Her Valentine Family (17 page)

A tall man wearing a baseball jersey similar to the one Chad had been wearing met them in the hall before they made it to the E.R. He looked familiar, his red hair peeking out from beneath the cap and his face a ruddy mass of freckles so dense that he appeared to have a tan.

“Jessica?” he asked. Then he moved closer and repeated, “Jessica. How is he? How's your little boy?”

She hadn't seen Mitch Gillespie in years, but that didn't matter. The friendship they'd shared was still right there, and his caring question proved it. “Still unconscious,” she said and amazingly held back her tears with the words. “How did you know about him?” The question could have meant two things. One, how did Mitch Gillespie even know she had a son, and two, how did he know Nathan was here, hurt, in the hospital.

“I was with Chad when he got the message,” Mitch said. He bit his lower lip, then asked, “So, Jess, is it true, what they're saying out there?” he indicated behind him, where she assumed the E.R. lobby was. “Is he Chad's?”

Jessica's shock must have been easily displayed, because Mitch quickly backtracked.

“I'm sorry, Jess. Small-town talk and all. I shouldn't
have said anything, but, well, I know how much that would mean to Chad, and I just wanted you to know that Jana and I are here for you, for both of you now.”

Mitch had never been very good with tact, always managing to be brutally honest instead of thinking things through a bit before he blurted out whatever was on his mind. However, even though his first question had taken her off guard, the sentiment that he would be here for them during this tough time, touched her heart. “Thanks,” she said. “That means a lot.”

Mitch peered past her. “Where's Chad?”

“He's with Nathan,” she said and again wished that she were there, too.

Mitch nodded. “You coming to the lobby? I can show you the way.”

Her father had been leading, but she now noticed that he and her mother had stepped to the side while she had the rather uncomfortable conversation with her old friend. “We'd appreciate that,” her dad said, and Jessica joined in step with him, Mitch and her mother to continue down the hall.

They rounded a corner, and she viewed the two large doors identifying the lobby. Mitch pushed a button on the wall and the doors swung open…revealing a lobby overflowing with people who appeared to all be waiting for her.

“How is he? How's Nathan? What did the doctor say?” The questions came quickly, and Jessica did her best to answer. Then she noticed Chad's mother, sitting in a corner chair with Lainey, still sleeping, on her shoulder. Jess walked to her, sat beside her.

“I'm praying for him, for Nathan,” Mae said, her hand
stroking Lainey's soft hair as she spoke. “And for you and for Chad.”

“I'm sorry,” Jess said, “for keeping him from you.”

Mae blinked a couple of times, her eyes soft and warm. “Oh, honey, you had some tough decisions to make, and I'm not sure what I'd have done in your shoes. But you've given me a grandson, and I'll always be grateful for that. And Chad will come around, dear. He's just, well, he's just been hurt a lot. It's tough to get over something like that. But I'm praying for him.” She smiled thoughtfully. “Been a long time since I've talked to God, and it feels pretty good.”

Trying not to disturb Lainey, Jessica eased toward Mae and gently hugged her. “Thank you.” She turned to see several guys clad in baseball jerseys all gathered together on one side of the lobby with Mitch conveying Nathan's current condition—and knowing Mitch, probably also conveying the fact that their buddy was a father. She watched for a shocked reaction but only noticed smiles, and then she saw the group gather in a circle and bow their heads. For their son. The scene touched her heart immensely.

Brother Henry and his wife were speaking to Jessica's parents, and several other members of the church were gathered around, their heads bowed and hands joined in prayer for Nathan. Hannah, wearing the same pink-and-green hat she'd worn Wednesday night, was in the center of a group of women and appeared to be leading the prayer. Her T-shirt and jeans didn't go with the hat, and Jess had the realization that Nathan's teacher, who'd matched from her hat to her shoes Wednesday night, had left her house in a rush to get here. Again, her heart was touched.

“Jessica,” Brother Henry's voice stole her attention from the scene. “We'd like to have everyone pray together while you're here, before you go back to Nathan's room again, if that's okay with you.”

“Yes, please,” she said, standing.

Brother Henry gathered all of the small groups together to form one large circle. “Let's join hands,” he said, and they did, Jessica wrapping an arm around Chad's mother, since her arms were filled with her grand daughter.

Jessica had already bowed her head when she felt another arm settle over hers to cradle Chad's mom, and she thought she knew who it was, even before she glanced up to see Chad. His hand gently squeezed her forearm, and he looked directly at her.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered.

