Page 11 of The Convict Gets His Girl

A part of him was still that hopeful sixteen-year-old boy with grand plans of a future with her at his side. He needed to talk to her in order to bury that piece of his childish hopes.

He shut the front door behind him and grabbed his nachos. She was joining Gemma and Henry's vet practice, and he knew she'd show up at the ranch eventually to do her job. Perhaps by then, he'd have the right words to say.

ChapterFive

August

Hey, Jewel, hear you're back in town. So weird because I am too. Let's talk? —Chase

Jewel stared at the message and sighed. He hadn't forgotten her. She's slipped her phone into her back pocket and reached for another box of clothes in the back of her truck.

Dad and Gemma were at the clinic, and Destini was staying in Houston with her cousins for a few weeks to finish up her job as NASA camp counselor. To say she wasn't thrilled with the move away from NASA was an understatement, but she'd get over it.

Eventually.

Jewel stared at the old farmhouse as she strode up the sidewalk. The Texas late summer sun beat down on her head, hair escaping her high bun and curls clinging to her temples with sweat.

The screen door slammed behind her, and her sneakers echoed softly as she strode down the hallway to the same old bedroom from her childhood. She dropped the box on the full bed and sank onto it, wiping her forehead.

Unloading her truck shouldn't be this difficult. She shouldn't be so tired after only an hour of physical work. But this was why she'd moved back home after all these years, wasn't it? She needed support and couldn't physically keep going the way she had been before, no matter how much stronger she was now compared to six months ago.

Lyme disease was a bitch some days, but she just needed to find a new normal, a new baseline so she could get better. That meant moving back home after fifteen years to take advantage of the help her family had always offered, and she'd denied.

The squeak of the front door had Jewel glancing up and blinking past the fatigue.

"Jewel, you home?" Gemma called.

She sighed and strode through the bedroom door, down the hall, and to the kitchen table. Gemma sorted through the mail and glanced up with a smile. It was always like looking in a mirror, except Gemma's hair was more strawberry blond than Jewel's lighter blonde.

Yet they had the same blue eyes, button nose, and wide smile as every other woman in their family. Part of the reason Jewel had stayed away was because Gemma reminded her so much of their mom.

"There you are," Gemma said, glancing back down at the mail as she sorted. "Do you want help unloading the rest of the boxes?"

"No, I'll get it. I just kept stopping to clean up my room."

Gemma winced and tossed most of the mail in the trash. "Sorry it was a mess in there. If I'd known, I would've had someone come out and deep clean it."

Jewel waved a hand. "It's fine. A month isn't that much time to make adjustments, and I'm grateful you and Dad have room for us while we look for a new place."

Gemma peered at her, forehead wrinkling as she frowned. "How are you feeling today? I can totally get the rest of the boxes if?—"

"I'm fine, Sis. Well, I will be anyway. Just going to take me more time than it normally would. Inflammation is the worst part, and the doc is testing some things to help reduce that."

Gemma nodded and turned to the kitchen. "As long as you don't keep trying to do it all yourself and actually ask for help. Dad will be home in about an hour. Do you want to finish unpacking while I make dinner?"

Jewel sighed and turned to the front door. "Sure, I'll see how far I can get."

The truck wasn't even half unloaded by the time dinner was ready and their dad came home. But she'd unboxed most of her clothes into her old dresser, so she still counted it as a win.

"Jewel, Dad, dinner's ready!" Gemma called. Jewel kicked off her sneakers and padded softly down the hall in her socks.

They sat at the same spots as usual, her mom's seat still empty, the pile of mail in front of it on the table. Gemma sat a casserole in the center of the table, and Jewel grabbed plates and forks.

"Did you get Mr. Demison squared away?" Gemma asked, sitting down and spooning a heaping portion of chicken and rice onto her plate.

Henry shut the fridge and set three Dr. Pepper's on the table as he answered. "Yeah, had to sedate the heifer twice before we were done, but the barbed wire was all removed, the old girl sewed up, and legs wrapped. As long as she doesn't chew off the bandages, she should be fine. How was the office today?"

Jewel filled a cup with water, then loaded her plate too. Dad gave her a look but kept talking with Gemma.

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