It wasn’t until Jessica’s stuff was completely unpacked and he had inhaled a half a pound of his Mama’s brisket that Wes finally broke his silence. Tightening the tape that held his mangled fingers together, Wes sighed heavily. “Do we have any coffee?”
Carrie jumped up and went into the kitchen to make a pot. The dark circles under her man’s eyes worried her and she wished he would just go to bed. Knowing Wes wouldn’t be able to rest after being gone from the ranch for a few days and that he would have to spend a few hours making sure everything was running smoothly and to his liking, Carrie opted to make the coffee strong and threw in an extra scoop.
As the pot percolated, Carrie went to the fridge and pulled out a plate of lemon bars that she had made that morning. She knew Wes was ready to fill them in on his trip. Jessica was going to need some comfort food for this little chat.
Setting everything on the table, Carrie served up the dessert, putting two of the bars on Jessica’s plate. A sweet smile of thanks crossed Jessica’s face and Carrie put a glass of ice cold milk down next to the confection. She had read somewhere that expectant mothers need a lot of calcium. Judging by the size of Jessica’s belly, she needed a lot.
The coffee finished brewing and Carrie poured a cup for Wes. He took a long sip and said, “Perfect, baby. Thank you.” He gave Carrie’s thigh a gentle squeeze with his uninjured hand. “Sit down. I’ll tell you ladies all about it.” Wes’ gray eyes were sad and heavy as he spoke.
“I don’t have much to say. Kevin and I got up there. I used the key Garrett gave me ages ago to let us in. All of Jess’ stuff was packed and lined up by the door, but Garrett was nowhere in sight. The jackass left all the moving up and down three flights of stairs to me and Kevin. By the end, I was just so mad,” he and Mama exchanged a long look, “I mean, I know Garrett can be selfish, but didn’t know he was capable of this.” Wes stopped speaking and looked down at his hand. “After we locked up the back of the truck, I tracked him down at the office. I made Kevin wait in the truck. All I want to say about that part is that Garrett got a lot worse than a few broken fingers. And I’m pretty sure his office is filing a restraining order on me right now.”
“Oh, Wes,” Mama said, wringing her hands. “Did you have to?”
His eyes locked on Mama’s. “My plan wasn’t to go to New York and beat up your baby boy, Mama. I just went to see if I could talk some sense into him. Then he opened his big, dumb mouth and I lost it.”
“What did he say?” Jessica asked, her face looked flushed with emotion, after washing down the last bite of the lemon bar with the milk.
Wes placed a hand on Jessica’s shoulder. “I’ll just tell you this, he’s not coming back. Not anytime soon.”
He left his hand on Jess’ shoulder and let his words sink in.
Holding her breath, Carrie waited for Jess to break down.
Jessica inhaled a deep sigh, then spoke clearly. “I think I knew that. I think that I always knew that.”
The table was quiet for a moment. Carrie saw the sadness and resignation settle over Jessica’s face. “Jessica, you stay here, with us,” she suddenly blurted out.
Mama and Wes both looked at Carrie with surprise. Though the decision had already been made, no one expected Carrie to be the one to make the offer.
Jessica also surprised, said, “I don’t want to intrude, really. I can rent something in Poke until my tenant’s lease is up on my old house. It’s not a problem.”
“And move twice? With a baby coming? No,” Carrie smiled genuinely. “Stay. It will be fun. Like a girls’ sleepover. Wes is staying in the bunkhouse until we get married, so it’ll just be us girls. When we get married in the spring, the baby will be here and your house will be opened back up. We can help you move then.”
Jessica looked to Wes. Everyone knew that Mama would want Jess to stay.
“I have a ton of work to do on the bunkhouse to get it renovated in time for Carrie and me to move in after the wedding. You can keep her and Mama company. And they can help you with all the baby stuff in the beginning.”
“Yes,” Mama said, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “Garrett might be on my hit list right now, but I can’t wait to hold my little grandbaby.” Sensing Jessica’s unease, Ma patted Jessica’s hand gently. “It’s good for a new mama to have a support network around. We can help with the baby and you can rest.”