“I am, too.”

Jessica saw wet drops fall from his mother's bowed head to the floor, and then she heard Brother Henry's prayer begin, and she bowed her head once more.

“Dear Father, we know that with You all things are possible, and we know that You are here with us, and that You are with Nathan. Help him, God. Help him to heal and to open his eyes to be with us again, to be with his mama and his daddy and everyone here who loves him so much. And watch over his parents, Lord, and his grandparents. Help them to be there for each other and to be strong in each other and in You as they face this difficult time. In Jesus' blessed holy name, amen.”

Jessica's eyes were wet, her heart touched by the heart felt prayer, one that included Nathan's parents without being judgmental that one of those parents was just identified to the group today. Obviously, they all knew,
but no one cared about the where or when or how that Chad Martin had learned he was Nathan's father; they simply cared about Nathan. And the man who'd kissed his mother's cheek, gently patted his daughter's back and was now taking Jessica's hand not only cared about his son but also appeared to still care about her, in spite of her dishonesty.

“Let's go back to our son,” he said, leading her from the group and back to the hall. Then, to Brother Henry and Jessica's father, he said, “We'll let you know if anything changes. Please keep praying.”

They both promised they would, and then Chad and Jessica quickly made their way back to Nathan's room.

“You forgive me,” she said, breathlessly due to their pace.

He stopped just shy of Nathan's door. “I do, and I shouldn't have been so cold earlier, Jess. I was hurt, and I handled it wrong. It's not going to be easy living with me while I attempt to learn to trust again, but I'm hoping you're willing to try. Because I want to be with you, and I want us together. You, me, Lainey and Nathan. And he needs us now, together. He'll need us always, together.”

“If I could change what I did back then…”

He shook his head. “God had a plan, and I'm not going to mess with that. And I pray that His plan will have Nathan waking up soon.”

She nodded. “I pray that, too.”

Chad pushed open the door, and the two of them moved to the bed and together took Nathan's hands.

“Hey, honey, it's Mom,” she said. “We're here. Me, and your daddy. We're both here. And you've been waiting so long to meet him, Nathan. Don't you want to open
your eyes and see him? You look a lot alike, you and your dad.” She looked at Chad, and her heart melted at the unhidden love displayed in those exquisite eyes—love for her and love for their son.

He gave her an easy smile, then took a hand to Nathan's head and gently ruffled his hair. “Hey, buddy,” he said. “Listen, I need you to wake up—for me, Daddy.” His smile broadened with the endearing term, and tears shone in his eyes. “Because I've got big plans for us, and you can't be a part of them if you're sleeping. We're going to go to the park and feed the ducks. And then we'll ride bicycles. Do you like riding bicycles?”

“He's wanting to learn how to ride without the training wheels,” Jess said. “But I'm not that great a teacher, and he kind of ended up in a holly bush the last time we tried.”

Chad grinned. “Okay, Dad promises to take over with the bicycle lessons. Is that why you're sleeping so hard, because you're afraid Mom will send you into another holly bush?”

Jessica's heart warmed at the way Chad eased into the role of father, even when he hadn't officially met his son. She recalled Nathan's words after Brother Henry's lesson about daddies and knew that they were true. He really was “gonna love him.”

But first he needed to wake up.

And Chad was determined to help that happen. “How about fishing? Has Mom taken you fishing yet? Because I know a great spot on the Coosa where the crappie always bite. We'll catch them and bring them home for Mom to clean and cook.”

Jessica vehemently shook her head at that.

“Or not,” he said, a hint of laughter in his tone. “And
what else would you like to do with me? Because we'll do whatever you want as soon as you wake up,” he said.

“He wants to play baseball,” Jessica said. “When we've talked about you before, when we talked about when he'd meet his daddy, Nathan said he wanted to play baseball with you…and eat ice cream.”

Chad blinked, and she noticed his lashes were spiked with tears. “He was always planning to meet me.”

“I was going to make sure it happened. I just didn't know when it would be.”

A couple more blinks, then Chad leaned over Nathan and kissed his forehead. “Come on, slugger, let's wake up and go play some baseball.” He raised up and looked at his son, and then he gasped, seeing the same thing as Jessica…a very slight, nearly imperceptible flutter of Nathan's lashes.

“Chad?” she questioned.

“Nathan,” Chad said. “Nathan, are you going to go play baseball with me? Come on, baby. Open your eyes.”

