“Are we still talking about Mia?” Jesse asked. “If we’re talking about us, then I want you to know that I trust you, and I forgive you. I understand your reasons.”
“Do you wish I would have done things different?” She kept her hand on his because simply touching him brought a measure of peace to her in all the turmoil of the day.
“Right now, I sure do. I want her to know, but then I’m afraid of her reaction when she finds out I’m her father and that everyone has kept it from her. She’s as bullheaded as both of us combined.” He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Back when I was in basic training, I’m not so sure I would have wanted to know that I was going to be a father. I was so gung-ho on saving the world that I might have felt trapped. I like to think that I would have been wise, and I do know down deep in my heart that I would have done right by you and by our baby if I’d known.”
“Everything seemed clear cut back then. Not so much right now.” She removed her hand and stood up. “We’d better go see how Pearl and Sonny are doing. I hope this doesn’t jack his blood pressure up too high. I probably should check it before dinner.”
“Face the music.” Jesse smiled.
“Sounds like the title of a country music song, doesn’t it?” Addy said.
“Would be a good one,” Jesse answered as he stood and extended a hand to help her up.
“We could write it for sure, couldn’t we?” She put her hand in his and smiled up at him. “Thanks for understanding.”
“Always.” He winked like he used to when they were in high school.
“I was afraid you’d—” she started.
He laid a finger over her lips. “I could never be mad at you for looking out for me. We’re best buddies, remember?”
“Always.” She laid a hand on his cheek, turned, and went into the house.
“You’re just in time for dinner,” Pearl called out from the kitchen
Addy checked Sonny for signs of high blood pressure as she went into the kitchen. His face wasn’t flushed, but his eyes were red, no doubt from crying. She hoped that he had stood firm in front of Mia and she hadn’t seen that she had upset him to the point of tears.
“How are you holding up after all this drama?” Addy asked. “Should we do a midday check on your vital signs? Jacked-up blood pressure isn’t good.”
“About like you, I suppose, and we should check him over after we eat,” Pearl answered for him as she wiped her eyes on the tail of her apron. “But we’re getting it all sorted out, and we’re so glad she came home. She could have been too stubborn to even come back.”
“Did she apologize and talk to you about a job?” Addy asked.
“She was very sorry,” Sonny said. “I believe it was harder on me to be firm with her than it was when I had to make you responsible for your mistakes, Jesse.”
“She has to learn, but that don’t mean it’s easy on us,” Pearl added.
“So what’s the verdict?” Jesse asked.
“She has to work for minimum wage. She’s not a boss over any of the summer help because she quit her job without notice. She has to report to you every morning and work beside you,” Pearl said.
“That’s for both of you, so y’all can get to know each other,” Sonny explained. “She has to tell her mama where she’s going and when she will be back, and if we catch her lying, she’s fired. All this is only if you see fit to hire her.”
Jesse cocked his head toward Addy. “Did you call them before she got here? This sounds a lot like what you told her.”
She nodded. “While you were loading the alpaca feed, I called and asked them to back me up, and to add in anything else that would teach her a lesson. I didn’t want them to be shocked or feel sorry for her when she walked into the house looking like something the dogs drug up.”
“That was a smart move,” Jesse said.
Addy heard footsteps in the hallway and busied herself getting chips from the pantry. Mia looked a little better after her shower, but she still needed a good night’s sleep and maybe some ice packs for her swollen eyes. She took her normal place beside her mother at the table and bowed her head for grace.
Sonny’s prayer was a little longer that day, and when he finished, there was a lump in Addy’s throat the size of a lemon. At that moment, Addy would have given anything if she could have told Mia that Jesse was her father. She wanted nothing more than to hold her daughter and tell her that she would be working beside Jesse so that she could get to know him. But deep in her heart she knew that she shouldn’t rush things. Mia had to really get to know Jesse first.
Mia took two sandwiches from the platter and piled chips on the side. “I’m starving,” she said. “I only had a hot dog and some chips all day yesterday. I had no idea how much gas money I needed to get here, so I was afraid to use too much for food.”
“Well, you are home now,” Pearl said. “We’re happy that you made it. Eat good. If Jesse hires you, you’ll have a long afternoon of work ahead of you.”
She didn’t even glance his way but kept her eyes on her plate. “What’s for supper?”
“Chicken pot pies and banana cake for dessert,” Pearl answered. “Pretty simple food after you’ve been having all that fancy stuff from a Las Vegas buffet. Sonny and I thought about going to Vegas a few times to see the bright lights and some of the shows, but it just never worked out.”
“Nana, I’d rather be sitting right here in this kitchen eating sandwiches than in that fancy hotel blowing all my money on food and the poker tables,” Mia said.
“I can add a hearty amen to that,” Jesse said. “I felt the same when I was able to get home for visits. My job with the Air Force was often dangerous and exciting, but there’s nothing like home.” He reached for a sandwich at the same time Addy did.
His fingertips brushed against hers, sending her on an emotional roller coaster that brought back memories of the day and the weeks after he had left.
The timing had just never been right.
Addy’s grandmother’s voice was clear in her head. I told you to tell your baby’s father about her. If you had, you wouldn’t be facing this turmoil today.
