Shaking back his long wavy brown hair, he caught sight of the cute waitress delivering burgers and beers to a table close to the stage. He winked at her and received an eye-roll back for his effort. Clay chuckled. She looked like a typical California girl with her blond hair, blue eyes, golden tan, and slender body that curved in all the right places. But he could tell she was no airhead beach girl from the smooth way she handled customers both good and bad. And the fact that she wasn’t flirting with the band members made her even more interesting. Waitresses who paraded in front of the band were a dime a dozen. One who ignored them was unique.
The band played on—country rock, soft rock, the Beach Boys (duh!)—and the crowd shifted and changed throughout the night. The band took their breaks and began again. Once, while playing, Clay stepped down from the stage, and the waitress pressed past him.
“How about a beer?” he asked with a wink. She tossed him the best glare he’d ever received, but a few minutes later a fresh beer appeared on his amp, and he smiled wide. Yep. She can’t resist me.
At one in the morning the bar finally closed, and the last of the beachcombers were shooed out the door. Clay and the band began packing up as the bar staff cleaned tables and swept the floor. He’d pulled his shaggy hair back with a leather tie to keep it out of his face while he worked. Once most of their equipment was loaded up, Clay headed over to the bar to get paid. As the manager counted out money from the till, the cute waitress came up behind the bar with a rack of clean glasses fresh from the dishwasher.
“Good crowd tonight, huh?” Clay said to her, leaning on the bar.
The waitress shrugged. “Lousy tippers, though.”
“Well that wasn’t nice of them. Pretty thing like you should have made great tips.” He reached out his hand. “I’m Clay.”
The waitress looked him over, making him feel self-conscious. Was his shirt sweaty? His jeans dirty? No one had ever made him worry about how he looked before.
Finally, she took his hand. “Jess.”
Relaxing, he smiled. “Hi, Jess. What do you do for fun when you’re not working?”
“I don’t date band guys,” she said bluntly.
He laughed. “Really? Is that all you’ve got? That’s way too generic an answer for a smart-looking girl like you.”
“Okay. I don’t date guys with ponytails, either.”
“Then you must not date much. Half the guys in this place had ponytails.”
Jess stared at him, stone-faced. Clay wondered if he’d lost his touch with women.
“Here’s your money,” the manager said, handing him a wad of bills. “Can you guys play next Saturday night?”
“Sure. Be happy to,” Clay said, and the manager walked off. Clay watched as Jess put away the last of the glasses. “Here,” he said, pulling a twenty-dollar bill from the pile in his hand and setting it on the bar.
Jess stared at the bill and then back at Clay. “What’s that for?”
“It’s a tip. For the beer you brought me. And for the great conversation.” He grinned.
Jess gave him a steely gaze before finally breaking into laughter. “Thanks.”
He nodded. “See you next weekend.”
She rolled her eyes, but this time with a smile.
A week later, Clay entered the bar with the other band members and began setting up the equipment. He kept an eye out for Jess, hoping she’d be there. He’d thought about her often over the past week, which was rare for him. He always said his first love was music and everything else came second. Yet the spunky waitress who couldn’t have cared less about him had stayed in his thoughts. The confident way she moved around the bar crowd had impressed him, and her glare could stop the most hardened man in his tracks. But her sweet laughter at the end of the night when he’d joked with her had shown him her soft side. She enticed him to want to know her better.
Clay spotted her just as they finished setting up the equipment. She wore a short jean skirt with an apron over it and a yellow T-shirt. The yellow showed off her tan to perfection. Her blond hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and it swished back and forth as she walked between tables. Silently, Clay made his way behind her as she waited at the bar for drink orders to be filled. He tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, pretty Jess. I’m back.”
Jess twisted slightly to see who it was, rolled her eyes, and turned back to her work.
“Don’t I even get a hello?” he asked.
Sighing, Jess turned, and as she stared at him, her eyes grew wide. “You cut your hair?” she said, clearly astounded.
