She looked so out of place, well as a matter of fact no one in West Monroe had ever seen her, she was a tiny little thing, tanned with long flowing brunette hair, right now she was standing outside the Duck Commander builing, what also stood out about her, is that it is over a hundred degrees out and she is wearing a cardigan, she hugged it tighter to her, rightened her large sunglasses and walked into the front office, the receptionist looked up at her with a large smile,
"Hello Darlin, Welcome to Duck Commander, I'm Marigold what can I do for you" she asked, the young woman smiled and nodded,
"Um yes, my brother John Godwin works here, I'm just wondering if you could either call him or bring me to him" she asked, Marigold nodded and smiled again,
"Of course, I'll call Willie and he can bring you down to the Duck Room" she said, the young woman smiled and nodded, she moved back as the Receptionist got on the phone.
Marigold looked at the young woman sadly, she had recognised the signs of a woman trying to hide bruises after she had taken a beating, she pressed the button to connect her through to Willies phone,
"Everythin alright Marigold" he asked as he answered, she sighed,
"There is a young woman here, she said she is Godwins sister, she needs to see him, Willie she seems really shaken up, I wonder if you could come out here and bring her down to the Duck Room to her brother" she asked, Willie frowned, if the young woman was Godwins sister, that meant that she was family and that meant she was protected,
"Sure Marigold, I'll be there in a sec" he said, she smiled
"Thank you Willie" she said, Marigold hung up and looked up at the young woman,
"Willie will be here in a sec, he'll bring you to your brother alright Darlin" she told her, the young woman smiled timidly at her,
"Thank yah Ma'am" she said, Marigold watched as Willie came through the door, the young woman didnt seem to cower from him,
"This here, well come on Darlin, I'll bring yah down to your brother" he told her, she smiled and nodded,
"Thank yah very much, I really dont mean to be a bother" she said, he waved it off,
"Dont worry about it, this is a family business, and if your Godwins sister, then yer family" he said, she smiled and nodded, Willie noted that she was quite and that Marigold was right she was a bit shaken up, he kept about an arms distance not to scare her, he stopped infront of the Duck Room,
"Follow me in alright, and dont worry about thses goof balls in here, the only things they can harm are Ducks and Bucks when we hunt" he told her, she smiled and nodded, he opened the door and she walkd in behind him,
"Godwin your sister is here for you" Willie said as he walked in, the young woman walked out from behind him, Godwin stood up and walked close to her, she moved quickly and was in his arms in a second,
"Tammy Mae I had been tryin to call you since yesterday" he said as she held him tightly, she sniffed,
"He remembered what yesterday was Johnny, when I wouldnt sign over some of the money he lost it, he broke mah phone, Mama didnt even stop him" she said softly as she took off the large glasses, he cursed as he saw the swollen eye, the stiches on the side,
"Did yah get everything out" he asked, she nodded,
"Cha Cha and Chester are in my truck, I had been keeping all my documents in my bag, so once he passed out I just got them into the truck and went to the hospital, once I had finished there I headed down here, I stayed in the Motel off five" she said, he sighed, Si walked over to her,
"Hey there that is one hell of a shiner there Jack" he said, Tammy looked at the old senile man, she smiled and nodded, Jase and Jep came closer, there father had thought them that women were to be protected and to see this slight thing in front of them with a black eye it really irked them.
"Guys this is my baby Sister Tammy Mae Godwin, she turned 21 yesterday" Godwin said as he introduced his friends and crew to his sister,
"You need us go deal with the jackass that did that to yah Darlin" Jase asked, he was getting really pissed the more he looked at the beautiful young woman, she shook her head and sighed,
"That Jackass is my dad and I would be happy just to forget it happened" she said, Jase stared at her in horror, her father had done that, Willie growled behind her,
"What would make him hit yah Jack" Si asked, Tammy Mae sighed, these guys were now in her business, she couldnt not tell them what happened and why her father decided to use her as a punch bag.
