“Before she found out what they were up to, she sold her share of the restaurant to her assistant.” His expression spoke volumes.
“Oh Joe. You and I have so much more to talk about than I realized. First, let me say that I’ve underestimated Molly’s importance. The progress you have made since she re-entered your life is nothing short of remarkable. And you seem determined to pursue a relationship with her against my advisement. Far be it from me to try and tell you how to feel. I only hope that you can take some advice from me. Not just for your own sake but for hers.”
The thought of hurting Molly caused my stomach to churn. Each one of her tears, every single anguished expression on her face, was like a knife in my gut. Taking a deep breathe, I nodded.
“Okay doc. Tell me what I need to do.”
It was almost unheard of for Tamryn to call me and ask for help. Even before I became the stellar human being that I was after the accident she only asked me for help a dozen or so times. So no one was more shocked than me when my cell rang and a voice resembling a troll rasped at me from the other end.
“Joe?”
“Yeah? Who is this? Mac? Is that you?” A huge bout of coughing blasted out of the phone making me pull it further from my ear. Sitting up I rubbed my face and glanced at the clock. 7:00 A.M. So much for sleeping in on a Saturday.
“Joe. It’s Tamryn. I got a cold.”
“God Tamz, you sound like shit.”
“Thanks. I hadn’t noticed. Look, I hate to ask but Robbie is out of town and I feel like death. Can you come over this weekend and help with the girls. I wouldn’t ask but...” I knew what she was going to say. She probably had already gone through her available list of hopefuls and ended up with no other choice. I wasn’t going to make her admit to it.
“No problem, sis. Just let me get a shower and grab some stuff and I will head that way.”
I had to call Molly and cancel for the weekend. She was pretty cool about it and I was grateful again at how understanding and patient she was. It was hard to imagine anyone being able to put up with my shit. But there she was and I was aware of how lucky that made me.
The weekend was much more difficult than I thought it would be. Tamryn was laid out the entire weekend by her cold. The girls went crazy having Unky Joe all to themselves and I loved having the time with them. It was bittersweet as always, but somehow I found the strength to examine my pain instead of burying it like I usually did.
Watching those beautiful, sweet girls at play tugged at my heart. A small dark part of me that I held in check roared in pain. Being with them forced me to think about Jack and how he might have been. The girls served as a living reminder of all the memories I would never have with him. We’d never go to a baseball game together. There would never be swimming lessons or forts built out of blankets.
I only got to see his face for a little while, holding him in that room. It is burned in my memory like a brand upon my soul. His delicate features: those tiny fingers: a perfect mixture of Jess and me in a little package. I saw the same thing reflected in the girls who looked equal parts Tamryn and Rob.
The first night, after I had tucked the girls in and read them a library of bedtime stories, I sat out on the back porch. The stars were easy to see this far outside of town. It’d been years since I’d sat and looked at them. The entire day came crashing down on me and I found myself close to tears.
I thought about Jessica and everything we had lost. I thought about Jack and all the things he’d never get a chance to see or do. I had a new found respect for Tamryn. Being able to keep these two little girls cared for was more of a full time job than any work I had ever done.
Strangely I mostly thought about Molly. I wondered what she was doing at that moment. I wished she could take in the clear night sky with me. The urge to call her was intense. I wanted to talk to her…to hold her…to tell her what was on my mind. I looked at my phone and saw that it was 10 p.m. Knowing she had to work early, I refrained. It took all of my self-control not to call and disturb her. I staggered off to the guest room and crashed, both physically and mentally exhausted.
The next morning the girls bounded into my room before the sun had even cleared the horizon. Thankfully, the pantry was fully stocked with cereal. Tamryn wouldn’t have appreciated me burning her house down trying to make eggs. By the time Tamryn appeared, the girls were coloring at the table and I was eating my fifth bowl of cereal.
“You do know that I have bacon and sausage in the freezer right?” She stumbled over to the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. I nodded.
