by Sable Hunter
“I’ve never seen anyone be so gracious. It was almost like she expected to be treated that way.” Libby didn’t like it. She hated to see anyone bullied because of their appearance, race, or any disability. That was one reason that she had started gathering articles, books and other information to find anyway that she could to help Jessie. From further conversations they had, she knew that Jessie’s form of dyslexia was not the same as Nathan’s, and would require a different approach in treatment. “Do you think you ought to go ask her to dance?”
Aron was about to steer Libby in that direction when he saw Joseph pull his chair up next to her. “Looks like another McCoy is on the job.”
Seeing what Aron saw, Libby frowned. “He’d better be nice to her or I’m gonna short-sheet his bed.”
Aron laughed. He had no doubt his little spit-fire would do that and more.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Joseph had debated coming over to talk to Cady, but he knew his mother would roll over in her grave if he continued to act like an ass. He hadn’t meant anything by what he’d said, it certainly wasn’t personal. In fact, he was glad that Ms. Renaud looked the way she did. It would make working with her that much easier. But she was a woman, and he knew that no woman wanted to hear that someone thought she was ugly. He had been unforgivably rude and he knew it. Now, if she’d just give him a chance to make up for it.
“I’ve had something, thank you.” Cady knew that she had to get a handle on her feelings about Joseph McCoy. She was here to help him, not foster a relationship with him. It didn’t matter what he thought about her, personally. What was important was that he trusted her enough to allow her to help him. With that in mind, she decided to pretend their earlier awkward moments never happened. “You have a marvelous home. I’m certain that I’m going to enjoy my stay here very much.”
Joseph let out a sigh. She was going to give him a free pass, and he didn’t deserve it. “Cady, I’m sorry about what you heard me say. I’m not usually so stupid.”
Cady looked at him. He was easily the most handsome man that she had ever met. And she wasn’t kidding herself; touching him and being with him hour after hour was not going to be easy. She just prayed that she was able to build up her immunity to his good looks. The worst thing that could happen would be if she were foolish enough to develop a crush on him. What she needed to maintain between them was emotional distance. But, that would be impossible. The very nature of an empath was to connect with another person to such an extent that you could draw their pain out of their bodies and take it upon yourself. It was already becoming clear to her. Joseph McCoy was going to bring her untold pain, both physical and mental. With that realization, she accepted his olive branch and offered one of her own. “Let us not think of it anymore. It is forgotten.”
“I’d ask you to dance, if I could,” Joseph looked around, hoping to see Kane or one of other friends that he could coerce into spending some time with her.
She must have realized what he was up to, because she stood and straightened her back, giving him a somewhat regal nod. “My journey from New Orleans was a long one. I feel that it would be wise if I retire for the evening. Please, enjoy yourself. Tomorrow, we begin a regime that will have you railing curses on my head. So I recommend that you, also, get a good night’s rest.” As she walked away from him, Joseph was confused to feel a sense of loss. And he was surprised to find that he was looking forward to what the next day might bring.
Jessie was having a blast at her first real party. Usually, her role was to clean up after events such as this. Tonight, she was experiencing a reversal of fortune; Cinderella had come to the ball and so far, her glass slipper was fitting just fine. Jacob was such a good dancer that no one ever noticed that she was totally clueless. She found that dancing with him was very similar to making love with him; he knew just how to move to make her feel like she was floating on air.
As one number ended, he led her to a chair, “Sit right here a minute, I’m going to go get us a coke.” Jessie was glad to get a moment to rest. The baby had been restless and her feet were beginning to swell.
Jacob hadn’t been gone but a second or two when another couple claimed the chairs next to hers. The man promised his date that he would be right back, leaving Jessie and an elegant blonde to make small talk. Jessie, feeling like she was almost a hostess, made the first move. “I hope you’re having a pleasant evening.”
The woman turned to her, as if she had just noticed that Jessie was there. “Yes, it is a lovely evening. The McCoy’s always throw a good party.” The woman narrowed her eyes, as she looked at Jessie. “Do I know you? You look awfully familiar to me?”
Jessie shook her head. “No, I don’t think we’ve met.”
The woman continued to stare. “I know! You’re the woman who cleans my office building! Why, you’re on staff here aren’t you? What are you doing sitting over here with the guests? Shouldn’t you be passing out drinks or something? Do the McCoy’s know the help is mingling with the guests?” As the woman ranted, her voice got louder and louder. All Jessie could think of was escaping before they drew a crowd. Slipping her shoes back on, she quickly got up and lost herself in the crowd, hoping that none of the family had seen her humiliation.
Noah watched Jessie fleeing from Cassandra Tarpley. Cassandra was a bitch, but she was right about one thing. Jessie Montgomery didn’t belong here. He had debated over what to do about the pictures, and he still wasn’t certain what the right thing would be. He’d just have to keep an eye on Jessie and make sure she didn’t do anything to hurt Jacob or humiliate the family.
Searching for Jacob, she moved quickly through the crowd. Now, it seemed that all eyes were on her and everybody was looking at her with disdain. “Hey, cutie. Come here!” A man grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the dance floor. “I’ve been watching you. I knew you looked familiar, and it just hit me. You’re that girl from that website, Lusty Liasons.”
