Stella shrugged. “Not much of a home life before she came here is my guess.”
His gut twisted. He knew all there was to know about a less than perfect home life. “Ellie offered her the space over her shop for an office.”
“Sam Oglethorpe is one lucky man to find Ellie.”
Gulping half his glass of tea, J.T. sighed. Sam was lucky. He was happy for his friend, and envious, too. “How long do you think she’ll manage without clients?”
Stella sent him a keen glance before refilling his tea glass. “With the Strawberry Festival coming up, she’ll have clients.”
“You think?”
Stella’s gum popped. She shrugged. “Or she’ll be too busy to care. That dance on the last night of the festival is a big deal.” Gum smacked. “Rumor is, Shawn Thorpe might come.”
“Why is a big movie star come to a dance in Redbud?”
Stella grinned. “Don’t forget, he spent part of his summers here, and he’s still close to Sam. Now, what’ll ya have, hon? Roy cooked up a batch of his special wings.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“Practicing for the festival.”
“I’m in luck then. Bring on the wings.” Picking up the newspaper Stella conveniently left on the table as she whirled away, J.T. grinned. Minutes later, he almost spewed tea all over himself as he read the want ads”
“I see you’re reading Edee’s ad for clients.” Stella plopped a plate of wings, baked beans and slaw in front of him, and added a basket with two large rolls.
Sending her a questioning look, J.T. asked. “How are folks reacting to her ad?”
Stella eyed him for long seconds, her gum popping loud in the silence. A cunning look flickered in her eyes before she glanced away and shrugged. “Most people laugh.”
“You think anyone will hire her?”
Gum popped. “It’s not your worry, hon. Just because you bought the Beasley building, and asked Edee to move out, doesn’t make you responsible for her.”
Studying the keen expression in Stella’s blue eyes, J.T. rubbed his chin. “I like don’t like being the bad guy.”
What he really didn’t like was the way a certain brown-eyed female kept popping in his head. He had come back to Redbud to make a new start.
When the time was right, when he had the business organized and felt comfortable living in Redbud again, then…then he would think about the future. But right now, Edee Cutt’s problems, her dark chocolate eyes, and warm smile, had no place in his thoughts.
Of course, he would have to convince himself of that, if he wanted to stop thinking about her every five minutes.
***
“I don’t like it, I tell you. Ms. Emma would roll over in her grave.”
“Sh-sh-sh!” Pauline’s loud shush filled the sewing shop. “Change can be good.” Then, raising her voice just loud enough to carry a warning, she said. “Edee’s in the back, picking out fabric to make those cows, what are you going to make, Brandy?”
“Well,” said the first voice, “Tell me what you think Emma would say about advertising for business.” The newspaper rattled.
Murmurs and snickers mingled as the group of women hovered around the paper to read Edee’s ad for new clients.
“It’s dribble, I tell you. People in Redbud don’t need websites to advertise. We already know what everyone is doing.”
Turning to face the fabric along the back wall, Edee clasped her hand over her mouth to hold back a giggle. “Dribble?” She mouthed to Ellie, but then she noticed how pale Ellie looked. “Are you okay?”
Ellie’s lips tilted in a one sided smile. “You mean after the near accident we had on the way to the computer store?”
Edee sobered, reliving the moment when another vehicle had almost forced them off the road. “Weren’t you frightened?”
Ellie nodded. “How did you like the computer store?”
Edee allowed the distraction from the terrifying incident. “I was impressed. Has it been open long?”
“Not long and every time I go I see something new.”
“I love this fabric.” Edee studied the tiny floral print.
Ellie’s eyes sparkled as she pulled out the bolt. Tiny bright flowers covered the black fabric. “Do you like this for the cow’s dress?”
Edee studied the colors. “Perfect.” She reached to touch the bolt of fabric. “So, J.T. went to school with Sam?” She chewed the inside of her lip as Ellie darted a look at her. “I just wondered what he was like.”
