Page 13 of Unbreakable
Giving her a knowing smile, I hand her my uniform. "You've helped me more than you know, Janet. I'm going to miss you."
Janet reaches into the pocket of her apron, and pulls out a folded envelope containing my last paycheck. "I see my daughter in you. Let's say she's a survivor too." Janet passes the envelope to me, and I tuck it in my back pocket. I'm not going to meddle. I know how to read between the lines as to what she is referring to. I've overheard more than one phone call between her and her daughter and the desperation in her pleading voice every time. I give her a final hug goodbye. "Your daughter is fortunate to have you."
"And you and that man out there on the motorcycle are lucky to have each other," she replies.
On her final words, I leave. I walk up to Jake, "She's a good woman." I turn and look back at the diner. Laying his hands on my hips Jake pulls me in.
"I know, babe. She and I had a little chat the day I came in looking for you."
Surprised by his admission, I raise my brow and wait for him to elaborate.
"She pretty much told me she'd chop my balls off if I hurt ya," he chuckles, then plants a kiss on my smiling lips. Swatting my butt, he tells me to get in the car. Noticing my daughter is in her own little world filled with music as she plays a game on her phone I put the car in drive and turn onto the highway heading east.
After a few hours, we make a quick stop at a rest area inside the Montana state line. I give Remi a few dollars to grab herself some vending machine snacks, and we hit the road once again. Deciding now is as good a time as any I decided to talk to her about Jake and me. Reaching across the console, I tug on the earbud in her left ear to grab her attention. She taps the screen of her phone and turns her face towards me giving me her full attention.
"What's up?" she speaks softly.
"I want to talk to you about Jake. I want to know what's going on inside of that head of yours."
She's quiet for a moment. "I feel okay about Jake. He makes you smile, and I like that." She says smiling herself.
I smile back, "I like that too."
"He has kind eyes, and when he talked to me yesterday, he made me feel safe. Dad, always made me feel small and scared all the time. Jake was easy to talk to." Turning her head, she looks out the window at the passing fence posts on the side of the road, "Do you love him like you used to love Dad?" she asks.
"I love him more," I confess to my daughter.
Her focus lands back on me, this time her expression raw with emotions, "Does he love you too? Like really love you?"
I take her hand in mine. "Yes, Peanut, Jake loves me," I assure her. Both finding comfort in the small conversation we held, Remi digs her stash of candy from her bag and holds it out for me to dip my hand in. For the rest of the ride, we eat junk food and sing along to the radio. That one little mother-daughter moment in a sense is freeing for both of us.
With the Polson exit up ahead, Jake passes my car and takes the lead. Taking the street leading away from town I follow him through winding roads for several miles. The people who live out this way are spread out from one another. Slowing Jake's turn signal starts flashing as he turns on a blacktop road. We cross over a stone bridge where a small creek runs before his home comes into view.
I take in the beautiful cabin appearing at the end of the road. The one thing standing out the most is the front porch. It's a huge wrap-around and expands the entire home.
Remi gasps, "Mom, look, horses," she points out to my left. Sure enough, two horses are standing near a fence line off in the distance. "Do you think he'd let me pet them?" she scoots forward on her seat.
Laughing, I tell her, "I'm not even sure they belong to him, Peanut, but you can ask." Jake parks his bike in front of a large shed, so I pull up beside him. As soon as I stop, Remi unbuckles and bolts out the door. Before I have my door fully open, she's bouncing on her toes waiting for Jake while he opens the large shed doors and pushes his motorcycle inside.
"Are those horses yours?" Remi shuffles from foot to foot.
He looks off towards the wooden fence where the horses are grazing. "Sorry, sweetheart. They aren't mine. I allow a friend of mine to let them graze on my land. They're pretty docile if you want we can go visit them tomorrow morning," he explains, and her face lights up.
"Can I see them in the morning, Mom?" my daughter begs.
"I don’t have a problem with it as long as Jake or I am with you," I inform her and lift my eyes to Jake's.
"Alright, ladies, let me give you the penny tour of the place tonight," Jake offers, and we start walking in the direction of the front door. Punching in the code, his door unlocks and Remi and I step inside. It's as beautiful inside as it is outside. The first room we enter is the living room. It's like walking into the pages of a magazine. His furniture is mostly brown leather, but the whole place doesn't appear too dark with the large windows, and light gray paint on the walls. I can't wait to see the room basked in light from the rays of sun pouring in during the day. He leads us to a separate kitchen, and I stop because I'm standing in my dream kitchen. Jake spared no expense with the high-end stainless appliances along with light gray, granite countertops. "You have all this, and it looks like you never use it," I remark as I open the convection oven big enough to cook three pans of just about anything.
"Never needed to. I like to cook, but it's just me out here. Come on. I'm going to show you your rooms."
"Mom, look," Remi points out the large bay window, on the other side of the room. "Is that a river back there?"
Jake answers, "You're looking at part of Flathead River."
"Wow," Remi responds.
Climbing the stairs to the top floor of the home, Jake continues to show us around. "There's a bathroom here," he opens the door and turns the light on, "the towels and everything you guys will need are in the cabinets." I allow my gaze to drift. Brand new bottles of bubble bath and woman's shampoo sit on the edge of the huge tub.
