Thursday morning, when Karissa got off of work, she was ready to drop from exhaustion. She had tried to stay up late Tuesday to prepare her body for the long night, but hadn’t been able to sleep like she had hoped with her son running around. And, while her dad took Paul out for a few hours in the afternoon, her nap had been less than satisfactory.
She arrived home to find Paul up, eating pancakes in the kitchen with her parents. Her dad appeared to be just sitting down and already looked tired from his morning milking. “Things go okay this morning?” she asked.
“Yeah. It’s right as rain. I thought I’d take Paul out with me on the horse to check fences this morning before he goes to kindergarten--guarantee you a little sleep,” her dad said.
“That would be fantastic. I’m ready to drop.” It was a good thing she didn’t live further from work, because driving this tired could be dangerous. Karissa walked over and pressed a kiss to her son’s head. “You up for a long ride on the horse with Grandpa?”
“Yes! He’s gonna teach me to be a cowboy! I need boots, Mom.” Paul was taking to country life like Karissa's brother Bo had—the love of farming was already in his blood.
Karissa thought of her dwindling, nearly empty checking account and calculated how long it would be until her first paycheck. “In a few weeks, honey. Now, I’m going to go up to sleep. Do you think you can be quiet while you get ready to go out with Grandpa?” She noted that his Incredible Hulk pajamas were getting small on him.
“'Course. I’ll be very quiet, Mom.”
“Thank you, baby.” She looked at her dad. “And thank you for taking him out. He loves it here.”
Her father’s smile was his only answer.
“You know he loves having his only grandchild here to play with,” her mother said. “Are you hungry? Do you need something to eat?”
“No, thanks. Since we’re housed at the jail, I get fed in the morning.” Karissa rubbed a hand over her stomach, which was still a little off from the greasy eggs and hash browns they’d brought her. She’d have to remember to bring something a little healthier with her that night.
***
When Karissa awoke that afternoon, she heard her son yammering happily and loudly with Marsh. Her eyes widened when she glanced at the clock and saw it was half past three. Had she really slept eight hours? She had a vague memory of her son making a lot of noise a few hours earlier, and her mother hushing him, but that was it.
Karissa pulled herself out of bed and slid her cell phone into the pocket of the sweats she’d put on before going to sleep. She stopped to comb her hair in the mirror and put on a little mascara and coral peach gloss before turning to go downstairs. Just because she didn’t have time to clean up the way she wanted didn’t mean she had to look like a total dowd.
She found Marsh lying on the living room floor, her son on top of him, tickling the man for all he was worth.
“Don’t tickle me, I won’t be able to stop you,” Marsh said, wiggling around as if the little hands were sending him into paroxysms of laughter.
Karissa stopped and watched the scene for a minute before Paul looked up and grinned at her. “Hey, Mom. Uncle Marsh and me are havin’ fun!”
Marsh looked up, appearing a little surprised at her entrance, and rolled over. He captured the little guy in his arms as he stood, hanging him upside down. “Hah, I caught you. Now who’s going to be the tickler?” he asked. He poked at Paul’s side a few times, sending him into fits of giggles. Still, Marsh watched her, not her son. “I’m sorry if we woke you. I didn’t realize we were being so loud.” He brushed back the brown hair from his eyes, grinning.
“You look very repentant. But it’s past time I got up anyway. I can’t believe I slept so long.”
Marsh turned Paul right-side up again and gave him one last tickle for good measure as he set him on his feet. “Hey, squirt, how about if you go tell your grandma that your mom is up.”
“Okay.” Paul tore out of the room, and the front door slamming closed revealed where Beth had taken herself. She loved tending her front flower beds and had been talking about winterizing them.
Karissa stuck her thumbs in her back pockets, not really sure what to do now that she had Marsh alone and he was looking at her so seriously. “Isn’t it a little early for you to be here? Milking won’t start for more than an hour.”
“Your dad said he needed an extra hand fixing a fence in the back pasture, so I came early.” He chuckled lightly. “I got a little distracted by your kid. He’s a lot of fun.”
“I think so.” Karissa tried to stop there but couldn’t quite hold her tongue. “Why are you here all the time, working on the farm? I mean, I know you practically grew up here, but you’re not really their son. You don’t owe them anything.”
The warmth on his face cooled a little. “They make me feel like part of the family. You know mine’s in Vermont now. And basketball season starts soon, so I’ll soon be too busy to lend a hand. I’m sorry if I’m in your way.”
He turned and stalked toward the back door.
Karissa felt like a jerk, so she called out, “Wait, Marsh. I’m sorry.” She let out a deep sigh but was relieved when he stopped and looked at her. “I know I’m defensive when it comes to you. I’m having a hard time forgetting the way you teased me when we were growing up. It’s stupid. I know I’m overreacting.”