"When I was 17 I was in a car crash, I was driven home from school when I was side swiped by an NFL Coach, I lost a kidney, which put a stop to my Soft Ball career, I won a settlement for over thirty million because I also had to learn how to walk again, but I wouldnt see a penny of it until I turned 21, so yesterday my dad tried to get me to sign over 20 million, when I refused this is what happens" she said, they all looked at her wide eyed, she sighed,
"Well Darlin you've had one hell of a life" Jase said, she smiled and nodded,
"I know, now I need to get a job here in town" she said, he nodded,
"What do you do Darlin" Willie asked, she shrugged,
"Alot of things but my main focus is food, I was a chef in a resturaunt until yesterday, but I've also been a secretary, I've fixed AC before, I'm great with computers," she said, Si looked at her odly,
"Jack you got all that money why do you got to work" he asked, she sighed,
"Until I have a family, have kids, I need something to keep me busy" she said, Willie nodded he thought it made sense, Jase was looking at this woman, she was an oddity, his ex Missy, Willie's wife Korie and Jeps wife Jessica, well they all didnt care about work, it was all about spending the money that they had made, he was glad that Missy had recently married again that he didnt have to pay her spousal support, they had had no kids but he had always wanted some, Jase nudged his brother and motioned him to the side, Willie followed,
"We both know that if Phil found out that she was here, remember Mary Bell, he and Miss Kay had her live with them until she was up on her feet, she wants a job, she could help Miss Kay around the house, I mean Miss Kay can cook but she cant really clean, Tammy Mae could help" he said, Willie nodded agreeing, he looked over at the smaller woman,
"I think we should bring her to dinner tonight" he said, Jase nodded as he watched Tammy Mae for another reason, he hadnt felt this way before, protective, Missy could protect herself better than he would have, she was bitchy and hateful when she wanted to be, but Tammy Mae, she had these wide green doe eyes that made him want to wrap her up in his arms,
"You can come live with Jenna and I" Godwin said, Jase looked at her as she shook her had,
"You know Jenna and I dont get on, I dont want to make things harder for you, I'll stay at the Motel, I'll find someplace soon" she said, Godwin nodded and sighed,
"Well Miss Tammy Mae your welcome to have dinner with us tonight if you like, I know that tonight is Godwin and Jenna's date night, Miss Kay and Phil would only too happy to have a guest for dinner" Jase said, Tammy smiled and nodded, she had taken a liking to Jase, he was gorgous and he seemed like he cared,
"I would love to thank you" she said, he nodded with a grin, Si moved close to her,
"I'll ride with her" he said, Jase shook his head,
"No way in hell, I'll ride with her, you will go with Willie" he said, Si almost pouted, Willie stepped outside to call his mother,
"Hello" Phil answered the phone,
"Phil this is Willie, listen Jase and I invited Godwins sister to dinner tonight, I want you and Miss Kay to meet her, she arrived here to see her brother with a black eye and stitches, her father did it" he said, he could hear his father growl on the other end of the phone,
"Bring her here son, your mother and I would love to meet her" he said, Willie smiled
"Knew you would Phil, we'll be leaving in about ten minutes so we'll see you soon" he said, Phil grunted and Willie hung up, he walked back into the room to find Tammy Mae sitting beside Si and the others gathered round her,
"Now punch it, thats it Jack" Si said, Willie shook his head, Tammy Mae was smiling at them all, no matter how stupid you think Si is he always had a way of making people feel comfortable, she clapped her hands and looked at Jase who grinned, Willie noticed the small connection between his brother and the beautiful young woman,
"She might take your job Si if your not careful" Willie said, Tammy Mae laughed when Si shook his head,
"No, No, No that wont do, Tammy Mae here dont need my job dont you not Jack" he asked, Tammy laughed and shook her head,
"I would never take your job Si" she said, he grinned, his missing teeth showing, Tammy Mae smiled just as big, it was beautiful, Willie could see his brother was lost in her smiled, dazed, Willie thought that it was great, it was also something he could bust his brothers balls about, it had been awhile since he had been able to do that, but he knew that his brother would protect the small woman.
