Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Julia stepped back from the mirror, inspecting the way she’d done her hair. It was half-up, allowing a great deal of it to toss around her shoulders. Her blue eyes blinked back at her curiously. For whatever reason, she looked strange to herself today, as if she was changing into someone else. She seldom wore her hair down, but it was more than that. There was a new kind of energy in her body that she didn’t recognize.
I guess this much upheaval will do that to a person , she thought with a wry smile. Then again, I may just be sensing my nervousness.
She was getting ready for her date with Cooper, and she’d been trying to stifle butterflies about it all day. Even though the man himself made her feel calm and at-ease, the prospect of going on a date with him filled her stomach with jitters and her mind with questions.
She stepped out of the bathroom, going to look for her mother. She was getting ready for her date in Vivian’s house, which made her feel a little as though she was in high school again. She’d moved into her old room after the funeral, and although it felt a little odd to be staying in her childhood home again, in many ways it was comforting.
It was important to her that Vivian wasn’t alone in the house while she was getting used to Frank not being there. Now that the funeral was over, Vivian had more time on her hands, and Julia didn’t want her to be spending that time alone in an empty house.
She was making her way into the kitchen when the front doorbell rang. Her stomach immediately filled with butterflies, even though one quick glance at the clock told her that Cooper wouldn’t be arriving for another half an hour.
She made her way to the front door, and as soon as she opened it, a grin appeared on her face.
“Well, well, well.” She pursed her lips as she took in the sight of Hazel and Samantha. “A couple of traveling salesmen. Can I help you?”
“Sales ladies, thank you very much.” Samantha grinned back at her, holding up a large Tupperware container. She stepped inside the house and Hazel followed her. “And what we have here is free. Cornbread muffins for Grandma.”
“Oh, that’s her favorite.” Julia’s heart was warmed by their thoughtfulness. “That’s so sweet of you both.”
“No problem at all. We love to cook and bake. And we want to make sure she has as little stress as possible in the days ahead.” Hazel smiled, but there was a troubled look in her eyes. Julia could tell that her sister was still worried about the pub’s finances, as she herself was. “We also made her this chicken casserole—I made it once before when she and Dad were over at our place for dinner, and I know she loves it.”
“Well, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. And those muffins smell absolutely incredible.” Julia smiled at her sister and her niece. “Let’s go to the kitchen and get the casserole in the refrigerator.”
The three of them started to troop toward the kitchen, and Julia caught Hazel eyeing her with a suspicious gleam in her eyes.
“You look really nice, Julia,” Hazel said, smiling slyly. “What’s the occasion?”
Julia gave her sister a look. “I dress like this all the time, and you know it.” She gestured to her pencil skirt and light green blazer. “Almost all of my wardrobe is business attire.”
“Yeah, but you don’t usually wear light colors and I haven’t seen your hair down like that in years.” Hazel was grinning as they stepped inside the kitchen. “You’re going on a date, aren’t you?”
“A date?” Samantha squealed.
Julia leaned her head back and groaned. “Fine. Yes. I am going on a date.”
“With chocolate milk guy?”
“Oh, please don’t call him that.”
“I knew it!” Hazel let out a crow of laughter as she set the casserole down on the counter with a triumphant plunk. “I knew he was going to ask you out.”
“You’re going on a date?” Samantha set down the Tupperware full of muffins and scampered over to Julia. “Today? Now?”
“Yeah, in a little bit.” Julia couldn’t help smiling over their enthusiasm, since it showed how much they cared about her. “We’re going to go get some ice cream, I guess. And go for a walk.”
“Give us the details,” Hazel begged. “When did he ask you? We’ve been so busy with everything, I’m surprised he got a chance to ask you out.”
“Well, he asked me out at the funeral, actually.” Julia blushed a little as she remembered how sweet he’d been, giving her half his sandwich as they sat under the willow tree together. “I stepped out during the reception. I just needed a breather, time to process everything, you know? Or try to, anyway. And he came up to me and saw that I was crying, and then we sat down on a bench under a willow tree and talked for a while. Then he asked me out.” She wondered if her eyes were shining as she talked about him. She couldn’t help feeling a little giddy remembering the encounter, but she knew that if she let on how much she liked him, Hazel and Samantha would never leave her alone about it.
