Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
“ It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.”
~Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
E lle’s back was cool thanks to the emptiness on Clayton’s side of the bed. Rubbing her eyes, she tried to focus, the room lit by the gray light peeking through the blinds.
Fully dressed, Clayton stood beside her bedstand, a Post-It pad in hand, writing something.
“What time is it?” she whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping pug in her arms.
“Hey,” Clayton said, slipping the Post-It pad in his back pocket before crouching beside the bed. “It’s six-thirty.”
“I didn’t hear the alarm.”
“I woke up before it. You were sleeping so soundly, I turned it off so you could get more rest.” He smiled, combing his fingers through her sleep-rumbled hair.
“You’re sweet to me.”
“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.”
“You’re cute all the time.” She yawned.
“Come on, Fitz.” He tried coaxing the snoring pug awake.
Fitz burrowed against Elle’s chest.
“I can keep him, if you’d like,” she offered.
“I don’t know if I have much of a say.” He chuckled and lifted his brows. “Are you sure?He’s a good boy but can be a handful.”
“You’re a handful,” she smiled.
Clayton’s laugh was low and sent a wave of happy pleasure through her. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “I know you have lunch with Janet. He’s good here, but if you want to take him to Cassie’s, she has a few tables outside on Saturdays during the farmers market. I can text to have her hold a table if you’d like.”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll see you two tonight.” He pressed his lips to her forehead, then headed out the door.
Fitz sat shotgun as Elle drove to downtown Perry to meet Aunt Janet. She smiled for the entire drive. Who wouldn’t with a grinning pug in the front seat?
Clayton had requested a table on the edge of the sidewalk, where she could watch folks wandering to the farmers market. Fitz had made himself at home on her lap, and Aunt Janet sat across from her. A blue and gold striped umbrella rose from the center of the table, emblazoned with Cassie’s Corner Café .
“If you’re taking his dog to lunch with me, this is serious.” Janet folded her hands on top of the table and leaned toward Elle.
Elle took mercy on her aunt, giving her some details but not all. That they reconnected during the barbecue, and that the next day Clayton offered to be her running partner. A bit of an odd feeling came over Elle as she shared their relationship details with her aunt. She’d never chatted about romantic interests with a mother-type figure before.
“Here you go.” A soft female voice said placing Elle’s grilled pear chicken salad and Janet’s tuna melt and fries on the table. “I’m sorry for the wait. We got slammed and your server was packing up a large to-go order.”
“Oh, it’s totally fine. We didn’t wait that long.”Elle looked up and her eyes widened in recognition. Summer Michaels, childhood bestie turned teenaged tormentor had delivered her meal.
The Summer that stood in front of her was so different from what Elle remembered. She’d let her once blonde hair return to its original chestnut tone, which was now tied back in a ponytail. The fashionable plaid skirts and fitted blouses of their teen years were replaced by worn sneakers, khaki shorts, and a white T-shirt under a black apron. The venomous teenager had been replaced by a frazzled and soft woman, watchful eyes glancing to the other tables.
“Hey, Summer. How’re your folks?” Janet asked.
“They’re good.”
“Do you remember my niece? You two were inseparable as little girls.”
“Eleanor?” Summer’s tone was a mix of happy and regretful. “Gosh, I heard you were in town.”
“Elle is visiting us for a few weeks from California.”
“That’s great you could stay so long. I heard you were an executive for a hospital out there. Must be hard to get that amount of time off.”
Aunt Janet beamed. “Not a hospital.”
Elle cleared her throat, cutting off Janet’s attempted bragging, “I’m with Sloan-Whitney at their national headquarters.” She didn’t add that she was their youngest and first female senior executive in the company’s fifty-two-year history, that hundreds of staff ultimately reported up to her, and that she was traveling this coming week to represent Sloan-Whitney at a breast cancer fundraiser. Did she want to brag? Well, yeah. Summer had been Elle’s Caroline Bingley after all, but she’d been a friend before…
“That’s great.” Summer said.
“Thanks. Summer, I love that you went back to your chestnut hair. It was always really pretty on you. I used to be envious of your hair when we were little.” Elle smiled, channeling her inner Jane Bennet.