“We'll go get that Superman notebook you've been wanting,” Jess said. “And the pencils,” she said, willing those eyes to move again.
God, help him come back to us, please.

“Hey, Nathan,” Chad said. “Daddy can't wait to meet you and eat ice cream and play baseball and do everything you want.”

Again, Nathan's eyes twitched, and then, while Jessica squeezed Chad's hand, they opened.

“Nathan!” she exclaimed, part yell, part laugh. “Oh, Nathan, Mommy missed you so much!”

Nathan's smile was a little slow getting started, but
then it eased customarily into his cheeks. “Missed you,” he said, his voice a rough croak.

Jess laughed again and then said, “Nathan, there's someone here…”

She didn't get to finish. Nathan had already turned his attention to the man beside her, and his eyes squinted a little as he looked at Chad then grinned.

“You,” he said, then licked his lips and tried again. “You're Daddy.”

C
had had planned the perfect outing for Nathan's first full day out of the house. It'd been a week since the accident, and his follow-up visit to Dr. Aldredge yesterday went well. All in all, Nathan had ended up just fine, and the best way the doctor knew how to describe what had happened was that Nathan's body just needed a little more time to heal before he was ready to tackle the world again.

But Chad had another idea. He agreed with Jessica, her parents and his mother that God's plan included Nathan resting for a while so he and Jessica could deal with the past and plan for their future with Nathan and Lainey.

They'd started that future this week, spending time together each day letting Nathan and Lainey get to know each other and slowly getting Nathan back into full swing. Oh, he'd been ready to go full blast by Tuesday, not understanding why he couldn't go back to school yet. But Jessica wasn't budging from the doctor's orders. He'd gone back yesterday.

However, she did cave to every Superman desire,
which included not only the notebook and pencils he'd mentioned in the hospital but also pajamas, an oversize coloring book…and a real red cape. She'd found the cape at a party supply store and surprised him with it last night, and when she and Chad tucked him into bed at her parents' house, he'd still been wearing it.

Chad grinned. They'd made some memories this week. No, he couldn't make up every day that he'd missed with his son, but he could sure make certain that their time together now was well spent.

“So, when's the guest of honor getting here?” Mitch called from the dugout.

“They'll be here soon,” Chad said and saw Jessica's car pulling in to the lot. “Here they are.”

She had her hair pulled up in a ponytail and tucked through the back of a red baseball cap, and she wore a white baseball shirt with red sleeves, along with red cropped pants and white tennis shoes. Chad smiled as Nathan climbed out of the backseat. He was dressed in the jersey Chad had purchased yesterday, the one that matched his mom's…and his dad's. His red baseball cap was the fitted kind, not because he actually needed a fitted cap but because that's the kind his daddy wore, and he wanted to “look just like Dad.”

Chad beamed.

Then Jessica leaned into the car, unhooked Lainey from her car seat and then propped her on her hip. Lainey, like the remainder of the group, wore a tiny white shirt with red sleeves and even had a baseball cap, trimmed in white eyelet lace. Chad and Jess had found the outfit last night, and they simply couldn't resist.

“Jana's gonna love you,” Mitch said in his ear. “Because this picture is making me want kids.”

The picture was perfect, Chad had to admit.

Nathan bounded ahead, with Jessica attempting to slow him down.

“Take it easy!” she yelled, then looked helplessly at Chad. “Don't let him overdo it.”

“Hey, Daddy!” Nathan said, his arms outstretched and his giggle contagious as he ran into Chad's arms.

“I got you something,” Chad said, kissing Nathan's cheek and carrying him into the dugout, where a small leather baseball glove, its seams a little tattered and worn, rested on the bench.

Nathan spotted it immediately, moved to pick it up and slipped it on his hand. “Cool!” Then he turned it and saw the black marking on the side. His mouth quirked to the side. “Hey, that's not my name.”

“No, it's mine,” Chad said. “That was my first glove, and now it's yours.” He touched his hand to the soft leather. “It's broken in already, so it'll be easier for you to catch balls.”

Nathan grinned, still marveling at the glove. “That's your name,” he said, pointing to the messy black scribble.

Chad nodded and even recalled the day he'd taken that fat black marker and used it to identify his most prized possession. “Yep, it says Chad Martin.”

Nathan looked away from Chad and to Jess, walking toward the bleachers with Lainey on her hip and playing with Jessica's ponytail. “Mom!” he called.