“Under a willow tree in the rain? That’s so romantic.” Samantha clasped her hands together, looking starstruck.
Julia laughed. “I guess it was. He’s very kind, and I—well, I like that. But today is just one meet-up, it’s not like we’ve decided to start dating or anything.”
“Yeah, but who knows what’s going to happen?” Hazel grinned at her. “You look positively radiant. You really like this guy, admit it.”
“I am really excited.” Julia felt herself blushing again. “But I’m so nervous too. I’ve been hemming and hawing over what to wear for about an hour.”
She remembered how much trouble she’d always had dressing for important business events and meetings, and she realized that she was having even more trouble dressing for her date with Cooper. She couldn’t help smiling a little over the realization, since he was so much less intimidating than a room full of business people.
“Well, sounds like you need some sisterly advice.” Hazel grinned as she opened the refrigerator and popped the casserole inside. “So far, you look like you’re going to a job interview. Ditch the skirt.”
Julia looked down. “But I like this skirt.”
“I know you must have at least two pairs of jeans in your wardrobe, I’ve seen you wearing them. Wear those.”
“Besides, if you’re getting ice cream and going for a walk, you need comfortable shoes. It’ll be hard to pair comfortable shoes with a pencil skirt.” Samantha nodded sagely.
“Oh, I guess you’re right.” Julia sighed, but she couldn’t help smiling. “I’ll go get changed.”
“And then let us help you pick out some jewelry!” Hazel called after her as she made her way back to her bedroom. “You should have some earrings and some kind of necklace.”
Julia laughed as she shut the door to her room. It felt fun to have Hazel and Samantha there, helping her get ready. Their enthusiasm helped soothe some of her jitters.
She quickly got changed into a pair of black jeans and tugged a pair of comfortable flats out of her closet.
“Okay!” She opened the door to her room. “Come on, fairy godmothers, help me get ready for this date.”
“Yay!” Samantha squealed excitedly and scampered into Julia’s bedroom. She made a beeline for Julia’s dresser, where Julia had previously set out all of her jewelry in neat little rows.
“I like this gold necklace.” Samantha held up a gold necklace with multiple thin chains. “It looks elegant but not too fancy.”
Hazel followed her daughter into Julia’s room, grinning. “Wow, it’s a blast from the past to see you in here again, Julia. And here we are, talking about boys again. I remember I was in that chair right there when I told you about my first crush.”
“I can’t believe you remember that.” Julia laughed. “I remember talking with you in here late at night with Alexis, but I don’t remember that part specifically.”
“Well, it was my first crush, not yours.” Hazel poked Julia’s side playfully, and then glanced over at the necklace Samantha was still holding. “I agree. That one looks great. Pair it with those little gold studs.”
Julia did feel a little bit like Cinderella being transformed for the ball as they handed her the necklace and the earrings. She put them on carefully, and then turned around in a circle as they applauded.
“Yup. Now you’re perfect.” Hazel’s eyes were twinkling as she nodded in approval.
“You look really pretty, Aunt Julia.” Samantha sighed dreamily as if Julia was actually wearing some kind of ballgown instead of jeans and a white t-shirt under one of her most casual blazers.
“Thank you both. You’ve helped me feel so much less nervous.” Julia beamed at them.
“Why be nervous?” Hazel shook her head. “He likes you, you like him, you both like ice cream. Sounds like a perfect afternoon.”
“Oh, Hazel, it’s more complicated than that.” Julia sighed. “I do like him, but—well, I’m worried about getting involved with someone here in town. I’m here for now, but I live in New York. I may not have a job there anymore, but it’s where I live. I can’t see myself staying in Rosewood.”
“Hey, you don’t know what’s going to happen.” Hazel waved her hand through the air dismissively. “Besides, maybe he isn’t planning on staying here either.”
“It isn’t just that. I’m having trouble picturing myself with someone who has a kid already. She’s adorable, but—well, I’m worried that the fast-paced nature of my life would make that complicated.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, and don’t overcomplicate things,” Hazel said, sitting down on Julia’s old twin-sized bed and smiling at her sister. “Just be in the moment. What will be, will be.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I can manage that.” Julia sat down on the bed next to Hazel and groaned. “My brain is always thinking ahead and trying to make a plan.”
