Chapter Twelve
A s Wes made his way to the exit, Jenna released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and tried not to stare at his narrow hips or his broad shoulders in that snug T-shirt.
Seeing him in this setting, surrounded by lovely, fragile objects, only seemed to reinforce his contrasting masculinity.
She finished packaging up the lovely bowl for his sister, catching only bits and pieces of the conversation around her until she heard the word Brambleberry House.
Two women were looking at a collection of handmade jewelry close to the counter, local women she knew vaguely but who weren’t close acquaintances.
Donna Martin was a former teacher with a reputation at the elementary school for having been rigid and cold to her students during her time there. She had retired before Jenna took a job at the school, and Jenna knew there were few students or parents who were sorry when she left.
She had always struck Jenna as being thoroughly unpleasant.
Her companion, Susan Lakewood, was tall, almost gaunt, a woman who volunteered at the library as well as managed a string of rental properties on the other side of town. When she wasn’t in Donna’s company, she could be quite pleasant.
The two had also apparently noticed how out of place Wes seemed in the store. It took Jenna a moment to realize they were talking about him.
“I don’t know what Rosa was thinking, to let his type move into that house. Abigail would be rolling in her grave,” Donna muttered.
“He has always been very nice in our few interactions.”
“He’s a criminal! I heard it on good authority that he hasn’t even been out of prison four months. It’s outrageous that someone like that is allowed to live in Cannon Beach at all, let alone in such a nice place as Brambleberry House.”
“I don’t know,” Susan said in a timid sort of voice. “He seems polite enough when he comes into the library with his daughter. She likes to read the Magic Tree House books.”
Donna made a derisive sound. “Doesn’t matter how polite he is. You can’t change the facts. He looks like a man who just got out of prison, doesn’t he? I would be afraid to have him living anywhere close to me. Who knows what he did?”
Jenna frowned, her palm suddenly throbbing worse than ever with the itch to slap the woman, though she knew she never would.
She did not want to have any sort of confrontation with Donna, who had a reputation for being vindictive to anyone who crossed her. At the same time, she would not stand by and let the woman malign a good man who had done nothing wrong and didn’t deserve her disdain.
Under normal circumstances, Jenna would never confront a customer at all, but somehow she sensed Rosa would back her a hundred percent if she were here.
“Can I help you two find something?” she asked loudly.
Susan, at least, had the decency to blush.
“We’re just looking,” she said quickly.
“Let me know if I can help,” she said. Before she could move away to help someone else, she lowered her voice. “For the record, Wes Calhoun was wrongfully convicted and has been exonerated of all charges. He is a loving father and a hardworking employee who is trying to rebuild his life here in Cannon Beach so that he can be closer to his daughter. Don’t you find that admirable? There are so many men out there who are only too willing to abandon their children after a divorce. I’m sure as a former educator, Donna, you saw evidence of that as well with your students. What a tough situation that can be on children.”
“It’s outrageous. Parents don’t care about the harm they’re doing to their children. All they care about is having what they want.”
She let the woman ramble on for a few moments, then finally gave a polite smile.
“Yes. That’s why it’s so refreshing to see a man like Wes Calhoun, who is trying his best to be a positive influence in his child’s life. Don’t you agree?”
“Very refreshing,” Susan said.
Donna still wore a sour frown. “He still looks like he just held up a bank somewhere.”
“It’s a good thing most people don’t judge others wholly on their appearance but on their behavior, isn’t it?”
She walked away before either woman could answer.
She was shaking a little but told herself it was simply a reaction to the pain shot wearing off.
“What was Donna going on about?” Carol Hardesty asked after the two women quickly bustled out of the store.
Jenna sighed, wishing she had handled things a different way. She would have liked to tell Donna she was a sanctimonious cow.
“Donna was bad-mouthing my neighbor. Wes Calhoun. I was gently trying to set her straight.”
“Oooh. He’s Lacey Summers’s ex-husband, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Who would walk away from a guy like that?” Carol asked, shaking her head in disbelief. “I don’t care if he was in prison. He’s the sort of guy worth waiting for on the outside, you know?”
Yes. Jenna understood completely.
“He was innocent,” she muttered. “He was cleared of all wrongdoing. That’s what bugs me. It doesn’t seem fair for people like Donna to treat him like some kind of criminal when he didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I wouldn’t listen to anything she has to say. That woman is perpetually unhappy. She finds fault in everyone.”
“It just bothers me. Wes is a wonderful father and a really good man.”
Carol shrugged. “Here’s the thing about Donna. If you don’t fit the mold of what she considers acceptable, nothing else matters. You’ll never measure up to her expectations. Some of us figured out a long time ago that it’s not worth even trying.”
Jenna knew Carol was right. What bothered her most about the encounter was that Jenna had been exactly like Donna. She had judged Wes as scary and intimidating when he first moved into Brambleberry House.
