41. Chapter Thirty-Six

Chapter Thirty-Six

J esse was tired, so very tired, but she wouldn't miss the get together at Nelson's Honkytonk Saloon & Bar for anything. Their first annual Halloween contest was today. They'd chosen the Friday before Halloween, so they didn't take away from kids' trick-or-treating on the thirty-first. They'd all just been together for their wedding on Sunday and some of the Nelsons were coming on Sunday for the farm's Halloween get together.

In the midst of Hank joining their family and getting married, she'd needed to get costumes for everyone for Sunday. Yes, it was campy but when she looked online about family themes, she was all in. She'd let Hank's costume dictate what everyone else wore.

She'd even found time to practice with her sisters for their entry. Scoop would probably be a tad upset at Sarah, but Jesse had found it incredibly sweet and funny.

Vivi had a couple babysitters upstairs for the younger kids. Clara had decided she wanted to help, so Jesse knew her girls were taken care of. Ellie was here and since her boys were older, they were staying downstairs. Jesse wondered if it was more for Ellie to keep an eye on the boys because she'd been called to the school a lot for them. Cannon said Ellie appreciated the relaxed atmosphere at the range because no one got mad when she had to head to the principal's office.

Jesse stood up and walked over to the bar to get a drink. As busy as it was, she wasn't going to wait on one of the waitresses. One of the new female bartenders was closest, and Jesse hadn't had a chance to meet her. She had gorgeous mahogany hair that was thick and in a ponytail. Blonde highlights and the thickness of the hair had Jesse a little envious. She'd love to have hair like that.

She turned around and her name tag read Ryanne with Ry in parentheses. Ry turned toward her.

"What can I get you?"

"I would love a sweet tea. And I'm Jesse Franks. I don't think we've met," Jesse held her hand out, and the woman stuck her hand over the bar to shake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ryanne but friends call me Ry. I think you and I are going to be friends."

Jesse smiled because she loved Ry's attitude. She took her glass and started to turn.

"Hey, she gets to call you Ry but I still have to call you Ryanne. What the heck?" Hennessy groused.

Ry chuckled. "We're co-workers. Friends don't rubberband the carbonated water sprayer open and then turn it off at the base. When I turned it on, it soaked me and my last clean pair of jeans."

Hennessy huffed. "I said I was sorry. It's a rite of passage to be pranked by me, Ryanne. Besides, maybe you should do laundry more often."

Jesse chuckled and walked away. The way Hennessy emphasized her name was hysterical. She wondered what bet he'd lost again because he was wearing the pink Nelson's shirt with the phrase Ask Me Why I'm Wearing This on the back.

Jesse walked back over and sat down by Cannon. "You ready for this?"

He turned toward her with the scruff on his face and his ever-present hat on his head. He slid his hand along her face and into her hair, pulling her closer.

"Yes. With you, I'm good."

He turned his hat around so he could get close to her lips. She didn't care where she was or who was around. Her life was the one she'd always wanted. The only thing she needed a little more of was sleep and Cannon's lips kissing her.

Catcalls had Cannon pulling back. Then turning his hat back around.

"Awww shut up. You're just jealous," he yelled.

"Welcome to our first annual Halloween Karaoke at Nelson's. Now a couple of ground rules. Throwing anything at the singers or stage, no matter how bad their performance, is prohibited. I need Quinton to be able to cover the bar tomorrow for me, not be in the hospital," Whiskey said, chuckling. "Now, let's give a round of applause to our first act—The Franks Sisters with Waterloo ."

Jesse ran up to join the stage with her sisters. Sarah was standing there blushing.

"Do you think he'll be mad?" Sarah asked.

"You mean, that you not only told us the victory dance he did after you had sex the first time but then showed us the moves for our karaoke number? Oh definitely," Beth said.

"Guys, let's just sway back and forth then instead of doing what I taught you," Sarah suggested.

Jesse and her sisters all nodded, but she knew none of them were changing the number. If Scoop couldn't take a little teasing from the sisters, he shouldn't be in the family.

They got in line and nodded to have Hennessy start the backup music. They took turns singing the words. When they got to the middle part, they all sang and started swinging their hips while doing what Jesse would call the Saturday Night Fever arm moves. Between singing and dancing, Jesse still made sure she could see Scoop's face when they started doing his moves. He was blushing, then leaned down and banged his head on the table before sitting up and smiling. He stood as they got close to the end and walked to the stage in front of Sarah. As soon as they finished, he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, giving her rear a smack. He sat back down at their table and held her in his lap.

The crowd roared, and a couple of the guys slapped Scoop on the back. Jesse grinned and headed back to sit down by Cannon, Ellie, her sons, Lyle and Richy, and Vivi. The Nelson cousins went on the stage, all nine of them dressed in the bar's pink t-shirts. The music started and Hennessy sang first. They were singing Pink by Lizzo but every time they should sing, hey Barbie , they were replacing the words with the different cousin's names. The laughter from the audience was almost louder than their singing. Hennessy jumped off the stage toward the end with a microphone and came closer, singing to Vivi. Jesse giggled right along with everyone else.

