Page 20 of Done

By the time we were finishing up, Gramscalledus in for dinner and our conversations shifted. We discussed the playoff odds of the Atlanta Kings, and how we needed to get back to a game soon. Gramps used to drive us into the city for games when we were younger, and all three of us had become obsessed with baseball. They were our favorite thing to talk about when everything else got tough, and for a while, I let thoughts about Jesse fade away.

But they returned the second dinner was over, making my goodbyes quiet and detached. All I could think about was coming up with another reason to see Jesse, secretly hoping Max called for a fire truck during my shift Monday night.

After my brothers left, and I said goodnight to Grams, I went to hug Gramps and he spoke quietly into my earaswe embraced. “Not done yet, are ya?”

It was my first instinct to turn to those damn beans and point to them on the porch, letting him know we were done. They could freeze them, can them, or boil them up, but they were done.

Then it hit me.

Gramps wasn’t talking about chores, much less beans. While I was talking about Jesse, he may have been acting like he didn’t hear a word I had said, or even cared. But I knew he could see the wheels turning through my eyes. He knew as I spoke that Jesse roused something in me that he had never seen before.

Something I had never felt before.

And he was right. When it came to Jesse, I wasn’t done yet.

Chapter Twelve

JESSE

Max was startinghis first day at his new school, and I was supposed to be excited and at ease. But once it was time to actually let him go, I almost couldn’t. If it hadn’t been for him walking right in like a big boy, I would have taken him home and kept him wrapped up in my arms a little longer.

His contentment made me let go, though, and I cried the entire way home, only stopping for the few minutes I was at the red light near the fire station. Easton’s truck was there, and I wasn’t risking him looking out the bay and seeing me bawling inside my car.

Not that it mattered. He had taken my words to heart before I had left the station. I gave him every answer he could possibly want, and he let me go home in peace.

Still, I didn’t want him, or even Rory, seeing me so unhinged over something I was sure they’d neverunderstand.

Once I was home, I tried to get back to work. I may not have made the candles by hand anymore, but there were tons of emails to answer and contracts to sign.

Before taking time off for the move, I had put feelers out about getting candles inside the pro shops at the sports stadiums in Atlanta. Eventually, I'd have to make a trip to the city to see the deal through, but in the meantime, I could spend time sorting ideas and color schemes.

It wasn’t that easy, though. Thoughts of Max kept making my mind stray. He was so tiny, so vulnerable. He was everything that mattered to me, and even though I had planned on him going to school after the move, I never imagined how lonely I would feel with him away.

My phone ringing was the only thing stopping me from grabbing my keys and jumping back in my car to get him.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Jesse. How are ya?”

“Good,” I smiled at Francesca’s familiar voice. She had been the first boutique owner that took a chance on Wax & Wonder, and in the past year had become a good friend. “Settling in okay.”

“I still cannot believe you just got up and moved to Harmony Haven.”

“My lease was up. It was re-sign, or move, and this place kinda fell into my lap. You knew I had been anxious to leave the city, especially after Clay snuck into my apartment, high as a kite, and scared me to death.”

“Yeah that would make anyone need a change. He had definitely lost his mind. It just feels like it happened so fast. I was on your website placing a new order for stock, and thought it was about time I gave you a call and checked in.”

“Well your timing is perfect. I need the distraction today. Max started his new school, and getting back to work is harder than I thought it’d be.”

“Well, I just placed a huge order, so maybe approving the new label ideas will keep you busy the rest of the afternoon.”

Francesca’s boutique sold more of my candles than anyone else in Atlanta. Lingerie and candles seemed to go hand in hand, and we added some spicy sayings to the labels that made them irresistible to romantic hearts.

“I cannot wait to see what that dirty mind of yours has come up with.”

“You know I keep it interesting,” she laughed. “Now tell me about Harmony Haven.”

“There isn’t much to tell. It's small and quiet. Although Max livened things up when he accidentally called the fire department the other night. They came while I was in the shower, and I walked out of my bathroom, completely naked, to find a strange man in fire gear reaching for Max. Scared me to death at first. Especially considering it's not the first time I’ve found a strange man in my house.”

---