Finding Love (8 page)

“Um, that is not at all how I remember it, and I would never do anything that unchivalrous. I’m a Southern gentleman.” He smiled that dimpled smile, and her stomach flipped. Or maybe the baby was moving.

“You might be a Southern gentleman now, but you pushed me in the dang lake back then.”

“Okay, fine. I admit it. But I did it on a dare.”

“A dare? With who?” she asked, knowing full well it was one of her brothers.

“I’m afraid for my physical safety if I say….”

“Sure you are! Come on. Who?”

“Brad.”

“Brad? Oh, I’m going to smack him the next time I see him!”

“That’ll make for a good Christmas picture,” he said chuckling.

Clay was so easy to talk to. It was one of the things she’d admired about him ever since she was young. He would taunt her around her brothers, but he was always there to lend an ear when she wanted to talk about stuff. Usually boy stuff.

She remembered getting her heart broken by a boy in middle school, and Clay had been right there to pick up the pieces when he found her crying on the beach after school. She sure had done a lot of crying on the beach in her life, yet it was her favorite place on Earth.

They arrived at the front door of Jolt, and Addison said a quick goodbye to Clay before running inside and apologizing to Rebecca for being late. But she couldn’t help herself and looked back to watch him walk up the street toward the ferry dock. And a small part of her wondered why she hadn’t noticed Clay before now. Why did she ever leave January Cove and hook up with the likes of Jim?

***

If there was one thing Aaron Parker knew, it was that he adored his girlfriend’s son, Tyler. After just turning three years old, the kid had stolen his heart almost from the first moment they met. And today was no different.

As they sat together fishing off the dock of a local lake, Aaron couldn’t imagine his life without this kid in it. Of course, having Tessa in his life wasn’t a bad deal either. She was beautiful, smart and strong. She was honest to a fault and she seemed to always do the right thing no matter how hard it was. He admired her, and lately he didn’t admire himself nearly as much.

“Hey, bro,” he heard his brother, Brad yell from behind. “You not working today?” Brad was climbing out of his big, black pickup truck and Tyler ran to greet him with a bear hug.

“Uncle Brad!” he yelled. He called all the Parker brothers “uncle” now and thought of them as his own family. Tyler really didn’t have any other family after his mother had left his abusive father.

“Hey, man. No, I just took the afternoon off. Tessa’s running the counter at the campground so me and peanut here can go fishing,” he said as he stood up and put his fishing pole in the little metal holder staked into the ground.

“Anything biting?”

“Not really. But that wasn’t really the point,” he said. Everyone knew Aaron loved spending time with Tyler, even if that meant sitting there without any fish biting. Having lost his Dad at a two years old, Aaron wanted to make sure that Tyler always had a father figure around who did those cool things with him. He planned to teach him how to shoot a bow and arrow, how to catch a football and eventually how to capture the attention a beautiful woman and make her his wife.

“Aaron, can I play on the swing?” he asked, pointing to the small swing set that was on the edge of the property.

“Yes, but stay where I can see you, okay?” Tyler nodded and ran off. “So what’s up?” he asked Brad as he sat on the edge of a picnic table.

“Well, I wanted to talk about the bachelor party for Kyle.”

“Jeez, man, that’s months away. It’s December. They aren’t getting married until the spring. Aren’t we jumping the gun a bit?” Aaron laughed.

“Hey, this is a big deal. The first Parker brother to get married!” Brad was the most animated of all the Parker kids, including Addison. He was a planner, but he was also outgoing and spontaneous when he needed to be. He was hysterically funny, and insanely curious to the point that most would’ve called him nosy. Everyone in the family thought he should’ve been a reporter instead of a contractor, but he stuck with the family business of real estate.

“Okay, so what were you thinking? Strippers and debauchery for twenty-four hours?” Aaron winked.

“I doubt that’s a good plan since all of my brothers are tied down. Don’t want to be responsible for Tessa kicking your butt to the curb,” Brad said with a chuckle. Aaron smiled.