Grinning, he gazed back at her. “Well, you did say you wouldn’t go out with a guy who had a ponytail.”
“You cut it for me?”
“Sure. So, maybe you’ll say yes to that date?”
Jess stared at him a moment, then smiled mischievously. “We’ll see.” She picked up her tray full of drinks and strode off.
He laughed. Later that night, Jess’s we’ll see finally turned into a yes.
CHAPTER THREE
“Excuse me, sir? Excuse me?” A sharp voice caused Clay to sit up suddenly. He rubbed one hand over his face as his other hand held Jess’s. He glanced around the hospital room, dazed. Had he fallen asleep?
“Excuse me,” the voice said again.
Clay caught sight of a woman standing in the doorway with two girls. The curtain was now wide open—when did that happen?—and the trio was staring at him. Recognition hit him as soon as he stared into the green eyes of one of the girls. Maddie. He looked at the other girl, and his heart flipped. Jilly-bear. They’d grown so much over the past two years that he almost hadn’t recognized them. A smile slowly spread across his lips.
“Excuse me,” the woman said again, shaking the smile from Clay. “Who are you?”
Clay stood, returning his gaze to the woman. She wasn’t much taller than Maddie, and she was very thin, but her glare could knock a big man down to her size. She wore black pants, a stiff white shirt, and sensible flats. This was a no-nonsense woman. Frowning, he wondered why she was with the girls.
“I’m here to see Jess,” he said, finding his voice.
“Who are you?” she asked again, circling her arms around the girls and drawing them closer, as if shielding them from him.
Clay opened his mouth to speak, but Maddie beat him to it.
“He’s our father,” she said tightly. She broke away from the woman’s hold and walked stiffly over to her mother’s bedside. The woman stared first at Maddie, then at Clay. She looked confused. But Jilly cocked her head, watching him curiously.
“Father?” the woman said. “I’ve known Jess since the first day she moved here, and she never once mentioned a husband.”
Clay pushed down the annoyance that was rising inside him. “Well, I’m here now. The hospital called me about the accident, and I got here as soon as I could.”
Maddie made a huffing sound. “Took you long enough.”
Walking around to where Maddie stood, Clay kneeled down in front of her. He remembered when he could do this and they’d see eye to eye, but now she was looking down at him.
“Maddie. Sweetie. I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. I came the moment I got the message. I couldn’t get a flight, so I had to drive. But I’m here now.” He reached out to hug her, but she stepped back and glared at him.
His heart ripped open.
“Maybe I should take the girls home,” the woman said, grabbing Jilly and waving Maddie to her. Still kneeling, Clay turned and saw the anxious look in the woman’s eyes. She doesn’t trust me.
Standing up, he tried to relax his tense face muscles. “Please don’t leave. I’d like to see my daughters, and I’m sure they want to be with their mother.”
He walked to the woman, offering his hand. “I’m Clay Connors.”
The woman stared at his hand and then finally shook it. “Eileen Neilson. I live next door to Jess. We take turns carpooling the kids to school.”
Clay smiled. “It’s nice
to meet you, Eileen. Thank you for watching the girls. I’m sure this has been a difficult time for them.”
He dropped again to his knees and looked at his other daughter. They were almost eye to eye. “Hey, Jilly-bear. Will you give me a hug?”
The little girl stared at him a moment before tentatively stepping into his embrace. His heart danced at the feel of his daughter’s small arms around him. When he pulled away, she was smiling at him.
Eileen watched him, still looking unsure. “I’m going to be blunt, Mr. Connors. How do I know there’s not a restraining order against you? Maybe you shouldn’t even be in this room with Jess or the girls.”
His mouth dropped open. Did this woman think he was an abusive husband? A bad father? “I assure you, there isn’t. I realize I haven’t been around the past two years, but it was for other reasons. Jess and I are on very good terms.”
Eileen crossed her arms and frowned.
“He’s telling the truth,” Maddie said. All eyes turned to her. “He’s safe for us to be around.”
Clay raised his brows, surprised but relieved that Maddie had spoken up.
