10. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

J esse flipped the lights on in the garage and glanced at her list. Yesterday she'd slept half the day after returning from the hospital and then had supper at Sarah's. The guys had kept the kids occupied and it had been just Jesse and her sisters. They'd needed the time together to work through everything.

Remi, Sarah, and Winnie had apologized for making the decision for her and treating her like a child. They promised to do better. But Remi reminded her that she'd taken over pseudo mom duties when their mom passed and it was hard to let loose of the reins. Remi's aggrieved tone had them all giggling.

They'd asked her all the questions about the baby but hadn't asked one question regarding Cannon. She'd appreciated their silence because the subject was so confusing. She'd considered taking today off because, besides the high school girls session, she didn't have anything on the schedule. But she didn't want to let those girls down. When she'd offered to teach vehicle maintenance, the principal had misunderstood and thought Jesse was offering it for the guys. Jesse had shut that down because the garage in Coldwater offered classes but only guys seemed to take them. Jesse wanted a space where the young women felt comfortable asking questions. She'd had two girls the first week, but then the next week four more joined. She offered it as a summer course and had planned on continuing in the fall semester. Now she was worried if she'd be able to do that with a new baby.

"Pumpkin?"

Her dad's voice calling her childhood nickname had her remembering all those times when he asked her to pass different tools to her while they were working in the garage. She turned because she'd known she'd need to talk with him eventually.

He stood there a little bit grayer than when she was in high school, but he was still a handsome man. The romance novels she and her sisters all read would call him a silver fox, though she'd say his hair was more of a salt and pepper. He still had some dark brown mixed in there. He had a bouquet of flowers in his hand—the kind he took to her mom's grave.

"Hey, Dad," she said and walked toward him. His face wasn't giving anything away. He'd jumped to her defense against Cannon, but was he disappointed in her?

"Thought you might have a little time before your class to go visit your mom with me. It's been a while."

Jesse glanced at the clock. "I'd like that. I need to be back here no later than ten-forty-five to set up."

"Well, then let's go. You want to hit the restroom while I bring the side-by-side around?" Her dad turned and was out the door before she said yes.

She snickered. She had to pee more now she was pregnant but that's not why he suggested she go to the restroom. Invariably on family trips, they'd all get loaded up and then Jesse would have to go to the bathroom one more time before they left. She wasn't sure if it was her bladder or her brain that made her need to pee one last time before they left the house. She finished in the bathroom, washed her hands and dried them. She hit the button to lower the garage doors and then went out the side door, locking it behind her. Her dad was sitting in the side-by-side waiting on her.

She scooted onto the seat and grabbed onto the handle. Most of the time, she didn't use the seatbelts unless she had kids with her. Listening to her niece Phoebe lecture her on keeping safe had necessitated driving with one on to avoid the lecture. Her dad motioned to the cup holder as he drove. She reached down for the half sandwich. He'd made her a BLT on toast just the way she liked it.

"How'd you know I was hungry?" she asked around a mouthful of food.

Her dad looked at her and just chuckled.

"Because every time your mom was pregnant, she was always hungry once she was past the nausea. I remember making her a snack at three in the morning because she woke up and was hungry."

Jesse continued chewing, finishing her sandwich in a couple bites. She motioned to the drink.

"For me?"

He nodded. She picked it up and opened the lid, sniffing what was inside. She couldn't smell anything, so she took a tentative sip. Ice cold ginger ale hit her tastebuds. Perfect. She sipped as her dad drove silently across the compound. They used to call this their farm, but once they bought the land between the Bluff Creek compound and their land, it had all become the compound. Her dad crested the little hill to the tree with the small fence around it. Within a week of burying her mom, her dad had made a wooden bench wide enough for six people to sit on. He'd wanted a space where all the girls could come to visit their mom. The first year, they all visited a lot. Over the years, at different times, Jesse had come here.

But she hadn't come here since she found out she was pregnant. She wasn't sure why, or maybe she didn't want to examine it too closely.

