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“No. You haven’t.” I shovel another forkful of food into my mouth. “We can work on that though.”
The conversation veers off into a safer territory—Rachel—and by the time our brunch ends, I’m feeling better about the relationship I have with my dad.
It may never be a normal one, but I’m okay with that.
Dad walks with me to the door and nods before stuffing his hands in his pockets. I stand on the sidewalk, waiting as he gets into the car. As soon as his door slams, I pull out my phone and call the only person I want to talk to right now.
“Hey,” Jessie says, her voice warm and soft. “Is brunch over? Do I have to bail you out of jail for causing a scene?”
Laughing, I start walking toward home. “No. It went alright. I don’t think we’re ever going to be close, but I think we’ll find a way to get along with each other.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
I kick a small rock, sending it rolling down the street. “I don’t know. There’s a lot to think about. It’s been rough for a lot of years, and I don’t really believe that’s going to change. As horrible as that might sound.”
“No.” Jessie is quick to cut me off. “It doesn’t sound horrible at all. Your dad abandoned you and your sister when the two of you needed him the most. You can feel whatever way you want about him, and nobody can blame you for that.”
“Thank you. I think I needed to hear that.” I run a hand through my hair. “I’m just around the block right now. I’ll be home in a couple minutes.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m still naked and in bed.” The smirk in her voice is obvious. “See you when you get here. Oh, and my mom wants us to come to Minnesota in the new year. She looked at our schedules and paid for the tickets. She said that we have a lot to talk about. It’s a couple weeks away, and you don’t have to make a decision about going yet.”
“We’ll go.”
She makes a noise in the back of her throat. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to. I know it’s a lot, and it might be a little bit too soon since this is all still pretty new.”
I chuckle, trying to chase my own nerves away. “We can go, Jessie. I want to meet your mom. And this thing between us might be new, but I already told you that I’m not going anywhere. If that means that I meet your mom a few months into properly dating, then that means I meet your mom.”
“Are you sure?”
I’m not, but she deserves to get some closure with her mom. She should get the opportunity to sit down with her and figure out where their relationship is going.
“I’m sure. Now, go light a few candles and get in the bath. I have a couple ideas of what I’d like to do to you when I get home.”
She giggles and the sheets shuffle in the background. “See you soon. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Jessie hangs up, leaving me torn between the hardening cock in my pants and terror about meeting her mother.
27
JESSIE
Standing on the front porch of my mom’s house feels like taking a step back in time. The farm still stretches behind the white house, but there’s nobody driving the tractor anymore.
Dad doesn’t immediately stop what he’s doing to drive over to the fence and pick me up. The sound of his music doesn’t echo through the fields the way it once did.
“This is where you grew up?” Brookes’ voice is soft as he looks around the farm with wide eyes. “I have a hard time picturing you in Minnesota at all. A farm is something else altogether.”
I smile and shift the bouquet of flowers in my hand. “I loved it. Dad used to run a farming equipment business. The farm itself has been in the family for generations. Mom used to work as a bookkeeper for the local rink. She still gives skating lessons there.”
“Does that mean that you’re a champion skater?”
I roll my bottom lip into my mouth. “I haven’t really been much since Dad died. I always liked skating on the pond out back the best, but after he passed, I didn’t really want anything to do with being out on the ice.”
“Maybe one of these days we could go out together. You could watch me fall on my ass.”
I grin and reach around him to press the doorbell as the snow falls around us. “Won’t be this winter. It’s a warm year, and it’s only getting warmer. The ice isn’t going to be thick enough to skate on right now.”
