Country Hearts

by Cindi Madsen

  Bailey giggled, and then she and Jemma shared a glance and launched a full-scale attack against Wyatt. Sprinkles flew, frosting was flung, and the counters were soon even messier than when she’d arrived.

  Finally they called a truce so they’d have enough supplies to finish the rest of the cupcakes.

  A tantalizing swirl of affection corkscrewed through Jemma when she looked at the cowboy standing next to her, covered in pink, purple, and blue frosting, sprinkles stuck to it and in his hair. She imagined she appeared equally as disheveled, and yet, she couldn’t stop smiling. Couldn’t stop the longing that came along for the ride.

  Bailey glanced at the time and gasped. “People are going to be here in ten minutes. I have to change!” She streaked out of the kitchen and disappeared down the hall.

  When Jemma turned back around, Wyatt had a washrag and was taking it to the mess they’d made. She finished up the last few cupcakes, arranged them on a big platter, and then helped with the last of the cleaning.

  Ten minutes passed in a blur, and both she and Wyatt glanced at the door when the bell chimed, their eyes both on the wider side.

  “I can get it,” Jemma said, starting toward the door.

  Wyatt caught her hand and gave it a quick squeeze, much like his daughter had done the other day after school. Only, his eyes bored into hers, peering deep down into the very core of her. “Thank you. I’m not sure what I would’ve done without your help.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said, her voice slightly breathless.

  Then she turned and practically floated across the room to answer the door.

  The party was winding down, and Wyatt glanced at Jemma, the way he’d been doing since she’d shown up at his door and saved him and this party.

  As Bailey had opened presents, Jemma had snuck out to her car and returned with poster board she kept “for emergencies.” She’d drawn a giant rainbow and asked to use his printer. When the party hit a lull, she’d brought out what she’d been working on and had the girls play Pin the Unicorn on the Rainbow, using one of her silky scarves as a blindfold.

  The girls had giggled endlessly, and Bailey Rae had grinned wider than ever, teeth and all, exuding happiness at every turn.

  Every time he’d remember something needed done and go to do it, Jemma had been a step ahead of him. They made a good team, the areas they were prepared for vastly different, their strengths complementing each other.

  After the last parent came by to pick up their child, he sagged back against the wall, exhaustion hitting him with the adrenaline fading.

  Voices drifted from the other room, and he pushed himself off the wall and paused in the archway of the living room. Bailey Rae was seated on the couch talking to Jemma, a serious expression on her face, and he didn’t want to intrude.

  “You really don’t think my teeth look too big? At the beginning of the school year, Jessica B. said they were Bugs Bunny teeth, and for a while I stopped smiling, but I hate not smiling.”

  Immediately Wyatt bristled, his protective instincts going into overdrive—looked like he needed to have a chat with Jessica B. He’d already suspected someone had said something, but hearing his daughter say it aloud made an ache form in the center of his chest.

  He hated that he couldn’t prepare her better for the world. For times when people were unkind.

  “They’re not too big at all! You’re beautiful, and I love your perfect smile. It makes me smile every time I see it.” Jemma brushed the curly strands of hair that’d fallen into Bailey Rae’s eyes off her face. “When I was your age, I thought my ears were too big—a few of the girls in my class teased me about how one always poked out of my hair.”

  Jemma turned her head to show Bailey Rae, although he thought the way her ear peeked out was adorable. He also smiled at the few remaining sprinkles that stood out against her dark locks. “I heard about this surgery that pins ears back, and I was determined to save up my money and get it done.”

  Bailey Rae pushed onto her knees and swept back Jemma’s hair. “Did you have the surgery? Because they look like normal ears.”

  “Nope. No surgery. I either grew into them, or it was all in my head. As you can see, occasionally my ear still sticks out of my hair, but I just shrug it off. I like my hair. I like my ears, and I especially like wearing big, dangly, sparkly earrings.”

  The grin on his daughter’s face grew even brighter, making her cheeks stand out. “I like my smile. And I like being happy.”

  A mixture of relief and gratitude went through him, washing away the ache that’d formed, and he walked into the living room. Both of them glanced up at him as he approached.

  Bailey Rae shot up and hugged him around the waist. “Thank you so much, Daddy. It was the best. Party. Ever.”

  Wyatt was about to tell her to thank Jemma, but before he could, his daughter spun and hugged her. And because he could see the fondness that filled Jemma’s expression as she hugged his daughter back, a few of his worries faded.

  “I know we already had dessert, but could we watch a movie and relax now?” His daughter flopped back on the couch and dramatically put her wrist to her forehead. “I’m exhausted.”

  He and Jemma exchanged a smile, and then she pushed to her feet. “I’ll let you guys get to relaxing.”

  Everything in Wyatt screamed no, don’t go yet.

  Bailey Rae grabbed her teacher’s hand and basically voiced the same feeling. Jemma glanced at him, a silent question in her big blue eyes.

  “Stay,” he said. He almost added, unless you’re too tired, or unless you need to go, but selfishly, he didn’t want to give her an excuse to leave.

  His daughter was already seated on the far side of the couch, and Jemma sat back down in the middle cushion, which left him no choice but to sit right beside her. Not that he would’ve chosen differently.

