Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Alexis listened to the sound of her sisters laughing and smiled. She took a sip of her lavender honey tea, feeling a cool breeze brush against her face through an open window.
She and Julia were at Hazel’s house, and the three of them were sitting in the living room together, going through the rest of the old family photo albums. It had turned out that there were a few of them upstairs on a shelf in Vivian’s house that Dean hadn’t known about, so the sisters had volunteered to go through them together and pick out any photographs that they felt should be in the slideshow that Dean was making for their father’s funeral.
Hazel had made them all mugs of tea, and Alexis found her beverage soothing and refreshing. It was fun to look at all of those memories with her sisters, but underneath it all was an undercurrent of grief, filling her chest with a bittersweet ache.
“Do you remember this Christmas?” Hazel pointed eagerly to a photograph of their dad dressed in a Santa costume. “He and Mom felt so bad about telling us that Santa wasn’t real, and we were all like, ‘We know.’”
Alexis threw her head back, laughing. “Oh, I’ll never forget it. You remember how Mom was so worried we’d be sad that Santa Claus was really Dad that she baked all of those cookies?”
“Those cookies were really good.” Julia laughed. “I just remember giggling so much with you guys because we felt so proud we’d already figured it out.”
Alexis turned another page in the album she was combing through. In many ways, their task was easy, because they were only looking for photographs of their dad, and most of the pictures in the albums were just of them as kids. As she looked through the memories, she was reminded of how many times their dad actually hadn’t been with them for various outings and events. She’d almost forgotten how busy he’d been, working hard at The Lighthouse Grill.
“And this day.” Julia’s eyes brimmed with tears as she held up a photograph of their dad holding a nine-year-old Dean in his arms. “Dean slipped on the ice and got that minor concussion. Dad was so worried about him.”
Alexis wiped a few stray tears off her own face. “We were all so worried when we saw him fall like that.”
For a moment, all three of the sisters were quiet. Alexis felt the bittersweet ache in her chest intensify for a few heartbeats.
As hard as this is, I’m so grateful we’re doing it together, she thought. And I’m glad I have some time to step away from L.A. so I can sort out my emotions about all of that better.
She had been trying not to think too much about Grayson or her home life while she was in Rosewood Beach, because she knew that taking a break from brooding over how her marriage had been getting rocky would give her a clearer head about everything when she did finally go back. And she could feel her spirits being bolstered by the love of her family and the cheerful energy of Rosewood Beach. She wanted to drink that in as much as possible before she had to return to the things that were troubling her.
“How are you liking being back, Julia?” Hazel asked, smiling at their other sister as she took a sip of her mango ginger tea. “Are you itching to get back to the hustle and bustle of New York City?”
Julia, who usually loved talking about her job and the big city, simply shrugged. She looked out the window and hesitated for a few moments before saying, “No, I’m not itching to get back.”
“Well, they’re probably itching for you to get back.” Alexis smiled at her. “I’m glad they were able to spare you for this week.”
Julia cleared her throat gently and said, “No, they can manage without me.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’re struggling hard.” Hazel grinned at her. “You always said that they told you you’re indispensable, right?”
Julia made a face and muttered dryly, “Well, clearly that’s not true.”
Confused, Alexis glanced at Hazel, wondering if she knew what Julia was talking about. But Hazel was staring back at her, looking just as confused as she was.
“It’s really fun to be away from New York, actually,” Julia said hurriedly, as if to try to brush off what she’d just said. “I’m really enjoying being back in Rosewood. It’s been nice to be back in the quiet life for a while—everyone’s so much more joyful out here, and our town is so beautiful.”
“It is.” Alexis smiled at her sister, but internally, she was still wondering what Julia’s comment about not being indispensable at her job meant.
“And so much busier than it used to be!” Julia chattered on, smiling and seeming determined to keep the subject changed. “I went to The Salty Spoon this morning, and I couldn’t even get a table before I had to leave to go to the pub. I’m glad tourism is increasing here, especially because that’s good for Mom too. But the place was packed—I could have eaten there, I guess, but I didn’t want to skip the other people in line.”
