Uninhibited in Apple Trail, Arkansas - Volume 2 (26 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Jessie looked toward the truck where Henry was climbing out and her breath caught, heart squeezed. She’d hardly seen him since that nightmare of a day. She talked with him on the phone here and there, but it was nothing more than updates. And then earlier this week, he’d called ahead, letting her know he was bringing his grandpa out now that the outside structure of the house was completed. It was the phone call she’d been waiting for.

She walked forward, focusing on the older man getting out the other side. “You must be the famous grandpa I’ve heard so much about.”

He gave a firm handshake. “You must be the woman that’s tied my grandson’s tail in knots that he wanted me to meet.”

She tucked hair behind her ear, not sure what to say to that. She knew the story, what she was supposed to say and none of it included her current, real relationship with Henry. Henry had called and asked her to play along as a woman he wanted his grandfather to meet for just a few minutes so his grandpa would be well and surprised. She just smiled through it, though the heat flushing her cheeks was real.

The man nodded toward her house. “The frame of your house looks great. Looks like you’re going to have some good space.”

She smiled at him. “Thank you. It’s coming along. Won’t be long and the walls will be up and I’ll be able paint before they put carpet down.”

Henry waited at the front of his truck and studied the house hard. “I thought you would have had your mom’s house rebuilt.”

She smiled more because plastering on this smile was the easiest. “I sat down with an architect, showed him the picture of my mom’s house. Before I could say anything, he pushed it aside and asked what I wanted. It’s one story, but a bigger bottom floor. There’s a huge sunroom across the back. Large family room, good sized spare bedrooms. And the biggest dining room I’ve ever imagined to hold all my friends and family during the holidays. The contractors salvaged what rocks they could off my original fireplace to rebuild the new one. There are some similarities in a few details, but it’s all mine.”

He nodded. “Looks good. You’re farther along than I thought.”

She swallowed. “I had some help. A few girlfriends came out and we picked through the rumble for a couple days pulling out everything I could find. Some guys from town burned what was left of it for me so I wouldn’t catch the yard on fire.”

He blinked. “You had help. That’s great.”

She nodded. “It was. It was nice. Getting the help, I mean.” She cleared her throat. “It’s been a long drive, how about a short walk to stretch your legs?”

Henry started forward. “Sounds great.”

His grandpa looked down the road toward the cabin. “What’s down there?”

“Friend of mine. We’ll walk down it. The trails are mess this year with the storm we had a month or so ago.”

“Well you have a beautiful place here.” Grandpa Green commented. “Real nice.”

“Thank you.” She chanced a look at Henry to find he was staring at her. “It needs some cleaning up. A tractor would help. I was hoping Henry would take me to look at them. I don’t really know what I’d be looking at, but I have to get this grass cut.”

Henry’s brow rose, but he wasn’t able to get a word in.

“A tractor? Well don’t buy one. Henry has one, though the devil knows why. Brought it home, parked it in my backyard and there’s it’s been sitting ever since. It’s still on the trailer.” Grandpa Green looked at his grandson. “Why don’t you bring her your tractor next time you come up here?”

“Ah,” Henry cleared his throat. “I’m pretty sure Jessie would probably want her own.”

“Yes.” Jessie added. “The yard will need cut nearly every time it rains this summer. If Henry doesn’t use his, maybe he’ll sell it to me? What do you think Grandpa Green?”

He stared at her, his brows cocked, eyes wide. “Sell it to you?” he shook his head. “Nah, he doesn’t use. I bet next weekend we can come back up here and Henry can cut your grass for you.”

She resisted a chuckle. She had to admit, this attitude was charming on his grandfather and she could clearly see where Henry got it from. That didn’t mean she was going to be walked over. “Why should Henry have all the fun driving the tractor? Besides, I wouldn’t feel right. I need to get my own. My daddy raised me better than to be relying on someone else my whole life.”

