Smitten

by Colleen Coble

  “Just a text now and again. He might be home for Christmas, but I’m sure he told you that already.”

  “Yes,” Mrs. Bourne said. “What’s this I hear about Julia’s spa being in your grill?”

  “My spa is not going to be in his grill!” Julia protested.

  Zak thrust out his lower lip. “Your daughter’s a stubborn woman. I offered to do the build-out for her and use local workers. She wants to bring in foreign money, and who knows where she’ll get the labor. Tell her it’s all right to accept help when you need it. It’s the Smitten way. I think she forgot that while in New York.”

  “New York is not foreign. Last time I checked it was part of the US of A.”

  “Your mom knows what I mean.”

  “Does my mom know you lie like a rug?”

  “Julia, why wouldn’t you take Zak’s help?” Mrs. Bourne asked.

  Julia rolled her eyes.

  Why wouldn’t she take Zak’s help? Where did she start?

  “Mom, Zak has plans for that grill, and if he gets it running again, I’ll be out of a business after putting all that money into his spot.”

  “Zak wouldn’t do that, would you?”

  “I might. If we had enough business.” Zak raised his brow.

  “But not without finding the spa a new residence.”

  “See,” her mother said. In one fell swoop, with one arm, her mother scooped up the ice cream, plopped it on the pie, scooped up a dollop of Cool Whip, and shook the spoon so the pie looked like something on a television commercial.

  “The coffee will be ready in a minute.”

  “I’ll get it, Mom. Can you leave us alone for a minute? I want to talk to Zak privately before he goes.”

  Her mother smiled coyly, as if romance were in the air.

  “Oh my, yes.” She hobbled quickly out of the kitchen.

  “For an older woman on a crutch, she scurries about pretty good where you’re involved.”

  Zak grinned. “Not everyone is immune to my charms.”

  “What did you say to Devlin?”

  “I just let him know I knew the truth about where his money came from and what ulterior motives he might have.”

  “All right. I admit you know more than I do, and no doubt I’ve been blindsided by something you’re delighting to tell me. Do you want me to beg?”

  “That would be kind of fun.”

  “I’m not going to.”

  “I figured as much.”

  She hated that Zak knew something about Devlin she didn’t, but in fairness, she’d never seen Devlin turn on her as he had that morning. Three years and one incident seemed forgivable, but even if Zak thought the women’s ideas for Smitten were inane, she knew enough to know he’d never let anyone hurt her. That was a privilege he reserved for himself.

  “Ask him yourself, Julia. If you’re so convinced of Devlin Stovich’s character, ask him what I told him. See if he’s man enough to tell you. If he’s not, you have your answer about his character.” Zak hadn’t touched his pie. “Let me help you.”

  “No,” she snapped without thinking.

  “You say you want the spa. I can give it to you. If you really want it, why won’t you take it?”

  “I don’t want your help. That’s all. I don’t need to explain my reasons.”

  “I promised your brother I’d do whatever it took to keep you here while he’s deployed. He doesn’t want your parents to worry.”

  “Ah.” She nodded. “So this is all about Greg. Your word to him. It never had anything to do with helping me, is that right?”

  “I didn’t know you’d show up in my grill today. You came to me, and I took it as a sign from God that it was time to do my duty.”

  “Your duty?” She couldn’t bear to look at him any longer. Besides, she couldn’t have independence and Zak Grant, so she was only making herself crazy. “The coffee cups are hanging on the backsplash. Help yourself.”

  It took every ounce of self-control she possessed not to break at his words. Hope was her problem, believing there was something more to Zak than the shallow, callous tool he was. As part of his man code, he’d look after her. When Greg returned, Zak would be released from any responsibility and from her life. He’d never looked at her as a woman, and why she had for a moment believed otherwise was a mystery.

  Besides, she didn’t want to end up like her mother, waiting on some man hand and foot.

  Zak stood and blocked her way.

  “Move, Zak.”

  “That didn’t come out right.”

  “It didn’t come out covered in your smooth, milk-chocolate words that have my mother completely snowed, you mean.”

