Chapter Twenty #2
Isabel smiled as Mason approached. She took the cup and saucer first. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she said softly. “Hold on, Jovi. Let me put you on speaker.” She hit the button and carefully propped her phone against an extra pillow. “Okay, go ahead. What’s this all about?”
Jovi’s words tumbled out in a rush. “Okay, so I found this recipe in the back of the scrapbook, right? And it’s for the salted caramel chews that Grammie used to make. Except she put goat’s milk in them because that’s a trick Lois taught her. Can you believe that? What a genius move.”
“Interesting.”
“I know, right? It’s going to be the perfect blend of salty and sweet, with a smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture. People will go wild.”
Isabel’s stomach growled, and Mason chuckled. She eyed the tray he’d set down on the footstool beside their bed.
“Jovi, I love your enthusiasm, but we don’t have any projected sales figures. This will have to be an out-of-this-world piece of candy to convince—”
“I know, I know,” Jovi cut her off. “One step at a time, all right? Trust me. This is going to be amazing.”
“Okay, fine. You can use the kitchen. But be careful. And you’ll have to work quickly because I can’t hold off the meeting with the attorneys for more than twenty minutes,” Isabel said.
“I know.” Jovi was nearly shouting. “Thank you, Isabel. You’ll get to taste the first one off the cooling rack. Promise.”
“All right, all right.” Isabel laughed. “Texting you the security-system code as soon as we hang up.”
“Love you. Bye!”
Isabel ended the call and took a cautious sip of her hot tea.
“Looks like we’re going to be taste-testers for some goat-milk caramel chews. That girl, she’s determined to save this company from being sold. I love her so much.”
She set her cup on the nightstand, then texted Jovi the security code. The mattress sank as Mason lifted the covers and climbed back into bed.
“What are you doing? Don’t you have to work?”
He gently took her phone from her hand. “I’m going in late.”
“Why?”
His wolfish smile made her pulse race. “You’ll see.”
Then he gently pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Slowly. Thoroughly. Isabel soon forgot about security codes, stalling an important meeting, and their impending cost-of-living increase. Lost in Mason’s embrace, all that mattered was showing him how much she loved him.
* * *
Burke stood in line outside the elementary school with Darby Jane, waiting patiently to board the buses that would take them on their field trip to a farm nearby. How was he supposed to woo Jovi before she left town if he had to chaperone a busload full of rowdy kindergarteners all day?
Isabel had already told him that Jovi had changed her ticket to leave today. She’d be halfway to California before he and Darby Jane got back to Evergreen.
“Hey, Burke.” Connie, the server from the diner, walked up beside him. “I didn’t know you were coming along today.”
“Hi, Connie.” Burke shoved his hands in his jean pockets. “Thought I’d take my turn since I haven’t volunteered for anything yet. Besides, Darby Jane begged me.”
Connie smiled, her earrings sparkling in the sunshine. “Kids can be persuasive, can’t they? That’s why I’m here as well.”
“Which child belongs to you?” Burke surveyed the kids goofing around on the sidewalk.
“That’s my son, Tyler.” Connie pointed toward a spunky little brown-haired boy demonstrating his ninjalike moves to a group of little girls. “Always a charmer, that one.”
Burke chuckled.
“Say, are you and Jovi Wright still a thing?”
His smile evaporated. Heat crawled up his neck. “Sadly, no. That, uh, didn’t work out. She’s leaving for California shortly.”
Connie’s brow furrowed. “She is? Are you sure?”
“Well, not a hundred percent, but that’s the latest I’d heard.”
“Huh. That’s odd, because she texted me early this morning and asked if I had access to any fresh goat’s milk.”
“Quite the request.” Burke shrugged. “New dietary habit?”
“She said she couldn’t give more detail, but I’m wondering why she wants the milk if she’s leaving town.”
“You’re asking the wrong guy.”
Connie hesitated, studying him. “But what if you’re the right guy?”
Irritation flared. “I’m afraid I’m not following.”
Connie leaned in closer, her eyes glimmering with mischief. “What if Jovi needs your help to make those candies?”
He barked out a laugh. “That’s cute. Maybe you haven’t heard that our families despise one another? And have for years?”
“ Despise is a strong word, don’t you think?” Connie nudged him gently with her elbow. “Maybe today’s your day to put an end to all of that.”
Burke’s chest tightened. A ridiculous idea and the longest of all shots. But he couldn’t pretend Connie hadn’t piqued his interest.