“Well, okay,” Eileen said. “If Maddie says you’re fine, I’ll believe her. But I’d feel better if I could take the girls home with me tonight until this is all settled.”
Clay hesitated. He wanted to be with his girls. They needed him, and he desperately needed them if he was going to get through this tragedy. He had a lot of work ahead of him, rebuilding his relationship with both of them. Being apart this long had been difficult for them—and for him.
“I want to sleep in my own bed tonight,” Maddie said. She looked over at Eileen. “It’s okay, Mrs. Neilson. We can stay at our house with him.” She turned her gaze on Clay, but it grew hard. “If he plans on staying.”
Rubbing the back of his neck, Clay weighed his words carefully before answering. This was harder than he’d anticipated. Maddie’s anger toward him was palpable, and he didn’t want to make it worse by answering wrong. His throat was dry as he swallowed. It was tense times like these that brought on the craving for the one thing he couldn’t have. The only thing that would calm his nerves and make him feel better. He pushed away that nagging urge, as he often had over the past two years, and spoke gently.
“I appreciate your concern, Eileen, but I’d like to have the girls with me. You’re welcome to drop by the house anytime to check on them. They’ll be fine. I promise you.”
Eileen still looked unsure, but she conceded. “All right. I’ll come by tomorrow morning to drive them to school. They missed today, but I think it would be good to get them back into their normal routine.”
“I want to stay with Mom,” Maddie blurted out. “I can miss school for a while.”
Jilly ran to Maddie’s side and slipped her hand over her mother’s. “Me too,” she said in a tiny voice. “Mom needs us.”
Clay walked to the other side of the bed and gazed down at his two daughters. He knew how hard this was for him, but it had to be even more difficult for them.
“I think one more day off school can’t hurt,” he said gently, eyeing Maddie.
Glancing at him briefly, Maddie gave him a curt nod, then returned her eyes to her mother.
“Okay. Well, please let me know when the girls are ready to go back, and I’ll be happy to drive them to school,” Eileen said. Now standing at the foot of the bed, she gazed down at Jess. “Jess and I have become very close friends since she moved here. People around here like her very much. We are all praying for her quick recovery.”
“Thank you,” he said softly.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card, which she handed to Clay. “The girls have my number, but just in case, I’ll give you this.”
He looked at the card, which read Neilson Contracting with a phone number below it.
“That’s our business. My husband’s a contractor. You can reach me at that number too.”
With a curt nod, she left, and his chest tightened. He was on his own with the girls.
Clay studied his daughters as they stood beside their mother. Both had changed so much since he’d last seen them. Maddie was taller and slender, her baby fat gone. Her brown hair had more red highlights, and it hung down past her shoulders in thick waves. Jilly was the exact opposite of her sister, with pale blond hair and blue eyes, and she still had that sweet face, so much like her mother’s. She had only been five the last time he’d seen her, his little ball of sunshine with a quick smile and giggle. Clay knew that it was going to take time to make it up to them for being away. He hoped that they’d forgive him eventually.
After a while, he spoke. “Have you girls eaten?”
Both sets of eyes looked up at him. Both heads slowly shook from side to side.
“I haven’t, either. Let’s go down to the cafeteria and have something to eat. Then we can visit your mom again for a little while before we head home.”
The girls nodded and filed out of the room.
The three ate their dinner in silence. Clay didn’t want to push the girls to talk if they didn’t want to. As he ate his sandwich, he watched each girl in turn, marveling at their differences and yet noticing how each one had small traits that reminded him so much of Jess. Maddie’s eyes were big and round like Jess’s, and she had her mother’s long, slender legs. He could already tell that Maddie was going to be taller than Jess. Jilly’s light hair reminded him of how blond Jess’s hair used to get when she’d spend time in the sun, and her oval face was exactly like her mother’s. He saw himself in each girl too. Maddie had inherited his dark, wavy hair and sullen temperament, while Jilly had his full lips and the dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. The same dimple he’d been teased for having as a young boy but which later made the women glance flirtatiously at him. But there was only one woman he wanted flirting with him now and forever, and right now she was lying in a room upstairs, fighting for her life.
