by Sara Marion
Duke was dumbfounded. His brother was worried about his sister, but Pike was worried about him as well. The wheels have definitely turned and Duke still found himself wanting to be with Jennah. There was an undeniable allurement between them. “I’ll be fine, I’ve been through worse.”
Pike gave him a meaningful look but Duke kept his appearance strong. He knew that he would need to ask Jennah about it later, but she was good with him. Even after her small memory that returned, she wasn’t to stay with him. “I think what we have will be good for her. She will be safe with me,” Duke promised.
“What do you mean?”
“She said she had her first memory resurface last night,” Duke wanted to prove that he was not going to run when things get tricky. Yes, Duke was scared shitless that Jennah might leave him one day, but she was still there with him. That’s all that mattered and if she did leave because of her memories, Duke would understand. He was going into this with his eyes wide open.
“She remembered something?” The surprise on Pike’s face was not what Duke expected.
“Yeah, she did.”
“She didn’t say what it was though?”
“No,” Duke replied. Pike peered back at the campsite that was still in view. He started heading back. Something in his demeanor told Duke that this was not a light subject. Whatever she remembered, Pike was apparently worried but for what reason that would be, Duke was unsure.
“Jennah, we need to talk,” Pike called out as they got back to the campsite a few minutes later.
Jennah looked back and forth between them with a worried look on her face, “About what?”
“Get inside, we need to talk,” Pike ordered as he opened the door to his trailer. Duke watched Jennah stand her ground, she was going to put up a fight. “Now Jennah!”
“No, just say what you have to say because it won’t change my mind about him,” Jennah protested. Duke watched Pike grab Jennah’s arm and pull her inside the trailer. Duke resisted the urge to pummel Pike to the ground. There is no reason to be so upset and put his hands on her like that. He told himself that if things escalated between the two of them, he would bust into the trailer and give Pike a piece of his mind.
“Hi,” Dobry’s little voice distracted Duke. He looked over to Dobry who was sitting at the picnic table still coloring.
“Hey, what are you doing?” He sat down beside her as she continued to scribble with crayons.
“Coloring!” she squealed as she scribbled faster on the page with a dog sitting in under the sun by trees.
“Can I help?”
Dobry looked up at him and smiled, “You get blue.” She pointed to the purple crayon.
“Purple,” Duke smiled down at her. She just smiled and continued.
Duke picked a tree to color in. Dobry giggled when he picked up another crayon. He found himself enjoying this moment with her but heard raised voices in the trailer behind him. He began listening for the moment that he had to interfere with what was going on in the trailer. Suddenly, the door crashed open. Dobry jumped and started falling backwards off the bench. Duke quickly grabbed her, as he felt his heart skip a beat, and kept her from falling on the hard concrete below.
“Don’t Pike,” Jennah argued. She quickly grabbed Dobry’s coloring book and crayons. She turned and picked up her cup and shoved it in the bag that she brought out of the trailer.
“Jennah, I’m just trying to look out for you,” Pike raised his voice
“Hey man, let her be,” Duke defended her.
“You don’t know what’s going on Duke, so stay out of it.”
Duke hardened. He didn’t want to stay out of this. Obviously Jennah was upset and that was not what they came over for. Duke wouldn’t let Pike ruin his weekend. He saw Jennah sling the duffel bag over her shoulder and grab Dobry from Duke. “Come on, we’re going to Duke’s,” she told Dobry. She started marching off towards his campsite before he could even react.
“Do her a favor and don’t follow,” Duke warned before he headed back towards his camp. He heard the exasperated sigh from Pike and the other trailer door open.
“What’s going on?” Audra asked. Duke didn’t stick around to explain. He wasn’t even sure what went down between them but it was big enough Jennah walked out on their weekend, taking Dobry with her.
