Chapter 11
Edie
She’s the one who got away.
Those words rang in her ears as Edie climbed the stairs to her room and shut the door behind her, panic beating at her chest like a frantic bird trying to escape its cage.
He was wrong. He had to be wrong. Just because Jesse was here on some weird campaign to ‘make things right’, it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean anything.
Maybe if she repeated it enough times, she’d actually believe it.
Pacing her bedroom floor, Edie rubbed at the ache in her chest as if she could massage away the heartache. On her fourth pass by the dresser, she banged her knee into an open drawer and let out a string of words strong enough to make a sailor blush.
Glaring at the drawer, which she would swear had been closed before, she crouched down to push it shut again. But the corner of something caught her eye, and she moved one of her ratty old t-shirts out of the way. Her breath hitched as she reached for the polaroid.
Memories, as clear as the picture in her hand, flooded her mind. Earlier that summer, they’d found one of those old cameras at a thrift shop, the kind that spit out a picture as soon as you took it. She’d spent half the summer snapping pictures of Jesse in one pose or another, usually at her babygirl’s direction.
The picture in her hand was one of the few they’d managed to get of the two of them together. It had taken a few tries, but Jesse, who’d always been a bit taller, had managed to hold the camera up and snap the photo. Her lips were pressed to Edie’s cheek, and Edie was positively beaming at the camera.
Their hair had been longer then and clung to their faces in soaking wet clumps thanks to the late afternoon swim they’d taken. It was the first time they’d done more than just kiss, and she could still remember how Jesse tasted, and how she’d thought she would never get enough of her. They’d made love, slow and easy that afternoon, exploring the wonder of each others’ bodies with the summer sun warming their skin.
As she stared, the picture began to blur, and she wiped angrily at the tears slipping down her cheeks before shoving the photograph back beneath her clothes.
Memories. Nothing more than memories that had no place in the present day.
Slamming the drawer shut, she popped back up to her feet and made a detour to the bathroom to splash some cold water on her face. As she pressed her face into a towel to dry her skin, she allowed herself a few deep, shuddering breaths to get what was left of her composure back under control.
Even if Grant was right and Jesse still harbored some hidden feelings after all these years, it didn’t have to mean anything. Didn’t have to change anything.
Couldn’t change anything, she reminded herself as she returned the towel to its hook. Because Jesse was getting married. To someone else. Just like Edie had once upon a time. It was good for both of them to move on, to put what they’d once been to each other behind them once and for all.
Fuck, she missed Ken. If he were still alive, she wouldn’t be facing this alone. Wouldn’t have to be the one figuring everything out. Wouldn’t have to be so strong all the fucking time.
That was what she missed the most. Those moments where she could let someone else be strong for her, just for a little while. Just long enough for her to feel like herself again.
Which she decidedly was not feeling as she forced herself to walk back down the stairs to the kitchen. The very empty kitchen she realized with a start.
Good. Maybe Jesse had finally gotten the hint and gone back to Hollywood.
But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she heard footsteps on the front steps. Followed by the low rumble of Grant’s voice and the higher pitch of Jesse’s, both too muffled by the door for Edie to hear what they were actually saying.
Were they planning to stay? Were they just coming back in to grab Jesse’s things? What the hell were they talking about out there?
Annoyed with herself for even caring, Edie flipped on the burner beneath her old cast iron pan and grabbed the bowl holding the pancake batter to give it a few more good stirs while the pan heated up. One way or another, she was having goddamn pancakes.
The front door opened, and a moment later Grant and Jesse were back in the kitchen. She glanced up, then did a double take when she spotted the duffel bag slung over Grant’s shoulder.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Pausing in the entryway to the kitchen, Grant cocked an eyebrow. “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind an extra guest for a couple days.”
Fucking hell. She did mind, a whole hell of a lot, but for some reason she couldn’t actually bring herself to say it out loud. “First room on the left at the top of the stairs,” she said before deliberately turning her back on them.
Silence, then heavy footsteps on the steps leading up to the second floor. Too heavy to be Jesse, so that must have been Grant taking himself upstairs, making himself at home.
What a fucking mess.
“Edie.” Jesse’s soft voice came from right behind her, and Edie tensed but didn’t stop stirring her batter. “Talk to me. Please.”
“If y’all are staying for dinner, you should go ahead and set the table.”
Another of those strained silences before Jesse sighed. “Yes, Ma’am.”
