Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

OWEN

I had known Janie almost her whole life. I watched her grow into the beautiful woman she is now. She was a freshman in high school my senior year. We started out as friends, but it grew into more. I held off taking her virginity until her Senior prom. When I picked her up and she opened the door I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and take her straight to my place. She had her hair curled around her face; she was wearing a pale blue slinky dress with a slit up her thigh. It clung to all of her curves. Mary Jane had an amazing figure, and I loved every bit of it. I knew her father wasn’t crazy about the dress either, but she turned eighteen on Valentine’s Day. I put her corsage on her wrist and offered her my arm. We lived in a small village in the mountains, and it wasn’t uncommon for girls to date older guys. I took her to her prom, we danced, took pictures and then she wanted to leave. That was fine with me as I wanted her all to myself anyway. I took her up to my cabin. I had only had it for a little over a year. I worked at the mill with my father and uncles. It was a family business. Weston Mill had been here for generations. I knew this was what I would be doing since I was a kid. I loved the smell of the wood and being able to make things with it. We shipped wood all over the area. I had built most of the furniture in my cabin myself. I had planned to propose to Janie at Christmas, but she took off to school out of state. It wasn’t that far but I think she was afraid that I would ask her to stay. She ripped my heart out when she left without a goodbye. I have missed her every day since she left, so imagine my surprise to find her on the road heading towards town. Her parents lived about ten miles north of my cabin. The weather wasn’t good enough to get there with her. When I realized she was pregnant, I knew it was mine. I brought her home with me and called Doc. He had given me a great deal on the land adjoining his and the rustic cabin had been there for years. My father and uncles had helped me to restore it and modernize it a bit. I was very proud of the three-bedroom cabin. The master was a good size, the other two rooms were small but functional. I had not furnished those yet. Looks like I would be turning one into a nursery, because there was no way in hell, I was letting her leave me again.

We needed to talk but she was exhausted and sleeping. I gently removed Michaela from her arms and sat in the chair beside the bassinet. I stared down into the face of my daughter. Holy shit, I was a father. She was beautiful with a head full of red hair that already had curls and the softest skin. She had a birthmark on her neck behind her ear that matched mine. I was as much in love with my daughter as I was with her mother. That didn’t mean I wasn’t hurt though. She was definitely going to have to earn my trust again. I hated to put the baby down, but I knew I needed to get the kitchen cleaned up and eat something while they slept. I was glad she was able to nurse because I sure didn’t have any bottles in the house. Damn we were going to need diapers and things too. Doc was the only physician in the area with the exception of a midwife a lot of the women used. Lynette was a kind woman who seemed to put mothers at ease. She wasn’t too far from here, maybe I could get a call out to her to see what she has on hand that I could get and then replace when the storm passes. We had CB radio for when cell service was down. I needed to let her parents know she was here and safe also. I took the CB into the bedroom and made the call to her parents first. They were relieved that she was safe. When they didn’t ask about the baby, I figured she had not told them yet, so I kept it to myself. Next, I called Lynette. She said she would leave a basket out for me on the porch and a backpack so I could get it. She had a birthing to attend and was about to leave. She said I could just replace the stuff later. I walked back into the living room and saw Janie looking over in the bassinet at our daughter. She was curled up on her side.

“Hey, I’m going to run out and pick up a few things from Lynette for the baby. I should be back within the hour at the most. Do you need to use the restroom before I leave?” I didn’t want her to get up while I was away. Janie blushed and nodded her head. Doc had brought a cloth diaper with him when he came to my cabin, but he didn’t have much with him. Usually, the women had all that stuff on hand already. I had a gas-powered generator for the few electric appliances I had. Most of my things ran on solar power.

Walking over to her, I helped her from the bed and led her to the bathroom. “There are towels and wash clothes in the cabinet. I have a few hand towels that might work for a diaper if you need one before I return. My washer and dryer are small, but they work. I try not to run many loads when the power goes down. If you need me yell out. I’m not leaving until you are back in bed. I’ll pull the bassinet close enough for you to get her out if you need to.” I told her as I watched her holding her shirt down. “When I get back you can shower, and I’ll find you something to wear. I managed to grab your bag, but it didn’t look like you had much in it.”

“Thank you, I could not wear much of anything I had, and I didn’t have the money to buy clothes. I picked up a few things at a Thrift store to get me by.” She whispered as she closed the door. A few minutes later I heard the flush and then the water ran for a minute. She opened the door with a towel in her hand. “I figured I could lay this on the bed if I need to change her, so we don’t mess up the sheets. I figure that is where I’m sleeping so I don’t want to put you out.”

I just grunted at her. I would do anything to make her comfortable. Once she was settled, I put on my boots and my coat and headed out the door. I had a horse, a couple of milking cows, goats, pigs and chickens. My place was also a small farm. When the weather was warmer, I had a garden, so we had canned vegetables, fresh eggs, goat cheese, milk and I slaughtered the pigs when they were grown and cured the meat. I always had bacon and sausage handy.

I made sure the door was closed good and locked. We didn’t get much in the way of people up here but there were wild animals as well. I went to the barn and fed the animals, made sure they had water before getting on my snowmobile and heading to Lynette’s to pick up what she had left out for us. I pulled up and saw a large basket with a handle and a stuffed backpack. I had room on the back to strap on the basket and I could wear the backpack. Once I had everything secured, I headed back to my cabin.