“I figured you liked your house in one piece.” She looked at me and half-heartedly snorted.
“I would think that you would have learned to cook for yourself by now.” A second after she said it her smile faltered and she glanced uncomfortably at the floor. I waved my hand at her. I knew what she meant by it, and that it wasn’t said to hurt me.
“See, in the civilized world we have drive-thrus. Normal people can just jump in the car and go get hot food. They aren’t living on cereal in the wilderness.” She sat down and gave me a wry look.
“Normal people? I don’t think you would make the cut Joe. Normal people go to the store, buy ingredients and then cook it.” Something on my face made her give me a sharp look. She crossed the room, analyzing my expressions. “Okay, little brother…what the hell is going on?”
“What do you mean?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Don’t even try it. You have been acting odd lately.”
“More odd than usual?”
“Not necessarily in a bad way. But you have been different…more approachable…happier. One might even go so far as to say sociable. So what is going on?” I should have known. It was next to impossible for me to hide anything from Tamryn.
“Well, I started carving again.” A look of abject amazement replaced the look of suspicion.
“Oh Joe,” she said softly. I saw tears welling in her eyes. “When did you start?”
“A few weeks back. Nothing major. I made a spice box and some figurines.” I leaned forward with a proud smile and whispered to her. “I made the girls each a dollhouse for Christmas. I’m working on some little furnishings for them now.” The tears spilled out of her eyes and she came out of her chair and grabbed me. Hugging me hard she buried her face in my shirt.
“They’ll love them,” she said fiercely. Pulling back she stared into my eyes intently.
“I’m so glad to hear you are carving again. What made you take the plunge?”
I paused and looked away. I could tell my hesitation was going to cost me, and figured it was time to level with her anyway. Sitting back in my chair I took a drink of coffee and then blurted it out “I met someone.” I think she’d been prepared for almost anything to come out of my mouth but that. She actually looked a bit faint.
“What? Who? Where?”
“You forgot when and why.” She blinked at me then leaned across the table and punched me in the arm. Hard.
“Don’t be a smart ass. Who is she? Do I know her?”
“You remember Mac and Mason’s sister?”
Her tired eyes widened. “No. I don’t think I ever met her.”
“Oh. Well, her name’s Molly. She moved back from Seattle a while back and we ran into each other. We’ve been going out for a little while now.”
“Huh.” She continued to blink at me, as if her clogged sinuses were affecting her ability to process this news.
“Tamryn…” I began, sitting down my coffee cup and leaning forward on my elbows. “She makes me feel good. Happy.”
For a full sixty seconds she seemed stunned silent. For my sister, that’s a world record.
“JoJo…that’s all I care about.” She touched my cheek and the overwrought expression she wore almost choked me up too. “So tell me about her.”
“She’s a chef. Her food…it’s epic.”
“Really? What’s the name of her restaurant?”
I grinned and told her. She gasped and then laughed. “Wrapgasmic? That sounds something a Hildebrandt kid would come up with. Where is it at?”
“That depends on the day. It’s a food truck. She actually is opening a second one pretty soon.”
Her grin lit up the kitchen. “So she’s a talented chef, a successful small business owner, what else?”
I felt a ridiculous grin of my own spreading across my face.
“She’s my girl.” I shrugged.
Tamryn stammered for a couple of seconds. “J…JoJo. I don’t know what to say.”
“Unky Joe has a girlfriend!” Little Jamie called in a sing song voice from her spot at the table. She and Tressa burst into fits of giggles. Tamryn tried to cover a smile but she soon started in as well. I grabbed Jamie up in one arm and started tickling her.
“Oh…you think that’s funny? I’ll give you something to laugh about.’
By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, Tamryn was feeling better so after promising to bring Molly to Christmas, I hugged my nieces and headed back to my apartment. I had a lot of laundry to do and had just installed a washer and dryer in each apartment. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get laundry soap and dryer sheets. Once they were in my cart I wandered around for an hour.