  Julia slipped from his grasp and scrambled out of the room as if he carried a contagious disease. Her rejection stung.

  “Julia, wait!” He followed her into the living room and watched her shadow disappear up the stairs. Back in the kitchen, he bent over and picked up her scandalously high stiletto. He studied the shoe and wondered how a girl like her had ever come from Smitten in the first place. “Julia,” he whispered to the ceiling. “I’m doing this all wrong. Help me out here, God! Help me get through to her that I’ve changed.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Julia stretched out her right leg and set her foot on the split-rail fence. She bent over at the waist in a long, deep stretch, and her muscles groaned in protest. She’d been the first to arrive that morning along the river walk, and with so much pent-up energy she’d already jogged a mile. She wouldn’t mention that to the girls. They already saw her as an overachiever because her workout wear always matched. So she stretched rather than explain her ruffled appearance.

  Shelby arrived next, decked out in pink leggings with new blinding-white tennis shoes. In her arms she carried Penelope, her white Shih-poo, who also wore pink “shorts” with a cutout for the tail. “I’ve never been on in-line skates before,” Shelby announced.

  “That poor dog. Can’t you give her some dignity?” Julia asked.

  Shelby kissed the dog’s ear. “Don’t listen to her. She’s grumpy today, and she doesn’t realize how a new outfit makes you feel!”

  Shelby lived in a special place Julia liked to call Fairy Tale Land—where, if it were an actual place, it would always be Christmas. It would smell like cinnamon, and women would still wear velvet dresses with lace collars and stockings every day. To a stranger, Shelby might appear snooty, but to anyone who knew her—and that included all of Smitten—she simply spread sparkle dust and sunshine wherever she went. The consummate optimist, Shelby ran an etiquette school at the edge of town to teach younger girls how to view the world through rose-colored glasses.

  “I heard it didn’t go so well with your boss. I’m so sorry to hear it. But that’s hardly a reason to put us all on skates. If God meant for us to roll around, he would have created us with wheels instead of toes.”

  “The loss of Devlin’s money only means I’ll have to try something different. And you’ll be fine on skates. We have to give Reese the motivation to open up her outfitting shop. She’s got to try out the best equipment. This way, we can help motivate her and get exercise.”

  “Or we can keep the medical clinic in business with our broken limbs.”

  “We’ll have fun. If everything in that store isn’t planned for the next ten years, she’ll never get started. It’s our duty to skate. And ski. And whatever else Reese needs to convince herself it’s a foolproof plan.”

  “I don’t understand why Reese has to be so athletic and organized. Can’t she open up a nicely stocked soap store? She’s clean too.”

  “That gets in the way of my business,” Julia said.

  “Maybe you don’t have to start the spa as large as you planned. Just rent a little room somewhere and do facials and makeup to begin with?”

  “That’s a good idea, Shelby. Maybe I set my sights too high. The way Devlin looked at me at the end of the day was enough to make me question the whole plan.”

  Shelby put t
he dog down on the pathway. Penelope picked up her paws anxiously in a strange circle of movement.

  “Penelope doesn’t like the way the path feels on her paws.”

  “If you get that dog shoes, I’m not exercising with you.”

  “She has snow boots for the winters.”

  “Of course she does. I draw the line at flip-flops.” Julia laughed. “There’s Reese.” She raised her hand. “Over here!”

  Reese approached them with a giant plastic box on wheels trailing her. Her blond ponytail bounced with each step.

  Petite and athletic, Reese Mackenzie really required a more active power-exercising group, with more energy and fewer words, but socially the women all fit together like a well-cut puzzle.

  Reese gnawed on her thumbnail as she approached. She set the box to rights and grinned. “They’re all here. The best brands of in-line skates on the market. We only need to decide which two my potential store will carry.” She opened the top of the box and pulled out four pairs of skates. “There are knee guards and wrist guards too.”

  “What if I fall on my dog?” Shelby asked. “What’s going to protect her from me? Did anyone see that MythBusters where the frozen turkey fell and killed a dog? They proved it.

  Imagine what I could do to Penelope!”

  “You’re not going to fall. We’ll go slow,” Reese said.

