by Anne Martin
She snorted and leaned down to retrieve his whittling. It was taking shape, some kind of animal. “This is coming along. How long have you whittled?”
“Since boy scouts. And my grandpa, the one with the bikes. This was my grandmother’s house, on my mother’s side. They’re all passed now.”
She studied him with that glint and then she patted his knee. “Sorry to hear that. Show me the garage. Jessie, you stay here and tip the delivery boy generously like I taught you.”
“Sure thing, Cora.”
She shot me a look, the first time she’d looked at me. “Grandmother or ma’am, Jessie Strait.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I crossed my arms and glared at her like I was seventeen all over again.
She nodded and then took Jackson’s arm like she was some kind of debutante instead of the toughest cowhand I knew. He patted her fingers and gave me a wink as he led her out to show off his old bikes. He hadn’t shown them to me. He didn’t hold my hand, either.
I shook my head and went to set the table. I didn’t want Jackson to hold my hand. This whole thing was only therapy. That’s why I watched him stand on the patio looking at the moon every night before I went to sleep to dream of him and how it could have been.
Chapter 12
“This house is something,” Cora said as we walked out to the garage.
“Thank you.” I glanced back at the stone fortress and felt something like fondness for the old thing. Jessie was inside, bringing it to life, making it home.
“Why did you want me to come out here?”
I smiled at her. “If Jessie runs off again, I want to make sure we’re still friends.”
“Friends? I’ve known you for a week.”
“All right, family then. I’d like to take care of you.”
She laughed and shook her head, looking somewhat outraged but also amused. “Are you going to ask me to be your mistress? I’m too much for you, tiger.”
I grinned at her. “I’m sure you are. Look, Jessie means a lot to me. You’re part of why she’s the incredible person she is.”
“Incredibly messed up. I wasn’t a great mother the first time round. By the second generation, I didn’t have the energy for it.”
“But you did it anyway. That’s her through and through. She wouldn’t ever let you be sick without taking care of you, would she?”
She blinked at me. “Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn’t. I don’t like that look in your eyes. Gambling eyes, but I don’t know the stakes.”
I put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to give me all your bills and go to a doctor I know who is very good. I’m going to take care of you so that Jessie doesn’t have to. She can go and have her ranch and live her dreams, and she’ll never know that I meddled.”
Her gray brows came together. “What’s in it for you? Why don’t you want Jessie to take care of me?”
“You don’t want to be a burden. Right now, if you’re healthy, you can keep living independently.”
“Can I? Young man, I’ve been independent since I was fifteen. I don’t need your permission.”
I grinned and nodded. “That’s right. But Jessie…” I rubbed my chin. “You know, now that I think about it, if Jessie finds out that you’ve been sick, she’ll probably quit everything and stick around here. If she can’t run, I can probably talk her into marrying me for real.”
She shook her finger in my face. “You think I don’t know better? I’ve been looking into you and your family.”
I licked my lips but kept my casual smile in place. What had she found out?
“You’re trying to make up for what you did to my Jessie. You got saved a while back and are trying to set it straight with God.”
I blinked at her. “Is that right? How do you look into people?”
“I have a friend, said he saw Jessie and you at the cowboy church. You went there today, didn’t you?”
I grinned at her. “I did. You’re right. I’m trying to make up for my past life. Let me repay Jessie by taking care of you.”
“Why don’t you just take care of her? She needs a man.”
I stepped back as she advanced, looking me up and down like she didn’t like what she saw.
“And while you’re at it, take care of yourself. You can’t go around like a do-gooder unless you spend some time on your own health and happiness. Does being with her make you happy?”
“Yes, but—”
“Show me the bikes. This conversation is getting boring.”
“As soon as you agree to give me your doctor’s bills and get a check up with a doctor I know.”
“Fine. Persistent youngster. Good. You’ll have to be persistent to make that girl stick.”
