Chapter 3

Jamison

Watching Natalie's eyes tells me more than her mouth ever might. They're so expressive it hurts when sadness crosses through them.

I want her smiling though, so I go on, telling her about my family—the one she'll be part of before she knows it, because I'm not about to let her go. Not ever.

"Mom suggested that Jackie go to college out of town because even if she'd stayed in-town and went to Presley, or State like Jasmine and I did, she would just go between classes and home. She'd have stayed at the house even and just drove the hours every day to State unlike the others of us that lived in a condo our parents bought for us to avoid doing that because she'd want to help with the other kids.

"Julie went to visit her and while waiting for Jackie to get to the restaurant, she saw Ethan. They were talking and when Jackie got there, it was obvious that they were meant for each other," I tell her, wanting her to see that this is real. She might be running from it a bit because it's so fast atop of everything else, but I know it's real. The same way it's been for the rest of my family.

"And Julie met her wife while out to get a bridesmaids dress for Jackie's wedding?" Natalie asks and I nod.

"Jennie, the second oldest, is a diva and wanted final say on the dresses they wore. Julie didn't care, doesn't really wear dresses, then or now, so when Mom suggested one and Jackie really liked it, she went back to try it on. She met Serena in the changing room. Serena's best friend Bailey was picking out her bridesmaids dresses that day and she was trying them on for her. Serena saw Julie in the showroom earlier, started crushing on her, and they ran into each other. Apparently they had their first date that afternoon and have been together ever since," I explain, loving the smile that graces her lips hearing that. "They have one biological daughter, Serenity, who's almost thirteen. Her birthday is at the beginning of June."

"And they adopted a daughter?" Natalie asks and I nod again.

"Anya, she's twenty-four now. She just finished her master's in social work at Presley actually. It took her a while to figure out what she wanted to do, but she decided after seeing what Matt and Grace went through with foster care, that she wanted to be part of the ones doing good for those kids."

"Who are Matt and Grace?" Natalie asks as we finish our meal, but she doesn't begin to make an effort to leave the table.

"They're a brother and sister that Julie and Serena were fostering. They were able to adopt them after two years. Matt is now eleven and Grace is nine. Anya has had several girlfriends, as has Maddie's sister Kayla since they've been part of the family, so I know gender doesn't mean much when it comes to who can do wrong in a relationship," I add, as she shakes her head a bit.

"And your parents, your family is okay with Julie, Serena, Anya and Kayla's preferences?" Natalie asks, picking at her thumbnail and I lift her face to mine, seeing she's not asking because she's not. There's something else in her gaze and it makes me want to know exactly what, so I can make it better for her.

"Everyone loves them for who they are, and honestly, if you saw Julie and Serena together, I don't know how anyone couldn't be okay with them loving each other. They've had it rough. Julie was working for the construction company already when she and Serena met, and some of the guys weren't very cordial about it. My older brother Jesse's the beast you have to worry about if someone says something stupid to or about any of them though.

"He met Maddie while she was being accosted by two creeps that thought she was gay, and wanted to ‘change' her," I add, making her eyes widen and jaw drop. "Yeah, she was at an event to support Kayla. Jesse was headed over to it to find Julie, Serena, and Anya who were all there. Took one look at Maddie and fell for her, hating himself for it because she was wearing a pride shirt so he at first thought that she was gay."

"He didn't?!" Natalie gasps, pulling a chuckle from me.

"He did," I tell her, grabbing our drinks before getting up to head for the couch. She doesn't hesitate to follow me, and I settle in on the end of the couch, smiling when she takes the spot next to me, rather than the other end or the other chair in the space.

"Clearly they figured it out if they're now married then," she muses and I nod, letting my smile grow.

"They cleared it up pretty quickly while he was cleaning up her knees from where she'd scraped them trying to get away from the creeps. They went back to the park to find Kayla, running into Julie and Serena while there. When they found Kayla back, Julie and Serena took her with them and Anya to get some food and hang out with the younger group that Anya was part of.

"Jesse stayed with Maddie who was exhausted. She was going to college and working two jobs, afternoons in a restaurant and evenings at a gas station, trying to save up enough money to get her and Kayla out of their parents' house," I tell her, watching her eyes widen further in shock at that news, but there are tiny little specks of hope bubbling up as well and I'm pretty sure I know what she was thinking earlier.

"And they're now married," she states.

"He hasn't let go of her since that day. Maddie fell asleep while he held her at the gazebo in the park, even with everything going on around them, she knew she was safe with him, and let her guard down. Kayla was shocked when they finally got back to them, said that she woke to every little sound normally, but she slept the rest of the time they were there, on the entire walk from the park, down the four blocks to the condo Jesse was living in at the time, and the rest of the night. He took her to the courthouse less than three weeks later and married her, although he didn't tell the rest of the family they were at that time. He wanted Maddie to have the wedding she wanted, which included her baby belly on display, but he wasn't about to wait six months to have her legally as his." Her smile softens, growing deeper and I brush the hair from her face, needing to touch her again.

