Chapter 59

CHAPTER 59

JESS

W hen I'd woken up, the house had been quiet and empty. Looking out the window in my bedroom, I'd seen the three silhouettes of the men out on the land and I'd left them to it, focusing instead on getting ready so I could go back to the hospital to collect my mom.

It didn't take long to get to the hospital, get Mama checked out, and on our way back to Firefly Grove.

As we pulled up in front of the house, she let out a happy sigh, a serene smile on her lips. "Home, sweet home. Oh, Merrick Meadows. How I've missed you."

I chuckled. "It's missed you too, Mom. Did I tell you what the boys had for breakfast?"

She'd been reaching for the door handle, but she stopped to glance at me, an eyebrow raised in question. "No?"

"Cereal," I whispered dramatically. "I saw the box on the counter this morning."

Mom laughed gleefully, cackling. She climbed out of the car and winked at me when I followed her out. "Watch this space. They're suddenly going to appreciate my food again."

"I have no doubt," I said, chuckling as I collected her small overnight bag from the trunk.

As I watched her climb up the steps to the front door, she had a definite pep in her step and I grinned. It really is good to have her home.

The front door swung open before she'd even reached the porch, and Dad and Austin rushed out, practically tripping over themselves to get to her. In the end, Austin stepped aside to let Dad at her first, smiling. He watched our parents fall into one another's arms like it'd been months since they'd last seen each other.

They shared a sweet kiss that made Austin groan and my little romantic heart swoon, and then Dad put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. "Let's get inside so you can put your feet up."

"I don't need to?—"

"Your feet are going up, Mom," Austin said, taking her free arm and gently helping her inside. I shook my head, laughing quietly. Slate appeared in the doorway. Slipping out once they'd gone in, I smiled as he held out his hand.

"While they dote on her, let me dote on you," he said, snagging the overnight bag from my shoulder and leaning in to steal a quick kiss.

I slid a hand around the nape of his neck, surprising him enough that he froze, allowing me to deepen the kiss, savoring it before I finally let go. I winked when I pulled away. "Hello to you, too."

"I'm not complaining," he said happily, shouldering the bag and inclining his head toward the house. "I suspect they know anyway, so I guess it wouldn't come as such a huge shock if anyone saw us kissing now."

"Oh, they know," I said coyly, then danced out of his reach while he gaped at me, grinning at him over my shoulder. "My mom definitely knows, and if she does, then it's a good bet my dad does too."

Slate's eyes narrowed, but I could see the corners of his mouth twitching like he was fighting a grin. "She definitely knows? Did you tell her last night?"

"Nope."

"When?"

I shrugged. "Before she collapsed. I was going to tell you, but then, well, you know."

Hurrying to catch up to me, he circled my wrist with his fingers and hauled me back against him. As I laughed, he stole another kiss, but a big one this time. Grinning against my lips, he finally pulled away.

"Does that mean the cat's out of the bag?"

"I think so." I took his hands even as I backed away from him, reluctantly letting go as I spun back toward the house. "We should head inside. How do you feel about cooking dinner with me tonight?"

"Uh, okay?" he said, following me to the porch. "I should warn you that it probably isn't going to go well if I'm cooking."

"I'm the same, but I don't want Mom to have to do it and we don't really have any food delivery options out here, so it's either cook or head into town to pick something up."

"And you don't want to miss a minute of her homecoming?" he guessed.

I nodded. "I don't want you to miss a minute of it either, so we're cooking. We may not be naturally good at it, but I'm sure we can come up with something. It can't be that hard."

It turned out that it was that hard. While Dad and Austin sat with Mom in the living room, Slate and I were in the kitchen, snorting and giggling at our own uselessness.

He frowned at the chicken pieces I'd taken out of the freezer. "Did that come from here?"

"Yep," I said. "A homegrown specimen. Organic and everything."

He winced. "I've fed them."

I eyed the package defrosting in the sink. "I doubt you fed that one. It looks like he's been in there for a while."

"Isn't it weird to raise these animals and then eat them?"

I snorted trying to hold back my laughter. "Meat doesn't come from a grocery store, Slate. I know you city kids don't really get confronted by it the way we do, but all meat was raised somewhere. In this instance, I just happen to know where."

As he grappled with the morality of eating a chicken raised right here on the farm, I waltzed over to the pantry, taking a look around and deciding that pasta was probably the safest option. Taking it back to the stove with me, I popped it on the counter and found a huge pot, then handed it over to Slate.

"Water, please."

"Coming right up," he said, opening the faucet and sticking the pot under the stream. "Would you look at that? There is actually something I can do in the kitchen without making a complete mess of it."

"Are you two okay in there?" Mom called. "I really don't mind helping."

