Last First Kiss (22 page)

“
Alyssa’s father was my brother, David,” Gwen told her. “He and his wife were killed in a boating accident six years ago and I’ve raised her since then. I’m her aunt, even though she calls me mom. She doesn’t remember her parents.”

Giselle felt the heat of a shameful blush as she stammered her apology. “I’m sorry...I didn’t know. Is there someone to help you?”

Gwen shrugged. “My father died when I was in grade school, and my mom passed away from cancer three years ago. I’ve never been married. I was engaged at the time of the accident, but my fiancé said he didn’t want to raise another couple’s child. That was that,” she said.

“
Has it been rough for you and Alyssa?” Jackson asked.

“
I do okay. I work as an accountant at the Kenton Hospital. The pay isn’t great, but at least I’m home at a decent hour for Alyssa.” She turned to Giselle. “You know how it is. I wish I could be home for her more...Do better for her.”

Giselle watched as Jackson reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“
Maybe you will one day,” he said.

Giselle stared at him as he spoke, feeling an unaccustomed pain in the pit of her stomach. Gwen was gorgeous...fair complexioned, hair a shade or two shy of black, with blue eyes the same color as Jackson and Bill’s. She was around her own height, but voluptuously curved. Within minutes, she knew Gwen was thirty-nine years old, and dreaded her fortieth birthday on October 16th.

“
That’s my birthday,” Carrie exclaimed. “Why are you dreading it?”

“
I figured by the time I turned forty years old, I’d have a husband and a couple of kids of my own. Don’t get me wrong, I love Alyssa as if she’s my own daughter, but I didn’t get to experience childbirth. I feel like I’m running out of time.”

“
You’re still young,” Carrie insisted. “There are plenty of good men out there who wouldn’t mind starting a family of their own.”

“
Not in my experience,” Gwen confessed. “The few guys I’ve dated don’t seem thrilled when they find out about Alyssa, and she has to come first right now.”

Giselle’s heart plummeted at Carrie’s next comment, spoken as she faced Jackson.

“
You’d be surprised at the methods God uses to bring two people together.”

“
This food is wonderful, isn’t it?” Giselle said, a little too forcefully. Carrie’s blatant attempt at matchmaking hadn’t gone unnoticed, and it certainly wasn’t appreciated...not by her, anyway.

“
It sure is. Who’d you hire to cater?” Sam asked Bill.

“
A business that does all of our oil company’s parties. They’re used to serving large numbers of guests, so this was easy for them.”

Jackson sneezed into his napkin, turned his head and sneezed again. “Excuse me...must be allergies.”

Carrie grinned. “You’re probably getting Ava’s cold. I heard how you let her kiss on you at the ballpark yesterday. That child is shamelessly rotten.”

“
I told Lauren to tell Bryan he’s been replaced.”

Carrie grinned at Jackson. “You obviously haven’t seen her with her daddy yet.”

“
I bet she has Bryan wrapped, with that curly hair and those big brown eyes,” he commented.

“
Are you talking about that adorable Shirley Temple look alike running around here?” Gwen asked.

“
That would be Ava Grace, our granddaughter,” Sam answered. “She’s only one of seven grandchildren.”

Just then two of them picked that moment to make an appearance. Emmelia ran up with Allie and Lexie. “Can we go on the boats now? Is it time yet?” Emmelia asked excitedly.

“
I want to see the little mini horses!” Allie said, jumping up and down.

“
I want to see the piggy goats!” Lexie said.

“
What’s a piggy goat?” Emmelia asked.

The adults laughed before Bill explained again about the animals. “Pygmy goats are goats that stay small. I’ll tell you what kids, give me five minutes to finish eating, and then we’ll start showing everybody the animals.”

“
Okay,” Lexie said, before the three of them ran off.

“
I didn’t know there were animals like that on this place,” Gwen said. “Who owns this ranch?”

“
That’d be me,” Bill said to her.

“
Cattle or horses?” she asked.

“
A little of both,” he answered. “Do you ride?”

“
Not in years, but I used to practically live on a horse.”

“
I never would have thought that by looking at you,” Jackson said. “You don’t seem like that type of girl.”

“
Afraid I am,” she said, flashing him a dimpled grin.

“
It’s been awhile for me, too,” he said, smiling back.

“
Don’t let him fool you,” Bill said. “He’s a natural horseman, and you don’t forget that.”

“
No, if you want to see a natural on a horse, it’s that man right there,” Jackson told her as he pointed to his uncle.

“
Did you teach your son everything he knows?” Gwen asked.

“
Jackson’s my nephew, my brother’s son. But yes, I did teach him everything I knew,” he said, wiping his mouth on a napkin. “About riding, anyway.”

“
My goodness, you two look enough alike to be father and son,” she said, catching everyone’s grins. “But, I guess you’ve heard that before.”

“
Jamison was two years older but we looked a lot alike.” Bill jerked his head toward Jackson. “
Our
story is similar to yours and Alyssa’s. Jackson’s parents were killed in a car accident a couple of months before his fifth birthday; I’ve thought of him as a son for thirty-three years.”

“
How old were you at the time?”

“
I was twenty-four.”

“
But, that would make you fifty-seven years old.” Gwen shook her head in disbelief. “There’s no way you could be that age—I thought you were in your mid forties.”

Bill’s face spread in a pleased smile, as he got up from the table. “Looks like we have a lot in common,” he said, sounding pleased with himself. “How about we go find those girls, along with your Alyssa, and show them some animals?”

