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“I’d be pissed, too.”
“Don’t use that sort of language,” he said on autopilot.
“Yeah, I know, it isn’t ‘ladylike.’”
She rolled her eyes and Jackson took a deep breath. What was wrong with a girl using nice language?
“What’s he like?” Morgan asked.
“We haven’t met yet, but I know he’s a baseball and science fiction fan.”
“Probably a geek. What’s she like?”
It was a question Jackson hadn’t anticipated. “Oh, Kayla has dark auburn hair and blue eyes. I don’t know. Smart, I guess.”
“Cripes, Dad. If that’s all my boyfriend could say about me, I’d give him the old heave-ho.”
“This isn’t about Kayla and...you have a boyfriend? Who is he?” he demanded.
“No one steady at the moment.”
“But you used to have a steady boyfriend?” Jackson asked, his heart rate accelerating. A child growing up on a ranch was familiar with the facts of life, but he wasn’t ready for Morgan to experience those facts firsthand. “You’re only fifteen—that’s too young to go steady.”
Morgan gave him an inscrutable look that didn’t admit or deny anything. “How old was Kayla when you knocked her up?”
Damn. Okay, he was an even bigger hypocrite than he liked to think about, but he was determined to keep his daughter from having to grow up too quickly.
“I don’t remember for sure,” Jackson replied. “And it’s none of your business, so don’t ask if you meet her, or Alex, either.”
“Am I going to meet him?” she said, angry defiance creeping back into her attitude.
“That’s partly up to Alex, but it’s fine with me and I don’t think his mother will object. Is that what you want?”
His daughter’s nose wrinkled, but he still couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“I guess,” she said after a while.
“Is there anything you want to discuss?” he asked, wishing she’d give him a hint about her feelings. It would have been easier if he’d found out about Alex before she turned so ornery. Or perhaps when she was older and they’d figured things out.
Morgan hunched her shoulder. “What do you mean?”
“I mean...how do you feel about all of this?”
“What do I care if you have another kid? Maybe he won’t cause you as much trouble as me.”
Jackson leaned forward. “Morgan, we might be going through a rough patch, but it doesn’t—”
“Save it,” she interrupted and jumped to her feet. “I’m going for a ride.”
“Take the satellite phone,” he reminded her.
He counted to ten as Morgan disappeared, their faithful German shepherd at her heels. The discussion hadn’t gone as well as he’d hoped, but slightly better than expected. His mom would say...
Ah, hell.
His parents also needed to be told about Alex, and it was news that should come from him. Jackson was reasonably certain they hadn’t heard yet or they’d have contacted him; nowadays his folks were pretty direct.
Suddenly he smiled with grim humor. His mother had not been thrilled when he and Marcy needed to get married so young, especially since going to college had seemed unrealistic with a family on the way. Still, when Morgan was born, Mom had loved her granddaughter wholeheartedly, saying a baby was always a blessing. And lately she’d begun complaining that her other grown children hadn’t settled down and given her more grandkids.
Punching his parents’ number on the phone, Jackson waited for an answer.
“Hi,” greeted Sarah McGregor’s voice.
“Hey, Mom, it’s Jackson. Do you remember the old saying, ‘be careful what you wish for’? Well, get Dad on the extension and grab a chair. I’ve got the perfect example.”
* * *
KAYLA LET HERSELF into the house and found her grandmother in the kitchen.
“Sorry for taking so long,” she apologized. “I stopped at Granddad’s office and we talked about the situation with Jackson and Alex.”
“It’s no trouble, dear,” Elizabeth said. “The kids are napping in the hammocks.”
“They’ll stay out there all day if we let them—I rousted them out of bed early for your terrific breakfast and they’re not morning people.”
“As I recall, neither were you.”
Kayla’s smile grew more strained. Her mother’s lifestyle had made sleep a challenge when she was growing up. It was ironic that with their more or less normal home and childhood, her kids hated going to bed. Of course, it was different when you wanted to stay up—Alex and DeeDee had never been forced to stay awake all night because of loud parties or feeling uncomfortable about who might be in the apartment.
Shaking the thought away, Kayla peeked into the pots on the stove. “It looks as if you’re making potato salad.”
“And fried chicken, yeast rolls and coleslaw. Also chocolate cake and sour cream lemon pie for dessert,” added Elizabeth. “Pete has been out of town for a few days, but he’s coming over tonight to see you and meet the kids. The weather is so pleasant, I thought it would be nice to have a picnic on the patio.”
Kayla had almost forgotten Uncle Peter. She’d only met her mother’s much younger brother a couple of times. He’d left for college shortly before Kayla’s stay in Schuyler.
“I should have asked before...how is Pete?” she asked.
“Doing well. He moved back last year to work in the practice and people are starting to, um, appreciate him as their lawyer.”
From the tone of her grandmother’s voice, Kayla suspected Schuyler was struggling to accept a young Garrison in place of the elder one, but “That’s nice” was her only comment. She didn’t have enough experience with small towns to know what was normal.
Elizabeth opened the refrigerator and studied the contents. “I had the grocer send over three chickens,” she said over her shoulder. “But maybe I should get another one.”
“Heavens, that’s more than enough. DeeDee doesn’t have a teenager’s voracious appetite yet, and while Alex may eat a little chicken, he’ll mostly fill up on the bread and salads.”
“I know. He’s trying to be a vegetarian.”
“This month, at least,” Kayla said wryly. “Anyway, you mustn’t wear yourself out cooking for us.”
“A picnic is nothing. I made ten gallons of chili and all the corn bread for the church’s booth at the rodeo.”
Kayla grabbed a carrot stick from a plate on the table and crunched it down. “Okay, so what can I do to help?”
