“I am.”
“I’m Carrie. I used to be married to Holden. Can we talk for just a minute?” Glancing over Jo’s shoulder, she added, “Hey, Dare. How are you?”
“What are you doing here, Carrie?”
Jo turned to him with a smile. “It’s okay, Dare. I’ll be right back.” He didn’t look happy as she circled her workbench and approached the other woman. “How about we walk across the street to the diner? We can grab a coffee.”
Carrie nodded and followed. Jo was in jeans, a t-shirt, and work boots. Her hair was in a ponytail and clear lip balm was the only makeup she wore. As they stepped off the curb, she removed her work gloves and stuck them in her tool belt.
The older lady who owned the diner handed them menus as they slid into a booth. Her eyes were wide. “Thanks, Dina. I’ll have a coffee.” Carrie nodded. “Make that two.”
When she walked away, Jo focused her attention on the woman she would have felt threatened by, once upon a time. Not anymore. She was curious what she had to say.
“I hear you’re a good person.” It wasn’t what Jo was expecting and when Carrie lifted her face, there were tears in her eyes. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”
At that, Jo smiled softly. Excellent…because there’s not a chance in hell I’d let you.
“I was never meant to be a mother. I don’t have the gene. From everything I’ve seen and heard, you have it. I’m glad. The twins look real happy with you as their mama.”
“Thank you. I love them.” The coffee arrived and they drank for a moment, Carrie to calm down and Jo to prepare mentally for whatever the woman wanted.
The redhead tapped her perfectly manicured nail on the mug. “I thought it was because of how I caught Holden, you know? I figured that was why the mom thing didn’t kick in for me. That I was being punished for what I did.”
“Tell me why you’re here, Carrie.” Jo leaned her arms on the table.
“I met someone at the bar. I fell in love with him and I knew he was the person I was supposed to wait for…only I didn’t. I made a lot of mistakes.”
She looked through the diner window and took a deep breath. “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought it would be different. That I’d want that baby because everything about my relationship was different.”
Carrie met Jo’s eyes. “It wasn’t. I cannot stand being a mother. You never have to worry about me trying to take the girls because that is a job I don’t want.”
Internally, she exhaled in relief. Not that she would have allowed anyone to take her girls. Still, it was good to hear that there would be no need to fight.
Something niggled at the back of her mind. She remained quiet for almost a minute as she nailed it down. Choosing her words carefully, she asked, “Are you saying the girls have a sibling?”
“They do.”
Their eyes locked across the table for a long moment and Jo whispered, “You don’t want that baby either. Do you?”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “No, I don’t. The daddy is no more father material than I’m mom material. We hate everything about being parents. I got fixed right after he was born. Don’t care how young I am, I’m not chancing another kid.”
“It’s…a boy?”
Carrie took out her phone and turned the screen to Jo. The most beautiful baby boy stared back at her. His eyes were green, just like his sisters. Just like Holden. Just like her own.
“I heard you can’t have kids. That true?” Jo nodded. “Take him. You can raise all of them.”
“Why?”
“I’ve watched you with the girls.” She shook her head. “I honestly don’t know how the fuck you do it. Running all the damn time.” She sighed. “Plus, he’s their half-brother.”
She swallowed hard. “It wouldn’t be right to leave him at a hospital or a church. Not knowing who he was.” The expression on Carrie’s face said clearly that she’d considered such an option many times.
Unable to understand such thinking, Jo sat back and gripped her hands in her lap. “Tell me plain. What exactly do you want out of this deal and what are you willing to make legal, Carrie? I won’t play around with the lives of children.”
The coldness of the woman across from her was foreign. Jo had to protect her girls. If she could, she’d protect their little brother as well. She couldn’t do any less.
“I want to release my parental rights for all three children to you and Holden. He can afford the legal stuff it will take to make it happen. I also want twenty grand to start fresh with my man somewhere. Once I leave, you’ll never hear from me again.”
“You know you’ll have to deal with Holden face to face?”
For the first time, Carrie smiled and Jo saw smugness in it. “Sure, Jo. Since you’ll be there, I know there won’t be any trouble.”
Put a baby in the picture and Jo was putty. For the most part.
She leaned on the table and crossed her arms, letting the silence draw out until Carrie began to fidget nervously. Her words were softly spoken. “I hear what you’re saying, Carrie. I do. What I need you to understand is that most of the talk about me these days has to do with me being a wife and mother. How nice and sweet I am.”
Her own smile was one few people had ever seen on her face. “I’m not like you. I come from a very different place. You do anything to hurt my family and I’ll make sure you’re breathing through a tube for the rest of your life.”
The other woman’s eyes widened and all trace of smugness disappeared.
“We come to an agreement, you hold up your end of it, and all will be sweetness and light. You fuck me, even look like you’re thinking about fucking me, and I will end you. Are we crystal clear, sweetheart?”
Carrie nodded slowly.
Jo sat back and took a sip of her coffee. “I need to talk to Holden. Where are you staying?” She murmured the name of a local motel and the room number. “I’ll call you in two hours.”
With that, she stood, threw money on the table, and said, “Let’s wrap this up so all of us can move on.”
