by Becky McGraw
Jess huffed out a frustrated breath, then laid back on the bed and folded her arms across her chest, but didn’t answer his question. Travis walked over to the closet and took out a diaper bag and handed it to him, then he walked to the door and left. Yep, he was definitely liking the guy.
When the door closed, Jess turned to him and said through gritted teeth, “What the hell do you know about babies? Bring her over here so I can feed and change her.”
“I know enough to know which end to put a diaper on, and which end gets the bottle, so you just lay back and watch,” he told her with a chuckle. She wasn’t going to goad him into getting mad again, he might never get mad again, he was so enthralled with his baby girl. He got choked up again when Angel opened her green eyes to look up at him in rapt fascination, when he laid her on the bed.
“You’re almost as beautiful as your momma, sweetheart,” he said running a finger along her soft cheek. Wade’s heart stopped beating when she cooed, then grinned at him and he saw the dimple in her left cheek. He felt a tear run down his cheek, and then it plopped down on the baby’s chest, and he wiped his eyes with his forearm.
My god, he needed to get a hold of himself, but he was so filled with conflicting emotions, he didn’t know if he could. “Goddamn, I need to get grip,” he said quietly, then took a deep shuddering breath, before reaching into the diaper bag to pull out a diaper.
Undoing the crotch of the pink onesie, he pulled it apart then yanked the tapes loose and got the wet wipes and cream out of the bag. Wade lifted Angel’s chubby little feet in one hand, replaced the old diaper with a fresh one, then wiped her butt with a wet wipe, before slathering on a little cream, and securing the new diaper.
He buttoned her back up then cooed, “There you go, sugar…fresh as a daisy,” and tweaked her little nose, which caused her to giggle, and him to laugh and do it again. He tickled her a little and she giggled harder, and he belly laughed, because it was the most precious sound he’d ever heard.
Wade had never believed in love at first sight, but he did now, because he was head over heels in love with the tiny little girl that was his daughter. She sucked a fist into her mouth again and started to whimper, and he reached into the bag and took out a pre-made bottle, then took the cap off. Picking her up in one arm, he sat back against the headboard, and put the bottle to her lips, then glanced over at Jess. Her face was filled with fear and love and tears tracked down her face.
“I’m not going to take her from you, sugar,” he told her in a choked voice, “I just want to be a part of her life…and I want to help you raise her.”
Jess nodded, but she still didn’t look like she believed him. Wade knew he couldn’t convince her in one night, it would take time, and trust, he just hoped she’d give him that time voluntarily. He smiled down at his daughter, and tucked her more securely into the crook of his arm, and put his finger in her fist.
CHAPTER FOUR
When Travis got back about an hour later, he looked harried when he walked through the door with plastic bags in his hand. “I had to find an all night pharmacy, so it took a while sorry,” he told Wade as she shut the door behind him.
“That’s fine, did you get everything?” He asked quietly, so he didn’t wake Angel again. He’d laid her on the bed beside him, and was snuggled up with her, because he couldn’t make himself put her back in the crib.
“Yeah,” he said then glanced over to the other bed where Jess was sleeping and said, “Looks like Jess didn’t need the pain meds after all.”
“She’s exhausted and they probably gave her some at the hospital…but she’ll need them tomorrow,” Wade said then gazed down at the beautiful little girl sleeping peacefully beside him. Jess had picked the perfect name for her, because in Wade’s mind there wasn’t a more perfect Angel.
Wade understood now, why Luke was so over the moon for his daughter, Bella. He’d given Luke hell for all the goofy, googly-eyed looks he always had on his face when he looked at her, but he wouldn’t be doing that anymore. He was sure his face looked equally goofy right now, and he really didn’t give a shit.
“She’s pretty amazing, huh?” Travis asked and came to sit on the bed beside him.
“That doesn’t begin to describe her…but, yeah, pretty damned amazing,” he looked up and agreed with a grin.
“She has me pretty wrapped up, that’s for sure…” Travis told him, then took the formula and diapers out of the plastic bag, and stuffed some in the diaper bag, then walked over to put the rest on the table. “So, you’re Angel’s daddy…Jess wouldn’t talk about it, so I had no idea. I knew something was up by the way she acted at the ranch today, though, sorry if I was an ass.”
“She didn’t tell me either…but in her defense, the night we were together, we didn’t do much talking, and didn’t exchange names. I only knew hers, because Cassie told me who the singer at the reception was. And we were, um…responsible…but evidently, we hit the lottery.”
“So, you’re on board with the whole father detail?” Travis asked and studied him intently from over by the table.