"We're fine!" I replied quickly. "If you even think about standing up, Dad and Austin are under strict instructions to tie you to the chair."

"You should do it," Slate teased quietly. "As someone who's experienced your knot-tying capabilities, she'll never get out of it."

My cheeks flamed with heat, but a shiver that made my nipples hard ran through me at the same time. Slate visibly noticed, smirking. He let his gaze run from my eyes to my chest and back again. "You know, we never got around to my turn yesterday."

"Next time someone goes to the hospital and we have the house to ourselves, we'll have to remember about that," I joked. "In the meantime, you should really chop the mushrooms. I'm going to need to brown them in a moment."

"Okay, but if I slice off a fingertip and I'm the one who ends up going to the hospital, could I tie you up there?"

"You could try, but those nurses were pretty serious." I really did want him to do it to me at some point, though.

My damp panties were proof of that, but unfortunately, whether or not my family knew about us, I could hardly use being tied up as an excuse to get out of making dinner. Pity .

Slate gingerly picked up the mushrooms, carrying them to the counter and then rummaging around for a chopping board. Desperately trying to look like I knew what I was doing, I grabbed a skillet and cooked the chicken, adding his mushrooms and some cream to the heat.

Slate set the table in the kitchen while I cooked, throwing out suggestions every once in a while. "Pasta is supposed to be cooked al dente, whatever that means."

"No clue," I said. "I'll just taste it."

"Did you add salt to the water?"

"No." I frowned. "Don't you just add salt while you're eating it?"

"Yeah, that's what I think too, but I've watched a few cooking shows and they always add handfuls of salt to the water."

"Weird."

Once I thought the pasta was cooked, I popped a piece into my mouth and chewed. It was strikingly bland, but I was sure it would be better with the rest of the stuff added to it. First, I had to get my family in here though, so I called out to them. "You guys can come get it while it's hot!"

Slate watched me add the mixture to the pot and stir, skepticism written all over his features. "Don't take this personally, but that looks a bit sloppy."

"I know." I sighed, wrinkling my nose as I glanced down into the brown mess.

Austin walked into the kitchen first, followed closely by Mom and Dad. He was holding her arm, and he helped her into a seat at the kitchen table. As Austin sat down too, I carried the pot to the table.

"I'd like to apologize in advance," I said as I dished up for them. "It's not going to be great, but at least it's better than cereal, right?"

Mom was the first to take a bite, and she winced a little bit as she chewed, but then she fixed us with a bright smile. "It's good."

Austin took a tentative bite of his own, immediately pushing his bowl away. "What are you talking about? That's disgusting. Did they put the stent in your tastebuds?"

I burst out laughing and so did everyone else, but I took the pot back to the stove and strode right over to the freezer, digging through it and finding some frozen pizzas. "If you give me about twenty minutes, I can fix it."

"I'll switch on the oven," Slate volunteered, patting Austin's shoulder before he left the table. "Thanks for saving us all from having to eat that, bro."

Austin smirked. "I'd get right on those cooking lessons from my mom if I was you."

I frowned, not knowing what on earth they were talking about, but Slate seemed to be considering it as he walked away. Thankfully, nothing went wrong with the pizza and we got to sit down for a family meal together just a little while later. After dinner, we drank lemonade in the living room, just happy to be together again.

One by one, everyone said goodnight and went their separate ways, but my dad lingered. Going over to stand with him as he looked out the window at the back fields, I put my hand on his arm.

"Are you okay, Daddy? It's been a rough forty-eight hours."

"I feel like I've aged ten years," he admitted quietly, glancing at me before his gaze darted up to the ceiling. "That woman up there is my whole world, and we've got a lot of life left to live here at Merrick Meadows. There's still a lot to look forward to, and for a moment there, I thought I might have to live it all alone."

I stood next to him, letting my head rest on his bicep and staring out the window with him. Since I sensed that he wasn't done talking just yet, I kept quiet, letting him work through it all in his head before he spoke again.

"We still have to see you and Austin fall in love and maybe even get married. We have to meet our grandchildren and hand over the farm. Your mother is supposed to be here, at my side, through all those milestones."

Sliding my arm around his waist, I hugged him and just squeezed him tight for a second. "She will be here for all those, Daddy. Mom isn't going anywhere. None of us are. I love you, and we're all going to be here for every important moment."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

We stayed in front of the window together for a while, just staring out at the fields and coming to terms with our own fears of the last couple of days. For me, what stood out the most was that family and love were the most important things in this life.

When we'd been in that hospital, the oil hadn't mattered and neither had even losing the farm. If it had come down to a choice, I would've signed away the rights to the property and the oil in a heartbeat just to have had one more day with my mom.

I hated that it had taken such a serious scare for me to realize that, but now that I had, nothing was ever going to make me forget it again.