Chapter 13
CHAPTER 13
N ash stood on Jenna’s porch steps the next morning, a wide smile lighting up his eyes. “Ah, you are real. I thought maybe I’d imagined last night.”
“No, I think I’m real.” Her heart skipped a beat at the mere sight of him. “Come in.”
He stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and turned to her. “I don’t suppose I could start my day with a good morning kiss?”
“Thought you’d never ask.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. When they finally broke apart, he stood there grinning at her.
“Now that’s a great way to start a day. I was in such a hurry to get here that I didn’t even stop at Coastal Coffee for my breakfast.”
She laughed and took his hand, his skin warm against hers. “Come to the kitchen. I’ll get you some coffee.” She poured them both steaming mugs of coffee and handed him one. He leaned against the counter, took both mugs, and set them down before pulling her close again.
She peeked out the window over his shoulder. “What if one of your workers sees us?”
“What if they do? I don’t care.” He paused, his forehead wrinkling. “Do you?”
She laughed. “No, it’s pretty much been years since I’ve worried about what people think about me or think about what I do.” She was critical enough of her choices. She didn’t need others judging her.
“So I should probably kiss you again,” Nash said, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“You should.” She smiled as his lips settled on hers.
Her phone rang, shattering the moment, and she reluctantly pulled back, glancing over to where it sat on the counter. The photo of Marly popped onto the screen. “I should probably get that. It’s my sister.”
Nash nodded but didn’t totally let her go, his arms still loosely encircling her waist. She grinned and spun around in his embrace to grab her phone, enjoying the playful moment despite the interruption.
“Hey, sis.” Marly’s voice came through, her eyes filling with concern as the video connected. “You okay? You looked a bit flushed.”
Shoot. What was she thinking? It was a video call. Marly would see everything—her tousled hair, flushed cheeks, and Nash’s arms around her.
“I… uh…” She tried to subtly wiggle out of Nash’s arms. Her cheeks grew warm as Marly’s eyes widened with interest. She hadn’t planned on introducing Nash to her sister like this, caught off guard in her kitchen. This was not how she wanted her sister to find out about Nash and whatever it was that was developing between them.
“Oh, wait. There’s someone there with you. Turn the phone. Hey, hello there. I’m Marly. Jenna’s sister. And you are?”
“I’m Nash, ma’am.” His polite response only seemed to intrigue her sister more.
“Ma’am. He has good manners. Nash, huh?” Marly broke into a wide, knowing grin that made Jenna want to end the call immediately.
“He’s here working on the house. The contractor I told you about.”
Nash looked at her curiously, as if expecting more of an explanation from her.
“And he’s… my friend.”
“Friend, huh?” Marly’s brows rose skeptically. “If you say so.”
“I should get to work. I’ll leave you two to chat. Nice to meet you, Marly.” Nash released her and headed out the door, leaving her alone to face her sister’s inquisition.
Jenna sighed inwardly, knowing there was no point in trying to hide anything from her sister. Marly had always been able to read her like an open book, even from thousands of miles away.
“Spill it. What aren’t you telling me?”
“Okay, we might be a tiny bit more than friends now,” she admitted, feeling a flutter in her stomach as she said the words out loud.
Marly’s eyes lit up with excitement. “I knew it. I just knew it. Tell me everything.”
“There’s not much to tell.” Well, there was, but she wasn’t going to spill everything to her sister, not before she figured out things herself.
Her sister wasn’t ready to let her off the hook so easily. “Do you like him? Have you gone on a date? Has he kissed you?” Marly fired off questions in rapid succession.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
“A-ha. I knew it. Look at you with a boyfriend and you’ve only been there a few weeks,” Marly teased, her smile widening.
“I admit. It was unexpected.”
“Well, good for you. I’m happy for you. Now I don’t have to worry about you being all alone there on the island,” Marly said, her tone softening with genuine care.
“Pretty sure I wasn’t ever the only one here on the island.”
“You know what I mean. It’s hard to move to a new place where you don’t know anyone.” Marly grinned again. “But, obviously, you know at least one person now. Where did you go on your date?”
“To a concert at the gazebo. Remember that big old gazebo in town? It still looks the same, though it looks freshly painted. Lots of people were there.”
