Jesse laughed, then sipped his coffee, feeling more at ease than he had since he’d left Texas. “Pry away, Tommy.”
Taking a puff on his cigar, Tommy was thoughtful before turning to Jesse. “So how is it you’ve never married, lad? Never had a family of your own?”
Jesse laughed, fingering his coffee mug. “Guess I didn’t really have time and I guess I just haven’t met the right woman.” He didn’t think it necessary to go into the problem he had about letting people get emotionally close to him. Tommy was so open, so loving, he wasn’t sure the old man would be able to understand.
“’Twas a time I felt as if I’d never marry, either,” Tommy said softly, watching Jesse through a haze of cigar smoke.
“You?” Jesse laughed, then shook his head. “I have a hard time imagining you not married, Tommy, considering the way you feel about family.” Tommy’s feelings had been quite clear in each and every one of his letters, as well as during every conversation they’d had since he’d arrived.
“Aye, yes, boy, but you see, it’s not just marrying a lass, son, it’s finding the right lass that makes all the difference.” Tommy glanced up at his grandson, his coffee forgotten for the moment. “Now take Hannah for instance. I thought for certain she and one of your brothers would end up together.” Tommy laughed. “In fact, I would have wagered a good portion of my wealth on it. And I would have lost,” he admitted with a chuckle.
Jesse glanced up at his grandfather, wondering why he felt a stab of jealousy at the thought of Hannah with another man. Even if it was one of his own brothers.
Thoughtfully, Tommy pulled out his slim gold lighter and relit his cigar. “But I’m afraid, lad, there was no chemistry there except for the brotherly kind.” Eyes twinkling, he smiled at Jesse. “And I’m afraid, for a wife or a marriage, that won’t do.”
Curious, Jesse listened to his grandfather thoughtfully. Tommy let out a sigh. “It’s a shame Hannah’s not met the right man and married, for the lass was meant for family.” Tommy glanced up, a quick grin on his lips. “It’s not been for lack of interest though, I can tell you that,” he added with a laugh, causing Jesse to feel another, stronger spurt of jealousy. “Half the men in this county have shown an interest, but Hannah’s rebuffed them all.” Tommy shook his head. “Something happened years ago that frightened the lass terribly, I’m afraid. And when a woman’s had a disappointment from a man, it tends to make her as shy and scared as a newborn filly.” Lifting his coffee, which was now cold, Tommy sipped carefully. “’Tis a shame that such a fine lass hasn’t found her match yet. For it would be a lucky man to claim Hannah’s heart.”
“What’s going on?” Jake asked, stumbling bleary-eyed through the back door. He headed for an empty chair and dropped down into it, scrubbing his hands over his face and wishing for a few more hours of sleep.
“It’s Riley’s first day of school,” Jesse said, getting up to pour Jake a mug of coffee, then sliding it across the table to him. He refilled his own cup as he turned with a shrug. “I couldn’t sleep.”
With a nod of understanding, Jake lifted a hand in gratitude, then closed his eyes and sipped quietly, letting out a healthy sigh of relief as the caffeine poured through his system, jolting him into consciousness.
“Caffeine,” Jake muttered. “Definitely gets the heart going.” He glanced up at Jesse feeling more awake and more human. “Riley’s first day of school, huh?” He grinned. “I’ve got a few more years to go for that.”
Jesse shrugged. “I figured I’d go over and see her off. Maybe give Hannah some moral support.”
“Sounds like a fine plan to me,” Tommy said with a smile.
“Tommy?” Jesse frowned a bit. “Do you by chance have any tools I can borrow?”
“Tools?” Tommy spread his hands out. “On a spread this size, lad, we’ve got enough tools to stock a major city hardware store, if Jared is to be believed.” He grinned. “Anything here is yours, lad, to do with what you want.”
“Planning on doing some work?” Jake asked, getting up to refill his coffee.
“Morning,” Jared mumbled, coming into the kitchen, a fussy baby nestled on his hip. Without a word, he headed toward the coffeepot, pouring himself a cup, then automatically reached for a teething biscuit in a jar for his son. J.J. was teething and fussy as an old cow.