“What do you mean?” Alexis asked curiously as Julia suddenly paused in her narrative.
“Oh, well, there was a little girl who spilled her chocolate milk so I hurried over to help do some damage control.” Julia’s cheeks started to flush slightly as she told that part of her story. “Her dad was very nice and he offered to let me sit with them, but I told him no.”
“Oh, yeah?” Hazel set down her mug of tea, her eyes narrowing with affectionate suspicion. “Is this dad a single father by any chance?”
The flush on Julia’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink. “I—well, I guess so. He isn’t wearing a wedding ring or anything like that. And he seemed pretty worn out, even though he was being really sweet and patient with his daughter. I got the impression that he’s a single father.”
“Hmm, really. Is he handsome?” Hazel seemed all ears and determined to pry.
“I—well, I suppose so.” Julia was decidedly blushing then. “Actually, I’ve already met him. The second I stepped out of my cab on my first day here, he caught me just as I was about to fall into a patch of mud.”
“He caught you? In the rain? Oh, that’s so romantic,” Hazel cooed.
Julia shook her head firmly. “It’s not—I was just being a klutz. And then I was rude to him. It was hardly romantic.”
“Well, then today you got to help him out to return the favor. And he obviously likes you if he offered to let you sit with them.”
“I think he was just being polite.”
“Oh, come on! I’m sure he’s at least somewhat interested. Men don’t go catching random beautiful women in the rain without getting a few heart flutters about it.”
Julia shook her head, laughing at Hazel’s words. “Even if he was interested in me, that doesn’t mean this is going anywhere. I mean, he had a two-year-old daughter and I don’t know anything about children.”
Alexis stayed out of her sisters’ conversation, listening and smiling a little but not adding any input of her own. She did want Julia to find happiness with someone, but as she listened, she realized that she was feeling a little bit like a cynic. Given her own tense marriage, she wasn’t in much of a positive mood when it came to anything romantic. She didn’t feel as though it made sense to encourage Julia to get excited about some man who lived in another place than she did. However handsome he was, or however romantic it might be that he’d caught her when she stumbled in the rain, it was no reason for her to consider turning her life upside down for him.
“What do you think, Alexis?” Hazel asked, turning to her with a questioning gaze.
Alexis blinked. She hated to be the voice of pessimism, especially at a time when they could all use some cheering up, but she didn’t want to be totally dishonest about her thoughts either.
She was saved from having to answer, however, because at that moment there was a knock on the door.
“Who would be knocking on your door after dinner?” Julia asked, frowning in surprise. “It can’t be any kind of package delivery at this hour, can it?”
“Let’s find out.” Hazel stood up and hurried over to the door. The moment she opened it, the tips of her ears turned bright pink. “Jacob! Hi.”
Jacob Dorsey, the town handyman, stood on Hazel’s front step, smiling in a calm manner. “Hey, Hazel. How’s your night going?”
Julia and Alexis exchanged a curious glance. Hazel had had a massive crush on Jacob in high school—she was one of many girls who had—and the sight of him showing up on her doorstep like that in such a friendly way made them raise their eyebrows.
“Are they going out?” Julia mouthed at Alexis, but Alexis just shrugged and shook her head, signaling that she had no idea.
She berated herself for not asking Hazel sooner if she had anyone special in her life at the moment. She told herself that it was her duty as a sister to know and care about those kinds of things. She realized she probably hadn’t brought it up because she was avoiding the topic of romance as much as she could, since any reminder of her situation with Grayson made her stomach tense up.
“Um, fine,” Hazel said a little breathlessly. “How about you, Jacob?”
“Oh, fine, fine.” He smiled pleasantly. He’d always been a kind, down-to-earth sort of guy with a simple nature. He seemed to be blissfully unaware of how many women were still pining after him, even after high school. He was well-known enough in town that news of him had reached Alexis the other day at the pub, where she’d learned that he was now the local handyman, well-respected, and sought after by many women. She wasn’t at all surprised, considering what a sweet, attractive young man he’d been when he went to school with Hazel and Dean. “I was just driving past and I heard a clicking sound coming from your fuse box.”
