Author's note: This is the second prologue. This story will have ten more chapters plus an epilogue and will be posted on Sundays

Five years ago

Jacob Stone was exhausted. His shift on his second job had been a long one and that was after a full day working at his family's store. All he wanted was something to eat, to kiss his kids (even though he knew they'd be asleep) and to collapse in bed. He sighed though as he pulled up to the house. His wife Mandy's car was not in the driveway but his mother-in-law's was. Mandy'd probably picked up an extra shift at the hospital. She'd been doing that more and more lately without really letting him know ahead of time. Strange thing about that was that the family finances never seemed to be increasing. Mandy had laughed and reminded him how much diapers were when he'd brought it up. He guessed that was the case what with the baby and all.

There was something off about the living room when Jacob entered the house but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He found his mother-in-law in the kitchen, the kettle on. She looked nervous.

"Kids asleep?" Jacob asked, walking to the fridge. "Assuming Mandy's at work."

"Jake . . . ." Jane cleared her throat. "Come into the living room and sit down."

She took the beer out of his hands and steered him to the sofa.

"Jane, you're scarin' me. Is Mandy okay? Are the kids okay?"

"I'm real sorry, Jake," Jane said, cringing. "I can't . . . ." His mother-in-law shook her head and then handed him an envelope. "Mandy's gone, Jake. She left you this."

"What do you mean she's gone?"

"Just, just read it, okay? I'm gonna go check on the baby."

Jacob found his hands shaking as he opened the envelope. Inside was a letter, a business card for a lawyer and Mandy's latest paycheck signed over to him.

Jake,

I can't do this anymore. We ain't been good for a long time, you know that. Having Abby was just putting a band aid on something that needed stitches. I've been lying to you for months, I ain't working extra shifts, I'm seeing someone else. We're going to California, starting over. The lawyer has the paperwork. I ain't asking for anything from you but a divorce. You can have the kids, the house, the car, everything I left. Sell them or give them to the girls. Tell the girls that . . .well tell them that they deserved better than the momma they got. And someday maybe you can give them one.

I'm real sorry Jake, but this is for the best.

Mandy.

When Jane returned, Jacob was sitting on the couch, the letter on the floor, resting his face in his hands. When he looked up at her, his eyes were red and his face just showed confusion and devastation.

"Did you know?" he asked, his voice barely working over the lump of unshed tears.

"Not the full story, not until today," Jane shook her head. "But there were signs. The extra shifts but no increase in paycheck . . . ."

Jacob scoffed bitterly. "I noticed that too, but she kept tellin' me that the money was there, it was just goin' for diapers and baby formula. Shit, Jane, this has been goin' on for months!"

Jane gave him a look for the language and he reddened slightly. "Sorry, Jane."

"Actually suppose I can't blame ya for it in this case. Oh, Jake, my daughter . . . ya know how me and Earl tried to talk ya out of marrying her?"

"Yeah, I remember. I thought you didn't like me. Which was strange because you treat me like your son now."

"It ain't about ya. We love you, Jake. But Mandy . . .Mandy's flighty. We knew talkin' her outta of it was just gonna make her dig her heels in more. But we didn't think you'd be the same. "

Jacob sighed. "Maybe I should have listened. Saved me six years of Mandy."

"But you wouldn't have them girls. And you're the one that loves 'em. I thought . . .Mandy kept havin' 'em but she never seemed like a momma. It weren't baby blues either. She just . . . ."

"That was me," Jake sighed. "Abby especially, we had her cuz I thought . . .but Mandy was happy when she was pregnant. At least with Gracie and Kait. But Abby, she was pissed at me the entire time. And she wouldn't breast feed. Told me she'd done it twice and she was through. But now I know, she didn't want her. God, Jane, what kinda woman?"

Jane shook her head. "I don't know, Jake. I love my daughter but sometimes I just don't understand her. It's like an alien took over after she turned into a teenager. "

"Did she ever love me? Us? This here paper says she didn't. And I loved her, Jane, still do. I'm a fool."

"You ain't a fool, Jacob Stone. You're a good man who did right by his wife and kids. Earl and I, we ain't gonna abandon you. You're still our son. You need us with your momma and daddy gone. Whatever you need, you've got it."

Jacob leaned back against the sofa. "I don't suppose you can bring Mandy back?"

"Do you want her back?"

He shook his head. "No, actually glad she wasn't brave enough to look me in the eye."

His father-in-law walked into the living room at that moment, carrying a bottle. "How about some whiskey then?"

"I think . . ." and he was not sure why. It might have been the kindness of his wife's parents or the whole thing finally hitting him but that offer started the tears.

And Jacob wept on Jane's shoulder and then he did a shot with Earl. He thought about drinking the bottle they left with him. But instead he went upstairs and curled up on the cot in his baby's room and fell asleep, knowing in the morning he'd have to tell his daughters that their momma was never coming home.

Telling them was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do. Abby was too young to even understand but Grace and Kaitlyn were older and full of questions. Questions that Jacob just didn't have an answer to. He did his best and devoted himself to his children, they needed him more than ever.

The divorce was as quick as possible, Jacob being awarded full custody of his children with no visitation for Mandy. He'd tracked her car down to her lover's house and he sold it along with everything she'd left in the house. He'd thought about keeping some of the jewelry for the girls, but in the end the only thing he kept were a ring that had belonged to his mother and a photo album. They needed the money more than an attachment to a woman who'd always had one foot out the door.

Especially since he'd dropped his second job and had kept at it full time in his granddad's store. He wanted to be there for the kids. Instead he picked up odd jobs around town and at night went back to his long neglected studies. No one knew that he was actually a genius. He'd given up his plans for college when his dad had died when he was fourteen. He wanted to help his momma out.

Time had flown by and he'd kept telling himself he'd get to college someday. But then his momma died. Then he'd gotten married and before he knew it, he'd had three children to support.

And now he was all alone again.

The studies late at night, now that he didn't have anyone to interrupt him, were the one thing that kept him sane. He took online courses and spent hours studying the digitized collections of hundreds of museums and libraries around the world. Learning was the only relationship he needed outside of his girls.

Mandy might have wanted him to find someone out of guilt for her own actions. But Jacob Stone was never gonna love and lose again.

One year ago

"You're retirin'?" Jacob asked his grandfather that morning.

"Well, son," his granddad had chuckled. "I'm 83, hardly a spring chicken any longer. You can run the store just fine without me."

"It's a huge responsibility, runnin' it on my own."

"Jake, you've basically been runnin' it these last few years. You'll do just fine. Mabel is as fine a clerk as you'll get in these parts and Miss Agnes will help ya with the books. I just want to kick back on my porch swing and enjoy my great-grandkids before I go up to be with your granny again."

Jacob smiled and assured his grandfather that he had it all under control. But secretly he was panicking. Miss Agnes' mind was not what it used to be and Jacob was hopeless when it came to the books. Mabel was indeed a fine employee. But he knew she was itching to leave small town Oklahoma, heading toward Tulsa or maybe even Dallas. Anything to get out of this town.

Jacob couldn't say he blamed her. He'd never been further from home than Tulsa but god did he ever want to. Sometimes he fantasized about packing up his girls and just driving until they found a spot they liked or ran into the ocean. But this was their home and this is where they stayed.

So he took a deep breath and asked his grandfather for any tricks he didn't already know. And as he soaked up the old man's wisdom, he repeated the mantra that had gotten him through the last four years.

I've got this.