A Daddy for Jacoby

by Christyne Butler

  Gina had dreamed that one day Justin would ask her to share his life, but not this way. He didn’t love her. He was running on pure adrenaline after all he’d been through and the idea that their time together had created a baby had him teetering on the edge of an imaginary cliff.

  “There will be no wedding,” Gina stated firmly, tearing her gaze from him to look at her brother and then her mother. The shocked expression on her pale face caused Gina’s stomach to take a nauseous roll. Wow, losing her dinner on Justin’s boots wouldn’t help her make her case.

  She pulled in a deep breath and tried again. “I. Am. Not. Pregnant.”

  “She’s right. I am.”

  Everyone turned to look at Racy. She walked to Justin and pulled the stick from his grip. “This pregnancy test is mine.”

  Turning to her husband, she smiled. “I’m the one who’s going to have a baby.”

  “You are? We are?” Gage stammered. “But how— Why would Jacoby think—”

  “I took the test today at Gina’s.” Racy laid a hand on her husband’s chest, moving closer as he encircled her in his arms. “I’ve been waiting for the best time to tell you, but things have been a bit hectic tonight.”

  “But…it’s us?” Gage asked.

  “Yes.” Racy rose on tiptoe and gave her husband a quick kiss. “It’s us, Daddy.”

  Gage’s smile was wide as he wrapped Racy in a bear hug, but he immediately released her to lay a hand over her still-flat belly. Racy covered his hand with hers and nodded.

  Gina turned away, blinking back the sting of tears at the loving gesture.

  “Oh, this is wonderful news!” Sandy Steele clasped her hands together. “Let’s all go inside and celebrate! I’ve got freshly baked pies cooling in the kitchen.”

  Gina sent her a grateful look, silently mouthing thank you as her mother hustled everyone back into the house, including Jacoby, who seemed just as happy his title was now cousin instead of big brother.

  Silence fell over the yard again, as uncomfortable as before because she wasn’t alone out there. Justin hadn’t moved a step either.

  With a jolt of awareness, Gina realized she never said a word of good wishes to her brother. “I didn’t even congratulate Gage.”

  “Me neither,” Justin said. “Congratulate either of them, I mean.”

  “Boy, from parents to aunt and uncle in a heartbeat.”

  Her words sounded pathetic, but Gina felt powerless to stop them as they tumbled from her mouth. She cast a sideways look in Justin’s direction. The stunned expression in his eyes was mixed with a hint of—

  Disappointment? No, that couldn’t be right.

  She turned to him. “Why did you ever think I was pregnant?”

  “Jacoby found the test stick in your bathroom and he heard you and Racy talking.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them to look at her. “He said you were excited…he thought it was you…”

  “And you assumed I was keeping the possibility of a child from you.”

  Justin nodded. “Gina, I’m so—”

  “Don’t say it.” She cut him off, putting more space between them. “I don’t need your apology.”

  She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t stand here and listen to him express regret over the sweet words he’d spoken, because deep inside, she truly wanted everything Justin offered her. Except he forgot to include one thing, the part of himself she needed the most.

  His heart.

  “I wish you luck with Jacoby.” She started walking backward toward the deck. “Like I said before, you two belong together. I hope his grandparents or the judge—whoever you have to convince—can see that.”

  “Gina—”

  Her feet hit the steps and she stumbled. Justin reached out, but she righted herself before he could touch her. She scooted up the stairs, not stopping until she grabbed the door handle. “I’m going inside for a piece of pie and to celebrate with everyone. You should come in, too.”

  Justin joined her with a hollow laugh, each step slow and measured. “Yeah. A celebration. Just what I’m in the mood for.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “What do you mean Gina’s leaving town?”

  “She told us a few days ago at the library.” Jacoby looked up from where he lay on the cabin’s living room floor, a large poster board in front of him. He carefully lifted the paintbrush and he filled in the block letters drawn on the poster with bright red paint. “I told you, but you were busy looking at a bunch of papers. She’s going away to school.”

