Page 48 of Coming Home

Gus stood abruptly and left the kitchen, going to the restroom. She realized he needed a bit of time to pull himself together. When he returned, they went back to work as if his confession had never occurred. She was thankful that he had trusted her enough to tell her the truth. She only hoped one day he could tell his children the truth.

Gloria and Sheila arrived, and Ainsley also shared her good news with them, explaining when the wedding was and that Jackson and she would delay their honeymoon because of him starting work at his new practice and tourist season approaching.

“But I will need help getting ready for that week’s order.”

Sheila volunteered to drive Gus to Seattle to pick up what the staff would need that week. They took a few minutes talking over ideas for the wedding cake’s design, and then Ainsley told them it was time to get to work.

Once things slowed down later that morning, she played with various ideas and finally hit upon how she would craft the cake.

She checked her e-mail around noon, eager to see if Jackson had forwarded Pete’s bid for the work on Clancy’s place. It was in her inbox, and the number, which she assumed was reasonable, still made her wince. She knew Willow and Tenley wouldn’t have recommended Pete unless his prices and work were good. She had seen the results at both her friend’s houses and knew Pete’s crew would do a nice job. The thought of spending that kind of money, though, boggled her mind. The fact that she wouldn’t be contributing to it bothered her even more.

Ainsley called Jackson. He picked up after the first ring.

“Hello, Beautiful.”

She smiled to herself. “Hey, you. I just saw Pete’s estimate for the work. It’s a lot, Jackson. I think we need to scale back. Only choose a few projects to do now.”

“I’ve taken care of it,” he assured her. “We’re not biting off too much. Pete is going to start tomorrow.”

“Even before the sale is concluded?” she asked worriedly.

“I spoke with Clancy for almost half an hour this morning. We agreed upon a price for the house. I drew up the papers and e-mailed the docs to him. We’ll close by the end of the week. We both feel comfortable allowing Pete inside to begin the work. Rylie’s meeting me at the house now to talk about which furniture to remove. Which she can put on consignment and which we should give away because it’s too worn.”

Jackson had shared with Ainsley what pieces he had in storage and what he would like to bring up to the Cove, as well as what items of Clancy’s they might need. She trusted her cousin and knew Rylie would help advise them on how to handle everything.

“We can sit and work with Rylie about what we need to order after she’s seen the place.”

“This is going to cost a lot, Jackson. And I’m not contributing anything.”

“We talked about this, Ainsley. Right now, you need to put your money back into the bakery. A marriage isn’t always a fifty-fifty partnership. Sometimes, one person gives more than the other, whether it’s financially, physically, or emotionally. We’re doing this for us. I’m not worried. Neither should you be.”

“All right,” she said, understanding what he said in theory but still feeling she fell short.

“Have you been thinking about our wedding cake?”

“I have,” she said, excited about the prospect. “Are you wanting it to be a surprise?”

“No. I know it’s a lot of work, and I want to hear about each step of the way.”

“I’ll share the design with you tonight. You can help me make any adjustments.”

“I’m looking forward to that. Want to have dinner?”

“Yes,” she said, happy to know they would have time together.

“I’ll pick something up and be at your place at five-thirty, okay?”

“That’s fine. Oh, did you go to the courthouse?”

“I did. I’ll tell you about my visit over dinner. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Same,” she said, a part of her still not believing this wonderful man was hers.

“Ainsley? I love you. Don’t ever forget that,” Jackson said.

“Hearing that, I’ll probably float through the rest of my day,” she said, laughing. “I love you, Jackson. I love you so much.”

She ended the call and told Gus she would take over the kneading of the bread. The motion soothed her and gave her time to finalize the design for their wedding cake in her head. When she finished working the dough, she put pen to paper and drew up what she envisioned.

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