Hard Rain (15 page)

Less than a half hour later, Amy was heading back downstairs. She had cut her bath short when her tears had come. As she walked toward the staircase, she heard voices coming from Ian’s bedroom. She moved toward the room. From the doorway, she saw Jesse sitting on the end of the bed beside Ian, their brows furrowed, their bodies weaving and bobbing as they focused on playing the game on the video screen.

“You ever play NFL Fever?” Jesse asked.

“Yeah, but I like Madden 2005 better.”

Amy stayed in the hall where she could watch them without interrupting them. Her son let out a triumphant whoop at a victory. Jesse’s intense gaze stayed on the screen, but a small smile curled his lips. He glanced at Ian and Amy saw in his eyes the same wonder she had so often known. Her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t even try to stop them this time. She’d spent these past days praying for a miracle. She’d thought her prayers had gone unanswered, but she’d been wrong. She slipped away from the doorway.

Jesse cast a sidelong look at the boy beside him. Ian’s gaze was glued to the screen. His body shifted, twisting in the same direction as the controller he wielded like a weapon. His features were still soft with youth, but the thinnest shadow of hair over his top lip predicted manhood.

“My cousin back in Texas has a couple of nephews around your age. One’s a little older.”

“Yeah?” Ian concentrated on the game.

“Their father lives out here in California.”

Ian said nothing.

“My father was killed when I was eighteen. That was fourteen years ago.”

Ian didn’t respond. They played the game for a few minutes.

“My mom said you didn’t know about me,” Ian said without looking at him.

Jesse set down his controller. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t know I had a son until today.”

Ian kept his gaze on the screen. “My mom was married for a while.”

“I know. To Malcolm.”

“He was my stepdad.”

“Your mother told me you and he are still good buddies.”

“That’s right.” Ian’s fingers flew on the controller’s buttons. “Most of the time though, I never had a father.”

Jesse smiled. “I’ve never had a son. But there were lots of times I wished I did.”

Ian glanced at him before returning his attention to the screen. “You never married?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I only met one person in my life I ever wanted to marry.”

Ian turned to consider him. “My mother?”

“That’s right.”

“You loved her?”

Jesse nodded.

“You going to ask her to marry you?”

Jesse sat back. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

Ian returned to his game. “Thought you loved her.”

“It’s not that simple, Ian.”

“She’d probably say no anyway.”

“What if she didn’t?”

Ian gave him a half-lidded look. “What do you mean?”

“What if I asked her to marry me and she said yes. Would you be okay with that?”

“Would I have to move to Texas?”

“That’s where I live.”

“I live here. I’ve got friends here.”

“Texas is nice.”

Ian turned off the video game, picked up the television’s remote control and switched on the sports channel. “I like California.”

“It would be nice to all be together.”

Ian looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “My mom and I have been doing fine.”

“I know. I’m glad you had each other, but I’d like to be part of your lives also.” When Ian was silent, Jesse continued. “I’m not quite sure what is going to happen,
Ian, but I do know now that I’ve found you both, I’m not losing either of you again.”

Ian stared at the television. Jesse sat beside him, feeling helpless.

“You like the Houston Astros?” Ian asked, not looking at him.

“Sure do. How’bout you?”

“I’m a Dodgers man myself.”

Jesse suppressed a smile. “Your mother mentioned that to me once.”

Peg’s voice sounded from downstairs. “Boys, dinner’s ready.”

Jesse stood. “Guess we better go.”

Ian sighed as he clicked off the television and dragged himself off the bed. He looked Jesse squarely in the eye. “You ask my mother to marry you,” he said grudgingly, “she probably won’t say no.”

“And what do you think if she does say yes?”

Ian shrugged. “The Texas part doesn’t thrill me.”

It wasn’t much, but it was a beginning, Jesse thought. He’d take it.

“C’mon,” Ian told him. “We gotta wash up before dinner. Mom has a thing about germs.”

“Don’t all moms?” Jesse said as he and his son started out of the room.

