by Elsie Davis
Her smile had been captivating as a child in the photos, and it was the same smile she gave him now when she spotted him coming her way. Gemma was a beautiful woman inside and out, her kind spirit an indicator that the fault for the relationship issue she had with Chad might not lay at her feet.
She hadn’t changed much from the final college picture he’d seen in the album, which to his guess would be about three years ago. Right about the time Jake moved to town and the same time frame when Chad had come to the medical center with health issues. Stress issues to be exact.
“Hey there.” Jake slid into the seat across from her.
“You made it. I ordered you a glass of tea but can get you something else if you want.” Gemma stacked the folders on the table to make more room.
“No, tea is fine. Listen, I think it’s amazing you’re doing this, and I know we got off to the wrong start, but I’d like to start over.” He meant every word. There was no reason they couldn’t be friends, so long as Kyle wasn’t involved.
“I’m all for that. It’ll make things easier.” Gemma pulled two papers and spread them out in front of her.
“I take it you worked it out with your job to stay here till after Thanksgiving?”
“You could say that. At first, my assistant didn’t want the extra responsibility, but when I dangled my commissions in front of her as a carrot, it was more than enough to make her feel ready to take over my current workload. She was ready to start handling her own stuff, and this should give her the confidence needed.”
“Perfect. But before you start, let’s get our orders in. I’ve got to be back to the office in forty-five minutes.”
“Sounds like a plan. It won’t take me long to go over my notes, I just want your input in case you think something won’t work. And I have a few ideas I need you to agree to.” The hesitation in her voice left him to wonder and worry about what she might have dreamed up.
After they ordered, Jake sat back, prepared to listen. “Start talking.”
“I’ve got several ideas for radio and TV promotions I’m hoping to be able to push through using Chad as the drawing card. I want to do a couple different posters we can use all over town and the neighboring communities. I’m hoping the rescue squad and the fire department could be convinced to help. I’m going to need them on carnival day to help with the setup and takedown of equipment. I was hoping you’d talk to them. Then I need you to come up with pictures of some of the rescues you’ve done. Cheerful pictures.”
“I can do that. I’m sure everyone will want to pitch in and help. As to the pictures, I’ll ask around to see who might have them.” Jake nodded.
“Great. I’ve got a ton more calls to make today. Food. Vendors. Games. I want a Ferris wheel, a blow-up bouncy play area, and a blow-up bouncy slide for the kids. I also want to build a maze out of hay bales, have a dunking booth, and a kissing booth. Maybe some of the local ladies could donate canned goods or food baskets people can buy.”
Gemma just kept talking, her words rolling out one after the other, but Jake’s attention had zeroed in on one item. He held up his hand to stop her.
“Let’s go back to the kissing booth. Exactly who do you have in mind for this?” Her face more than told him the answer he didn’t want to hear.
“That’s where you come in. Well, you and the single guys on the rescue squad.”
“No way.”
“Hear me out. You’re single. Probably the town’s most eligible bachelor. I’ve seen the way the women watch you. They’re probably green with envy because you’ve had lunch with me twice already. They’ll be worried I’m going to take you out of circulation. This will make them forget all about their silly notions.”
Silly notions. Not exactly a flattering description. “They have nothing to worry about. Not from you, and certainly not from anyone else. I’m not interested in dating. I have my hands full with my son, my job, the rescue squad, and the GiddyUp Kids. I’m not in the market for a woman.” It didn’t come out quite the way he planned, but it worked, making his intentions clear.
“Ouch. Direct hit. I’m not sure the insult was necessary considering I hadn’t put in an application to be your next girlfriend. And no one said you had to be in the market. This is about raising money. These same women will be more than willing to pay for a kiss. They’ll be lined up waiting for a chance to wow you with their lips, hoping to be the one to catch your attention. To be the one you can’t live without. And for that, women will pay the price.”
Jake didn’t like it, not one bit. The idea of being pawed over by a handful of women didn’t appeal to him at all. The idea of having to kiss strangers was worse. Bad breath ones. Caked-makeup ones. Bad-hair day ones. Waxed-red lips ones. Toothless ones. Not one iota of appeal.
“Find someone else to do your bidding.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back in the booth.
“Don’t be an old fuddy-duddy. It’s a fundraiser, not marriage. Have fun. If we want this event to do well, we need all the drawing cards we can get. You’d be one of them.” She didn’t give up easily.
“Does it mean you’re going to be in a kissing booth next to me lip-locking with a lot of men?” The image of other men in town, or worse, on the rescue squad, kissing Gemma didn’t make him happy.
She shook her head and grinned. “I intend to ask a few ladies if they want to join in the fun, but I can’t do it myself because I’ll be too busy making sure everything else is going according to plan.”
“I see how it is.” The truth was, he appreciated the idea she wasn’t readily lining up to attract male attention. Unlike his ex. “If I do this, it’s only on the cheek.”
“A kiss on the cheek will only get a dollar a pop. Typically, we use the five, one, one rule for the kissing booth.”
“I hate to ask what it means.” Since when did a kissing booth have rules?
“It means five dollars, for one kiss on the mouth or cheek, for one second.”