  Stunned, Justin glanced over at his sister who stood pouring herself a glass of iced tea at the center island in his kitchen. Racy nodded, confirming his son’s words.

  “I don’t want her to go,” Jacoby continued. “None of us do. It was hard to say goodbye to her. That’s why we decided to carry these signs on the library float in the parade tomorrow. To show her how much we love her and thank her for the stories she’s read to us.”

  Jacoby went back to work on his sign. The late-May afternoon sun streamed through the window, drying the letters he’d already finished.

  Still processing the news, Justin walked into his kitchen to grab a soda from the refrigerator.

  “You didn’t know?”

  Racy’s softly voiced question caused Justin to look at her again. He opened the can and took a long draw from it before answering her. “No, but I can tell from the expression on your face you did.”

  She nodded. “On the same crazy day you decided the best way to handle the news of a possible baby was to suggest a shotgun wedding, she told me she planned to go back to school—away from Destiny.”

  “A shotgun wedding, huh? Like the good sheriff would’ve allowed anything else if she really had been pregnant.” Justin slumped to the kitchen counter next to his sister and pressed the cold can to his forehead.

  “Well, I thought it was sweet.”

  “Sweet?” Justin lowered the can and glanced over his shoulder at Jacoby to make sure he wasn’t listening. “Gina hates me now thanks to my big mouth.”

  Racy put down her glass of iced tea and laid a hand on Justin’s arm. “Oh, honey, please don’t think that way. She doesn’t hate you. That’s the last thing she feels. She—”

  Justin looked at his sister when she cut off her own words. “She…what?”

  Racy shook her head and offered a gentle squeeze. “Sorry, big brother, but you’re on your own figuring that one out. Not that you’ve had much time to think about her feelings or even your own when it comes to the two of you. I know it’s been a demanding week for you.”

  Demanding was exactly right. It’d been a hell of a week.

  Justin had spent Monday in three separate meetings. First with a lawyer recommended by Jennifer Steele, then with Jacoby’s doctor and then with the Ellsworths.

  In that order.

  He’d filed the paperwork requesting physical custody of Jacoby and things were looking good for the request to go through without any issues, considering the Ellsworths had agreed with the idea.

  Jacoby’s grandparents had decided they didn’t want to use the loss of their daughter to cause another parent to be separated from his child.

  They asked for visitations and Justin had agreed, promising to bring Jacoby to see them at least once a month. From there, they could work their way up to the boy spending longer periods of time with his grandparents.

  “Yeah, demanding,” Justin agreed when he noticed his sister seemed to be waiting for a reply. “But, geez, I must’ve really been out of it not to hear my son tell me that Gina was packing her bags and getting out of Dodge.”

  “Maybe she doesn’t think she has any reason to stay,” Racy said with a smile. “Yes, her family is here, but they’ll always be her family no matter where she is. She doesn’t have a job and volunteering at the library is what fueled her desire to be a teacher.”

  “A teacher?”

  Racy nodded. “She’s going back to school to get her teaching credentials
in elementary education.”

  Justin couldn’t believe it. After she’d put that idea in his head a few weeks ago, she was now taking her own advice. Gina would be an awesome teacher, she had a natural gentleness with kids Jacoby’s age. She didn’t talk down to them or make what they had to say seem unimportant.

  He’d actually found himself on the website for the University of Wyoming, looking at their College of Education. Becoming a teacher himself was still just a dream, but he’d enjoyed working on a scared-straight type of program for teens while in prison. Maybe he could start off being a temporary and work his way up.

  “Justin? Did I lose you again?”

  “Huh?” He snapped out of his thoughts to find his sister grabbing her purse and coat. “Ah, when is Gina leaving?”

  “Tomorrow after the Memorial Day parade.”

  “Tomorrow?” His heart seized in his chest, waiting a full heartbeat before it resumed an unsteady pounding. “Why so soon?”

  “She’s hoping to get into a summer session.”

