Ready Maid Family Bk. 04 Ch. 01

"We're going to wait a few weeks, then go find out for sure." She said as she got to her feet. "In the meantime, everyone is pretending that everything is fine, so you should do the same. I'm going to go make lunch. Why don't you go get cleaned up? Julie and Wilbur will be happy to see you."

"What about Gage?"

"You may have gone too far this time, Sara." Sylvia said as she put her hand on the door knob. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I really am."

Sara watched as she opened the door and went out into the hall, closing it behind her.

(-)

"I uh...I think it might be best if I stayed over at the ranch for a while, just to le thi..."

"That would be the easiest thing to do, not the best, Sara." Gage said, staring at her with open hostility. "You damn near tore this family apart with your little 'I gotta have my way' stunt. You're not going to finish the job by taking our junior husband and our son away from us."

"They don't have to..."

"No. This is your home Sara. Do you understand that? This is your home, it's where your family lives, it's not just the place that you sleep." Gage said, his voice softening. "You're gonna clean up your act, and quit all this me, me, me, bullshit. And you're gonna make a promise."

"I pro..."

"No to us." Gage said, holding his hand out to Wilbur.

Wilbur slipped his wedding ring off and handed it to him, and Gage looked at Sara as he reached over and slipped her's off her finger. Turning her hand over, he pressed the rings into it, then closed her fingers over them.

"You have mama and daddy's ring's in your hand." He said, looking at her steadily. "I want you to promise them that you will never put yourself ahead of this family again. You're going to honor your vows, the ones you made with Syl and Wilbur, and by proxy to Julie and me. You're going to love and honor, cherish and defend, and stand by your husbands and wives, and all the children we're going to make together. Mama and daddy are watching, Sara. They can see into your heart. Don't say the words if you can't live up to them."

Sara looked at him, then looked up when she felt hands on her shoulder.

"I promise to stand by my family, never putting myself before it." Sylvia said, looking down at her.

"I promise to stand by my family, never putting myself before it." Sara repeated, looking up at her.

"I promise to love my husbands and wives, believing that they love me, as much as I love them."

"I promise to love my husbands and wives, bel...believing that they love me, as much as I love them."

"I ask my mom and dad, god, and all the angels watching to help me keep this vow, supporting and forgiving me when I backslide."

"I ask my mama and daddy, god, and all the angels watching to help me keep this vow, supporting and forgiving me when I backslide."

"And I promise to love, protect, and defend all the children we bring into this world, no matter what the cost to me."

"And I promise to love, protect, and defend all the children we bring into this world, no matter what the cost to me."

Sara burst into tears when she realized that Gage, Julie and Wilbur were saying the last vow with her. She sat sobbing, clutching her parents rings as they all gathered around her.

(-)

Sunday

"You mad at me?" Sara asked as she sat down on the backsteps next to Wilbur. "Over what happened with Syl, I mean? It feels like you don't really wanna be around me."

"I ain't mad...it's more like I'm disappointed." He said quietly, not looking at her. "The smartest person I ever met did the dumbest fuckin' thing I ever saw, an' I just can't seem to get my head around it."

Sara opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Wilbur continued.

"You tore Syl's heart right out of her...I ain't never seen pain like that in anyone's eyes before, an' I hope I never do again. I saw her when she took off outta here, I saw she had your Glock in her hand. I didn't think I'd ever see her alive again...an' right then, at that moment...I hated you..."

"Oh Wilbur..." She said, her heart skipping a beat.

"But she's okay...Gage said she brought you home, that you needed her, and she made sure you were safe, then she forgave you for what you did."

He shook his head, finally turning to look at her.

"A year ago, I never coulda forgiven you fer somethin' like that." He said, reaching out to take her hand. "But after livin' here, seein' how much Julie loves us, how Gage loves our baby boy like he was his own, the love Syl has for you..."

"I don't..." Sara began.

"It ain't my place to forgive, Sara." He said. "Syl already forgave you, she's the one you hurt, so she's the only one that could do that. The rest of us..."

"Do you still love me, Wilbur?" She asked, getting to her feet and moving around in front of him.

"Yeah, I'm gonna love ya till god closes up heaven and pulls the plug on everything else." He said looking up at her. "I fell in love with ya the first time I saw ya, an' I fall in love with ya again every time I see ya...even now."

