When Love's Gone Country - By Merri Hiatt Page 0,12

the pick-up truck door open for her.

“I can only wish to be half the mother Meg is.”

“I didn’t mean she wasn’t a good mother.”

“I know what you meant. It’s more the planner in her than the mother. I have that in me, too.”

“That’s why you’re so good at your job as Events Coordinator.”

“Thank you.”

“Why can’t Diego ride with us?” Jeremy asked Bobby and Meg.

“There’s not enough room,” Bob said.

“We could make room.”

“Besides,” Meg said, “we want to talk with you about what happened.”

“We don’t have to talk about it anymore. I get it. I was wrong. You were right.” Jacob’s face twisted into a surly snarl.

“That’s not what we wanted to talk about. There seems to be some confusion about your living with Bob and me. We adopted both of you because we love you and made a commitment to share our lives together. We didn’t specify that it was only during the good times.

We knew things would get harder as you grew up. It’s natural after what you’ve been through. And we’re certainly not perfect parents. We make mistakes. We apologize. We try again.” Meg sighed. “The bottom line is that we love you. We don’t want to control you or own you. We want to help you become the people you were destined to become, whatever that might look like.”

“So, you’re saying I could be a thief and you’d be okay with that?” Jacob asked.

“We wouldn’t like it,” Bobby said.

“We’d try to get you to explore other options,” Meg added.

“But in the end, you’d still be our son.” Bob shrugged his shoulders. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s the truth.”

“What if I took off with Jacob? Would you be mad at me?” Jeremy said.

“Not mad,” Meg said. “I’d be worried, concerned that you might get into some kind of trouble that you can’t get out of by yourself. I’d wonder if you were cold or hungry. I’d miss your laugh and the way you jump and shout with excitement at the smallest things.”

“What would you think about Jacob?”

“He’s older. He knows more about living on the streets. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t worry. With Jacob I’d be concerned he’d start stealing or get involved with a bad crowd.

Every mother envisions a life for her kids. Oh, it’s all the usual stuff: having good friends, a job they like with growth potential and meeting someone and falling in love. Added to that, they want to be part of their life. To share dreams and hopes, secrets and laughter, and help a bit along the way when things can be uncertain and dark.”

“What if I don’t need your help?” Jacob asked.

Bobby’s eyes met Jacob’s in the rearview mirror. “Everybody needs help at one time or another. The hard thing is being humble enough to realize you need it.”

Jacob turned his head to the side, avoiding Bobby’s gaze. He didn’t need to hear any more of their spiel. He heard bits and pieces about family, commitment and being part of something larger than himself.

He’d heard it all before, when he was younger.

“You’re part of this family and ain’t nothin’ or no one gonna come ridin’ in here to take you away to some Disney castle. Now git down on all fours in front of your Daddy’s chair,” Amanda Reese had said.

Jacob complied.

Paul Reese leaned back in his chair, then dug his heels into Jacob’s back. “You make a good footstool there, son.” He crossed his legs at the ankles, increasing the pressure in one spot.

Jacob’s back buckled and he fell to the floor.

“Git up!” Amanda screeched. “You gotta pay your way ‘round here. You think we’re made of money? Labor is all you got to give us and we’re gonna take it out in trade.”

Jacob repositioned himself, steadying his hands and legs as best he could.

This time Paul stood up, placed one booted foot square in the middle of Jacob’s back and stepped down as if he were climbing a stair. The air in Jacob’s lungs flew from his body as flesh and bone were pressed deep into soiled carpet. His breath came in short pants, his lungs burning with pain.

“Jesus Christ, Paul, you tryin’ to kill the boy? He ain’t no good to us dead.”

Jacob watched as the room turned gray and then black with small stars that seemed to shoot out from every angle. He could hear words being said, but they didn’t make any sense. He knew he was on the floor, but he felt like he