Linda said, "See what we had to deal with when these two were growing up? I'll say one thing; there was never a dull moment."
Jessie was still giggling. "Becca, that's priceless!"
Becca grinned in satisfaction. "I guess I won that bet."
"And made fools out of all three of them," Brady added.
Becca looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Yeah, what about you? You helped them set the whole thing up."
"Yeah, but I didn't have a snake run up my leg, so I came out of it just fine."
"They were pretty funny, jumping up and down and screaming."
"It must have been so much fun growing up in your family," Jessie said.
"I wouldn't have wanted to grow up anywhere else in the world," Becca said.
"I have to agree with that." Brady nodded at his sister and tucked Jessie's hand into his.
Pete and Linda smiled at their kids, and Pete said, "Brady, give us a song."
"If you'll strum along. You brought your guitar, didn't you?"
"Always. Let's go get it."
The two of them strolled back to the house to get the guitar and stopped to look out over the peaceful pastures. When they got back to the fire, Pete tuned his guitar up a little and Brady started to sing. Becca and Linda joined in from time to time and Jessie hummed along when the song was familiar. As always, he had to finish with Amazing Grace as the sun went down and the sky turned orange and pink. Becca sang harmony and they all sat silently for a moment as the last notes died away. Finally, Linda rose and offered to help Jessie clean up. Brady and Pete decided to walk out to the barn, and when they got back, it wasn't long before they were all yawning. They said their goodnights and went off to bed.
A couple of days later, Jessie ran into Devon in town again. The two of them chatted a little bit, and then Devon said, "I didn't realize what time it was. How about you let me buy lunch today?"
Jessie was surprised and pleased. "Sure, that sounds good. Same place?"
Devon chuckled. "Best burgers around, right? I'll meet you over there; I just have to pick up some nails."
The two of them took a table at the Rusty Spur and ordered soft drinks. Devon filled her in on her progress in the house. She was nearly finished with the kitchen and had managed to get her coveted clawfoot tub for the bathroom upstairs. She'd even been able to cook Jacob his spaghetti and meatballs dinner a couple of nights before. Jessie told her about her wedding plans and impulsively showed Devon a picture of the dress.
"That's really beautiful," Devon said, "and it suits you."
"I'd like you to come," Jessie said. "I have you on the guest list."
Devon looked surprised. "That's nice of you, Jessie."
Jessie said airily, "Don't feel obligated; it's strictly if you would like to come. I know you like to keep away from people mostly, and if you don't feel comfortable coming, I understand completely. No worries, but I want you to know you're welcome."
Devon was giving her that slightly baffled look again, as if she just didn't know what to think of her. Jessie breezed on, telling her about the weekend with Brady's family. When she told her about Brady and Becca's escapade in the cemetery, Devon actually dissolved into laughter. Jessie laughed with her, enjoying the way the other woman had let her guard down for a little while. She asked about Jacob, and Devon's eyes lit up at the mention of her son. She told Jessie about some of Jacob's funny interactions at preschool in between bites of her cheeseburger.
"I needed to ask you about where you got Indy from. The house is far enough along for us to take on a puppy soon, and I want to start looking."
"Oh, Jacob will love that, won't he! Sure, I'll just text you Annie's phone number and address. There's also a guy who raises Golden Retrievers near here and his dogs are great with kids too. Definitely bigger than Indy, but they're both wonderful dogs. Brady knows him. I'll get you his info too."
"Thanks, I appreciate it. Once I saw how much Jacob loved your dog, I realized it's probably important for a kid to have a dog."
Jessie smiled. "Yeah, I think it really is. Kids and dogs just seem natural, right?"
"Especially when the kids live in the country," Devon said with a look of satisfaction. "Moving here has been good for Jacob; he loves it so much more than he did living in the city. Sometimes I've had my doubts, but I think I made the right move, coming here."
"It's a good place. I like that life is simpler than in the city."