“Sam said they were close.” Ellie moved along the shelves of fabric. “What color do you want for the boy’s pants?” She held up a navy and green plaid with black stripes. “This has the same colors.” She put the fabrics side-by-side. “I hear J.T.’s been asking the realtor about your grandmother’s house.”
“Really?” Edee frowned. There were so many names and faces she needed to learn. Like the woman reading her column to the group of women. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember the woman’s name.
Why was J.T. asking about her house? Why was she asking questions about his past? She swallowed. Nothing went unnoticed in small towns. She would do well to remember that.
“That’s what I heard.”
“Why is he asking about my house?”
Ellie shrugged. “From what I hear, he wants first option if that house goes on the market.”
“He can’t do that.” Edee screeched, darting a glance over her shoulder toward the sewing circle. When no one looked up, she sighed in relief. Thoughts of leaving the house her grandmother had left her gave her cold chills. She and Prince Albert had settled into a routine in the old house. The cat had favorite places to sleep in each room. Besides, she hadn’t started sorting her grandmother’s things.
Ellie shrugged as she studied the pattern envelope. “You need lace and fabric for the petticoat.” She took the bolts of fabric from Edee. “Are you sure you want to tackle something this large for your first project?”
Edee forced her thoughts away from J.T. It was so easy to think of him lounging in the swing on her front porch with Albert by his side. Or making an early morning cup of coffee in the old kitchen, wearing nothing but a bathrobe slung over a pair of low riding pajama bottoms.
Stop! She could not go there!
Flustered by her wayward thoughts, she grabbed the pattern out of Ellie’s hand and fanned herself furiously. “I like a challenge. It’s good to work for what you want.” Her grandmother’s voice echoed the words in her head, but Edee believed every word. “I fell in love with those cows the minute I saw them.”
Thinking about J.T. roaming around her house half-dressed was just plain foolish. Her cat did not like strangers. For J.T. to sit beside Albert in the swing, he would have to be very familiar with her cat…
Laughing, Ellie said. “That’s how a pair of them ended up in my shop. Now, let’s pick out your lace trim.”
Edee couldn’t concentrate on matching trim to the fabric. All she could think about was J.T. wanting to buy Granny’s house.
Why?
He knew she planned to stay in town…and then she remembered his questions about her promise to her grandmother. He must think she planned to leave once the year was up. Worse, he seemed to want her to leave. An overwhelming sense of loss rushed over her.
Okay, so he didn’t care if she left town or stayed. But he wanted to buy the house. And it wouldn’t be for sale if she stayed. Was he trying to make her leave by evicting her from the Bookkeeping-For-You office?
Despite the dozen or so women filling the room with happy chatter as they worked on sewing projects, Edee’s stomach churned. Her throat filled with bile as troublesome thoughts filled her head.
She wanted to help ease J.T.’s return to his hometown, and he wanted her to leave town.
A wave of loneliness big as Pilot Mountain washed over her. J.T. didn’t care about her. All he cared about was buying her house. That would teach her to fantasize about a man the next time she saw
him without his shirt. Wait…hadn’t she already decided she wasn’t going to get involved with any man?
Chewing her lip, she watched Ellie ring up her supplies. From this minute on, she wasn’t going to allow thoughts of J.T. Knight to enter her head. The cash register bell dinged. Edee frowned. “Why does J.T. want to buy an old house? Why not pick something modern?”
Ellie sent her a thoughtful look. “Sam’s crazy about his old house.” She grinned. “Of course, we’ve had fun making changes…”
Edee glanced away from her friend’s starry-eyed expression and turned to the group of women sitting around sewing and chatting.
The need to belong filled her chest and threatened to choke her. She glanced from the women’s dresses, to Ellie’s trim slacks, then down at her jeans. Pauline’s advice popped in her head. ‘Be yourself’.
