“Do you realize you’re a bigamist? Being married to two women is against the law!” Jasmine hissed at him. How could this be happening? For once in her life, she was surrounded by trouble she hadn't brought on herself, and she had no idea of how to get out of it.
He leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply. “Are you listening to anything I’m saying?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not, and I don’t plan to. You do whatever you want, but my boys and I are moving in with my sister.” She turned back to her food and took a bite, doing her very best to pretend he didn't exist. How dare he come in here and act like she still cared for him when he was married to someone else. What was he thinking?
Lee stared at her with his jaw dropped. “They’re my boys, not yours!” She didn't really think she could leave him and take his boys with her did she? She'd only known them for a few months!
“I think you must be mistaken,” she told him. “You see, I married a man with two sweet little boys. He turned out to be much less than I expected, but the boys are so much more. I’m keeping them.” Her tone of voice told him that the matter wasn't up for discussion. They were hers now and that was that.
Lee looked at the boys who were happily eating their lunch. “You boys are leaving with me as soon as you’re finished eating.”
They both looked at Jasmine, as if they were waiting for her to make the decision for them. “You’re mine and you’re staying with me.” She smiled at them, because they hadn't done anything to cause this problem. It was all her husband and her husband's wife.
“Yes, Ma,” they answered in unison. Their faces were as angelic as always as they smiled at her.
“We’ll be by for our things this evening,” Jasmine told him. “I hope you’ll be kind enough to not get in my way while we’re there.” She continued to eat as if she didn’t care one way or the other what he did. He could come back to her once his wife was gone, and he had divorce papers in his hand.
Mary and Harriett were careful not to ask any questions before they reached the buggy. After Eli had helped everyone in, and Jasmine had the boys on her lap, they drove off down the road. As soon as they were out of sight of town, Mary looked at Jasmine. “What on earth happened to you?” Her voice was filled with disapproval, the same disapproval Jasmine had heard over and over as she'd grown up. She didn't want to be blamed for this. For once, she'd done nothing wrong, and she wasn't going to accept criticism.
Jasmine shook her head, nodding to the boys. “We’ll talk later.” She wasn't willing to let her boys know what was going on. They had every right in the world to think their world was wonderful for another few hours.
Eli knew something big had happened, so when they arrived at the ranch, he had the boys help him unhitch the horses and groom them. He whispered to Daisy he could buy them about thirty minutes, but not much more.
Jasmine followed her mother and aunt into the house while Daisy brought up the rear with the baby, who was sleeping in her arms. As soon as Dinah was in her cradle, she walked into the kitchen and sat in her rocking chair. “Okay, Jasmine. Tell us everything you know.” Daisy gave Jasmine an encouraging look, trying to tell her without words that she supported whatever her sister decided to do.
Jasmine sat on one of the hard wooden chairs that circled the table and sighed. “Everything was going great. Lee and I are doing well. The boys are adjusting to having me around. I had no complaints.” She threw her hands up in the air. “And then his wife showed up out of nowhere.” At the look of confusion on the older women’s faces she added. “You know, his dead wife and the mother of the twins?” She knew she was shrieking, but she needed to shriek. She needed to go outside and just scream for an hour or two. It would make her feel so much better.
Harriett stared at Jasmine in disbelief. “If he knew she was still alive, no one else did. He must have truly thought she was dead.”
Jasmine shrugged. “Whether he thought so or not, she isn’t. I can’t be married to a married man, so I’m back to being Jasmine Sullivan until such time as he signs the divorce papers he claims she brought with her, or I marry someone else.” She folded her arms across her chest. "Either way, I'm keeping my sons." She wasn't going to listen to any arguments about the boys either. They were hers.
Mary sighed. “Only you could get into this kind of mess, Jasmine.”
Jasmine stared at her mother in disbelief. She was being blamed for her husband's wife coming back from the dead? How could that possibly be her fault? “I did nothing wrong here, Mama.”