  He hardly noticed when Bailey Rae started up a familiar movie. All his attention was on how relaxing it was to have Jemma with them for their movie night. How right it felt.

  Jemma’s blinks became longer and longer, and her posture slackened. Bailey Rae leaned against her side, and Jemma drifted to his, her head coming to rest on his shoulder.

  Here I am, the only one awake, and I’m watching a movie with choreographed musical numbers. But he didn’t move, because moving might mean losing being this close to Jemma.

  As he closed his eyes and basked in the peaceful happiness, he contemplating letting himself go, just a little bit. As long as he focused on friendship, he could keep his expectations real and be able to have Jemma in his life more.

  Yeah, he was tired, but as he joined the two women in dreamland, he also decided it was the best idea he’d ever had.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The name at the top of Jemma’s inbox Tuesday afternoon made her tummy feel like she’d downed a package of Pop Rocks and followed it up with soda.

  She quickly glanced around, confirming she was alone before clicking to read the email, savoring each word and reading it in Wyatt’s voice.

  I don’t check my email often, so I just got this. What do you need me to do to help with the play? I’m pretty good at using my overwhelming strength for making messes if that helps.

  PS, better text your reply so I’ll see it today instead of next week after you’re cursing my name for not helping you with your disasters.

  Her phone was in her hand, her thumbs moving across the screen as she let herself grin like a smitten Cheshire cat.

  First of all, my play is not a disaster. Second of all, how are you at using your perfectly sufficient muscles to swing a hammer?

  After a moment or two spent waiting, she refocused on the stack of papers in front of her. Logically, she knew Wyatt was often in the middle of manual labor tasks that didn’t allow him to quickly shoot off a text, but her paranoid brain traveled back to those days when he
hadn’t replied.

  No more sitting around waiting on him. She wasn’t going to be that girl anymore.

  Her phone chimed, and she scrambled to pick it up, making it clear she wasn’t quite as cool as she was mentally telling herself to be.

  Wyatt’s text read, Downgraded to perfectly sufficient? Really? That’s how you want to play this?

  You’re the one who said overwhelming, not me, Jemma replied. I like to call it speaking the truth.

  Of course, she knew if she pulled out her dictionary app and typed in “overwhelming,” it would tell her the word was an adjective, one that meant very great in amount or so great as to render resistance useless. Which might describe the way she felt in Wyatt’s presence a little too accurately.

  Apparently you need another demonstration, Wyatt texted. When do you need me?

  Saying “right now” probably wouldn’t be in the play-it-cool category, but she missed him. Missed the tantalizing joy being around him brought on and how much she laughed whenever they were together. The fact that she’d accidentally fallen asleep on his shoulder Saturday night proved she was growing more and more comfortable around him.

  All those lonely feelings she was used to living with were long gone any time she was around Wyatt and Bailey.

  Jemma replied, Saturday is the big set-building day so we can have a full week to practice onstage. Several students and parents will meet in the gym at three.

  Her phone rang, vibrating in her palm, and a combination of disappointment and impatience rose up. Who was calling, and why did they have to do it while she was in the middle of talking to Wyatt? Who knew how long she had before he’d be on to another activity?

  Every negative emotion faded when she saw Wyatt was the one calling her. She answered, excitement quickening her pulse and dancing across her skin.

  “I know this is going to make me sound like an old man,” Wyatt said as soon as she answered, “but I don’t like texting. My thumbs are too fat and callused, plus it’s just easier to call and have a simple conversation.”

  “I’ll refrain from teasing you,” Jemma said, mostly because she’d rather hear his voice than take the watered-down version in her head any day.

  To tell the truth, it was a nice change. Most guys she’d dated hated talking on the phone. More than once she’d concluded it would’ve been much easier to have a quick conversation than a strung-out one that had often left her feeling distant instead of closer.

  “Saturday’s too far away. How about you eat dinner with Bailey Rae and me tonight? Least I could do to repay you for helping me out with the birthday party.”

  Without thinking and on automatic courtesy mode, she about said there was no need to repay her, but how could she pass up dinner with Wyatt and Bailey? “I suppose my frozen, microwavable dinner will wait for me one more night. What time, and what do you need me to bring?”

  “How’s six? And just yourself.”

  “That’s perfect.” You’re perfect.

  Whoa there, thoughts. Getting a little carried away.

  She’d promised herself she wouldn’t repeat her past mistake of thinking she and a guy were heading to somewhere beyond friendship, and she needed to be careful. But that didn’t mean she should settle for being lonely when she had the means to change the situation.

  “See you then,” Wyatt said, and she wished him goodbye.

  After outlining tomorrow’s lesson, she gathered her stuff and crammed it in the big bag she lugged around. On autopilot, she turned to where she kept Señor Fluffypants’s cage, but then she remembered she’d left him home to give him a day off from the constant attention. The kids were great with him, but her bunny had seemed a smidge tired from the hustle and bustle yesterday afternoon.

  On her way out of the school, she ran into Camilla, who held the door open for her. “Hey, do you want to grab dinner at the diner? I know it’s a bit early, but I’m starving.”