How could her chest feel hollow and also like there was a boulder sitting inside it at the same time? There’d been a time she would have given anything to hear those words again. Hell, just to hear Jesse’s voice again. But she’d gotten over that longing years ago.
Liar.
Ugh.
Grant’s footsteps on the stairs broke the silence again, and Edie watched from the corner of her eye as Jesse’s face brightened the moment he stepped into the kitchen. The boulder in her chest grew heavier as Jesse tilted her head back, inviting Grant to kiss her. And heavier still as Grant obliged, pulling her close and pressing his lips to hers. Even from across the kitchen Edie could tell it was as much claiming as it was comfort.
Something buzzed, and Grant pulled away just enough to retrieve his phone from his pocket. “It’s Mitch,” he said, shooting a meaningful look in Jesse’s direction.
Jesse groaned. “You called Mitch?”
“I called everyone, little outlaw.” Hitting a button, Grant held the phone between them. “Hey, Mitch.”
“Find her yet?” A familiar voice came through the phone, causing Edie’s jaw to drop as she finally turned to face her ‘guests’. They couldn’t possibly be talking to that Mitch.
“I did,” Grant answered with another of those meaningful looks in Jesse’s direction. Apparently forgetting how much trouble she was in, Jesse stuck her tongue out at him, which earned her a raised brow as Grant continued his conversation with the mystery caller. “Long story, but she’s safe.”
“Thank god.” The relief in the caller’s voice was palpable, and red tinged Jesse’s cheeks. At least she had the grace to look sheepish. “Is she listening?”
“Yup.”
“Good,” the man on the phone growled. “What the hell were you thinking, Carly? Do you have any idea how worried your Daddy was? What do you have to say for yourself, little girl?”
For a moment, Edie thought he’d gotten Jesse confused with someone. But then it clicked. Of course, Mitch James, action star extraordinaire and one of Jesse’s many Hollywood heartthrobs, would call her by her stage name.
It didn’t make it any less jarring to hear.
“I’m sorry, Mitch. I didn’t mean for everyone to worry.” Regret filled every syllable of Jesse’s obviously heartfelt apology. “It won’t happen again.”
“Oh, I have no doubt your Daddy will make sure of that.” Mitch sighed, and when he spoke again his voice had gentled considerably. “I’m glad to hear you’re safe. I need to get going, my break is about over. Just wanted to check in. Grant, I’ll let our mutuals know they can stop worrying.”
“Thanks, Mitch. Talk to you later.”
“I can’t believe you called my ex!” Jesse cried as Grant shoved the phone back in his pocket. “That is so embarrassing.”
“And I can’t believe you’re surprised that I did whatever it took to make sure you were safe.” Capturing Jesse’s chin in his hand, Grant forced her head back in a move that had Edie’s insides quivering. “You really thought I wouldn’t move heaven and earth to find you, little girl?”
“I wasn’t lost! I left you a note!”
Wincing, Edie turned back to the stove to give them a little privacy. As much as she didn’t want to, she couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Jesse. Even the most laidback Daddy was bound to be a little cross under the circumstances.
And Grant did not strike her as a very laid back anything.
“I suggest you lose that attitude before bedtime, little girl, or else it’s going to be a very long night for you.”
Nope. Not laid back at all.
Doing her best to ignore the drama playing out mere feet away, Edie dropped a slab of butter in the pan, nearly sighing with relief when it immediately sizzled. She let it melt a bit before pouring pancake batter on top.
The routine did more to settle her nerves than the short crying jag upstairs had. By the time she’d dished out three plates of perfect, crispy around the edges pancakes, she was feeling brave enough to sit and eat with them as though they were three perfectly normal friends simply enjoying a meal together. Which they did, eating mostly in silence aside from a few happy sounds of appreciation from Jesse as she devoured her short stack. For a moment, it was actually kind of… nice.
Until Grant opened his mouth.
“So, Edie. What’s it going to take for you to forgive my babygirl?”
Jesse
“Daddy!” Jesse dropped her voice to a low hiss. “Leave her alone!”
Beside her, Grant didn’t take his eyes off Edie, who was now staring at them like a deer caught in the headlights. But under the table, his hand moved to Jesse’s knee and squeezed. Whether in reassurance or warning, she wasn’t sure, and she couldn’t have said which she would have preferred under the circumstances.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Edie’s voice was stiff, and the scared deer look quickly faded, revealing the hard-eyed, sharp-jawed woman Jesse had spent the last thirty-some hours with.
