“Sounds like good advice to me,” Pearl said. “The heart can’t hear or see, but it has feelings, and it will guide you right, if you’ll just listen to it.”
“Amen, Mama.” Jesse shifted his focus over to her. “If only we had paid attention to that when we’re young, things might have turned out better for us.”
“Are you talking about me?” Mia asked.
“No, my child,” Addy answered for him. “He’s talking about all young folks. We made our mistakes when we were your age, but hopefully, we learned from them, just like you will.”
“So I’m a mistake?” Mia’s old surliness returned.
“No, you were made out of love.” Addy avoided glancing at Jesse but kept her eyes on her daughter. “And you’ve been loved every day since you were born.”
“Then my father wasn’t a one-night stand or a bum off the streets?” Mia asked. “Maybe we are cursed to like deadbeats who love us and leave us, Mama. Like the old saying says, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’”
Addy’s forefinger came up so fast that it was a blur and stopped close enough to Mia’s nose that she jerked back. “Your father is not that kind of man, and I’m not having this conversation today, young lady. Right now, we are taking care of what you’ve done, not the trouble I caused twenty years ago by not telling your father that I was pregnant with you. Understood?”
Mia shrugged. “When are we having this conversation?”
“When I think you can handle it without running off again,” Addy answered. “Finish your dinner so you and Jesse can talk about whether you’ll be doing ranch work or searching for another job. You’re going to need money to pay for your online courses next fall.”
“You were serious about that? I really can’t go back to college?” Mia gasped. “I promise I’ll make good grades again. I’m never looking at another guy again, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“I was serious,” Addy said. “Online courses that you will pay for out of your earnings this summer. One grade below a B, and you can begin paying your own cell phone bill and your truck insurance.”
“One mistake in my whole life. I might as well go to jail,” Mia pouted.
“This time it was misjudgment. Just be sure that when you mess up next time, it’s not something illegal,” Addy told her.
Chapter Fourteen
Jesse sat down in a rocking chair, stretched his long legs out so that he could prop his boots on the back-porch railing, and waited for Mia. He didn’t look around when the door opened until the tingle on the back of his neck told him that Addy was nearby. He brought his legs down, sat up a little straighter, and turned to face her.
“Did she back out and decide that waitressing or working in a fast-food place would be better than facing me every day?” he asked.
“No, she’s putting her hair up, so she’ll be ready to work,” Addy answered as she sat down in the chair beside him. “I’ve changed my mind about sitting in on the visit if that’s all right with you.”
“Not at all, but why?” Jesse asked. “Do you think I’ll break if she starts crying?”
“Maybe.” Addy sighed. “I remember a few times when I cried. You would have tried to shoot the moon out of the sky to get me to stop.”
“Did you cry when you found out”—he checked the door and lowered his voice—“that you were pregnant?”
“Nope,” she answered. “I just called Granny, and we put together a plan. We took precautions that night, if you’ll remember, so I couldn’t blame you, and tears wouldn’t undo what was done. Granny said that the two of us were alike. When we were faced with a problem, we just plowed into it with all our might.”
“You sure showed that today, even if it did break your heart to do it,” he said.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Mia came out onto the porch and sat down in the swing. “I’m not sure how this is supposed to go. So, I already had the rules laid out for me twice, but I’m still not sure how this is going to go. What am I supposed to do now?”
“I’ll leave you two alone to discuss the job.” Addy stood up and went into the house.
“How did you apply for the job as a waitress when you quit going to classes?” Jesse asked.
“I went in and asked for the job, filled out a form on the computer, and they hired me,” she said.
“Are you asking for a job as a hired hand on this ranch?” he asked.
“I guess I am,” Mia said.
“There’s no guessing to it. Ranch work is hard. It’s demanding, and it requires long hours. Either you know you want to work here, or you don’t,” Jesse said.
“All right then,” Mia said. “I want a job here. I already know what it takes to do ranch work. I’m experienced. I’ve had responsibilities right here that you already know about.”
“Are you willing to do what I say without back sassing and without attitude?” he asked.
“I guess…” She clamped her mouth shut. “Yes, I am. I’ll work hard to show all of you that I’m sorry for the choice I made and walked away like I did.”
“Then you have a job. Minimum wage like the summer hired help. Tomorrow, you and I will bring the alpacas over to this side of the property. This afternoon, you can get out the lawn mower and weed eater and take care of the yard work. If you’re done before supper, then go ahead and weed Mama’s flower gardens,” Jesse told her.
“Henry usually has one of the boys do that…” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I’ll get the mower out and get busy.”
“Ever mowed before?” Jesse asked.
She shook her head.
“Then I think I’ll sit here and supervise, just to be sure you do it right.” Jesse propped his feet up on the rail again and tipped his cowboy hat down over his eyes.
Mia slammed her straw hat down on her head. Her boots sounded like shotgun blasts on the wooden porch as she stomped across it, but Jesse didn’t even blink an eye.
“Good job,” Addy said from just inside the screen door, “but I can’t see you sitting here doing nothing.”
“As mad as she is, she’ll have this done in an hour or two at the most. She and I are going to go straighten up the barn the rest of the afternoon. The stalls need to be ready for the alpacas in case we have to bring them in out of the heat or weather. She’s going to sleep like a baby tonight.” Jesse yawned.
“Think you can keep up with her?” Addy smiled.
“I’ll do my damn best,” Jesse answered. “This raisin’ kids ain’t for wimps, is it?”
“Nope, and especially after they get to be as old as Mia,” Addy answered. “I’m going to take Sonny’s vitals. Just to be on the safe side, I’m going to insist on doing Pearl’s, too. Neither of them needs this kind of drama. It broke my heart when Pearl mentioned how much she wanted to go to Vegas.”
Jesse sat up again and hung his hat on the back of the rocker. “Mine, too. I figure when Henry gets settled in Colorado, I’ll buy them tickets to fly up there, and then in the spring, I’ll insist they go to Vegas. They need to make every minute count before Dad gets any worse.”