by Jeremy Asher
He headed toward the door and placed his hand on the lever when he heard the sound of a cell phone ringing and then saw Randy fall down the stairs. “Are you all right?” he said, walking over to him to check him out.
“Go!” Randy’s voice boomed like thunder through the store.
“I can’t leave you like this.” Robbie bent down and threw Randy’s arm over his shoulder.
“Look out!”
Robbie turned to find Old Man Neeter standing behind him.
Chapter 20
Sarah
The morning light poured through Sarah’s bedroom window, pulling her eyelids open. She moved the covers over her face to steal a few more minutes of sleep. Her doorbell rang, followed by a loud knock. She shot straight up and looked around for Jesse, but the chair next to her bed was empty. The doorbell rang again. “Just a minute!” she shouted.
Her feet hit the cold wooden floor before sliding into her fuzzy pink slippers. She grabbed her robe and nearly had it tied before reaching the door. She sneaked a look through the peephole before opening the door. “Crap,” she muttered, looking around for any signs of last night—more specifically, any signs of Jesse. She spotted her dad’s clothes neatly folded on the couch and his empty glass of wine on the coffee table. “Shoot, shoot, shoot.”
She grabbed the clothes and the wine glass with one deft move. “I’ll be right there,” she yelled. Then she quickly headed to the pantry door in the hallway. Just as she was about to set them on the top shelf, she paused and then brought the shirt to her nose, giving it a long sniff as she closed her eyes. Jesse’s fragrance lingered in the soft cotton fabric. Butterflies fluttered as the memories of last night flooded her mind. Visiting her father. Jesse half-naked and soaking wet. And then of course the slow, tender kiss on the side of her neck. Goosebumps covered her arms just thinking about his lips pressed against her skin.
“Hey, are you going to let me in or what?”
The butterflies vanished and a headache drove itself into her mind. She rested the clothes on the top shelf and shut the pantry door. On the way to the front door she looked into a mirror that hung in the foyer. She felt hung over, and with her swollen eyes and the smeared makeup she’d forgotten to remove, she looked it too. Her thin fingers raced through her hair, combing out the bird’s nest that had settled on her head while she slept.
“Sarah! I’m getting tired of waiting out—”
She forced a smile and then opened the door, interrupting Kevin’s complaining.
“What the hell happened to you?” He took a few uninvited steps into her apartment.
“Gee, thanks. You sure do know how to make a girl feel good,” she said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
“Are you sick? What happened last night?” Kevin’s eyes scanned the apartment as if looking for something. His slicked back hair had more volume than usual and his eyes carried large bags beneath them. She figured he had gotten about as much sleep as had did last night.
“Nothing. I just had a few glasses of wine and caught up on some reading.” The sledgehammer pounding against her temples disagreed with the few glasses of wine part.
He walked over to the kitchen counter and picked up the empty bottle. “A few glasses,” he said, holding it upside down. “Looks like someone was a little tipsy last night.” The million dollar smile formed on his face. “Too bad I wasn’t here with you. We would have had some fun.” He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into him.
Sarah just grinned, hoping he wasn’t going to come in for a kiss. She hadn’t brushed her teeth yet, and the bitter taste of wine lingered on her tongue.
“So what took you so long? I thought maybe you were sneaking someone out of here.” He gave another suspicious look around the place.
Sarah looked down at her feet. “I couldn’t find my slippers.” She wiggled her toes, causing the pink fluffy balls to bounce up and down.
He let go and looked at Sarah’s feet. “Oh yeah, those.” He turned his gaze back to Sarah. “So what’s with the bottle of wine? You celebrating something?”
Something about him seemed different. Was it his attitude, his unannounced visit, or was her headache worse than she thought? “No. It just sounded good at the time.”
Kevin brought Sarah in closer to him, hugging her tightly. “I missed you last night.” His manhandling hug put a violent squeeze on her delicate stomach and for a moment she thought she might throw up all over his expensive green polo shirt. She grabbed his arms and pushed away.
“What time is it?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“It’s about 9:00.”
She ran a hand through her hair and kneaded her temple with her palm. The hammer rapping on the inside of her skull pounded ever harder. Crossing to the counter, she retrieved a bottle of aspirin.
“Aren’t you wondering what I’m doing home?” His tone was annoyingly happy this early in the morning and for this kind of a headache.
Home? Oh yeah, the fling in Vegas. “What are you doing home?” She popped the top off the bottle and palmed two pills, paused, then dropped two more in her hand for good measure.
“Joey’s wife went into labor.”
“What? Joey was with you? Wasn’t Sandra like eight and a half months pregnant?” She pulled a glass from the cabinet above the sink and filled it with water.
“Yeah, but she wasn’t due for another few days yet.”
She popped the pills, chased them with a mouthful of water and threw her head back, letting the chalky magical pills do their thing and hoping they did so soon. “Oh yeah, then that’s totally fine.”
