Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series (20 page)

“
Father God, thank You for our food, and the day You’ve given us. Thank You for Jack. Give him a good visit this weekend, and bless Bobbi and Shannon and Brad and Joel and Grandma. Amen.”

“
Can I try it?” Jack asked.

“
Absolutely,” Chuck said.

Jack took a deep breath and lowered his head again. “Father God, thank You for my mom and my dad, for Mrs. Dad, for my brothers and my sister. Amen.” He started to raise his head, but quickly bowed it again. “Oh and the food. Thank You, amen.” He raised his head. “I messed up a little.”

“
You did fine, Jack. Just fine.”

Chuck pulled the covers back on Brad’s bed, and Jack climbed in. “So what do you think?”

“
About what?”

“
About your family. How was your first night?”

Jack frowned several moments before answering. “I don’t know if this is gonna work.”

“
Why not? What’s wrong?” Chuck sat on the edge of the bed, and motioned for Jack to sit beside him.

“
I don’t think I can be as special as everybody else.” He dropped his chin down to his chest and absently traced the stitching in the quilt. “Brad has trophies.”

Chuck slipped down and knelt in front of Jack. “Son?” He waited for Jack to look up. “I know we need to get to know each other, but you’re as much my son as Brad and Joel are. You’re as much mine as Shannon is. It doesn’t matter how you got here, I love you, and I always will.”

“
But you never even saw me until that night at my house.”

“
Doesn’t matter. I love you because you’re my son.”

“
So you love me because you have to.”

“
Don’t ever think that.” He pulled Jack close, and hugged him tightly. “I love you because I want to. I can’t help it.”

“
What about when I go home?”

“
Do you think your mom still loves you even though you’re here with me?”

“
Yeah, I guess so,” he said, straightening up.

“
You belong here with me just as much as you belong with your mom. This is your place, your family. It may take a little while for it to feel that way, but it is. It always will be.”

Jack nodded, but he still frowned.

“
Here, this’ll help.” He pulled a box down from the closet shelf, and set it on the bed. He dug through the box until he pulled out a stuffed monkey with long, gangly arms and legs. The monkey wore a yellow felt crown. “This,” Chuck said, handing the monkey to Jack, “is King MooKoo.”

Jack straightened the monkey’s arms and legs, and the slightest grin formed. “I can keep him?”

“
He’s Brad’s. I can’t give him away, but you can sleep with him. Oh wait, I think he’s issuing a royal edict.” Chuck took the monkey back and held him up to his ear. “Yes, Your Highness.” He nodded vigorously, and Jack smiled, straining to hear the monkey speak.

“
What’d he say?” Jack asked, eyes wide.

“
He asked you if you wanted to join the Order of the Mole.”

“
The what?”

“
The Order of the Mole. You know, like in Mole-insky.”

“
I have to change my name?”

“
Of course not. You can be Sir Jack Ravenna of the Order of the Mole.”

“
Who else is in the Order of the Mole?”

“
Well, I’m Sir Charles, and my father was Sir James, then of course, there’s Sir Joel and Sir Bradley.”

“
Sir Joel of the Mole?”

“
Yeah, that one makes me laugh, too.”

“
What do I have to do?”

“
It’s mostly an honorary title. You just have to pledge your loyalty to the other members of the Order.”

“
And they pledge to me, too?”

“
Exactly. Of course, you’ll be pledged to any future members of the Order, whoever they may be.”

Jack thought for a moment, and then he stood beside the bed, and bowed low. “Please inform His Highness, King MooKoo, that I accept.”

Chuck whispered to the monkey, and nodded again. “He says we must confirm this with the Handshake of Solemnity.”

“
The what?”

Chuck set the monkey down on the bed, and then he ceremoniously held his right hand up and spit into it. Then he rubbed his hands together, and nodded for Jack to follow. Jack spit into his hands with enthusiasm and rubbed them together. “My mom never lets me spit!”

