Jennifer's Journey

by Kirsten Osbourne

  “Not at all. I’m glad they’re back home where they belong.” And I don’t. “It was nice that they came for the wedding though. I hadn’t seen them since January.”

  “They’re not exactly next door.” His mind was suddenly filled with questions about her home town, but something kept him from asking. When she wanted him to know what was going on in her head, she’d tell him. He was sure of it.

  They reached the picnic table and there, on the table in front of them, was another invitation like Jennifer had gotten on her last day at work. It had Maynard’s name on it. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand. “What is this?”

  Jennifer frowned at the object. “I got one of those exactly like it on my last day of work. I think it’s an invitation to something in the event barn, but it doesn’t say what or who is throwing the party.”

  “That’s really strange.” He slowly opened the envelope and read the invitation. “You’re right. That’s exactly what it is. Who knows me well enough to invite me anywhere?” He looked at the outside of the envelope once more, as if he hadn’t already studied the whole thing. “And who knew we’d be walking this way right now? This is really weird.”

  “It is, but I have no answers for you.” Jennifer plucked the invitation from his hand and looked at it. The handwriting was exactly the same as hers, and it was for the same day. “Yup. Identical to the one I got. Others who worked for the hotel didn’t get them though. I have no idea what’s going on.”

  “Are we going?” he asked.

  “You can bet your sweet butt we are. There’s no way I’m going to stay away and not have that mystery solved.”

  Maynard looked at her with wide eyes. “You think my butt is sweet?”

  She laughed. “Is that the only part you heard of what I said?”

  “Well, yeah. You’re talking about my tushie, and I didn’t even realize you’d noticed it!” He sighed happily. “I think you like me!”

  “You’re a silly man. Of course, I like you. I almost broke off our wedding so I could date you. That means I like you a lot.”

  “Do you want to talk about what happened back there?” he asked softly.

  She shook her head. “Not yet. Someday, you’ll understand it all, but I’m not ready to talk.”

  “All right.” He stood up and took her hand. “Let’s walk down by the water. There are still a few fishing boats out there, but it’s not full of people swimming and paddle boating anymore.”

  “Yeah, in the fall it’s a little quieter here until the winter activities start. Once we have our first good snowfall, it’ll fill up again. This is the time of year when we have corporate events, and that sort of thing going on.”

  “Will you miss working here?”

  Jennifer thought about it for a moment. “Until a year ago, I didn’t think I’d ever have to work. I thought my life was complete just flitting around and being a social butterfly.” She was simplifying things, but she didn’t think he was ready for the whole truth, and she knew she wasn’t ready to tell him. “But I’ve realized that I adore working. I like being with people every day and helping others. I might need to find at least a part time job in Quinn Valley to stay busy.”

  “That’s fine. I probably don’t want you to have a full-time career after the dozens of children start coming, but if that’s what you really want, we could discuss.”

  “What if I want to go back to school and become a neuroscientist?”

  He shrugged. “I’d pay your way through school, and I’d hope you wouldn’t dump me when you realized that I’m just a pretty face who’s pretty good at memorizing what to say.”

  She laughed. “I won’t be a neuroscientist. I might decide to work a few hours a week in the hotel, though. I do enjoy that sort of work.”

  “I think you should. Just make sure you look behind you before you start making fun of guest’s names.”

  Wrinkling her nose, she sighed. “I’ve only done that once, and I got caught. I’ve learned my lesson! It was a hard one, but I will recover from my feelings of guilt over the way I talked about my favorite guest.”

  “Wow!” Maynard looked down at her with a grin. “I was your favorite guest? I beat out every other guest on the ranch? You better not keep saying things like that or my head is going to get so big I won’t fit through the door of your cabin.”

  She shook her head at him. “Do you ever stop teasing?”

  “Every third Tuesday,” he responded, completely deadpan. He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. “We need to go to Quinn Valley if we’re going to make it in time to have tacos and those other things you mentioned.”

  “Sopapillas? Just wait until you’ve tried one. Then you’ll understand.”

  As they walked toward the car, he said, “Just remember. I’m not here to judge you. If you have something you need to talk about, I will listen.”

  “I appreciate that. I wish I had a way to explain exactly what’s going through my head, but I’m just not quite ready. Maybe soon.”

  They got into the car, and he reversed out of her driveway. “If we love the house as much as I think we will, are you okay with putting an offer down on it today?”

  “Yes, I’m totally fine with that.” She’d never even dreamed of home ownership. She figured she’d marry a man who already had everything and the choice would be out of her hands. Suddenly she was excited at the idea of decorating the house he’d shown her in pictures. She wanted to change some of the paint and maybe redo the kitchen floors. She hated hardwood in kitchens. To her, tile made so much more sense.

  “Good. I want to move quickly. We don’t have much longer in that little cabin of yours, and I want to have a place that’s ours. Not mine and not yours. One that we’ve chosen together.”

  “Not my employee cabin on the ranch or your hotel room? I don’t know why you don’t want to stay there!”