Within a few minutes, Duke and Jennah were back at his campsite with Dobry. He didn’t want to ask what had happened as he could see she was still fuming because of it. Dobry ran to the table and demanded to color, unphased by what just happened. Jennah pulled out her coloring book and crayons and set them on the table. She took a seat beside Dobry and started coloring with her. Duke stared at them for a few minutes before sitting on the opposite side of the table. Still not saying a word, he just watched Jennah and Dobry color a new picture.
“I’m sorry I overtook your campsite,” she quietly spoke. “I just had to get out of there and I didn’t want to leave Dobry.”
“No worries,” Duke still wasn’t sure what to do. “Stay as long as you want. We can even leave the campground if you want to. Go back to my place and hide out.”
Jennah looked up at him, “I’m not sure. I love the idea of getting out of here, but I don’t think it’s a good move right now. Dobry has been in new places over the last week between the move into our rental and now camping. I hate throwing her off schedule and she can be a nightmare sometimes in new places.”
“Stay here for a bit then.”
Jennah smiled back at him. She nodded and kissed Dobry on her head. Dobry beamed up at her mother and it made Duke’s own smile fall. He wondered if his kid would have looked up at him like that. He shook the thoughts away. He wanted to stay in the present, with Jennah.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Duke awoke and a very alert and cheery Dobry. He groaned. Jennah was still fast asleep beside her.
“Play Duck, play!” Dobry giggled.
“No, Dobry. Bed time,” he whispered. He love how she called him Duck, she couldn’t quite get his name down. He looked through the tent window and it was still pitch black out. He knew he and Jennah fell asleep not to long ago. They had put Dobry to bed hours ago and he thought that she should be sleeping through the night, but what did he know?
“Play please?” She crawled over onto his sleeping bag. “I want to play.”
Duke sighed knowing he wanted to sleep, but he didn’t want Dobry to wake Jennah. She was emotionally drained from the day and he wanted her to rest. “If we play, promise to go back to sleep soon?”
“No,” she smiled. “I don’t want sleep.”
“One hour, then sleep.”
Dobry smiled and Duke unzipped his sleep bag and quietly picked her up. “Quiet, let’s let mommy sleep,” he smiled to the wide-eyed child in his arms.
“‘K,” she rested her head on his shoulder. Duke set her down outside the tent as he zipped it back up.
He grabbed her hand as they turned towards the fire that was almost out. “Okay Dobes, stay right here while I put another log on the fire. Don’t move. Fire is hot.”
She sat at the table and Duke stared at her waiting for her response, but she never gave one. She sat there watching him. Duke noticed her pale eyes. He wondered who she got her eyes from, her father? He quickly shook his head, it was none of his business. He turned satisfied that she would stay.
Throwing a log into the fire, he waited for it to catch fire to make sure he didn’t freeze Dobry. Jennah had forgotten to grab her jacket from the trailer when she quickly left. She didn’t want to go back. Thankfully, Duke had a couple extra blankets for Dobry to use to sleep on and he kept the fire up to keep her warm. When it started smoking, he turned back to Dobry who just sat there watching him.
“Hot,” she smiled.
“Yes, hot,” Duke confirmed. “So what do you want to do Miss Dobry?”
“Mellows. I want mellows.”
“It’s too late to eat.”
“Mellows!” she whined.
“How about coloring or blocks?” Duke was grasping for ideas. He had never watched a child before and he has only seen interactions when parents were there.
“No, mellows,” she insisted.
“No Dobry, it’s too late,” Duke wouldn’t waiver. “What if we go look for fish?”
“Fish? Where?”
“Well, we have to find them in the water.”
“Ok, let’s go,” she slid off her chair and started walking. Duke shook his head and smiled at the little girl. Her stubbornness reminded him of Ella. He wondered if his own child would have been as stubborn as Ella or not. He set her down on the ground and started heading towards the water.
As they were walking the short distance, Dobry reached up and took his hand. The full moon above lit up the campground. He led her to the bank of the water and sat in the grass. Dobry crawled in his lap. Within a few moments of looking out he saw the rings of a fish grazing the surface of the water. “Look Dobes, a fish is going to pop up over there,” he pointed to the area.
