by Barbara Gee
P and I spent three of the next four evenings together. We enjoyed being in our own little bubble, without the inquisitive world interfering in our newfound togetherness, but we knew it couldn’t last. On Friday, we decided it was time to let others in on the fact that we were a couple again.
Jude and Ava were the logical place to start, so we made plans to call them at the same time Saturday morning, so they both found out from us instead of each other.
I dialed Ava’s number at ten o’clock, knowing JP was doing the same thing with Jude.
As expected, she was over the moon about the news and insisted we come over to their house for dinner that evening to celebrate.
“Uh, I don’t know, Ava,” I said, pretending to be hesitant. “It’s still so new, and frankly I have a really hard time keeping my hands off him. I don’t know if you could handle the PDA.”
She was silent for a moment before she figured out I was kidding. Mostly.
“Oh, trust me, Myla, I can handle it. You and JP have needed to get your hands back on each other for a long time. I knew that within five minutes of meeting JP.” She chuckled. “I’ll never forget how he looked when he figured out you were my friend. The longing, Myla. Oh my word, it was so obvious you’d torn that man apart, and I don’t think he damages easily.”
I took no satisfaction in hearing that. I’d hurt him, and that hurt me. “I’d give anything to change how I handled things,” I said ruefully. “Everything would have been so different if I hadn’t been so stubborn.”
“You can’t dwell on that now,” Ava said firmly. “I only brought it up because you two getting back together was inevitable. It’s full speed ahead now. I predict you’ll be engaged before Easter.”
Oh how I hoped she was right—I’d say yes if he asked me tomorrow. I didn’t tell Ava that, however, because she’d no doubt tell Jude, who might mention it to JP.
I passed the dinner invitation along to JP when I called him a few minutes after I hung up with Ava. He was fine with going over there, but he said he didn’t want to wait until evening to see me. In fact, there was something he wanted to bring me and he said he’d be at my place in an hour.
Since that would be almost noon, I made a pot of chili and had it simmering on the stove when he arrived. He stepped through the front door and took my head in his hands, his gaze intense as his eyes searched mine.
“What?” I asked, smiling up at him.
“Just making sure you aren’t having second thoughts now that we’re officially official.”
I chuckled. “I’m having lots of thoughts, but none of them have anything to do with changing my mind.”
“Good.” He backed me up against the wall and kissed me hard. “Hi, by the way,” he said with a grin when we finally parted.
I hugged him, then started to push his coat off his shoulders so I could hang it up.
“Hang on, I need to keep this on for a sec.” He walked back to the front door. “Meet me out on your deck, okay?”
“Can’t you just come through the house?”
He shook his head. “I have to grab something out of my truck. Just meet me back there.”
“More lights?” I asked curiously.
He just smiled and closed the door behind him. I put on my own coat and replaced my slippers with boots before going out the back door. I walked across the deck as he opened the front gate in my fence, then reached back for a hand cart holding a big box. It was definitely not lights.
“What in the world, JP?” I asked.
“My way of thanking you for getting all that stuff for my house,” he said with a grin. He turned around and backed up the steps, bumping the large rubber wheels of the cart up each one behind him.
“But I used your credit card,” I reminded him, bending over to look at the picture on the box when he came to a stop beside me. He unstrapped it and I gave a little gasp. “You got me a fireplace?”
“Mmm hmm. It runs on propane. If you’re going to sit out here enjoying your lights, I’d rather you not freeze to death. It doubles as a table when it’s not lit.”
“Oh my word,” I breathed. “I love it so much.”
He laughed, low and sexy. “You haven’t even seen it yet.”
I pointed. “The picture is right there. It’s beautiful!”
JP took a knife from his pocket to slit the tape on the box, but before he could flick the blade out I grabbed his wrist and lifted it.
“Is this the knife I gave you for your birthday?” I asked softly.
He looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah.”
I smiled fondly. “I remember buying it. I asked Benny at the hardware store for the very best knife he had.”
“It’s seen a lot of use. Even though it caused me a pang every time.”
I folded my hands around his. “Not anymore. No more pangs,” I said.
He leaned down and kissed me into a near stupor, then assembled my awesome fireplace, complete with a full propane tank which he went back to his truck for. It was every bit as beautiful as the picture on the box.
I pulled two deck chairs up to it, cheering when he pushed a button and a bright row of flame sprang up. We ate our chili out there, and I don’t think either of us stopped smiling the whole time.
***
I was over at JP’s Sunday evening when I got a call from my contact at the school asking if I could sub Monday and Tuesday for a third-grade teacher who was ending her Christmas break with a bout of the flu. Of course I said yes. Not because I didn’t want to make dinner for JP those days, but because I’d been off work for long enough and I missed it. Plus, the more agreeable I was as a substitute teacher, the better my chances of getting a job offer in the fall.
JP was fine with it of course, being the supportive type. He also admitted he’d already talked with Howard Owens about working out of the Hidden Creek office more often so he could save me extra driving. I told him it was ironic that he’d just moved to Mountain View to work more in that office, and now he was angling to get back to Hidden Creek.