  Racy gave him a quick kiss and headed for the door. Justin walked with her, waiting as she stopped to give Jacoby a goodbye kiss, as well, then followed her out to her car.

  “If you’ve got something to tell her, I think you better do it today,” she said, climbing behind the wheel. “Before it’s too late.”

  He waited until she put on her seat belt and started down the road before he headed back to the porch, his sister’s words ringing in his head. Talk to Gina? She’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in anything he had to say, but he couldn’t let her leave town without her knowing—

  Knowing what?

  How much it meant to him that she’d believed in him from the very beginning, standing up for him when no one would? How she’d been by his side from the moment his son appeared and never let Justin’s doubts and inner demons get in the way of what he had to do to keep Jacoby safe and happy? How she’d taught him to laugh, to think, to dream?

  How she’d changed his life?

  “Hey, Dad!”

  He opened the screen door and went back inside. “What do you need, Jacoby?”

  “Is love spelled with an o or a u?”

  Justin smiled.

  Neither. In his eyes, his heart and deep in his soul, he knew he would forever spell it G-i-n-a. “It’s an o,” he said. “L-o-v-e. Why?”

  “I want to make another sign.” Jacoby leaned over a fresh piece of poster board. “Everyone is saying thank you or how happy she makes us, but I want to make a sign that says ‘We Love You,’ even though I like l-u-v-e better.”

  He crouched beside his son. “Why do you want to say that?”

  Jacoby looked up at him. “Because we do. Love her. Right? So why not just say it?”

  Justin dropped to his knees and reached for a paintbrush.

  Why not, indeed?

  Gina clapped along with everyone else lining Main Street when the high school marching band led off the annual Memorial Day parade as the church bells chimed the noon hour.

  The weather was so warm that she wore the strapless sun-dress and wedge sandals she’d purchased while on vacation. Everyone around her was also dressed for the heat, so she didn’t feel out of place. Here she was, finally feeling like a part of this town and a part of her family, and she was leaving again.

  Her mother’s hand landed lightly on her shoulder. “Here come the twins.”

  They watched Gage’s precious vintage pickup, decked out in school colors and filled with members of the senior class, cruise down the street. Although the vehicle was barely crawling due to the speed of the parade, Garrett looked nervous behind the wheel. Giselle had been chosen as one of the class princesses and shone again in her senior prom finery.

  Gina sighed. The twins had tried to persuade her to stick around for a few more weeks, at least until their graduation, but she promised to come back for the ceremony and party.

  She couldn’t stay. Not for one more day.

  If she did, she was sure she would end up on Justin’s front porch, again, only this time she’d spill out her heart and make a fool of herself—to a man who’d made it clear he wasn’t interested.

  Unless, of course, she was pregnant and he was forced to do something about it.

  “I wonder if Gage has seen what they’ve done to his truck,” Racy said, joining them. “Good thing I’ve got airline tickets and hotel arrangements to distract him.”

  Gina scooted over to make room for her sister-in-law. “Are you talking about your Paris honeymoon?”

  “Yes, we’re finally going. We head out a few days after the twins graduate. Then it’s two full weeks in the most romantic city in the world.” Racy sighed and patted her belly. “I can’t wait, even if I can’t sample any of the French wines.”

  “Where is Gage?”

  “He’s working the parade route, but we’ll probably run into him later at the fairgrounds for the barbecue. You are coming, right? Before you head out?”

  Gina’s car was packed and ready to go. She was driving as far as Hastings, Nebraska, tonight with plans to continue to South Bend and the Notre Dame campus in the morning.

  “I don’t know. It’s a six-hour drive to my hotel. I should head out as soon as the parade ends.”

  Yes, she was avoiding the town-wide picnic because she’d probably run into Justin and Jacoby. It was going to be hard enough to stand here and watch the library float go by and wave to the little boy. She knew the story-hour kids were being featured. She’d been asked to sit on the float, too, but she begged off.

