Meant for Love

by Christine Kingsley

  “Jesse, good to see you, son.” Her dad called most of the younger boys of Willow Valley ‘son’, but it gave her a flutter in her belly to hear it used on Jesse. Certain it wasn’t the first time, but now it could be taken in a different context. One that implied a lot more about their relationship than she was sure Jesse wanted it to.

  Whether or not Jesse noticed, she couldn’t tell, and he reached out a hand with a smile and a nod. “Mr. Winters.”

  She smiled as her father took the proffered hand, but instead of shaking it, he pulled Jesse in for a bear hug of his own. She barely had time to register his look of pleased surprise before a flash of short dark hair caught her attention and she screamed and ran inside.

  ***

  Jesse had never in his life been in an enclosed space that was this loud, maybe short of a concert full of screaming girls. The volume level was so high that he could only sit back and take it all in, not sure that if he spoke he would even be heard.

  And it wasn’t just the volume, but the frenetic energy of the conversations that were being carried on simultaneously over dinner. How Lissa and her family were able to be engaged in one conversation and still be aware enough of what was going on in another to stop and add their input to that one before returning to their own was beyond him.

  Looking around the dinner table set for eight, since all five of the Winters children were present—Morris being in town coming as a complete surprise to everyone else, and the source of Lissa’s earlier screaming—Jesse couldn’t stop smiling. Crazy as it was, he loved it.

  While it was insanely loud, it was full of cheerful talk and boisterous laughter. His own family dinners had always been conducted in either stony silence or rage-filled screaming. This was unbelievable. Something that came straight out of a Hallmark movie. He only hoped Lissa knew how lucky she was.

  “How are you holding up?” Lissa placed a hand on his knee and squeezed.

  He grasped her fingers and interlaced them with his own as he leaned to whisper in her ear. “I’m soaking up every second. Though the jury’s still out on whether I’ll be leaving here screaming. If so, I think it will be due the fact that I’ve gone partially deaf and can’t hear my own voice.”

  He smiled as she glanced at him quickly, obviously trying to gauge how serious he was. She must have seen on his face that he was enjoying himself because her shoulders relaxed slightly and she returned the smile.

  “So, Jesse,” Mrs. Winters cut in sharply, drawing his and Lissa’s attention back to the rest of the table. How easy it was for him to get so caught up in her that he forgot everything else.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  She smiled, evidently pleased at his manners. That was one good thing—and just about the only—that his father had imparted to him. Always use your manners. “Tell me more about this boutique you’re opening up.”

  “Well, honestly, I’m sure I can’t tell you anything you don’t already know, what with three of your daughters being involved.” He smiled easily at her, and she laughed.

  “Yes, my children do know how to get themselves in the middle of anything interesting that happens to be going on in town. But Lissa hasn’t said too much, believe it or not. She’s been uncharacteristically tight-lipped about quite a few things lately.” Mrs. Winters cut a sharp eye at her eldest daughter, and Jesse had to fight to suppress a grin. He would bet she was fit to be tied about finding out about the two of them from the rumor mill.

  “That’s my mother,” Lissa intoned. “If she’s not the first to know about anything, you better believe you won’t hear the end of it.”

  “Lissa Winters, you watch yourself,” she said, but the edges of her mouth were twitching, and Jesse knew she wasn’t really angry. Again, so different, he marveled.

  “Well, I’d like to hear more about it,” Morris broke in, switching from a conversation with his dad and brother down the table to join their conversation.

  “Yeah, how are things coming along?” Lanie piped in. “Lissa’s been so busy I’ve had to get my updates second-hand from Maggie.” She shot a look at her sister that said that she, too, was referring to more than just the business. Apparently, Lissa’s family expected to be kept in the loop as far as her love life was concerned too.

  He shot a bemused look at Lissa, but she only shrugged and heaved a sigh of exasperation. “Why don’t you just ask me what you really want to know?”

  Lissa suddenly had everyone’s attention, and the table was the quietest it had been since they’d all first assembled in the same room.

  “And what might that be, dear?” her mother asked, eyes innocently wide.

  “If Jesse and I are sleeping together, of course.” She said this as if she were announcing that there was a fifty percent chance of rain tomorrow.

  Jesse choked on his bite of lasagna and Lissa shoved a glass of water in his hands, not appearing fazed in the slightest. He glanced around the table, mortified and not sure how to respond to this outburst, only to find that instead of being embarrassed, shocked, or angry, all of the Winters family were looking at them expectantly, almost as if they were waiting to hear the answer.

  Perhaps he would end up running for the hills after all, or at least the privacy and safety of the restroom, despite his promise to Lissa that he could handle her family.

  “Um, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, pushing to his feet and starting for the door that led out of the dining room.

  “Oh no you don’t, big boy.” Lissa’s fingers went around his wrist like a vise, and she gave him a flashing green glare. “If I have to endure this, you do too.”

  Suddenly Mr. Winters burst into laughter. “Let the poor man go, child. You’ve just thrown him to the sharks. I have to apologize, Jesse. I know you aren’t used to our crazy family. Hell, I don’t know if anyone ever gets used to it. I was in your boat once myself, when I met Evelyn’s family, so I have an idea how you might feel right about now.”