“So the whole town knows you had a date with Nash?”
She frowned. “Oh, they won’t think it was a date, will they? They’ll just think he asked me as a newcomer to town.” She hadn’t really considered that. Would everyone know it was a date? Small-town life was proving to be quite the adjustment.
She changed the subject from Marly’s constant barrage of questions about Nash. “So what are you doing up this early?”
“Work call with someone on the East Coast. Oh, it’s in five minutes. I’ve got to run.”
“Okay, talk to you later.”
“You bet you will. I’ll need more details.” With that, the screen went dark.
She slowly turned and looked out the window. Nash was perched on a ladder, fixing the trim on a window. His t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders and his tool belt was slung low on his hips. She found herself unable to look away. As if he could feel her staring at him, he turned and grinned at her. She blushed, thankful he couldn’t see it from that distance. She gave him a small wave and deliberately turned around. She couldn’t just stand there at the window staring at him all day, now could she?
She went to the back bedroom and continued painting, stopping only for their usual mid-morning coffee break. As she worked, her thoughts kept drifting back to Nash and the unexpected turn her life had taken since she’d arrived.
Early that afternoon, Nash came inside to find her. “Got to knock off a bit early today. Headed to the mainland for dinner.”
She ignored the disappointment that skittered through her. She’d hoped they could spend time together this evening, maybe a meal or a walk on the beach if her ankle would cooperate. She pushed her feelings aside, not wanting him to sense her disappointment.
“My sister bribed me with a home-cooked meal if I come fix her back door. The door is sticking, and the lock is hard to open. She says having a handyman in the family is almost as good as having a doctor or a lawyer.” He flashed a grin. “And I get a nice meal out of it, so it’s a good trade.”
“Hope you have a good time.”
“I’m sure I will. My nephews are always a hoot to be around. Constant energy. Oh, and I have to work on another job site tomorrow. I’ll miss being here and having our coffee break.”
Her heart sank a little further. No time together this evening and he wouldn’t be here tomorrow. She walked him to the door. He gave her a quick kiss, then seemed to think better of it. He grinned and pulled her into his arms for a longer one that left her breathless. “There. That will have to tide me over.”
After Nash left, she wandered around aimlessly for a bit before deciding to just make a sandwich for dinner. After making her meal, she carried it out to the living room and sat on the couch. The wooden box called to her, and she set her plate on the coffee table. Opening the box, she pulled out the unread letters and opened the first one. She still felt a bit of guilt for reading them, but her curiosity and the possibility of finding out who these star-crossed lovers were intrigued her.
Carefully unfolding the crinkled page—it looked like it had been read over and over—she perused the words. Then she read the next one, and the next. She was starting to believe the letter writer was a man. Just a feeling she had. At least in her mind, it was a he. She was happy to see in one letter he mentioned how great it was to see her again, but now he missed her more than ever. So they’d at least reconnected once. Was that the only time?
Between bites of her sandwich, she continued reading until there was only one letter left. She frowned when she saw the handwriting was different on this one. A different penmanship. A bit more flowery with fancy loops.
She carefully unfolded the page, though it was not as worn as the other letters. She ran her gaze down the page.
My darling,
I’m not sure how I’m going to send this or if I’m going to get any letters from you ever again. I feel sorry that our using Milton to be our go-between on our letters has caused trouble for him. Some young kids were playing in the lighthouse when they weren’t supposed to. They found a letter. Thankfully, they don’t know you wrote it or that it was for me. But questions are flying around town.
Milton refuses to say a word, and the town is a bit up in arms. I fear that he might lose his job. There’s talk of replacing him as the lighthouse keeper.
I’m not sure of any other way to receive your letters without anyone finding out. I believe this is a sign that we should take a break from our correspondence, though I will miss not hearing from you. I have lived for your letters and brief glimpses of your life. I will try to mail this last letter when I next get to the mainland.
Just know that I love you. Goodbye, my darling.
Yours forever
Jenna read the words again and could almost feel the pain emanating from the page. It looked like she had never gotten a chance to send the letter. Did he wonder what had happened? Did he ever find out?