Jessica smiled at Mama, then looked to Carrie. “Carrie, are you sure? I already owe you so much, just for forgiving me and letting me be a part of your life. I hate to ask this of you.”
Carrie saw the tiredness in Jessica’s eyes, the lines around her mouth, the dark circles under her eyes. The sight quickly melted away any of Carrie’s previous reservations. “Of course,” Carrie answered, feeling herself blush when she caught Wes looking at her lovingly and proudly.
“There’s my girl.” Wes stood, bending down and placing a kiss on the top of Carrie’s head. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a ranch to run.” He gave Jessica’s shoulder a squeeze. “I sure am proud of that brother of yours, Jessica. He worked his tail off moving your stuff, and mad as he was, he kept his cool when I didn’t. I couldn’t run this ranch without him.”
“He’s a good boy,” Jessica said quietly.
Wes turned to Carrie, “Want to help?”
Carrie jumped up from her seat, eager to be with Wes after his short absence. She looked to Mama first and Mama shook her head knowingly, “I can clean up just fine, Carrie. You two go on.”
The couple rode around the ranch together, checking on the livestock, the horses, the barn, the men and the equipment. They stopped to talk to Kevin for a while, and Wes invited him to dinner.
Back at the barn, Carrie and Wes took their time grooming the horses. First, they brushed the shiny coats with a rubber curry comb, and then a stiff bristled one. They picked the horses’ hooves and combed their manes and tails until they were untangled and soft. When Wes and Carrie were satisfied with their work, they headed back to the house for dinner.
Ma and Carrie served the meal that they had planned to cook for Christmas Day. A few hours after Jessica received her bad news on Christmas Eve, Jim and Pam had politely left the ranch and headed home for South Carolina. With Wes and Kevin in New York and Jessica in a miserable state, Mama and Carrie had decided to put off Christmas until Wes returned.
The table was beautifully set. The aroma from the good food filled the room as plates were piled high. There were murmurs of appreciation for the stuffed turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce and creamed potatoes, but there was little joy in the room and it did not feel like Christmas. After dinner, the group was too tired and weary to celebrate after the disheartening chain of events, and the presents sat, lonely and forgotten, under the tree.
After helping Ma finish cleaning up, Carrie walked quietly down the hall to check on Jessica. Wanting to reassure the mother-to-be that Carrie had meant what she had said when Wes returned that day, Carrie peeked into Jessica’s door. Carrie almost dropped the plate with the extra slice of pie that she held in her hands. There on Jessica’s bed sat Wes. She hadn’t heard him come back in from walking Kevin out after dinner. Quietly, Carrie started to back away from the door but stopped when she saw Wes place a gentle kiss on the top of Jessica’s head. The kiss, although appearing completely platonic, made Carrie’s heart sink. Without thinking, she ran as quickly and quietly to the kitchen as she could, put the plate in the sink, and careful not to let the screen door slam, fled the house.
Tying Mabel to the post, Carrie caught her breath from the chilly night ride. The white washed school house stood in front of Carrie, friendly and reassuring. Carrie fumbled under the roof of the porch of the schoolhouse, searching for the key she had hidden there. Standing on the tips of her toes, Carrie could just feel the small piece of cold metal. With a little jump, she knocked the key from the ledge to the ground, reminding herself to find a more suitable place for it.
The lock turned with a satisfy
ing click. Carrie switched on the lights, shutting the solid oak door behind her. Leaning her back against the door, she took in the beauty of the simple room. The yellow wood floors shined, freshly polished by dear Mr. Murphy, who was going to help her keep the building in order. Carrie’s teaching desk stood at the front of the class, ready for the first day of school.
The week that Carrie had moved back to the ranch, she heard that a school in the neighboring town had suffered from a fire, displacing many of the students until a suitable space could be found. Meanwhile, she remembered the little one room school house, sitting just a few acres from the northern most property line of the ranch, that she had seen with Wes on her very first ranch tour. The schoolhouse was a piece of Poke’s history, serving the small-town decades ago, but had been closed for as long as Wes could remember.