A
UNT
B
ETTS
’
S
funeral was two days later. As with most things in her life, Betts had not wanted a conventional funeral. She had participated wholeheartedly in every one of the church’s charity functions, often organizing them single-handedly, but she attended church services sporadically and vocally expressed her opinions on what she deemed some of the more archaic rituals and rites. Her diatribes often included wakes and funerals designed to “wring the life out of a person until the deceased one looks the most animated person there.”

To that end, she had left specific instructions on how she was to be laid to rest. A jazz band was to be hired and the dining room at the Courage Bay Bar and Grill rented. Everyone was to eat and dance and drink until they were drunk enough to dance down Courage Bay’s streets and up into the mountains to scatter her ashes so she could always look down on the town she loved so much. As was her wish, Aunt Betts was laid to rest high above Courage Bay with laughter, song and celebration.

Still, the day was not without moments of tears, shared memories and the realization that life, no matter how full, was too damn short. Jesse’s visit, too, was
coming to an end. He was needed in Turning Point. His flight left that evening.

“Thank you again for coming,” Amy told him as they walked through the terminal. “It meant a lot to me that you were here.”

She had followed him to the airport to see him off. He had returned his rental car and they were heading to the check-in area. They’d invited Ian to go to the airport also, but with an insight beyond his young years, he had declined, granting Amy and Jesse a much-needed private good-bye. They’d had little opportunity to discuss the future. Amy sensed they had both skirted around the issue, still uncertain if two lives so separate could be merged without sacrifice.

“Your aunt seemed like a great lady,” Jesse said.

“She was wonderful.” Already Courage Bay seemed changed without Aunt Betts. “This place isn’t going to be the same for me without her.”

“How about Ian? He was pretty quiet today.”

“He’ll be okay. We’ll both be okay. It takes time.” She flashed a brave smile.

They reached the check-in counter. Jesse’s flight would leave in forty minutes. Boarding began in twenty. Jesse and Amy sat down in seats along the wall.

“I wish I could stay longer but I’ve got to get back. Turning Point is still such a mess.” He surprised her by grabbing her hand in a tight grasp.

For a moment, Amy could not find her voice.

“I know,” she said at last. “They need you there. I’m grateful you could come for the short time you did.”
She squeezed his hand. “Next time you’ll stay longer. And as soon as my schedule permits, Ian and I will come see you.”

“I’d like to have Ian spend some time with me in Turning Point. Maybe over school vacations?”

When the time had come for Jesse to say good-bye to Ian, they’d stood awkwardly facing each other. Jesse had handed Ian his card, every possible contact number scribbled on it. “Any time you need anything or just want to talk or anything at all, you call me.”

Ian had nodded as he took the card. He’d swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his long throat.

“And I’m going to be calling you and your mom on a regular basis, checking in, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” Ian had turned the card over and over in his hands.

“No need for ‘sirs,’ son.” The endearment, a common term, now had new meaning. “‘Jesse’ is just fine.”

“Okay. Jesse.”

Jesse had smiled at the boy and held out his hand. Jesse clasped Ian’s shoulder as the two shook. “I’m so glad we got to meet.”

“Me too, sir—I mean, Jesse.”

“Okay then.”

Neither had moved. Ian had swallowed. “You know how you said you never had a son but you thought about it sometimes and figured it would be great?”

Jesse had nodded.

“Sometimes I used to think about having a dad and thought it would be okay, too.”

It had been Jesse’s turn to swallow hard.

Now in the airport terminal, Amy looked at her son’s father. “Ian would like that.”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No, I want you two to spend as much time as you can together. It will be good for you both.”

They sat silently a few minutes, watching the passengers coming and going. Jesse would not let go of her hand. He cleared his throat. “Amy?”

She turned to him.

“I don’t know—”

She pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him. “Neither do I, Jesse. Everything has happened so fast. There’s still so much to figure out. We’ll take it slow, step by step, and see what happens. We found each other again. You know about your son. I know what happened fourteen years ago when you vanished from my life. It’s a good starting point. Let’s take it slow and see what unfolds.”

“After all these years.” Jesse smiled. “Still the sensible one.”