Hazel put her hands on either side of Julia’s head. “Shush, Julia’s brain. Just enjoy the date.”
Julia laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll do my best.”
“You’ll look into his beautiful eyes and feel so swoony that you won’t be able to think about anything other than how thrilling it is to be spending time with him,” Hazel said, pretending to swoon.
“How do you know his eyes are beautiful?” Julia felt herself blushing a little as she reflected that Cooper really did have wonderful eyes.
“Everyone’s eyes are beautiful if you like them.” Hazel clasped her hands over her chest, and Julia threw a pillow at her.
The doorbell rang, and all three of them exclaimed in excitement.
“That’s him, right?” Samantha said, running up to the window and looking outside.
“You can’t see the front door from here, silly,” Hazel teased her. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”
Julia’s heart lifted up with excitement. She told herself that Hazel was right, and she shouldn’t let herself get stressed out about the upcoming date. It was going to be a great time—just her and Cooper, getting to know each other and taking things easily.
The three of them scampered downstairs to the front door, and Julia smoothed her hair down before tugging it open.
The first thing she saw was Cooper standing there, smiling shyly at her, and her heart did a somersault. The next thing she saw made her mouth pop open in surprise. Next to Cooper, holding his hand, was his little girl Macey.
“Oh! Hi,” she said, blinking in surprise. She felt as though she’d been thrown a little bit of a curveball, since she distinctly remembered Cooper telling her that his little girl was going to be in daycare during their date.
“Hey, Julia.” Cooper was still smiling, but he rolled his shoulders back a little, showing discomfort. “I wasn’t able to bring Macey to daycare today, because she’s got some sniffles. I’m sorry, I hope that’s all right with you. I—well, I didn’t want to cancel.” He gave her a smile that she found so adorable that for a moment she forgot about everything else.
“I—oh, yes, that’s absolutely fine.” She crouched down and waved at the little girl, who smiled back shyly at her. The truth was that she was disappointed it wasn’t going to be just her and Cooper on the date. She felt as though she didn’t know how to handle children, and the idea of Macey coming along on the date with them made her jitters return in full force. She felt worried that she wouldn’t be good with Macey and that Cooper would stop feeling interested in her.
“Hey, Macey,” she said, smiling back at the little girl. She was determined to do her best to become more comfortable interacting with children. “Do you remember me?”
Macey shook her head, hiding behind Cooper’s legs a little.
“Her hair is different today, Macey.” Cooper looked down at his daughter fondly. “She was the lady in the restaurant who helped us clean up your chocolate milk.”
Macey just blinked at Julia, who stood up with a smile.
“It’s okay, I’m sure she’ll remember me after today.”
“I’m sure she will too. Your hair looks great, by the way.”
Behind her in the house, Julia heard a delighted gasp that she felt sure had come from Samantha. Repressing a smile, she turned around and closed the door behind her, catching a brief glimpse of Hazel and Samantha ducking out of sight behind the couch.
“Thanks for coming to pick me up,” she said, smiling at Cooper as they walked down the steps of the front porch toward his car. He looked nice, too, she thought. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt and jeans, and his dark brown wavy hair looked almost curly, making her guess that he’d applied some product to it.
“Of course,” he said. “I’m sorry again about the extra passenger. And I might as well warn you now, she’s going to take up a lot of my attention on the date.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She smiled at him, but she felt another flop of disappointment.
Cooper tucked Macey into her car seat in the back of his car, and then he and Julia sat down in the front seats. She felt a kind of buzzing feeling under her skin, which gave her a sense of excitement but also of nervousness. He turned the key in the ignition, which started the engine of the car and also turned on the radio.
“Do you mind?” He grimaced apologetically as a kid’s song began to pour out of the car’s speakers. “It helps her stay calm while we drive.”
Julia laughed. “Oh, no worries. I haven’t heard ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’ in years. This song is a classic.”
He laughed, looking delighted by her joke. She clasped her hands in her lap and looked ahead out the window, feeling pleasantly surprised to discover that the kid’s songs was lightening the mood and making her feel more at ease.