  More groups came by. The 4-H crowd featured every kind of animal from horses to sheep, and the local square dancing troupe do-si-doed and walked at the same time, the ladies’ colorful skirts swirling. The military veterans came next, some fresh from the Middle East, others dressed in uniforms decades old, marching with a local National Guard unit and flag detail. In an instant, the crowd was on its feet, showing appreciation of their service with loud applause.

  Then she saw the library float.

  Because of the ages of the children on board, the float was on a lowboy trailer, only two feet off the ground and being pulled by a slow-moving tractor. A short railing made sure no one could tumble off by accident and colorful fringe wrapped around three sides. The dozen or so kids and members of the library staff sat in a field of green grass with flowers made of construction and tissue paper to look like books.

  The boys and girls were waving to the crowd and held up signs, but they were still too far away to read. As they got closer, Gina could finally make out the words. Joy burst forth from deep inside her.

  Thank you, Gina!

  Gina + Reading = Fun!

  Smile If U Luv 2 Read!

  “Oh, the signs are wonderful.” Her mother reached for her hand and gave her a gentle squeeze. “How sweet!”

  “Those kids really love you.”

  Gina turned at the sound of Gage’s voice, surprised to find him standing next to Racy. Seconds later, Giselle and Garrett joined them.

  “Whew, we made it in time,” Giselle said.

  Garrett faked handing the keys to Gage’s truck to him with a wide grin and pocketed them instead. “Yeah, we didn’t want to miss this.”

  “Miss what?” Gina looked at her family.

  Gage gently turned her around to face the parade again, the tractor having slowed to a stop right in front of where Gina stood with her family.

  Then she saw the black Stetson.

  And the man wearing it.

  Dressed in a white button-down shirt, snug-fitting jeans and cowboy boots, he climbed off the back of the float.

  Justin.

  Her heart lodged in her throat, making her work twice as hard to breathe. She watched him gently lift each of the children, one by one, from the float. They ran toward where she stood on the sidewalk, each holding a yellow rose in their hands.

  Tears gathered in her eyes as she accepted each rose and a hug from the boys and girls who t
hen ran back to the float and climbed aboard again.

  Except for one boy and one man.

  Jacoby stood next to his father in a matching outfit, from the miniature black Stetson to the cowboy boots. They each grabbed a sign in one hand and a yellow rose in the other and slowly walked toward her as the parade continued on its way.

  We love you, Gina, read the sign Jacoby carried.

  The simple block letters on Justin’s spelled out, With all our hearts.

  Gina brushed away her tears, surprised at how much she wanted to believe those words meant…something. She warned herself not to get her hopes up, her fingers clenching the roses in her hand. She’d never wanted anything in her life as much as she wanted to believe the smile on Justin’s face and the confidence in his gaze as he stopped in front of her.

  “This is for you.” Jacoby held out the rose.

  Gina bent down to take the flower and then gave Jacoby a big hug. “You look so grown-up. I love your hat.”

  “Thanks! Do you like our signs?”

  She straightened and touched the edge of the poster board. “Yes, I do, very much.”

  “They were my dad’s idea.”

  Looking up, she found Justin watching her. “They were?”

  “Yes, they were.” He rested his sign at his feet and handed over the last rose to her. When her fingers brushed his, he wrapped her hand in his, his thumb tracing back and over her knuckles.

  “Gina, I want to thank you—”

  “Thank me?”

  He took a step closer, raised her hand to his lips and gently placed a kiss there. “Let me finish, okay? I want to thank you for loving Jacoby and for loving me.”

  Stunned, Gina could only stand there and stare at him.

  Justin’s smile faded as his gaze turned serious. “I’ve always thought I had nothing to offer. My past mistakes were something I couldn’t erase and those mistakes make me feel worthless. If it hadn’t been for you I would’ve never believed I could be anything else. You never gave up on me, you never let me give up on Jacoby and you made me see that a person is defined by who they are now, not what they once did. I want to start a family with Jacoby, but I don’t want to do it alone.”