“A clicking sound?” Hazel blinked worriedly. “That’s probably bad, right? What do you think it could mean?”
Jacob shrugged good-naturedly and smiled at her. His kind gray eyes, along with his neatly-trimmed brown beard, gave him a professional appearance despite the fact that he was wearing a dirty flannel work shirt. “While I’m not formally an electrician, I know a lot about fuse boxes and I’ve done my share of work on some of the fuse boxes around town. I wouldn’t worry about it—especially because I’d like to come by tomorrow and take a look at it for you.” He grinned at her, and the flushed shade of her ears got brighter.
“Oh, would you? Thank you so much.”
“Of course. I want to do my part to make sure everyone in our town stays safe. Call me if you notice anything odd happening before tomorrow.”
“I will. Thank you again, Jacob. Get home safe.”
“I will.”
With a smile and a nod, he stepped off the front porch, and Hazel shut the door behind him, seeming to do it a touch reluctantly.
“Well, what was that?” Julia crowed gleefully, hugging one of the couch pillows to her chest and grinning at Hazel. “What’s up with you and Jacob?”
“What?” Now Hazel’s whole face was a bright shade of pink. “Didn’t you hear him? He offered to help me because my fuse box is making clicking noises.”
“Mm, yeah, I heard it. He really seems to be going out of his way for you, Hazel.” Julia’s eyes danced mischievously.
“But… he’s just being nice.” Hazel sat down in her spot on the couch and hurriedly drank some of her tea as if to hide her face.
“Oh, come on, Hazel, you had the biggest crush on him when we were growing up. For years.” Julia waggled her brows, poking her sister’s shoulder with the pillow she was holding.
Hazel shook her head, although she looked as though she was trying not to smile.
“That doesn’t mean he’s interested in me! He could have his pick of any girl in town, easily. He’s just being chivalrous.” A silly smile formed on her face, however, giving away the fact that she was thrilled he was being so sweet to her.
“Ahh, look at that smile! You’re totally smitten.” Julia threw the pillow at Hazel, who dodged it, laughing.
Alexis swallowed, trying to fight off the pit in her stomach that wouldn’t seem to go away. She was happy for her sisters, but the fact that their romantic lives seemed to be on the up-and-up and hers seemed to be plummeting to the depths made her heart feel as heavy as lead. She wished she could just enjoy her sisters’ good news and exciting prospects, but their hope seemed to highlight the fact that she was starting to feel as though she didn’t have any, at least as far as her relationship with Grayson went.
I keep clinging to the hope that things are going to get better, she thought, taking another sip of her tea and watching Julia and Hazel laughing on the couch. I keep pretending I’ll never have to say anything to anyone about what’s happening. I don’t want to have to tell anyone. I’m afraid to tell anyone.
She bit her lip, finding it harder and harder to tell herself that things were going to turn out okay between her and her husband. He hadn’t even returned the calls she’d made to him since she arrived in Rosewood Beach. He’d replied to her with short texts that contained supportive words, but texts were far from reassuring, especially when she was dealing with something as difficult as the death of a parent.
She found herself pulling her phone out of her pocket, checking it yet again to see if he’d called her or at least sent her another text. There was nothing, and she had to rapidly blink back a rush of tears. She couldn’t understand him not thinking of her enough to at least send her a message every now and again. So far, he’d only replied to her when she’d been the one to reach out first. She couldn’t help feeling that if he really cared about her, he’d be reaching out and asking her how she was doing and trying to make sure she was doing okay.
“Oh, we should get back to these photo albums,” Julia said with a sigh, turning back to the one placed on the coffee table in front of her. “I almost don’t want to. It’s so much nicer to think ahead to the future than look back at the past. The past makes me sad right now.”
Alexis swallowed, nodding without saying anything. She was worried her future was going to make her sad too.