Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-two
Alice
The second Jesse buckled into the passenger seat of my car, he hit me with a request. “Can we stop by my mom’s house? I need a couple things from my room I forgot to pack.”
My hands froze midair on their way to the steering wheel.
I hadn’t expected that, and I didn’t quite know how to respond.
Since Caleb had picked him up in the middle of the night more than a week ago, Jesse had only seen Shelby once for dinner.
The rest of their contact had been short phone calls.
He wasn’t ready to stay overnight at her place, and thankfully, she hadn’t pushed.
“I should run that by your dad,” I finally replied. “One second.”
I pulled out my phone and called Caleb. It rang and rang, but he didn’t pick up. I knew he was busy, and sometimes his phone was out of range at far corners of the ranch, but I tried one more time before giving up.
“I think he’s still really busy from the storm,” I told Jesse.
He pressed his hands together under his chin. “Please, Alice? I have to have my robotics binder. Sunny and I need to do some planning for next year, and I can’t unless I have my binder. I swear, it’ll only take a second.”
Unease prickled the back of my neck, but it was difficult to turn him down. I didn’t think Caleb would have a problem with Jesse stopping by his mom’s house, but I wasn’t sure I should have been making those kinds of decisions without running them by him first.
If it was only for a second, though, what could be the harm?
“Okay.” I sighed, still unsure I was making the right move. “Let’s make it quick. We still have to stop by the Grocery Barn.”
“Yes.” He pumped his fist. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. You’re the best, and I promise to be fast.”
Jesse seemed as jittery as I was on the drive to his mom’s house. His knees were bouncing, and he chattered nonstop.
“Hey, do you know what I heard?”
I glanced at him. “Tell me.”
“There’s a professor at Savage U who teaches a class on Shadow of the Isle. Did you take it when you went there?”
“No, sadly I didn’t.” I flipped on my blinker before turning down Shelby’s road. “That’s the one thing I regret about college. Professor Astor’s class filled up so fast I was never able to sign up for it.”
“If I go there, I’m definitely taking that class.” He crinkled his nose. “I mean, if he’s still alive. He’s got to be pretty old.”
I laughed. “I don’t think he’s that old. I’m pretty sure he’s younger than your grandparents.”
“Yeah…well, they’re kind of old.” He perked up when his house came into view. “We’re here.”
“We are.” I pulled up to the curb, my gut churning. “In and out, right?”
“Right.” He put his hand on the door handle but didn’t get out. “Hey…um, do you think you could come in with me? I know it might be weird, but—”
I squeezed his shoulder. “Of course I will.” I was almost certain Caleb would prefer it, even though he would never ask it of me. I was more than willing to be uncomfortable if it meant making sure Jesse was okay.
Jesse led the way to the front door, which swung open before we got there. Shelby stood in the doorway, drinking in the sight of her son like she had been parched for ages.
“Hi, Mom.”
She reached out and ruffled his hair. “Hey, Jess. This is unexpected.”
He shuffled his feet on the porch, his hands deep in his pockets. “I need some stuff from my room. Alice drove me here from the library.”
Shelby’s gaze jerked toward me, and she smiled stiffly. “That was nice of her.” Then she moved to the side. “Go ahead and grab what you need.”
Jesse darted by her, leaving us standing there in tense silence. I searched for something to say, but I didn’t really know Shelby, and I couldn’t think of anything besides commenting on the weather.
Thankfully, Shelby swept her arm out. “Well, come in. I know my son. He’s never been fast in his life.”
I stepped into her house and immediately got tangled up in a pile of bags inside the door. As I braced myself to eat the floor, Shelby caught my arms, keeping me upright.
“Oh shoot, I’m so sorry.” She made sure I was steady before letting go. “My house isn’t usually such a mess. This is the last of his shit. He’s supposed to be picking it up soon, but I don’t know when ‘soon’ is.”
Shelby glared at the bags, like they’d personally affronted her.
I guessed in a way they had. Kent’s stuff lingering meant he still had a connection to her, and Jesse wouldn’t feel comfortable returning.
I didn’t know what I would have done in her shoes, so I certainly couldn’t blame her.
At least she was trying to set things right.
When she looked up at me, I offered her a tight smile.
“Your house is really cute.” I looked around her tidy living room. Everything was cream or brown, but her walls exploded with color. “Your art is fantastic. The piece above your sofa is gorgeous.”
“Isn’t it? Would you believe I found it at a yard sale?”
I gasped. “Wow. The most luck I’ve had at yard sales is my collection of vintage Harlequin Romances.”
