Chapter 46
Chapter Forty-Six
"You nervous?" Jewel whispered, catching her daughter's sideways glance as they walked through the door of the yoga studio, bell dinging.
Destini shrugged. "Maybe a little." Her fingers traced nervous patterns along the mat's edge.
Jewel hadn't wanted to go alone, had somehow felt that she needed to make this step to integrate into their new town with her daughter. She'd wanted to lead by example on how to join in and make friends.
But since they'd just met some kids at school, two teenage girls immediately descended on Destini, talking a mile a minute and asking questions about the cool new girl in town. Destini beamed, answering questions and throwing out funny one-liners.
Jewel hung back, watching and waiting to swoop in and save her, but she never looked over. Her heart ached to see Destini fit in so quickly. After everything they'd been through the past few months, this week felt like a perfect, fragile miracle. She could hardly believe Destini was truly here, truly home.
"Hey, you made it!" a woman said, drawing her attention.
Jewel looked over and found Ana and Lola chatting and stretching. Holly and Maryanne were at the front of the room, talking with the rest of the women as they came in and set up their mats. Jewel joined Ana and Lola, unfurling her yoga mat with a soft whisper across the polished studio floor, her movements deliberate and calm.
A group of teenage boys paused outside, and the group of girls with Destini giggled, setting up their mats near the windows and striking poses.
"Hey, thanks for the invite. Sorry it's taken me so long to get here," Jewel said, following the opening stretches.
"No worries. When Skye's at camp, I don't want to go out either, so I get it," Ana murmured as they stretched to warm up. "How's it been having Destini back?"
"Surprisingly seamless," Jewel said, a grin splitting her face. "I think we both missed each other more than we realized."
"Must be nice." Ana chuckled. "I swear the teenage stage is worse than the toddler years. Some days it's like walking through a minefield."
Lola snorted. "Tell me about it. Violet is a pretty volatile kid. Parker says they've nicknamed her Violent in school."
Ana winced. "Oh, no, is it manageable?"
Lola shrugged. "We're working through it with Tasha and her social worker, but she's already better than when she first moved in last year."
Jewel chuckled, making Lola frown. "Sorry—it's not funny that you're having trouble. It just made me think of what you were like in high school."
Lola rolled her eyes, but her face softened. "That's what Granny says too, that I'm paying for my raising with her. I just wish Mom was here to help." Lola sighed as her face darkened with emotion.
Jewel patted her on the shoulder. "I heard about her passing. I'm sorry for your loss. She was a good woman."
Lola's smile wobbled, and she glanced away, blinking quickly. "Thanks."
Her words were barely heard over the burst of laughter from the teenagers as they giggled at the group of boys outside the window.
Ana struck up a conversation about Destini's classes and the teachers as yoga progressed. Jewel had let Destini stay home with Chase the past two days, working on the house and barn and getting to know each other. She'd officially start school on Monday and was getting excited.
Jewel's inner monologue hummed with joy. This belonging, community, sense of normalcy… it was everything she'd ever wanted. Destini's laughter drifted across the room, light and free.
They'd made the right choice, moving to Crimson Creek.
* * *
When Jewel dropped Destini off a few days later for school, she took a picture of her "first day of school." Destini just rolled her eyes, but the small smile that hovered on her lips told Jewel that she didn't really mind.
That week, they settled into a comfortable rhythm. Destini adapted quickly to her new school, her vibrant personality making friends easily. She joined the soccer team, mostly thanks to Parker's badgering and the soccer girls' welcoming cajoling.
And every night, Jewel continued to spoon Chase. They'd not had sex since Destini moved in, but the closeness remained. The way they clung to each other in the dark of night was comforting. While she ached for him, she was simply too exhausted from work to try anything else, and—gentleman that he was—he never pushed or asked.
Jewel thought about the lack of intimacy and what it meant the next day at work. Each day her stress went higher, her working days went longer, and her body teetered on the edge of exhaustion. Worry gnawed at her as she worked, and she felt it creeping in—that familiar, unwelcome warning of a Lyme flare-up.
Her muscles tightened, a dull ache forming behind her eyes, and her hands trembled as she restocked her vet bag from a long day of driving around the county to see patients. Not now, she groaned. She didn't have time to deal with a crash right now, not with Destini in her first week of school.
She thought about Chase picking Destini up from school today. The first few days, she'd done drop off and pickup, but today, she'd had a longer day at work. He was already such a great father, but they seemed to be at an impasse with their relationship.
Had he backed off because of Destini? Were they just going to be roommates until Destini moved out for college? Then what would happen to them?
And the biggest question of all… Did the lack of sex mean he wasn't in love with her after all?
Jewel watched the clock hands inch closer to six, feeling the day's tension knotting between her shoulder blades. The longer it went without the physical aspect of their relationship, the more she came to question whether he loved her or not. It made her jaw clench, driving her lingering headache higher.
As she pushed through the front door of their home, the savory scent of roasted chicken and herbs wafted towards her, a stark contrast to the chaos of her workday and emotions.
"Hey," Chase called out from the kitchen, his voice warm. "We're in here."
"Hi," Jewel replied, slipping off her shoes and padding toward the sound of his voice. She leaned against the doorway, watching him place the dinner plates on the table, his movements precise and caring, less stiff after a week and a half of healing. The bruising remained on his eye, but she wouldn't admit that it made him even more appealing.
On the opposite side of the table, Destini sat, her brows knitted together, the usual spark in her eyes dimmed as she typed on her laptop.