“Yes, honey, what is it?”

“Dad's glove says Chad Martin,” he said.

“I know, but it's your glove now. And I bet Daddy will let you put your name on it, too.”

“Not yet, though. I'll wait,” Nathan said softly.

“Why is that?” Chad asked.

“'Cause Mommy said one day my name might be like yours,” Nathan said matter-of-factly, rubbing his small fingers over the black letters on the leather. Then he looked up and squinted at Chad. “I might be Nathan Martin,” he said. “One day.”

Chad looked toward Jessica, but she was busying herself trying to find Lainey's beloved pappy in the diaper bag.

“I'm sure it's in here somewhere,” she was saying while Lainey whimpered because her request wasn't being met as quickly as she wanted.

Chad smiled, crouched down in front of his son. “Nathan, this is going to be our special secret. Can you keep a secret?”

Nathan wrinkled up his nose and squished his mouth tight. Then he sighed. “Not very good,” he said.

Mitch snickered from where he leaned against the chain link forming the dugout, and Chad laughed. He touched Nathan's nose. “All right then, I'll wait and tell you later, so it won't be so hard on you.”

“'K,” Nathan said, smiling and sliding his hand in and out of the glove. “Daddy?”

Chad would never get tired of hearing that. “Yes?”

“This is your team, right?”

“Right.”

“What's the name of it?” Nathan asked.

“The name of my team?”

Nathan bobbed his head. “Yeah, Anson's team is the Rangers, but he don't know if he'll be the Rangers again this year.”

“Our team is just plain ol' Claremont,” Mitch said, smiling at Nathan. “Not as exciting as Rangers, huh?”

“That's okay,” Nathan said.

“Who is Anson?” Chad asked.

“One of the boys at school. My friend,” Nathan clarified. “His daddy is his coach.”

“Is he now?” Chad asked and was very glad Jess had informed him of Nathan's baseball plans, because he'd have never thought to check into the T-ball sign-ups otherwise. And he'd sure never have signed up to take on a team at next weekend's enrollment day. “Well, isn't that a coincidence?”

Nathan looked up. “What?”

“That his daddy is coaching his team and that your daddy will be coaching yours. We're the Cardinals, though. Think that'll be cool enough?”

Nathan's squeal of delight caused Jessica to stand from the bleachers.

“Everything okay?” she yelled. “Is he all right?”

“Dad's going to be my coach! And we're the Cardinals!”

She laughed. “I was wondering when he'd tell you about that. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Definitely!” Nathan said, his smile broad and wide. Then he asked, “Was that the secret?”

Chad saw Jessica's head tilt to the side, and he gave her a wink. “That was one secret, but I may just have another one soon.”

“Cool,” Nathan said.

“So, you gonna figure out how to use that glove, or are you going to sit in the dugout?” Mitch asked Nathan. The other guys on the team had been fielding the entire time he, Mitch and Nathan were chatting, but they didn't seem to mind that their teammates were taking their time. They were all as thrilled with Nathan's presence
as Chad was, nearly. Besides, this practice wasn't exactly on the schedule. Chad had asked them to get together today for the sole purpose of entertaining his son. And none of them minded at all.

Nathan was intent on learning as much as possible, taking turns at each position in the field with one of Chad's friends by his side at each rotation. The guys loved it, and Nathan definitely enjoyed practicing with the “big guys.” Every now and then, after he'd caught a ball or made a throw, he'd yell at his mom to see if Lainey saw him. Jessica was extra careful that even if Lainey was paying more attention to her pappy or her thumb than the game at least she was looking in Nathan's direction and giving the impression of rooting for her big brother.

That seemed to be enough for Nathan. And it was perfect for Chad, who knew that only one thing would make his life more complete.

He planned to take care of that soon, by tomorrow, if his “secret” worked out right.

 

Jessica wore a white dress with a red belt and red heels to church Sunday morning. It wasn't a usual type of outfit for her, but Valentine's Day was nearly here, and she was feeling the sentiment of the holiday completely, more than she had in a long time. In six years.

She smiled as she and her parents pulled into the church parking lot and parked beside Chad's BMW. He'd told Nathan that they would all go to church together today, and then he'd promised Jess that they would all go to church together always.

The past weeks had been crammed with emotions, and not all of them good, but the outcome was worth the
journey. And the fact that it brought them here, to church together, with their son, really made it all worthwhile. She saw Chad, standing near the building with Lainey on his hip and his mother by his side.