“If you hadn’t been in such an all fired hurry to marry, she’d have come before the wedding vows.”
Jasmine glared at her mother. “So it’s my fault his dead wife isn’t really dead and showed up on our doorstep?” She couldn't believe she was being blamed for this. Yes, she'd done a lot of things she deserved blame for over the years, but this time, she was the innocent one. "Would you have preferred I'd had relations with the man before marriage? Because I promise you, if we hadn't married when we did that would have happened."
Mary bit her lip, obviously wanting to say more that she knew she shouldn’t say. “What about the boys? They’re his sons. You don't really think you can keep them, do you?"
“They’re mine now too. They may have another mother, but she abandoned them, and they love me, and I love them. A lot more than she possibly could, because the worthless idiot doesn’t even know them.” Jasmine folded her arms over her chest. "Love counts for a lot when parenting is involved."
“Jasmine! You will not start calling names.”
Jasmine folded her arms across her chest. “At this point, I’ll say anything I darned well please, Mama. I’m spitting mad, and everyone should be happy that woman is not within my sight, because right about now, I’d be ripping her pretty blond hair right out of her head.” She needed support right then, and her family was right there. Why weren't they giving it to her?
“You weren’t raised to speak that way, Jasmine.”
“Right now, I just don’t care, Mama. My husband is married to someone else. I think I have a right to be mad and throw a temper tantrum if I want to.” Jasmine stood up and stalked outside and toward the huge field where Lee kept the cattle. She needed a little time to calm down before she sat down and explained to the boys what had happened. What could she possibly say?
*****
Jasmine took a long walk and did some serious thinking. It was two hours before she returned to the house, and the boys were sitting at the table eating the cake her sister had made for them. She cut herself a piece of the cake and sat down across from them. "We need to have a talk."
Jacob looked at her, his eyes sad. "What's wrong? Why are you sad, Ma?"
Jasmine had thought and thought about the best way to talk to the boys about the situation, and she'd decided that they deserved the truth as she knew it. "Well, did you boys see that woman that your papa was talking to after church today? She had blond hair that was up in a bun?" That I'm going to rip right out of her head if she doesn't stay away from my family.
"Yes, ma'am." Joey answered. "Who was she?"
"She was your mother. She didn't die in that snowstorm like we thought she did. She went to live back East." She took each of the boys' hands in hers, doing her best to comfort them. She knew what she was telling them was a huge shock. They'd spent their entire life believing their mother had died. Now she was telling them she had just left?
Jacob looked at her in surprise. "She didn't like us?" A tear formed at the corner of his eye.
"That's not it, sweetheart. She didn't know you. She didn't take the time to get to know either of you. You were just babies when she left." Jasmine shook her head, trying to do the right thing as she talked to them. "She wants to get to know you both better while she's here." She hated the idea of her sons getting to know their real mother. She wasn't jealous though. It was anger for the way the woman had treated them in the past.
Joey made a face. "But...if
she's our ma, then she's married to Papa. What about you?"
"I still love you the same way I did yesterday and the day before. You two boys mean everything to me. I want you to stay with me, here at my sister's house until all this is resolved." She didn't add that they didn't really have a choice. She wasn't giving them up for anything.
Jacob nodded emphatically, and she realized they still needed a haircut. "We want to stay with you, Ma. She can't be our ma if she doesn't really know us."
Jasmine sighed. "Joey?"
"I'm staying with you and my brother and my Grandma."
"Good." She stood up. "Now that's settled, I think it's time you boys got a haircut." She went and brought back Daisy's sewing scissors, and put a towel around Jacob's neck. "You're next, so don't move a muscle." She pointed at Joey with the scissors.
The boys sat patiently while she trimmed their hair. Once she was done, she cleaned up the mess again before sitting down with them. "We need to go to the house now and get enough clothes to last us a while. We can wash here." Both boys nodded. "Do you want to go with me? Or do you want to stay here with Grandma, and Aunt Harriett, and Aunt Daisy?" She didn't know if she wanted the boys to stay or go with her.
