Jarod's Heart (King Brothers Stories #2) (9 page)

She shook her head in the negative.

Again, he saw red.

Lauren, God bless her, drew the small plate up in front of Jessica and handed her a fork. “Then you better gobble up this mac ‘n’cheese before your nana gets her feelings hurt.”

“Nana?” she asked.

“That’s what I used to call my grandmother,” Camille said, wiping tears from her eyes but smiling nonetheless.

Jessica took the fork from Lauren and dug into her dish. She kept a death grip on the blanket, and when asked if she wanted to sit in her own chair, she refused to leave Jarod’s lap.

For now, he was okay with both.

While Jessica’s attention was on her food, James asked the question that was on everyone’s mind. “Where’s Miranda?”

“Died in a car wreck three days ago just outside of Vegas. It took them this long to determine that I’m her next of kin.” Jarod cleared his throat as his voice cracked. He would not break down in front of his family or his little girl.

Lauren continued to help Jessica with her meal, but he could feel her eyes on him. Then, ever so gently, he felt her rub his back between his shoulder blades, offering comfort.

Under normal circumstances, her affection would’ve irritated him, but tonight, it felt like a balm. Just knowing that she was here and the way she was carefully treating his frightened child reinforced the tender feelings he was beginning to have for her.

Camille sat next to James across the table from Jarod, watching Jessica with fascination. All of a sudden, she asked quietly, “I assume Jessica wasn’t in the car when it wrecked. Where has she been for the past three days?”

Jessica answered around a mouthful of pasta, “In my secret house.”

James looked at Jarod. “Secret house?”

But Jessica answered matter-of-factly, “Uh huh.” She took a drink of milk from her cup, with Lauren’s help.

Jarod explained, “Not all the details are in yet, but I’ve requested a copy of the full report from NHP and Vegas PD.”

Jessica whispered something to Lauren. Lauren smiled before they stood up. “I’ll take you, sweet pea.”

His little girl squirmed off his lap and took Lauren’s hand like they were best friends. Her departure left him feeling a little empty.

His mother watched them go in silence before she turned back to Jarod. “She has your eyes.” A tear slipped down her cheek.

Josh piped up proudly, “And mine and dad’s. There’s no denying that she’s a King.” He laughed at the double meaning.

The door to the mud room suddenly opened as Jason, Julie, and Charlie came through. Charlie made a beeline to Camille and hugged her tight.

“It smells like your macaroni and cheese in here. I’m starvin’!” He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek and headed to the stove.

“What’s going on?” Jason asked with a considering frown.

Josh stood up and hugged Jason. “You and I are
hunkles
!”

Jarod rolled his eyes but didn’t miss seeing the pride in Josh’s face.

“What are you talking about?” Jason asked, shoving Josh, who was now attempting to kiss Jason’s cheek.

Right on cue, Lauren and Jessica made their way back from the bathroom. Lauren had the pink hoodie draped over her arm, but Jessica still had her blanket clutched tightly against her chest. Her eyes widened, and she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of new people in the room.

“Holy shit,” Jason breathed.

Julie gasped and leaned into Jason. Neither of them took their surprised eyes off of Jessica.

Charlie stared while he continued to chew the enormous amount of macaroni and cheese he’d just shoveled into his mouth.

Ever the diplomat in these situations, Lauren said, “It’s all right, Jessie. They’re more of your family.” She smiled reassuringly at Jessica. “You’re a very lucky girl to have such a large family.”

Lauren’s statement tugged a bit at Jarod’s heart, but his attention was on Jessica as she wrapped her tiny arms around Lauren’s legs. Lauren picked her up and began the introductions.

“This is your Uncle Jason. He’s your daddy’s brother, just like Uncle Josh,” she explained.

Jarod caught Jessica’s eye and could feel her fear. Admittedly, they were all big men, but Jason was the biggest, covered in tattoos, and he could mean mug the most dangerous of men. Jarod quickly shoved his chair back and took Jessica into his arms.

Wanting her to feel comfortable again, he asked, “Are you ready to see some horses?”

Keeping the blanket close, she wrapped one of her tiny arms around his shoulder and nodded her head.

Lauren said, “Then let’s get your jacket back on,” and proceeded to do so without taking her out of Jarod’s arms, or relieving her of the blue blanket, something Jarod couldn’t have done without some major maneuvering.

Again, Lauren had come to his rescue. She asked Jarod directly, “Does she have a hat or gloves in her backpack?”

She didn’t. He’d have to take her shopping soon, which brought on a little bit of panic.
What do I know about little girls?

Letting Lauren see the answer in his expression, he hugged Jessica close and carried her out to the barn.

Jarod has a daughter!

Jarod was going to need a lot of help, and Lauren would be there for him, or else he’d completely muck things up. Heck, he hardly knew anything about women, let alone a female under the age of eighteen.

Jessica was so sweet that Lauren was already in love with the waif. Her blue eyes mirrored Jarod’s as if they’d been grown in a petri dish by a mad scientist. Her only resemblance to Miranda was in her hair and skin color, but there was no doubt in Lauren’s mind that Jessica was a little King.

How could she not love her already?