Devon nodded. "Yeah, me too. And I love that my kid can run and play and be out in the open, without any of the ugliness we had in the city. It's good for him. I still watch him like a hawk, but it's just not so scary here as it was where we were. And we weren't in a bad place, but there was so much that could happen. It's just better here for us."
"Good. I'm glad you're here, and I have to tell you, I love your kid. He's a lot of fun."
"He is a lot of fun." Devon's eyes were warm, and her smile was relaxed.
Jessie thought for a minute. "How would you feel about bringing him over for another little cookout? We could roast hot dogs over the fire."
Devon got that wary look in her eyes again, but after a moment, she nodded and said, "I'd like that, and I know Jacob would love it. But this time you have to let me bring something."
Jessie laughed. "Okay, does Jacob like baked beans?"
Devon said, "He does. He calls them sugar beans."
"Would you like to bring them? I'll get chips and dip and we'll keep it simple. We can make s'mores for dessert."
"Sure, that sounds perfect. When should we do this?"
Jessie asked, "Is Saturday too soon for you? We don't have anything big going on right now."
"No, Saturday would be good for us. Jacob will be excited."
"Okay, it's a plan. Same time as the last time?"
"Sure, we'll be there."
Devon had a moment of panic at the thought of going to Jessie's again, but she pushed it resolutely away. Jacob would love it and she knew it was time for her to make some real decisions. So, they would go and enjoy the day, and afterward, she would sit down for a come-to-Jesus meeting with herself.
Time to figure this out, once and for all, Devon, she told herself as she drove home after lunch. You've got to do what's best for Jacob, and if it scares you to death, well, you'll just have to face it. Time to put on your big girl panties. She wondered just how long she could manage to keep her courage up.
Later that afternoon, she watched her son on the softball field and laughed at all the little ones making their first attempts at team sports. He liked having other kids to play with and he liked being outdoors; he had tried to climb his first tree a couple of days before. He was just a happier kid these days and Devon knew their move had been right for him. Now she had to get her part resolved, no matter how hard it was. Jacob's eyes had lit up with excitement when she told him they were going to Jessie's again and she promised to let him help make the sugar beans. She promised herself that she would look into the puppy possibilities soon. She figured the responsibility of caring for a puppy would be good for her son too.
She tucked Jacob into bed that night after his bath and read his favorite book to him for the millionth time. She watched him drift off to sleep and smiled at him as she turned off the light. He was, without any doubt, the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she vowed again to protect him with her life if necessary. Nothing mattered more than what was best for Jacob. It was time to figure out just what that was.
Chapter 13
Jacob ran to meet Indy before he said hello to anyone else. Brady and Jessie laughed at him, on his knees hugging the dog as she gave him a joyous doggie welcome. When he finally tore himself away from Indy long enough to greet Brady and Jessie, he talked a blue streak.
"I have a coach," Jacob announced proudly. "I play tee ball and I hit the ball hard." He gave Brady a high five with a broad grin. "And my coach said I have a good arm." He held his arm up and showed them his bicep.
B
rady said, "I played tee ball when I was your age, but my muscle wasn't that big."
Jacob said earnestly, "But you grew up, and now you have big muscles."
They all laughed, and Jessie nudged her fiancé. "Yeah, you have big muscles, hotshot."
Devon said, "I've got the beans in a crockpot. And I brought extra marshmallows."
Jessie said, "We can take the beans in and plug them in. Those two are off and running. Would you like a glass of wine?"
"Sure, that sounds good," Devon said as the two of them went to her truck to get the things she'd brought. "Jacob was so excited for today, I thought he'd never get to sleep last night."
"How's the house coming?" Jessie asked as she led the way into the kitchen.
"Really good. The plumber is coming Monday, to put everything in the big bathroom. Once that room is finished, all that's left is sprucing up the bedrooms upstairs. We're going to have a break before I tackle the back patio and landscaping. Before we know it, it'll be time for preschool to start and we want to have some fun before that."
