Chapter 122: BBQ
*May you always be surrounded by good friends and better barbecue. – Anon*
Helen and the girls arrived back at the house after getting their nails done. Dean had asked to go with them before she went back to school on Monday. Jolene had been invited for the last several weeks and this time, she finally felt comfortable going with them. Her necklace was still on and with the comfort that it provided; her nightmares were lessened.
Dean bounded over to JD to show him her black tip French nails. Bunny waddled over to her own men while Helen moved to Reese. Jolene waved at Shelby with a smile as she tried to figure out just where she belonged in this large crowd.
She didn’t know the majority of the people that were there. Even with her own brothers, she felt odd. While she had been kept away from her family, JD had grown up into a young man. He even seemed taller than what she remembered.
And Jaxon had finally come out of the closet and was expecting a baby. Jolene knew about his sexuality after she caught him kissing another guy while they were still in high school. They had talked about it a few times, but he feared how people would react. Most specifically, their father.
Bob had always been concerned about appearances and reputation. Helen probably had her own suspicions that only became more concrete when he moved in with Bunny and Ty. JD, for the most part, was still in his self-absorbed teenage years at the time. What his siblings had done did not matter to him.
But as she watched her younger brother with the spunky teen, she saw that he had changed so much over the past year.
Or maybe she was the one that had changed so much.
She walked over and sat down next to her mom. Helen sat on Reese’s lap on the oversized lounger. With a very fatherly gesture, he pulled Jolene into a gentle embrace.
“A little overwhelming?”
“Yes.” Jolene admitted with a small laugh. “I know Colleen and Willow. Gina.” She was looking around and putting names on the faces that she recognized. “I think that’s Yulia’s daughter, but I’m not sure.”
Reese nodded. “That’s Reba.”
“How do you keep them all straight?” Jolene asked as she curled into his side.
A deep rumble of laughter shook his chest as he hugged both of them to him. “Years of keeping up with them and calling them the wrong name. Slowly, they all just became princesses. This was when my parents were still deciding who to marry and stay married to.”
“But my lovely princesses,” He kissed the top of Jolene’s head and then Helen. “I grew up, got old and learned that all of my sweet princesses have different personalities and wants and needs. And then I had to learn that I was not always the one to give them everything.”
“After I got money, that was the really hard one for me to learn. I wanted to solve all the problems. And once I had money, I could. Or so I thought. But then, I found the better answer.”
“What’s that?” Jolene asked.
“This.” Reese answered looking around at the large happy family. “The most important thing that anyone can give to anyone else, is time.”
Jolene remembered how she always wanted Bob to spend time with her. Just to notice her. To give her just a little bit of time.
And then when Hank came along, all he had was time. He was working his way up the ranks to follow in his uncle’s footsteps. The job wasn’t paying much but they scraped by. Sometimes, his family would help when the months were tight.
She had looked at what the investigation company gave Marti and now she wondered if it was from his family. Or from the secret accounts that he had. The ones that he hid from her. Paid for another family. Just like Bob had done to Helen.
Tears slipped out of her eyes and onto his chest.
“Give us a minute, my sweet mermaid.” Reese whispered to Helen, and she stood up and went over to where her sons were.
“Let’s go for a walk.” Reese suggested and encouraged Jolene to her feet.
With a protective arm around her shoulders, he guided her to the trail that meandered through the property.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t.” he said. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I wasn’t around much when my daughter was growing up. I got a second chance with Dean. And now, I'm having a baby with your mom.”
“Treat her well.”
“Always. I love your mom. You kids are important to her, so you’re important to me.”
“JD likes you.”
“Want to hear a secret?”
“Good or bad?” she asked as they reached a small pergola with a sitting area.
He shrugged and gave her a small grin. “Jaxon is changing his name so that he doesn’t have Dunning.” He sat down in one chair and motioned for her to sit in the other.
“To what?” she asked in surprise.
“Johnson.” He grinned. “He wants to have the same name as Ty and Bunny and the baby.”
“That’s good.”
“JD is changing his.” Reese grinned.
“Is he also going to be a Johnson?” She asked with a grin.
“No, he’s going to be a Reese.” Leaning forward he rested his elbows on his knees. “Shakespeare had it right.”
“About what?”
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Jolene looked at him in confusion for a moment. “I guess I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Both your brothers are changing their names. But they are the same people they were under the Dunning name.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “Jaxon is still Jaxon. JD is still JD. And you’re still Jolene.”
She smiled at him. “I’m not sure who Jolene is.”
“So, take some time and find out.”
“My classes…”
“Keep going. Drop them. Take a gap year. You do what you need to do for Jolene. And if that means that you need to get rid of Fargo and Dunning to find her, then we’ll do that.”
“I’m scared.” Jolene admitted quietly.
He laughed and shook his head. “I’m going to tell you something that your mother will not be happy about. But,” Reese took a deep breath, “your mother and I broke up for a few weeks. Before she… before we got back together, she went and got her nipples pierced.”
“Mom?” Jolene asked with eyes wide from shock and her voice trembling with laughter. “My mother? Helen Dunning?”
Reese nodded. “Your mother, Helen Dunning.”
“Why?”
“She said that it scared her. She decided that if she could do something that scared her that much, and could face it on her own, then we could face anything together.”
“So go get my nipples pierced?” she asked with a grin.
“Only if you want to.” He agreed. “Otherwise, find something else that scares you and face it.”
She looked at his arm. “Do your tattoos hurt?”
“Not anymore.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “Your brothers want to take you to get a tattoo.”
She nodded. “What would I change my name to?”
“Whatever you want. Smith. Jones. Reese.” He grinned at the last one. “I’m not your dad. But I’m here if you need me.”
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