Finding Our Way Back (A Well Paired Novel)

by Rice, Marianne

  Gently pushing his head up, she lingered to cradle him to her chest and pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead.

  “You’re all talk, Jer. All talk.” She paused the show and made herself comfortable in the lounge chair in the corner where she could keep an eye on him.

  If she tried to move him to his bed, he’d wake up and read her the riot act for taking him away from his soap. Instead, she picked up the book she was supposed to have finished for book club and read.

  CHAPTER TEN

  He didn’t mean to peek. At least, that was what he told himself. Tristan closed the back door to his van with his hip and marched back into the function hall.

  Lily and Ty’s wedding appeared to be going off without a hitch. The bride was a stunning figure in her white gown, but what he couldn’t help noticing was the bridesmaid in the pale blue dress.

  Sure, all five women were gorgeous, but the one with ink black hair tied up in a fancy knot on her head stood out among the others. The tiny sleeves of her dress fell off her shoulders exposing more chest, neck, and throat than he was prepared for.

  “Tristan, when do you want us to plate the salads?” Harriet, one of his favorites on his prep team, stood in front of ten stacks of six salad plates.

  “There isn’t a lot of room back here.” That was an understatement. The alcove off the dance floor was just barely big enough to prep twenty plates at a time. At least the six-burner stove and double oven could hold most of the food for the meal.

  Lily had picked out a simple menu with her previous caterer, and Tristan couldn’t help but add his own twist to it.

  Instead of a typical garden salad, he suggested field greens with cranberries, walnuts, and feta. Since chicken Kiev was so cliché, he recommended pesto chicken with cherry tomatoes served over vermicelli. For the vegetarians, he made a white sauce vegetable lasagna. Thankfully there weren’t any vegans or lactose intolerant vegetarians. He could easily come up with a third dish, but the cramped space didn’t lend itself to a five-course meal, or one with too much variety.

  “Terry’s going to ladle the carrot ginger soup as soon as the crowd starts coming in.”

  “The bride said they weren’t going to spend too much time on photographs, so we should be okay to start setting up the soup once the guests arrive.”

  He liked to have the food ready to go as soon as the bride and groom took their place at the head table.

  This wedding would be a bit more challenging with him doing all he could to stay invisible. The small pass through window was just big enough so he could keep an eye on the party on the other side without the guests seeing too much of the behind the scenes work.

  Alexis had told him Jenna was fine with him being there, as long as he stayed out of her way. And he would. He had too much respect for her to ruin her evening.

  As the guests filled the hall, Tristan’s internal mechanism turned on, and he doled out instructions and orders to his staff, keeping a close eye on the bride, watching for signs the food was coming out too quickly or too slowly.

  When dinner was almost over and his staff had started collecting empty plates, Harriet called out to him.

  “Tristan. One of the guests would like to meet the chef.”

  This was normal, and he usually enjoyed meeting the people who enjoyed his food. He didn’t want to call the guest back into the kitchen, but he’d promised Alexis—and Jenna—that he wouldn’t show his face.

  Peering out the pass through to make sure Jenna wasn’t anywhere near the kitchen, he saw the coast was clear.

  “Sure.” He wiped his hands on a towel and pushed through the swinging doors.

  “Oh, my. You’re just as handsome as Celeste said you were.” The woman clasped Tristan’s hand between both of hers.

  He’d only met the groom’s mom, Celeste, once.

  “I’m Ty’s aunt, and aren’t you the cutest?” The woman was a character, that was for sure. “I just want to say—” she squeezed his hand hard— “that what you did, stepping in and making this delicious meal, well, that was very kind of you. My husband and I have eaten at your restaurant in Portland. Just on special occasions. It’s a fine place.”

  “Thank you very much. I appreciate the compliments. I’m blessed to be working with an amazing staff. Beth Whiteside is responsible for the success at Maestro now. I’ll be sure to pass on the compliments to her and her staff.”

