The Cottage on Juniper Ridge (25 page)

She enjoyed watching the dancers later as she and her family
sat at a picnic table and devoured ice cream bars. One dark-haired man with
glasses was really something to watch.

“That’s Juliet’s brother, Jonathan,” Jen explained. “He lives
in Portland now, but he and his wife come back here for all the festivals and
holidays. I hear he’s still the best dancer in Icicle Falls.”

“He doesn’t have anything on me,” Wayne said.

“Uh-huh.” Toni rolled her eyes.

He stood up and held out his hand to her. “Come on, babe.”

Wayne had never been much of a dancer, but she appreciated his
willingness to get out there and try. And since the band was playing a slow
song, she figured he wouldn’t have to try too hard.

Sure enough, about all he did was sway them back and forth. But
it was sweet and romantic. “I’ve still got the moves,” he joked.

“That you do,” she said, playing along, “and not just on the
dance floor.”

He grinned and kissed her right there in the middle of the
crowd. Oh, yes, coming up here and getting away from it all had been absolutely
inspired. It might not have been a perfect vacation, but it had been a perfect
chance for her and Wayne to rekindle the romance in their marriage. Maybe, just
maybe, they’d be able to keep the flame alive when they got back to the real
world of overwork and distractions.

* * *

Jen was getting dizzier by the minute. Her buddy Bill
Will had found her and insisted they have a dance and now he was tossing her
around like a Frisbee. Still, she was having a great time. She’d seen everyone
she knew—her book club, some of the women from her new church, her library pals.
She loved it here!

The needle on her fun meter dipped shortly after her dance with
Bill Will. They were getting corn dogs when she caught sight of a little boy
wandering through the crowd. It was Timmy, Garrett’s son. Where was his
father?

“Well, hi there,” she said. “I’m the lady from the bakery.
Remember me?”

He nodded. “I’m looking for my daddy.”

“I bet he’s looking for you, too,” she said. “Want me to help
you?”

The little boy nodded again. Then he eyed her corn dog. “I like
corn dogs.”

She smiled. “Would you like this one?”

Timmy grinned eagerly.

“Guess I’d better buy you another,” Bill Will said.

“Guess so,” she agreed.

Once they all had corn dogs, she took Timmy’s hand. “Let’s go
find your daddy.”

“Uh, I’ll catch up with you later, then,” Bill Will told her.
“I think I’m on his shit list.”

Poor Bill Will. The septic fiasco hadn’t been his fault. “I’m
on his shit list, too,” she said. But she didn’t care because he was on hers, as
well.

“Save me a slow dance,” Bill Will said, and melted into the
crowd.

She decided her best bet was to take the child over to the
bandstand and ask the bandleader to make an announcement. They had just started
in that direction when a slender blonde wearing white shorts and a tight red top
stopped in front of them. She glared at Jen and demanded, “Who the hell are you
and what are you doing with my kid?”

So this was the man-scarring ex.

“Mommy!” Timmy was all smiles now.

“Oh, you’re Timmy’s mom. You have a sweet little boy,” Jen
said, opting for diplomacy.

“Timmy, do you know this woman? Why aren’t you with Daddy?” she
barked before he could answer, making the child burst into tears.

So much for the Miss Congeniality approach. “I’m afraid he got
separated from his dad,” said Jen.

The other woman narrowed her eyes. “Are you here with
Garrett?”

Before Jen could answer Garrett arrived on the scene. “Thank
God,” he said, and scooped up the little boy.

“Nice job you’re doing keeping track of our son,” the woman
greeted him. “And you give
me
a hard time for
letting him eat doughnuts. At least I’ve never lost him in a crowd.”

“I was getting him something to drink and he wandered off,”
Garrett said irritably.

“Yeah? Where’s the drink?”

“I left it behind to look for Timmy. It’s okay now, buddy,”
Garrett told the crying child.

“Timmy, do you want to come with Mommy?” asked the woman.

The little boy buried his head in his father’s shoulder and
shook it back and forth.

Hurt flashed across the woman’s face, followed quickly by
anger. “You’d better spend less time chasing women and more time watching our
son,” she snarled, stabbing a finger at Garrett. Then she turned and marched
off, leaving Jen blinking in shock over the exchange she’d just witnessed.

