Jessie Belle: The Women of Merryton - Book One

by Peel, Jennifer

  She sat up and yelled to her sister Avery, “Aunt Jessie, thinks they’re good names! I told you so!”

  I was the honorary aunt.

  Avery looked at her like she couldn’t care less about her opinion, and went back to swinging away with Emmy.

  “My mommy won’t let me touch the kitties yet, but I really, really want to.” She gave her mom such a look.

  I tried not to laugh. Or cry. Oh, how I wanted my own little girl to sit on my lap and squeeze tight.

  Before she jumped down, I kissed her cheeks and off she ran to probably taunt her sister some more.

  “You have your hands full with that one,” I commented.

  “You’re preaching to the choir, sister,” Abby replied.

  “Avery is just like you though, sweet and levelheaded. I’ve been watching her with Emmy.”

  “She’s a good girl, but I think hormones may be kicking in.”

  “Fun,” Cheyenne said. “But soon Jessie can give you advice on how to raise a teen girl.”

  “Could you keep your voice down? Do you know how ballistic this town is going to go when that news comes out?”

  “You should start telling people now so when she gets here it won’t be such a shock to everyone’s system,” Abby wisely counseled.

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll have to talk to Blake about it. How do you even go about announcing that?”

  “I say you get some of those birth announcements, and maybe put it in the Daily Press,” Cheyenne suggested with more sarcasm than was necessary.

  On that note, baseball practice was over. Easton, Shane, and even Blake came walking our way. It wasn’t a bad sight. They made the forties look good—sweat, dirt, and all.

  Shane lovingly kissed Abby on the cheek when he approached her. Easton called for Emmy, and Blake stopped about five feet short of me and looked between Cheyenne and me like he wasn’t sure what he should do.

  Cheyenne rolled her eyes. “You two need help,” she said before she walked off waving to us all. I noticed she gave Easton his own goodbye and wink. Sometimes I wondered how we ever became friends.

  Easton approached us with Emmy. “Thanks, Jessie.”

  “Anytime.” I smiled down at Emmy. “Tell your dad he needs to bring you by the café more often. I have some cinnamon rolls with your name on them.”

  She smiled shyly and turned into her dad.

  Easton smiled at me. “We’ll come by Saturday.”

  “See you then.”

  Easton patted Blake’s shoulder, “See you later, man.”

  Blake nodded in acknowledgement.

  I was glad to know it wasn’t only me he was quiet for.

  I gave hugs and kisses to Isabelle and Avery and said my goodbyes to Abby and Shane. Then I was left with only my husband.

  “You looked good out there,” I said almost coyly, which was ridiculous.

  He stepped closer, looking at me intently. “Thanks.”

  “So, are you ready to go home?”

  “I need to head back to the Newels’ place and finish up some things.”

  “Oh.” It was almost eight, but that was Blake. “I’ll see you later then.” I actually felt disappointed. I turned and walked toward my car. I had almost made it when I heard Blake call out behind me.

  “Jessica!”

  I turned to see Blake making his way toward me in long strides. I waited for him in front of my Tahoe.

  This time when he approached me, he came closer. So much so I could smell the mixture of sweat and his cologne. It wasn’t bad.

  He took his hat off and ran his fingers through his sweat-drenched hair. “Do you want to come out to the Newels’ place with me? I’d like to show you something.”

  Was he nervous? He was acting nervous. He kept running his fingers through that dark hair of his and looking down at his shoes and then back up at me.

  “Yes.” I couldn’t believe he was asking me to come with him. We never mixed business and personal. Heck, we never mixed personal with personal, as of late.

  He placed his ball cap back on his head and gave me a crooked little grin. “I’ll follow you home and then we can drive out together.”

  Together, I thought. “I’d like that.”

