Love Is for the Birds

13. Jack

JACK PROMISED WAINSWORTH HE’D HELP TEDDY GET BACK ON her feet, and he vowed to do so. From what he knew about Daniel, he wasn’t going to help Teddy, at least not in Bird Isle. Meanwhile, Jack possessed enough prime Texas beef to feed thousands. Perfect. Bird Isle needed a benefit, not just for Teddy, but for the whole town.

He stopped at the IGA for toothpaste and grabbed a bag of kibble and dental chews for Pickles. The brown glaze on her teeth needed attention. Plus, Pickles provided a great excuse to see Teddy.

“All the Pretty Girls” by Kenny Chesney sang out from Jack’s phone. He answered it. “Shaughness here.”

“Mr. Shaughness, this is Ace London. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Very funny, Jimbo. I’m at the grocery store and don’t have time for your gags.”

“I don’t know who Jimbo is, but he sounds like a jokester.”

The voice didn’t sound like Jimbo’s, but he excelled in impressions. “I gotta admit, Jimbo, you’ve nailed your Ace impression.”

“My compliments to Jimbo. But I hate to break the news to you. This is Ace London. Before you hang up, hear me out. I saw a story about you taking your barbecue to Bird Isle. Thought maybe I could help.”

Ace frequented Jack’s Fort Worth store, and Angela loved his style of country music. Whenever he came to the restaurant, Angela turned on her Ace London playlist. The person on the phone sounded like Ace, same gravelly voice, but for him to call out of the blue, no way.

“You there?” The twang in his voice sounded vaguely familiar.

Why would Ace London call him? “Okay, I’ll bite.”

“Let’s just pretend I really am Ace London. I’ve got a few friends that want to come down to Corpus and put on a benefit concert. I thought maybe you could help us out.”

Jack took the phone from his ear to see the phone number. Unknown. Makes sense. Ace London wouldn’t call with a listed number. Couldn’t be Ace, surely he employed staff to do this kind of thing.

“You need some time to think? You’ve got ten seconds.”

“Wait. You’ve caught me off guard. A concert with you would be just what the Gulf needs. But shouldn’t you be talking to someone in Corpus?”

“We are. I just need you to get the folks in Bird Isle to the concert. You know some people down there?”

“I do.” Jack wanted to run outside and yell to everyone within earshot: Ace London is on the phone!

“Then you round them up. We’ve got plenty of musicians who want to help out.”

“Okay, I’m starting to believe this is for real.”

“Real as that dad-blasted hurricane. I’ll text you a contact number. My ex-wife, Connie. She’ll give you all the specifics. We’d like to see a good turnout of folks from the cities impacted. Maybe you could arrange transportation.”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll barbecue. I’ve got a thousand pounds of beef donated.” He figured the math in his head—sell three thousand sandwiches for $6.99 a piece—twenty-one thousand dollars. Not bad.

“Did I mention it’s next week? Quick turnaround, I know.”

“If you can do it, I can.” Jack pinched himself.

Wait until Teddy hears about this. He wrote the contact number on the back of a business card, and Ace signed off. Jack stared at the phone. Ace London actually just called him. The word synchronicity came to mind. Pops probably instigated the whole thing. He started to text Teddy and then decided to risk a call. This might be the thing to bring her back.

Teddy answered the phone. From the background noise, he concluded she was driving.

She gave him a casual, “Hi, Jack,” so he decided to play cool as well. No need to mention her trip to Houston.

“Are you busy?”

“Just driving home from Houston.”

“I didn’t know—”

“Give me a break. The whole town knows,” Teddy snapped at him.

“Okay, busted. Just didn’t want to be nosy,” he stammered. “How’s Pickles?”

“She’s happy as a dog with her head out the window.”

He laughed. “I’ve got dog food in my truck, and I bought her some dental chews. Her teeth need a good scraping.”

“That’s why you called? Or, you want to know what happened in Houston?”

Did she want to talk about Houston? “I called for another reason. But if you’re offering the news of your rendezvous with your man Daniel, I’m listening.” He placed a cheeky emphasis on your.

“I don’t have a man,” Teddy said. “I have a dog. I have a Jeep. I had a store.”

He pictured her glaring at him. “Point taken. I know, I know, you’re Ms. Independent.”

“Why did you call, then?” Teddy’s voice softened.

“No, no. Ladies first.” He’d miss the final minute of a tied football game with the Cowboys on the ten-yard line for Teddy’s news.

“I’m going to take my Pops’s advice . . .”

Jack winced at Pops’s name.

“What’s that?”

“I’m going to make Sweet Somethings my own.”

