Jase (43 page)

Jase dug into his pocket and brought out his phone.
Taking a deep breath, he called DeeDee and filled her in on the fundamental logistics of the coming evening. He touched on what to expect over the next couple of days, promising he would explain everything once he got home with Kane.
Then he dialed a number from memory, smiling at Mason’s gruff response.

“Mason, need to bring you in the loop on something,” he began, his calmness stemming from a sure confidence that the club would be there to support Bingo and the kids.

“Baby, can you get the door?” Jase called from the kitchen, where he was in the middle of packing four school lunches. Hearing what he assumed was an affirmative response, he continued to focus on the baggies of raw vegetables and chips he was tucking into the chill and non-chill areas of the insulated lunch bags the kids liked.

Bingo’s biopsy had gone well, and the results showed about what the doctors had expected.
He had come to stay with them after that procedure, and when his surgery had been scheduled within a week, it only made sense for the kids to stay, so they had been installed with him and DeeDee since then.
Still in the hospital, Bingo was on the recovery side of the operation, but still weak and grouchy. The plan was for him to be released within a couple of days, and Jase hoped he would be coming back to their house for a while.

“Okay, did you guys get socks on today before you put on the shoes?” He looked over his shoulder at the table full of kids eating breakfast. “I’m not even asking for matching socks, eh? Just socks before shoes. Gimme
a positive
confirmation now, sound off.” He joked with the kids and received a few snickers of laughter
from
his method of garnering a response.

“Jase,” DeeDee called from the living room, her voice raised
over
muted conversation from that direction.

“Yeah, babe?” he called, closing the lunch bags and lining them up on the floor next to the corresponding child’s book bag. “Lunches are all done; I’ll go online and add money to the high school account once the kids are out the door. We have a serious problem this morning, though. Baby, no one will tell me the state of their feet, whether
socked
or not. It’s scandalous; I know kids need to wear socks. Hey, did you know that one kids’ store sells socks in three-sock sets? They don’t even try to go for pairs anymore. That’s genius, based on what I’ve experienced over the past few days.

He sighed. “Socks and bunnies, who knew they could be so hard to find once lost? But I promise Duchess
Penelope
shall be found.” He put
his
hand on his chest. “I do
hereby
pledge to go on a bunny hunt today. Duchess Penny of
Notahamburger
will be located.” He squatted down, looking through the papers in the little kids’ backpacks to make sure they had all their homework. Straightening, he recognized the voices raised in laughter at the front of the house, and he turned in surprise.

“Ma!” Striding across the room with arms out, he swept his mother up into a hug then turned to his father. “Da,” he thumped his
back
and then pulled back, “what are you doing in the States?” He looked back at his mother. “When did you decide to come visit?”

Without giving her a chance to answer him, he frowned, shaking his head, asking, “Ma, did your phone break again? You need to stop watching those reality shows. They steal all your
reason. Then
you throw the phone, eh? Your phone
musta
broke, eh?
Otherwise,
why would you not have called?”
He looked past them to where DeeDee was hovering close behind his mother. When he caught sight of her outstretched arm leading to their linked hands, he smiled, thinking with a silent laugh,
Trust Ma to make sure she got her hands on DeeDee right away
.

Stepping towards DeeDee, he deftly unwound their hands, taking both of hers in his.
Take the shot
, he thought, pulling her in for a soft brush of his lips against hers. Turning her in his arms to face his parents and the suddenly quiet table of kids, he wrapped himself around her, pulling her close and whispering, “Love you, babe. Breathe, okay? It’s all right. It’s only my folks, and according to Ma, they already love you.”

Her hair teased the side of his face as she nodded, and he let his lips drift across her cheek to her ear. He whispered loudly, “If we run, we can get away. We don’t even have to
move
fast; Da’s knee is junk, so no way he can keep up with us. Hmm. Maybe he’ll be
valuable
fodder to have around in a zombie apocalypse, though. Remember what we learned from that show? Keep the country kids around, and you don’t have to be the fastest runner, just not the slowest. Maybe we should stick around, eh? Just in case? Zombies, eh?”