If I had, he would have insisted on marrying me, and then resented me for the rest of his life. He was my best friend. I knew him, Addy argued.
Forget about the past, Mia’s situation, your jobs, and everything else, and listen to your heart, the voice said and then went silent.
“Mama?” Mia nudged her on the shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Addy managed a weak smile. “I was just having an argument with my grandmother.”
“Granny talks to you. That’s kind of creepy.” Mia shivered. “What did she say?”
“That I should listen to my heart.” Addy glanced across the table to find Jesse staring right at her again. Back in their younger days, they could practically read each other’s minds and didn’t need words to communicate. That morning, it seemed like they were back to knowing what the other one was thinking.
“Sounds like good advice to me,” Pearl said. “The heart can’t hear or see, but it has feelings, and it will guide you right, if you’ll just listen to it.”
“Amen, Mama.” Jesse shifted his focus over to her. “If only we had paid attention to that when we’re young, things might have turned out better for us.”
“Are you talking about me?” Mia asked.
“No, my child,” Addy answered for him. “He’s talking about all young folks. We made our mistakes when we were your age, but hopefully, we learned from them, just like you will.”
“So I’m a mistake?” Mia’s old surliness returned.
“No, you were made out of love.” Addy avoided glancing at Jesse but kept her eyes on her daughter. “And you’ve been loved every day since you were born.”
“Then my father wasn’t a one-night stand or a bum off the streets?” Mia asked. “Maybe we are cursed to like deadbeats who love us and leave us, Mama. Like the old saying says, ‘Like moth
er, like daughter.’”
Addy’s forefinger came up so fast that it was a blur and stopped close enough to Mia’s nose that she jerked back. “Your father is not that kind of man, and I’m not having this conversation today, young lady. Right now, we are taking care of what you’ve done, not the trouble I caused twenty years ago by not telling your father that I was pregnant with you. Understood?”
Mia shrugged. “When are we having this conversation?”
“When I think you can handle it without running off again,” Addy answered. “Finish your dinner so you and Jesse can talk about whether you’ll be doing ranch work or searching for another job. You’re going to need money to pay for your online courses next fall.”
“You were serious about that? I really can’t go back to college?” Mia gasped. “I promise I’ll make good grades again. I’m never looking at another guy again, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I was serious,” Addy said. “Online courses that you will pay for out of your earnings this summer. One grade below a B, and you can begin paying your own cell phone bill and your truck insurance.”
“One mistake in my whole life. I might as well go to jail,” Mia pouted.
“This time it was misjudgment. Just be sure that when you mess up next time, it’s not something illegal,” Addy told her.
Chapter Fourteen
Jesse sat down in a rocking chair, stretched his long legs out so that he could prop his boots on the back-porch railing, and waited for Mia. He didn’t look around when the door opened until the tingle on the back of his neck told him that Addy was nearby. He brought his legs down, sat up a little straighter, and turned to face her.
“Did she back out and decide that waitressing or working in a fast-food place would be better than facing me every day?” he asked.
“No, she’s putting her hair up, so she’ll be ready to work,” Addy answered as she sat down in the chair beside him. “I’ve changed my mind about sitting in on the visit if that’s all right with you.”
“Not at all, but why?” Jesse asked. “Do you think I’ll break if she starts crying?”
“Maybe.” Addy sighed. “I remember a few times when I cried. You would have tried to shoot the moon out of the sky to get me to stop.”
“Did you cry when you found out”—he checked the door and lowered his voice—“that you were pregnant?”
“Nope,” she answered. “I just called Granny, and we put together a plan. We took precautions that night, if you’ll remember, so I couldn’t blame you, and tears wouldn’t undo what was done. Granny said that the two of us were alike. When we were faced with a problem, we just plowed into it with all our might.”
“You sure showed that today, even if it did break your heart to do it,” he said.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Mia came out onto the porch and sat down in the swing. “I’m not sure how this is supposed to go. So, I already had the rules laid out for me twice, but I’m still not sure how this is going to go. What am I supposed to do now?”
“I’ll leave you two alone to discuss the job.” Addy stood up and went into the house.
“How did you apply for the job as a waitress when you quit going to classes?” Jesse asked.
“I went in and asked for the job, filled out a form on the computer, and they hired me,” she said.
“Are you asking for a job as a hired hand on this ranch?” he asked.
“I guess I am,” Mia said.
“There’s no guessing to it. Ranch work is hard. It’s demanding, and it requires long hours. Either you know you want to work here, or you don’t,” Jesse said.
“All right then,” Mia said. “I want a job here. I already know what it takes to do ranch work. I’m experienced. I’ve had responsibilities right here that you already know about.”
“Are you willing to do what I say without back sassing and without attitude?” he asked.
“I guess…” She clamped her mouth shut. “Yes, I am. I’ll work hard to show all of you that I’m sorry for the choice I made and walked away like I did.”
“Then you have a job. Minimum wage like the summer hired help. Tomorrow, you and I will bring the alpacas over to this side of the property. This afternoon, you can get out the lawn mower and weed eater and take care of the yard work. If you’re done before supper, then go ahead and weed Mama’s flower gardens,” Jesse told her.
