Chapter 4 #2
Twenty minutes later, Jesse was moaning in pleasure as grease from her bacon cheeseburger dripped down her arms. She didn’t care.
Just as she didn’t care what anyone thought when she dipped her hot, salty fries into the thick chocolate shake.
She’d been eating this lunch in exactly this way from the time she was three years old.
Parker would be horrified. …
She shrugged at the realization, grabbing a wad of napkins as Bea plopped down in the seat across the table and wiped her flushed face with a dish towel.
What did it matter? She was in Canton, where people enjoyed tasty food, healthy or not.
She’d go back to her organic greens and mixed berry smoothies once she returned to Chicago.
“Good?” Bea nodded toward the empty plate in front of Jesse.
“Orgasmic,” Jesse admitted. “I’ve missed your cooking.”
“I’m not going to argue. You’re too skinny.” Bea dropped the towel in her lap, regarding Jesse with a critical gaze. “And you look tired.”
“I’m off my usual schedule,” she admitted. “I’m used to working late and sleeping in. I had to get up early to see Eric Walker.”
A shadow rippled over Bea’s face. “So it’s started.”
“Yeah.”
“Yes, well, I’m not going to lie. I hate the thought of you leaving town and the bar being run by some stranger, but I also know that you need to do what’s best for you.” She sighed. “It’s nothing but selfishness to want you to stay in a place that has so many unhappy memories.”
“Not all unhappy,” Jesse impulsively denied, glancing around the diner. She’d spent endless hours sitting at this precise table, eating lunch or doing her homework after school if her father was busy. “This will always be home.”
With an obvious effort, Bea squashed her personal feelings about the sale of the Tap Room and reached out to pat Jesse’s arm.
“I wish I could help make this easier for you.”
“Actually, you can.”
“Name it.”
“I need a good handyman who might have some time in their schedule to help me with a couple of projects before I put the building up for sale.” She chuckled as the words left her lips.
“I know I’m asking for a miracle. In Chicago, it can take six months to get an estimate, let alone anyone scheduled to get the work done—”
“Actually, I have just the person for you,” Bea interrupted.
Jesse blinked, genuinely surprised. “Really?”
Bea leaned back in her chair. “Noah!” she bellowed. “Noah Allen.”
On cue, a large, thickly muscled guy with dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard rose from a nearby table. He was wearing a tee stretched tight across his chest with a logo she couldn’t read and faded jeans, along with heavy work boots.
Jesse felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t real. Just an echo of excitement that she used to feel every time she caught sight of this man.
Although Noah Allen was two years older, he’d been her school crush from the time she was in kindergarten until he graduated.
He’d been the local football star, the homecoming king, and because he worked at his dad’s lumberyard, he’d had money to buy a fancy truck when he turned sixteen.
The perfect ingredients for childhood adoration.
Of course he wasn’t as beautiful or sophisticated as Parker Moreau. His features were carved in blunt lines and his nose was broken and never properly straightened. But there was something solid and resolute about him. Like one of the maple trees that lined the streets.
Jesse watched as her one-time friend strolled across the tiled floor.
“He still works at his dad’s lumberyard, but he does odd jobs around town to make some extra money,” Bea explained. “He’s the best in town.”
Noah reached the table. “Hey, Bea. What do you … Jesse.” His dark blue eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of her. “Jesse Hudson. Damn, girl. It’s been a minute.”
“Noah.” Jesse rose to her feet as he stepped toward her, leaning into his friendly hug.
His muscles were hard without the layer of fat that often settled on men after they left school.
He felt weirdly … real. Probably because Parker was so shockingly beautiful, she sometimes couldn’t believe he was more than a figment of her imagination.
She pulled back as a stab of guilt pierced her heart.
It wasn’t Parker’s fault he was so gorgeous.
“You haven’t changed at all,” she added.
Noah patted his flat stomach. “A few pounds here.” His hand moved to tap his head. “A few less strands there.” His gaze swept over her, lingering on the tattoos that decorated her arms. “You look fantastic. I love the artwork.”
“Thanks.”
“I saw the plywood was pulled off the Tap Room. Are you here to stay?”
“No, I’m putting the bar up for sale.”
