by Laura Pavlov
“I’ll take the special.” I handed her the menu and Jett said he’d have the same thing as me.
His mother left us alone and I turned to face him. “Don’t you worry about me being disappointed.”
“Whatever you say. So where are we going?”
“Leave that to me.”
We made small talk and he told me he was dreading his meeting with Kylie tonight. We talked about Sherman and his dozens of text messages from the night before. We laughed about the fact that Sherman had apologized to me about my breakup with Alec, because he and Sadie Fareweather were actually dating now and he felt bad that I was single.
Mae set our food down and we both dug in.
“That dude is madly in love with you, you know that, right?” Jett said over a mouthful of pancake.
“He is not. He and Sadie are super cute together.”
“So how many times did dickhead blow up your phone after you got home? I thought he’d piss himself when he realized you were out there last night. And sitting by me of all people. The horror,” he said dramatically through his laughter.
Jett was funny.
And charming.
And warm.
And trustworthy.
He’d become an important person in my life over the past few weeks.
“He called a few times and I sent him to voicemail and then he started texting. I texted him back and said I wasn’t upset with him at all and was totally fine with him and Karina doing their thing. That led to, I don’t know, another fifty texts. I’d turned my phone off and gone to bed, but I found all the messages this morning. How did I not see how out of control he can be?”
“Because you always did what he wanted before. Now that he’s not getting what he wants from you, you get to see the real Taulson. That’s the guy I’ve known for years.” He pulled out a wad of cash and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the table.
“No. It’s on me,” I insisted, pulling my wallet from my purse. “I invited you.”
“Do not offend me, Ace. My mom won’t let us pay for breakfast, and I’m leaving the tip,” he said, moving to his feet.
He was also a gentleman which surprised me for a boy his age. Alec was totally fine with going dutch or taking turns paying. Which I’d never minded, but it was nice that Jett wanted to cover the tip for his mom.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. I feel like I owe you because you’ve let me take over your whole man cave lake area.” I followed him out and he paused to hug his mother. I waved goodbye and pulled my coat closed. It was a chilly December morning, and I tugged my hat over my head once we stepped outside.
Jett wore a hoody under his black leather coat and slipped on a pair of gloves. “My man cave is your man cave, Ace. So where are you taking me?”
“First stop, Violet’s floral shop.” Violet was one of my favorite people in Willow Springs. She owned the local floral boutique and I always loved visiting her there. It smelled like pine and cinnamon when we walked in.
“Addy Edington, say it isn’t so.” The older woman had to be pushing eighty years old, but she didn’t act like it. Her gray hair was slicked back in a tight bun, she wore a red sweater with brown reindeers on the front, and sparkly pom-poms were sewn on to give it some pizazz. “And is that Jett Stone? Well, I’ll be damned. What did I do to deserve being graced by two amazing youngsters?”
Jett laughed and I beamed up at him before he rolled his eyes at my excitement. “I’m taking Jett to all my favorite places in town today. Mama asked me to stop by and pay for an order she placed with you yesterday.”
Violet smiled and I handed her a credit card. “I told her there was no rush. Wait until you see the arrangements that she ordered for your holiday party. Mmm-mmm. They are gonna be something.”
“You always have the prettiest flowers in town.” I tugged at Jett’s arm and led him toward the large glass case holding endless blooms. “Are you telling me these don’t put you in a good mood?”
He laughed. “I’m not big on flowers. But sure, Violet’s nice. I’ve always liked her.”
“She’s easy to love. And this place always puts me in a good mood for some reason.” I pointed to the peonies. “Peonies aren’t in season often, but they are my absolute favorite. Look at those colors.”
“Nice. You might be the only girl in Texas who doesn’t favor the azalea,” he said, staring at the peonies as if he were trying to memorize them. I was surprised he knew about the famed Texas azaleas.
“How do you know about azaleas?” I asked.
“They’re Gram’s favorite. Mom and I get her a bouquet every year on her birthday.”