“Yeah, she’d probably put me in a headlock and throw me into that lake right there.”

“So, how are things going with you guys anyway? Should I be expecting wedding bells from another brother anytime soon?” Brad asked in his usual nosy fashion.

“Do you always have to have your nose in my business?” Aaron asked, walking over and removing his fishing pole from the holder.

“Ooohh. Did I touch a nerve?”

“No, of course not. Things are great with me and Tessa.” Aaron took the bait off his hook and tossed the rod into the back of his truck without looking at his brother.

“Dude, I’m your big brother. You know you can talk to me, right?” Brad said, suddenly serious.

Aaron took in a deep breath. “Seriously. Things are great. I’m just feeling the pressure with all this wedding talk. I know she wants to get engaged, and I think it’s too soon. I mean, we’ve only been dating a few months.” He leaned against the picnic table.

“Look, man, you don’t need to feel pressured by any of this. You do what’s right for you and Tessa, and that little guy over there.”

“She’s starting to talk about it, though, and I don’t want to let her down. I just feel a little…. wary…”

“About Tessa? She’s an awesome woman…”

“Not about her. About Natalie.”

“Natalie? Where the hell did that come from?” Brad asked, talking a little too loudly. “You’re not messing around on Tessa…” he whispered.

“Of course not!” Aaron snapped. “I meant about what Natalie did to me. I trusted her.”

“And you’re wondering how you’ll know if you can trust Tessa?”

“Sort of. I don’t know…”

“Aaron, there are no guarantees in life. Any woman can cheat on you. But she probably worries about you too.”

“How?”

“Her husband beat on her, man. What’s to say you don’t turn out to be like him?” Brad asked.

“I would never do that!”

“You say that, but he probably said that too…”

“Are you saying I’ll be a wife beater? Thanks, Brad.”

“Of course I’m not saying that. Just making a point that she could be worried about you turning out like her ex while you’re worrying about her turning out like your ex. You can’t compare Tessa to Natalie. It’s not fair, just like it wouldn’t be fair for her to compare you to that louse of a husband she had.”

He made a good point. Aaron smiled at the irony of it all.

“I’ve never thought of it like that.”

“Well, I’m smart so I’m glad I could enlighten you,” Brad said.

“Shut up, you moron,” Aaron said, punching his brother in the arm.

“Here’s my last piece of wisdom… You have to decide whether Tessa and Tyler are worth the risk. Then you’ll have your answer.”

As she did most mornings now, Addison found herself walking along the shoreline on her way to Jolt. She was starting to get a routine going now that she was back in January Cove, and that felt good since her life had been anything but routine in the last few months.

With Christmas just another week away, she felt secure where she was right now. Having her family around her was giving her much needed strength, but it didn’t mean she doubted herself any less than she did before. The constant questions plagued her. The unknown parts of her life seemed to be the only certain thing she had.

She stared out into the ocean as the sun came up over the horizon. Another day. She was thankful for that. She quietly spoke to her baby, as she did a lot now, and promised to do her best to be a good mom.

“Good morning,” she heard a male voice say from behind her. Oh no. Who had heard her talking to her baby? More importantly, was it Clay? She turned.

“Good morning, Jackson,” she said with a relieved smile. “You’ve got to stop scaring me like that.”

“Here, I brought you a coffee and a muffin,” he said as he plopped down on the sand. Since Addison could no longer “plop”, she eased herself down onto the dry, cool sand and took the coffee and bagged muffin.

“Thanks. You already went to Jolt this morning?” she asked.

“Well, I do have an ‘in’ with the owner, you know,” he said with a wink.

“Gross.”

“I didn’t mean it like that! Get your mind out of the gutter, sis,” he said laughing. “I had an early morning conference call, so I needed some energy.”

“I like Rebecca a lot. You really scored on that one, bro,” she said. “She’s been so supportive of me even when I get nauseous or mess up the cash register.”

“She likes you too. And she understands, trust me.”

“I’m glad she does because I don’t. I wish I felt more like my old self, whatever that means.” Addison took a sip of her coffee and looked down at her feet.