  “I guess I’m just boring like that.” He glanced over at her and saw that she was in a better frame of mind. He was so pleased. Making her cry was the worst thing he’d done in a long time. He just wished he understood what he’d done!

  9

  As they ate their lunch, Maynard had to admit that Jennifer had been right about the tacos. They were fabulous, and so were the sopapillas. “They’re like little bites of doughy pillows with honey! I want to eat these every day!”

  “And that’s why we’re moving to Quinn Valley,” Jennifer said with a wink.

  He laughed, glancing at the clock on his phone. “I think we have time to get one more batch of sopapillas. What do you think? Share it with me?”

  She tilted her head to one side and considered him. “I don’t know. I have a feeling you won’t be so attracted to me if I put on fifty pounds of taco-weight.”

  Shrugging, he took her hand and kissed it. “I have a feeling it’s the inner-Jennifer I’m falling for. Not the beauty you show the whole world, but the girl inside.” He stood and walked toward the taco-truck, calling over his shoulder, “I’m getting some to share!”

  A minute later, he was back at the picnic table with the sopapillas, and they both put butter and honey on them. “These things are truly amazing.”

  “I know. I couldn’t believe how much you talked about them until I tried them for myself. His tacos are far superior to any others I’ve eaten, but the sopapillas are the real driving force for me. When I’m working, you’ll have to bring them to me, so I don’t get hungry.”

  “You could go to the café for Bob’s special.”

  “Or I could have tacos and sopapillas. Maybe I’ll need to alternate!”

  Jennifer couldn’t help but grin. “You’re a little bit crazy, Maynard, but I really like you anyway.”

  “Good, because I’m hoping to be in escrow by the end of the day.” Maynard got to his feet and threw his trash away. “This picnic pavilion is going to be worthless in the winter, but it sure is nice now.”

  They walked to the house instead of driving, wanting t
o know how long it took to get to the center of town where the hotel and taco-truck were. When they arrived, there was a man in sunglasses sitting in a sedan. As they approached he got out, and held his hand out to Maynard to shake. “I’m Chad Carter. You called me to see the house.”

  “Yes, I’m Maynard Butts, and this is my wife, Jennifer. We’re newlyweds and looking to move to Quinn Valley.”

  “It’s a good spot to start a family. We’re in the Riston school district here. Children would start here in Quinn Valley for elementary school, and then go to Riston for middle and high school.” Chad walked toward the house as he talked. “This house was built in 1957, but it’s been renovated recently. Everything is completely modern inside. The kitchen was redone just last year. There are two ovens, pull out cabinets, a dishwasher. The woman who lived here was a gourmet cook, and she wanted it perfect.” He unlocked the door, and waited for Maynard and Jennifer to precede him into the house.

  The ceiling was arched and high, and there was a staircase that split the living room into halves. There was even a small balcony at the top. Jennifer could picture her daughter walking down the stairs in a wedding gown. It was as if the house spoke to her. She looked over at Maynard, and saw the pleasure on his face as well. They had to look at the rest of it, but she was relatively certain they’d found their new home.

  Twenty minutes later, they were leaving the house. “I have a couple of other homes that are in the same price range here in Quinn Valley that I can show you if you’re interested.”

  Jennifer and Maynard exchanged a glance, and he shook his head. “No need. We’re ready to make an offer.”

  It was obvious Chad was used to having to show a lot more homes before someone found the one they wanted to buy, but he tried to hide it. “Sounds good. My office is a few blocks from here. Let’s go sit down and we’ll fill out the paperwork.” He glanced at them. “Do you want to take my car? Or would you prefer to walk?”

  “It’s a gorgeous day,” Maynard said with a grin. “Let’s just walk.”

  Jennifer was surprised by how long it took to do all the paperwork to agree to buy the house, but once it was done, she was pleased. “When do you think we can take possession?” she asked softly.

  “Oh, the owners will be thrilled to get your offer, and since we’re not waiting on loan documents, we can probably get it all completed in a couple of weeks.” Chad seemed genuinely pleased to help them. He wasn’t a typical realtor with dollar signs in his eyes.

  Maynard grinned at her, squeezing her hand, and Jennifer realized they were truly going to build a life together. He wasn’t running at every little thing, and he was truly happy with her. For now. “Do you want to go furniture shopping now? I bet you can pick out some things and have them delivered the day we do take possession.”

  Chad grinned. “You guys can window shop, but I wouldn’t buy yet. I think that we want to make sure your offer is accepted first. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be, but someone else may have made an offer already today.”

  “Is that likely?” Maynard asked.

  “Not at all. This house has been on the market for six months, and no offers have been made yet.”

  “All right. We’ll window shop, but know that we’re going to take possession of this house just as soon as we can.”

  “Sounds good.” Chad shook hands with both of them. “I’ll get the offer over to the previous owners, and we’ll make everything happen from here. I’m looking forward to working with you both.”

  As they walked back to their car, Jennifer glanced at Maynard. “You really want to go furniture shopping?”

  “Yes! I want us to be ready to fill that house with furniture and then our dozens of babies!”

  “Puppies! Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

  He laughed. “Where’s the best place to shop for furniture around here? I have a feeling we’re not going to get a huge selection in Riston or in Quinn Valley.”