“
I’d love to,” she said as Bill helped her up from the table. They walked away, engrossed in conversation, their eyes glued to one another.

The four remaining adults watched them walk away.

“
Well, how about that?” Carrie asked. “Looks like you didn’t move quick enough, Jackson. I guess old Bill didn’t teach you everything he knew.”

“
You think?” Jackson asked smugly. “He taught me how to use reverse psychology. I brought her here for him,” he said with a wink and a grin.

“
Have I told you lately how brilliant you are?” she gushed.

“
It’s been awhile,” he sighed. “You’ve been slacking lately.” He stood up from the table.

“
Well, let me say now, that was
brilliantly
played out.”

“
Thank you very much,” he said, bowing at the waist.

The four of them paired off for the walk to the barn, Carrie and Sam taking up the rear behind Giselle and Jackson.

“
Gwen and Bill seem to have a lot in common, don’t they?” Giselle said.

“
Yes, they do.”

“
How long have you known her?”

“
I only met her today.”

“
Really?” she said, unable to hide the surprise from her tone. “The way you two were talking, I thought...You seemed so relaxed with her.”

“
Only because she allows it,” he answered coldly, as he veered off in the direction of Bill’s rambling, ranch style home.

Giselle watched him stalk off, as Carrie and Sam caught up.

“
Where’s he going?” Sam asked.

“
I don’t know,” Giselle said, looking after him curiously.

<><><>

Jackson trudged over to Bill’s house, muttering and cursing inwardly the entire way. “What the hell does that woman want from me?” he said, his voice tight with anger. “Why is it okay for
her
to initiate a conversation with me, but when I try it, she treats me like I’m a pariah?” His heart ached at the sight of her, but it had taken a beating and he was damned tired of being her whipping boy.
Didn’t I put up with enough crap from Chloe for fifteen years? How much longer do I have to wait to find some happiness of my own?

Jackson grabbed a bottle of tea from his uncle’s fridge and stood there until he’d downed the entire thing. Once he’d cooled off a few minutes, he walked out of the house, more determined than ever to avoid her.

He walked over to the barn where everyone had gathered to watch and pet the miniature animals raised on Bill’s ranch. He walked over to where his uncle and Gwen each held bridles of a pair of Shetland Ponies attached to two carts. The younger children lined up for the cart rides while the older ones pet the tiny pygmy goats and horses, well supervised by various friends or employees of Bill. He’d also rounded up the new calves and foals, placed them in two portable holding pens, to separate them from their mothers.

“
Uncle Bill, where do you need me most?”

“
You go on in with the calves or foals right now, Jackson. Bring a few people in at a time so that the animals don’t get spooked. We need to get this part of it done quickly so they don’t miss their feeding times with their mamas.”

Jackson walked over to where Lauren and Bryan stood with Gage and Ava. “Hey, Ava,” he told the child who was firmly attached to her daddy’s hip. “You remember me?”

Ava looked at Bryan. “Das Jackson, Daddy!” she crowed.

Bryan nodded at his daughter. “Uh huh, I heard how you gave him all those kisses yesterday at the ball park. That’s not cool, baby girl...Not cool at all,” he groaned, as Jackson and Lauren laughed.

Jackson looked down at Gage, Ava’s big brother. “Gage, do you want to go in and pet the horses or the calves?” he asked.

“
I want to see both,” he told him.

“
Let’s go in with the horses first.” Jackson placed a hand on the post, jumped, and easily cleared the tubular fencing of the pen. Gage scrambled under it, as Jackson reached over to get Ava from Bryan. The child reached out to him and he brought her over inside the fence and placed her on his hip. He walked over to one of the more docile foals with the two children, gave Gage a sugar cube, and showed him how to feed the horse.

“
Did you see, Mom? He licked it off my hand!” Gage said.

“
Yeah, I took a picture of it, too,” Lauren told him.

“
Ava, you want to feed the horse?” Jackson asked her.

“
No!” she cried, pulling herself away as he neared the animal. “I want Daddy!”

Jackson pretended to pull a dagger from his heart. “Aw, and here I thought I’d replaced that old daddy,” he said as the child reached for a grinning Bryan. “Y’all come on in, so I can get a good picture of you both with this fickle child.”

When Ava was once again happily ensconced in her father’s arms, she looked at Jackson and pointed to Bryan. “Das my Daddy!” Then she grabbed Bryan’s face in her chubby hands and planted a kiss firmly on his mouth.

“
Yes, I see that,” Jackson said, his chuckle rumbling deep in his chest. “Maw Maw Carrie was right again.” He used Lauren’s camera to take several shots of the family feeding the animals.

He turned as Giselle walked up with Mac and Lexie. When the two girls joined Jackson inside the pen, their mom stayed put to take some photographs of them together. He squatted between Mac and Lexie, right next to the foal while Giselle took several shots of different poses. She thanked him politely as she helped her girls climb out of the pen.

“
You’re welcome,” he said simply, and turned away to assist a beautiful dark haired child with bright blue eyes and a pixie grin. “Hello there.”

“
My Mom told me to come ask you to show me the foals and calves,” the little girl said shyly.

“
Is your name Alyssa?”

She nodded and grinned.

“
It’s nice to meet you Alyssa. I’m Jackson. Have you met Bill, yet?” He pointed over at the man in question.

She nodded and smiled, revealing a gap where she’d recently lost a bottom tooth. “He’s nice...I like Bill.”

“
Bill is my Uncle, did you know that?” he asked her.

“
No, but I do now. It’s nice to meet you.”