“Me and Misty are thinking about having a baby.” Yeah, that didn’t come out right. The kids’ mother stared at him in disbelief. Did she need to cover her children’s ears?
“Um, I’m sorry,” Jason said with an embarrassed laugh. “I uh…”
“How do you think about having a baby?” the now bewildered little boy asked, cutting him off short.
Jason turned around and looked at Misty from his squatted position. No help there. Judging by the gleam in her eyes, she was finding the awkward position, which he’d placed himself into, a bit humorous.
“You can ask your momma about that later,” Jason chuckled, risking a look at the doctor’s wife, who now wore a confused look on her face. “The important thing is, you know, with a baby crawling around – eating and pooping, getting its diaper changed, waking us up at night,” he paused for a moment and sighed, “I’m just afraid poor old Dixie would get plum neglected.”
Jason let out another big sigh. “I tell you what,” he said, signaling the boy closer. Placing him on one knee, Jason continued, “I’m gonna let you keep her if you promise to take good care of her, give her a whole bunch of lovin’… and,” he spoke in a pretend stern voice, “call her Dixie.”
“Yes sir,” the boy grinned happily. “I’ll do it. I’ll give Gold… I mean Dixie – I’ll give Dixie all the lovin’ I can find!”
“Alright,” Jason chuckled, giving the boy’s head a rub. “She’s yours.” With that, he shook the boy’s hand. Looking up into the grateful eyes of the boy’s mother and seeing the sisters overjoyed, Jason knew he’d made the right decision.
“I’ll come see you every once in a while, girl,” Jason said, giving Dixie’s head a rub. “Take good care of these kids, you hear?” She barked a happy, loud response. “Atta girl,” Jason praised before taking his wife’s hand and heading back to their truck.
“So,” Misty spoke with a flirty smile, “we’re thinking about having a baby?”
“Wasn’t going to let that one slip by, huh?” Jason asked, smiling back… but then his happy expression faded. “That’s not the only reason it’s better to leave Dixie here,” he spoke as he reached out and laid a light hand on Misty’s shoulder, stepping around in front of and stopping her right before they reached the truck.
“What is it, Jason?” she asked, concern filling her voice.
“I would’ve figured out what to do with Dixie but,” he paused and sighed before adding flatly, “we’re losing the house.” He felt defeated. “We’re going to be forced to sale it or pay it up to what’s due or the bank will foreclose. I’m sorry babe,” he said, a look of genuine remorse in his eyes. “After not showing up for a month, I lost my job. Big surprise there. We’re drowning in debt, thanks to me. Tyler said I’ve still got a job at the ranch, if I want it. There’s a one room shack we can stay in for a while. It’s where I lived while training. It ain’t much. We can run some water and utilities out to it. I’m sorry but it’s all…”
His flow of words were cut off short as Misty placed a finger on his lips. “You think this is bad news to me?” she asked with a chuckle. “You know I never liked our house… right?”
“I wasn’t that bad,” Jason argued.
“I’ll take a barn in the country over a mansion in the city,” Misty said with a smile, “hands down, every time.”
“Well, you’re in luck then,” Jason said, his smile returning, “cause that’s pretty much what it is… a barn. It’s just temporary though,” he assured her.
For some reason that didn’t seem to brighten her day. “The country or the barn?” she demanded.
“The barn,” he assured her as he stepped over to the passenger side door and opened it, climbing in.
Misty got in on the driver’s side. “Oh, and hey,” she added as she slid the key in the ignition, “don’t forget about the twenty thousand dollars we have.”
“But that’s your baby fund,” he replied.
“That’s our baby fund,” she corrected. “And I think it’s a little steep considering we’re not even pregnant yet.”
“That’s true,” Jason admitted. “Any ideas on which way we should put it?”
“No, not really,” she admitted with a shake of her head.
Jason sighed thoughtfully then a light bulb clicked on in his mind. “You know, I think Irwin said something about having a brother who is a financial advisor.” He turned to Misty. “How would you feel about us maybe setting an appointment with him – see if he can give us some direction?”
“Sounds good to me,” she agreed, the sparkle in her eye saying that she deemed this new version of Jason, who thought of seeking financial advice rather than blowing money, as pretty hot.
A content smile spread across Jason’s lips as they headed off to their new home and new life. The setting sun lit up the thin clouds on the western horizon into a beautiful display of color. There were new challenges ahead, new mountains to climb – hopefully not literally – but there was one thing that Jason knew for sure; he and Misty, with the help of God, would face those challenges together.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Beneath the Tombstone (The Tombstone Series) Page 36
