“Dude, I paid you to go to Belize and pretty much get laid,” I said as I glanced back toward the restroom.
Lark’s smile faded. “Shit, I can get laid anywhere, dude. Perks of being single…and a pilot. Ain’t gonna lie though, the strawberry-blonde was a good fuck.”
“Lark, don’t you want to settle down? Think about a family, maybe? I mean, I get the lure of traveling, and it seems like you have a pretty good paying job,” I said as I rolled my eyes again, “but don’t you want someone to wake up to every morning? Someone to say ‘I love you’ to or have her say it back to you?”
His eyes filled with sadness before he quickly snapped out of it. He watched a girl in a pair of tight jeans and cowboy boots walk by. “Are you fucking kidding me? No, thanks. I know what being in love brings—heartache. No, thank you, I’ll pass. I like my life, Scott. I wouldn’t change one goddamn thing about it.”
I let out a sigh. “Are you going to be in town for New Year’s?”
He looked around and then back at me. “Probably.”
“Come on out to Mason for a few days, dude. Take in the country air. My parents would love to see you. Plus, you can celebrate with Jessie and me—new year, new baby, new beginnings.”
He stood there, thinking for a minute, before he nodded his head. “Alright, I think some fresh country air might be just what I need. Since I’m not heading home to the ranch, I think it would do me some good.”
I smiled and hit him on the back as I watched Jessie coming out of the restroom. “Perfect. It will do you good, buddy.”
Jessie walked right into my arms, and I held her for a second before she pulled back and smiled.
“Can we stop and buy me a new cell phone? Mine is in a field somewhere in Mason.” She scrunched up her nose.
We made plans with Lark to come out and stay with us for a few days, and then we said our good-byes.
Jessie and I headed out of the airport and to my truck. The cool December evening felt amazing.
After a quick stop for a new cell phone, we were on our way to Mason. Jessie was asleep before we were even out of the Austin city limits. I grabbed my cell phone and hit Gunner’s number. After giving him a quick rundown, I asked him to let everyone know we were back in Texas, and we would probably be locking ourselves away for a few days.
I hit End and then peeked over at my sleeping beauty.
A father—I can’t believe I’m going to be a father.
For the first time in the last five weeks, I finally felt happy. I turned and glanced at my bag in the backseat, knowing that I had Jessie’s engagement ring in there. My heart started pounding in my chest. I was so glad I hadn’t asked her to marry me last night in Belize.
As we drove down the driveway, Jessie woke up. She stretched and made the cutest noise. I couldn’t wait to get her in the house and strip off her clothes. I wanted to do nothing but make love to her.
She looked over at me, and the passion in her eyes told me she was thinking the same thing. “I’m so glad to be home!”
“Me, too, baby. I’m gonna make love to you all night long.”
She smiled and nodded her head. “I like that plan—a lot. Maybe I should start undressing now.”
My dick jumped in my pants, and I laughed as I watched her pull her T-shirt over her head. I looked back ahead and slammed on the brakes.
“Shit! Jesus, Scott, why did you—” Jessie quickly put her shirt back on and started laughing. “Oh my god! Are you kidding me?”
I pulled up next to Drake’s truck and took a deep breath. I looked at Jessie. “Looks like you’re in trouble.”
She slowly smiled and gave me the sexiest look I’d ever seen. “I guess you might have to spank me then after they leave.” She opened the door and jumped out of the truck.
“Wait! What?” I yelled out after her.
I instantly imagined Jessie naked with me spanking her. Holy fuck. Talk about an instant hard-on.
I opened the truck door and jumped out. I tried to adjust my dick. As I walked around and grabbed her hand, she looked up at me and giggled.
“For that, I think you maybe deserve two spankings,” I said with a wink.
Her eyes filled with lust, and she bit down on her lower lip.
“You ready for the wrath of your father and brothers?” I said as I glanced over at Drake, Aaron, and Dewey all standing on my porch.