As Jarod and Jessica led the King family to the barn, Lauren decided that she would stay the night at the estate. It was cold, the temperature dropping quickly to freeze any leftover puddles from the day before. If anyone asked, she would just say that she didn’t want to take a chance of hitting black ice, but she was sure that no one would bat an eye, since Camille had already given her a room of her own. Besides, she wasn’t about to miss a thing now that Jessica was here. She seriously doubted anyone else would leave tonight, for the same reason. Knowing this family, everyone would want to learn all about Jessica’s life before coming here, the good and the bad.

That sweet pea was going to need a strong female influence to undo whatever damage Miranda had inflicted upon her. Lauren held no fantasies that Miranda had protected her daughter from her dangerous lifestyle, and she was extremely curious to know what a “secret house” was to a four-and-a-half-year-old child.

Jarod was speaking quietly to Jessica, who was getting excited about the old mare standing in the stall in front of them.

“Do you want to give her some of your apple?” he asked.

“Yes, please!”

He gently put her on the ground and handed her an apple slice. Then he carefully rolled up the sleeve of her oversized hoodie, so the mare wouldn’t accidentally get hold of it. Lauren studied his concentration and knew that he was afraid he might break Jessica’s delicate wrists.

With absolutely no fear, though, Jessica held her hand out to the mare, palm up, with the apple slice resting on the flat of her hand like Jarod had shown her. The old horse snuffled the fruit with a gentleness that surprised Lauren, and then took it out of the tiny hand that was holding it out for her to eat.

Jessica squealed with delight. She even dropped the old blanket she’d been clinging to. She clasped her hands together under her chin and did a little tap dance as the mare chewed up the apple slice.

Josh reached around Lauren to hand Jessica another piece of the fruit. Jessica took it with a big grin and held it out for the mare once again.

Jason had taken up position on the other side of Jarod. They were speaking quietly to each other; no doubt Jason needed to be caught up on the situation. Josh took advantage of their conversation and knelt down beside Jessica with a giant grin on his face.

Julie put her arm around Lauren’s shoulders. She was still shaking her head slowly from side to side in amazement. She gave Lauren a little squeeze and said, “I can’t believe it, Lauren. I just can’t believe it! Where did this little angel come from?”

“Jarod walked into the kitchen with her in his arms.” She met her best friend’s eyes. “You should’ve seen the look on his face when he announced to everyone that she was his daughter. He was so proud, Julie…and really pissed.”

“I bet. This little girl certainly is a mixed blessing. What happened to Miranda?”

Lauren quickly explained the circumstances. “He hasn’t said anything, but I have a feeling that there’s going to be a criminal investigation.” Lauren had worked with the sheriff’s department long enough to know that something didn’t add up with the car accident. She’d bet money that Miranda had been entangled in something terrible, and poor Jessica was probably going to be caught up in the middle.

“I just thank God for bringing Jessica to us and getting her out of that life.” Lauren hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

Julie hugged her again and whispered, “Amen.”

“I second that,” Camille said, as she and Charlie approached.

The women smiled at each other and continued to watch as Jessica fed the old mare the rest of the apple that her “hunkle” Josh had handed to her. He spoke quietly with her, and eventually picked her up in his arms so that she could pet the horse’s mane above the stall rail.

Lauren shared a smile with Julie, who rolled her eyes. “That man has a way with the ladies, that’s the God’s honest truth.”

In his typical fashion, Josh had won over the newest female in the room, and Lauren adored him for it. When he finally settled down with his own family, he would be an excellent husband and, by the looks of it, a natural at fatherhood. Lauren grinned wickedly to herself, wishing lots of little girls on Josh, payback for all the womanizing he’d done in his young life.

It was funny that all of the adults, even Charlie, had gathered around this one small child, watching her every move and smiling at everything she said and did. Lauren wondered how it would be with a baby.

Quickly blocking that picture out of her mind, she turned to retrieve the forgotten blanket on the ground. She didn’t want Jessica to miss it later if she needed it. It seemed to be the only item of comfort she’d been allowed to bring with her.

JAROD ALLOWED HIMSELF
to smile as Josh established his “hunkle” relationship with Jessica. Under normal circumstances, it would have annoyed him that his little brother so easily attracted the prettiest girl in the room, but there was nothing normal about this situation.

He’d feared a possible rejection from his family, but he should have known better. He’d come from people who valued family, helped the helpless, and believed that children were a treasure. The only proof he had that Jessica was really his was a birth certificate that belonged to a dead meth addict and the color of her eyes. But his family had accepted her, anyway.

Should I have genetic testing done?
Jarod wondered. Jason had asked him if he trusted that Jessica was biologically his daughter. Admittedly, he’d had his own doubts.

He watched his family interact with Jessica and saw only protectiveness and caring. He knew she’d been through hell in her short life. Why confuse her any more than she already was right now? Did it matter whose DNA was in her body? He already felt instinctively drawn to her, and he wanted her safe and happy. The thought of Jessica ending up in a situation like the Decatur boy turned his stomach. And, legally, she was his. Again, he looked around at his family and knew that she would find love here. His family had a way with taking in strays. Julie and Charlie were proof of that. Hell, as far as his parents were concerned, even Lauren was part of their family. She’d been accepted almost immediately after Josh had introduced her to their mom when they were freshmen…only as a friend, of course.