  “I, um, actually have dinner plans.” The giant smile that spread across her face couldn’t be helped, in spite of the fact that she was so going to get busted.

  Camilla’s eyebrows disappeared underneath her dark hair, satisfaction heavy in the curve of her smile. “Let me guess. With one of our town’s most eligible single fathers?”

  “And his daughter. It’s just because I helped him out of a bind over the weekend. He was down a cupcake decorator, and I happen to live nearby and don’t have much of a social life.”

  Camilla tilted her head. “Don’t sell yourself short. It has to do with more than that, and you forget that I’ve been with you at our country dance sessions and in the coffee shop. You’re turning into quite the social butterfly.”

  Funny, it took someone else saying it aloud for her to realize it was true. She was getting to know the townspeople one at a time. She not only knew the regulars at Havenly Brew but had also become a regular herself.

  This week’s drink was the Macho Mocha Man and came with a straw that had a moustache. Since she hadn’t brought her bunny, she’d used the straw all day, and the kids had giggled every time she’d taken a drink. “It’s this town. No one here really allows introverting.”

  “That’s right,” Camilla said, keeping stride with her as they walked to the parking lot. “No introverting on my watch.”

  “Honestly, it’s nice.” It’d helped Jemma with her goals, providing the perfect kickstart she needed to put herself out there more and make the most of this adventure. “And I can see how much everyone cares about the community.” Another thing that’d made it easier to push her comfort zones, since they embraced her the same way they embraced each other.

  “Speaking of, you should come with me to the basketball game on Friday night. The entire town shows up to support the team, and it’s always a good time.”

  “I’m in.” Wow, she hadn’t even needed to pause to have an internal pep-talk. I can’t wait to report my progress to Randa—she’ll never believe it.

  “Awesome.” Camilla paused at her large truck. Most of the people here drove big trucks or SUVs, making her car the runt of the parking lot. “See you tomorrow, Jemma.” The principal paused to waggle her eyebrows. “Have fun at your dinner.”

  “I will,” Jemma said, the smile back on her face. While she still needed to be careful about lines and not letting her heart get too carried away, it was nice to have another friend who was cheering for things to go well.

  Wyatt tried to tell Jemma he’d take care of the dishes, but she said he had plenty to do as it was, and household tasks always went faster with help.

  Bailey Rae had gone to her room to change into her pajamas and get ready for bed, so he decided to use the time to have an uninterrupted conversation and find out more about Jemma.

  “So, did you always want to be a teacher?” He handed her the plate he’d rinsed, and she stuck it in the dishwasher.

  “When I was younger, I wanted to be a fashion designer.”

  He glanced at her clothes, perfectly matched and paired, and brighter and fancier than most people around there wore. “I could see that.”

  “Yeah, but once I was heading to college and needing to get serious about my career, I discovered how hard it is to make it. I’d have to study in New York or Paris, and I didn’t want to be so far away from my parents. Plus, I realized I’d need to learn how to make patterns and sew, and I just wanted to wear the clothes.”

  She extended a hand for the next plate. “During my first year of college, I took general education credits, and I had a friend who was in elementary education. She got to make a diorama, and I was immediately like, ‘ooh, sign me up!’”

  Wyatt laughed. “You’re saying it was the glue and glitter.”

  “Oh, for sure.” She laughed and then pivoted to lean back against the counter. “What truly hooked me, though, was the desire to make a difference. I’ve always loved kids, from
their honesty to their optimism. The more I looked into it, the more I knew it was where I belonged.

  “As I began my career, I occasionally got frustrated by how hard it was to make the changes without the support from administration. Which is one of the reasons why I started working on my Masters in education. Just a few more months, and I’ll be done. I know as a teacher I probably shouldn’t say I’m so over taking classes, but I’m so over it. The homework and the hours online, I mean—I’m still good to go on the teaching.”

  “But you’d like to be in administration.”

  “That’s the big-picture plan, yes. I’m not sure how much room there’d be for that here. I didn’t exactly plan this detour to your teeny-tiny town.”

  She shuttered her features, and he prepared himself for her saying she didn’t like it. At first, his ex had called it charming and had idealized the idea of the farm, but once she’d seen the work it took firsthand, the charm had faded, and over the years she’d grown more and more discontent in his “podunk” hometown.

  It was fairly common to get married young around these parts, but in retrospect, perhaps they’d rushed down the aisle before they’d been ready. He’d been determined to make it work, but Andrea had hated it here, and he’d hated the idea of moving somewhere where he’d need to get a desk job. Besides, how could he turn his back on everything his father had worked for and let go of land that’d been in his family for generations?

  Despite the bumpy ride, his marriage had given him Bailey Rae, and he fully believed in learning from your past, not dwelling in it.

  “Wyatt?”

  He realized he’d zoned out a bit, his history stirring up his concerns about the current situation and acting as a mortar to build the brick wall between his heart and the woman across from him. Jemma hadn’t said anything bad, but she hadn’t said she was planning a future here, either.

  In fact, it sounded like the opposite. “Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts.”

  “No worries. It happens to me from time to time too.”