Jesse

by C. H. Admirand

  Staring up at the ceiling, he sensed that Danielle was a woman who could take his mind off his troubles, but she wasn’t the “let’s get it on and move on” type; she was the “white picket fence and forever” type. Closing his eyes, he imagined little Lacy taking a hold of his hand and asking, “What’s wrong with forever?”

  Chapter 5

  “Hey, are you sick?”

  Jesse ignored the voice and rolled onto his side.

  “If you want this cup of coffee, you’ll get your scrawny butt out of bed, Bro.”

  The scent of fresh-brewed coffee wafted toward him. He opened one eye and saw his older brother standing by the bed, holding two steaming mugs. “Why couldn’t it have been Emily or Ronnie bringing me coffee?”

  Tyler frowned down at him. “Because the ladies know two very important facts about the men in this family.”

  Jesse ran a hand through his hair and then over his face. Sitting up he asked, “What’s that?”

  Tyler grinned. “We sleep in the raw, and we do not share our women.”

  “Hell, Ty,” Jesse ground out reaching for one of the mugs. “You see one man naked, you’ve pretty much seen all there is to see.”

  His brother chuckled. “Some of us are more gifted than others, Bro. ’Bout time you realized that.”

  Ignoring the taunt, Jesse sipped and sighed. All he needed to get through the morning’s list of chores was a hearty breakfast, then he’d be good to go till noon. As the caffeine worked its magic, he focused on his goal for the day—finish up so he could drive into town and pick up Danielle and Lacy.

  “Breakfast in five. We’ve got hay being delivered this morning; you want to wait for it?”

  “No problem. The truck’s running a bit rough; I can look at it while I’m waiting, but I’ll be heading into town this afternoon… I’ve got a promise to keep.”

  His brother waited for him to explain, but instead Jesse asked, “Hey, are you and Dylan moving the herd today?”

  Tyler shook his head. “Think we’re good for a little while longer, maybe next week or so.”

  “Good to know. Are we going to put the word out, or are you going to call Timmy and his buds?”

  “Already took care of it. Timmy and a few of his friends will be here when we need them. They’ll be helping out this morning checking for strays and riding over to the pastureland we’ll be moving the herd to in order to check it out.”

  “I guess it was a good thing you were the one who caught them trying to break into the Lucky Star that night. Anyone else might have tried to convince the ladies to press charges and you wouldn’t be able to call on those kids to help… to return the favor.”

  Tyler’s smile was slow, thoughtful. “Luckiest day of my life was the day Jolene hired me and I saw Emily for the first time.”

  Stepping into his jeans, he opened his top drawer and sighed. “Hey, Ty, I’m borrowing a pair of socks.”

  “No prob.” Tyler headed for the stairs.

  Wearing boots without socks was a mistake Jesse only had to make once, when he was thirteen and thought he knew it all. The blisters had popped right away, but the infection had lasted a whole lot longer. His grandfather had been serious as a heart attack about him not putting his boots back on until everything healed.

  “Smart man,” he admitted out loud, grabbing a pair of clean socks from his brother’s drawer and walking back to his room. He scooped up half the pile of dirty clothes and headed toward the laundry room. After sorting the dark colors from the whites—as he’d been asked—he ran back upstairs for the rest of the dirty clothes.

  “Mornin’, Em,” he called out to the redhead standing in front of the stove, cooking. Contentment filled him and he couldn’t hold back the sigh. “You sure are a pretty sight first thing in the morning, darlin’.”

  She turned and smiled at him, and he was struck again by how lucky his older brother was. As far as he was concerned, Emily Langley was the pick of the litter. “Better not let Tyler hear you trying to sweet-talk me.”

  “I haven’t even gotten started yet,” he said. “I dropped off some laundry—” he began only to be interrupted by her.

  She looked at the armful and frowned up at him. “I don’t mind doing laundry, but you’re making more work for me by not remembering to bring it down at least once a week.”

  “I’m sorry, Em. It’s just that I’m dead on my feet at night and don’t remember until I’m getting dressed in the morning.”

