Finding Home

by Ninette Swann

  Jessica breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Hey, Jessica.” Travis turned around mid-step.

  Her heart caught in her throat.

  “You and Ben can sleep on Sadie’s bed if you want. It’s the only double we’ve got.” He smiled at her dismay. “No sex though. I think the couch has already seen enough, don’t you?” He pointed at the furniture, and Jessica followed his finger to see a plaid pair of boxers slung over the back. Ben must have missed them when she tossed his stuff at him.

  She blushed. “Okay, Uncle Travis. Thank you.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Well, it’s nice to formally meet you, Ben,” Aunt Stella said, pushing her eggs around her plate. “I should have had Jessica cook breakfast. I ruined these beyond repair.”

  Jessica smiled tightly, trying not to feel awkward. Ben’s arrival made her feel as if they were imposing upon her formerly estranged family’s goodwill. She hoped she wasn’t putting them out. Still, her family was chipper and happy, inviting Ben into conversation and giving no indication they were in any way annoyed. She tried to quash the feelings of unease. This meeting over breakfast was going as smoothly as it could go.

  “Oh, no, Stella,” Ben said brightly. “These are delicious.”

  “You’re not a good liar, son,” Travis said, laughing. “It’s okay, though. Stella makes up for her lack of skill in the kitchen with her amazing talent for mothering.”

  The older woman blushed and pushed her husband playfully. “You say that because the brood isn’t here making noise today.”

  “Exactly,” Travis said with a contented sigh. “What better mothering is there than to get the damn kids out of the house?”

  Even Jessica giggled at that. The kids were great, very well behaved, but they were loud and rowdy and…kids. She had to admit it was nice to eat in peace.

  “Oh, hey!” Travis said, looking at her. “You’ve got your rings back!”

  “Yes! I can’t believe I haven’t told you yet. Ben bought them back for me.”

  “You didn’t have to do that, son.” Travis looked somber.

  “I wanted to,” Ben said. “They belong in the family.”

  Her aunt and uncle exchanged nervous looks, and Jessica took the chain off her neck. “Actually, they’re for you,” she said, giving the jewelry to her uncle. “Happy belated Christmas.”

  “I can’t accept this, Jessica,” her uncle said quietly. “You know that.”

  “You’d better accept it,” Jessica replied. “Otherwise, I’ll go sell them for five-thousand dollars again. And you know I will.”

  Silence met her statement as her uncle conversed with her aunt, using only his eyes.

  “I’m sure you could get a much better price for them than that,” Jessica added, her tone soft. “I know Mom would have wanted the family to survive more than a couple shoddy old rings.”

  She kept her hand extended until Travis grudgingly took the rings from her. “Well, thank you, honey,” he said. “This means so much.”

  Her aunt welled up with tears. “We love you so much. Please don’t do this if you feel uncomfortable about it at all.”

  Jessica shook her head. “At this point,” she said, “it’s the only thing I actually feel comfortable with.”

  “Misunderstandings happen,” Travis said, “Even grave ones. Ones you think you can never get over. Then sometimes, you catch a break, and suddenly, it’s all under the bridge. Right, Ben?”

  She looked to the dark-haired man sitting next to her and reached her hand over to squeeze his thigh.

  “Absolutely, sir,” Ben answered, covering her hand with his own.

  * * * *

  Standing next to Travis, who washed dishes, Ben took a drying towel and went to work on the stacks. The two men worked in amiable silence for a while, until Ben finally got up the nerve to ask what he’d been wanting to ask since Jessica had handed Travis the rings.

  “Sir?”

  “You can call me Travis.” The older man smiled, looking at him. “She really likes you.”

  Ben felt a blush creep around his ears and hoped it wasn’t noticeable. “I hope so,” he said. “And, actually, that kind of ties in with what I was about to ask you.”

  “Ask away.”

  “I’d like to buy the rings back from you, sir—Travis, I mean.”

  Travis sighed. “I figured as much. Does she know about this?”

  “Oh, no. She gave them to you for real. She has no idea.”

