Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
Raffe
Iwake up, and she’s gone. Fuck. My entire body hurts, but believe me when I say I am in no way complaining.
Maybe she’s in the bathroom. When I open the door, I find it dark and empty.
It reminds me of my loneliness … until I flip the light on.
There, written on the mirror, is a heart drawn in soap with the words I love you under it.
My hand rubs over my chest as a new feeling fills my lungs. Joy. Complete and utter joy.
My smile continues to grow. This is classic Jenny. The girl I fell in love with.
I take a piss and then head over to the window. She’s sitting with her mother down by the lake. Each with a steaming drink in their hands.
When I get downstairs, the warehouse is quiet. I find Ray having coffee on the patio. “Beautiful afternoon, isn’t it?” he says as I slide the door open.
I grunt, lowering my aching limbs beside him.
He chuckles, bringing his cup to his lips. “You look like you had a long night.”
I try my hardest not to smile, but I can’t hide it. There is no way I’ll be able to hide my feelings for her now.
Ray points to the lake. “She called Maggie early this morning and said she needed to talk to her.”
“Oh. She called?”
“Yeah. Jackson had Maggie’s number programmed in that phone he bought her.”
“That’s good. I’m glad she called her.”
“She seems to be adjusting quickly.”
I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s so damn beautiful with the way the sun is highlighting her hair. “Where is everyone? It’s dead around here.”
He chuckles again. “They’re working on a project for Jackson.”
Finally, I rip my gaze away from Jenny to look at him. “Oh. What’s that?”
“You’ll see.”
Suddenly, there is a clattering in the kitchen, and my daughter-in-law slides the glass door open. “You should see how much stuff we got,” she says, jumping on her toes.
Ray stands, nodding his head for me to follow. I walk into the kitchen, which was just empty a minute ago, to find my brothers carrying in baskets and baskets of produce. Lily steps in front of me with an arm full of flowers.
“I’ve got a bone to pick with you, mister,” she says, setting them on the table and placing her hands on her hips. “Don’t be running off with my best friend like that. You have to share her, you know?”
Jesse winks at me as she passes us, carrying a box filled with canning jars. “Someone’s looking awfully smiley today,” she teases.
Dirk follows her, carrying a basket full of tomatoes.
“What the hell is going on?”
Ray places his hand on my shoulder. “The women got together last night and decided they should go and salvage anything from Jenny’s they could.”
Jenny and Maggie step in behind us. Her gaze instantly seeks mine. It’s like she doesn’t see anyone else in the room. A shy smile lights her face, and her cheeks turn pink.
“Nana,” Aspen squeals, running to her with a little basket of her own.
Jenny drops to her knees. “Oh, what have you found this time?” she asks her. When she peeks in the basket, her brows pull together in confusion. Her head lifts, and she finally notices what is going on around us. Her hand flies to her mouth.
“I brought the fairies here,” Aspen says, showing her all of the little trinkets she’s gathered from Jenny’s yard.
Willow fans her face, exchanging a glance with Maggie.
Jenny pulls Aspen into her arms and stands. “You all did this for me?” Her gaze scans over the produce. “That was so much work,” she says, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Many hands make light work,” Maggie says, giving her daughter a side hug. She claps her hands. “Okay, everyone. We have a lot to do.”
I walk over and wrap my arm around her shoulders. “I’ll go up and get your apron.”
She nods, tears falling from her lashes.
When I get back downstairs, everyone is working away. Jenny included. I help tie the apron around her waist, ignoring the looks from the club.
Aspen is sitting on the counter, snapping green beans. “Nana and Papa sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,” she sings.
Willow rushes toward her to silence her, but it’s too late. Elijah gets to her first. “Oh girl, you’ve got the tea. Spill it.”
Aspen giggles at him. “I don’t have tea, Jaja,” she tells him, holding up a green bean.
Everyone laughs at the two of them. She has yet to master how to say his name, or maybe that’s just the way she likes to say it.
Jackson wags a finger at Kelsie. “You’ve got to quit teaching my kid that shit. You know you’re going to have one of your own someday. Like Grandma always says, what goes around comes around.”
Kelsie waves him off. “Yeah, yeah.”
“Did you see them kissing?” Elijah continues to interrogate my granddaughter, ignoring the rest of us. It earns him a smack in the stomach from his wife.
Aspen nods, tapping a finger over each of her eyelids. “I saw Papa kiss Nana with my own eyes,” she says confidently.
“How about we go and get those fairies you’ve been jabbering on about set up outside,” I tell her, snatching her from the counter. But before we step outside, I stop on the threshold, turning to face everyone. “I’m going to be moving out of my room later today,” I say.
