A Family to Come Home To (Saddle Falls) (17 page)

“You need some help?” Jake asked with a frown.

“Or some company?” Jared offered.

“Or both?” Josh inquired.

Jesse grinned, stunned and surprised by the generous offers. All of them had their own busy schedules today, yet they thought nothing of offering their assistance.

So this is what a family did, Jesse thought, realizing that he didn’t feel quite so solitary. As if everything rested on his shoulders alone. Not that he minded, he had always handled responsibility well. But then again, he’d had no choice since there’d been no other male around to help with it.

“You all have your own agendas today,” Jesse said with a smile. “But I do appreciate the offers.”

Jake, Jared and Josh exchanged looks, then Jake stood up, speaking for them all. “Well, Jesse, tell you what. How about we take care of our business this morning.” Jake pushed his chair in, prepared to get going. “Then we’ll run over to Hannah’s this afternoon and give you a hand. What do you say?”

“I’d like that,” he said with a smile, feeling nearly overwhelmed by the emotions that rushed through him, over him. “Thanks, guys.”

Standing at the curb, waiting for the school bus, holding tightly to Riley’s hand, Hannah struggled to hide her emotions. She couldn’t very well expect her daughter to be brave if she was blubbering like a baby.

“Now, sweetheart,” she said, hoping her voice was calm. “Remember, try not to lose your schoolbag.” As a precaution, Hannah adjusted the bright red straps higher on her daughter’s shoulders. “I put a snack in there for recess.”

“What’s recess, Mama?” Riley asked, glancing up at her mother and clinging tightly to her hand.

Hannah smiled. “Remember, honey, when we went to visit your school and met your teacher? She told you that about halfway through the morning you and all your classmates could go outside and play. That’s recess and when you should eat your snack.”

“On the playground, right? We get to go on the playground?”

“That’s right, sweetheart. And remember what I said about being careful?” She didn’t want to scare her daughter, but she also wanted Riley to be cautious. “Don’t go on anything that’s too big for you, okay? You know what Mama lets you go on, sweetheart.”

“’Kay, Mama.” Craning her neck, Riley stared down the empty street. “Mama, what if the bus doesn’t come now? Or what if they forget about me after school?” Hannah could hear the fear trembling in her daughter’s voice and it nearly broke her heart.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Hannah went down on her knees and hugged her child. “The bus will come. Promise. And if it doesn’t, Mama will drive you to school.” She adjusted the ribbons in Riley’s pigtails. “And I don’t want you to worry that the bus will forget about you after school, either. If that ever happens, I don’t want you to worry, okay? All you have to do is go back inside the school and find your teacher or another adult. Tell them you missed the bus and they’ll call Mama and I’ll come and get you. Do you understand?”

Riley nodded, then glanced up at the sound of a horn honking. “Look, Mama, it’s Uncle Jesse!” Riley started bouncing and waving as Jesse’s SUV approached and pulled to a stop right in front of the driveway.

“Well now, darlin’, don’t you look pretty this morning?” Jesse said, walking toward Riley and holding something behind his back.

“I have a new dress,” Riley said, pulling out the hem and twirling around for him to see.

He chuckled at her charm, feeling sorry for the men of her generation. They wouldn’t stand a chance. “And it’s a mite pretty dress as well.” He glanced at Hannah, saw the fear shimmering in her eyes and slipped his hand in hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

“What’s behind your back, Uncle Jesse?” Riley asked, trying to peek around him.

“This?” With a grin, he pulled his hand from behind his back. “This, Miss Riley, is Snoofus. He was mine when I was a little boy.” He showed her the mangled one-eared dog that had been sitting on his bed for more than twenty years. “When I was just a little guy, like you, my father gave me Snoofus. He was my first and best friend. Anytime I was scared, Snoofus protected me. As long as he was with me, I was never, ever scared. Not of anything,” he said solemnly, watching her eyes widen in awe.

“Really?” Riley asked, eyes wide as saucers. “Can…can…I touch him?” she asked reverently, clearly already in love as she lifted a hand, afraid to touch the stuffed dog.

“Touch him?” Jesse grinned at her. “Why, darlin’, you can do better than that. Snoofus has been lonely lately since I haven’t had much time to spend with him, so I was hoping maybe you could take him along to school with you.”

“Snoofus could come with me?” Riley’s eyes gleamed wider in expectation and hope. “Really?”