“One hundred percent on board, for life,” Wade vowed and looked down at Angel, silently making the same vow to her.
“Good, then I can get Jess a recording contract with a label, then get back to my life in San Antonio.”
“What do you do? I thought you were her manager…” Wade asked in confusion.
“I’m a computer engineer, DoD contractor, but I took a leave of absence so I could help Jess get back on her feet, which is why I’m her temporary manager.”
“I wish I could have helped…this whole situation didn’t have to be like this,” Wade told him with sincere regret. He could have helped Jess through the pregnancy, emotionally, financially, all of it…done what her brother had to do instead. “I promise you things are going to change, I’m going to make sure Jess and the baby are taken care of…make up for not being here for them.”
“Jess may not go for that, she’s pretty damned independent, determined to do things on her own. She almost had a fit when I showed up to help. I knew she’d resist, so I just did it…she deserves the chance to have the career she was born to have.”
“I agree, she is very talented, and should have that opportunity.”
“She was just about there,” Travis held up two fingers very close together then dropped his hand and said shaking his head, “But she didn’t sign when she found out she was pregnant…now she thinks she hasn’t got a chance. I disagree.”
“That’s crazy…she has the same talent now that she had before she got pregnant…”
“But she doesn’t have the same confidence, and she’s worried about dragging Angel all over the country with her on tour. That could be a problem, I agree, but if she wanted it bad enough, she could work it out. Jazzie would help her, I know she would.”
“Well, I’m going to help her,” Wade said matter-of-factly.
“That is a four letter word to Jess, remember that…”
“You get her the contract, then I’ll make sure she has, um, assistance. I’m going to start looking for a house tomorrow. Angel needs a place to call home…and so does Jess.”
“She’s never had that…our parents were, ahh…travelers,” Travis told him then his face flushed red.
“She told me about your parents and the commune, so I get that.”
“Jazzie has a small apartment where they’ve been living in Dallas. As slow as the local gigs have been, they probably won’t be able to keep it. I’ve given them money to keep it going, but I’m essentially out of work right now too.”
“You need to go back to your job, Travis, and I’ll deal with this situation here,” he told the man firmly. “You get her set up with a contract, and I’ll handle the rest.”
“Well, the problem right now is, Jess is laid up, and can’t do any gigs…so money is going to be a real issue. Her band is going to have to find other work…but that won’t help Jazzie and Jess.”
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�And the van is burned up, so that’s another thing to think about,” Wade told him, because he didn’t think anyone had mentioned it to him.
“What?!?” Travis hissed in a fierce whisper.
“Jazzie went to crank it at the ranch tonight, and it caught on fire. That’s why she was covered in that white stuff.”
“Holy, shit, when it rains it pours!” Travis said then shoved a hand through his thick white blond hair, and got up to pace at the end of the bed.
“No kidding…they’re in tough shape for sure,” Wade told him then stroked Angel’s soft hair with his fingers. He couldn’t keep from touching her, being near her, that’s why he didn’t put her in the crib.
“Did the instruments get burned up?” Travis asked with dread in his tone.
“No, thank goodness, they hadn’t loaded them in the van yet, so they’re still at the Double B…but I don’t know where they stored them, since they probably already took the tents down. We need to move them quickly to make sure they don’t get ruined.”
“I’ll see about getting a moving truck tomorrow…I have no idea where I’ll put them though, we can’t afford a storage unit.”
“Don’t worry about the moving van, we can use my truck, and I’ll see what I can do about storage. Is the equipment all Jess’s?”
“The amps, a guitar and the sound stuff, yeah…and Jazzie’s violin is hers. The other stuff belongs to the guys, so they’ll probably be taking that with them.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll find a place for it…” Wade told him, then he had an idea about what they could do to earn money, while they were stuck in Bowie. “Maybe the bar in Bowie would hire them to play while Jess is laid up, that way they don’t have to split up. I’ll check with the owner tomorrow,” Wade told him and he saw Travis’s shoulders relax a bit. “It’ll all work out, you just work on the big picture and I’ll help with the details.”
“I don’t know where they hell you came from man, but I’m sure thankful to have some help,” Travis told him then walked over and stuck out his hand.
Wade shook his hand, then picked up Angel, and kissed her cheek, before he reluctantly walked over and put her down in the crib. “You need to get some rest, it’s late…I should be going.”
After he laid the baby down and covered her up, he walked over to the bed where Jess was laying, and bent down to kiss her cheek, then smoothed her hair off of her face. “Nite, sugar,” he said softly, then turned to walk to the door.
