Jessie Belle: The Women of Merryton - Book One (30 page)

He
reached up and held my hands against his chest. He didn’t seem to want to let
me go.

“Be
safe, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Jess—”

“Yes?”
I smiled.

“We
better go, honey, we’re going to be late,” my dad interrupted.

I
reluctantly pushed away from my husband. “Okay. Let me grab my purse.”

“I
can’t wait to show off the prettiest woman in Merryton.” My dad directed that
comment toward Blake, who still stood there not saying anything.

Blake
glared at my dad, who was very handsome in his tailored black suit with a
matching red tie. We were dressed like we were going to the prom. I looked
between the two most important men in my life as they stared at one another. It
was like they were having a silent argument, but I couldn’t tell who was
winning. I could have sworn that my dad’s blue eyes were daring Blake’s. Daring
him to do what, I didn’t know.

“Bye,
you two.” I waved at my family.

“Bye,
Jessie. See you tomorrow,” Maddie said brightly.

My
dad extended his arm and I took it, but I felt this pull toward Blake.
Why
wasn’t he saying anything?
His eyes looked torn and I wanted to know what
his dilemma was. I kept looking back at him as I walked forward with my dad. At
one point he stepped forward, but he stopped, and my dad and I moved forward
and out the door.

My
dad led us to his silver BMW parked in our drive. Like the gentleman he was, he
opened the passenger side door and helped me in. It was something I wasn’t used
to anymore, but enjoyed the service. My dad was all smiles. His happiness
reminded me to just savor the evening, even though I was suddenly wishing Blake
were taking me. The way he had looked at me in the house was puzzling.

“Cat
got your tongue?” my dad asked as we neared The Pavilion where the ball was
being held.

“Sorry,
Dad. I was just thinking.”

“About
Blake?”

“How
did you know?”

“I’m
old, but I still know a thing or two.”

I
smiled. “You’ll never be old to me.”

He
reached over and patted my hand. “This is why you are my favorite child.”

I
rolled my eyes at him.

“Do
you want me to take you home?”

“No
...”

“Are
you sure?”

I
thought for a moment. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I kind of
wish my husband was escorting me tonight.”

“I
hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I wish he was, too.”

“You
do?”

“Not
because I don’t want to be with you, but I want him to be the man that you
deserve.”

“Blake
is a good man.”

“I
know that.”

“Do
you really?”

“I’ve
been watching him lately, and I’ve been impressed with the way he helps people
in this town, especially the Richter family. And he’s a good father.”

“Yes,
he is.”

“If
only he would step it up in the husband department.”

“You
know, I’m not a perfect wife.”

“I’ll
never believe that.” He winked over at me.

I
held onto my dad’s arm as we entered The Pavilion’s ballroom. I had to say I
was impressed with the decorations. It was classier than I imagined it would
be. They went with a red, white, and blue theme - go figure. The round tables
were dressed with white tablecloths and the chairs were also draped in white,
but with red sashes tied around them. The flower centerpieces were interesting
and reminded me of sparklers in blue, red, and white. Interspersed in the
flowers were lighted sticks. It totally worked. The ceiling was also draped in
coordinating colors with thousands of twinkle lights.

Since
I was with my dad I had to sit at the “distinguished” table with Landon’s
parents, who were actually good people. Too bad they raised a louse. Fiona and
Guy Riley were extremely proud of their son. Guy had been the mayor when we were
in high school, so this was momentous in more ways than one for their family.
And unfortunately, it meant I had to pretend to be happy for them all.

I
really wanted to sit at the table with my friends, especially when Veronica
walked in and she was wearing the most hideous dress. It was a mermaid style,
sequined from shoulder to ankle in bright green. I could barely control my
reaction as she waddled over to our table with Landon, who was walking in like
he was Don Juan. Veronica was thin, but it looked like she had to be poured
into her dress and was overflowing out of the mold. And the ruffled chiffon
sleeves were just the icing on the cake of the monstrosity.

I
dared a peek at Abby and Cheyenne and they were in hysterics staring at the
guests of honor. I felt my phone buzzing and knew better than to look at it. I
could only guess at the commentary I was getting in our group text. I would
save those fun texts for later when I was sure I would need a good laugh.

When
Landon and Veronica made their way to our table, the men all stood and shook
Landon’s hand. And they each lied and told Veronica how stunning she looked.
Well, maybe that wasn’t a lie. She was stunning, but it was in the “I was
stunned she would wear such a dress” sort of a way. And it did stop traffic. I
had to give my dad credit, though. I could tell he was less than impressed and
all he said was, “Green is a bold choice. Definitely stands out.”

She
took it as a compliment, just like my dad intended.

He
sat down and winked at me. I loved him.

Landon,
on the other hand, I had no love for. He made his way to me and shook my hand
and held onto it much longer than he should have. “Jessie Belle, you look
amazing this evening. And where is your husband?”

This
time my dad shocked me and stepped in. “He’s out being a good dad.”

I
smirked up at Landon.

“That’s
right,” Fiona Riley said, “How are you enjoying being a mom, Jessie Belle?”

I
wasn’t sure what to make of that question right away. I stared at the kindly
Mrs. Riley in her salmon-colored polyester dress.
Mom
, I thought. Was I
a mom? “Well, it’s been interesting, but I love having Maddie here. She’s added
new life to our family.”

“We
are happy you finally have your family, even if it came through an
indiscretion,” Veronica threw in.

All
heads turned her way.

My
dad held onto my hand as if to calm me and came to my rescue again. “What a
thing to say to my daughter. You may want to look up the meaning of
indiscretion.”