She laughed aloud at his teasing and he pulled back, pleased with the composure and joy he saw on her features. Between his mother and him, they somehow managed to reassure her enough, giving her confidence in his love
for
her…in them. He took a deep breath, feeling a tension he didn’t even know he was carrying begin to fall away from him, leaving him feeling light and happy. In his normal voice, he introduced the two sides of his family for the first time. “DeeDee Moser, this is Jacque and Kenny Spencer. Ma and Da, meet the love of my life.” At her inrush of breath, he tightened his arms and shook her lightly, reminding her, “Breathe,
baby
.”

Lifting a hand, he pointed at the table. “Rugrats, these are my parents. You can call them…
well
…basically, anything. Especially Da, he’ll answer to anything, as long as there’s food involved.” The kids laughed, and the littlest girl gave his mother a shy wave before picking up her cereal spoon studiously.

He gave a brief explanation, figuring they could go into more detail later if needed. “The kids belong to a friend who’s in the hospital, so they’re staying with us for a bit.” He looked at the clock on the microwave. “And if they don’t put a hustle on it, every one of the monsters
is
going to miss the bus.” He released DeeDee, clapping his hands loudly. “Do not leave this house without socks on your feet. Teeth, hair, clean faces…all are optional. Socks are mandatory. It’s a mandate.
A mandatory mandate
on tubes of material covering your appendages.”

DeeDee pushed past him, holding out her
hand
to Jacque. “Let me show you where you can put your bags.” His mother shook her head at DeeDee, deftly avoiding her hand in order to pull her into a tight embrace. “We’ll stay at a hotel, sweetie, but I can promise you we’ll be here early and late so you can get to know us well. These children are precious.” At a glowering glance from Tyler, she amended her statement, “Precious
and
devastatingly handsome. Take care of your morning routine. I’m going to make myself at home and get some coffee.”
Jase held his breath, watching DeeDee’s arms encircle his mother’s waist passively at first. As she became more convinced the affection was real, her hands moved up Jacque’s back and her shoulders rounded in as she visibly relaxed into his mother’s hug.

Lips to her ear, his mother whispered something to DeeDee, and he could barely see her lips enough to read, “We already love you. I’m so glad to meet you, sweetheart.”

***

“Oh, shut it, Jase,” his mother said without compassion. He
put
on a fake-wounded expression.

“
All I asked
was if you thought through this plan of yours, Ma. First, you drop in on DeeDee and me without warning, not giving her a chance to think before reacting—”

His mother interrupted him. “And it’s a good thing we did, isn’t it? She was forced to meet us and accept that what she saw as
an enormous barrier in
your relationship is less than the smallest bump. If she hadn’t seen it
on
our faces, she would have continued to wonder if we were paying lip service to liking and accepting her.” She brought her hand up, cupping his jaw.

“Jase, I understand what you see in her, son. The two of you fit together in a way I never expected. I always wanted you to find someone to love, but didn’t realize the extent of what you’d find, and I am so glad you did. The fit between the two of you is seamless and
fine
, and I’m happy for both of you.” Her voice changed in tone. “But, I’m not going to let you distract me from my next mission. I haven’t seen my daughter for too long, Jase. I will see her, either here if you call her to come over with her new
man,
or at his house. The map on my phone says I can be there in about 10 minutes, and I’ll give you half that to help decide how this happens. But, son? I will see her.”

He looked at his father, leaning against the cabinets on the far side of the
kitchen,
but the man shook his head. Jase knew he would get no help from that quarter. “Sharon’s different, Ma. She’s changed,” he said, and she nodded.

“To be expected, she’s grown up on her own, so she’ll be her own person. But underneath that, she’s always going to be my daughter. I’m not looking for the eighteen-year-old girl who struck out on her own, Jase. I’m not stupid. I’m looking to know the woman she’s become, but I can’t do that if I can’t talk to her, see her…
listen
to her. So call her now, or I’ll just be waiting in their driveway for them to come home.” She placed her balled-up fists on her hips, elbows akimbo. With her head tilted impatiently,
all that was missing
was the tapping of her toe to complete the impression of anxious frustration.

