Jesse (3 page)

Focusing on what was important, she smoothed the hair out of her daughter's face and settled Lacy's cowgirl hat back on her head. “Are you ready to see Uncle Jimmy?”

“Can I have pie?”

The deep laughter echoing hers warmed her heart. “I think that can be arranged, sweetie. But first we need to thank Mr. Garahan for rescuing us.”

Lacy nodded and scooted across the seat following her. Danielle stood and scooped her daughter into her arms. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Lacy beat her to it. “Thanks for saving us.”

If she hadn't been watching him closely, Danielle would have missed the odd look in their rescuer's dark eyes. It was an emotion she hadn't seen in a man's eyes in a long while. Too nervous to put a name to the emotion or admit that a similar one was sweeping through her, she added her thanks.

“My pleasure, little lady,” he replied, touching the tip of his finger to Lacy's button nose. “It's part of the Cowboy Code to rescue damsels in distress.”

Gratitude filled her, but the look in Jesse's eyes haunted her, reminding her of the rift in her life and the gut-burning knowledge that Lacy's daddy had signed over his rights to be a part of Lacy's life along with the dissolution of their marriage. Deep down she knew why—he simply no longer cared about either one of them.

“What's a code?” Lacy asked.

Pushing his hat to the back of his head, he grinned. “It's like a law or rules that us cowboys have to follow.”

“Mommy gots rules—no stuffing frogs in my pockets.”

Their eyes met over Lacy's head. Danielle saw his facial muscles twitch and knew he wanted to smile, but he kept his expression serious for Lacy's sake.

He nodded. “Well, your mom's right, you don't want to squish 'em, do you?”

Lacy shook her head.

“I bet I have more rules to follow.”

“Why?”

“I'm bigger,” he said with a laugh.

Lacy frowned. “Tell me another one.”

He grinned at the little girl. “A cowboy should never shoot first—”

“Do you have a gun?” Lacy wiggled in her mother's arms trying to see if he did.

“Yes, ma'am,” he answered, his lips twitching. “I keep a shotgun under the front seat. Pleasure's been known to have wolves, coyotes, and snakes.”

Danielle's heart began to pound at the thought. Why hadn't she remembered that they were going to be living in the country and not the urban life she was used to?

“Did you shoot anybody today?”

Jesse laughed a full, rich sound that vibrated from deep within his impressive chest cavity. “Uh… no, ma'am. I only shoot to protect our herd.”

“Do you have buffalo?”

Watching the way her daughter lit up like a firefly at twilight as Jesse answered her, Danielle realized just how deeply the scars her ex's leaving would go. It was just a matter of time before Lacy would start coming home with tales of other kids' dads taking them places, showing them how to play ball or ride a horse. The list would be endless, and her guilt for having failed to save her marriage, thereby keeping Lacy's daddy as an active part of their little girl's life, would be soul deep.

“Don't you want to know the rest of the rule?”

Without thinking Danielle answered first, “Yes.”

His eyes twinkled as his beautifully sculpted lips slowly lifted into a smile that had her heart picking up the beat, pounding in her breast. He winked at her, and said, “Well, there are a couple of cowboy codes out there, but my grandfather was real partial to Gene Autry, so he had us memorize the list as kids: never hit a smaller man or take unfair advantage.”

Disappointment arrowed through her. “So you're saying that it's a Hollywood thing, this code?” She couldn't believe it; she'd thought it was something handed down from generation to generation.

“It was one we could relate to, having watched videos and DVDs of
The
Gene
Autry
Show
as kids.” Looking up into her eyes, he added, “We never met our great-grandfather, but he had a set of rules that was handed down to us. The list is similar. Not as well-known, but the heart of the list is the same.”

“If I don't shoot nobody, can I be a real cowgirl?” Lacy's gaze was riveted to Jesse's, waiting for his answer.

“Well there, little filly, you've already got the boots and hat, all you need is a horse.”

Her daughter giggled and bounced in Danielle's arms. “I wanna ride. Will you teach me… pretty please?”

He hesitated and she hoped her daughter wouldn't have a hard time when Lacy realized that they probably wouldn't be seeing their rescuer again. Ranchers were busy people and normally didn't have time during the middle of the day to visit. Once Danielle explained her situation to her uncle, she and Lacy would be busy too. The hard part would be convincing her uncle that she wouldn't let him take care of them indefinitely.

As if he'd read her mind or heard her unspoken thoughts, Jesse looked at her and rocked back on his boot heels. “Well now, that depends on your mother.”

