A kindhearted cowboy

Proving himself

Jason's pov

"You're crazy man!" Luke says, laughing. "Shut up no I'm not. If you would be so kind as to leave before she gets here..." I grumble, letting my voice trail off. He laughs and nods. "Have fun." I will. He leaves and ten minutes later, Miranda and Sierra pull up in my drive. "Sierra's a little hyper tonight." She mumbles. I smile and open my truck door for her. "What are y'all hungry for?" I ask. "Pizza!" Sierra cries. I smile and pat her head then put her car seat in my truck. "Wow your truck is big!" She gasps. I pick her up and buckle her into the seat. "Let's go get some pizza." We go to chuck e cheeses. "She can burn off some energy while we wait for our food." I say. We give her the coins and sit in a booth. "Jason, you don't know what you're getting yourself into." I don't really care. She still looks worried. I'm gonna prove it to her. I don't care if she has autism. I'm still gonna be here.

Miranda's pov

He stands up. "Where are you going?" I ask. He turns around and shoots me that million dollar smile that makes my knees weak. "You'll see hun." He says, walking over to where Sierra is trying to get something out of the crane game. He bends down to her eye level and says something but I can't hear. Sierra avoids eye contact because that's just one of the problems with autism. He smiles and hugs her. Then he works on winning something from the crane game for her. He gets her a stuffed dog and she loves it! She jumps into his arms in a hug, catching him off guard but he then picks her up, me smiling the whole time. He's such a sweetheart. Then our pizza gets here. "Hey Jason the pizza's here." I call. He walks back over with Sierra. "Mr. Jason won me a puppy." Sierra cries, excited. "I saw sweety." I've never felt this before. I don't know what it is. Understanding. Someone... Someone who really cares. "Thank you so much." I whisper. He smiles. "There's nothing to thank me for." He doesn't know how wrong he is.

*later*

We drive back to his house. Sierra fast asleep, sucking her thumb and holding tight to the stuffed dog. I smile, seeing my sweet little girl. "She's never gone to sleep that early." I whisper. He shrugs. "I've got skills." He jokes. I pick Sierra up as he puts the car seat in my car. "Tonight was fun." "Yeah, I had such a good time." I say quietly. He takes my hand and kisses it. "Will you be my girlfriend now?" Tears push at my eyes. He's more than proven himself. He cares about Sierra and isn't freaked out about her disorder. I nod and hug him, his arms wrapping around my waist instantly. We exchange numbers then he kisses my cheek. I go back home with a smile on my face and a flutter in my stomach. I look at Sierra in the rearview mirror. She's smiling too.

*the next day*

I wake up to my phone buzzing. I turn over. Sierra moves but doesn't wake up. I grab my phone. A text from Jason. Good morning beautiful. I smile and text him back. Good morning handsome. Sierra wakes up, looking in my eyes. I try to hide my surprise. "Good morning mama." She whispers, putting her hand on my cheek. I hug my little sister and scoop her up. We go downstairs to fix breakfast. I put her in a chair and she still holds that dog. "Does your doggy have a name?" I ask. She smiles. "His name's Jason. When do we get to see him again?" I stare at her gladly. "Probably today. I'll ask him." I call him and put it on speaker.

Jason's pov

I'm on my way to the studio when my phone rings. I answer it and Bluetooth it since I'm driving. "Hey Mr. Jason!" Sierra cries. I smile. "Hey hun, what are you doing up so early?" "Making breakfast. What are you doing?" "Going to the studio. I'm making some new music today." "Ooh yay! I can't wait." "Hey I'll make a pit stop and pick y'all up if it's okay with Miranda." "Yeah it's fine with me." I hear her voice. I must be on speaker. "I'm on my way then hun." I get off the phone and drive over there.

Miranda's pov

She jumps out of the seat when she hears his truck. "Calm down Sierra." She stops running and waits in the kitchen doorway for him, still clutching the dog. "Mr. Jason! She cries excitedly as he opens the door. "Hey sweetheart." She runs over and he hugs her. "She sure missed you." I say. He walks into the kitchen and sets her at the table then kisses me. I don't want it to stop but sadly it does. "I figured you girls could come with me to the studio then we'll get some brunch." He says, sitting down and pulling the young energetic girl onto his lap. "Sounds great. But Sierra, you gotta get your meds first." She gets off Jason's lap and runs over to me to take her meds which I give to her. She goes upstairs to get ready. "I'm guessing for her autism?" He asks. "Well, to control her little ticks." I mumble, "There's no medicine for autism itself." "What's her ticks?" He asks, turning around to look at me. "High energy mostly. But then there's more that her meds can't control." I look away. He grabs my hand. "Like what hun?" I don't want to say. "I need to know." "Why?" I ask. "So I can help take care of her. I need to know what to do." I smile as tears come to my eyes. "Well, avoiding eye contact, she doesn't like to be touched that much, stuttering, you have to repeat yourself sometimes to her, short attention span." By now I'm in full blown tears. He pulls me onto his lap and holds me while I cry. "It'll be okay. Ain't nothin' I can't handle." He whispers, stroking my hair. Sierra comes back downstairs. I don't want to explain to her that I was crying over her! I dry my eyes and stand back up. "Ready to go darlin'?" He asks. She nods, still staring at me. "What's wrong?" "Nothing honey." I say, quickly. She still looks at me until Jason heads to the door. "Come on." He says, waving to us." Sierra looks at me oddly. "Let's go baby." I say walking forward with her following me. We get Sierra in his truck. "All is gonna be okay." He says, kissing my forehead. "No one has ever stuck by me for this long." I whisper. He brushes my hair out of my face. "I'm not going anywhere." We go to his studio and Sierra stares at everything wide eyed.

Jason's pov

Mike walks in and waves. "And this must be Sierra. Jason's told me a lot about you." He says. I smile but she shies away. "She's a little shy." Miranda says. I bend down to her eye level. "This is Michael. He's like my big brother almost." I try to explain. She keeps her stare on the floor. Oh yeah I forgot bad at eye contact. I stand back up. "So Mike any new songs for me?" I ask. He nods and hands me a piece of paper. Pretty soon the band arrive. Sierra looks a little freaked out. "So many people overwhelm her." Miranda whispers, picking her up. "That's why we stayed by the playground during the concert." "It's okay, hun, there's another room we're all going to in a minute. All but Mike anyway." Sierra hides her head in Miranda's shirt. Think of something! "Uh, hey Sierra, ya wanna sing with me?" She looks up at me. "Really? I can?" She gasps. I nod. "Hey Mike, make it happen." He nods and sets up a concert in town. "When can we sing together?" "After we eat brunch later." I say, patting her head and going into the studio along with the band.

*later*

I walk out onstage. "Tonight's pretty special. I've got a little friend joining me onstage." I turn around and wave for her to come onstage but I can tell she's scared. "She's my little girl, Sierra." She nervously walks onstage. "What do you wanna sing darlin'?" She smiles and I know what song. I sing the lyrics to wide open and she joins in. Miranda claps along. I smile and pull her onstage. "Mama! I'm singing!" Sierra cries, ecstatic. I laugh as my girls both have a blast. The fans don't seem to mind the change. I just watch them sing and dance. And it dawns on me. I love them. Miranda slings her arms around my neck in a tight hug and I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her passionately. "I love you baby girl." "I love you too Jason." She whispers, hugging me her head against my chest. I can see them in my future for a long time to come.