  Lissa huffed as she yanked his arm, trying to get him to sit back down. “Crazy or not, I think this nosiness has gone a bit far tonight.”

  “You’re the one who said you were sleeping with him, sis. I just asked about the store,” Morris said with a mischievous smile that let Jesse know how much he enjoyed messing with his sister. Another interesting dynamic to which he was clueless.

  He felt Lissa stiffen beside him. “I didn’t say we were sleeping together,” she bit out.

  “Oh, then you’re not?” Mrs. Winters said. Whether or not she was feigning surprise, Jesse couldn’t tell. “Then Mrs. Fenster must have been mistaken that she saw Jesse’s truck over at your apartment all night—both Friday and Saturday.”

  Now would have been a great time for the floor to open up or some other distracting emergency. But it was funny, because none of the people at the table looked the slightest bit upset, apart from Lissa, who was clearly outraged. And he suddenly realized that she wasn’t even upset that they wanted all the little details of her life, awkward as he may have found that.

  It was suddenly clear that she was worried about him. How he would react. Because she had to be used to this. It was part of who she was, who her family was. No, she didn’t care that her family was outrageously nosy, at least not as far as she was concerned. She was afraid that he would be insulted, appalled, angered, or any other of the reactions he could have to what was transpiring over a normal family dinner. Jesse was surprised to find himself laughing.

  “This isn’t funny,” she growled.

  But he couldn’t stop. “It is. This whole situation is absurd. But you know what?” He tilted her chin to him and made her look at him when she tried to resist. “I love you, crazy family and all. And this is the most interesting family dinner I think I’ve ever had. It’s going to take a lot more than people asking about my sex life to run me off, Lissa Winters.”

  “Aw, hear that? He loves her,” Lanie murmured, but he ignored her and kept his eyes on the only woman that mattered right now.

  Sh
e let out a whoosh of breath, finally meeting his eyes, and smiled up at him. He knew then that he was right. As much as she’d made light of it, she was worried he wouldn’t be able to take her family. So he did the only thing he knew to do, and leaned over and kissed her, making sure she—and everyone else—knew exactly how he felt about her.

  “Yep, they’re sleeping together,” Lanie said, laughing.

  All in all, he thought it was the strangest dinner he’d ever had.

  ***

  Lissa had thought riding together would be better so that she could more easily escape her family after dinner and not have to deal with the questions about the status of her relationship with Jesse. Silly her. Her family had successfully thwarted that plan by showing their true colors right there during the meal!

  She was mortified. Sure, Jesse handled it smoothly enough, but now he had to think they were all good candidates for the loony bin.

  Saying goodbye to her family and making excuses about an early morning at work the next day, they ducked out of the house before the sun had even made its way completely down over the horizon. The early spring days were getting longer, but it was still early enough in the evening that there was no convincing her family she wasn’t trying to escape.

  Oh well if they did think so! Served them right for doing that to her. And the first time she’d brought someone home too. See if she ever did that again.

  “What are you grumbling about over there?” Jesse asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

  Oops. She must have been talking out loud. She had a tendency to do that when she was upset. Talking things out was helpful, even if it was only to herself. She didn’t mean for him to overhear her, though.

  “Just that I can’t believe my family pulled that stunt. They’re overwhelming enough as it is—and I love them for it, don’t get me wrong—but this was just too much.”

  To her surprise, Jesse laughed again.

  “You find this amusing?”

  “Don’t you? I can honestly say I’ve never been in a situation where a woman’s mother asked me if I was sleeping with her daughter.” He let out a guffaw that indicated he was still in a bit of disbelief over what had happened.

  “It’s okay. You’re just in shock. In time you’ll come to understand that you’re in way over your head with me.”

  Instead of laughing at her attempt to make light of it, Jesse grew serious. “I hope you know I meant what I said. I really did enjoy your family. They’re the opposite of everything I know.”

  That’s what worried her. He acted like he enjoyed it. Maybe he really did. For now. But he had gone on for so long about how they were too different, how they wanted different things in life. And here he was presented with the clearest example of just how different their upbringings were. She didn’t care in the slightest about that. Why would she? But she was afraid he would eventually fall back into his old way of thinking.

  “Well, in any case, thank you for coming and being such a good sport. Now that it’s over, I’m starting to question my own sanity for inviting you in the first place.”

  They were stopped at a red light, and he leaned across the seat to kiss her lightly on the lips. “I’m not just making this stuff up to make you feel better. It was fun. Overwhelming and intimidating? Hell yeah. But I wouldn’t change your family for anything.”

  Hmm. If he didn’t mean it, he was doing a damn convincing job. A few minutes more brought them to her apartment on the square, and Jesse pulled into a spot in the parking lot.

  “Guess the whole town will know if I come up for a little while.”

  He laughed at her incredulous expression. “You’re willing to risk more gossip?”

  “Darlin’, what fun is it living in a small town if you can’t give the old ladies something fun to talk about once in a while?”