  Travis rubbed his chin, lost in thought, then said, “Well, of course, I will. She shouldn’t have given them to me in the first place. It’s not her fault, and it’s not her mama’s fault that work is slack.”

  “Oh, I’d make it worth your while,” Ben said.

  “No need,” said Travis, handing them over.

  “I think there is,” Ben argued. “She gave those rings to you, for you to be able to help the family. Even if I wanted a freebie, there’s no way she’d take them from me if she knew you’d just given them to me. In fact, if I know Jessica, that would really tick her off.”

  Travis chuckled. “You’re right, there. Guess you do know her fairly well.” He paused. “Well, how about the five thousand that’s been tossed around all over the place. Is that acceptable?”

  Ben shuffled his feet. “With all due respect, sir, I paid two hundred thousand for them the first time, to people I didn’t even know or care about. I’d like to give you three hundred thousand.”

  Travis dropped the dish he’d been washing. It clattered into the metallic sink, but didn’t crack.

  “No, thank you, boy,” he said grimly. “We don’t take charity.”

  Ben nodded and resumed drying. Maybe, he should just let it go. Thinking on it, he decided he couldn’t. It wasn’t charity.

  “How much are they worth?” Ben asked, not taking his eyes from the task.

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “I’m sure you do. You must have done some research here and there, no?”

  “Okay, maybe a little.” Travis handed him a bowl.

  “So, you know they’re worth at least three hundred thousand dollars then. You know that if you took the time to sell them to the right buyer, you would get at least that much.”

  Travis nodded slowly, his gray head bobbing just slightly.

  “Then I don’t see how it’s charity. I’m a buyer, just like anyone else you could find. I’d like to buy the rings for my girlfriend, please.”

  “Your girlfriend?” Travis cocked his brow.

  “Technicalities,” Ben shrugged. “But I hope, in time, maybe much more than that.”

  Travis faltered, bracing his hands on the countertop. “Are you sure you can afford that? Jessica told us about…” The man let his words trail off, obviously not wanting to berate or diminish Ben.

  “My horrible business sense and faulty investments?” Ben supplied.

  Again, Travis only nodded.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Ben said. “Actually, Jessica doesn’t know this yet…I haven’t gotten around to telling her, what with everything else going on. One of those crappy investments paid off big time. I’ve got quite a lot of money, right now.” He paused waiting for a response, but none came. “I’d like to re-invest it in your niece.”

  They continued their task in silence, until the last dish was dry. Ben didn’t dare press the older man. After they’d hung up the dish rags, Travis turned to Ben and stuck out his hand.

  “Okay, then,” he said. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

  * * * *

  Jessica beamed as her family scarfed up her cinnamon buns after the large dinner they’d already had.

  “Good, huh?” she asked.

  The kids all nodded and grunted.

  “Worth coming back from Tommy’s for,” Billy said to a round of laughter.

  “You’ve always been such a blessing in the kitchen, Jessica,” her aunt said. “It’s a shame they threw you into stocking shelves at the Shaw’s. You�
�d have made that bakery shine.”

  Jessica nodded, bitterness stinging at her. All she’d wanted was to work in the bakery. It had been the position she’d applied for. But with no experience, they promised her “training” if she started on the shelves. That promise had never materialized.

  She tried to lighten her mood.

  “Actually, most of the recipes I use now, especially for baking, came from Ben’s mom.” She smiled at Ben. “Ellie is an amazing cook!”

  “Can’t argue with you there,” Ben said after he chased down his bun with a gulp of milk. “But you’ve made changes to these. They’re better when you make them.” He slitted his eyes in mock conspiracy. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

  Jessica laughed. “I won’t.” She sighed. “Maybe, someday, I’ll have enough to start up a business of my own. You can do it online these days. I wouldn’t even need a proper shop.”

  “Is that what you want?” Ben asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never let myself think about it. Well, not since Mom and Dad…” Her voice cracked.

  Ben walked over to where she stood at the counter and put his arm around her. “I was going to wait for this,” he said, “but I think now is as good a time as any.”

