Chapter 2
Jesse
A hundred emotions seemed to flicker over Edie’s face in the seconds before she shut down completely, leaving Jesse with no hint of what she might be feeling as she inclined her head in a short, sharp nod. “Congratulations.”
It was a perfectly polite, even bordering on nice response. And it still felt like a kick to the chest. “Thanks,” Jesse managed past the tightness in her throat. “He’s a good guy. I think you’d like him.”
“I’m happy for you.”
She didn’t sound happy. She didn’t sound anything, which was even worse than the storm Jesse had prepared herself for when she’d decided to make the trip out to Lost River.
“Thanks,” Jesse repeated, at a loss for anything else to say. What else could she say? Sorry I left you behind. Sorry I didn’t call or write. Sorry I didn’t come home when Ken died.
I’m just so fucking… sorry.
But she didn’t think any of those apologies would be welcome, so she kept her mouth shut and tried for a smile. “Want to go into town for breakfast? My treat.”
“I’ve got food here.”
Temper sparked in her chest, but Jesse did her best to smother it. Getting into a pissing match with her ex-girlfriend wasn’t on her agenda. Well, at least not over biscuits and gravy. “All right. What’s for breakfast, then?”
Finally, she saw her own anger reflected in Edie’s eyes, but only for a moment before her face was a blank slate again. “I don’t remember inviting you.”
“You didn’t. I invited myself.” Jesse flashed a wide grin as Edie’s eyes narrowed. “Mama never did manage to teach me any manners.”
There was a long, tense moment as Edie obviously struggled with what to do next. Because while she may not have been what other people considered well-mannered, she did have her own personal code she lived by. A code that hopefully included not refusing a guest breakfast, even an uninvited and unwelcome one. “Fine,” Edie finally snapped, giving Jesse as wide of a berth as possible as she stalked out of the barn.
Jesse wisely swallowed a laugh. Getting under Edie’s skin had always given her a special kind of thrill. Even now, knowing Edie wouldn’t lay a finger on her, Jesse couldn’t help the little bounce in her step as she happily followed Edie—and Edie’s shapely, denim-covered ass—up to the house. But she didn’t think Edie would appreciate her amusement at the situation, so she kept those thoughts to herself.
By the time Jesse walked into the kitchen, Edie already had the bacon and eggs out on the counter, and an old cast iron skillet warming on the stove. She couldn’t help but wince at the sight; she was going to be working off her time in Lost River for at least a month after she left.
Unfortunately for her, Edie happened to turn around and catch her before she could hide her reaction. “Problem?” Edie asked, ice coating her voice.
“Nope.” It was a lie, of course, but Jesse wasn’t about to give Edie yet another reason to hate her by turning her nose up at a free meal. “Want me to set the table?”
The look Edie sent her way was full of surprise. For a brief moment, their eyes locked, and the breath caught in Jesse’s lungs. Once upon a time, everything she’d ever wanted had been in those eyes. She’d lived for the way the brown warmed with approval when Jesse was a good girl, or hardened when she was naughty. For the way those eyes went nearly black with desire, and the way they heated with pleasure whenever Jesse finally surrendered her will to Edie’s.
It was, to say the least, something of a shock to realize how much of what she wanted still rested in those gorgeous, dark depths.
Then Edie looked back down at the skillet, and the moment was lost.
Dammit.
“Plates are in the cabinet by the fridge, silverware’s in the drawer below that,” Edie said without bothering to look up or point. “You shouldn’t have any problem finding the cups seeing as how you helped yourself to my favorite mug this morning.”
The hint of irritation in Edie’s voice had Jesse grinning all over again as she opened the cabinet where the plates were stored and grabbed two. “A favorite mug, huh? Was it a gift from someone special?”
“No. It just holds the most coffee.”
It was such a purely Edie response, Jesse couldn’t help but laugh this time. “Duly noted. I’ll use a different mug tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” With the plates and silverware on the table, Jesse pulled out a chair and sat, schooling her expression into one of wide-eyed innocence as she looked up at Edie, who was now watching her with the wariness one might give a wild animal. “Figured I’d crash here while I’m in town. You have plenty of space.”
“You aren’t going back to Hollywood?”
“Eventually,” Jesse replied with a shrug. “But I’m between movies at the moment, so I’ve got some free time.”
“How long are you planning on staying in Lost River?”
“As long as it takes.”
Edie’s annoyed huff stopped just short of an outright growl. “As long as what takes?”
Emotion stuck in her throat, but she kept her gaze locked on the woman across the room as she forced the words out. “As long as it takes for you to stop hating me.”
Edie
Two hours after having her life upended by her blast from the past, Edie couldn’t stand being in the house one second longer than necessary. But she also wasn’t about to leave Jesse alone in her space. Hell, she didn’t even leave her girls alone in her house and she trusted them more than she trusted anybody.
And that was how she ended up driving into town with Jesse Fucking Walker sitting in the passenger seat of her truck, somehow looking wildly out of place and exactly like she belonged at the same time.
