Coming Home (Snowy Ridge: Love at Starlight, Book 1)

by Kris Jett

  “Jessie, it’s me,” Wynn called from the other side of the door.

  Jessie crossed the room and yanked open the door.

  “Can I come in?” Wynn asked.

  She nodded and Wynn walked past her and Jessie shut the door.

  Wynn walked around the office, running her fingers over knick-knacks and pausing to pick up a picture of the three sisters with their arms tossed around each other’s shoulders. It was taken sometime before they hit their teens. “I’ve always loved Mom’s office,” Wynn announced, still staring at the picture.

  “What’s up, Wynn?” Jessie said, getting to the point. “I’m trying to lower my blood pressure so I can get back out there and work lunch.”

  Wynn set the frame back down in its place and looked at her sister. “I know what Luci did was really stupid and she stepped completely out of her place. You are 150% right, Jessie. I totally get that you’re angry.”

  Jessie’s eyebrows shot up. “But? I know there’s a ‘but’ coming Wynn and I really don’t want to hear it. No more excusing Luci’s behavior or laughing it off and saying that’s just how she is.”

  “I’m not excusing…”

  “Angry?” Jessie interrupted. Her pulse pounded once again. “I’m not just angry, Wynn. I’m so over Luci and her crap. We’re so completely done and there’s no coming back from it. She can stay with Mom if that’s what Mom wants her to do but I want Luci out of my pub. And out of my life. I’m through putting up with anymore of her antics.”

  “Now hold on,” Wynn said, moving toward Jessie. “Yes, Luci has really crappy judgement sometimes but I don’t think she meant to hurt you.”

  Jessie was flabbergasted. “What? She excels in hurting me. She holds the frickin’ Olympic gold medal in causing me pain.”

  Wynn sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand. “You two have a complicated history, I get that.”

  “Ha!” Jessie interrupted. She crossed her arms and angrily slumped down in the chair behind the desk.

  “But she thought she was helping, Jessie. She was just trying to do…something.”

  “How does taking away our income help anyone?” Jessie asked.

  “I know, I know,” Wynn said. “I told you I agree, her judgement sucks. But she was just trying to find a way to help out. We’re all kind of reeling since finding out Mom’s diagnosis. Luci thought this would make things easier on Mom. I think she realizes now that it was an awful idea.”

  Jessie stared at her sister but didn’t say anything.

  “You should have seen her face when you screamed at her and left,” Wynn continued. “She didn’t think out her actions well enough. I don’t think she thought you’d be mad until right then when she saw your face. She’s devastated right now thinking you hate her.”

  “Good. She should be.” Jessie mumbled.

  “Come on,” Wynn urged. “Nothing bad came of it. We sent Evan Monroe on his way and told him we weren’t interested in selling. You and Luci were coming along so great. Don’t let this one misstep throw everything you two have worked on in your relationship out the door.”

  Jessie sighed heavily but didn’t say anything. Wynn didn’t get it. Her and Luci never had the kind of problems that she and Luci had.

  Wynn waited a few moments and then spoke again. “Well, just think about it anyway. The three of us need each other, Jessie. We need to help Mom right now and keep the pub going. We need to lean on one another for support. Not go our separate ways.”

  Jessie turned away and stared out the small window. She could see a mom helping a little boy learn how to ice skate on the frozen pond in the distance.

  Wynn sighed. “All right. I’m going to get back to work then.”

  “Be there in a few,” Jessie responded. She didn’t look up until she heard the door close behind Wynn.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Cade couldn’t wait for the work day to be over. Soon as they flipped the closed sign he was headed straight over to Starlight to see Jessie. She was all he could think about all day long.

  He pulled into the Starlight Pub parking lot and noticed it wasn’t too full. Only six or seven cars were there. He’d hoped that meant Jessie could spend a little time with him. He’d order a beer or something and sit at the bar.

  He walked into the pub and Jessie was at the cash register looking really stressed as she finished ringing up a bill. When she saw him come in her face lit up.