Joey looked at her. "We want to at least tell Papa that he needs to find a way to make the other Ma leave so we can all live together again."
Jasmine thought about that for a moment before nodding. "That sounds like a good idea." She stood and walked to the front door. She knew everyone in the family was outside to avoid listening to her talk with the boys. "Eli? Would you take us to Lee's ranch, please? We need to pick up some clothes." She was dealing with everyone much better after her walk. She'd been willing to hurt someone before.
Eli nodded, letting her know that he'd been filled in on the events that had taken place immediately after church. While he hitched the wagon, the boys hugged Mary. "You're still our grandma, right?" Jacob asked.
Mary hugged them both close. "I'll always be your grandma. Don't you forget that."
Harriett patted Jasmine's shoulder. "Do you want me to go with you?"
Jasmine shook her head. "This is something I need to do. I probably shouldn't even ask Eli to drive us." She shrugged. "You know, he's hitching up the buggy. I can drive the boys over." She walked to the stable where he was leading the horse out. "You don't need to drive us. If you'll just hitch up the buggy, the boys and I will go over on our own." She didn't want to inconvenience him any more than she had to.
Eli hesitated. "Are you certain? I don't mind driving you."
"It's your one day you take off every week to be with your family. You spent last Sunday riding all over the state having people answer questions about the man I wanted to marry. Then this week, it's all about me again." She put her hand on his arm. "You've been a better brother than I deserve. The boys and I will be fine."
Eli finally nodded. "I'll let you go then."
Jasmine smiled. "Thank you." She and the boys watched as he hitched the horse to the buggy, before climbing in. "We won't take too long."
Chapter Seven
Jasmine and the boys talked as they drove to the ranch, each of the boys worried about what it would be like to meet their birth mother. "What if she doesn't like us?" Joey asked. "No ladies like us except you."
Jasmine shook her head. "Don't worry about that. It's not true anyway. My mother and my aunt both love you." She didn't add that her sister Daisy was half afraid of them, because they didn't need to know that.
Jacob looked down, obviously worried as well. "They only love us cuz you do."
"That's not true at all. They love you for who you are." Her heart ached for the boys. "I don't think she's staying at the ranch, so we probably won't see her right now. We'll ask your papa when he wants you to meet her." She'd better not be staying at the ranch. Her husband, and she couldn't stop thinking of him that way, had better not be having relations with another woman.
"You won't leave her with us?" Joey asked.
"I will not. I will stay by your side the entire time if that's what you want me to do." The boys were afraid to be alone with their own mother. That said a lot to Jasmine. What would have made a woman want to leave a wonderful husband like Lee and two sweet boys? Was she crazy?
Jacob nodded. "That's what we want. If she's mean, we might need you to protect us."
Jasmine thought about the woman she'd seen. She hadn't looked like she would or could hurt anyone, but she hadn't thought anyone could abandon three month old twins just because she wasn't ready to be a mother. She wasn't going to believe their mother incapable of anything.
When she pulled up in front of the house, she stared up at it sadly. It held good memories for her, and she didn't want to go in there and collect her things. She was still mad at Lee, but she wasn't willing to give up what they had together.
She carefully got down from the buggy and walked to the front door, not bothering to knock. "Lee? We came to get some of our things."
Lee walked out of their bedroom, looking sadder than she'd ever seen him. She wanted to go to him and comfort him, but she was afraid of what it might lead to. They weren't really married.
"Can we talk now?" he asked. He wasn't sure how she'd react to him after the way she'd exploded at him earlier. She didn't deserve the situation she found herself in, but he didn't either.
Jasmine nodded. "Yes, I think I'm ready." She knew they needed to talk if only for the boys' sake. She wanted to talk to him for her sake as well, though. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. How could she not? She loved him even if he was married to another woman.