“What if you showed up with goat’s milk for Jovi? The one missing ingredient she needs to make those salted caramel chews she’s been struggling with for weeks.”
He groaned. “Someone’s been reading too many romance novels.”
Connie laughed. “It’s a bizarre grand gesture, but you look like you need some out-of-the-box suggestions. C’mon, would I steer you wrong?”
Burke chewed on his thumbnail. The kids’ excited chatter hummed around him like bees swarming their favorite flowers.
Such an absurd idea. But worth a try. Because he had nothing left to lose.
It was time to step forward in faith and stop using his grief as a shield.
He’d been wallowing in self-pity for too long.
He needed to risk his heart. He needed to win Jovi back.
Maybe Connie’s plan was the push he needed.
“Okay, okay, I’ll do it.”
Connie clapped her hands together. “Fabulous! Now, let’s get to work.”
She pulled out her phone and started typing away.
“Wait.” Burke held up his palm to interrupt. As if that could stop her. “What are you doing?”
She grinned. “Putting our plan in motion. C’mon, let’s help these kids on the bus. I’ll explain later.”
Oh, brother. He did not like the sound of that. And why were so many of the other parents standing nearby staring? Or was that his imagination? He sighed and followed her toward the bus.
Once the kids were onboard and settled, he and Connie took their seats in the third row behind the kindergarten teachers and two other ladies who had also volunteered.
The bus smelled faintly of socks, stale chips and whatever floral fragrances the ladies had put on.
None of them smelled as appealing as Jovi.
The engine rumbled, and his stomach turned queasy as the driver drove away from the school. Thankfully, Darby Jane sat with her friends several rows back, so she couldn’t see how miserable he probably looked.
Connie’s phone dinged with an incoming text. Burke resisted the temptation to read the message. Her eyes roamed across the screen.
“This is working out better than I expected,” she said, grinning again.
“At some point will you feel compelled to bring me up to speed?”
“Hang on.” She held up one finger, but still smiled at her phone. “I need confirmation from one more person, then you’ll be good to go.”
Good to go regarding what, exactly? Honestly, he should have never let Connie rope him into this, whatever this was.
Maybe he should have bowed out of this field trip, begged Darby Jane for forgiveness and gone and found Jovi himself.
Except Darby Jane would have never forgiven him for missing the last field trip of the year.
Spending the day at a farm wasn’t his idea of a good time.
But he’d made so many mistakes when it came to parenting and had so many regrets about his past choices, he had known better than to back out on this.
And maybe running into Connie had been the best thing that could happen to him.
Still, he felt nervous sitting here next to her, riding on this stinky school bus.
What could she possibly do to help him get goat’s milk to Jovi?
Especially when he was certain Jovi had already booked her flight to leave Alaska.
“Okay, here’s the deal.” She pocketed her phone.
Finally. “When we get to the farm, the kids take a short tour, but after that they’ll probably get antsy.
So for the second half of the field trip, there’s going to be some playtime.
Let ’em burn off steam, run around, climb things, you get the picture.
And that’s when we’re going to get you some fresh goat’s milk and the keys to my friend Mandy’s car, and you are going to head over to the candy company and show up with fresh goat’s milk for Jovi. ”
She splayed her palm against her chest and pressed her lips together. Her eyes surveyed his face.
“You cannot be serious,” he said. “That’s what you’ve arranged?”
Her smile vanished. “Do you have a better idea, Mr. Best-selling Author? Because clearly, grand gestures are not your specialty.”
“I’m not sure they’re yours either.”
Her mouth drifted open. Closed. Then opened again.
Regret twisted his stomach. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Your plan sounds amazing. What could possibly go wrong?”
Her brow furrowed. “You are the most crotchety, uptight thing I have met in ages. Would you just work with us on this?”
“Define us .”
“I had to call in some favors and make some deals to pull this all together last-minute. How about some gratitude? I might have just saved your love life.”
A few of the teachers tittered, as they glanced over their shoulders and gave him the side-eye.
“And let me guess. All y’all are in on this?”
That provoked another wave of spontaneous laughter.
“It was the all y’all that did it, wasn’t it?”
Connie clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from guffawing. “Burke Solomon, sometimes I think you’re hopeless, but there’s just enough of a little glimmer of sunshine that keeps me rooting for you.”
“Wow, thanks.”
Could this really work?
He wasn’t in a position to be picky about his grand gesture. Because time was short. He couldn’t let Jovi leave Evergreen without showing her how much she meant to him.
* * *