Throwaway (29 page)

“To keep you hydrated. They were afraid you’d
start contracting if you got dehydrated.”

Jessie’s scowl deepened. That didn’t make
sense to her. It seemed like overkill. She just wanted to go home.
Only home had a dead guy in it.

“Kevin. Kevin was the dirty cop. He’s at the
house. In the living room.”

“Carter told us. Sounds like you, Harmony and
Lobo really saved the day.”

“He’s a good dog.”

“I’ll let that slide under the
circumstances.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about the house. It’ll all be
cleaned up before you go home.”

“I killed a man.”

“A man who would have killed you and our
baby.”

“But I killed him,” Jessie squeezed her eyes
shut, trying to rid herself of the image.

“Apparently while Carter was getting an
update from me, Kevin killed Aleksander and jacked with my steering
wheel so I wouldn’t notice it until the first big curve on the way
home. We flew right off the road in the middle of no cell coverage.
Vance hit the windshield. I had to walk for help.”

“As long as you had a reason for not
calling.”

“Very funny. You shouldn’t have sent Ethan
after me.”

“I was worried about you. He taught me to
shoot his gun before he left.”

“Obviously,” Gabe chuckled at that one.
Jessie thought about reprimanding him for the tasteless joke, but
she liked the sound of his laughter too much.

“You’re not going to be in trouble at work
because of me, are you?”

“You saved Carter’s life. I don’t think he’ll
be out to give us trouble anytime soon.”

“When can I go home?”

“Give it a night. I want to be sure you’re
both okay. Besides, that gives our cleanup crew time to work.”

“A hotel is cheaper than a hospital.”

“Now’s not the time to worry about that.
Worst case scenario, we take out a loan against the land. We’ll
figure it out.”

Jessie nodded. It was odd having options. She
was used to being limited to the cash under the mattress and the
whims of others.

They talked for a while longer before Jessie
drifted off to sleep again. She vaguely overheard Gabe turning away
visitors, insisting that Jessie needed her sleep. She wanted to
reassure her loved ones that all was well, but couldn’t quite
muster the energy to wake up.

By the time sunlight was once again streaming
through her window, Jessie was more than ready to leave. She drove
Gabe crazy with her insistence that they unhook her and send her
home.

Eventually the IV was taken out and she was
given permission to shower and dress. Hailey had brought her clean
clothes early in the morning, sneaking past a dozing Gabe long
enough to give Jessie a hug.

“Lobo’s going to be fine,” she’d whispered.
“He has a broken leg, but no permanent damage.”

“Thank you,” Jessie whispered, hugging her
back fervently. “Thank you so much for everything.”

“You two learned to whisper in a sawmill,”
Gabe opened one eye.

“I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” Hailey held her
hands up in surrender.

“Jailer,” Jessie accused.

Now, as she showered and dressed in fresh
clothes, she felt squeaky clean and eternally grateful for a friend
that was willing to cross grumpy Gabe.

“Is Vance going home today?” Jessie asked as
she sat on the end of her bed waiting for her walking papers.

“He left an hour ago.”

“What? That is totally unfair!”

“Yeah, well, he’s scarier than you are.”

There wasn’t much to do with that information
other than pout… which she did. Just when she was ready to stage a
coup, a nurse came in with paperwork for her to sign and a
wheelchair.

“I feel ridiculous,” Jessie groused as the
nurse wheeled her through the corridors. “This isn’t necessary.
There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“It’s hospital policy, ma’am,” the nurse
patiently informed her in a voice that hinted she’d had many
similar conversations before. Jessie couldn’t get past the fact
that the woman had called her ma’am.

“People treat me like I’m a real person now,”
Jessie observed as she settled into the car.

“You’ve always been a real person, Jess.”

“I was never ashamed of who I was,” Jessie
continued. “But I knew what other people thought. Most of them
looked right through me.”

“Then they were the ones missing out,” he
reached over to stroke her cheek with his free hand.

“No, seriously. It’s weird how people treat
me now. Like I’m good by association.”

