Ruby Falls (22 page)

“Summer?”

Her eyes came open, and she saw Jessie standing there. Yawning, she said, “Oh, Jessie. You’re home. I didn’t hear you come in. I guess I dozed off. So, how was the dance? Did you have a good time?”

“Yes. The dance was fun,” she lied.

“Good. Well, your poor father tried to wait up for you, but he didn’t even make it to the ten o’clock news. He’s asleep on the couch.”

“Oh, well maybe I shouldn’t wake him,” Jessie deliberated, looking toward the living room.

“No. You have to wake him. He needs to go up to bed. So, you had a good time tonight? You look happy.”

“Yes. Tonight was really special.” Jessie turned to go into the living room, and then paused in the doorway, looking back at Summer. “Thanks for all your help, Summer.”

Summer smiled. “You’re welcome, honey.”

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning was Sunday. Cary followed Steve and Pop up the back porch steps as they came in from milking cows at 5:30am, same as any other day. They washed up and sat at the table. Cary glanced over to see Summer moving toward them with the pot of coffee. She made the rounds, filling all their cups. There was a platter of French toast and sausage on the table and Cary helped himself, forking several pieces onto his own plate. Summer returned the carafe to the burner and joined them.

“Are we going to try to make the eight o’clock service?” Pop asked.

“Yeah, sure, Pop,” Steve answered, pouring syrup all over his plate.

“I don’t know if Jessie will be up in time. She’s probably pretty tired. She didn’t get home from the dance until after midnight,” Summer reminded him.

“Did she, ah, have a good time?” Cary asked.

“Yes. She seemed very happy when she came in,” Summer replied. “I think she had a wonderful time.”

Cary nodded, looking down at his plate, relief running through him.

“Let her sleep in. I think she can miss service today,” Steve decided.

Hearing that Jessie would be home alone, Cary realized he’d have an opportunity to talk to her and find out how she was feeling about last night. “Mind if I bow out, too? I’ve got a bad backache.”

“Yeah, sure. No problem,” Steve consented, glancing up at him. “Have I been working you too hard?”

Cary looked down at his plate, pushing his food around with his fork. He didn’t want to look Steve in the eye when he lied to him. “No, boss. I’ll be okay. Must’ve pulled a muscle yesterday. That’s all.”

“I have some painkillers that the doctor gave me left, if you want some,” Summer offered.

“Oh, I took a couple of aspirin. I’ll be fine, thanks. I think I just need to lay down for a while.”

They finished their meal and then Pop scooted his chair back. “That was delicious, Summer. I think I’ll go get ready for service now.”

Cary stood. “Yeah, Summer, it was great. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I think I’ll go lie down, now.”

“Of course. If there’s anything I can do-”

“Naw. I’ll be fine.” He carried his plate to the sink and then left.

Steve took a sip of his coffee, looking over at Summer. “So, she had a good time last night?”

“Yes. She said she did. You don’t remember her coming in and waking you up?” She smiled.

“Barely.” He grinned. “I guess I was pretty exhausted.

“You work too hard.”

He crossed his arms and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. He looked down at his plate. “No choice, there.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

He looked at her. “You’ve been a great help. You’ve been working
yourself
too hard. I don’t want you to…” He paused shaking his head. “I didn’t bring you here to work as hard as you have been.”

She looked down. “I don’t mind. Having something to keep my hands busy, well, I think it’s good for me.” She shrugged. “You know, not to have to think about not having my memory back yet.”

He nodded. “I just don’t want you to overdo it. Let the laundry slide a day…and you don’t have to mop the floors everyday-”

“I get the picture.” She cut him off.

He reached out and took her hand in his, bringing it to his mouth. He kissed it. Looking at her a long moment, he said softly, “I’ve thought about that night.”

She stared into his eyes. “I have, too.”

“Tonight, after everyone goes to bed…”

“Yes?”

