While he had his phone out, he sent her a quick text apologizing for not meeting her.
It's okay. Glad you're writing is going so well. I knew you'd get your groove back.
I really have. It's amazing. There's nothing like it.
Jasmine sent a string of dancing and cheering smilies. I can't wait to read it.
It's going to be a while before it's even close to ready.
No problem. I still have to finish the first one. A couple hearts followed.
He sent some hearts, also. How's your day going? I really wanted to see you.
Me, too. It's good. It was so relaxing to actually sleep in a bed, and then some coworkers got me new dance clothes.
Wow, that's awesome. I'm so glad things are turning around for you. No one deserves it more.
Oh, you're too sweet. Dancing hearts followed.
I mean it. I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?
Not yet. My class is going to start soon, though. I'm just sitting on your bench watching some birds.
My bench? Zachary laughed. I didn't realize I had a bench.
It's the one you always sit at near my classroom.
Ah, I see.
Wish I could keep chatting. Gotta get to my class.
Glad we could talk. Kind of. He sent some laughing smilies.
Me, too. Can't wait to see you again. I miss you.
His heart skipped a beat. I miss you, too.
Oh, and keep writing! Don't lose your flow.
Zachary's heart warmed. Having her support meant everything. It was hard to believe a week ago, he didn't even know her. The days since meeting her had changed him, and now he would do anything for her, and to keep her.
She already believed in him and wanted to be there for him, but he wanted to do more for her, too. He hadn't really even done anything to deserve all of her support and kindness. Especially with her being down on her luck with the fire, this was his chance to give back. But how? What could he do?
He stuck some leftovers in the microwave and looked out the window, trying to figure it out. He didn't have much money, and what little he did have was quickly dwindling away—it was worth it. He had spent it all on Jasmine.
After eating, he went back to his laptop and wrote a bunch of notes for what he wanted to write for the rest of the novel, and then turned off the computer. It was getting late, but he needed to head over to the Hunter Family Store and see if they needed any help. Even if he could earn just twenty bucks, he could take Jasmine out somewhere that night.
Zachary looked in the mirror. He didn't look great, but well enough to head for the store. He didn't want to waste any time in the shower. It was time for action.
He jumped in his car and sped off for the shop. He had to park a block away, but it was better than walking from home. There was no time to waste. When he got inside, Cruz was stocking shelves and Jake was with some kid at the registers taking care of a long line of customers.
Zachary went over to Cruz. "Need any help?"
"Hey, bro." He held out his fist and Zachary bumped it with his. "Strapped for cash?"
"You know it," Zachary said. "I want to take Jasmine out tonight, but I can't even afford ice cream."
"Fill out a punch card in the back room and then grab a box. We have a ton of inventory to stock, so your timing couldn't be better, yo."
"Good." Zachary went to the back room, not surprised to see that it looked exactly the same as it had in high school. Some things never changed, and that was actually kind of comforting. He found a punch card, stuck it in the time clock, and jumped when clicked loudly, stamping the card. Something else that didn't change.
He filled out his name and address, and then stuck it in a slot on the wall. He turned around and saw the pile of boxes. Had all the vendors delivered that day? Glancing over the labels, he found one with items near where Cruz was stocking shelves. That way, they could talk while filling the shelves. It would be good to catch up, and it would make the time go by faster.
Zachary picked up the box and headed back to where Cruz sat.
"Oh, good. You've got another box, and I was worried we'd run out," Cruz joked.
"Yeah, right," Zachary said. "We could work until closing and still have boxes left over." He pulled out his pocketknife and broke the seal of the box. He pulled out some snack items and stuck them on the shelf.
"Jasmine seems nice," Cruz said. "Is it serious?"
Zachary paused. "Seems to be going in that direction. I've never met anyone like her."
"I'm starting to feel left out." Cruz stood, flattening his box. He shoved it behind Zachary's box and then took some snacks out of it and put them on the shelf.
"You looking for a girlfriend?" Zachary asked.
"Not a chance, dude. All the rest of you could have cute little families, and I'd still be happy living the single life. You know my plan, right?"
"Open a tattoo shop?" Zachary asked.
"Yeah. Ideally, I'd like to find a place that could double as a home and a parlor. Like, I could live in the back or the second level. With the late hours, it'd be nice to already be home."
Zachary put more snacks on the shelf and realized the box was already empty. "Where are you looking?"
"Lemme grab another box first." Cruz flattened the box and took both back into the back room, coming out with a new one. He pulled out his knife and opened it. "I was looking at some places not too far away, but ran into issues with zoning."
"You've made it that far?" Zachary asked, impressed.
"Dude, yeah. I want this as bad as Brayden wants his urgent care clinic. It's just that Kittle Falls is less excited about a tat parlor than health care."
"I can see that. They're probably worried about the type of people it'll attract."
"But what I'm trying to get them to see is it'll bring in serious revenue. They have no idea." Cruz shoved a box of candies on the shelf harder than necessary.
"Can you have the business be something else that just happens to also provide tattoos?" Zachary asked.