Edee swallowed. “Change is good, right?” Before Ellie could answer, she added, “But change just for the sake of change isn’t always the best choice.” She grinned, meeting Ellie’s confused look across the counter.
Frowning, Ellie said. “Speaking of change, did you hear about Mr. Jensen’s sister?”
It was Edee’s turn to look confused. “No, I—”
“Sorry…I keep forgetting you don’t know everyone in town.” Ellie ran an impatient hand through her hair. “I hate to do this to you. I know J.T. is the reason you had to move out of the office in the first place.
“But…Mr. Jensen’s sister fell and broke her hip. He’s gone to stay with her while she recovers. And to make matters worse, his well has gone dry. Since there’s no water at the Jensen house, J.T. needs a place to stay until a new well is drilled.”
Edee swallowed a rush of disappointment, knowing the answer before she even asked the question. “The loft?”
Ellie nodded. “Sam tried to talk him into staying with us, but he insists he needs to be close to the renovations on his building.” Her shrug of resignation spoke volumes. “I feel really bad, backing out on you like this—”
“Don’t worry.” Edee kept her voice calm despite the roaring in her ears as she wondered what would happen next and how would J.T. be involved? “I understand.”
“J.T. and Sam were really close in school.”
“It’s nice of Sam to help.” Edee meant the words, but the sinking feeling in her middle grew larger.
“Will you be okay with moving your grandmother’s things to your house?”
Edee swallowed the lump threatening to choke her. Would she be okay? Did this fall under the category of breaking her promise to her grandmother? Maybe not. She could still work on web designs…and now, she would have Albert’s company.
“I’ll be fine. I might get more work done, this way.”
But she had doubts, despite her brave smile. Moving to the office files to her grandmother’s house forced her to face things she had tried to avoid.
Major things.
Problems in the old house that she had tried to ignore because she hadn’t been sure how long she would stay in Redbud. She felt like a traitor making that admission, but now, everything had changed.
Now, she needed a job to support herself so she could live in Redbud and save the business. In the short time since the funeral, she felt a growing connection to the people in Redbud. This town felt like…home…like something she had always dreamed of having.
Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. Moving out of the office and working out of her grandmother’s house forced her to face reality. It was past time she had repairs done on the house. She might not follow her grandmother’s plan, but she had a home and she needed to find work to pay for repairs to it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Did you wear those old dresses for a reason?”
Edee cut a glare in J.T.’s direction. “Those dresses belonged to my grandmother.” Huffing, Edee dropped the box on the tailgate of J.T.’s truck, and heaved a sigh. The warm rays of the May sun beat on her head making her glad she had put her hair in a ponytail. She and J.T. had spent the morning lugging her boxes out of Ellie’s loft and loading them on his truck.
One more turn, and all the things from her grandmother’s office would be loaded. Despite him being the reason for her having to move a second time, Edee was thankful for J.T.’s help so she kept her voice calm.
“Why do you ask?” Turning, she led the way back up the stairs. He had started this conversation, but she intended asking some questions of her own. Something about his claims of a ‘bad boy’ past, did not fit with her impression of him. Blame it on her feminine curiosity. She wanted to know more about his past.
“Just curious.”
He wasn’t even winded she noticed, flopping on a stuffed chair that swallowed her like a beanbag. She frowned at the last load of boxes containing her grandmother’s work, and decided to tell him the truth.
“I…wanted to keep things like—”
“Like your granny did? Even dressing like her?”
Edee heard the lilt of surprise in his voice, and shrugged. No one understood and she certainly couldn’t explain how she felt. She couldn’t make sense of it, herself. It was just this desperate need to keep some memory of her last relative alive. “I thought—”
“People wouldn’t forget her if you dressed like her?” His voice softened as he slumped on the old sofa. “Yeah, I know the feeling.”
“You do?”
Running his hands down his denim covered thighs, he studied the stack of boxes, giving Edee the impression he was looking into the past. “Yeah, I tried something crazy like that once.”
“Did it work?”
