Not Quite Dating

by Catherine Bybee

  “Monica, this is Jack’s sister, Katelyn. I hope you don’t mind, but I hijacked your number and thought I’d give you a call.”

  Monica hesitated on the line. “I didn’t know Jack had a sister.”

  “A meddling one that he would flip out over if he found out I was calling you.”

  Monica laughed; the sound was warm and genuine. “Looks like you and I are both in the prying profession. I went to find Jack yesterday, but the people at his work said he wasn’t there.”

  “He needed to clear his head…you know, after.”

  “After my fool of a sister turned him down.”

  Katie smiled. “It doesn’t sound like my brother was very smooth in his proposal.”

  “I wasn’t there. According to Jessie, it was abrupt. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been flirting around each other for weeks. It’s cute, really. My sister is trying like hell to ignore him, and he’s practically flapping his arms to get her to notice.”

  The thought of her brother acting like a king peacock made Katie giggle. “Oh, that had to be priceless to watch.”

  “What’s sad is how much Jessie wants to disregard him.”

  Now they were getting to the meat of the conversation. “Why do you think that is?”

  “She’s scared. It’s that simple. Danny is her world. That’s my nephew. I’m sure Jack told you about him.”

  Katie swallowed hard. The smile on her face fell, and her throat tightened. “Yeah. He said something about her son.”

  “When you have a kid, things aren’t as cut and dry. She’s always been a worrier. Our mom isn’t exactly a stellar example of stability,” Monica told her.

  “Neither is ours.”

  “Well, Jessie wants to be nothing like our mom. I think if Jack had taken everything a little slower, things would be different.”

  Katie liked Monica already. “I can see we are going to get along very well.”

  “I think so, too. Maybe we can get them both to see reason.”

  Not with a bunch of lies hiding under the tangled web. “Monica, there are some things about Jack that you should both know, but I’m not going to share those secrets. It’s not my place.”

  “Oh God…please tell me Jack isn’t in some kind of trouble. No Texas Mounties or whatever you call them are after him or anything?”

  “No! Texas Mounties. That’s funny, Monica. No, Jack doesn’t have a record or any hidden bad side.” Quite the opposite.

  “Oh, good.”

  “Just tell me one thing.” Katie waited for Monica to speak.

  “What?”

  “Does your sister love my brother?”

  Monica chuckled. “She cries every day and hasn’t eaten a whole lot since he left. She tells me she ‘can’t’ love him, but I know love when I see it. Your brother and my sister are made for each other.”

  Katie felt her heart swell. “Then you keep your sister occupied until I can get my brother’s head on straight.”

  “She has Danny, Christmas, work…and me. She’s busy.”

  “Just remind her that Jack’s one of the good guys. He is, by the way.”

  “Neither of us thought differently. Like I said. She’s just scared.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m more scared of what it’s going to look like if they don’t make it. Jack was a mess.”

  “Same with Jessie.”

  Katie smiled. “So you and I will work together and make this work. Well, as much as we can, anyway.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” Monica said before hanging up the phone.

  Katie held the phone in her hand. “Now all I have to do is make Jack realize she loves him.”

  Even with Christmas music playing and Danny tapping on the outside of packages, Jessie’s mood circled the drain of life. Even the weather gave its ugly opinion as rain ran down the window of the apartment. It had only been a handful of days since Jack walked out of her life, but it felt like she hadn’t smiled in months.

  Damn, she missed him.

  Danny missed him, too. In fact, when she’d shown Danny the car for the first time, his first reaction was to call Jack.

  Even now, Danny talked about Jack and the car. “We should go get Jack and take him for a ride,” Danny said from across the room.

  “Jack is kind of busy right now.” Telling her son they might not ever see him again made her sick to her stomach. She couldn’t take any more hits. Danny would mourn the loss of Jack as much as she did. More, probably, because he couldn’t understand what had driven him away.

  “Is he coming over on Christmas? We should invite him. His family is all the way in Texas, you know.”

  “He’ll probably go home for Christmas, Danny.”