She looked where he pointed and sat back relaxing against him. A fish jumped up and out of the water slightly. “Fishy, Duck!” she exclaimed. She bounced up and headed towards the water. Duke automatically reached out and grabbed the back of her shirt. She tried to struggle out of his grip but she couldn’t. “Dobry, you have to sit still and be quiet so the fish can come out.”
Dobry came back and curled in his lap again. She leaned against him and looked out on the water. She quieted down and waited. Duke found himself smiling and enjoying this time with her. This is how he imagined life would be with his own child. He was kind of living that dream with Dobry right now.
“Look Duck, stars!” Dobry pointed up towards the sky.
Duke looked up at her excitement and saw the North Star shining brightly above them. She looked up with a big smile plastered on her face. She giggled and Duke was amazed at how the little things excited her. The wonderment in her eyes was infectious. Duke kissed her forehead and she laughed. “Stars! Stars!”
“They’re pretty aren’t they?”
“Yeah,” Dobry agreed.
Duke found that this little girl was slowly stealing his heart. She was special and she deserved a great father figure, whether that could be him, time could only tell but she was slowly wrapping him around her little finger. He didn’t mind though.
Eventually she fell asleep in his lap. She stared at the stars for a while then her little eyes closed. Duke waited for about ten minutes before he tried to move her. He wanted to make sure that she was out before he carried her back and tucked her in by Jennah.
Walking the short distance back she stirred and her eyes slowly opened. “No, Duck. I not sleepy,” she mumbled.
Duke chuckled. He held her to one side with one arm, as he began to open the tent. She started whining and wriggling in his arm. “No, I wanna play,” she whined again.
Duke stood and rocked her a bit. “How about we lay and look at the stars?” He glanced over at the hammock. Maybe if they both were laying down they both could sleep for a bit.
“‘K,” she situated herself again as Duke switched his other shoulder. Duke figured another ten minutes or so and he can sneak them both back into the tent.
He laid in the hammock on his side and had Dobry snuggle against his side, his arm keeping her from rolling backwards off the hammock. He was able to slightly rock them until her eyes stayed closed. Duke saw she was definitely fighting sleep. Soon he was struggling to keep his own eyes opened. He figured just a few minutes of shuteye, and then he would move them inside the tent. He closed his eyes and just listened to the sound of the crackling fire accompanied by the owls and nightlife in the woods nearby.
***
Jennah awoke with Dobry missing. She sat up quickly and looked around. She then noticed Duke was missing too. Jennah felt guilty that Duke was taking care of Dobry. She wasn’t his responsibility, but it made her smile that Duke was willing to help out. He took care of Dobry when he didn’t have to. She ran her fingers through her hair trying to straighten it out. She unzipped the tent door and stepped out into the bright morning light.
Jennah gasped as she laid eyes on Duke and Dobry. They were both fast asleep in the hammock. Dobry was curled into Duke’s side sound asleep. Duke’s strong frame surrounded her, keeping her safe. Jennah couldn’t explain the feeling she had for the man in the hammock at this moment. It was indescribable. There was no way she could ever walk away from him now. Besides Pike, Duke is the first man that Dobry has warmed up to. She never liked Josh, which was one reason she couldn’t go through with the marriage, but she didn’t know how to get out of it, besides disappearing. How was she supposed to tell Josh that he was not her dream partner no matter how much she wanted it to be? He wasn’t…Duke, she finished her thought. He was not Duke.
Duke stirred in the hammock. Dobry adjusted her position and rolled over. Resting her upper half of her body on his chest. Jennah didn’t have the heart to wake them up. They were just an adorable sight to see.
“Hey,” a voice sounded behind her.
Jennah turned to see Audra standing behind her. She gave a tight-lipped smiled to her sister, “What are you doing here?”
“I came by about an hour ago and saw Duke and Dobry sleeping. I went into to town to get some food for you all, a peace offering if you will.”