He continued to study the flowers just as Violet came around the counter and handed my credit card back. “All set. You two have a nice afternoon. I’m honored that you stopped here first. Where are you off to next?”
“The Chocolate Fountain for the world’s best hot cocoa.” I tucked the credit card in my purse and gave Violet a hug goodbye.
She reached for Jett and pulled him in for a hug. “Tell your mama I said hello. I need to head over to The Rusty Pelican for that sweet potato soup I love. I swear she adds a little extra cinnamon for me.”
“Will do, Violet,” Jett said as he patted her on the shoulder.
Once we were outside, I peeked up at him. “Not a terrible start, right?”
“You get props for starting with Violet. But if you think that old grumpy ass named Ballsack is going to win you any points, you are dearly mistaken. I don’t like that dude.”
I gave him a little shove as I laughed. Lenny Balsalcki was famously grumpy, but tender-hearted underneath all that hostility.
“Do you know that Lenny’s wife ran off with his brother twenty-some years ago? And then Kyle Peters opened his donut shop right next door, which cost Lenny a lot of business. You can’t really blame the guy for being bitter.” I shrugged as I pulled the door open and the bells chimed.
Lenny looked up to see us walking in, just as he set down a cup of coffee for Old Lady Winters. I’m not making up her name. She actually introduced herself as Old Lady Winters and that’s what everyone in town called her. In her defense, the woman had to be in her nineties, and she’d been old since the day I was born.
“Adelaide Edington. Who’d you drag in today?” Lenny squinted at Jett. “Ah, the quarterback. Don’t be thinking I’m going to tolerate a bunch of rowdy football players in here now, kid.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Jett seethed sarcasm as he lifted a brow when he looked down at me.
On the surface, it would appear that coming here was a mistake. But he had no idea how awesome this was going to be. Lenny Balsalcki was one of my favorite people in Willow Springs.
“We’ll take two specials, extra sprinkles,” I said proudly, slapping Jett’s hand away when he reached for his money. “It’s my turn. Don’t even try it.”
“I wouldn’t even take your money, son. I don’t need your pity. Addy here is a loyal customer, so if she wants to pay, she gets to pay.”
Jett shook his head with disbelief. “Seems like a tough business plan, but okay. No sprinkles on mine.”
“Did he really say no sprinkles?” Lenny barked out, slapping his hand down hard on the counter.
I covered my mouth with my hand. “Saying you don’t like sprinkles is a real slap in the face to Lenny. No one in town adds those sprinkles. It makes him one of a kind.”
“So does the fact that he’s rude as hell,” Jett whispered in my ear and his warm breath tickled my cheek. Goose bumps covered my arms, and it wasn’t because there was a chill in the air today.
“He’ll take the sprinkles,” I said before leaning in close to him and whispering right back. “I’ll eat them, you big baby.”
I paused to greet Old Lady Winters, who had her nose in the newspaper, on our way to a table. “Good morning.”
; “Good morning, young lady. And who do we have here? Ah… the football player. I’ve seen a few of your games and you’ve got a nice arm.”
Jett laughed now. “Uh, thanks. I appreciate it.”
“And you have a nice mama. She’s good people. Now skedaddle and let me read my paper in peace. I could die at any moment, and I’d like to know what’s happening in Willow Springs if that happens.”
We both chuckled before dropping to sit at a table in the back, and seeing as the place only had four tables, it wasn’t a far walk. “That woman creeps me out. You know there’re rumors that she murdered her husband.”
“Well, he apparently robbed the post office when he was young, so I think he had a lot of enemies,” I said, trying to cover my smile.
“Why the hell are we here?”
“Just wait. I drag the girls here every once in a while, but I come here alone most Saturdays when we finish eating at the diner. I find Lenny to be one of the most interesting characters in town. It’s part of the tour. Quit complaining and embrace it.”