  “But he can come here. He doesn’t even have to buy any presents or anything. He can play with me and my new toys. He said he likes to play with trucks.”

  Jessie bit her tongue and tried a smile. “I’ll play trucks with you.”

  “I know, but Jack says he used to play with trucks for hours when he was a kid.”

  Danny reached under the tree and shook another box.

  There was underwear in it. Not exactly a toy or a truck, but something to unwrap. She needed to do some more shopping, but Santa…or in her case, Mrs. Claus…was really broke. Jessie had made Monica promise not to buy her a thing and to spend anything she wanted on her son.

  “I’m sure he did.”

  “Did you play with trucks when you were a kid, Mommy?”

  Jessie pushed away from the window and moved to her son’s side. “Aunt Monica and I played with dolls.”

  “Dolls?” Danny squished his face into a look of disgust. “Why?”

  She sat on the sofa and pulled a pillow into her lap. “Probably because we didn’t have a brother to show us how cool trucks were.”

  Danny liked that answer. “Well, when I get a little sister, I’m going to show her how epic trucks are.” Epic was the new adjective of choice in his kindergarten class. The first time she’d heard him use it, she doubled over laughing. Not that the word was funny, but such a strong word coming from her small son was strange.

  Epic wasn’t the word she was stuck on now. “Do you want a little sister?”

  Danny returned the underwear gift and started over from gift one to shake and guess. “Yeah…sure. Or a brother. Grown-ups don’t like to play as much as kids. And sometimes you’re tired. So, yeah…it would be fun having a sister or a brother. That way we can move in together when we’re older like you and Auntie Monica.”

  He’d never told her he wanted a brother or sister. Hearing him talk about a sibling drove home how much she’d messed up with Jack.

  “I thought you were going to live with me forever,” she teased her son.

  He stopped shaking gifts and pondered her words. “But then who is going to live with my brother or sister?”

  Oh, the mind of a five-year-old. “Good point,” she told him.

  Danny switched back to his original topic. “Jack is going to love the car. He can watch SpongeBob with me in the backseat. Jack likes cartoons.”

  “I’m sure he’d love it.”

  What had she done? Maybe she should call him and see if he would talk to her. Then again, maybe he’d already left, went home to Texas. Regrets, remorse, and what-ifs plagued her every day, every night.

  Christmas officially sucked this year.

  Jack slid from the saddle and began the process of removing Dancer’s tack. The damp smell of hay and horseflesh permeated the walls of the massive barn. Smelled like home. Danny would love it here. The outdoors, the freedom to roam, ride, and explore.

  The ranch house had been a great place growing up.

  And Jessie…She’d light up like the red and green Christmas lights that twinkled around the edges of the house. The tired eyes she had following a long graveyard shift would drift away in a matter of days if she didn’t have to work so hard.

  Damn, he wasn’t any further along in what he was supposed to do
now than he was three hours ago. Jessie had turned him down. Maybe he should walk away. Give her what she wanted.

  After brushing Dancer down, he turned him into his paddock and gave him a bucket of oats for his workout. The horse nudged his shoulder as if to say thanks.

  As he was walking from the barn, Jack’s phone rang. Reception was spotty, so he stood still and took the call.

  “This is Jack,” he answered, not recognizing the number.

  “Mr. Morrison, this is Phil Gravis from Toyota.”

  The car…He’d nearly forgotten about it.

  “Hello, Mr. Gravis.”

  “I wanted to tell you that everything went smoothly. Ms. Mann picked out a nice crossover that should serve her well for many years.”

  “Good.” At least she wouldn’t be walking home from her dates. The thought of her with another man shot fire to his eyes. “No questions from her?”

  “No, she seemed a little preoccupied through the entire process. Her sister seemed to be more suspicious.”

  “Monica is sharp.”

  “No argument there. She had to talk Ms. Mann out of taking a truck, which I thought was strange for a lady.”

  Jack lifted his head, suddenly felt a chill race up his spine. “A truck?”

