by Rachel Hanna
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Falling For You
January Cove Book 3
By: Rachel Hanna
www.RachelHannaRomance.com
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Chapter 1
Jackson Parker strummed his expensive pen on the solid mahogany desk and growled through gritted teeth. His cell phone on speaker mode, he took a deep breath.
"Look, Donald, I don't understand the hold up. This deal was supposed to close last Tuesday. My clients aren't going to continue sitting around waiting for your sellers to get their asses in gear. You hear me? Enough's enough. That appraisal needs to be done today or we walk."
He sat back in his chair and ran his fingers through his thick black hair, the typical Parker family trait. All except for Aaron, of course; the only blond one of the siblings, he was constantly kidded about being the milkman's baby.
"Everything okay, boss?" Jackson's assistant, Mark Tyner, asked. He was a scrawny, newly graduated kid he'd hired just last year, but he was doing a good job so far.
"Just the Milton deal; People are nuts this time of year. Say, when are you heading back to Virginia for Thanksgiving?"
"Well, I was hoping to talk to you about that. I know I had promised to leave the day before Thanksgiving, but my whole family is planning a get together on the Sunday before..."
"Relax, Mark. You're welcome to leave earlier. I'll be here working, as usual," Jackson said with a sigh as he started sorting through contract paperwork again. Work was the one constant in Jackson's life.
"Aren't you going home at all? I mean, your whole family is there, right?" Mark asked, sitting down in the cushy chair in front of Jackson's desk.
"I just have too much to do right now. I've got the Milton deal, that crazy land deal with Clayton Barnes and then don't forget the new development over on Riverside. I can't take off for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year."
"But everyone will be closed, boss. You deserve a few days..."
"Mark," Jackson said staring into the young man's eyes with his steely gaze. "Enough. Okay?"
"Yes, sir," Mark said standing up slowly and walking out of the office. Jackson wasn't normally so pointed with him, but he wasn't in any mood for people's opinions today. He'd just gotten through with his latest fling with an opinionated woman named Roma. An Italian beauty queen who had recently relocated to Atlanta for modeling work, Roma was too fussy and whiny. He couldn't stand a whiny woman, and she took whining to a whole new level. In fact, if whining was an Olympic sport, she would most certainly win a gold medal.
After three months, their so-called relationship was over. And truthfully, Jackson didn't care much. He knew when he met her that she wasn't his soul mate or future wife or any other stereotypical romantic notion. She was just one more woman in a long line of women that he wined and dined and wasted time with.
Jackson Parker wasn't your typical man. The oldest of the Parker kids from January Cove, he was known as the stand-in father of his four younger siblings. The strong, solid type, he'd remained in January Cove until his siblings were older to help his mother, Adele, care for them.
Widowed with five young children, Adele had struggled to build up a successful real estate business in January Cove. Jackson became the man of the family at thirteen years old and didn't get to leave January Cove until he was twenty nine years old. It wasn't like his mother had forced him to stay, but Jackson had always taken his responsibilities very seriously. He remembered his father, who died in a car accident, very well and wanted to make him proud. Not having a father to grow up with had been hard, and Jackson tried to do the best job he could as a stand-in for his father.
He loved his family, but sometimes going home reminded him of things he'd rather forget like not having a woman to share his life with. Sure, he'd dated lots of women in Atlanta, but no one seemed to "fit". Most were like him - career go-getters with little time to spend "dating". He wanted a certain kind of woman, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what kind she was. And yet there was a part of him that never wanted to settle down and have a quiet family life. He was conflicted, and that irritated him to no end. In every other area of his life, he had a decisive personality, but relationships with women confounded him.
Lost in thought as he flipped through papers, Jackson almost didn't hear his cell phone ringing.
"Hello?" he said a little too gruffly.
"What crawled up your butt and died?" his brother, Kyle, said on the other end. Jackson had to laugh. Brothers had a tendency to bring each other right back down to Earth with a thud.
"Bro, what's up? I'm knee deep in real estate crap today." If anyone understood, it would be Kyle who was successful as a real estate investor back in January Cove.
"Is there ever a day where you aren't knee deep in it?"
"Not really. So what do you need?" Jackson said, still distracted by the papers on his desk.
"You gotta come home for Thanksgiving."
"And why is that?" Jackson asked sighing as he leaned back and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"Because we're family, and you need to come home. Take a break. You're going to have a heart attack, old man," Kyle said laughing. Although Jackson was only three years older than Kyle, he seemed older than his years. Responsibility can do that to a person.
