by Elise Manion
“You sit here, Hunkle Josh,” Jessica commanded. “Missy can sit next to ya.”
“Thank you, princess.” He took Melissa’s hand and led her to the table.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can help you with?” Missy asked loudly, and a resounding “no” came from the family.
“Actually, yes, there is,” Julie said as she handed a baby to Melissa. “Mikey doesn’t nap as long as Gabe, which means he’s going to want to eat soon, but if you hold him a while, I might be able to get this meal done before I need to feed him.”
“Where’s Gabe?” Josh looked around for the other baby and found him sound asleep in a portable crib in the shade by the sliding glass door. Josh was surprised the little guy could sleep through all the noise.
Just then, Marguerite arrived pushing Darla’s wheelchair. Dane helped them maneuver over the tracks of the slider.
“Mom!” Melissa said. “What’re you doing here?”
“Stay there, Missy. I want to hold that baby,” Darla said. “Camille called and invited us to lunch. I’m having a good day and thought the company and sunshine would do me good.”
Josh noticed the place setting next to Melissa had no chair, meaning that they’d prepared for Darla’s arrival. His plan was taking shape. Marguerite sat on the other side of Darla while Dane took his normal spot next to James and across from Camille.
Melissa placed the twin in Darla’s arms, and the older woman melted. “My goodness, it’s been a long time since I held a human this small.”
Marguerite leaned over to look at Mikey, holding a finger out for the baby to grab. “He is so little,” she said reverently.
“There’s another one over there,” Josh pointed out. “Want to hold him?”
Marguerite’s eyes widened. “Could I? I don’t want to disturb him.”
“Ya gotta ask first,” Jessica warned as she climbed up into the booster chair next to Josh.
“I’m sure it’s fine, Jessie,” he laughed. He stood up to retrieve the baby when he was pushed back into his seat by Jason.
“I’ll get him,” the big oaf said before walking over and grabbing his son. He cuddled Gabe, who stiffened into a ball before relaxing back into sleep. Jason kissed his head before delivering the tiny package to a waiting Marguerite. Just as the baby was placed in her arms, Marshal Declan McKinley walked through the slider and stopped cold in his tracks.
Josh snickered. “He’s a goner.”
When Melissa gave him a questioning look, Josh lifted his chin in the direction of McKinley. Melissa’s eyes widened, and then she turned to Marguerite.
“This oughta be good,” Melissa said conspiratorially, and Josh grabbed her hand under the table.
As Declan was shown his seat, Julie put the steaks on the table and announced, “Lunch is served.” She sat down next to Jason and noticed her boys were not in their crib. “Oh, ladies, let me take them so you can eat.”
“Nonsense,” Darla said. “I’m sure you don’t get to eat a hot meal very often, so you help yourself, and Marguerite and I will take care of these little ones for you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course,” they said unison.
Josh laughed at their antics, but when Melissa leaned in and asked him a question, he got nervous all over again.
“Do you want children, Josh?”
She was serious, and he wanted to kiss her with serious intent. So he did. Until a throat cleared. It was Jessica.
“Sorry, princess.”
“’S okay, Hunkle Josh. Daddy and Mommy do that all the time.” Then she arched her eyebrow in a clear imitation of Camille. “But not at the table, right, Gramma?”
“Right, darling,” his mother said with a wink.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Melissa pressed, and that’s when he realized that she wasn’t embarrassed. In fact, she was almost taunting him.
“I tell you what, Melissa. I’ll answer your question if you’ll answer mine first. Deal?”
Her eyes turned violet and a smile danced on her lips. “Deal.”
He never took his eyes off hers as he stood up, then knelt down beside her.
“Shit, are we doing this now?” Jarod said from down the table.
“It’s okay, I have the camera,” Charlie said.
“Will you two be quiet and let the man ask his question, for crying out loud?” Lauren said, clearly frustrated.
Marguerite’s and Darla’s eyes were wide with surprise and amusement. Melissa had begun to laugh, and now Josh couldn’t get his composure. When Michael let out a loud cry, he knew he had to get this show on the road before Julie had to breastfeed. Josh took Melissa’s hand in his left hand, and withdrew a ring from his pocket with his right.
“Melissa Anne Theroux, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
He couldn’t keep the smile off his face when she smiled with confidence and said, “Yes, I will.” He placed the single solitaire diamond ring on her finger and helped her to her feet because he was about to get inappropriate at the table again.
Just when he had started to feel as if they were the only two people on the patio, more than one person cleared their throats, and Melissa began to laugh. “Now you answer my question.”
“Do I want kids?”
“Yes, do you want kids?” She had a strange look on her face, one of happiness mixed with fear.
“Of course I want kids, especially with you.”
She smiled the smile of a woman with a secret, and Josh thought his eyes would pop out. That’s when he heard his mother say, “Oh dear, not another rushed wedding.”
JOSH STARED JESSICA in the eyes.