  “And have to dig through the dirty pile to find something to wear?”

  “How did you know?”

  She started to laugh. He really hated being laughed at and wanted to be mad at her, but just couldn’t—the sound of her laughter in their kitchen reminded him of their mother.

  “A blind woman might not notice that smear of God knows what across the front of your shirt,” she said. “I’m not blind.”

  They were still laughing when Tyler and Dylan walked into the kitchen. Tyler frowned at him and grumbled, “Get your own woman, Jesse.”

  Feeling good, he replied, “Why? Emily and Ronnie are perfectly happy to feed me and wash my clothes.”

  Tyler’s hand shot out, but Jesse had enough caffeine in his system to dodge the blow. “Hey, you should be in a good mood.”

  “Oh yeah,” his brother said, “and why’s that?”

  “Hell,” Jesse said with a glance in Emily’s direction, “I’m not deaf you know.”

  The sound of her sharply indrawn breath had him dancing backward in case his brother decided to throw another punch. “One of these days, Jess,” Tyler warned.

  Feeling pretty good that he’d dodged what would have been a wicked jab to his shoulder, he asked, “Why not today?”

  “Tyler,” Emily warned, stepping in between the brothers. “Breakfast is ready.” She stood on her toes to press her lips to Tyler’s cheek.

  “We’ve got more work than we can handle today,” Tyler ground out. “I’ll have to wait till later to beat the crap out of you.”

  If looks could kill, Jesse would have been six feet under. Knowing when to play with fire and when he was about to get burned, he got a plate, walked over to the counter, and started to fill it. “Thanks for cooking, Emily. This looks great.”

  But she was preoccupied wrapping herself around his brother. Since Tyler and Emily weren’t paying any attention to him, he shrugged and sat down to dig into his meal. By the time he was on seconds, Dylan and Ronnie walked into the kitchen looking loose and limber.

  “Hell. I’m going out to the barn.” Grabbing his Stetson off the peg by the back door, he slapped it against his thigh, pushed the back door open wide, and let it slam behind him.

  By the time he reached the barn, he realized that he was acting like a jerk. No use riling the horses just because he had trouble sleeping—and the need to sink into the warm and welcoming depths of a willing woman.

  “Fuck me.”

  The heart of the matter was a whole lot more basic than love. “A man has needs,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed the bridle and reins from the hook on the wall and his saddle from the tack room. “Won’t matter unless I can find a woman interested in being a really close friend with benefits.”

  He gently offered the bit to Dodge and praised him when he took it between his teeth. “I know you’d rather forego the hardware, but it comes in handy out there on the range.”

  Smoothing the blanket across his horse’s back, he made certain there were no wrinkles before he laid the saddle on top of it. With a friendly pat to Dodge’s belly, the horse let go of the breath he held and Jesse was able to tighten the cinch.

  He’d learned the hard way that horses had a sense of humor when they didn’t particularly want to be saddled. Vaulting into the saddle and having it shift off to the side when the horse let out its breath had been a source of entertainment for his brothers, but his ten-year-old pride had taken a direct hit. Worse than his injured pride was the fact that his grandfather had not been a
mused and rode Jesse’s case for the next few weeks, until he had proven that he wouldn’t make beginner mistakes again.

  Leading the horse out of the barn, he had his foot in the stirrup when Tyler called his name.

  “What?” He had a list a mile long of things he had to tackle before he showed up at the diner. He needed to get going.

  “Did you forget about the hay delivery this morning?”

  Hell… He had. “Yeah.” He dismounted and led Dodge over to the corral. Once his horse was inside, he walked back into the barn and grabbed a bridle off the wall. Whickers of interest and impatient stomps greeted him. “Yeah, I know you guys are ready to get a move on.” Stopping by the first stall, he greeted Wildfire. “I know Dylan already fed you, so let’s get goin’.”

  As he led each of the horses out to the corral, he wondered if the hay delivery would be on time or late like the last one. Depending on who was delivering the hay, the Circle G was either first on the list, if it was coming from the west, or last on the list if coming from the east. Either way, his morning was already kicking into high gear. He’d have to keep moving if he was going to keep his promise and teach a little cowgirl how to ride.

