Chapter Twenty-Three
Alan
I didn’t want to leave Jess and Ruthie. I could just imagine Kevin leering at Jess from across the dinner table or trying to play footsie with her or some shit.
That thought made me almost make a U-turn and head back to the farmhouse.
But what would I do once I got there? There was no way Jessica would challenge her parents and go to dinner with me.
She was too good a girl, and I’d be a dick to put her in a position where she felt like she was defying her mom and dad.
But I knew she had a feisty side hiding just below the surface, and I hoped I got to see it come out.
Before I knew it, I turned into the neighborhood of Craftsman homes where I was staying.
I loved that architectural style and filed away the idea to explore it with my next housing project.
I decided to see if there were any for sale while in Haven Springs that I could walk through for comparison purposes.
Adam’s Bronco was in his drive when I pulled into Brian’s garage next door. I appreciated Brian letting me stay at his place while I was in town. It was close to my brother, Lainey, and Conor—and now my parents, but I also had my own space.
Instead of going inside, I headed over to my brother’s. I was curious to see how Lainey was holding up. Adam had told me she’d been stressed about meeting our parents, despite his assurances they were going to love her and her son.
When I walked in through the garage door, my mom was sitting at the kitchen table with Conor in her lap and the biggest grin I’d ever seen on her face.
My dad was sitting right next to her making silly faces at the baby.
“I see you guys already have the grandparent-thing down,” I quipped.
“It must be genetic,” Lainey said as she wrapped her arm around Adam’s waist and looked up at him like he’d hung the moon.
My brother had come to Haven Springs to pay his respects to his fallen brother-in-arms, Shawn O’Brien. Shawn had been killed in the same firefight that had injured Adam. Then Adam ended up falling in love with Shawn’s girl, and the baby Shawn had never known about.
Conor might not be Adam’s biological son, but my brother had loved that little boy from Day One.
I hadn’t fully understood how that was possible until yesterday when I’d met Ruthie. Now it made sense.
~~~~
My mother insisted on sitting next to Conor at dinner so she could continue to dote on him.
To her credit, Lainey took it in stride. I think she was used to it; Shawn’s parents lived in Haven Springs and babysat as often as they were allowed.
“Dinner’s really good, Lain,” I said from the other end of the table.
“Yes, it’s so delicious. I can only imagine how fantastic your baked goods must be,” my mother chimed in. “I can’t wait to visit your bakery tomorrow.”
“Alan will be there, too,” Adam said with a smirk. “Apparently he’s working there, now.”
If my brother thought he was going to embarrass me, he couldn’t be more wrong. I’d been trying to think of a way to bring Jess and Ruthie into the conversation, and he just gave me the perfect opening.
“I’ve got the art of cinnamon roll frosting down pat,” I beamed. “If you come in tomorrow, you’ll get to meet Lainey’s newest employee, Jess, and her five-week-old daughter, Ruthie.”
“And I think Alan is in love,” Lainey said with her own smirk.
“With the woman or the baby?” my father asked with raised eyebrows.
I didn’t hesitate to look him in the eye when I replied, “Both.”
A tiny gasp escaped my mom as her fork clanged on her plate.
“You’re dating someone?” She looked over at my father and exclaimed, “I can’t believe it! We’re going to have two grandbabies!”
I threw my hands up in front of me. “Hold on there, Grandma Callahan. Jess and I aren’t dating yet. I’m just trying to get to know her better.”
“Then he’ll ask her out,” Adam said smugly before shoveling a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.
He’s not wrong.
So, I shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, then I’ll ask her out.” I caught Lainey frowning at me from across the table, so I added, “If Lainey says it’s okay.”
My mom snapped her attention to Lainey. “Why wouldn’t it be okay? I mean, I know I’m biased, but Alan’s a keeper.”
It was my turn to smugly grin as I mouthed “A keeper,” to Lainey.
There was no way she’d risk the wrath of my mom and discourage me from asking Jess out now.
Not that I’d cared in the first place. But I knew Jess would.
Now I just needed to figure out how to get Jessica’s parents on board.
I couldn’t believe I was even saying those words in my head. I was a freaking grown-ass man, not some seventeen-year-old kid trying to get his high school crush’s parents to say she could go out with him.
But I understood if I wanted to date Jessica, that was exactly what I was going to have to do.
****
Jessica
I showered quickly and gave serious consideration to pulling on what I’d normally wear to dinner—yoga pants and a t-shirt but decided I didn’t want my parents’ ire. Especially since Papa had specifically told me to “wear something pretty”.
As I put on another church-donated dress, I realized it was a lot easier to just keep the peace and do what I was told. Especially since they were all still convinced I was headed to hell and taking my daughter with me.
I didn’t think I was going to hell. Despite having Ruthie out of wedlock, I was still a good person and a good mom. Surely God knew what was in my heart.
Although, I hoped He didn’t know what was going on in my head because I’d had some rather sinful thoughts about Alan today.
Mama stood at the bottom of the stairs when I came down and took her time perusing my appearance from head to toe.
“You couldn’t have put on some lip gloss?” she asked as she tucked my hair behind my ears.
“Why would I do that? I’m about to eat.”
She let out a sigh as she shook her head, like I was a lost cause, then suggested, “Go tell your father and Kevin that dinner’s almost ready.”
