The kids thanked Amelia for the gifts and I walked her to the door, watching as she climbed into a cream-colored, classic Beetle with the top down. She waved, then started the engine and drove away, while I stood in the doorway longer than I intended. When she was out of sight, I closed the door and turned to my brood.
“Okay, you stinky stinkers, who wants pizza for real?”
Chapter Six
Amelia
If I had my way, I’d open my store on Main Street, somewhere near Sweet Stuff and Brewhaha—the coffee shop that sold my new favorite caramel latte. The line of shops was adorable. The street itself got a lot of foot traffic. And imagining someone walking down the block and popping into my store with a bag of candy in one hand and a coffee in the other had me grinning so big my face might crack.
However, there wasn’t space available on Main Street. Every building had a tenant who seemed content to stay where they were, which I totally got. I wouldn’t want to budge from that location, either. Even so, my instinct said this was the place I’d end up, so I occupied myself by designing more T-shirts and tank tops, while shopping for crystal and oil suppliers. A storefront would become available when the timing was right.
An entire week went by with me pouring over catalogues and online stores, jotting down ideas and dreaming as big as I could. The more I put my intentions out there, the more I drilled down to understand the essence of what I wanted, the easier it would be for the universe to manifest my dreams. I meditated. I created vision boards. I studied the success stories of businesses similar to mine. When everything aligned, I’d be ready to hit the ground running.
Throughout it all, Jack Cooper hung out in the corner of my mind. The negative energy in his house had smacked me in the face last week. The kids were wound tight, and Jack? He’d been practically vibrating with tension. But…by the time I left…everyone seemed like they were in a better place.
Myself included.
As I drove away that night, I’d used the rearview mirror to watch him watch me and then smiled the whole way home. Just like I was smiling right now, remembering it.
“You must have found something really exciting.” Evie leaned close to stare at my phone, then sat back in her chair at my kitchen table gave me a funny look. “Since when do you care about healthy snacks?”
I locked my phone and put it down. “Since I met Jack and his kids. I was wondering if maybe their gut microbiome is off. You know, maybe they’ve been eating a lot of junk food since his wife passed. What if that’s why they’re giving him such a hard time? I hear the bacteria in our gut is more connected to mood than we originally thought. And like, I’ve really started to wonder what would happen if I changed my diet. Started to cook from scratch more. Maybe even grow my own food. This is as good a place to start as ever.”
Evie bobbed her head and gave me the look that meant she thought I was jumping onto the crazy train but would indulge me anyway. Because she loved me. “Okay, then. You follow this rabbit hole wherever it takes you, sweet friend.”
“That is exactly what I intend to do.”
The sadness on Jack’s face haunted me, with the absolute joy that lit his rare smiles circling right behind. He wasn’t a man who was used to negative feelings, I could tell. Happiness suited him and I wanted to help him find it again.
As I returned to studying my phone, Evie crossed her legs and quirked her head. “I so did not see you falling for an accountant.”
“He’s an accountant? Yeah. Wow. Me neither.” Realizing what I’d said, I glanced up, waving my hands as if to erase my last statement. “Not that I’m falling for him.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, chica.” Laughter fell from my friend’s lips and hung in the space like puffs of dandelion on a summer day.
“I’m just…worried. He seems like a nice guy.”
“He is a nice guy.” Evie indicated my phone. “And I’m sure he’d appreciate any help he can get. Alex always talks about how Jack runs himself ragged trying to juggle everything for his kids. The more I get to know him, the more I see it’s true.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want a ragged accountant, now would we?” I scooted my chair back and stood.
“Definitely not. Just think of all those misplaced decimal points.” Evie scrunched up her face at her bad joke. “Ted Mason runs a farmer’s market over on Vine Street. I bet some fresh produce would help the gut microbiome.”
“It couldn’t hurt, could it?” I was ready to race out the door, hit the market, and stop by Jack’s house, but I couldn’t exactly do that with Evie hanging out in my kitchen.
Thankfully, she knew me well.
Her chair scraped the floor as she stood and stretched in the light coming through the window. “It’s time for me to get home and put words to the page, if you wanna go explore that market.”
“I’d love that. Besides, I have the strongest feeling whoever’s watching the kids could use some backup. I just get the sense that I’m needed.”
And it had been a while since I felt that way. Ever since Evie found Alex, I’d been adrift…
I shook off the thought as we said our goodbyes and I skedaddled on out of there. The farmer’s market proved delightful, and my instinct about the kids proved correct. When I arrived at the Cooper house, the ruckus inside was so loud, I could hear it from my car. At half past noon, it would be hours before Jack got home. Whoever was in there had to be at their wits’ end. Filled with a sense of purpose, I knocked at the door and a teary-eyed teenager greeted me, the kids whooping and hollering in the background as Connor streaked past the door, shirtless and covered in what looked like ketchup and mustard.
He saw me and skidded to a halt. “Hi, Amelia! How d’ya like my warpaint?” Without waiting for a response, he took off again, with Charlie hot on his heels.
The babysitter wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry. Mr. Cooper didn’t tell me he was expecting someone.”
“That’s because he wasn’t. Tell you what. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off?” I lifted the bag of fruit like that explained everything. “I’m happy to watch the kids until Jack gets home.”
I expected the girl to put up a fight over someone she didn’t know offering to watch the kids—you know, stranger danger and all that—but relief washed over her face instead. “Thank you so much! Tell Mr. Cooper he can pay me later.” With that, she grabbed her purse and hit the road faster than I could say ‘take a cleansing breath, sweetheart.’
I called for the kids to help me with the rest of the bags in the car, then enlisted them in getting our snacks ready. I sliced apples and pears while they arranged strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries on their plates, making edible art they happily devoured. When they were done, I scrubbed Connor’s chest, then asked the kids to clean up the mess of toys and art supplies decorating every room of the ranch style house. I expected them to push back, but all three of them dutifully put things away, then we sat down together in the living room.
“Seems like things got out of control today.” I folded my hands in my lap. “Did the oils stop helping?”