When they finished, Ellie's sons were sneering at Hennessy. Hennessy looked at them, cocking his eyebrow. When they didn't answer, he leaned closer.

"What's the sneer for?"

"Real men don't wear pink," Lyle said.

"It's not tough. You're a pussy," Richy said.

"Richy, don't use that word," Ellie said.

"Dad said you're just a gash," Richy replied.

"Hey, we don't allow men to disrespect women, and you're old enough to know better. Now, a couple of points. Anyone who says ‘real men' doesn't know what a man is. Men come in all shapes, color, sizes, and temperaments. I wear pink because what I wear doesn't define me as a man. It means I'm having fun with my family. Now, you both can stay for the rest of karaoke and continue to enjoy the snacks if you apologize to your mom."

Jesse waited, watching the boys look at each other. Then Lyle looked back at Hennessy.

"What are you going to do if we don't apologize?" Lyle asked. Hennessy glanced behind the boys and then back at them.

"I ban you from the main room tonight and you can sit with my dad in the room next door. No electronics, no way to see the karaoke stage and think the rest of the evening about how you should have just said sorry to your mom. Growing up means knowing when you need to say you're sorry."

Lyle and Richy both looked at Ellie and half-heartedly said they were sorry.

"Okay folks, as an apology for the delay, we're going to have the next round of snacks delivered free. And pink might just be my new signature color. I'm pretty sure I rock it. Whiskey, who's up next?"

Jesse thought for Hennessy not having kids, he'd handled the boys great. She hadn't been around the boys and Ellie much besides Sunday lunches. They seemed to be on their best behavior there. Nothing like she heard they were from Ellie.

Cannon stood on the stage. After Hennessy corrected the boys, they'd had a couple other acts by people Cannon didn't know. Now he and his brothers at the MC were up next. They cleared the microphone stands and just picked up the handheld mics. None of them wanted to trip. When Flick had come up with his idea, he'd thought Flick was crazy, but he would do anything to put a smile on Jesse's face.

The music started, and Flick walked over singing Call Me Maybe . War joined him, then Roam. Then it was his turn singing and dancing along with Bear and Scoop. He could see Jesse grinning and dancing along. Then halfway through, the music changed, and they all jumped to the floor and started singing Shut Up and Dance . When they got on the floor, the Nelson cousins joined them, along with Baron, Rascal, and Locks. Flick had them learn a line dance. Keeping all of them in step since they hadn't practiced together beforehand was a miracle. Dancing and singing were harder than he'd thought, but he didn't fumble on any of the steps. Once the music ended, he could enjoy the rest of the evening. They finished the song to screaming and yelling from all the women.

He walked back over to a smiling Jesse. He sat down beside her, sliding his arm around her. It had been a whirlwind since Hank had come into their lives ten days ago, but Cannon wouldn't change anything. He was going to make sure each of his kids had everything he'd never had as a kid.

Once he held his little girls and then Hank, he couldn't fathom how his father had treated him and Hank the way he had. His therapist had said Cannon's dad had an illness. At least now, his illness was going to be kept contained. Instead of going to trial, he'd accepted a plea deal to turn over everyone he bought from. He'd still serve ten years with his charges that had been outstanding. Hopefully, by the time he got out, he'd be an old man incapable of hurting others. The only time Cannon planned on thinking about him was if he needed to show up for a parole hearing.

Cannon chuckled as Jesse leaned against him with tears running down her face as Peck, Burt, and Bill sang the old songs from Hee Haw, Pfft! You Were Gone and then went into Gloom, Despair, And Agony On Me . The rest of the competition was entertaining but watching everyone relaxing was good.

They were keeping the compound locked and although some of the guys had ridden motorcycles to the bar, the kids and some of the adults were in the fortified bail bonds vehicles.

"So the only way we can close out our first annual competition is by announcing the winner, then asking everyone to sing along with our last song. The winner is Kayla. Just so you know, she is a senior at the community college and plans on continuing her education in Wichita. I know the prize money will help her follow her dream."

Cannon enjoyed seeing how happy the winner was. It was getting late, and Cannon knew they all planned on getting on the road soon.

"Final song of the night. Please sing and dance along with Vivi's rendition of A Bar Song ."

Cannon stood up and pulled Jesse into his arms on the dance floor. Baron and Regina joined them, along with the other couples. He sang to Jesse as they danced. Hennessy went and pulled Ellie onto the dance floor. Her sons were sitting, singing along, which was something. He was enjoying this time with his honey before one of his kids kept him from sleeping all night. But he didn't have anything to complain about. He wouldn't trade a full night's sleep for anything because he was blessed.