"I don't blame you." Jessie poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Devon. "Caleb is going to be in preschool too. I wonder if he's going to the same one."
"There aren't a lot of choices in Jasper, and where Jacob goes is basically considered the one to be at for actual preschool. The others are more like daycare."
"I'll have to ask Kayla." Jessie opened the refrigerator and got out a vegetable tray. "Let's take this outside; we'll have some healthy snacking before we dive into hot dogs and s'mores."
Devon laughed and took Jessie's glass of wine for her. They settled into lawn chairs to watch Brady and Jacob toss the ball for Indy. It was sunny and hot, and soon the boys stopped to get bottles of water out of the cooler. Brady flopped down in the shade to take a break while Jacob and Indy watched the chickens for a few minutes. Jessie and Devon were talking about the county fair that was starting the next weekend.
"I need to take Jacob. I'm sure both of us will learn a lot. I've never been to a county fair in my life. I've just realized that I need to learn more about life in a rural community now that my house is pretty near finished." Devon had a resolute look on her face. "I have a feeling it's going to mean a lot more contact with people than I had in mind, but it's for Jacob."
"It's going to be fine," Jessie said. "People around here are mostly good people and everybody likes a certain amount of privacy; that's why they settle out in the country. It's not like it is in the city; they can't just look out the window and see everything their neighbors are doing. And you're going to love the fair. It's so much fun."
"The most I've ever seen of a county fair is on TV, so it's going to be interesting," Devon admitted. "Is the food like what they show on the cooking channel shows?"
"It sure is. We go every day we can, and I don't cook for the whole week. This year, I'm going to enter my apple pie in the baking competition."
The look on Devon's face was comical. "They really have baking competitions at the fair? I thought that was just in books and on TV."
Jessie laughed. "Yep, they really do. Among lots of other competitions. And the 4H kids enter their animals; they show their livestock, and the horse shows are great. On the last Saturday night, there's a rodeo. So, the fair really is the big event of the year around here."
Devon looked fascinated. "I'm really looking forward to seeing all that in person. Jacob's going to love it."
Brady hoisted himself up from the grass and said, "Devon, if it's all right with you, I'll take Jacob with me in the four-wheeler to get some firewood. And we'll take a ride around the ranch so he can see the calves."
Devon hesitated automatically and then relaxed and said, "That would be really nice. He'll love it."
Brady gave her a grin and called out to Jacob. "Hey, little man, how would you like to go for a ride in the four-wheeler and help me get some wood for our fire?"
Jacob's face lit up. "Yes! Let's go!" He was practically jumping up and down in his excitement.
Devon said, "You listen to Brady."
"I will, Mom, I promise."
The two women watched Jacob and Brady hook the trailer up to the four-wheeler and load a few things into it. Brady got two more bottles of water out of the cooler to take with them, and then the four-wheeler roared to life and they were off. They could hear Jacob's laughter trailing behind them as they left.
Devon said, "Brady's really good with kids, isn't he?"
Jessie smiled. "He loves kids, and they love him. He grew up in a fun, loving family and I figure that's where it comes from."
Devon gave her a measured look and said, "Kids like you too."
"Well, I didn't grow up in a family like Brady's, but there was plenty of love between Jake and me and our dad. Now they're all gone, so I feel like becoming part of Brady's family is the most precious thing I could have imagined. And they've welcomed me from the day we all met. I'm really lucky."
"That's kind of a remarkable thing to say, considering how much you've lost."
Jessie said, "But now I have a second chance at love and family. So I'm lucky."
"What about your mom? You've never mentioned her."
"She walked out when I was a baby, and we never heard from her again. Dad tried to find her for a while, but then he got sick and he had to just give it up."
Devon was appalled. "That's awful. I don't understand how any mother could walk out on her children."