“Come to my bed.” His mouth brushed her hand again. “Please.” He watched a slow smile spread across her face and he grinned back. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

*****

Cary sat on his sofa and finally heard Steve’s truck pull out as they headed to church. He knew he had about two hours until they would be back. It was still only 7:30am, and he didn’t even know if Jessie was awake yet. He figured he could wait another hour, maybe, and then he’d have to try to wake her. He might not get another opportunity to talk to her with no one around for a long time, and he needed to talk to her today. He needed to know if she was okay, if she was regretting what they’d done…what he’d done. Now, in the light of day, he knew he had to take all the blame for what had happened. She had been vulnerable, and though he didn’t mean to take advantage of her, that’s exactly what it seemed he’d done.

Cary walked outside and headed toward the barn. He might as well get some work done, while he figured out what he was going to say to her. He walked inside the barn and started checking the milking machines, one by one.

With his hands busy, his mind replayed last night. How could he have let that happen? God, but she had been beautiful. Lord, what had he done? What if she hated him for it? Could he bear it? His mind ran over and over every minute of the time they’d spent together. He knew no matter how this all turned out, he’d never forget last night or how special it had been.

And then he looked up, and she was standing in the barn’s open door. He did a double take, lowered the lines he held in his hands and just stared at her. She looked so small and fragile.

“You didn’t go to church with the others.”

He shook his head.

She walked slowly towards him. “Why not?”

“I wanted to talk to you. Alone.” She stopped in front of him, and he tossed the lines aside. They stared at each other. He reached up and pushed back a strand of her hair that had fallen across her eyes. “Are you okay?” She nodded and smiled. Seeing that smile, all the words that he’d wanted to say flew out of his head. He saw the joy in her eyes, shining there, bright as the sun. He took her face in his hands, and they came together in a tender kiss. Finally, he pulled back enough to whisper, “Are you sorry, Jess?”

“Sorry?”

“About last night.”

She shook her head. “No, of course not.” She pulled back, and he could see her confidence faltering as she asked, “Are you?”

“I feel like I took advantage of you. You were in a vulnerable state, and I should never have-”

She stopped him. “No, Cary! Don’t say it.”

He could see she was angry now. And maybe that was exactly what he needed. If she was angry with him, then maybe they could keep away from each other. Maybe she would be stronger than him.

“Don’t you dare tell me it was a mistake! Don’t you dare.”

“Jessie, I never want to hurt you. I care about you. What I did-”

“What we did,” she corrected.

“No. What
I
did. I’m the one who should have stopped. I should never have touched you. I-”

She slapped his face.

He stared at her, stunned. Although he felt he deserved that for what he’d done, he didn’t understand why she was so upset when he was trying to accept the blame. She whirled around to leave. He grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. “Wait!” He pulled her to him and she pulled back. “Listen to me a minute, damn it.” He shook her. “Don’t you understand? I don’t want you to feel guilty or regret what we did, but it was wrong, Jessie. You have to know that.”

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “It wasn’t wrong. How can anything as beautiful as the way you made me feel be wrong? I’ve never felt anything more right in my life. Don’t you see?”

“I’m twenty-six. You’re eighteen.”

“So what?”

“So what? What do you think your father would say?”

“I don’t care.”

“Yes, you do.”

“What about how I feel? Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“You know it does.”

“But you’d let me go? You want me to find someone else? Someone else to do those things we did last night with?”

He shook his head. “You know I don’t,” he said tightly. And then as if the words were torn from his soul, he gritted out again, “You know I don’t.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

*****

That evening after dinner, Summer was in the kitchen standing at the sink doing the dishes, when she felt a body press to her back and a pair of arms slide around her waist, pulling her back. Steve’s voice whispered in her ear, “You’re still coming to my room tonight, yeah?”

Her eyes slid closed as she felt his soft close-cut beard brush along her neck as he pressed kisses along the column of her throat, down to her collarbone. His arms tightened around her as he pressed for an answer. “Baby?”