She
placed her hand across her chest as if offended. “I know what it means.”

“Oh,
good, then perhaps in the future you’ll refrain from making remarks that lack
good judgement or truth. Or in other words, you will use discretion.” My dad
put her in her place. He was my hero.

You
could hear a pin drop at the table.

Landon
cleared his throat loudly and took Veronica by the elbow. “We better be off to
greet our other guests.” His words were kind, but he looked ready to lash out
at his wife.

We
all turned from them. I wasn’t sure how the rest of the table would respond,
but they all looked at me kindly.

“We’re
sorry about that,” Guy said.

I
gave him a half sort of smile. Landon’s parents were definitely embarrassed by
their daughter-in-law’s lack of tact.

It
was definitely not a fun start to the evening. I was grateful when dinner was
served and then dessert. I have to say it was fabulous. I had the
triple-chocolate mousse pie, which was my favorite. Everyone at our table was
very complimentary. It was the turning point of the evening.

It
was maybe evil of me, but I was happy later when a glitch added further
embarrassment to the mayor and highlighted his incompetency. The program for
the evening stated that the awards ceremony was to take place after dinner, but
the awards had been left at City Hall. While those were being sent for, they
opened up the floor for dancing. Not only was I happy to get away from the
“distinguished” table, but I got to dance with my dad. The geriatric talk was
getting me down and making me wish I would never age. Knee and hip replacements
had been the main topics of conversation at our table, and my dad could go into
graphic detail about them both.

My
dad was a skilled dancer and he used the arm lead technique when dancing. He
held my right hand with his left hand and his right hand was placed securely on
my back at my shoulder blade. He was easy to follow and made seamless transitions
- a real Fred Astaire, as my mom would say. We swayed perfectly to Sinatra’s
“Fly Me to the Moon.” My dad even knew the words and sang along.

I
don’t think I could have smiled wider. But I was mistaken. Just as the song was
going to end my dad stopped abruptly.

“Dad?”

He
didn’t acknowledge me. His gaze was fixed behind me and his aged but handsome
face broke out in a sly grin. My dad spun me out and there I found myself in
the arms I had been wishing for all evening.

“Blake?”

Blake
looked from my dad down to me with that intense gaze of his that seared my
soul. “Jess.”

My
dad placed his hands on both of our shoulders. “I think I’m going to head home
and call it a night.”

“Are
you sure?”

He
winked at me and then looked to my husband. “I trust you’ll get her home
safely.”

“Absolutely,”
Blake responded. Then he quietly said, “Thank you.”

“Take
good care of my girl.”

Blake
looked down at me. “I’ll do my best.”

My
dad kissed the side of my head and left.

“The
Way You Look Tonight,” also by Sinatra, began to play, but we just stood there
staring at each other. I was still in shock. “Blake, what are you doing here?
Where’s Maddie?”

He
reached up and ran the back of his hand across my cheek softly and I shivered
like it was the first time we had ever touched. “Maddie’s at home.”

My
eyes must have registered worry.

“She’ll
be fine by herself for the evening.”

“You
still didn’t tell me why you’re here. What about your trip?”

“Tonight,
I realized something after all these years. I’m an idiot.”

I
couldn’t help but smile.

He
matched my smile with his own. “You took my breath away tonight at the house.
You’re so beautiful.”

I
reached up and held his hand that touched my cheek. He moved our entwined hands
and placed them across his heart and drew me closer to him. “I also realized,”
he said quietly, “it’s the little things that matter to you. The way your eyes
lit up at the corsage, or your dad opening your door.”

“Were
you watching out the window?”

“I
was. I didn’t want to let you out of my sight.” He sighed. “I should have told
you I would take you when you first asked. I’m sorry.”

I
ran my free hand up through hair that was still damp, like he had hurried to
get ready. I hadn’t really looked at him in the amazement of him being there.
He was in a white button down shirt with the top two buttons undone, and a pair
of charcoal gray slacks. I had forgotten he owned any dress clothes at all, but
they fit perfectly and showed off his physique. He took my breath away. And his
gray eyes were warm and perfectly framed by his dark lashes. That whole
resurfacing thing my therapist talked about was definitely happening. I felt
twenty-two again.

“I
knew you wouldn’t want to come and I didn’t expect you to.”

“That’s
one of our problems. You should expect more from me. You deserve more from me.”

“I’m
just happy you’re here.” I moved my arms and hands and placed them around his
neck.

He
placed his arms around my waist and drew me to him. I don’t think we had ever
danced together and I’m pretty sure he didn’t know how to, but it didn’t
matter. We probably looked like junior high kids in our stance, but I couldn’t have
cared less. All that mattered to me was that he was there. We barely swayed as
my head leaned on his shoulder.

“Mrs.
Summers, you are beautiful,” he whispered.

“Mr.
Summers, you clean up well.”

He
chuckled low in my ear.

I
hated for the song to end, but it gave us the chance to once again put our
affection on display.

Blake
cupped my face in his hands and leaned on down for what Cheyenne would call a
church kiss, which meant no parting lips, but I still caught a taste of his
minty fresh breath. And I’m pretty sure my leg popped.

When
his lips released mine I looked around to find most dancers looking at us. I
smiled and bit my lip. “How about a drink?” I asked my husband.

He
took my hand and led me to the bar and ordered himself ice water and me some
fruity non-alcoholic concoction. My dad the doctor made me swear off alcohol
for life after I came home drunk once in high school. I was shown horrific
pictures of alcohol-related accidents and what livers looked like after years
of alcohol abuse. It was enough for me to never touch the stuff again. And
alcohol had too many calories for Blake’s liking.