“Scout’s honor,” Jesse said, holding up two fingers to show his sincerity. “You can keep him company and introduce him to all your new friends.” Jesse bent down and tucked the dog securely into Riley’s arms. “And as long as you’ve got him with you, you won’t be scared. Not of anything. I promise. Snoofus will always keep you safe, darlin’.”

Eyes wide and shining, Riley couldn’t stop staring at her new friend, devotedly touching his one ear, his slightly mangled eye, his mended paw. “He’s so pretty,” she said, glancing up at her mother. “Isn’t he, Mama?”

Hannah squeezed Jesse’s hand in thanks. “Very pretty, sweetheart.” She had to swallow to speak around the lump in her throat.

“Here comes the bus,” Riley said, her voice a bit shaky as she clung tighter to her mother’s hand and the one-eared dog.

Hannah glanced down the road and saw the bright yellow vehicle rumbling down the road and felt her stomach roll over. She had a wild urge to grab Riley, run in the house and hide under the bed. As irrational as the thought was, at the moment, letting her precious child go off alone without her, to a strange place, on a strange vehicle, was far more intimidating and frightening then anything in memory.

“Now, Miss Riley, before you head off on your big adventure, can I have a kiss?” Jesse asked with a grin.

Riley bobbed her head, let go of her mother’s hand and stepped close to Jesse. “Thank you, Uncle Jesse.”

He went down on his knees so he was eye level with her. “You’re welcome, darlin’.” He slid his hands to her tiny waist and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“Uncle Jesse?” Riley whispered, glancing up at her mother. “I think Mama’s sad.”

Jesse glanced up at Hannah, then smiled. “Not sad, darlin’. I think she’s just jealous because you get to go have all the fun, isn’t that right, Hannah-Anna,” he prompted, giving Hannah a warning look.

She forced herself to relax, to smile so that she wouldn’t frighten her daughter. “That’s right, sweetheart.”

“Uncle Jesse, will you keep Mama company while I’m gone?” Riley whispered, leaning close. “She might get lonely since she’s never been alone before.”

Jesse grinned, giving the little girl another kiss. “You bet, darlin’. I’ll keep your mama company this morning. And I promise we’ll both be here waiting when you get off the bus after school.” He drew back. “Remember, you promised to draw me a picture.”

Riley grinned. “I’ll draw you a picture of Snoofus.” She hugged the dog tighter as the bus chugged and belched to a stop just a few feet away.

“Give Mama a kiss,” Hannah said, reaching for her daughter, feeling as if her heart was breaking. Riley suddenly looked so small, so fragile, so vulnerable, it only sent another round of panic through her.

Forcing it down, Hannah held Riley close to her for a moment, then kissed her cheek, drawing back with a shaky smile. “Come on, Mama will help you onto the bus.”

Holding her child’s hand, and with her own knees shaking, Hannah led the way to the open bus doors, greeting the cheerful driver and helping Riley up the large steps, watching as her daughter, dog clutched in her arms, found an empty seat and sat down.

“She’s gonna be fine, darlin’,” Jesse assured Hannah, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “Just fine.”

“I know,” Hannah said with a sniffle, lifting a hand to wave goodbye to Riley as she gave in and leaned against Jesse, accepting his comfort. As a single mother, she couldn’t remember when she’d ever had the support or comfort of someone else, especially a man. At least not when it came to her daughter. She realized it was a wonderful feeling to have someone with whom to share both her fears and her feelings.

“I feel as if I’m losing an arm.” Hannah chewed her lip as the bus pulled away. Riley had her nose pressed against the window, a smile on her face, Snoofus clutched in her arm as she waved goodbye to them.

Jesse chuckled, slipping his other arm around Hannah and drawing her close to him. “I know, darlin’. That’s the way all mothers feel when their first goes off to school.” Chuckling, he glanced down at her, saw her trying to blink back tears. “My mama cried when I left for college.”

She nodded, swiping against her tears, then giving in to the need for comfort and laying her head on his chest. She could hear the familiar, rhythmic beating of his heart.

“It’s all right, darlin’, you might as well let it go.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “No sense holding all that in.”

It was as if a dam had burst. Great wracking sobs began to shake her slender body. Hannah knew she was being silly, but she’d spent every waking moment of the past five years of her life with her precious daughter. Now she had to simply hand Riley over to strangers and let her make her own way in the world.