“Who in their right mind would pay five dollars just to touch lips?
“Lots of people. You’d be surprised. It’s about bragging rights to say they kissed so-and-so. And remember, it’s all in fun and to raise money.”
“Fine. I’ll do it for the rescue squad but also because I think you’re wrong. I doubt many women will be lined up to pay that kind of money to kiss anyone of us.”
“Time will tell.” She grinned. “And you’ll talk to the guys about it? Get them on board?”
“Sure. Whatever it takes.” There was no doubt he would regret it, but to raise the needed money he’d do it. Too bad Gemma would be busy—it might have been fun to see if she’d pay five dollars and wait in line to kiss him.
“Can I ask you a question?” The serious expression on her face caught his attention.
“I think we moved past this point considering you just sold my lips to the town for five dollars a pop. Feel free to ask anything, and I might answer you.” He grinned, still finding it hard to believe he’d agreed.
“What do you have against dating and women? It seems odd for a man like yourself, especially considering Kyle. One would think you’d consider dating for the simple aspect of finding him a new mother.”
Jake hadn’t expected a frontal attack on his dating principles. But then with Gemma, nothing about her was expected. “Not much to tell. I don’t date. Kyle has a mother, although not much of one, he does have one. And I don’t see any sense in saddling either one of us with another bad decision. We have each other, and we’re doing all right.”
He needed to keep his mouth shut. It was bad enough the town gossips knew all about his disastrous marriage and divorce. The last thing he wanted to do was stir up the gossip pot again.
“Did you ever stop and think maybe it was the wrong woman, at the wrong time. And maybe, just maybe you’d find the perfect person the next time around. You owe it to yourself and Kyle to try. What’s life, without love?”
“For your information, Kyle’s m
other made it the right time with an accidentally-on-purpose pregnancy. The idea of marriage to a big-city doctor held a lot of appeal, but it was nothing compared to giving love and devotion to a little boy who we discovered had a hearing problem. And not even the fact it was an X-linked autosomal recessive hearing loss mattered to her. Apparently having a special-needs child would hurt her image and take away from her party time.”
He couldn’t believe he was telling her all this. Not even Chad knew the entire story.
“What’s an X-linked autosomal recessive hearing loss? I’m not a doctor.”
“That means the gene for having a hearing problem was from his mother, and it’s passed through to male children. She never considered the repercussions when she planned on getting pregnant. She had a doctor on the hook to make her life easy. For all I know, her sole purpose in becoming a nurse was to find a doctor to marry.” Jake took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to defuse the growing anger thinking about his ex-wife.
“Poor Kyle. It just means he needs extra love and extra hugs. I’m sorry you had to go through that with your ex-wife. But you can’t paint all women with the same brush. We’re not all bad.”
“I’m not willing to take the chance. I didn’t come here to talk about my past. If we’re done, I need to get back to the office.”
Jake knew he’d hurt her feelings when she pulled away, fidgeting with the papers as she struggled to regroup from his dismissal, but he didn’t want her sympathy or her relationship advice.
Chapter Nine
Gemma rolled over and stretched but was reluctant to climb out of bed. Chad kept the house a lot cooler than she was used to, so it was hard to force herself out from under the covers. She grabbed a pair of socks from the shopping bag with her recent purchases and darted back to the bed to slide them on.
Next stop, the coffee pot. The caffeine boost was exactly what she needed to wake up her brain, but also to warm up her body. She made her way to the kitchen, Brody close on her heels. Chad had already made a pot, for which she was grateful, and after pouring a cup, she went in search of him.
“Chad?” she called out. When he didn’t answer, she sat down at the table, hoping he’d show up soon. They had lots to do today and a checklist that still had lots of unchecked boxes.
Yesterday was rife with speed bumps, something she didn’t have built into her timeframe. It all started when Jake had called to cancel their lunch date. No, not a date. Their lunch meeting. Part of her irritation had come because she’d actually been looking forward to seeing him again, and not necessarily all because of the fundraiser. And therein lie the problem.
He might be a handsome man with an adorable son, but it didn’t make him a candidate for a relationship in her book. Unfortunately, that hadn’t stopped her from wondering what it would be like if he was a relationship kind of guy. Add to it the little issue he didn’t want her anywhere near his son, and her wayward thoughts spelled disaster.
At least his reason for canceling had been legit. He’d set up an appointment with some of the guys from the rescue squad to discuss what needed to be done—exactly as she’d asked him too. It was just unfortunate the only time he could put together the meeting on such short notice, had been the same time as her and Jake’s lunch appointment.
Unless he’d planned it that way. Which was entirely possible.
Jake’s cancellation had only been the first of many hiccups yesterday. Trouble with suppliers and vendors had her calling in favors at the last minute. Print shops that could handle her order had been few and far between, but she’d finally managed to lineup one to handle her last-minute poster order. The only problem was that they needed the pictures no later than Thursday.
