Chapter 527) Humble And Kind

“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

~ Mark Twain

Chestnut Ridge
Kershaw Ranch

Jackson could almost physically feel the despair and disappointment Stryker felt when his own child didn’t want to come near him.

Even his wife, Sophie, had hugged him, clearly apprehensively and mostly to show their daughter it was okay. This was the only child who hadn’t reacted with complete meltdowns when Connor and Sophie asked the five kids if they wanted to go see their father, three completely refused, the youngest, Indigo Blu just started sobbing hard. Only Phoenix was mildly interested. For obvious reasons Stryker was told five was too many at once, so only one came, a white lie in his best interest.

While Jackson knew why everyone was so done with Stryker and didn’t blame them, he had gotten to know him in a very different way and liked the man. The two had bonded, Connor was thrilled by the fact that Stryker was actually putting forth an effort to get better, which clearly showed in his improving medical read-outs. Still far from stable, but now there was actual hope for him to one day get to a place where he could live a life resembling normalcy again. A long way from now. But the chances of his body just spontaneously giving out and him dying without a warning became slightly lower each day that passed without incident.

The daughter started crying when Connor pushed her a bit to go see her daddy, and everyone looked defeated.

Jackson noticed the little girl staring at the filly in between sobs, so he went over to her.

“Hey, umm … you’re Phoenix, right? What a cool name! I am Jackson. Do you like horses?”

The little girl nodded.

“Can I pet that one?” Phoenix asked sheepishly, pointing at the foal.

“Sure, if mommy and daddy say it’s okay, you can pet her. It’s a little girl, just like you, her name is Prairie Rose.” Jackson told her, she instantly looked up at Sophie, who nodded, the little girl ran over to the small horse, spooking it, it let out a startled whinny and ran off, right as its mother started coming over, ears back, clearly in protective mode so Jackson stepped in, grabbing the mare’s halter, calming her.

“Why did it run away? All I wanted to do was pet it.” Phoenix started crying again.

“That was my fault, didn’t realize you didn’t know how. I am sorry, lil Miss Phoenix.” he knelt back down and Phoenix fell against him, sobbing into his shoulder.

Jackson looked at Sophie to see if she minded it, she nodded so Jackson enveloped the little girl with his arms.

“She just doesn’t know ya. You need to be slow and gentle, and she may give ya a chance. Watch.” Jackson stuck out his hand, made clacking sounds and the little filly came over curiously, sniffing his hand, letting him pet her. He gestured Phoenix to try and within moments, he had Phoenix pet her too, she kept looking over at Sophie gleaming for pride, petting Prairie Rose until the filly was done and ran off back to its momma to drink.

“Mommy did you see! I did it! I pet the horsey! Thank you, Jackson! That was cool! I like you!”

Jackson leaned over and whispered something in the little girl’s ear, she looked at him, then over at Stryker, then back at Jackson, eventually nodded.

Phoenix kept looking at Stryker, then eventually pulled away from Jackson and slowly went over to her dad, standing a safe distance away.

“Are you still my dad?”

“Always.” he croaked.

“Why are you talking so funny?”

“Phoenix, baby …” Sophie interfered, but Connor put his hand on her arm, shaking his head.

“Let her … I think this might be good. Stryker knows things are wrong with him, sugarcoating doesn’t change that, and maybe him having to find a way to explain this to his daughter will help him keep straight in future. Let them try work it out.” he told her quietly.

“I made myself sick … I did bad things I … shouldn’t have and … this happened …” Stryker tried.

“Addiction, I know. They talked to us about it in school. Do drugs taste good?”

“No!”

“Then why?”

“They … umm … made me … forget.”

“You wanted to forget me?!!!!?? And mommy?! And Spencer? And Keanu? And Robin and Indie, too?!” Phoenix was horrified.

“NO! Never! … I wanted to forget … that I am not a good daddy … or husband to mommy.”

“I always thought you were a good daddy. Not now, cos you are gone and you were mean. Why were you so mean to us? Why did you divorce us? Why did you leave mommy? Made her so sad. And me too. I cried, so much. And Robin, and Keanu, too. And Spencer is always angry now. And Indie makes in her bed again.”

“Oh no.” Stryker looked over at Sophie, panicked, who shrugged, so he turned back to Phoenix.

“You are my big girl. What can I do to make it better again? For you? I wanna fix it.”

“Then come home! I want you to be my daddy and be with mommy again and us to be a family again and I want all to go back to how it was. But I want to keep the house we have now. I didn’t want to move at first, I cried and hated it, but now I kinda like it better. I helped make it like it is. I helped paint my own room – and Indie’s! I did! Right mommy?!”

“You sure did, baby, but umm.” Sophie shook her head, cringing at her daughter’s ideas of how to remedy it all.

“Mind if I …?” Jackson asked.

“Sure.” Sophie allowed relieved, as she couldn’t think of anything to say or do.

He went over to Phoenix.

