Lone Star Daddy (McCabe Multiples) (19 page)

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Chapter One

For all practical purposes, Rock Bluff, Oklahoma, was gone.

Navy SEAL Grady Matthews pulled his rental sedan onto the highway’s shoulder, being careful not to hit a pink bathtub that rested on its side in a nest of debris. He lowered his window, bracing his forearm on the vehicle’s frame to take in the tragic view. The early-May tornado had been damn near a mile wide, and it had razed everything in its seventeen-mile path.

When his dad called, asking him to help rebuild their ranch, Grady thought he’d exaggerated the degree of the storm’s damage, but if anything, Ben’s description had been inadequate. Grady’s brain knew that a hundred yards down the road was where the historic Flamingo Motel should be, along with a McDonald’s, an Arby’s, the First Baptist Church and the Dairy Barn, but all of it was just gone, as if God had swept His hand over it, wiping the slate clean. Only the resulting mess wasn’t clean. It was an unfathomable pile of concrete blocks and upended church pews and— Tears stung his eyes.

He wanted to blame those tears on dust from a passing National Guard convoy, but the truth was that all he seemed capable of focusing on was the fact that the last place he’d seen Jessie, held her hand, begged her to give him another chance, had been at the Dairy Barn. They’d sat in the back booth that always caught the afternoon sun. Her honey-gold hair had come alive in the glow, and he’d reverently skimmed the crown of her head, kissing the soft waves of her hair, inhaling the simple strawberry sweetness of her shampoo, because it hadn’t been enough to just touch her—he’d needed to breathe her in.

I don’t love you
, she’d said.
This
...
us
...
We’re just not going to happen
.

An hour later, Grady had signed his recruitment papers down at the strip mall that was now also gone.

He couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that physical proof of his memories—the only thing left of him and Jessie—had been erased.

His cell rang. The caller ID read Rose Matthews.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Hey, yourself, sweetie. Where are you? Almost to town?”

“Yeah, I’m just sort of taking it in.”

“It’s a shock. Your dad and I have had a few days to get used to...well, everything.”

“Sure...”

“I do have some good news, which is why I’m calling. You remember Jessie’s parents, don’t you? Roger and Billy Sue?”

“Yes, ma’am...” He released a long, slow exhale.

“Well, they heard we’ve been staying at the shelter, and since they have that cute little guesthouse out by their pool, they asked if your dad and I would like to stay with them until our house is done.”

Grady leaned his head back and groaned. Seriously?

“Since the guesthouse is just the one room and the bathroom, Billy Sue said she’ll put you in one of their spare bedrooms.”

And Jessie?
Because he could tell all the way from his current vantage that her downtown apartment building had been another of the storm’s victims. His pulse doubled just thinking her name.

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but your poor Jessie’s place—”

Could this day get any worse? “She’s not
mine
.”

“You know what I mean. Anyway, she’s staying with her parents, too, but the more the merrier, right? I know it’ll be fun for you two kids to catch up.”

* * *

J
ESSIE
L
ONG
RUBBED
the aching small of her back.

She’d been out here for hours, sifting through the wreckage of her apartment in the hot sun. It’d rained that morning. The air was so thick with humidity and sediments from the debris that it felt hard to breathe. For the plastic tub filled with clothes and a few pictures, was this really worth it?

She knelt, tugging a taped-together plastic spoon from beneath bricks and dirt and the stainless-steel kitchen sink.

Standing, tears welling in her eyes, she held back a sob while cradling the spoon to her chest. Of all the things she could have found, this was the most precious.

The last time she’d seen Grady had been at the Dairy Barn.

They’d shared their favorite booth in the back, and though he’d ordered Frito chili pie for them to share, neither had taken a bite. As usual, he’d gotten a spoon for her and a fork for himself, but both utensils had remained unused.

After she’d broken up with him, she’d quietly cried against his chest, but he’d pushed her away, telling her that she didn’t get to use him for anything anymore. He’d fished her favorite pink Sharpie from her purse—the one she used for doodling when she got bored in class—and drew a messy heart in the bowl of her spoon.

