by Nicole Ellis
Could she find happiness like that again? Her kiss with Jake had shown her that she could find it in the short term, but only time would tell if they were meant to be. She shot a glance at the bouquet on the chair and a smile formed on her lips. The bouquet toss was supposed to predict who would be married next. She doubted that it would be her, but you never knew. She wanted to hope for the best.
After the cake, she found Jake eating dessert with Alex.
“It’s getting late. I need to get Alex to bed.” She smiled at her son and then looked at Jake. Their eyes met and her skin rippled with goose bumps. She breathed in sharply at the familiar sensation. “Call me in an hour?”
He nodded and her stomach flip-flopped.
14
Maggie couldn’t get Alex into bed fast enough. Luckily, he was so tired from the day’s activities that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
She sat on the couch and picked up a magazine. The words swam in front of her eyes. All she could think about was Jake. His touch, his kiss. Things had come together between them so quickly that evening, it seemed like a dream.
The phone rang and she lunged for it. “Hello,” she said breathlessly.
“Hi, Maggie.” Her name rolled off his tongue with so much familiarity, sending shivers down her spine.
There was a brief moment of quiet.
“So is this where I get to officially ask you out on a date?”
She nodded, although she knew he couldn’t see her. “It is.”
“What do you think about dinner tomorrow? We could go somewhere in Haven Shores? Are your parents back to watch Alex?”
“No, they’re still on their big adventure. And the babysitter is out of town this week.”
Her earlier excitement deflated. Dating with kids was harder than she’d expected.
“How about I come there and we do pizza and a movie with Alex? It seems fitting since he kind of brought us together. We can share a bottle of wine afterward.”
Happiness flooded over her. This was what she’d dreamed about—to have someone in her life that cared about both her and Alex.
“That sounds great. I’ll pick out a movie to watch.”
“I’ll see you around six tomorrow night. Bye, Maggie.” Her heart beat faster when he said her name.
“See you tomorrow.”
He hung up and she stared at the phone. Were things moving too fast between them? Did she even remember how to date? She stared at the wall. She was being silly. It had been so long since she’d been on a date, she’d forgotten how things worked. Dinner and a movie were pretty basic. She could handle it, right?
The next evening, Jake showed up at Maggie’s apartment door, freshly shaven and wearing a crisply ironed shirt. He carried a pepperoni pizza that he’d picked up on the way over. He was so nervous, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to eat.
He was about to knock on the door when it opened suddenly.
“Hi,” Maggie said brightly. “Alex is waiting in the living room for you.”
He walked past her as she shut the door, kissing her on the head. She blushed and took the pizza into the kitchen.
“I’ll get some plates,” she called over her shoulder.
He grinned. He liked seeing how she reacted to his kiss.
“Hey, Alex.” He settled down next to his nephew on the couch. “What are we watching tonight?”
“Mom said something called Indiana Jones? She said it’s one of her favorite movies and that I’m finally old enough to watch it.” He looked disappointed. “I wanted to watch a cartoon.”
Jake ruffled his hair and smiled. He and Maggie had similar taste in movies apparently. “Seriously? That’s awesome. You’ll love Indiana Jones. He goes on so many adventures.”
“I guess.” The boy pushed himself further into the couch cushions.
Maggie appeared in the living room with the pizza box and a stack of plates. “Here you go.” She handed them each a plate with pizza on it.
“Thanks,” they mumbled as they devoured the pizza.
Maggie smiled. “How do you guys eat so fast? I’d be sick if I did that.”
They shrugged and continued munching. Maggie sat down about a foot away from Jake at the other end of the sofa. He moved a little closer to the middle of the couch. No snuggling for them during the movie. This was what dating with kids was like.
She clicked play and the movie came on. For being so negative about the movie in the beginning, Alex watched it with rapt attention, cringing and covering his eyes at the scary parts. When the movie ended, he looked disappointed.
“Okay, buddy, bedtime for you.” Maggie pointed at the hallway.
“Do I have to? Can’t I stay up a little longer?”
She shook her head. “Sorry. It’s a school night. I already let you stay up a little past bedtime.”
“Fine.” Alex pouted and trudged down the hall.
“I’ll come tuck you in in about ten minutes,” she called to him. “I’ll grab the wine,” she told Jake.
He nodded. “I’ll help.”
He followed her into the kitchen, putting his arm around her waist to pull her into his arms. She melted into him for a moment before glancing toward Alex’s room.
“Jake,” she protested. “What if Alex sees us?”
“He’s brushing his teeth,” he said, but kissed her quickly and released her.
She removed the Pinot Grigio from the refrigerator and set it on the counter. He remembered where the wine glasses were in the top cupboard from a previous visit and selected two, then corked the wine and poured them each a glass.
“I’m going to go tuck Alex in, okay?” Maggie disappeared into the hallway.
Jake brought the wine glasses into the living room and settled on the couch while she checked on Alex. It felt right to be there, like he was truly a part of their family.
She reappeared fifteen minutes later. “He’s out. It usually takes him longer to fall asleep, but it’s a bit later than his usual bedtime.”