Unexpected
. She looked down into Lacy's upturned face and wondered if she could trust this man with one of her daughter's dreams. “If you're offering to teach Lacy, we'd be obliged, but I don't have a lot of extra cash right now—”

His frown was fierce and Danielle wondered about the temper that might go along with it. The Irish were known for their hair-trigger tempers. Her ex had had one; would Jesse?

It simmered in his gaze, and he clenched and unclenched his hands before putting them in his pockets, as if needing to do something with them. Their eyes met and she sensed that Jesse had better control of his temper. Relief flowed through her.

“Lessons are free,” he said to Danielle. Turning to Lacy, he added, “I'd be happy to teach you, Miss Lacy.”

Lacy placed her hands on either side of her mother's face and turned Danielle's head until they were eye-to-eye. “Can I, Mommy, can I, can I?”

Danielle chuckled. “I don't see why not, but we don't have a horse, sweetie, or a car.”

Lacy slid one hand around her mother's neck and leaned the side of her little head against Danielle's. “Do you got horses in your herd?”

Jesse smiled. “We have horses, but our herd is made up of longhorns, beef cattle.”

Lacy's eyes grew wide. “Can I see 'em? Can we ride now?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “I've got to get on over to Dawson's and then on to Harrison's feed store to take care of business. From there I have to check your car and then I've got to get on back to the Circle G to help my brothers in the south pasture.”

Lacy's shoulders slumped and Danielle's heart ached for her. This was how it had always been with Lacy's father. She wanted to blast the man for raising her daughter's hopes but didn't have the chance because Lacy spoke up.

“Maybe tomorrow?”

He seemed to be thinking about it. “We usually finish our daytime chores around supper time. I might be able to squeeze in some time for a lesson before the evening chores.”

“OK,” Lacy said, before asking, “all right, Mommy?”

“We don't have a car right now, honey. Maybe another time.”

Jesse nodded. “Your car is probably just low on coolant, but how about if I come into town and pick you ladies up? I can give you a tour around the ranch and then show little Miss Lacy how to ride.” He tipped his hat forward and touched the brim. “If you ladies will excuse me, I've got to head on over to Dawson's.”

“Promise?” Lacy called out.

“Yes, ma'am!” he answered before getting into the truck and driving away.

Danielle and Lacy watched their rescuer drive away. When he was gone, Lacy patted the side of Danielle's face to get her attention. “Mommy, is it tomorrow yet?”

Danielle knew just how her daughter felt—as if someone had given them a shiny, red balloon and then let all of the air out of it. Sighing, she wished it was tomorrow already too, but knew that wishing and hoping didn't always get you what you need in life. She bent down and scooped Lacy into her arms, and finally looked at the building where Jesse had dropped them off. The weathered clapboard siding needed a fresh coat of paint and had her wondering if her uncle's business was doing well. She should have thought about that before making the long drive to Pleasure.

A niggling worry started to unsettle her stomach. It had been a long time since she'd spent a couple of summers here, when her parents were trying to sort out their marriage. Her uncle had kept her busy and given out hugs of encouragement while he taught her how to make pie.

Time had a way of passing by quickly. She hadn't seen him since she'd fallen hard and fast for that sweet-talking, bull-riding cowboy. Once the doctor had placed her newborn baby in her arms, everything else ceased to exist… ceased to matter. Lacy was her world. Maybe that was one of the reasons her ex had become distant; maybe she should have paid more attention to him.

“Mommy,” Lacy piped up. “I'm hungry.”

Danielle buried the worries and problems she could no longer do anything about deep, and focused her attention on the light of her life. “Why don't we go on in and say hello. I haven't seen my uncle in a long time,” she said. “And I know he'd love to meet you.”

“'Cause I'm 'cocious?”

“That's right, baby girl, you are precocious.”

“Mommy,” Lacy said again as they paused halfway up the steps, “what's 'cocious mean again?”

“Too smart for your own britches but cute as a bug,” a deep voice boomed from just inside the screen door.

Danielle smiled. “Uncle Jimmy!”

Her uncle opened the door wide, and swept the two of them into his beefy arms, hugging them both tight, until Lacy started squirming. “You're squishing me.”

He eased up on his hold and chuckled. “Sorry,” he said, setting them both back on their feet, “but I'm just plum tickled that my favorite niece stopped by and brought an itty-bitty cowgirl to visit me.”

Standing back and holding the door open wide, he ushered them inside. Danielle's gaze swept the room. Everything looked just the same and felt like home. “So,” she said slowly, “do you have any chocolate pie?”

Jimmy laughed and grinned down at them. “I might have baked one this morning and whipped up some cream to make it pretty… just like someone I know likes it, but I think introductions are in order first.”

