Chapter Nine Ashley #2
Before he even has time to blink, Tiff has flipped over his hand and is running her fingers across his palm.
“Good strong lifeline. Hmm, the heart line has a little kink, then comes good . . .”
Jake looks so confused at her words.
“Tiff, stop it! Put your woo-woo back in your pocket for tonight,” I scold as I pull her hand away from Jake’s.
“What the hell is woo-woo?” Jake’s head is swiveling between us.
“The spiritual wisdom of the universe,” Tiff replies profoundly at the same time as I say, “The weird shit that comes out of her mouth that she believes with her whole soul is a look into someone’s future.”
“Oh.” Tiff gasps theatrically and her hand flutters over her heart. “Like a stab to my heart.”
And I roll my eyes in response with a smirk. She might be a little crazy, but I love her.
“Okay . . .” Jake is looking between us, clearly perplexed.
“Ignore her dramatics. Jake, meet Tiffany. She’s the owner of the teahouse, town woo-woo lady, and most days my friend.”
“Nice to finally meet you, Tiffany. Sorry I haven’t made it into the teahouse yet. More of a coffee drinker myself, and I’ve been kept kind of busy since I arrived.” Jake starts to relax, realizing that this exchange is normal between Tiff and me.
“Oh, I’ve heard how busy you’ve been. Especially in the woods .
. .” Tiff leans back in her chair as she settles into the conversation, and just like I predicted, I’m totally regretting inviting her.
Glancing in my direction as I stare back at her in disbelief, she continues, “rescuing poor Ashley and all.”
Before I can say anything, Regina arrives at the table with our food and places three veggie burgers with fries down in front of us.
“How did Tiff get food already?” I ask Regina, who’s just grinning.
“She called ahead. You’re crazy if you think she was going to sit here, third wheeling and watching you two on a date, without at least getting a free meal in.” She also places what looks like a soda water in front of Tiff.
“Seriously, it’s not a date,” I mumble as Regina starts smirking and walks back to the bar, picking up empty glasses and plates on her way.
“Remind me next time when I think it’s a good idea to ask for your help that it’s not.
” I take one of the fries off Tiff’s plate while she and Jake chuckle at me.
“So, tell me more about yourself, Mr. Hero,” Tiff says and takes the first bite of her burger.
“It sounds like you already know everything about me.”
I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed or cheering on Jake for keeping Tiff on her toes.
“Touché, Jake. I think you and I are going to get along just fine. Friends, just not like this kind of friends,” she says, waving her hand between Jake and me.
“I give up,” I mutter and stuff more fries into my mouth.
The conversation between us all settles into a comfortable flow as we eat our dinner, and it’s good to see Tiff and Jake bounce off each other so that nothing is awkward.
Just as I’m finishing my last bite, I see Mr. James making a beeline for us.
“Doc, good to see you out. I heard you hurt your foot.” He stands over our table, holding a takeaway container of dinner for him and his wife.
“Hi, Mr. James. Yes, just a silly sprain. I’m fine. Have you met Jake, Betty’s grandson?” I know he’s standing there waiting for the introduction.
“No, not yet. Nice to meet you, young man. Now, you take care of our lovely little Doc here. That last one was no good, so I expect any grandson of Noel and Betty will treat her better.” Patting his hand on Jake’s shoulder to reinforce his point, it feels like Mr. James is warning him that the town will be after him if he doesn’t.
“Oh, Mr. James, you are very lovely, but Jake and I are just friends,” I say in my sweetest voice at the same time as Jake answers.
“You have my word, sir.” Which results in an approving nod from Mr. James, and he’s already waddling off toward the door.
With my elbows on the table, I drop my head into my hands in frustration and hear Jake and Tiff laugh.
“And this is the reason I don’t live in the middle of town, not that it matters by the sounds of it. I’m still this week’s top-ranking gossip topic.” I suppose it could be worse. Oh, who am I kidding, it has been worse, and I survived it. I can only hope that this too will pass.
It’s then that my brain catches up on what Jake just replied to Mr. James. He didn’t rebut the insinuation or try to offer a different explanation of why we are here tonight. Instead, he pretty much confirmed the rumors are true.
What does that even mean?
My head is so tired from the craziness of my emotions swinging from one thing to another tonight.
I just need five minutes to clear it.
I push my chair back from the table slightly as Jake and Tiff look at me questioningly.
