29. Jamison
Feeling two pairs of eyes watching my every move, I tried hard to ignore them and instead concentrate on where I was walking.
The bush area behind the Blessing home was not dense but the ground was riddled with dead branches and bracken. Jock was on one side of me, and Josh was on the other. Walking in a unison line pattern.
The night before had been one of no sleep whatsoever. My mind refusing to turn off, all my thoughts were of Gisele and what Elle had not only told me but what she alluded to. The thinly veiled accusation that I would leave Gisele pregnant with my kid like Liam did had pissed me off so much I took myself back to the bed and breakfast for the night. My room at the pub given up days before when I started staying at Gisele’s.
I had to get away and be alone, to process what Elle said, without a single bloody Blessing family member in my face.
Until my conversation with the eldest Blessing sister, it had not occurred to me that I forgot to use a condom or even ask Gisele if she was covered in some way. I wasn’t concerned about diseases, I had regular check-ups for my work and my last sexual dalliance had been before my last test and there wasn’t a question in my mind that Gisele was safe. My cock still jerked in my pants every time I thought back of our nights together, how God damned perfectly tight her pussy had been. I knew without a doubt there was nothing in that nature to worry about.
A potential pregnancy, however, was something I stupidly gave no thought to. Gisele had me turned inside out with her beauty and the way she embraced the passion between us, using protection had obviously not been a priority.
A very stupid move on my part. One obviously Elle thought was too.
It wasn’t the possibility of a possible pregnancy that pissed me off the most, it was the fact Gisele got herself so worked up about it she didn’t feel she could talk to me about it. Instead, it was Claudia who she spoke with, talked to about her worries.
I understood at some level that Gisele and her sisters were incredibly close, they never made a secret of the fact that they shared everything with each other. I had no issues with the sisters sharing their private life, but what I did have an issue with was being left out when it concerned me. Surely Gisele knew I was solidly with her in our budding relationship. I’d told her enough, assured her that I had no belief in the family curse. Yet still she couldn’t come to me about something that was our business and just ours.
I texted her last night that I had some work to do on Jake’s case still to finish, which had not been a lie, and I would see her sometime today. Her response had come back with a question mark asking if I was okay. All I could manage was a thumbs up emoji because I wasn’t okay but telling Gisele that wasn’t going to happen in a texted message.
I also texted Jock and Josh and asked them for help navigating the bush where Jake’s partner in his drug business where to find Jake’s fishing boat and a shipment of illicit drugs. What kind I didn’t know, the accomplice not getting the plea deal he wanted so he had shut up at the point of the interview.
It didn’t really matter what the haul was, Jake was screwed no matter what I would find when I located the missing boat.
After an hour of slow walking in a line, concentrating on the ground for tyre marks of the car and trailer Jake’s so-called mate told me was used to hide the boat, Josh and Jock suddenly stopped, both men staring expectantly at me.
“What?” I asked innocently, but I wasn’t a detective for nothing. I knew what they wanted; I just didn’t know where to start. Jock was the first to confront me.
“Why don’t you tell us why you look like you sucked a bucket of lemons for breakfast?” Jock said in his typical Jock way.
I genuinely liked Jock he didn’t bullshit, and he meant what he said. He had a unique way of putting things, but I kind of liked that about him. He was old school and what you saw was what you got. He was also extremely protective of all the women in his family and wasn’t concerned with overstepping any boundaries. Nothing was off limits when it came to his girls.
“Jury, it’s been an hour, and we probably have another two ahead of us to cover all the bush land,” Josh added his two cents worth. “It will make the day go a lot nicer if we don’t have to look at that cat’s bum look on your face the whole time.”
“And listening to him sigh and grumble to himself,” Jock said, nodding at Josh then back to me. “Well son, care to share?”
Somewhat thankful for the men’s forth right way of doing things, I decided to go ahead and share. On some level I understood the woman I was in love with didn’t find it easy to share her feelings all the time. That she had a certain dramatics about her. Another thing I loved about her, what I couldn’t understand was the process it took to get these women to open up and stop closing men out.
Referring to me and Gisele, and Elle and her jerk of a husband. Claudia and Georgina were the only women of the family that didn’t seem to have that … problem.
Finding a cluster of boulders close by, I moved to them and sat down on one, silently inviting the other two men to do the same. Which of course they did.
Looking directly at Jock, I addressed him first, “I am in love with Gisele,” I stated without a hint of nervousness. Jock was indeed a scary man, but I was also a grown man and owned my manhood easily. In my career as a law officer, I’d faced scarier men than Jock Blessing. Not many but enough to stand my ground against him if necessary.
“I know,” Jock agreed with me, looking at me with disguised humour. “What of it?”
Surprised by his agreeance, I looked over at Josh to see the same look of unsurprise.
“How the hell do you deal with a Blessing woman and not lose your mind in the process,” I blurted out, losing the cool I was famous for in the interrogation room.
