Chapter Nineteen

Blog post: Stuck in the Middle With You

Looks as if I’m in Pregnancy Prison for a few days. Just precautionary, but I have a confession—I’m not a very good patient.

Or maybe that should read I’m not very patient.

Either one…

 

 

Other than she wasn’t sure what the mystery meat had been in the dinner offering, Dare’s first evening in captivity went better than she’d expected. All sorts of visitors stopped by; a trickle in the beginning followed by more and more people until her room felt like a gathering place during one of Ginny’s barbeques.

Hope Coleman waltzed in first with an entire box of flannel scraps and the other requirements for making squares for a baby quilt. Her husband Matt, one of Jesse’s brothers, had come along, and to Dare’s amusement he joined in the impromptu sewing lesson Hope gave, his thick fingers moving carefully over the soft material as he good-naturedly followed his wife’s orders. Colt refused to let go of his mom, so Matt had acted as demonstrator.

The way Matt looked at Hope as she spoke, and the easy way he slipped a hand around her hip in a familiar caress spoke volumes about the connection between them. Dare ended up poking herself in the finger with her needle hard enough to draw blood, she was paying more attention to the simmering glances they kept giving each other.

Shortly after they’d arrived another set of Colemans marched through the door, and then another, and every one of them simply joined in the conversation, and there was no fuss and no awkwardness.

For which Dare was very grateful, considering she was sitting on a bed in her pyjamas for all intents and purposes.

By the time Jesse returned, damp hair curling at his neckline, the room had settled into small groups. The women all stitching together squares while the guys each cheerfully completed one before abandoning the task and pulling out a deck of cards. How they managed to play while holding babies and entertaining a couple of boys under the age of two, Dare had no idea.

Jesse stood beside the bed and offered her an amused smile along with a fresh glass of water. “What are you looking all bewildered about?”

She made a small gesture at the room and answered quietly, “It’s like my room is Grand Central Station.”

“There’s no train arriving any time soon,” he teased. “I hope you’re ready to share your hospital food with the entire horde.”

Dare pulled herself up regally. “Jell-O for all, my good man.”

He leaned in close, forehead touching hers as he looked into her eyes. “You let me know when you’ve had enough, okay? They can come back tomorrow. In fact, unless you order them to stay away, it looks as if Little Hospital Room on the Prairie is the happening place to be these days.”

“I’m okay,” she insisted, stealing a quick kiss before he stepped back. A dangerous smolder in his eyes promised her many things before he slid into a chair next to Matt and Daniel and joined in their card game.

The party broke up at eight o’clock when regular visiting hours were over, and she lay back on the bed surprisingly tired. “Considering I haven’t done anything except lie here and talk, I’m pooped.”

Jesse shrugged, settling in the chair beside her with a cup in his hands he’d appropriated from somewhere down the hall. The rich scent of coffee hung on the air. “No one’s keeping track. If you want to hit the sack early, go for it.”

“Maybe I will.” She looked him over, wondering why he was drinking coffee at this time of the night. “You don’t have to stay with me all night.”

“I know. I’m going to do a pickup run for Blake tonight. I’m leaving in a couple of hours, but don’t worry—if they need to get in touch with me, I’ll be here pretty damn fast. I’ll be back to see you first thing in the morning.”

She thought it over for a moment, having to adjust her mental processes. “I thought Blake said he didn’t need help.”

Jesse put the coffee cup down, his expression going serious. “About that. I meant it last night when we were talking by the fire pit about this and got interrupted. Blake didn’t do anything wrong, I did.” He looked away for a moment before meeting her gaze again, his typical cocky teasing subdued until nothing but sincerity remained. “I was stupid when I left last February, and my stupidity put them in a tough situation. That’s why Blake wasn’t blowing sunshine up my ass, but I totally deserved it. I’ve talked to him. Apologized. It’s okay now.”