When we got back to the house, the breakfast room was all set. It wasn’t as big as the fancy big dining room, and she’d lit a fire so it was cheerful and charming with the fine china.
“Who does the dishes?” Cora demanded, frowning at the gold rimmed plate.
“We do them together,” I said with a smile at Jessie.
She blushed and stared down at her plate. I stared at her until the blush faded from her cheeks. She’d noticed how it felt, warm water, our skin sliding together and apart, working in time in perfect harmony. Somehow I hadn’t kissed her shoulder or neck. I knew that would send her running. It was still tempting, particularly knowing that my feelings weren’t my own. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, otherwise, why would she stand at her window, her shadow cast at my feet every night?
She watched me when she thought I wasn’t looking, and she blushed when I didn’t say anything. I wanted her. I wanted her for good, but she was set on putting us behind her. If that’s what she truly wanted, I’d have to respect that, but I wasn’t giving up her friendship again. Wherever she ended up in life, I wanted to know and cheer her on.
The wedding on Friday was coming too soon. She’d leave the next morning. She had a hotel reservation for the night of our wedding, just for her. It wasn’t in a fancy hotel, but close to the airport, where she’d catch her flight the next morning.
On Wednesday night, I was waiting by the door when she got back from her final fitting. I wasn’t supposed to see her in the dress. She came in, kicked off her heels and then stopped short when she saw me.
“Jackson. Are you okay?”
“I have a wedding present for you.”
Her blue eyes got big and bambi-like. “That’s not necessary. We’re not really getting married. Are you really okay with that? We can cancel. Buy all those cars back and just…”
I walked over and put the papers in her hands. “It’s been the most amazing therapy. Cowboy beans and whittling have never been so effective. If we were really getting married, I’d give it to you after the wedding. Not really. Open it up.”
She hesitated then sighed and bit her bottom lip, opening the manila envelope and sliding out the papers I’d had a contact of mine work very hard to procure.
“It’s a birth certificate. Jessie Jasmine Strait, citizen of Monaco?” She stared at me, puzzled. “You forged a birth certificate for me? How did you find out about my middle name?”
“Hotel records. No, this is actually legal, and you have dual citizenship in Monaco and the U.S. You’re a legal citizen.”
She stared at me, confused. “How could you possibly track down hotel records from thirty years ago? That’s just…” She bent down to study the certificate then glanced through the other documents. She stared at the college diploma with her name on it. “I already had this.”
“But it was linked to a different Jessie Strait. Poor girl didn’t have a very happy life, did she? This is you, your social security number, the whole thing.”
She glanced through it, saw the cards, the I.D. the whole package including a passport. “Are you kidding me? This looks really authentic.”
“Because it is.”
She shook her head and started mumbling about how impossible it was and how this wasn’t necessary since she had perfectly
good fake papers to use to get the marriage license.
She looked up suddenly. “Jasmine.” She took a step closer to me and jabbed my chest with her finger, reminding me of her grandma a little bit. It made me smile. “You actually had someone go through the hotel records in Monte Carlo. You actually made me legal? That was more effort than my dad ever wanted to bother with.”
I shrugged. “I have a lot of connections, you know, sororities and green blood brothers. We all bleed green. For money. It wasn’t anything more than a few calls here and there. I hope you don’t mind. I’m used to doing things legally.”
She threw her arms around me and pressed her face against my neck while she sobbed. I held her tight and closed my eyes, breathing in the feel and scent of her. We stood like that for a long time, probably longer than could be justified by her happiness at being legal, but I didn’t say anything when she finally pulled away, brushing tears from her cheeks.
“Is there anything else we need? Your friends are flying in tomorrow, right? Should I have someone come in to do the cooking and cleaning? The whole place is going to be even crazier than it’s been the last few days, setting up tables and décor, and don’t forget the alligator pit. I’m personally helping with that. It’ll be good to have something for the manly men to do.”
She stared at me and shook her head. “No alligator pit. Seriously, Jackson, this is…” She bit her bottom lip and then gave me a quick kiss on my cheek, just the barest brush of her lips, but it made me ache in ways I’d never felt.