  “Yeah, she kept peeking inside the bigger ones we have on the lot.”

  “The bigger ones?” Why would Jessie want a truck?

  “What does a woman like her need with a truck? She lives in an apartment.”

  “An apartment.” Jack’s mind went fuzzy. Jessie wouldn’t need a truck. But broke Jack had an old, beat-up pickup.

  “Are you there, Mr. Morrison?” Mr. Gravis asked.

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  “She did ask if there was a possibility of switching the car for the truck within a couple of weeks, or five hundred miles. I didn’t know what to say to her. You said to let her pick out what she wanted, but I wasn’t sure if you wanted to pay the depreciation on one vehicle if she did bring the crossover back.”

  A slow smile started at one edge of his mouth and spread to the other.

  “Mr. Morrison?”

  “Sorry, Mr. Gravis. I think Jessie’s preoccupied mind is contagious. Don’t worry about her bringing the car back. I have a feeling she’ll be keeping it.”

  Jessie would give up a new car, something she desperately needed, to put him in a new truck. Or maybe she was thinking them…they could use a truck. “Thanks again, Mr. Gravis.”

  “You’re welcome. It was fun. I felt like Santa giving away a car to an unsuspecting woman.”

  Jack disconnected the call and walked a little faster to the house.

  Beth, the housekeeper and cook, scolded him about taking his boots off before he “walked through her clean house.” The familiar rant made him smile even more.

  “You may have been gone a long time, but the rules around here haven’t changed,” Beth said, waving her finger at him from the kitchen sink. Part of the reason the Morrison money didn’t shoot to Jack’s head was because his father employed down-to-earth people like Beth.

  A few strong pulls and the boots found their way under a bench in the mudroom. “I see you’re just as feisty as ever,” he teased.

  Beth, somewhere in her late sixties, graced him with a smile of her own. “I see your ride did you good. It’s nice to see you smile.”

  Jack walked over to her and planted a kiss on her forehead.

  “What on earth was that for?”

  “For everything you do. I don’t think I’ve said thank you enough.”

  Beth crossed her hands over her chest and narrowed her eyes. “Have you been drinking?”

  Jack tossed his head back, laughing. “Not today. Do you know where Katie is?”

  “I think she’s in the den, fiddling with the Christmas tree.”

  One more kiss and a wink and Jack went to search for his sister. Sure enough, she was in the process of rearranging the tree ornaments to her liking. Dressed in a big sweater and blue jeans, Katie looked more like the sister he’d grown up with. The flashy-dressing Katie never did sit well with him.

  “Jessie picked out a truck,” he blurted out, startling his sister.

  “What?”

  “A truck. Well, actually she ended up with a car or crossover, but she looked at trucks.”

  Katie sat the ornament in her hand down. “Is that supposed to mean something to me? Cuz I have to tell you, it doesn’t.”

  Jack grasped Katie’s shoulders. “Why would a woman who lives in an apartment and works as a waitress want to buy a truck?”

  “I don’t think she would unless her husband pushed it. Seems all you guys need to have your trucks.”

  “Exactly.” Jack pulled his sister close and hugged her hard. “I’ve got to go.”

  Katie smiled. “Oh yeah? Where to?”

  “You know where I’m going. I’ll need to do some shopping first. Can you run interference with Dad? He’s going to be ticked when he gets here and I’m gone.”

  With sure hands, Katie turned him around and pushed him toward the door. “Don’t you worry about Dad. Just get back there and fix it. Don’t mess it up this time.”

  Heartbroken didn’t describe the pain in her chest nearly enough. Every day was an effort. Jessie scolded herself for the umpteenth time. “I shouldn’t have driven him away.”

  “You’re talking to yourself again,” Monica called from the living room.

  “She’s been doing that a lot,” Danny said.

  Monica and Danny were making handmade cards to send out. Danny drew a picture, and Monica signed the inside with all their names. It was a tradition the three of them had started the first Christmas Danny could scribble on paper.

  “I’m not talking to myself.”