“That’s good.” His explanation didn’t answer all her questions, but she was glad because some of the stress seemed to have leached out of him. When he finally kissed her good night an hour later, it was easy to give in to the siren call of her pillow.

The next thing Dare knew it was morning and the curtains were being pulled open to another blue-sky day.

She stretched a bit, happy that she felt so normal and rested—although considering she hadn’t had to lift a finger for most of yesterday, her burst of energy made sense. She wasn’t looking forward to two more days of limited mobility. AKA, sitting around on her butt.

“When you’re done in the washroom, we’ve got some tests we need to put you through, as well as another dose of medicine,” Tamara informed her.

By the time Jesse slipped into the room to say good morning, Dare’s cheeks were sore from smiling. His cousin had helped pass the time by spilling the beans on some of his exploits when he was little, most of which were embarrassing.

Dare laughed at Jesse’s expression when he realized what Tamara was talking about. “Your cousin knows all the good stories about you,” she teased.

Tamara stood at the foot of the bed. Today she wore pale blue scrubs decorated with floating clouds, and the frames of her glasses were rainbow-hued. She gloated as she eyed Jesse who had folded his arms over his chest and was pretending to glare at them.

“Lies,” he insisted. “Damn lies.”

“Damn entertaining lies,” Dare insisted.

“Truth is always stranger than fiction,” Tamara taunted.

About an hour later, Tamara had just helped Dare back into the bed after a pit stop when the door opened, and Ginny and Caleb stepped in.

Dare’s throat tightened at the sight of them. “I didn’t expect you to come this soon.”

Ginny raced across the room to offer a hug. “Are you kidding? After Jesse called they had to sit on me to stop me from driving up last night.”

Caleb moved slower, his gaze taking in Dare before a curse escaped his lips. He fixed his gaze on Jesse, murder in his eyes. “You bastard.”

Jesse rose to his feet as Caleb stormed forward, but Tamara moved the fastest, sliding in front of Caleb and slapping her hand against his chest. “Stop right there, cowboy. You want to tell me what’s got you itching for a fight?”

“How the hell did she get a black eye, Coleman?” Caleb demanded at high volume, ignoring Tamara.

“Stop, Caleb,” Dare ordered.

“Did you hit her?” Caleb pushed Tamara aside to get at Jesse.

Or he tried to push her aside. Even though Dare was watching, it was hard to see exactly how it happened. One minute Caleb was moving forward, and the next he was flying through the air then slamming into the floor with a body-aching crash.

Tamara stood over him, foot planted perilously close to his groin. Her rainbow and floaty-cloud outfit a stark contrast to her apparent danger-level. “I said back down, cowboy. No fights in this room, you got it?”

Caleb groaned, hand going to his head before he collapsed and lay there, winded.

“Fuck.” The strangled word barely made it past his lips.

Ginny stood at Dare’s bedside, staring down at the strange vignette in front of them. “Um, you got a bodyguard, Dare?”

“Looks that way. Caleb, nobody punched me. Well, not on purpose. My face got in the way when they were stopping me from hitting the ground. I don’t think you should go beat up the pastor’s daughter, so stop being a macho-jerk.”

Caleb made a noise. It might have been an apology, but Dare couldn’t be sure.

She sighed heavily. “Tamara, you want to let my brother up?”

“Your brother?” Tamara swore softly. “Jeez, I’m sorry.”

She held out a hand to help him up.

Caleb gave her a dirty look and ignored her fingers, rocking up to his feet. He glanced at Jesse. “Sorry for assuming.”

“I get it. Protective big brother. You did tell me you’d kill me if I hurt her.” Jesse was smirking, though.

Tamara elbowed him in the side. “Don’t be a jerk.”

Jesse turned on her, his amusement fading. “Don’t you step into the middle of a situation like that again. You could’ve gotten hurt.”

His cousin rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Did you see him bounce?”

