Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Alexis bustled around in front of her stove, finishing preparing the food that she was getting ready for herself and Dean. She’d invited her brother over for lunch, and she was looking forward to hearing his updates on how physical therapy was going.
She leaned over the skillet, in which she was frying chicken, onions, and slices of red bell peppers. She was making chicken fajitas, since she knew that it was one of Dean’s favorite meals and one that she and Grayson enjoyed as well. She thought to herself with a pleased smile that the kitchen smelled absolutely incredible.
She placed the lid back on the skillet and turned the heat to low. She went over to the cupboard and got out a set of clean dishes. She set them on the table along with a pitcher of sparkling iced tea that she’d made earlier that day. She took a step back from the table and admired the look of it. She had mint green placemats on it, which paired beautifully with the light birch wood of the table. In the center of the table was a little ceramic pumpkin that Grayson had given her, and she thought it added a cozy vibe to the setting.
She finished preparing the meal just before she heard the doorbell ring. Grinning eagerly, she hurried down the hallway and opened the front door.
Dean was standing there, a big smile on his face. “For you,” he said, handing her a package of store-bought mint chocolate cookies. “As a thank you for feeding me.”
“Aww, you didn’t need to do that! I was feeding you as a thank-you for fixing our internet issues.”
“No, you’re feeding me as an excuse to interrogate me about my life. You want to know all about physical therapy and if I’ve met any women I want to marry yet.” Dean was laughing, but she thought she saw the tips of his ears turn slightly pink as he spoke.
She shook her head, chuckling. “You know me too well. At least you came over anyway.”
“Well, I can’t resist chicken fajitas, you know that. And you’re okay too.”
He dodged her hand as she tried to swat him and hurried ahead of her into the kitchen.
“Wow, it smells amazing in here,” he said, grinning as he stood in the middle of the room and inhaled the smell of the food.
“Why thank you.” She caught up to him and gave him the swat that he’d dodged. He pretended to double over in pain and she laughed. “Grayson might join us in a little bit, he’s locked up in his office working on something.”
“Uh oh.” Dean looked concerned. “Is he falling back into his workaholic habits?”
She shook her head, smiling. “No, he isn’t. It’s—well, he’s working on something for me.” Before Dean could ask her what that was, she took him by the shoulders and sat him down in one of the kitchen chairs. “Eat your food while it’s hot. You know you’re here so I can find out all about your life. Tell me how everything’s going.”
“That,” he said cheerfully as he started to dish food onto his plate, “sounds like an excuse to talk with my mouth full.”
She shook her head, laughing. “I’m being serious. You seem as though you have more energy than usual. Is that true? Is physical therapy going well?”
He nodded, and there was a light of joy in his eyes that make her heart beat faster with happiness for him. “Yeah, physical therapy is going really well. I have so much more energy than usual. I mean, yesterday I walked around a lot, and I got tired, but it really wasn’t too bad. I mean, that much hiking around would have tired me out in the past too. Maybe not as much, but it’s clear that my stamina is improving.”
“Dean, that’s fantastic! I’m so happy to hear that.” She was about to ask him more about why he went for such a long walk the day before, but at that moment Grayson stepped into the room.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Grayson hurried over to her and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Hey, Dean.” He smiled at Dean for a moment, but then he held out a notebook, showing Alexis what was written on the first page of it. “I’ve been analyzing numbers and I’ve come up with the prices for your jewelry. Based on market value and quality and the fact that your business is currently an unknown. I’ve also worked out what would be the most cost-effective way to order materials, and I’ve created a flow chart for increasing sales. The first thing you should do is create a website. I can help you with that.”
Alexis felt a rush of joy over everything Grayson was telling her, but she didn’t want to be rude by having a private conversation in front of Dean. “Thank you, sweetheart, that’s amazing. Can we talk about it more later, though?”
“Sure.” Grayson glanced at Dean with a grin. “Enjoy your lunch, Dean.”
“Thanks.” Dean smiled at him, although his eyebrows were lifted curiously. He was clearly wondering what Grayson was talking about. “Are you going to eat with us?”
“No, sorry.” Grayson shook his head. “I’m expecting a phone call from my mother in a few minutes, and I have to admit, I’ve really got the itch to keep working on all these figures. I want to work on other aspects of the business too, Alexis, like advertising and finding craft fairs—well, I’ll tell you later. You’ll see in no time that launching this venture is more than reasonable.” Grinning and clearly enthused, Grayson left the kitchen.
Alexis realized that her heart was beating faster with excitement. Everything that Grayson was talking about seemed too good to be true. She could hardly believe that she was about to start trying to sell her jewelry as part of a legitimate business. She felt nervous and uncertain, but also eager in a way that filled her with adrenaline. She was thankful that she had Grayson by her side to lead her through the tricky process of starting a business.
“What was that all about?” Dean asked curiously as soon as Grayson had walked out of the room.