  “Oh, cute and humble. And he can cook.” The woman let go of his hand to fan herself.

  The DJ spoke into the mic and announced the first dance of the bride and groom.

  “Aren’t Ty and Lily a beautiful couple? And now the first dance. So romantic.” She sighed and strolled off, never even giving her name.

  Tristan stored the food as he listened and hummed along to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw sing a duet.

  To be married and sing together. Heck, having any hobbies together had to be nice. Probably what made marriages stick.

  He and Jenna had done things together. Sometimes. They read. Granted it was just parenting books. Sometimes they cooked, only it was mostly Jenna watching and talking while he prepared the meals. Still, they were always together doing stuff, even if they had different hobbies.

  If you could call them that. They were too young and too poor to have any hobbies or do anything for fun. They’d catch a movie every now and then, but even that was a luxury. And once Jenna was pregnant they pinched every penny they had to save up for baby furniture, clothes, and diapers.

  Maybe if they’d pursued their dreams. Her painting and clay and his cooking, they would have lasted. But they had nothing except each other and the baby.

  Tristan sealed the lid on the last of the pesto sauce and snuck another peek through the window.

  No. It wasn’t their lack of extra-curricular activities that did their marriage in. It was what Jenna believed to be true that destroyed it. If she knew the truth, it would completely destroy her.

  He watched the bride and groom kiss as the song ended and another one started. This time the bridal party joined them. A man took Jenna in his arms with a familiar smile, which she returned. The pain in his chest shouldn’t be there. It wasn’t like she belonged to Tristan.

  Still, he continued to torture himself as he watched the couple who seemed perfectly matched twirl around the dance floor, smiling and laughing the entire time. Turning away from the painful scene, he took in the welcome sight of dirty dishes and helped Terry scrub.

  When everything was clean, he loaded up his arms and carried the first load out the back door to the van. Many of the guests had left, with just the younger crowd sticking around to dance.

  It would have been emotional suicide to see if Jenna and her date were still embraced in each other’s arms. Instead, he forced himself to keep to his job and ignore the laughter coming from the crowd on the dance floor.

  When the last load was piled into his van, a flash of pale blue caught his eye. Bracing himself for the onslaught of beautiful temptation, he clenched his short nails into his palms and forced a smile on his lips.

  “Hey—” His gaze dropped a few inches and landed on Alexis, much shorter than Jenna. Especially with those sexy high heels on. Yeah, he noticed. Alexis could be wearing heels as well, but he hadn’t noticed her shoes. Only Jenna’s and the way the slit in her dress showed off her mile-long legs, maybe two miles with the stilts attached to her feet. “Oh, hey, Alexis.”

  “Hoping I was someone else?” she asked with a knowing smugness.

  “Thankful you’re not someone else.” He released his hands and slipped them into the pockets of his khakis. “Is Jenna okay? I tried to stay in the kitchen as much as possible.”

  “You did a nice job staying aloof. The only time she tensed was when—” Alexis cut herself off. “It’s fine. It’s over. Lily’s happy, and that’s what matters most. And the food was good. We’ll see you in two weeks at the next pairing.”

  “Apple, pumpkin, ginger, right?”

  “No
t all together, I hope?”

  “Savory, spicy, and sweet. I’ll have samples to you the Wednesday before.”

  “I look forward to it.” Alexis left him standing in the parking lot. As soon as the function hall door closed behind her, it opened again, and this time there were two pale blue dresses headed his way.

  Jenna in front, arm hooked with the guy she’d been stuck to all night, and Alexis chomping at their heels.

  When Jenna spotted him, she stopped short, her ankle giving out under her. Tristan moved to catch her, but the guy at her arm did the honors, pulling her closer into him to keep her standing up.

  Chest.

  Pain.

  Stab.

  Twist.

  “Hi.” He hoped she and the guy hadn’t picked up on the croak in his voice.

  “Oh. Hi.”

  “You’re the chef?” the dude with his arms around his wife asked.

