“Oh, Jesus,” Sadie said, sighing. I could practically hear her roll her eyes. “Hey, Jada? I have to go, okay? I’ll call back when I can. Love you!”
She hung up.
I didn’t know what to do. When I went back out to the living room, Mom and Dad were gone and their bedroom door was closed. They must have gone to bed.
Debating whether I should wake them up or not, I decided to let them sleep. They needed it.
When I walked into the kitchen the next morning, Mom started in on me the second she saw me, informing me she was going to set up an appointment for me.
I’d wanted to tell them about Sadie, but it slipped from my mind when my mom told me that, if I didn’t get an abortion and move home, I would no longer be part of the Hartville family.
I was stunned, standing there with my mouth hanging open. I couldn’t believe she’d give me an ultimatum like that. But I wasn’t about to give up my newfound family in Montana. My parents would have to get the fuck over it.
I went to my room and packed my things. Just before I left the house, I informed my parents that Sadie had called me and said she was okay. I slammed the front door behind me before they could say anything.
Thankfully, Ben called me just minutes after I stormed out of my parents’ house. He took a car and met me at the coffee shop nearby. When I saw him, I ran into his arms, burying my face in his chest.
After I told him everything that had happened, he smiled at me and said, “Jada, let’s go home.”
Ben called the guys at the ranch while we waited for our flight. Seki was there to meet us with the car when we landed while Hank and Ace stayed behind to finish up with the cattle. The next day was Thanksgiving, so they had a lot to do since they wouldn’t be working a full day during the holiday.
With the events of the last week, I’d completely forgotten about Thanksgiving. I was just glad Ben and I would be back in time so we could share our first holiday on the ranch as a family.
I slept through most of the flight, not waking until we began to descend.
Seki ran to me when he saw us, throwing his arms around me and giving me a deep kiss. I knew I’d missed him something fierce, but didn’t know how much until I saw him again.
On the drive home, I told Seki that I only wanted to talk about everything once. He reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. “Whatever it is, we’re there for you.”
Hank and Ace wrapped me up in their arms when I got out of the car. My heart fluttered with joy.
I felt so loved as I sat on the couch between Hank and Seki. Ace brought me a cup of tea and I began to tell them everything that transpired over the last seven days.
“I still don’t know what’s going on with my sister, but she told me she was okay,” I said. “I’m going to have to put my faith in her telling me the truth.”
When I told them about how my parents had insisted I get an abortion against my own wishes, they all looked upset.
“I want to have this baby,” I said. “I want to raise it here with you. I’ve finally found my happiness here with all of you. My parents will come around eventually.”
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We all took turns in the kitchen helping Seki prepare our dinner. Because I was such a bad cook, I got relegated to vegetable chopping and setting the table.
I felt so much love from my guys as we all went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Their love for me was apparent from their words. When it was my turn, I struggled to express just how thankful I was for them all.
After dinner, when we all sat together in the living room, an indecipherable look crossed Hank’s face before he said, “Jada, the four of us have been talking.”
“That’s never good,” I joked.
Ace cracked a smile. “I think it’s good this time though.”
“Okay,” I replied, growing suspicious.
“We know polygamy is illegal in Montana, but we wanted to do something to show you just how serious we are,” Seki said. He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a small box.
“We know we can’t all legally marry you, but that doesn’t stop us from seeing you as our wife,” Ben said.
I was crying as Seki opened the ring box to reveal a lovely gold band encrusted with diamonds. “It’s so beautiful,” I murmured.
“Do you accept?” Hank asked.