Losing Him (Mitchell Family #8)(44)

It was all driving me crazy.

Still, they weren’t questions that I needed to know immediately.

My main focus was getting better so that I could be with son again. Jessie was nice and called him as soon as the doctor left, so that we could talk. I could sense his excitement on the phone when he heard my voice. I started crying as soon as I heard him answer. Jacob was my rock and he was going to keep me moving forward, because he was the most important person in my life.

Like they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It was going to motto until I could move on with my life and learn how to be happy. I was going to strive for it, no matter how painful the road was going to be.

Chapter 24


Jessie


Heather had a lot to do before she was going to be able to get around on her own. With the help of a walker, the doctor thought she would be able to manage herself day to day, but not return to work.

About two years ago, my parents decided that they were going to branch out and purchase a hotel. Since that time, the bed and breakfast had been my project. I’d grown up there and knew everything that needed to be done to keep business going smoothly.

My house was located on the property, but a little bit away from where the guests would go. It was nestled in a patch of trees and offered a lot of privacy. With their newfound business venture, my parents had moved closer to town. They were still only about ten minutes from where I lived. It was close enough for them to be able to visit with Jacob whenever he was with me.

Anyway, when they found out about Heather’s predicament and the fact that she was going to be moving in with me again, they offered to help, even though I could tell they weren’t thrilled. Heather had forced them to come clean about my parents and they weren’t prepared for that, at the time. Even though I think we were all glad that the truth was out, they still held a grudge about it.

I could see how I did the same when it came to Heather. No matter how much she tried to make me love her and want to be with her, I still had this hold on the past and what she’d done to land on my front door.

Aside from my family, Jacob was thrilled to have both of us under the same roof. He lectured me every single night of the week that she was set to be released.

While Heather was stuck in the hospital, she had a visitor that somehow changed things. Her demeanor had changed and she even seemed optimistic about moving on. I saw a spark in her eyes that I’d never seen before.

The day she came home was difficult, since she had to fly on a plane. Her arm was still braced up and she had been fitted for a smaller neck collar. I knew she was uncomfortable, but we managed to make it work.

My parents picked the three of us up from the airport. I could see them putting on fake smiles for her benefit. Heather was grateful, even though I knew she knew they weren’t being sincere. As much as they loved Jacob, they would always have issues with Heather.

I think that she didn’t expect me to have moved all of her things into my place, but that’s what I did. Her landlord wasn’t too keen on her moving out, but her contract was only for a few more months anyway. Heather had been a good tenant and even paid for several new appliances in the time she lived there. He knew that he couldn’t argue with that being done, so he kept her security deposit and said she’d paid her last month’s rent as well. With that being taken care of, I grabbed a couple of my employees and we took a day to move everything from one house to the other.

Heather had couple other things going on that she was going to have to tend to. Although the driver of the car didn’t want to press charges, she still received a ticket and court date for driving under the influence. Apparently North Carolina takes that especially serious. Heather hired a lawyer, but we knew she wasn’t going to get off easy. She was ordered to pay a ton in fines and lost her license for six months. Because she’d never changed it over, that meant that she couldn’t drive at all, not even where we lived.

She was going to have to rely on me and I could tell that she didn’t want to be a burden. For the first week, she stayed out of my way, like she was walking on eggshells. I think she assumed that I was just being nice because she had no other options. With her recovery being the most important thing, we didn’t discuss our relationship. Each day she got better, until she started only needing a cane to move around. She got the cast off of her arm and went to a physical therapist that worked on her neck and mobility.

Things were becoming normal again, like any other relationship would be. Although we weren’t sharing a bed yet, I wanted it to happen as she was cleared from her doctor. I’d pushed and pulled too much in the past. When Heather was ready for me, I’d be there waiting.

As far as everything else went, we lived and acted like a family. Jacob was on cloud nine having us both there every night. With the exception of weekends, I had to work during the day. Jacob went to school and Heather was left at the house to recover.

With the future of her mother’s house still in the air, I was handling the payments until she could get back on her feet. It was the least that I could do considering all that she’d been through. I just wanted her to know that she could count on me for anything.

It wasn’t until we’d been living together for a few weeks when Heather started acting funny. She’d been cleared to only have to wear a small neck brace, giving her mobility. I could tell that something had changed. In order for her to go back to work, she’d have to be able to drive, since the hospital was a good thirty miles from where we lived. So, of course, that wasn’t happening.