See this?
he’d said, waving it in front of her face, then snapping it in half.
This is what you did to my heart. You just broke it. Like it doesn’t mean a thing. But it does, Jess. I freakin’ love you. I gave you a ring. I wanna get married and have a big family. You and me—we’ll build a house out by the catfish pond, and every night at dusk, we’ll sit on our front porch swing, watching the kids play while the sun goes down. What’s the matter with you? Why can’t you see everything as clear as me?

Stop
, she’d begged, scooting off the bench’s smooth seat.
I see everything
, she’d said under her breath
. Mostly, that you and me and all of your big dreams are
never
coming true. I don’t love you
.

To prove it, she’d walked away—but not before taking the pieces of that spoon as one last souvenir of what might’ve been.

* * *

T
HE
FAMILY
RANCH
was worse off than Grady ever could have feared. Once again, tears stung his eyes as he absorbed the full weight of what his parents had lost.

The four-bedroom home he’d grown up in was now no longer a home, but a jumbled pile of drywall, four-by-four studs and the shredded remains of the china cabinet his mom had dusted every Saturday morning.

The barn he’d done chin-ups in to prepare for basic? Gone. The chicken coop? Flattened. His dad’s workshop? A graveyard of tractor parts and mangled sheet metal.

The wreckage went on and on. It was so bad that he couldn’t really even take it all in.

Grady had seen a lot of horrible things overseas, but even the worst didn’t compare to this. Where the hell did they even start in making this right?

Hands on his hips, he released a long, slow exhale.

Off on the horizon, he spied his dad’s truck heading his way. When that storm hit, if Ben and Rose hadn’t been in Norman at a doctor’s appointment...

His stomach cramped just thinking about it.

And where were the horses?

Two chickens sat on the underbelly of an overturned car. He didn’t recognize it as belonging to either of his parents. Who knew how far it’d traveled?

A deep sense of loss overwhelmed him. He’d come home to help rebuild, but how long would this take? His commanding officer had given him two weeks, and then he was due back on base in Virginia. Two weeks wouldn’t even clear the drive, let alone erect a house.

His dad pulled up, stopping the truck in what used to be the front yard. When he climbed out, he didn’t have to say a word to convey to Grady how low he was feeling. His shoulders were hunched and his expression grim as he stepped in for a hug. “Wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

“You and me both. Where’s Mom?”

“With that girlfriend of hers who moved a few years back to Norman. Your momma... She needed to get away from all this.”

“Yes, sir. I understand.”

His dad patted his back. “Good to have you home, son. Real good.”

Grady wished he felt good or bad, or really just anything at all besides numb.

* * *

A
N
HOUR
LATER
, once his dad left to pick up his mom, Grady bit the bullet by showing up at Jessie’s parents’. It was gonna be awkward and awful, and he’d rather pitch a tent in the pasture, but that would only upset his mom, so he pasted on a smile and strode up the wide porch steps.

“Aren’t you a tall drink of water.” Jessie’s mom, Billy Sue, sat in one of six white rockers.

Cotton, a miniature poodle who hated everyone but Billy Sue, yapped in her arms.

“Cotton, hush.” Jessie’s dad, Roger—one of two town dentists—extended his hand. “Thank you for your service to our country.”

Grady smiled at Jessie’s mom, but not knowing what to say to the man who was the father of the only woman he’d ever loved, he just stood there like a damned fool, nodding like a bobblehead SEAL doll.

“Come on in,” Roger held open the screen door on the Southern-fried McMansion, with its two-story white columns and hanging ferns. How had this place remained as pristine as ever while his folks’ house was a pile of rubble? “At the moment, I don’t have all that much to do since my practice was blown halfway to Kansas.”

“Sorry to hear that, sir.”

He shrugged. “Way I see it, I’ve got my family and home, so I came out a-okay. It was about time to remodel anyway.”

“Let me know if I can help. Once Mom and Dad’s insurance money comes in, I’ll be out at the ranch, but until then, I don’t mind lending a hand.”