Jessica couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Mae at church, but Chad's mother looked truly happy to be here. She saw them and smiled brightly. “There's our little man,” she said as Nathan approached.

Nathan ran to her and hugged her knees. “Hey, Miss Mae,” he said.

Chad smirked. For some reason, his mother's name had caught on with Nathan, and although Chad tried to get him to go with MeMaw, or Mimi, or Grandma, or some other traditional term after he realized that she was his grandmother, Nathan had continued calling her “Miss Mae.” And what was even funnier was how much she loved it.

She squeezed Nathan in return and laughed when he took her hand and started leading her toward the church steps. “Come on, I'll show you where my class is, and you can meet Ms. Hannah.”

“Sounds wonderful,” she said, winking at Chad and Jessica as she allowed her grandson to lead her inside.

Brother Henry was at the top of the stairs, and he eyed Nathan. “You going to earn that peppermint today?” he asked.

“Of course!” Nathan said, grinning.

“Nice to see you here, Mae,” he said, shaking her free hand before Nathan jerked her other one to bring her into the lobby.

“It's wonderful to be here,” she said, then continued inside.

Chad wrapped an arm around Jessica, and they followed her parents up the stairs to enter the church.

“Having a better weekend than last weekend, I see,” Brother Henry said.

Jessica nodded, “Much better. And thank you so much for everything last week. For all of the prayers, and for being there at the hospital with us.”

“I wouldn't have been anywhere else,” Brother Henry said. “And we received your thank-you note to the church. It's printed in today's bulletin.” Then he seemed to think of something and said, “We haven't put the bulletin out yet. I'll get someone to pass them out shortly, though.”

“That's fine,” Jess said. “I appreciate you printing the note. It did mean the world to me that all of you came and prayed for my—for our—son.”

Chad thanked him as well, and they entered the auditorium for the adult Bible study. As usual, Brother Henry let the adults with young children out early to go pick up their children from class. Chad and Jessica stood to go get Lainey and Nathan.

Jessica nodded toward the first hallway, the one with the nursery and toddler classes. “I'll go get Lainey.”

Chad smiled, obviously knowing that she was trying once again to give him something he hadn't had before, the chance to pick up his son from Bible class. “Thanks.”

Lainey was holding a cloth book that had a picture of a manger on the front. Seeing Jessica, she pointed to the little manger, pulled her pacifier from her mouth and said, “Baby.”

“That's right,” Jess said. “Baby Jesus.”

Lainey displayed all of her tiny teeth in a big smile,
then popped her “pappy” back in her mouth and reached for Jess.

“Come on, we'll go see Daddy and Nathan in big church,” Jess said, carrying her back to the auditorium, where her parents, Mae, Chad and Nathan were already seated on a pew. She sat beside Chad and let Lainey climb into his lap. Then she noticed Nathan, his hand covering his mouth while he giggled.

He looked…guilty.

“What are you up to?” she asked, and he laughed even harder.

Chad, she also noticed, looked equally blame worthy.

And, now that she examined them, so did her father, her mother and even Mae. Everyone smiling at her as though she had some kind of ugly stain on her dress…or something.

“What am I missing?” She looked down, saw nothing out of sorts.

“You'll see,” Nathan said, and Chad frowned at him. Not a real frown, but one that said he expected him to hold it together. Or at least keep whatever it was he knew—that everyone on the pew knew—to himself.

Nathan slapped both hands over his mouth now, his laughter was muffled by the obstruction.

“Okay, you're worrying me,” Jess said, which caused Nathan to giggle even more, until he actually snorted.

“Chad, what did you say to him?”

Brother Henry cleared his throat at the pulpit, and Jessica attempted to turn her attention away from her perplexing family.

She wondered why Brother Henry was doing the announcements. Typically he only did that when they
were having a guest speaker, and she hadn't noticed a guest speaker in the bulletin today. Then again, she hadn't been able to review the bulletin, since Brother Henry had said it wasn't out when they arrived.

Jessica glanced at the song racks on the back of the pew in front of them but didn't see a bulletin. Sighing, she tuned out Nathan's continued muffled laughter and focused on listening to Brother Henry. Then she saw the teenage boys stand at the front of the building with baskets filled with bulletins in their arms. Brother Henry mentioned that they had a special announcement today and that it was imprinted on the front page of the bulletin.