“I can respect that.” Grandpa Green smiled and nodded, then glanced to Henry. “I like this one.”

Henry’s mouth dropped and Jessie had to press her lips together to keep from laughing out loud.

“My sister used to run around here,” Grandpa Green continued.

“Did she?” Jessie asked.

“Has a boy about your age. Quinn Flannigan. Don’t suppose you know him?”

Jessie put her hand across her throat where it tightened. “Somewhat. He moved away not long after high school.” She swallowed again, focusing on keeping her tone on polite, normal southern chat. “How is he doing?”

“Well enough. Going through a divorce.”

“Oh. That’s um, real sad to hear.” But not too surprising.

She glanced to Henry for help. He started to say something, but they walked around the final turn in the long drive and there the little cabin sat, tucked under the oak tree, looking exactly like the picture Henry had shown her on that first day.

Grandpa Green stopped and stared. “Well I’ll be.”

Jessie stepped back as Henry walked forward and put an arm across his grandpa’s shoulder. “What do you think?”

“It looks just like the house I grew up in. I mean just like it, from what I can remember of it.” He looked over his shoulder toward her. “Do you think the owners would mind if I walked around up close.”

She smiled. “Why don’t you ask, Henry?”

“Henry?”

Henry looked at her and nodded. “This is mine, Grandpa. I built it. For you.”

Grandpa Green stared for a long moment. “Why?”

“I wanted to. You talked about this place a lot. You really seemed to have loved it. For all you’ve done for me, I wanted to give this to you. The inside isn’t finished yet, because I wanted you to have a chance to make it like you wanted.” His gaze landed on hers and then slid away.

Grandpa Green glanced back to her. “He’s joking?”

She chuckled and held back the tears in her eyes. The moment was everything she’d imagined, even the breaking pain in her chest. The smile was hard to maintain and she could feel it falling off her face, but she took a breath in effort to keep her voice steady. “He’s not joking.”

As the pair walked closer, Jessie stood back, her heart heavy, and gave them privacy. She took a shuddering breath while watching the pair hug.

Ya done good, Jessie
. She wiped a tear off her cheek. That’s what her daddy would have said.

Chapter Fifteen

Henry approached her slow, unsure if this new Jessie was just an act for his grandpa, or if it was more. Should he get his hopes up and seriously think of her in all the ways he’d been thinking of her for the last three months when they’d been apart? Or maybe he should keep his distance.

When he’d left out of this place, he was ready to get on. Move past her. Forget the Jessie McBride who was too damn stubborn. Had too much damn pride. He never expected to miss her as much as he had. To spend every aching hour thinking of how her brow arched when he insisted. Recalled how her fists would curl and she’d run him through when he overstepped.

Jessie wasn’t a woman who wanted him for what he could do for her. For the things he could do to take care of her. He didn’t realize how much he’d been taken advantage of by women in the past and how refreshing it was not to take on that responsibility. A woman in his life shouldn’t be as demanding as a pet. Henry got that now and he hoped he hadn’t discovered it too late.

Jessie may be tough as shit at times, but she was a woman he couldn’t forget about. One he couldn’t stop craving. How she’d spent those few hours surrendering to him, under him. That was one area in his life he wouldn’t mind taking charge and doing for someone else.

She sat on the edge of the foundation of her home and swung her legs, looking innocent enough and giving him no clues about how she was feeling. “Does he like it?”

He nodded and eased on next to her. “Yeah. He does. He’s ready to paint. Talking about what he wants inside.”

“I’m glad.”

“Me, too. I was going to finish it completely, but thought he might want the chance to make a few choices for himself.” He shrugged. “People seem to like that sort of thing.”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “They do.”

He wanted to know what that meant. What was behind that simple nod and one word? Did she see? Did she know the day he left her had been the worst day of his life? That he wanted to come back a dozen times every half hour, but he forced himself to stay because he knew she wouldn’t take his word for anything. That she would have to see he had finally gotten it and figured out what she meant?