“Oh, my,” Jen said weakly.

“Welcome to my world.” Garrett’s face was stony. To the child
he said, “Remember, buddy, you’ve got to stay right with me.”

“I did,” the child protested. “But you got lost and I couldn’t
find you.”

Garrett hugged him. “Well, never mind. What’s this you’ve
got?”

Timmy held out his corn dog for Garrett to sample.

Garrett shook his head. “It’s all yours.” He looked directly at
Jen. “Thanks for taking care of him.”

“No problem,” she said. His heartfelt gratitude, the sudden
friendly feeling between them—it was enough to make her forget that he thought
she was a flake and that she was mad at him.

“Sorry you had to witness that,” he said. He glanced past Jen
and frowned.

She turned and saw the blonde melting into the milling crowd on
the arm of a heavily tattooed man in an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt.

“I can’t blame her for being upset, I guess,” Jen said. “She’s
never met me. For all she knew, I could have been kidnapping your son.”

“Oh, yeah, I could tell she was all upset about it.”

“I think she was at first. I think it was a real shock to see
her son with a stranger.”

Garrett gave a snort of disgust. Obviously he wasn’t convinced.
“Right. Anyway, I’m glad you found him. How are you liking the dance?”

“It’s great,” she said. Even if she wasn’t dancing with
him.

“I thought I saw you out there,” he said, nodding to the
boogying throng.

“I was. Have you been showing your street dance moves?”

“I save my moves for more private dances.”

“Oh, so in other words, you really can’t dance,” she
teased.

“I’ve got a few moves. You here with someone?”

Saying she was there with her sister didn’t exactly make her
sound like primo love real estate. “I’m with friends.”

He nodded, taking that in. “Girlfriends?”

“And guys.” She hadn’t come with Bill Will, but they’d already
hung out enough that she figured it counted.

“You with Bill Will?” he asked.

She cocked her head. “Not everyone thinks I’m a flake.”

His face took on a guilty flush. “Jen, I’m sorry, but—”

She cut him off. “You should be. I sure don’t appreciate being
lumped in the same category as your ex-wife.” Especially now that she’d met the
woman.

“That was a mistake,” he said humbly.

“Well, we all make mistakes,” she said, determined to be
gracious.

Timmy was done with his corn dog. “Come on, Daddy, let’s get
something to drink,” he urged.

“Okay, buddy. Just a minute.” Now Garrett was looking as if he
had something important to say. “Jen, do you think we could...start over?”

“Again?”

“Yeah, again.”

Tilda chose that moment to show up. “Good,” she said. “You
found him.” She acknowledged Jen’s presence with a nod and managed a smile. It
didn’t reach her eyes, though.

“Daddy was lost,” Timmy explained.

“Come here, you,” Tilda said, taking him from Garrett’s arms.
She tickled him, making him squirm and laugh. Tilda, the perfect stepmother.

“Well, I’d better...” Jen pointed in the general direction of
the dancing throng.

He nodded. “Nice running into you. I’m glad we had a chance to
talk.”

“Me, too.” She wished they could have a chance to do more than
talk. The band was starting another slow song. She’d love to find out what kind
of moves Garrett Armstrong had.

“Well, uh, see you around,” he added.

“I’ll be around.” Hmm, that sounded...predatory. Tilda thought
so, too, judging by her expression.

“I’m looking forward to the fireworks. I hear that’s not to be
missed.”

“It’s crazy,” he said.

Now Tilda inserted herself into the conversation. “It’s enough
to make us crazy, isn’t it?” She looked to Garrett for confirmation. Team
Tilda-Garrett. How chummy!

“So, you’ll both be working tomorrow?” Jen asked, politely
including Tilda in the conversation.

“Oh, yeah.” Tilda rolled her eyes. “Some fool is bound to shoot
off a finger with a firecracker. And we’ll get a ton of calls about drunken
neighbors trying to burn down the forest.”

“That’s a very real danger,” Garrett said. “We’ll be down by
the river with the truck.”

“Maybe I’ll see you then,” Jen murmured.

“He’ll be busy,” Tilda said.
So there.
To Timmy she said, “Hey, kid, you ready for some shaved ice?”

Timmy nodded eagerly.