“Henry usually has one of the boys do that…” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I’ll get the mower out and get busy.”
“Ever mowed before?” Jesse asked.
She shook her head.
“Then I think I’ll sit here and supervise, just to be sure you do it right.” Jesse propped his feet up on the rail again and tipped his cowboy hat down over his eyes.
Mia slammed her straw hat down on her head. Her boots sounded like shotgun blasts on the wooden porch as she stomped across it, but Jesse didn’t even blink an eye.
“Good job,” Addy said from just inside the screen door, “but I can’t see you sitting here doing nothing.”
“As mad as she is, she’ll have this done in an hour or two at the most. She and I are going to go straighten up the barn the rest of the afternoon. The stalls need to be ready for the alpacas in case we have to bring them in out of the heat or weather. She’s going to sleep like a baby tonight.” Jesse yawned.
“Think you can keep up with her?” Addy smiled.
“I’ll do my damn best,” Jesse answered. “This raisin’ kids ain’t for wimps, is it?”
“Nope, and especially after they get to be as old as Mia,” Addy answered. “I’m going to take Sonny’s vitals. Just to be on the safe side, I’m going to insist on doing Pearl’s, too. Neither of them needs this kind of drama. It broke my heart when Pearl mentioned how much she wanted to go to Vegas.”
Jesse sat up again and hung his hat on the back of the rocker. “Mine, too. I figure when Henry gets settled in Colorado, I’ll buy them tickets to fly up there, and then in the spring, I’ll insist they go to Vegas. They need to make every minute count before Dad gets any worse.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Addy stood up.
“You think you’ll ever go back to nursing full time?” Jesse asked.
She patted his shoulder. “I’ve got the best of worlds right now. I’m a full-time nurse to the folks, and I’m also doing what I can on the ranch. I’m happy, Jesse. Why mess with that?”
“Amen,” he said. “You might as well come on out here where I can see you.”
“I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she said.
The door opened a few minutes later, and Addy and Pearl both came out on the porch. Pearl brought out two glasses of sweet tea and Addy carried a couple of bottles of water. Pearl handed Jesse a glass of tea and sat down on the swing. Addy opened a bottle of water and hiked a hip on the porch railing.
“We could have had one of the hired hands take care of the yard,” Pearl said.
Jesse took a long drink. “She needs to work off her anger before we do a job together.”
“This something you learned in the Air Force?” Pearl asked.
“It is.” Jesse nodded. “I learned it real quick, too. A team is only as good as its members working together, but if there’s a problem between two of them, then it has to be settled before the team can go on a mission.”
“You would have been a good father all these years,” Pearl whispered.
“I’m not so sure of that, but I do know I had some good role models in both you and Dad. We’ll get through all this, Mama, and when the time is right, Addy and I will tell her the whole story.” He turned to focus on Addy. “How’s Dad’s blood pressure?”
Addy took another drink of her water. “Surprisingly enough, it’s not up too much. He hasn’t slept good all week for worrying about that child.”
“And you, Mama?” Jesse turned back to her.
“I was thirty years old when we got you,” Pearl answered. "I
haven’t slept good since that day. It’s a mother’s job to worry about her kids, and you boys all chose paths to travel that have been scary to me. I’m glad you are home, and I wish Cody would come on back and start a practice around here. We have sick people here just like they do in the Sudan or in one of those other places where he goes. And Lucas, running all over God’s creation training horses, scares me, too. He’s promised us a visit when he gets done in Argentina after the first of the year. I’m looking seventy right in the eye now, and your dad had his seventieth birthday a couple of years ago. We need you kids to be close by.”
“I didn’t know how much I missed home until I came back for good. When I came in for a visit, there was always a deadline as to how long I could stay. Maybe my brothers will get to the point that they miss it, too,” he said.
“We can hope so,” Pearl said. “She looks pretty hot. You might take her that bottle of water. It’s a shame we have to treat her like this. She’s always been so grounded that we could depend on her for anything.”
“Sometimes the hardest lessons reap the greatest rewards,” Jesse said, “and yes, Mama, I’m speaking from experience.”
“Gentle but firm,” Pearl said as she started into the house. “That’s what she needs most.”
“And a little teamwork to teach her to depend on others and be dependable. Thanks for the tea and the visit,” Jesse said.
Pearl and Addy both went back into the house. Jesse stood up, crammed his old straw hat down on his head, and headed out across the yard with the bottle of water in his hand.
“I’ll take over for a few laps while you hydrate.” He tossed the bottle of water her way. She caught it midair and sat down with her back against a shade tree. “Thanks.”
Jesse mowed three laps, leaving the very last one for her, and then motioned for her to take over. “Get that done, and we’ll get to work.”
“What I’ve been doing isn’t work?” She finished off the water and carried the empty bottle to the trash can on the back porch.
“That was just the warm-up. Now we get to go shovel out stalls that haven’t been touched in years, put down fresh straw, and get the barn ready for the days we might need to keep the alpacas inside. I don’t know much about them, but I’m willing to learn, and I bet they like to be in out of the heat when July gets here.”
Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch Page 12