“No tears! I can’t have purdy lil ladies cry here on my ranch. Look, I know they talked to you in school about drugs and such. But what they didn’t tell you is that if you take them once, they put a virus in ya, and from then on, you are never safe. When you are not well, you get sick again and then you feel like you need drugs to feel better. And then it makes you woozy, and you can’t think right and when you finally can, nobody likes you anymore, but you don’t know why as you can’t remember what you said or did. That’s what happened to your daddy. He got very sick and before he came to, everything was broken. Now everyone is sad, even your daddy. You do know he is really sad too and misses you and your siblings so much, but he can’t come home yet. If you miss him and want to see him, you just come here, okay?”

“Oh. Okay …” Phoenix nodded as if life suddenly made sense to her again. “Is it contagious?”

“No. Not as long as you don’t try drugs. People who have the virus might tell you they are good for ya or safe, but they ain’t. They lie to you, because they also have that virus. That’s what happened to your daddy, and now he has to get better first, which takes time.”

“Right. So, is daddy going to be like daddy again? Cos he is not like daddy now. He’s weird.”

“He will be, he’s not weird, he just hurts and is just not feelin’ good. You ever get really really sick? That’s why he’s here. Ya know how petting Prairie Rose made ya feel? Yer daddy pets the horses, and it makes him better, so his body can heal, and one day your daddy can be your daddy again and you can see him a lot more often. He promised me he will get all better. Ya know what may help him get better faster? It’s a big secret, but if ya wanna help him, you can.”

“Really? How?! I wanna know a secret! Oh, and I like your hat, Jackson! I want one!” Phoenix looked enthralled.

“Do ya? Maybe if ya come back, we can get ya yer own, but you gotta come and pick it out yourself, mine is way too big for your little head, cos I got a big ole noggin. Okay, now the secret, I’ll tell ya, but it only works if you REALLY want your daddy to be better. You gotta wish it while you do it.”

“I do, I will! Tell me!”

“Okay, come here. Gotta whisper it to ya, since it’s a secret.”

Phoenix leaned in, Jackson whispered in her ear, she pulled back and nodded.

“Now?” she asked.

“Sure! The more you do it, the better it works.” Jackson nodded, winking at the little girl.

Phoenix ran over to Stryker and just hugged him, so tight it took the wind out of him.

“Do you feel better yet, daddy? Is it working?” she had climbed up on the tree trunk he had been seated on and kept hugging him.

“I do, it is! I feel much … better.” Stryker was fighting his emotions, the happy tears.

“Me too.” she said with a little sigh, exhausted from all the hugging she leaned up against her dad, eyes closed, melting everyone’s hearts.

Connor went over to Jackson, patting his back, even Sophie looked at him.

“Nice job, kid! Color me impressed!” Connor told him.

“Okay, I have to know what you said to her, Jackson, this looks like some magic trick to me right now! I have been babysitting kids since I was still a kid myself, well over half my life now, I am raising five of my own, I thought I knew all the tricks, but not this one.” Sophie told Jackson with open admiration in her eyes.

Jackson shrugged.

“It’s nothin’, Ma’am, no magic tricks. Grew up in foster homes, met a lot of broken kids, a lot of the little ones were so damn sad all the time it broke my heart. I tried to help and failed, until I realized their worlds had come crashing down on them, just like mine had, so I got to thinkin’ what would I like to hear if I were them. Phoenix clearly wants her daddy back, so I told her that hugs can make very sick people healthier, the more hugs the better. Thinkin’ if she hugs him enough, they’ll bond again.”

“Connor, he’s great! All the way down to the ‘Ma’am’ part, not loving that, just made me feel REALLY old. I probably look a lot older than my 35 years now, wouldn’t surprise me. But I swear I am only 35. 36. Oh gawd, I am 36 already. Eeesh, when did THAT happen?!”

“You look fine, Miss Sophie, was raised to say Yes Ma’am and No Sir as a sign of respect to anyone older than a kid, just like everyone else here too. That’s all. No bearin’ on whatcha look like or yer age.” Jackson said.

“Aren’t you just a sweetheart?! What a brilliant idea to bring Stryker here, Connor, I didn’t think it would work when you had me sign off on this, and I most definitely never expected he’d get THIS much better THIS fast! Still looks like magic to me. I am shocked by his progress! I tried, I honestly tried.”

“Sophie, you made all this possible. You laid the groundwork. You made him wanna survive. You got him through the worst part caring for him day and night. Without you, I don’t think there would be a Stryker now, that man had given up. He’s here because of you, Jackson’s doing a fine job, but there would be no Stryker for him to help if it weren’t for you.” Connor told her.

Sophie shook her head.

“He’s here because of Bri and your dad. I was upstairs tucking in my babies, blissfully unaware their daddy was dying on my front lawn, while Chase and Bri were saving Stryker’s life, I only came in after the fact, when he was already being worked at in the hospital, as I had to get Connell to sit with my kids first. But at least I know now why Bri won’t stop talking about you, Jackson. I totally agree with her. On all counts. You are amazing! Not to mention, you look exactly how she described you, and I thought she was exaggerating a little bit. Looks like my daughter is a big fan of yours as well.”

