Jennifer laughed as she whacked a cantaloupe in half. “Men!”
Colby stared at the fruit as he wondered what he’d said wrong. He might not be an expert on women, but this one was fairly easy to read. “What?” No need to fill in any more of the question. He had no doubt she’d tell him what she thought. Piper’s cousin had hated men since her divorce. If she hadn’t found her love in running the café, she’d probably be roaming the country decapitating every lying husband she could find.
Jennifer pointed her knife at him. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe you’re not what is bothering Piper? Maybe you’re not the center of her world. She doesn’t need you, Colby. She wants you, or at least she did. Who knows? Your expiration date may be up.”
Now he was more confused. He felt like he’d given all of him there was to give last night. Maybe it wasn’t enough for Piper and she’d asked her cousin to say goodbye.
Should he leave?
“Is there someone else?” That couldn’t be true. He talked to her almost every night. A tiny part of him thought that her finding someone else might be a way out. He wasn’t ready for a forever kind of relationship, and Piper would want that, he guessed. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her either. That thought seemed impossible.
But, he hadn’t expected the thought of her moving on to hurt so much. He felt like Jennifer had slugged him in the gut with one of her cast-iron skillets.
He glared at Piper’s cousin. She’d lifted her knife shoulder high, as if she planned to whack him next. “No, you idiot, she doesn’t have someone else, and having you isn’t having much. I like you, Trooper, but I swear every man I’ve ever known is a few bricks short of a load when it comes to understanding women.”
Colby was considering that starving to death might be an improvement over talking to Piper’s cousin Jennifer in a kitchen full of weapons. “What’s the problem with me?”
“I don’t know, really, but she’s not happy. You’re the obvious place to look.” Jennifer went back to her work decapitating carrot tops. “I thought it might be one of the widows at the big house, but they all looked healthy a week ago when I dropped in. As far as I know there is no problem at city hall. Maybe it’s this cloudy weather. You want breakfast? The grill’s hot.”
“No. I’ll wait until Piper gets back, but thanks. I think I’ll go take a shower.” If he hung around Jennifer any longer, Colby feared he’d be suicidal.
He was halfway up the steps when she added, “This may have nothing to do with you. It may be something not even a Texas Ranger can solve.”
Colby kept walking. When he reached the second floor, he closed his eyes in the stillness of the darkened hallway. He wanted to be Piper’s hero. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to be the one she turned to.
Then one last thought slammed into him. He didn’t want to lose Piper. She mattered too much. He couldn’t walk away.
Chapter 10
Jesse
Jesse thought of the baker as he watched the dawn sun spread over his land. The view of the day’s first light on wet earth was almost the color of Adalee’s sunshine-red hair. He liked the way her curly hair bounced when she wore it down, and how her body was nicely rounded. She had a sweet smile and a wicked come-closer wink.
He’d daydreamed about telling her just what he wanted when she’d say, “What will you have today, Jesse?” but his thoughts were just flashes from a lonely man, nothing more. Not plans, only silent wishing.
If he was brave he’d say, “Just you.” Or, maybe he’d say, “Can I hold you for a while?” Some nights he couldn’t sleep for missing a woman to hold. As if it was some kind of core need, buried deep inside him. But just any woman wouldn’t do.
He couldn’t help but wonder if she knew she was climbing into his thoughts from ten miles away. If she did, she’d probably be blushing about now.
The air was still and heavy, promising a good rain, but for once his mind wasn’t on the weather or the chores he had to finish before he quit and headed back into town.
By the time he got the kids home, fixed supper, got them all bathed and in their pajamas, he’d be too tired to do more than watch the news and go to sleep. If Danny didn’t get up for more water or Sunny Lyn didn’t start crying, Jesse would try to look at the stack of mail he was always behind on opening.
Only last night he’d lain awake and thought of the green-eyed baker with auburn hair. What does a man do when a woman winks at him? Was there some kind of winking etiquette he wasn’t aware of? Did it mean anything? He was a fool for even worrying about why she winked at him. Women like Adalee never gave guys like him a second look. She seemed full of life and he was simply hanging on.
The baker was still on his mind when he dropped the kids off with Beth’s mother.
He never stayed long. Grandma George, short for Georgina, decorated her house with memories of Beth. Jesse knew it was good for the kids to remember their mother, but the pictures of her at every age made him sad. He’d never forget Beth. He’d known her all her life . . . loved her most of his. But when he saw the pictures, it was like he’d lost a dozen Beths. The one he walked to school with. His best friend. His partner in games. His girlfriend. His first kiss. His only love. His wife.
Every time he walked into her mother’s house, he lost them all over again.
But today he was in a hurry. It was already sunup. The grandmothers were taking the kids to a movie, and he could get in one more day of work this week. It was his birthday and he’d taken the time to let the kids give him his presents, watercolors signed by each.
He was halfway down the walk to his pickup when Grandma yelled from the doorway, “Your mom and I plan to take the kids home for you. We’ll feed them a good supper and get them to bed.”
Jesse turned back. “But I . . .”
“Take off an hour early tonight, clean up, and come back to town. It’s your birthday. Have dinner with friends or check out the movie. Surely it won’t be the same one we’re seeing this afternoon.
“Your mother and I don’t want to see you before ten. Have a little fun, Jesse. You’re allowed.”
Jesse nodded and walked away. There was no use arguing with them. They wanted to help and if he said no, he’d only hurt their feelings. How could he tell them that he had no friends? The guys at the co-op were all twice his age. His friends from high school had moved away or settled down with families of their own.
But he did as the grandmothers told him. He quit at four, took a shower, and passed them on the drive into the town. The kids waved. He smiled, knowing the ladies had promised them a grand time.
Jesse picked up supplies from the hardware store, then stopped in at the local tourist trap to buy jelly and honey. By the time the shops were closing, it was growing dark. He got gas and checked the tires before buying a beer at the gas station. He parked downtown and walked the square, not hungry enough to eat and not interested in the one movie showing at the theater.
Jesse liked the trees that lined the courthouse square. They made him think he was in a forest, even though the town lights twinkled among the branches. No one would notice him there among the shadows. In an odd way he felt like he was surrounded by people.