Page 14 of Rush Turner
“I would love to visit all of you. Now, all of you know Jessa is right, you have to move on,” Marie looked at me. Jessa, what are you going to be doing in Honeywood?”
“That’s the exciting part. We are going to raise goats and sell the milk. Willa Mae says goat milk is in high demand. Plus, I can work from home.”
Sometimes I feel like I’m under water raising these kids. What if I was doing it wrong? I knew what to do when Joanie told me about Kyle. She said he was a man, and he kept trying to kiss her. She said he tried to force her to have sex. So I called the police.
That’s when he started his terror on our family. He and his friends attacked Jeremy and me when we were in town. He attacked Joanie and Janie when they were coming home from school. That’s when I packed us up and moved to Aunt Marie’s.
Marie and I planned for me to rent a small apartment in another town so that we would have an income. I was always scared he would find us, and I was right.
I was living in San Diego, singing. Singing was my dream, and I had gotten a full-time Job singing at this hot spot on the beach, when my parents died.
I left all of that behind, because my siblings were more important than any job singing.
11
Jessa
Three weeks later, I drove the U-Haul truck down the gravel driveway and smiled. I loved this farm. I was all set to get goats. We packed everything into two U-Hauls. Aunt Marie was driving the other one behind me.
I saw Willa standing on the front porch with some guys, who she said would help us unload the trucks. I pulled my truck to a stop, and then Aunt Marie pulled in next to me. We all climbed out of the trucks, and Willa walked to me and hugged me.
I almost fell over when I saw Rush step off the porch. He smiled and walked over to me. “You’re the one who rented this place?”
“Yes, and you know Willa Mae?”
“Yes, she married my teammate Nate.”
“We are ready to help you unload,” she said, taking my hand. “This is my husband, Nate Hayes. Nate, this is my good friend, Jessa Monroe. Do you two know each other?” she asked, looking at Rush and me.
“This is the man I told you about,” I said, looking at Willa.
“Rush is the man who helped you?”
“Yes.”
“That’s wonderful. He can still help if you need him.”
“Hi, Jessa, we are here to help. Tell us where to begin,” Nate said.
“Thank you. This is my aunt, Marie, and these are my siblings. We’ll start with this truck, it has most of the furniture.”
We worked for hours unloading the trucks. The men put the beds in the rooms they would occupy and every piece of furniture in its designated place.
Aunt Marie had made loads of sandwiches and sweet tea. I promised them a barbecue when we got settled.
Now the beds were made, and the kids were getting tired.
“Aunt Marie, this is your room,” I said, showing her to her room, which was down the hall from the kitchen. I’ll get a bed and fix it up for you. Tonight you can stay in my room, and I’ll sleep on the sofa.
“This is perfect. I have decided to sell my home and move in here with you and the children.”
“Aunt Marie, are you sure?”
“Yes, I realized I was missing out on life when the kids were with me. I loved the big dinners and the noise. If it’s all right with you, that is.”
“We would love to have you with us. Thank you. I love you. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here with us. Momma is looking down, smiling.”
We all endedup crowded around the kitchen table, eating a quick dinner. Everyone was tired.
