Dylan's Redemption (24 page)

His father’s eyes narrowed. Dylan had his attention. The thing with Jessie and Hope wasn’t the first time his mother turned her nose up at someone she thought beneath them. She’d persuaded his father to dismiss his brother’s drinking problems and the neglect and abuse inflicted on Brody and Owen.

Like with Hope, too late to do anything about it now.

“I won’t change my mind. Not about this. I guess I wasn’t clear with Lorena that grandparents or not, you are not to take Will.”

“Dylan, you can’t be serious. I worked so hard to make sure you never turned out like your cousins. We gave you every advantage and privilege.”

“And offered Brody and Owen nothing but your back when you turned it on them. Owen, Brody, and Jessie all have one thing in common, amazing inner strength and determination to overcome the circumstances and consequences of where they came from. But you don’t see or care about their achievement in becoming a successful lawyer, a businessman, a construction company owner. You only see where they came from, not where they are now, or who they are.”

“You’re better than them. Brody drank and caroused with women. He got two women pregnant and left without a word.”

“He didn’t know about his girls. Like I didn’t know about mine. Except I would have known if you’d told me. I’m no different than him.

“You made decisions for me, and I’ll never forgive or forget the consequences of those decisions. You can’t make this right with an
I’m sorry
. You can’t make this right by trying to make me believe you had my best interests at heart. If you did, you’d have told me about the baby before it was too late.”

“How could I have known the baby would die?” his mother asked, as if it changed anything.

“If you’d told me Jessie was pregnant, I’d have been there to see Hope and I wouldn’t hate you now. I wouldn’t hate myself for putting Jessie through this.”

“Son, there has to be a way to get past this. Your anger hurts your mother, and I understand you’re upset, but we can work this out. Cutting us out of your life is extreme. This is spinning out of control.”

Dylan sympathized with his father. “Dad, I’m sorry her decisions affect you too. She lied to all of us. I’ve lost my daughter and eight years with Jessie. I don’t plan to live without her for another day.”

“Will you come live with us like the other mommies live with the daddies?” Will asked.

His little face and eyes held so much hope Jessie would agree. She hesitated, her mouth open to say something before she closed it, then said, “I have my own house, sweetheart.”

That wasn’t going to stop Will from having her as a mother. “That’s okay. We’ll live in your house then. I’ll bring my toys and Daddy can bring the TV.”

Dylan’s heart fluttered a bit when Jessie laughed. “You’re always thinking, little man.”

As much as Jessie wanted to hold him at arm’s length, she couldn’t resist Will as easily. She didn’t want to open her heart to them, afraid Dylan would hurt her again, but he swore he heard it squeak open just a bit. That’s all he needed, a foot in the door. Before long, he’d have her back.

“You and I will talk, Jess.”

She closed up on him again. Already thinking and planning how to win her heart back, he’d take things one step at a time.

She used to be the one chasing him when they were young. Older and wiser, he’d chase her until she was his. No more running from her, only to her.

“Jessie needs her rest. You two can leave. I’ll take Will home.” He addressed his mother directly. “Do us both a favor, don’t make things worse. Stay away.”

His mother pursed her lips. “You’ve never spoken to me this way. I don’t know how to overcome your temper right now, but I’ll be here for you when you realize Jessie isn’t the girl you think she is. You’ll see, I’m right.”

His father didn’t let him respond to that outrageous statement. “Son, I don’t want to leave things like this. I guess nothing will be settled this way. Perhaps you’ll come by the house later so we can talk privately.”

“I’ve made my feelings clear. I won’t change my mind,” Dylan said by way of answering without actually committing himself to another round of fruitless discussion.

“Jessie, may I see the photo of Hope? I’d like to see her,” his father asked in earnest.

Surprised by the request, Jessie might have complied until Martha’s eyes flashed with anger and narrowed on her. “No. You can’t. I won’t have you look at her the way you both look at me. I won’t let you judge her.”

“I wouldn’t,” he said, taken aback.

