“Wait,” Nicole called.
Jesse turned.
“Thanks for helping with the twins. I’m usually more together than that.”
“Babies are tough,” Jesse told her, pleased she’d been able to make a difference. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay. Bye.”
Jesse walked to her car, smiling and feeling more hopeful than she had when she’d left Matt’s. Nicole would take some convincing, but Jesse felt that she could earn her way back into her sister’s good graces. She would have her family back and, right now, that mattered more than anything.
JESSE PARKED IN FRONT of the YMCA in Bothell. The Y in Spokane had been a big part of her life ever since she’d had Gabe. She’d taken baby CPR classes there, had gone to Mommy and Me classes where she’d met other young mothers. She’d worked out in the gym, knowing her son was safe in the day care center and the babysitting service they provided had saved her butt more times than she could count.
Now she walked in to pick up Gabe and smiled as she saw him playing with two other little boys. As always, he was laughing and in the center of everything.
One of the teenagers there came up to her. “Hi, Jesse. You’re back early.”
“My meetings went quicker than I’d thought. How was Gabe?”
“Great. He’s really outgoing and he does so well with the other kids. Especially the shy ones. He takes the time to draw them out. Bring him back anytime.”
Jesse smiled and nodded. She wanted to take credit for Gabe’s easy personality, but she knew it was just one of those moments of chance when the gene pool did something beyond right.
Her son looked up and saw her. His smile widened and he raced toward her. “Mommy, Mommy, I made new friends.”
She bent down and grabbed him as he launched himself at her. “Did you? That’s great.”
“I had fun and I want to come back.”
“We’ll have to make sure that happens, won’t we?”
He nodded vigorously.
Jesse signed the paperwork and left, Gabe chatting as he walked with her. He gave her a real-time account of his morning, every event more fun and exciting than the one before. More good luck, she thought as she helped him into his car seat. He was a cheerful, happy kid. She wasn’t sure how she would have survived if he’d been any different.
She closed his door, then got in the driver’s seat.
“Now what?” he asked. “Are we going back to the hotel?”
“We can,” she said slowly, thinking about where they were and how far it would be to the hotel.
A thought pushed into her head. She tried to ignore it, but it just got bigger and louder.
Talk about crazy, she told herself. Hadn’t she been through enough for one day? Did she want to keep torturing herself? Even though she knew it was a bad idea, she heard herself say, “I think there’s someone I want you to meet.”
Gabe’s face brightened. “My daddy?”
“Um, not yet. But someone else. Your grandmother.”
Gabe’s eyes widened and he looked as if she’d just offered him a puppy. “I have a grandmother?” he asked, his voice low and filled with wonder.
“Uh-huh. Your daddy’s mother.” Gabe knew the basics about grandparents, mostly that he didn’t have any. Well, except for Paula.
There was only one problem. Matt’s mother had always hated her.
It’s been a long time, she reminded herself. Maybe Paula had changed. If not, it would be a very short visit.
Jesse drove into Woodinville, to the pretty house Matt had bought for his mother years ago, after his first computer game had been licensed for millions.
For the third time that morning, she pulled in front of a house owned by someone who very well might not welcome her back. But this time she didn’t bother with pictures. She had the real thing.
“Hurry!” Gabe instructed, as she unfastened him from the car seat. “Hurry!”
He ran ahead of her, racing up the walk and then reaching up on his toes so he could push the doorbell. Jesse grabbed her purse, slammed the door and jogged after him, but she was too late. The front door opened before she got there.
Paula stood there, looking a little older, but not all that different. Her hair was still dark like her son’s. There were a few more lines around her face and she’d gained a little weight, but otherwise she was as Jesse remembered.
“Hi,” Gabe said with a grin. “You’re my grandma.”
Paula stiffened as she gazed at the boy, then she looked past him to where Jesse stood halfway up the walk.
“Hi,” Jesse said, knowing she would have handled the situation differently than her four-year-old, but it was too late now. “I probably should have called or something. We just got into Seattle yesterday.”
Paula blinked several times. “Jesse?”
“I’m Gabe,” he said. “You’re my grandma.”
Tears filled Paula’s eyes. “You were pregnant?”
Jesse nodded, still not sure what was going to happen. She braced herself for screaming or nasty accusations. Instead, Paula smiled at Gabe as if he were a treasure she’d never expected to find.
“I’ve never had a grandson before. This is very exciting. Would you like to come in?”
Gabe nodded and stepped into the house. Jesse followed more slowly.
The place was as she remembered. She’d only been to it a few times, but each visit had been difficult enough for her to remember forever.
The colors were soothing, the furniture comfortable. The reason the awkward hours were etched into her brain had nothing to do with the house itself and everything to do with Paula.
“This way,” Paula said. “You know, it’s funny. I made cookies this morning. I don’t usually make cookies, but suddenly I got in the mood.” She smiled at Gabe again, looking stunned but pleased. “Do you like chocolate chip?”
He nodded in appreciation. “They’re my favorite.”
“Mine, too, although I really like peanut butter, too.”
“Those are my favorite, too,” Gabe told her, as charming as ever. “You’re pretty. Isn’t my grandma pretty, Mommy?”
Jesse nodded.
Paula looked as if she couldn’t believe this was happening. “Can I hug you?” she asked him.
Gabe smiled and held out his arms. Paula dropped to her knees and held him close. Her eyes closed as her face took on an expression of such longing that Jesse had to look away. Wasn’t this always the way? The two people who were more likely to welcome her had been cautious and unfriendly. The one person who had always hated her seemed thrilled she was back in town. Life was nothing if not perverse.
Fifteen minutes later, Gabe had eaten a cookie and finished a small glass of milk. He’d also brought Paula up to date on their trip from Spokane and how he was going to meet his daddy soon.
“Matt hasn’t seen him yet?” Paula asked.
Jesse shook her head, then looked into the family room. “Gabe, would you like to watch TV for a little bit?”
It was a rare daytime treat. Her son jumped to his feet and followed her to the sofa. Paula found a channel for kids, then the two women retreated to the kitchen where they could keep an eye on Gabe without being overheard.
“I didn’t know,” Paula said as soon as they were seated. She leaned toward Jesse and touched her hand. “I swear, I didn’t know you were pregnant. All I knew was what your sister said.” She shifted uncomfortably. “I told Matt about that.”
“I know. It’s okay. There were complications.” Jesse hated how, after all this time, the past still had the power to hurt everyone involved.