Caleb made another noise, this one decisively rude, but he moved cautiously as he passed Tamara en route to the bed. He slid his gaze over Dare and examined her closely. “Accidentally punched in the face? Really?”

“Yup,” she said. “Just like the time you and Luke went out after the strays and ended up—”

“—okay. That’s enough of that.” He held up a hand to cut her off before hugging her tight. “You scared us. You good?”

“I feel fine,” Dare insisted. “Buckaroo is moving like crazy. I was just tired, or something.”

“We’re taking good care of her.” Tamara had come up to the bedside and pushed past Caleb. “With that in mind, if I could get everyone to step back a little. It’s a big room. Dare gets her share of the space and then the rest of you.”

She was glaring specifically at Caleb, fists resting on her hips.

He didn’t move.

Tamara made a feint toward his groin, and Caleb twisted in defense.

She was gloating far too hard as she reached for the rolling side table, swinging it around and forcing him to back up another couple steps.

Dare watched the interaction with amusement. Caleb’s sense of humour needed a kick in the butt at times, but she was glad they were there. “Come and talk. Where’re the girls?”

Jesse interrupted to say goodbye. “I’ll give you a chance to visit. Regular visiting hours start at eleven, and I’m pretty sure my mom plans on stopping by, plus I don’t know who else.”

He covered up a yawn best he could, but Dare caught his fingers and gave them a squeeze. “Go get some shuteye. I’m not going anywhere.”

He nodded. “I’ll be back around five. You need anything?”

“Burger and fries? Or pizza—with the works.”

He glanced at Caleb and Ginny before deliberately leaning in and giving her another one of those addictive kisses. It was far too natural to let her arms rise up and wrap around his shoulders, fingers stroking through his hair, soft against her palms.

He pulled back, cocky grin firmly in place. “Be good.”

“Why should I start now?” she teased.

Ginny and Caleb settled into chairs as Jesse took his leave. Ginny twisted to watch him exit the room. “That was hot.”

Caleb’s face stiffened. “Ginny.”

“Well, it was,” she insisted, lifting her gaze to meet Dare’s. “So, your hot-cowboy visit is turning out to be an adventure.”

Caleb twisted in his chair, arms crossed at his chest. “Do you want me to leave the room so you can talk about hot cowboys?”

Ginny waved a hand. “You don’t have to leave.”

Dare snickered as Caleb let out a frustrated growl, but she was glad everything was normal.

Or as normal as it was able to get as Ginny turned thoughtful then placed a finger on her lips. “Okay, I’ll be nice, and we won’t talk about Dare’s sexy cowboy.”

“Thank you,” Caleb drawled.

Ginny clapped her hands together and rubbed them. “So, Dare. Tell me more about your bodyguard. Was that not an awesome move she pulled on Caleb?”

It was no use. The small bundle of warmth inside her grew and grew and now it bubbled up into laughter. The long-suffering expression on Caleb’s face just made it worse, and Dare let herself go, protected and surrounded by the lingering sensation of Jesse’s caring and her family’s presence.

 

 

Jesse picked up a few groceries before heading back to the trailer and stripping down. He took a quick shower and tossed himself into bed to grab a few hours’ sleep before heading back to the hospital.

His rumbling stomach woke him. He pulled on sweatpants before stumbling to the kitchen and tossing bread into all four of the toaster slots.

He had the frying pan hot and was cracking eggs when the door opened and ice skidded up his spine. What the hell had he been thinking, walking around half naked in his brother’s place?

“You making enough for two?”

Instant relief struck as Joel stepped to the counter beside him, eyeing the pan hungrily.

“That depends. Are you starving or ravenous?”

Joel reached in the fridge and pulled out another carton of eggs. “Definitely ravenous. I’ll butter this batch of toast and start another.”

They worked together in companionable silence for a few minutes. Jesse split the first set of eggs onto two plates before getting the second batch cooking and settling at the table. Joel popped down two enormous glasses of juice and turned on the coffeemaker for after.