“Wouldn’t you? You judged me because of who my father is and the things he did that had nothing to do with me, but somehow made me not good enough. It didn’t matter I was a straight-A student, that I worked hard and was good at construction. All you saw was a girl who lived next to poor and had nothing to offer your son. Thank God we don’t grow up to be our parents. Dylan is nothing like you,” she said to his mother. “I am nothing like my father. But that doesn’t matter to you because you don’t see me, or know me.

“So no, I won’t let you look at Hope and think less of her because of who her mother is.”

“She’s Dylan’s daughter too,” he conceded. “We’d never think she was anything less than perfect.”

“Because she’s Dylan’s. Not because she was a beautiful, wonderful girl on her own. And how would you know? You never came to see her in the hospital. You could have. I wouldn’t have kept you from her. Oh, but wait, you couldn’t come see her because your wife refused to acknowledge her. Well, now it’s my turn to refuse.”

She expected Dylan to ask her to show them the picture. He didn’t. He sat back against her bed with his arms crossed over his chest. Greg was beside him holding Will. They sat between her and his parents, making it clear the line had been drawn. His parents on one side, and they stood together against them for Hope.

Robert hung his head, and then focused on his wife with one of those looks that pass between couples who have known each other for a lifetime. The message was clear. He wasn’t happy with what she’d done, or the results. Martha maintained her dignified posture. Grabbing her elbow, he turned her with him and escorted her from the room.

Jessie let out her breath. She didn’t like being mean. She didn’t like that someone had made her be mean. It upset her more knowing Dylan’s parents’ actions had forced her to do something she’d never do under normal circumstances.

“I’m sorry you had to deal with them again, Jess. I’ll have a talk with my father and try to figure out a way to make him understand I mean what I say. I don’t want them interfering in my life, or yours. Ours,” he said to reiterate he meant to have her in his life for good.

“Go home and get some sleep.”

Dylan shrank in front of her. His shoulders slumped and his face went lax. Dealing with his parents and her took a toll on him.

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve been here every day and most of every night. You work and take care of me. Go home with your son and catch up on some sleep.”

“I’ll sleep when you’re home.”

“I’m much better, they’re sending me home tomorrow.”

Greg laughed as Dylan scowled at Jessie. “I think he means when you’re home with him.”

“I’m not going home with him—you.” She looked from one to the other like they’d lost their minds. “I have my own home. I’m going to sleep in my own bed and not have people poking and prodding me all night.”

The two men tried to hold back the smirks and the laughter, but it was hopeless.

“Shut up,” she said to both of them. “I’m going home—alone.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow,” Dylan said.

“I’ll swing by and pick you up,” Greg said helpfully. “Dylan doesn’t know where you live, and I promised Pop I’d see you got home safe.”

“I’m perfectly capable of finding my own way home and taking care of myself. I’ve been doing it a long time.”

“Maybe it’s time you let someone take care of you.” She scowled at the very idea, making him chuckle and shake his head. Dylan ran his hand down her hair. He saw it in her eyes, that longing to be connected to someone again, to him, allowing herself to love and be loved. Afraid to accept it, or reach out for it, it had been taken away too many times. Not this time. He intended to give her everything.

He, Greg, and Will left to her many protests about them going home with her tomorrow. Greg slapped him on the back as they got into the elevator. “You’ve got your work cut out for you. She’s afraid of being hurt again. Good luck knocking down all her walls.”

“I plan on bulldozing them to the ground.”

“I want to ride on the bulldozer,” Will cheered.

“It’s you and me all the way, buddy.”

Dylan hoped he had it in him to heal Jessie’s heart and win it back. He’d never stop trying, not until he had Jessie again. This time, he’d love her the way she deserved to be loved.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“D
ISAPPOINTED
D
YLAN DIDN’T
come and pick you up from the hospital?” Greg tried to hide a smile, allowing only the corners of his mouth to tilt slightly, but Jessie caught the movement. “Since I picked you up, you’ve been quiet. Admit it, you wanted him to pick you up and take you home.”

No way in hell she admitted that, but the disappointment settled in her heart and made it ache. “He’s probably working. I imagine the sheriff’s department needs to have their sheriff actually work. He spent a lot of time at the hospital with me.”

She sighed out her worries. Before, she’d welcomed the quiet of the house and the solitude of her property. Looking out at the surrounding land as they drove, she guessed she’d get used to being alone again.

