Sniffling loudly, Chloe cried, “I don’t want you to be my daddy anymore. You’re bossy and mean!”
Amanda’s heart caught. Emma snickered. Jeb replied, “Sorry, princess. It’s a dad’s job to be bossy and mean sometimes.”
A moment later, Jeb strode to the kitchen table with a pouting little girl in his arms. Leaning over, he said, “Give Grammy a night-night kiss.”
With begrudging obedience, Chloe gave Emma a peck on the cheek. Next, Amanda received a wet kiss from her daughter and a wink from Jeb. Then he headed toward the stairs. Over his shoulder, he called, “I’ll be a while. Someone I know is wound up tighter than a Big Ben alarm clock.”
Amanda couldn’t focus on a conversation with her mother. Instead she listened to what was happening upstairs.
Emma patted Amanda’s shoulder. “He’s a good man, and he’ll be a wonderful father, stern when he needs to be but never cruel. Your little girl is in good hands.”
Amanda released a taut breath. “You’re right. I know you are. It’s just difficult to let go of the old and embrace the new.”
Emma nodded her understanding. “Until you feel comfortable, fake it.”
Amanda sent her a startled look.
“You can talk with Jeb about your feelings, Mandy, but you mustn’t interfere between him and your daughter. Chloe should never feel that she can play the two of you against each other.”
* * *
When Jeb reappeared in the kitchen, the sleeves of his red shirt were damp. Turning a chair, he straddled it and sat down, facing the table. “I have now memorized ’Twas the Night Before Christmas. She went out like a light on the fourth reading.” He sent Amanda a teasing look. “Our young miss finally told me that she guesses she’ll keep me as her daddy, but she still wasn’t happy about going to bed.”
“She was up at five thirty, and she’s been going full speed all day.” Emma leaned forward to pour him a second measure of brandy. “Children grow cross and intractable when they get too tired.”
Jeb accepted the snifter. “I’m not complaining. It felt good to see her act up, and even better, she did it with me. At first, she was afraid of me.” He grinned and shrugged. “Now she isn’t at all. That tells me I’ve done something right, although I know I still have a lot to learn.”
“Did you scrub behind her ears?” Amanda couldn’t resist asking.
“I followed a mental checklist, and all parts got washed, including her teeth. I let her do some of it herself. She is seven, after all, and starting to feel modest. She made me hold up a towel as she got out of the tub so I wouldn’t see the same little bottom that she flashed at me when she climbed in.”
Emma snorted with laughter. Amanda hid a smile.
Jeb stared into his brandy for a moment. Then he glanced up, his gaze holding Emma’s. “Change of subject, and please don’t start objecting before I’ve finished.”
“All right,” Emma agreed.
Jeb drew in a breath and released it slowly. “You may think we’re crazy, Emma, so bear with me. As you know, I plan to marry your daughter soon, and I’ll be Chloe’s new dad. Even though Mandy and I can’t make it official until her divorce from Mark is final, in my books, you’re already part of my family, and Amanda and I are concerned about your trying to work when your hip is giving you so much pain. So, to get it said fast, would you consider leaving Washington and moving to Mystic Creek to be close to your daughter? You can live here with us. Mandy agrees that it’s a great idea.”
Emma shook her head. “Newly married couples need their privacy.”
Jeb held up a hand. “Hear me out. I understand that Mandy and I will need our privacy, so I’m not suggesting that you live in this house indefinitely. Later, you may decide that you want your own place, but I’m thinking it would be more practical if I add on a mother-in-law apartment. I’m licensed as a builder, even though I mainly do finishing work and make furniture. It wouldn’t cost much. Then you’d have your quarters but still be able to join us in the main part of the house whenever you wanted. Everyone would have their privacy that way. And without rent and utilities to pay, you could afford to miss work in order to have hip replacement surgery. Right after the operation, Amanda could care for you.”
Emma gaped at him, apparently speechless.
