Chapter Eleven

Blog post: Packing Problems

Stupid thing to admit, but I don’t have a suitcase. Never seemed to need one, which says something about my usual happily homebound status. But I’m heading out for a few days and thus you get to enjoy Packing Adventures With A Newbie.

As options we have saddlebags, a backpack and a big-ass purse that my sister bought as a gag gift one Christmas, and by big-ass I mean of extraordinary bootie nature. It’s all about the bass, my friends…

I was tempted to use the saddlebags at first before I realized there’s a reason I store them in the tack room. (Ahem, use your aromatic imagination, and make it really horse-y.)

The backpack makes me feel as if I should be climbing mountains and fording streams, not stopping in for a coffee. It’s also awkward because inevitably the item I want the most works its way to the bottom, and I have to dump the entire contents to get at it.

So—big-ass purse it is. Good thing I don’t need much…stuff…oh, lordy.

***ten-minute break. I know you didn’t see me leave, but I did***

Okay, I’m back and no longer hyperventilating. It hit me I’m going to need to haul baby stuff around in a while, not to mention the baby when it’s no longer in my belly—and my heart just about pounded out of my chest. At some point this will become old hat, right?

*glibbers with panic*

I’m excited about the baby, don’t get me wrong, but maybe a few of you out there who have a little more experience Buckaroo-wrangling can reassure me that, at some point, I too will nonchalantly deal.

 

 

It had been the longest car trip ever. Dare fought to keep from squirming, but the three hours seemed like twice that long, and the more distance they put between them and Heart Falls, the more she wondered what the heck she was doing.

Only the echo of Ginny’s plainspoken questions kept Dare from ordering Jesse to turn the truck around and cancel the entire trip.

They’d left Morgan behind at Silver Stone. Jesse had suggested it, since he wasn’t sure where they would end up staying during their time.

It felt wrong to Dare for Morgan to not be with them, although the dog was happy enough—he and one of Dusty’s border collies had become fast friends, much to her little brother’s disgust.

But no dog meant no distractions, which meant she had to face her fears straight on.

Did she want to meet his family?

She was iffy on her personal answer, but it was clear what Buckaroo’s opinion would be. He or she deserved to have all the family possible—if they were good people. It was way easier to figure that out in person, and now rather than later.

She and Jesse would visit, and Dare would hopefully have the angelic choirs burst into song to let her know yes or no regarding spending more time with the Colemans in the future. This was an exploratory trip, nothing else.

Not a time to madly fall in love with his parents, or with the intensely nosy but caring Jaxi or…or anyone. Dare did not need these people for her own sake.

This was about Buckaroo. Period.

If she repeated that often enough she might even remember it.

The terror rushing through her at the thought of meeting his parents had left a terrible taste on her tongue.

“You okay?” Jesse didn’t take his eyes off the road.

“Fine.”

She stared straight ahead as well. This was the worst interaction the two of them had shared since reconnecting a month ago. Normally he was annoying, charming, flirtatious, infuriating—

Jesse, as she’d come to understand him, was a simple man. He could deal with pretty much anything if he could take control or take action. Right now, with the extended periods of silence and his grim determination to put as many miles under their wheels as possible, as quickly as possible…

He was out of his comfort zone with this trip, and gee whiz, didn’t that make her concerns even more intense.

Squirming in her seat helped with the jitters, but did nothing to ease the increasing pressure on her bladder. Stupid when the discomfort was preferable to dealing with her fears.

She was about to give up and ask him to pull off onto the nearest convenient gravel road when she spotted a large green sign at the side of the highway.

Rocky Mountain House.

“It is far to the ranch?” Because she knew a mailing address in a town didn’t always have much to do with where the ranch was located.

Thank goodness, this time it wasn’t one of those we’ll-be-there-in-an-hour situations. “Ten minutes to Blake and Jaxi’s, if I take the back roads,” Jesse offered.

“Okay.” Ten minutes she could do.

She used as much Zen concentration as possible, staring out the windows as if she were memorizing the landscape. Ranch lands and farms whizzed by, with signs of familiar rural activities everywhere, and it wasn’t that different from home, but it was different because this was where Jesse had grown up.

This was where Buckaroo’s Gramma and Grampa lived.