Jessica stared right back, not flinching.
“Do you have any kings?”
Without looking at her cards she said, very seriously, “Go. Fish.”
“Damn,” he muttered.
“Hunkle Josh, you can’t say that in front of me.”
“Sorry, princess.”
“Your turn, Char-lee.”
This was the fourth game they’d played, and Jessica had beat them three times in a row. She had three sets to their none, and Missy suspected the little imp was cheating.
They sat at a small table in the waiting room at Timbisha Regional Medical Center waiting on Jarod and Lauren, who were currently occupied in one of the delivery rooms. Missy rubbed her abdomen and smiled.
“Got here as soon as I could,” Julie said, pushing the double stroller. She looked tired but happy. “What did I miss?”
“Lauren screaming that it was all Jarod’s fault,” Charlie answered.
“And my brother apologizing a million times before telling her to breathe.”
“Did she hit him?” Julie asked with concern, and Missy leaned her head back and laughed.
“It’s not funny,” Charlie said. “She’s been exceptionally sassy these past two weeks.”
Julie chuckled. “It’s the hormones. They make you crazy, I swear.” She picked up one of the babies and handed him to Missy, who accepted Mikey—she thought it was—without complaint.
“I can’t wait for it to happen to me,” she said dreamily. “Because then I get to hold my own one of these.” She kissed the baby’s cheek and smiled when he cooed.
“Melissa won’t be crazy,” Josh said, abandoning his game and sitting next to her and the baby on the couch. Jessica now had six pairs of cards in front of her and Charlie had two, meaning that the girl was definitely cheating and they had let her.
“How do you know I won’t be a craven loon?”
“Because you’re carrying my child, and together we are not crazy.” He kissed her cheek and held a finger out to Mikey. “Together we make sense.”
Jason walked in at that moment to set them both straight. “Hundred bucks says not only will Missy be a bundle of raging hormones, but you’ll sleep at least three nights on my sofa when she kicks your sorry ass out for knocking her up before the wedding.”
&nbs
p; It turned out that she hadn’t been pregnant when Josh proposed, only late, and her OB/GYN had believed it to be due to all the stress. Everyone had been happy to have as much time as possible to plan the wedding. Well, everyone but Josh, who wasn’t happy about her not being pregnant, so he’d made sure that she got that way.
“He has a point, you know. Me being pregnant has complicated the wedding planning, and your mother and I are not happy.” Missy slid a look in the direction of Julie, who was diligently not looking up from a nursing Gabriel.
“You started it by asking me that question and you know it,” Josh said a bit sullenly.
“Honey, you threw away my birth control pills.”
“They’re bad for you anyway,” Josh said with a nod and took Mikey completely away from her now.
Jason sighed. “Like I said, you’ll be on my couch no fewer than three nights.”
“What are berf troll pills?” Jessica asked as she counted out her winning hand of Go Fish.
Charlie laughed out loud. “Yeah, Josh, care to explain that to us?”
“Shut up, Charlie.”
And so were the conversations that took place among her new family. Missy had grown up in a house full of women, and now she was thankful to be included in this rich, humorous, and loving bunch.
“When does your sister leave?” Julie asked.
Marguerite had been recruited by their uncle Dane on another sting, this time in Texas. “I’m not sure, but I think within the week. Now that Mom’s cancer is in remission, Marguerite felt that she could go. It was hard when she put in her resignation.”
Julie nodded. “Lauren said Jarod was beside himself. He’s not sure what he’ll do without a good assistant.”
“That lazy ass will manage, I’m sure,” Josh muttered.
Jason grunted his agreement, making Missy shake her head at them. “You know, you guys really love your brother. You’re not fooling anyone.”
“Who said we didn’t love the prick?” Jason asked.
“But . . .”
“But what, honey? He’s our brother. Just because he’s a jackass doesn’t mean we don’t love him.” Josh shook his head as if she didn’t understand the nature of brothers. She supposed she didn’t. Men were so weird sometimes.
“Anyway,” Missy returned to her conversation with Julie, “my sister will be working with Marshal McKinley.”
Jason and Josh both laughed before Josh said, “We’ll be going to another wedding soon.”
“I can honestly say, you might be right, honey. I’ve never seen Marguerite react to someone like she does with that marshal.” Missy would never forget the fight she’d witnessed between Dane and her sister over the arrangements, but it had been their mother who’d talked her sister into joining the task force. Missy suspected that her mother had the same ulterior motives as Dane when it came to Marguerite and Declan.
“Oh, good, you’re all here,” Camille said as she and James entered the waiting room. “Any news yet?”
Everyone shook their heads and resumed their conversations. When Gabe was done nursing, Josh traded babies with Julie and Jason took his turn getting creamed at Go Fish. As the hours dragged on, Charlie called his old employer, Pizza Factory, and ordered dinner.