So when it was time to leave Jase followed her out to her truck, he jumped back when he saw a large cat stick his head out the window,
"Oh shoot I bet ya thought that Cha Cha and Chester were dogs didnt yah, no these are my babies, they are Savanah cats, about ten times the size of the normal cat, but they act like dogs, they get along well with dogs, and I took them hunting once or twice and they are faster than dogs" Tammy Mae said, Jase looked at her wide eyed and nodded,
"Sure, hell they look like Mountain Lions" he said, she laughed and nodded as she jumped into her truck, he climbed in the passenger side,
"Its kinda odd seeing such a small woman in such a monster" he said, she laughed and nodded,
"I guess it does look funny but ever since my crash I dont trust cars, so trucks are the only way to go" she said, he understood completely,
"So Jase where to" she asked, he smiled at her and gave her the directions, they had small talk as they made their way to the Robertson family home, when they pulled up Tammy left her cats out,
"What the hell are they" Tammy jumped at the voice that came from the doorway of the house, she looked at the mad wide eyed, Jase out his arm around her as her cats hissed in the direction of the house,
"They are Savanah cats, Cha Cha and Chester, they are Tammy Mae's, Tammy Mae this is Phil, Phil this is Tammy Mae" Jase said as he tried to comfort the shaking Tammy Mae, she whistled, her cats came running, she opened the door of her truck and let them in again, she opened all the windows a little and placed a bowl of water in the back seat, she just turned
"I'm sorry" she whispered, Jase winced at the soft, slightly scared voice she used, he could see that she had paled,
"Tammy, Tammy its alright, its just my father, its fine" he said softly as he moved in front of her, he saw his father coming closer, she was breathing deeply,
"I know I just got startled" she said, he nodded and moved around, the two of them turned to face his father,
"Phil meet Tammy Mae" Jase introduced, Tammy smiled slightly and Phil moved forward,
"Its nice to meet yah Darlin, Willie is inside talking up a storm about you" Phil said, she smiled at him and nodded,
"Its nice to meet you too" she said, he nodded and waved them in,
"Well come on in, Miss Kay is workin a storm up in the kitchen and she is tryin to stop Korie from helpin" Phil said, Jase laughed,
"I love Korie and all but Willie sure knows how to pick a woman, unfortunatly he couldnt find one that could cook" Jase said, Tammy smiled,
"Well Phil point me to the kitchen and I can help Miss Kay with the dinner" she said, Jase grinned at her and took her hand and led her inside,
"Miss Kay, no Korie out, out, out now" Jase said, pushing his sister in law into the sitting room, Willie laughed as his wife came over and sat with him,
"Now Miss Kay this is Tammy Mae, she is here to help" he said, Tammy smiled as she moved forward,
"Its a pleasure to meet you Miss Kay, Jase and Willie say you are the best cook in Luisianna, what are we cooking, Frogs, Squirell, Chicken, Catfish" she asked, Miss Kay grinned at her,
"A little bit of all of them, Jase caught some nice Catfish yesterday, Phil and Si were out Frog hunting last night, and Jep shot some Squirell this morning, and I had marinated some Chicken last night" she said, Tammy nodded,
"Perfect, how bout I sort out the Frogs and the Catfish" she said, Miss Kay nodded,
"Sounds fine with me Tammy Mae, sounds mighty fine to me" she said, and with that the two of them got too it, Tammy mixed up the corn flour with some spice and some chilli, she mixed all the frog legs, then meat in it, she then went and battered the cat fish in a salt and pepper batter, she got the collared greens, and then carrots and beans, she smiled when Miss Kay looked over at her,
"You can cook sweet girl" she said, Tammy nodded,
"I was a chef in a resturaunt until yesterday, but never once did we cook the great Luisianna cooking, I love this, family dinner, I only got to do this at Johnnys house and Jenna didnt like me" she said, Miss Kay looked at the young woman,
"Sweet girl Willie told Phil and I your story, we would like you to stay with us, I need help around here, I may be a good cook but I cant clean for nothin, and Phil spends most his time out on the land, I could use the company, you wont have to pay a bit of rent just help me out around here" Miss Kay said, Tammy smiled
"Thats real nice Miss Key but I have two Savanah Cats and they would need to stay with me" she said, Miss Kay nodded
"Well come Sweet girl, bring me to see them" Miss Kay said, Tammy grinned and nodded, they walked out and went to her truck, she opened the passenger side, she smiled, Miss Kay grinned,
"Well arent they beautiful, who is who" she asked, Tammy smiled,
"Cha Cha is the male and Chester is the female, I got them from an elderly man who was going into an old follks home, his grandson named them and I promised the little guy that I would keep the name" she said, Miss Kay nodded as Chester purred as she rubbed against her,
"They think that they are Dogs, I took them hunting, their faster than dogs" she said, Miss Kay nodded and told her to bring them in, so Tammy motioned the cats to follow her, they did and went inside, Miss Kay smiled and laughed as most of them inside started screaming, Jase was laughing and bent down to Chester as Cha Cha went straight to Phil, Phil chuckled as the cat licked his face.