He stopped then walked back to the night stand and picked up a pad and pen and wrote down his name, cell phone number and the number at the ranch, then tore it off and handed it to Travis. “Here’s where you can reach me…call the ranch if you can’t get me on my cell, there’s no coverage out there.”
“Thanks…” Travis said then gave him all three of their cell numbers and Wade plugged them into his phone.
“I’ll give you a call in the morning, after I work out the things we talked about,” Wade told him, then walked to the door and outside, leaving a little piece of his heart inside of that room.
Wade’s mind was spinning ninety-to-nothing when he hit the city limits of Bowie, and he knew he needed to unwind somehow, or he’d never get any rest tonight. His mental to-do list was about as long as the drive from Henrietta to Bowie, and he had no idea how he was going to get it all done…but he had to, for Angel.
He needed to talk to somebody, but he didn’t know who. Sabrina and Cole’s place was too far, and they were probably sleeping, or the baby was, the same went for Cassie and Luke. Karlie and Gabe were newlyweds and were probably tearing up the cabin right about now, so he finally decided to stop into the bar for last call, and maybe see if he could talk to the owner.
Because it was so late, Wade didn’t have a problem finding a parking place, and pulled right up to the curb in front of the bar, then got out and walked in side. The crowd was still substantial, but he was sure it was a lot thinner than it had been earlier. He walked to the bar and ordered a beer then asked the bartender, “Is Red in tonight?”
“Yeah, he’s back in the office, you need him?” he said then handed Wade a longneck, and took his money.
“Think you can ask him if I could come back there and talk to him?” It would probably be quieter back there, Wade thought, more conducive to talking.
The bartender wiped his hands on a towel, then said, “Sure, I’ll go ask him…be right back.”
Wade leaned back against the bar and took a long swig of his beer, and it soothed the rawness in his throat, along with his nerves. It had been a long day, and an even longer night, and he was ready for it to be over. He huffed out a breath, then finished the beer, and ordered another one. The bartender who went to find the owner came back and told him, “He says he’s too busy right now, but to come back after last call.”
Wade wasn’t a music critic, but he knew when someone could carry a tune, and he cringed when the singer at the microphone hit a sour note. Jess sitting down on a stool singing into a microphone, would be twenty times better than the jumping bean up there on that stage slaughtering that song, he thought, hell, karaoke would be better.
The band playing tonight wasn’t anywhere near the quality of Jess and her band, so that gave him hope that Red would be open to a change. No band that he’d heard play here before was as good as Jess and her band, so the odds of Red hiring them temporarily, until Jess could get back on her feet, were good.
Tomorrow, he was going to work on finding a house to buy for Angel and Jess. She would probably refuse to live with him under the same roof, and he couldn’t really blame her, they didn’t know each other, and he hadn’t been overly nice to her since he’d seen her again. His plan was for Angel and Jess to live in the house, and he would visit. If Travis got her a contract, and she had to tour, he would stay at the house with Angel, while she was gone.
It all sounded good in theory, now all he had to do was convince Jess…and he knew that wasn’t going to be easy…because if he said black, you could bet she’d argue white. She just didn’t trust him yet.
The bartender stopped back a few minutes later, and said, “Red said you can come back now, just go right through that door,” he pointed to a door around the side of the bar.
“Thanks, man,” Wade said then pushed him a twenty, and headed for the door he’d pointed to.
When he knocked a gruff voice inside told him to come in, and Wade took off his hat and went inside. He saw a large man, thick with beefy shoulders, and bright red hair, sitting behind a scarred wooden desk, with paper stacked high in front of him. He knew now why the man was named Red, his complexion was almost as red as his hair. The pinched look on the man’s face told Wade why the man’s face was so florid, he was mad about something.
Carefully, Wade walked over and stuck out his hand. “Wade Roberts,” he introduced himself and the guy sat back in his chair and measured him up.
“What can I do for you Wade?” he asked shortly.
“Mind if I sit down, I have a proposition for you…” Wade asked and waved at the chair in front of his desk.
“I’m not sure I’m in the mood to hear it tonight, son. You might want to save it for another day,” he told Wade with a harsh chuckle.
“I’d like to, but I need to get an answer, so I can move on if you’re not interested.”
“Shoot…” Red said then sat back in the chair and folded his arms over his chest.
“You provided the liquor and bartenders for the Sheriff’s wedding last year right?” Wade remembered Sabrina telling him that.
“Yeah, that I did…damned cute little girl he married too,” he said then he shook his head, “All that trouble they had on their big day was a shame too…”
“Yeah, it was pretty rough…were you at the wedding?” Wade hoped so, because maybe he’d been at the reception too, and had heard Jess sing.