Smiling in sympathy, Jesse pulled out a chair for Jared, which he gratefully sank into.
“Morning,” Josh said cheerfully as he came in the back door, looking fresh and crisp in a three-piece gray suit and a blindingly white dress shirt.
Jake scowled at him and sat down. “Do you have to be so chipper in the morning?” he growled, taking in his brother’s clothing. “And how can you smile when you’ve got a noose tied around your neck every morning?”
“Well, good morning to you, too,” Josh said, giving Jake a whack on the back of the head as he went to pour his own cup of coffee. He dragged out a chair and sat down at the table. It had become a ritual since Jesse had arrived for all of them to head to Tommy’s for coffee in the morning.
“So what’s everybody up to today?” Josh asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Same as always,” Jared muttered, picking up the teething biscuit J.J. had let fly across the kitchen. “Chores. And more chores,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve got the vet coming this afternoon to check on that new heifer. A fence along the south perimeter is down, and then there’re the repairs to the henhouse.” Jared shrugged, then grinned, handing his son back his teething biscuit. “The usual, like I said.”
Jake drained his coffee cup, then sighed. “I’ve got another day of heavy negotiations with this lawyer over in Lawford. He’s representing the owner of a piece of prime land that I think would make a fine addition to our holdings.” Jake blew out a breath. “But they’re hanging tough.”
Josh frowned. “Jake, haven’t you been working on that for weeks?”
Jake nodded. “Like I said, another day of heavy negotiations.”
“Well, if you need some help or reinforcements, let me know.” Josh hunched forward, wrapping his hands around his coffee mug. “I’ve got to meet with the prospective tenants of the old Saddle Falls movie theater. Someone’s finally interested in leasing the building, so I set up a meeting for later this morning.” He frowned. “Then I’ve got to get all the leases prepared. All the tenants who rent offices in the hotel building are coming up for renewal. So I’ve got a full day as well.” Josh looked at Jesse. “So what do you have planned for the day?”
“Well, I was just asking Tommy if he had some tools I could borrow. I thought I’d go over and do some work on Hannah’s house. It’s sorely in need of some maintenance, and I know she doesn’t have the time, the tools or the money to take care of it.” Jesse shrugged. “So as long as I’ve got some free time, I thought I’d put it to good use.”
“You need some help?” Jake asked with a frown.
“Or some company?” Jared offered.
“Or both?” Josh inquired.
Jesse grinned, stunned and surprised by the generous offers. All of them had their own busy schedules today, yet they thought nothing of offering their assistance.
So this is what a family did, Jesse thought, realizing that he didn’t feel quite so solitary. As if everything rested on his shoulders alone. Not that he minded, he had always handled responsibility well. But then again, he’d had no choice since there’d been no other male around to help with it.
“You all have your own agendas today,” Jesse said with a smile. “But I do appreciate the offers.”
Jake, Jared and Josh exchanged looks, then Jake stood up, speaking for them all. “Well, Jesse, tell you what. How about we take care of our business this morning.” Jake pushed his chair in, prepared to get going. “Then we’ll run over to Hannah’s this afternoon and give you a hand. What do you say?”
“I’d like that,” he said with a smile, feeling nearly overwhelmed by the emotions that rushed through him, over hi
m. “Thanks, guys.”
Standing at the curb, waiting for the school bus, holding tightly to Riley’s hand, Hannah struggled to hide her emotions. She couldn’t very well expect her daughter to be brave if she was blubbering like a baby.
“Now, sweetheart,” she said, hoping her voice was calm. “Remember, try not to lose your schoolbag.” As a precaution, Hannah adjusted the bright red straps higher on her daughter’s shoulders. “I put a snack in there for recess.”
“What’s recess, Mama?” Riley asked, glancing up at her mother and clinging tightly to her hand.
Hannah smiled. “Remember, honey, when we went to visit your school and met your teacher? She told you that about halfway through the morning you and all your classmates could go outside and play. That’s recess and when you should eat your snack.”
“On the playground, right? We get to go on the playground?”
“That’s right, sweetheart. And remember what I said about being careful?” She didn’t want to scare her daughter, but she also wanted Riley to be cautious. “Don’t go on anything that’s too big for you, okay? You know what Mama lets you go on, sweetheart.”
