Chapter 24
Leslie sat up in bed and gave her boys a cheerful smile despite her aching body and throbbing arm. Owen came for them after all.
“Come sit on the bed and tell me what happened,” she told them as she patted each side of her.
“I don’t wanna hurt you,” Conner murmured as Tucker climbed on the other side of her.
“It’ll hurt me more if I don’t get a hug from you,” she said softly. “Did all your brothers come?”
“Yeah,” Conner said, smiling as if Christmas came early. “I’m an uncle, too,” he gushed. “The best news came when Owen told everyone he’s Tucker’s dad. It means he carries Wolfe blood in him, too.”
Leslie peered at Tucker. “How do you feel?”
“Owen said I can call him Dad if I feel comfortable,” he whispered. “He said if he knew about me sooner, he’d have come.”
Leslie stiffened in anger. How dare he blame her. “You can take your time,” she advised him. “Anyone can become a father. It’s an honor to earn the title of Dad. Be sure when you use it, you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
“I will,” Tucker agreed. “We’re ordering pizza for a celebration. Owen asked Cade to bring you back some soup.”
“What happened at the cave?” Leslie asked, beating herself up over falling asleep while the boys needed her.
“We took your phone. You burned up with a fever and we needed help,” Tucker explained. “Owen called me and told me not to worry. Then he showed up with my uncles. I’m glad you’re feeling better, Mom.”
“Me, too,” she murmured, kissing the tops of their heads.
“Hey, you two, Dillon’s ordering the pizza and wings. Why don’t you tell him what you like on yours? Elias might need help with the chores in the barn,” Owen said, leaning against the doorframe.
They scooted from the bed and ran down the stairs.
“Don’t run,” she and Owen said at the same time, making her chuckle.
Owen closed the door and approached her, making her nervous.
Sitting in the spot Tucker vacated, he took her hand.
“I spoke with Tucker. He told me you told him I didn’t come because I served our country. Why didn’t you tell him the truth?” Owen asked softly.
“What good would it do? When I realized you never planned to return, I made preparations for the baby. I didn’t expect my son to get teased by kids. Some of their parents went to high school with us, and two ended up pregnant before they graduated. Yet they still found Tucker fodder for gossip.”
“I imagine you took some flak, too,” he murmured. “Having a baby by yourself must’ve been scary.”
“It didn’t compare to the nights I worried about you getting killed, never knowing Tucker,” she admitted. “Or wondering what I did to deserve you walking away without a word.” She gazed at her lap, unwilling to meet his gaze.
“I don’t understand why you didn’t allow Gunny to reach out to me,” he said, confused.
Shaking her head, Leslie gazed out the huge window.
“I’m sorry I didn’t chase you,” she seethed.
“You’re the one who left. It’s not my job to try harder for your sake.
You’re the one who missed out on Tucker.
I stayed, despite the nights with no sleep, worrying about how to pay the bills, or how to pay for medication if Tucker grew sick.
The only blessing in all of this happened when your father showed up at my door.
He stopped drinking in prison, but he didn’t turn his life around until the day he met Tucker. ”
“It’s not what I meant,” he argued. “You’re taking this the wrong way.”
“No. You don’t get to pin this on me. You have no idea about your dad or how he worked to…never mind,” she stopped short.
“How do we want to move forward?” he asked. “I want to spend time with Tucker.”
“What about Conner?” she demanded.
“I’ll have to sit down with my brothers and decide what to do about him,” Owen said gently.
“He’s not a puppy,” she replied angrily. “He’s a little boy who lost his father. Jeremiah filled his head with stories about his brave brothers, and he has expectations. Don’t you dare hurt him.”
“Whoa,” Owen said, holding out his hands. “He’s family. We’ll protect him.”
“He doesn’t want your protection. He needs attention, love, and laughter,” Leslie said heatedly.
Owen pressed his finger to her lips, stopping her. “We have a lot to talk about when you’re feeling better. Speaking of which, how do you feel?”
“Charlotte fixed me up. She says my temperature’s down and keeping me on fluids,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to scare the boys. I don’t know when I cut it.”
“Did you or Jeremiah have any problems with anyone before he died?” he asked.
“No. A company approached Jeremiah about purchasing the resort. When he refused, they came back with another offer. He told them he’d think about it.
Something happened when he went to visit one of your brothers.
When he returned, he contacted them. They asked to come out and do water samples and survey the land.
A few weeks before his death, Jeremiah seemed… cautious.”
“He didn’t say why?”
Leslie wrinkled her nose and thought for a moment. “No. He didn’t. The last time I spoke to him, he asked me about Conner’s homework assignment. I chalked it up to him sleep-talking.”
“Did this seem out of character for him? When we went to school, he didn’t know what day we went to gym class, much less our homework.”
“Jeremiah owned his mistakes, Owen. He participated in Conner and Tucker’s lives. He never missed an open house, ball game, or a parent night. He tried to make up for his mistakes with his boys,” Leslie said softly.
“It’s hard to envision the man I knew as responsible,” he admitted. “You don’t know of anything odd leading up to the break-in at your house?”
“I brought the boys to feed the animals and do the chores. After we finished, I took them for a hike. I saw Mr. Bigsby taking samples at the lake. He claimed he misplaced the samples and needed to redo them. I thought it odd since he knew of Jeremiah’s death.
He said no one answered the door, and he went ahead and collected the samples. ”
“Interesting,” he said. “We have security cameras arriving tomorrow. Elias ordered everything. I’ll feel better if you and Tucker stayed here until we figure out what’s going on.”
“All right,” she said softly, feeling relieved. “I need to get some clothes. The boys have plenty here.”
“We can go once you’re feeling better,” he assured her. “I’ll bring up your dinner when it arrives.”
“Thanks,” she said, lying against the pillows.
She watched Owen leave, wondering if he knew of his father’s efforts to get his boys back.
He tried to reach Owen for Leslie and Tucker to no avail.
Gunny made it clear Owen wanted no part of his father and refused to discuss him.
Hardly believing he returned to Wolfe Mountain, she wondered if he planned to leave her again.
She didn’t think her heart could take it.