Okay, Now I'm Really Scared

Six weeks since my world changed for the harder. Six weeks since I've had a full night's sleep. Six weeks since my sixteenth birthday. Six weeks since my twins made their grand entrance the night of the barbecue and I wouldn't change a thing. I was allowed to stay at the hospital until Jackie was big enough to come home. Rikki and Missy Ann went back to Japan last week after he introduced me to a pediatrician that he felt was good enough to take care of my babies. Of course, I asked if he was related to us in any way since Gram seems to be related to everyone I find myself in need of. Surprisingly enough, he wasn't.

Jimmy Dad has been incredibly helpful during the days and Gram has helped during the nights. Actually, everyone has been very helpful. I can't imagine how much harder this would be without all the help I get. I don't think I could keep up with my studies AND take care of twins at the same time. I've been at this farm for eight months and somehow managed to not only catch up with my schooling but get ahead a bit. If I stay on this track, I should graduate a year early which still may not happen because I have these kids. College is just out of the question. I have to go home in four months, and I won't have the support system there that I have here. I'll be lucky if I can figure out how to graduate. Makes me wonder if Mom would let me stay here until I graduate like she did.

I'm actually kind of hoping she will move back here and marry Jimmy like she should have in the first place. She swore to me she didn't do anything with him when she came to visit but Gram and I knew she was lying. She was a lot more relaxed when she left, and Jimmy is still walking around with a stupid grin on his face and skip in his step. Gram and I have bets on what day the baby will be born. She says Memorial Day, I say Mother's Day. She says girl; I say boy. Of course, we don't discuss this with Jimmy or Mom since they deny being together.

We were sitting out on the porch listening to Mackerel and his brother Josh play their dueling violins. The infants were sleeping, and the toddlers were playing on the porch among us. It was the first evening I've been able to just relax out here with the crew since the birth of the twins. I've missed these porch concerts. I never would've thought I could enjoy violin music, but these boys sure do make it sound amazing. The fact that both of them are hella good looking doesn't hurt either.

Speaking of good-looking people; I finally met Mackerel's wife today for the first time. Mack wasn't kidding when he said she was a beauty. Holy crow, she's pretty enough to make a straight girl want to hop the fence. Honey colored hair with matching eyes, flawless complexion, hour-glass figure and dainty hands with long slender fingers. And she is really nice which is unexpected for one so pretty. I can see why Mackerel was drawn to her.

Their babies are gorgeous too. Well, not as gorgeous as mine, but then I am biased. I got to hang out with her with the kiddos most of the afternoon. Bethany played with her son, Fish Stick, who looks like his daddy, while our babies slept. He's a year younger than Bethany but he's already taller by a couple of inches. Their language is similar, and they seemed to play well together. That is until he looks cross-eyed at my twins, then she goes into protective mode and blocks him from getting to close to them. She has adopted them as her siblings and as such she is their very overprotective second mom. I kind of wish I would have asked what his real name was but since his own mother calls him Fish Stick, I opted not to. I'll ask her the story behind it when I know them a little better.

Just as the boys finished their musical duel someone pulled up in a beat up old Ramcharger that was in serious need of a muffler. The driver was Gram's pastor dad and the passenger was a young redheaded woman who looked maybe twenty-five-ish. She had a toddler with her, and both were sporting some serious bruising on all their exposed spots. I didn't have to look at Gram to know her eyes had turned a deep blue.

"Now, before you say anything, Gram," Pastor started, "I already called George. He and some of his deputies are on their way." She looked as if she was going to say something just as he added, "And, he said he would call an ambulance out here as well."

"Why not just take her to the hospital yourself, Papi? Why bring her all the way out here?"

"There's no safer place on earth for her child, than here."

"She looks like she needs medical attention."

"I was kind of hoping Jams was around."

"He's an OB, Papi, not a GP."

"I know, but he'll be able to tell if the child needs to go in or not."

"I don't want her daddy finding her." The woman interjected. "He tried to kill us both today and I don't want to give him another chance."

"Considering her daddy is my brother-in-law makes me wonder why you would come to me in the first place."

I knew it. This woman is related to everyone. Guess that means I better get a DNA test from anyone I might want to hook up with in the future, so I don't accidentally breed with a relative. I assumed the woman was scared because she was shaking uncontrollably. "I know I'm not your favorite person, Gram, but I literally have no where else to go and I'm sure Logan won't think to look for me here. He knows you don't like me, and he doesn't like you."

"I never said I didn't like you. I said you were stupid to marry him."

"I know. I know. I deserve this. But please, Gram. If not for me, then for my daughter. She doesn't deserve what he has done."