“’Kay, Mama.” Craning her neck, Riley stared down the empty street. “Mama, what if the bus doesn’t come now? Or what if they forget about me after school?” Hannah could hear the fear trembling in her daughter’s voice and it nearly broke her heart.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Hannah went down on her knees and hugged her child. “The bus will come. Promise. And if it doesn’t, Mama will drive you to school.” She adjusted the ribbons in Riley’s pigtails. “And I don’t want you to worry that the bus will forget about you after school, either. If that ever happens, I don’t want you to worry, okay? All you have to do is go back inside the school and find your teacher or another adult. Tell them you missed the bus and they’ll call Mama and I’ll come and get you. Do you understand?”
Riley nodded, then glanced up at the sound of a horn honking. “Look, Mama, it’s Uncle Jesse!” Riley started bouncing and waving as Jesse’s SUV approached and pulled to a stop right in front of the driveway.
“Well now, darlin’, don’t you look pretty this morning?” Jesse said, walking toward Riley and holding something behind his back.
“I have a new dress,” Riley said, pulling out the hem and twirling around for him to see.
He chuckled at her charm, feeling sorry for the men of her generation. They wouldn’t stand a chance. “And it’s a mite pretty dress as well.” He glanced at Hannah, saw the fear shimmering in her eyes and slipped his hand in hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
“What’s behind your back, Uncle Jesse?” Riley asked, trying to peek around him.
“This?” With a grin, he pulled his hand from behind his back. “This, Miss Riley, is Snoofus. He was mine when I was a little boy.” He showed her the mangled one-eared dog that had been sitting on his bed for more than twenty years. “When I was just a little guy, like you, my father gave me Snoofus. He was my first and best friend. Anytime I was scared, Snoofus protected me. As long as he was with me, I was never, ever scared. Not of anything,” he said solemnly, watching her eyes widen in awe.
“Really?” Riley asked, eyes wide as saucers. “Can…can…I touch him?” she asked reverently, clearly already in love as she lifted a hand, afraid to touch the stuffed dog.
“Touch him?” Jesse grinned at her. “Why, darlin’, you can do better than that. Snoofus has been lonely lately since I haven’t had much time to spend with him, so I was hoping maybe you could take him along to school with you.”
“Snoofus could come with me?” Riley’s eyes gleamed wider in expectation and hope. “Really?”
“Scout’s honor,” Jesse said, holding up two fingers to show his sincerity. “You can keep him company and introduce him to all your new friends.” Jesse bent down and tucked the dog securely into Riley’s arms. “And as long as you’ve got him with you, you won’t be scared. Not of anything. I promise. Snoofus will always keep you safe, darlin’.”
Eyes wide and shining, Riley couldn’t stop staring at her new friend, devotedly touching his one ear, his slightly mangled eye, his mended paw. “He’s so pretty,” she said, glancing up at her mother. “Isn’t he, Mama?”
Hannah squeezed Jesse’s hand in thanks. “Very pretty, sweetheart.” She had to swallow to speak around the lump in her throat.
“Here comes the bus,” Riley said, her voice a bit shaky as she clung tighter to her mother’s hand and the one-eared dog.
Hannah glanced down the road and saw the bright yellow vehicle rumbling down the road and felt her stomach roll over. She had a wild urge to grab Riley, run in the house and hide under the bed. As irrational as the thought was, at the moment, letting her precious child go off alone without her, to a strange place, on a strange vehicle, was far more intimidating and frightening then anything in memory.
“Now, Miss Riley, before you head off on your big adventure, can I have a kiss?” Jesse asked with a grin.
Riley bobbed her head, let go of her mother’s hand and stepped close to Jesse. “Thank you, Uncle Jesse.”
He went down on his knees so he was eye level with her. “You’re welcome, darlin’.” He slid his hands to her tiny waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Uncle Jesse?” Riley whispered, glancing up at her mother. “I think Mama’s sad.”
Jesse glanced up at Hannah, then smiled. “Not sad, darlin’. I think she’s just jealous because you get to go have all the fun, isn’t that right, Hannah-Anna,” he prompted, giving Hannah a warning look.