They walked into the parlor together, and she sat beside him on the sofa, careful not to let their bodies touch. For now, he was married to another woman. "When I talked to Gloria this afternoon, she said that if I let her spend some time with the boys this week, and with me, if I didn't want her to stay after one week, she'd give me the divorce papers and leave. That's what I want to do." He took her hand in his. "I need you to understand that I want the divorce papers. I want to marry you just as soon as I possibly can." He sighed. "You're my wife Jasmine. Not her. She's been dead to me for years."
Jasmine hated the idea. "I promised the boys I wouldn't leave them alone with her." She thought for a moment. "She wants to spend time with you and the boys. Did she say I couldn't be there spending time with all of you as well?" A plan was forming in her mind to get rid of the other woman once and for all. She would take control of the situation and keep her family together. It was the only answer.
Lee grinned, leaning back on the sofa. "I knew you'd come up with a solution. You always do."
"So I guess I wasn't mentioned during that conversation. Good." She considered how they could make it work out. "Invite her to dinner here tomorrow night. I'll cook, and she can spend a little time getting to know the boys." And Jasmine had a plan. It may not be a good plan, but they could make it work.
Both of them jumped at the knock on the door. Jasmine remained in the parlor while Lee went to go see who it was. "Gloria? What are you doing here?"
"I knew you couldn't mean what you said to me earlier, Lee. That red-headed whore couldn't have made you fall in love with her." The blond sighed dramatically. "So I came to see you myself."
Jasmine stood and walked to the dining room where the two were standing. "That red-headed whore is right here." She smiled sweetly, thinking about how very much she would like to not only snatch the woman bald, but very possibly remove her toenails one by one. "It's nice of you to finally come to meet your sons. They're wonderful boys." She called up the stairs. "Joey? Jacob? Come down here, please."
The boys rushed down the stairs when she called, stopping short when they saw their mother. She held her hand out and the both walked over to her, standing on either side of her. "This is Joey," she said indicating the red-headed boy, "and this is Jacob."
Gloria looked at the boys and stepped forward with her arms spread. "Oh, my babies! How I've missed yo
u both!"
Neither boy moved from Jasmine's side. "How can you miss someone you never bothered to get to know?" Joey asked. He was always the more outspoken and stubborn of the two, and just then, Jasmine wanted to cheer him on.
Gloria stopped walking toward them, stunned. "You can't speak to me that way. I'm your mother!"
Jacob shook his head. "No. A mother is someone who always loves you and stays with you day after day, even if things are hard. You're not a mother."
Jasmine's heart sang with the boys' words. "You need to be polite boys." No matter what she'd done, they needed to be polite for now if her plan was going to work.
Joey sighed. "It's nice to meet you." He held his hand out for Gloria to shake.
Lee stood watching the entire exchange, looking as if he wanted to step in but had no idea how. He was glad the boys didn't want to hug her. He wanted to shout with joy that they realized she'd rejected them completely and that no mother should ever treat her child that way.
Gloria shook Joey's hand and then Jacob's. She stared at the boys as if she expected them to do something, but they both just stood close beside Jasmine.
"Why don't I fix supper for all of us?" Jasmine offered. "I haven't started anything, but I could make some pancakes with bacon? Or some eggs with bacon? Both meals would be fast and simple."
"Make pancakes and bacon, Ma!" Joey said excitedly. "We love pancakes."
"We'll help you, Ma!" Jacob said, each of them taking one of Jasmine's arms and dragging her toward the kitchen.
Jasmine gave each of the boys simple tasks to do to keep them busy, while she whipped up the batter for the pancakes and fried the bacon. "I have an idea," she said, her voice low.
The boys moved closer to her, and she explained what she had plans. Both boys nodded excitedly.
*****
As they sat down to eat, Lee said the prayer, and watched as Jasmine played the perfect hostess. He knew she couldn't stand Gloria, so he couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. The boys each grabbed pancakes and used their fingers to dig into the butter crock in front of them. He frowned with surprise. They'd never had manners that were that bad.
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