Jackson looked taken aback, a quick side-glance at Connor as he blushed, then without a word just walked off.

“Oh no, did I offend him? I didn’t mean to. Oh boy. Foot-in-mouth-disease, nice going Sophie!” Sophie frowned, while Connor gave her a look.

“Never mind that, eyes over here for a sec, Soph. Why is my sister talking to YOU about Jackson now?”

“Excuse you? Just because I couldn’t keep my own man happy, doesn’t mean I don’t like talking or hearing about that kinda stuff or could even give a little advice here or there, I have been married for over ten years, at least some of that happily. I am still a romantic, Connor, to the core. Life will never beat that out of me. I still believe in true love and all that stuff. And I mean, look at Jackson. If I were closer to his age, I’d be talking about him too, non-stop. That’s what Bri and I did. Talk about such … stuff. Girl talk.”

“What stuff?!”

“Goodness Connor! Young love. Relationships. Firsts. Come on now, don’t tell me your parents are strict about dating … that would be more than ironic, not to mention hypocritical on every level. Bri’s 17 … everyone has some experience by then. Well, everyone but me, I was 23 when I … but all my siblings did. And considering one of my nieces just had a baby at 17, I am gonna say things have not changed.”

“Of course, my parents aren’t strict, nor idiots, we all know what’s up, more than we like actually, but that’s beside the point. Bri has a boyfriend, named Brad, they even let her go on a vacation with him and some friends and no adults. So, pardon me for being a bit surprised to hear she talked to you about Jackson and not Brad, especially considering recent events that went a very Cameron-way.”

“Brad? Oh, I thought Jackson was her boyfriend. The way she talks about him. I am sorry, I must have misunderstood something … but you are right, now that you said it, she did say the cake we were baking the night Stryker showed up was for a Brad and she wanted it to be absolutely perfect. Yeah, we even contemplated writing his name on it in icing, and it was definitely Brad, cos long names like Jackson always make me cringe when I do cake orders with names. I didn’t cringe. Maybe I am just confused. Wouldn’t really surprise me – or anyone – at this point.”

“Nah, don’t worry, everyone’s confused about Bri these days, that’s not a you-thing, Soph. Guess I am just the stereotypical overprotective big brother. And for good reason, as it recently turned out, but that is a story for another day. One over a bunch of drinks. And hearing what you just laid on me, I am starting to realize that we probably all still had it all wrong, and it’s a lot worse than I thought, and even harder to unfuck. Urgh. If drugs worked on my kind, I’d probably be on them by now, because of my little sister, you’d find me sitting over there, detoxing with Stryker.” Connor pointed at Stryker.

“Don’t be so melodramatic now, I really don’t wanna get Bri in trouble. She’s a sweet girl, so she drools a little over another guy, so what? You know my life is upside down and maybe I just wanted to hear what I thought I heard. Maybe it was innocent banter. Just because I am miserable doesn’t mean I don’t want to see others happy. I miss being happy. I wasn’t meant to be alone. I need and I want a man to come home to, to pamper, to spoil, and I love being a mom, thank God my sister Ezzy isn’t here, she is too woke and tears me new ones every time I say that. Oh, you should have heard her when she found out I had taken in Stryker after his collapse. Well, you probably did hear her all the way to San Sequoia from Windenburg the way she flipped out at me. I don’t criticize the way she lives, that Werewolf in her house, not to mention letting her ex raise her daughter, seriously! Another sister married a vampire – umm, no offense, but your kind isn’t exactly the typical way to live either, so they all need to get off my tail. My brother Ewan even moved here to Chestnut Ridge a couple years ago, he probably couldn’t take Ezzy’s opinions anymore, they used to run Cameron Enterprises together, but he had her buy him out and he moved as far away as he could. So, my way of life is family and love and romance. I don’t have any romance in my life, and as a single parent to five very damaged kids I probably won’t for a very long time, especially since I don’t exactly look like a supermodel, so I live vicariously through others. And sometimes things that people say take me back to my own happy place, like when Bri spoke about how Jackson’s chest felt without a shirt when she leaned into him, felt his heartbeat, that just reminded me so much of when Stryker and I … “

Connor’s eyes grew wide as he cut her off.

“Sophie, do me a solid and do not speak about Jackson’s bare chest in the same sentence as my little sister! Urgh! I am her brother, remember?! Tell Phoenix to say her goodbyes, probably funny hearing that from a vampire, but it is getting dark, so we gotta get you guys back home, bail your kids out from your parents and Stryker needs to rest now anyway, too much excitement is still bad for him. At least we know he’ll sleep well tonight, cos I’d call this a success overall in his progress.”

Author's Note: The photo with Jackson's dog in it was me waving the white flag. That dang mutt kept photobombing me over and over again, I was trying to create the right mood and in comes Millie with her damn ball bustin' up the mood. I had such a good laugh at it and when you scroll up, you'll know which one I mean, the moody scene and the dog spitting out her ball at Jackson completely killing it. :) Definitely realistic, as any pet owner will know, it made me laugh, so I didn't retake but stuck it in, maybe it'll be your laugh for the day too.