  ***

  Danielle loved the quiet of early summer mornings. Her friends back home thought she was odd, getting up with the birds, but since Lacy had inherited the same gene, it worked out well for them. Lacy usually started waking up when the first bird called at around four thirty in the morning. If Danielle was lucky, Lacy wouldn’t come looking for her until at least five.

  Smiling, she scooped grounds into the old fashioned percolator her uncle favored. Checking the clock on the stove top, she lit the burner and figured she had about twenty minutes left of quiet time before her little Texas tornado came downstairs.

  Uncle Jimmy had been firm about not wanting to see them at the diner until after eight. They’d talked about it last night, and just as she’d remembered, there was no budging her uncle once his mind was made up.

  Moving around his kitchen was like living a memory. Glass-fronted cabinets and heavy earthenware mugs and plates were still mixed in with the largest collection of mason jars she’d ever seen. Danielle was comfortable here, just as she’d been as a child.

  Finding what she needed, she set the table for the two of them and started making breakfast. Hers was simple. She needed protein to keep moving until lunch so scrambling a couple of eggs and toast would work for her, but before she started melting butter in the frying pan, she rummaged through the canvas shopping bags they’d brought with them and found Lacy’s favorite marshmallow and oat cereal. Setting it by the pretty red bowl and mason jar, she was suddenly starving.

  The coffee was ready by the time she’d finished cooking. “Perfect timing.” Fingers crossed, she hoped Lacy would sleep for another fifteen minutes, giving her time to sit on the back porch and enjoy the new day.

  Having grown up watching birds, she recognized the calls of a chickadee and house finches. Sipping her coffee, she watched a blue jay swoop low to check out the feeder. Her uncle had filled the feeder the night before, and the bird’s scratchy call as he flew off to spread the good news that breakfast was served had her wondering if the smaller birds would have a chance to get any of the seed.

  Putting her feet up on the railing, she let her mind wander while the backyard birds kept her company. A certain tall, dark, and handsome cowboy filled her mind and she wondered if he’d keep his word to Lacy, or if he’d be just another sweet talker like her ex. “I hope for Lacy’s sake he doesn’t forget.”

  Cup empty, she placed it on the floor beside her. Closing her eyes, she let the warmth of the day and the background music of the birds soothe her frayed and tired nerves. If she could start each day out here, she just might be able to tackle every new problem that she knew would arise.

  Uprooting her daughter hadn’t been her choice; she hadn’t had one, thanks to the thoughtlessness of one man. “People just don’t think,” she murmured.

  “What people?”

  Her eyes shot open and she sat upright. “Lacy, honey, I didn’t know you were standing there. When did you get up?”

  Her little girl stood in the doorway, dressed in her favorite pink princess nightgown and little pink boots with her cowgirl hat hanging down her back. “Just now. I’m hungry.”

  Danielle rose to gather her daughter in her arms. She loved the way Lacy would giggle when she hugged her close. “Did you wear those boots to bed again?”

  Lacy squirmed and Danielle set her on her feet. “Nuh-uh,” she answered. “Not all night, Mommy.”

  “Want some cereal?” She grinned when Lacy’s eyes went round with wonder.

  “You ’membered to bring it!” She dashed inside, climbed onto the chair, and poured herself a bowl, managing to get most of the cereal where she wanted it—in the bowl. “Thanks, Mommy,” Lacy said, between chews.

  “How about a glass of milk?”

  Lacy nodded and Danielle poured.

  Spoon poised in front of her mouth, Lacy frowned. “That’s a jar.”

  Danielle laughed. “Uncle Jimmy likes to use them for glasses.”

  Lacy shook her head. “He’s funny, but I like him.”

  Smoothing the flyaway strands, she echoed her daughter’s sentiment. “He likes you too.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Over at the diner, serving breakfast.”

  Lacy stopped eating and set her spoon down. “Shouldn’t we help him?”

