“Still, there are tons of possibilities. And if you put the garage on the end so you’d have the entire side lot, you could still have plenty of options for the rest of the space. Put your office in the upper level–at least the space above the garage.”
Domenic shook his head. “I don’t think you can put a garage in a space with other businesses. They need to be freestanding. But there is a smaller structure down there next to the warehouses. I think that could work and be converted into a garage and then we look for investors for the warehouses and see them converted into businesses and apartments.” He paused and took a drink of his sweet tea. “But we still should talk to Mason and find a good realtor to talk to about it.”
“Holy shit, are you guys seriously going to do this? Because…this sounds amazing!” Kyle said excitedly.
“Slow down,” Dean said. “There’s still a lot to do and this isn’t going to happen overnight.”
“Ugh…why are you always the downer?” Kyle whined.
“I’m not the downer; I’m just logical. No need to get our hopes up yet until we do the research. That’s all I’m saying.”
“You know, I really hoped Courtney would have helped you unclench a little.”
Everyone laughed and Dean tried not to let it get to him.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Domenic said. “There’s nothing wrong with Dean being cautious. It’s a fine quality.”
“Please, there’s cautious and then there’s moving at a turtle’s pace,” Hunter said. “And our brother here would get his ass handed to him by the turtle!”
More laughing.
“Guys…”
“Fine. We won’t poke fun at him anymore. Out loud,” Hunter added, winking.
Dean was used to it. None of them realized how much his cautiousness benefitted them all and that was fine. But he was going to research the old warehouses and look into what it would cost for them to renovate one of the spaces for a garage versus building one on its own piece of property. Once Mason had Scarlett and the baby home and settled, he’d set up a time to go talk to him about it. And tonight he’d run it by Courtney and see what she thought. He found he enjoyed getting her input on things and, more times than not, she made him think about things he never would have thought of on his own.
She balanced him.
Hell, she completed him.
And he wanted her input on this venture because it would affect her too. If he was going to do this, it would mean time away from her and demands on his time and his finances. It was one thing when he only had himself to consider, but now…he wasn’t alone. There was still a good chance that she was going to find a job soon, but right now he was helping her out and wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep doing that if his time and money had to go elsewhere.
Just thinking that had his chest squeezing. For the first time in a long time–possibly ever–Dean was thinking about someone other than his family.
But did that mean he loved her? Yeah, he still was afraid to answer that question, even though he knew he was going to have to.
Soon.
She may have said I love you in her sleep, but it would only be a matter of time before she said it out loud. He didn’t want to be caught off guard or risk saying the wrong thing and ruining what they had because he was being…cautious.
14
It took four days, but baby Asher was finally home.
Courtney stood over his bassinet and just stared at him in awe. “He’s perfect,” she said in a hushed tone. “Absolutely perfect.”
Beside her, Scarlett nodded. “I know, right? I made that!”
“You know you weren’t alone in that,” she teased. “I think Mason gets some of the credit here.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know, but…I did most of it.”
It was pointless to argue.
“So come and sit down and tell me what’s going on with you. How’s the job hunt going? Any leads?”
Sighing, she sat down on the sofa. “None close to here. I did get a couple of responses for positions I applied for weeks ago though.”
“Really? Where are they located?”
“Raleigh.”
Scarlett’s eyes went wide. “Raleigh? I thought you never applied to any there? I thought you were waiting until you moved?”
“Yeah, well…I sent a few right before the wedding.” She looked over with a sad smile. “Now I don’t know what to do.”
With a sigh of her own, Scarlett leaned back against the sofa cushions. “Wow. I can’t believe nothing is available here. How is that even possible?” Then she cursed. “I knew Mason should have pushed harder to get the whole medical practices search done sooner.”
“It’s not Mason’s fault, Scar. It’s just the way things are. I’ve looked at other jobs, but…none of them are what I want.” Then she let out a mirthless laugh. “And believe it or not, I can’t seem to get hired doing anything. I even got turned down when I applied at the grocery store for a cashier position.” She shook her head. “Dean even offered to give me a job at the garage doing the billing.”
Scarlett laughed. “Typical Dean. He’s always looking to fix everyone’s problems no matter what it takes.”
Something about that statement felt like a punch in the gut.
“What do you mean?”
Turning her head to look at her, Scarlett shrugged. “I’m just saying that’s the exact kind of thing Dean does. They don’t need anyone to do billing for them. He and my dad are both lazy and hate working on the computer when they’d rather be working on cars. It takes them each like…a few hours a week total to do it all. If it was someone who knew what they were doing, it would be done in two hours tops. And that’s doing all the billing for the week. Trust me. I’ve done it for them a time or two.”
“Still, …he mentioned answering phones…”
“Yeah, that would add maybe another hour a day.”
“Oh.”