"If I have to, but I want to be true to my dream, man."
Zachary grabbed another bunch of snacks from the box. "Even Brayden had to do things differently than he wanted. Change some things up."
"Yeah, I know. I just have things in my mind the way I want them, and that's how I want them."
Knowing Cruz, that wasn't surprising. "Hey, I understand. Really, I do. Look at my book. I wouldn't put romance in when that's what the publishers demanded, and now look at me. Back home with Mom and Dad, sleeping in the same bed I did in the first grade."
Cruz shrugged. "And now they're stoked. All of us are back in town. It's not all bad."
"Neither is a little compromise." Zachary folded the empty box and then the two of them went into the back room and got some more boxes.
"Then write a romance." Cruz arched an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Zachary laughed. "I'm not writing a romance. I did write some romance into my second novel—look at that. I did compromise."
Cruz shook his head. "Now that I have to read."
"You should. You'd probably like it." Zachary thought of how much their mom had been bugging Cruz to find a girlfriend. "Maybe it'll even inspire you to get a girlfriend," he teased.
Cruz gave him a little shove. "You've been listening to Mom too long."
"Just sayin'."
"Hey, Jake," Cruz called, glancing toward the registers. "You need Zachary, here, to help you with the customers?"
Jake turned their way. "Actually, yeah. Calvin has to leave early and Bella can't come until her regular time."
Cruz eyed Zachary. "Go bug Jake."
"Whatever. You'll find your dream coming true faster if you're willing to give a little. Just think about it."
"If I'm looking for advice, I'll let you know." Cruz turned back to the shelf, cramming candies on.
Zachary felt bad. He hadn't meant to upset Cruz. His brother was usually so good natur
ed, always laughing and teasing. It was a little unsettling to have upset him.
"What's with Cruz?" Jake asked as Zachary came around to the other side of the counter.
"Don't talk to him about his tattoo shop."
"I could have told you that," Jake said. "It's a sensitive subject at the moment. The city council is giving him a lot of grief over the whole thing. They want him to take it somewhere else, but you know Cruz."
"His way or the highway."
"That's our Cruz."
The rest of the afternoon flew by as the shop stayed busy with tourists coming and going. It was nice to catch up with Jake during the small breaks they had. With Jake married and living in his own house, Zachary hadn't seen as much of him since coming back to town.
"How's Tiffany?" he asked.
"She's good, but she's been getting sick a lot, so not able to help out here as much. I'm really glad you came by."
"Always good to be broke." Zachary laughed.
"If you need extra cash, we definitely need the help here. I don't want to put any pressure on Tiffany. She doesn't have morning sickness. It's more like all-day sickness."
"That sucks. She seemed okay at dinner last night."
"Did you notice she barely ate anything?" Jake asked.
"No, sorry."
Another rush of customers came, and before he knew it, it started to get dark outside. He'd missed another meal with Jasmine. He pulled out his phone—of course, a missed text. Sighing, he checked it.
Lana's family invited me to out to dinner with them. Can we get together tomorrow?
Zachary sat down. "What a relief," he mumbled.
Jake turned to him, giving him a curious look.
"Jasmine."
"How's that going?" Jake asked. "She seems to like you a lot."
"I'd like to keep it that way."
"When Tiffany feels better, we'll have you guys over. That'll be a date you don't have to pay for."
Zachary rose and leaned against the counter. "How did you convince Tiffany to stay in town?"
"How could she resist this?" Jake waved his hands up and down in front of himself.
Zachary burst out laughing. "I've missed your humor."
"You think I was joking?" Jake looked hurt.
"Stop."
Jake grinned. "Seriously, I don't know. She didn't want to stay, that's for sure. Not at first, anyway."
"I need to figure something out," Zachary said. "Her internship ends at the end of the summer, and that's not far away."
"Win her over, Zachary. Make it so that nothing else looks as good compared to being with you. Use your smile—every one of us has been jealous of that since birth."
"You have?" Zachary wasn't convinced, though he'd heard it all his life.
"Sometimes you can be so dense." Jake gave him a playful punch. "Girls have always fallen over themselves when you smile. At the risk of sounding flowery, you've got a smile that lights up a room."
Zachary shoved him. "You do sound flowery, and I'm the writer."
"Use it to your advantage. We all have something. You're creative and have that grin. Put them together and make Jasmine want to stay in Kittle Falls. I saw the way she looks at you. It won't take much."
Nineteen
Jasmine's smart phone beeped, letting her know the battery was about to die. She groaned. It was horrible timing. She was getting close to the end of Zachary's story, and she didn't want to put it down.
She turned off the screen and went to find her plug. The one that had been in her scorched condo. The fire was proving to be more and more of a headache each time she realized she needed something that was now ashes. What were the chances that someone in the house had a matching plug?
Jasmine went downstairs and found Dwight and Susan watching a movie. Lana was out helping Brayden with something for his clinic.
"I hate to bother you," Jasmine said, "but I need to plug my phone in and I don't have a charger anymore."