“Y-yes,” she whispered and felt him smile against her skin.

He pressed another kiss to her throat. “I’ll be waiting.”

She felt him release her and move away. Then the floor creaked as he walked out of the room. She smiled in anticipation and hoped that Pop and Jessie would turn in early tonight.

As it turned out, when she finished cleaning up the kitchen and walked into the dining room, Steve and Jessie were sitting at the dining room table. Steve’s head was bent to Jessie’s as he tried to help her with her math homework. His head lifted and his eyes met hers. A smile pulled at his mouth. He glanced back to his daughter to see her yawning, her head propped in her hand. “Jess, I think you’ve got the hang of it. You look beat. Why don’t you go on up to bed?”

Jess slammed her book shut, glad for an excuse to be done with it. “Okay, Daddy.”

Steve sat back in his chair as she gathered up her book and papers.

“Night, Summer.” Jessie headed for the stairs.

“Goodnight, Jessie,” Summer called after her and moved toward the table. She stopped next to Steve’s chair and brushed the hair back from his forehead. “You look beat, too.”

He wrapped his arm around the back of her blue-jean clad thighs and pulled her up against him. “Not that beat.”

She grinned and glanced through the archway into the living room to see Pop asleep in his chair.

Steve followed her gaze and then squeezed her legs, getting her attention back. “Hey?”

She looked down at him.

“I may not let you sleep at all tonight,” he teased with a grin.

“Is that a promise?” she teased right back.

“It is if you want it to be, lady.”

Her hand came to his face, her thumbs stroking across his cheekbones. And then she dipped her head and kissed him. A moment later, she found herself pulled down on his lap. “Steve!” she protested, squirming to get free.

“Hush, woman, and settle down. Pop’s asleep and no one’s around.” His hands closed over her ribcage, stilling her movements. He felt her relax against him as he stared up at her. One of his hands slid up her back to thread through her hair at the back of her head, and then he was pulling her head down to his as his mouth closed over hers.

After a moment she pulled away. “I’m going to go take a shower.”

He looked up at her and ordered in a voice gruff with passion, “Don’t be too long.”

She smiled and slid from his lap. With a backward glance at him, she dashed up the stairs.

Steve sat at the table until he heard the shower come on, then he got up, the wooden chair creaking as he did. He walked into the living room, bent over Pop and shook his shoulder. “Pop.”

The old man’s eyes came open and he tried to focus. “Oh, Steve. Guess I dozed off.”

“Go on to bed, Pop.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, son.” He grabbed the armrests and pulled himself up.

Steve turned off the ballgame that was playing on the television, then switched off the lights and headed up the stairs. The shower was still running in the bathroom. He paused outside Jessie’s door and tapped on it.

“Yeah?” she called from beyond the door.

He opened it and stuck his head in. She was lying in bed, texting on her phone. “Goodnight, baby-girl.”

“Night, Daddy.”

He flipped her light out.

“Dad!”

“Go to sleep. I swear, I don’t know how you don’t have callouses on your thumbs from all the texting you do.”

“I can still text in the dark, Dad.”

“Goodnight, Jess!”

She grinned, “Night.”

When her door closed, Jessie looked back at her phone and smiled at the text she received.

Sweet dreams baby-doll. Now, go to sleep.

Her thumbs moved over the screen.

You sound like my father.

A moment later, he replied.

You know that’s a big turn-off, right?

She grinned and typed.

Then stop sounding like him.

He replied.

You do know I have to be up at four to milk cows, right?

She laughed.

I was born on a dairy farm, so yeah.

He replied.

Just saying I need to go to sleep now, babe. Goodnight.

She hesitated a moment and then typed.

Can I come to you?

Her phone was silent for a long time and she thought maybe he’d turned his off and gone to sleep. And then it chimed with a reply.

Baby…you’re killing me.

She grinned, her thumbs moving over the pad.

In a good way?

A second later.