“Until I can get a separate house built for you, Amanda and I will continue to use the larger bedroom upstairs. It’ll be no hardship on us, and that way, you won’t have to deal with the stairs. After you recover from the surgery, I can either add on to the house, or, if you prefer, I can help you find a residence here that’s fairly close to us.”
“At least think about it, Mom,” Amanda inserted. “Your hip is pretty bad, and I worry about you trying to work. It has to be causing more and more wear on that joint.”
Jeb added, “The financial picture for you would be advantageous as well. According to Mandy, you’re sixty-four. That means you can start drawing on your deceased husband’s Social Security in less than a year. And if you choose to live in a mother-in-law apartment here, you’d have so few expenses that that should give you plenty a month to live on.”
Amanda waited with bated breath for her mother’s answer. After a long moment, Emma replied, “I’d like nothing more than to live near my daughter and granddaughter, but I’d need your word, Jeb, that you can afford to add onto the house. I don’t want to be a financial drain.”
“Trust me, we wouldn’t offer if we couldn’t afford it. All you really need is a living room, a bedroom with a bathroom, and a small kitchen. I’m not talking about adding on that much square footage.”
Emma looked dazed. “I’m not even sure I can afford to move. I’d have to hire all the packing done and have a company transport my things. Then, until the apartment is finished, where would I store everything?”
Jeb chuckled. “I’ve got three brothers here in town over this holiday break. I’ll recruit them to go with me to Washington, we’ll pack, and we’ll move all your stuff south in a U-Haul van. As for temporary storage, I’ve got a shop that’s plenty big enough. I’ll put tarps over everything so your things don’t get covered with sawdust. While I’m away, you, Amanda, and Chloe can stay with my folks, where you’ll all be safe. I’ll ask Tony across the road to take care of my livestock for a couple of days. Bozo and Frosty can go to my parents’ house as well. Bozo and their dog, Murphy, are pals, and both canines tolerate felines.”
Emma downed the bit of brandy in her snifter and poured herself another modest measure. “Are you saying I’ll never go back to Olympia? That I’ll just stay here?”
“Is there a need for you to go?” Jeb asked. “You can call your place of employment and quit your job. My brothers and I can take care of all the details up north. Would you like to sell the house or rent it out?”
Emma’s expression turned sad for a moment. “I raised my daughter there, and I have so many wonderful memories. But if I’m going to do this, it would be wisest to sell. Living so far away, I’d have to put the house with property management to rent it out, and that would end up being more trouble than it’d be worth. I need to just do it and not look back, because this is now where my family is.”
Jeb shrugged. “It’s your call. I won’t rush you into making the decision. But I know that Mandy will be happier and have more peace of mind if you’re close to her.”
“Mom,” Amanda said, “Jeb can sometimes seem impulsive and too generous for his own good. But he’s discussed this with me. We have a lot of land here. If privacy is an issue for you, Jeb can build your apartment separate from the main residence to give us all a buffer zone. But honestly, I’d prefer to have your quarters attached, giving me the ability to just open a door off one of the downstairs rooms to say hi or check on you.”
Emma smiled dreamily. “It would be wonderful to be close so I could see you often and watch Chloe grow up.”
; Jeb spoke up. “Then let’s make it happen. You won’t be without friends here. My mom is a social butterfly, and I think you ladies would enjoy each other. You’re close to the same age.” He winked at his future mother-in-law. “Just be warned, she’ll convert you into being a bingo fanatic if you’re not careful.”
“Mom loves to garden,” Amanda inserted.
Emma wore an excited grin now. “Well, I used to. With my hip, I can’t do it anymore, but if I get it fixed, I’ll have my hands in the dirt again.”
The mention of gardening spurred Jeb to launch into details about his greenhouse and how he started his vegetables and kept them protected before in-ground planting. “I can even grow corn, doing it that way, and my tomatoes—oh, man, people who buy produce out of stores don’t know what real tomatoes taste like.”
