16. Jess
The rest of Jess’s day stayed just busy enough that she was surprised when Liberty came in to pick her up.
“Already?” she asked as Liberty entered the shop.
“If that’s not a sign of a good first day, I don’t know what is,” Joanie laughed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, love. Thanks for your hard work.”
“See you then,” Jess said happily, heading out with her daughter. “How was your day?”
“Well, I had a nice coffee at the café, just like you suggested,” Liberty told her. “I grabbed some chicken from the grocery for tonight, and I also headed over to the hardware store and got a few more cleaning supplies. Then I went back to the house and put the chicken in to marinate while I got to work on one of those upstairs bedrooms. I’m thinking I’ll move into it once I get it done, if that’s all right with you.”
“It’s more than all right,” Jess told her. “Just let me know what you need.”
“I think I’m good for now,” Liberty said, looking pleased. “Cleaning always makes me feel satisfied, like I’ve accomplished something.”
“Wonder who you got that from?” Jess teased.
“Oh, and I found the most amazing photo when I was cleaning out the closet,” Liberty said. “I thought it was you in a cap and gown, holding me. But I think it must be your mom holding you.”
“Wow,” Jess said. “That actually sounds familiar. I think my mom had a copy of it up in our place when I was little. I wouldn’t have thought my grandparents did, though.”
“I mean they didn’t have it up,” Liberty said frowning. “It was kind of stuffed in the back of the closet shelf. But it’s really cool. I put it on the mantel, so you can see it when we get home.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” Jess said fondly.
She got a twinge thinking about her young mother, framing a photo of herself in her cap and gown with her baby, and sending it to her parents. Mom had probably hoped they might open their hearts to her again when they saw she had graduated and had a beautiful baby girl. But of course they had only stuffed it in the back of the closet, forgotten—just as they had chosen to forget their daughter.
As they made the short drive back to the beach house, Liberty cheered her up without knowing it, chatting more about the room she had chosen for herself. It was the same corner one with the pretty view that she had stayed in for her wedding. She was hoping to paint it a pale blue once she got it cleaned up, and Jess was all for it.
“Want a cup of tea and a slice of lemon cake?” Jess asked when they pulled up back at the house.
“Oh, no,” Liberty said. “I’ve been itching to get some more work done on that room.”
“Have at it,” Jess laughed.
They got out of the car and Liberty headed right upstairs. Jess wandered into the kitchen and poured herself a nice glass of sweet tea. But before she could slice the lemon cake, she heard another car pull in.
“Now who is this?” she said to herself, heading to the dining room and peeking out the window.
She recognized Clint’s pick-up truck right away and almost slapped her forehead. Of course. He had been planning to come by today after her shift to help her try and get some things done on the house. How had she forgotten all about that?
She took a single step toward the front porch to welcome him in. But when he swung out of the truck, she was momentarily transfixed and couldn’t seem to look away.
Clint was so serious all the time, with his head down and broad shoulders squared, just like when he was a kid. Though of course he was very much a man now…
Good heavens, what am I thinking?
Sure, she might have had a little crush on Clint back when she was a kid. But she was a grown woman now, with a complicated life. She didn’t need to be noticing a man’s broad shoulders. Jess turned from the window and headed to the living room, arriving just as Clint knocked on the door.
“Hi,” she said, praying he couldn’t read her embarrassment on her face as she opened the door. “Thanks so much for coming.”
“Said I would,” he said, his gray eyes flashing up to hers for an instant.
“Want to come in for some sweet tea and we can make a plan?” she asked.
“Sure,” he agreed.
She led the way back to the kitchen, glad she actually had what she’d offered him this time.
He sat down at the kitchen table. And Jess poured a second glass of tea, then grabbed two plates, placing a slice of glazed lemon pound cake on each.
“Looks good,” Clint said as she set it down in front of him.
Jess sat as Clint took his first sip of tea. The glass looked like a doll’s cup in his hand. Honestly, his big presence made the whole kitchen feel smaller.
“It’s just from a box,” Jess said. “Not the real thing, like Anna would make.”
“She’s a professional baker now,” Clint said, with pride in his eyes. “Has her own shop and everything.”
Jess smiled. It was endearing to hear him talk about his little sister so fondly.
“She stopped in the flower shop today,” Jess told him. “She looks so happy. I’m glad she’s still doing what she loves.”
“She’s a good kid,” Clint said with satisfaction.
They enjoyed their snack in silence for a few minutes. Jess loved lemon cake. Even the boxed kind was moist and sweet, just the right treat after a day of running around. Clint seemed to agree, because his disappeared in seconds. When Jess was finished, he brushed his hands on his jeans as if to signal that it was time to get down to business.
“So,” he said. “There are a couple of things we ought to knock out right away.”
“Okay,” Jess said. “I’m listening.”
“First of all, the yard needs a clean-up,” he said. “Can’t have debris blowing around in a storm. It’s not safe. We should install all new shut-off valves so you can easily turn them off when we get a warning, and we need to get you some real storm shutters. A simple shed would be a good idea, so your porch chairs don’t turn into projectiles. And then, of course, new smoke and CO detectors.”
Jess frowned. Clint’s list was basically all hurricane prep stuff.
“Those sound like very sensible ideas,” she told him carefully. “But, you know I’m selling, and hopefully before hurricane season even comes.”
“I doubt that, with all you have to do,” Clint said gruffly, folding his arms.