Chuck held his right hand out and Jack reached to shake it. Chuck stretched his left hand out for Jack to shake it, too. After a moment, he dropped his hands. “That’s all there is to it.”

“
And I can’t get kicked out?”

“
Never.” Chuck patted the bed. “Think you can sleep now?”

“
Can I have King MooKoo?”

Chuck tossed the monkey to him, then leaned down and kissed his forehead. He laid a hand on Jack’s shoulder and bowed his head. “Dear God, thank You for Jack. Help him to be a man who honors You in everything and help us be the family he needs. Help me especially to be a good dad. Bless him, keep him safe, and help him know how much You love him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.” Chuck kissed him again. “Goodnight, Jack. I love you.”

“
I love you, too, Dad.” He rolled over, and scooted further under the covers.

Chuck lingered for just a moment before turning out the light.
I love you, too, Dad ... God, You are the only one who could redeem something as awful as adultery.
He looked in on Shannon, and whispered a prayer for her before he headed downstairs to find his wife.

Bobbi unloaded the dishwasher, taking the time to decompress. She made it through tonight, but tomorrow they were having a cookout to make Jack’s addition to the family official. Along with Brad, Joel and Ann, all of Rita’s children would be here, except Danny. Chuck expected her to be the model of gracious acceptance. How was she supposed to help everyone else adjust when she couldn’t?

Granted, Jack was a sweet little boy, but every time he called Chuck “Dad” or mentioned his “brothers,” her blood ran cold. He wasn’t hers. He would never be hers. He would always be that woman’s son. Every time Bobbi looked at him, she saw his mother.

She put the last glass away and eased the dishwasher door closed. Before she could pull a cup down from the cabinet, Chuck slipped into the kitchen, startling her when he spoke.

“
He’s all settled in. It took a little while, but Brad’s monkey was in the closet—”

“
What?” Bobbi whipped around to face him. “That was Brad’s. You had no right.”

“
I gave him Brad’s monkey to sleep with, not to keep. What’s the big deal?”

“
It belongs to my son, and I will not stand by and let you give his things to her son.”

“
Honey—”

“
No, Chuck, you refuse to see it, but there is a difference.” She turned back around, and yanked a bag of coffee closer. She scooped enough for one cup, and dumped it into the basket of the coffeemaker.

“
So when you said you’d take Jack in a minute, you didn’t mean any of that? I thought this wasn’t about Jack.”

“
It’s not about Jack. He has a mother.” Bobbi measured the water and poured it into the reservoir. “He will never be my son, and I am not going to be his mother. I will be a gracious weekend hostess, but don’t ask me for any more.”

Saturday, September 8

“
You want to do the salad or the burgers?” Bobbi swung the refrigerator door open, and waited for her sister to choose.

“
Oh, I don’t mind to chop,” Rita said. “I’ll do the salad.”

“
Excellent choice.” Bobbi pulled out the lettuce and tomatoes.

“
So how are things? And tell me the truth because Chuck and the kids won’t be back from the movie for a half hour.”

“
Jack is very sweet, extremely polite. He and Shannon hit it off immediately, and he thinks Chuck walks on water.”

“
I’ll have to get that boy aside, and set him straight,” Rita said with a teasing smile. She rinsed her knife and began peeling carrots. “What about Tracy? How did the exchange go?”

“
Chuck said it was one hundred percent normal. Tracy was almost pleasant.” Bobbi patted out a hamburger, and then punched it back into a ball. “I still don’t trust her.”

“
I couldn’t tell.” Rita smiled, and scraped the carrot pieces from the cutting board into the bowl. “What else for the salad?”

“
Red onion, and cucumber if you want it.”

“
Not particularly. Oh, did I tell you Kelly and Patrick will be late? He has to work.”

“
They’ll probably be here before Brad. Let me think ... two, five, seven, twelve, thirteen. Right? Thirteen of us. No, fourteen. I forgot Jack. Good grief.”

