PROLOGUE
Eight Years Ago
Abilene, Texas
June 18th
Screaming pierced the night.
Jolted out of a blissful sleep Jesse immediately leapt out of bed, his heart beating out of his chest and adrenaline flowing through his veins. Grabbing the pistol off the nightstand he began scanning the bedroom for anything that would warrant all the screaming. Seeing no threats he lowered the pistol and turned to his wife who was still screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Hey hun, what’s with all the screaming?” he asked.
Jesse’s voice got Bethany’s attention which caused her to stop screaming and turn towards her husband. She was about to start explaining but when her eyes landed on her husband she began laughing uncontrollably. Seeing her husband standing there bathed in the moon-light pouring in through the window with a pistol in his hand tickled her to no end and caused her to momentarily forget the shock and pain she had been feeling.
"Do you know how ridiculous you look right now? There's no need for the gun, my water broke. It's time we go to the hospital so you can meet your daughter," Bethany said as she began wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
Moving his eyes down her body Jesse's face went white when he saw the mess the sheets were in. To keep from getting sick he turned around, sat the gun back on the nightstand then shut off the alarm that would have gone off in fifteen minutes had he not been awakened by his wife's screaming. Shaking his head, he chuckled to himself as the following thought rolled through his mind; "six-thirty in the morning and my daughter is already interrupting my sleep."
Sitting down on the edge of the bed he grabbed his jeans off the floor, pulled them on then slid his feet into his boots. Standing back up he went and grabbed a clean t-shirt from the middle drawer of his dresser. Tossing it over his head he then made his way to Beth-any’s side.
After helping her out of bed, he put a robe around her shoulders then grabbed the duffle bag they had packed for just this occasion. Bethany held onto his arm as they walked through the house. Stepping into the garage he hit the button on the wall to open the garage door then pressed the unlock button on the key fob of her Jeep Grand Cherokee. Pulling open the passenger door he casually tossed the duffle bag into the back then helped Beth-any lower herself into the seat.
Running around to the driver’s side he jumped behind the wheel and pressed the start button. Throwing the Jeep in reverse he slammed on the gas. As soon as the front end cleared the opening, he pressed the but-ton to close the garage. Turning the wheel so the Jeep was pointed down the driveway Jesse shifted into drive and rushed down the driveway.
While driving toward the hospital he became lost in his thoughts, wondering how they were to this point when it seemed like only yester-day Bethany had told him she was pregnant. Although they had been to many doctor appointments and check-ups the last few months it still seemed a bit surreal to him, almost as though no time had passed at all.
Though he was excited about being a father there was also a buildup of anxiety he was feeling about the birth. All the possible complications that could arise attempted to dampen his mood, but they were unsuccessful. He couldn’t contain his smile as one thought continuously rolled through his mind.
“I’m going to be a dad.”
Pulling into the driveway outside the emergency room he threw the Jeep into park and ran inside the hospital. It took longer than he expected but he finally caught the attention of the nurses behind the desk. As soon as they were aware his wife was in labor out in the vehicle they got to their feet and headed his direction.
The nurses were very professional; they helped get Bethany out of the Jeep and into a wheelchair. As Jesse parked the Jeep and grabbed their duffle bag, the nurses took Bethany to a delivery room where the next several hours passed by in a blur.
Rocking back and forth in the rocking chair Jesse smiled down at the beautiful blonde hair, brown eyed little girl in his arms that would eventually call him dad. Currently she was sucking on a bottle of formula with her eyes closed. As she ate, he leaned his head back, closed his eyes and thought back over the events of the day. It seemed like it had only been minutes since they arrived at the hospital, though in reality it had taken almost the entire day before his wife had given birth to the beautiful six-pound two-ounce miracle falling asleep in his arms.
Opening his eyes as his stomach grumbled, he looked around the room. His eyes landed on the clock and a quizzical look came over his face as his brain had trouble reconciling the fact that it was six-thirty again. He was sure the clock was accurate, but it didn’t seem like it had been that long since he had been startled awake that morning.
When his stomach grumbled again, he realized he couldn’t recall eating anything all day.
He thought about asking Bethany if she was hungry but as he looked over at her, he noticed she was sleeping peacefully. At that moment he decided food wasn’t all that important, in-stead he looked back down at the beautiful little girl they had named Danielle Kay Halley and promised her that as long as he had breath in his lungs, he would move heaven and earth to make sure she would always be safe.
He just didn't know at the time how much work would go into keeping that promise. ... |
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