She refused to acknowledge the voice inside her heart saying,
You waited for Dylan to come back to you. He’s here. You can make a life with him.

She told that young girl inside of her, jumping up and down with excitement, to shut up and sit down.

“I don’t know how he managed to keep everything organized. Besides checking in at work, he went home every night to take care of Will’s dinner and bath and put him to bed, and then he came back to the hospital to be with you. If you ask me, I’d say he turned out to be a great dad.”

“Does it make me a bad person that I’m happy someone else didn’t have his baby? Is that stupid? I mean, he adopted a little boy who needed a home and a father.”

“Honey, you aren’t being stupid, and you aren’t a bad person. You’re happy he didn’t fall in love with someone else. I’ll bet you sat up there in your window looking out at the road and the land and wondered a million times if he was with someone else, loved someone else. You probably asked yourself a million times, why not you? Well, I’ll tell you this. I’ve talked to him a lot over the last week and there’s one thing that’s clear. He loves you, has always loved you, and never loved another. Maybe there were other women in his life, he’s a guy, but none of them stole his heart. You already have it.”

Greg wanted to give her an opening to talk about everything that happened the last few weeks. She ignored him and stared out the window as they turned off the highway onto her private road. He stopped at the gate and punched in the code.

She’d had the old fire road leveled and graveled. He drove through the gate and took the curve up the hill to her house. Jessie looked out over the hills and trees as they came to the curve that left them on an open ledge. As far as the eye could see, she had a view of the surrounding unspoiled land. This was where she and Dylan parked on prom night and made Hope.

“Give him a chance to prove he loves you. Give yourself permission to be happy.” Greg’s voice broke into her thoughts of a past she saw in a different light, but still couldn’t change.

“Are you telling me what to do?” she asked, being snotty.

“I’m telling you to give each other a chance to see if the love you both felt years ago is still alive today. Maybe it’s grown into something lasting now. You shared a child. He might have missed seeing her and being with you, but he grieves for her as much as you do.”

“He’s only feeling guilty and nostalgic. He thought I was dead, for God’s sake. He’s just happy I’m alive. He might think he’s in love with me, but now things will settle down. He’ll realize you can’t resurrect the past. Besides, we had one night. That’s all it was. He left as fast as he could without looking back. The only thing linking the past and the present is Hope, and she’s dead. Once he’s had time to grieve, he’ll move on with his life with his son.”

“Who the hell do you think you’re fooling, J.T.? Those are a lot of jumbled-up lies you’re telling yourself. Do you really think he doesn’t know his own mind? The man is in love with you and plans to make you his wife. He’s declared himself, and he’s coming after you. You better be ready, because he’s not the kind of man who takes no for an answer.”

“That’s because no one ever says no to Dylan McBride. He’s always gotten everything he wanted.”

“Including you, so stop fighting it. He wants you and he aims to have you.”

Greg got out of the car and came around to help her out, trapping her between his body and the car.

“You spent the last several years running from every man who tried to get close to you. You haven’t been on a single date or slept with a man since Dylan. For heaven’s sake, let the man catch you. Stop running away from the inevitable. You want him. I see it every time you look at him.”

“Lust got me into this.”

“Lust will get you laid again. It will also help you figure out what you both feel for each other now.”

Conceding a little, she said, “I am having a hard time. Everything I thought was true isn’t.”

“There’s only one thing you have to remember. He loves you both and is torn up about what happened. As devastated as you were by losing her, he’s just as upset, and more so, because he’s lost a daughter and the family he’s always known. I can’t imagine what it’s like for him to know his mother betrayed him the way she did.”

Jessie bit her lower lip. She’d warned Dylan, but she had no idea how it felt to have the one person who loved you above all else betray you. Sure, her father had been a rotten son of a bitch, but she’d never been one to count on him. He hadn’t treated her with love her whole life and turned on her. For her, he was always bad news. Dylan’s mother’s betrayal had come out of the blue and that made it all the more devastating. She was used to being disappointed by her father. Dylan had grown up knowing only love and security from his parents. To have that love and trust betrayed probably made it just as hard to deal with as losing his daughter.