  Shelby pointed out Penelope’s new outfit. The dog’s rhinestone collar glittered in the morning sunlight. “I think we should just walk. We’ve got a lot to talk about, after all.

  Julia’s boss was here yesterday. We have to hear about the spa.”

  Reese sighed. “It will take less effort to skate than run. We can talk fine while we skate briskly. What we’re looking for is a smooth, quiet ride.”

  “Maybe you can ride smoothly. For the rest of us, that remains to be seen.” Shelby looked down at the dog again.

  “How briskly?”

  Natalie appeared on the path. “We ready?” She looked at the skates. “Hmm. Not much to those, is there?”

  “You’ll be fine,” Reese said. “Let’s buckle up.” She pointed to the bench and pulled out a pair of skates and pads for each of her friends. “You want to make sure they’re tight enough so that your balance isn’t thrown off,” Reese said. “We need to move fast enough to see which brand works best, since this is where most of my potential customers will skate—along the river walk.”

  “I feel old,” Natalie said. “I’m a mother. There’s something inherently wrong about a mother putting on roller skates.”

  “In-line skates,” Reese corrected. “Come on, we’re not going to Sawyer’s wedding with any extra weight.”

  “Reese, you haven’t an ounce of body fat on you. You’re not going anywhere with any ‘extra weight.’ Don’t rub it in.”

  Natalie changed the subject. “You girls aren’t going to believe what a jerk that guy from New York was. Did Julia tell you?

  Honestly, if I weren’t a Christian woman, I might have lobbed one of yesterday’s muffins at the back of his head.”

  The girls giggled. “Does that mean he’s not investing in Smitten’s spa, Julia?” Reese asked.

  “We wouldn’t want his money even if he was willing,”

  Natalie continued. “I’m telling you, girls, I’m surprised he wasn’t run out on a rail. He nearly was, and not by me!”

  “Oooh, gossip. What did you do, Julia?”

  “Not Julia. Zak Grant! He came to Julia’s rescue just like in an old John Wayne movie.”

  “Oh, Natalie, he did not. Honestly, I wish I could see the world the way you do.”

  “Zak?” Reese smiled. “I always thought he had a thing for you, Julia. Was he jealous, Nat?”

  “He looked like it. He came to the coffee shop, and he and the New York guy had words outside. Then Zak pushed him into his truck and took him to the airport. He didn’t even let Julia say good-bye!”

  “Oooh, words,” Shelby said. “Did Zak look angry?”

  “He was facing away from me, but I’ll tell you what, that Devlin character looked intimidated. He may be hot stuff in New York City, but in Smitten he’s just a wee little man. No competition for our loggers.”

  “Who wouldn’t be intimidated by Zak? He could beat down half of Smitten!” Shelby said, and they all looked at her to see if she’d really said that.

  “That’s not the way it was at all,” Julia said. “Natalie loves life in this small town because of the great drama she imagines going on.”

  “I forgot the best part,” Natalie said, undeterred. “Zak offered to invest in Julia’s business himself, but get this: both men wanted to put the spa in the Smitten Grill.”

  “Eww!” Reese said. “That makes me want to take a shower right now.”

  “See?” Shelby said. “A soap shop. Far more realistic than an outfitters store. And it would be a lot easier on my body.”

  “Relax, all of you. It’s not going to happen,” Julia said.

  “Neither guy gets what we want to do with Smitten. Shelby had a good idea that maybe I should start smaller. You know, not bring in all the equipment and ambience just yet. Maybe just one facial chair and product. That way I can save up and get an employee so that by the time Sawyer’s wedding happens we can do the couples’ massages.”

  “Doesn’t sound like much of a spa,” Reese said. “Sounds more like a bad slumber party.”

  “Which is the type of spa I can afford to back on my own at the moment. If we hope to get this romance destination spot off the ground, I need to get cracking.”

  “So take Zak’s money,” Natalie said in her drill sergeant tone. “Duh.”

  “I’m not taking Zak’s money.”

