Her Unexpected Hero (Unexpected Heroes #1)(48)
Author: Melody Anne

“That was great shooting, Alyssa.” Now Martin was talking as he walked up with Bethel, Maggie, and Eileen. “Your parents are right over there.”

She turned to see another truck set up with a skeet shooter; her mom fired expertly at a small clay disk. “Excuse me,” she said, beaming at Jackson, which made his smile falter for a moment in surprise. She didn’t normally let her guard down enough to show him such pleasure. She knew he was wondering what was going on. Let him wonder.

Standing at a safe distance, she waited for her mother to finish with her disks.

“I was wondering when you were going to get here,” Teresa said when she turned around and saw her daughter. “Martin assured us you were coming.” She gave Alyssa a warm hug.

“Jackson didn’t give me any warning; he just said we were going out. And why didn’t you tell me when I spoke to you that you were going to be here?”

“Because I like to surprise you once in a while. Plus, Jackson was so sure he was about to teach you something new. I wanted to be here when he learned you’re much better than him. Have you gotten to shoot yet?”

“Yeah, I knocked them out of the sky.” Alyssa patted her stomach. “Even with the bump trying to throw me off.”

“That’s my girl,” Teresa said. “Don’t you ever let a man win just to feel like a man. Too many women do that. Drives me crazy.”

“Come on, Mom. You taught me far better than that,” Alyssa said.

“That I did, baby girl,” she said before giving her daughter a hug. “You are glowing today. You must not be sick.”

“No. The morning sickness has all but evaporated, and I feel better than I have in a long time.”

“Good. Now, let’s get away from all these trigger-happy people and take a walk,” Teresa said as she wound an arm through her daughter’s.

The two of them strolled along a path, and Alyssa said, “I haven’t been out this far before. It’s beautiful.”

When someone rushed by them, the two stepped aside.

“Get it!”

“What in the heck are they after?” Teresa said as they picked up their pace.

A few younger kids were carrying BB guns and chasing what appeared to be a giant rat. “Is that a muskrat?” Alyssa had no idea. The vermin here were different from those in Texas.

“Not sure what that is,” her mother said.

Before they could say anything more, Jackson dashed past them, making Alyssa really curious now. She and her mother quickly trailed behind him to where they found the group of kids and Jackson at the edge of a flowing stream.

“What are you chasing?” she asked as they stood back, a little worried, since they were getting farther from their group of people. Safety was always better when in numbers.

“The kids were hunting,” Jackson said with a laugh. “But we couldn’t let them get too far away.”

“What are they hunting?”

“Rabbits, squirrels, birds,” he answered casually.

“That’s terrible, Jackson. Those creatures aren’t doing anything to them,” Alyssa said.

“Hey! I’m just assigned as this hour’s babysitter.” He held up his hand in self-defense.

“Well, then, watch them and make them head back.” Alyssa stamped her foot now and glared at him.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a big grin before turning to find one of the boys balancing on some rocks at the edge of the creek.

“Jimmy, get down,” Jackson yelled, but it was too late. The boy fell forward, soaking his clothes. The stream wasn’t deep enough to be dangerous, but that water looked frigid.

Jackson ran down, and when he reached out a hand to help Jimmy back up, he slipped on a moss-covered rock and tumbled into the creek with him. With a pained and incredulous look on his face, Jackson tried to scramble to his feet, but he slipped again. This time, like a child throwing a tantrum, he slapped his hands down, spraying water everywhere around him. Which, of course, sparked a spontaneous water fight.

“It’s time to retreat,” Teresa said as a few droplets reached them.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Alyssa said, and they began backing away.

“Jackson is sure good with those kids,” Teresa remarked.

“You know he’s the father.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes. When are you going to tell him?”

Alyssa let out a relieved breath. It felt so good to finally speak about it. Even if it wasn’t to Jackson. Her mother had always been there for her. Why she’d waited so long she would never know.

“I’m going to, Mom. I promise. It’s just that when I met him, he told me some things about his past, told me he would never be in a relationship again. And then Samantha spoke about the nasty custody battle he was in with his ex before she passed. It was just supposed to be one night. We were strangers passing. We weren’t supposed to see each other again.” Alyssa felt a smidgen of guilt when her mother flinched.

“I know you’re an adult, but it still pangs a mother’s heart to hear her daughter speak so casually about sex, darling.”

“I don’t take sex casually, Mom. Jackson was only the second man I’ve ever been with. I’ve told you about Carl and what a mistake that was. The thing is that this last month I’ve gotten to know Jackson a lot more. I did fear he would try to take my baby, try to replace the daughter he’d lost. I know now I was wrong to think that, but I didn’t know him, only what he’d said and what others had said. Now I just don’t know how to tell him.” Alyssa prayed that her mother could impart some words of wisdom.

“The longer you wait, the harder it will be, Alyssa. It’s like ripping off a bandage. You just have to do it and face the consequences.”

“I was afraid that’s what you were going to say,” Alyssa said with a long sigh.

“This isn’t something that goes away, and I have grown to know the Whitman family. They are good people. I think you should trust Jackson.”

A silence fell as they continued walking back to the group, with Alyssa trying to process her thoughts. When they heard the kids’ war cry behind them, the two women picked up their pace, and Alyssa did some power walking up the path, back to where it was safe and dry.

The afternoon passed quickly, and Alyssa was surprised by the good mood Jackson was in despite his soaked clothes and his less-than-manly control of a shotgun. Those clay pigeons just flew off unscathed, and Jackson endured the good-natured ribbing of the entire Whitman clan.