"Let's see what we can do," Susan said. She aimed the remote at the TV, pausing the movie. "Mine's down here already, so let's give that a try first." She went over to the kitchen and Jasmine followed.
Susan held up the end of the cord. "Does this look like the right shape?"
Jasmine looked at it, unsure. "Can I try it?"
"Sure." Susan handed it to her.
Jasmine tried fitting it, but it was too big.
"Dwight, where's yours?" Susan called.
"In the dining room."
"Of course." Susan went over to the dining room table and found the charger under a pile of his papers. "Try this one, dear."
Jasmine slid it into her phone. It was a perfect fit. "Can I use it upstairs?"
"Go right ahead." She handed it to Jasmine. "Did you call about the insurance? All of this stuff should be replaced. And soon, I would think."
"No. I got busy. I'd call tomorrow, but they'll be closed on the weekend. Maybe I'll leave a message and try back on Monday."
"Just get it taken care of, sweetie. They surely have a time limit, and you've already been through enough."
Jasmine gave her a weak smile. "Thanks. I will."
Susan put her hand on Jasmine's arm. "Don't think I'm rushing you out. You're welcome here as long as you need a place. I just don't want to see you taken advantage of. Insurance companies will take money all day long, but they hate paying it out."
"I appreciate it." And she really did. It was nice to receive some motherly advice—she'd never gotten any growing up, unless the occasional concerned teacher counted.
"If you need anything, just let us know. We'd be happy to help." Susan smiled and then went back to her movie with Dwight.
Jasmine watched them snuggled on the couch together. She tried to imagine what her life would have been like had her parents been like that. Not just sitting together, but seeming to enjoy each other's company after probably more than thirty years together. No cigarettes, yelling, or cursing. Nothing broken to step around.
Jasmine shook her head and hurried up to her room. She plugged in the phone as close to the bed as she could. She opened the reading app and picked up where she'd left off. Because of the cord, she had to lay at a funny angle, but the only thing she cared about was getting to the end and finding out what happened to Damion. If she ended up sore or with a kinked neck, it would be worth it.
Her pulse raced as she read the final chapters. After she finished, she rolled over onto her back, trying to breathe normally again. Zachary was a seriously talented writer. They just needed to get the book into people's hands. The publishers might not give it a chance, but readers would love it—and clamor for the next one. She was already itching to read it, even though it wasn't fully written yet.
There was a knock on the door. Did Dwight need his charger already? She sat up, looking at her phone. It was only at fifty percent. That was better than nothing.
She opened the door, but Lana stood there instead. "How are you?" she asked, smiling.
"Worn out." Jasmine ran a hand through her hair.
Lana raised an eyebrow. "From what? Mind if I come in?"
Jasmine stepped back, allowing her into the room, and then closed the door. "How's Brayden?"
"Getting a little stressed. Everything is coming together for the clinic, but he's getting tripped up over some of the details. I told him there are a lot of things that need to come together and he's better off relaxing, but those Hunter boys." She shook her head, blonde waves getting in her eyes.
"What?" Jasmine asked.
"They're perfectionists. Haven't you noticed?"
Jasmine thought about it. "Yeah, I guess I can see that."
"I'm not saying it's a bad thing," Lana said. "It can just be a little annoying at times. I'm a big picture kind of girl, so I don't get it, but I do appreciate his attention to detail. Someone has to." She shrugged. "I guess that's where balancing each other out comes into play."
"Sounds like you two are perfect for each other."
Lana beamed. Then she turned her attention back to Jasmine. "So, why are you so worn out? You never said."
"I just finished Zachary's book. I feel like I've been through a war." Jasmine giggled.
"Is that a good thing?"
"Yeah. The book is so good. I could see everything like I was watching a movie, only it was more intense."
"And that's the one the publishers won't even look at?" Lana asked.
Jasmine nodded. "They don't know what they're missing."
"You guys have to show them."
"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked. "How can we do that? His agent couldn't even do that, and it's her job."
"I've got a cousin who's an author, and she's been selling her books online herself. She writes things that she says publishers would never touch, but people love it. She sells hundreds of copies every month of each one and has cut back her hours at work. Actually, I keep waiting to hear she's quit."
"Really?" Jasmine asked. "What does she write?"
Lana looked away, seeming embarrassed. "I probably should read some of it, huh? She's my cousin. Well, she describes it as Little House on the Prairie meets Star Trek meets zombies."
"Come again?" Jasmine asked.
Lana laughed. "I know it sounds weird, but there's an audience."
"If that's the case, then Zachary would make a killing. His thriller has mass appeal."
"You think he'd be open to trying online sales?" Lana asked. "I mean, if Erin can find an audience, it sounds like he really could."
"I have no idea. He seems pretty intent on getting a deal."
"That might be his in for publishing, though. Erin said publishers sometimes go after authors who are doing really well selling ebooks."
Jasmine scratched her head. "I wonder if Zachary knows that."
"You should find out. I don't know any more than I just told you, but it might be the answer he's looking for."
"Would you be willing to talk to your cousin?" Jasmine asked. "I'll see if Zachary's interested."
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