by Ann Mullen
“He wouldn’t tell her that; he’s not that stupid. She’d walk away from him and he knows it.”
“We will find out soon enough.”
Billy and I fell asleep in each other’s arms. Athena and Thor slept at the foot of the bed. Life was wonderful.
The next day was a different story.
I had barely opened my eyes when the phone rang. I heard Billy mumble something and then slam the phone down.
“Jesse,” he yelled from the living room. “You might want to get up and come in here.”
I jumped out of bed, slipped into my robe, and ran to the kitchen.
“That was your mother on the phone. She wants us to come over. She has something important she wants to talk to us about.”
“Does it have anything to do with Cole?”
“I don’t know, but I bet it does.”
“Do you think he would tell that lie to my mother?”
“It depends on how crazy he’s become. I think you’re right about him. He might have suffered brain damage.”
“He might just be out for revenge. You did steal his woman.”
“Yes, I did, didn’t I?” he said. He leaned over and gave me a kiss. “I will not let Cole come between us.”
“Don’t worry, Billy, he won’t.”
By the time we reached Mom’s house, she was as upset as a dog with a bee sting on its nose.
“I just don’t know what to make of it all,” she said. “This family is getting stranger by the minute.”
“What has gotten you so fired up?” Billy asked her.
“Claire and Cole are engaged. She was talking about getting married. She’s not even divorced, yet. I tried to talk some sense into her, but I think she’s fallen off the deep end. What am I going to do?”
“Let me talk to her, Mom,” I said. “Where is she?”
“She left about thirty minutes ago to go to Cole’s house. Elsie called me this morning. Do you have any idea what that woman had the nerve to say to me? I couldn’t believe it. She told me to keep my girls away from her son. She said that the two of you were nothing but trouble. She said y’all were going to ruin him.”
“What’s wrong with that crazy woman?”
“I’m so mad, I can’t see straight. I don’t have any control over my kids and I wouldn’t want to. They are adults. They are responsible for themselves. I’m shocked about the engagement, but it’s not the end of the world, and it surely isn’t any of my business. It’s their decision.”
“Don’t let Elsie get you riled,” Billy told Mom. “She has always been a busy-body. She’s just lonely.”
“Oh, I’m not going to let her get to me. I just needed to blow off steam. I’m concerned about Cole. Is it me or is he different?”
“I think he might have suffered brain damage. He’s been acting weird and saying all kinds of crazy stuff.”
“What has he been saying?”
“It’s not important,” I said, brushing off her question. “Billy and I will ride up and have a talk with them.”
“Try to talk some sense into your sister. She’s been lonely since she left Carl, and now that Cole has shown her some attention...”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Billy and I left to go see Cole and Claire.
“This conversation might turn out to be a disaster,” I said as we pulled up to Cole’s house.
“I’m sure it will, but somebody needs to straighten that man out.”
Claire answered the front door and said, “Cole said you two would probably be paying us a visit. Come on in.”
Billy and I walked inside.
Cole came down the stairs. “I’m glad you stopped by. I told Claire that we didn’t need to call you with the news. I knew you would come by as soon as your mother told you about us. Isn’t it wonderful? Claire and I are seeing each other. We’re going to get married. Why waste time?”
Claire walked over to Cole and put her arm around him. He responded by kissing her on the cheek. “It’s not official, yet,” he said. “There’s still the matter of a ring. We’ll take care of that later. Right now, we have many other things to do.”
“Are you serious?” I asked, baffled at his aloofness. “This has to be a joke. Claire, may I talk to you in private?”
“Sure,” she said. “But you’re not going to change my mind.”
Claire and I walked into the kitchen, away from hearing range. I turned on her and whispered, “Are you crazy? When did this happen?”
“I must be honest, Jesse. I was attracted to Cole from the start, but I put my feelings aside because of you. Well, you have Billy now. There’s no reason why I can’t have Cole, is there?”
I was shocked at her immaturity. I guess she didn’t know the standing rule about dating the ex-boyfriend of a friend... or a sister. I let it slide.
“There’s something I have to tell you about Cole. I think he might have a bad temper.”