He slipped an arm around my shoulders, pulled me against his chest, and reminded me that I wouldn’t have moved back to Hidden Creek if he hadn’t told me he was leaving town, and thus any amount of driving he had to do was well worth it.
It was too soon to say it out loud, but oh how I loved this man.
***
When I got to school Monday morning, the first person I saw was Whitney. She was going in right in front of me and held the door open.
“Morning, sunshine!” she said. “I heard Allison was out sick and hoped we’d be graced with your presence.”
“Lucky you,” I teased.
She cocked her head and studied me. “You’re positively glowing, Myla. I’m going to take a wild guess and say the New Year’s Eve party wasn’t the only time you saw JP Keller this past week.”
I jammed a playful hand onto my hip. “Wait, so I greet you with a smile and you immediately attribute it to JP?”
“It was a really big smile, Myla, and you look so happy. After seeing you two at the party, it’s not much of a stretch to assume he has something to do with that.”
I gave a blissful sigh and hitched the strap of my bag higher on my shoulder. “You’re right. He has everything to do with it.”
Whitney gave a little fist pump. “You’re back together?”
“Yes, ma’am, and already as head over heels as I ever was.”
“Well, duh, this is JP we’re talking about. If I wasn’t head over heels for my own man I’d be jealous. You and Ava hit the jackpot with the Keller guys, let me tell you.”
“Let’s hope I don’t find a way to screw it up again,” I said just before we went our separate ways.
Twenty-two third-grade students kept me hopping, but not even the class prankster could ruin my good mood. I felt like I could get through anything with JP waiting at the end of my day…..along with the pot roast and vegetables I’d put in the slow-cooker before leaving that mornin
g.
When I left the classroom after the last bell had rung, I was exhausted but still smiling. I saw Whitney down the hall, talking with another teacher. When I walked past she waved and gave me a knowing smile. I guess it was obvious JP figured in my plans for the night.
I was home by three forty-five. I changed clothes then talked to my mom on the phone for a while. I’d already told her JP and I were making another run at it and she’d seemed happy to hear it. I’d halfway expected her to lecture me about setting myself up to get hurt again, but if she had any qualms she hid them well. She even invited us to their place for lunch next Sunday after church and I told her I’d check with JP and let her know.
Once I was off the phone, I stirred up a batch of red velvet cupcakes and while they baked, I made biscuits. Cooking for two was so much more fun than for one. Especially when number two had a big appetite and appreciated it so much.
I was spreading homemade cream cheese frosting on the cupcakes when I heard the front door open. He called out and I told him to come on back to the kitchen.
“Hey,” I said over my shoulder when I heard his footsteps. “How was your Monday?”
He walked up behind me and swept my hair to the side before pressing his mouth to my neck.
“Good. Better now,” he said against my skin.
I shivered as his arms circled my waist. “Me too.”
“Did you make me red velvet cupcakes?”
“Mmm hmm. Do you still like them?”
“Love ’em.”
I turned in his arms and smiled. “Open your mouth.”
He obliged, his blue eyes sparkling. I swooped my finger through the frosting bowl and deposited a big blob of it onto his tongue.
“Mmm.” He grabbed my finger and sucked off the frosting that remained. “Delicious.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said contentedly. “I taught twenty-two kids who are very much out of the habit of sitting still in school, thanks to Christmas break, but knowing I’d see you made it bearable. I was even patient with Nicky Bolillo when he pulled a mean prank.”
“On you? What’d he do? Put a frog in your desk drawer?”
I laughed. “No, it wasn’t on me, although I wouldn’t put the frog thing past him, if he could find a frog in January.”
JP stole another finger full of frosting from the bowl. “I want to hear all about it while we eat. Want me to set the table?”
I told him where to find the plates and silverware and he took care of the table while I finished the last few cupcakes and took the biscuits from the oven. The roast was so tender it almost fell apart on its own as I transferred it to a platter and arranged the vegetables.
JP sat down across from me and bowed his head while I said a quick prayer.
“How’d you have time to make all this?” he asked when I pushed the platter toward him.
“I put the meat and veggies in the Crock-Pot this morning before I left for work. The rest I made when I got home.”
He took a bite and smiled his approval. “Tell me about the prank kid,” he said before the second bite.
I rolled my eyes. “Nicky. He’s a character. He sneaked some Play-Doh out of the kindergarten room over lunch, mixed different colors to make it brown, then rolled it into a really thin sheet and put it on Nina Bilson’s chair. She sat on it all during math, and it got warm and soft and stuck to her pants. When she got up, Nicky yelled out that she pooped her pants.”
JP winced. “Aw, man. Poor Nina.”
“Yeah. Nicky chose her because she’s the shyest girl in the class. She was absolutely mortified.”
“What’d you do?”
“We were ready to head out of the classroom for library time, so I took the other kids there and left them with the librarian. Then I took Nina to the guidance counselor and we got her pants cleaned up. She stayed to talk with the counselor for a bit, and I went and pulled Nicky out of the library for a chat of our own.”
JP grinned. “I’m sure you had some words of wisdom to share.”