He tapped on the concrete, unsure what to do or say. “Has the RV given you any troubles?”

A strand of hair flicked in the wind and she stuck it behind her ear. “I haven’t been staying in it. I did for about a week, but it just seemed silly.”

He met her gaze. Great. Didn’t want him, didn’t want the comforts he could give her. She hadn’t changed much at all.

She shrugged. “I mean, I enjoyed the privacy, but it was wasting gas and just another place to keep when my cousin has a spare room at her house. Logically, it was silly to maintain it.”

He nodded. “You seem to be making it all right for staying there. You’re not going insane. At least, you don’t look it.”

She laughed. “We hit a couple rough spots here and there, but I think I’ve got a few things figured out. Realized I was making things a hundred times harder on myself for no good reason.” She looked down at her feet, but she reached over and covered his hand with hers. “I’m sorry, Henry, for the way I treated you. You were nothing but amazing and I treated you like crap for it.”

He sighed. “It wasn’t just you. I didn’t listen. It went in one ear and out the other. I wanted to take care of you and I see that’s not what you needed.”

She nudged him with his shoulder. “I can definitely see where you get that from. You are just like your grandpa.”

He laughed. “Thanks. I’m glad to hear that.”

She stroked her thumb over his raw knuckles. “What did you do to your hand?”

He flexed his fingers and the pull of pain and tightness on the scabbed skin brought a smile to his face. “Had an unfortunate encounter with something thick.”

Her brows lifted. “What?”

He closed his hands. “Quinn’s face. He was mistaken about your…character. I don’t think he has that problem anymore.” Bastard had shown up at Henry’s door late one night rambling on about Jessie being just a ‘stupid whore’, couldn’t they get past their differences so he could have his job back. Henry hadn’t been in the best mood. Quinn didn’t gain his job back and the man left some blood behind on Henry’s carpet. In fairness, Henry had warned him to take it back and apologize. Quinn elected not to and instead said more.

She tucked hair behind her ear. “Thanks. No one’s ever done that for me before.”

He shrugged. “He’s a dipshit and if that’s true, you’re way overdue for someone to take up for you.” She turned her gaze to his and he put his hand up in defense. “I know, I know. You don’t need or want help.”

She smiled and swung her feet. “I’m okay with it.” She glanced over at him under the shield of her lashes and bumped his shoulder with hers. “This time.”

Would she shy away if he leaned over? His chest was tied in knots.

She cleared her throat. “So how much did you pay for your tractor?”

“Sixty-five.”

She nodded. “I’ll give you forty for it.”

“Forty thousand?” He looked at her. “No. Hell no, Jessie.”

She stared at him. Her eyes wide, wanting so much.

He sighed. “It’s worth way more than that. Sixty. That’s my lowest offer.”

And she grinned. It was huge and wide. The smile reached all the way to crinkle the corner of her eyes. “The price depreciates when you take it off the lot, you know. Forty-five.”

“It’s never been used! Fifty-eight thousand. That’s my lowest offer and a fair deal.”

“Forty-eight.”

“Fifty-eight.”

She shook her head. “Forty-eight and that’s my last offer. This includes all the attachments, now. Don’t think you’re going to sell me those separately.”

“You’re ripping me off!” He shook his head. “I could sell it for more.”

“Then do it. But you have a buyer right here waiting.”

“Fine.” He held up his hand. “Forty-eight, all attachments. You gotta shake on it.”

She grinned and leaned in. “I have a better idea.”

She turned her head and pressed her mouth to his. God, it felt good to have her against him. To feel her. To see her. To wrap her in his arms.

“Not interrupting, am I?”

Epilogue

Stephanie Madison reached up and pounded on the wall. “Parker! Are y’all done yet?”

“Almost!” he yelled back through the wall.

“Can I come in?”

“No!” was yelped out by at least three or four groomsmen.