I didn’t want to tell her that I thought he might be losing his mind. That would make it sound like I thought he was crazy for liking her. She would have to come to that conclusion for herself. Something else was eating at me. She hadn’t said a word about what he had said to Billy. Did she know? If she did know, I’m sure she would say something... I would.
“You must be mistaken,” she said. “He’s the calmest man I know.”
“Okay,” I said. “If this is what you want, I’m happy for you.”
She grabbed my hand and gave it a little squeeze. “I am happy, Jesse. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time.”
“I’ll go tell Mom that everything’s fine.”
“I know she’s worried. Tell her there’s nothing to worry about. Things couldn’t be better. Everything’s going to be great.”
I walked back into the living room and motioned for Billy to follow me. I was ready to get out of that crazy house. The people in it were beginning to scare me. They were in another world.
“What did you and Cole talk about while I was with Claire?” I asked as we walked outside. I turned and waved to Claire. The two of them were standing at the door, locked in each other’s arms.
“He didn’t mention a word about what he said to me yesterday. We sat down and had a pleasant conversation. It was as if it never happened.”
“Claire didn’t say anything either. He must not have told her. She would have been hysterically mad at me if he had.”
“He’s either playing games with us or his mind is messed up.”
“I don’t know which would be worse.”
“Let’s go back to your mom’s house and put her mind at ease.”
“I’ll tell her not to worry, but I think this is going to get crazy. I have serious doubts about Cole’s ability to think straight.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see. Only time will tell,” Billy said.
After several weeks of planning, Billy and I were married Christmas Eve at his folk’s house on the Blackhawk compound. Everything was beautiful. The house had been decorated from top to bottom by just about everyone in the family. White carnations, my favorite flower, lined every wall, and gave a wonderful touch to the falling snow outside and the Christmas decorations inside. The kitchen was filled with platters of everything from seafood to buffalo meat, cooked or brought to the wedding by someone in the family. The Blackhawks didn’t believe in caterers.
“I don’t think so,” I remember Sarah Blackhawk telling me. “We cook our own food. It’s a family tradition.”
Of course, I was a bundle of nerves and had a short fuse. Getting married proved to be a stressful event. My patience was zero.
Mom kept running around telling me and everybody else that it was all right that I was acting a little crazy, because my hormones were out of whack. Being pregnant does that to a woman.
Billy was dressed in a black tuxedo with one of those string tie things he loves so much. He looked so handsome I thought I was going to cry.
Cole and Billy’s th
ree brothers were by his side.
I made my mother proud by wearing the wedding dress she wore when she married my father. After all these years it was no longer white, but I didn’t care.
“White has never been my best color,” I told Mom as she buttoned up the back of the dress. “I love the dress and I’m sure Dad would be proud of me for wearing it. I wish he could have been here.”
“I’m so proud of you, too, honey.” She gave me a hug. “I know it’s a little old-fashioned...”
“No, Mom, it’s perfect,” I said, admiring myself in the mirror. “Billy will like this. I love it.”
The dress was beautiful. It made me look and feel beautiful. The high Victorian neck with puffy shoulders and long, slender sleeves, the bodice fitted to the waist in a V-shape, and the skirt a flowing mass, all of which was hand embroidered lace, was a sight to behold. I looked like a princess. I felt like a queen.
Chief Standing Deer performed the ceremony in full Cherokee Indian garb, including his headpiece of feathers down to the floor. I thought it was cool, but during the reception, I overheard Sarah telling my mom that she thought he should have worn a tux or a regular suit.
“For heaven’s sake, Jesse isn’t Cherokee. She probably thinks we’re mongrels. I’m not an expert, but I think the Plains’ Indians might have been the ones who wore something like that. However, I’m not so sure about all the rest. It turned into a television gimmick and now all you see are Indians with feathered headdresses. The chief just does it for show. The kids love it.”
“You’re kidding! I never knew that,” Mom said. “Don’t they look so happy? I’m so glad that Jesse has finally found herself someone to love.”
I was very happy. I loved Billy with all my heart, and we were going to have a baby. Life couldn’t be any better.
Strange as it seems to me, Cole and Claire are seeing each other and talk about their plans for the future once she divorces Carl. I don’t even want to think about that. The conversation between Cole and Billy has not been brought up by Cole since, although Billy and I still talk about it. I know that Cole’s not going to forget it. I can see it in his eyes. One day he will cause trouble... I’m sure of it. His head is not on straight anymore. I refused to let the thought of Cole and what he might do or say, ruin my day. Someone else could worry about him for a while.