Carrie brought the idea of refurbishing the school house to the county school board, to temporarily serve the kindergarten students, with her serving as the teacher while the teachers who suffered from the fire got their affairs in order. The board had loved the idea. Young children were currently bussed, some riding for over an hour, to a school in another county. Parents were thrilled to hear that the youngest members of their family would get the opportunity to learn in a one room setting, close to home. All were eager to help.
Re-opening the Poke school house had brought a sense of community to the small town. The time line was a short one, as Carrie had only introduced the idea the first of December, and the school was set to open for the third quarter, January first. Through the short, chilly hours of winter days, volunteers worked and toiled to bring the building to code, and restore its former glory. Carrie headed up the project, bringing a modern, friendly flair to the classroom. The desks were all equipped with their own little ‘wiggle stools,’ that rocked instead of sitting on all fours. There was a bean bag chair for each child to read in, and a natural play area and garden for the children to take their extended recess. Wes and Kevin had outfitted the building with a huge back porch, much like the one on the ranch, and Carrie could already envision the children sprawled over it, eating their lunches.
It was a labor of love. The project had been completed and the building passed inspection, just a few days before winter break, allowing Carrie just enough time to help Mama prepare for the holiday company.
Carrie headed towards her desk, trailing her fingers over the top of it. She just needed some time to clear her head of the touching scene between Wes and Jessica. And maybe to show Wes that she didn’t appreciate the kiss, though it was a chaste one. A fleeting worry about how Wes would react when he came to tuck her in and found the bed empty crossed her mind. Instead of dwelling on it, Carrie sat down in the wooden chair and began to reorganize her already perfect desk drawer. She would just be a few minutes, then head right home.
A loud slam of the wooden front door made Carrie jump up from her seat. The stapler that she was trying to unjam flew from her hand. She looked up at the large, angry cowboy that filled the frame of the doorway.
Carrie leaped from her chair, standing behind the desk, nervously smoothing her skirt with her hands. “Wes, I,” she began.
“Just a minute.” Wes threw his hand in the air to stop her speech. The heels of his boots made a ‘thud’ sound as he walked over the polished wood floors, coming to a stop in front of the desk. Wes ran his hands through his hair several times, then finally stood still. Hands on his Wrangler clad hips, his silver belt buckle flashing as sharply as his gray eyes, he said, “Carrie.” Then lifting one hand he pointed over her right shoulder, “I’m going to need you to go stand in that corner for a few minutes.”
Carrie turned her head to look behind her. In the front of the room, next to the world map, was an empty corner. Surely, he couldn’t mean he wanted her to stand there. “Wes, why on Earth would I go and stand in the corner of my own classroom?” She put a hand on her own hip for good measure. As soon as her hand touched the fabric of her dress, she realized her mistake. The gray eyes now looked like storm clouds. Wes took an intimidating step towards her. Taking her hand from her hip, Carrie scooted back away from the desk.
“Why on Earth should you go stand in a corner?” His voice was dangerously tranquil as he walked around the desk towards her. Carrie had found that the madder Wes was, the calmer and quieter his voice sounded. Judging by his current tone, she was in serious trouble. Placing both of his hands on the side of the desk, Wes leaned in towards her. “Because I said so.” Lifting his hand again, he pointed to the empty space. His jaw was set. “Now git.”
Scurrying over to the place she had been commanded, Carrie wondered if Wes meant for her to face the wooden walls. Peeping over her shoulder and seeing that Wes had not moved a muscle, his jaw looked tight enough to snap, and reading the clear message in his eyes, she decided that he did, in fact, expect her to face the corner.
With a small sigh, the school teacher turned around and faced the corner. The irony that soon she would command the respect and attention of an entire class in the front of this room, and was now being forced to stand in the corner, was not wasted on her. Her face burned with embarrassment at her position. Wes had always said that she was a strong woman in the world and a good little girl in his arms. Though she was a strong woman and held authority over many, there would always be one that held authority over her. Right now, he was showing her that by running off in the dark of night, she had acted like a naughty child.