Danielle gave herself a mental head slap. “Sorry, it's been a rough morning and a long trip.” Squatting down next to Lacy, she eased the hat from her little girl's head and smoothed the hair off her face. “Jimmy Sullivan, I'd like to introduce you to my darling daughter, Lacy Brockway.” Straightening up, holding Lacy by the hand, she smiled. “And this is your Uncle Jimmy.”

“Unca Jimmy, don't you 'member if you baked pie?”

“Uncle Jimmy's just teasing because he knows how much I love his chocolate pie.”

“My mommy bakes pies too.”

“I taught her the secret to my famous piecrust when she was just about your size.” He led them into the kitchen, settling them at the oak pedestal table while he opened cabinets, gathering plates, cups, and utensils. “I could teach you too.”

Lacy was watching Uncle Jimmy move around the sunny room like a baby bird, curious and hopeful that she'd be fed soon. “OK.” After a moment, her daughter couldn't contain her excitement. “Are you gonna feed us pie? Do you gots any other flavors 'cept chocolate?”

Jimmy looked over his shoulder at Danielle and the little girl perched on her lap and shook his head. “You sound just like your momma.” His sigh was heartfelt. “She was no bigger than a minute the first time I saw her.”

Lacy grabbed her mother's wrist and twisted it so she could see the watch Danielle always wore. Staring at the watch face, she wrinkled her nose and said, “Gosh, that's little.”

He agreed. “But pretty as a June bug.”

Her daughter giggled and settled against her, relaxing. Danielle's eyes filled and she had to blink the moisture away. She didn't want her uncle to suspect that all was not right with her world.

“I like bugs.”

“Wouldn't be any grandniece of mine if you didn't,” Jimmy said, walking over to the table with a pie in each hand. “Now then, ladies,” he rumbled, “time to decide if you want chocolate or cherry.”

Lacy looked from one dish to the other and then up at him. “Can't I have both?”

“A woman after my own heart,” he rumbled, setting the pies in the middle of the table. “How big a piece can you eat?”

Danielle grinned. “She can have a sliver of each.” When her uncle started slicing into the first pie, she added, “I'd like the same too, please.”

After he served up two plates of pie and poured out two glasses of milk, he sat down across from Danielle and crossed his arms in front of his broad chest. “I'm delighted to finally meet my grandniece, and I only have one question—what took you so long?”

Danielle had called every couple of months and sent pictures in between those phone conversations, but it wasn't the same as visiting. “We were just so busy.” That sounded like a lame excuse, but it was all she had to offer without telling her uncle about the whirlwind romance, the unplanned pregnancy, and the devastating divorce. Their eyes met and she realized she didn't have to explain anything after all.

“I knew it would take some time before you came on out for a visit. Times are lean and you were so wrapped up in being a new mother that you weren't thinking about much else, let alone your crusty old uncle.”

Danielle blinked back tears for the second time in the last half hour. “You are not crusty and I was so busy, I couldn't see straight. I'm sorry.”

He just smiled and shook his head. “New parents are supposed to be caught up with their little ones. Don't you worry none, June bug. I figured I'd see you sooner or later, and until I did, we had our talks on the phone and I had the pictures you sent.”

Screwing her courage up, she met her uncle's gaze and confessed, “Buddy left us.”

He nodded. “Not surprising. That young man's first love was and will always be the rodeo. She's a tough mistress.”

“I know.” Her ex was like a shooting star. Blazing hot and glorious while he was in her life. Now that he'd moved on, only a trace of him was left behind—their beautiful daughter. And for that she'd be forever grateful. “It's hard.”

While they ate, she wondered where she would go from here. What would lie ahead for her and little Lacy? She had no intention of living off of her uncle; she needed a job. Time to tell him, before he started making his own plans; her uncle had a way of taking over.

Danielle wiped Lacy's mouth with a paper napkin. “I've really missed you and your pie, Uncle Jimmy.”

“I liked the chocolate best,” Lacy confided as she reached for her milk.

He was smiling when he said, “Nothing I like better than feeding people who appreciate good food.”

While he and Lacy chatted, she wracked her brain but couldn't think of a way to casually ask about finding work. Better just to ask and get right to the heart of the matter. “So, I understand there's a lot of work in town if you're a rancher.”

Jimmy nodded. “We have a number of ranches on the outskirts of town. Beef cattle mostly, but some raise horses too.”

“But what about other jobs?”

Looking from Danielle to her daughter, her uncle sighed. “You just arrived.” He frowned at her. “Are you going to be difficult?” She shrugged and he sighed loudly. “Times are a bit lean right now, but I could ask around, introduce you to folks you haven't seen in a decade.”

