"I don't think I've seen that picture," I said.
"Ask Jesse's for it," she said. "He's got it with him."
My heart dropped at the sound of his name.
Jesse.
Where was Jesse during this whirlwind? Would he forgive me for running away?
"What did Jesse say?" I asked, feeling desperate to know where he was and what he was thinking.
"He said he loved you and you loved him, and Mom cried about it. She's still amazed about it—joking around about Pa, and calling him 'the prophet'."
"Did I mess it up with him?" I asked. "Since I ran away when your parents drove up?"
"Jesse didn't come over here until after you did that, Rose."
"Where is he?" I asked.
"Somewhere between here and Dyersburg, I guess. I don't know what time he left."
"Dyersburg? Here? Is Jesse coming here?"
She laughed at my excitement. "Did I not tell you that already? I meant to. I thought it was one of the first things I said when I called."
"No, you didn't," I said, still holding the phone to my ear as I craned my neck to look out the window.
"Jesse's headed up there," she said.
"Do you have any idea when?" I asked.
"He's got to be getting close," Jane said. "I tried to call you every fifteen minutes for the last hour, but you never did pick up."
"I was out on the dock."
"Fishing?"
"Sleeping."
"Weird-o. You probably got ate up with mosquitoes."
I looked at my own arm. "I don't think I got a single bite," I said. I glanced at the clock again even though it gave me no frame of reference with Jesse's timing.
"I love you," I said, knowing I wanted to take a shower. "Thank you for calling."
"I love you, too," she said. "And please know that no matter what my initial reaction was, it honestly makes my heart happy to think about you with my brother."
"It makes my heart happy to think about your heart being happy," I said.
She chuckled.
"No really," I said. "You have no idea how much it means that you're being supportive about it."
"Uncle Jacob is adopted," she said. "So there's really nothing to be unsupportive of—other than I'll kill y'all if y'all ever break up."
"We won't," I assured her.
"That's what Jesse said," she said.
"I love you, Jane," I said, looking out the window again.
"I love you, too," she said.
I hung up the phone and instantly ran over to the window, making sure Jesse wasn't there yet. I didn't know whether he would be driving his truck or his motorcycle, but I didn't see either of them, so I decided to take a quick shower and freshen up. I glanced outside again once I was finished, but he still hadn't arrived.
I put on a little bit of makeup, watched some television, and before I knew it, it was an hour later, and Jesse was nowhere in sight.
I finally decided to go out onto the dock. It was, after all, the best part about being at the cabin, and I could still see and hear Jesse when he pulled up, so I figured, why not wait for him out there?
I walked out of the front door, headed down the path that led to the dock. I couldn't see the dock at first, but the closer I got, the more certain that I was that someone was sitting on it.
There was no doubt in my mind that it was Jesse. I could see it in the confident but relaxed way he held his shoulders.
"Heyyy!" I yelled, causing him to look at me.
It was Jesse all right, and he smiled and stood up as soon as he noticed I was on my way.
I was finally free to love him, and I felt like I was floating on air as I rushed down the embankment and onto the dock, moving as quickly as my feet would take me.
Chapter 18
I ran all the way to the dock, but I stopped once I set foot on it. Jesse was standing on the end of it with his hands in his pockets, looking at me with a gorgeous, entertained grin. My arms had been at my sides in a natural stance from when I stopped running, but I felt so overwhelmed that I balled my fist and put them right under my eyes so I could barely peer over them.
I just stood there, staring at him and feeling shaken, breathless, and shy. My fists were visibly shaking; I could see them out of my periphery even though I was focused on what was straight in front of me.
My chest rose and fell rapidly as I did my best to catch my breath behind the barriers of my own arms. My eyes blurred with tears. He was the most perfect man I could imagine—genuine and caring and funny and too physically gorgeous for me to concentrate on the other aspects any longer.
I took a slow step closer when he crossed his arms, and smirked at me, glancing at the space between us as if wondering if I was going to close the remaining distance or if he was going to have to do it himself.
I smiled and blinked, trying to clear the tears as I still hid behind my fists.
"How'd you get here?" I asked, glancing at my car out of the corner of my eyes. "How long have you been here?"
"About thirty minutes," he said. He pointed toward the neighbor's dock. "I parked right over there."
"Why didn't you tell me you were here?"
"Why are you hiding?" he asked, gesturing to my fists, which were still in front of my face.
I had almost caught my breath from running, but I still felt shaky and on edge with nervous anticipation.
I had flashbacks of the last day, remembering the ride and the kiss I shared with him. Then another thought hit me. I remembered the conversation I just had with Jane—the dream.
I thought of our family, and felt so very thankful about how they reacted to the news. My heart felt somehow more alive than it ever had. I literally had a different feeling in my chest. I stared at him, and he stared at me for several seconds before he cocked his head and crooked his finger at me. Just the sight of it had me supernaturally drawn to him. I smiled and took a slow step closer.