"So they getting them self settled in" Phil asked as Cha Cha climbed onto the back of his chair, Tammy smiled and nodded,
"Yes sir" she said, he nodded,
"Well we can celebrate with dinner" he said, she and Miss Kay laughed at the subtle hint to get back into the kitchen,
They did as they were told, Tammy grabbed the two large pans and turned the gass on, she laughed along with Miss Kay as she put the frog into one and the battered Catfish into the other, she put the collard greens and he carrot and beans in another, they had enough food to feed them, Jase walked into the Kitchen and Miss Kay looked at him Oddly,
"Jase, you never come in when I'm cookin" she said, Jase shrugged as he tasted some of the sauce, he smiled at Tammy Mae,
"Smells good" he said, she smiled at him, Miss Kay nodded
"Now I know why your here" she said, Jase glared at his mother and then turned to Tammy Mae,
"So whats for desert" he asked, she smiled at him,
"I can have a pavlova made about an hour after dinner, so everyone can settle their stomachs" she said, Jase nodded,
"Sounds great" he said, she smiled, Miss Kay shook her head, her son was lost and she was happy about it, Tammy Mae was a fine woman and by Phils theory she is a real woman, but Phil never believed you could find one of these real women and them being beautiful, Tammy was both and Miss Kay was going to make sure her son puts a ring on her.
"That does sound great, now Jase you better get out of here so we can finish this up" Miss Kay said, Jase looked over at Tammy and she made a shooing motion, he sighed and nodded moving out of the kitchen.
In less than five minutes the dinner was ready and Miss Kay called the rest of the girls out to help bring the food into the dining room, Jase was holding Tammy a seat and he glared at anyone who tried to sit their, Willie knew he was going to have a new sister in law, but he also knew that Tammy Mae would be a way at getting at Jase.
Tammy sat by Jase and he smiled widely at her she smiled back at him, Phil motioned that it was time to pray, Tammy put her head down,
"Thank you lord for getting us through another day, thank you for the food we have on our table and thank you for bringing Miss Tammy Mae into our life, may she help Miss Kay with getting this place spick and span" he said, Jase smiled at her, she blushed and looked down,
"Lets eat" Phil said, Tammy being used to waiting until the head of the house had gotten his food waited but she jumped when Jase placed some Frog and Catfish on her plate,
"Dont be shy, if you dont grab somethin you might go hungry" he said, she nodded and smiled as she got a bit of Collard greens,
"These Frogs are nice, Miss Kay what did you do different to them" Jep asked his mother, she smiled and looked at Tammy,
"Thats all on Miss Tammy Mae over there" she said, they all looked over at her wide eyed,
"Miss Kay let someone into her kitchen" Korie asked, Tammy nodded looking oddly at them,
"Well Jase, Son you got a pretty one who knows how to cook, knows her frogs and Squirells, dont let her go" Phil said, they all laughed at Jase nodded to his father and Tammy Mae blushed, she took a bit of her dinner, Willie nodded in agreeance with his father and brother,
"So your Godwins Sister, Gotta say we all know who got the good end of the genes" Phil said, she laughed and nodded, noone comented on her black eye and acted as if it wasnt even there and shee was greatful for it,
"Yessir, Johnny is about twenty years older than me, My parents met when they were fifteen, had Johnny and waited until he was out of the house to have me" she said, Miss Kay nodded,
"Should have thought of that myself, but I had mine one after the other" she said, Tammy nodded with a smile,
"You did it the right way, I want I swarm of kids one after the other, I have enough money to live off that if I spent the rest of my life pregnant I would be well able to look after them" she said, Miss Kay grinned and nodded, Jase was staring at her wide eyed, but there was admiration in his eyes, Phil looked over at Tammy,
"Tell me Miss Tammy Mae, what do you think about children spending all their time with computers and phones" he asked, everyone quitened down and turned to look at her, she shrugged,