“Daddy, make the face!” Macey called out enthusiastically from the back seat. It was difficult to understand her words, but Cooper had no trouble understanding what she wanted. He dropped his jaw into a goofy surprised face, which was evidently supposed to be his reaction to the fact that London Bridge had fallen down.
As soon as Cooper had made the face, Macey collapsed in a fit of giggles, and Julia had to giggle herself. She was charmed by the way Cooper acted goofy for his daughter to keep her entertained. It was clear from the way he kept checking on her by glancing into the rearview mirror that he was an attentive, adoring father.
I’m so attracted to that, she realized, surprised. Just like how I didn’t expect to find his rough exterior so attractive, but I do. The way he interacts with his daughter is very attractive to me.
As soon as she’d had the realization, however, her heart twisted with worry. Clearly, Macey was Cooper’s whole world. As someone who’d never come close to having kids of her own, the idea of caring for a child all the time felt foreign to her. She didn’t know how she could date someone who already had a kid.
She shook herself, telling herself firmly that she couldn’t throw away all of her concerns about dating Cooper just because of how attractive he was to her and how considerate he was. Although she had to admit to herself that it had been a long time since she’d met a man as considerate as he was, she told herself that she would be able to find someone great who was in the same place that she was as far as kids went. That person wasn’t Cooper, so she shouldn’t let her heart get too carried away on this date.
Cooper drove them to a local ice cream parlor, where they parked and he got out a stroller for Macey.
“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” He smiled at Julia as they walked up to the ice cream counter, which was built at a window so that customers could order their treats from the sidewalk. “That wind off the ocean is delightful.”
“It is.” She smiled shyly at him, completely forgetting her concerns for a moment, just as Hazel had predicted she would. He really did have wonderful eyes, she thought.
“What would you like? My treat.”
“Thank you. Um.” She paused to peruse the menu, which was posted on the wall outside the ice cream parlor. There were so many delicious options, and for a moment she felt sure she was going to take at least five minutes to decide. Then she saw that they offered a dish with one scoop of orange sherbet and one scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream, and she knew that was what she wanted.
“That was my favorite as a kid,” she told Cooper after she’d placed her order. “I used to take little tiny scoops of both with my spoon so I got the perfect combination of flavors every time.” She laughed, remembering. Although the ice cream parlor they were at was a new one that she’d never been to before, she’d gone to get ice cream with her family many times while she was growing up. For a moment, she missed her father terribly.
“Sounds brilliant.” He grinned at her. “I’ve never tried those flavor combinations, but it seems like a perfect example of opposites going well together.”
“I’ll let you try some of mine, if you want. I still owe you for that sandwich.”
He laughed, and then stepped up to the window to order himself a turtle sundae, and a vanilla ice cream cone for Macey.
Once they all had their treats, he turned to Julia with a smile. “I seem to remember promising you a walk. Want to walk along the ocean? There’s a great sidewalk that goes just along the beach—well, I guess you know all about it.” He laughed.
“I do.” She grinned at him. “That sounds like the perfect spot. And we can walk there from here.”
They set off along the sidewalk together, beginning to eat their ice cream. Cooper pushed the stroller with his elbows while he ate his turtle sundae, and Julia teased him, saying that she was impressed.
“Parenting gives you a whole new level of skills.” He laughed. “I can do things now that I used to consider to be superhuman. Functioning on an abysmally small amount of sleep, for example.”
She made a sympathetic face at him. “Well, it must be extra hard for you as a single parent.”
He nodded, all of a sudden looking more tired. She wondered if he was missing his wife. “It really is. Macey’s so worth all of it, but there are days when I feel like I can’t manage it all by myself.”
“I’m sure it must be very difficult. But if it makes you feel any better, I think you’re doing an amazing job.”
“That does make me feel better.” He grinned and popped a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. “Thank you.”
She laughed, feeling butterflies in her stomach again. He was so charming, she couldn’t help feeling delighted by him.
“Daddy!” Macey called from the front of the stroller, sounding upset.
“What’s wrong, honey?” He stopped pushing the stroller and hurried around it, crouching down in front of his daughter.