I smiled at her. “I’m glad you like it.”
“I didn’t get you a present. I could give you…” Her eyes went really big and her cheeks flushed pink.
“Don’t even think about it. If you want to give me something, let it be your phone number.”
“My phone number?”
I nodded soberly. “I want you to be my friend after this. I want to go to dinner with you and Cora once or twice a year. I want to call you when I feel anxious and want to throw my life away. You were always more than the girl I wanted in my bed. I need you to keep the beast of gambling at bay.”
She shook her head, looking adorably confused and cute. “You don’t have my phone number?”
“Nope.”
“Okay. Give me your phone.” She held out her hand and I gave it over. She put her information in it and then took a picture of herself wearing a sweet shy smile that wasn’t anything like Jezabel.
Chapter 13
He’d made me legal. We did all the blood work, all the legalities, including proving my identity with my brand new pack of legal papers. I looked through it whenever I was alone. It was all there, every little bit of proof that I wasn’t some shiftless nobody that had never had a home.
He wanted to be my friend. He texted me every once in awhile, asking what I wanted for dinner, about how I should read a really boring philosophy book so I’d have no trouble sleeping at night, and how he was feeling things he didn’t want to feel, how about Go Fish?
I’d drop whatever I was doing and meet him in the den for a serious game. We’d elevated the tradition to include snacks and extra rules that made it a little more risky.
We were in the den playing Go Fish when I heard Trixie yelling and a high-pitched scream.
“They’re here!” I grinned at Jackson and grabbed his hand, dragging him into the main hall where Trixie was talking on her phone while trying to take a coat off a little toddler who kept trying to crawl off.
I dropped to my knees and helped the little princess. Lucy stared at me with big blue eyes, her golden curls spilling over her forehead.
“Hello, Lucy! You’re so big! Do you want to see what I made for you?”
She stared at me, not certain, but with a little encouragement, I held her hand and she toddled into the den with me.
Trixie came after, still on the phone. “You don’t need to remind me about the car seat, Horse. We’re here. If it wasn’t attached correctly, it’s too late to worry about it, and you’ll be here to make sure it’s done right on the trip back. You’re insane, you know that? I love you. Yes. I really, really love you and am not going to drink without you. I promise. Seriously. Hanging up now.” She clicked off and dropped her phone on the side table before throwing herself on the couch.
“Welcome to Texas,” Jackson said, lingering near the door as he looked from the toddler to Trix. “I’m Jackson. I’ll leave you two to catch up. If you need anything, text me,” he said, giving me a warm smile that made my toes curl on the cold stone.
“Okay. Bye.” Was I blushing? Of course not. I pulled out the little crochet doll with the frilly petticoat and held it out to the girl. She grabbed my ring and yanked on it.
Trix snorted. “And that’s her in a nutshell. She’s a princess and she knows it. Horse is in love with her, and she wants to sleep on my face every night. Do you know how much action we have in bed? Way too much, and definitely not the right kind. It’s all back-fist to the face and switch-kick to the gut. Your man is kind of cute if you like puppies, which you do. He wags his tail every time he looks at you with those big old pound puppy eyes.”
I cleared my throat. “Thanks for coming. I have a really nice room for you. There’s an adjoining nursery that is super pretty, fit for a princess,” I said, disentangling Lucy’s pudgy fingers from my ring and handing her the doll.
“Did you make that? Cute. If she likes it, she’ll scream every time it falls behind the couch. I’m going to get a dog to watch her toys so we don’t lose them. I’m going to be deaf by the time I’m forty. With lungs like that, she’s probably going to be a metal death singer. I’m definitely going to be deaf early. I’ll make a point of it. Can I sleep here for a minute? I’ll just take this throw. This is a good couch. Most of these rich houses don’t have rooms that are good for anything other than looking rich. This house is good. It can hold up to dogs and kids.”