“Of course, if they go through with adding on to the business, then I could see them needing to hire someone.” She smiled. “I always knew Dean wanted a garage of his own, but he never wanted to rock the boat. I think he was afraid my dad would be offended or something. Like he’d take it personally that Dean wanted to be the boss rather than the boss’s son. Crazy, right?”
All she could do was nod. Dean had told her all about the conversation he’d had with his father and brothers over lunch and the possibility of him having his own garage excited him a lot. She never knew it was something he always wanted. He talked that entire night about all the things he would put in his own place and how he would run it that she couldn’t help but get excited with him. It wasn’t going to be something that happened right away, but she couldn’t wait to see it all unfold.
They sat in silence for several minutes before Scarlett sat up straight before twisting so she was fully facing Courtney.
“Okay, I need to tell you something.”
Oh, God…
“I did something,” Scarlett said quickly, her eyes not quite meeting Courtney’s. “And I want you to know that I did it because I love you so…you need to remember that. And I’m all hormonal right now so you need to keep that in mind.”
Forcing herself to sit up straighter, she mimicked Scarlett’s pose. “What did you do?”
Letting out a long breath, Scarlett finally met her gaze. “I was very distracted before the wedding with all the planning. Honestly, I still wish we had waited until after Asher was born, but…that’s beside the point.”
Courtney nodded and willed Scarlett to get to the point.
“Anyway, I didn’t realize how serious you were about moving until it was too late to do anything.”
“Scar, we’ve been over this…”
“When you showed up here when I was put on bed rest, I knew I had to do something to convince you not to move,” she went on. “I’d never been so relieved for a car to break down in my entire life.”
“O-kay…”
“But
I knew it was only a matter of time before your car would be fixed and you’d be on your way.” Then her shoulders sagged. “So…I told Dean not to fix your car.”
“What?!” she cried.
Nodding, Scarlett went on. “I told him to make up stuff and tell you more was wrong with it than there actually was and to do whatever it took to keep you here in Magnolia. I knew if you had a little more time, you’d find a job and wouldn’t have to move.” She paused. “I’m so sorry. I…I know it was selfish of me, but I didn’t know what else to do!”
“Wait, so…my car wasn’t…all the things Dean said were wrong…”
“They weren’t,” Scarlett admitted. “The hitch did break and you needed a tune-up and an oil change, but there wasn’t anything majorly wrong.”
She let out a shaky breath. “So then the job offer…”
“Probably another way he was doing what I asked of him,” she said quietly.
Slowly, Courtney stood and willed herself not to cry. “I…I don’t even know what to say.”
Scarlett came to her feet. “I swear I didn’t mean it in a bad way, Court! And I really badgered Dean to do this! You know how much he hates to lie, but I forced him to! I didn’t even give him an option! I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching for Courtney’s hands. “Please tell me you understand!”
But she couldn’t.
Not right now.
Pulling her hands away, she took a step back. It would have been easy to fight with her in the ways they always had–lots of yelling and screaming and drama. But with Asher sleeping a few feet away, Courtney knew she didn’t want to do that.
Plus, it was time she grew up.
“I…I can’t do this with you right now,” she murmured, picking up her purse. “I…I just can’t.”
“Court, please!” Scarlett cried. “Don’t go! We need to talk about this!”
“No.” Walking to the door, she shook her head. “I need some time to think.”
“You know you didn’t want to move to Raleigh! It was going to be a mistake!”
“It was my mistake to make!” she countered, spinning around. “Just because you’ve got this great life going for yourself, doesn’t give you the right to play around with mine! Now I’ll never know if anything that’s happened is true or if you had something to do with it!”
“I swear I just wanted what was best for you,” Scarlett said miserably. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“No, Scarlett. You wanted what was best for you.” And before she could say anything else, she walked out the door. She was still driving Scarlett’s car but…that ended now. Walking over to it, she tossed the keys on the front seat and walked down the driveway and down the block. At the corner, she stopped, pulled up her Uber app, and called for a ride.
Ten minutes later, she was walking into Dean’s house and knew that was going to change today too. There were still hours before he was going to be home, but she knew she’d need all of it to pack up her things and figure out where she was going to go. Now that she knew there wasn’t anything major wrong with her car, she knew she wanted it back today. After that, she had no idea where she was going to go.
She could just go on with her original plan and go to Raleigh. Clearly there were jobs there for her and she could be there tonight.
It didn’t matter that she hadn’t talked to Dean about it. Knowing what she did now about how he had lied to her and was strictly following Scarlett’s orders to keep her here told her that everything she thought they had was a lie. Everyone knew Dean looked out for his family and how he had a particular soft spot for his baby sister. If she asked him for something, he did it.
Apparently, that included toying with her.
Not that she thought their sleeping together the night of the wedding had anything to do with Scarlett.
It was just rotten timing.
If it were up to him, he probably would have been more than okay with them having a one-night thing. Her car breaking down complicated it and then he was stuck with her because he had a conscience.