“You don’t need to—”
“Yes, I do,” Kayla interrupted firmly. “And I want the kids to do chores while they’re here. They need to learn self-discipline.” Her grandparents were terrific people, but they were too indulgent.
“I’m sure you’re right,” her grandmother agreed slowly, a flicker of melancholy in her eyes.
Abruptly Kayla wished she hadn’t said anything—Granddad had spoken of how they blamed themselves for how their daughter had lived her life. Maybe they had made mistakes, but people needed to take responsibility for their decisions...such as having sex at sixteen. Kayla didn’t blame anyone else for her teen pregnancy. She might not have been as experienced as Jackson, but she’d known there could be consequences.
An hour later she was peeling eggs for the potato salad when Granddad arrived with sandwiches and milk shakes from the Roundup Café.
“Lunch,” he called.
The kids appeared at the back door, blinking sleepily.
“Don’t worry, I got a grilled cheese for you,” Granddad said to Alex. “They don’t serve much vegetarian food in Schuyler, but the toasted cheese isn’t bad.”
Kayla restrained a smile while her son tried not to look envious as everyone else unwrapped their hamburgers. The Roundup Café made a mean burger, stacked high with juicy, fire-grilled patties, sliced onions, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes. If possible, they were even better than she remembered.
DeeDee smacked her lips when she was finished. “Yum. Too bad you’re a vegan, Alex.”
“Shows how much you know. I’m not a vegan. Vegans don’t eat cheese.” Alex popped a French fry into his mouth and chewed grumpily.
His sister shrugged. “Mom, can I go out and explore Schuyler some more?”
“Not yet,” Kayla said. “I’m going to talk with your brother right now, and after that we need to have another discussion.”
“Ah, Mom. Why can’t you talk to both of us together?”
“Shove it, squirt,” Alex warned, getting to his feet. “You don’t have to be in on everything.”
DeeDee stuck out her tongue.
“Careful,” Elizabeth warned. “A fly might land there.”
“Or it might get stuck that way,” Granddad added, “and you’ll have to go through life with your tongue hanging out like a sheepdog.”
“Oh, puleeze,” DeeDee groused.
Elizabeth’s eyes twinkled at her husband. “I’m afraid we’re behind the times, Hank. Our jokes are dated.”
“And proud of it.”
DeeDee giggled.
Even after such a short time with her grandparents, Kayla could see how comfortably the kids were settling in. It was something they’d never experienced, the sense of extended family. Curtis had been a foster child and Kayla’s mother was in and out of their lives—mostly out—depending upon her sobriety.
Back in Alex’s room he sat on the bed, while Kayla took the chair.
“I saw your birth father this morning,” she told him. “And I thought you might have some questions. I’ll tell you whatever I know.”
“No more secrets?”
“No more secrets,” she promised. “If I don’t have an answer for you, I’ll try to get one.”
“Okay. Last night you said it was complicated, you know, about why my birth dad never visited me in Seattle. Didn’t he know about me?”
Kayla swallowed. Depending on how she told her son, Alex might never want to meet Jackson. But as tempting as it was to keep him out of their lives, it wouldn’t be fair to her son.
“I told Jackson I was pregnant,” she explained carefully, “only he didn’t think it was possible because he’d used condoms. We were kids, and kids don’t always handle that sort of situation well. That’s one of the reasons I don’t want you to jump into an intimate relationship too young. Accidental pregnancy, STDs, they’re all out there, and protection isn’t a hundred percent, no matter what you use.”
“Jeez, Mom, you sound like a broken record.”
“I don’t care. I don’t regret having you, but that doesn’t mean I want you to become a father before you’re ready.”
Her son’s face scrunched up, reminding her of when he was small. He’d always been such a serious child, as if contemplating the weight of the world.
“Maybe this Jackson guy wasn’t ready to be a dad, either,” he said slowly. “And that’s why he didn’t believe it.”
Kayla blinked. “You could be right, but that’s water under the bridge.”
Alex stared at his shoes for a minute. “What’s he like?”
“If you mean what kind of man is he, I don’t know yet. But I can tell you some facts. He’s a rancher, which is what he wanted to be when he was in high school. His spread is called the Crazy Horse and he raises both cattle and horses. The McGregors go way back in this area. So does his mom’s family, the Nelsons. They were kind of rivals, I guess, until Parker and Sarah got married.”
“After I found out about the adoption I figured my birth dad would be an artist or something.”
Her son focused on his shoes again and Kayla’s heart ached for him. Montana was a world away from Seattle, and he was probably hoping his biological father would be more like him. “You should also know that Jackson was rather reckless as a teenager,” she said. “He was quite sexually active by the time he was seventeen.”
“Duh. I wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t.”
“Yes, but it turns out that one of Jackson’s other high school girlfriends also got pregnant. He has a daughter named Morgan about a month older than you.”
Alex stared. “Jeez, Mom! That’s messy.”
Kayla couldn’t help laughing at the apt description. “It is messy,” she agreed. “But we have to deal with it. The other girlfriend, Marcy, lived on the ranch next door to his parents’. They broke up and he went out with other girls, including me. Not long before your grandmother Carolyn and I left Schuyler, Jackson went back to Marcy and they got married right after graduation.”
“You mean his other girlfriend was already pregnant when he was dating you, and they got married when he found out?”
“I’m not sure why they decided to get married. I didn’t ask.”
“I bet they won’t like me suddenly showing up. I don’t think Dad’s new family likes having DeeDee and me around, either.”
Kayla learned forward, wishing she could protect her children from every hurt and disappointment. “If your dad’s new family doesn’t enjoy having you around, that’s their loss,” she said carefully. “As for Jackson’s family, I don’t know how they’ll react. He’s divorced now, but the rest of his relatives may want to meet you.”
Jumping up, Alex went to the window and gazed outside.