“Well, the other day I was making jewelry during my lunch break at the pub.” She smiled as she remembered it. “I’ve just started picking up the hobby again. You remember I used to make jewelry sometimes?”
“Oh, yeah. I remember that pair of earrings you made for Grandma. They were really beautiful—they had those kind of sparkly, bigger purple beads and then the little strands of colored beads woven into a pattern.”
“Wow.” Alexis smiled at him, touched that he’d remembered the earrings in so much detail. “I remember those too—they were really fun to make.”
“And you’re really good at making jewelry. It’s one thing to just enjoy a hobby, and another to actually be very skilled at it. I think painting is fun, but I’m no good at it. You’re actually really good at making jewelry.”
“Thanks.” She smiled at him, feeling grateful for his support. “That means a lot to me, and I value your opinion.”
“As you should.” Her brother nodded sagely.
Alexis laughed. “So anyway, Grayson saw me making jewelry at the pub that day, and I guess he thinks that I can sell my creations for money. It seems like a wild idea to me, but Grayson’s obviously an experienced businessman, so it would be silly for me not to trust him. He’s been working out all the details. That’s what that was there.”
“All the dots are connecting.” Dean grinned. “Alexis, I love that! I think you’re going to have a lot of fun and start making a living doing what you love.”
“Well, the fun part is for sure.” She laughed. “We’ll see if any money ever comes of it.”
“You’ve got a good partner in there.” Dean jerked his thumb toward Grayson’s home office. “He clearly believes in you, and so do I.”
“Thank you.” She beamed at him. “I think it’s sweet that when Grayson saw me doing something that I love, it gave him so many ideas, you know? I love it when we can be creative for each other. Not just me and Grayson, but all of us. It’s one of the most beautiful things about love, I think.”
“Huh. That’s a nice thought.” Dean was quiet for a few moments, and Alexis became curious.
“Penny for your thoughts,” she said and took a bite of her spicy chicken fajita.
“Oh, well, I was thinking about a friend of mine. I mean, I’m sure what you just said applies to friendships too.”
“Yeah?” Alexis’s eyebrows lifted, and she realized she was talking with her mouth full. “What friendship?” Dean looked slightly bashful in a way that aroused her suspicions.
“Well, actually I’ve become pretty good friends with my physical therapist, Noelle,” he said, taking a hurried sip of his iced tea. “She got her car fixed at my shop, you know, and we’ve struck up a kind of friendship. She’s always a great person to be around, but seeing her in her element is really something. I mean, when she’s leading our PT sessions.” He looked thoughtful for a moment, and Alexis found herself practically squirming.
“So, you like her?” she asked after a few seconds.
“As a person? Yeah, she’s great. I liked her right away from our first appointment, but now I like her more than ever. With each session I’m realizing more and more how good she is at her job. It gives me a perspective of her that I wouldn’t have had if I’d just met her on the street. I mean, she’s sweet and good natured, but I really respect her now because I’ve seen her in her element so much.”
Alexis immediately perked up when she heard her brother talking about Noelle so favorably. “Uh huh.” Her mind was racing a mile a minute. She watched Dean’s face carefully, and she thought she saw the tips of his ears turning pinkish again.
Dean never talks about women , she thought. Could it just be that she’s his physical therapist and they’ve become friends, or is he interested in her in a special way?
“What kinds of things does she do that make you feel she’s good at her job?” she asked, nonchalantly taking a sip of her iced tea.
“She’s very encouraging, but also pushes me to work hard. She’s good at knowing when I need to quit and when I need to persevere. It’s almost like she’s got a sixth sense or something. This food is really good, by the way, thank you.”
Alexis shook her head. “No changing the subject, please. Does she think your symptoms are going to keep improving?”
“She’s never said that for sure, but I think that’s just because she doesn’t want to get my hopes up too much. She always speaks in terms of potential outcomes, but I mean, my symptoms are improving. She definitely knows how to get me to feel better.”
“That’s wonderful.” Alexis’s heart stirred with happiness for her brother. “I’m so happy to hear that.”
“Thanks.” He smiled and let out a cheerful sigh of relief. “It does feel really good knowing that there’s something that’s going to help.”
“And Noelle sounds like the perfect woman for the job,” Alexis said. “What else do you like about her? You said she was encouraging.”
Dean shrugged, and Alexis noticed that the tips of his ears were definitely pink then. “She’s just a really kind, genuine person. I like spending time with her.”
“Just in your sessions? Or have you two hung out outside of PT?”
Dean cleared his throat gently. “I did end up showing her around town yesterday. She’d been wanting to go on a tour of Rosewood Beach when her car had broken down. I told her I’d give her a tour. Seemed like the neighborly thing to do.”
“Oh, definitely,” Alexis said, and she was grinning so hard that Dean gave her a look. “That was really nice of you.” She waited a few heartbeats, watching the way he was blushing, before saying, “Do you think that there might be a spark between you two? I mean, a romantic one?”