Julia stepped forward and saw that Macey had ice cream dripping down all over her hands.
“Don’t worry, Macey,” she said. “You have fun licking that off, and then I have something to make your hands less sticky.”
Macey hesitated, looking unsure and stressed, but Cooper said, “Come on, honey, lick it off. See?” He pretended to lick her hand, and she giggled. “Mm, wow. That’s delicious.”
Macey licked the ice cream off her hand, and then Cooper coached her through licking off the melted ice cream on her cone. Julia and Cooper sat down on a bench next to the stroller to finish their ice cream while Macey happily chomped on her ice cream cone.
“Done,” she said at last, and held up her sticky fingers in concern.
“You’re going to grow up to be quite the lady, Miss Macey,” Julia said, smiling at her as she rummaged in her purse for a wet wipe towelette. “Most kids don’t even think about their fingers being sticky.”
She crouched down and wiped off Macey’s hands with the towelette. Macey held up her fingers again, smiling because they felt clean.
“Here,” Cooper said after Julia had thrown away the towelette in a nearby trash can. He squirted a dollop of hand sanitizer into her palm. “I don’t want you catching whatever is making her sniffle.”
“Why thank you.” She grinned at him, spreading the hand sanitizer across her hands. “We make a good team.”
He nodded at her, grinning, and then for a moment he got a look in his eyes that made her heart start to beat a little faster.
“You’re really good with kids.” He smiled at her as they continued to walk. He’d finished his sundae while they were sitting on the bench, but she was still eating her orange sherbet and vanilla ice cream, and she found herself carefully combining the flavors in every spoonful, just like she had when she was a kid.
“Oh, gosh, I wouldn’t say that.” She blinked in surprise over his compliment. “I’m not used to kids at all. I have one niece, but I wasn’t really around when she was little like this. Honestly, I expected to feel really awkward around Macey when you said she was going to be on this date with us.”
“Well, you’re not at all. And I know she seems shy, but she definitely likes you. I can tell.” He grinned at her, and she smiled back.
For a few more minutes, they walked along in silence. The wind off the ocean gently ruffled their hair, and the air was filled with the smell of the saltwater and of French fries being sold at a nearby food truck. The sun was shining like a golden orb in a clear blue sky, and Julia took a deep breath, feeling delighted by how beautiful it all was.
“New York can’t beat this.” She half-closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the wind on her face. “Spring in Rosewood Beach is incredible. And summer is even better.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” He smiled at her a little shyly. “Will you be here in the summer?”
“Oh—I—well, I don’t know. I’m not thinking that far ahead yet. There are some things—well, I just want to be here with my family for now.”
He nodded, although he looked a little disappointed. “I understand. How is your family doing after the funeral?”
“Oh, okay I guess. We’re all supporting each other, so that’s been a huge comfort. But unfortunately, Dad’s death isn’t the only thing we need to deal with right now.”
She hesitated. She didn’t want to tell Cooper about her father’s gambling debts, not without her mother’s permission, but she decided that it would be okay to tell him about Judd McCormick’s visit.
“This man came to the pub the other day,” she continued. “Judd McCormick. Apparently, he’s been offering to buy the land from my dad for years, and now he’s pushing the same offer on my mom. She… well, she feels overwhelmed by everything and how complicated it is, and I’m worried she might cave and sell it to him. That would break her heart. The pub means so much to our family. It’s always been something that brought us together.”
Cooper nodded, listening intently to her as she spoke. “I know the guy you’re talking about. He rubbed me the wrong way, but I couldn’t really place my finger on why. Now I know it’s because he was lying to me.”
“Judd McCormick? Why?”
“Yeah, he had me do a whole landscaping estimate on the pub’s land—your family’s land. He was sure that your mom was going to sell the place to him and his sons. He kept telling me it was a sure thing, even when I saw that there were no ‘for sale’ signs and questioned him about it.”
“Ugh, the nerve of that guy. That’s—” She felt her blood boil with indignation over the fact that Judd had gone as far as to get a landscaping estimate before the property had been sold to him. “I can’t believe that.”
“I mean, I can. He seems unusually sure of himself, doesn’t he? I almost felt like he knew something that nobody else did.”