Gram sighed and relaxed her posture as she caressed the cheek of the toddler. "No child deserves abuse in any form. Take her inside. Bridgette here will show you to family room. I'll have someone see if Jams is available to check you both out." Mackerel's wife led the woman into the house and Jimmy went inside to call May. "You brought trouble to us tonight, Papi. You know as well as I do, that this is first place that man will look for them."

"And you know, as well as I do, that there is no safer place for them to be."

"How did you get her out?"

"Snuck her out the tire center at Walmart."

"I'm surprised he let go in there alone."

"He gives her a certain amount of time to get in, buy what's on the list and get out. Beats her if she takes too long. Beats if she's too fast."

"That man has always had the devil in him!" Gram was clearly annoyed which put me on edge. I felt a surge of fear filled butterflies rage through me. "Melissa, honey," She said calmy. "Go on inside. Keep BC and the twins in your room with you for now."

"Is everything going to be okay?"

"I'm sure it will. But we are expecting some unwanted company soon and rather not deal with introductions."

I complied quickly and went upstairs to my room after I got Bethany out of the family room. I offered to take the other kids with me since they were playing well together but Bridgette declined saying she would take them down to the playroom once Jams got there. I was able to feed the twins in shifts with Bethany's help. She likes to rock the one in the cradle while I feed the other. I let her have a snack that I had brought up with us and a juice box while I waited for whatever crap was going to go down. After about an hour, all three kids were asleep, so I decided watch the driveway from my window. Curiosity got the better of me. Just like Gram had predicted, a rather belligerent man came flying up the drive in a jacked-up black Chevy truck. He locked his wheels up when he slammed on his brakes. The man that jumped out of the truck looked similar to Jimmy only a lot older. He had greying hair and weathered skin. I thought he looked like a drunk, or smoker; you know, tired and angry. Gram had walked off the porch to meet him in the driveway. I didn't see anyone else nearby, but I was sure there were folks at the door to keep him from getting in. He was screaming profanities at her and I could see he had a gun in the back of his pants. I felt as if I was going to throw up as fear threatened to choke me.

I noticed Bruno and Mars had come up to sit on either side of Gram and Jimmy's two cattle dogs came up and sat by them. The bleating of a goat caught my attention. I turned towards the sound and saw the big breeding buck coming up behind the man and Bojangles came sauntering up from behind Gram to stand nearby, almost like a referee. So far, Gram hadn't said anything I could hear, but the man was raging on about his wife and daughter and how he was going kill them both.

Jackie walked up and stood in front of Gram with his tail end facing the man when she finally said something I could hear. "You'll have to go through me to get to her." He took step towards her, the dogs stood up and growled.

"You think I'm scared of your f*&&ing dogs??!" he bellowed as he pulled out his gun and aimed it back and forth between Bruno and Mars.

"It's not the dogs you have to worry about." Gram said coolly. He trained his gun on Jackie. I held my breath. The buck charged and headbutted the man in the back forcing him forward into Gram who in a blink of an eye disarmed him and pushed him back away from her just in time for Bojangles to kick him in the nuts. Who knew a woman her age could move like that? I can't even find the right words to describe what she did. It all looked so fluid, effortless.

Once he was on the ground, Gram told the dogs, "Pin and hold." Bruno knocked him over on his back and held him down by the throat. Each Cattle dog grabbed and held down his hands. Mars put the man's jewels in her mouth. "Move and she'll castrate you," Gram told him. "As you can tell by the flashing lights approaching, your ride to the police station is almost here, so just relax. The dogs will let you up when they arrive."

The cops showed up within seconds. The next forty-five minutes was spent getting statements from everyone outside. The ambulance came and took mother and child to the hospital shortly after her husband was taken away in the back of a police cruiser. All the animals involved stayed nearby until all the police had left, then they went back to where they came from. Jackie came upstairs to my room with Mars. Bruno went home with May and Jams, the cattle dogs, Smoke and Zues followed Bojangles and Jimmy to the barn. The buck went back down the driveway in the direction of the goat pens.

If I wasn't terrified of Gram before, I am now. Not only am I even more convinced that she is a witch of some sort, but I am absolutely certain she can talk to animals with her mind. I mean, what the heck was the ram doing up at the house? The goat pens are more than a mile away. And who let Bojangles out of his stall? Telekinesis. She did it all with her mind. I'm sure of it. And I am totally freaking out. Okay, Melissa…. Chill. You are fine... You are safe… Take a deep breath… Chill. Witch or no witch, she has been good to you… chill. Okay, okay. I'm chill. It's all good. This is a safe place. I don't think I'm going to sleep very well tonight.