She waved at Dina, stepped out the door, and slipped her sunglasses into place. Since she knew Carrie was watching her, she took her time.
Instead of going to the outside tent where she’d been working, she went inside the building they were renovating. The moment the diner was out of sight, she pulled her phone from her back pocket to call her husband. The phone rang and rang when suddenly she was grabbed by her shoulders and spun around.
“What the fuck did that woman want? Are you alright?” Holden’s eyes raked over her, checking her out for injury or emotional upset. “I swear to god…”
She grinned. “Overprotective much? You were all the way in Bartlesville. How the hell did you make here so quick, babe?”
“Jet pack. Answer me, Jo. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Holden. We need to talk.”
He held her hand firmly as he led her through the building to the back where his truck was parked. “Oh no, darlin’. I’m not getting in your truck.” She chuckled. “That will lead to things other than talking and this is important.”
Holden leaned against the side with a smile, obviously relieved that she wasn’t in tears or worse after spending time with his ex-wife.
Jo paced back and forth in front of him. It took a few minutes for her to gather her thoughts. Once she did, she told him about her conversation with Carrie and what the woman wanted in rapid-fire sentences.
His scowl slowly deepened with every word. “Let me see if I understand, Jo. My ex-wife wants us to adopt her kid? The kid she had with some man she ran off with more than five years ago? The guy she abandoned two little girls in a house alone for…to give her more time to escape?”
Hands on her hips, Jo stopped in front of him. “Dial back your pride for one minute and focus on two things. One, he isn’t just her kid. Andy and Abby have a little brother. Not from us but that isn’t the point. They are blood related to that baby.”
She took a deep breath and told him the hardest part. “Two, she doesn’t want him, Holden. She doesn’t want that innocent baby and he looks just like the girls. A boy…we could have a little boy of our very own.”
* * * * *
Holden stared at his wife for a long moment and saw so much more than she was saying. In the years they’d been married, she hadn’t talked about her inability to have children but he knew it hurt her deeply.
She wanted another baby. Desperately. He hadn’t realized how much.
He approached her, his hands gentle as he cupped her shoulders. “This baby wouldn’t be from either of us, Jo. Not like the twins.”
“If…if we were to adopt it wouldn’t be any different. He might not be ours but his connection to the girls is real.”
Had she thought about adopting? Why hadn’t she said anything?
“Three children from Carrie…”
“Three children of mine, Holden. Make no mistake. I forget those girls aren’t mine and I’d immediately forget this little boy wasn’t either. If you think you won’t be able to get past who his birth mother is…I need you to tell me now.”
Then his beautiful wife, who was stronger than anyone he’d ever met, covered her face and burst into tears.
“Jo…oh god. Come here.” He held her hard and stroked her back. “You’ve been thinking about some things for a while now, haven’t you?”
“The girls are getting so big. Almost ten now and I missed everything in the beginning. They’re going to be off to college before you know it.”
He tipped her face back with a grin. “I think we have a little time before we set them up in their dorm, Jo.” The woman who held his heart simply stared at him, waiting.
Holden knew she’d understand if he told her that taking Carrie’s baby would be too hard. He also knew it would damage something important between them.
For the rest of her life, she’d wonder where the child was, if he was safe, cared for, and if he’d ever come calling to meet his sisters.
Cupping her face in his palms, he stared into her bright green eyes and was awed by JoEllen as a human being, as a woman, as his wife, and as the mother his girls adored.
In the end, there wasn’t a choice. She asked for so little and he loved her more than he loved himself.
“You’re the best person I know. You’ll be as good a mom to this little boy as you are to the twins.” Jo jumped up and wrapped her body around him. His arms were tight across her back and under her ass. “She’d better stick to her side of the bargain, Jo.”
She leaned back and quirked a brow. “Don’t worry about a thing, Holden. I got that all wrapped up.” He was both terrified and turned on by the expression on her face. “I love you and you won’t regret this.”
Then she kissed him and it was the first time between them all over again. Every single time he kissed her, touched her, made love to her…it was like he’d never had the chance before. He held her against the side of his truck so he could touch her.
“Boss, um, you can’t be taking your wife on the jobsite.” Dare’s chuckle from the open window of the second floor had them looking up. “Dear god, do you ever let that woman have a comfortable bed to lie on?”
Jo winked at her husband. “Every night and every morning, Dare.”
“Well, okay then!” He whistled and ducked back inside.
Holden made an executive decision and took his wife home for lunch. She was late getting back to work. Again.
* * * * *
It took three weeks to get the legal particulars worked out with an attorney in Tulsa who specialized in private adoptions. Jo was an emotional wreck the entire time.
Once every detail was in place, Carrie met them in the conference room of the law office with her boyfriend Mark. The tall, lanky man held a baby carrier over his arm.
Jo and Holden signed the papers and they were pushed across the table for the biological parents.
“Is that all you need from me?” Mark looked bored. When the attorney confirmed that his part was finished, the man nodded at everyone in the room, set the baby carrier beside Carrie, and headed for the door. “I’ll meet you in the car, baby.”