Clay was exhausted by the time they returned to Jess’s room. He’d been awake since yesterday morning, and his body was wearing down. He sat quietly across the bed from the girls as they took turns holding their mother’s hand. Jilly told her mom she’d gotten 100 percent on her math test on Monday and that she and Jerrod had both been picked to be hall monitors for the week. Maddie stayed silent. She just sat there, staring at her mother as if willing her to wake up. From time to time she’d glare at Clay, then drop her eyes again. It was all so heartwrenching to watch, especially since his own heart was breaking at seeing his daughters so distressed. Finally, when the night nurse came in to check on Jess, he cleared his throat and suggested they go home for the night.
“I’ll take good care of your mother,” the nurse said gently, giving the girls an encouraging smile.
Maddie’s and Jilly’s faces looked drawn; both girls were clearly as tired as Clay felt. Neither argued as they picked up their backpacks and headed for the door.
Clay leaned over Jess and kissed her lightly on the forehead. “I love you,” he whispered, then straightened up to see Maddie glare at him before storming out the door. Taking a deep breath, he followed.
They drove in silence all the way to the house. As they followed the coastal road, the sun set, trailing long rays of red and orange across the darkening water. It would have been beautiful to watch if not for the tension in the car and the thoughts running through Clay’s mind. This was the road where Jess flipped her car.
As they passed over streaks of blue and yellow paint on the asphalt, Maddie spoke to no one in particular. “This is where it happened.”
They all stared silently at the paint, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Clay broke the grim silence. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t know this was the spot.”
Maddie didn’t say another word.
He tried not to think of Jess in the car as it flipped. Nothing seemed real. She had always been such a careful driver; it was difficult for him to believe she might have been going too fast or being reckless. E
specially if she knew the girls were waiting for her. She loved her girls above all else. That was one fact he knew with certainty.
The old Victorian house loomed in the darkness as Clay made his way up the driveway. He’d no sooner put the car in park than Maddie was out the door and running up the steps of the front porch. Jilly got out slower and waited for Clay to grab his duffel bag and guitar case from the back before walking up to the house with him. Maddie had already opened the door, and the entryway light was on, spilling out onto the porch, guiding their way. As they walked over the threshold, Jilly turned and glanced at Clay as if making sure he was following. He gave her a small smile, and her face lit up with a grin. Closing the door behind him, he marveled at the beautiful oval of stained glass on the door. If that was any indication of how Jess had remodeled the old house, he knew he was in for a treat.
Standing in the entryway of the four-story house, Clay looked all around. Directly in front of him was a staircase leading up to the second floor. It had shiny mahogany bannisters that swirled at the ends. Jess had refinished the wooden steps and placed a soft gray-and-white carpet runner up the center. A hallway beside the staircase led to the back of the house, where there was a small maid’s bedroom and an entry into the kitchen.
To his left was the formal dining room, which held a polished mahogany table that could seat twelve and had belonged to Jess’s grandmother. A hutch filled with china sat against one wall, and there was a matching sideboard on the other. Jess had painted the original wainscoting a soft cream color and added fresh wallpaper that had a red rose pattern above it. Under the table sat a vintage Turkish rug of faded red, black, and tan hues. A heavy swinging door was on the far wall and led to the kitchen.
To his right was the living room, or parlor, with a large fireplace and a seat in the bay window. A round rug in soft tan shades covered the hardwood floor, and a cream sofa was positioned in front of the fireplace with a coffee table in front of it. Wing chairs flanked each side of the sofa, and two groupings of chairs were placed in other sections of the room to create pockets of privacy. Clay loved that Jess had forgone the typical use of Victorian-style décor for a B&B and instead had used light colors to keep the rooms airy. And although everything looked lovely, it was the outline of an old upright piano that brought a smile to Clay’s lips.
One Wrong Turn: A Novel Page 3