  “There are some good antique stores here in Quinn Valley, but if we want a selection of new furniture, we need to head to Lewiston I think. Are you up for that?”

  Maynard shrugged. “I don’t have to work until a week from today. My whole life is just spending time with my beautiful wife.”

  “Well, then let’s go furniture shopping! And you can take me out for dinner and a movie while we’re in Lewiston too.”

  “There’s a movie theater here. I saw it!”

  She looked at him, shaking her head sadly. “It plays one movie, and it’s not always a current movie. If you want current movies and an actual selection, you have to drive to Lewiston.”

  “Lewiston it is. Do you care if we get in late?” He knew it was an hour and a half to Lewiston, and then the drive back…plus they’d spend a lot of time at the movie and shopping. It was going to be a very late night.

  “Nah. As long as I can sleep while you drive.”

  “Isn’t that a song?”

  “Maybe!”

  Soon, they were in the car and on their way to Lewiston. While he drove, she played games on her phone and dreamed about the way she wanted to decorate. “What’s my furniture budget?” she asked. He named a figure much larger than she’d expected. “Really? You wouldn’t mind if I spent that much?”

  “Not at all. I want the house to look beautiful as well.”

  “I think I’m going to like being married to you!”

  He frowned. He knew she’d had no way of knowing what her finances would be like once she married, but that was one of his worries about finding a bride on his own. She didn’t seem like she was just after money, but it was certainly a possibility. “Let’s just hope our tastes in furniture are the same.”

  “If they’re not, who gets to win?”

  He shrugged. “As long as I get one of the future nurseries for a man-cave, I’ll be content to let you pick stuff out.”

  “Future kennels?” she retorted. She did want children, but three or four would be enough for her. The dozens he was talking about frightened her more than a little.

  Once they got to Lewiston, they googled a furniture store and found one close to where they were. They were both unfamiliar with the town, so it was a comedy of errors trying to find the place. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, Maynard’s phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Mr. Butts, this is Chad. Your offer was accepted. Buy any furniture you want. You take possession in two weeks.”

  “Thank you!”

  Maynard hung up and looked at Jennifer. “It looks like we’re about to be home-owners.”

  “Seriously? Are you joking?”

  “Not at all. Let’s go pick out that furniture!” Maynard felt as if they were getting closer and closer to being a real couple. Having a house and furniture meant they were married forever, didn’t it?

  As it happened, they did have very similar tastes in furniture. If she suggested something, he would like something very much like it, but with one small tweak, that she always found she liked better as well.

  They rushed through the store and found so many things they both loved right away. When it came to purchasing a bedroom suite, she was a little trepidatious. She knew they’d be sharing whatever bed they picked out, and it felt strange that they hadn’t yet. Maybe it was time for her to tell him that she was ready to move past their getting to know you stage.

  Jennifer sighed. No. She had to be completely honest with him first. He needed to know what she was afraid of, and they would decide together if they could move on. Of course, with a house purchase under way, they’d better be able to move on.

  It was after midnight when they arrived home that night, but Jennifer wasn’t nearly ready for bed. She needed to talk to him about her past. About the kind of person she really was deep down inside. She didn’t know how she’d been able to mask it for so long, but she needed him to know her truth.

  When Maynard walked into the cabin, he yawned. “I’m tired!”

  “Me too.” Jennifer looked at him, w
ringing her hands together a bit. “Do you want to work on our puzzle a bit more? There’s something I think I need to talk to you about, and I don’t think you’re going to like it.” How could he? He was a good person, and it showed in everything he did.

  He frowned at her. “All right.” He sat down and looked down at all the puzzle pieces strewn all over the table, wondering what she could possibly have to tell him that he wouldn’t like. She wasn’t pregnant, was she?

  “It’s about my life in Silver Springs,” she said, gently leading into the conversation. When he knew her truth, she was sure he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore. Divorce papers would be in the mail.

  “Were you engaged to someone there?” Maynard asked immediately. It was the only thing he could think of that she could be hiding from him. She was pining for another man. Had he died? Married someone else?

  Jennifer shook her head, staring at him with a confused expression. “Where did you come up with that?”

  He shrugged. “I just figured because of some things you’ve said that you had to be in love with someone else.” He tried to act like it didn’t bother him, but it did. How could it not?

  “That’s not it at all.” She took a deep breath. “I’m a mean girl. I’m the kind of woman no other girls have ever wanted to be around, because I say horrible things and try to steal their boyfriends, even though I don’t want them. I’m really a terrible person.”

  He gaped at her, absolutely shocked. That was the last thing he’d expected her to say. “I’ve seen you with lots of other women, and you’ve always been kind, and they always seem to be happy to spend time with you. What are you talking about?”

  She sighed. “That’s now. A year and a half ago, my parents made me start working for these two cousins. They were best friends, and I’d done everything I could to make them hate each other. They were in my class from kindergarten through graduation, and I felt like they were always leaving me out of everything. I was meaner to them than to any other women, but I was mean to everyone. Absolutely everyone.”