Chapter 5
Chapter Five
August
Hey, Jewel, hear you're back in town. So weird because I am too. Let's talk? —Chase
Jewel stared at the message and sighed. He hadn't forgotten her. She's slipped her phone into her back pocket and reached for another box of clothes in the back of her truck.
Dad and Gemma were at the clinic, and Destini was staying in Houston with her cousins for a few weeks to finish up her job as NASA camp counselor. To say she wasn't thrilled with the move away from NASA was an understatement, but she'd get over it.
Eventually.
Jewel stared at the old farmhouse as she strode up the sidewalk. The Texas late summer sun beat down on her head, hair escaping her high bun and curls clinging to her temples with sweat.
The screen door slammed behind her, and her sneakers echoed softly as she strode down the hallway to the same old bedroom from her childhood. She dropped the box on the full bed and sank onto it, wiping her forehead.
Unloading her truck shouldn't be this difficult. She shouldn't be so tired after only an hour of physical work. But this was why she'd moved back home after all these years, wasn't it? She needed support and couldn't physically keep going the way she had been before, no matter how much stronger she was now compared to six months ago.
Lyme disease was a bitch some days, but she just needed to find a new normal, a new baseline so she could get better. That meant moving back home after fifteen years to take advantage of the help her family had always offered, and she'd denied.
The squeak of the front door had Jewel glancing up and blinking past the fatigue.
"Jewel, you home?" Gemma called.
She sighed and strode through the bedroom door, down the hall, and to the kitchen table. Gemma sorted through the mail and glanced up with a smile. It was always like looking in a mirror, except Gemma's hair was more strawberry blond than Jewel's lighter blonde.
Yet they had the same blue eyes, button nose, and wide smile as every other woman in their family. Part of the reason Jewel had stayed away was because Gemma reminded her so much of their mom.
"There you are," Gemma said, glancing back down at the mail as she sorted. "Do you want help unloading the rest of the boxes?"
"No, I'll get it. I just kept stopping to clean up my room."
Gemma winced and tossed most of the mail in the trash. "Sorry it was a mess in there. If I'd known, I would've had someone come out and deep clean it."
Jewel waved a hand. "It's fine. A month isn't that much time to make adjustments, and I'm grateful you and Dad have room for us while we look for a new place."
Gemma peered at her, forehead wrinkling as she frowned. "How are you feeling today? I can totally get the rest of the boxes if?—"
"I'm fine, Sis. Well, I will be anyway. Just going to take me more time than it normally would. Inflammation is the worst part, and the doc is testing some things to help reduce that."
Gemma nodded and turned to the kitchen. "As long as you don't keep trying to do it all yourself and actually ask for help. Dad will be home in about an hour. Do you want to finish unpacking while I make dinner?"
Jewel sighed and turned to the front door. "Sure, I'll see how far I can get."
The truck wasn't even half unloaded by the time dinner was ready and their dad came home. But she'd unboxed most of her clothes into her old dresser, so she still counted it as a win.
"Jewel, Dad, dinner's ready!" Gemma called. Jewel kicked off her sneakers and padded softly down the hall in her socks.
They sat at the same spots as usual, her mom's seat still empty, the pile of mail in front of it on the table. Gemma sat a casserole in the center of the table, and Jewel grabbed plates and forks.
"Did you get Mr. Demison squared away?" Gemma asked, sitting down and spooning a heaping portion of chicken and rice onto her plate.
Henry shut the fridge and set three Dr. Pepper's on the table as he answered. "Yeah, had to sedate the heifer twice before we were done, but the barbed wire was all removed, the old girl sewed up, and legs wrapped. As long as she doesn't chew off the bandages, she should be fine. How was the office today?"
Jewel filled a cup with water, then loaded her plate too. Dad gave her a look but kept talking with Gemma.
Gemma finally looked at her and said, "You'll come with me to the office tomorrow, right? I can't believe you're finally joining us!"
Jewel laughed and swallowed. "I know, I'm a few years late to the party."
Henry snorted. "A few years."
Jewel ignored him and Gemma said, "The timing couldn't be better. I need to go to Dallas tomorrow night for the Opening Ceremony. Then we have sessions all day Friday, General Meeting Saturday night. I'm sure we'll end up doing things on Sunday too, but I plan to be back by dark."