Jessie was trying to pull away. The man had bad breath and his hand was sliding down her waist, perilously close to her butt. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a website.” She was just about to cry, all she could think about was how bad she wished Jacob would find her.
“Stop trying to pull away. I know why you’re here. You’re part of the entertainment aren’t you? Those pictures of you sure did make me hot. I used them as lighter fluid, if you know what I mean.” As he leered at her, he bumped into one couple after another. Jessie was so embarrassed. They were making a spectacle of themselves.
She didn’t know what he meant, and she didn’t want to know. Pulling back hard, she managed to extricate herself from the old drunk. Not waiting to see what anyone else thought about it, Jessie ran. She needed Jacob.
But, Jacob was otherwise occupied. “I can’t believe this,” he fumed. “This has gone too damn far.” He put his arm around Nathan. “I’m so sorry, bud. I would give anything in the world if you hadn’t walked in here and found this.” They both stood there and looked at the dead horse.
“But what happened?” Nathan was very near tears. He had helped raise and train the beautiful animal and to find it writhing in agony was hard to take. “I came in here to get away from all the grownups. There weren’t many kids at the party that I wanted to hang with. I heard Sultan making an awful racket and when I came back here he was jerking and foaming at the mouth. And then he – just died.”
“I’ll call the vet to come and make sure that it‘s not some contagious disease that could affect the other animals.” He pushed his hat up on his head, rubbing his hand over his eyes and forehead in frustration. “I don’t know for sure, but it looks like to me that he’s been poisoned.”
At the look of alarm on Nathan’s face, Jacob wished he hadn’t said anything. There was no use scaring him with all the crap that had been going on. Nathan was so softhearted about the animals that they hadn’t told him about the cattle killings. “Who would do something like that?”
“I don’t know, Nathan. I just don’t know. Look, why don’t you go in the house and I’ll be in to check on you in a little while.” After Nathan left, Jacob did call the vet and he decided to look Kane up and tell him about this latest sickening development. He had seen Kane earlier when he and Jessie came back from the hayride. Flipping his phone open he made the call as he walked through the crowd, eyes peeled for Sheriff Saucier.
Crap! If the vet verified that Sultan had been poisoned, then that shithead was getting far too close for comfort. He had to get this matter settled once and for all.
As he made his way through the crowd, his eyes lighted on his brother. “Hey Noah! Come here, man. I need you.” Quickly, he explained to Noah about the horse and told him that he was going to look up Kane and try to escalate their search for the culprit who was making havoc of their lives. “Listen, do me a favor. Find Jessie for me and explain to her what’s happened. Tell her that I’ll be back late tonight or in the morning. I’ve got to try and get a handle on this situation. If he’s coming this close to the house, the next thing he’s going to do is attack Nathan or one of our women.’
“About Jessie . .” Noah was on the verge of telling him what he had seen and what he knew, but Jacob had enough on his plate.
“I have something to tell everyone about Jessie. There’s about to be some big changes around here.” Jacob was referring to their engagement; he had gotten a text message from the jeweler. Tomorrow he would be able to go pick up the ring and the nursery items that he had ordered would be delivered on Monday. He hadn’t asked Jessie yet, but he was wondering how she would feel about a double wedding with Aron and Libby. Now, that would call for a celebration. Maybe by then, all of this other mess would be settled and they could really enjoy a party.
“I understand, Jacob.” Noah heard what Jacob wasn’t saying. Finally, his brother was seeing that a relationship with this woman wasn’t going to work. She just wasn’t the right woman for Jacob. After seeing how Cassandra had reacted to her and hearing that old Tom Riley recognized her from those nudie shots on the internet, Noah knew it was time to lay his cards on the table. “Don’t worry, Jacob. I‘ll be glad to take care of Jessie for you.” Maybe he could take care of this before his brother returned.
Jacob was nowhere to be found. Feeling lightheaded, she darted around the pavilion, out into the yard – looking everywhere. If she could just find him, everything would be all right. Feeling helpless, Jessie scanned the crowd, looking for a friendly face. She wanted to escape the party and go back to the main house. Finally, her eyes lit on Libby. Putting on her game face, Jessie approached her. She had no intention of letting anyone know what had happened tonight. It was just too humiliating. “Libby, if you see Jacob, would you tell him that I’ve gone up the house. I’m feeling a bit queasy.”
Immediately, Libby was concerned. “Do you want me to come with you? Aron and I have been talking about calling it a night, anyway.”
“No, I’ll be all right. I think I’ll go in and do something therapeutic, like make a cup of herbal tea or something.” Jessie smiled, not wanting Libby to know that she was dying inside.
“Okay,” Libby patted her arm. “I’ll tell Jacob where you are when I see him.”
Filling a kettle with water, Jessie put it on to heat. Libby kept a little box of fancy teas and Jessie rummaged around till she found a colorful bag that appealed to her. Smelling of it, she thought it was probably orange with some spice in it. Maybe this would soothe her nerves.