“Let’s go, then.” Tilda started walking off with Timmy,
obviously expecting Garrett to follow.

“Well, uh, thanks again,” Garrett said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Dude, come on. We’re starving,” Tilda called, and he trailed
after her. Like a dog whose owner had just given the leash a firm yank.

Jen reminded herself that she didn’t poach other women’s
men.

But what if the other woman was losing her grip on the man?
What if the man was beginning to see his flaky tenant in a new light?

You still don’t poach,
Jen told
herself sternly.

It was hard to remember that when she saw him the next night.
She was with Toni and her family, and they walked right by the fire truck
carrying their snacks and blankets and fireworks.

He actually called out to her.

“Go say hi,” Toni said with a grin. “You’ve got to keep up good
tenant-landlord relations.”

“Cool,” Jeffrey said, all ready to join her.

“Not you.” Toni grabbed him by the shirttail. “You’re staying
with us.”

“Aw, Mom. I want to check out the fire truck,” Jeffrey
protested. “Anyway, I’ll be with Aunt Jen.”

“Who doesn’t need your company right now,” Toni said, and
steered him away.

Jen headed over to where Garrett stood. Gee, what a shame that
Tilda had to work.

“How’s it going?” he greeted her. “Did you guys do the parade
today?”

“Oh, yes. The parade and the arts and crafts booths.” She
looked around. “This crowd is huge.”

“You add the tourists to all the locals and you get a
crowd.”

“That could be a lot of fires to put out.”

“We’re up for it,” he said.

“No Timmy tonight?”

“Not while I’m working. My mom has him.”

“Nice to have your mom nearby,” she said.

“Yeah, considering...”

“Who you married?” Jen supplied.

“Something like that.”

“She really screwed up your life, didn’t she?”

He shrugged. “I got a great kid out of the deal, but she does
make my life crazy. I sure don’t need it to get any crazier.”

There it was again, just in case she still hadn’t gotten the
message. Even though they were now officially pals, even though he was attracted
to her, he’d never make a move on her. So, why was she wasting her time talking
to him?

“I’d better catch up with my family,” she said.

For a moment she thought maybe he was going to say something
else, something like “Don’t leave.” But instead he nodded. “Have fun.”

“I intend to. Life’s too short to settle for less.” There, that
oughta give him something to think about.

* * *

Garrett watched Jen make her way through the crowd. She
had her strawberry-blond hair in a ponytail and it swung jauntily as she
walked—the girl next door out to enjoy the fireworks. He’d bet they could make
some real fireworks together.

If he hadn’t gone down the crazy road with Ashley, he’d have
been willing to do just that. But he couldn’t afford to take any more chances on
love. No more jumping in and hoping it paid off. He wanted—no needed—a sure
thing. Jen was too big a gamble.

He leaned against the fire truck and frowned at the passersby.
Damn it all, Jen Heath, why did you have to come to
Icicle Falls?

* * *

“I’ve never met someone who could sleep through a
fireworks display,” Ken teased Chita as he and her little family followed the
crowd of departing revelers down the path in Riverfront Park to the parking
lot.

“I’m so tired,” she said. “Studying on top of work and keeping
up with the kids...” She shook her head. “I don’t know what made me think I
could do this.”

“You can,” he insisted as he picked up a drooping Enrico. “You
just need a little help.”

“I have a lot of help,” she said, smiling up at him.

Ken Wolfe had slid easily into her family’s life, coming over
and cooking dinner on Friday nights so she could study, attending Enrico’s
Little League games, showing her what family life could be like with the right
man.

“You could have more,” he said. “All you have to do is
ask.”

She didn’t respond. She’d carried the load on her own for so
many years. Asking for more, as he’d suggested, wasn’t that simple.

But later, once the kids were in bed and the two of them sat
cuddled on the couch, he brought up the subject again. “What if you didn’t have
to work?”

Chita sighed. “That’s not my life, Ken. You know that. I have
to work.”

“We could fix it so you didn’t have to.”

“What? Are you offering to be my sugar daddy?” she joked. Then
the expression on his face registered. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying I want to be a bigger part of your life. Marry
me?”

“M-marry?” she stammered.

“I love you, Chita, and I want to be there for you on a
permanent basis. I’m hoping you feel the same way about me.”