“Men.” She reached down and tapped the nose of her youngest daughter. “They’re silly and take so long, yes they do.”

The baby smiled and crinkled her face up. It was probably gas, but Stephanie pressed a kiss to her girl’s forehead anyway.

The door to the men’s bathroom finally cracked open and her husband came out with their boy on his hip. “About time.”

Parker glanced at her, lifted their son higher against his chest. “Not my fault. I told you I can’t do those little snaps between the legs on these clothes. I can’t get my hand in there. I had to get help.”

“They’re onesies. All babies wear them. Get used to them. That’s just an excuse to get out of changing diapers.”

“Apparently not a good one because it never gets me out of it.”

She laughed and stepped into the sunroom behind her friend’s house. A temporary dance floor had been put down and the bride, Jessie, was in the center, dancing with Mike Gable who’d walked her down the aisle. Tiffany, standing next to her on the porch, had stood on the other side of Jessie and walked her too.

Stephanie had watched from the front as a bridesmaid with her other friends, all of them with a handful of tissues wiping their eyes while the pair gave her away.

Shellie Hamilton walked up the back porch and into the sunroom, which had become known as the daycare room for the time being between her twins, and Riley and Shellie’s little girl.

Tiffany reached for the girl in Stephanie’s arms and brought her against her chest. “There’s my girl.”

Stephanie couldn’t help but smile. “About your turn, isn’t it?”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Someone asked me last week if Mike and I married so fast because I’d gotten pregnant.”

Stephanie gapped at her for a moment. “You got married over a year ago!”

Tiffany shrugged and laughed. “I know. Maybe soon. We’re not getting in a hurry for it and instead are just enjoying being married, you know? And there are plenty of babies I can always find to hold and babysit whenever I want, for now.” She rubbed noses against the baby girl, bringing another cackling laugh out of her.

Lette spun around the dance floor, her hips going one way and feet mostly trampling those of her boyfriend, Drew’s.

Shellie smiled. “Did you hear they’re engaged?”

Stephanie leaned over. “When? Why didn’t she say anything?”

Shellie laughed. “He asked her last night. She didn’t want to steal the thunder out from under Jessie.”

“They’re so awesome together.” Tiffany looked up from the baby to watch the couple.

“They really are, but we have to teach her to dance before her own wedding.”

Shellie shook her head. “Drew would probably hang us if we did.”

The music slowed. Those standing around clapped and Henry’s grandfather stepped in and took Jessie’s hand for a dance. Shellie sighed. “She’s so happy.”

Tiffany nodded. “It’s the happiest I can remember seeing her since we were kids.” She turned and handed Stephanie’s girl back. “I’m going to steal a dance from Henry. He’s watching Jessie and I haven’t really gotten to say congratulations to him today.”

Shellie sighed and looked around. “I am so glad Riley and I followed your lead and got married on a beach on vacation, while no one was the wiser.”

“You got that right.” Stephanie laughed, remembering back to that long ago week-long vacation. Parker had dropped to his knee that first night on the beach and slid a ring on her finger. The next day she bought a dress. Day after that they were married. The rest of the week was their honeymoon. It had been perfect.

Stephanie smiled as Rebecca and Grant danced past. Those two were as cute as they came and still going strong as the day they got together. The baby in her arms stiffened. Her face puckered and then grinned, back to relaxing and giggling. Warmth filled the girl’s diaper. Stephanie looked up to Shellie. “Quick, ask me to dance.”

Shellie blinked. “Stephanie, let’s dance!”

“Good idea!” She turned and handed off her baby girl with her not-so-fresh diaper into her unknowing husband’s arm.

In a fit of laughter, they made it a step away from the dance floor when Parker yelled at her. Stephanie grabbed Shellie’s hand and spun her on the floor. She looked back to Parker who was stilling hollering. “What? I can’t hear you!” She frowned at him, pretending not to understand then tossing him a wave. “Okay, love you, too!”

THE END