“Things will get better, Addy. They always do. This is just a season of your life, but it’ll pass,” he said putting his arm around her.

“It’s just hard watching the total destruction of your marriage. It wasn’t a good marriage, but it was mine and I thought my life would be different. Things haven’t turned out at all like I’d planned.”

“Life never turns out like we plan, but you gotta roll with it. I never expected to be back in January Cove. Just like you, I thought I was destined for the big city life, but fate had other plans. I bet fate has other plans for you too.”

“I hope so. I wish I could be more like Clay…”

Jackson choked on his coffee. “Clay?”

“Yeah. I’ve been spending more time with him lately, just running into him here and there. Didn’t know he ran the ferry. Anyway… Clay has always known January Cove was his home, and he’s never had ambitions to leave. I wish I hadn’t left, but I know it was probably the best thing at the time.”

“Well, don’t have Clay’s ambition-less mentality. I don’t know how he makes ends meet with that ferry.”

Addison smiled inside because she knew his secret, but she wasn’t about to tell it to Jackson or anyone else. “It’s hard to think about the future right now. All I can think about is the baby and getting this divorce behind me.”

“But maybe you do need to think more about the future. What do you want to do with your life? I mean, what’s your passion? Is it still decorating?” he asked as he bit into a large blueberry muffin.

“I do love decorating, but lately I’ve got another idea in my head that I can’t seem to shake.”

“What is it?”

“Well, if I had the money, I’d buy the old Mallory house and open a B&B.” She waited for Jackson to sigh or roll his eyes, but it didn’t happen. Her serious to a fault brother made no sound and then spoke.

“Then you should do it. Make a plan and go for your dream, Addy,” he said softly.

“What? Who are you and what have you done with my very practical brother?” she said with her hand on his cheek.

“Look, I’ve learned a lot being with Rebecca even for this short period of time. She lost her husband in September 11
th
, and they thought they had all the time in the world before that. We don’t know what the future holds, so I think we need to pursue our dreams when we can.”

“But I can’t, Jackson. I have no money and a baby on the way. My dreams need to go on the back burner.”

“Maybe you can’t buy the Mallory place, but what about just working for yourself? You’ve got months before the baby gets here. Why not take on some decorating jobs? Call your company back in Atlanta and see if they have some jobs you can take on. You can always drive up for the day and meet with clients.”

Addison pondered the idea. It might work, so she would put it on her list of ideas.

“I might give that a try. Thanks, Jackson,” she said leaning over and putting her head on his shoulder.

“Well, I hate to eat and run, but I’ve got that conference call in ten minutes.”

She hugged him goodbye and started her own walk to Jolt. She had a few minutes, so she pulled our her cell phone to call the office and see if they had anything for her.

“Real Deal Decorating,” her secretary, Amber, answered in her usual upbeat voice. Although she had worked on her own when she first arrived in Atlanta, Jim had invested into her opening Real Deal after she’d built her reputation.

“Hey, Amber. It’s Addison,” she said. There was a long pause before Amber spoke.

“Oh… hey…” She seemed to be stammering over her words.

“Listen, I was wondering if we have any open jobs I could work on…” she started to say, but Amber interrupted her.

“I’m sorry, Addison, but we don’t.”

“Nothing? But we had quite a few extra jobs before I left…”

“Look, Addison, you really need to talk to Jim about this.”

“Jim? What’s he got to do with this?”

“Well, from what we’ve been told, Jim was the investor backing this company and he just let you run things. Now that you’re divorcing him, he’s taken the reins.” Her tone was snotty and sarcastic.

“Excuse me? Jim is running an interior design business? Seriously?”

“Actually, he hired a manager. She’s running things, but he’s in charge of the company.”

“We ran that company together, Amber, and you know it. He can’t just come in and take over!” Addison said through gritted teeth. She wasn’t going to cry and give anyone that ammunition against her.

“You need to talk to Jim. Or maybe your attorney,” Amber said, obviously brushing her off.