  He quickly turned and made his way to his truck across the parking lot. For a moment I watched him go. I wondered what had gotten into him and what he wanted to show me. The Newels owned a beautiful house on Merryton Lake, but they only lived there in the summers. I didn’t know that they had contracted with Blake to do some work for them. But then again, I didn’t know much about my husband’s business other than what other people told me. We shared mutual customers and many of them raved and raved about what good work my husband did. No one had to tell me. He was a master craftsman.

  We only stopped at home long enough for me to park my Tahoe in the garage. Blake waited for me in his truck. Again, I long ago gave up any hope of him opening a car door for me. I think he did once on our wedding day as we left the reception for the airport to fly to Mexico. Our time there was the most glorious week ever. The beach looked good on Blake. Or should I say, Blake looked good on the beach. I think it was the last time I really saw Blake relax. Maybe we should go to the beach.

  At first we said nothing, which was just sad. I guess if someone had to make the first move, it could be me. “Thanks again for agreeing to play on the team. I’m sorry it’s interfering with your work.”

  “It’s not interfering. I’m running behind today because I had to get Madeline into summer school at the junior high.”

  “How did you swing that? And why are you putting her into summer school?”

  “Let’s just say her mother hasn’t been very diligent about her schooling and she’s struggling to the point they want to hold her back a year.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Blake was not a happy camper. His white knuckles gripped the steering wheel and there was a tightness to his tone. He glanced my way briefly. “I’m the sorry one. I know none of this is fair to you.”

  “What does fair mean?” I sadly smiled. “I don’t think any of this is fair to anyone. You’ve missed out on her life and she’s missed out on having a father. Her mother has a terrible disease. There’s plenty of unfairness to go around.”

  “But you deserve better than this.”

  “You know my dad said the same thing?” I teased. “You guys finally agree on something.”

  “No. We’ve always agreed on that, but selfishly I still wanted you.”

  I grinned and looked out my window. I wasn’t used to Blake being so open and I wasn’t quite sure how to react. I’m pretty sure I liked it. I was only afraid it wouldn’t last.

  We were silent the remainder of the twenty-minute drive, but at least it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind, or worse, the silent treatment.

  I loved the lake and it looked beautiful at night with the large, gorgeous homes that were lit up around it. The moon added to the ambience as it shined almost full and reflected against the ripples of the lake.

  The Newels’ outdoor security lights were on, but other than that, the house was dark. Even in the dark you could tell it was a magnificent home. It was a large, two-story log cabin, with a walk-out basement. Their backyard faced the lake and they had their own private loading dock. Mason Newel had been an investment broker and had done quite well for himself. Mason and Roberta Newel were friends of my parents, and on a few occasions I had been invited to some of the over-the-top parties they threw in the summertime. Blake had been invited as well, but he and large groups of people didn’t mix. Really, he and people didn’t mix, usually. He could do well with one-on-one situations, but people really weren’t his thing. I, on the other hand, loved people, at least mostly.

  We walked around to the backdoor entrance where Blake let us in. Blake flipped on the light switch to reveal probably the best man cave in Merryton: theater-size television, billiards, darts, a bar - you get the picture. I wouldn’t have been s
urprised if they had smoking jackets hanging in the closet.

  “Nice,” I commented as we walked through the room to the stairs.

  Blake shrugged.

  “It’s a little different than your workshop.”

  He looked back at me from the step above and smiled.

  “A smile?” I grinned.

  He didn’t say anything other than to reach for my hand and lead me through the darkened home to the master bath. I did love the feel of his hand. There was something comforting about it.

  When we reached our destination he released me and illuminated the room with a flip of a switch.

  I was immediately overwhelmed by the sight before me. If I could pick any bathroom in the world, this would be the bathroom. I placed my hand across my heart. “Did you do this?”

  “Yeah,” he said like it was no big deal.

  “It’s beautiful. You’re amazing.”

  He shrugged it off.

  I reached for his hand. “Really, you are.”

  He squeezed my hand once. “Thanks. I just need to finish applying the finish to two of the cabinet doors and then we can go.”

