by Rachel Hanna
It wasn't their fault, of course. He was so happy for all of them, but he wanted something more for himself. Maybe he had been shortsighted by spending all this time at work. In essence, he was putting his head in the sand. Now in his late thirties, he feared that the woman of his dreams had already found someone else. If he believed in the idea of soul mates, maybe his soul mate had already moved on because he had taken so long to come to his senses.
"So are you still dating that hot Italian model?" his brother Brad asked him. Brad had arrived late to the party, but that was customary for his younger brother. He was never on time for anything which was probably why he was a contractor. Weren't they always behind on something?
"No, that ended recently. I couldn't stand her whining anymore." Jackson was aware that the room got quieter as the women glared at him. "Seriously, ladies, she whined about something all the time. She was a model, and not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer." Finally, the women started to laugh and he felt redeemed.
"Still, I wish you would settle down with someone. I worry about you being all alone up there in Atlanta," Adele said. He could tell that she was worried about him, and that was why he loved his mother so much. She truly cared about the happiness of all of her children.
"I'm fine, mother. I'm busy with my work most of the time anyway, so I don't really have a lot of time for a serious relationship right now." Jackson patted his mother's leg, but he knew she could see right through him. Yes, he was busy with work but only by choice. He had a staff of people who could do a lot of what he did every day, but it was his outlet. His escape from a life that he didn't think he would be living at this stage.
At this time of his life, he expected to be where a lot of his friends were; married, kids, family vacations, and tossing the football in the front yard with their sons. Instead, he was up to his elbows in real estate contracts most of the time with the occasional date with a woman of no real substance.
The crazy thing was that he knew a lot of men would be happy with his life. He had a great company, plenty of money and good looks. He could get women any time he wanted, but that wasn't enough for him anymore. Coming home had only driven that point even harder into his brain. He wanted to be in love like his brothers were, and the fact made him irritated with himself. He wished that he could just block it all out and not care about falling in love with some woman who was going to likely tear his world apart.
Chapter 3
Rebecca Evans opened her coffee shop the morning before Thanksgiving just like any other day. A lot of businesses in town had already closed for the holiday, but she couldn't afford to do that. Every penny counted when it came to raising her son and keeping them afloat in their tiny apartment above the coffee shop.
She was surprised when the doorbell dinged letting her know that her first customer of the day had arrived. It was her new friend, Kyle Parker, and she was happy to see him. He had given her hope that maybe living in January Cove would be the thing that turned her and her son's lives around.
"Good morning, Rebecca!" he said.
"Good morning. I'm surprised to see you here on the day before Thanksgiving. It seems like January Cove is a ghost town today," she said walking up to the cash register.
"Yeah, people tend to close down early during the week of Thanksgiving. That's why I was glad to see you open because I definitely need a cup of coffee this morning."
"Late night last night?" she asked cocking an eyebrow upward.
"Yes, but not for the reasons you think. My girlfriend and I were at my mother's house with most of my siblings, and we tend to stay up until the wee hours of the morning laughing and talking." Rebecca felt sad inside for a moment that she didn't have a family like that to lean on. All she had was her son and her elderly aunt Mary who lived up north.
"That sounds like a lot of fun. I don't have any siblings or any family really, so I can't imagine what that must be like. How many brothers and sisters do you have?"
"One sister and three brothers. It can get pretty rowdy pretty fast," he said with a laugh. "My sister wasn't there, but my girlfriend and my brother's girlfriend were there, so that more than made up for it."
"So what can I get for you? Black coffee?" He nodded and she started making moves to get his beverage. Kyle stared at her for moment, and she turned around to find him looking at her intently. "What?" she asked with a slight smile on her face.
"What are you and your son doing for Thanksgiving?"
"Well, we are going to make some sandwiches and maybe sit on the beach." She tried not to make eye contact with him because she didn't want anyone taking pity on her and her son.
"Oh no you're not."
"Excuse me?" she said as she rang in his drink order and took his money.
"The Parker family is not about to allow our newest January Cove resident and her son to miss out on a huge family Thanksgiving."
"Listen, Kyle, I appreciate it but…"
"I won't take no for an answer. Just ask my girlfriend. I always end up getting what I want, so it's better that you don't argue with me. Besides, my mother always makes way more food than she needs to. It's like she's feeding an army."
"I don't want to impose…"
Kyle leaned into the counter and stared into her eyes. "Rebecca, this is your new start. You're going to need support in this community, so please accept my invitation. Lunch is at noon tomorrow. Here's the address," he said writing it down on a Jolt napkin.
"Thank you. We will gladly accept your invitation." She smiled at him and put the address in the pocket of her apron. "Is there anything I can bring?"
"Nope. Everything is taken care of. Consider it a nice vacation from working for a day."
With that, Kyle waved and headed back out onto the sidewalk leaving Rebecca standing there wondering how her son would react to going to Thanksgiving dinner with a huge family he'd never met before. She could only pray that he behaved himself and didn't make her look like the world's worst mother.
