Chapter Ten #3
Jax hated the idea of having to return the cat. “I’ll ask around, but if no one will take her, then I guess she has to be
returned.” She briefly thought about talking to Harris about moving Lucy to the house. The kids would love having a pet, but
she was concerned about her ex being willing to take responsibility for a cat.
“I’m going to try to make up with Ramon,” she said.
“Good luck with that.”
Jax nodded then went in search of her parrot. She found him in the far corner of the children’s section, up high on a shelf.
When he saw her, he deliberately turned his back on her.
She walked over and stood below him. “I’m sorry. I was wrong. You said no and I didn’t listen. That was disrespectful and
violated all the rules of our relationship. I apologize and want you to know how much I regret what happened.”
She paused, hoping he would at least glance at her, but he didn’t move a feather.
“Ramon, please. I love you and I was only trying to help. But I get it now. No more cats. Not ever.”
She thought about going to get a treat but doubted he would take it from her. As far as he was concerned, she’d broken every
tenet of their relationship. Worse—she’d put him in physical danger. If Lucy had caught him, she could have easily killed
him. Yes, he seemed large but he was barely a pound.
Tears burned. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice small and pleading. “Ramon, I’m so sorry.”
She tried talking to him for a few more minutes then finally gave up.
She would go to him in a couple of hours and see if he would at least acknowledge she was in the room.
Shame and self-reproach accompanied her as she worked in the store.
She felt awful and couldn’t shake the sick feeling in her stomach.
“No joy?” Cheryl asked later that afternoon. “You’re looking like you lost your best friend so I’m guessing Ramon isn’t speaking
to you.”
“He won’t even look at me.”
“Give him time. He’s a smart bird. He knows you love him.”
“I think he’s a whole lot less sure of that now.” She held in a sigh. “Let’s change the subject. Now that we have the dates
from Marcus for when the wall comes down, we need to get an announcement out on Port Palmas Talks.”
The daily newsfeed provided residents with updates on everything from bad weather to garage sales to restaurant daily specials.
Cheryl nodded. “I’ll get going on the wording. I want to make it stern enough to capture people’s attention.” She smiled.
“What if I threaten to read all the diaries not claimed by the authors?”
“We said we’re not reading people’s diaries. That would be wrong.”
“Yes, but also very fun. Think of all the secrets we could find out.”
Jax eyed the former teacher. “You have an unexpected bad girl streak.”
“I know. I’ve done my best to rein in my inner evil twin, but every now and then she gets the best of me. Don’t worry, I’ll
run the announcement past you before I post it.”
“Thanks.”
Cheryl looked past her and smiled. “Ah, someone’s here to see you.”
Jax’s already bad mood took a jog for the worse as she braced herself to have to face Shawna, but when she turned she only
saw Marcus walking toward her. Relief eased some of her discomfort.
“Him I can handle.”
“You say that now,” Cheryl murmured. “But I think he might surprise you.”
Jax had no idea what that meant and decided to let it go. She wanted to talk to Marcus about the junk room refresh and hear
what he had to say about the work on the store.
“Hi,” he said as he approached and Cheryl stepped away. “I wanted to talk to you about . . .” He paused. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything.” She shook her head. “That’s not true. I’m fine. I tried to introduce Lucy to Ramon. It didn’t go well.”
“She tried to kill him?”
“What? How can you know that? Of course not.” She paused, then hung her head. “Yes. It was horrifying and it’s all my fault.”
“You’re trying to get your bird a cat as a pet. That’s not natural. What did you think would happen?”
“That they would be friends and hang out together and he would be happy.”
“She’s a cat.”
“I’m clear on that. Stop saying it.”
“Okay, then I’ll point out, as we’ve discussed, Ramon is perfectly happy now.”
“I know,” she admitted, wondering how long she would feel sick to her stomach. “I just thought he could be happier.” She sighed.
“I’m very clear you’re regretting your comment from before. The one where you said I was a good pet parent, because I’m not.
I’m responsible for the near death of my beloved parrot. To channel my eight-year-old, I stink.”
Marcus surprised her by putting his arm around her. “You don’t stink.”
The weight and the warmth of his body was unexpectedly comforting, she thought, leaning into him for a second.