I guess I should have told Gunner not to call Drake.
As we got closer, Jessie began squeezing the hell out of my hand.
I leaned over and said, “Baby, I need that hand for later.”
She snapped her head over and looked at me. A blush quickly swept over her cheeks, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s gonna be fine. Don’t worry,” I said.
When we reached the top of the porch, Aaron walked up and hugged Jessie. “Jesus, don’t ever do that to us again, you little brat,” Aaron said as he pushed Jessie back and gave her a quick once-over.
He stepped aside and Dewey strolled up to her. His eyes were filled with tears.
“Dew, are you about to cry, dude?” I asked with a laugh.
He shot me a look that made me instantly stop laughing.
“I can still kick your damn ass, pretty boy,” Dewey said as he grabbed Jessie and pulled him to her. “My god, Tiny…don’t ever leave like that again without calling one of us. We were going crazy.”
Jessie wiped a tear away. She leaned back and gave Dewey a weak smile. “I’m so sorry I worried you. I really am.”
Dewey put his arm around her and turned her to face Drake. I had noticed the small smile on Drake’s face when his sons were hugging their sister, but the moment Dewey moved, Drake’s smile was replaced with a look of anger.
“You think you can just run away like that with no word to anyone, and then just walk back in like nothing ever happened?”
“Daddy, I—”
“No. You don’t get to Daddy me. You left the goddamn country, Jessie. You didn’t tell anyone. Then, you were holed up with some stranger while we all went insane.”
Jessie sucked in a breath of air and quickly wiped her tears away.
“Drake, I think maybe you need to calm down before you—”
“No, Scott. I don’t need to calm down, and if I were you, I’d be so pissed-off at this girl right now that I don’t think I’d be walking up, holding her hand. You left him without so much as a reason why.”
“I thought he—”
“Well, he didn’t cheat on you, Jessie. You would have known that if you hadn’t run away. How in the hell did you pay for this little trip to Belize?”
I saw her as she started wringing her hands together. She looked down at the ground and then up at her father.
“Oh my god. You didn’t use your savings for the vet clinic, did you?”
Savings? What savings? I hadn’t wanted to ask Jessie, but I was wondering how she’d paid to stay in Belize for so long. When I’d checked her out of the hotel, they had said she didn’t have a balance due. She had paid in full through the end of the month…in cash.
“At the time, I guess I wasn’t thinking clearly. Daddy, everything has changed, and I don’t think I want to buy the clinic anymore.”
“Damn straight, everything has changed. You left with no good-byes or explanations, and Doc sold his practice to another person.”
Jessie let out a gasp and put her hand up to her mouth. “What?”
Drake shook his head. “Did you really think everyone would put their lives on hold while you were gone?”
Dewey let out a laugh. “Hell, Scott did. Bastard lost out on a—”
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Dew…” I said.
Jessie glanced back and forth between Dewey and me. I saw the sadness in her eyes, and it about gutted me.
“People moved on, Jessica, and you lost out on your dream,” Drake said, his voice filled with disappointment.
Jessie looked at her father. “I have a
new dream, Daddy.”
Drake let out a chuckle. “Oh, really? Did you graduate high school early and finish up college in record time for this new dream?”
I knew Jessie wanted to tell her father about the baby, but I also knew she wanted to make it special. “Jessie, baby, I don’t think now is the time to—”
“No…Scott, he’s right.” Jessie stood up straighter and squared off her shoulders. “Dad, you’re right, and I’m not going to argue with you. What I did was wrong, and I regret it more than you’ll ever know.”
She quickly looked at me and gave me a weak smile. I smiled back and winked at her. I didn’t want her stressing over what had happened between her and Trey. It was over, and we were together.
“But…it happened, and there is nothing I can do about it now. I made a mistake, Daddy, and you’ve always said that some of life’s best lessons are made through our mistakes.” She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Yes, I used my savings to pay for the trip to Belize.”