Everyone quiets.
“Are you moving back home?” Katie asks.
“I am home. Jenny and I will be sharing a room.”
Jenny smiles at me, relieved I told everyone the truth. The club looks surprised, but not Maggie. Maybe that is what Jenny wanted to talk to her about this morning.
“Get back to work,” Maggie says, waving her towel. “Don’t you all go acting like this is a shocker.”
I give Jenny a wink and then head outside with my granddaughter.
“You are a stinker, you know that?”
She nods, not even denying it.
The day ends up being long but good. I’m so proud to be a member of this club. They really stepped up for me this time.
We’re all relaxing on the patio while the kids play out back. Jenny is sitting beside me with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face.
“You’ve got to be tired. Why don’t you go on up and get to bed?” I encourage.
“I don’t want to miss anything,” she says.
“Then you’ll never get any sleep,” Billie Rose tells her. “There’s always something going on around here.”
She finally opens her eyes, and her smile widens. “I love that.”
Suddenly, we’re all turning toward the sound of blood-curdling screams. Every one of the kids comes running from the trees with Aspen trailing behind them.
Everyone jumps to their feet. Jenny jerks from her chair, running toward our granddaughter with a speed I didn’t know possible. She scoops her up in her arms, even though Aspen is the only one who isn’t screaming.
Petey grabs Charlotte by her arms. “What’s wrong?” he asks her.
“S-she –” Charlotte points to Aspen. “She has a big spider, and she was chasing us with it.”
Jenny sets Aspen on her feet, dropping to her knees beside her. “Let me see,” she says.
Please God don’t let that be a black widow.
“It tickles, Nana,” Aspen says, pulling her hand away to show her.
“Oh, isn’t he a handsome spider,” Jenny tells her, her shoulders falling in relief.
The other mothers all cringe as Aspen and Jenny place their hands side by side, transferring the spider from one to the other.
“Doesn’t it tickle, Nana?”
“It does.” Jenny turns to the other children who are keeping their distance. “This is a jumping spider. They’re nice … I promise,” she tells them.
Hesitantly, a few of them move closer. Jack is the first to be brave enough to check it out.
“Do you see his little turquoise fangs. Aren’t they beautiful?”
Petey tries to encourage Charlotte to have a look, but she is firmly wrapped around his legs, still trembling.
Jenny notices her. “It’s okay to look from there,” she tells her.
Aspen squats down by her grandmother, and together they show everyone how he jumps between them, casting a web.
“That’s cool,” Jack says.
“He’s my spider puppy,” Aspen tells Charlotte.
“He’s not a puppy,” Charlotte cries, running away.
“I’m sorry,” Jackson tells Petey.
“It’s okay. It’s not Aspen’s fault. There’s a boy at school who’s been teasing her. He put a plastic spider in her desk, and as you can probably guess by her reaction today, it didn’t go very well.”
He gives us a wave and disappears down the road to his cabin.
“I need my bug catcher, Daddy,” Aspen says, rubbing her eyes.
“Okay, baby. Let’s go find something to put him in until we get home.”
Everyone follows suit, and soon the warehouse is quiet again.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get my stuff moved over to your room,” I tell Jenny after we finally get snuggled into bed.
“That’s okay. The club kind of changed your plans for you.” She yawns, and I almost feel bad for keeping her up so late last night.
“It was worth it to see you having fun with everyone.”
“I still can’t believe they did all of that for me. I wish I could do something for them.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll find ways to repay them over time.”
She makes a little noise of agreement. “I overheard Jesse say her and Dirk would be leaving soon.”
“They’re going to take the bike out and do some traveling. No plans other than to go wherever the wind blows them.”
“That sounds fun.” Jenny rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. “Are you sad they’re going?”
“I mean, yeah, but I’ll be okay. They won’t be gone forever.”
“Do you love her?”
“I love both of them,” I say, sidestepping her question.
She turns and faces me. “You asked me about Bill, and I was honest.”
I let out a sigh. “You’re right,” I agree, running my finger down her face. “I love her, but not in the way I love you.”
“She loves you too.”
“I know.”
“Would you like to hear our story?” I ask.
“I would.”
We spend the next few hours talking, and I have to say it feels as good as the love we made last night. It feels good having someone to talk to.
We share. We cry. We laugh.
And most importantly we heal a little more.
“I have missed you, Jenny,” I say, pulling her against my chest, spooning her.
She yawns loudly, barely awake. “I missed you too.”