Ugh. I knew Kevin’s gaze was going to go straight to my boobs the minute I appeared in the living room.
Still, I replied, “Okay,” and trudged toward where the men were watching the news.
“Mama said to tell you dinner’s ready,” I said as I peeked my head around the doorjamb. I’d hoped to make the announcement and retreat, but I had no such luck.
My father called out, “Jessica, come say hello to Kevin.”
I dutifully put on a polite smile as I walked into the living room. “Hello, Mr. Roberts. How are you?”
“I told you before, Jessica—call me Kevin. And I’m great.”
“I’m glad. Thank you again for driving me and Ruthie home yesterday.”
That oughta buy me some brownie points with Papa.
I noticed from the corner of my eye that my dad was smiling and took it as a good sign.
Then he said, “He wants to pick you up again, tomorrow.”
What?! No!
Alan is supposed to take me home tomorrow! Not him!
“Oh, you don’t have to go out of your way. Paulina said she could give me a ride.”
Yeah, I was lying my ass off, but I had a feeling that Alan driving me home had been a problem for my dad.
But I realized it wasn’t just Papa who had the problem with it when Kevin said, “I’m happy to do it. We don’t want to run the risk of another man bringing you home, again.”
Why do you care who brings me home?
Did they think because I was no longer pure, that I’d hump any man the second I was alone with him?
I mean… the thought had crossed my mind with Alan… but still! He was an exception they didn’t need to know about.
I wanted to argue, but knew it would be pointless, so I nodded and mumbled, “I should be off around four-thirty.”
As if that was settled, Papa clapped his hands together and exclaimed, “Let’s eat!”
~~~~
Mama seemed to purposefully set my drink in the seat next to Papa, so Kevin had no choice but to sit on the other side of me. Something I hoped my father appreciated when Kevin reached for my hand before leading another dinner prayer.
After we said our “Amens,” Kevin scooched his chair closer to the table and commented, “This looks delicious, Carol. I’m glad Jessica has learned from the best.”
My mother smiled and said, “Thank you,” as she reached for my father’s plate to fix. Her smile faltered, however, when Kevin continued.
“She gets her looks from her mother, too.” He turned toward me.
“That’s a good thing. My father always told me to check out the mother to make sure she’s going to age well.
” His grin made my skin crawl when he told my dad, “And Carol’s definitely aging well, ‘eh, Ed? Is she still nice and tight in all the right places?”
What. The. Hell?
I braced myself for Papa to leap out of his chair, grab Kevin by the collar, and throw him out on his ear.
But my dad just chuckled uncomfortably and asked, “How was work, Jess?”
I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about my day. “It was great. I made cinnamon rolls, scones, cookies, and brownies today, and even baked two pies.”
I purposefully omitted the cupcakes. That was a memory I didn’t want to share with anyone.
“That’s great,” Mama said. “You’ll be in charge of dessert from now on.”
Kevin slid a forkful of meatloaf in his mouth before talking. “I assume since you started your job, you can also work out. You should probably think about that; I’m sure being around all those baked goods isn’t going to help you lose that baby weight.”
While I’d been thinking the same thing, Mr. Roberts could stick it. He didn’t get an opinion about my weight.
But, taking my cues from my parents, I just laughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
The second I heard Ruthie’s cries from upstairs, I leapt to my feet and excused myself. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
I took my time nursing Ruthie, and oops! She spit up on me as I was burping her, so I had to change into comfy clothes before giving her a bath.
Darn.
I was really hoping Kevin would be gone by the time I got back downstairs to help Mama with the dishes.
Alas, no such luck.
I heard his voice coming from the living room and made a beeline toward the kitchen. It was spotless when I walked in, and Mama was standing at the sink, scouring the coffee pot.
“Hey, do you need help with anything?”
“No, I’m done. I just wanted to make sure everything’s ready for breakfast in the morning before going into the living room.”
Yeah, kinda like I’d wanted to make sure every inch of Ruthie had been cleaned, dried, lotioned, and powdered before coming downstairs.
“You don’t have to take me in the morning. I’ve got a ride.”
Mama stopped and looked up at me. “With who?”
“Alan said he could come get me.”
“No, I’ll take you. I’ve got to go into town, anyway.”
I knew if I argued, it’d raise her suspicions, so I shrugged like I didn’t care, even though I was secretly crushed.
“I just thought I’d save you the trip, but if you’re going into town anyway…”
What a letdown. I’d been so excited about those five minutes completely alone with Alan.
It shouldn’t even be that big a deal—we’d be alone at the bakery all day. But it wasn’t the same since anyone could—and did—walk in at any time.
What did I think was going to happen when we were alone in the car? It wasn’t like we were going to make out with Ruthie in the backseat.
“You should go see if Kevin or your dad need anything to drink.”
“Is he really coming to dinner on Saturday, too?”
“Yes. I thought it’d be a good chance for you to try out a new dinner recipe and maybe show off your baking skills for dessert.”
Okay, but did Mr. Roberts need to be here while I did that?
Then I remembered that his girls were at camp, and concluded the congregation was probably taking turns hosting him for dinner.
But we had plenty of parishioners. Why the heck did we get him for three nights?