She cringed when she remembered that day he had jumped her car, when she had reacted to him out of fear and nerves.
Since then she had learned he was a kind man who made delicious pizza for his daughter, who loved his sister, who savored the smell of basil leaves and the Brambleberry House gardens after a rain.
And who kissed her until she forgot all the reasons why they weren’t right for each other.
The girls were chattering with excitement when she picked them up after their last day of camp.
“That was the most fun ever ,” Brielle said as she slid into the back seat, her cheeks a little sunburned and her bucket hat hanging down her back.
“Yeah. It was so fun,” Addie agreed. “I’m sad it’s over. I wish we could go to science camp all summer long!”
“Wouldn’t that be fun?” Jenna said. “But then you would miss soccer camp and art camp.”
“I guess.”
“How’s your hand, Mrs. Haynes?” Brielle asked as Jenna turned her vehicle toward Brambleberry House. “Did you have to get a hundred stitches?”
“Not a hundred, no. Only five.”
“Do you have to wear a cast?” Addie asked, peering around the seat to see.
“Only a bandage.” She held up her right hand for the girls.
“I’ve never had stitches,” Brielle said. “Does it hurt when the needle goes into your skin? I always thought it would be so weird.”
“No. They give you a shot first that numbs your skin. You’re right. It is a weird feeling. You can tell when they’re tugging the stitches. But it wasn’t bad.”
“I’m really sorry you were hurt, Mom,” Addie said. “Me and Brie can take care of Theo if you want. We can even take him out late tonight so you don’t have to do it.”
Her daughter’s thoughtfulness touched her. “Thank you. I might need your help a little more than usual for the next few days.”
“Maybe we can cook dinner tonight,” Brielle suggested. “I know how to make nachos.”
“Actually, your dad thought you might like to go on a picnic at the beach tonight for dinner, since it was your last day at camp today. Plus you’ll be going back home tomorrow.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Addie said, her voice disappointed.
“I totally forgot my mom and Ron were coming home tomorrow.” Brielle seemed disappointed at the prospect of leaving Brambleberry House.
“It’s not like you won’t come back and will never see us again. You stay with your dad like every weekend,” Addie reminded her.
Brielle’s features brightened. “Oh yeah. We can totally hang out when I come stay with him.”
For the remainder of the short drive, the girls chattered about their favorite part of science camp and what they planned to do the next week when they didn’t have camp. When they pulled up to the house, the first thing Jenna saw was Wes’s motorcycle. His daughter spied it as well.
“Dad’s home from work already. Yay! Can we leave now for the picnic?”
“I’m afraid I will need some time to take care of Theo, change out of my work clothes and gather a few things,” Jenna said, trying to ignore the little buzz of anticipation she felt at knowing she would be spending the evening with Wes and his daughter. “I’m sure your dad could use a little time as well.”
They started for the house when the door opened and Wes walked out, arms loaded with blankets and lawn chairs.
Her little buzz became a full-on tremor.
“Oh. Hi. You’re home,” he said. His face seemed to light up when he spotted them. For his daughter, she told herself. Certainly not for her.
For a moment, she let her imagination wander, wondering what it might be like to have his hard features glow with welcome like that for her.
“There’s my girl.”
“Hi, Dad.” Brielle launched herself at her father, who managed to set down the lawn chairs and blankets in time to catch her.
Jenna found the affection between the two of them sweetly touching, even as it made her ache a little for her fatherless child, who watched their joy-filled reunion with a little glint of envy in her expression.
How Wes must have missed his daughter during those three years he had been incarcerated. When children were young, even a few months’ development could mean fundamental changes in maturity, communication and social skills. Jenna couldn’t imagine how much Brielle had changed in the three years they were separated.
He lifted his gaze from his daughter to Jenna and something in his expression warmed her to her toes.
“Hi. I’m sorry I wasn’t home half an hour earlier or I could have picked up the girls so you didn’t have to.”
“It’s no problem. I was planning on it.”
“How’s your hand? Were you okay to drive?”
In truth, her hand was throbbing more now than it had since the initial injury but she didn’t want to tell him, for fear he would suggest canceling the outing.
She didn’t want to disappoint the girls. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself was her motive for ignoring the pain.
“It’s fine. I’m a little bit sore but not bad.”
“Are you sure you’re up for a picnic? If you’re not, we can do it another day.”
She shook her head. “We’re all looking forward to it. Aren’t we, girls?”
Brielle and Addie both nodded with enthusiasm.
“Give me a few moments and I’ll be ready,” she told him. “I have to change and take care of Theo.”
“Take as long as you need.”
The only trouble was, she had no idea how long it would take her to figure out how to protect her heart so she didn’t completely fall for Wes Calhoun.