He rolled his eyes for the millionth time today and pulled off his leather coat, placing it on the back of his chair. Lenny walked over and set down two hot chocolates covered in sprinkles.
My favorite.
Jett scrunched his nose and stared at the sweet monstrosity.
“Don’t make faces at it, boy. Eat it,” Lenny grumbled before pulling up an empty chair and joining us. Jett’s eyes widened and I shoved a spoonful of whipped cream in my mouth to keep from laughing.
“So, what’s been happening, Lenny?” I asked. He always sat with me when I visited his shop. I’d learned to love our lengthy conversations, even if they were a bit torturous at times.
“Well. For starters, that bastard, Kyle Peters is now serving dogs at his so-called donut shop. Did you hear me? Four-legged creatures are now customers of that fool. The damn scoundrel doesn’t know how to run a business.”
Jett cocked his head to the side, looking out the window to see the line forming next door. Kyle Peters’ donuts were famous in Willow Springs. Not that I’d ever tried one out of loyalty to Lenny. He’d never forgive me.
“I’ve had his donuts and they’re damn good.” Jett scraped some of the whipped cream off the top of his cocoa and dropped it on the little plate that held his mug, and Lenny gasped.
“You eat his donuts, and you scrape off my whipped cream? Let me tell you what I think, Mr. Hot-Shot quarterback. That bastard doesn’t make his own donuts. He sources them out and then he resells them to humans and dogs. He’s got long hippie hair and no manners. I can’t believe he gets returning business with the way he’s running things.”
Jett stared at Lenny with surprise as the older man proceeded to tell him his life story. About how his wife ran off with his brother. How his dog got hit by a car fifteen years ago and he’d never gotten over it. He told Jett about Flutterbug, his cat who has peed all over his carpet and brought down the equity in his home. His car didn’t start this morning, and he wasn’t about to take it to Wren’s Mechanic, because one of the guys that works for Wren stole his lunch box when they were kids. So now he’d have to walk the whole block home.
“Wow. That’s—a lot.” Jett drank the last of his cocoa and I didn’t miss the empathy I saw when he looked at Lenny. Alec found Lenny to be annoying and wouldn’t sit through a conversation with the older man, so I never brought him back after the first time he’d come here with me.
“Thank you. And did I tell you most of my friends are all dead? Yep. And they all had open caskets at their funerals, which wasn’t a good thing. Can’t get that image out of my head now. Not that it’ll matter much in the future with my cataracts. Won’t be seeing much by next year this time anyway, and God knows my teeth are no good. Hell, these top ones I’ve got here,” he held up his gums to show Jett his unusually white top set of teeth, “these aren’t even mine.”
“You don’t say,” Jett said with a smirk.
“I do say. I swear that scoundrel dentist of mine gave me my dead friend Peter’s teeth and called them veneers. He thinks he can just paint dead men’s teeth white and sell them for new. He’s nothing but a crook, that Dr. Jason. And who uses a first name after doctor? A thief, I tell you.”
Jett chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. “You want me to borrow my friend Shaw’s truck and come jump your car later today?”
Lenny looked from me to Jett and smiled. The man actually smiled. Those ungodly white teeth nearly blinded me, and I used my hand to cover my mouth. “Well, look at you, Mr. Hot-Shot quarterback. That would save me from going to that scoundrel for a jump.”
“Consider it done. I’ll stop by tonight.”
Lenny pushed to his feet when the door flew open and Mr. and Mrs. Goldsmith walked in.
“You know a lot of people say those two might be swingers. Do you know what that is?” Lenny whisper-shouted so anyone within earshot could hear him.
Jett put a fist over his mouth, trying to hide his laugh. “Yeah, I know what that is.”
“I think she’s been hitting on me for years. You know. Trying to recruit me as some sort of sex slave.”
“We can hear you, you crazy old bastard. We’re barely gettin’ it on ourselves these days, what with my sciatica and her bad hip. No one’s recruiting you for anything more than some goddamn hot chocolate. So, get your ass over here and make us two specials, you grumpy old fart.”