  “Cade,” she said warmly, tossing the receipts on the counter and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I’m so glad you stopped in.”

  “Am I bothering you?” he asked, though he didn’t really think he was. True, she looked a bit frazzled but seemed genuinely pleased to see him.

  “God, no,” she said, shaking her head. “Please, bother me. I need all of the distraction I can get. It’s been an awful day.” Her smiled returned. “But it just got a thousand times better now that you’re here. Can I get you something to eat? To drink?”

  “No, I’m fine. Really.” Cade gave her a concerned look. “I’m sorry it’s been so rough. How much longer do you have to stay? Can I take you out to eat somewhere else? Give you a break?”

  Jessie glanced around the room. “I wish.”

  Just then her sister Wynn joined them. “Take her, please,” she said with a smile.

  “I can’t leave you with all the clean up,” Jessie protested.

  “You’re not,” Wynn returned. “Luci and Linda are here too. You need to get away. Really, I don’t mind.”

  Jessie looked between Wynn and Cade. “Well, if you really don’t mind,” she said, already removing her apron and walking toward the office.

  “Have fun you two,” Wynn called.

  Cade followed Jessie to her office to retrieve her bag and a few moments later they were in his truck. He started the engine and looked over at her. She leaned her head against the window with her eyes closed.

  “That bad?” he asked.

  Jessie turned to face him. “Well, if you consider my sister tried to sell my pub without telling me, yeah, not the greatest day ever.”

  “What?” he said alarmed.

  Jessie unloaded the whole story on him from start to end, including how everyone in her family expected her and Luci to have this great sisterly love when she didn’t think she’d ever trust her again let alone tolerate her presence. When she was done talking he could see her expression was even sadder than when she first got in the truck.

  “Is something else wrong?” Cade asked.

  “It’s just, I’m sorry I’m dumping all of this on you. You don’t need to hear my family drama. You didn’t come over here for this.”

  “I did too,” he said. “I came to see you. And you shouldn’t feel bad for talking to me. You can tell me anything, anytime, anywhere, and I’ll always listen. Promise.”

  “Really?” she said.

  “Really. I have such a great time being with you, Jessie. And I don’t just mean…well, everything. When I’m with you I don’t want the time to end and when I’m not with you I’m counting the minutes until I can see you again. I thought about you all day today.”

  Jessie’s cheeks pinked a bit and she scooted across the seat and snuggled into Cade. “I thought about you all day today too. Except for the times I wanted to kill, Luci.”

  He was so relieved to hear she’d been thinking about him too. He’d never felt so strongly, so quickly, for someone and sometimes he felt like he was saying too much. Like he should play it cool and aloof. But then he thought the hell with it, he was just going to be honest.

  “Let’s turn this day around for you. I know a great place we can go for dinner if you’re up to it.”

  “Definitely,” she replied. “Let’s go.”

  Cade put the truck in reverse and pulled out of the Starlight parking lot and onto Main. Twenty minutes later he pulled up outside a small Italian place called, Isabella’s. It was in a red brick building with large green shutters. When you entered, ther
e was soft Italian music playing, flowers in decorative vases, and taper candles burning in old wine bottles on every table. It was definitely the kind of place couples went and everyone there looked like they were in deep conversations with each other. He’d heard the food was amazing and had wanted to try it.

  Cade spoke to the maître d’ and then took Jessie’s hand as they followed him to their table. They were in a small, high back booth and it felt like they were all alone in the restaurant. He took Jessie’s coat and she slid into the booth. He could see the lines that were creasing her forehead relax and he was glad. She looked beautiful in the candle light and he didn’t want her to worry about anything or anyone else tonight. He just wanted them to enjoy their time together.

  Their waiter came by and asked if they wanted drinks. Jessie said she felt like red wine so Cade ordered a bottle for them to share. While they waited for their drinks he took both of Jessie’s hands in his and smiled as he gazed into her eyes. Jessie was telling him a story about the time she and her sisters had snuck out of their house for a party in Wynn’s friend’s barn and how her dad had torn into the party and dragged them all out. Jessie had only been fourteen at the time and had drunk her weight in tropical wine coolers and then puked it all up on Luci’s bed.

