Page 45 of Jagger
“Why don’t we take a seat?” I asked, watching Jackie’s father extend his elbow to Nana.
She smiled up at him, and they walked into the kitchen, chatting like teenagers. Jackie and I stood shocked and amused as we watched her dad pull Nana’s chair out before he took a seat. We joined them, and I sat across from him as I took Jackie’s hand into mine.
“Mr. Swiftwater, you have my promise that whatever Jackie wants to do in life, she has my complete support. And if she wants to continue her work with the tribes, then I’ll be right by her side, helping and protecting her. She’ll never be alone again.”
Nana smiled at me as Jackie’s father leaned back in his seat, appraising me. My cut was hanging up in the living room since I was trying to make a good impression, and I felt vulnerablewithout it. But to be with Jackie, I would be as vulnerable as needed.
“How are you going to support my daughter if you’re following her around all the time? Won’t your job miss you?” he inquired.
I looked at Nana, and she gave me a subtle nod. Kissing the back of Jackie’s hand, I began to explain my situation, which she wasn’t aware of yet. “I worked five years in the oil fields up north during the boom, and I lived cheaply. Taking all the money I made, plus the profits from selling my family home, I invested in the tech industry before that boom. A club brother manages my investments now, and barring a complete meltdown of the financial sector, we’ll have enough to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.”
“So, I never have to worry about you becoming an addict? Or messing around with some cheap floosies?”
“Dad,” Jackie scolded.
“Darlin’, it’s okay. I understand where your father’s coming from, and please let me reassure you, I don’t do drugs. I never have more than two drinks, and that’s on a rare occasion. I don’t believe in cheating, and I’d never do anything to hurt your daughter.” I looked at her and remarked, “I love her.”
He stared at me for a few moments before he lifted his shoulders and said, “That works for me.”
Turning, he began to talk to Nana, who had sat watching with a prideful smile. She’d always told me that the right woman would change my life, and the second I claimed Jackie as mine, I finally understood what Nana had meant.
The right person made you do crazy things.
The right person made you change your life.
The right person made everything better.
And Jackie was the right person.
I helped her finish lunch while her father and Nana chatted, and I couldn’t help but think how things could be so different.
Four plus years ago, Jackie uncovered something so twisted that many people lost their lives. Her forethought to seek out her father’s help saved her from a horrible fate, and seeing how close they were and how she smiled when he was around meant keeping her happy, that kept me above ground.
Our family was small, but it was filled with love. And knowing Jackie and I were just getting started on our path to happiness gave me hope that she and I would have the same kind of happiness Nana and Pappy had.
A once-in-a-lifetime kind of love that would make you face down a charging buffalo to protect it.
The lives we lived up until now were so uniquely different but also so intertwined with each other that I wanted to kick my own ass for losing years with her when I was a stubborn jackass. But all we had now was time, and I didn’t plan on wasting a second together.
After all, wasn’t that what you should do with your ride or die?
Chapter 22
Jackie
Lunch with my father and Jagger’s Nana was fantastic. Listening to them tell stories of when they were younger made me smile. Apparently, Ms. Connie and my father worked together on a Native relations project that transformed into community centers and food pantries. Together, along with Jagger’s Pappy later, built a legacy on the reservations that was thriving to this day.
My father offered to drive Ms. Connie home on his way back to the reservation. She accepted, and as we walked them to his car, my father held me back slightly and whispered, “You have my blessing, Jackie. He’s a good man, like Trent and his father. He would be welcomed in the tribe.”
My eyes grew watery as I listened to my dad confirm something I already knew. Lincoln Philips was the man I was destined to spend my forever with. The ancestors had finally bestowed upon me the other half of my soul.
Jagger and I stood in the driveway and waved as my father and his Nana drove away. They were both smiling, and when I rested my head on his arm, he leaned over and kissed the top.
“Anything special you want to do tonight, darlin’?” he asked, and I looked up at him and smiled.
“Do you think we could visit Luna? I feel bad that I’ve been neglecting her,” I responded, and he smiled.
“Why not? She hasn’t bitten me in a few days,” he replied, and I gave him a curious look as we walked inside.