Jess paused, uncertain how to proceed.
“Well,” she said carefully. “I really appreciate you wanting to help, and some of these things might be good for storm prep and selling, like cleaning up the yard and new smoke detectors.”
He just nodded.
“Maybe you could also advise me on how to get the wallpaper down in the living room,” she added hopefully. “And I want to get started painting the porch as soon as I can, before the wood is too badly damaged.”
“Okay, okay,” he said gruffly, then downed the rest of his tea in one big gulp. “Let’s go look at the porch.”
“Great,” she said, hopping up and heading for the front door. “I think the porch is the best feature of the house. It’s going to be so beautiful with a nice coat of paint.”
When she opened the door and turned back she caught him with a half-smile playing on his lips. But he didn’t let it blossom into a whole smile, and he didn’t share with her what was lightening his mood.
Men, she thought to herself.
But she was glad if he was happier than before. And he was here helping her—that made him a hero in her eyes. He could be as grumpy as he liked, but he was with her, and he had her back. That made him the best kind of friend.
“First thing we need to do is prep,” he said, scanning the porch, his gray eyes narrowed. “That means removing everything and cleaning thoroughly, then scraping away the old paint as best we can.”
“Well, we can probably just trash the furniture,” Jess said, looking at the worn and filthy wicker pieces. “That will mean less work, and I won’t need a shed, right?”
“Nah, this stuff is still solid,” Clint said, thumping the arm of one of the chairs. “I’m going to paint it.”
“Paint the furniture?” Jess asked dubiously.
“Definitely,” he told her. “You’ll love it when I’m done. Trust me.”
“Okay,” she said, smiling. “I trust you.”
He headed for his truck, and grabbed a radio out of the back.
“You mind some music?” he asked.
“Not at all,” she said.
He plugged it in, and the Beach Boys started singing about surfing, the plucky beat immediately making Jess feel more energetic.
They started by dragging the furniture off the porch and into the yard. Clint carried the sofas on his own, muscles flexing under his t-shirt as he hoisted each one up and jogged down the steps.
Jess took the chairs, moving slowly and carefully. It was hot enough to make her sweat, and there was no point rushing or getting hurt.
“Good work,” Clint said on his way past her.
“I don’t see any need to show off,” she said, shaking her head.
“No, I mean it,” he said. “Plenty of people would just wait for me to move it all. Glad you know how to roll up your sleeves.”
She almost protested, but she bit her tongue because she knew exactly what he meant. She could picture most of the women in the home and school association back in Aynwick just standing around and watching someone else do all the work. They had done it to her enough times.
“That’s not how Mary taught us,” she said with a smile.
He smiled back, his eyes lighting up so that they were the pale gray of the sea.
When they had the whole porch cleared she grabbed a broom and hit the floor.
“Let me have a go,” Clint said, holding out his hands. “I’m going to try and get up high first.”
He was tall enough to sweep the cobwebs off the light fixtures and the dust off all the woodwork. When he was finished, he handed her back the broom and she worked on the decking while he took measurements. They were both sweating and completely filthy by the time the porch was fully swept.
“Now what?” she asked. “Should we mop?”
“We’ll use the hose,” he told her. “Is it hooked up?”
Jess went down to check. When she turned it on, the valve leaked like crazy. She glanced up to see if Clint had noticed and was going to tell her I told you so.
But he turned away quickly, as if to let her save face.
“I guess new valves are a good idea,” she said, not ashamed to admit when she was wrong. “Just let me know what kind we need, and I can run by the hardware store tomorrow.”
“Hm,” he grunted.
Before she knew what she was doing, she squirted him with the hose.
“Hey,” he yelled, launching himself over the porch railing and snatching the hose from her hand in one surprisingly graceful moment.
“Now, I didn’t mean any harm,” she said, lifting her hands in surrender as she backed away.
But he gave her a good blast and she screamed with laughter. The lukewarm water actually felt great after their hard work. She was just going after him to try and get the hose back when Liberty hung her head out of a second-floor window.
“You guys okay down there?” Liberty asked.
“Yes, sorry, honey,” Jess said, feeling silly for horsing around. “We were just messing around with the hose.”
“Sounds good,” Liberty said. “It’s hot.”
She poked her head back in quickly though, as if she were afraid someone might squirt her.
Jess looked to Clint.
He just grinned and shook his head.
For the next hour, they applied themselves to cleaning the porch. With the hose, a bottle of cleaner Jess brought out, and a deck brush, they made speedy progress.
After that, Clint grabbed a couple of paint scrapers and showed Jess how to use them.
“I need to get home and shower before dinner at Mom’s,” he said. “But we’ll scrape tomorrow, and then we can get started painting. I’ll bring the paint by.”
“Oh, let me get you some cash for that,” Jess said.
“No need,” he growled. “I’ve got tons left over from other jobs.”
“Oh,” Jess said. “Don’t you need to know what colors I want?”
“Nope,” he said. “I know.”
“I mean, I don’t like what’s here now,” Jess said, indicating the odd yellow-ish cream color.
“I know,” he said, smiling.
She smiled back, letting herself notice how nice his eyes were for a moment.
“Well, uh, see you over there,” he grumbled, breaking eye contact and jogging back down to his truck.
“See you,” Jess said, wondering for the second time what had gotten into her.
It’s just Joanie putting ideas in my head,she decided.