The thought distracted her from the fact she had to pee badly enough that her back teeth were all but floating. Finally they pulled off the road at the top of a long driveway. The signpost at the entrance had an engraved wooden carving with Colemans in bold letters and Make Yourself at Home underneath.

If they had indoor plumbing, she’d be ecstatic. Heck, she’d take a conveniently located tree at this point of the game.

Jesse finally came to life. “Here we are.”

He parked, then met her as she was already hopping out of the truck cab. She turned in a circle, trying to take it all in. The long, low ranch house, the mountains rising in the distance. It was…softer?…than the landscape at home, and she offered a comment as she followed him to the front door. “You have bigger foothills than I’m used to.”

He snorted. “I’m not touching that one.”

She offered him a groan at the cheesy joke. “Jerk.”

That addictive grin of his appeared briefly as he hit the doorbell. “Usually I’d walk in, but I figure this might be—”

The door swung open and Jesse’s face went white.

Dare snapped her attention to the house, but all she saw was a dark-haired woman, nothing to explain Jesse’s reaction. Young, probably early twenties, the woman’s gaze darted back and forth between Jesse and herself.

“Hey,” Jesse rumbled.

Then he stood there like a lump after spouting the one word. A tall, silent, lumpy sentinel.

As opening lines, that one sucked. It told Dare nothing about who this woman was, or if they were in the right place, and more critically, ignored the plumbing issue.

Dare shifted uncomfortably from side to side, wondering how rude it would be to push forward and find a bathroom on her own.

The woman glanced at Dare, glanced back at Jesse, then shook her head. “Come with me,” she ordered.

Dare followed, not caring at this point if she were about to be led to the lip of a volcano. Although the bathroom she was gestured into was a welcome alternative.

Once she could think again, she ventured back into the hallway to discover Jesse leaning on the wall waiting for her.

“Feeling better?”

“Much.”

Jesse grimaced. “Sorry about that. I should have found out if you needed to stop.”

“I could have asked,” Dare told him.

“I know, but I should have thought of it.”

A cough sounded from the room to their left. Jesse guided her forward with a hand on her lower back, and Dare found herself standing before the woman again, only this time she was offered a glass of orange juice.

She sucked it back like it was the elixir of life. The glass was empty before she knew it.

Dare offered the woman a grateful smile. “Thanks. I didn’t realize how much I needed that.”

“No problem. I’m Vicki, by the way. Engaged to Joel.”

“Jesse’s twin?” She’d heard all the names before, but putting faces with them took extra effort.

Vicki nodded. “Jaxi said to tell you she’s sorry she’s not here, but she’s kind of busy at the hospital having the baby.”

Oh my God. “Seriously?”

“Her water broke last night. Marion came over—Mrs. Coleman—and got the older girls off to day camp then took the little ones home with her. I’m off work today, so I said I’d wait to meet you.”

Jesse was checking his watch, of all things. “Damn. If it’s twins, I win the baby pool.”

“Jesse,” Dare scolded him. “Really? That’s what you’re focusing on right now?”

He flashed her a grin, his gaze drifting to Vicki before snapping back to Dare.

Seemingly content to ignore each other, Vicki checked her own watch. “We need to do a little juggling. I expect we’ll hear from the hospital anytime, but in the meanwhile, we can get you settled.”

“We can’t stay here if they’ll be bringing home a new baby,” Dare protested. Lordy, Dare didn’t even know how long that would be. One day? Two? She hadn’t been paying that much attention back when Caleb’s girls arrived.

Maybe Dare could arrange to stay in the hospital until she got the swing of the parenthood thing. Just for a bit, like a few weeks—or months.

“You’re right. Jaxi hoped you wouldn’t mind—”

“We’ll go to my old place,” Jesse interrupted.

“You can’t. Ashley’s moms are living in the rental.”

Dare glanced at him and raised a brow, but she didn’t say anything right then. Ashley she recognized as one of the threesome, but moms?

The boy had some explaining to do.

Vicki shook her head. “Rental’s full. Marion and Mike don’t have extra room after changing their spare room to take care of the kids better—neither of you will fit in the triple bunk or the crib. The bunkhouses are full as well. It’s been the best season yet, and well… I’ll let Joel tell you the rest, but we have space. I cleaned up the second room in the trailer. There’s a double bed in there, and you’re welcome to it.”