Watching him go without a backward glance at his biological son, Jo and Holden could barely contain their shock.
Carrie shrugged. “I told you this life wasn’t for us. If I’d realized sooner, I would have ended the pregnancy.” A sharp inhale from Jo made her blush. “Look, you’re all earth mother and shit. That isn’t me.” She glanced at Holden. “That has never been me. I made a mistake – lots of them – and I’m sorry.”
His eyes widened. After a long moment, he nodded once.
There were several more papers regarding the girls and the settlement. Jo insisted on using her savings. She’d told him, “I can’t think of a better place to invest it than in our family.”
Finally, the legalities were done and the cashier’s check changed hands. Carrie stood up and set a large duffle bag on the table. “This is all his stuff. He’s not a bad baby. Hardly cries and all. You’ll like him. He’ll be three months old next week.”
She brought him around the table and turned the carrier.
Jo was shaking when she moved to unbuckle him from the seat. “Hello, baby boy.” She lifted and held him. “David, you’re just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.”
Placing him on her shoulder, she patted his back and he cooed. Holden stroked her hair, then the baby’s head, and gave her a huge smile as tears tracked down her cheeks.
“Whoa. You’re way more the mom type than I even realized.” Carrie shook her head in confusion and Jo had no idea what to say. “Have a good one and thanks.” Then she picked up her purse and walked away.
Just like that.
Jo sat down and laid him along her thighs. Holden crouched beside her. The baby slept while she checked his diaper, rubbed his tummy to make sure he didn’t have gas, and basically inspected him all over for herself.
“You’re perfect. Yes you are.” He opened his eyes and stared at her. They were a green halfway between Jo’s light and Holden’s dark. “Hello, David.”
The toothless smile the little boy gave them slammed him full-force into their hearts and an hour later, they took him home to meet his sisters.
It was immediately clear that between the four of them, the poor baby would probably never learn to walk.
Abandonment
A Short Story by Shayne McClendon
Park Savage glanced up from cleaning glasses as one of his waitresses rushed into the bar. Carrie looked nervous, maybe even scared, and it gave him a prickle on the back of his neck.
“I need my last check, Park.” Her voice was high and fast.
“You going somewhere?” He took in the lanky man standing behind her with a frown.
“Just pay me so I can get going,” she snapped. She was a good waitress and the customers seemed to like her but she had attitude and selfishness to spare.
“The girls with you?” Her disgusted expression told him they were the last thing on her mind. “They alright, Carrie?”
“Yeah. They’re fine, Park. Sleeping last I saw. Come on! Just give me my check!”
From beneath the bar, he unlocked a small cash box screwed to the hardwood without taking his eyes off the pair too long. Counting out the cash that equaled her paycheck, he locked the box and pulled his .38 a little closer. The guy behind her didn’t seem interested in anything but getting away with the married woman he’d been carrying on with but Park had learned a long time ago not to take chances. People did real stupid shit when they were desperate.
He held her money over the bar and she snatched it from him, stuffing it inside a zippered wallet that was already filled with cash.
She didn’t look at him as she murmured, “See ya, Park. Take care of yourself.”
Then her and her man practically ran from the building. He quickly went to the front window, pulling out his cell phone on the way. They were climbin
g on a custom Harley and he took a picture of the license plate. Scrolling through his contacts, he called a construction company in Owasso.
“This is Mayes,” said the voice on the other end of the line as the motorcycle roared to life and tore from the parking lot.
“Hey there, Holden. Listen, your wife just picked up her last check. Looks like she’s leaving town and says your girls are okay, that they were sleeping when she left.” He could hear the sound of slamming as the panicked father left his office and got in his truck. “I’ll shoot you a picture of the bike. It has the tag number.”
“Thanks, Park.”
“Call me if you need anything, Holden.”
There was a long pause and the squealing of tires. “Yeah, I’ll do that. I appreciate the heads up.”
Ending the call, Park texted Holden the photo and reached out to his only other waitress for the floor. “Hey, Tina. I hate to bother you on your day off but is there any way you can work the next few nights?”
“Sure. Anything wrong?”
“Carrie just left town.”
“With that shady motherfucker she’s been fooling around with?”
“The very same. Holden’s on his way out to their place.”
The silence was thick. “She left the girls?” He made a sound of acknowledgement. “She left them alone and took off with her new man?”
“That’s sure what it looked like.” Releasing a heavy sigh, he added, “I’m glad he didn’t hold me up while they were at it. He sure is a sketchy one.”
“Shit. Poor Holden. Let me make sure Miss Sadie knows what’s going on. I’ll be in around five.”
“Thanks, Tina. You’re an angel.”
“Nah, just better to work and keep myself out of trouble.”
They hung up and Park rubbed his hand over his face. In a place like his, a person saw a lot of fucked up people and situations as the years went by. He wondered again if he shouldn’t have gone into ranching with his brother instead of opening The Dog Pound.
Walking behind the gleaming wood surface he’d finished and set in place himself, he thought about the life he’d left behind a few hours south of where he stood. The place, the friends, and the woman he’d wanted more than anything once upon a time.
Gravity: A Country Romance Page 11