  “Can I take a peek around?”

  “Of course.”

  I let go of his hand and immediately went for the walk-in shower. I had always wanted one with the rain shower feature, exactly like what was before my eyes. It was done in the most beautiful slate grey tile, and you could walk through on either end, as there were no doors. There was also a custom-made bench inside.

  “Do I dare even ask why this bench in here is so large?” I called out to Blake. My voice echoed in the large shower. I was in love.

  He actually chuckled. “Believe me, I didn’t ask when they gave me the specifications for it.”

  I peeked around the shower. “A smile and a laugh all in one night?”

  “So you like it?” he asked.

  “I love it.” I looked at the sunken round tub for two—or maybe even three—right next to the shower, with rounded steps leading up to it. “Everything is perfect.”

  Blake was carefully situating a cabinet door with a beautiful pine stain as he prepared to add a layer of finish to it. “What would you think about doing something like this in our bathroom?” he asked almost offhandedly, as he was paying attention to his task at hand.

  “Are you serious? I thought you said bathrooms like these were impractical and unnecessary.” When we designed our home I had wanted a larger shower for two and a sunken tub for the both of us as well, but Blake was more of a jump in and jump out kind of guy; I had never even seen him take a bath. I had tried jumping in the shower with him on occasion, but he seemed almost annoyed at my presence since he had to maneuver around me. Don’t get me wrong—we had a beautiful bathroom. The tile work alone that Blake had done in our shower was a work of art. The stand-alone tub for one stood nicely on a raised wooden platform, giving it an artistic feel, but neither were couple-friendly.

  “I was thinking we could knock the wall out to my closet and use that space to add a new rain shower, and I could replace our tub with something similar to this. Since your closet faces the outside wall I could expand it out and we could share the space.”

  “That’s a lot of work.”

  “I wouldn’t be able to start on it until late fall.”

  Late fall, I thought. Would we still be together? I knew in his mind that was the only option, and it wasn’t that I didn’t want that too, I just wasn’t sure what this summer would bring. We had a huge change coming our way and we were already on unstable ground. Before I said something I would probably regret, I remembered something wise Abby had said to me earlier. She said I shouldn’t worry about the finish line. That I should focus on making the here and now work and let the future take care of itself. I loved that girl.

  I took a deep breath. “I would love a bathroom like this if you think you could manage the time. I’ll split the cost with you.” I hated adding that last part. I more than hated that we didn’t share finances.

  “Don’t worry about the cost, I have it covered.”

  Part of me wanted to squeal. I took out my phone and snapped some pictures so I could show Abby and Cheyenne and so I could look at it from time to time. I held my stomach and realized I felt something I hadn’t in a long while: anticipation. I also felt something else—hungry. My stomach growled in the silence.

  “Are you hungry?” Blake asked.

  “How could you tell?”

  “You should have told me you hadn’t eaten.”

  I forgot in the weirdness of him asking me to come with him. “It’s no big deal, I’ll eat when we get home.”

  He carefully laid his brush across the can of finish and retrieved a small cooler from under the table he was working on. “I have some apples and carrots you could snack on.”

  “Thanks,” I said as I took the cooler. I peered inside and grabbed a Fuji apple. I sat on the middle step leading up to the tub and took a large bite of the juicy red apple. I watched my husband with his steady hand as he applied perfectly even strokes of finish on the cabinet door. It was his art.

  “So, Abby and Cheyenne suggested that we start to tell people about Madeline before she arrives. I think that it’s a good course of action. What do you think?”

  He briefly looked at me between strokes. I wasn’t sure how to read him. “I’ve been thinking about that, too.”

  “The cat may be out of the bag already, depending on who you’re working with to get her into summer school.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m working directly with the principal. He kind of owes me.”

  “Owes you?”

  “He decided he could knock out a wall in his house himself. Let’s just say he knocked out a structural beam.”