Even the nineties alt rock blaring from her speakers, which usually improved her mood no matter the circumstances, couldn’t dispel the black cloud over Edie’s head as she slammed the truck door behind her and stomped into the feed supply store that had been in her late husband’s family nearly as long as the farm.
The bells above the door—the ones Taylor had begged Edie to buy because they ‘sound so happy and we want happy customers’—jangled more harshly than usual as Edie shoved open the front door. Taylor was the only one in the store since Noelle had spent the night in Charleston so she could be there when her Daddy got done with his shift at the fire station. It was a routine they’d had for months, and Edie was starting to wonder how much longer it would be before Noelle just upped and moved to Charleston.
Because the thought of one of her girls moving even half an hour away made Edie’s chest ache, she shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind. “Morning,” she grunted, striding past Taylor toward the back office she hardly ever used anymore. It had pretty much become Noelle’s office at this point, which was the way they both liked it. The only reason Edie hadn’t sold the damn store yet was because she couldn’t stand the thought of losing one more piece of Ken.
Ken. Tears burned in her eyes as she dropped into the office chair and let her head fall back against the padded headrest. The grief time had only somewhat dulled tightened around her chest. If Ken were here, he’d know exactly what to do. There’d been no secrets between them, and he’d known all about Jesse and what she’d meant to Edie.
Closing her eyes, she tried to bring his memory forward in her mind. Maybe if she could focus hard enough, he could tell her how the fuck to handle this whole Jesse situation.
“Edie?” Taylor’s soft voice reached her before Ken’s face could fully form, banishing him back to the recesses of Edie’s memories. “Are you okay?”
“Yup,” Edie said without bothering to open her eyes. “Just need a minute.”
“Does that minute have anything to do with Jesse Walker?”
“Congratulations, you figured it out. Want a fucking prize?”
Dammit. No matter how pissed she was, she didn’t have to be such a bitch. Forcing her eyes open, Edie spun the chair around and sighed at the hurt on Taylor’s face. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”
“It’s okay.” But Taylor’s smile wasn’t as bright as usual, and Edie’s stomach twisted into guilty knots. Knots she couldn’t do anything about, because she no longer had anyone to confess her sins to, no longer had anyone who could cleanse her soul at the end of a long, hard day.
Fuck that. She didn’t need to get her ass beat to do the right thing. Rising from her chair, she placed her hands on Taylor’s shoulders, pinning her with a stern gaze. “It’s not okay. I’m having a shitty day and I took it out on you, which isn’t right. I’m sorry for snapping at you. Forgive me?”
Some of the hurt faded from Taylor’s eyes as her lips spread into a wider smile full of mischief. “I’ll forgive you if you tell me what Jesse’s doing wandering around our store like she didn’t up and disappear on you for nearly ten years.”
It was a fair exchange. And people were going to find out the truth sooner or later. One of the facts of living in a small town that was both a blessing and a curse. “She came to talk to me.”
“About?”
“She’s getting married.” The words were bitter on Edie’s tongue. “Some restaurant guy, from what she told me.”
“Oh, wow.” Worry flickered across Taylor’s face as her eyes seemed to search Edie’s expression for… something. “Are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Don’t insult me, Edie. We both know you still feel something for her, or else you wouldn’t have lost your shit on Carly when she wanted to watch one of Jesse’s movies.”
Ah, fuck. Carly. The newest resident of Lost River was going to flip when she learned her favorite actress, whose stage name she happened to share, was in town. “Mostly what I feel right now is annoyance.”
“Uh huh.” Judging by the way Taylor’s eyebrow raised, she wasn’t buying what Edie was selling. “Annoyance. That’s why you looked absolutely miserable when I walked in here.”
“That wasn’t…” Blinking back a fresh wave of tears, Edie swallowed hard. “I was thinking about Ken.” Granted, she was thinking about Ken so she could figure out the Jesse problem, but that part was irrelevant.
It was.
“Oh, honey.” Before Edie could blink, Taylor’s arms were around her neck, squeezing her tight. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” But she let herself be held, just for a moment, just long enough for it to stop feeling like her heart might shatter into a billion pieces all over again whenever she looked at Jesse. “It sucks and it’s hard but it’s all right.”
“I’m still giving you a hug because if it was Carly hiding away in an office crying over Danny, you’d do the same.”
Since she couldn’t exactly argue that point, Edie gave her friend a hard squeeze before pulling away. “You’re right. And thanks.”
“Any time. Want me to go kick Jesse out of the store for you?”
The uncharacteristically wicked gleam in Taylor’s eyes surprised a laugh out of Edie as she shook her head. “Wouldn’t do any good. She’s staying with me.”
Taylor’s jaw literally dropped. “She’s what? For how long?”
“I have no idea.” As long as it takes for you to stop hating me. “She didn’t really say.”
“That’s… wow. Okay. I guess I’ll play nice, then.”
Now it was Edie’s turn to smile, slow and wicked. “I didn’t say anything about playing nice, now did I?”