Mr. H said that his wife and daughter would have breakfast out at eight. It's eight seventeen.”
Jay jerked to attention.
“Well why didn't you say so?" She got out of bed quickly. I was headed towards the bedroom door when she stopped me and asked, “Hey, do you know which bag my hair brush is in?” I couldn't help laughing when I saw her looking exasperated at her own reflection. I unzipped the top, small pouch on her suitcase.
“Yes, it’s right here,” I told her with a chuckle.

                                        ~~~

Jeremy stayed to help me separate our suitcases. It was hard to navigate our tiny space without stepping on each other and the furniture made the area even smaller; but we managed to walk out with only one stubbed toe for each of us.
We walked out of our room,  down the small stairway, and to the kitchen.
The kitchen was small like the rest of the house, but the food smelled awesome. When we walked in a plump older woman came from around the counter.
“Oh! Oh my goodness!”
She had a head full of bright red hair and wore a light lavender blouse and jean capris. Her green eyes sparkled with pleasure.
“You are just the cutest couple I have ever seen,” she cooed. We looked at each other in terror.
I almost ran back to our room when she pinched my cheek. Jeremy didn't even bother to disguise a laugh. I scowled at him.
“Oh, you are just beautiful,” she cried as I blushed and laughed nervously. Then, turning to Jeremy, she said,
“Oh, my! You are the most handsome young man I've seen. Other than my Drake of course.”
She patted his cheek. It was my turn to laugh- and his turn to scowl.
“You must be hungry, come on in here and sit down! Oh, I am Molly and this is my daughter Cloe.” She ushered us into the kitchen and began making us plates. I looked at Cloe. She looked like both of her parents. She was a slimmer version of her mother, with the same ample curves. The women shared pale green eyes with streaks of a darker forest green. Cloe’s hair was the same coppery shade of brown as her father's and hung in perfect, shiny waves down her back. A light spattering of freckles covered the bridge of her nose.
“Hi.” I said. Holding out my hand. She just nodded, staring at Jeremy.
“Hello.” She said fluttering her eyelashes. I rolled my eyes and sat next to her. Jeremy sat next to me.
“Good morning.” He said, oblivious to her flirting. I already didn't like her. I saw her look at his left hand, then frown when she saw the ring. 
“I'm Jeremy Henryson. This is my wife Tarah.”
  Her frown deepened.
“I know. My dad told me,” she said, sweetly. She smiled at him, then scowled at me. I knew my stay here would be difficult, but it just got a whole lot worse.
       
                                        ~'~'~

I was in such an odd position.
Physically and mentally.
I honestly had no clue how to react to the situation, which is not something you want to happen when you’re a spy.
Mr. and Mrs. Holloway sat on the opposite side of the table from the rest of us. Cloe had slid her chair so close to mine that she was practically on my lap. When I spoke she looked up and leaned even closer to me with her green eyes wide. On the few times TJ spoke Cloe glared at her. I wanted to roll my eyes and push her away but that would just be rude.
Instead, I ignored the girl's amorous attention and focused on the conversation with Mr. Holloway.
“So, are you ready for your first mission?”
Finally, I thought.
“Yes, sir. You have our first assignment?”
“I do indeed. We need you to check out a warehouse near the main air force base and send back a report on what you find. We're pretty sure that the NKNA is storing nuclear weapons there. You might want to take Tarah as back up.”
I glanced at her. Her bright blue eyes were wide with innocent surprise.
“If y'all think that you know what these people are doing and there are agents out here, why do you need to bring more people in?”
Drake answered without hesitation.
“Most of the agents we had on the case have either gone missing, been killed, or abandoned the case. We've found it necessary to bring more people in.”
Jay nodded and looked back down at her plate.
“Is the area guarded?”
Drake nodded and lifted his fork, moving it around to punctuate his answer.
“Yes. Very well. It's part of the reason we haven't been able to get any more information. I'm not going to lie, it's dangerous. The last agent that went in was found murdered just a few feet from the apartment he was staying in. We still don't know how he was found out. But that's a case for another agent. We just need you to get in and get out without detection.”
I nodded and stood to move from the table. I looked back to see Jay stand and follow me. I stopped and waited for her to reach my side. She was so tiny and vulnerable and innocent.
Her small hand reached for my much larger hand. I held on as I led her to the room we shared.
  The bathroom and bedroom together were a little more than two hundred square feet. Add a queen sized bed, other oversized furniture, and several unemptied suitcases and the space became hardly navigable. I tugged her into the tight space and closed and locked the door firmly behind us. I did not want Cloe to come and interrupt us.
  Jay's eyes widened. When had I started thinking of her as Jay again?
When Drake explained how dangerous this assignment is when, and you know it.
My heartbeat slowed as I imagined Jay in the position of the last agent. I suddenly felt the urge to protect her. Don't ask me why because I honestly have no clue. No matter the reason, I was going to protect her. My hands moved involuntarily to grasp her shoulders.
“I'll go alone. I have more experience and can handle this on my own. Besides, we need someone here to unpack.”
She frowned up at me.
“You heard what happened to the last agent. You need someone with you in case anything goes wrong.”
Yeah, I heard. And that's why you're staying here, Mrs. Tarah Henryson. All the sudden the memory of the kiss we shared on our wedding day played through my mind. Before she could react, I lowered my lips to her forehead. It was just the briefest of touches before I pulled away and unlocked the door. My hand stilled on the knob.
“Don't worry, I've got this.”I said with a confident smile.

                              ~~~

Easy for you to say. Harder for me to do. My face felt so hot. I knew my skin was flaming red. I watched as he retreated down the stairs of the tiny town house. Even though it was just a peck, the kiss still made my senses reel.
You had better come back to me, Jeremy Henryson. I began unpacking our suitcases. We each had two suitcases and a duffle bag. I removed everything and began folding it before moving to the oversized dresser at the wall opposite of the bed and opening a drawer. I swiftly discarded our freshly folded clothing into the empty drawer and began to organize our other things. After about an hour of unpacking and organizing, I closed the suitcases and duffle bags, stacked them in the closet that matched the rest of the house in size, and gathered our dirty clothes and moved out of our room and down the stairs. I caught sight of Cloe. True, she hadn't made a good impression on me, flirting with Jeremy and all, but she was probably a really sweet girl.
Right, and as cuddly as a scorpion, too.
“Cloe, can you tell me where the washroom is? I have a load of clothing that needs to get done before Jeremy gets back.”
The girl rolled her eyes.
“It's back upstairs at the end of the hall.”
I bit my lip and ignored her bored tone as I shifted the load in my arms.
“Thank you for your help. And please, tell your mother thank you for breakfast. I didn't get a chance to do that earlier.”
Cloe rolled her green eyes again.
“Yeah, whatever.”
I moved away and headed back upstairs. Ten minutes later, with laundry started, mine and Jeremy's things stashed away, and with nothing left to do, I began to worry.
Dear God, please keep my husband safe. Bring him back to me. It may have been an arranged marriage, but I need him.

💮Author's note💮
Hey y'all!!! So what do y'all think of this chapter? I love the conflict between Cloe and Jay! And Molly is awesome!!!!

Eeek! The story is coming together!😄😄
Thanks for reading! I gtg now. I'm fixin' to go swimmin'!!
God bless!!!!😘❤❤❤