  “We will, but he wanted us to rest up before going over to the diner.” Danielle paused. “Oh no. We don’t have a car.”

  Lacy shook her head. “Sure we do, ’member? We drove it here yesterday.”

  “It’s probably still on the side of the road where we left it.”

  Her daughter frowned up at her and shook her head. “I heard Unca Jimmy talking to someone last night.”

  Danielle smiled and said, “That was me.”

  But Lacy just shook her head again and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. When Danielle opened her mouth, intending to remind Lacy she should have used the napkin by her plate, Lacy sprang up and reached for her mother’s hand. “Come on.”

  Caught up in her little one’s enthusiasm, she let herself be led to the front door. Lacy tugged her mother with one hand and pushed the screen door open with another. “See, Mommy?” She pointed toward where their car was parked.

  “I had no idea that he dropped the car off.”

  “It’s part of the Code.”

  Distracted, she looked down at Lacy. “What code?”

  With a dramatic sigh, the little one shook her head. “Mommy, you gots to listen when people talk.”

  Well, that was like the pot calling the kettle black. “Which people?”

  “Cowboy Jesse.”

  “Ah.” It all made sense now, something Jesse had said yesterday had stuck with her daughter; undoubtedly it had to do with being a cowboy. “Which part of the Code? He said a lot yesterday.”

  “He promised he’d fix our car. Cowboys keep promises.”

  The only other cowboy she’d known was her ex, and he certainly hadn’t kept any of the promises he made to her. “Well, Jesse certainly kept this one, didn’t he?”

  “So we can go help Unca Jimmy?”

  “I think you’ll need to get dressed first.”

  “But I am dressed,” Lacy insisted, stomping one tiny pink boot in frustration.

  Danielle fought against the urge to smile—no use encouraging bursts of temper just because her daughter was so adorable when she was riled. “You can’t wear your pajamas all day, sweetie. Get dressed.”

  Reluctantly, Lacy turned in a swirl of candy-pink cotton, but did as she was told and headed for the stairs. Danielle waited until she heard Lacy stamping her little boots along the hallway above her before she let her laughter go.

  “My little hardheaded angel.”

  Five minutes later, the kitchen was put back to rights and her daug
hter was clomping back down the stairs, calling, “Ready, Mommy. Can we go now?”

  Anxious to get started on the next phase in their lives, she followed her cowgirl who now sported a T-shirt with a race car on it that said “Go fast or go home!” with matching shorts. Danielle winced at the choice, but was a firm believer in letting her daughter choose what she wanted to wear most of the time.

  The green and brown camouflage colors clashed with Lacy’s pink boots and hat, but asking her to change would set the tone for how their day would go and definitely not in a good way. Remembering her mother’s advice to pick her battles wisely, Danielle smiled, took her daughter’s hand, and headed out to the car.

  Chapter 6

  Jesse stared at the phone in his hand, shaking his head. “Well, damn.”

  “Hey, Garahan!” a voice yelled. “You still there?”

  Swallowing against the lump of emotion in his throat, Jesse held the phone against his ear. “Yeah, but could you repeat that last part one more time?”

  The deep chuckle from the other end had Jesse wondering if he was going insane. Either that or someone was playing a cruel joke at his expense. “You heard me right. Doctor’s orders, I have to give up driving for the next few months. This last concussion was a bad one.”

  His hands were shaking, so he dug deep for control and cleared his throat. “Why me? We haven’t hung out in town since my grandfather died.”

  “Yeah, about that,” Slim said. “I’m sorry I didn’t come around to see if you needed help, but—”

  “Hey, you came to the funeral. I get it. Everybody’s got stuff, lives to lead.” Jesse thought about it; he’d been so wrapped up in his own misery after losing his mom and then his grandfather that every ounce of his energy had gone into working with his brothers to keep the ranch going.

  “OK, so are you interested in driving my car out at Devil’s Bowl?”

  “Hell yeah! What do I have to do? Do I have to come up with the entrance fee?”

  “I’ll front you for the first race, but I expect you’ll clean up if you still drive the way you used to. You can take next week’s fee out of your winnings.”