“Okay,” he capitulated, making a face, “but we do this my way, okay? I’ll make a couple calls, get the ball rolling, and then Shar gets to say where.” His mother nodded, and he saw his father relax minutely. Pulling out his phone, he called Slate first, explaining the situation and giving him a quick update on Bingo as of this morning. Likely Goose had already checked in, but he felt responsible for Bingo and the
kids,
especially since the man had come to him for help.

Slate agreed with his plan, so his next call was to Gunny. Since Sharon had healed enough to move, he had kept her with him nearly twenty-four/seven, especially after they were taken. His obsession with her didn’t seem to be easing, but Jase and Slate had talked about it and they agreed that it looked more like a burgeoning relationship than anything else. It was clear to anyone who saw them together that Sharon was comfortable with the man in a
way
that couldn’t be faked, especially given her recent experiences. Jase shook his head and dialed the phone.

“Yeah,” came the gruff response, and Jase called the image of Gunny to mind. Tall, at well more than six feet, the man was thick and
solid
with muscle.

“Sharon’s parents are in town. They would like to see her. I want to give her the chance to pick the
locat
—” The call disconnected and he pulled the phone away from his ear, looking down at it in surprise. His service was usually
reliable
on this side of town, and he never had a call drop in the condo before.

He dialed the number again and heard a roaring noise he
recognized
as a motorcycle engine before Gunny said, “We’re on our way.” The call disconnected
again,
but he grinned this time, turning to see his parents hovering in the kitchen doorway.

“She’ll be here soon,” he
said
and watched as his mother covered her mouth with a hand, holding in a sob of relief.

***

Later that night, as he lay in bed beside DeeDee, her head pillowed on his shoulder, there was a quiet stirring in the hallway and he lifted his head, seeing a silhouette in the door. “What is it, kiddo?” he asked, thinking it was one of the seven-year-old twins. When she spoke, he recognized Alicia’s voice.

“Sissy had an accident.” Her voice was sleepy, but not complaining. Gilda, the youngest, was still trying to stay dry at night, but she was only four.

“
On
my way, sweetheart. Do you need a dry nightgown?” he asked, knowing Gilda had probably crawled into bed with the twins when her own bed became uncomfortably cold and wet.

“Yessir,” she said, yawning.

DeeDee shifted restlessly
in
the bed, and he quietly
shooed
the little girl out of the bedroom and down the hallway. “Let’s get you taken care of. Is Patricia up, too?” He dragged on a shirt and scooped her up, letting her rest against his shoulder as he carried her back to
th
e guest bedroom the girls all shared.

“Nope,” she drawled, twisting her head to push into his neck trustingly in a way that made his heart stutter a little.

“Okay,” he said, opening the linen closet and pulling out two sets of sheets. Grabbing the flashlight they left on the hallway table for this purpose, he turned it
to
the lowest setting before pushing the door wide. Crossing the room, he opened a drawer on the dresser and pulled out a clean nightgown for Alicia. Setting her on the floor, he handed it to her and pointed her in the direction of the Jack and Jill bathroom shared between these two guest bedrooms. “Clean up and change, baby. I’ll have everything in here all fixed up before you know it.”

“Yessir, Pappa Jase,” she mumbled, and he had to swallow down the emotion that threatened to swamp him at the affectionate name the kids used
for
him. His nephews always called him
Unka
Jase, but Pappa Jase took things to
an entirely new level
.

He turned to see Gilda curled up on the edge of the twins’ bed and smiled. Picking her up, he swaddled her in a blanket from the foot of the bed and settled her on the floor. Changing the sheet underneath Patricia was tricky without waking her, but he managed, and soon had Alicia tucked back into bed alongside her sister, already
beginning to drowse and nod
off.