"Then why don't you wanna be around me?"

"Cuz it hurts knowin' that the person I love most in this world could do what you did to another human bein', much less to the person you say you love most in this world." He said quietly, looking at her steadily.

Sara nodded, squeezing his hand in her's.

"I think I'm gonna go home for a while." He said quietly.

"This is your home, Wilbur." Sara said softly, dropping to her knees in front of him.

"Yeah, but my ma and pa ain't met Junior yet, and I think it might be good if..."

"So you're going to leave me? Just take our son and..."

"NO! I'm gonna go visit my ma and pa, let them spend sometime with their grandson, and see if they can help me figure out how to get my head around all this shit! Okay? I'm comin' back, a man don't abandon his family just because his wife does somethin' stupid! Jesus, Sara..."

"You promise you're gonna come back?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah, Junior needs a ma and pa if he's gonna grow up right. An' I need you too, Sara. I just can't be around you right now, I got too much shit I gotta figure out..."

"I can understand that." Sara said, getting to her feet. "As long as I know yer comin' back, and I still got a chance to..."

She paused, leaning down and lifting his chin with her fingers.

"There is still a chance for us, isn't there Wilbur?" She asked, her voice breaking at the end.

Wilbur took her hand and pulled her closer, then slipped his arms around her, burying his face in her shirt.

"I'm gonna to try Sara, I really am." He said softly. "But it's really up to you if we make it or not."

"Then we're gonna to make it." She said, running her fingers through his hair. She held him against her, tears of relief running down her cheeks.

(-)

Monday

"Are you sure about this, Gage?" Julie asked, running her fingers back and forth over his chest.

"Yeah, I can't let him go back there alone, he needs family with him." He said softly, turning to look at her. "He needs to be away from Sara, and Syl will have too much to do at the ranch with him gone..."

"I want to go with you then..."

"Do you really think it's a good idea leaving them here alone?" He asked.

"If you want the truth, I think leaving them here alone together might be the best thing we can do for them." Julie said, looking up at him. "Syl already forgave her, now Sara needs to forgive herself. And Syl is the best person to help her do that. Besides, if we both go, that shows Sara and Wilbur how important they are to us..."

"I don't know, I want to see what Syl has to say..."

"I'll take care of her, boss." Sylvia said from the door. "I came down here to ask if one of you would go with him...so you can drag his scrawny ass home if he acts like he's going to stay."

"You're sure about this, Syl?" Julie asked, sliding off of Gage and sitting up on the bed. She held her arms out to her, smiling as she slid up onto the bed with them.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it since Sara told me he was gonna go visit his parents." Sylvia said, looking back and forth between them. "I think it would be better if one of you was with him when he talks to them, so you can help them understand our family. Legally, he's married to Sara, but if he starts telling them about the rest of it...I just think it might be better if he had someone who could break it down for them."

"They already know about us, or at least, his mom does." Julie said, looking over at Gage. "He calls her every week, and I've talked to her a few times. It took me by surprise the first time he told me that she wanted to talk to me."

"You really talked to Gracie?" Gage asked. "What did she have to say?"

"Mostly she thanked me for taking care of her baby, but she knows he's my junior husband, and that he, to use Sara's words, does his manly duties with all of us. She didn't seem to have a problem with it."

"Gracie was more open minded than most of the people we grew up with, but I guarantee that Fred won't take it as well." Gage muttered. "He'll raise a stink out of jealousy. We're gonna have to be careful around him."

"Let Julie deal with him if it comes to that. Worst case scenario, ask him why he has nude pictures of me on his phone. That should shut him up." Sylvia laughed.

"I'm not even going to ask how, or why." Julie laughed. "Let me go see what flights there are, and make reservations. There's no way I'm spending fourteen or fifteen hours in a car with two babies..."

"You're taking Sage with you?" Sylvia asked. "I was hoping..."

"I can leave her with you if you want." Julie said, smiling over at her. "I just figured you'd have enough on your plate with Sara, and the ranch..."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Sylvia said quietly, not looking happy about having to agree. "But you make the return reservation no more than one week out. If Wilbur can't get his shit together in a week, I'm gonna come down and smack some sense into his ignorant ass."