  “Ouch. I’m surprised Camille didn’t kill Stan for that.”

  “I think she was about to. That’s why he owes me.”

  I shook my head. Stan Johnson was the kindest of men. He was extremely book-smart, but lacked common sense. That might be why he did so well with junior high students.

  “I’m sure my mom would be happy to spread the word. She’s been dying to tell someone the news.”

  “Your mom is probably the best way to go.”

  “I’ll let you tell her. She’ll be thrilled.”

  He shook his head and grinned.

  I took another large bite and savored the taste. It was delicious, but it was only going to tide me over for so long. I finished the apple in no time flat as Blake worked away.

  “You know, Abby asked me something else tonight.”

  “What’s that?” Blake asked absentmindedly.

  “She asked why we’ve stayed together.”

  He slowly looked up at me. “And how did you answer her?”

  “I told her you have some mad domestic skills.” I grinned wickedly.

  He smirked in return.

  “But, seriously. Why have you stayed with me?”

  “You know how I feel about you,” he said quickly and almost defensively.

  “I do know. But why do you love me?”

  “Jessica.” He waved his free hand.

  “You don’t know?”

  “Of course I do. It’s just hard to put into words.”

  “Try.”

  He set his brush down and looked at me sternly, but I could tell he wasn’t upset. “Now I know why I’ve never brought you to a job site.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Do you want me to go somewhere else?”

  “No.” He paused and thought for a moment.

  I hummed the Jeopardy think music to his amusement and annoyance. I could tell he didn’t know whether he should smile or smirk at me. “Bzzz. Your thirty seconds are up.”

  “Jessica, I love you because you’ve never tried to change me.”

  I leaned back against the steps, taken aback by that answer. “Hmm…”

  “What?”

  “It’s not what I expected.”

  “What did you expec
t?”

  “I don’t know, maybe that you loved my body or my winning personality,” I teased.

  “I love those things, too. But, I appreciate that we’ve always been equal. Like if I said, I’m thinking of buying a motorcycle, you wouldn’t get bent out of shape or tell me I couldn’t. You’d ask what kind.”

  “So what kind of motorcycle are you looking at buying?”

  “A Harley,” he said with a smile.

  “Nice.”

  “See?”

  “Blake, what if we need some things to change?”

  “Jessica, I know things need to change. I know I need to make some changes. I just appreciate the fact that you let me come to that determination on my own. That you’ve never nagged me.”

  “I need to make some changes, too,” I said quietly.

  “As long as we do it together, that’s all that matters to me.”

  Chapter Eleven

  That was probably one of the best nights we’d had in forever. I couldn’t remember the last time we had talked so easily and freely with each other. There was even some laughter. I had forgotten how much I loved to hear him laugh.

  It was a good thing we had that night at the Newels’. It was the glue that held our marriage together in the coming days. The Merryton grapevine was on fire, and Jessie Belle’s was busier than ever. I felt like I was in one of those freak-show carnivals and everyone had to come in to see for themselves the bearded lady, or in my case, the jilted woman. I got tired of telling people it was before we were married and while we weren’t dating that Madeline came to be. Let’s just say having to talk about that painful memory day after day was wearing some on our relationship.

  I was trying my best not to let the actions and words of others spill over into our home life, but it wasn’t easy. I felt like suddenly my life had become this open book, and everyone was flipping through page after page and even tearing some as they went. I knew most people were only concerned and wanted to make sure I was okay, but there were some like Veronica and Landon Riley that wanted to gloat, or at least revel in our problems.

  Not that Madeline was a problem, it was her imminent arrival and the timing of all of this. I was trying my hardest not to look at Blake’s daughter as an issue. This wasn’t her fault and she had enough to deal with. She didn’t need a wicked stepmother to top it off. She needed friggin’ Maria von Trapp and I was hell-bent to make sure that’s what she got when she arrived, even if it killed me.