While the women were busy preparing the rest of Thanksgiving dinner for the next day, Jackson decided to take a walk around his old stomping grounds. He'd already been to the pier, but then he remembered that there was that new coffee shop in town. If there was one thing Jackson loved, it was a good cup of coffee.
He figured the place would probably be closed as it was the day before Thanksgiving, but he decided to give it a try. Maybe they had sandwiches or something he could eat for lunch as he was starting to get very hungry. He would have gone back home to eat, but the women had made it very clear to stay out of the kitchen or risk death by spatula.
Kyle had taken Kaitlyn out to fly her kite, and although he invited Jackson to come along, he just didn't feel like it today. He wanted to be alone and with his thoughts, which was probably a big mistake in the first place. Aaron was at the campground finishing up some last minute business before heading back over to their mother's house for Thanksgiving tomorrow. Of course, Jenna and Tessa were busy helping his mother get the food prepared. And who knew what Brad was up to.
Left on his own, Jackson strolled up Main Street looking in the windows of all of the businesses he had seen since he was a child. The hardware store was still there and looked much like it did thirty years ago. The ice cream shop had changed names, but it didn't look any different inside. They still had a real soda fountain which was something you just didn't see anymore.
The ringing of his cell phone stopped him in his tracks as he strolled down memory lane, literally.
"Hello?"
"Jackson?"
"This is he. Who am I speaking with?"
"This is John Marshall. I'm the attorney in charge of the shopping center development over on Riverside."
"Oh, yes. How can I help you Mr. Marshall? I would think that you wouldn't be working as it's the day before Thanksgiving."
"Well, sometimes business matters take precedence, as I'm sure you know. I'm just calling to let you know that this deal is falling apart. So
me of the permits aren't in order, and we're having zoning issues."
Jackson took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair, a sign of stress in the Parker family. "What? I thought everything was in order when I left town. I spoke to Susan, and she said that we were all clear on the zoning issues."
"Well, Susan isn't an attorney, now is she? She was wrong. We have some outstanding zoning issues, the appraisal still hasn't been completed, and we are having all kinds of issues with neighbors complaining to the City Council."
"So what do you want me to do?" Jackson asked exasperated.
"There's nothing we can do during the holiday, but come Monday morning we either need to tie up these issues or the client is planning on walking away. I just wanted to let you know so that you could be mulling over any ideas."
Jackson hung up from his call with stress seeping from his pores. He felt like the wind had been sucked out of him because the Riverside deal was huge. The commission alone on the deal would carry him for months, if not pay for a full year of living expenses. He was counting on that, and the stress was getting to him. It wasn't like he didn't have other deals in the works that would support him, but he didn't want to lose the biggest one.
As he rounded the corner, he noticed that the new coffee shop, aptly named Jolt, was open. If there was one thing he needed right now, it was a nice cup of coffee. He pulled the door which activated a bell letting the employees know that he was there. However, no one came immediately. He stood there for a moment, hands in his pockets, looking around the place. It looked pretty different than the last time he'd been there when it was owned by someone else.
The countertops had been replaced, and the light fixtures looked new. It looked like the tables were the same, but there was some new artwork on the walls. It appeared that the new owner was trying to make the place more contemporary, more modern. He noticed a small stage in the corner where it appeared that musicians must set up to play.
As Jackson walked further into the coffee shop, he noticed a teenage boy sitting in a chair behind the register listening to his iPod with headphones in his ears. Jackson stood there for a moment staring at the boy who was either ignoring him or not noticing him at all. His head was bopping to the music as he played some kind of game on the iPod.
"Hello?" Jackson called. "Hello?" he said louder while standing in front of the boy.
The boy seemed to either be ignoring him or deeply engrossed in the music he was listening to.
Jackson started waving his hands to get the boy's attention, and he finally looked up. He had shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes, and he looked completely irritated that Jackson had interrupted his music. He finally popped out one of his earphones and looked at Jackson without standing up.
"Yeah?" the boy said. If there was one thing Jackson hated, it was a smart mouthed teenager. Having helped to raise his four siblings, he had been through that more times than he could count. Eye rolling, sighs and just general disrespect drove him up the wall. It was one of the reasons why he hadn't had his own children yet.
"Do you work here? Jackson asked in an irritated tone. He'd had a hard enough morning without listening to this kid give him attitude.
"Not really. My mom owns this place, but she's upstairs on a phone call."
"Well can you take my order then?" Jackson asked running his fingers through his hair. He was quickly losing patience with this kid.
"I guess," the boy said with a sigh as he took his headphones out and set them on the shelf behind him. Slowly, he stood up and made his way to the cash register as if Jackson was putting him out.
"What do you want?" he asked smacking on his piece of gum.
Jackson held his tongue because he wanted to say quite a few things, but he decided against it. After all, this kid was young and obviously not very bright if he was talking to an adult that way.
"I'll have a no foam latte with soy milk and a dash of cinnamon on top." The boy looked at Jackson and then started laughing. "Can I ask what you're laughing at?" Jackson said with his steely eyes focused on the boy.