“All this excitement has stirred up my emotions, and...” As if he was choked up, the man’s voice cracked. He placed his hand on Grady’s shoulder the same way he had when lecturing him on having Jessie home by midnight after prom. “If you don’t mind my saying, Billy Sue and I both thought you would have been a fine match for our baby girl.”

“Ah, thank you, sir.” What else could he say to that?
Gee, sir, I thought so, too, but your daughter had other plans?
His heart galloped like a runaway horse. Was Jessie here? Was she inside? Lounging by the pool? If so, what would he say? What would she say?

“Grady—” Billy Sue trailed after them “—we’ve got the upstairs guest room all ready for you, and just as soon as your parents get back, we’ll barbecue some nice ribs, okay?”

“Thanks. Sounds great.” The whole town had crumpled around them—including her husband’s livelihood—and all she could think about was hosting a cookout? Where had she even bought the food? Swenson’s Meat Market and the grocery store had been annihilated.

In the den, while Jessie’s dad settled into his recliner to watch a golf tourney on TV, Billy Sue set down the dog, then paused in front of the back staircase, gesturing for him to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you where everything is.”

Even though he remembered the home’s layout, he trailed her up the stairs. Cotton formed the tail end of the parade, yipping the whole way.

“Jessie’s staying with us, too, you know? I’m sure she’s real excited for you to be home. Although I know for a fact, Grady Matthews, that you’ve been back for visits long before now. Why haven’t you stopped by?”

“Mom kept me busy.” Was Billy Sue kidding? Didn’t she have any idea what her daughter had put him through? And what was wrong with him that after the trials he’d faced in becoming a SEAL, Jessie still held the power to get him all tongue-tied and queasy—and she wasn’t even there. He couldn’t imagine how bad he’d feel once she actually showed up.

Billy Sue tsk-tsked. “I’m gonna have to get on to her for that. Shame on her for hogging you all for herself. Poor Jess would’ve loved to catch up.”

Enough. He stopped midway down the hall. “Mrs. Long—Billy Sue—I don’t mean to start trouble, but there’s something I need to get off my chest. Ancient history, really, but I guess it needs to be said.”

She spun her wedding band around on her ring finger. “After the week we’ve had around here, I’m not up for more bad news.”

“It’s more like
old
news.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “You do know your daughter broke up with me?”

Her eyes narrowed. “No. No, I don’t believe that for a second. Jess still has your prom picture in her wallet. I thought you two naturally cooled down when you joined the Navy?”

“I didn’t even enlist until—” What was the use in explaining? “Ma’am, it’s the truth.”

* * *

A
FTER
HER
LONG
DAY
, there was nothing Jessie would have loved more than to jump in the pool, but as filthy as she was, she didn’t figure her dad would appreciate her clouding his water. During the storm, her mom reported that debris had rained from the sky. So much had fallen that her dad had scooped the pool floor with an extrawide snow shovel. But that was okay. More than okay, considering how much the rest of the town had suffered. They were beyond blessed to still have their home.

So why did she feel so low?

Maybe because even though her apartment hadn’t been anything special, it’d been hers, and now she had nothing to call her own. Not only was the second-grade classroom she’d been so proud to teach in gone, but the entirety of Rock Bluff Elementary School.

“There you are.” Her mom stepped out the front door.

“Hey.” Jessie pressed the autolock on her rental Ford and nodded to the black sedan parked in front of her. “Who’s here?”

“Actually, there’s a funny story that goes along with that car.”

“Mom...” Jessie wasn’t up for one of her mother’s epic sagas. She loved her dearly, but the woman talked more than she breathed. “I need a shower and a nap, and—”

“You’ll never guess who’s inside our house right at this very second.”

Jessie’s chest tightened. One of her old high school friends had told her Grady was back to help his parents. She sent up a silent prayer that whomever her mom was talking about, it wasn’t him.
Anyone
but him.

She was still shaky from the storm, being trapped in her building’s basement until volunteer firemen had rescued her and a few neighbors. Thank goodness school had already been done for the day. The only thing worse than what she’d already been through would have been experiencing the tornado’s fury with her students.

To see Grady now, with her looking a mess, she’d die of mortification.

“And, ladybug, you wouldn’t believe what he just told me.”