Chapter 21
At the ring of the phone Jenna darted from the brochure rack toward the office. But Miss Tina beat her to the call. Jenna
sighed as she continued restocking pamphlets, casting a longing glance out the window. She’d been filling in for Miss Molly
in the mornings and doing tours in the afternoon. But today Miss Tina had a dentist appointment, so Jenna was stuck in the
office till three.
It wasn’t as if it was torture. She was good at administrative tasks and the air-conditioning felt nice. But she missed the
ocean breeze and the in-depth conversations with customers.
Plus it gave her too much head time. She kept remembering the way she’d felt in Tyson’s arms at Chatties four days ago, and
that wasn’t helpful. Hadn’t she promised herself she’d think of him only as a friend? Why did that suddenly seem impossible?
Because being in his arms had felt even better than she could’ve dreamed. She’d wanted to stay there in the safety of his
embrace all night.
But his embrace wasn’t safe. He was a firefighter and therefore in regular peril. Losing a friend would be hard enough. If
she let herself fall in love with him and she lost him the same way she’d lost her dad, she’d be left in ruins.
It was unthinkable.
Jenna was just entering the house when she noticed a voicemail on her phone. She frowned at the foreign number as the screen door fell shut behind her. Probably just a credit card company with a onetime offer.
“Hi, honey!” Mom called.
“Hi, Mom.” Jenna joined her mother in the kitchen where she and Gordon were unloading groceries. “Hi, Gordon.”
He smiled as he withdrew from the fridge. “Hi, Jenna. How was your day? Your mom told me you’ve been working in the office
this week.”
“It was good. Miss Molly had to make a quick trip, but she’ll be back tonight.”
Jenna helped empty the last bag as Gordon grabbed an onion and knife and began chopping it up on the cutting board. He sure
did know his way around their kitchen.
“Would you look at this guy?” Mom rubbed Gordon’s back, gazing at him affectionately. “So sweet of him to take on the onions.
He knows they just wreck my eyes. We’re making meatloaf tonight—Gordon’s special recipe. I hope you can stay.”
Sadly she had no other plans. “I think I’m free. Can I help with supper?”
“Thanks, but we’ve got it under control,” Mom said.
“You’ve been working all day,” Gordon said. “Why don’t you go put your feet up?”
Five minutes later Jenna had freshened up and settled in the living room before remembering she had a voicemail. She opened
it and listened.
“Hi, Jenna. This is Nancy Orcutt with Alexandria Parks and Recreation. I’m calling regarding an application you submitted recently.
We’re interested in doing an interview if you’re still available and interested in the management position.
Please give me a call at your convenience. I look forward to chatting with you.”
Pleasure bloomed inside as Jenna lowered her phone. Yes! Finally, an opportunity for a position that felt like a great fit. She was beginning to wonder if she’d ever get another
interview, much less for the position she’d been most excited about. And honestly, it was nice just to be wanted.
Mom passed by, drying her hands on a towel.
“Hey, Mom, I got an interview.”
“That’s wonderful, honey!” Mom darted toward her and Jenna popped to her feet to intercept the hug. “Which position?”
“The one with Parks and Rec to manage the athletics department.”
“That sounds perfect for you. They’ll be lucky to have you.”
“I have to get the job first.”
“They’d be crazy to turn my girl down.” Mom’s smile slipped a bit.
She was no doubt thinking about Jenna leaving the island. If Jenna was honest, the thought of leaving also weighed on her.
She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed her island, her people, until she returned home. “You know, Mom, I plan on coming
around a lot more often in the future. And when I’m not here I’ll be calling and texting you. You’ll hear from me so often
you’ll get sick of me.”
“Not possible, my sweet girl. But you know I only want what’s best for you.” A twinkle entered her pale blue eyes. “Sooner
or later you’ll figure out that’s the island.”
Jenna chuckled. “Not that you’ve got an opinion or anything.”
“Oh, I’m chock-full of opinions.” She snapped the towel at Jenna before she ducked from the room.
Jenna redialed Nancy’s number and got her on the phone right away.
The woman sounded warm and friendly. The person currently holding the management position was seven months pregnant and not planning to return to work.
P and R wouldn’t need a replacement until the beginning of July.
That was a whole month away, but Jenna couldn’t just ignore this opportunity.
They scheduled the interview in a week and a half, which was the soonest opening Nancy had.
Jenna was still wearing a smile as she opened her text app and typed out a message. I got an interview!
Ten seconds after she sent it, her phone buzzed with an incoming call. She rolled her eyes even as her heart kicked into gear.
“Don’t you ever just text?”
“News like that deserves a phone call,” Ty said. “Congratulations, that’s great news. Which position?”
She caught him up to speed on the job. “I’m so excited just to get my foot in the door someplace.”
“I’m excited for you.” There was a smile behind his words. “Seems like the job would be perfect for you. Though I’ve gotten
so used to having you around, I can’t imagine you leaving again.”
She was having a little trouble with that one herself. But a little distance between them might be a good thing—since she
couldn’t seem to control her thoughts. “I have an empty apartment just sitting there and a lease through the end of summer.
I need a paycheck and soon.”
“What if you get the job before we figure out what’s going on with Gordon?”
“Hang on a second.” Jenna slipped upstairs to her bedroom, closed the door, and lowered her voice.
“I don’t know. Guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
But even if I get the job, we still have a month.
Although he’s already been here almost that long, and I haven’t heard a peep about him leaving anytime soon.
You’d think the man would have some obligations back home. ”
“Have you done any more research on him?”
“Not really. I’ve been pretty busy the past few days. You?”
“I looked up his home on Zillow. It’s a Federal-style row house in what seems to be a nice neighborhood.”
“Just like he said. That can’t be cheap in DC.”
“Oh, it’s not.” He named the value listed by the site. “It’s a three-bedroom, three-bath home. The interior looks to be well
kept if a little dated. I’ll send you the link.”
A moment later the text arrived and Jenna clicked on the link. It was an attractive brick row house sitting several feet higher
than the sidewalk. A cobblestone retaining wall fronted the home, and steps led from the sidewalk to a small porch. The home
was two stories tall. “Seems like a big house for just one person. And it’s just sitting empty? He can afford to keep up with
the bills?”
“Maybe it’s paid off. And it’s not like it’s costing him anything to be here.”
True enough. Jenna scowled. They had to get to the bottom of this. “Maybe we should make a trip out there. It’s only a few
hours away.”
“What would you hope to uncover once we’re there? Where would we even start?”
Good question. “I don’t know. Let’s give it some thought.”
“Maybe Gordon will say something that sparks an idea or gives us some kind of direction.”
That would be helpful. But summer was busy for Ty. Plus he was dealing with a lot of fallout from that accident. “You know, you’ll be really busy this month. If it seems like a trip would be helpful, I can just go alone.”
“I don’t like the idea of you poking around DC alone, especially when we don’t know what you’d be getting into. Besides, we’re
in this together.”
“You’ve got a lot on your plate, Ty.”
“Believe me, I’d rather stay busy. And I care about your mom too. I want to make sure she’s not getting scammed.”
Jenna could hardly argue with that. “Okay, let’s give it some thought and see what happens.”