Kevin continued with his story, not picking up on her sarcasm. “There we were, at the roulette table with five grand riding on the red nine, when Joey’s phone rang. It totally jinxed the game. Until then we were on a hot streak. We couldn’t lose.”
“Those pregnant women are just plain bad luck.” Sarah leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms, losing patience with this story and Kevin. “So how did you guys get a flight home so quickly?”
“We couldn’t get a flight that late. So I called my dad and asked if he could send the jet.” Kevin picked up the empty wine bottle and stared at the label.
“I bet he was happy about that.”
Kevin set the bottle down. “Not really. He reminded me more than once what it was costing him to send us the jet. I tried telling him that it was for Joey and Sandra’s baby. But it didn’t exactly appeal to his sensitive side.”
“I didn’t know he had a sensitive side.”
“He said to consider it as part of the deal.”
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. “What deal?”
“You know, the greenhouse deal.”
Sarah frowned. There hadn’t been mention of a deal when they had discussed the greenhouse. “What are you talking about? I thought it was just a loan.”
“Yeah right. He doesn’t loan out his money without first making a deal. I thought you knew that.”
The queasy feeling in Sarah’s stomach intensified. This was exactly why she didn’t think to ask him for the loan to begin with. She never fully trusted the man, not after first meeting him at one of his annual parties. It hadn’t been one minute since her handshake with him and he had tried to set Kevin up with one of his partners’ daughters. “So what all does this deal consist of?”
“Basically it boiled down to him getting what he’s wanted for the past few years.”
She noticed a change in Kevin’s eyes. His mouth continued smiling, but his eyes seemed to stop. “No, please tell me you didn’t.”
He nodded.
“But why? I was working with a few banks.” She uncrossed her arms and stood up straight. “Tell him no. We don’t want the money. It isn’t worth it,” she said, placing her hand on his cheek.
His smile had completed faded now. “It was inevitable anyways. We both knew that the day would come where I’d stop working for the DA and take my place as partner at hi
s firm.”
“But that’s not what you want.”
He grabbed her hand on his cheek and gave it a gentle squeeze. “It’s better money. I can do so much more for you, for us, for our family.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Besides, just seeing the look on your face when I told you that your dream was about to be built was worth it for me.”
Handsome, a killer smile, and a huge heart—all the reasons why she wanted to marry him, and also why she knew that she’d never be good enough for him. Maybe his father was right about her. How could someone as intelligent, good-looking, and generous as Kevin want to marry her? She hadn’t been good enough for her own mother to stick around. She brought her head into his chest, feeling the warmth against her cheek. “I don’t deserve you.”
“That’s not true. You’re wonderful.”
“I love you.”
“I know you do. And I love you.”
Her headache grew worse. She massaged her temples, hoping the aspirin would kick in soon. “Look at you,” Kevin said. “This is what happens when you drink that cheap stuff.” He straddled his feet around hers and leaned in. “What can I do to make you feel better?” he whispered in a low sexy voice.
As she met his dark brown eyes, an image of Jesse popped up in her mind. Why couldn’t she get him out of her head? An echo of last night replayed, followed by a pang of guilt.
“Are you okay?” Kevin asked.
She nodded. “I’ll be fine once the aspirin kicks in.”
“I’ve got you now,” he said, brushing the back of his fingers against her cheek. “Just relax and let me take care of you.”
She knew what that kind of “taking care” consisted of and she also knew that now wasn’t the right time. “I think I just need to lie down for a little while.”
He smiled. “All right, sweetie. I’ll be right here if you need me.” He walked into the living room and plopped down onto the couch and then turned on the television.
Sarah leaned forward onto the counter and stared at Kevin and thought about the sacrifice he was making for her. Did he really think it was inevitable? She had never thought so. He was good at working for the District Attorney’s Office. He seemed to thrive every time he worked on a case, especially after winning one. Was the money that important to him? She had never thought that before. Sure, they weren’t moving to some penthouse on the Gold Coast, but they didn’t need much either.
She pushed it from her mind and thought about the greenhouse and how excited her father would be when it was completed, seeing his dream in living color. She remembered how he looked last night and wondered for the first time if he would be able to hang on until then. A lump formed in her throat.
He will make it, she told herself. He has to. Thanks to Kevin’s sacrifice and Jesse’s ideas and help with the construction, it’s going to be the best greenhouse ever.
Sarah felt guilty for what had nearly happened last night, but she was glad that Jesse had come back into her life. She fiddled with her bottom lip. He was a good friend after all. And safe. The type of person she knew she could count on.
Kevin looked over at Sarah. He patted the side of couch, one last call for comfort. She shook her head and headed into the bedroom.
The large window where the storm had put on its magnificent show just the night before was now a portal for sunlight. She crawled into the sun-bathed covers and turned away from the window, avoiding the blinding rays—and then noticed something she hadn’t before: a single sheet of paper beside her pillow.
Sarah quickly grabbed the note and slid it into the covers while she checked to make sure Kevin wasn’t around. Taking a deep breath, she began reading.