I took a bite of carrot and shrugged. “I tried. I think—I hope—it helped. I told him I know it’s hard for him to understand how bad he made Nina feel because he has lots of friends and people don’t pick on him. I gave him the whole 'put yourself in her shoes' talk, but I could tell it wasn’t making an impression. He was still really proud of his prank. So I asked him who he admires most in the whole world. He said his eighth-grade brother and his friends, who all play basketball, which is Nicky’s favorite sport. I asked if they ever let him play with them and he said no, they don’t like when he hangs around. I said okay then, imagine if they did let him play and the first shot he took was an air ball. And not just any air ball, but one that missed by a mile. Wasn’t even close. And imagine if they all burst out laughing at him while he stood there all alone, with no one to stand up for him.”
JP gave me an approving look. “And you told him that’s exactly how Nina felt.”
“Yep. I said it was even worse though, because she wasn’t even trying to fit in with kids who were considered cooler than her. She was just in school minding her own business and someone was mean.”
“Did he get it then?”
“Almost too much. He started feeling really bad, so I told him I knew he’d just been trying to make the other kids laugh, but next time he needed to think about how his actions would make the person he’s picking on feel.”
JP swallowed the last bite of a biscuit. “You’re a natural, Myla. Sounds like you handled that perfectly.”
His praise felt good and I hoped he was right. “We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. A little kindness by Nicky would go a long way with Nina, but that might be too optimistic.”
“Nicky and Nina,” JP said with a grin. “Sounds cute together. Maybe they’ll end up dating when they grow up and laugh about the day he put Play-Doh on her pants.”
I grinned and pointed my fork at him. “You’re a romantic, JP. A big, strong, tough romantic.”
He looked a little pained. “Maybe when it comes to you. Not so much otherwise.”
I put my sock-clad feet over his shoes. “I have to admit I enjoy a little romance, especially when it comes with that whole big and strong thing.”
“Don’t forget tough,” he teased. “How about I do the dishes to repay you for this amazing meal? Would that count as romance?”
I tilted my head. “Hmm, I don’t know if dishes can be romantic, but it would be a nice gesture. I’ll help, though—I can’t sit back and watch while someone else works.” I took a long drink of tea. “Now. Tell me about your day.”
After dinner and dishes, we took cupcakes and coffee out to the deck and sat close together by the fire.
“JP?” I asked when he grabbed my hand and once again sucked the frosting from my fingertips.
He raised a brow.
“This is romantic.”
He took my coffee mug and sat it on the ledge of the fireplace with his. Then he slid an arm around my waist and lifted me easily up and into his lap, turning me so I was straddling his thighs.
“I know it is,” he said, raising his hands and sliding them into my hair. “So’s making my favorite cupcakes.”
I grinned and rubbed my hands over his chest. “I like cooking for you.”
“I like letting you.”
I leaned forward to kiss him. “Wanna come again tomorrow?”
“Wherever you are is where I want to be,” he said. “We have a lot of time to make up for.”
I released a blissed-out sigh. “I’m going to enjoy every minute,” I promised.
“Me too.”
I almost told him I loved him. That I’d never stopped loving him. I held back because I wasn’t sure if the time was right. But I think he knew anyway.
Chapter 17
I
worked Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, thanks to the spread of the flu. By the end of the week I was physically weary and my brain was fried, but I considered it one of t
he best weeks I’d ever had. I adored teaching the kids and I adored spending every evening with JP.
The only downside was that one of us had to pick up and leave every night, out into the cold for the lonely drive home.
I longed for the day when that could stop.
We went over to Jude and Ava’s again on Saturday evening. Ava had received a set of fondue pots from one of her sisters for Christmas and was anxious to try them out. She said she needed guinea pigs who wouldn’t hate her if the meal was a complete disaster.
I decided we should go early so I could help her with the prep work. While the guys watched a college football bowl game, we chopped vegetables, cleaned shrimp, and cut beef and chicken into cubes. That was for the second course, which would be cooked in a seasoned broth Ava had already prepared. The first course was a mixture of cheeses, a little garlic, and some white wine. Ava mixed that up and turned on the burner on one of the three fancy copper fondue pots. Nothing but the best from sister Ella, Ava said.
While the cheese warmed, I sliced French bread into chunks, and also some soft pretzels. Those would be dipped in the cheese. The last course would be chocolate, of course. We prepared a platter of fruit and added chunks of angel food cake, rice crispy treats, and mini peanut butter cookies.
If the pots worked, it was going to be a delicious feast.
We checked the cheese, relieved to see it was melting nicely. Then we read the instructions for the broth. The temperature was important, because we needed to make sure the bites of meat could be thoroughly cooked in a short amount of time. The directions suggested heating the broth on the stove first, then pouring it into the pot where the alcohol fuel in the burner below would keep the temperature up. Ava searched through her drawers until she found a thermometer so we wouldn’t have to guess at the heat level.
We got the broth heating and were hunched over the counter trying to figure out how much chocolate to make when I felt familiar hands slide around my waist, coming to rest on my stomach. I straightened and leaned back against JP, raising a hand to curve around his neck.
“You guys hungry?” I asked.
“Starving. Jude sent me over here to see how we can speed up this process.”