She forced herself to relax, to smile so that she wouldn’t frighten her daughter. “That’s right, sweetheart.”
“Uncle Jesse, will you keep Mama company while I’m gone?” Riley whispered, leaning close. “She might get lonely since she’s never been alone before.”
Jesse grinned, giving the little girl another kiss. “You bet, darlin’. I’ll keep your mama company this morning. And I promise we’ll both be here waiting when you get off the bus after school.” He drew back. “Remember, you promised to draw me a picture.”
Riley grinned. “I’ll draw you a picture of Snoofus.” She hugged the dog tighter as the bus chugged and belched to a stop just a few feet away.
“Give Mama a kiss,” Hannah said, reaching for her daughter, feeling as if her heart was breaking. Riley suddenly looked so small, so fragile, so vulnerable, it only sent another round of panic through her.
Forcing it down, Hannah held Riley close to her for a moment, then kissed her cheek, drawing back with a shaky smile. “Come on, Mama will help you onto the bus.”
Holding her child’s hand, and with her own knees shaking, Hannah led the way to the open bus doors, greeting the cheerful driver and helping Riley up the large steps, watching as her daughter, dog clutched in her arms, found an empty seat and sat down.
“She’s gonna be fine, darlin’,” Jesse assured Hannah, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Just fine.”
“I know,” Hannah said with a sniffle, lifting a hand to wave goodbye to Riley as she gave in and leaned against Jesse, accepting his comfort. As a single mother, she couldn’t remember when she’d ever had the support or comfort of someone else, especially a man. At least not when it came to her daughter. She realized it was a wonderful feeling to have someone with whom to share both her fears and her feelings.
“I feel as if I’m losing an arm.” Hannah chewed her lip as the bus pulled away. Riley had her nose pressed against the window, a smile on her face, Snoofus clutched in her arm as she waved goodbye to them.
Jesse chuckled, slipping his other arm around Hannah and drawing her close to him. “I know, darlin’. That’s the way all mothers feel when their first goes off to school.” Chuckling, he glanced down at her, saw her trying to blink back tears. “My mama cried when I left for college.”
She nodded, swiping against her tears, then giving in to the need for comfort and laying her head on his
chest. She could hear the familiar, rhythmic beating of his heart.
“It’s all right, darlin’, you might as well let it go.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “No sense holding all that in.”
It was as if a dam had burst. Great wracking sobs began to shake her slender body. Hannah knew she was being silly, but she’d spent every waking moment of the past five years of her life with her precious daughter. Now she had to simply hand Riley over to strangers and let her make her own way in the world.
It wasn’t fair, she thought with a sniffle, feeling the warmth of Jesse’s hand on her back as he stroked and comforted her. The past five years had gone by so fast. It seemed like just yesterday Riley was a baby, a toddler, learning to walk, to talk, to climb up on a chair by herself. Now she’d just climbed onto a bus and left by herself.
“She really is gonna be fine, darlin’, I promise,” Jesse whispered, holding her shaking body closer. He could feel the warmth of her pressed against him, increasing that drumbeat of awareness, arousal that always seemed to awaken whenever she was near. “She’s gonna be just fine, Mama,” he teased, drawing back to look at her and wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.
Embarrassed, Hannah glanced away. “I’m sorry, Jesse, I know it must seem silly.”
“Not at all, darlin’. She’s your baby, the most important thing in your life. Of course you’re going to worry about her, especially with each new step she takes. Whether it’s going off to school for the first time, or going on her first date—”
“Jesse, please.” She laid a shaky hand to his heart and shook her head. “I’ve had enough trauma for one morning.” She glanced up to find him smiling down at her. His mouth was so close, she caught her breath, remembering the taste of that mouth. A shiver of need, desire, rolled over her, and Hannah glanced down, afraid he might be able to see everything she was feeling. “I can’t even think about her dating yet. Maybe when she’s…oh, I don’t know, forty or so, I’ll be able to handle it, but not until then.”
He chuckled softly, nuzzling his chin across the top of her head, perfectly content to stand there at the curb with his arms around her, holding her close all morning.
A Family to Come Home To (Saddle Falls) Page 16