Dean shook his head, laughing. “Oh, please stop with the matchmaking, Alexis. Just because she’s a girl and we get along, it doesn’t mean we’re going to start dating. Like I said, I was just trying to be nice. She’s a friend of mine, and she’s new in town. We’re just friends.”
“Okay.” Alexis sighed, feeling disappointed but believing her brother’s words. Secretly, she was hoping that his friendship with Noelle would turn out to be more than just a friendship. She immediately got a swarm of ideas for how she could try to nudge Noelle and Dean toward starting to fall for each other romantically.
I guess what we were saying earlier is true, she thought to herself with a chuckle. You do get creative ideas when you want to help out someone you love. Just like Grayson wants to help me with my jewelry business because he sees I’m in my element there, I want to help Dean find love with this Noelle girl. He seems like he’s in his element when he talks about her—it’s clear she makes him happy and comfortable.
“Well, thanks for telling me about her.” She smiled as she lifted her fajita off her plate again. “I’d love to meet her sometime.”
“Yeah, you probably will. It’s a small town,” Dean answered vaguely, winking.
Their conversation turned toward other things as they continued to eat, but Alexis’s mind kept wandering back to the subject of her brother and Noelle. She wanted to meet Noelle and get a better sense of whether she and her brother were really compatible or not. She had a feeling that they were, and she knew that she was going to be in a state of happy suspense until she found out more from Dean about how his “friendship” with Noelle was progressing.
Dean stepped out of his car, grinning in eagerness. He was at Shawn’s used car lot, and he couldn’t help feeling excited when he was near so many wonderful old cars. Most of them had already been refurbished and were ready to sell, but toward the back of the lot were the cars that needed a lot of work before they could be sold. He knew that was where Shawn was going to meet him to show him the Ford Mustang.
As he walked across the parking lot, admiring the cars he saw, he thought about his lunch with Alexis earlier that day. He’d enjoyed spending time with his sister and the fajitas had been especially delicious, but the way Alexis had implied that he and Noelle had a romantic spark beginning between them had made him feel restless. He wasn’t ready to admit to himself that he liked the idea of that being true. Noelle was friendly and kind, but he had no reason to believe that she saw him as anything more than a friend, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up.
I’ll just focus on cars today, he thought with a chuckle. Cars I know how to handle. Romance, not so much.
A moment later, he saw Shawn waiting for him at the back of the parking lot. Shawn was a big guy with a bushy red beard, and he had a personality as thunderous as his voice.
“Dean!” Shawn gave him a big bear hug. “It’s so good to see you.”
“So good to see you too, Shawn.” Dean grinned at his friend, feeling glad to see him. “It’s been too long.”
“You’re so right. We won’t let time get away from us again like this.”
They stood there for a while catching up and bantering. Then Shawn jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing toward the Ford Mustang that was parked behind him.
“You want to take a look at her? She’s yours if you want. Needs a lot of work, but I don’t need to tell you how satisfying it would be to get her up and running again.”
“No, you don’t.” Dean gazed in admiration at the car. “Wow, it really is beautiful.”
“Told you.” Shawn grinned as Dean began to check out the car, looking under the hood and inspecting the doors and windows. “The body is in great condition, it’s just that engine. And a couple of the headlights, but those are an easy fix.”
“Not when the parts I need were made decades ago,” Dean said, laughing, but he felt excited. It was more fun to try to put together a challenge than something that was just going to put itself back together.
“What do you think?” Shawn asked. “You want it?”
“I mean, yeah.” Dean laughed, feeling a kind of thrill go through him. “That would be amazing?—”
As he spoke, he noticed another car over Shawn’s shoulder. It was a Porsche, and it appeared to be on the older side.
“What about that one over there?” Dean asked, nodding his head toward the vehicle. “What year is it?”
“That Porsche? Ah, another beauty I don’t have time to fix up. That one is a 1988.”
Dean’s eyebrows lifted. It was the same year as the Porsche that Noelle had fixed up with her grandfather—the car she’d wanted to get to ride in but hadn’t gotten a chance to. All at once, he became enchanted with the idea of fixing it up.
“How much to take that one off your hands?” he asked.
“What, both of them?” Shawn grinned. “And earlier you weren’t sure you even wanted the one.”
Dean shrugged, smiling. “Well, I’d actually like to start with that Porsche. But like you said, if I end up not having the energy, I can take things slow.”
Shawn nodded. “Well, sounds like a good deal for both of us. She doesn’t run, that Porsche, but she’s in better condition than this one here. I’ll charge you a little less than what I would a stranger, though.”
“No, you don’t need to do that.” Dean shook his head. “I can afford it.”
They talked prices for a little while, and the price that Shawn suggested for the Porsche Dean felt was more than fair, and it was well within his budget. He bought it on the spot, deciding then and there that it was going to be the car he worked on first.
He and Shawn worked out a delivery plan for the cars, and then he got back into his own car and began to drive away. As he made his way along the picturesque roads, back to Rosewood Beach, he felt an excitement pulsing through him that put a huge smile on his face.