Laughing at my frustration, Josh leaned in closer to me, his forearms on his knees, his head shaking. “Mate, you don’t. Being in love with a woman from this family is out of your control. I married Claudia and still people refer to her using her maiden name. The sisters still refer to themselves as Blessing even though two of them are married. They are who they are bud, get used to it or fall off the wagon now before it’s too late.”
I listened to what Josh said with a frustrated sigh, “It’s already too late for that. I’m fucking hopelessly head over heal for her.”
Mirroring Josh’s body language, Jock spoke up. “What’s your real issue here Jury? The fact that the girls tell each other absolutely everything or that Gisele went to Claudia and not you?”
Ah, the wisdom of a father of three daughters and a wife who was whip smart and in charge of the whole family.
“It’s not the sharing, although I will admit it makes me a little uneasy that Claudia, Elle and Georgina know certain … things about my …you know bedroom skills.” Fuck a duck was I blushing? I certainly hope not, if I was Jock was going to have a field day telling his wife.
Chuckling at my discomfort, Josh gave me a hand signal to go on and get out what was my problem. Fine then.
“What is so wrong with maybe being pregnant with my kid?” I asked then, remembering who I was speaking to, Gisele’s gun totting father I quickly fixed my question.
“I’m sorry for blurting that out Jock. I said it wrong, but I meant no disrespect to Gisele. I am a firm believer that being the man, birth control should be taken care of by me. It’s just that—” How did you tell a father that his daughter had me so fucking hot for her I forgot my own name each and every time I sank inside her.
Thank God I didn’t have to.
Holding up his hand to stop me from spilling out any more details that could find me in a shallow grave, Jock shook his head.
“Jury, I’m going to forgo a conversation about that until later, right now I need you to understand something more important.” Satisfied I wasn’t about to die, I nodded at Gisele’s dad.
“Okay.”
“You know all about the fucking curse, all the town gossip and you have seen for yourself what a fuckwit Miracle’s sperm donor is.”
“I have.”
“What you didn’t see was the pain and fear Gisele experienced everyday Miracle was in hospital fighting for her little life. At the time it was indescribable to watch my daughter suffer the way she did. Blaming herself for the circumstances of her baby’s early delivery. Liam walked away, well he did eventually once his legs healed.” Jock chuckled with glee, Josh joining in on the joke.
“Essentially it was Gisele that bared the brunt of those hundred plus days, the town gossip and the sly accusing stares. The girls rallied around her, my Gigi making sure that Gisele didn’t allow it to destroy her faith that she would bring her baby home, well and healthy.”
“It was the same for Claudia when we lost our baby a year ago,” Josh added, his face frowning at his own sad loss.
“It took everything in me to make sure Claudia didn’t blame herself. We lost the pregnancy and that took my wife a year to come to terms with enough that she is now ready to try again. Can you imagine how hard it was for Gisele to see her baby born so small, facing possible brain damage. Miracle has not spoken a word or made a sound since birth, the people in this town won’t let Gissy forget that.”
I listened carefully to what I was being told. Without any offense to the woman, I was in love with or her sisters, it was easier to understand without female emotions.
“It isn’t you Jury or you leaving her that is worrying Gisele, it’s the possibility of history repeating itself.”
“My daughters all have their strengths, Jury.” Jock said giving me a proud smile, “their mother passed on that to them, not me. She also gave them a healthy dose of emotions. Gisele in particular. If you want to be a part of this family, you have to push your way in and demand to be heard. Trust me mate, I’ve been married to Georgina for nearly thirty years, and to this day she still manages to leave me dumbfounded and downright confused on a daily basis.” Standing up Jock brushed the dirt from the back of his jeans.
“But also let me say, there is no woman in this world that could ever take the place of my Georgina Grace. Never going to happen, that crazy, mouthy beautiful woman owns my soul.”
“Amen to that,” Josh said, getting up as well. “There are some days when those four are together when I want to pull my own hair out, but loving Claudia, marrying her, and making her mine will always be my best ever decision. Simple as that.”
Simple? My god Gisele was anything but simple. Yet I understood what the two men were saying. Finally, I was seeing the forest for the trees.
Placing a comforting hand on my shoulder, Jock grinned at me.
“All you gotta do from time to time is remind Gissy that just because there are clouds in the sky doesn’t mean it’s gonna rain.”
Staring at Jock, I tried in vain to figure out what the hell he just said and failing.
Watching the older man walk off to continue our search, I looked helplessly at Josh for some clarification.
“Family saying,” Josh said with a rueful grin. “Get used to them mate. They have a shit load of them.” Heading off to join his father-in-law, I remained stunned and rooted to the boulder.
Simple my arse. The family was exactly the opposite to simple. Yet here I was ready to confront Gisele and take my place in the fold.
First, I had to find the missing boat and put Jake away for a long time and give Elle some much needed closure. She might come off tough, but she needed all evidence of Jake out of her life if she was ever going to move forward. I promised her that and I always kept my promises.
Then I was going to sort out my emotionally charged woman, by telling her I was madly in love with her, that I wanted to marry her and that I wanted babies with her. Lots of babies.