Burned

by Gabrielle Gibson

  In the other room, Jack rolled on his back and took a deep breath. He should just go the fuck home but he was so goddamn exhausted he didn’t feel like getting up and driving there. He stared at the ceiling, thinking about Jessie and the whole kid situation.

  Jessie had been so amazing tonight. Taking care of the kid that was almost certainly his, treating her so sweetly and lovingly when he hadn’t had a clue how to interact with her.

  Taking care of him, when he didn’t deserve it in the least.

  And how did he repay her?

  By fucking with her head, putting his hands all over her and then hurting her feelings.

  He was such a dick.

  Fuck.

  What the hell was wrong with him?

  And what the hell did he know about kids?

  Nothing. Not a goddamn thing.

  He didn’t even like kids. Didn’t want kids.

  He knew what the test result was going to be. The question was, what then?

  Chapter Two

  JACK OPENED HIS EYES. IT took him a moment to remember that he was in Jessie’s living room. He could hear her moving around in the kitchen and something smelled fantastic.

  He pulled his t-shirt on over his head as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

  “Morning.” His voice was rough as he ran a hand through his messy hair.

  She turned around and gave him a shy smile.

  “Hi,” she said, turning away to pour him a cup of coffee.

  She set it in front of him black, knowing without needing to ask that was the way he liked it. She fixed him a plate of eggs, sausage, fried potatoes and onions and a cinnamon roll. She put the overfilled plate and a glass of orange juice down on the table in front of him.

  Damn. He could get used to this.

  “Thanks. Looks good. Maybe I’ll start staying over here more often,” he joked.

  She smiled, sitting down across from him with a smaller version of the meal she had given him.

  “I don’t recall extending any further invitations,” Jessie answered sarcastically.

  He laughed and smiled at her, catching Jessie off-guard. It was so rare for Jack to laugh out loud that way.

  “The hospital didn’t call me last night, so I guess Kennedy was okay,” Jessie said. “Did you check your phone?”

  He hadn’t.

  He picked it up from the table where he’d left it and checked.

  “Nothing,” he said, shaking his head.

  They ate breakfast together quietly.

  She felt her cheeks burn when she thought about what had happened between them the night before. She hoped like hell that he wasn’t also thinking about it.

  When he was finished eating every bite of his breakfast, he stood up to leave.

  “I need to head home. Grab a shower and change my clothes before I head back to the hospital.” He hesitated. “Are you… okay? Last night… I don’t know what I was doing. I just…”

  Jessie nodded and cut him off. The last thing she wanted was to talk about their awkward make-out session.

  “Yeah, no, I mean, I’m good.” She looked down at the floor, wishing he hadn’t brought it up. She was already embarrassed enough. She quickly changed the subject. “Do you want me to go with you to the hospital?”

  He nodded. “Fuck, yeah. You’re sure you don’t mind?”

  “Of course not. I want to go.” She couldn’t stop thinking about that sweet little girl all alone, her mother injured and unable to comfort her baby. Her heart ached for her. She wanted to do anything she could to help.

  Then there was Jack, of course. Sure he was an idiot who acted like an asshole half of the time. Okay, maybe more than half of the time. But he was one of her best friends, wasn’t he? Of course she would do anything to help him out.

  It was Saturday, and she didn’t have anything else planned.

  She did have a date scheduled for later that evening, though.

  It was supposed to be a second date with a guy her parents had introduced her to. Her parents were friends with his, and she had attended a party at their home a few weeks back.

  Justin was nice. A little dull, maybe, but sweet and attentive. He had kissed her when he had dropped her off last weekend, after taking her out to dinner and to a movie. He had complimented her all night, which was a nice change.

  She’d been spending too much time with Jack and his buddies. She certainly wasn’t going to get any male attention with that crowd.

  Jack treated her like one of the guys most of the time, despite their fumbling fooling around the night before.