"Dad said she was just never equipped to be a mother. She didn't have a maternal instinct. In fact, she wasn't ever able to have any real empathy for other people. He didn't blame her; he just said that she couldn't become something she wasn't. So, Jake and I ended up feeling that we were all probably better off without her."
"I'm sorry."
Jessie said, "No need. It was all water under the bridge a long time ago. Now look where I am."
Devon grinned. "You're a very unusual woman, Jessie. I think I'm glad I met you."
Jessie giggled. "I'll never forget your face the first time we met, when I brought you the pie. You were covered with dust from smashing something and scowling at me."
Devon shook her head. "And it didn't stop you for a second. Well, if your pie for the fair is anything like that one, you should be the winner, hands down."
Jessie giggled again. "If I am, it'll be the first blue ribbon I've ever won."
Devon lifted her glass and said, "Here's to your first blue ribbon."
"Thanks, I can hope. Devon, what's your family like?"
Devon shrugged. "They're gone now. My mom died in a car accident when I was twelve. But things were pretty normal before that. I was the only child and I was a daddy's girl. I was always in the workshop with him, and we were even closer after Mom died. He taught me all about carpentry. I still have a cabinet that he made for me, when I was ten, to put my Star Wars figurines in."
"You're a Star Wars groupie?"
Devon grinned. "Passionately. Anyway, by the time I got out of high school, Dad had his first heart attack. He got better but kept on having heart issues. He had a massive heart attack three years ago and it killed him."
Jessie's eyes were full of compassion. "I'm so sorry."
"I think he always had a conviction that it was going to happen eventually. He said the greatest joy of his life was living long enough to know Jacob. And the greatest joy in mine was that I was able to give him that."
"That's real treasure, isn't it?"
Devon gave her a little smile. "It is. I tell Jacob about him all the time and he always wants to hear stories about his Pawpaw. I think Jacob knows him, even though he can't really remember."
"That's what Kayla says about Caleb and his dad. She vowed that she would always make sure that he knows all about him."
"It's the most important thing she can do for him. Good for her."
Jessie said, "I think you and Kay would like each other. I'd like to introduce you sometime."
Devon said, "Whoa, Jessie
, slow down. I'm just getting used to having one friend here in Jasper."
Jessie laughed. "Okay, no rush, but someday I'll introduce the two of you." She wondered about Jacob's father, but she knew better than to ask at this point. Maybe Devon would tell her someday. She'd just told her a lot more than Jessie had expected her to. She could hear the four-wheeler heading their way, and a few minutes later, the boys were back.
"Mom! I helped get the wood for the fire and I saw all the baby cows. They're so cute and they're really soft. Not as soft as Indy but really soft, like cows, not dogs." Jacob was bubbling over with excitement and his mom had to grin at him.
"I never thought I'd see the day my son would be petting cows," Devon said with a laugh.
"Well, you could have taken him to a petting zoo, but it wouldn't be the same," Jessie said.
"No, it wouldn't. Thank you for having us here. I love seeing him like this."
Jessie said simply, "We love it too."
Devon turned her head abruptly and sipped her wine before she set her glass down and walked over to Jacob as he pointed out the wagonload of firewood. He chattered nonstop, telling her about what he and Brady had done.
"And Brady opened the gate, and Indy was the guard and she didn't let any of the cows get out. She was such a good girl! And then when we came back out, I got to give Indy a drink of my water. She can drink it right out of the bottle just like a person!"
The adults were all laughing, and Brady quickly said, "I didn't let Jacob drink any more of it after Indy."
Devon laughed hard. "I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have killed him but thank you."
Jessie handed Brady a cold beer and gave Jacob lemonade. He started to dive into the vegetable tray and Devon said quickly, "Hold on, young man, you've got to wash those hands first."
"Come on, Jacob, we can wash up at the barn sink. That's where the men wash up after work."
"Okay," Jacob said seriously. "I'll be back, Mom. I have to go wash up at the men's sink." Devon held her laughter in until Jacob walked away.
A Dusty Dreams Wedding Page 11