The chair scraped against the floor as Wes pulled it out from the desk and took a seat. Not daring to take another peep at him, Carrie could picture his tall, lean frame folded into the chair, one long leg crossed over his knee. She almost smiled at the idea of the handsome cowboy sitting behind her school desk, but one look at the wall reminded Carrie of her predicament and nervous butterflies filled her stomach with dread.
Carrie wanted to talk, chatter away nervously, make excuses for her behavior, but Wes’ silence told her now was not the time. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, Carrie gave another small sigh. Carrie could feel Wes’ eyes on her, and she willed him to speak but the silence stretched on leaving only the sound of the ticking wall clock. Not daring to peek at Wes, she snuck a glance in the other direction to check the time. It was after one in the morning. Now the dread was replaced with a sinking feeling. What had she done? She had only meant to give her future husband a little fright, just a touch of payback for, well for what she didn’t know. Wes’ being nice to Jessica, perhaps? Being nice to his lifelong friend who was now going to be a single mother, left high and dry on Christmas Eve by the father of her child? Shame was now added to the pile of emotions that washed over her. Carrie couldn’t take it anymore. She had to speak. “Wes, I—”
“Not yet, Carrie. I’m still calming down over here.” His voice was quiet, stern, and sounded tired.
Carrie looked down at the tips of her boots peeking out from the bottom of her skirt. She clasped her hands behind her back. Then she moved them and clasped them in front of her. Again, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“Be still.”
The somber voice was the only thing that pierced the silence and it pierced her heart as well. Wes was disappointed in her. Anger or frustration, she could handle. But not his disappointment. As much as she loved to push his buttons from time to time, she absolutely hated to let him down. By running off like that in the dead of night, she had taken things too far. Evaluating the situation from his eyes and not her own brought a stinging shame onto her. Her eyes burned with tears and there was a funny feeling in her throat. She promised herself that she would not cry. That would not be fair to Wes.
The first tear fell. As it hit her dress and made a tiny damp spot, the promise was broken as quickly as it had been made. Carrie began to sob.
The sound of a leg uncrossing and a boot hitting the floor filled the room. “Come here, Carrie girl,” Wes murmured.
Shakily, Carrie tried to stifle her crying. In a ma
tter of seconds, she was out of the corner and sitting in her daddy’s lap, hands tightly wound around his neck.
Wes stroked her hair. Like a puzzle piece, she fit her head perfectly into the crook of his neck. “Oh, Wes, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I saw you and Jess in the room and the moment just looked so tender, I…” a firm grasp on her upper arms stopped her trail of words. Wes held her at arm’s length and locked eyes with her.
“There is just no excuse.” He pronounced each word carefully, his tone restrained.
“But you kissed her.”
The gray eyes flashed with anger. “I kissed the top of her head for goodness sake, like I would if I had a sister. I had just gotten through telling Jessica that although I was proud of you and glad she was on the ranch, we were going to need to find a new arrangement. I told her I didn’t want to put you in this position. Jessica said she understood and I kissed the top of her head, then I stood up and went to your bedroom to find you and tell you what I told her.”
“You did that for me? Carrie asked, surprised.
“Of course. I’m just sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”
“I still didn’t like the kiss,” Carrie said quietly.
“That part we can talk about later,” Wes said, his voice softening. “But when I came to tuck you in, you weren’t in your bedroom, were you?”
“No,” she said in her smallest voice.
“That is the only place you can be after midnight, little girl, your bedroom. And if you did see me kiss the top of Jessica’s head and it upset you, you should have told me.”
“I couldn’t. I felt silly.”
“Doesn’t matter. You should never have left the house at that hour. I couldn’t find you. I was going to wake up Mama and Jess but I thought I’d come here first.” His tone was gentler now. “I had a feeling you’d be here.” Wes reached under Carrie’s chin and tilted her face towards his. “I can see why you were upset. And I can tell you that if it makes you more comfortable, I will never touch Jessica again, even a hug. You mean that much to me and how you feel in our house is more important than anyone else. I care deeply for Jessica, she is family, but you are my one and only little girl and I will do anything,” he forced her to lock her eyes with his, “anything for you.”
Forever Daddy Page 4