Damn him.
She used to think it was admirable. Now it just pissed her off.
Walking around the bedroom, she began packing her things. She didn’t have a lot here in his house, but there was still enough that it was going to take some time to get it all together. As angry as she was, she moved around calmly collecting her things–taking clothes out of the dryer and neatly folding them and wiping down the bathroom vanity after she packed up all her toiletries.
Never let it be said she left the place worse off than the way she first found it.
No way was she giving anyone ammunition to use against her.
For the first time in her life, Courtney was going to make damn sure that she didn’t overreact or come off as being dramatic.
At least, she would hold off on that until she was alone and far away from Magnolia Sound.
Once her suitcases were packed, she walked around and straightened up some more and made some hard decisions.
There was no way she could drive to Raleigh tonight even if she got her car back. She was too emotional and considering how hard it was to drive with the trailer the last time, she was going to be extra cautious this time.
“Time to see if Magnolia on the Beach has any rooms,” she said, pulling out her phone. Once she confirmed her room reservation, she wished she could just go there now and be done with it.
A sound by the front door caught her attention and she looked up to see a very frazzled-looking Dean coming through the door.
“What are you doing home?” she asked, cursing the slight tremor in her voice.
“Scarlett called.”
Of course she did.
With a small eye roll, she crossed her arms. “And we all know you jump when she tells you to, right?”
Tossing his keys onto the kitchen island, he frowned at her. “What?”
“Oh, please. Spare me. Scarlett told me how she asked you to lie to me about my car and you did!” Then she began to pace. “You stood here, day after day, and lied to me, Dean!”
“Yeah, okay, I know that sounds bad, but you have to know it’s not the only reason I did it!” he countered.
“Right. You did it because that’s just who you are–good ol’ Dean Jones, helping out everyone who needs a hand, riding to the rescue,” she said with disgust. “Well I’ve got news for you, I don’t want to be rescued! I had a plan! I had a chance at getting my life together!”
“You had an escape plan because you weren’t getting your way here!” he yelled and they both froze at his words and tone.
Courtney knew her eyes were wide and her heart was racing like mad. She couldn’t believe he was saying this to her even as she knew she shouldn’t be surprised–especially since the truth was now out.
With a nod, she began to pace again. “Yup. That’s me. Losing my job and my home makes me a drama queen,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Not all of us have built-in careers and family businesses to turn to. Some of us actually have to search for a job. Not that you’d understand that.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he demanded.
“It means you and Scarlett don’t understand what I’m dealing with! You always wanted to be a mechanic and your father owns the only garage here in Magnolia! It’s not like you had to look real hard for work! And the same with Scarlett! She had the garage as her backup when she was trying to get her social media business off the ground! So don’t you dare judge me because I had to take some extreme measures to find a job!”
In typical frustrated Dean mode, he raked both hands through his hair and sighed. “Okay, I think we both need to sit down and talk about this.”
But Courtney shook her head. “No, I’m done talking about this. And on top of that, I don’t think I could believe anything you have to say to me.” She paused and let out her own long breath. “I’d like to go get my car please.”
“Not until we’re done here,
” he argued.
“Oh, we’re done,” she said sadly. “Believe me, we’re done.”
“Court, come on. If you’d just listen…”
“You’ve had weeks to talk to me about this, Dean. Weeks!” Tears began to sting her eyes and she refused to cry in front of him. Turning her back, she quickly wiped them away before facing him again. “You know, I was so happy to have this time to get to know you. I thought I was so lucky that my car broke down,” she said, forcing herself to stay calm. “But now I wish it all never happened–the car breaking down, sleeping with you, or even kissing you after the rehearsal dinner. I wish it all never happened.”
He was standing so still that he didn’t even blink. “You don’t mean that.”
But she nodded. “I really do.” When he didn’t respond, she said, “Now, are you going to take me to get my car or do I need to call for a ride?”
She saw him swallow hard right before he nodded. Wordlessly, she went to get her luggage, but Dean beat her to it. He carried them out to his truck and loaded them in. The drive to the shop was spent in total silence and once they were there, she walked inside to pay for the repairs.
“Courtney,” Domenic said when he saw her, “there’s no charge for this. You’re family.”
That almost broke her, but she held firm. “I appreciate the offer, Mr. J, but I’d prefer to pay for it.”
He eventually caved but she knew he charged her way less than he should have. He came around the desk and hugged her. “Don’t be too hard on them,” he said softly. “They both care about you.”
“It doesn’t really feel that way.”
Pulling back, Domenic’s expression was a little sad. “I did my family a great disservice.”
That wasn’t at all what she was expecting. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I let Dean take on a lot of responsibility–looking after his siblings and looking after me. He was too young to have to do so much, but…I had no idea what to do back then. He just had a knack for taking care of all of us and I never did a thing to stop him. At the time, I swore I needed the help, but then I got too lazy to change it.”
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