Dylan’s Redemption(74)

Jessie bit her lower lip. She’d warned Dylan, but she had no idea how it felt to have the one person who loved you above all else betray you. Sure, her father had been a rotten son of a bitch, but she’d never been one to count on him. He hadn’t treated her with love her whole life and turned on her. For her, he was always bad news. Dylan’s mother’s betrayal had come out of the blue and that made it all the more devastating. She was used to being disappointed by her father. Dylan had grown up knowing only love and security from his parents. To have that love and trust betrayed probably made it just as hard to deal with as losing his daughter.

“I’ll try to remember he didn’t know. I’ll remember his grief is fresh, and that I can help him through it the way I wished he’d been there to help me with mine.”

“That’s a start, honey.” He escorted her into the house. “I set up a fire for you. Just strike a match and you’re in business. I filled the wood box too. Do you think you can make it upstairs?”

Sore and still having trouble walking without limping, she’d get up those stairs if it killed her. “Even if I have to crawl up those stairs, I’m sleeping in my bed.”

“Remember what the doctor said. Let the scabs heal. Only take a short shower.”

“I’ll manage. Don’t worry.”

She’d walked into the great room and stared out the bank of windows at her back lawn and the surrounding trees. The sound of an approaching car drew her attention back to the front windows. Dylan pulled up in her driveway.

“Did I mention Dylan said he and Will are coming over?” Greg feigned innocence.

She clenched her teeth to keep from yelling at him. “I don’t believe you forgot at all,” she said tightly.

Will raced in the front door. “This is the coolest house ever.” He ran to Jessie and threw his arms around her legs. She flinched and clenched her teeth, but Will didn’t notice. She recovered fast and gently pulled Will away from her injured leg.

“Will, you can’t just run into someone else’s house.” Dylan walked in, carrying grocery bags. He stopped when he entered. The outside was spectacular, the inside even better. Twenty-foot ceilings towered over him with skylights letting in the natural light and making it appear as if you were still outside. The wood walls and floors gleamed a soft honey in the brilliant sunlight. The stone wall to the right boasted a huge fireplace with a stone bench running the length of the entire wall. Large copper bins sat on each side of the fireplace filled with wood for the fire. A large vase on one end held ten-foot-tall branches that curled and twined together with white lights strung along them. They’d be a pretty sight at night. On the far end of the room, the bench housed several pots of varying sizes with a profusion of houseplants. The natural light made their leaves deep green and glossy.

Seating areas divided the great room into three sections. Along the back wall where the sliding glass doors led out to a patio, the dining table sat with eight chairs surrounding an old plank farmhouse table. Closer to him were two seating areas, one for conversation, and the other for watching the big-screen TV.

The kitchen lay straight ahead. Glass-fronted wood cabinets in the same honey tone as the floors. The counter tops were sandy-colored stone. The sunlight streaming in made everything sparkle and glisten. The room was cheerful and homey, down to the soft brown leather sofas and yellow-and-white fabric chairs.

“Jessie, this place is amazing. You built it?” He noticed the huge framed picture on one of the walls. A set of blueprints for the house, showing the outside exposure.

Jessie stood staring at him like she’d never seen him before, so Greg answered. “She built it a couple years ago. Designed it too. Everything you see, she either built or picked out herself, down to the stones in the wall.”

“What’s in the barn outside?”

“That’s her workshop. She builds furniture out there. You should see the rooms upstairs. The dressers and beds she made are amazing.”

“I’ll bet they are. I bought a bunch of your furniture. I sleep in a bed you made. I have an entire bedroom set, coffee tables, side tables, and a dining set. It all came from your store. You have the order for Will’s new stuff. He’s grown out of his baby furniture.”

“I like horses. Daddy says we can’t keep one in the house. Uncle Owen has two horses. He let me pet them.”

Jessie’s stunned silence faded. The little boy still held on to her leg, though loosely now. Coming out of her daze, his words penetrated her stalled mind. “No. You can’t keep a horse in the house, but I have something you can keep.” She asked Dylan, “Um, can I take him out to the barn?”