"Has everyone in your family…"

"Grabbed hold of what they know was meant to be theirs and never let go?" I offer when she pauses, pulling a little nod from her. "Pretty much. Johnnie didn't take Carly home with him the first time he saw her only because he thought she was too young for him. She'd just turned nineteen."

"Really?" Natalie says, her tone full of surprise as well.

"Really. He'd just turned thirty, but he was sure she was too young that first day he saw her. Then he kept seeing her, rescuing her from little accidents around town, until he saw her about to go into an old club that was shut down because the silent partner was part of a trafficking ring. He was doing business with a man that was interested in Carly, and they'd set her up to get her there and do who knows what to her. He took her home with him that night and a few weeks later, well, take a guess what happened," I add pulling a little giggle from her.

"They were married or pregnant?" she says.

"Both," I state, nodding as her eyes widen further. "Jude is the one we were all shocked by. He swore up and down that he'd never get married, never have kids like the rest of the family were when Johnnie introduced Carly to the family. Honestly, I don't even remember who had how many kids at that point but as of now, Jackie has ten, five of each with only one set of twins. Julie has the four—Serena carried and used her egg for Serenity, but Jesse donated the sperm, so she'd also be part Julie's too."

"Maddie didn't mind?" she asks her eyes huge with surprise.

"It was before they met. He told her and she was fine with it, because he might biologically be the father, but being a dad—or a mom, is more than just biology. Julie knew that because of her bio-mom, but it's also why she didn't want to use her egg. She said she got lucky but didn't want to risk some mental illness passing along to their child. They decided after having Serenity that they'd adopt if they wanted more kids, but Jesse said he'd donate again if they ever changed their minds."

"I can't even imagine someone doing something that sweet and selfless so your sister could feel connected to the baby as well," Natalie sighs, her head resting against the back of the couch.

"Jesse, despite being younger than Johnnie and Jude, was more dad jr. than anything. He's dad's mini, while Jackie's mom's. He and Maddie have four kids now. Their youngest is one now. Jennie's the oddball out of the married siblings when it comes to kids. She only has one, but she and her husband got together pretty quickly as well. Jasmine just had her second, but they have three with Cleo. While Johnnie and Carly are about to have their sixth," I add, and Natalie's eyes blink rapidly like she can't quite believe it. "They'll tie with Jude when their little Cammie is born."

"Wait, you said Jude didn't have any when Johnnie introduced Carly to the family, so how on earth does he have six before they do?" Natalie questions, and it pulls a deep chuckle from me.

"It was about three years after Johnnie and Carly met that Jude ran into Eden. She was trying to find the man who was the father of her three-month-old quadruplet brothers and sister," I tell her, and her jaw drops, a silent laugh bubbling up, and I take out my phone, showing her the photos of the babies' first birthday party so she doesn't think I'm full of it.

"Oh my god, what happened to their mom if she was the one looking for their father?" she asks after seeing all four smiling faces on the screen. I stop before scrolling to the one of Jude and Eden that we took right before she went into labor with the twins. We'll get to that in a minute.

"Eden was taking her mom to a doctor's appointment when they were hit by a distracted driver. They got her to the hospital and delivered the babies, but she died from other injuries. The quadruplets were in the NICU for three months, she'd just gotten them home and knew she needed some help, especially financial help because diapers for four babies was expensive. She met Jude and they well…" I clear my throat, pulling a laugh from her that sounds beautiful, makes me want to hear coming from her a lot more. "They were interrupted by someone, and Eden freaked out. She was barely nineteen, yup, she was only nineteen too," I state seeing the look that crossed Natalie's face. "A few weeks later, she was leaving the doctor's office having learnt she was pregnant with his twins…"

"Oh my god!" Natalie gasps, her hand covering her mouth quickly before little giggles explode from it.

"Pretty much the entire family's reaction there," I assure her. "As she was coming out, Maddie was headed in, pregnant with their third. Jesse had to go out of town urgently and she didn't think to take anyone with her. Maddie has really low iron while pregnant," I explain at Natalie's confused look. "She blacked out for a second, nearly fell the down the stairs, but Eden caught her. When Jesse got home, learnt what almost happened to them, he went by to thank Eden personally. Finding her being illegally evicted when he arrived, which had him moving her into one of the houses our company owns, which in turn, brought Jude back to her. Mom called him to bring more diapers out to the house so Eden wouldn't run out. Mom loves babies so she was there helping Eden from the moment Jesse called some crews to bring over trucks to get their stuff.

