Love Is for the Birds

17. Jack

FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS, JACK HELPED TEDDY WITH THE fudge from five to ten every morning. The subject of Wainsworth never came up again, but Jack bore the pain of lying to Teddy. He promised not to tell Teddy about knowing her grandfather, and Jack intended to keep his promise. Only problem, he’d lied to Teddy twice—not a good way to start a relationship. If he were Catholic, he’d say a Hail Mary, maybe more than one. That would be much easier than asking Teddy’s forgiveness.

Why was Teddy so stubborn? She needed money. As far as he could tell, Pops had plenty of it, but she refused his help. She wanted to prove something to her grandfather, to everyone.

Two days before the concert, Jack arrived at Dot’s late. He’d managed to rent a refrigerator for Teddy to use at the convention center. Surely, the refrigerator would impress her. He peeked into the kitchen and watched her. Teddy held a spatula the size of a Frisbee, and a creamy orange concoction dripped onto the counter. Strands of hair fell from her ponytail and grazed her bare neck.

“You look good enough to lick . . .” Jack clenched his fists then released. “I mean, I like your hair.”

Teddy spun around. “You’re here.”

She actually sounded glad to see him. He stepped closer. What was going on in Teddy’s head? Now that Angela wasn’t constantly on his mind, he was ready for something to develop between him and Teddy. His surprise might be just the catalyst he’d been waiting for, or at least an event to put him on the right path.

He tugged her toward him, “C’mon, I want to show you something.”

“What? I’m—”

“I have a surprise for you.” He wrapped a bandanna around her eyes and led her out of the kitchen to his truck. “ Voilà ,” he said, removing the bandanna.

Teddy opened her mouth and inhaled. “ Ahhh! ” In the bed of his pickup stood an extra-wide, gleaming stainless-steel refrigerator, perfect for storing fudge.

She wrapped her arms around Jack and hugged him, then just when he settled into her embrace, she pulled away. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I liked it.” Seeing her happy made all the hassle of renting the refrigerator more than worth it. “It’s just a rental.”

“I wish you wouldn’t have.”

“Do you?” Jack lowered his voice.

“Get out of there!” Dot screamed. “Teddy!”

Teddy and Jack ran into the kitchen and caught Pickles rolling in and lapping up Dreamsicle fudge. “No! Pickles leave it.” Pickles sat abruptly. Teddy grabbed her by the collar. “How could you?” Dragging Pickles on her behind, Teddy made a trail through the orange fudge and out the door.

“This mess is worse than a hurricane.” Dot shook her head.

“Where’s the mop bucket?” He kicked himself for taking Teddy outside in the middle of making a batch of fudge.

“Maybe you’d better see about Teddy before she kills that poor dog.” Dot took a bucket and mop from the broom closet.

Tears streamed down Teddy’s face as she grabbed the water hose. Pickles cowered and whimpered while trying to dodge the spray of cold water.

“You need a power washer.” Jack stepped beside her. “Let me.”

“What am I going to do?” Teddy’s voice choked with tears. “What am I going to do? This damn dog, I should’ve left her under the boat.”

Pickles exhaled with a whine.

Jack put an arm around Teddy. Her apron dripped onto his boots. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this. I’m right here.”

“Get this dog out of my sight.”

“You don’t mean that.” He stroked Teddy’s hair.

He took the hose from Teddy and rinsed Pickles, and then he hosed the sticky fudge from the parking lot. Streams of orange and white swirled across the pavement. “The ants will love this.” He squirted Pickles again for good measure.

Teddy sat with her face in her hands. “Five trays of fudge. That’s sixty pounds—about 600 pieces. I just lost a thousand dollars. All that work, all that money.”

“You’ve got a day. You can make more.”

“I can’t—”

“If it’s money—”

“No, I won’t take Pops’s money.”

“Take mine. As a loan.”

“No.” She shook her head.

Jack slapped a hand on his truck. “Dang, girl.” He pulled Teddy to standing. “You’ve got time. I’m not leaving.” Jack brushed a tear from her cheek. “What did you say about the Vietnamese family? They were abducted by Malaysians and had to live on an island for eight months?”

Teddy nodded. He kissed her on the forehead.

“Even they received help from their relatives in Houston.” He pushed her hair from her face. “It’s time for you to ask for help.”

“I need money for more sugar and butter.”

Jack kissed her forehead again. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all year. I’ll go get it.”

“I’ll go clean up the mess,” Teddy said. “Pickles remains in time-out for the next century.”

“Call Walt, Barb, Hank . . . anyone you can think of. We’re going to be cooking all night.” He jumped into his truck. “Text me your grocery list.”