Chapter Two
Becca
Bells jingle as the door to the shop opens, and I turn my head with a smile on my face. It widens when I see my big brother walking toward me.
“Hey. Here for your usual?” Before waiting for an answer, I grab a large cup and pump three squirts of vanilla sweetener, then make my way to the carafe of freshly brewed coffee. I slap on a lid and slide it across the counter. John hands me a five-dollar bill, which I promptly drop in the tip jar.
“Are you ever going to let me pay?” Slight frustration laces his voice as he leans in and kisses me on the cheek.
“As long as you’re my brother, probably not,” I tease, patting him on the side of his arm. “What brings you in? Shouldn’t you be at the office?”
John is a realtor who’s more out of his office than in, but at this time of day, he can be found finishing up paperwork before heading over to the rink to watch the hockey team’s practice.
“This couldn’t wait!” The twinkle in John’s eyes has my curiosity piqued.
My brother is a pretty happy guy, so this isn’t unusual, but the excitement vibrating off him in waves is bigger than normal.
“Jake is coming to coach Steven! Duncan got him to agree to come and help fine-tune some of his technique.”
“Jake?” My head tilts, and my eyes squint, confusion filling me. Jake, our mailman, doesn’t even follow hockey, so I can’t understand why John is this excited. “Can he help Steven?”
Grabbing a rag, I wipe down the counter, just as Michelle, my employee, walks up front carrying some pastries. I stop wiping and press against the counter so she can get through.
John’s eyes nearly pop out of his face. “Can he help Steven? You’re joking, right?”
“Why would I joke about Jake, our mailman, being able to help Steven?” I continue wiping the counter while Michelle puts the pastries in the display case.
John laughs and shakes his head. “I wonder how he’s going to feel knowing my sister forgot who he is.”
Now I’m really confused. I wrack my brain for something, anything that could jog my memory, but nothing comes to mind. John’s reaction means I should know who Jake is.
“Jacob, Becca.” The bell on the door jingles again. “Jacob ‘Jake’ Thornton.”
“Am I that easy to forget, Becs?” Jacob’s voice washes over me, bringing back a flood of memories. Memories I thought I had left in the past.
My head whips toward the voice of the man walking through The Bleacher Bean’s door. Espresso brown eyes filled with uncertainty meet mine, and my insides flip right before my heart slams against my ribcage.
His grin wobbles, and a quiver shoots through me.
In all his confidence, there was always something vulnerable about him when it came to seeking approval. I swallow in an attempt to push the lump resting in my throat down, forcing a smile to line my lips.
I shake my head and let out a soft chuckle, “Of course not. It’s just been a…few decades. Not including the times I’ve watched you play on TV.”
He snorts, and his eyes glance toward the ground before meeting mine again. “Yeah. Well. That was always the dream, right?”
“Jake!” John takes three steps over to Jacob, who’s still watching me, before shifting his face toward my brother as he wraps him in a massive hug, lifting him off the ground. “Thank you for coming! And sorry I sicced Duncan on you.”
A real smile breaks free as I watch them.
“Whoa,” Jacob laughs, a wide grin stretching from ear to ear. “You’ve gotten stronger over the years.”
“I think Jane would say that I’ve always been strong.” He puts Jacob down and waggles his brows.
“How is that saint of a wife of yours?” Watching them together like this reminds me of the two of them in school. Teasing and joking around, but now there are a few more lines around their eyes and some gray hair.
My gaze roams Jacob’s face, while I take in the man I once believed I would spend my life with. It’s not fair that he’s still as handsome as ever.
John clasps Jacob’s shoulder. “Amazing. She told me I need to force you to make time for dinner.”
Stretching the rag, I turn away from them and blow out a breath. I then start to vigorously wipe down the pristine counters behind me. Michelle is very good at her job, but I need to do something—anything—to burn off the nervous energy coursing through my veins.
Jacob Thornton just walked back into my life after promising to call once he was settled in at training camp. Except he never did.
Now he’s back to help my son.
“Are you okay?” Michelle leans in and whispers in my ear.
I nod and give her a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. Inhaling deeply, I turn around and get John another drink, since the one I made him ten minutes ago is most likely cold.
“Do you want anything, Jake?” John guides Jacob to the counter just as I push his new cup into his hand. “It’s on—”
“Me,” I tease my older brother before turning back to the man I didn’t think I’d ever see again. “What’s your poison of choice? Espresso? Latte? Macchiato?”
“Black,” he says gruffly, eyes twinkling with amusement as his stare pins me. The slightest flutter hits my belly. “Just black.”
“No vanilla sweetener?” I glance at John and wink.
“Hey, what can I say?” John shrugs a shoulder, lifting his coffee and taking a sip. “I need something to cut through the bitterness.”
The carafe shakes as I pour the dark liquid into the cup. My pulse is racing, and thoughts are tumbling around my head.
“Is this your shop, Becca?” Jacob’s voice feels too close, and the room feels like all the air is being sucked from it.
“It is. Caleb and I purchased it a few years before…” A tightness grips my chest as I think about my husband. “It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but not one of his worst ideas.”
I press a lid on the cup and hand it over to Jacob. Our fingers brush, and a surge of electricity shoots through my body. His eyes flare slightly, and I hold my breath.
“Duncan mentioned he passed away last year. I’m so very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” He looks at me before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. I push his hand away. “Your money isn’t good here.”
A question lingers in his eyes, and I shake my head.
“It’s the least I can do for you coming to help Steven.”
“It’s unnecessary.”
“That’s what I keep telling her!” John gently nudges Jacob, but those warm brown eyes never leave my face. “She’s never going to make money if she keeps giving away the goods.”
“John, you act like I’m giving everybody free stuff. Is that the case, Michelle?”
“Nope,” Michelle calls out from the back room. “Only family.”
Something twists hard in my chest, and heat creeps up my cheeks. I look back at the two men who influenced my teenage years, finding sadness in Jacob’s eyes. The grip tightens, and I struggle to breathe.
“Are you ready to head to the arena?” John asks, looking at his phone. “Jake?”
He drags his gaze from mine and looks at my brother. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I have a few questions for Duncan before we get started.”
John looks pointedly at me. “I’ll meet you there. I have a few things to do before I head over.”
I stand still. Watching them as they head for the exit. John chattering excitedly and Jacob listening. The bells jingle as the door opens, but Jacob stops and turns back to me.
“It’s good to see you, Becs,” he says, his lopsided grin makes my heartbeat jump.
My mouth pulls up at the corner, and I dip my chin. As I watch them walk past the front window, Jacob looks back one last time, catching my eye. He gives me one of his toothy grins, and my knees nearly buckle.
What follows next is a gut punch as I think about how Caleb would’ve loved to have met J.T. ‘The Jet’ Thornton.
But Jacob was the only secret I kept from my husband.