(-)

Tuesday Afternoon

"You okay, Gage?" Wilbur asked quietly as they pulled the rental car up to the house. "It's gonna be okay, we're here with you, and I promise, she won't mind."

"I know, but it's been five years since I've been here..."

"We can still go check into a hotel." Julie said from the backseat.

"No, it's fine. We hadn't...we'd just finished building the place, and hadn't really stayed here. I just..."

"You just take your time." Wilbur said. "You want me to wait with you till..."

"No, you're right, she won't mind...let's just go in. I want to get something to eat, and I think both the kids are about ready for a nap." Gage said as he opened his door and stepped out of the car.

"Sage may be." Julie laughed, "But Junior's been asleep since we left the house. I'm going to have to wake him up to change his diaper, so I'm hoping we can get him to sleep sometime tonight."

Wilbur got out and opened the back door for her, taking the car seats as she handed them out to him. Taking a one in each hand, he turned and started for the house.

Gage came around the car and helped Julie out, and as they moved toward the house, a car came up the driveway, the driver leaning on the horn.

"Shit, he's not even gonna let us get settled." Gage muttered as the car came to a stop behind their's, and Fred Talbot jumped out.

"Where's my grandson?" He asked, pushing by them, almost knocking Julie to the ground. He charged into the house, and they could hear him yelling, "Wilbur? Where you at boy? I wanna see my grandson goddamit, so you bring him out here, right now."

The passenger side door opened and a tall, attractive woman dressed in blue jeans and a white button down shirt stepped out. She smiled broadly as she came around the front of the car, then moved over and stopped in front of Julie.

"You must be Julie, it is so good to finally meet you in person! I feel like I know so well already..." She smiled, looking her up and down, then throwing her arms around her.

"I can't thank you enough for taking such good care of my baby." She said softly as she hugged her tightly. "I don't know what that Sara Dawson did to get him to marry her, but I was so relieved when Wilbur told me about you, and his other wife, Sylvia..."

"Syl's not his wife yet, she's mine, Gage's and Sara's." Julie laughed, hugging her back. "Wilbur still has to make it official with her, but I'm sure it will happen eventually."

"Sylvia's the Playboy model, right?" She said as she stepped back, grinning as she took Julie's hand. "Shit! What am I thinking? I didn't even introduce myself! I'm Gracie Talbot, Wilbur's mama..."

"I know who you are, Gracie." Julie laughed, pulling her closer and putting her arms back around her. "But we ain't done huggin' yet. I have to thank you for letting your boy come live with us. He's a pleasure to be around, handy around the house, and he's a man you can be proud of. You did a good job raising him."

"He's doin' his manly duties like he should?" Gracie asked softly, so only Julie could hear. "Please tell me he's satisfying your needs. I know his equipment is bigger than his daddy's, he gets that from my side of the family."

"He's a wonder in that department." Julie laughed. "There's nothing like having a randy nineteen year old boy who does what you tell him, for as long and as often as you want. I walk around bowlegged most days. So do Sara and Syl."

"Aren't you the lucky one!" Gracie laughed, easing away from her again and turning to look at Gage.

"Letting your man here get away was the second biggest mistake I made in my life." She said as she walked over and put her arms around Gage. She smiled up at him as she said, "I've missed you Gage, I truly have."

"It's nice to see you again, Gracie." Gage laughed. "You're just as pretty as you were in high school."

"And you're a lyin' sack o' shit, but thanks for sayin' it." Gracie laughed. "Ranch life ages you hard, I don't know how that sister o' your's stays lookin' as good as she does."

"You still look pretty good, Gracie. Don't let anybody tell you different." Gage grinned.

"And a charmer too." Gracie giggled, stepping back and holding her hand out to Julie. "But I'd really like to see my grandson, can we go look at him?"

"Sure." Julie said, taking her hand and leading her into the house. She looked over at Gage. "Can you show us around Gage? I've..."

"We're in here!" Fred yelled. "First bedroom on the left! Hurry the hell up Gracie, our boy done good here!"

"I am so sorry..." Gracie whispered, letting go of Julie's hand and moving down the hall. She disappeared around a corner as Gage and Julie looked at each other, then followed her.

(-)

The sun was setting as Sylvia stepped out of the back door and walked over to the barn. She smiled when she saw Sara running a brush over Junior's hind quarters.