He patted the seat next to him. This time, she settled in a little closer than when they were watching the movie earlier. She reached forward for her wine glass and then leaned back.
“Ahh. I’m so glad this week is over. I loved catering Dahlia’s rehearsal dinner and wedding, but I’ll be glad when life is back to normal.”
“Well, you did a wonderful job on them. If the glowing comments I heard from the other guests were any indication, I’d say you have a future career as a caterer.” He slid his arm over the back of the couch. “What did you decide about the farm property?”
She set the base of her wine glass on her leg. “They received another offer yesterday. Gretchen told me last night.” She took a big sip of wine. “I couldn’t pull together my offer quick enough to compete with them, so I guess that’s that.”
“I’m sorry. I know it meant a lot to you.” He rested his fingers on her shoulder and she moved in closer to him.
“You know, real estate offers sometimes fall through. Maybe you should put a backup offer on the property.”
“Do you think?”
He felt her search his face. “I do.” He’d been unsure about the property before, but after thinking about it for a while and knowing how important it was to her, he’d determined it was a good idea.
“Maybe I’ll do that.” She brightened. “I’ll call Gretchen in the morning.”
She lay against him, sipping her wine, lost in thought.
He looked at her and marveled at how he had a chance with her. His brother may not have intended for this to happen when he’d asked Jake to look after her if something happened to him, but he was pretty sure he’d approve. Not that he could ever let Maggie know about his promise to Brian.
He stroked her hair and relished their brief time alone together.
15
Maggie woke the next morning feeling happier than she had in a long time. She still had a few minutes until she needed to wake up Alex for school, so
she made a pot of coffee and sat at the kitchen table to drink her first cup of the day. It may be weird to be dating her brother-in-law, but it felt right. Then she glanced at the calendar, and ice slammed into her. It was December eighteenth. This would have been her eleventh wedding anniversary. She leaned back in her chair.
How had she forgotten her wedding anniversary? She’d been busy with Dahlia’s wedding, the catering business and shopping for Christmas presents, but she’d never forgotten her anniversary before. She walked into the living room and picked up the picture of Brian and her on their wedding day. As usual, he smiled at her from inside the frame. Her eyes teared up. He’d been gone for five years. Was she forgetting him? She didn’t want to forget him. Dating Jake had seemed so natural, but was it the right thing to do?
She heard Alex moving around and set the picture back on the table.
“What’s going on, Mom? Why are you crying?”
She swiped at her tears. “It’s nothing, honey. I was just thinking about your dad. We were married eleven years ago today.”
“Oh,” he said. “Are you okay?”
She hugged him. “Yeah, I’m okay. I just miss him sometimes.”
“Me too. Well, I miss what I think it would be like to have him around.” He was quiet for a moment. “But it’s been nice to have Jake around. It’s almost like having Dad here.”
She could only nod her head for fear of breaking out in a fresh round of tears.
“Why don’t you go get ready for school? I laid your clothes out in the bathroom. How about I make pancakes today for breakfast?”
“Cool, pancakes!” He ran off down the hall.
As soon as he was out of sight, she allowed the tears to fall freely for a minute before drying her eyes and putting on a brave face for her son. She took him to school after he finished his pancakes and then went to work, intent on not thinking about her anniversary again until that night.
However, when she was alone in her office at the café, memories of Brian kept flashing into her head. She tried to focus on the next week’s staffing schedule, but it was too boring to compete with her obsessive brain. She clicked on the real estate website she’d looked at before. There had to be something else out there that wouldn’t be as expensive as the Sorensen farm. After all, she didn’t need the farmhouse, only the event space.
An abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town caught her eye. It wasn’t as picturesque as the barn, but it could work. Maybe seeing the property would take her mind off of her wedding anniversary. On impulse, she dialed her friend.
“Hey, Gretchen, I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I found another property online that might work for the event center. It’s that old warehouse out on the highway. Any chance you could show it to me today?”
She held her breath as she listened to Gretchen clicking away on her computer.
“You’re in luck. It’s got a lockbox, so I don’t need to contact the owner first. Let me check my schedule.” More clicking. “I’ve got an opening in an hour. Can you meet me at my office then?”
Maggie looked around her office. Her to-do list was piling up, but she wasn’t getting much accomplished there. “Yep, I’ll see you then.”
She tried to stay on task as much as possible for the next hour, but excitement over the prospective event space kept her from fully focusing. When there were only five minutes to go until their appointment, she couldn’t wait any longer. She gathered up her belongings and informed her staff she was going out.
Gretchen drove them to the warehouse. The parking lot and exterior were bleaker than they’d appeared. The area was surrounded with empty lots and lacked charm. It also lacked any exterior scenery, so she’d only be able to have indoor events. Perhaps that was good, because she couldn’t go overboard with plans in the startup phase. Besides, maybe the inside would be better.
It wasn’t.
The windows were high off the ground and cracked, letting in very little natural light. Dirt coated the floors and walls. An odd smell permeated the building.
