Chapter 6
Six
JACK
She wasn’t going to make this easy on him.
Jack stared at Heidi as she ate – occasionally darting a look toward his grandmother, who wasn’t helping things.
All Heidi had to do was look up to see his grandma wagging her eyebrows toward him.
She kept angling her head, or making coughing sounds while pointing and making jabbing motions with her fork.
Yeah, he got the hint – make a move, tell Heidi he was interested in her, or talk to her, but maybe his grandma didn’t understand.
Heidi didn’t want to talk to him for some reason.
He’d tried to be nice, tried to be chivalrous, and frankly had a roaring case of rampant adoration affecting his thought processes.
For Pete’s sake, he ordered five rose bushes from a catalog that was several months old.
He’d seen it in the bin, picked it up, and walked barefoot to the kitchen to dial the 800 number.
Yeah, it was a complete pain in the butt to not have signal out here, but the phone company assured them that they’d have it – eventually.
Oh, he had a cell phone and used it all the time to take photos or make notes… but everything else?
It might as well be a shiny, expensive brick.
“Mimi, how’s your breakfast?” Jack asked politely. “Is it just like you remembered? Heidi, I’ve tried to make it for her, but don’t have the patience or the knack that you must have…”
“Shouldn’t you be asking Heidi if she is enjoying her breakfast?” his grandmother asked pointedly, making him feel about three inches tall as Heidi looked at him – and promptly looked away.
“Heidi…?”
“It’s good,” Heidi interrupted him immediately, giving him a wary smile. “It’s just fine – different – but fine.”
“I was telling her about Grandma Inez’s donuts and…”
“Oh man,” Jack sighed wistfully, causing Heidi to look at him once more before looking away. “Mimi, I wish I could have tried them the way you’ve described them.”
“It’s been such a long time since I’ve made them, but I just don’t have the knack anymore or…”
“I’m sure they would be good,” he volunteered and looked at the silent woman once more. “Heidi, you could probably…”
“Be gone?” Heidi chimed in, interrupting him again – but this time with a bit more force to her tone as her eyes met his.
There was no mistaking what she meant or intended.
“Yeah, I’ll probably be gone just as soon as my car gets repaired – and on that note, I need to get a ride to a town that actually has an ATM so I can pay the moment it’s ready. ”
“Why don’t I take you?” Jack offered, feeling a thread of nervous energy pulled tight within him. “I could take you out to get a few things, we could grab dinner together and…”
“It’s not a date,” she replied, looking dismayed. “I just need to access my bank account, so I’m not stranded worse than I already am.”
“Aww,” Mimi-to-the-rescue chimed in. “You two are young. Go have some fun and get out for a while. You two don’t need to hang out with me – I’m an old lady, and you both would have such a wonderful time…”
“I’m not looking for a boyfriend – remember?”
Jack looked between Heidi’s frustrated expression and his grandmother’s serene one. Mimi lifted an eyebrow, raised her coffee cup, and spoke once more – cool, calm, unassuming, and pointedly.
“I don’t believe anyone uttered the word ‘boyfriend’ at this table except you…”
You could have heard a pin drop. Heidi’s face was pale, and her lips were pinched. Jack felt his own face flush, feeling awkward for her and frustrated that his grandmother felt free enough to point out something that would put yet another roadblock between him and Heidi.
“I’ll take you,” he repeated quietly. “It would be nice to get a few supplies for the house, get away for a bit, and you can run a few errands. Depending on the time, I guess we can see how the afternoon plays out – if that works for you?”
The clock on the wall ticked softly, but to him it sounded like a drum, loudly beating in time with his heart as he waited.
He could see the indecision on her face, wondered if maybe he was pushing too hard – or perhaps she just wasn’t interested in him at all.
What if there was someone else that she was keen on and he never had a chance, or…
“That would be nice – thank you.”
His breath whooshed out of him in relief, causing his grandmother to roll her eyes as she smiled. Yeah, he had zero game when it came to dating, and they both knew it… but that didn’t mean Heidi had to know. Yeah, he needed to play it cool around her, so she didn’t realize what a dork he was.
“Let me just clean up the dishes and…”
“No ma’am,” Mimi interrupted, looking scandalized. “Don’t touch my skillet or my dishes. You have to clean them a certain way, or it ruins the seasoning on it – plus, I’m particular when it comes to my plates. You two run along and have fun.”
“Are you sure?” Heidi asked again, almost looking desperate to hang around for a little while longer with his grandmother – which was not the anticipated reaction of her staying here.
He hoped to catch her hanging around outside, maybe in the moonlight, or to take a stroll together.
Maybe he could light a few citronella torches, see if she’d like to come over and have a little hot tea in the evening air to chat…
but that was all falling apart before his eyes.
“Go,” his grandmother pressed with a smile, patting Heidi on the arm. “You two get out of here, have a nice chat, or relax a bit. I know it’s been ages since Jack…”
“Mimi,” he interrupted quickly, trying to save his dignity.
“Went out with a young lady,” his grandmother continued. “He’s a good boy – shy, tenderhearted, afraid to get his heart broken but…”
“Mimi,” he pressed again, shooting to his feet with zero ego or dignity left within him.
Heck, he might as well be naked the way she was flaying every bit of swagger he’d ever attempted to have in his lifetime.
Nope, she had gutted him like a fish before the woman he liked – his face blushing like a teenager.