Dear Sarah,
I’m not sure what to say. I’ve found myself in a place that I’ve never been before. When we were kids, you were the only true friend I had. Losing you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through. I don’t know what brought you back into my life, but it was like someone opening the shades, letting the light in for the first time in years. Your light is bright and powerful and it has reached the deepest and darkest parts of my heart. For the first time in my life, I felt the weight of love, the one thing I spent my life avoiding.
Although I know how blessed I am to have love in my heart, I’m left with a lump in my stomach as I now have to do the second hardest thing I’ll ever have to do in my life, which is to walk away from you. My feelings for you are and will forever remain strong. Even though they are good intentioned, I fear that they are a detriment to you and the life you have now. You’re on a journey and as much as I want to be a part of it, I’m afraid that I would only bring you more pain than good. I care about you too much to do that to you. So I’m bowing out. You’ve grown into an incredible woman and I’ll never forget you and our brief time together.
Your Friend Always,
Jesse
Sarah’s hand clenched the letter as tears welled in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. The boy who had done everything he could to make her laugh, whom she shared a kiss with beneath the willow tree, and whom she found ten years after she had seen him drive away in the back of a police car, was now gone forever. She brought the note to her chest, her heart feeling the pain that settled there, then rolled over onto her side and sobbed.
Chapter 21
Jesse
Jesse had just finished reorganizing the dog toy shelf when he heard the brass bell ring. He looked up to see who it was. This had become a habit the past week since leaving Sarah sleeping in her apartment. Although he knew that staying away was the best thing for the both of them, he secretly hoped that she’d stop by. He missed her and no matter how busy he kept himself he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
But it wasn’t Sarah this time. Instead it was someone else he knew. And the look on her face spelled trouble.
Her straight dark hair held a streak of blue down the side. One of the many transformations her hair had received as a result of owning and operating her own salon. Her tight black pants opened at the bottom, revealing her five inch heels. And her low-cut white blouse accented another one of her gifts, one she admitted to receiving on her twenty-first birthday. The daughter of a millionaire had to look her best.
Her shoes clicked with a quick pace as she made her way over to Jesse. “Jesse Malone,” Kate shouted. “We need to talk.”
Jesse had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant visit. Holding up a finger, he scanned the aisles for customers. Satisfied that the coast was clear, he walked back over to Kate. He ran a hand through his hair and prepared himself the best he could for the wrath to come. “It’s good to see you too, Kate.”
Her eyes narrowed, impatience shooting from them like daggers aimed at Jesse’s heart. “Yeah, it would be good to see you. Except you won’t return my calls.”
He looked down, biting back a smile. He’d been meaning to call her back. Really he had. But with school, work, and the business with Sarah, it just hadn’t been convenient. “I know. I know. All fourteen of your voicemails were a good reminder, not to mention the fifty or so text messages.”
“Very funny, Jesse. Is this how you operate? You smile and look at me with those pretty blue eyes, but once you’ve drawn a girl up to your dog-smelling loft, you never call her back.”
Okay, that last comment hurt. He held up his hands in defense. “I don’t operate in any way. I told you from the beginning that I—”
“I’m not interested in a relationship right now,” she finished for him. She paused, as if waiting to see if he had anything else to add. Which of course he didn’t. He felt it a good idea to remain quiet for a bit longer. Or at least until the smoke stopped billowing from her ears.
She drew in a deep breath, crossed her arms, and shifted her weight to the other foot. “I get it. You’re busy and damaged and—”
“Damaged,” Jesse cut in. “Who said anything about being damaged?”
Kate met his eyes in a glare. “You can’t be serious, Jesse.�
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“I’m not damaged.”
“We’ve been seeing each other—” ‘seeing’ was punctuated by finger quotes—“for about six months now.”
“Is that supposed to prove something?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I wasn’t finished.”
He took a step back and put his hands into his back pockets. “Sorry, continue.”
“We’ve been seeing each other for six months now, and in that time you’ve never said more than two sentences about yourself. Not your past, not your present, and not once have you told me anything about the way you’re feeling.”
Jesse looked down. He knew where she was heading. Down a road he had known all too well with the other women he had dated, ending with her leaving heartbroken, never to call or text him again.
“Normally I’d take that as a sign that you’re not into me. It’d be the first time ever. But at least I knew where you stood.”
Jesse shook his head. “It’s not that.”
“Every time I come over, you look at me in a way that no man has ever looked at me. You touch me in a way that no man has ever touched me.” She placed a hand on his chest. “I know there’s something here. I just want you to let me in.”
And that would lead to love, the one mistake he couldn’t afford to make. He stared at her hand resting on his chest and thought about Sarah, his proof that love came with a consequence. Not that Kate did anything wrong. After all, she was drop dead gorgeous, fun to be with, and any man would be lucky to have her. But not him.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked.
“Nothing.”
“Come on, Jess.” Her voice lowered to a near whisper. “It’s me you’re talking to. You can tell me anything.”
He looked at her. Stared into her chocolate brown eyes. And he knew what he must do. “This just isn’t working.”