The two exchanged gardening stories, and finally Emma said, “If you’re sure you wouldn’t mind having me around, I accept the offer. Living alone in Washington isn’t how I thought it would be.”
Jeb thrust his arm across the table, offering his hand. “Let’s shake on it, then. My brothers and I will go up there, pack your stuff, and put the house on the market. Your only responsibility will be to schedule your hip surgery.”
Emma’s face glowed. “I’ve kept my insurance, which will cover most of the medical bills. I just couldn’t afford to do it and miss work while I recovered.”
Amanda clasped her mom’s hand. “Now you won’t be burdened with so many bills. You won’t have to work. When you feel like it, you can garden or sew.” She paused. “Jeb’s right. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”
* * *
Once snuggled close in the upstairs bedroom, Amanda nuzzled Jeb’s neck, her lips curved in a contented smile. “Thank you so much for bringing my mom here to live. I can’t begin to tell you how much it will mean to me, having her so close.”
He rolled onto his back, taking her with him so she lay partly across his chest. “Brace yourself. If anything ever happens to my dad, I’ll be asking if we can have my mom here, too.”
Amanda giggled. “I adore your mom. When she’s eighty, she’ll still be going in high gear. There’ll never be a dull moment.”
Amanda settled against him, feeling so happy that she was almost afraid to believe it was real. “It’s been a day of miracles. My daughter actually threw a fit. I still can’t credit it. By the time she was only a few months old, she’d learned that Mark had zero tolerance for crying. When she needed something, she made soft grunting sounds to let me know, but she seldom cried. I was amazed tonight when she misbehaved.”
Jeb chuckled. “I’ll do my best to keep spoiling her so she’ll be a brat more often.”
Amanda smothered a laugh against his shoulder. “Spoiling her a little bit is okay, but we mustn’t go overboard.”
“I was kidding. Chloe is too sweet to ever become a brat. Emma had it right. It was a very exciting day, and Chloe was just wired. During her bath, she told me she was sorry.”
He caught Amanda by surprise by suddenly rolling her onto her back. “Besides, I plan to be way too busy spoiling you to go overboard with Chloe.”
Looping her arms around his neck, she smiled through the moon-silvered shadows. “And how do you plan to spoil me, Mr. Jeb?”
He trailed kisses down her cheek and whispered, “Let me show you.”
* * *
The following day, Jeb called his brothers to recruit volunteers to help him move Emma from Washington. The suddenness of it took Amanda off guard, but after getting off the phone, Jeb explained his reason for putting the plan into action as fast as possible.
“Jonas is home from university, Barney took all this week off, and Ben isn’t on the road delivering rodeo stock.” He tweaked the tip of Amanda’s nose. “Don’t look so worried, honey. Dad has even installed security cameras at his place now, so you’ll be as safe staying with him as you are with me. And it’s not often that I have all three of my brothers in town and off work at the same time. We can leave early in the morning, knock it out in a snap, and be back here to celebrate New Year’s Eve, no worries.”
Amanda said nothing to stall Jeb’s plans, but she was worried. It wasn’t that long now before the divorce hearing, and knowing her husband as well as she did, she put nothing past him. What if Mark found a way to break into Jeremiah and Kate’s home? What if they weren’t as diligent about keeping the security system armed as she and Jeb were?
She wanted to throw her arms around Jeb and beg him not to leave her. He’d become her safe harbor. But when she started to talk with him about that, she felt foolish and clingy.
So instead of pleading with Jeb not to leave, she lectured herself. Mark no longer ruled her life. She was overreacting and letting herself fall back into the trap of feeling fearful. If she meant to move forward and have a wonderful future with Jeb, she had to put Mark and all the memories behind her.
That evening, Jeb moved all of them to his parents’ house. Kate and Jeremiah had plenty of spare bedrooms, allowing Jeb and Amanda to share one their last night together. Frosty had a litter box in Kate’s laundry room and another in the bedroom Chloe would share with Bozo. The Sterling house had a homey, well-used ambience that made all the guests feel relaxed—with the exception of Amanda, who felt as if invisible hands had permanently knotted her stomach. Though she said nothing of her concerns to Jeb, he seemed to sense how upset she was.