“I don’t think that’s the only thing bothering you, but I really wish I could take back whatever I did to hurt you. The last thing I want is for you to see me as an enemy.” He took a step closer to her, then stopped, as if changing his mind, and grabbed up a large manila envelope, handing it to her. “I picked up the mail at the end of the lane to save you the trip.”
Karissa saw the attorney’s office sticker on the top corner and held her breath as she turned the envelope over. She didn’t say anything, but her hands shook slightly as she opened it. The attorney had promised to have her staff send the divorce documents as soon as the judge made it official.
She nodded slightly when she saw that it was over now. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Several emotions rolled through her, from relief to sadness, that things had to end this way. The paper was a testament to her failure as a wife and her inability to make good choices where men were concerned. How was it she’d chosen a lying jerk, and why had it taken so long for her to realize it?
“You okay?” Marsh asked.
“Yes, of course.” Though she tried to sound bright and unconcerned, her voice was a little tight, belying her words. “It’s nothing I didn’t expect. So, you need to get out and help Dad. I better find my son before he harasses Mom to death.” She felt tears prickle at her eyes and sucked in a breath, just wanting him to go away.
“Karissa.” His large hand slid onto her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “If you need anything—”
“I won’t.” She shook off the hand. “But thanks for the offer.” She didn’t give him a backwards glance as she headed for the front door.
The phone in her pocket started to vibrate before she even left the room, and she fished it out. “Hello, Dennis.” She swallowed back the emotions as best she could, hoping she sounded unconcerned about hearing from him.
“Karissa, I know it’s short notice and it’s not my weekend, but since the divorce went through, Sheryl and I want to be married Saturday, and we’d really like it if Paul could be here. Jane said she’d drive out to get him tomorrow evening, keep him with her overnight, and bring him back Sunday morning. Again, I know it’s not my weekend, but we’d really like him to be part of this.”
That brought on the tears, though Karissa fought to keep her voice even. “You’re getting married in two days? The divorce documents just barely arrived.” He just couldn’t wait another week to make it official with his bimbo.
“The baby’s not due for a couple more months, but Sheryl would rather get it done now, and there’s really no reason to wait.”
Karissa stepped onto the porch, wishing she could just throw the phone and end the conversation. She wanted to say no way, that she didn’t owe him anything and it wasn’t his scheduled time, but…when Paul had his birthday a few months earlier, it had been Dennis’ weekend, and he had let her take her son for a couple of hours that day to celebrate with him. Despite everything else he’d been a jerk about, he had put their son’s well-being first. If she wanted that to continue, she needed to at least try to meet him halfway on this, even if it killed her.
“Do you really need to keep him overnight? At Jane’s?” she asked.
“Come on, Karissa. Jane’s already going to have a five-hour round trip each day. And she’d like to be there for the reception, which she won’t if she has to run him right back to you. If you want to bring him instead, that’s different. If you did, I’d pick him up and drop him off for my next visit.”
He was right; she couldn’t ask his sister to do that much driving. “I work tomorrow night. It would be stupid of me to drive to Pueblo on two hours of sleep.”
A hand slid onto Karissa’s shoulder, and she knew instinctively that it would be Marsh before turning to see him there, despite not having heard his approach. Why hadn’t he taken off out the back door to help her dad? She looked at him and saw the concern on his face. “Just a second,” she said to Dennis, then covered the mouthpiece. “Yes?”
“You need to go to Pueblo Saturday? I could take you. I have a few errands anyway.”
“You have errands in Pueblo?” She lifted her brow; no way was she buying that.
“Well, I can do them there as easily as Denver.” He shrugged, looking a little self-conscious. “It’s your decision.”
She didn’t really want to spend the day with Marsh, or to owe him for making the trip, but she didn’t want to leave Paul at Jane’s overnight, either. She was perfectly responsible, but her live-in boyfriend was another matter. Karissa only hesitated for a moment. “You’re sure? It will be a long day.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Marsh said.
Karissa returned to the phone. “Sorry about that. Someone will drive us to Pueblo. What time do you need him there?”
She made note of the time and where she was supposed to leave Paul and ended the call.
“So why are we going to Pueblo?” Marsh asked.
She wet her lips, needing an extra second to put it into words when her emotions were so close to the surface. “Dennis is getting remarried. He wants his son there.”
Marsh used some choice words to describe what he thought of Dennis. “It’s not his weekend. Why are you making the drive to accommodate him?”
“Because Paul deserves to be there, and we’re trying not to put him in the middle. And as a bonus, he’ll transport Paul to and from his visit next weekend. Besides, it’ll give Paul a chance to spend time with his cousins, which doesn’t happen all that often.” Dennis’s older sister had two little boys about Paul’s age.
Marsh looked surprised and maybe a little impressed. “You’re some woman, Karissa.”
His approval made her choke up even more. “Go help my dad. I have things to do before work.”
He headed off, and Karissa wiped at her eyes, determined to put on a bright, happy face for her son as she broke the news of his trip.