  None of his friends would even look at her since Jack had told them all that she was off-limits. His explanation that he didn’t want things to be awkward at work if things went south between her and one of his asshole friends seemed reasonable enough.

  Jessie walked outside into her little yard with Jack. It was a cool morning in early October, but the sun was out and it would probably be nice and warm later. She glanced up at the blue, blue sky and took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air.

  “I’ll be back to pick you up in about an hour,” he said to her through the driver’s side window as he backed his Jeep out of her driveway.

  “I’ll be ready,” Jessie promised, hugging her arms around herself as a breeze sent a little chill through her body.

  WHEN THEY ARRIVED AT THE hospital later that morning they went straight to Kennedy’s room. Jessie looked anxious as she made her way to the little girl’s bedside.

  Kennedy smiled and threw her arms around her in a big hug.

  “Good morning, baby girl.” Jessie wrapped her in her arms and kissed the top of her head. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

  Jack watched from his place right outside the door of the hospital room as Jessie lavished the little girl with sweet affection.

  “Jack?” A familiar voice turned his head and he found Jessie’s mother standing behind him.

  “Good morning,” Jack greeted her, unable to force a smile as he anticipated the news she would have for him this morning.

  His chest felt tight and a nervous anticipation buzzed through him.

  She smiled kindly at him and motioned for him to follow her a few steps away.

  “We received the test results from the DNA test. They confirmed that you are, without a doubt, Kennedy’s father.” She touched her hand to his arm. The gesture reminded him of Jessie. “She can be released into your care today. With the confirmation of paternity and the fact that her mother had you listed as the emergency contact, we technically don’t even need to call in a social worker. Are you prepared to take her home with you, Jack?”

  Jack let out a hard breath, the confirmation of what he had already known hitting him hard. He took a moment to process the information, letting it sink in.

  Jessie slipped from the room into the corridor and looked at him anxiously. He could tell from the look on her face that she’d heard the news.

  “Jessie, honey. What are you doing here?” her mother asked, putting her arms around her for a brief hug.

  “I came with Jack,” Jessie said. “Kennedy is comfortable with me. I thought it might make things easier for her.”

  Her mom smiled. “That’s my sweet girl.”

  She turned back to Jack. “So, Jack. Will you take her home with you? I know this is quite a shock. If you’re not equipped to take care of her we could call Children’s Services.”

  He hesitated. For half a second he considered allowing her to do just that. After all, this kid didn’t know him and he didn’t know her. Maybe he could just go on with his life and forget about her.

  He glanced inside the room through the large, glass window. She was so tiny and all alone in that hospital bed. All he could see when he looked at her was his sister, Sarah. How could he just leave her? It would be like leaving family behind.

  And that’s when it hit him. Kennedy was his family. None of this mess was her fault. She’d simply had the bad luck
of having him for her father.

  What would happen to her if they called Children’s Services? Would she end up in a foster home or something? He wasn’t sure. Weren’t those places shitholes? What if something bad happened to her?

  The least he could do was take her home and try to work it out. No doubt he’d fuck it up, but he could at least try. At the very least he knew she would be safe with him.

  He shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, thanks, Dr. Sparks. I’ll… take her home.”

  He glanced at Jessie and he could see relief flood across her face. He could see it in her expression. She had been worried he might not take her.

  “Please, Jack, call me Hayley,” she said. “That’s wonderful. I’ll have the nurse arrange for her release. It will probably take a few hours. I’m afraid Kennedy will need some clothes. The clothes she arrived in were ruined in the accident. We’ll keep you updated on Ms. Richard’s condition. There’s been no change since last night.”

  She motioned for them to follow her into Kennedy’s room.

  “Good morning, Kennedy. Your father is going to take you home today,” Dr. Sparks said.

  Kennedy’s blue eyes got bigger. “Will my mommy be there?”

  “No, sweetie. Mommy is still too sick to go home. She’s going to stay here where we can take care of her.” Dr. Sparks held Kennedy’s hand as she spoke sweetly to her.