He sucked in a breath. “You’re not moving to Houston? What changed your mind?”

“Vietnamese spring rolls.”

“You’re going to make Vietnamese food?”

“It’s a story I heard from Vietnamese refugees. If they can do it, I can.” The background noise muffled her voice. He couldn’t make out her words.

“When will you be home?” he yelled.

“An hour.”

In exactly one hour, he parked in front of Teddy’s place and waited. He vowed to avoid the topic of Daniel. If she wanted to talk about him, she’d be the one to broach the subject.

When Teddy pulled into the drive, Pickles barked at him from her perch in the passenger’s seat. Teddy opened the door for Pickles, and she charged Jack. Armed with a dental chew, he waved the treat in front of the dog. Without a command, she sat.

He glanced at Teddy. “Is this okay?”

“I don’t know how you can back out now.” Teddy folded her arms across her chest but grinned at the same time.

Teddy treasured Pickles. If someone turned up to claim the dog, what would happen to her?

She pointed to her two outdoor canvas chairs and broke the silence. “You wanted to tell me something?”

When they settled in their chairs, Jack leaned forward. A big grin bloomed across his face. “You’re not going to believe this.”

She motioned for him to continue.

“Ace London called me.” He paused, waiting for her expression to catch up with the news. “You know, the Ace London.”

“Yes, I know. Let me guess, he wants you to go on tour with him.” She winked.

“Dang it, Teddy. Listen up, this is big news. He’s going to hold a hurricane benefit concert next week in Corpus. Next week, did you hear me?”

“That’s great,” she said.

He tilted his head to the sky and sighed. “And I’m cooking one thousand pounds of beef from—” He caught himself just before saying Pops Wainsworth. “We’ve got to get the folks in Bird Isle involved to spread the word.”

She tilted her head. “You’re selling barbecue?”

“We can get Barb, get some attention for the Whooping Cranes, and all our . . . I mean, the local businesses.”

Teddy frowned. “I don’t get it. Why’re you doing all this?”

He studied her for a long moment, and she did not blink. She’d asked a fair question but not an easy one. “Synchronicity,” he said, finally.

Teddy smiled. “You sound like Pops.”

Jack squirmed. “Who?” He hoped his voice sounded perfectly natural.

“My grandfather, he’s always talking about meaningful coincidences. What’s the coincidence?”

This would have been the time to reveal he knew her grandfather. But he promised not to tell Teddy. He knew then that the decision would come back to bite him, and now the decision nipped at his heels. “The coincidence is Ace London calls right after beef is donated. London saw us on the news.” Jack hadn’t exactly told a lie. He just left out one huge coincidence—that Wainsworth donated the beef and happened to be her grandfather. Instead, he made a run for it. “This is the moment in the conversation when you get excited.”

“I’m excited.” She clapped, lifted her hands into the air. “Woohoo. That’s great. I mean, great for Bird Isle.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“No, not at all. I’m reassured. I’ve made the right choice.”

What choice? Not moving to Houston or did the choice refer to Daniel? Just let her talk, he decided, no need to cross-examine her.

“I’ve experienced my own bit of synchronicity this weekend. I wanted to pack up and move back to Houston. But when I heard the story of the family at Kim Son Restaurant . . .” Her voice broke. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you this.”

He placed a hand on one of hers. “Glad you are.” His heart raced as if he’d just finished a one-hundred-yard sprint. His head buzzed with possibilities, and the hairs on his arms stood on end. She’d chosen to come back to Bird Isle.

“I felt like Mother spoke to me from her grave saying, ‘You can rebuild.’ And Pops told me I didn’t have to make Sweet Somethings mother’s store, I could make the shop my own. If I hadn’t read the story of the Vietnamese refugees, the thought of rebuilding would’ve seemed too much. I’d still be in Houston.”

He pulled Teddy to standing and hugged her. She fell limp into his arms and didn’t seem to be in any hurry to move away. Their foreheads landed on each other’s. Her warm and minty breath filled his nostrils.

“Does this mean what I think it means?” Jack’s lips brushed over hers. “I’ve waited for this moment. I’ll do whatever I can to help you with the store.”

Teddy jerked away.

His muscles tightened. “I like you.” He reached for her. “You know that. I’m glad Daniel is in Houston, and you’re not.”

“I don’t—”

“We can both start over again together.”

“You misunderstand me. I didn’t leave Daniel for you. I left him for me.”

He squeezed his eyes shut. A sudden coldness stabbed him in his core. He’d been a fool. Without stopping to pet Pickles, he stepped away.

“Maybe I’ll see you around.” He headed for his truck without looking back.