Drake shook his head and whispered, “Damn it.”
“But, Daddy, I don’t think I want to be a vet…at least not right now. There’s something else I’d much rather be, and I would like to do it full-time.”
She looked at me, and I smiled and nodded.
Drake folded his arms and glared at Jessie. “Oh yeah? Well, what is it, Jessica? I’m waiting with anticipation to hear about this new job.”
I saw the tears building in her eyes, so I walked up to her. I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.
“I’d like to be a full-time mother,” Jessie practically whispered.
I saw the smile spread across Aaron’s face. I glanced over at Dewey, and he was smiling and shaking his head. When I looked at Drake, he seemed confused for a second before it hit him.
Drake dropped his arms to his side. “What? Jessica…are you…”
She nodded.
Both Aaron and Dewey let out a yell.
“Oh, hell yeah!” Dewey yelled as he walked up and grabbed Jessie. He started spinning her around.
As soon as he put her down, Aaron repeated the whole show. “Holy shit! Tiny is gonna have a baby! Our kids are going to grow up together, Jess.” Aaron kissed her on the cheeks.
Aaron set her down, and then he reached over and shook my hand. “Jesus, dude, congratulations. I couldn’t be more happy for y’all.”
Dewey walked up and shook my hand. Then, he pulled me close to him and said in my ear, “You hurt her or this baby…and I will kill you and bury your body in your own backyard.”
I pulled back and looked at him with a shocked look. “My own backyard? What the hell is wrong with you, Dewey?” I asked.
Aaron let out a laugh. I looked up to see Drake just staring at Jessie. I couldn’t really read his expression, and I was sure Jessie couldn’t either.
“Daddy…please say something,” Jessie said.
Drake turned and started to walk away, and Jessie’s body just slumped.
“Daddy…” Jessie whispered.
She glanced back at me, and the look in her eyes about killed me. She slowly walked into my arms, and I looked up at Drake. He was standing at the end of the porch, looking out.
In that moment, I vowed that this girl in my arms would never have that look in her eyes again.
Ever.
The moment my father turned and walked away from me, it all hit me—the hurt I caused him, my brothers, and especially Scott.
I let everyone down. I hurt the only people I truly love.
Scott pulled back and looked into my eyes. The love that was pouring out of him took my breath away.
“I love you,” he whispered.
My heart dropped to my stomach. After everything that I had told him about Trey, he was still standing here, making me feel so loved and so cherished.
I tried my best to smile at him, but when he put his hand on my stomach, I felt the tears building.
“Go talk to him, baby.”
I nodded and turned to see my brothers both looking at me.
“It’s okay, Tiny. He’s just probably in shock, and he was really pissed-off at you,” Dewey said with a sweet smile on his face.
I let out a small laugh and started to walk over toward my father. I stopped right behind him. I looked down at my shaking hands and closed my eyes.
“Daddy,” I said as my voice cracked.
He turned around and looked at me. He had tears in eyes, and I sucked in a breath of air.
Am I that much of a disappointment to him?
“I…I’m so sorry if I’m a disappointment to you.” I began to cry.
He looked at me with a shocked expression on his face. “What? Why would you ever think you were a disappointment to me?”
“You just seem…well, you walked away from me, and…”
He reached out, grabbed me, and pulled me to him. “Oh, baby girl, you could never be a disappointment to me. Ever. I’m really upset with you for running away like you did. You about killed me, Jessica. Don’t you ever do that to me again. You’re my girl…my baby girl.”
I slowly nodded my head. “Oh, Daddy, I promise I won’t, and if I could take it all back…”
He pulled back and smiled as he wiped away the tears from my eyes. “I’m gonna be a grandfather, huh?”
I smiled. “Yes.”
“When did you find out?”
I took a deep breath as I thought back to that night. The idea of crawling onto Trey’s lap and sleeping somehow made me feel sick to my stomach. I should have been with Scott…not another man.
“Christmas Eve.”