Henry set his soda on the table and stabbed at his food. "It'll be nice to not have to close the office while you're gone, if Jewel can handle it."
"I'll handle it," Jewel said, her voice harder than normal. Her nostrils flared as an awkward silence settled on the table, which Gemma of course broke.
"So when will Destini arrive? I can't wait to show her around."
Jewel avoided looking at them and filled them in on the plan. "Hoping in a few weeks before school starts."
"She's a good, strong worker," Henry said with pride. "I don't blame NASA for asking her to stay and finish her summer contract."
Jewel nodded but swallowed down the words that bubbled to the surface. She wouldn't resent the way Henry loved her daughter. There was something special between the two of them, and since her dad was the only father figure she'd ever been around—besides her cousin in Houston—Jewel would not take that away from her.
She still tensed up when Henry talked like that, though. What kind of shit mom was jealous of her own daughter? Ugh. The rest of dinner went well, as Gemma steered the topics into more neutral territory.
Henry eventually went to the living room to prop his feet up in the recliner, turning the television on to some wrestling show. Jewel helped Gemma do the dishes, humming quietly.
"I'm glad you're here," Gemma said softly as she handed Jewel a clean dish.
Jewel dried it and put it up as she replied, "I'm glad too."
"It's time to face him, you know."
Jewel swallowed hard, her breathing growing shallow and fast at just the mention of it. "I—I know, but there's not really a rush, is there?"
Gemma shrugged. "It's foaling season, so you could run into him this weekend."
Jewel groaned and took the next plate. "What about Dad?"
Gemma shrugged. "He has the monthly spay and neuter clinic Saturday, so you'll be the one called if anyone needs an on-site vet. Being the largest ranch in the county and this one of their busiest seasons, you'd be wise to prepare yourself mentally now."
Jewel closed her eyes and leaned against the counter, regulating her breathing and stretching her neck side to side. "It's not a big deal. We both have to live in this town, so it'd be best to talk with him at the ranch anyway. Away from all the small-town gossips."
"Very true. I don't know about you, but I'm so fucking glad they're going to know about Destini soon. I always feel so guilty when I go over there or talk with Mrs. Williams."
Jewel winced and straightened, taking the last plate and wiping it down. "I'm sorry, Sis. I shouldn't have asked you and Dad to keep her from them, but I really thought it was the best thing to do that year. With all they were going through, I didn't want to add stress to their lives."
Gemma wiped down the sink. "Destini could never be stressful. She's an angel, but I get what you're saying."
Jewel snorted and rolled her eyes. She would wait to burst her elder sister's bubble about how stressful a teenage girl can be.
* * *
"So it's the same computer system as the one we had in the Woodlands," Jewel said, nodding at the computer.
Gemma's shoulders relaxed. "Oh good, I was hoping you'd say that, but it was a fifty-fifty chance on whether you knew it or the other one. Now, you remember the storage room and where everything's at? It hasn't changed in fifteen years, but do you remember that far back?"
Jewel shrugged and smiled as a mom and teenager came in with a cat in a carrier. "I'm sure I'll be fine. We practically grew up in here."
She turned to the new customers. "Good morning, how are you today?"
Kayla came out of the back at the sound of the bell and sat in her chair at the check-in counter. Gemma and Jewel moved out of the way to give the secretary room to work.
"Good morning," the mom said, smiling and making her apple cheeks plump up. "We're here for Mitzy's appointment?"
Kayla nodded and checked them in, so Jewel followed Gemma into the back, listening with one ear as her sister showed her the old school filing cabinet and pulled Mitzy's file.
Jewel rubbed her temple. All these files needed digitized. She mentally added it to her to do list. After Jordan took vitals in the room, Gemma and Jewel stepped inside.
"Hello, this is my sister, Dr. Jewel, who's finally joining the family practice and moving back home. Jewel, this is Ana and Skye."
"It's nice to meet you," Jewel said, shaking their hands.
"Welcome home," Ana said with a kind smile.
The teenager put her phone down and head bobbed a hello. "Hey."
Ana frowned at the teen. "Skye, that's not how we greet people."
Jewel waved a hand with a chuckle. "Oh, don't worry. I have a fifteen-year-old girl too, so I'm used to it."
Skye sat up a little in the chair as Gemma gently took the orange tabby from the girl. "Oh? What grade?"
Jewel sat at the computer as she answered. "Going into tenth. What about you?"