“
It’ll take some getting used to. Don’t worry about it. Did Joel bring his girlfriend?”

“
No, her little boy was sick, maybe strep.”

“
Is he really going to marry her?”

“
You heard him. Honestly, I can’t think about that right now. I had to push it off to the side. Maybe when we get into a routine with Jack, I can talk to Joel some more. A routine with Jack, that’s a good one.”

“
Give yourself some time to adjust to this. Nobody expects you to absorb this all at once.”

“
Except Chuck. He thinks we should already be one big happy family.”

“
Well, he’s delusional.”

“
That’s more polite than most of the things I’ve called him in the last twenty-four hours.” She stacked the hamburger patties on a platter and covered them. “He just ... he doesn’t understand ...”

“
And Glen’s no help.”

“
No, Glen thinks this is just the greatest opportunity that’s ever dropped in my lap. But that woman. You know what she said to me? That the affair was just so she could pregnant. She chose Chuck because she knew he wouldn’t leave me, and she could take her baby and go.”

“
So why’d she come back?”

“
Same reason she dragged Jack all across the country twice. She’s mental. Or she’s up to something.”

“
Mom! Where’s everybody at?” Brad called from the front of the house.

“
Will wonders ever cease?” Bobbi said to Rita. “In the kitchen, Brad!”

“
Hey, Aunt Rita,” Brad said, and then he kissed his mother on the cheek, and dropped into a chair at the kitchen table. “Dad told me four o’clock.”

“
It’s four-thirty,” Bobbi said.

“
I’m close,” Brad said.

“
We’re not eating until five or five-thirty.”

“
That explains why he told me four then.” Brad stood again, stretched, and then went to the refrigerator for a drink. “How’s the usurper?”

“
Jack slept in your room last night. He thinks you’re very cool.”

“
Well then, he’s a very perceptive little guy.” He opened his can of Coke and took a long drink. “Shannon okay with him?”

“
They were instant buddies. You don’t have to worry.”

“
You need me to start the grill or anything?”

“
Sure, thanks,” Bobbi said. Brad finished his Coke, and headed out the back door. “Since Joel came home and announced his engagement, Brad decided to be the perfect son.”

“
Are they going to be competitive like this the rest of their lives?” Rita asked, shaking her head.

Bobbi nodded, and glanced outside to make sure Brad was away from the door. “Possibly. Brad, for all his bluster, is very insecure. He hates being shown up by his little brother. If Joel had opted for law school, too, I think it would’ve done Brad in.”

“
I would have never guessed. He’s so cool all the time.”

“
He gets that from his mother,” Bobbi said, laughing. “You have to listen very closely to him, for little things like that usurper comment. Following his dad and his granddad to law school puts a lot of pressure on him. Chuck’s abandoned him to concentrate on Jack. He’s terrified he’s going to disappoint his dad.”

“
Mommy!” Shannon called, opening the front door with a bang. “Jellybean can say, like, the whole movie! We didn’t even need sound!” She led the way back to the kitchen with Jack and Joel following. “Daddy said he was going to get cole slaw and he’d be right back.”

“
Good,” Bobbi said. “I was hoping he’d remember.”

“
Obsidian, it’s reckoning day,” Jack said to Joel, holding a make-believe sword.

“
Hey, I’m not Obsidian,” Joel said, pretending to grab the sword, and push it out of the way. “I’m never the bad guy.”

“
That’s true,” Shannon said. “Joel has a pure heart, just like Geode. We’ll have to get Brad!”

“
No, Brad’s working the grill,” Bobbi said. “Leave him alone.”

“
We’ll get Daddy, or Uncle Gavin, or John or Patrick or somebody. Don’t worry, Jack. Somebody around here’s gotta be bad.”

“
Wait!” Jack said. “Brad’s here? I wanna see him!” Then the little boy noticed Rita. “Oh, hi. I’m Jack Ravenna.” He stretched out his hand. “Are you a friend of Mrs. Dad’s?”