"I didnt have them growing up and I grew up fine, I have a computer for work and a phone that works, but I spent the most of my time walking with my cats, cookin or reading outside" she said, he nodded as he took a bite of his catfish,
"So you think its ok for them to have all those things" he said, she nodded,
"Sure for a an hour a day maybe, I mean if they dont know about them things they might be singled out by their friends, more than an hour on weekends as longs theres nothing to do, as long as they have all their chores done and dont have any attituded about being told to do something, well then I think they should be allowed their computers" she said, Phil smiled,
"You are so right, I never had a computer or any of those things and look at what I accomplished" he said, she smiled and nodded,
"My favourate thing grown up was frog hunting, Johnny used to take me, one night I caught 60 bull frogs, but I also loved catching Rattlesnakes, dangerous but the meet is the nicest I've tasted" she said, Phil nodded, Jase smiled and nodded his head along with them,
"You got to be kidding me, your smaller than I am and you went Frog Hunting" Sadie asked, Tammy Mae nodded and looked at they younger girl,
"Sure, I'm sorry I dont know your name" she said, Sadie smiled,
"Sadie, I'm Willies daughter" she said, Tammy Mae nodded,
"Well Sadie I went Frog Hunting, it gave me time to be with my brother, its a rush, plus the water where Frogs live, well that is the best moisterizer" she said with a shrug,
"Really" Korie asked, Tammy nodded,
"Of course the best beauty products come from nature, best mud bath is natural mud and not that mud that they have at the Spa, there is no chemicals" she said, Miss Kay nodded, Phil looked at Jase and winked, Jase grinned.
"How did you get those cool Cats" John Luke asked, she smiled,
"An old man had two cubs, he was being but into a home because his daughter was pregnant and her husband was over in Iraq, so I took them, his little grandson named them, I've had them with me since my accident so a little over five years now" she said, John Luke who Jase had whispered his name to her nodded, she smiled,
"They are great hunting, Rabits, Hares, hell they can climb up the trees for the squirells, sometimes if I dont even be hunting and they'll carry some Squirells in" she said, Phil looked like he was contemplenting something,
Once the table was cleared away Tammy went on and tidied the kitchen and was done in about twenty minutes, she then began to make the Pavlova, Jase came in and watched her, she smiled at him and he was in awe of the kitchen,
"I dont think I've seen this place this clean" he said, she smiled and looked down as she mixed the eggs and sugar together, once she had that done she put it into the oven and began to cut the fruit and making the cream, he watched her as she worked, he was enamoured with her,
"What" she asked as she saw him watching her, she shook her head,
"You know your beautiful" he said, she blushed and looked down
"Stop it Jase" she said, he shook his head and walked around the island and came close to her, he spun her around, and lifted her chin up to look at him,
"Darlin I'm telling you I will be marrying you, maybe it being a month, a week, a year but it will be happening, I will be telling you that you are beautiful, I will be telling you that your perfect because I will not lose you" he said, she looked down again and smiled before looking up at him beneath her lashes,
"You work quick" she said softly, he grinned,
"When I see something I want I go for it, now I dont mean to be uh whats the word chovanistic but if you'd let me I would put a stamp on you, Jase's Gal right across your head, I might be a cave man but I wont let you go" he said, she laughed and nodded as she moved out of his arms, to get the Pavlova out of the oven, Jase grinned at her, she set it all up and then handed Jase the plates and spoons, she picked up the pavlova and followed him out.
Jase just smiled at everyon as he handed out the slices, when he was finished he turned to look at her,
"Share" she asked, he nodded with a smile, he sat down on the chair and she sat on his lap, it was obvious to everyone that they had, had the conversation, that they had just added to the family, Jase had a massive grin on his face.
