Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
Julia watched the way the sunlight gleamed on the edges of her mother’s stove, and she took a deep breath, savoring the smell of brewing coffee and sizzling bacon.
She was surrounded by food, all of which she was attempting to cook by herself. There had been moments in which she felt as though she’d convinced herself to take on some kind of impossible task, but she was managing to stay on top of all of the different things she was trying to cook. She had a quiche baking in the oven along with croissants, and she was just about finished cooking a whole package of bacon. Beside her on the counter was a gleaming glass dish of fruit salad, looking especially beautiful with all of its various bright colors.
Since none of her siblings had to be at work early that Friday morning, she’d invited them all over to her mother’s house, promising a big breakfast for six. She’d felt in the cooking mood, and she liked cooking best when she had people to cook for.
She glanced at the clock, noting that her siblings were due to start arriving at any moment, and reflecting with a smile that everything should time out just right. She pulled the last slices of bacon out of the pan and set them inside a covered dish to keep warm. She practically scampered over to the kitchen table, which she’d already set with cheerful yellow dishes, and set the dish of bacon down in the center of the table. She got a jug of orange juice out of the refrigerator and set it on the table, and soon the fruit salad, coffee, quiche, and a basket of croissants joined the bacon and orange juice.
There, she thought, feeling pleased. That looks downright picturesque and it smells absolutely delicious.
“Knock knock!” Dean’s voice called from outside the back door, and a moment later he stepped into the kitchen. He was wearing his mechanic’s uniform, but for now he was clean and tidy. “Gosh, it smells incredible in here.”
“Why thank you. Go on and take a seat at the table, everyone else should be here in a second.”
Vivian stepped through the back door a moment later. She was wearing a wide-brimmed straw gardening hat, dirty gardening gloves, and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. “That garden is looking better and better every day. I can’t wait until we have fresh vegetables all summer, and flowers to put into vases.”
“It’s going to be amazing.” Julia kissed her mother’s cheek.
“And my goodness, what a feast you’ve prepared!” Vivian smiled in admiration at the table as she peeled off her dirty gloves. “I’m so impressed with you, Julia. You’re really becoming quite the chef.”
“Aw, shucks.” Julia laughed, and at that moment, Hazel, Samantha, and Alexis stepped through the back door.
“Good morning, everyone!” Hazel sang out. “Wow, what a breakfast! It was so nice to wake up and think, ‘I don’t have to do any cooking this morning.’” She laughed and gave Julia a hug.
“You’re so welcome. I found this quiche recipe in one of Mom’s cookbooks and I’ve been itching to try it. Doesn’t it smell delicious?”
“Amazing.” Samantha grinned. “I don’t even like quiche and I want to eat it.”
Hazel laughed. “You haven’t tried quiche since you were four. I bet you love it.”
“Well, today is clearly the day to find out.” Alexis patted Samantha’s shoulder as she sat down at the kitchen table. “Oh, croissants! Those look fluffy enough to melt in your mouth.”
The meal commenced, and everyone talked and laughed loudly as they started to eat. Julia received compliments on her food every minute or so, and she felt pleased that her family was enjoying what she’d made so much. The twins kept everyone entertained as they ate. Hazel told stories about the strange things people did in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, and Dean told stories about the people who came to get their cars fixed at his shop.
“And I kid you not,” he said, almost crying with laughter and shaking his head, “that same chicken wing was in a napkin in her car six months later. Right there in the cupholder.”
“Oh, that’s so gross!” Samantha covered her mouth with her hand, shaking with laughter.
“So I asked her if I could take it out for her, and she asked me how much extra it would cost her.” Dean wiped away a tear.
“How much did you charge her?” Hazel grinned at him.
“I did it for free, I’m not a jerk!”
The table kept chuckling over the story for a few more minutes while they ate. As Julia was savoring a sip of her coffee, Hazel turned toward her.
“How come you didn’t invite Cooper and Macey this morning? I know it would have been a lot of people here, but we could have squeezed them in.”
“I thought about it.” Julia smiled. “But he had to be at Greener Pastures early this morning. There’s a big landscaping job they’re working on, for a very important client. He’s leading it, so he didn’t think he could come into work late.” She felt proud of Cooper as she spoke, knowing how good at his job he was and how much care he put into it. “I’m going to pick Macey up from daycare once breakfast is over so I can spend some time with her. I wanted to pick her up sooner, but I knew I couldn’t cook and watch her at the same time.”
“Next time I can watch her,” Vivian volunteered eagerly. “I’d love to.”
“Things seem to be going extremely well between you two.” Alexis grinned at Julia. “I’m thrilled for you. Cooper’s practically part of our family now.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Julia blurted, feeling suddenly flustered. “I haven’t even told him that I love him yet.”
“What?” Hazel looked shocked. “But—you do, don’t you?”
