Chapter 96
Jesse held it together all the way home but she was unusually quiet. No one pushed the matter and talked about their plans. Jon wanted to get into the studio to work on the new material they had so they discussed dates.
At the house, Jesse went straight to her room without a word.
"Is she okay?" asked Tico.
"No, she's not. Guys, when are you leaving?"
Jon looked at his watch. "Our flight is in four hours but Billy has made the necessary arrangements to get us there. You focus on Jesse."
"Are you sure? As soon as I get Jesse calmed down, I can take you."
"You're driving to Jersey?" asked Tico.
"Yeah, going to take the weekend, do a little site seeing, romance her some."
"Sounds good," smiled David. "See you in the city for the show?"
"I'll call you when we get to Jersey. I'll be back in a few."
"Take your time, Rich," said Dorothea.
"You know it."
Richie headed to Jesse's bedroom where he found her packing. There were tears streaming down her cheeks and she wasn't bothering to wipe them away. Quietly, he moved to her as she stood at the bed folding some of her clothes and wrapped his arms around her from behind. He didn't say anything, just held her tight.
His arms around her were all it took and she began to sob. "I can only see my son with supervision...like I'm going to molest him or something."
"That's not the reason, baby," soothed Richie. "The judge knows you'd never hurt him."
"And six months to prove we can provide a stable and safe environment? You'll still be on the road. How am I going to do that without staying at home...without you?"
"Relax, baby. We'll figure it out and Jack will be more than ready for it." Richie turned her in his arms and held her tight as sobs shook her body like an earthquake.
"I just want my son back, Richie! For five years, Kevin hasn't wanted anything to do with us and now....now that you are here....Why?" she sobbed.
Richie continued to hold her caressing her back, his own heart breaking. Never had Heather been this cruel to him while they were working out their divorce and custody of Ava.
Exhausted, Jesse pushed away from him. "Take me away from here! I can't stand the memories."
"Are you ready?"
"For the most part. I have a few more things to pack."
"Unless you absolutely can't live without it...leave it. I'll buy you whatever you need. We're going to have to set up all our places so you don't have to do this every time we travel," announced Richie as he wiped her tears. "You know, it's a good thing you don't' wear make-up. You'd look like a raccoon now."
That got a tearful laugh from Jesse. "That's mean!"
"But I got you to laugh," smirked Richie.
"Uncle Richie could have gotten me to laugh too," she smiled as she ran her finger down his chest.
"I'll have to remember that. Now, finish here while I talk to Frankie about taking care of things here." Richie lifter her chin to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you."
"I love you too!"