That night when everyone trailed off to bed and the house grew quiet, Jeb pulled her into his arms and drew the blankets over them, creating a cocoon of warmth. “Talk to me,” he whispered.
She didn’t want to talk, fearing that once she started, she’d burst into tears and cling to him like a three-year-old.
“Okay, if you won’t talk, I will. You can’t understand why I’d choose to leave you now when Mark may be in a dither and at his most dangerous.”
Amanda made fists on the edge of his pillow. “It’s the worst possible time! There’s no rush to move my mom. You could at least wait until after the hearing.”
He tightened his arms around her. “Your mom reminds me a lot of you, and I think she can equal you in stubbornness if I give her half a chance.”
“Yes.” She had to admit that; her mom could be stubborn.
“And she loves that house where she raised you and has so many memories. If I dillydally around and don’t get her moved, she has a return flight out of here on January second. I’m afraid she’ll start thinking about all her precious stuff and want to spend a few days up there by herself to sort through her treasures before my brothers and I start packing.”
Amanda knew her mom. “Yes, she might want to do that. Then she could have special boxes packed and marked.”
“And she’d be up there alone without any male protection or a security system.”
The squeezing sensation moved to Amanda’s chest. “Oh, God. You think Mark may go after my mom.”
“Mark’s upset right now. Intellectually, he has to know that you’ll be granted a divorce. For him, that’s a huge blow. He sees you as a possession, and you’re about to be taken from him, so he’s walking a treacherous edge. He sees himself as always in the right, all powerful, and entitled to keep what’s his. And I’ve made it all but impossible for him to retaliate against you. So how can he hurt you, honey?”
Tears burned in Amanda’s eyes. “By hurting my mom. He knows how much I love her and that it would break my heart.”
Jeb smoothed her hair. “Your mom will be safe here with you and Chloe. My father understands that the security system must be set constantly, except for brief times while someone goes in or out. He’s installed monitors, and he knows to watch them. He has loaded guns hidden all over the house. He’ll have Bozo on duty to provide backup. Gowdy also helped him develop bulletproof passwords and installed two firewalls. Barney has asked his fellow deputies to take turns cruising t
he road to keep an eye on this house. If they see a car parked along the shoulder, they’ll check it out. They’ll also be patrolling adjacent roads, just in case Mark tries to slip onto this property on foot. He can’t get past our defenses this time.”
Amanda’s body relaxed. “So you’re doing this to protect my mother.”
“Yes. I know she probably wonders why I’m in such a hurry to move her, and I haven’t explained because if I mention that she may want to sort through her mementos, she may grab on to the idea. I don’t think it’s safe for her to be alone in Olympia even for one night.”
Mark knew that town like the back of his hand. He’d grown to adulthood there. If he wanted to get revenge against Amanda by hurting Emma, he knew where to find her.
“Oh, Jeb, thank you. I never stopped to think about the danger to Mom.”
He chuckled. “Am I forgiven now for haring off and leaving you with my dad?”
“Yes.”
He leaned in to kiss her deeply. “Prove it. I’ll be gone for three days. I need some loving to tide me over.”
“What if someone hears us?”
“We’ll be as quiet as two mice stealing the cheese.”
Chapter Twenty
Over the next three days, Amanda battled to stay calm. Jeremiah kept the security system armed, except when he had to go in or out to care for livestock, which he minimized by hiring two teenage boys to help out. Given that the kids had no school over Christmas break, they were delighted to make some extra money. While indoors, Jeremiah frequently glanced at the monitors or checked the camera views on his cell phone. Rationally, Amanda knew that her future father-in-law followed all the same safety procedures that Jeb would have, that he was physically able to take Mark on, and that he had weapons handy, which he wouldn’t hesitate to use if necessary.
But for Amanda, it wasn’t the same as having Jeb there.