“How’d he hear me?” Lenny asked as he walked toward the counter.
“I heard you loud and clear and I’m older than dirt,” Old Lady Winters said.
“Shall we?” I asked Jett, barely holding back my laughter.
“See you later, Lenny,” Jett called out as we made our way outside and he slipped his jacket back in place.
“Holy shit, Ace. That was fucking amazing.” His dark eyes danced with mischief and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Stick with me, kid. I’ll show you all the magic that is Willow Springs. How am I doing so far?”
“I’ve got to say, you’re two for two. That dude is one crazy, grumpy old fucker, and I kind of love him.”
“Right? He’s one of my favorites.”
“And for your information, I’ve heard the same rumor about the Goldsmiths.” Jett winked and my stomach did some kind of flip.
I didn’t analyze it or wonder what it meant.
I was just enjoying myself.
We walked through town and I pointed out Lulu’s Boutique where I always found my dresses for dances. And the old-fashioned candy store that I’d been going to since I was a kid. We paused at the fountain in the courtyard and I handed him a penny and we both made a wish. I reminded him that come spring the azaleas would be in bloom and the sidewalks would be lined with pink and red flowers.
“Have you ever taken a ride on the Texas State Railroad?” I asked, as we approached the small train station.
“Nope. Shaw told me and Jax it was haunted when we were kids, and I’ve stayed the hell away.” He laughed.
I laughed with him. “Buckle up, Stone. Prepare for the beauty of East Texas’ piney woods. Hopefully, we don’t see any ghosts.” I teased, bumping his shoulder with mine.
“I don’t fuck with ghosts, Ace.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and the corners of his mouth turned up.
As we boarded the train, I realized this wasn’t only a tour for Jett.
This was the most fun I’d had in Willow Springs in a long time.
And I was in no hurry for this day to end.
Chapter Fourteen
Jett
“What can I do for you, Jett?” Wren asked, as he pushed to his feet. I’d heard he spent his days at the auto shop that he owned, and I knew Clyde wasn’t going to give me those fights without Wren’s approval. His office was fairly spacious, and he came around his desk, so we were standing ey
e to eye.
“Well, it seems that I can’t get my name down for any fights because you aren’t allowing it.” I crossed my arms over my chest and my worn leather jacket stretched with the movement.
“I don’t think your mom would be all too happy if you got hurt when you’re just a few months away from leaving for school.”
Who the fuck did he think he was?
Even if Wren was my sperm donor, he hadn’t been in my life the way a father should be, so he had no right to tell me how to live.
Not to mention the fact that if he were my father, it meant that he’d violated my mother in ways I couldn’t allow myself to comprehend. Because that would mean that I’d have to hurt him. Make him pay for what he’d done.
“I don’t think that’s any of your business.” I squared my shoulders. He was about my size in both height and weight, but I figured I had youth on the old bastard, although he struck me as a bit of a badass.
“It’s my club, so it’s my business.”
“So, do you tell other guys how often they can fight? Or you’re just singling me out for some fucking unknown reason.”
“No. You’re the only one. Your mom is a friend of mine. She’s a good lady. I know she loves you, so I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
“Why is that, Wren? Is it guilt?”
“Guilt? No, kid. I don’t do guilt. Like I said, your mom is a friend of mine,” he said, keeping his voice even and his eyes never wavered from mine. I’d heard Wren could be an asshole and people in this town feared him, but I’d never seen that side of him.
“Well, she’s not making enough money at The Rusty Pelican to keep up with Gram’s medical bills. I need these fights so I can help her out.” I hated the desperation in my voice, but I knew I needed him if I wanted to make this happen.
“You’re giving the money to your mom?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” I hissed with irritation. I hated kissing his ass. But until I knew for sure if he’d hurt my mom, I’d keep my thoughts to myself. Ma did not appear frightened by him, but then again, she was a tough lady who never showed fear, so how would I know?