Noah watched from the doorway. Was he doing the right thing? Jacob had seemed so happy just a few days ago. Tonight, however, he had indicated that things had changed. Did he have the right to interfere in his brother’s life? Should he let Jacob handle this himself? Remembering the mistake that Aron had made with Sabrina, Noah convinced himself that what he was about to do was for everybody’s good.
“Well, I see you’re making yourself at home,” Noah’s unexpected comment caused Jessie to grab her chest in surprise.
“Noah! Hey! Can I fix you a cup of tea or something? How about some water?” She reached in the cabinet and got him a glass and was about to fill it with ice when he stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“I can wait on myself. After all, this is my home, not yours.” His tone and cutting words alerted Jessie that this was not just a friendly conversation. “Why, don’t you sit down? I have something I need to discuss with you.”
Noah’s handsome face was set in a determined, serious mask.
“All right. Is there something wrong?” He was making Jessie very nervous. She didn’t know if she could handle any more stress.
“Yes. Frankly, there is, Jessie.” Noah laid a large envelope and a file folder on the dining table. “You know we discussed the fact that you needed to sign a legal document stating that you would not demand any financial help for the child you’re carrying.”
How could she forget? “Yes, I told you that I was willing to do that. But, we haven’t even got the test results back, yet. And Jacob said . .”
“Jacob has had a change of heart.” Noah spoke the words, hoping that what he said wasn’t a lie. At the best, Jacob would be angry at his interference. But Noah was sure that the day would come when he would see the wisdom of this decision.
“Where is Jacob? Is he with you? I looked for him everywhere. He hasn‘t said anything to me. When did he talk to you?” She knew that she was talking fast, and probably not making a lot of sense. She was afraid. She wanted Jacob. It wasn’t that she was going to cause trouble over this, but she would feel better if she could just see Jacob’s face.
Noah didn‘t try to answer all of her questions, it wasn‘t necessary. “Jacob has asked me to handle this for him. As for why he changed his mind, I‘ll show you in just a moment. It’s just best if we get these legal loose ends tied up first.” Noah pushed a paper at Jessie and a ball point pen. “If you will read this and sign here.” He indicated a signature line at the bottom of the page.
“Is this some sort of prenuptial agreement?” Jessie asked, desperate to make sense of what was happening.
“Not hardly,” he answered coldly.
Jessie stared at the paper. The written word always looked the same to her. None of the words made sense. The last letters of words would jump to the front in her eyes. Sometimes whole words just danced across the page. Her eyes couldn’t distinguish between the letter o, c or a. Shutting her eyes, she prayed for a miracle. Opening them – as always – everything on the page was a jumble.
“Is there a problem?” Noah was beginning to lose his patience. This was supposed to be the easy part of the discussion.
“I need my glasses. I’m having trouble reading,” she lied again.
“Go get them. I’ll wait.” He was unsympathetic.
“Uh, I don’t think I have them with me,” she stalled again.
“Jessie, are you going back on your word? Have you decided to take advantage of Jacob?” Noah was beginning to get nervous. Jacob was supposed to be otherwise occupied, but what if he came back? If Jacob were to catch him in the middle of this, his ass would be grass.
“No. No,” Jessie assured him. “Would you mind reading it to me?”
Noah scraped the chair out with one harsh motion. “Fine.” When he looked at her face, something in her expression rang a bell with him. Shame. “You can’t read, can you?” he asked with a sneer.
Jessie shut her eyes. For a few long moments, she said nothing. What difference did it make? She wouldn’t always be able to hide it from the family. “No, I’m dyslexic.”
“You can’t read any of it?” He asked in amazement.
“Very little,” she confessed.
“How did you finish school?” At her silence, he surmised. “You didn’t even graduate high school did you?”
“No,” she said in a small voice.
“With a broad sweeping motion, Noah pulled the paper to him and began to read. Basically, it stated that she absolved Ja
cob McCoy of any obligations to support herself or the child, if it proved to be his. It made provisions that she would not be able to bring suit against him or the family for any type of financial assistance or claim again against any of Jacob’s or McCoy holdings. It also stated that the child would not receive the McCoy name. In short, the document cut all ties between Jacob and his child. “Jacob wants this?” she asked, confused. They were supposed to get married. Had he changed his mind about that, too? She didn’t understand what was going on.
“He does,” Noah was stated coldly. “Here’s you a copy, I want to see you sign it as well.” He had gone out of town to get this legal work done. The less gossip that all of this generated - the better.
This was Jacob’s brother, she told herself. And he loves Jacob. Therefore, she knew he only had Jacob’s best interest at heart. Besides, this was what she had intended from the beginning. She hadn’t really known how to go about it, but what he suggested was the outcome that she had wanted. If that was true – why did she feel like her world was coming to an end?
With shaking hand, Jessie picked up the pen and wrote her name. Noah looked at her signature. “You had better just make an X, these signatures are like hen scratch. It doesn’t even spell Jessie Montgomery.” Picking up the pen again, she made an X by her name on both copies. Starting to rise, Noah stopped her.