“Association with what?”

“You.”

“Wow. I don’t see it that way at all,” he
shook his head. “Any fool can follow the rules. It takes a special
kind of person to keep a kind heart through the worst this life has
to offer.”

Jessie didn’t know what to say to that so she
changed the subject. “Is the Jeep totaled?”

“Pretty much,” his shoulders sank.

“I’m going to miss it.”

“I think maybe I should get a truck. Now that
I’m a country boy again and all.”

“As long as I can keep the Plymouth. We’ve
become friends.”

“I wouldn’t dream of parting you.”

It struck Jessie in that moment how far she
and Gabe had come. Suddenly she wasn’t worried about losing who
they were to marriage. Instead, she was excited find out who they
would become together.

That knowledge caused all of the worry and
tension of the past month to melt away, leaving her almost buoyant
as they pulled down the now-familiar gravel road. Her home was
filled with laughter and friends who’d gathered to wish them
well.

She knew rumors of her past would have spread
with all of the goings-on over the past days. That didn’t seem to
deter the people in her living room now.

“You took ten years off my life this week,
young lady,” Milo admonished as he wrapped her in a bear hug.

“You old goat, everyone knows you’re going to
live forever,” she teased him back.

Her house was actually cleaner than it had
been before it all began. Looking at it now, it was hard to believe
there’d been a body in her doorway 24 hours ago. She didn’t know if
she’d ever be able to thank everyone for all they’d done.

A part of her would always miss the vibrancy
of Cherokee Street, but she was deeply in love with her new home.
Maybe one of these days she’d get around to painting a mural on the
side of one of their outbuildings or tiling a mosaic on the
trashcans for nostalgia’s sake.

From her vantage point on the floor with
Lobo, she could see Harmony leave the room visibly upset. Jessie
waited until she could extract herself discreetly before following.
She found her sitting on the front porch swing of the log cabin,
her arms wrapped around herself for warmth and comfort.

Jessie eased onto the swing beside her,
sitting in silence and looking out over the property. It was
already starting to transform; it was slowly coming to life. She
could almost see it bustling with activity as it would be.

“He’s leaving,” Harmony finally broke the
silence.

Jessie didn’t speak at first as she tried to
process what Harmony was telling her. “Going where?”

“He doesn’t know. He’s decided to be some
vigilante or something. He’s going after the rest of that human
trafficking ring.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. He loves you, I
know he does.”

“Yeah, well, I offered to go with him. He
wouldn’t hear of it,” she stopped, watching as Vance approached
from the main house.

“So, ah, what’s with you becoming Batman?”
Jessie folded her arms and leaned back in the swing to look up at
him. “I was kind of looking forward to none of my loved ones being
in immediate danger.”

“I wouldn’t say Batman, so much,” he cracked
the smallest of grins. “I mean, I’m not a billionaire and don’t
plan to wear a costume. And I won’t have cool gadgets….”

“Why are you doing this?” Jessie
interrupted.

“For you,” his eyes met hers. “And for all of
the ones I didn’t help.”

“I get it,” she admitted. “It’s not so very
different than what I’m doing here, I guess.”

“I was kind of hoping that if I ever needed a
safe place to hide a girl from the mob, your doors would be
open.”

“Always.”

“So you’re okay with this?” frustration
seethed in Harmony’s voice.

“I get it,” Jessie shrugged, unsure what else
to say.

“It doesn’t change the way I feel about you,”
Vance took a step towards Harmony. “All I’m saying is the world
needs you in a lab somewhere solving its problems more than it
needs you being a vagrant with me.”

“At least finish school,” Jessie interjected.
“Then if you choose to go with him you know it’s what you really
wanted and not just the heat of the moment. Then you won’t end up a
Bread Co wife.”

Harmony nodded; she remembered the
disillusioned, embittered women they’d overheard in that line as
well as Jessie did. It seemed like eons ago.

“Will you at least stick around for my
wedding? Just one more week,” Jessie asked him. “I was actually
hoping you would give me away. If that’s not too weird, I
mean.”