  “Yes.”

  “The food was great. I would have bailed on the carrot soup, but Jenna made me try it. Glad I did.” He tugged Jenna close—too close—to his body.

  Tristan swallowed the growl that clawed at his throat, threatening to make itself known.

  “Thanks.”

  Alexis’ eyes grew big and round as she looked from Jenna to Tristan to ... the guy.

  “I should be going. Nice seeing you again, Jenna.”

  “You guys know each other?”

  The ignorant playboy didn’t know when to stop.

  “Friends from high school,” Tristan supplied, giving Jenna the out. “I hate to be rude, but I have to get this stuff back to my kitchen.

  “Wow. You do all this in your kitchen?”

  Really? He was going to stand there all smug with his arms around Tristan’s first love, his only love, and start up a conversation? All Tristan wanted to do was go home and drown himself in a bottle of Southern Comfort.

  Or bake a cheesecake. Either one would suffice.

  Maybe.

  He scrubbed his hands across his face. “It’s my workshop. My studio. Whatever you want to call it. I gutted out an old beauty salon and turned it into a giant kitchen where I do all my prep work for my catering events. My kitchen at home is nothing glamorous.”

  Jenna opened her mouth, and when a sound came out she quickly clamped her lips shut as if surprised she was about to speak.

  “I’ll let you two get back to the wedding. Nice seeing you again.” He nodded politely to Jenna. “Alexis, I’ll see you soon.”

  “He’s the guy who’s doing the food thing with you guys, right?” he heard the guy with his paws on Jenna ask.

  Not waiting to hear the rest of the conversation, he climbed into his van, cranked up the music, and drove as fast as he could back to his workshop.

  Southern Comfort cheesecake. It would be his new recipe.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “I told you I’m color blind.” Carter held up three paint samples. One a putrid green, another with four shades of lime green, and the third was more like swamp mud than a color you’d paint on your wall.

  Spending time with Carter was the perfect distraction to keep her mind off Tristan. Too many songs the other night at Lily’s wedding reminded her of him. Of them. Of their wedding. She’d been to other weddings before, Alexis’ and Hope’s, and neither of those made her think about him.

  It was knowing he was on the other side of the kitchen wall that stirred up a whole mess of memories she’d rather forget. Which is where Carter came in. He made her forget, in a good way.

  “You really can’t see green?” Jenna swiped the three samples from him and put them back in their slots. She knew he was messing with her when he picked those three random cards; however, his plea on the phone this morning begged her to come to the home improvement store to help him out.

  “Grace says she wants the downstairs bathroom a seafoam green. I don’t even know what that means. None of these cards say seafoam or ocean or algae or anything like that on them.” Carter plucked another sample from the display. “Here we’ve got curry. What the heck kind of color is curry? Isn’t that a seasoning? Curry rice is yellow, isn’t it? I can see yellow, and this isn’t yellow.”

  Now he was being a goof, but he had a point. Chuckling, Jenna took the curry card from him and put it back too.

  “Grace is right. Seafoam is perfect for a bathroom.”

  “Have you ever been to the house?”

  “Brady and Grace’s?”

  “Yeah. Can you believe I got kicked out of the house as soon as my big brother found his future bride? Mom kicked me to the curb too.”

  “You poor thing.” Jenna gave him a sympathy one-armed hug. She knew the real story. When Carter returned from his tour in Afghanistan, he didn’t want to continue on with the family farm. While he still lived at home and helped Brady and his mother when he could, his true passion was in computers and graphic design.

  Since Brady and Grace’s engagement, Carter had been searching for a place of his own, feeling like a third wheel. No one had kicked him out; he was ready to move out. And she couldn’t blame him. It had to be difficult to date when you were still living with your mom and older brother.

  Although it made Jenna more comfortable. They’d gone out on a handful of dates over the past month, and she never had to worry about the awkward question about going back to his place.