She pulled the throw over her shoulder and in a few minutes I could hear her snoring.
“Do you want to look at the horses?” I asked Lucy.
She stared at me, which I took for a yes. She was barely walking, maybe ten months old. I carried her across the grass and to the barn. A lot of people were around, setting things up, tents and pens. It was going to be utterly insane.
I was holding Lucy on the pen, stroking the horse and feeding her sugar when Jackson and Horse came in.
I felt weird, seeing Horse in a barn, because I wasn’t the Jezabel he knew so well, not around Jackson. I would have flashed him a smile and winked at him and said something about his man-whore reputation.
He eyed me like he wasn’t sure what to do with me, either. “Jez. Good to see you. Where’s Trix?”
“She’s snoring on the couch.”
He exhaled and nodded, tucking his hands in his pockets while he studied Lucy. She smiled at him and held her hands out. He took her, sort of apologetically, then bounced her and started talking nonsensically, “Lucy, did you see the horsies? Did Aunt Jezzie give you the dolly? That’s so pretty. Trix is pregnant again,” he said in that same bouncy voice. I stared at him and he gave me a weird look. “Irish twins, apparently. She’s a little bit upset about it. So, is there any way to hide all your liquor?” He glanced at Jackson.
Jackson looked at me and I shrugged.
“Sure. We can have non-alcoholic drinks instead of the champagne. Jessie doesn’t like liquor anyway. I’ll head into the house and take care of the bar. It locks.” Jackson took off while I sighed and called up Deb.
“Hey, do you mind if we don’t have any alcohol at the wedding?”
She went real quiet. “Are you joking?”
“I know that it’s last minute, but I have a friend who’s having a little trouble staying sober, and she’s pregnant, so it’s kind of important.”
“Friend? Is this your maid of honor?” She sighed heavily. “Sure. I’m not going to ask what you want instead, because I’m just going to get whatever I can last minute. Good thing I
love you so much. Also that you’re paying so much.” She hung up without saying good-bye.
I sighed and lowered the phone to look at Horse and the little girl in his arms. I’d seen them often enough since they got married, but it was probably the first time I’d been alone with him.
“I knew him in college,” Horse said, nodding the way Jackson had gone.
“Oh. Me too.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You were at Harvard?”
“Not exactly my alma mater.”
He nodded and shifted. “He’s a good person.”
“So you’re wondering what he’s doing with me?”
“Honestly?” He fixed me with those piercing blue eyes. “I’m wondering what you’re doing with him. He’s a little boring for someone with your tastes.”
“You’re talking as though you know something about my tastes. I don’t recall us being quite that friendly.”
“You live on the edge. You thrive on the edge. How long are you going to play house with someone like that?”
“Like what, exactly? He’s a gambler, Horse. If you’re looking for a flaw that makes him suitable for me, look no further than that. He’s gambled away the entirety of his hefty fortune. We sold off the Bugatti yesterday morning. That car was so incredible. It hurt my soul, watching that old vulture drive it away.”
“As if you have a soul.” He grinned at me.
I grinned back. “If I did, only something that beautiful could move it. Lucy’s gotten even prettier. Where did she get those golden curls?”
His mouth tightened. “My grandmother had blond hair. The curls are from Trix.” His eyes were so hard, dangerous. It made me smile bigger. Harder.
“A better story is that Trix was a tow head and went dark later.”
“Is that right?” He nodded and his smile softened. “You’re probably right. She wasn’t supposed to be able to have one kid. Two kids so soon? She won’t get a nanny, and some nights I get back from work and she’s just laying on the couch with fruit snacks stuck in her hair, while Lucy stares at the tv watching races and chewing on tires. Can you talk to Trix about it? It’s not a bad thing to get help when you need it. She thinks if she gets help, her mom will freak and insist on moving in with us. If Trix needs bed rest again, I’m going to ask her mom to come and get a nanny. What’s the point of having resources if she won’t let me use them?”
