Chapter 15
JIM
Jim had to tread carefully. He could tell he was getting under Shelby’s skin, but a ridiculous makeup filter that made Miranda look like she belonged on the set of The Real Housewives?
Fake lips. Spray tan? Cheekbones sunken in like Skeletor?
No way. He had to draw a line there. Technically, he had more seniority.
He wasn’t interested in playing that card, but he would when he needed to, and this was one of those moments.
“I’ll take these outside,” he said, grabbing the chairs he had set down.
Pete was setting up more chairs in a rectangle they’d drawn from the curb to the edge of the sidewalk. The street was humming with activity, and the afternoon was hitting the trees, casting golden shadows on the leaves and ground.
“Where do you want these?” Jim asked.
“You can set them up on the other side of the bench,” Pete said, pointing to the permanent bench flanked by a vibrant red Japanese maple on one side and an antique lamppost on the other. “Thanks for your help.”
Jim couldn’t believe how many people had already filled both sides of the street.
Chairs, blankets, and wagons lined the sidewalks.
Families had packed snacks and cool drinks.
School must have gotten out early for the parade because groups of teens and tweens gathered together, decked out in Half Moon Bay High School gear.
Vendors roamed the empty street with orange and yellow cotton candy, pumpkin balloons, and light-up wands.
A vintage tricycle biked back and forth with a boom box tethered to the back, blasting tunes.
The air was crisp and warm, tinged with the aroma of sea salt, popcorn, and caramel apples. Happy chatter filled the streets.
“It’s already hopping.” Jim did a shimmy, dancing to the beat of the music. To call it dancing was generous. He’d never had good rhythm, but that didn’t stop him from trying.
“This is nothing,” Pete said, securing blue painter’s tape to an ancient oak tree on the corner and then stretching it to the bench to rope off their section. “Give it another thirty minutes and the crowd will double.”
“We should probably film your mom soon, then.” Jim glanced inside, where Miranda and Shelby were deep in conversation.
It was probably best to let Shelby have a minute.
He was concerned about her. Taking the job seriously was one thing, but if she kept going like this, she would burn herself out—fast. He couldn’t put his finger on what had made Shelby change and become so intensely hyper-focused on her career in the last year, but something had.
She was constantly sneaking off to take phone calls during meetings and seemed on edge, like she thought she was being watched.
He tried to bring it up gently a couple of times, but she had stayed tight-lipped.
It was awkward because he got the sense she needed someone to talk to, a listening ear.
He would gladly be that for her. He’d had enough life experience to understand that you needed balance, but Shelby continued to see him as competition or at least a roadblock in her path, despite his constant attempts to assure her that nothing could be further from the truth.
He sighed as he tore his gaze away from the window and checked in with Pete.
“Would you mind me asking you a few questions about what it was like to grow up in Half Moon Bay and maybe record some short clips? Nothing major. What it was like with your mom, your dad, friends, that sort of thing.”
“Me?” Pete recoiled slightly, as if he was disturbed by the mere suggestion. “Why would you want clips of me?”
“To flesh out Miranda’s world. I’d like to get some sweet little snippets from your cousin, too, maybe some of the staff at the Green Grocer, and community members.
We want to show everyone what a vital part of Half Moon Bay she is.
” Jim motioned for Pete to scoot a bit to the left so that he could frame the video with the activity in the street behind him.
“I have some wonderful clips from this morning to work into our official introduction. Your mom is such a natural with people.”
“Yeah, she’s the best. I mean, I guess I’m biased since she’s my mom, but everyone loves her because she has a way of making you feel good, and feel like everything is going to work out okay, even on your worst day.” Pete’s body language softened as he spoke about Miranda.
“Tell me more about that.” Jim made sure to blur the background so that Pete was in focus.
“I didn’t make the cut for the varsity basketball team my sophomore year.
All my friends did. I was the only one on JV.
Needless to say, I was pretty bummed out.
She heard about it from the coach, because he’s a frequent shopper at the store, so when I got home from school that day, she had transformed the dining room into a March Madness-style bracket with the entire schedule for the season posted.
She convinced me that I was in a perfect position to be a quiet leader, that’s how she sees me, and help the JV team win districts and state that year.
It was such a long shot. The year before, we only won two games.
She flipped the script.” Pete paused to wave to a group of twenty-somethings searching for a break in the sidewalk to squeeze in.
“What happened?” Jim prompted, using one hand to gesture, while keeping the camera on Pete.
“We did. I still can’t believe it, but we won every game that season, and we went on to go to state.
We lost the state championship, but hey, we were there.
Mom came to every game. She brought snacks, and she, Elise, my aunt, and uncle were our personal booster club.
They made posters and matching T-shirts.
The irony is that the varsity team got crushed that year.
They got blown out so many times. I ended up making varsity the next year, but I never had as much fun as I did that JV year.
And not just because we won, but because we were a real team, and I felt like I was part of building something.
It was a big life lesson. Mom always says, bloom where you’re planted. ”
Jim smiled internally. This was exactly what he was hoping for. Yes, the Brown family was the future of social media. This was the kind of content and authenticity that built trust and created connection.
“We’ve never had a ton of money, and it was a lot of work running the store. It still is,” Pete continued, growing even more comfortable as he spoke about his childhood. “But I never lacked. Mom made sure I had everything I needed, and if it was a struggle, she never let it show.”
“It sounds like you think she’s pretty great,” Jim noted softly. “What about your dad?”
“Never knew him.” Pete’s demeanor changed. He stiffened and steered the conversation back to his mom. “She is great, which is why I’m super protective of her. I don’t want this to turn into making fun of her, you know?”
Now it was Jim’s turn to be taken aback.
They’d already been over this. Where was it coming from?
Was he doing something to make it seem like he didn’t have Miranda’s best intentions at heart?
Was it because of the spark that he already felt and was starting to burn hotter, making his throat clam up and his chest tighten whenever he was near her?
Jim had married his college girlfriend in their mid-twenties and thought they would live happily ever after.
But it turned out she had fallen out of love with him and fallen in love with someone else a few years into the marriage.
Things ended as well as could be when one partner wants out.
Jim didn’t fight it. He let her go and poured his energy into work.
Voyager had taken him to nearly every corner of the world.
He’d had adventures he never imagined—abseiling the Blue Mountains in Australia, helicopter tours in Hawaii, sailing on a catamaran through the Caribbean islands, and cage diving with sharks in South Africa.
He had dated on and off but had never found the one.
In fact, he’d set aside the idea that there was one person for him. That was the stuff of fairy tales and Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movies. Why thinking about Miranda was making him nostalgic was a question for another time.
“Me too, Pete,” Jim replied, dragging his attention back and putting his phone down.
He wanted to make sure Pete really heard him this time.
“I’m your mom’s biggest fan, and I’ve been in this business for a long time.
I know what works and resonates. In this case, it’s your mom.
Everything you’ve just shared. Everything I’ve witnessed so far is what I want to highlight.
I’m confident that everyone who watches the videos we put together is going to fall in love with your mom. ”
Saying the words made him break Pete’s gaze. He didn’t mean it to sound like that—so forward. It was just a figure of speech, but he did believe it. He was convinced Miranda was going to capture hearts and set the internet on fire.