My father looked up and over at Scott. I turned and saw him smiling at something Aaron was saying to him. When I turned back to my father, he seemed conflicted.
“Daddy, are you not happy about the baby?”
“Oh, sweetheart, I’m very happy. It’s just…I don’t know how to ask you this…”
I looked at him, confused. “Ask me, what?”
He quickly looked at Scott and then back at me. “Is the baby, um…is the baby Scott’s?”
I sucked in a breath of air. Oh my god. Does everyone think I was with another man?
You were with another man.
I quickly shook my head to erase the thoughts running through my head.
“Yes! Of course it is.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that your one postcard made it sound like…well, it sounded like you were with someone.”
I put my hand up to my mouth and started crying. Daddy pulled me to him and kept telling me it was okay.
“Oh god…I almost made the biggest mistake of my life, Dad. I can’t…” I started sobbing again.
He put his arm around me as we walked around the porch and started down the steps. Once we got far enough away from Scott, Aaron, and Dewey, all he had to do was look at me.
“What happened?”
I just let it all out. “I met this guy. Nothing happened, but we did…we…oh god.”
I wanted to scream every time I thought about what had happened between Trey and me.
“Stop with the guilt, Jessie. You thought something happened with Scott and Chelsea. You were hurting.”
I started shaking my head as I dropped it back and looked up. “I know, Dad…I know. But if I hadn’t run away, if I had just stayed and confronted my fear, I would have seen within five seconds that it wasn’t Scott. I think a part of me knew it wasn’t him, but I’ve always had this fear that he was going to leave me like he did the first time.”
My dad snapped his head at Scott and then over to me. “First time?”
“No, nothing like that. In high school, he kissed me, and…oh god, Dad, that was so long ago. It doesn’t matter.” I started walking back and forth. “I think the thing that kills me the most is that I was carrying Scott’s child when I let another man touch me. It almost makes my skin crawl, but at the same time, I feel something for Trey.”
“Wait—what do you mean you feel something fo
r Trey? Jessie…you’re not in love with him, are you?”
I shook my head. “No! I mean, I care about him. He was a great friend, and we really grew close during those five weeks. I honestly don’t think I could have made it through that time without him.”
“Would you have come home sooner if you hadn’t met him?” my father asked.
I stopped walking. It hit me like a ton of bricks. My god…did I stay away out of fear? Or did I stay away because I was enjoying my time with Trey?
“I…I don’t know. Maybe.”
My dad tilted his head and gave me a look. “Maybe?”
My heart started pounding, and I felt like it was all happening again. “I think so. I was only going to stay for two weeks.”
“And it’s over a month later,” my father said as he walked up to me. “Scott loves you, and I’ve never seen a man so destroyed as he was when you were gone.”
I felt the tears falling again. This crying thing was starting to be a pain in the ass.
“Jessie…you need to make sure you don’t have any feelings for this Trey guy. You need to make sure you are one hundred percent with Scott and not just because you are pregnant.”
All the air left my body. “Daddy…I love Scott more than anything. I only love him, and I’ll only ever love him. I called him before I knew I was pregnant, and…” I stopped talking. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I put my hands on my chest. It felt like someone was sitting on it. “Do you think Scott thinks I picked him over Trey because I’m pregnant? Oh my god…Dad, if you thought that…”
“Now, Jessie, settle down. Take a deep breath, baby girl. It’s not good to be this upset when you’re pregnant. I’m sure Scott knows how much you love him, and no, I don’t think he thinks that.”
I took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself down. Then, I heard his voice.
“Jessie?”
I closed my eyes and felt the warmth take over my body just from the sound of his voice. I opened my eyes and looked into my dad’s eyes. My dad must have noticed how I’d calmed down almost instantly.
“Daddy, if y’all don’t mind, I really would like to spend some time with Scott.”
My father laughed and took a step around me. He walked up to Scott, and as I turned around, I saw him shake Scott’s hand.