Her dad parked the side-by-side and then got out and walked around it to Jesse's side. He held his hand out and she placed hers in his rough hand. Her dad had run the bail bonds for years and taught his girls everything he knew. Even when he'd been grieving for her mom, he'd still worked to make sure their life was the same. He opened the gate and led her through to the bench. He placed the flowers in the vase he'd installed on her headstone. Then he sat beside her and slid his arm around her.

"I come here to talk to your mom a lot. After so many years of marriage, I couldn't just not tell her what was going on. You can just sit here and listen, or you can talk too if you want."

Jesse nodded and looked into her dad's eyes. She wasn't sure what he wanted, but she'd listen and be here for him.

"Kathryn, it's been a week. In fact, I honestly didn't think anything could rival what went on when War and Remi got together, but then everything happened with Bear and Winnie. Then Scoop and Sarah had their adventure. Well, this last week has been wild.

Let me start with Sunday lunch. It seems our next to youngest has been keeping a secret and Cannon didn't take kindly to it when he found out. I don't think I've ever been as mad at a man as I was at him. The only thing holding me back from beating him within an inch of his life is that he's the father of our grandchild. I mean, Jesse must have liked him at least a little for him to be the father. Once I got over the anger at Cannon, I have to admit I cried. I sat in what used to be our bedroom. Yep, we're getting another grandchild. Each grandchild I'm blessed with, I ache for you to be here with me." Her dad's voice trailed off for a minute while he fished a handkerchief out of his pocket. He wiped his eyes and then his nose.

Jesse was fighting the tears too.

"That night, a truck deliberately hit Cannon while he was riding his motorcycle. He's come through surgery but will have some time he'll need to recover. So you're up to where we are today and the reason we're here is because I feel completely unprepared. Pumpkin is going to have her own little pumpkin. Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday they were placing her in my arms. Even though she was our fourth and you'd think I'd be an old hand at it, I remember being so scared I couldn't be the dad she needed. But it was always easy having you with me. I want to support her. I'm so proud of her for all she's done on her own with this pregnancy. I'd give anything to have you here. You always knew what to say to the girls to get them through hard times. I've watched Jesse grow over the years and I know she'll be a great mom to a boy or girl. She'll teach them to stand strong in the face of adversity just like she has. But how do I help her?"

Her dad paused and Jesse leaned over on his shoulder. "You're already helping me, Dad. I was worried you'd be mad at me for getting pregnant."

Her dad chuckled. "Why would I be mad? We need another generation for the bail bonds, and I want to get to do all the fun things this time around without the discipline."

Jesse closed her eyes and breathed in the unique smell of her dad. His soap and the cologne he used, along with the smell of the outdoors. She didn't know why she'd worried about her dad being mad at her. He'd always had her back, even when she might do something stupid. Like the time she and Beth crawled up to the roof of the diner and threw rotten tomatoes down at the snotty girl that was mean to her and Beth in high school. She still remembered him walking into the sheriff's station because she and Beth might have miscalculated how mad the girl's dad, who was the sheriff, would be. When he'd asked the girls why they'd done it, the truth had come out about the girl pinching Beth when she walked down the hallways and also spreading rumors about her. The sheriff had been appalled when her dad asked what the sheriff was going to do about his own daughter. When the sheriff's reply had been nothing, her dad had worked to have someone else run for sheriff the next year. The girl and the former sheriff had moved at the end of the school term since he didn't have a job.

"Mom, I'm pregnant and I wish more than anything you could be here. I know you'd have the best advice on how to deal with the baby's father. But I've got Dad and I've got my sisters. You raised us to meet every obstacle head on and I'm finally ready to do that. I'm going to hope I can be half as good a mom as you were because we had the best childhood. I will always be grateful for you supporting every dream I had."

She sat and watched the tree limbs sway in the breeze, listening to the silence. Her mom would tell her to fight for what she wanted. What if she wasn't sure what she wanted?

"I better get you back so you can show those young women how fierce they can be."

Her dad stood and held out his hand to help her up. If there was one thing she was going to enjoy about everyone knowing about the baby, she wouldn't have to hide how hard it was to do certain things. She could get a couple people helping in the garage because there were certain things that were physically impossible now.