“I just need to go to the ladies’.” I’m standing and getting my balance before I take a step with this awkward moon boot on my leg.
“Oh, good. Me too.” Tiff jumps up from her chair and takes me by the arm as we start to move.
“Women and bathrooms.” Jake is chuckling to himself as we leave him at the table.
As soon as we clear the door into the bathroom, Tiff starts checking all the stall doors to make sure we are alone.
“Okay, spill it. What’s wrong?” Tiff asks.
“I need to pee. That’s why most people go to the bathroom.” Pushing past her into one of the empty stalls.
“Oh, I thought it was girl code that you needed to talk,” she yells through the door. “But since we are here, I may as well pee too.”
I hear the door to the stall next to me close and we both go about our business but as soon as I’m at the basin washing my hands and looking at myself in the mirror, even I can see the stress lines.
“Right. Now, I can concentrate. Enough of the bullshit. What’s going on and I know it’s not Jake, because that man out there is one massive green flag if ever I’ve seen one.
So, something else has you wound up tight.
Whatever it is, out with it.” She’s turning me around so I’m facing her.
Tiff’s now standing with her hands on my shoulders, staring me down.
“Fine.” I sigh. “Why can’t I ever get anything past you? You are such an annoying friend. You know that.”
“I know. Go on.”
“Now I don’t want you to yell and scream and make a commotion when I tell you this.” She nods. “Jeremy called before Jake picked me up and begged me for the new vet job at the clinic.” I wait for the explosion but instead it’s just pure shock.
“What the ever-loving hell was he thinking? I’m so shocked.
I mean seriously, does he not realize the moment he steps foot in Abbey Falls, I will kill him and I’m not the only one?
I will be lining up behind you and probably Jake if I’m reading him right, because he’s falling for you big-time, whether you both care to admit it or not.
But fuck me, Jeremy has lost it, truly.” Tiff pulls me to her and wraps me in a hug, which is just what I needed without realizing it.
“Yeah, I know. But I still feel sick about it,” I whisper into her shoulder. “And he said he wants to come and see me so we can talk it out.”
My body is pushed off Tiff’s shoulders.
“You better have told him no way, no how. That man is never getting near you again.” Now with her hands on her hips, Tiff looks like she’s quickly trying to come up with ways to protect me from Jeremy.
“I don’t own a gun and have no idea how to shoot, but I’ll find every farmer in Abbey Falls to stand on the road into town and give him a message from all of us.
He’s not welcome here, simple as that. Don’t you worry, chick, we’ve got you. ”
I can’t help but start to laugh at the picture I’m imagining. Not just a giggle but a deep belly laugh has me now doubling over at the craziness of the idea, but I also wouldn’t put it past Tiff.
“Did you tell Jake? Yes, that’s what we need to do, tell Jake. He will protect what’s his.” And now Tiff is off in her own little world, solving the problem for me.
“Tiff.” I try to gain her attention even though she’s still muttering to herself about some spell she’s going to cast on Jeremy.
“Tiffany!” I’m more forceful this time.
“What?” She looks at me, confused.
“We are not lining up guns at the city limit sign, and we are certainly not saying one word to Jake about this. Do you hear me? He’s just a friend. That’s it, end of story.” I’m pointing my finger at her, making sure she understands how serious I am about her keeping this to herself.
“But . . .” she mutters.
“No ‘but.’ You keep this to yourself. Jeremy may have left me in a blubbering heap when he left last time, but I’m not that woman anymore.
If he turns up here, I’m strong enough to deal with it myself.
” And for the first time since he called, I actually feel like I am.
Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned after Jeremy left, it’s that you need to make your own way in this world.
“If you say so. I don’t like that plan, but I’ll respect it,” Tiff says, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Um, who are you and what have you done with my meddling friend? She doesn’t back down that easy.” I step forward and put my arm around her as we head out of the bathroom.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t promise not to put a dark spell on him, so there’s that.”
Jake
There is something about Abbey Falls that I never felt as a child here on vacation because I wasn’t looking for it.
It’s a sense of family and belonging.
Everyone looks out for one another, and that’s so different to Sacramento.
I remember overhearing my mom say that she was glad that Gramps and Gran didn’t move to Abbey Falls until after she had left for college.
She said that hearing all the stories Gran tells her that she would hate the way people in small towns seem to poke their noses into each other’s business.
Mom prefers living in big cities because nobody knows anyone, so you can just live your life under the radar.