  She looked around, aware that her aunt and uncle were staring at her, grinning like fools.

  Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out the rings. “This is your first Christmas present,” he said. “Sorry, they’re late.”

  Anger flashed through her. What was going on?

  “No,” she said stubbornly. “Those belong to Uncle Travis now.”

  “He bought them fair and square,” Travis said, not moving from the table. “Gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  “No offense, but I doubt that,” Jessica retorted. “Those are worth more than any of us have to throw around.”

  “Actually,” Ben said, moving away from her so he could look into her eyes, his gaze capturing her and almost making her forget her irritation—until she remembered what they were talking about. Ben leaned in again, softening his voice. “There was an old investment I made when I first moved to New York. It was so paltry and risky, I lost a lot of money on it in the beginning. I couldn’t bear to watch it anymore, or sell at such a loss, and eventually, I just up and forgot about it, assuming it would never pay off. But I was wrong, and it did. I bought the rings from Travis for what they were worth.”

  He paused, assessing her reaction. She gave him none, not knowing what to think.

  “I want you to have them. Please.”

  “You suddenly have enough money to afford them?” She was skeptical.

  “And more than that. I’d got more money than I know what to do with right now,” he answered. “And I’d like to make another investment.”

  Jessica groaned.

  “In you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well,” Ben said, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. “We all agree you’re an excellent chef, and you just said yourself you want to open a bakery.”

  “Yes…”

  “So let’s do it.”

  “Open a bakery?”

  “Why not?” Ben asked. “I can’t think of a better business venture to invest in. Plus, I really like it here. So much more homey than New York.”

  “What about your parents?” she asked, not wanting to be the cause of a second rift.

  “Oh, I plan on flying back and helping them with arrangements on the farm. With this money, I can pull them out of the hole and make it profitable again. Then, if you don’t mind me living nearby, I’d like to move here and help you set up shop. I can’t cook, but I can help in other ways. If you’ll let me.”

  “This is a lot to think about,” Jessica said.

  “I don’t see how there’s anything to think about,” Stella interjected. “It sounds like a marvelous plan to me.”

  “Well,” Jessica said, hesitating. “Maybe…”

  “We can set up all the details later,” Ben said. “For now, will you accept the rings?”

  She smiled, her heart welling over with goodwill. She was so lucky to have lived and learned, to have been allowed to make her mistakes and still be surrounded by such love.

  “Yes,” she said. “Thank you.” Tears stung her eyes. “Thank you so much.” She couldn’t believe that in one Christmas she’d found not only her old family, but possibly a new one. She caught the tender look in Ben’s blue eyes and felt utterly at peace. “This has truly been the best Christmas ever.”

  Ben pulled her into a bear hug. “I agree,” he said, nuzzling her fiery locks. “I’ve finally found home.”

  Jessica laughed, looking around at the comfortable kitchen, at the old table where her aunt and uncle sat beaming, the sounds of children playing wafting in from the living room, then looked up at Ben, his strong arms making her feel safe and warm. “Me, too,” she said.

  About the Author

  When not writing her next romance, Ninette Swann spends her days rock-climbing and taming wild horses. Or not. You decide. Or ask her about it at ninette.swann@gmail.com.

  She lives with her amazing husband and children in Florida…not to be confused with Miami, unfortunately.

  You can find her at http://ninetteswann.com.

  Also Available from

  Resplendence Publishing

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  Charles Whitaker is taking his fall from grace hard. Once the top architect in San Diego, his business partner cooked the books and ran off with all his earnings. When the money left, so did his wife. To help Charles re-focus his energy on the future, he's taken a Body Combat course. Only he can't focus on anything but the beautiful instructor, Sammy Logan.

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  Alexander McCormack has secretly orchestrated Jessica’s life for the past fifteen years. Decisions she’s deemed to have made are an illusion. Even her marriage proves to be nothing more than elaborate manipulation.

  Jess is no longer content with a life that brings her little joy and no passion. With divorce comes unexpected danger for her and her young son, and her only recourse for safety lies in the unlikely savior of Alexander’s son, Jason McCormack.

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