The orange juice in Dare’s stomach went a little sour to match the expression on Jesse’s face. Okay—she could be adaptable. “Thank you for sharing with us.”

“No problem.” Vicki glanced back and forth between them for a minute before coughing slightly. “Well, I imagine you’ll want to look around a bit on the drive, so I’ll just meet you there when you’re ready.”

“Awesome,” Jesse finally spoke, taking Dare by the elbow and guiding her toward the door. “Thanks.”

They were in the truck and on the road in seconds, as if the entire thing were a dream. A very brief, vivid and confusing dream.

“If there’s no room for us, maybe we should go home,” Dare suggested.

“No.”

He snapped the word so quickly she pushed back in her seat and bit her tongue. Whatever was going on that had rubbed him the wrong way, she didn’t want to add to his burdens, but he’d better not plan to keep her in the dark for too much longer.

Had he even said hi to Vicki? She’d been in the bathroom, so maybe she’d missed it, but the two of them had tension that could be cut with a knife.

Not what she’d been looking for, but then again, even bad answers were answers. This was a fact-finding mission, nothing more,

Wait for the Gramma factor, her brain reminded her.

Stupid brain.

She looked out the window as she sorted through the words to say. Something to let him know she wasn’t trying to push an agenda, but he needed to keep her informed.

She was about to open her mouth when he spoke first. “Are you tired?”

Now he was going to be considerate and ask how she was doing? Dare shoved aside her frustration and answered the question. “A little. Nerves don’t help.”

Jesse made a soothing noise. “Everyone will love you. And I bet we’ll be seeing the baby by this evening, so you’ll meet Jaxi soon as well. She’s an annoying pain in the ass, but she’s pretty much the type people fall in love with the minute they meet her.”

Which was one of Dare’s worries, so she focused on other parts of his comment. “We’ll see the baby tonight? It hasn’t even been born.”

He laughed. “By now, Blake and Jaxi are probably holding him or her, and Jaxi’s bossing around all the nurses and making suggestions to help them run the ward more efficiently.”

“You know I have very little idea how the baby thing works,” Dare informed him, suddenly worried she needed to live up to his sister-in-law who seemed a paragon of motherhood. “Like, way closer to zero than one hundred. So please don’t expect me to be a super mama like Jaxi—”

“Oh God, no,” Jesse said quickly, his grin real as he looked her over. “I don’t expect anything from you except you loving the kid for all you’re worth. Jaxi’s just…Jaxi. She’d tan my hide if she thought I was spooking you off.”

“She’s mentioned that phrase a time or two,” Dare admitted. She took a deep breath. “Moms?”

Jesse groaned. “Caught that, did you? I’ll give you the details later, but how about we get you settled in? You can put your feet up for a few minutes.”

They were pulling into a parking space in front of a double-wide trailer, so there wasn’t much she could offer other than “okay”.

He dropped their bags on the porch just as a second truck pulled into the yard, Vicki frowning at them over the wheel.

Jesse coughed, then turned to face Dare. “Going to track down my brothers.”

It was Dare’s turn to frown. “You’re not even going inside?”

She was talking to air. Jesse was behind the wheel, truck engine revving. He backed up rapidly, tires spinning as he raced for the exit, and the truck vanished down the driveway.

Dare and Vicki glanced at each other simultaneously. Silence hung on the air.

“He’s eager to catch up with his brothers,” Dare offered as an excuse.

The other woman didn’t answer, just turned to the door and carried in the bags, heading down a narrow hallway. She pushed open a door with her shoulder then placed the bags on a small but neat bed that was covered with a gorgeous quilt.

“It’s pretty. Thanks,” Dare said.

The other woman nodded. “You ready for lunch?”

Dare was all but empty inside. Jesse had to be starving, but it was his own fault for leaving her so suddenly. She offered Vicki the brightest smile she could muster. “Please.”

Vicki paused in the doorway before smiling softly. “Hey, I know this is a lot, but I am happy to meet you.”

Dare nodded. “Thanks.”