"Can't, man. I'm coming at Christmas."
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
"Jackson, you own the freaking company. Your staff will be off. Attorneys' offices will be closed. Clients will be with their own families. There isn't one damn reason why you can't come home." Kyle was getting more than a little irritated at his brother.
"Why is this so important?"
"Because I thought you'd want to spend as much time with Mom as you could after her medical scare, that's why. Jeez, man, there are more important things than working, ya know?" Kyle was referring to his mother's recent mild stroke, and Jackson had come into town for a short time when that happened during the early summer. Although Adele was in picture perfect health now, Jackson had to admit that he was more than a little worried about her. After all, time stops for no one, and she was getting older just like anyone else.
"Don't you try to guilt me, Kyle," Jackson snapped.
"If you feel guilt, that's on you," Kyle snapped back. "Plus, if you come home, you'll get to meet Aaron's new love, Tessa. She's great, man." Jackson's stomach felt nauseous. Did his brothers really think he wanted to hear all about their fantastic love lives with amazing women? He was glad for them, but love wasn't on his horizon apparently. Sex, yes. He could get that easy enough. He had money and good looks, but when morning came those women meant nothing to him. He couldn't even relate to the feelings his brothers had for these women - Jenna and Tessa. What did that kind of love feel like?
"Fine. I'll come home for a few days, but then I have to get back. If I'm not here..."
"Yes, I know, the world will come to an end," Kyle said laughing. "See you next week."
***
Rebecca Evans pulled her curly red hair back in a ponytail a
nd wiped down the counters at her coffee shop. It seemed like the latte machine was screwing up again and causing the contents to leak a little more than she would've liked. But, unfortunately, she didn't have the funds to fix the machine yet again. After all, she had only owned the coffee shop for a few months, and she wasn't even breaking even yet.
A single mother of a fourteen-year-old boy, Rebecca had recently relocated to January Cove in early spring. Looking for something totally new to do with her life, she had taken all of her savings and bought the old coffee shop on the corner of Main Street. It was a popular place for local residents to go, but she was still trying to make a profit on the purchase. Thinking ahead with her marketing skills, she had added entertainment on Friday nights in the form of local musicians who played guitar and sang. She had also added Wi-Fi so that local business people could work from the coffee shop during the day.
It was an old place, and she really needed to have some renovations done but that would have to wait. The coffee shop had been there for ages, even before it was popular to have coffee shops.
Working beside the beach gave her peace, and she needed that right now. Her life was anything but peaceful with an unruly teenage son to deal with every day. She understood why he was so upset all the time, but she didn't know how to fix it. She had done everything she could do to try to fix it before finally picking up and moving from New York all the way down to the small coastal town in Georgia.
He needed a fresh start. Truthfully, she needed a fresh start too. She'd been stuck in a rut for many years now, and she thought this move might push her to try something new. Live her life again. Start over.
Unfortunately, it hadn't worked out that way so far. Her son was already getting in trouble at school in their new town, and she felt more alone than ever being hundreds of miles away from what little family she had back in New York.
This certainly wasn't the way that Rebecca thought her life was going to turn out. It all started so wonderfully. She was from a close family in a small suburb outside of New York City. She grew up in an upper-middle-class family where her mother was a counselor and her father was a physician. Unfortunately, they had both died when Rebecca was only fourteen years old herself. Her father's hobby was being a private pilot of his own plane, and he had crashed with her mother on board as they headed to a medical conference in Colorado.
Rebecca had been raised after that by her aunt Mary. Her aunt was a wonderful person, but Rebecca felt lonely. She pushed herself academically and got a scholarship to a local community college and obtained a degree in marketing.
Fast forward several years and Rebecca was married with a young son when the unthinkable happened to her all over again.
She shook her head vigorously as she heard the bell ring on the front door at the coffee shop. It was times like these that she welcomed the distraction of meeting new people around town. She didn't want to think about her past anymore.
"Good morning. Welcome to Jolt," Rebecca said, forcing a smile. It just wasn't a good morning to be peppy, but she had learned that Southerners expected a proper greeting. Truth be told, being in the South had opened her up in a way she couldn't have expected. They were so welcoming to her.
"Good morning," the man said. He was handsome with dark black hair and a warm smile. "This is the first time I've been in here since you bought the place and renamed it."
"Well, thanks for stopping in," she said. "I'm Rebecca Evans." She extended her hand to shake his and he took it.
"I'm Kyle Parker."
"Parker, as in the real estate company around here?"
"Yes. My mother owns the real estate company. I'm actually a real estate investor myself," he said with a proud smile. "Nice to meet you, by the way."
