Page 93 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
So I’d waited on the front porch, clutching my wrist until they’d gotten home.
When Jess helped me pull the Christmas decorations out of the attic last night, I absolutely should have listened when he’d said he would hang the tall stuff.
“I’ve called in a painkiller prescription for you to the pharmacy. But you know the drill. Ice if it gets swollen. Hot compress if it’s achy. Try not to use it for a few days,” Dr. Peterson said.
“Will do.” I hopped down from the ER bed. “Thanks, Dr. Peterson.”
Jess and Roe were sitting in the lobby waiting for me. I aimed my feet in that direction and headed to meet an angry-at-Georgia-because-she-didn’t-listen-to-me Jess and a mad-at-her-mother-because-she-hurt-herself-and-now-we-couldn’t-go-sledding Rowen.
Jess didn’t speak to me on the way back to the farmhouse. Neither did Roe.
Roe’s silence ended when we got home and she asked to play with the cats. Jess had created an area in the garage for Mrs. Fieldman, Rose, Peony and Captain Lewis. He’d even put in a cat door so they could go in and out at their leisure. Roe thought it was amazing because she could fit through it too.
While Rowen’s anger was short-lived, Jess’s lasted much longer. He had disappeared somewhere after we’d gotten home and come back in right before lunch. He’d eaten in complete silence, not even talking to Roe.
“I’m sorry, honey. I should have waited for you,” I said as Jess brought his lunch dishes into the kitchen.
“Yeah, you should have.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen. It was an accident.”
He pulled in an angry breath and let loose what he’d clearly been keeping inside these last few hours.
“You know, I’ve been taking care of people my whole life. My mother. My sister. This town. Because if not me, then who? So why is it that the one person who I actually want to take care of won’t let me?”
I didn’t get to answer before he started yelling.
“Fuck! I’m so fuc
king mad at you, Georgia! You could have broken your neck! And then what? What would have happened to Rowen? To me?”
I hadn’t thought about it that way. Tears flooded my eyes as the realization dawned. I could have left my daughter today with no one in the world to care for her.
“I see it’s sinking in,” he snapped before walking away.
I’d taken on so much these past few years. Not that I’d had much choice. I guess much like Jess, if not me, then who? The only other people I’d had to depend on were my mom and Ben. Now both were gone. And even when they had still been with us, Mom had been sick and Ben’s aging body couldn’t have done everything his mind thought it could have. So that meant everything had fallen to me.
Cooking. Cleaning. Laundry. Grocery shopping. Yard work. Holiday decorating.
Everything.
What else was I supposed to do?
But Jess was right. I couldn’t afford to be reckless with my safety or my life. I was all Rowen had. I couldn’t risk abandoning her just to hang up a Christmas ornament.
And I had Jess. Why hadn’t I let him help?
Because I was stupid. Extremely stupid. And stubborn.
My stomach rolled. Anytime Jess and I were fighting, I got sick. And, along with my throbbing wrist, I was getting a headache. It was time for a pain pill and a nap.
I set Rowen up with a movie and changed into some comfy lounge pants and a sweatshirt. My pill kicked in shortly after Tangled started playing and I fell into a deep sleep on the couch.
I woke up a little fuzzy, my eyes dry and foggy, and saw the clock on the mantel. I had slept for five hours. No wonder the movie was over and Roe was no longer on the couch.
My girl’s sweet voice echoed from the kitchen.
“Jess, can you give me my bath and read me my stories tonight?”