  He jumped from the truck and walked around to her side, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her up the stairs while she laughed until she was gasping for breath. Not much later, she was gasping for breath for an entirely different reason, and if the old gossips had only known, they’d have had something to talk about for quite some time indeed.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  The week flew by in a haze for Lissa. Between late nights with Jesse and early mornings at the store, she was running on very little sleep. On Thursday afternoon, Maggie came by after school to go through some of the deliveries that had arrived throughout the week.

  As she made a fuss over just how gorgeous these boots were and that dress was, making sure to try them on in the new fitting rooms Jesse had installed the day before, Lissa sat down in the middle of the floor and looked around, at a loss.

  “This one is the best yet, Lissa,” Maggie cried, twirling and preening in front of the three-way mirror. “Well, what do you think? Hello, Earth to Lissa.”

  “Hmm? What?” She was struggling to hold her eyes open.

  “I asked you what you thought about this turquoise dress, but it must not be all that great judging from the look on your face.” Maggie pouted.

  “I’m sorry.” Lissa laid back on the concrete floor, not caring how cold and hard it was, and threw an arm over her eyes. “I just need a tiny nap. Wake me up in five minutes.”

  “Oh, honey, he must be giving you a thorough workout to be as exhausted as you are. When’s the last time you had a full eight hours of sleep?”

  “Margaret Winters!” Lissa sat up and gaped at her sister. “And what would you know about it?”

  “Nothing. Yet. But I can imagine. Jesse does look like he works out. I’d guess he has pretty decent stamina.” She laughed and twirled, blonde hair flying out around her.

  “Maggie,” Lissa groaned. “I don’t think I can talk about sex with my baby sister.”

  “Oh well. I’ll just have to go on imagining.”

  “And that’s all you’ll be doing if you have any sense. You have too much ahead of you right now to be distracted by boys. Plus, you never can be too careful.” Lissa took her own warning and jumped up from the floor to grab her purse from where she’d stashed it in the office. She looked at her birth control pack and counted the days just to be sure—things had been pretty crazy lately—but was interrupted by Maggie trailing behind her. She popped the day’s pill in her mouth and shoved the pack back in her purse.

  “Look at you, Miss Responsible. Not ready to make me an auntie just yet?” Maggie laughed.

  “Definitely not.” The thought made her stomach clench uncomfortably. “But it’s no joking matter. You better be just as responsible when you…you know. In like fifteen more years.”

  Maggie just laughed again. The thought of her baby sister being all grown up made her stomach do even more flips. “Okay, back to work. Let me just get some coffee first.”

  Maggie headed back to the corner of the store that they had sectioned off for the boutique. It was a mess now with boxes of inventory and newly assembled clothing racks, but Lissa knew it would come together. They had a month still.

  Just as her cup of coffee finished brewing and she added a healthy splash of chocolate mocha creamer, Jesse came rushing into the office, out of breath.

  “There you are. Jack called me looking for you, saying you weren’t answering your phone, then I tried calling you several times and no answer. I was out in the back field, but I figured I better come find you.”

  Lissa frowned. “Jack? Why was he calling?”

  Jesse gripped her forearms, and the look of fear-tinged worry sent a tremor through her. “The baby. They think it might be coming.”

  “What? No! It’s too soon.” Lissa felt her eyes prick with tears, and she started shaking. “I have to go to the hospital.”

  “That’s the thing. They want to know if you can watch Sarah. They left her with Tom, but he needs to be there too. They don’t know how long they’ll be, and they want you there for her if it’s overnight. Or longer.” His face was grim.

  “Oh my God, Jesse.” Lissa buried her face in his chest
, trying to bite back a sob. It was way too soon. She knew there were plenty of medical advances that could give the baby a fighting chance were it born now, but there were no guarantees.

  “Okay, let me just find my keys.”

  “No, I’ll take you. You don’t need to drive when you’re so upset.”

  Lissa shook her head. “I’m fine. You don’t have to baby me.”

  “Just let me take you. I’ll stay with you. I don’t want you to be alone right now and worried.”

  She nodded mutely and let Jesse grab her things as she stood there thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

  Reaching into her purse when Jesse thrust it into her hands, she saw the string of missed calls. Her ringer had been turned off. She tapped out a quick message to Cassie:

  Don’t worry about Sarah. Thinking of you. Love you.

  She felt Jesse press her coffee mug into her hand too and then he was ushering her out the door and to his truck, calling over his shoulder to Maggie about the situation and telling her to stick around at the store until he could get his mom or dad up there.

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he told her as they peeled out of the lot. “You can’t worry about this. Trust the doctors.”

  She nodded, but she couldn’t get rid of the scared feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Jack and Cassie had been through so much to find their way to each other. And now to have a baby—their baby—threatened was just too much.

  The drive passed in a blur and then they were at the ranch, sending Tom Martin off to be with his son and daughter-in-law, and playing Candy Land with Sarah before Lissa could blink twice.

  Lissa drank her coffee, wanting to be alert to take care of Sarah, but after making macaroni and cheese, bathing Sarah and putting on an animated princess movie, she slumped onto the couch, completely exhausted. The coffee didn’t hold up against a week of sleepless nights and overworked days. She was knocked out before the princess first laid eyes on her prince charming.