Returning Hearts

Chapter 12: A Night With Isabelle

Isabelle's laugh relaxes Jackson as they sit at the old diner on the outskirts of the city. They had such a good time at the movies Wednesday night that he had asked her out again, just the two of them this time. It was a cold day but they had spent it going horseback riding at a large ranch just outside of town and then stopped at this small diner for dinner. "Was that your first-time riding?" Jackson asks as he leans up on the table feeling attracted to her confident smile.

"No, I actually grew up with horses. My dad raised race horses." Isabelle too feels the attraction between them begin to sprout.

"That seems pretty cool. So, did you go to the races a lot? I can picture you as the girl in the stands yelling move your blooming ass?"

Isabelle begins to laugh at him with a bit of lust in her eyes. "No. My dad was very strict about us not gambling. He always drilled it into our heads that it was a waste of money, so we weren't allowed."

Jackson finds interest in what she is saying. "So, wait. Have you ever been to the horse races?"

"No. I have not." Isabelle seems surprised herself by her answer.

"Seriously?" Jackson falls back against his chair in surprise as well.

"Yeah, I guess I just never wanted to. And I feared my father's wrath."

"Oh no. You have to go it so fun to watch. You don't have to gamble. It is just a good place to sit with a beer and relax as you watch the horses move so gracefully."

"I am not saying I wouldn't ever go, I just haven't gotten around to it." Isabelle shrugs her shoulder slightly as she looks at Jackson.

He realizes the hint she is throwing at him to invite her to the races and he thinks quickly about August and pictures her with someone else's baby. "Go with me?" It sounds almost like a demand. "I think there is a race tomorrow afternoon. I will buy you a beer and we can just hang out."

"That sounds fun. I will take that offer." Isabelle's confident smile causes his skin to tingle as they stare for a moment into each other's eyes.

"Good." Jackson smiles to reassure himself that he needs to do this. He doesn't want to just sleep with some woman for a one-night stand especially when he doesn't know her. He wants to connect with someone like he connected with August. He thinks that if he gets to know her better a connection will come eventually, hopefully.

As Jackson pulls up to Isabelle's apartment, she leans her head back on the headrest. "Thank you for a wonderful evening. I had a lot of fun."

"You're welcome." Jackson can tell she is wanting to be kissed but feels his nerves begin to build because he hadn't touched her on Wednesday night. He was the perfect gentleman. "Can I walk you to your door?"

"Yes." Isabelle sounds excited as her head rises back off of the headrest.

Jackson opens the door for her and holds out his hand to assist her out of the car. Her cold hand reminds him of August's and how her touch could send vibrations through his entire body. He doesn't get those vibrations with Isabelle's touch. They silently walk toward her door as Jackson tries to break his image of August by focusing on how beautiful Isabelle looks in her jeans and t-shirt with her hair pulled back. "So, I will pick you up tomorrow around ten?" Jackson turns toward her nervously.

"I will be ready." Isabelle unlocks the door and pauses not opening it all the way as she looks up at Jackson.

Jackson can't figure out why he is so nervous when he has already kissed her on the first night they met. He finally leans in slowly and she meets him halfway causing their lips to touch. He feels her hand on his arm as his hand reaches her jaw and he intensifies the kiss before pulling his lips from hers. She smiles as she opens her eyes to him in turn causing him to smile slightly. "Have a good night." His words are soft as he backs away from her.

"You too." Her sexy tone causes Jackson's smile to grow as he contains himself from kissing her again. As he begins to turn away from her, she grabs the opening of his coat and pulls him back to her lips. As their kiss intensifies, she pushes the door open and begins to guide him inside with Jackson following her lead.

Jackson wakes feeling sick as he looks around at his unfamiliar surroundings and Isabelle lying next to him. He quickly looks at the time on his watch. 6:00 am. He doesn't want to wake Isabelle but doesn't want to be there either so he quietly tries to get out of bed unnoticed. He stumbles through her room finding his clothes and putting them on. "You seem in a hurry." Isabelle's voice causes Jackson to look up at her.

He quickly tries to find a polite escape. "I need to go let Dolly, my dog, out before we go to the races." He hasn't slept with anyone other than August since he first met her twelve years ago and he feels guilty. He reminds himself he is divorced as Isabelle rises from bed and finds her own clothes. "If you give me five minutes to take a shower, I can come with you so you don't have to come back and we can walk your dog together. It is going to be a beautiful day. Then we can go to the races."

Jackson's stomach churns as he answers with a forced smile moving closer to her and kissing her quickly. "That sounds like a good idea." After her shower, Jackson drives to his apartment feeling in agony the entire time as Isabelle and he chat. He wants to break their date but he knows that he has to keep his promise now that she is already in his car.

Dolly growls as she sees Isabelle enter the apartment. "Dolly be nice. This is Isabelle." He bends down to pet Dolly. "I'm going to take a quick shower and I will be out in a minute." He glances up at Isabelle. "I will take her with me so she won't bother you."

Isabelle bends down too and pets Dolly allowing Dolly to warm up to her. "No, it is okay, we will become friends while you get ready."

"Are you sure?" Jackson seems unsure to leave Dolly but Isabelle's smile assures him it is okay.

"Yes." She rises and moves over to the couch calling back to Dolly. "Come here girl."

Jackson reluctantly moves to his bedroom to shower and get dressed for their date.

The sun is shining through the park as they arrive just before 8:00 am. Dolly begins to pull them along on her and Jackson's usual path as Isabelle confidently takes Jackson's hand. "How old is she? She seems really sweet."

Jackson tries not to say we as he remembers back to August picking her out at the pet store when she was just a little pup. "I have had her for about six years now."

"Wow. You two go way back then."

"Yes. She means a lot to me." Jackson looks over to meet eyes with Isabelle who tightens her hand on his.

"So, what is your favorite thing to do?"

"With Dolly or just in general?"

"Well, I thought it would be one and the same with you answering walking Dolly." Isabelle raises her eyebrows as she looks up at Jackson's dark eyes.

Jackson smiles at her. "Good guess."

Isabelle quickly leans up and kisses him causing him to stop and turn to kiss her back on the lips. Dolly's whining causes him to break the kiss and look over to scold her but she isn't looking at him and Isabelle. He follows the direction she is whining and sees August's hurt eyes piercing through his heart from across the park. He is surprised to see her so soon but even more surprised by the baby holding her hand walking.

Isabelle releases Jackson's hand and is bent down petting Dolly as he looks back toward her. "What's the matter Dolly?"

He looks back up towards August and sees the sadness on her face as she picks up her baby and puts him in a stroller trying to avoid looking at Jackson. "I think she may have had enough walking for today. Maybe we should take her back."

Isabelle looks up oddly at Jackson. "We just started walking?"

Jackson looks at his watch and it is just barely after 8:00 am. They had not even been there ten minutes. "Yeah. I just thought, I haven't fed her since before our date yesterday so I bet she is hungry." He glances back over and notices August is walking out of the park in the opposite direction pushing the stroller.

Isabelle notices Jackson's expression and follows his gaze but doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary before looking back at Jackson. "Okay."

Jackson tugs on Dolly's leash as he turns to walk back to his apartment and Isabelle slides her hand into his causing him to flinch slightly but he tries to cover up his disdain by turning to smile at her quickly.