Jessie wasn’t sure, but it looked like there
might have been a sheen in Vance’s eyes before he ducked his
head.

“Sure. I can do that.”

“I’m cold,” Jessie stood up. “And after
yesterday, I don’t have a whole lot of tolerance for being
cold.”

She left the couple alone on the swing and
went to find Gabe. He had mentioned going back to the hospital to
check on Carter and she wanted to spend time with him while she
could.

Despite her insistence that she’d be fine,
Milo, Ethan and Hailey refused to leave her alone while Gabe was
gone.

“Last time I believed you it didn’t work out
so well,” Ethan reminded her.

“Very funny,” she made a face at him. “Be
nice or I won’t buy any more horses from you.”

“You know you’re hooked.”

The banter continued well into the evening.
Gabe returned with takeout for everyone. After dinner, they were
finally alone. He no longer cared about his sister’s disapproval
and refused to leave her alone.

She made him carry Lobo upstairs when they
went to bed, earning some gentle ribbing from Gabe.

The remaining days to their wedding were a
blur. And then the morning itself came. Jessie woke to sunlight
streaming through her window. Rose petals had been strewn about the
bed and room while she slept. A note was pinned to the pillow where
Gabe had been the night before.

“Time to make some new memories,” she read
aloud as she scratched Lobo’s ears.

All in all, it was the kind of sunny day that
made Jessie glad for things like faith and love.

Darcy took a few hesitant steps towards her
father, her arms held up in a silent request to be carried. She had
her daddy’s dark hair and her mommy’s big blue eyes and baby doll
face. The combination was striking; Gabe suffered through many
jokes about the day when his little girl would be old enough for
boys to come sniffing around. To his credit, he took them well
enough.

Jessie stood leaning against the old
Plymouth, watching the pair as they played in the yard by the old
log cabin. It had been a busy morning at Ma’s, but the new kid
learned fast so they managed to cut out a little early. It had been
almost a year since Honeybranch had first opened its doors to a
teenager suddenly without a home. They now had 15 kids living
there, all in various stages of readiness for the real world. It
had become apparent early on that a few things needed to be
re-thought, so the property now had three distinct areas.

There was a lodge for girls and one for boys,
with Gabe and Jessie’s home directly in between the two. They might
not be able to control any blossoming romances between the two
sides, but they certainly didn’t need to add fuel to the fire.

So far, most of the kids seemed pretty intent
on getting their feet under them. Being faced with a life on the
streets had startled them into reality. It turned out Jessie and
Gabe made a perfect couple for guiding them along the way.

Every so often Vance would show up with
another frightened girl in tow—someone rescued from slavery without
a home to return to. They took up residence on the girls’ side and
were given a safe place to heal emotionally and physically before
rejoining the world.

Ethan and Hailey had become indispensable.
Their business sense kept the place afloat when Jessie’s next big
dream threatened to make it stumble. They always seemed to be able
to come up with a way to finance each new venture.

“Hey, there’s Mommy,” Gabe picked the toddler
up and turned her to face Jessie.

“Harmony called today,” Jessie called out.
“She promised to spend summer break with us.”

“Good. Someone to help with the cooking for a
change.”

“Ouch,” she laughed. There was a certain
truth to his words. She always made him do the cooking.

Lobo appeared from the woods at the sound of
her voice. He barked and danced around Gabe, begging him to throw
the tennis ball he’d scooped off the ground. Darcy held her
father’s leg with one arm and tried to catch the bouncing dog with
her free hand.

The mouth of the cave stood just behind them
and Jessie couldn’t help but wonder about all of the lives that had
crossed that exact path.

She could almost see the ghosts of Frank and
Jesse James riding their horses down that hill straight into the
inky black opening. Or drunk men laughing as they wheeled a piano
into the belly of the earth to create a hidden bar during
Prohibition. So many stories with one common thread. Lovers’
break-ups and make-ups. Class fieldtrips and the Klan. A prostitute
and a cop....

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