“You sure seem like it.” Dean shook his head. “You two seem absolutely smitten with each other.”
“I agree.” Alexis blinked in surprise. “I thought for sure the two of you were past that point already.”
“Do you love him, Julia?” Vivian prompted gently.
“I—yes, I do.” Julia felt herself blushing, but her feelings for Cooper couldn’t be denied. She felt a glowing feeling in her chest whenever she thought about him.
“So you need to tell him,” Dean said firmly. “That’s not the kind of information you should keep to yourself.”
“I agree.” Hazel stared into space as she thought. “How do you want to go about telling him you love him?”
“Ooh, do something romantic,” Alexis said. “You should tell him as soon as possible, Julia. Today. You should tell him today.”
“Today?” Julia squeaked.
“Just come up with a plan for how you’re going to do it. That should make it easier.” Hazel drummed her fingers on the table.
“I don’t know—” Julia felt herself blushing.
“Oh, come on, Julia.” Hazel grinned at her. “You’ve been trying to get me to talk to Jacob even though it’s scary. You should take your own advice and tell Cooper how you feel about him. You can even sneak it into a more subtle form of communication, like a note.”
“No, not a note,” Dean protested. “All men are simple. Bluntness is the way to go. Just drop it in the middle of a conversation. Say, ‘Cooper, I love you.’”
“And then he’ll say, ‘I love you too.’” Samantha’s eyes were shining. “It’ll be so romantic. You’ll probably kiss and everything.”
“It should be even more romantic than that!” Alexis shook her head. “You should make the moment special. Put a lot of thought into it, don’t just drop the words on him like a sack of potatoes. Go a more romantic route and make it an event to remember. You could create a picnic for the two of you, or take him to the beach at sunset, or drive up with him to the bluff. Or maybe tell him at a candlelight dinner.”
Julia’s head was spinning, and her stomach was fluttering with nervous butterflies. “Thanks, guys.” She couldn’t help smiling, amused and delighted by how invested they were in her love life. “Those are all great suggestions. I’ll give it some consideration.”
“Don’t consider too long.” Dean grinned at her knowingly. “You can ‘consider’ for a couple weeks, disguising the fact that you’re just procrastinating.”
“Okay, okay.” Julia laughed. “I won’t procrastinate for too long. I mean it. You guys are right—this is an important conversation that needs to happen.” Her heart thumped nervously in her chest as she said the words, but the way her family smiled at her lifted her spirits.
“That’s our girl,” said Alexis. “You’ve got this.”
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” Vivian said, her eyes shining.
Julia smiled back at her family and took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down. The meal resumed, and glasses and silverware clinked cheerfully as people ate. Julia munched her quiche thoughtfully. She didn’t know how she was going to go about telling Cooper that she loved him, but she felt confident that her efforts were going to be worth it.
Dean sat back on his haunches and closed his eyes for a second. He’d only been working in his auto repair shop for a couple of hours, but already he was feeling an acute sense of exhaustion. His joints were screaming for rest, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep pushing himself. And he had to admit to himself, based on how strangely his body was behaving, it wouldn’t be wise to keep pushing himself.
Well, at least I know it isn’t because I didn’t eat breakfast, he thought with a smile, remembering the delicious meal he’d shared with his family earlier that day.
He’d felt a little tired then too, but nothing like this. He’d been feeling worn out and achy off and on all week, but today it was particularly bad—and today it was hitting him after a couple of hours of work, instead of at the end of a long shift.
He closed his eyes for a moment, feeling lightheaded. His body hurt in a way that didn’t feel like normal fatigue, and it worried him.
“You okay, boss?” one of his employees asked.
Dean opened his eyes and shook his head. “I think I should take a break. Could you come work on this transmission, Sam?” He hated to stop working, especially while his guys were still out in the shop doing the labor, but he felt that he needed to sit quietly for a few minutes, at least.
“Sure thing.” Sam, a teenager, looked at him with concern. “Let us know if you—I mean, if we should call someone or something.”
Dean shook his head, putting a brave smile on. “Oh, I’m fine. You won’t need to call an ambulance on me or anything.” He waved a dismissive hand, and Sam smiled at him, looking relieved.
Once Dean closed the door of his office, however, his cheerful smile disappeared.
“Oh, man,” he groaned, flopping into his swivel desk chair. He rolled his shoulders back, feeling his joints ache sharply.
He’d been telling himself that he’d simply been working too hard, but he’d woken up that morning feeling only a little tired from the day before. If he felt like this after only two hours of work, he had to admit to himself that something else might be the matter. He frowned, pushing those thoughts aside because he didn’t want to think about it.
I’ll just rest here for a little bit, he thought, closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. I’m sure I’m fine.
He’d always been the type who could sleep anywhere, anytime. After a few short minutes, he was sound asleep, dreaming peacefully about having a food fight with his siblings.