  Jessie sat on the other side of her and stroked Kennedy’s blonde hair.

  Jack stood at the foot of her bed, looking at her with no expression on his face.

  “I have to go see some other patients now. Don’t worry, though. Your dad is going to take good care of you.” Dr. Sparks got up and said goodbye to them.

  Kennedy looked at Jack. “Are we going to my mommy’s house?” she asked, her voice small and shy.

  Jack shook his head. “No. We’re going to my house.” He spoke matter-of-factly, his voice steady.

  Kennedy looked at Jessie. “Jessie, can you come with us?” She looked scared.

  Jessie nodded. “Of course I can.”

  Kennedy glanced at Jack again. “Do I have to call you Daddy?”

  Jack shook his head and shrugged. “No. You can just call me Jack.”

  Kennedy nodded and seemed happy with that.

  “What’s your favorite color, Kennedy?” Jessie asked.

  “Pink!” Kennedy said enthusiastically.

  Jessie laughed. “Pink is my favorite color, too!”

  Kennedy giggled and hugged her.

  Jack smiled slightly. He had to admit that she was a pretty cute kid. Long, silky blonde hair and big, light blue eyes. She had the most adorable freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose, just like Sarah had as a child.

  “Your daddy and I are going to go to the store so we can get you some things to wear. We’ll be back in a couple of hours. Okay?”

  Kennedy nodded.

  Jack felt his stomach tighten. It was strange to hear Jessie refer to him as Kennedy’s Daddy.

  Once they were seated in Jack’s Jeep, he turned to look at her.

  “Do you have to call me Daddy when you talk to her?”

  Jessie looked surprised. “How else should I refer to you?”

  “I don’t know. Can’t you just say my name? It feels weird. I mean, for fuck’s sake, I just met the kid.”

  “Jack, she’s your daughter. You need to establish the relationship or she’s going to be confused.”

  Jack nodded.

  “I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing,” he admitted. “I’m totally out of my comfort zone with this.”

  She nodded and smiled. “It’s going to fine, Jack. You’ll figure it out, like all new parents do. And I’ll help you.”

  “How do you know so much about kids?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I have a lot of younger cousins. Plus my brother and his husband have a son. Adam’s a little older than Kennedy. I’ve always liked kids. I’ve volunteered at the hospital, reading to the kids and playing with them, since I was sixteen.”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Of course you have,” he said sarcastically.

  It wasn’t normal for someone to be so nice. If she sprouted fucking angel wings he wouldn’t be surprised at this point. There had to be something wrong with her. No one was this good.

  “Where am I going?” he asked grumpily, pulling out of the hospital parking lot.

  “Just go to the mall. She needs clothes and other stuff, plus you have to get a car seat.”

  Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that Jessie would be able to help him pick out everything Kennedy would need. Otherwise he wouldn’t have had a clue what to do.

  At the mall, Jessie steered him in and out of numerous children’s clothing stores, where she took her time selecting outfits. Dresses, skirts, tops, jeans, pajamas, a jacket, underwear, socks, tights, and shoes. He was overwhelmed by the sea of tiny clothes in pinks, yellows, purples and light blues. It looked like a box of pastel-colored crayons had exploded. And everything was so impossibly small.

  Then she dragged him to a Target where she picked out an appropriate car seat. After consulting with one of her cousins on the phone, and then calling the hospital to find out Kennedy’s exact weight, she determined that Kennedy still needed a regular car seat. She wasn’t quite big enough for the booster seat model. She chose a model that would convert to the booster seat when Kennedy gained the additional five pounds needed to safely use it.

  She moved through the aisles of the store and filled the rest of the cart with kids shampoo, conditioner, a special spray for tangles, body wash, a poufy bath sponge, toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush and comb, hair accessories, bubble bath and lotion. Finally, she picked up some coloring books, crayons, and a pink, stuffed bunny rabbit with floppy ears.