It didn’t bother Jesse that they didn’t talk while eating—they’d always agreed in the past it was pretty much a waste of energy.

But by the time the second servings were on their plate Jesse paused for long enough to offer Joel a grin. “I’m still a better cook than you.”

Joel looked at him, one brow rising slowly. “Do you really want to start this battle again?”

Being obnoxious about each other’s cooking skills and teasing the hell out of each other was exactly where Jesse wanted to be instead of the awkward chasm and distance he’d pushed them to.

Jesse leaned back in his chair and pretended to plot. “Chili cook-off?”

A snort escaped his brother. “You did not win that one.”

Jesse displayed his best shocked expression. “I could have sworn Dad and Blake said my chili was miles better than yours.”

“Because you stole a batch of frozen chili out of Jaxi’s and Mom’s freezers and mixed them together.” But Joel was smiling. “It was damn tasty.”

“Way better than the stomped chicken.”

Joel had just put a mouthful of egg and toast in his mouth, and he barely stopped in time from spewing it over the table. He gave Jesse a dirty look as he licked egg off his fingers. “We promised to never talk about that.”

“No. We promised to not tease each other in public.” Jesse looked around. “It’s just you, me and the chickens here now.”

His brother laughed as he demolished the rest of the food on his plate. “I never did hear Mom complain that she’d found a giant snowball in her freezer.”

Sixteen-year-old hellions. In the dead of winter, they’d had the brilliant idea to save a massive chunk of snow in the freezer so that on some hot summer day they could haul it out and surprise their brothers with well-timed snowballs.

Only the specially packaged do not touch wrapped-up paper they’d hauled out of the freezer on the hottest day of the summer and then jumped on to get at the snow turned out to be not what they expected.

A soft chuckle escaped Joel.

Jesse could tell he was picturing that moment when the two of them realized that under their boots they’d been crushing not a firmly packed bundle of snow from the previous winter but one of his mom’s frozen chickens.

“Do you remember how much hell that was to buy a new chicken and sneak it back into the freezer?”

“Didn’t we have to bribe Mrs. Larsen at the Mercantile? So she didn’t spill the beans to Mom?”

Joel nodded. “I still feel guilty every time I see her. I make Vicki do the shopping there.”

Jesse didn’t answer for a moment.

It was funny how much things had changed. Oh, he felt weird around Vicki, but the last couple days with Dare at his side had been pointing out to him that life should be a whole lot more about looking forward than looking back. It was as if he was awkward because he’d felt that way for a long time, not because he had any real reason now for it.

He glanced up and caught Joel smiling. “Am I in trouble? You usually looked like that when I was finally going to get in shit for something I did.”

“Really? Huh.” Joel shook his head. “You know, you’re right. There were times it was a relief when the hammer fell on whatever nonsense we pulled, but I’m sorry if you felt like I was happy for you to take the blame. I was just thinking it feels good to have you back. Even with the lingering moments where I want to haul you up behind the barn and burn off some frustration.”

Jesse nodded. “It’s weird. There are moments when I feel as if I never left. There are times when I know I fucked up so bad it’s going to be a long hard road.”

Joel reached over and grabbed Jesse’s plate. “One good thing,” he offered, stuffing the dirty dishes into the machine. “If you’re on the right road and walking, you’ll eventually get where you want to go.”

There wasn’t much Jesse needed to say to that. Instead, he glanced at the clock. “I’ve got to get dressed and head to the hospital for a while.”

“I was going to pick up Vicki from work and take her over. You want a ride?”

Jesse shook his head. “Thanks, but Blake’s got me in the barns tonight. I should take my truck so I can go straight over after visiting hours.”

His brother nodded and headed out without another word, but as Jesse dressed and got in the truck, it was the closest to normal they’d been since Vicki had come on the scene and Jesse had lost his mind.

As long as he was on the right road—he just needed to keep walking.