"Same. I'm really excited to not be the bottom of the barrel this year."
Gemma talked softly to Mitzy and stretched each of her limbs, but the cat was just limp and lethargic. "What seems to be the problem with this little angel?"
"She's just not been herself lately. She's refusing food, doesn't want to go outside, and her bathroom schedule is way off," the teenager said with a frown.
The mom rolled her eyes. "I think she's just going through a phase, but I promised that if she wasn't back to normal by the weekend, we'd come in. What do you think, Dr. Gemma?"
Jewel clicked on the computer and a pop-up was added to the sparse digital file of the quick lab results from the vet tech, Jordan.
Gemma stroked the cat and crooned softly. "Oh, I bet Mitzy's just going to be a mama. If I was a betting person, that's what I'd put my money on."
Skye gasped, and Ana groaned. Jewel typed on the computer and said, "Looks like you're right. Blood work just confirmed it."
Gemma chuckled, stroking the cat's soft fur. "It's alright, little mama. You'll feel better in a week or two."
Skye asked a hundred questions about cat pregnancies and how to make sure Mitzy had everything she needed. As Gemma focused on answering her questions, Ana leaned closer to the computer and said, "Is your daughter into soccer by chance? Try-outs are going on next week."
Jewel shook her head and turned to face her. "It's a fifty-fifty shot on whether she'll want to try out. She's a science nut and while decent at soccer, she doesn't really love sports the same way. After her first summer camp at NASA, she was hooked."
Ana's brows rose as she nodded. "Oh, how wonderful. Our physics teacher at the school teaches a whole grading period on astronomy. He worked for an observatory out in West Texas before moving here. She'll like that class. Of course, she has to get through chemistry this year before physics next year."
Jewel's head tilted. "You sound like a teacher."
Ana laughed, making her cheeks rise and her eyes almost disappear. "Oh no, my secret is out."
Jewel snickered as Ana continued. "I teach English at the middle school. As soon as a high school position opens up, I'm hoping to move up though."
The conversations continued until another pop-up on the computer drew Jewel's gaze. She looked at Gemma and cleared her throat. "The next appointment is here," she said.
They escorted the family out of the room just as Henry came in the side door. He stopped at the front desk to talk to the secretary and the people in the lobby.
Jewel walked Ana and Skye to the door, where Ana said, "Girls' night yoga session is one night each week. You should join us. It's low-key stretching, for the most part, but our girls can join in or go to the park to get to know each other."
Jewel smiled. "I'd love that, but Destini doesn't get to town for a few more weeks. She's a camp counselor at NASA this summer."
Ana nodded. "Well, come anyway, and we'll hang out. It was really nice meeting you."
Jewel sighed, hoping maybe she'd made a friend already. After they left, Jewel followed Gemma into the back. Henry joined them, flipping through the stack of files on the customers they'd seen today. When the vet tech, Jordan, went into the room to meet with the next customers, Henry glanced at them.
"So you're telling people about Destini already?"
Jewel frowned. "What do you mean?"
Henry shrugged and frowned, the perpetual disappointment clear on his face. "Just figured you'd want to talk to Hunter first. Would hate for him or his family to hear about her before he does."
Jordan came out of the room with the little pug shaking in her arms. Henry took over and did the fecal and blood samples before taking the dog back into the room.
Gemma leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "You know he's right."
Jewel sighed and rubbed her neck. "I know, I just hate how he says things."
Gemma chuckled. "Straight up, no chaser isn't for everyone, that's for sure. Why do you think I'm still single and living at home?"
Jewel sighed as Gemma went to the second patient room to meet with another customer. Jewel took a breather and drank some water. She wouldn't be able to stay with Henry for long. They'd never really gotten along.
Gemma was a daddy's girl, but Jewel had always been closer to their mom, taking after her in personality too. After Mom died, Henry hadn't known how to handle Jewel or her emotions. It was one of the many reasons she'd moved to Houston after high school and never looked back.
Jewel pulled out her phone and scrolled the home buying app once again. There were several cute houses under contract and several available out of her budget. Her vet school loans wouldn't be paid off for another two years, and with thousands going to that per month, her housing budget wasn't the best.
She wasn't looking forward to sharing a room with Destini, and neither was her daughter. She had to find something this week, because it'd be best if she could get into a new place before Destini moved to town.