“Bummer.” He looked genuinely disappointed. “I was hoping you were ready to come home.”
She shook her head, unable to imagine staying in Canton. “I’m starting a new home in Chicago.”
“A big-city gal, eh?”
She hesitated. Was she? That didn’t feel right, either. Maybe she didn’t fit anywhere. Not until she’d put her past to rest.
“Something like that,” she at last murmured.
“You’ll be missed.”
The sincerity in his words whispered through her, warming a chilled knot in the pit of her stomach.
It was all too easy to remember the agonizing disappearance of Victoria and Tegan, followed by the even more agonizing disappearance of her father.
She wasn’t sure that she’d made the effort to appreciate the friends who’d supported her through those terrible months.
“First I need to get the bar fixed up. Bea said you might be able to help?”
“What does it need?”
“A couple of windows will have to be replaced, and there’s some moisture in the cellar.
I’m afraid there might be a pipe leaking now that I turned the water back on.
” She sighed. “And there are probably a few other things I haven’t noticed yet.
I haven’t even started clearing out the place. Who knows what I’ll find?”
“I can stop by tomorrow to take a look.”
“Oh my God.” She smiled in relief. “That would be great. The sooner the better.”
He arched a brow. “You’re gonna make us feel like you don’t enjoy our company.”
“Sorry. I’m just so relieved you might be able to help.”
“I’d better get back to the yard.” He dug in the front pocket of his jeans to pull out his phone, handing it to her. “If you want to put in your number, I’ll give you a call before I stop by.”
Jesse didn’t hesitate. This was Noah Allen. She’d known him her whole life.
“Thanks, Noah.” She pulled up his contacts and typed in her information. “You’re a lifesaver.”
He took back the phone and handed her a business card with the same logo that was printed on his tee.
“This has my number and one to the lumberyard. Let me know if you change your mind on the work.” He nodded toward Bea. “Put my lunch on the tab.”
With a last smile for Jesse, he turned to head out of the door.
Jesse sank back on her seat, tossing the card into her purse despite the fact there was no way in hell she was going to change her mind about hiring him.
Not only was he willing to start tomorrow, but she trusted him to do a good job for a reasonable price. An unbeatable combination.
“He’s a good guy,” Bea said as Noah climbed into a silver truck. It looked like the same one he’d had in high school. “You know, he reminds me of your dad.”
Jesse jerked her attention back to her friend. “Seriously?”
“Steady. Loyal,” Bea said. “Someone you can depend on when times are tough.”
That was certainly true about Mac Hudson. Most of the town had asked him for money or physical labor or a shoulder to cry on over the years.
“Is Noah married?” Jesse blinked. Where had that question come from? Then again, why wouldn’t she be interested in an old classmate?
“He was,” Bea said. “He and Kelly Durant got married a couple of years after you left town.”
“Kelly.” Jesse dredged up the memory of a small, brown-haired girl who skimmed along the edges of the school hallways and sat slightly apart in the lunchroom.
As if she was there, but not there. “She was that really shy girl who played flute in the band, right? I didn’t know her very well, but she seemed nice.
” Jesse considered the match. Noah wasn’t loud or abrasive, but he’d been outgoing.
The kind of guy who could lure someone out of their shell.
“They would make a good couple,” she decided.
Bea clicked her tongue. “That’s what I thought until Kelly ran off.”
“Ran off? What do you mean?”
“Exactly that. She left town with Noah’s best friend, Joe Cochran, three years ago.”
“Oh,” Jesse breathed. “Poor Noah.”
Another click of her tongue. “Lucky escape, if you ask me. She was obviously a nasty piece of work, to cheat on Noah with his best friend. Thankfully, there were no kids. That always complicates things. Now Noah is free to find a decent woman.”
“Maybe.” Jesse abruptly stood, a haunting dread creeping down her spine. No one would understand the horror of having a loved one simply vanish. Even if Noah knew where his wife was, it would be terrible. “Lunch was delicious.”
Bea shook her head as Jesse pulled out her wallet. “This one’s on me.”
“I can’t let you do that—”
“For Mac,” Bea sternly insisted.
“Okay. Thanks.”