  Jack couldn’t believe women shopped like this for fun. It was torture for him.

  Why did girls need this much shit? If the kid was a boy, he wouldn’t have needed half as much stuff. He voiced this thought to Jessie and she laughed.

  “Oh, this is nothing. Trust me, what you see here is only the absolute bare essentials.”

  Jack grumbled a bit, but he didn’t dispute any of Jessie’s selections. After all, how the fuck should he know what a little girl needed?

  He suddenly remembered his sister always needing a fuckton of stuff, too. He hadn’t thought about that in years. A decent amount of the money he’d earned at his after-school and summer jobs had gone to pay for silly girl things that Sarah had wanted. They had been teenagers by then. Sarah had pretty much been a tomboy until they turned about twelve. Then suddenly it seemed like overnight she had changed into the girliest girl he’d ever known.

  He hadn’t minded, really. After all, it was Sarah who had made his dinner for him every night and done his laundry so he wouldn’t have to. Giving her some money for the things she wanted had seemed like the least he could do for her.

  Jack and Jessie figured out how to install the car seat together.

  “I thought car seats were for babies,” Jack complained.

  Jessie laughed. “I think they used to be when we were kids, but not anymore.”

  When they returned to the hospital, Jessie helped Kennedy get dressed in one of the cute new outfits. Then she brushed her hair into two ponytails.

  She looked adorable as Jessie held her hand and walked her proudly out of the room, where Jack waited for them in the hospital corridor.

  Kennedy peeked up at him shyly. She hesitantly reached for his hand, which looked giant next to her tiny one. Kennedy held onto Jessie with her other hand and they walked out of the hospital together.

  Kennedy fell asleep in the car on the way to Jack’s house. The doctor had told them that they should limit her activity and let her rest as much as possible for the rest of the weekend. She had a follow-up appointment scheduled for Monday morning.

  Jack opened the door to his Jeep and hesitated. “Should I wake her up?”

&
nbsp; Jessie was getting the shopping bags from the other side of the back seat.

  “No, let her sleep. Just pick her up and carry her inside. Lay her down on the sofa.” Jessie smiled at the look of apprehension on his face.

  He reached in the backseat and undid the car seat straps carefully, trying not to disturb the sleeping little girl. He had never picked up a kid in his life, but she was so small that it wasn’t hard to pluck her out of the seat. He held her close to him as her head drooped and rested on his shoulder.

  Jessie felt a warm and fuzzy feeling wash over her, watching Jack holding his little daughter. She thought briefly about the huge impact this was going to have on him. She wondered if he had any idea just how many ways his life was getting ready to change.

  He handed Jessie the keys to his house and she unlocked and opened the door for them. Jack lay a still-sleeping Kennedy down on the sofa.

  Cody came over quickly to investigate, sniffing the air and trying to figure out who this tiny human in his house was. He climbed up on the sofa and curled up at Kennedy’s feet, as if he already understood that it was his job to protect this little person.

  Jessie went into Jack’s bedroom and got a pillow from his bed. She came back and placed it under Kennedy’s head. She pulled a Carolina Panthers blanket off the back of the sofa and covered her with it, smoothing back the little girl’s hair.

  Jack sat down in a chair and watched Jessie tend to his daughter. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had a kid. It was surreal.

  In less than twenty-four hours, his entire life had completely changed.

  “Where is she going to sleep?” Jessie asked him.

  “There are two rooms upstairs. I guess she’ll sleep up there.”

  Jack and Jessie climbed the stairs together to take a look. Both rooms were of a good size and had been decorated by Jack’s sister.

  “Wow, I love the way your sister did these rooms.”

  “Yeah, it’s kind of a hobby she has.”

  “She’s good at it. When she moves up here I might have her help me with my house. You should make one of these rooms over for Kennedy… you know, a cute little girl room,” Jessie suggested.