“No peace to be made with you, only Pike and I’m waiting for his apology.”
“He was out of line, I agree with you, but I’d hope you at least have breakfast with me,” Audra held up the bag of McDonalds. “I brought an English muffin for you. You’re favorite.”
Jennah eyed her sister, “With honey?”
“Yea, of course. Kid’s meal for Dobry and some McGriddles for Duke. I figured he would have similar tastes to Pike when it comes to food.”
“Thanks, I don’t want to wake them though.”
“So how about you and me, they can eat together later.”
“Okay,” Jennah smiled as they sat at a picnic table.
Audra unloaded their food from the bag and they quietly starting digging into the food. Jennah spread the honey over the sausage on her McMuffin. Definitely not the healthiest of meals, but it was oh so good.
“So Pike said you remembered something,” Audra broke the silence they fell into as she took a sip of her coffee.
“I did, but there’s not much to tell. It was just a snippet of me reading in a chair and a man kissing me on my temple. I never saw his face but I loved whoever it was.”
“What caused it?” Audra seemed genuinely curious about it.
“I’m not sure,” she glanced over at Duke. Audra didn’t seem to miss that. She glanced over at Duke as well.
“Duke?”
“I don’t know, but I think I’m falling in love, like really falling in love Audra. It scares the living hell out of me. What if I’m making a big mistake?”
“I don’t know Jenn, you have to do what’s best for that little girl over there,” she pointed towards Dobry. “If I had to give an opinion, I think she’s wrapped Duke around her little finger and he doesn’t care at all. I would say that is a good sign for you. You know how Dobry is around guys.”
Jennah nodded, “He did take care of her. I don’t know what time she woke up. He just stepped in and let me sleep.”
“I don’t think he would do that unless he liked you. Any other man would have woken you up to deal with our little diva.”
“Duke is not just any man though, there’s something different about him Audra, I just can’t put my finger on it though. It’s like part of me has known him forever though. Is that crazy?”
“No, it’s not. It’s just how love works I suppose. When you met the one, you just know. I think you’ve found it. You seem different around him. I can’t tell you why, but I sense it. I think this is good for you like I told you the other day. I think you’re finally settling into who you really are, but only you can tell that for sure. Whatever yo
u decide, I’m here Bunny.”
They finished her breakfast with little conversation. Audra stood and made her exit, leaving the food for the others behind. Jennah went and grabbed Duke’s keys to get her phone out of the truck. They put their phones up at night to charge, which helped them escape into the world around them. They could distance themselves from everyone. It was getting close to mid-morning and she knew she should wake up Dobry otherwise she would never go back to sleep tonight. Tomorrow their normal routine would kick in when Jennah went back to work.
Sighing, Jennah walked over to the sleeping duo. She gently rubbed Dobry’s arm. Dobry rolled slightly to face her and Jennah smiled as she tried to pry her sleepy eyes open. She rolled a little more and Duke quickly moved to pull her back to the center. Jennah jumped back at the quick motion and looked down at Duke who tucked her safely back into his arms. They both fell back asleep. Jennah smiled at his protectiveness and awareness even though they were both fast asleep. She decided to take a different approach.
Jennah leaned over and kissed Duke on the forehead. His eyes opened and she smiled down at him. “I need to wake her up, take her for a shower,” she said quietly. He nodded and let Jennah scoop Dobry up.
Turning with a sleeping toddler in her arms, Jennah smiled as she walked to grab her shower stuff. She threw everything in the stroller that Audra must have brought down. She placed the bag in the bottom and put her sleepy child in her seat, laying it back. She knew she would have to pass Pike and Audra on the way, but hopefully they were busy and wouldn’t see her. She decided she didn’t care. Audra spoke her peace but Pike didn’t. This was her life and she would live it how she saw fit and right now she is the happiest she has been in a long time. What she felt for Duke was nothing in comparison to what she thought she felt for Josh. Every moment that passed only made it clearer that she wanted to be with Duke.