Dylan's Redemption (35 page)

“Mommy made breakfast. We have a present. I helped. I got to use the tools.”

“You did, huh. Okay. Breakfast it is. Then, we have a big day ahead of us.”

“What do you mean?” Jessie asked, suspicious. “You need to rest and recover.”

“I need you more.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “You’ll see. I have a surprise for you. I hope you like it.”

“But, it’s
your
birthday.”

“Doesn’t that mean I get to do whatever I want today?”

“I guess so.” She wondered what he was up to, especially when that cocky grin spread across his handsome face. She was glad to see it. He’d slept so deeply last night, she worried he wasn’t getting better. Today, his eyes were clear and bright, a healthy glow brightened his skin, despite the bruises and cuts.

“Good. I’m glad we agree. Now, what’s for breakfast? I’m starving.”

She smiled and led him into the kitchen. She made him sit at the breakfast bar while she got him his coffee and made him a big stack of pancakes. Will, who’d already eaten, had another pancake with his father and watched the wrapped present like it would grow legs and walk away.

She sat next to Dylan while they ate, unable to stop touching him. They’d had several conversations about his job and the dangers he faced. She assured him she understood his need to help others, but his accident brought it home he could be hurt at any time. Life with him would never be boring and would require a lot of faith and trust in him. She was willing to give him both and so much more.

After the breakfast dishes were cleared, she sat down with Dylan and Will again. “Open your gift,” she told him with a sheepish grin.

He carefully ripped away the paper and saw the lid of a box. His face lit up when he pulled out the wooden box she’d made for him. He set it in front of him and leaned over to kiss her.

“It’s beautiful, Jess.”

“It’s made from oak. Strong, sturdy, enduring, like you.”

He smoothed his hands over the lid. It had a raised edge, but she’d sanded it smooth as glass.

“Open it. Open it. Look inside.” Will bounced on his seat next to his dad and pulled on his arm.

“Okay. Okay. Calm down.” He opened the lid, revealing multiple sections inside the box. Beyond amazed, he stared at Will’s name carved into the lid and above it, a perfect outline of his little hand. It appeared so lifelike he traced his fingers over Will’s carved print. Next to Will’s hand and name, Jessie included Hope’s name and a perfect carving of her footprint. He found himself tracing his fingertips over the impression of her tiny toes.

“Jessie, how did you do this?”

“I helped,” Will announced proudly.

“Yes, honey. You helped me a lot. I made an outline of Will’s hand and traced it onto the wood. Then, I carved it out to look like his real hand. Hope’s footprint I took from her footprint card the hospital made when she was born. That’s how tiny her little foot was with her little toes. I wish I had one of her hand. It would have been sweet to have both their hands. Will’s foot was too big for the cover. She had pretty hands,” Jessie said with a touch of sadness in her voice.

“It’s beautiful. I love it, Jess. Thank you.”

“There’s more. There’s more. See?” Will pointed inside the box.

“I see.” He smiled to his son and ruffled his hair. Nothing like a child’s excitement about opening gifts, even when they were for someone else.

One part of the sectioned-off box could hold several watches. Jessie had bought him a really nice stainless steel watch. “Wow, Jess. It’s got all the bells and whistles, perfect to wear all the time.” He pulled it off and noticed the morning was getting away from him. He had a lot planned and needed to get moving, so everything would run on time.

“It’s inscribed on the back,” Jessie said.

He turned the watch over and read the engraving.
We’ll never lose another second.

He didn’t know what to say. They had lost more time together. Again, because of his mother, and this time his father participated. That would all end tonight. He’d ensure no one kept her from him ever again.

He pulled her off her seat and between his legs. He took her mouth and held her face with the watch pressed between her cheek and his hand. Her breasts pressed against his bare chest and he wanted to take her upstairs and make love to her. He settled for kissing her socks off. He pulled away and rested his hand on her chest, feeling her heart thunder under his palm. “Never again. We’ll be together always.” He kissed her forehead, released her, and turned to his son. “And you, my little man. I love my presents. You’re the best.”

“Mommy helped me carve my name. She held my hand and the chisel and we did it together.”