Our wedding was wonderful and everything came off beautifully. Except there was that one little incident which happened right in the middle of Billy saying “I do,” that really irked me. He actually wore his cell phone to the wedding, and of course, it rang during the ceremony. I showed him who was boss by reaching over, snatching it from his belt and throwing it against the wall, shattering it into a million pieces. Everybody in the room clapped. I dusted off my hands and turned to him in earnest, and said, “Say ‘I do,’ Billy Blackhawk, before I change my mind.”
“I do!” he said with enthusiasm. Bless his heart.
The celebration continued, until the little ones with their sleepy eyes wanted to go home and await the arrival of Santa. This was their night, too. By the stroke of midnight, Billy and I were cuddled up on the sofa at home with our two dogs. Athena and Thor were asleep on the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace. Thor’s tongue hung out, and Athena had one of her legs wrapped around him. They were so peaceful. They had a good home and were happy. The lights from the Christmas tree that Billy had gone into the woods and cut down, sparkled in the night.
Christmas morning was filled with good cheer and the exchanging of gifts. Celebrations continued throughout the day and by the afternoon I was exhausted. I took a short nap and when I awoke, Billy and I jumped into his truck (my Jeep has been parked in the garage ever since I got it back from the repair shop... my days of driving it are over... too much bad karma), dressed in our favorite attire of boots, jeans and flannel shirts. With everything we needed packed in the back under the camper shell he had finally gotten around to putting back on, we headed off to our planned honeymoon. We were going to spend a week in the great Smokey Mountains... in a cabin.
At first I barked at the idea of spending my honeymoon in the woods. “You must be joking,” I had told Billy when he first suggested the idea.
“I promised you I’d take you camping and teach you how to survive in the woods, and I never got around to it. Unfortunately, camping would be a little hard considering the weather. This is the next best thing.”
What could I say? I loved him and this was something he really wanted to do. I had to go along with his plan.
Athena and Thor were not happy when we left them behind. Mom told us later that their sadness lasted for about ten minutes. The minute they got inside the house, Benny and Carrie had them rolling around and playing in the middle of the floor. Spice Cat also helped to keep them occupied. It was as if they all had a new toy—and it moved! It remained that way for the whole week.
“Oh, Jesse, I forgot to tell you,” Billy informed me as we were riding up and down another one of the many mountain ridges, hills, and valleys on our journey. “Last week I got a call from a man named Brian Cherry. It seems his wife was pregnant and her obstetrician really screwed up. She had toxemia and when she started having problems, he told her to go to one of those emergency clinics. It turns out that her doctor was hung over from partying way into the middle of the night and didn’t want to deal with the problem. The end result was that she went to the place he recommended and both she and the baby almost died. Fortunately, the husband was smart enough to get her out of there in time and take her to the hospital. Mr. Cherry wants me to investigate the doctor and the clinic. I wouldn’t bring it up, but I thought that you might want to get involved in this case. All you have to do is go to the doctor’s office, sit in the waiting room and pump people for information. It’s entirely…”
“I get your drift,” I mumbled in between my waves of nausea. “Are we there, yet? Billy, I’m sorry, but I need to go to the bathroom again. Are you hungry? I’m hungry. I don’t think I can deal with this outdoor stuff. This place does have heat and indoor plumbing, doesn’t it? I don’t know about this honeymoon plan of yours, Billy.”
“Oh, honey, you’re going to be fine—trust me.”
Acknowledgments
I would like to extend a personal thanks to my website designer, Tim Tepper and to Kelley Cleaton—Graphic Designer. Thank you, Teresa Durrer, for being a good friend. You never give up and you always keep me on my toes. Much love to my biggest supporters—Tom, Wendy, and Tommy. I love you all dearly! You make it worthwhile. As always, thanks, Mom... this one’s for you.
Look for my next book:
A Crying Shame
A Jesse Watson Mystery
Book #3
This book is dedicated to the person for whom the character of
Jesse Watson’s mother was created, Minnie Crumpler... my mom.