He pulled over to the side of the road and parked. Then he reached across the console and cupped Addy’s chin in his hand. “Look at me, Addy,” he said as he gently turned her head around so they could stare into each other’s eyes. “What do you see?”
“I hope I see happiness,” she said.
“Exactly, and like I told Mia, I’m not taking the job in Miami. I would love to have a reunion with my teammates sometime in the future. We were closer than brothers, but I have no desire to work with them again. I’m happy right here, running the ranch and building on what we have. Mia said something about us being a family no matter what happens between me and you. I want that, Addy, but I want a relationship, too.”
Addy took his hand in hers, kissed the palm, and put it back on the steering wheel. “Then we’ll have to work things out and see if we can figure out a way to have both. Are you sure you’re all right with the fact I can’t have more children?”
“Dad and Mama couldn’t have children either, and yet they’ve got three sons.” He wiggled his eyebrows and went back to driving.
“I never thought of that.” She wasn’t sure how she felt about fostering children or about adopting.
“But all of that is another conversation for later. I should get used to one daughter first,” Jesse said as he snagged a parking spot close to the Walmart entry door. “Right now, we need to go buy a baby gift, and then stop by the snow cone stand, pull over at the old barn where we went to party as kids, and eat it slowly.”
“Ohhhh!” Addy gasped. “I haven’t had a snow cone all summer. You still like coconut?”
“Yep.” He grinned. “Do you still like rainbow because you can’t make up your mind for one flavor?”
“Depends on my mood,” she answered.
He held her hand across the parking lot and into the store.
Addy gently touched a cute little pink gingham dress when they got back into the baby section. “The styles are coming back around to what I used to put on Mia. I like this one.” She put it in the cart and moved on to pick out a package of cotton receiving blankets, a towel and washcloth gift set, and another outfit.
“I can’t believe Mia was ever small enough to wear something like that,” Jesse said.
“She was a really big baby, so she didn’t wear this size very long,” Addy said as she picked up a package of tiny socks. “I’m sorry, again, that you missed all the fun of raising her.”
“Me, too.” Jesse shifted his eyes over to the left and nodded.
“What?” she asked.
He grinned and came close enough to whisper, “We have an audience. Vivien and Lylah are around that end and listening to every word we say. I caught them peeking at us a couple of minutes ago.” He kissed her on the cheek and took a step back. “I think Mia is a good mix of both of us, don’t you?”
“Shhh…” Addy put her forefinger over his lips. “We don’t want the whole world to know. They might think you ran when you found out I was pregnant, when in reality, you didn’t even know about Mia until you came home a few weeks ago. Let’s get some pacifiers and check out. That snow cone is calling my name.”
“Did you crave them when you were expecting Mia?” His green eyes twinkled.
“Yep,” she said and then air-slapped his arm. “Shhh…folks might get the wrong idea.”
“I hope so,” he mouthed.
Addy paid for their items and Jesse carried the bag outside. When they were inside the truck, Jesse burst out in laughter. “That was so much fun. We should have taken the cart around the corner and acted all embarrassed.”
“If you lean your head over to the right, you’ll be able to hear the buzz of gossip running through the phone lines right now,” Addy said.
“But now, we don’t have to worry how to let folks know about Mia, do we? And you did so well by saying that about me not even knowing about her. Which one will they think is pregnant? You or Mia?” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes.
“All over a baby shower that they’ll both be at tomorrow night since it’s Vivien’s niece who is expecting a baby next month.” Addy sighed. “The joys of small-town living.”
“Want to move to Miami with me? I’ve got until Friday to give Frankie an answer,” Jesse chuckled again.
“Don’t you think moving in with you is kind of quick since we haven’t even had a real date yet?” she asked.
“Well, darlin’,” he drawled, “we do have a daughter together so it’s not like we just met yesterday.”
“Don’t tempt me.” She couldn’t think of anything she’d like better than living on Sunflower Ranch with Jesse, but not in Miami.
Does that mean what you feel for him isn’t unconditional? You wouldn’t move to the ends of the world just to be with him? asked the aggravating voice in her head.
“Miami, the bunkhouse, me back in my room with you.” He named off places. “Or we could build a house of our own on the ranch. It’s your decision if you’ll move in with me.”
“I want the whole dating experience before I make a decision like that,” Addy said, putting him off until she had time to figure out if he was serious or just teasing.
“Then you’ll have it. Addison Hall, will you go to dinner with me on Thursday evening?” he asked.
“Why Thursday?”
“Because you have a baby shower tomorrow night after the midweek church service,” he reminded her, “and you’ll have a lot of questions to answer at it, I’m sure. On Thursday, we can go to dinner and talk about all of that.”
“Why can’t we talk about it when I get home, like when I come to the bunkhouse afterwards?” she asked.
“No reason whatsoever because, darlin’, we will always have stuff to talk about,” he answered. “So I can look forward to you coming to see me tomorrow evening? Should I buy another six-pack of Jack Daniel’s Watermelon?”
“That might be a good idea,” she said, smiling, “and yes, I would love to go to dinner with you. Where are we going, so I’ll know how to dress?”
“It’s a surprise, and in my eyes, you would be sexy in a gunny sack, darlin’.” He was actually flirting with her.
Addy’s heart did one of those flip-flop things that she hadn’t felt in years and years. “Is that your best pickup line after all these years?”
“Honey, I don’t need a line. All I have to do is tell the truth.” He pulled his truck up behind three other vehicles at the snow cone stand. “Rainbow with cherry, banana, and grape, right?”
“Nope,” she told him. “Tonight, I want a coconut cream.”
He whipped his head around and locked gazes with her. “I can’t believe you made up your mind for only one flavor.”
“I’ve had either blue coconut or coconut cream for twenty years. They remind me of you,” she admitted.
“This is my first snow cone since I left home, and, honey, everything reminded me of you,” he said. “They used to serve them in cone shapes. I wonder when they started using paper cups?”