Page 13 of I'll Carry You

Jen looked up, surprised.Why did she feel disappointed?The table Jason had occupied for hours was empty. He’d packed up and gone in a blink as though he’d been in a hurry. “You know who he reminds me of?” She grabbed the spray bottle and rag to go over and clean the table. “Kevin. There’s something about him. Today he said, ‘not everyone is worth knowing forever’ and followed it by ‘ope’—made me almost fall over. Kevin used to say both things.”

Lindsay stuck her lower lip out, biting it gently. “I think comparing cute guys to someone you used to be in love with is normal. Even if they’re like, you know, total opposites. It’s not like ‘ope’ is some super original phrase.”

That was true. And Kevin had been the first guy she ever believed she’d loved. They hadn’t been together that long, really, but he’d been fun and exciting. Different from the usual breed of guy she found here in Brandywood. Maybe that was it, actually. She had a thing for guys who weren’t from here. Trust Lindsay to put it into perspective. “I don’t know. I think it’s the eyes. And that he’s from Chicago.”

“Again. Chicago.” Lindsay over-enunciated the word. “Not like Paduka or Massapequa. Plus, he’s unbelievably hot, so I could see you overanalyzing all of this because of that, too.” She grinned. “But since he’s a stalker—”

“And I know nothing about him.”

Lindsay smirked. “In that case, why don’t you tell me how that kiss with Brad went?”

Jen surveyed the café. Thankfully, it wasn’t crowded, and her shift ended in a few minutes. She reached under the counter for the envelope where she stashed her tips. Bunny was known for paying more than the usual meager restaurant wages, and she didn’t make them tip out since, usually, it was only one or two people working the front. But tonight had been unusually slow. Not much there. Not meeting Lindsay’s eyes, she shrugged. “It was fine.”

“Not a great kisser?”

Jen cringed. “I mean, I don’t know.” She made her way to the tablet on the wall, where they logged in and out of work and entered her code. “He’s nice. But I miss the excitement I used to feel—like if I wanted to stay up all night talking about nothing and everything with a guy, I could. Or take off for the weekend. Now I’m just a mom with a babysitter, checking the phone to make sure I haven’t missed a call. And frumpy. I feel so freaking frumpy. On the last date I went on with Brad, Colby smeared peanut butter on my sweater right before I left him at my parents’ house. I washed it off, but I felt so gross. And you know how much I love Colby.” She met Lindsay’s gaze, thankful that their friendship allowed her to complain about things like this almost guilt-free. Lindsay wouldn’t judge her or think she was selfish or think Jen didn’t love her son enough.

Lindsay studied her. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel feminine. And sexy. Maybe you do need a little more mysterious hotties from out of town right now than sturdy potential husbands. You deserve to have fun, Jen.”

Jen rolled her eyes. “A stalker’s hotness has its limits, you know.”

“But apparently, talking about him is enough to distract you.” Lindsay waved a folded check between two fingers. She gave a sneaky grin and hurried toward Jen’s coat over on the coatrack. The money for the contest.

“Lindsay!” Jen stamped her foot as her friend stuffed the check in her pocket.

Lindsay blew her a kiss and pulled her own coat down. “Pay me out of your winnings.”

“Hold up. Let me clean off this table, and I’ll walk out with you to the parking lot.” Jen moved to the table Jason had been occupying. She’d already cleared most of it earlier, and only the last coffee cup remained. She lifted the mug, and a neatly folded bill showed under it. He’d paid for his food at the counter, so he clearly meant this as a tip.

He’d tipped her one-hundred bucks.

Her fingers hesitated over the bill. She’d only ever received such a large tip on a couple of occasions. Did he still feel sorry for her after the drive-through incident?

But she’d been such a jerk to him.

She could use the money to enter the baking competition. Not have to owe anyone, including Lindsay, anything else. Jen pocketed the tip and cleaned the table. As she put the supplies away, Bunny came back out of the kitchen. “Travis is covering for me tomorrow, don’t forget. You may need to get here a little early in the morning to show him the lay of the land.”

“Sounds good. Have fun at the casino. I already clocked out.” Bunny’s grandson, Travis Wagner, was one of her closest friends on the planet. Much as Jen loved Bunny, Jen also relished the times when Travis oversaw the café.

“Don’t forget the boxes,” Bunny called as Jen grabbed her purse.

Jen went over to the counter and grabbed two heavy cardboard boxes loaded with food from the counter. Lindsay came up beside her. “For Pete’s sake. Let me carry one of those.”

The two women headed for the door of the café. Just as they got there, Jen almost ran straight into Jason, who appeared distressed.

He appeared to be in the middle of a phone call but pulled the phone away from his face and hung up when he saw her. “You okay?” she asked, frowning over the top of the box. Whatever strange magnetic pull she had toward him, right now, he was in her way, and her arms hurt from the weight of the box.

“Yeah. My car’s been towed.” Jason looked back and forth between the two women. “Can I carry those for you?”

“Sure.” Lindsay plopped the one in her arms into Jason’s. She pressed a kiss to Jen’s cheek, a twinkling gleam in her eye. “Call me later, okay?”

As Lindsay walked away, Jen’s heart sank. Lindsay probably thought she was doing Jen a favor by giving her a moment with a handsome man. She hadn’t told Lindsay the full extent of her interactions with Jason.

Jason took the box she carried, and Jen shook out her arms. “Where were you parked?” She scanned the street. The twinkle lights from the Christmas decorations sparkled in the windows of the shops on Main, but the sidewalks were crowded tonight, especially heading up toward Yardley’s.

Trust there to be some Christmas event going on. Fridays brought that sort of excitement for most people, after all.

“Right here.” Jason pointed at the empty spot in front of Bunny’s. “I forgot to feed the meter. You all tow quick in this town.”

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