"Everything okay?" Jewel asked, directing her question to her daughter while taking her usual seat next to Chase.
Destini glanced up, forcing a smile that failed to reach her eyes. "Yeah, just got an email from NASA. They didn't approve my application."
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Jewel said, laying her hand on Destini's. Her daughter squeezed her fingers with a sigh that was too grown up and world-weary, then she shut the laptop and set it aside.
"It's alright. It's for the best. Now I can focus on becoming valedictorian here. I aced my science test today."
Jewel pursed her lips as she scooped food onto her plate from the dishes on the table. Of course, Destini wanted to be valedictorian. Why hadn't she thought of that as an argument to get her to move sooner? Ugh, stupid brain fog.
Jewel passed Chase the serving spoon and said, "Sounds like you had a good day then, despite the setback. Because that's all that denial email is—a setback. It's not a no forever, but a?—"
"No right now. I know, Mom," Destini murmured, poking at the food on her plate but not really eating much.
Jewel turned to Chase and turned the topic to the horse she'd brought home a few days ago from the backyard breeder. "How's Whiskey today?"
Chase winced and frowned. "He's settled down a little. I took him to the school for pickup today. Destini rode him home."
That wasn't their original plan. Chase was going to ask Raul if he'd drive them. Jewel's brows rose, her gaze flying to her daughter, who hunched her shoulders even more.
"Oh? And how did that go?" Jewel prompted.
"He's a good horse. Just spirited enough not to be boring, but easy to ride," Destini mumbled, shoving a piece of chicken into her mouth.
Jewel glanced at Chase and opened her mouth to ask more, but he shook his and mouthed silently, "Later."
Her jaw snapped shut, and they continued eating in tense silence.
"How was work today?" Chase asked her. Jewel shared what stories she could, her chest tight at the inability to save a little girl's pet lizard. She just wasn't as familiar with that type of animal, and they'd brought him in too late.
He slid his hand to her knee, offering silent support as she sighed in defeat. A shiver of awareness went through her at his touch, sending hope that maybe he still wanted her.
He squeezed, then released her knee. A stab of disappointment went through her.
Then again, maybe not. They'd first gotten back together because of the need for comfort. Perhaps that's all they were. Comfort fuck buddies. The thought left a frustrated, bitter taste in her mouth that made her appetite disappear.
When dinner was done, Destini stood and collected the dishes. "I'll do these. You guys go relax or whatever."
"Thanks, sweetie," Jewel said, watching her daughter retreat to the sink. "Are we still on for family movie night?"
Destini nodded, not even looking up. "Sure, whatever y'all want is fine. I'll make popcorn."
She exchanged a look with Chase, both sharing an unspoken worry. She followed him to the living room where they settled onto the couch, the familiar weight of the day falling away as they found comfort in each other's presence. There was no hand holding, no overt affection, just two souls seeking solace beside one another.
The memory of the night of Halloween, the passion that he'd let peak through, gave her hope for more.
"So what happened with Whiskey?" Jewel finally broke the silence as she grabbed the remote and turned the television on.
He sighed, his breath ruffling a lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead. "I picked her up from school with him. I thought she'd love it. She's been riding him around here after school since the day after you brought him home. But she seemed... embarrassed. I just don't know if she was embarrassed about the horse or about the fact that I'm the one that picked her up."
He half turned to face her on the couch, his hand on the back playing with the hair of her ponytail. Goosebumps broke out over her skin, and she shifted closer.
"Neither of those make sense. She loves you—and that horse," Jewel said as an afterthought. The way Destini followed him around in the past week and a half had not gone unnoticed. It had made Jewel frustrated, as it reminded her too much of how Destini used to follow her dad around when he'd come to Houston for the holidays. She'd always craved male approval, and as she entered the teenage years, had seemed to reject her mother's opinions.
It was all natural, and Jewel didn't resent their developing relationship. She just wished she and Destini could recover some of their previous easy-going relationship.
Jewel shook her head. "There has to be something else. Maybe she got the rejection email at school or maybe something else happened at school."
"Maybe." He shrugged, his eyes clouded with doubt. She reached over with her free hand and set it on his knee, offering comfort yet again. "When she comes in, we'll ask her."
She handed him the remote, leaning closer as she ran her hand up his thigh. "No, we need to give her space and let her work through her feelings. When she's ready, she'll come to us."
Chase shook his head and took the remote, sucking in a breath but otherwise not responding. Destini shuffled back into the room, a forced cheeriness in her step as she held up two bowls of popcorn. "What are we watching? I brought snacks."
Jewel leaned back against the couch, letting go of Chase's thigh and taking a bowl of popcorn as Destini settled next to her. She shared the bowl with Chase, balancing it partly on her leg and partly on his.
"Romcom classic," Chase replied. His taste in movies made Jewel smile. He was always such a softy beneath his rugged exterior.
The three of them settled into the rhythm of the movie, sharing laughter and the buttery popcorn, letting the flickering images cast a spell over the room. Chase's arm found its way behind Jewel on the couch, but he kept a respectful distance, mirroring the chaste companionship they had maintained in Destini's presence.
The way he angled his body closer to hers so he could reach the popcorn made her nose fill with the scent of him. It both drove her to the edge of distraction while making her relax.
When Destini's phone buzzed, she excused herself with an apologetic grin. "Gotta take this, it's Skye." Her steps retreated down the hallway, leaving Jewel and Chase alone with the glow of the romcom bathing them in soft light.