Page 13 of Forbidden Kisses
Jack grabbed the ground coffee from his refrigerator and went through the motions. “Oh yeah?” he responded, realizing suddenly that this simple, daily conversation was possibly going to turn heated.
“So, how are the interviews going?” his father asked.
Jack prepared two mugs and poured their cup of joe midbrew, placing the coffeepot back in its holder when he was done. He walked over and laid the mugs on the coffee table, along with cream, sugar, and a couple of spoons. He liked his coffee black, but he knew his father dressed his up. It was the only thing in his father’s life that got dressed up.
Jack sat back in the recliner next to the couch. “Yeah. That would be what I want to talk to you about.”
His father looked up. “Well, spit it out. I can see you have your reservations. Why?”
“I don’t, actually. But you might.” Jack set his mug down. “I hired Grace Donner.”
His father didn’t move for a long moment.
“She needed a job, Dad,” Jack started to explain. “I couldn’t just let her—”
His father raised a hand to silence him. “Grace is a good choice.”
Jack pulled back. That wasn’t at all what he was expecting from his father’s mouth. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I never held any of what happened against her. After the divorce, it was hard to keep a relationship with her. She’s a package deal with Tammy.”
“I know.”
“She’s a good girl, though. Always thought so, despite her mother.”
Jack relaxed. He wanted to believe that about her, too.
They were quiet for a moment. Then his father reached in the chest pocket of his shirt and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here.”
Jack took it and unfolded it to reveal the announcement for the Thirty-second Annual East Coast Fishing Tournament. He frowned. “I’m not doing it this year.”
“You’ve done it every year since you were sixteen years old.”
“I’ve also fished with you guys since I was a kid, but not anymore. Things change.” Jack didn’t even want to look at the flyer. He’d done the tournament every year since he was sixteen with his best friend, Chris. He wouldn’t do it without him.
“Chris wouldn’t want you to give it all up. The tournament is one day.”
Jack reached for his mug and took another sip of his coffee. “If I tell you I’ll think about entering, will you shut up about it for now?”
His father’s blue eyes bore into him. “Is that a way to talk to your father?”
Jack grinned behind his mug, knowing his father’s stern look was a ruse. “Yeah, it is.”
—
“So?” Krista said on the other line of the phone on Saturday evening.
“So?” Grace parroted.
“Details, Grace. I need to know how your first couple days at the Sawyer Seafood Company went.”
Grace smiled to herself as she lay back on the couch in her apartment. She hadn’t expected Krista to call, but they’d settled back into their friendship after all these years as if no time had lapsed between them. Krista had always been like that, Grace remembered. She was everyone’s friend. “It went well,” Grace told her.
“That’s it?” Krista asked. “I’ve been waiting for over forty-eight hours to hear the scoop.”
“No scoop. Sorry. There was one little blip with Sam on Friday, but Jack smoothed it over. Then we had lunch together at The Landing.”
Krista gave a small squeal. “A lunch date!”