  When Jerry was in the hospital, she had been worried Carter would ask to come in after their dates, but he hadn’t. It was one of the many things she really liked about him. He seemed to respect her space, and he didn’t rush anything between them.

  “You said you’d help me with the bathroom.”

  “Correction. I said I’d help you pick out a color for the bathroom. I love to paint, but not walls. Canvas only.” She perused through the samples and found two that would work for a downstairs bath. “Show these to Grace and your mom. I like the paler green better, but either will work in a small space.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Well, why can’t you just pick one so we can buy the paint now?”

  “Because you want to be sure before making such a big decision. You need to see both colors in the right light and in different situations.”

  “Situations?” Carter cocked his lip in a devilish grin. “Like brushing your teeth and in the shower?”

  “No.” She rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Natural light and artificial light. Hold it up next to the towels, the cabinetry, the flooring.”

  “I think you need to come home with me and show me.”

  “No can do.” Jenna slipped her phone from her pocket and checked the time. “I should be heading back home now.” She only had two free hours while Jerry’s nurses bathed and cared for him. Having limited free time helped keep her budding relationship with Carter innocent as well.

  He pocketed the paint samples and took her hand in his. “I better get you home then.” She followed him out of the store and to his truck.

  When he pulled into her driveway, she turned to him. “You don’t need to get out. I can walk myself to the door.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and undid her seatbelt, hopping out of the truck before Carter could turn it into a make-out session.

  She hadn’t minded them in the past. They were nice. But it was one o’clock in the afternoon, and she had a sick, geriatric man waiting for her inside the house.

  “Thanks for your help. I’ll let you know which one my mom and Grace pick out.”

  “Good luck! I’ll see you later.”

  “Friday night?” He leaned across the center console, a glint of hope in his eyes.

  “I can’t.” Jenna cast a glance over her shoulder at the house and returned her gaze to Carter with an apologetic frown.

  “I guess I’ll take what little time I can get with you. You’ll let me know if anything changes? I liked our nights out.”

  Yes, but her nights out only happened because Jerry was in the hospital.

 
“That’s not what I—”

  “I know.” She knew that wasn't what Carter meant, that he liked it better when Jerry was hospitalized. “It’s hard. Thank you for being patient.” She thought about hopping back up in the truck and giving him another kiss. It was what a girlfriend would do. Should do. But she wasn’t his girlfriend.

  They were dating. Had gone out on a couple of dates. That was all. Jenna reached out and tickled his chin.

  “See ya on the flip side.” She closed the heavy door behind her and rushed up the steps to the house.

  Jenna stood inside Jerry’s bedroom doorway. As soon as he noticed her, he belted out his typical welcome. “It’s about time. Do you know what these women have been doing to me?”

  “Torturing you, I’m sure.”

  “Cindy can’t keep her hands off me. I keep telling her I’m a married man, but she can’t help it. Hey, when you’ve got it you don’t ever lose it.” He winked flirtatiously at Cindy who chuckled in response.

  “You’re a fine catch, Mr. Bishop. If only I didn’t have Mr. Henrick at home.”

  “I know,” Jerry muttered, the twinkle in his eye not fooling anyone. “And Tina. She likes to instill pain. Made me walk to the front of the house and back. Twice!”

  Tina stopped massaging his calf and pulled his pajama pant leg back down. “You’re as good as new now.”

  “Next thing you know, she’s going to take away my wheelchair and make me drop and give her twenty push-ups!” Jerry coughed, and Cindy lightly pounded on his back. “When I was in the Navy,” he coughed, “I could do one hundred and twenty-five push-ups without stopping. It’s what caught Brigitte’s eye.”

  “You never told us Mrs. Bishop was in the Navy,” Cindy teased.

  “I was home on leave and showing off down at Dillard’s Grill. They had a beer chugging and push-up contest.”

  “At the same time?” Jenna asked, already hearing the story a million and one times.

  “One after the other.” Jerry let his body go lax while Cindy and Tina worked in tandem to lift him from the bed and place him in his wheelchair.