“It’s perfect.”

“Mommy helped me spell my name.”

“You did a great job. Now, I have another job for you, and we need Mommy to cooperate with us by not asking lots of questions.”

“What are you up to? You’ve got mischief written all over your face,” she said, grinning.

“I have something special planned. Will you go out to the barn and, I don’t know, do something for a little while. I have to get a few things set up.”

She took his injured arm in her hands and kissed his swollen fingers again. “I’ll be in the barn. Do you want me to take Will?”

“No. He’s my accomplice.”

She laughed and his gut tightened at the lighthearted sound.

“I like seeing you like this,” she said. The bright smile on her face did his heart good after what his parents did and the night she spent in jail worried about him.

She cupped his face in her warm hands, kissed him quickly, and left him and Will to conspire against her.

Chapter Thirty-Six

J
ESSIE SMILED TO
herself, thinking of Dylan, his eyes dancing with mischief. He’d practically bounced on the balls of his feet when he sent her out to the barn. He didn’t say how long she had to stay here. Not that it mattered. She had a lot of things to work on and had even finished a couple pieces already. She decided to use the time to start on a new idea she had for a side table for a bed or sofa.

She ran the wood through the table saw, sawdust spewing out the bottom onto her shoes. She flipped the switch to turn the blade off and stepped back and right into Dylan. He’d showered and changed. She glanced at her watch, surprised she’d worked for a couple hours.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey, yourself. You did all this in two hours?”

“Did you think I’d just kick back and wait?”

“I didn’t think you’d build an entire table from scratch.”

“Well, see, there are still a few things you need to learn about me. I’m not good at doing nothing. Unless I want to,” she qualified.

He shook his head. “Come with me. I have something else I want you to do.”

“Are you kicking me off my property altogether?”

“No. I want you to go and get ready for something special. I have everything for you to wear upstairs.” He ushered her into the house and pushed her toward the stairs. “Do your hair and makeup. This is a very special occasion.”

People worked in her kitchen, wearing black slacks and white coats, fixing trays of food. “Caterers? What’s going on?”

“Just ignore them. You don’t see them, or anything else. Go upstairs and do yourself up all pretty.”

“Are you kidding me? What’s going on? Dinner isn’t for hours.”

“This is different. You’ll see.”

She took another look at the people milling around in her kitchen. Important enough for him to risk her wrath by ordering her around, Dylan swatted her on the butt and pointed his finger up the stairs. She headed up to do what he asked. She hated to disappoint him on his birthday. If he wanted her to fix herself up for something special, she’d go along.

She went into her room and found a garment bag hanging on the door to the bathroom. A shoebox sat on the floor. She opened the shoebox and gaped at the jeweled-strap high heels. They sparkled beautifully. She unzipped the garment bag and found a beautiful strapless white gown inside and gasped. “He didn’t.”

Excitement made her smile so big her cheeks hurt.

She came out of the bathroom a half hour later with her makeup done. She put her hair up on the sides and let the rest fall down her back in thick waves. A couple of crystal-encrusted combs held her hair up. They sparkled like stars in her dark hair. The simple but elegant style complemented the dress.

Time for the moment of truth, she slipped the dress from the hanger and tried it on, pleased to see it fit perfectly. The white dress fit tight across her breasts and dropped to her feet. Soft, see-through material mirrored the dress beneath and had small pearls and crystals sewn in randomly. She felt like a princess. Once the shoes were on and she studied herself in the mirror, she held back tears. The dress, the shoes, everything was perfect. She felt beautiful. She couldn’t wait to show Dylan.

She descended the stairs. Dylan and Will stood at the bottom. Both dressed in gray suits with red ties, absolutely handsome. She beamed a smile at them as they smiled up at her. She reached the bottom and they both kneeled in front of her holding up black velvet jewelry boxes. She caught her breath and held her hand over her gaping mouth. Beyond beautiful, Dylan had to swallow hard when he caught sight of her coming down the stairs. His cousins’ wives, Rain and Claire, picked out the perfect dress and shoes. He’d called in reinforcements last evening and begged for their help. They’d come through big-time, not only for him, but for Jessie. A beautiful bride, and from the look in her eyes, she felt it.

