Chapter 17
H ow do you like your eggs?”
“Any way you want to fix them.” Jade sat on the papasan chair and sipped her coffee.
Evelyn Margot didn’t have a dining room table, so they would be eating in the living room.
After Sebastian left last night, she’d gone straight to bed and slept soundly, something she hadn’t done since arriving in Clementine.
Miles calling her at the crack of dawn had spoiled her peaceful morning, but she let it go to voicemail.
She’d call him later and let him know Sebastian was willing to talk.
Miles could cool his heels a little longer.
“Scrambled it is,” Evelyn proclaimed.
“Can I help? I don’t usually eat breakfast—”
“Oh, you’re one of those .” She chuckled.
Jade knew exactly what she meant. “I do know how to make toast.”
Evelyn motioned to the toaster. “Knock yourself out.”
As Jade waited for two pieces of wheat toast to pop up from their slots, her mind wandered again.
So much had happened in the last twelve hours, and she was still analyzing it.
At the top of her thoughts was Sebastian.
Despite wanting him to talk to Miles, she’d been shocked he’d so easily agreed.
That had made her feel a little less guilty for manipulating him, and it took a ton of weight off her shoulders.
He’d also given her insight to the small newspaper business and how it affected the community, and she’d been impressed.
While selling The Times to Harrington made financial sense, Jade hadn’t considered the human ripple effect until he’d explained it.
And if she’d never considered it, having worked at a newspaper before, she was positive Miles and his ilk hadn’t given it a thought.
Then there was his offer to show her around and how quickly she’d said yes.
Talking with him last night had been like old times.
She’d felt completely relaxed in his company, as if all was right with her world, at least for a little while.
She still had the ledger fiasco to contend with, and she’d decided to tell him today, after their drive.
She probably should confess as soon as he picked her up, but she just wanted a couple hours of peace before he never spoke to her again.
Pop!
She blinked away her reverie and buttered the slices. The thought of telling Sebastian about the ledger strangled her appetite. Maybe he would understand her desperation and that it wasn’t totally her fault that her briefcase disappeared. But it’s my fault I stole from him.
“Um, Jade?” Evelyn said. “Are you sure you know how to make toast?”
“Huh?” She looked down at the hole she’d made in the middle of the bread with the butter knife. “Sorry. I’ll eat this slice.”
Evelyn dished out the fluffy scrambled eggs, Jade added her pathetic excuse for toast, and they went to the living room. Jade sat down and stared at her plate, her uneasiness growing.
“Eggs okay?”
She looked up at Evelyn and nodded. “They look yummy.”
“They are.” She grinned and took a bite, then lifted her bunny-slippered feet and wagged them back and forth. “If I do say so myself.”
Jade smiled and started to eat. She was right—they were very good. She really liked Evelyn and wished Sebastian had said something about her before. Then again, back then she always shifted any family conversation before it got started, for her own sake.
“So,” Evelyn said, putting her empty plate on the oval glass coffee table. “What are your intentions toward my brother?”
Jade froze, the last bite of her eggs halfway to her mouth. “Intentions?”
“Yes. You do have intentions, don’t you?”
She wasn’t sure how to answer that, because she didn’t know how much Sebastian had revealed. Evelyn worked at the paper too, and Jade wouldn’t be surprised if she had the same resistant attitude he did. “No?” she ended up saying, knowing she had to tell Evelyn something.
“As long as you’re sure.” She grinned, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes now.
Great, now she was suspicious. Jade didn’t blame her. “It’s good to see him again.” One hundred percent the truth, especially since they weren’t at odds right now. That would change soon, but she would do everything she could to apologize and own up to her bad judgment.
“I think you’re good for him,” she said. “When I got back from the store, I noticed how relaxed he was. He hasn’t been that way in a long, long time.”
Wow. She was glad she’d put him at ease too.
“Why did you two break up? And yes, I’m nosy. But I love my brother. He’s an amazing man, and I don’t want him to get hurt. He’s had enough of that in his lifetime.”
Jade inwardly winced. She set her plate next to Evelyn’s.
“I took a job in Atlanta. Long distance wouldn’t have worked out.
We didn’t date long anyway.” Her answers were clipped, and she refused to elaborate.