“I’m sure he is,” Heidi said tightly, refusing to look at him. “I know what that feels like, so I don’t blame him. I appreciate what you are trying to do, Mimi. You’re sweet to look out for Jack if he’s truly that shy – but I’m not interested. I’ve had enough of men in my life… period.”
“Oh Heidi… why?” Mimi asked, her voice softening – and heaven help him, Jack couldn’t move. Had someone broken her heart? Recently? Was she still in love with this guy, and that’s why she was so dead-set against giving him a chance?
“Why?” Heidi began bitterly, her voice trembling.
“Why? Why should I be so upset? Well, I’m sick of being used, treated like garbage, and hurt,” he heard her pause as she rose to her feet like a furious queen, leaving both him and his grandmother stunned at the anger radiating from her.
“Why? Why? Why? Well, I’ll tell you why I’m not interested… ”
“Heidi,” Jack hesitated, not sure he wanted to know if it was creating such a painful feeling that was easily obvious. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her – that was, in fact, the exact opposite of what he wanted.
“No – you asked,” she slammed his interruption down, putting up a hand and looked at his grandmother. “You both have been kind, you both have opened your home to me – a stranger – but if you think something is going to happen, then we need to clear the air.”
Heidi paused, let out a laugh that sounded like it ripped from her soul as she stood up.
“I woke up this morning and realized the date – see, about this time, I should have been making the biggest mistake of my life. It’s my wedding day, and I’m not sure I can handle much more of anything else right now without having a mental breakdown. ”
Jack collapsed in his seat, shocked, as Heidi turned to look at him with a pained smile on her face that almost looked like a grimace.
“It’s not you – it’s me,” she said hoarsely.
“I understand,” he replied in a hushed, flat voice, realizing she must have loved that other guy quite a bit to feel this angry.
“Well, I don’t,” Mimi interrupted, plainly causing both of their heads to swing around and look at her in shock. “Do you have to be told everything – step by step? If a horse throws you, you get back on and show them who’s the boss or find another horse – while gelding the first one.”
“Oh my gosh,” Jack muttered, rubbing his forehead in dismay – only to hear a strangled laugh bubbling up from Heidi where she was seated beside him.
“I can’t geld him – but it would be funny.”
“Sure, you can - not physically but mentally,” Mimi stressed confidently.
“When someone hurts you, the best thing you can do is succeed. Be happy somewhere else or with someone else. You brag about it, taunt them with your joy, and show them exactly what they missed out on – and celebrate the fact that they can never hurt you again.”
The clock on the wall ticked in the silence.
Jack stared at his grandmother in sheer amazement and awe because she had this uncanny way of turning things around for her benefit – and his.
He’d been so horrified that Heidi was supposed to get married today, felt such a sense of loss because she was obviously not over this man, but then… this.
“Don’t let your ex win,” Mimi said softly. “Women play the game better than that – and it’s okay to get sidetracked for a moment, but never forget who you are, what you are, what you can be.”
“And what’s that?” Heidi asked, her voice tiny and hushed – in so much contrast to that earlier angry woman that he realized his grandmother was reaching her, saying what she needed to hear.
It had to come from another woman, someone she’d bonded with, someone she trusted – and Heidi didn’t trust him… yet.
“You are a gorgeous woman who has her whole life ahead of her, a phoenix that rises from the fire with glory, someone who’s capable of burning brightly and shining no matter what…
You just need a little shove to fly, my pretty birdie,” Mimi offered, squeezing her hand.
“And a you’ve already found a safe place to land… ”
“But…”
“But nothing,” Mimi interrupted gently and then looked at him. “Jack – go get the truck so us girls can have a private chat.”
“It’s okay…”
“Jack – go.”
He didn’t have to be told twice. His grandmother was obviously in favor of him dating someone; she’d suggested a few women in the past that he’d shot down, and she hadn’t pressed him again – until now.
Mimi obviously really liked Heidi and wanted her to stick around.
Every time Heidi had mentioned leaving, his grandmother’s eyes had shot to him to see if he was in favor of this.
He wasn’t.
Walking out the front door, he put his full faith in whatever happened next, whatever was said between his grandmother and Heidi – because he simply couldn’t compete.
The woman he was fond of was shutting him down simply because he was a guy…
and nothing would change that. As he got to the main house, he grabbed his notepad of things to pick up at the store and his keys.
He’d take the truck because today was his off day, and what he needed to purchase wouldn’t fit in the cruiser.
It wasn’t as plush, but it would get the job done.
Putting the truck in reverse, he pulled out of the grass and onto the old brick-paver driveway that made a U-shape in front of the old Victorian house he’d bought and rolled forward.
Spotting Heidi, he lifted a hand and saw her nervous smile once again as she nodded, walking toward him.
He saw her cast a nervous glance over her shoulder – but nothing stopped her.
As she opened the door to the truck, she climbed inside and sat there for a moment staring straight ahead.
“Are you okay?” he asked politely. “I just need to get a few things and…”
“I’m not – but I will be,” she interrupted coolly, before turning to look at him. “You mentioned spending the day together?”
“I did,” his chest clenched in awareness, hope, and understanding as her eyes searched his. She gave him a slow nod a moment later and reached for her seatbelt, clicking it into place.
“All right, Prince Charming – show me what you’ve got.”
Jack’s breath escaped him in a rush as her words slammed into him with precision. She looked less than happy, but she was giving him a chance to spend the day with her, take her out, and have a conversation – all of it.
Suddenly, going to the hardware store didn’t seem like such a good idea.