  “Really? Is there someone in the kitchen we can’t see from here?” Monica chuckled when she asked.

  “You’re gonna end up with coal in your stocking, Mo.”

  Danny laughed.

  Jessie stirred the stew simmering on the stove and turned the heat down.

  A loud knock on the door brought all six eyes to it. Monica glanced at her watch. “Expecting anyone?”

  “Nope.”

  Jessie walked to the door, wiping her hands on the apron around her waist. Through the peephole, she saw a red box.

  “Who is it?”

  “Delivery.”

  Shrugging her shoulders, Jessie opened the door.

  In front of her was a set of hands full of beautifully wrapped gifts connected to a pair of jeans and cowboy boots.

  Her lips started to tremble.

  “Ho, ho, ho.” Jack walked into her apartment as if he’d only been gone a few hours instead of nearly a week.

  “Jack!” Danny bounced to his feet and ran to Jack’s side. He wrapped his arms around Jack’s leg and nearly caused him to spill the presents in his hands.

  “Howdy, partner.”

  Monica found her feet and started removing the load from Jack’s hands. “Here, let me help you.”

  “Thanks.” Jack hugged Danny with a free hand.

  Jessie stood anchored to one spot on the floor, afraid to move.

  “Where have you been?” Danny asked. “We missed you.”

  Jack knelt down at Danny’s level after setting the last of the boxes on the table. “I missed you, too.”

  “Mommy cried.” Oh boy, nothing like a five-year-old to blast out the truth.

  “She did?” Jack turned his gaze to her and gave a wan smile. “I’m sorry about that. Maybe I can make it up.”

  “What is all this?” Danny dropped to the floor and started to read the names on the presents. “This one’s for me?” Silver paper and a huge green bow adorned the box. Danny shook the thing for dear life.

  The sight brought fresh tears to Jessie’s eyes.

  All eyes were on Danny. “There is one for you, Auntie Monica. And another one for me.” He beamed. “Look, Mom, one for you.”

  Jessie sucked in her l
ip and bit it. “You didn’t have to do this,” she said.

  Jack stood and ruffled the hair on Danny’s head. “I wanted to.”

  Monica walked to Jessie’s side. “Are you OK?”

  Jessie nodded. The happiness of seeing Jack shifted to the growing concern of what would happen next. Did he want to go back to being friends? Could she be only friends?

  “Hey, Danny? How about you and I go to the park and bring candy canes to all your friends?”

  Danny glanced between Jack and Monica with uncertainty.

  “Are you going to be here when I come back?” he asked Jack.

  Jack’s eyes leveled with Jessie’s. “I’d like to be.”

  What did that mean?

  “Come on, little dude. Let’s give Jack and your mom some time to talk.” Monica walked over to the closet and removed his coat.

  Before they both walked out the door, Monica asked, “Are you sure you’re OK?”

  Jessie waved her off.

  Once the door closed, the room grew silent.

  “Danny looks a lot better than the last time I saw him,” Jack said, removing his cowboy hat from his head. He looked good. Maybe a little tired, but good.

  “He was sick for a few days. Nothing worse than the night in the hospital.”

  “Good. I’m glad.” And nervous, from the way he kept shifting from foot to foot.

  “You didn’t need to do all this.” Jessie waved her hands at the gifts that filled the empty spaces around their Christmas tree.

  “I wanted to,” he repeated.

  Their eyes settled on the tree as painful silence stretched between them.

  “Jack.”

  “Jessie,” they both said together, and then laughed.

  “Why don’t we sit down,” she suggested. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  He shook his head and waited for her to sit before he took his seat opposite her.

  “I’ve made such a mess of things, Jessie.” Jack leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

  “You didn’t do it alone.”

  His eyes traveled to the floor. “Is what Danny said true? Did you cry?”

  “Women are emotional creatures.”

  “I hate the thought of you crying over me.”

  Jessie sat taller. “I was afraid I’d driven you away forever. We’ve kinda gotten used to you being around here. Danny hasn’t stopped asking where you are.”