23. Jessica
Jessica
Jessica parked her car and looked up once again at the large, Acadian-style home. It was secured for the storm now, with boards covering each of the windows.
The wind pulled her door open wide as she stepped out of the car, and she struggled to close it against the gust. So far, it was just gusty, but it was supposed to deteriorate into stronger sustained winds over the next few hours.
By evening, she wouldn’t be able to get on the road at all.
She’d made her choice now that she was here.
She was riding out the storm with Renee.
She stood on the porch once again and knocked while holding a small box in one hand. A few moments later, the heavy front door opened, and behind it was an attractive man with dark hair, dark jeans, and a crisp blue T-shirt that looked like it probably cost more than half of Jessica’s wardrobe.
“You must be Jessica,” he said with a sly smile that made her wonder exactly what he knew about her so far.
She nodded. “Ben?”
He raised a hand to make a flourish aimed at himself. “The one and only.”
She liked this man immediately. He already seemed like the kind of person who could breeze through any awkward situation. And she had a feeling she would need that today.
“I’ll give you three guesses where Renee is.”
Jessica grinned. “The kitchen.”
“Bingo.” He moved aside and made a wide, sweeping gesture. “Come on in.”
She stepped inside the house and marveled once again at how spacious it was.
The living area in front of her looked a little bigger now that the wall of empty boxes had dwindled some.
There was plenty of light from overhead, but with the boards blocking out any natural light from the windows, the room had an eerie feel to it.
Jessica headed straight for the kitchen, mentally noting how comfortable she’d become in this house and how familiar everything seemed. This time, though, when she walked into the kitchen, something was different. She wasn’t greeted with the smells of butter and sugar but something savory and rich.
“What’s in the oven today?”
“Quiche,” Renee said, somehow looking radiant in just a navy tank top and jeans. “Spinach and bacon.”
Renee was always full of surprises.
“I’ve never had quiche at a hurricane party before.”
“She’s fancy like that,” Ben said teasingly.
Renee swatted at him with a towel, her chin-length red curls bouncing with the movement. “Not fancy. It uses up the eggs we can’t eat if we lose power for a while, and it’s great cold, too. It’ll be good for either dinner or breakfast.”
Neither quiche nor strategic planning had ever sounded so sexy.
Then the word “breakfast” hit her. She was probably going to spend the night. No, judging by the forecast, she would definitely do that. The idea of spending the night with Renee sent heat up her back, but this wasn’t quite what she had in mind.
“That’s really smart,” she said.
“Don’t worry, I already baked snacks. Brownies.”
Jessica’s mouth watered. If her brownies were anything like the assortment of desserts she’d sent with her to Naomi and Tim’s house for dinner, they were in for a delightful treat.
“Thanks for inviting me over,” she said. “I used to stay with my wife, but… well… anyway. I was going to spend the storm with my friend and her husband, but they went to stay with her mom. They invited me too, of course, but the house is a little small for all of us.”
“Well, it’s good to have a fresh face with us this time,” Ben said.
“Been a while since we went through a storm together,” Renee said, “And with Aunt Ellen gone, I’m glad to have company.”
The words came out shaky, and Jessica realized just how difficult this must be.
“What did you bring?” Ben asked.
“Oh.” Jessica placed the box she’d been holding on the kitchen island. “It’s a game. Sort of like Would You Rather. I thought it might help pass the time if the power goes out. And we could get to know each other better, too.”
Renee smiled at her, the grief easing from her expression. “Sounds like an equally smart plan.”
Jessica warmed at the praise. Despite how things had turned out last time she was here, it felt good to be on the receiving end of that smile.
Even so, she couldn’t help but feel a little sting of lingering rejection from the weekend.
Even if Renee pulling away from Jessica’s advance had been the right thing to do, there was a touch of pain still in that memory.
But so far, this wasn’t as awkward as she’d imagined it would be.
While the kiss might have been a bad idea, being here at this moment felt good.
A gust of wind passed over the house, rattling the board covering the kitchen window and sending a low, eerie creak through the wall.
“And so it begins,” Ben said.
“Sorry,” Renee said. “Big solid house, but it isn’t brick, so it does get a little noisy in the wind. It’s survived a lot worse than a Category One though, so we’ll be fine here.”
“And I brought plenty of wine to distract us through the worst,” Ben said.
“There’s a stocked bar too, if wine’s not your thing.”
“Wine is great,” Jessica said. “Although I’d better pace myself, or I’ll be stuck with a headache through this storm.”
“Well, I’m fully stocked with ibuprofen and Tylenol if you need,” Renee said. “I get a low-pressure headache sometimes.”
Claire used to get those, too. It had been miserable for her to go through a storm. She hoped it wouldn’t be so bad for Renee. The last thing she wanted was to see Renee hurting. She had enough pain in her life already. Pain Jessica wanted to help ease somehow, but that wasn’t in the plan for them.
“I meant to tell you,” Renee added. “Chase was welcome to stay here with us. I could have kept Bartholomew in one of the bedrooms. He’ll probably keep to himself in one of them during the storm, anyway.
Last time I was here during one, he was aloof half the time, and the other half he spent under my aunt’s bed. ”
“Thanks, but he’s fine. He went with Claire to stay at her mom’s house.”
Renee gave a sympathetic frown. “I guess you miss him.”
“Terribly,” Jessica said. “I know he’s safe, but I still worry about him.” There was a long pause before she continued. “I confronted Claire about not taking him for walks and stuff.”
Renee felt her eyes grow wide. “You did? How’d that go?”
“Better than I expected,” Jessica said. “She was defensive at first. Which, okay, fine, I went a little overboard with worrying and with trying to prove it. But she owned up to it and apologized in the end.”
“Do you think she’s actually going to do better?”
Jessica shrugged. “Who knows? She broke up with her girlfriend, so she’s kind of a mess.”
A curious expression passed over Renee’s face, and Jessica couldn’t quite identify it.
Ben clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. “All right, you two. Who’s up for a movie?” The wind made another intrusive clatter. “Before we lose power?”
They all agreed that was a great idea. And perfect timing, as Renee’s quiche timer went off. She pulled it out of the oven and set it on the stove to cool, then they headed into the living room to find something to watch.