As she pieced together the fragments of this star-crossed romance, Jenna felt increasingly certain that the box contained correspondence from a man, while this particular letter was penned by a woman. The absence of dates on any of the letters left her guessing, unable to know how long the relationship had gone on.
She didn’t have many clues from the letters. The man did mention walking the beach in his letters, so he must have lived near the sea. And there was the one clue about Milton, the lighthouse keeper.
Tomorrow she’d go visit Dale and ask if he knew about past lighthouse keepers. Maybe that would give her some idea of where to look next to unravel this mystery.
Nash pulled into his sister’s drive, his truck barely coming to a stop before his nephews came racing over. “Uncle Nash! You’re here. Can you play catch with us? Please?”
He slid out of his truck. “Just for a few minutes. I need to fix your mom’s door.”
“Yeah, Lucas busted it.”
“I did not.”
“Did, too.”
“Knock it off, boys,” his sister, Pam, called from the doorway.
“Few minutes of catch, then I’ll be in to look at your door.” He tossed the ball to the boys, and the game was accompanied by shouts and laughter. It was more roughhousing than actual catch, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself.
“Okay, I’m out. I’m headed inside now. Want to get the door fixed before dinner.”
“Mom made your favorite. Meatloaf and green beans. I don’t know why you like green beans. They’re yucky.”
“She made peach pie, too.”
“She’s the best sister ever,” he said as he headed inside. He went to work on her door, adjusting the lock repeatedly until the door would open, close, and lock easily. Then he washed up at the kitchen sink. “All fixed.”
“Thanks. I’m sure it’s from those boys slamming in and out all the time. I appreciate it though. Last night I spent ten minutes trying to get it locked, and then I wasn’t sure I’d be able to open it again.”
“You’re all set now.” He wandered over to where the fresh beans were simmering on the stove, smothered with a generous helping of onion and bacon. “Yum.”
“If only you could teach the boys to like them. Or any vegetable, for that matter.” Pam pulled the meatloaf out of the oven. “Gotta let it set for just a bit.”
“Can I help with anything?”
“Nope, just pour yourself something to drink. I have fresh tea or lemonade.”
He poured himself a tall glass of iced tea and leaned against the counter while Pam finished up getting dinner ready.
“So what’s new with you?” Pam’s eyes twinkled and she tried to hide a grin.
“Not much,” he answered noncommittally.
“That’s not what I heard. I heard you’ve been dating someone.”
He rolled his eyes. “Where’d you hear that?”
“From Mom. She says everyone on the island is talking about it.” Pam grinned. “I’m supposed to get the scoop from you and let her know.”
He let out a long sigh. “I only went to a concert at the gazebo.”
“So you’re not dating?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that either,” he admitted reluctantly.
“Spill it.” Her eyes lit up in triumph.
Nash set his glass down, knowing his sister wouldn’t let this go. “I… I like her. Jenna. That’s her name. She bought the old Weston place, and I’m helping her fix it up. She’s talented and hardworking. Strict about keeping to her budget. And she’s… well, she’s one of those what-you-see-is-what-you-get-people. Honest.”
Pam cocked her head and nodded knowingly. “You mean nothing like Rhonda?”
“Nothing. I can’t take someone who hides things from me or just spends money right and left.”
“And Rhonda spent your money too.” Her words were laced with protective, sisterly concern.
“There was that.” He smiled wryly. “But the keeping things from me, the lies. That is what finally did us in.”
“Good riddance, I say. Never did like her.”
“So I heard. Many times.”
“When do I get to meet this new woman?”
“I’m not sure she’s quite ready to meet the family. You guys are… a lot.”
Feigning innocence, she raised her eyebrows. “Us?”
“Yes, you. All of you. Give me some time to get to know her better.”
“But you like her, don’t you?”
He nodded slowly. “I do.”
His nephews burst into the kitchen and all talk of his dating life ended as chaos ensued with a fun, rowdy family dinner.
Pam walked him to the door at the end of the evening. “I’m happy for you, Nash. I thought after Rhonda… well, I thought you might be off dating for good.”
“We’ll have to see where this goes, Pam. Don’t marry me off just yet.”
She laughed and punched his arm playfully. “Okay. I’ll let you at least have a second date before we plan the wedding.”
He chuckled as he headed out to his truck.