"Yeah. It's kind of a girly drink, don't you think?" Jackson couldn't believe the gall that this kid had. No respect for authority at all.
"I don't think it's your job to tell me what kind of drink I should have. Why don't you just ring it up and take my money, kid?" Jackson said leaning into the counter. Just then, a woman with curly red hair came down the stairs and walked up behind the boy. Jackson's first thought was how beautiful she was, but right now she looked pretty irritated.
"Is there some kind of problem?" she asked with her arms crossed.
"Actually, there is. Your cashier here has been very rude to me and I don't appreciate it."
"Rude? What has he said to you?" she asked cocking her hip out and continuing to keep her arms crossed.
"Well, for one thing he had his headphones on and completely ignored me when I came in." Jackson wasn't sure why he was complaining to this woman in the coffee shop, but he was frustrated and irritated and probably taking a little bit of that out on her.
"Well, he doesn't officially work here. This is my fourteen-year-old son," she said still keeping her arms crossed. Something about her was alluring but Jackson couldn't quite put his finger on it. He loved her curly red hair, but her attitude seemed to match her son's.
"Then I guess you shouldn't leave him down here to take care of your business. I assumed you were open and ready to take my order when I walked in," Jackson said crossing his arms to match her stance. Suddenly he felt like he was in some kind of a standoff with this perfect stranger. "He also made fun of my drink order and told me it was girly."
The woman leaned down and looked at the register tape and then giggled under her breath. "Well…" she said with a sly smile.
"What? You're laughing at my drink order too? What kind of business are you running, lady?" Jackson snapped. The look on her face changed from playful to angry very quickly.
"Sir, I really don't appreciate you coming in here and snipping at my son or me. I don't need customers like you." She stood firm with her arms still crossed and stared him in the eye. Jackson couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was one of the Parker family, the most well-known and respected family in town. Who was this woman running a tiny coffee shop to tell him that he wasn't a valued customer? And was that a Northern accent he heard?
"Well, then, I'll take my business elsewhere." Jackson said before turning around and walking toward the door. "And let me give you a little piece of advice since you seem to be new to January Cove. People don't like it when you don't offer good customer service. This is a small town and word gets around quickly. Good luck to you, ma'am," he said with a wry smile before walking out the door.
Rebecca turned around and glared at her son. "Leo, what have you done? I can't afford to let my name be mud in this town. This business is the only thing we have to support us. Were you rude to that man?"
"No, mom," Leo sighed. "I was just listening to my music and that guy had an attitude."
"Leo, seriously, you have to be alert when you're watching the register for me. If I hadn't come down here, that guy might've gotten irate with you. You have to be more responsible." She ran her fingers through her curly hair and sighed. Raising a teenage son by herself was proving to be harder than she would have ever imagined.
It didn't help that she had an attitude with the guy too. The reason she had been upstairs on the phone was because one of her friends had called from New York. Worried about Rebecca, she was trying to talk to her about coming home. Talking to her friend only reminded her of what she'd lost over the last decade.
Janine was her oldest friend in the world. They'd known each other since kindergarten and had gone through every life challenge together. But when the unthinkable happened to Rebecca twelve years ago, she just couldn't stay in the area anymore. She and her son needed a fresh start, although Leo was making it a lot harder than it needed to be. Sometimes she felt a little resentful t
o her son because he didn't really know what he had lost. He was far too young when his father died, but Rebecca sure remembered her late husband. She was sorry that Leo never got to know him, but she couldn't understand how the absence of a man he never knew affected him all these years later.
It still affected her. Every so often she would go through an old box and smell his cologne. Or she would see his favorite movie or hear a song that they listened to together. It seemed reminders were everywhere even though she'd moved so many miles away from home.
Talking to Janine had only frustrated her more. Her old friend couldn't understand why she had to pick up and move all these years after her husband had died. Why did she do it now, Janine wanted to know. The problem was that Rebecca didn't have an answer for that. She had gone with her gut and done what she thought was best for her and her son. Janine didn't understand it, but she was accepting of it. She just wanted to see Rebecca, and Rebecca wanted to see her too.
But the reality was that Janine had a life. She had been married for over ten years, and she and her husband were very happy. They had three small children to take care of. Even though she wanted to help Rebecca, Janine had her own life to live. Rebecca didn't want to interfere with that anymore. She didn't want to ask for help from anyone. Leo was her responsibility, and she had done what she thought was the right thing.
"Rebecca, you know if you come home I will help you. I didn't realize that Leo was giving you such trouble. Dan and I are more than happy to talk to him or help him in whatever way we can…" Janine had said.
"I really appreciate that, but he is my son to raise. Janine, as much as I miss home, we needed this fresh start."
"Don't get mad at me, but is it possible you're just trying to run away from the past? I mean, have you told anyone there what happened to Tom?"
"Janine, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I haven't told anyone here because it's none of their business. It doesn't matter. I'm sick of people looking at me with pity in their eyes. I've done that for over a decade now."