Danielle smiled. “Thanks, Uncle Jimmy.”

He pushed his chair back to stand. “No arguments now, but you and little June bug are staying with me.”

“Just until we get on our feet.” Danielle hugged her baby girl to her heart.

“We'll see,” was her uncle's cryptic reply. “Come on, ladies, I'll give you the grand tour of Sullivan's.”

While Uncle Jimmy led them through the kitchen to the front of his diner, Danielle wondered if he'd heard the scuttlebutt about her ex and how well he'd been doing since their divorce. With her mind on other things, she didn't hear Lacy talking until her daughter tugged on her hand.

“Mommy!”

“I'm sorry, sweetie, I was letting my mind wander.”

“You two ladies must be tired. I can show you around later.”

“No, it's fine, Uncle Jimmy.” Danielle reached for Lacy's hand. “We'd love to see the rest of the diner.”

He stared at her, and for a moment, she thought he'd argue, but something in her gaze must have convinced him she was on the level with him. “Follow me.”

They walked through the swinging doors to the main dining room, and there it was, just as she remembered—the etching on the plate glass window facing the street. “I know you told me the last time I spent the summer with you, but how old is that window?”

Jimmy smiled. “'Bout seventy or eighty years old. That's the first thing I saw when I pulled up out front—the etched glass. Had to have the place; didn't know what I'd turn it into, but I had a couple of ideas.”

Lacy looked from her mother to Uncle Jimmy and scrunched her nose. “That's really old!”

They both laughed at the innocence of youth. “Yes, it is, little lady.”

Letting her glance sweep the room, Danielle noticed the oak tables, set in various groupings of two, four, and six. Right in the middle of every table was a glass bottle filled with colorful flowers. “I love the wildflowers in the mismatched jars.”

“Hobby of mine, collecting old condiment jars. Some are clear, brown, blue, or green. I like 'em all.” He shook his head. “It's a lot of work, though, cutting all those damned flowers and changing them in and out of those jars every couple of days.”

Lacy tugged on her mother's hand until Danielle bent down. She cupped her hands around her mother's ear and whispered, “Unca Jimmy just said a bad word.”

Danielle smiled and said, “Yes, he did, sweetie.”

“Sorry.” He shook his head. “I'm not used to little ones. I'll have to pay better attention.”

“S'OK, but you'd better 'member. Mommy's strict about bad words.”

Her uncle didn't laugh at her daughter, and she remembered that he had never laughed at her—he'd laughed with her plenty of times, but never at her. Just one item on the long list of reasons she loved her uncle and had always felt welcome here.

“Can I see upstairs?”

Her uncle hesitated. “It's mighty hot up there today, maybe we can come back later tonight when the sun's gone down for the night or first thing tomorrow.”

Lacy followed behind her mother like a little puppy, stopping where she stopped, touching what Danielle touched. She was proud that her little one mimicked the way she did things, knowing that she was setting an example that Lacy should and would follow.

“We're not sleeping here?”

Jimmy shook his head. “Not in the diner. I've got a house just outside of town, on a nice quiet dead-end street. No streetlights, so you can see every single star that'll be shining high in the Texas sky come evening time.”

Lacy hung on every word and Danielle's heart filled with admiration for her uncle. He always knew just what to say and how to say it so people—the tall and the small—relaxed in his company. It was his gift.

Thinking of his way with people, she looked down at her watch and wondered where all of his customers were. “How come there are no customers?”

He shrugged. “Afternoons are real slow in town, but things pick up later in the week. I'm mostly busy with the breakfast crowd these days, so I close up right around three o'clock every day.”

“So you're OK then? The diner's doing well?”

He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and pressed his lips to her forehead, then did the same with Lacy. “I'm fine and the diner's doing better than good. You can stop worrying about your old uncle now.”

Relief filled her, tangling with the raw feelings roiling inside of her for having to leave the town she'd spent the whole of her married life in. She needed to recharge, but now wasn't the time. She had her daughter to think of first. At least Lacy had one parent who cared.

Setting those dangerous thoughts aside, she smiled up at Uncle Jimmy. “I'm glad; it's a full-time job just worrying about Lacy, let alone my favorite uncle.”

“I'm just about finished up here. I need to straighten out the kitchen and make sure I have everything I need for the breakfast crowd.”

“Can I help?” Danielle asked.

He nodded. “Of course, just like always.”

She smiled when Lacy cried, “Me too!”

Uncle Jimmy's booming laughter filled a part of the void inside of her.
It
is
going
to
be
all
right.
She let Lacy pull her toward the kitchen.