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Jonas
The following day, I’m packing up my fishing gear and about to head for the lake. Andi left nearly half an hour ago and was apologizing all the way out the door. Poor thing thinks that she has to apologize for doing something for herself. I’ll eventually break her of that habit.
Beau is sitting by the table, looking up at me with big sad eyes.
“You know I don’t like taking you. You doing a cannonball into the lake scares away the fish,” I tell him.
He continues to stare at me, so I walk over to the cabinet and grab one of his large bones out to give to him. He takes it from my hand and walks into the other room. I feel like maybe that was his master plan all along.
I walk into the bedroom to grab one of my hats. The moment I hit the door, I can smell Andi. The scent of cherries and vanilla fills the air, and I can’t help but smile. It was hard as hell last night lying next to her and not ravishing her body.Iwas hard as hell.
As soon as I grab my hat, there’s a knock on the front door.
“Andi, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to knock?” I laugh, jogging to the door.
But when I open it, Jared is standing there instead.
“Oh hey, sorry. Thought you were Andi,” I say.
“Is she not here?” Jared asks.
“Nah, she went into town to have lunch with Tracy.”
“Tracy? The girl who has that little shop in the town square?”
I nod.
He rocks back and forth, holding his hands in his pockets. “That’s good, I guess. I need to talk to you, and it’s probably best that we are alone.”
My stomach drops, but I step aside and let him come in anyway.
“How’s the ranch?” He asks.
“Cut the shit, Jared. We don’t need to be alone for you to ask me about the ranch. Why are you here?”
“I’m here to talk about Jessie,” he says.
“There's the door.” I point and begin to walk away.
“Enough, Jonas. Time to step off your high horse,” he barks.
“Did he send you here to talk to me?”
He shakes his head. “No. He would probably kill me if he knew I was here…and for what I’m about to tell you.”
I don’t want to listen to any of this, but I know Jared and how much of a stubborn mule he is. He won’t leave until I hear what he has to say.
“Talk fast,” I mutter.
“Look, Joe, I know Jessie has fucked up in the past. There are things he’s done that I don’t know will ever be worthy of forgiveness, but I think that this time, he is trying hard to be different…to be better.”
All I can do is scoff.
“Will you just shut up and listen?”
When I don’t respond, he continues. “Jessie was riding the waves in Nashville for years. Probably high as a kite half the time, but he still managed to work odd jobs here and there. He started to get clean until he met a woman. I think Momma said her name was Jade. She took him right down the rabbit hole again.
“A few months ago, they found out she was pregnant. Immediately, they decided to get clean and make a go of the whole family thing. Jessie got his head on straight, got a job, and got them a place. He finally started seeing things clearly. Jade told him time and time again that she was clean, but she wasn’t. She was still using every time he went to work.