While she was glad Sebastian had such a loving sister, Jade didn’t owe her any more information.
“He said that too. About you not dating very long. Then you’re just friends?”
“Yeah... friends.”
“That’s probably for the best. Seb’s married to his work. There’s not much room for anything else.”
Jade could relate. Charlotte had accused her of the very same thing not that long ago. “One day you’re going to realize that all work and no play makes for a dull life.”
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this.” Evelyn sighed. “I promised him I wouldn’t say anything to anyone, but since you’re not a Clementonian, it will be okay. Seb doesn’t just write newspaper columns. He’s also a novelist.”
“He finished his book?”
Evelyn looked surprised. “You knew about that?”
“He was working on it when we were together. I didn’t know it was done, though. He never mentioned it to me.” Although he didn’t really have a reason to.
“Here’s what drives me bonkers about Seb.
He holds everything in, and that includes his accomplishments.
The only reason I know that he published a novel was because I asked him straight out how he was keeping The Times in business.
I’m the advertising manager—I know where most of our income comes from—and for several years, we weren’t making a dime of profit.
I asked our bookkeeper, Flora, about it, but she didn’t know either—just that money kept showing up in the business account.
“I can be persuasive when I want to be, although Seb calls it nagging. Whatever. He finally admitted that he sold his book and had made money on it. Of course I wanted to take out a full page ad and publicize it, but he refused. To this day he won’t tell me a thing about it.
I’m sure he published under a pen name too, because I can’t find any novels written by Sebastian Hudson or any iteration of his name. Believe me, I tried.”
Jade believed her. But she was confused. “Why would he keep that a secret?”
“I can only guess.” She pushed off her slippers and folded her feet under her. “He’s humble to a fault. You probably already know that.”
She did. Even before they started dating, she’d heard people at The Democrat-Gazette talking about his writing.
And she’d read every one of his articles, then his columns when he switched to writing Seb’s View.
She wasn’t surprised to hear his book had done well.
He never promoted himself, though, and brushed off any praise that came his way.
“He also doesn’t like notoriety. He’s just a small-town guy who loves his town.
I can’t even imagine him doing book signings or being interviewed.
He’d probably break out in hives. As for financially supporting the paper, I guess he didn’t know what else to do to keep The Times solvent. That newspaper is his life.”
Jade mulled over Evelyn’s words. His resistance to Miles and any other corporate takeover made even more sense.
Not only did he have financial skin in the game, but he had an emotional attachment to the paper and the community.
And then she showed up and kept pushing—nagging, really—for him to consider selling it.
If she’d known all this, she would have refused Miles’s assignment.
“Whew, it felt good to finally talk about that.” Evelyn smiled. “Mum’s the word, though. He’d be super mad if he knew I said anything.”
Jade made a zipping motion over her mouth. “It’s safe with me.”
They finished their coffee and Jade got ready to return to the Clementine Inn, where Sebastian would pick her up in an hour.
Evelyn had kindly washed her smoke-filled clothes, and when she changed into that outfit, she felt much better.
Evelyn’s clothes had been a bit too tight, although Jade appreciated her giving her something to wear.
When she was packed up and ready to go, she thanked Evelyn. “You’ve been so kind. I really appreciate it.”
“Thanks, but it’s no big deal.”
It was a big deal, and she could see humility ran in the Hudson family.
“How long are you staying in Clementine?” Evelyn asked.
“I’m going back to Atlanta tomorrow.” An odd feeling of disappointment came over her. Strange, because since her arrival in Clementine, she couldn’t wait to go home. Now she wished she had more time.
“Oh. I was hoping you weren’t leaving so soon. I just thought...”
“Thought what?”
“That you might be the one that got away.” She waved off her words. “Not sure where I got that idea. Seb rarely talks about his personal life. I didn’t know about you until you showed up. I don’t mean that in a bad way.”
“I know.” Jade wasn’t offended, but it did give her confirmation that their relationship hadn’t been serious. For him anyway, despite his spontaneous admission of love during their last conversation.
“I’d better let you go before I put my foot in my mouth again.” Evelyn quickly hugged her. “Take care, and don’t be a stranger.”