He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling for long minutes. Edee held her breath. Maybe he would tell her about his past.
“Nope!” J.T. shoved to his feet. Hands in his pockets, he stared down at her. “I ended up leaving town. Let’s get these boxes over to your house.”
Sighing in disappointment for the missed opportunity to learn more about him, Edee watched shadows chase the sparkle from his eyes. In that moment, she felt a shared pain, almost as if they were connected. That feeling gave her the courage to take a chance.
“I-it was more than keeping her memory alive.” She watched the look of confusion settle on his face. His reaction surprised her. Most men she had been around did not listen to the answers to their questions. Her father being the best example, she realized.
How many times had her mother told him she didn’t want to move? Or pleaded with him to give his job a second chance. It seemed as if her childhood had been loaded with questions. Her dad had asked, ‘Are you ready to move?’ or ‘They’re paying more for my job in the next state. Let’s move there.’ And her mother always asked him to wait. But quick as you please, they were packing.
Things might have been different if her dad had listened…like J.T. did.
Releasing a shuddering breath, she admitted listening wasn’t J.T.’s only good quality. He cared about people. Look at the way he had worked on Mr. Jensen’s roof. And in that second, she realized J.T. would understand.
“I-I wanted to feel connected to her. I wanted to make up for all the time I missed.”
“You can’t—”
“Go home again?” Edee snapped with frustration over her moment of weakness. Why had she exposed her heart to this man? “I’ve heard that until I am sick…”
Her words trailed off as she realized she might be treading on his toes. “Redbud was never my home…my father saw to that.” Her mouth snapped shut as she glared at him.
J.T. rubbed the side of his jaw. “I was going to say…you can’t dwell on the past. You have to think about the future.”
“You do!” Her chin tilted, daring him to contradict her. “Think of the past, I mean.” Her gaze dropped to the line her fingernail traced on her jeans. She had done it now. She had opened her mouth and jumped in his personal business. “You let those people in the diner rake up the past.”
Shoving his hands in the front pocket
s of his jeans, J.T. took a couple of steps along the back of the sofa. “I made a lot of mistakes—”
“You were a kid. Everyone makes mistakes when they’re young.”
His stare bored into her for long seconds. Then, just when she thought he would open up about his past, just when she thought her heart would leap right out of her chest, he nodded toward the stack of boxes.
“Let’s get these over to your house and get you unpacked.”
Edee shrugged off her disappointment. “You don’t have—”
“I forced you to move. I’ll help you get ready for clients.”
Air whooshed past her lips as she stood up. “I don’t have any clients.” It was time one of them stopped pretending.
“You’ve got me.”
Edee sent him a questioning glance and forced a laugh. “You weren’t serious. You made the offer out of pity when I forced you to make good on the job offer.” Sucking in a deep breath, she decided she might as well go the whole way since she had revealed this much. “But I won’t hold you to it.
“With all the remodeling work on the Beasley Building, you need an assistant who knows what they’re doing. Someone who knows the construction business well enough to know what you need before you have time to ask.” Lifting a shoulder, she met his gaze. “That’s not me. But I appreciate what you tried to do.”
Truth was, she couldn’t spend time with J.T. without her heart getting involved. Now that she knew his secret…knew what kind of person he really was, she wasn’t sure she could resist him. And she didn’t dare fall in love with him. Lust. Infatuation. She could handle. But not love.
Love hurt. People you loved inflicted hurt. J.T. Knight wasn’t the right man for her, and this definitely wasn’t the right time. She’d had enough.
“I'll manage with the skills you have. Unless you’re afraid to take the job. It won’t be easy, but with your computer skills, I expect you will be a handy assistant.” He sent her a challenging look. “So, will you work for me, or not?”
“You mean as your Girl Friday?” Edee struggled out of the chair, and sent him an innocent look. “What if I don’t know what you need?”
A Bride For Mr. Right (Redbud Romance Book 2) Page 9