“Not always.” She leaned in and kissed his lips. He clutched her shoulders, pulling her to him, deepening the kiss until she was dizzy.

When it ended, she dropped her forehead against his chest, missing him already. She inhaled the clean, soap-fresh scent of him, blindly traced his muscles with her fingertips, knowing this would have to last her until the next time they could be together. He kissed her hair, cupped her chin, lifted her face to him, kissed her cheeks, her nose, each eye closed, found her mouth once more and drank of her deeply like a desperate
man. When finally he released her, she was trembling. Her emotions were too strong, threatening to embarrass her, and she breathed in deeply, struggling for composure. She looked at the watch on her wrist. “They’ll be boarding.”

He nodded, expelled a sigh. “Yes, I have to go.”

Neither moved. Finally she nudged him and smiled playfully.

He chuckled softly. “Pathetic, aren’t we?”

She stood, forcing herself to be steady, and reached out her hand. “Come on, I’ll walk with you to the security check-in.”

He took her hand and rose to his feet, slinging his travel bag over his shoulder. They stopped a few steps from the metal detectors. He looked at her, his expression cutting through her fragile resolve to be strong, adult and sensible.

“I have to go.” He held her hand, his thumb moving softly against her skin.

“Yes, you do.” Her voice faltered. She gave him a tiny smile. In the long silence that stretched between them, she feared she would begin to cry.

She brought her hand to his face and touched his cheek. “Kiss me quick and then go.”

He kissed her long instead, again and again, soft and tender, fourteen years dissolving into this moment.

It was she who finally broke the embrace, pushing him gently but firmly away. She looked up into his eyes for the last time. “Go.”

He ran his thumb across her lower lip as if to wipe away the taste of him. He turned. She watched him put
his bag on the conveyer belt, step through the circle of metal detectors. He did not look back. A few steps and then he was gone.

“Stay,” she whispered.

She was in the parking lot when she heard rapid, running steps behind her. A hand clamped down on her shoulder, startling her, turning her around.

“Jesse? What is it? What’s wrong?”

He was gasping, struggling for breath. “I wanted to do it right this time, Amy. Not make any mistakes. Give us the long, slow courtship we missed. Dinner dates, flowers, weekends away, take the time to get to know each other all over again.” He rubbed his forehead.

Amy waited, too surprised to speak.

“But hell, Amy, I’m afraid if I get on that flight and you walk out this door, I might never see you again.”

She opened her mouth to reassure him that wasn’t going to happen and found she couldn’t. Because it had happened before.

“At eighteen, I believed we had a whole lifetime to be together, that nothing or no one could tear us apart,” Jesse continued. “I know better now. I know if God has blessed me with a second chance with you, I damn well better not turn my back on it. We’ve already lost fourteen years. I don’t want to lose a minute more. I’ve done a lot of thinking the past two days, Amy. What we do with that chance is up to us. What I don’t know is if I’m right or wrong or coming or going.”

He took her hands in his. “All I know is I love you and I believe you love me. The first time I lost you
damn near killed me. I’m not taking any chances on losing you a second time.”

He got down on one knee.

“Marry me, Amy.”

She stared down at him, still stunned.

“It doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow or even next week. Or it can be.”

She smiled.

“I know this is all sudden. Hell, sometimes I still feel like I’m swept up in that damn hurricane again that turned everything in its path upside-down and inside-out. I’m not asking you and Ian to pack up and head out to Texas with me tonight. Ian already told me he’s not thrilled with the idea of Texas. I can come here. I’ll go anywhere you and Ian are, Amy, as long as we’re together. I’ll wait until you’re ready and Ian’s ready. You tell me when, but for today, just tell me.” He took a long, deep breath. “Tell me you’ll marry me.”

She knelt down in front of him.

“Yes.”

He stood and drew her up into his embrace, kissing her with passion and promise. She kissed him back, unashamed to cling to him and hold on too tight. He lifted his head to look deeply into her eyes.

“Yes?” he asked.

She laughed as she cupped his face in her hands. “I’ve waited since I was eighteen years old to be your wife, Jesse Boone. I’m not going to say no now.”