"So Phil did you think about the house hunting, I know Miss Kay thinks its a good idea, go live in the subdivisions" Willie said, Tammy looked over and frowned,
"Why would they need to move" she asked, Willie looked over at her and sighed,
"The pipes arent working, it should work for another six months but thats it" he said, she shrugged,
"I can sort it out, have it up and running in no time" she said,
"You can" Phil asked, she nodded,
"You hunting tomorrow" she asked, he nodded,
"Beavers" he said, she nodded and smiled,
"Will be sorted by tomorrow night" she told him, he smiled and looked at his son, she waited unitl he turned around, she looked at him
"I'm getting a plumber" she said, he laughed and looked back at his father who was oblivious to everything, he was sure that he had found his number one ally with getting around his father, he turned to look at Tammy and she and Jase were whispering to each other, shaking his head he couldnt believe it, he didnt know how his brother was going to explain it to Godwin tomorrow but is sure will be fun to see, he loved watching Jase on the defence.
Tammy Mae sat in the kitchen with Miss Kay as everyone else was leaving, they were taling about her moving into the house, she was going to be going back to the motel that night but she would back the next day, she was leaving her cats with Miss Kay, Jase came into the kitchen, Tammy looked up at him and smiled,
"You'll be back here by ten in the mornin" Miss Kay said, she nodded
"Yes Ma'am, I'll be here with my bags and stuff dont worry" she said, Jase moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her, his mother shook her head,
"You're worst than your father, he wouldnt let me go, my father had the threaten to shook him more than once, you should be lucky that times have changed, Marraige isnt nessasary" Miss Kay said, Jase shook his head,
"No Miss Kay, thisin and I are going to marry, find a day a month from now and talk to the pastor" he told his mother, Miss Kay grinned and hopped up off the stool,
"Well Jase that sounds mighty fine" his mother said, Tammy laughed,
"Mr Robertson you havent even asked me" she said, he gave her a look,
"I'm not asking, I'm telling you" he said, she laughed again
"Oh really Jase, well I want a nice house, one on this land, talk to your dad because this land has prime Frog hunting and Squirells" she said, he looked at her,
"Thats it" he asked, she nodded,
"That is all I'm asking" she said, he grinned and walked back out to the sitting room, Miss Kay looked at her,
"You really would build up here, none of the boys wanted that, well none of the girls did" she said, Tammy Mae, smiled,
"I only met you and Miss Kay I know I would have loved to have had you as a mom, my parents didnt want me, I was a mistake, my dad was supposed to have had a vesectomy after Johnny, they let me know repeatidly" she said, Miss Kay looked at the poor girl sadly,
"Why did you stay with them after you turned 18" she asked, Tammy sighed,
"Even though they hated me they were my parents, my mom told me she was sick so I stayed to look after her, but it turned out that she lied, after my accident I stayed in the hospital and then the rehab centre for over a year, they left me there" she said, Miss Kay sighed with a smile,
"You are a good girl" she said as Jase came back into the kitchen he grinned,
"Phil said we can have as much land as you want if he can take you hunting with them cats" he said, she laughed and nodded,
"Oh and Jase no rings, we will get our rings tattooed on" she said, he grinned and nodded,
"Well now you really are my girl" he said, she slapped his arm, he pulled her to him
"Get them house designs up cause dad said he would pay for it if he can keep you" he said, she laughed and he pulled her to him again.
He walked her out to her truck and when he was sure that his parents werent watching he gently shoved her onto the door of the truck, she looked up at him and he trapped her in his arms and he lowered his head and they had their first kiss, Tammy had been kissed before but nothing like this, she had never felt the fire, she had never been in love, until she met Jase, she had never believed in love at first sight until she met him either, her hands in the back of his hair, she pulled his beanie off and he pulled her closer by the hips,
"Thats it Jason you really dont want me coming out there to keep that girls innocence intact, I like her more than I like you" Phil shouted from the porch, Tammy laughed as she blushed and hide her face in Jase's chest, he looked over at his father and sighed,
"I'll see you tomorrow night" he said, she shook her head,
"I'll bring ya something down for your lunch, maybe gumbo or steak sandwich" she told him, he smiled and nodded
"I would really appreciate that Darlin" he said, she smiled
"But you gotta tell Johnny that we're getting married" she said, he shrugged,
"I can do that, no problem" he said, she laughed as she climbed into the truck, he closed the door to her truck, he leaned into the truck and pressed another kiss before stepping back and watching her drive away.