“Let me ask one more question before you hang up and gossip about me,” Addison said.

“Fine. What?” Amber said, sounding about as interested as a preschooler would be in this conversation.

“Who’s the manager?”

Amber paused before saying, “Tiffani.” Then she hung up.

***

Addison made it to Jolt in the nick of time and ran behind the counter to put on her apron just as Rebecca finished ringing up a customer.

“You okay?” Rebecca asked as the customer left.

“Yeah. Just not a good morning,” Addison said as she attempted to distract herself with wiping down the back counter.

“Can I help?”

“I doubt it. Unless you’re a hired assassin and don’t mind taking out my soon-to-be ex-husband?”

“No, sorry. My hired assassin days are far behind me. I own a coffee shop now,” Rebecca said with a giggle. Addison followed with laughter and felt better. “So what’s going on?”

Addison told her about the phone call to her interior design firm and how she was treated by her own former secretary. She also told her about the revelation that Tiffani was apparently back with Jim even though they’d supposedly broken up months ago. Of course, Jim was exactly a truth-teller, so maybe they never broke up at all.

“Surely he can’t just take the whole business?” Rebecca said.

“You know, I don’t even care. I don’t ever want to go back there, and the business was floundering anyway. I’m sure he’s doing everything he can to kill my professional name up there. I just want to start over. I don’t ever want to see those people again,” Addison said as she banged the tamper for the cappuccino machine against the side of the counter. Rebecca carefully took if from her and smiled.

“Why don’t you sit down for a bit?” she said sweetly. Addison felt horrible. She wasn’t a very good worker so far. She leaned against the counter and sighed.

“My life has really gone off the rails. I’d understand if you want to fire me, Rebecca. I really would.”

“I’m not firing you! I love having you here, Addy. I’m glad it gives you something to do while you figure things out.”

“I just feel so useless. I’m used to being in charge and always on the go.”

“Maybe you need a hobby?” Rebecca suggested.

Addison laughed. “I’ve never been one for hobbies. Jackson suggested taking some freelance interior design work.”

“That’s a good idea too. I wish I hadn’t already redecorated this place…”

“It’s beautiful, Rebecca. You have a real eye for design.”

“I doubt that,” she said giggling. “Oh, look, here’s one of my favorite customers now!”

The bell dinged on the door and an older man walked in. Addison knew everyone in town when she left years ago, but not this man. He was short and thin and had barely a few sprigs of white hair on top of his head. He ambled in using a cane.

“Hello, dear,” the man said, giving Rebecca a kiss on the cheek as she leaned over the counter.

“Hello, Mr. Linden. What can I do for you today?”

“Oh, my usual, dear,” he said. She nodded and started pouring a cup of coffee. “Mr. Linden, this is my friend and new co-worker, Addison Parker. Addison, this is my secret boyfriend, Mr. Paul Linden.” Rebecca smiled and so did Mr. Linden.

“Well, we’d better not tell my wife about this,” he said chuckling. “Hi there, Addison.” Addison reached out and shook his hand.

“So what’s your regular?” she asked, trying to get to know her new customer.

“Coffee black, bran muffin. Pretty easy really. Helps keep an old man regular,” he said. More information than Addison needed.

“Hey, Mr. Linden, let me ask you something as a retired attorney…” Rebecca started.

“What’s that?” he said.

Rebecca regaled him with tales of Addison’s marriage and upcoming divorce while she stood there with her mouth hanging open. Rebecca whispered to her, “Don’t worry. He never remembers anything we talk about, but his advice is always on point.”

When she was finished, he raised one of his bushy eyebrows and smiled.

“Well, I have to tell you that is an interesting story. And I find with stories like these that in order to get a happy ending, one must fight fire with fire. Your jackass of a husband needs a swift kick in the rear,” he said. Addison nodded in agreement but let the old man talk. “You’ve got to get evidence, my dear. Evidence that he’s been unfaithful, and that he did it first.”

“But there is no evidence…” she started.

“Oh, dear, there’s always evidence. One just has to know where to look.”