"Jude fell hard for Emma, and it seemed to be fully reciprocated. Then Eden came in from a doctor's appointment, and that was it. Jude had his ring on her finger hours later. The girls ended up being born on the quadruplets' birthday, so they have six kids that share a single birthday, which is far more shocking than anything because the only other ones that share a birthday, are Dad and Jillian," I add, watching Natalie's expressive eyes as she absorbs that news.

"I can't even imagine trying to take care of two babies day in and day out by myself, let alone four," she says.

"She had her hands full for sure and that was before she was pregnant. Now, they have the full support of my family so it's not quite as rough. The twins just turned four and the quadruplets turned five. They're starting the boys in school this fall. Emma and the twins are way too bonded to send Emma to school without them, so they discussed it with the school counselor and agreed that they could wait to send Emma until next year."

"That's really sweet. They're lucky they had Eden. When my parents died I didn't know what was going to happen to me," Natalie says with a sigh, that tugs at my heart. "Nick was headed to State's technical school with a scholarship. If he turned it down, gotten a job just after high school, we'd have really struggled. There was just enough for him to get his apartment, enough to send Nanci through cosmetology school and then help her and Mike buy their house when they got married. I moved in with them after they did rather than stay with his parents. I know I was in their way, but it just didn't feel right staying with anyone else, and Nick was so busy he didn't have time for me."

"I'm sorry you went through that, baby. I can't even begin to imagine losing my parents. Let alone not feeling like you didn't have somewhere that you belonged, but I promise you, you have me now. If there's one thing I've learnt from my folks, my brothers and sisters, is that you don't let go of what you know is meant for you, meant for your life. I can take it slow, but I'm not going to hide the fact that I want you as mine," I add when her eyes widen at me again.

"Your family sounds amazing Jamison, but if they own their own business, have enough money that they can just put someone in a house, let alone just have one sitting around empty, babysit for nothing, buy diapers for four babies…I have nothing. I'm at school on a scholarship, or at least I was. I likely flunked all my classes this semester because of this mess, which means I'll lose it and won't even be able to afford college," she says, confirming my suspicion that she's worried about our different backgrounds.

"My mom moved to Oak Grove when she got a scholarship to Presley. She came to get away from her mother who was having sex with her twenty-three-year-old boy toy when she was eighteen. She had nothing to her name, but our dad fell entirely in love with her. Ethan almost didn't go to college because he was worried about his little sister Kathy because their parents were hotheads and he found her with a bruised cheek one night when he got home. I told you about Serena's parents, they wanted nothing to do with her because she liked girls. Maddie's parents were charging her to live in the house while sharing a room with her younger sister, and also charging her to use the car. They tried to claim Jesse kidnapped Kayla who was seventeen, when she refused to go back to live with them. Jesse put her through college, including law school," I add giving her a soft smile.

"Jamison…"

I press a soft kiss to her lips stopping her. "No one is going to care about your past, where you came from. That's not what my family does. Yes, we have money, but my family also helps those that need it. That landlord that was trying to evict Eden, tried to do it to another single mom and we bought out the complex. A couple years ago they added in a new building that's just for expecting and single moms that can't afford to rent something, let alone rent on top of taking care of kids. That's what my family does Natalie. They help who they can, and accept the ones that come into our lives, especially when they love us. There's no reason to worry what they'll think about you, okay?"

"Really?" she says, her brows scrunched my way. "Even though I'm about to flunk out of college because some guy won't leave me alone?"

"Tell me what happened. Why do you think you're about to flunk out?" I ask, holding onto her hand.

"We broke up before mid-terms. He was already following me around, showing up when I was trying to study. It just got worse after we broke up. By the time mid-terms rolled around, I was barely holding it together. He'd call me or come by knocking on my door constantly throughout the night, stop me before I even got to class, making me late to tests and lectures. I asked the school if I could move dorm rooms and they said they didn't have any others available. Asked them to have security keep Craig away from me and they said unless I had a restraining order they couldn't do anything about it, even though he doesn't even go there and has no reason to be on campus. I talked with one of the therapists there and she gave me anxiety medication, but it barely helped," she added making me hate this creep even more.

"I'm sorry baby girl. I promise to make this better. We can talk to the school, see if there's something we can do so you don't get kicked out. If you lose the scholarship, it'll be okay, baby. If you want to get your degree, I'll make sure you can," I promise her, sliding my hand back behind her head, pulling a sigh from her that I love and want a million more of. "Believe me, my family will lean on the family name to get Presley to let you stay. They're not about to lose out on the Cartwright Endowments after just two years."

"Wait…what?" Natalie says, pulling back quickly, her eyes wide in shock, worrying me entirely that I'm about to lose her.