She barked a laugh. “Oh man. My mother used to read those. The covers, shoo.” She fanned her face with her hand.
“They don’t make them like they used to, that’s for sure.” I tucked my hands in the pockets of my cardigan. “Though we do have a pretty nice selection at the library.”
“Yeah?” Shelby ran her hand over her ponytail. “I should stop in. It’s been a while since I’ve read a good romance.”
“You should,” I agreed.
Silence beat down on us again. Shelby yelled for Jesse to hurry it up, and he hollered he was almost done. Then she turned back to me, offering a smile that didn’t quite ring true—especially not when she was wringing her hands and shifting back and forth on her feet.
“I’m really embarrassed,” she said, barely above a whisper. “You must think I’m a terrible mother.”
“I don’t think that at all.”
She huffed and looked away. “Well, I do. If Caleb hadn’t shown up here that night and knocked some sense into me, I can’t honestly tell you I would have kicked Kent out. I’m just…tired of being alone, and I guess having him seemed like a better option than no one. What kind of mother thinks that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ve never been a mother. But Jesse is wonderful, and he didn’t get that way by accident.”
She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes.
“He’s got the Kellys, you know? I mean, I think he’s happy when he’s here, but he can’t wait to get back to the ranch.
Who wouldn’t want that? All that land, the big house, the family.
I can’t compete.” She held up her hand to stop me from speaking, though I wasn’t sure what to say anyway.
“I know it’s not a competition. I know that.
But sometimes it’s hard not to feel that way. ”
Thank goodness for Jesse. He came skidding down the hallway, a big duffel bag flung over his shoulder.
“Okay, I’m ready. I think I have everything.”
Shelby held out her arms. “Come here, baby. I haven’t gotten enough hugs from you lately. It sucks.”
The corners of his mouth trembled as he went to his mom, dropping his bag at their feet.
She reeled him in, and he let her, his cheek on her shoulder.
Her sigh of relief when he was in her arms made my chest ache, and Jesse’s expression of contentment sent me on a Tilt-A-Whirl.
If I ever doubted Shelby, it had been laid to rest. She’d made a mistake, but she loved her son.
I had faith she’d do all she could to get him back.
He pulled away first, his hands going to his hips. “I almost forgot. Tomorrow’s trash day. I have to take the can out to the curb.”
Shelby raked her hand down the back of his head. “You don’t need to do that. I can handle it.”
He shook his head firmly. “No way. That’s my job. I’ll take care of it.” Then he disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later, he was heading out to the garage, the bag of trash over his shoulder.
I raised a brow at Shelby. “That’s a boy who adores his mother.”
“Yeah.” She exhaled slowly, some of the tightness in her shoulders easing. “Thanks for being cool, Alice. I should have known you would be. Caleb’s been single for most of Jesse’s life. He wouldn’t bring in anyone who’d make a mess of things.”
Once again, I was stumped for a response. But Shelby was a talker, so she continued without me needing to say a word.
“I guess Caleb finding you gives me hope. I mean, you’ve been in town for years, right under his nose.
Maybe there’s some decent guy around here I’ve never noticed.
” Then she groaned. “Well, I’m not going to think about that now.
My most recent ex’s things are still by my door.
Let me get done with one mess before I dive into another. ”
I let out an uncomfortable laugh. “That’s probably a good idea.”
A loud bang, quickly followed by the shriek of tires, made us both jump. Shelby and I froze for a beat, eyes darting to each other, then we ran for the front window.
A dark car fishtailed down the street, its engine roaring, smoke curling up from the tires. I didn’t quite understand what I was seeing, but my stomach dropped to the floor.
“Jesse,” Shelby cried.
I craned my neck, desperate for a glimpse of him. The overturned trash can lay on its side in the driveway, its contents spilling into the street. But Jesse wasn’t there.
Oh god.
“Kent!” Shelby’s voice cracked then rose into a furious snarl. “That son of a bitch.” She spun on her heel and tore for the door, her face twisted in rage.
“Shelby, wait. Was that Kent’s car? Did he take Jesse?” I scrambled after her. “We have to call the police…Caleb…”
She wasn’t listening. She was already fumbling her keys from her pocket, throwing herself into the driver’s seat of her car.
Panic clutched me. I didn’t know what the right move was. If I let her leave alone, who knew what she’d do? She was in such a state, she might drive right off the road, and I’d never be able to live with myself.
I yanked open the passenger door and slid in beside her. “I’m coming with you.”
The engine roared to life. Shelby’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel, her jaw set like iron.
“Hang on tight,” she growled.
This time, the squealing tires were hers as she peeled out after Kent.