What the hell do normal people buy at the store?
By the time I gave up and headed for the check out my cart contained frozen pizza, some Slim Jims, Double Stuff Oreos, and some coffee. And a new coffee pot since Molly had made fun of me for my ancient Mr. Coffee the last time she’d come over. I had remembered Molly saying she only ate fruit and yogurt when she wasn’t cooking for other people. I went back down the aisle and tossed a bag of Braeburn apples and several Greek yogurts into the cart. I’m sure it wasn’t Tamryn or Dr. Greene’s idea of great strides, but it was something.
I YAWNED AS I turned into the lot on SoCo where Sanchez had parked Wrapgasmic 2. We’d decided to take the new truck out for a test run with ‘the dream team’ before I turned it over to Dirty S. and the newbies. It was necessary to make sure we’d stocked it well, the layout worked, and everything was functioning properly.
I put the car in park and blinked tiredly at my reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Thank God it’s Friday.” I blurted to myself. I’d had considerable trouble sleeping over the past week. Draven kept texting me about realtor negotiations, and Joe had cancelled our plans for the previous weekend, adding to my apprehension about the two of us as a couple. He claimed it was because Tamryn had the flu and she needed Joe’s help with the girls. I assumed it had more to do with my outburst outside of Bourbon Girl the week before, though we’d still ended up back at his place screwing each other’s brains out that night.
It wasn’t like he was ignoring me. He called me as soon as he got back from Tamryn’s Sunday evening. After comparing schedules, we made plans to go out on Tuesday and Thursday night. He’d pick the place on Tuesday and I’d plan Thursday.
Tuesday came around and he took me to dinner at an outdoor café down the block from his place. We drank a bottle of Riesling and he pressed me for details on my time away from Texas. I explained about life at the culinary institute and how cut throat and cliquey it was. Joe looked blown away when I explained that Wrapgasmic was the first job I’d had since high school that didn’t expect me to work every night and weekend.
“That’s insane.” Joe swirled his wine absently before taking a drink.
“That’s the biz.” I replied with a shrug. “And look what I have to show for it. A family that doesn’t know me and a beat up food truck with a new paintjob.”
“Hey.” His tone was scolding, as it always was whenever I got down on myself. “Your dad got it, Molly. Where do you think you learned to work so hard?”
“I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately.” I stared at my half eaten plate and then looked back up at him. “Dad used to get such bad headaches that he’d have to go lay down in his office sometimes. I’m sure if he’d slowed down long enough to go to the doctor he’d still be here with us. Maybe if I’d been here I could have talked him into getting a checkup.”
“Maybe.” Joe’s leery tone spoke volumes. He tossed his napkin onto his plate. “Hildebrandts can be a pretty stubborn bunch.”
A small smile crept onto my face. Sharing a history like Joe and I did made shorthand of many conversations.
He cleared his throat. “Are you glad you went with the truck idea instead of working for someone else?”
“Oh yeah. It’s cool to control everything. The menu, the hours…but on the other hand being responsible for all of it is nerve wracking. It was stressful enough when it was just Stacy and Dirty S. Now I have three more employees relying on me.”
“But look how far you’ve come already.” His hand was on the small of my back and when he ran his thumb delicately along my spine, I shivered.
I nodded. “It’s overwhelming. I’m glad we had the second truck ready. The article in The Chronicle has brought in all kinds of new business.
“You have good instincts.” He nodded at our waitress as she took our plates away.
I sipped the last of my wine, distracted by the thought of the ever growing lines of customers. “Sometimes I do.” I sighed and glanced up at him. “I just don’t want to let anyone down. The pressure just wears you down, you know?”
“Hmmm…” He brushed my hair off of my bare shoulder and planted a soft kiss on it. My breath caught and I glanced around nervously. Joe seemed to be a little more generous with his affection each time we went out. “I think I can help relieve your tension.”