Luckily, the day ended on a high note, when she’d managed to put together radio and television advertisements. Chad Andrews was huge news around here, and his name carried weight in a bigger way than she could’ve imagined. With two radio stations agreeing to run three advertising spots every day between now and the carnival, she had to get Chad to the station to honor their end of the deal. The radio stations had agreed to donate airtime to contribute to the cause, all in exchange for a live interview with the Bullbuster.
The surprise bonus had come at the end of the day when the Concord TV station agreed to run a fifteen-second commercial to advertise the carnival each night leading up to the event. Their price required a bit more scheduling, but in the end, Chad agreed to do a live TV interview down at the station.
The interviews today meant she couldn’t meet up with Jake based on his available schedule, so she hoped he wouldn’t cancel out on tomorrow’s meeting. He’d promised her the photos and then she would rush them over to the printers. It wouldn’t leave them much time to hang the posters all over town and in some of the other local communities, but that’s exactly what had to happen if they intended to get the word out.
Chad still hadn’t shown up. She hoped he hadn’t forgotten they needed to leave early today. Gemma slipped on one of Chad’s heavy coats and an oversized pair of boots he’d left by the front door. She opened the front door, ready to brave the cold outside in order to let Brody out for a morning potty run. She didn’t trust him enough yet to let him out of her sight, no matter how cold it was outside.
“Chad!” she hollered, hoping to find him. The only answering sound was the birds singing their morning songs. Clutching her cup of coffee for warmth, she walked down the stairs and headed for the garage to see if he was there.
Chad was used to the spotlight. For him, today’s interviews would be no different than getting back on a bull and riding. Nothing to it. But Gemma didn’t see it that way at all. There were preparation questions the stations had sent over, and she preferred to go over them together. It was better to be prepared with answers than to stumble along. Not to mention, she needed to make sure he added plenty of plugs for the carnival.
And there was one other thing they needed to discuss before the interviews. Last night, she’d had a grand idea for a workshop that was sure to attract people from all over the county. But she needed to run it past Chad first and get his agreement.
She poked her head inside. It was completely dark, and there was no sign of him anywhere. Gemma glanced at her watch. It was time for her to get ready, and then they needed to leave.
“Brody,” she called. “Come on, boy. Time to go inside.” She clunked up the steps as fast as Chad’s boots would let her go without tripping. Brody pushed past her, eager to get inside. Apparently, he wasn’t a fan of this morning’s chill either.
Gemma got ready in record time and went in search of Chad. He knew they had to leave for the station soon. She walked down the hall towards his room. “Chad?” she called out, knocking twice on his bedroom door.
Still no answer. She checked the utility room and discovered his boots and hat were missing. He was already up and out which meant he was probably still down at the barn feeding the horses. She shook her head. At least they could go over the questions on the ride to town.
Gemma noticed the blinking light on the dryer. Chad had run a load of clothes the night before, and she’d added a few items of her own when he offered. Making herself useful, she unloaded the clothes into a basket and took them to the kitchen table to fold. She sorted the clothes into two piles, one for Chad and one for her.
Picking up his stack, she carried them down the hall. She’d never been in his room, but she didn’t think he’d mind. It wasn’t as though he’d ever told her not to go in, and she was doing him a favor. Besides, she was more than a teensy bit curious about Chad’s personal space.
She pushed the door open and entered, a sense of guilt washing over her, but the pile of clothes she carried was more than enough reason to be in his room. Placing the stack on his bed, she glanced. It wasn’t at all what she would have expected from Chad.
There weren’t any PBR memorabilia on the walls or on the dresser. Nothing to lay claim to his accomplishments. Come to think of it, she hadn’t no
ticed any memorabilia anywhere in the house.
The room was clean, pristine almost. A large, well-worn cushioned wooden chair sat in the corner by the window. The table next to it had been made from an old tree stump, the carving and intricate work spectacular. Another one of his creations perhaps?
Three pictures sat on top of the table facing the chair. Gemma’s curiosity slipped into overdrive. She crossed the room to inspect the unique woodwork and of course, to check out the photos. A sudden rush of blood pounded in her head as she forgot to breathe. There was a picture of her mom and two of Gemma.
She picked up the first one with trembling hands. She’d been five and sitting on top of a pony wearing her medal after competing in a race. A time she remembered well. It was one of those mixed emotion memories.
At first, she’d been so proud. Everyone received medals, but it hadn’t mattered, the joy of winning something a thrill. At least it had been until most of the other girls started posing for pictures with their dads. It had been one of those life-changing moments. It was what had prompted her to ask her mother about her father, and the answer had been heartbreaking.
The other picture was from three years ago. Her college graduation. A candid photo that was taken from a distance. The lump in her throat suffocating.
Gemma picked up the next photo. Her mother had always been classically beautiful, but the photographer had managed to capture her in a way that reflected a deep inner beauty as she laughed at something, completely unaware she was being photographed.
Glancing around the room, Gemma searched for more photos or more of anything to help her understand what she’d found, but there was nothing. She returned the pictures to the table, positioning them exactly as she’d found them, then turned and fled, not wanting to be caught in his room.
Later, she’d have time to think about what she saw and what it could mean.
Back in the safety of her room, she tried to regroup, knowing she needed to find a way to face him and pretend everything was okay.