“Jessie Thompson, will you marry me and be my wife?” He opened the box and revealed the diamond ring he’d bought her weeks ago.

Will bounced on his feet beside him excited to finally have a real mom. Dylan felt his enthusiasm, too.

“Mommy,” Will began, “will you be my mommy?”

He opened his box just like Dylan showed him, revealing the necklace inside. Then, he looked to Dylan to make sure he’d said and done everything just right. Dylan brushed his hand over Will’s head, and Will smiled hugely at him and Jessie.

Her eyes glassed over, Jessie pressed her fisted hands to her chest to still her pounding heart. Her tough guy with a touch of poetry, he’d pulled off the best surprise.

“You said as soon as possible. This was the best I could do in about twelve hours.”

That cocky grin again. Staring down at him and Will, this was perfect. Everything she needed.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.” She ran her hand over his cheek and turned to Will. “Yes, I’ll be your mommy. Nothing would make me happier than for all of us to be a family.”

“Then come out back and let’s get married.” He stood and slid the ring onto her finger, kissing her knuckle to seal it in place. She held her hand in front of her and let the diamonds catch the light. He didn’t know what sparkled more: her eyes with delight, or the diamonds. He took the necklace from Will and went behind her and draped it on her neck and closed the clasp. His fingers caressed the soft skin at her shoulders. He turned her to him and touched each stone with his fingertip. “They’re Hope and Will’s birth stones, an amethyst for Hope and a peridot for Will.” The two round stones separated by a gold bead sparkled brightly.

“They’re lovely, and the sentiment means so much. You thought of everything.”

“I hope so. My brain wasn’t firing on all cylinders yesterday afternoon while I made phone calls. We’ll see how I did. Come with me.”

He took her hand and squeezed it to assure himself she was real. He’d dreamed of this day for a long time and wanted to savor every moment. He wanted to remember the smile on her lips and the surprise and wonder in her eyes.

“How did you get the ring and the necklace and the dress and, well, everything?” She glanced at the diamond on her hand again as he held it loosely in his grasp.

“The ring and necklace I’ve had for weeks. I waited for the right time to propose for real and make things official.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles again. “The rest was a lot of phone calls and help from family and friends.” He led her to the back door and showed her the small group of people gathered in the backyard on the patio.

John and Greg Langley were there, along with Andrea from her shop. James, her foreman, and his wife and daughters had come. Brian and Marilee and their little baby boy, Jesse, named for his aunt. The day he was born, Dylan accompanied Jessie to the hospital to see them and she’d cried and held her nephew, a huge smile on her face for her brother and his family and future, so bright now that he’d turned a corner.

Dylan invited Brody and Rain and their girls, Dawn and Autumn. Rain held their son, David, in her arms. Owen was here to take care of the paperwork. His wife Claire stood beside Owen, holding their son, Sean. Owen held his family close to his side.

He asked a couple of buddies from work, along with their wives. Lynn held a bouquet of red roses for Jessie to carry down the aisle. The preacher stood by to perform the ceremony. A photographer snapped pictures of everyone.

He didn’t invite his parents. They’d gone too far and forced him to push them out of his life. He hoped one day he’d find a way to forgive them for what they’d done. Today, he was marrying the only woman he’d ever loved. He’d have the happiness his parents had always wanted for him, even though their idea of his happiness differed from his own. Jessie and Will were everything he needed. As long as he had them, he would be happy the rest of his life.

“Claire and Rain got you the dress and shoes. Lynn picked up a bouquet of flowers for you. John and Greg have come to take you away if you don’t want to marry me. If you do, then they’re here to give us their blessing, and John will give you away.” He grinned down at her as Will held her hand on her other side. “I called the caterers. Claire made a cake for us to cut later, and we’ll have a quiet meal. Have I forgotten anything or anyone?”

“It’s perfect. If it were just the three of us and nothing else, it would be enough.” She looked down at Will, who looked up at her, and then to Dylan. “Shall we get married?”