I was thrilled to see our waitress return with the check.
Last night it was my turn to pick, and we’d gone to see a movie at The Ritz. I figured he’d want to see the latest sports team/coach-with-a-heart-of- gold movie and he thought I’d want to see a romantic comedy. We’d both came prepared to concede to the other’s wishes and had a laugh when it came out that we both really wanted to see the comic book blockbuster. We gorged ourselves on Junior Mints and gourmet popcorn and agreed we gave the film two thumbs up. As we exited the theater hand in hand, I noticed Charlie the Plumber waiting in line for the next show.
“Joe.” I whispered, signaling him with my eyes. He glanced over and turned back to me.
“Maybe he didn’t see us.” He replied quietly.
I looked back at Charlie who gawked at us in amazement and held up a hand in greeting.
“He saw us.” I sighed.
“Ah well.” Joe soothed me with his confident demeanor as he nodded at Charlie nonchalantly. “It had to come out sooner or later.”
I inhaled deeply. “I wonder if he’ll wait till after the movie to call Mac.”
On both occasions we ended up in bed together. I was just as guilty as he was about that outcome. It wasn’t like it was just sex anymore. He was trying hard …but I was worried he was forcing things…pushing himself and the pace of our…whatever it was we were doing. So far I’d kept quiet, afraid to speak up and jinx things if I was way off base.
I was far too tired to be thinking about things with Joe, especially with an un-caffeinated brain. My phone buzzed and I snatched it up.
It was a text from Draven.
We got an offer on the house. It’s our asking price.
I sighed as the weight of the world vanished from my shoulders.
Take it.
My cool response was uplifting, and I took a big sip of my coffee and opened my car door. My phone buzzed again.
I can’t believe it’s finally over.
I rolled my eyes.
Me too.
I was in no mood for small talk with him and I was about to put my phone into my purse when it buzzed again.
Sorry things got so ugly. I miss you sometimes, Doll.
My face burned and I could barely type I was so furious. His whore of a wife had just born him a kid and here he was hitting on me?
Fuck you, Drae. How�
�s the family?
I tossed my phone angrily into my purse. I swallowed another large drink of coffee as I climbed up into the truck and nearly choked to death when I saw Stacy sitting on top of my workspace with her legs wrapped around Dirty S. He had his hands up her shirt and their mouths devoured each other’s. I tried to back off the truck without them spotting me. The top step creaked and I was busted.
“Oh-my-God!” Stacy cried out. She blushed to her hairline, pushing Sanchez away as she pulled down her shirt.
“Uh…shit…sorry!” I blurted, and turning, I bolted down the steps. I went for my car, unable to process anything but the need to flee.
“Wait! Molly!” Stacy called out after me. I climbed in my car anyway. My temper flared white hot and I needed to leave. As much ugly history as I had with my brother, I didn’t want him being screwed over, especially by someone he met through me.
“You two seem to have this all under control.” My voice was far from snark-free. I’m going back home and going to bed. Later!”
“Molly!” Stacy yelled, grabbing the car door before I could slam it. “Mac and I broke up.”
“What? When?” I realized just how pissed I really was when I noticed my hands were shaking as they gripped the steering wheel. I’d always had strong opinions about cheaters, but after the whole Draven/Elaine business I was hypersensitive.
“The day after Thanksgiving.” She teared up, managing to walk the line between sad and humiliated. “Mac and I agreed it was for the best. We had a lot of fun but it wasn’t really going anywhere.”
“I didn’t know.” I mumbled, unsure how to feel about things. I was sad to think of Mac alone, but knew he had a decent head on his shoulders. The smallest part of me leapt with joy for Sanchez…but I couldn’t push aside my concerns that this would be another flash in the pan for Stacy. Mostly, I just couldn’t believe how out of the loop I was since I was so damn focused on Joe. I was a shitty friend and an even shittier sister.
Good Wood (Carved Hearts) Page 18