“It’s entirely my business when something is hurting my Little girl.” By contrast, Grant’s tone was relaxed. Too relaxed, but Edie would have no way of knowing it was the tone he used when he was about to take down a business rival.
“Your Little girl is a grown ass woman perfectly capable of handling her own business,” Edie shot back with a snarl.
“Yeah!” Crossing her arms and doing her best to look intimidating, Jesse gave a single sharp nod. “What she said!”
“All right.” Still using that too-casual tone, Grant leaned back in his chair and cocked an eyebrow. “Then handle your business, little outlaw.”
Jesse’s heart hammered against her chest as she glanced from her Daddy to the woman glaring at him from across the table and back again. “You mean like… right now?” she asked, her voice pitching up to a squeak.
“Yes. Right now. You’ve already told me you’re not coming back home until you make things right with Edie. So”—he waved a hand in Edie’s direction—“make things right.”
“No. We’re not doing this right now.” Slamming her hands down on the table, Edie shoved to her feet, her eyes blazing with fury.
But before she could get more than two steps from the table, Grant’s voice rang out in the kitchen. “Sit down. Now.”
Edie froze, and if this whole thing hadn’t been such a fucking shit show, Jesse might have burst into laughter at the look of pure shock on her face. “Excuse me?”
There was enough bite to her voice to have Jesse squirming in her chair, but Grant seemed completely unaffected. “You heard me. Sit down. Please,” he added in a sugary tone Jesse had never heard before, but nearly had her whimpering all the same.
A standoff ensued, with Edie planted beside the table, staring down at Grant, who simply stared back, his expression completely bland. And then to Jesse’s continued surprise, Edie turned on her heel and returned to her seat with an annoyed huff.
Ho. Lee. Shit. She’d never seen anyone boss Edie McDowell around.
Ever.
“Go ahead, then,” Edie snapped, crossing her arms in a gesture that seemed somehow defiant and protective at the same time. “Tell me whatever it is you came to tell me.”
“Right. Okay.” Clearing her throat, Jesse unfolded her arms and wiped her suddenly sweaty palms on her jeans. “I guess what I really wanted to say was… I’m sorry.”
“That’s it?” Both of Edie’s brows rose in a clear show of disbelief. “You came all this way to say you’re sorry?”
“Yes. Maybe.” A nervous little laugh escaped before Jesse could stop it. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d actually get this far so I don’t really have like, a speech planned or anything.”
Edie rolled her eyes. “Jesse Walker doing something without thinking it through? Shocker.”
“Careful,” Daddy said, his voice a low growl of warning that had twin spots of red blossoming on Edie’s cheeks. “You two aren’t going to get anywhere with insults and snide little digs.”
“Sorry,” Edie mumbled, dropping her gaze to the table.
“It’s okay.” Torn between sympathy and amusement, Jesse flashed her a grin. “You’re not wrong. We both know planning ahead isn’t my strong suit.”
An awkward silence fell, stretching to the point of being painful before Grant sighed. “Edie? Anything you want to say? Or ask?”
Flicking her gaze up, Edie looked from him to Jesse several times before she nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I guess if we’re going to do this we might as well get it all out on the table, right?”
Fear tightened Jesse’s throat, nearly cutting off her air, but she managed to nod. “Right.”
“Right.” Running a hand through her hair, mussing the already disheveled ends, Edie dragged in a deep breath. “I spent a long time hating you. But I moved on. I got married, fell in love with someone else. I can’t say I forgot you, because how the fuck could I when your face is all over the tabloids every time I go to the store? But I did my damnedest to put you, and what we had, behind me. And then you come crashing back into my life with no fucking warning. After ten years without a single word, here you are. And I’m just supposed to, what? Forgive and forget? Pretend like you didn’t break my goddamn heart? You left me, Jesse. Without a word. You left me in a town where every time I turned around, someone was whispering about you, about us, watching me and judging me. You got to leave and live out your dreams, and you left me behind to pick up the pieces. How the hell am I supposed to forgive that?”
“I don’t know,” Jesse whispered, her eyes once more filling with tears. “But I hope you can, because I really am so fucking sorry, Edie. I could give you a million reasons why I left the way I did, but I won’t because I know it was wrong. I wish I could go back and do things differently.”
“Yeah, well, you can’t.” Her hard gaze shifted to Grant. “I’m done here.”
This time, when she stormed away from the table, he didn’t try to stop her. And when her bedroom door slammed hard enough to rattle the frame of the old farmhouse, Jesse ended up back in her Daddy’s arms, once more sobbing out her heartbreak.