It wasn’t fair, she thought with a sniffle, feeling the warmth of Jesse’s hand on her back as he stroked and comforted her. The past five years had gone by so fast. It seemed like just yesterday Riley was a baby, a toddler, learning to walk, to talk, to climb up on a chair by herself. Now she’d just climbed onto a bus and left by herself.

“She really is gonna be fine, darlin’, I promise,” Jesse whispered, holding her shaking body closer. He could feel the warmth of her pressed against him, increasing that drumbeat of awareness, arousal that always seemed to awaken whenever she was near. “She’s gonna be just fine, Mama,” he teased, drawing back to look at her and wiping away a stray tear with his thumb.

Embarrassed, Hannah glanced away. “I’m sorry, Jesse, I know it must seem silly.”

“Not at all, darlin’. She’s your baby, the most important thing in your life. Of course you’re going to worry about her, especially with each new step she takes. Whether it’s going off to school for the first time, or going on her first date—”

“Jesse, please.” She laid a shaky hand to his heart and shook her head. “I’ve had enough trauma for one morning.” She glanced up to find him smiling down at her. His mouth was so close, she caught her breath, remembering the taste of that mouth. A shiver of need, desire, rolled over her, and Hannah glanced down, afraid he might be able to see everything she was feeling. “I can’t even think about her dating yet. Maybe when she’s…oh, I don’t know, forty or so, I’ll be able to handle it, but not until then.”

He chuckled softly, nuzzling his chin across the top of her head, perfectly content to stand there at the curb with his arms around her, holding her close all morning.

“Thanks for coming this morning, Jesse.” She lifted her head, praying he wouldn’t see what she was feeling. “I really appreciate it.” She forced a smile. “I don’t know if I could have gotten through it alone.” At the moment, the thought seemed incomprehensible to her. Jesse had become such an important part of their lives that having him here sharing this with her seemed perfectly normal and natural.

“You’re welcome, darlin’.” He pressed another kiss to her head. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

For the first time she remembered something. “Jesse, why on earth do you have a ladder and all that other paraphernalia in your car?”

Keeping his arm around her, he began walking them back toward the house. “Well, darlin’, it seems to me that this old house could use a bit of sprucing up.”

Hannah came to a halt. “Jesse,” she began carefully, “I know the house is in pretty dire straits, but it’s going to have to stay that way for a while.” She lifted her chin stubbornly, refusing to be embarrassed. “At least until I get the funds to make some repairs.”

“Funds aren’t what’s needed here, darlin’,” he assured her with a grin. Sliding his arm free of her, he moved toward the SUV he’d been using since he’d arrived. “Men and hands are.” After untying the long extension ladder he’d brought, he leaned it against the vehicle and turned to flash Hannah a quick grin. “And I’ve got those covered as well.”

Frowning in concern, Hannah watched him open the back door and begin extracting cans of paint, brushes and an assortment of tools she couldn’t identify, let alone pronounce.

“Jesse, wait.” She laid a hand on his back. “I can’t let you do this. I can’t afford to pay for any of this stuff, nor can I pay you for your time.”

He straightened slowly, a look of hurt on his face.
“Pay me?”
he repeated softly, and she instinctively knew she’d hurt his feelings. For the life of her she didn’t know how. “Is that what you think I’m doing?” Jesse frowned. “Trying to earn a few bucks?”

“No, Jesse, of course not. That’s not what I meant at all. Truly.” She shrugged, wringing her hands together. “It’s just that my budget’s so tight and manpower and paint cost money—”

“Tommy donated the paint, Hannah. It’s been sitting in one of the storage sheds out at the ranch for a couple of years. He figured we might as well put it to good use before it goes to waste.” He shrugged his shoulders. “And as for the manpower, Jared, Josh and Jake are all going to pitch in. They’re coming over here this afternoon.” He smiled as he said it, still remembering how he felt when they’d offered their help. He glanced up at the house. “With the four of us pitching in, we should have this lovely old place back in shape in no time.”

“Jesse…” She hesitated. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you will do me fine, darlin’,” he said quietly.

“Thank you, Jesse,” she said, laying a hand to his cheek, so moved by everything he did. He never failed to surprise her. “But there must be something I can do. I can’t just stand here and watch.” She shrugged. “I have the day off because of Riley’s first day of school.”