“I do. I’m an awful parrot mom. I should be arrested.”
He stepped back and smiled at her. “That’s dramatic.”
“I’m trying to distract myself.” She sighed. “Change of subject. Oh, wait. Do you want to adopt a cat?”
“No. Next topic.”
“She’s really pretty and except for her killer instinct, basically sweet.”
“Still no.”
“Okay. If you think of anyone, let me know. In the meantime, I’d like to know if you have time to help me with a quick job
at the house.”
He frowned. “The house you share with Harris?”
“The house we live in on alternate weeks. The house we now share with his fiancée which means we’re sharing closet space,
bathroom space and more significantly, a bed.”
Marcus stared at her for a second, then looked away but not before she saw his lips twitch.
“It’s not funny,” she grumbled. “It’s weird and awkward.”
“And a little funny.” He looked at her. “Okay, how can I help? Put in a third vanity in the main bathroom so you can all have
your personal space?”
“I need the junk room fixed up. It’s one of those mother-in-law rooms with an attached three-quarter bath.”
“Moving downstairs, are we?”
“How did you know the room was downstairs?”
“The mother-in-law suite always is.” He pulled a small notebook out of his back pocket and a pen from his shirt pocket. “Tell
me what you need.”
She explained about the sad vanity and toilet. “The bedroom and bathroom also need to be painted.”
He made a few notes. “What about all the stuff that’s in there now?” He held up a hand. “I know because you called it a junk
room. That implies it’s not empty.”
“The kids and I are sorting. I’ve got a guy coming Wednesday to haul away what can’t be donated.”
“Tell me about the vanity. Any guess on the size?”
“I measured. It’s forty-two inches. And the toilet is, you know, toilet size.”
He smiled. “Standard. The word you’re looking for is standard.”
“Right. That. So any chance you can fit me in?”
“Not a problem. I’ll swing by about seven tonight and look at the room and bathroom. Have you picked out your paint color?
Want me to bring swatches?”
“The kids and I went to the hardware store over the weekend and got those little sample containers. The room now has a lovely
collection of painted squares. Gentry wants lavender and Xander thinks I should paint the room black but I’m going with sage.
I’ve got the number at home. I can give that to you tonight.”
“Good. I’ll bring you pictures of a couple of vanities I have in my shop. We can get something from a big-box store, but I
have one, maybe two, forty-two-inch vanities that are going to be nicer and cheaper.”
She frowned. “Just sitting around? You keep random inventory.”
He chuckled. “I’m a contractor. Things happen. They ship the wrong item. The customer changes their mind. Usually the supplier
would rather sell at a deep discount to avoid having me ship back whatever it is. The vanity I’m thinking of is from a custom
remodel. It’s excellent quality with a marble countertop and a high-end Kohler fixture.”
“Sounds expensive.”
He offered her a smile that was both sexy and appealing. She liked it.
“I’d sell it to you for about 10 percent less than what you’d pay at a big-box store.”
“Then I would take it.”
“Look at the pictures first. You need to like it.”
“Marcus, I appreciate your concern but it’s a sink and a few drawers. I don’t need to be emotionally committed.”
“I’ll bring by pictures.”
“You’re very thorough.”
“I try to be.”
Just then there was a flutter of wings as Ramon flew over. Jax watched him pointedly ignore her and settle on Marcus’s outstretched
hand before walking up to his shoulder.
“Mr. Darcy,” the parrot said loudly as he didn’t look at her.
She tried to ignore the stab of pain. Marcus shook his head.
“I’m Marcus.”
“Mr. Darcy.”
Jax told herself she wasn’t going to cry. “He likes you,” she said quietly. “It’s a big deal that he calls you Mr. Darcy.
It’s a thing.”
She looked at her bird. “I am sorry. I wish you wouldn’t try to hurt me, but I get it.”
He turned to her. “May the odds ever be in your favor.”
“You know, nearly everyone died in Hunger Games.”
Ramon snorted, then flew away. Marcus watched him go.
“So it’s really bad between the two of you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s my fault. I messed up. So now I have to deal.”
“If I can help,” he began.
She shook her head. “This is on me. Hopefully, with time, he’ll forgive me.” She didn’t want to think what would happen if
he didn’t.