By midnight, Jessica had pooped out on the couch next to Josh, who’d also fallen asleep in Missy’s lap. Julie had begun to pace, worried for her best friend. “Should it be taking this long?” Charlie asked.
Just then, a very haggard Jarod walked into the waiting room with a huge smile on his face. He looked for his daughter and saw that she was asleep. He lifted her up in his arms and she stirred. “Can I see Mommy yet?”
“Yep, and you know who else you can see?”
Jessica rubbed her eyes and smiled. “My new baby?”
“Yup. Your new baby brother.” The joy in his face told Missy that all the hormones had been worth it.
“Ima big sister!”
“You sure are, Darlin’, and Mommy can’t wait to introduce you.” He took the little girl with him down the hall.
“I guess we’re all supposed to follow along,” Jason deadpanned.
Camille and James didn’t say a word; they just followed their son and granddaughter down the hall.
“Wake up, Josh. You have another nephew,” Missy rubbed his head.
“I heard,” he said through a yawn and sat up. He rubbed his face with his hands before he stood up. “Come on, woman. Let’s go home.”
“Don’t you want to see the baby?”
“I’ll see him tomorrow.”
Missy looked down the hall with longing. “Well, I want to see him.”
“Aren’t you tired?”
“A little,” she admitted. But they’d been there all dang day. It seemed silly not to at least take a peek at the little guy and congratulate Lauren and Jarod. She said so, too.
“Fine,” Josh muttered. “I’m warning you now, though. If we go down that hall, my mother will have us all sleeping in that room all night.”
“No she won’t.”
“Yes she will, and no one sleeps with my wife but me,” he complained.
Missy rolled her eyes and walked down the hallway. He was seriously irritating her now, and then it hit her. Jason was right. Josh would be spending a few nights on the sofa if he didn’t change his attitude. She told him so, and that’s when he caught up to her and pressed her against the hallway wall. “You make me crazy, you know that?” he said when he came up for air.
“You love me anyway.”
“You’re all I’ve ever wanted. You’re my everything, Melissa.”
She sighed in resignation. “Then let’s go home. We’ll see the baby tomorrow.”
Relief on his face, he took her hand and they quietly walked down the hallway on their way out of the hospital. He was all she’d ever wanted, too, and she’d be damned if she ever let him go.
Josh was her future, her family, her life, and she counted her blessings and thanked God for the love she’d been given. It had been a challenge but life was full of those, and she knew that together they could face whatever life threw their way and come out on the winning side. She rubbed her abdomen again and knew it was the truth.
Thank you so much for reading Josh’s Challenge and I hope you’ve enjoyed the third installment in the King Brothers novels. Life got in the way at times, making writing Josh’s story difficult, but also fun. These characters, especially Jessica and Ginger kept shouting at me and spurring me on at every keystroke! Hopefully, they gave you a giggle or two along the way. Although this is the end of the trilogy in Timbisha, you may have noticed that a few characters are moving on to bigger and better things, which means they want their story told too!
Currently, some new personalities are yelling at me (when aren’t they yelling at me?) and I’m working on something different. It involves chocolate, the opioid crisis, and oh yes, relationships turned onto their heads.
As always, I’m on all the social media haunts. Message me, friend me, follow me, and let me know what you loved (or maybe what you didn’t). Hearing from readers makes all of us authors better story tellers and I love hearing from you!
Sincerely and, as always, happy reading!
Elise
PS. My gift to you is Julie’s Chicken Chili recipe (the one Josh made for Melissa using a big helping of love) with you. Enjoy!
ingredients
1 lb boneless skinless chicken
breasts, cut into cubes
*you can substitute with two cans
canned chicken if you’re in a hurry
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cans white beans, rinsed
2 - 4 oz cans chopped green chilis
*I use mild but if you
like the heat, spice it up!
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
(if you use canned chicken,
this isn’t ne
cessary)
16 oz chicken broth
(I usually eyeball it)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne
(optional, but honestly
this makes the dish)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
grated cheese, your preference,
as garnish
In a large saucepan, sauté chicken, onion, and garlic in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies and seasonings. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for thirty minutes or until some broth has evaporated and you have a thicker soup. Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and whipping cream. Serve immediately. Garnish with grated cheese.
I’ve been fixing this dish for a few years now, sometimes substituting fresh chicken with canned when I’m plagued with plots and don’t have time to mess with the meat! In this case, I add the broth first, then the chicken and seasonings and the beans last. The secret, I think, is to make sure the beans are rinsed. It’s easy and yummy, and perfect on those cool fall evenings.
Elise has written three novels in her King Brothers trilogy, Jason’s Princess, Jarod’s Heart, and Josh’s Challenge. She has also published three short stories for the anthologies A Winter’s Romance, The Whispered Tales of Graves Grove, and On The Edge Of Tomorrow, a gritty YA. She is currently working on a contemporary fiction involving chocolate, a full-length paranormal that keeps invading her nightmares, and two more that haven’t quite taken shape yet.