“What was this place?” Gretchen wrinkled her nose. “It stinks.”
“I don’t know. The listing didn’t say.” Maggie tried to ignore the odor, but Gretchen was right, the inside smelled funky. There was no real comparison to the Sorensen farm. She’d decided not to put in a backup offer on the farm property because of the high cost. Had that been a mistake? Would another comparable property ever come up?
She sighed. “Let’s go.”
Gretchen nodded and put her arm around her. “Don’t worry, something else will come up. We’ll find you the right space.”
Maggie hoped so. At least touring the warehouse had been a good diversion. She returned to work and tried to stay off the internet. She needed to keep up-to-date on café business if she ever wanted a chance to expand further into catering.
That night, after Alex was in bed, she poured herself a glass of the leftover wine from the night before and allowed her mind to wander back to Brian. She’d been thinking a lot about how she’d felt that morning. It wasn’t that she felt guilty about dating Jake. She knew Brian would want her to move on. It was just that she didn’t want to lose her memories of their time together. He’d been a big part of her life and she wanted to keep his memory alive. She looked down the hall at Alex’s closed bedroom door and smiled. Brian would always be alive through his son. She lay back on the couch. Every year since Brian’s death, their anniversary date stung, but every year it affected her less and less. Life moved on, as it should.
The phone rang. I hope that’s not Jake, she thought.
It wasn’t Jake, but even worse, it was her mother-in-law. She loved her mother-in-law, but she wasn’t sure how she was going to get through a conversation with her without breaking down.
“Hi, Maggie,” Barbara said.
“Hi.” Maggie sat up, bringing her knees to her chest.
“I was thinking of Brian today and remembering how lovely your wedding was, so I thought I’d call you. I hope you don’t mind.” She sounded teary.
“Thanks for thinking of me.” Maggie choked back her own tears. A thought struck her. What would Barbara say if she knew that Maggie and her son were dating? Would she think it odd? Had Jake already told her? She didn’t want to ask.
“I’ve been thinking about Brian a lot lately too. I miss him.” She had to reach for the Kleenex box.
“Us too.” Barbara was quiet for a moment. “Let’s talk about something happier. Are you and Alex still coming down to Portland after Christmas?”
“Yes, we’re still planning on it. Probably around the twenty-ninth. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong at the café before then. Alex is looking forward to seeing you.”
“And how’s Jake doing? He’s sounded in good spirits when I’ve talked with him on the phone. I have to say I’m surprised that he decided to settle in Candle Beach.”
“You and me both,” Maggie said. It probably had something to do with her, but she wasn’t going to tell Barbara that. “He seems to be enjoying it here. I think he likes the small-town atmosphere after moving around so much.”
“You’re probably right. And having you and Alex around is good for him. I get the feeling he didn’t have much time for close relationships when he was in the service. It’s a hard life.”
“Yes. It is.” Maggie knew that all too well. Being a childless Army wife hadn’t made making friends easy. While she’d loved Brian, she hadn’t loved the loneliness of being away from all her family and friends. She’d never considered it from the soldier’s perspective. It must have been a lonely life for Jake too. No wonder he’d quickly become attached to small-town living.
“Maggie?” Barbara’s voice sounded hesitant.
“Yeah?”
“You know it’s okay to move on, right? Brian would have wanted you to be happy and remarry. Not only for you, but for Alex.”
Maggie had to cover the phone to blow h
er nose. “I know,” she said shakily.
“I’m sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I just wanted to remind you it was okay to live again. I’ll let you go. Maybe we can talk in a few days?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine. Thanks. I’ll talk to you later.”
She hung up. Her mother-in-law was right. She knew it was okay to move on, but was she ready? And did Barbara know she’d started a relationship with Jake? This was all so confusing, but she knew she’d have to figure out soon what she wanted.
After the stress of her wedding anniversary and losing out on the Sorensen farm, Maggie needed to relax a little. A girls’ night was exactly what she needed.
She waved at Charlotte and Gretchen, who were already seated in a booth at Off the Vine, the town’s wine bar. She scooted onto the seat next to Charlotte and reached for the menu. “I’m starving. Did you guys already order?”
“Not yet.” Charlotte shoved the menu at her. “We’re thinking about the stuffed mushroom caps and the fig and chèvre flatbread to start.”
“Ooh, sounds yummy.” She studied the menu. “How about the pita and hummus platter too?”
They nodded. The waitress came over and they placed their food and drink orders.
“Dahlia’s missing out,” Gretchen joked.
“Yeah, poor girl. She’s missing out on the beautiful gray weather we’re having and is stuck in sunny Jamaica.” Maggie sipped her water and made a face at the wintry weather outside the window.
“I want to honeymoon somewhere tropical.” Gretchen’s face took on a dreamy expression.
“You’ll need to get engaged first.” Charlotte winked at her.
“True.” Gretchen blushed and peeked at them over her water glass. “Parker and I have been talking about marriage lately.”
“Wow, that’s crazy. First Dahlia, now you.” Maggie shook her head.