In my mind, this scene would play out differently. I imagined myself running down the dock feeling so full of uninhibited love that I would crash into him. We would fall off of the dock in a glorious, graceful splash, and come up in each other's arms, laughing and kissing and saying all sorts of quotable, touching things.
It didn't work out that way.
I approached Jesse cautiously because, honestly, my body would let me do nothing else. I took a step closer, and Jesse smiled at me before deciding to match my step with one of his own. We stopped when we were about a foot apart, standing in the middle of the dock.
Jesse pulled my hands down so he could see my face, and instead of letting go of them, he brought them up to his own chest. He positioned my hands where they faced his chest, and I opened my palms resting them against him. I still hadn't completely caught my breath from the run to the dock, and he was only making matters worse by touching me this way.
"You're shaking," he said.
I nodded since there was no point in denying it. The morning sun shone on the lake, and his green eyes were clear and bright. He held his hands over mine in an attempt to steady them. He only had on a thin T-shirt, and I could feel the heat emanating from the muscles of his chest. I felt his heartbeat, which seemed nice and relaxed, and did my best to get mine to match his.
My hands were on his chest, and his hands were covering mine, but that was the only place we were making contact.
"Rose, you're beautiful," he said, inspecting my face. "I was just staring at you as you ran over here, thinking, what have I done to deserve this beautiful creature."
I smiled and shook my head. "Jesse, don't say stuff like that," I said.
"Why not? It's true."
"Because I'm already all torn up over here."
I slipped my hands out from under his and turned them, positioning them on my chest so he could he could feel my heartbeat.
"I'm all shook up," I said, smiling at him.
I used my eyes to trace the lines of his gorgeous face, unable to fully fathom th
at I was free to love him.
"I talked to my family," he said sweetly.
I nodded. "Jane called. She said she wasn't sure about it at first."
"She was the only one," he said. "Even your parents were happy about it."
"My parents?" I asked with a shocked expression. "Did you really tell my parents?"
He smiled. "I knew mom had talked to your dad, so I went by there on my way over here this morning. I just wanted to talk to him face-to-face, and make sure—"
"What'd he say?" I asked.
Jesse's smile broadened. "He asked if I had enough gas to get up here."
I grinned and latched onto the back of his hands, which were still resting on my chest. "I thought the song Jessie's Girl was about you," I said.
He smiled and went to the more relaxed position of holding me around the waist. This repositioning gave him the chance to step closer, and he did. I easily went into his arms.
"I thought it was about me, too," he said with a shrug. "Pa had a dream about us when we were little kids," he added.
I nodded. "Jane told me."
"She also told me you had a picture of us."
He grinned. "You're gonna love it. My mom brought it over to Jane's last night."
I pulled back to stare at him, my hands resting on his chest while his were wrapped around my back.
"Did you bring it?" I asked. "The picture."
He nodded.
"Do you have it with you at the cabin?"
He nodded again.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"In my pocket."
"Can I see it?"
He gave me a wry smile and nodded.
"Am I supposed to get it?"
He gave me one little nod that made me smile.
"Which pocket?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Figure it out."
"Is it in the back?" I asked as I reached behind him. I tentatively felt around for the seam that I thought might indicate the top of his pocket and ever so slowly began to slip my fingertips inside.
Jesse looked down at me, smiling at how hesitant I was being.
"Is it this one?" I asked.
"Put your hand in there and find out."
I knew by the way he said it that I had the correct pocket, so I did it. I slipped my hand into his jeans, easily finding the thick piece of paper I knew to be a photograph. I did it quickly, but there was no way I could avoid the feel of him. As much as I tried to only concentrate on retrieving the picture, my fingertips registered the feel of his body, and my heart buzzed with excitement because of it.
I turned over the photograph and stared down at it. I set it on Jesse's chest and regarded it from six inches away. I blinked, feeling tears form instantly.
I had never seen this picture before.
I was a little younger than him, and in the picture we seemed to be roughly three and four years old. He was sitting next to me with his arm around my shoulders and we were gazing straight at each other.
I stared at it for what must've been ten whole seconds before I blinked and slid it into my own back pocket. "I've never seen that picture before," I said.
"Mom had it," he said. "I guess they've all just been waiting on the day when this happened."
"That's unbelievable," I said smiling.
"What's unbelievable is that it took us so long."
"It did take us a long time, didn't it?" I returned, glancing at the hair that grew on his jaw, and thinking about what a man he was now. "I love this moment," I added.
"It's pretty good," he said with a smile.
"It's perfect, and to think I imagined it going completely different."
Jesse looked down at our proximity as if he was slightly offended. "What could you possibly want to do differently?"
I smiled and shrugged. "I thought I would do something brave and cool like keep running down the dock and tackle you into the water. It was really epic when I imagined it. We'd get all wet, and we would laugh and kiss and—"
I was right in the middle of talking when Jesse took me by the waist and hurled the both of us off of the dock and into the lake.
Chapter 19
One minute, I was telling Jesse I regretted not tackling him into the water, and the next, I was flying through the air.
Jesse left nothing to chance.