They were still laughing, holding hands as they opened the back door and came into the house. The noise brought Peg into the kitchen.

“What in tarnation? Jesse, what are you still doing here?” She eyed the couple. A smile slowly curved her lips.

“We’ll explain in a minute. Where’s Ian?” Jesse crossed the kitchen, pulling Amy with him.

“In his bedroom. Where else? Why?”

“I’ve got a question to ask him,” Jesse told her as he and Amy started down the hall.

Ian’s bedroom door stood open. Jesse knocked lightly on the doorjamb. Ian looked up from the end of the bed where he was playing a handheld video game. “What are you doing here?” he blurted.

Jesse stopped short, for the first time uncertain.

“Did you miss your plane?” Ian eyed his mother’s hand in Jesse’s. “I told you Mom drives like an old lady.”

“I did miss my plane, but it was my fault.” Releasing Amy’s hand, Jesse walked into the bedroom. “I needed to come back here to ask you a question.” He squatted down in front of Ian, his expression solemn as he gazed at his son.

“A question?” Ian warily eyed the man across from him.

Jesse nodded.

The boy shrugged. “Sure, whatever.”

Jesse took a deep breath. “We’ve talked about how I feel about your mother and how she feels about me. I also told you I can’t think of anything that would give me greater happiness than for us to all be together one day. I know that day won’t be tomorrow or next Tuesday or maybe not even until next year, but I’m hoping that day is sooner than later.”

“What’s the question?” Ian demanded.

“When the day does come, I’d like to know you share our decision to become a family. I’d like to ask you if you’d give me permission to marry your mother?”

Ian stared at his father. “Don’t ya think you should ask her first?”

“I did.”

“Oh, yeah?” Ian’s voice turned hostile. “What did she say?”

Amy stepped into the room and sat down beside her son. “I said yes, Ian.”

He tipped his head up to look at her sullenly. “Then what’s everybody asking me for?”

“Because that’s how families work, Ian,” Jesse said. “They don’t make decisions that will affect all the other members without talking to them about it.”

“We’re not your family,” Ian shot back.

“You’re my son. My blood.”

“That doesn’t make you a father.”

“Ian—” Amy interrupted, but Jesse held up a palm to stop her.

“No, but I want to be your father. And I want to marry your mother. More than anything in the world, I want us to be a family.”

“You guys are going to do what you want anyway,” Ian grumbled. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

“Your mother and I wouldn’t deliberately do anything to make you unhappy.”

“What about Texas?” Ian demanded.

“I told your mother if you and she didn’t want to leave California, I would come here.”

Ian eyes him suspiciously. “You’re just saying that.”

“I know you don’t know me very well, Ian, but when you do, you’ll know I don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“There’s a terrible need for medical services where Jesse lives, Ian. You and I have often discussed the possibility that once I finish my residency, I might go to work somewhere else besides Courage Bay.”

“We haven’t made any definite decisions yet, Ian,” Jesse said, “except for the fact your mother and I would like us all to be together and want to find a way to make that work so everybody is happy.”

Ian looked down at the small screen of his video game but didn’t turn it on. He sighed. Jesse glanced at Amy. They waited. Ian sighed again.

“You don’t have to give us an answer right now, Ian,” Jesse told him. He glanced again at Amy for approval. She gave a slight nod. “Take some time to think about it. Like I said, everything has happened so fast, your mother and I aren’t going to do anything right away either. We just wanted you to know what we hope will happen in the future. So—” Jesse stood to go. Amy rose from the bed.

They were almost to the hall when Ian said, “Grandma told me what she did.” Jesse and Amy stopped and turned to the bed.

“She told me how the hospital called and she went there and asked you to stay away from Mom.” He looked at Jesse. “She said she did it because she thought it was the best thing for Mom, but now she’s not sure it was.”

Amy sat down beside her son.

“I don’t know if I want to go to Texas. I don’t know what I want.” He sighed. Amy put her hand on his knobby shoulder. Ian looked at Jesse. “But you marrying Mom, I think that would be the best thing for her.”