Julia paused in her walking for a moment, and he turned to her concern.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, it’s… well, I kind of got that impression from him the other day too. I don’t like how cocky he is about the whole thing.”
“I can imagine. He clearly thinks he has this one in the bag, for whatever reason.”
“Well, he doesn’t.” Frustrated, she ate a spoonful of her ice cream and realized that it was just vanilla. “I’m going to do everything in my power to help my mom. Judd McCormick doesn’t have a snowman’s chance on that beach in the middle of August.”
He laughed. “That’s the spirit! You seem like a very determined woman.”
“Oh, I am.” She took another spoonful of ice cream, half sherbet and half vanilla again this time. “I’ve been working hard and planning my life carefully ever since graduating from college. I’ve been climbing the ladder all the time, if you know what I mean.” She looked out across the ocean as she spoke, reflecting on how quickly the past few years of her life had gone by. She’d made money and had a lot of good times, and been very proud of herself regularly, but in hindsight it was all a blur. She couldn’t remember many moments in which she’d felt as content and at peace as she did just then, walking along the beach with Cooper.
“I’m very different from you.” He smiled at her. “I believe in working hard, and I do, but I’ve never been one for trying to climb that ladder of success. I used to own a ranch in Colorado, and that was its own kind of circus. After my wife died, I sold the ranch and moved out here. I was looking for a quieter, simpler life somewhere where Macey could be around kids her own age and I could have more time to spend with her.”
She smiled at him. “I think that’s admirable. There’s nothing wrong with living a simple life. People here in Rosewood Beach are definitely happier than most people in New York. It’s just that a simple life isn’t for me. I always want to keep moving and doing things.”
“Well, you’re doing something now in Rosewood Beach, helping your mom keep The Lighthouse Grill. Is it okay that I hope that keeps you occupied for a while?”
She turned to him and saw that he was smiling at her shyly. “That’s okay.” She smiled shyly back at him.
They had slowed down in their walking until they’d stopped. For a moment, they just stood there, and her heart began to beat faster. She wondered if he was going to ask to see her again, even though she didn’t know how long she was going to be in Rosewood Beach.
“Julia!”
Macey held up a little fist with a flower in it. Julia looked down at her and realized in a flash that the little girl had picked a flower on the side of the sidewalk and was offering it to her.
“Is that for me?” She crouched down and took the flower that Macey was handing her. “Wow, thank you so much.” Her heart felt light and bubbly all of a sudden. She hadn’t expected to feel so touched by the gift of a flower from the little girl.
Macey pointed to Julia’s hair, and she took the hint and tucked the flower behind her ear. Macey gave her a chubby smile, and Julia looked up to see Cooper watching the two of them with a grin on his face.
“I told you she likes you,” he observed.
“I like her too.” Julia smiled and adjusted the flower behind her ear.
They continued to walk along the beach for a while, and at one point they went down onto the sand itself and walked along the water’s edge. Cooper left Macey’s stroller in the sand and carried her, and Julia crossed her arms as she walked, wondering what it might be like to get to enjoy the beauty that was all around them on a regular basis.
“I had a really great time,” she told him, when they were finally driving back up to Vivian’s house. Macey was sound asleep in the back seat, her head lolled to one side and her tiny mouth open in a perfect “o.”
“I did too.” He parked the car in front of the house and looked right into her eyes. “I would really like to see you again, Julia. I know we’re very different, and our lives are very different, and you don’t know how long you’re going to be here in town, but?—”
“Yes,” she blurted, and then she laughed. “I would like that. I’d like that very much.”
“Great.” His face lit up into a grin. “Next time we should do dinner. Or maybe go for another walk. I don’t know. I’d like to have a date with you where I can just focus on you.”
She flushed, her heart beating a bit faster. “Having Macey along with us was fun,” she assured him. “She’s really a sweetheart.”
They lingered over their goodbyes for another few moments, and he promised to call her. She slipped out of his car and made her way toward Vivian’s house, feeling as light as a feather. She paused at the door and waved to him as he drove away.
I’m not going to let myself worry about this, she thought, unable to keep from smiling as she stepped inside the house. I’m just going to be in the moment like Hazel suggested and enjoy getting to know Cooper better.