He cradled me to his chest and jumped into the water so strategically that (besides the shock of being hurled through the air unexpectedly and landing in water) it was actually an okay experience.
The water was chest deep, and after a few brief seconds of semi-ungraceful flailing about, I found my footing and regained my composure. I laughed and wiped the skin under my eyes, looking at my fingertips just to make sure there was no smeared makeup. All I had worn was mascara, anyway.
"You look beautiful," Jesse said, seeing me fuss over my appearance by touching my face.
I grinned at him. "You did that just now," I said, stating the obvious.
"Yep." He pulled me closer, and as I took a watery step toward him, a stick got wedged in between my sandal and my foot.
"Ew, I hate standing on pond floors," I said, shaking my foot rapidly. "There's a stick in my sandal. I'm always afraid it's a fish if something touches me, and it freaks me out. I don't mind swimming pools or even the beach, but I don't like the lake. You know, because of the sticks and leaves and stuff."
"You didn't think about the many, many lake-sticks and leaves in your fantasy, huh?" he asked, reaching out for me.
I laughed. "I didn't consider the sticks," I said.
He turned and headed for the ladder, pulling me behind him.
"We don't have to get out," I said, seeing what he was doing.
"I know we don't," he said with a smile. "But let's do it anyway. Come sit by me and dry off. Jumping in was the best part."
I gave him my hand and he pulled me toward him. He climbed the ladder and sat on the edge of the dock with the sun to his back, and I climbed up and sat right next to him.
"I'm lucky I didn't lose these things," Jesse said, taking off his leather flip-flops and setting them on the dock a few feet away.
I took off my shoes as well, even though they were plastic and didn't really need to dry.
Jesse rolled the cuffs of his jeans before sticking his feet into the water, and I did the same. I ran my fingers through my hair and adjusted my clothes. Jesse leaned back, propping himself up with his hands, and I followed suit, turning to smile at him once we both got settled. We had only been sitting there in that relaxed state for a few seconds when he sat up again.
I watched in amazement as Jesse shifted in all the right ways to shed his soaking wet T-shirt.
He twisted, and shrugged, and moved, and within seconds the T-shirt was off his body. Jesse carefully stretched the shirt onto the deck behind us and then got back into the same, leaning back, relaxed position.
He smiled at me, and I stared at him with a deadpan expression that must have reflected how stunned I was. He wasn't bulky, but he had defined muscles for sure, and I stared at them as he leaned back casually.
"You did that on purpose," I said.
I instinctually sat up a little straighter while trying not to be obvious. I unabashedly gawked at Jesse's torso for an awkwardly long amount of time before finally looking at his face.
"Jesse, this business with the abs is really, uh, distracting to me."
He gave me an amused smile. "I just ate before I came over here, too," he said, grinning and patting his own stomach.
The fact that he was touching it made me look at it again.
"You planned this. You pulled us into the water just so you could take this shirt off and show me what you have going on under here.
"Nu-uh," he said. "You wanted to be pulled into the water. Besides, I don't need to get all wet just to take my shirt off. I can do that in front of you anytime now that you're my girlfriend."
"It makes my stomach feel funny when you say that."
"Funny
how? Like you need some Pepto, funny?"
I shook my head and put a hand on my chest. "It's my chest, too, not just my stomach. Say it again," I said concentrating.
"Say what? That you need some Pepto?" he asked, being dense on purpose.
I shook my head.
"Do you mean that I can take my shirt off any time I want in front of you, because you're my girlfriend?"
I nodded with my eyes closed. "That's the part. Say that one more time."
"The whole thing? Or just the word girlfriend?"
He asked that while leaning over and whispering directly into my ear, and my body seized up with sheer pleasure.
"The word, I think," I muttered, burying my face into my hand. "I think it's the word."
"You better enjoy it while it lasts," he said, "because I don't think it'll apply for very long."
My eyes popped open, and he smiled. "We'll move past the dating thing pretty quickly don't you think?" he asked reasonably.
My heart wanted to explode with sheer pleasure.
It was like the best Disney Princess, fairytale dream come true.
Something I honestly believed that I would never have was now a part of my reality.
I sat up, bringing my hands to my chest. "I feel warm inside, Jesse, like happiness is a tangible feeling, and I'm experiencing it right now." I looked him over with an almost disbelieving expression. "I honestly can't believe this is happening."
"Are you agreeing to marry me right now?" he asked.
I made a series of expressions that caused him to laugh. "Are you asking me?" I asked.
He took a second to seriously consider that question. "Yes, but I guess it's kind of unofficial," he said.
"Then unofficially I say yes, I guess."
Jesse stretched on the dock, shielding his eyes with the side of his hand as he squinted up at me, smiling. I was sitting next to him, so I turned and leaned over him a little bit, smiling at the sight of him staring up at me.
"I hate to put it this way, but if we do this right now, we're kind of stuck with each other." I leaned over him even more, staring at every curve of his face. "We're definitely stuck," I said.
Jesse's Girl (Bishop Family Book 2) Page 12