"What can I get for you?"
"Just black coffee please. Oh, and two chocolate chip cookies."
"Isn't it a little early for cookies?" she asked with a chuckle as she took the cookies out of the glass case.
"They're not for me. My girlfriend and her little girl love chocolate chip cookies." Her heart fluttered for a moment at the thought of having a man who cared like that. What she wouldn't give to have that back in her life again, someone to love her, hold her., protect her. It had been so long.
"You okay?" he asked looking into her eyes concerned.
"What? Oh. Sorry. I just got lost in thought there for a moment. Your total is five dollars and fifty five cents."
He gave her a ten dollar bill and dropped two dollars into the tip jar on the counter when she handed him his change.
"How are you enjoying January Cove so far?" Kyle asked leaning against the counter.
"I love it here. It's a beautiful place to call home. Have you always lived here?" she asked as she poured his coffee and handed it to him.
"Always; I grew up here. Of course, it's a small town which means everybody knows everybody else's business."
"I can see that. I've heard all kinds of stories."
"Oh yeah? Do tell..." Kyle leaned in with his hands on his cheeks like he was enraptured with what she was about to tell him.
"Well, let's see. I heard Delilah Smith is opening a new tea room that is going to be the talk of all January Cove. I overheard Sander Thomas saying that he and his wife are divorcing because she's cheating with Emmett Mathers..."
"Wow, you do have the scoop!" Kyle said laughing. "I like you, Rebecca. I think you'll fit right in."
"Thanks," she said with a halfhearted smile. "I hope so."
"Anyone who moves to January Cove usually has scars to heal. I don't know your situation, but I can promise you one thing."
"What's that?"
"That ocean out there will heal you. Every day, it brings something new to the shore. You just have to wait for your delivery of good luck and blessings. I'll see you around," he said with a wink and walked out the door.
Rebecca sure hoped her new friend was right. She needed good luck and blessings because she felt pretty alone right now.
Chapter 2
Jackson drove down the interstate, as he had a hundred times, but this time it felt different. It had become harder and harder to drive into January Cove. He loved his family more than anything, but he felt empty lately. He felt left behind, but he couldn't put his finger on why.
Sure, he was stubborn to a fault. He refused to let people help him. He refused to fall in love and become some sappy, lovesick man enslaved by a woman and her whims. But he couldn't help but wonder if he was the problem. At the root of every complaint he had about his life, the only commonality was him.
He took a drink of his sweet tea and adjusted the visor to block out the bright sunlight. Turning up his music, he tried to tune out his own thoughts. Like it or not he'd always been considered the deep thinker in the family. He had to be, after all. He was the father figure to four younger kids, or at least that's how he thought of himself. He grew up faster than everyone he knew.
While his high school buddies were rolling yards with toilet paper and playing strip poker with the Callahan twins, he was babysitting and cutting the yard and learning to build tree forts. While everyone else was going to prom and experimenting with pot, he was busy earning extra money working at the dock and putting out flyers for houses that were for sale with his mother's real estate company.
He remembered those lean times. Money was so tight that he'd seen Adele go without meals more times than he could count, but he never told that to his siblings. He didn't want them to worry. He wanted to give them the stability that his father would have given them, so he shielded them from anything bad whenever he could.
It was hard to think back to the day his father died. It was a place he hardly ever went in his mind, but a long car trip into January Cove would usually bring it on. Thankfully, he only remembered parts of that day. It wasn't as if it played in his head like a movie. Instead, there were fragments that shot through his soul and heart every time he thought about it.
He was thirteen years old at t
he time, and he was a typical boy. He was just starting to get a deeper voice, more muscles, and hints of teenage acne on his chin. Hair was starting to grow in places he didn't expect, and his mother was constantly after him to put on more deodorant. He was an avid baseball player on the city rec team, and his father spent hours throwing the baseball with him after work in the evenings.
It was a Tuesday night like any other. His father was supposed to be home around six, like always. But six came and went, and a confused Jackson sat on the front stoop of their small home waiting and wondering. His mother was inside cooking dinner and had lost track of time until the sheriff pulled up in the driveway just before seven. The sun was going down, and Jackson would never forget the red streaked sky above the sheriff's head as he took off his hat and asked to speak with Adele.
The rest of the evening was murky in his mind. He remembered his mother screaming and falling to the kitchen floor. He recalled that her cries seemed to come from the deepest parts of her soul, and he'd never heard sounds like that before. He never wanted to hear that again. Ever.