  “You’re such a good listener,” Jessie said once she finished her story.

  “I like listening to you,” Cade replied.

  “Not so much the day we met. Remember?” she teased. “I asked you to fake being my boyfriend so I could dodge Jason and when I gave you the background on why I was dodging him you told me you were no Dr. Phil.”

  Cade laughed. “I was being a jerk. An angry jerk. I felt like I was forced to come to this dinky, no action town, and that my life was over. I had no idea that it was just beginning.”

  Jessie blinked rapidly and her eyes looked teary. She got out of her side of the booth, slid in next to Cade on his side, and kissed him hard.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  It was amazing how much Cade could help Jessie forget about her problems. She’d spent the last two evenings with him, first the magical sleigh ride followed by the mind-blowing sex, and then last night with the cozy dinner where they drank red wine, ate pasta until she’d thought she’d burst, and talked for hours. Well, she’d talked. Cade listened. She hadn’t realized just how much she had been bottling up and how good it felt to confide in him.

  And you’d think with them having already been intimate with one another that Cade would have pushed to spend the night with her last night at her apartment when he dropped her off. But he didn’t. He did come in at her urging but only stayed long enough to tuck her in. He could see how emotionally drained she was from the day’s events and insisted she get on her comfiest pajamas and get in bed. He pulled her warm comforter around her and kissed her goodnight before scratching Joplin on the head and letting himself out of her place. Jessie drifted off that night feeling calm, warm, and loved. Neither had actually said the “L” word, of course, but Jessie felt it. For the first time in a long, long time she actually felt like Cade could be “the one.”

  Of course, now that she was back at work and Luci was merely fifteen feet away from her taking a customer’s order Jessie felt like her anxiety level was skyrocketing to new levels. She was painstakingly avoiding any and all contact with Luci and if she did need something from her, she told Anne or Linda, and they spoke with Luci. Jessie felt Luci’s stares all morning and it aggravated her to no end. It was only because of their mother that Jessie didn’t personally throw Luci out of the pub and ban her from ever stepping foot in it again.

  Jessie had stopped by her mom’s that morning to check in on her and bring her hot tea and her mom had already heard the entire story. From Luci’s point-of-view of course. Her mom took an approach similar to Wynn’s with a “Luci is Luci” talk and Jessie gritted her teeth and just nodded. She wasn’t going to upset her mother with their drama. And she wasn’t about to look like the bad guy either. She’d told her mom she wasn’t angry, assured her that things would be just fine between the sisters, and kissed her on the forehead before she’d left. But when she’d reached her car she’d sworn to herself again that she’d never forgive Luci. She would never give Luci another chance to cause her pain.

  Jessie was bussing the table a family of four had just occupied and looked down at the tip they’d left under the salt shaker. It was a twenty-dollar bill with a note saying “smile!” and a smiley face drawn next to it. Jessie frowned. The big tip was nice but she must be looking pretty crabby if the customers are urging her to perk up.

  “Jess?” Wynn interrupted her thoughts.

  Jessie crammed the bill in her pocket and looked up. “Mmmhmm?”

  “Listen, we can handle the lunch shift. Why don’t you get out of here for a while? Maybe take Melody with you? She’ll brighten your mood fast.”

  Melody was hanging out in the kitchen again with a Mickey Mouse playset. Wynn didn’t want to leave her with their mom while she should be resting.

  “Is my mood that obvious?”

  “Well…” Wynn glanced around the room.

  Jessie’s eyes followed and she noticed there were a few customers watching her. “Guess I’m making people uncomfortable, huh?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about them,” Wynn said, brushing it off.

  “Can I take Melody to play in the snow over in front of the town center? Near the clock?”

  Wynn’s eyes brightened. “She’d love that! Make sure you grab her snowsuit, hat, and mittens.”

  Jessie headed back to gather her niece and paused to send Cade a quick text. He’d said he was taking a day off and hanging around his apartment.