  “He said he’d help her,” Natalie said to enlist the support of Reese and Shelby. “He wouldn’t offer it if he didn’t have it and wasn’t willing to lend it to you. Zak’s not stupid. He must believe in it even a little to offer you the money.”

  “He might,” Shelby said. “He’s got a good heart. I personally think he’s always had a thing for Julia, but he laid off because of Greg.”

  “Oh, Shelby, you think the Grinch has a good heart!”

  Natalie snapped.

  “Well, he did at the end. Remember? Fah who for-aze, Fah who for-aze . . .”

  Julia groaned. “Forget about Zak! I’m not taking his money! Help me think! We’re on a deadline here, and Zak is not the answer.”

  They started slowly on their skates. Reese took Penelope’s leash until Shelby found her footing.

  “I feel ridiculous with this dog. Can we go faster? I need to get a workout,” Reese said.

  “You can go faster. Penelope and the rest of us are going as fast as we can,” Shelby said.

  “Then can I pick her up?” Reese asked.

  “What kind of walk would that be for my baby?”

  Reese sighed and skated ahead, forcing the dog to run.

  “I’m thinking for you, Julia! Just trying to get a workout and see if these in-line skates will work for the shop!”

  “So does this mean I’m at square one?”

  “It means you need to swallow your pride and call Zak.

  We’re all doing our part to make this happen, so call him and do your part,” Natalie said. “Is there anything besides pride that’s keeping you from taking the money?”

  “Well, there’s that and the idea of cleaning that disgusting grill. What if I fail? What if I can’t make the spa work, and I’m indebted to Zak Grant?”

  Natalie raised her eyebrows as she skirted along the path.

  “I can think of worse people to be indebted to. Maybe he’d take payment in massages.”

  “That just sounds wrong, Natalie,” Shelby said.

  “Well, then you’ll have to answer to Zak Grant, and I would think that would be reason enough to succeed. Provide the motivation, if you will,” Reese said.

  “That’s encouraging,” Julia answered.

  “It’s supposed to be,” Natal
ie said. “Zak’s not your enemy.

  And he’s not your father. You can’t be afraid of every man on the planet, Julia. If you trust yourself and your own abilities, you have no reason to. For one thing, I can’t for a minute see Zak in an armchair like your dad. The man never sits down.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Phil.”

  “I think she’s only saying that Zak would try to help you. I don’t think he’d try to control you like that former boss of yours.

  If Natalie says she wanted to hit him with a muffin, I have to believe he’s worse than all the men in Smitten.” Shelby skated faster and chastised Reese. “Give me my baby back. You’re practically dragging her!” Shelby picked up her dog and cuddled her close while they moved slowly along the river walk.

  “I should just go back to New York and find another job in a spa,” Julia said.

  “And leave us? And all this?” Reese raised her arms to the blue summer sky and skated backward as she spoke.

  Reese was right. Julia couldn’t bear to be alone amid so many people again. She had missed her family. Her friends.

  She felt at peace in Smitten, and she had to find a way to make her life here work. Faith. She knew it rested on faith, but fear kept pushing it away.

  As she watched Reese get smaller in the distance, she wondered if it was fair for her friend to assess a pair of skates worn by the rest of them. Clearly, they had no athletic prowess compared to Reese. Julia looked at Natalie, brimming with confidence and success. Her life was full now, with Carson’s and Mia’s love. And Shelby, so full of lollipop thoughts that nothing dared harm her . . . Shelby had been through so much and still stood tall. Julia felt weak by comparison. She wondered if she had the faith necessary to stay in Smitten.

  Maybe she wasn’t that kind of believer. New York might be the best thing for her because the city asked so little of her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Tuesday morning the sun hoisted itself high and bright in the sky. Nearly a week had passed, and Devlin Stovich had yet to return one of Julia’s many phone calls. It was like a seventh-grade Sadie Hawkins dance all over again, only this time she instinctively understood male rejection. The truth that she may have misjudged Devlin’s character wounded her to the core. She would have testified for him in a court of law. She had to find out exactly what Zak had learned about him. Regardless of his answer, New York would only be an option if she found another spa to work in. And without Devlin’s recommendation, she wondered if that was even possible.