"Julie called from the airport." She said as she walked over and hopped up on one of the stall gates. "They got in okay, and they're headed for the house. She said she'd call us later."

Sara stopped brushing Junior, but didn't say anything for a moment. She sighed as she laid her forearms against his side, then rested her head on them.

"Do you think he's gonna come back to me, Syl?" She asked softly, not looking at her.

"Yeah, I do." Sylvia told her. "I don't care if I have to go down there and drag his scrawny ass back here. He's comin' home to you, and he's gonna bring our baby with him."

She watched as Sara shook her head, beginning to cry as she leaned against the horse.

"But I think he's gonna come back on his own. His life is here, with his wife and his son." She continued. "He's gonna come back because he loves you, and he can't live without you."

"Did he tell you that?" Sara asked, turning to look at her.

"No." Sylvia smiled, shaking her head. "He didn't have to. I can see it in the way he looks at you. His eyes light up when he sees you...he gets a hard-on when you wear one of those western shirts with the mother-of-pearl buttons."

"Now yer just fuckin' with me." Sara laughed, wiping her eyes as she moved around Junior to put the brushes away.

"Honest injun." Sylvia laughed, hopping down off the gate. "I usually get boned pretty good on the days you wear them. If you paid a little more attention to what's going on around you, you could be gettin' some of that action."

Sara stared at her, then grinned, and walked slowly over to her.

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" She asked as she slid her arms around her waist."You don't have any reas..."

"The only reason I need is I love you." Sylvia said, reaching down and squeezing Sara's asscheeks. "You're a caustic, hard hearted bitch Sara Dawson, but you got alot of love in you, and you're worth the effort it takes to love you. The fact that you're really good in bed is just a bonus."

"So do you uh...do you wanna..."

"No way! You haven't eaten anything today, and I'm not fuckin' yer skinny ass till I get some food in you." Sylvia laughed as she pushed her away and started toward the barn doors. "I was thinkin' bacon cheeseburgers and chile cheese fries..."

She looked back over her shoulder and smiled.

"Why don't you spend a little more time with Junior, he's missed you. Dinner will be ready in about half an hour."

(-)

"Fred, you can go on back to the house, I'm gonna stay here with Wilbur tonight, he has some things he needs to talk to me about..." Gracie said as she got up and walked over to the door.

She waited as he got up, then opened the door and walked out with him. They stood next to their car for a moment having a heated conversation, then Fred threw up his hands and got in the car. Gracie watched as he backed up and turned around, then sped down the driveway before she went back in the house.

"Wilbur." She said, still standing in the doorway. "Can we talk outside for a minute? There's some things we need to talk about...privately."

"I know what yer gonna say mama, and anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of Gage and Julie." Wilbur told her, not moving from his place at the table.

"Wilbur, I think your mother needs..." Julie began, but Gracie cut her off.

"No, that's okay, Julie. You're his family now, so you're gonna hear it from him anyway." Gracie said as she came over and sat down. She looked at Wilbur, then reached over and put her hand over his.

"Wilbur, your pa and I are getting divorced." She said softly. "It's something that's been brewin' for a while, and when you moved off to Georgia, it all finally came to a head, and we decided it was time. Or at least I did."

She paused, then slid over into the seat next to him.

"You know as well as I do that your pa's not an easy man to like, much less love." She said as she took his hand in both of hers. "I know you came down here because you're having problems with Sara, but you still love each other, so there's a chance for you. Your pa and I just don't have any love left in us for each other, so it's time for us to see if we can find someone we can love."

"That wasn't what I was expectin', but it don't surprise me none." Wilbur nodded, looking down at the table. After a moment, he started to smile. He glanced over at Julie, and her eyes got wide for a moment, then she smiled and nodded.

Gage saw the look pass between them and smiled. He spoke up before Wilbur could say anything else.

"What would you think about coming and staying with us for a while Gracie?" He asked her. "It might do you some good to get away from here, and we could use the help with the kids. I thi..."

"Oh my, I never...I mean, I don't..." Gracie gasped, blushing furiously. She looked back and forth between the three of them, her gaze finally settling on Gage.

"It's okay, Gracie. Take your time and think about it." Julie laughed as she got up and walked over to the door. "But I think Gage is right, a change of scenery might do you some good. I need a minute, it's feeding time, so I'm gonna go get the kids."