“I’ll get lunch started.” The other woman shuffled her feet for a moment before gesturing down the hall. “Washroom is that way if you need it, and there are towels on top of the dresser.”

The door closed softly. Dare let herself collapse back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling as if the answers to life, the universe and everything would be found there.

No such luck.

She splashed water on her face, sucked in a deep breath for courage then wandered to the kitchen.

Vicki had the fixings for sandwiches out and was hard at work, the scent of tomato soup floating on the air.

“Smells great,” Dare offered.

“Thanks.” Vicki stared at the sandwich she was making as if getting mayonnaise to the edges of the bread was of vital importance. “By the way, congratulations on your engagement.”

“Thanks.”

Polite platitudes again. Ugh.

Silence returned until Dare couldn’t take it any longer. She peeked around the room, desperately looking for some safe topic to break the awkwardness.

Her eyes fell on the oversized pickle jar on the counter that was covered with several stickers proclaiming Swear Jar.

It was over half full of coins.

A real smile came to Dare as she pointed it out to Vicki. “I haven’t seen one of those for ages.”

“It’s a good idea that got out of hand.” Vicki glanced up, amusement in her eyes. “I have a slight problem speaking my mind too bluntly. It helps remind me to watch my tongue.”

Dare eyed the coin level. “You must have pirates in your family tree.”

A laugh burst from the other woman. “Or whores—and you’ll find out I’m kind of not kidding about that—but all those coins aren’t my fault alone.”

“Joel?” Dare thought back. “I’ve heard Jesse swear, but no more than the average guy.”

“Joel’s the same, but he got cocky one day and talked to the people I work with. They counted while we were cooking for a catered event, and everything that could go wrong, did. I owed a shit-ton when he found out the count. Oh, drat…”

She sighed, then reached into her pocket, dropping a quarter into the jar.

“That’s kind of dirty,” Dare agreed.

“Oh, it backfired on him.” Vicki’s eyes flashed as she continued the story. “Joel doesn’t swear much around me, but after he pulled that trick I talked to Blake, and all the guys kept track one day.”

Dare could picture how well that had gone over. “The boys can get raunchy in the fields.”

“Hey, if I wasn’t allowed to swear at work, neither was he.” Vicki grinned. “He owed double what I’d paid. We’ve agreed work is off limits, although I am trying to watch my tongue there as well.”

Dare joined in and laughed. “Good for you. Changing a habit is hard.”

“A little at a time, I figure.” Vicki handed her a plate, then gestured to the door. “Let’s sit outside. It’s nice enough out, and I didn’t get a chance to clean up in here yet.”

“Outside is fine, but the place looks great.” God, Dare felt horrible for making more work for the other woman. “If you clean up more than this I’m going to feel woefully inadequate because my place gets less than a flicker of housekeeping, especially lately.”

They settled into comfy chairs that faced the sun and continued to chat, soups and recipes a nice easy conversation topic.

Dare was glad for the food in her belly and the reduced tension. In fact, she found herself wholly relaxed for the first time that day. The sandwich went down easy, and Vicki was no longer frightening.

Once the meal was done, Vicki stole the empty plate from under her fingers, stacking their dishes and rising to her feet as she waved Dare off. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

“I don’t expect to be waited on,” Dare protested.

“You can help with the dishes tonight,” Vicki promised. “Or better yet, you can volunteer Jesse, and we’ll get the guys to do the hard labour.”

“Deal.”

Vicki stepped away, and Dare leaned back in her chair and let the sun hit her full in the face. She was tempted to close her eyes and take a nap.

Instead, she made a mental list. A successful arrival in Rocky had been achieved. While Jesse was acting weird, Vicki had turned out to be nice enough. The sun was shining, and no one here was too scary—

She could do this. Dare laid a hand on her belly and soaked in the warmth of the day.

A gentle nudge pressed her shoulder, and Dare realized she had fallen asleep. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

Vicki grinned. “Don’t sweat it. You’ve had your eyes closed for not even ten minutes. I hear sleepiness is par for the course when you’re pregnant.”

“It’s better than the nausea stage, that’s for sure.”

The other woman opened her mouth then closed it rapidly, a real smile curling her lips. “Come on. I’ve got an idea.”