  Feel like building a snowman with a couple of cute chicks? Meet us under the clock in ten minutes. :-)

  Twenty minutes later Jessie, Melody, and Cade were laughing and rolling a giant ball for the base of their snowman.

  “No man, no man,” Melody sung as she smacked the ball with her mittened hands.

  “Yep, gonna be a good-looking snowman too, Melody,” Jessie told her.

  “What are we going to do for a face?” Cade asked.

  Jessie looked around. “Hmm. Good question.” She spotted some rocks peeking from a snow-covered flower bed around a light post and jogged over to retrieve them.

  Cade found a couple of branches for hands and was holding Melody up to let her put them in the snowman.

  Jessie was headed back toward the two when she got a wicked idea. She bent down, gathered up some snow in her hands and laughed as she pelted Cade’s back with a snowball.

  “Oh, it’s like that huh?” Cade said, as he set Melody back down and begun to form his own snowball.

  Jessie ran toward Melody and scooped her up. “Don’t you dare!” she yelled. “I have a baby in my arms.”

  “That is so not fair!” Cade said. “No hiding behind small children. You take your snowball like a woman.”

  Jessie bent down and scooped up some snow, forming it into a ball while still holding Melody. She whispered in Melody’s ear and handed her the ball and then charged toward Cade. When she was about a foot away from him Melody threw the ball at his face and proudly yelled, “Ball!”

  Cade faked that he was hurt and fell backward into the snow, clutching his face. Which sent both Melody and Jessie into a fit of giggles. Cade lay still just for a moment before he swung his arms up and down and his legs side-to-side, making a snow angel.

  “See Melody? Cade’s okay.”

  “Me, me, me!” Melody said, squirming to get down. Jessie set her on the snow next to Cade and let her make her own snow angel.

  She was happily watching the two make their angels when she heard someone screaming her name from the distance. She looked around and saw Wynn run fast toward them. Cade jumped to his feet and Jessie picked up Melody.

  “What’s wrong?” she called.

  Wynn just kept running. When she reached them she clutched her stomach, breathing hard.
>
  “Mommy!” Melody said cheerfully.

  “Wynn, what’s wrong?” Jessie repeated.

  Wynn held out her phone to Jessie. There was a text. It said:

  You have awfully good coloring for a dead person. Tell your sister to tighten the baby’s scarf. We don’t want her getting sick.

  Jessie let out whoosh of breath. “Impossible,” she whispered. She read the text again and then handed the phone to Cade.

  Wynn picked up Melody and hugged her close to her. Her eyes darted around the area, searching.

  “What is this?” Cade asked. “I don’t understand.”

  Jessie slowly spun in a circle, also searching. Where was he hiding? Was he in a building? A car? “Where are you?” she screamed. “Show yourself.”

  “Jessie, no,” Wynn pleaded.

  “We have to deal with him,” Jessie returned.

  “What’s going on?” Cade asked again.

  “Wynn’s being stalked. That’s why she came home,” Jessie filled him in quickly. “He’s watching us now.”

  Jessie could see Cade’s throat muscles tighten and his eyes turn dark as he also scanned the town center, looking for Billy.

  Wynn gasped and held Melody even tighter. Jessie followed Wynn’s gaze and spun around. A man, average build, with short cropped dark hair and wearing a dark blue heavy flannel work coat was walking slowly toward them, his hands jammed in his pocket.

  “I’ve seen him before,” Cade said.

  “What?” Jessie asked.

  “He was hanging around my shop the other day acting strange, like he was watching me. Real jumpy. I thought he’d followed me there. I saw him hanging outside your apartment earlier that day, Jessie. When I approached him, he freaked out and bolted from the store.”

  “Oh my God,” Wynn whispered.

  Billy kept making his way toward them.

  “So he’s been watching us for a while then,” Jessie concluded. “Bastard.”

  Cade stepped a few feet in front of Wynn and Melody and balled his fists. A few moments later Bill was in front of them.