“We’re making sandwiches. You can get down a platter,” Addy answered. “And I expect Jesse and I are old enough to make out wherever we want.”
Mia did one of her famous head wiggles. “Whatever! But you’re also old enough to get a room and not embarrass your daughter.” She reached into the cabinet and brought out a plate. “You put on the mayo, and I’ll slap them together and cut them diagonally. I could probably eat half a dozen. Nana and I haven’t had anything but a couple of cookies from the vending machine since noon.”
“We could have stopped and gotten pizza or chicken to bring home.” Jesse brought two bags of chips from the pantry.
“Poppa was in a hurry to get here, and we didn’t want to take the time,” Mia explained as she deftly made sandwiches. “That’s plenty for now, Mama. We can make more if we eat all these. I bet Poppa will have some, too. He didn’t eat worth a damn in the hospital. He said the food didn’t taste like what Nana makes.” She turned around to find Jesse grinning at her. “And for your information, I am bossy. I get that from Mama and Nana both, so if you don’t like it, you don’t have to claim me as a daughter.”
“He already did,” Addy said.
“What does that mean?” Mia picked up the plate of sandwiches but didn’t take a single step.
“It means that we deliberately let it slip when we saw Lylah eavesdropping the other night when we went to Walmart to get a gift for Gloria Sue’s shower,” Jesse answered. “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow while we get the bales of hay into the barn. And Pearl announced it to the whole bunch of ladies at the baby shower last night.”
“I’m just now hearing about this?” Mia raised both dark eyebrows. “I’ll be in your room later this evening, Mama.”
“You won’t find anyone there. She’s sleeping over in the bunkhouse with me,” Jesse said.
Mia whipped her head around so quickly that Addy figured she would have a crick in her neck the next morning.
Addy shrugged. “You told us to get a room.”
* * *
“How long are you going to be able to stay?” Jesse twisted the top off a bottle of beer and handed it to Cody.
“Thanks.” Cody took the beer from him. “Honestly, I have no plans to go back,” Cody answered quietly.
“Really?” Jesse tried to keep his voice down, too.
“I’m too tired to talk about it tonight, but I’ve got an idea to run by you and the folks in the morning,” Cody said.
“Fair enough,” Jesse replied. “But I’ll say this, I’m glad to hear it. I can use some help on this place when Henry leaves. When school starts back in late August, we’ll lose our summer hired hands, too.”
“If what I’ve got in mind pans out, I’ll have time for a little ranching. Tell the truth, I’ve missed it, but now that I see Dad is going to be all right, I’d sure like to find a shower and a bed. Want to help me take my things to the bunkhouse?” Cody asked.
“You can have my room,” Addy told him. “I’m staying in the bunkhouse with Jesse tonight. I’ll feel a lot better knowing a doctor is in the house in case Sonny needs you.”
“Well, good for the both of you.” Cody yawned.
Addy stood and started inside the house. “While you shower, I’ll get some clean sheets on the bed.”
“Thanks,” Cody said. “I can’t remember the last time I slept in a real bed with clean sheets. Mostly, I catch forty winks in a hammock or on an army cot.”
“I’ll help you,” Pearl said.
Mia hopped up from her place on the top porch step. “You’re worn out, Nana. I’ll help Mama.”
“And I’m going to my place,” Henry said. “Thanks for not dying, you old coot.”
“Who’s calling who old?” Sonny asked. “You and I are the same age.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t have to spend a night in the hospital,” Henry threw over his shoulder as he disappeared into the dark.
“You need to get to bed,” Jesse said to his father. “Want some help?”
“I told y’all that only Mia can smother me,” Sonny reminded them. “The whole lot of you have got things to do. Cody, you get a shower and some shut-eye. Mia, you help your mama. And Jesse, you better take these leftover sandwiches down to the bunkhouse,” Sonny said with a broad wink. “You might get hungry later.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Jesse smiled. “Never know when a guy might appreciate a little food.”
* * *
Addy snuggled up as close to Jesse as she could possibly get the next morning after shutting off the alarm. “I love this cuddling time.”
“I love that no one is giving us hell for spending the night together.” Jesse made lazy circles on her bare back with his thumb.
“We’re adults,” she said.
“Yep, and we’ve got fifteen minutes before we have to really crawl out of this bed. What do you think we should do with that time?” He had a wicked grin on his face as his hands traveled down her back.
“I can’t think of much of anything when you’re this close,” she answered, “but I’m willing to go along with your idea.”
Half an hour later, they were scrambling to get dressed for the day, then they rushed to the ranch house. They barely made it to the kitchen when Pearl and Sonny arrived with Cody right behind them. Cody Ryan was a good-looking cowboy, but there was no way he was as sexy as Jesse—not in Addy’s eyes anyway.
Jesse put on a pot of coffee. “So, Cody, are you really going to stay in Honey Grove?”
“Yep, I was on my way home to surprise everyone when I got your call,” Cody answered.
“Now that a full-fledged doctor is in the house, I guess I won’t be needed so much,” Addy said.
Jesse took five mugs from the cabinet and filled them. He set three on the table and handed off the other two to his mother and Addy, then put another pot on to brew.
“Oh, no!” Cody shook his head. “I want to do some ranching. I’ve missed that, but I want to be a doctor, too. Nothing says I can’t be both, does it?”
“Not one bit,” Sonny answered. “Does that mean you’re going to be a part-time doctor?”
“Kind of, but more like an old-time doctor,” Cody answered. “I want to run my business from right here. I won’t see patients in a clinic or in an office, so I won’t need much in the way of staff—just a nurse.” He glanced over at Addy. “I would make house calls, and if the patient’s condition warrants it, I’d refer them to a specialist or send them to the hospital.”
“What would you need a nurse for?” Addy stirred up the batter for banana nut muffins.
“To help, for one thing, and as a witness for another. Kind of like when you go to the doctor for an exam and a nurse is always standing by.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Sonny said. “I’ll be your first patient.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Cody nodded.
“You can have Henry’s place for your office when he moves to Colorado in a few weeks. Until then, you can use my office to get things set up,” Sonny told him. “You’ll need to keep files and supplies and such, and his little house would be perfect.”