The woman standing in front of her was so different than the girl who had once tossed cruel jabs. Brown eyes that used to assess and dismiss with a glance, now shifted and turned down. While still pretty, Summer looked beat down, like the years since she was the Caroline Bingley of their story had stomped away her spirit.
“That’s sweet of you.”Summer blushed, touching the end of her ponytail. “I should get back in there. Do you need anything else?”
“No, thanks.”
Summer hurried away, stopping at the door into the restaurant and flashing a tentative smile back at Elle.
“You’re a good girl.” Janet patted Elle’s hand. “You make me so proud to call you mine.”
“If you cry, I will not let you go shopping with me on Monday,” Elle warned.
Janet promptly chucked her napkin at her.
After lunch, while Janet waited outside with Fitz, Elle ran into a little boutique to pick up a gift for Mrs. Owens’ birthday, a small box styled like a hope chest and an assortment of flower-themed earrings. She purchased an extra pair of earrings for Natalie. It wasn’t necessary to get a gift for Clayton’s entire family, but the sparkling rose teardrop earrings would likely be coveted by the glitter-prone Natalie.
While paying for her purchases, a framed photograph of the train trellis over the Letchworth gorge caught Elle’s eye. Had it really been just five days since she’d stood there with Clayton? It felt like a lifetime. She bought the photo to give to Clayton, not Sunday but someday.
Two hours later, Pete watched baseball from his seat on the floor, because Lt. Scout and Fitz had commandeered the couch. Both dogs were snoring. Elle snapped a picture texting Tobey, Jerome, and Clayton. There had been a group thread with the four of them since Thursday, when Janet alerted her sons that their best man was “banging” Elle. She actually put that in the text. Tobey sent a screenshot of her text to Clayton and Elle with many, many question marks.
“So, these need to bake for thirty minutes,” Janet directed as Elle put the pan of Magic Bars, Dr. Owen’s favorite, in the oven.
The front of Pete and Janet’s house had a panoramic view allowing approaching vehicles from the road to easily be spotted. A red Prius eased along the lane. The lighthearted family atmosphere shifted to tense as Janet and Pete’s gazes met. A look of fearful recognition passed between them.
“Be right back,” Pete said, smile tight as he struggled up from the floor.
Lt. Scout and Fitz lifted their heads.
“Stay, boys,” he commanded as he shuffled outside.
Five minutes later, Pete returned, reporting the driver was lost. The man was a terrible liar. The person driving the red Prius wasn’t lost. It was her mom.
With a sigh, Pete suggested they walk the dogs. As a kid, Elle would ride bikes with Tobey down the tree-lined lane.
Might as well get this over with . “So, she has a red Prius,” Elle said.
“Yes.” Pete’s face was pinched. “I think it’s Pastor Danny’s influence.”
“Pastor Danny?”Elle’s eyebrows raised.
“Her boyfriend.”
“She’s dating a preacher?” Elle’s gasped, then gaped. Both reactions seemed appropriate.
“Yep.” Pete made a sour face. “Sorry.We didn’t know she was stopping by.”
“It’s okay,” Elle said, watching Fitz mark his territory on a third tree. “So, was she coming back? Is that why you took me for a walk?”
“Yeah.She had some photo albums that Janet needs for my birthday.”
“Will Pastor Danny be with her at your party?” Elle asked.
“Yes. He’s a nice man.”
Elle rolled her eyes. Was her mom capable of finding a nice man? There were nice men, Elle knew. The proof lay with the men surrounding her, like Pete, Clayton, Tobey, Jerome, Noah, and Viet. Such a list of wonderful men.
“I wish it wasn’t like this between you two.” Pete’s voice was small. Too small for a man of his size and with such a big heart.
Elle wished it wasn’t like this, but it was. What would life be like if she could have had lunch with her mom and shared her budding romance with Clayton instead of with her aunt? Some moments were made to be shared between mothers and daughters. Her chest tightened with sadness that it wasn’t to be for her.
Pete and Janet deserved to know that their interference was for a reason. That she wasn’t behaving like a toddler having a tantrum.
The unspoken truth lodged in her throat. “Pete…” Elle faltered. She couldn’t just spit out the truth and steal his sister from him. If he knew, he’d choose Elle. The knowledge, a tonic that she couldn’t drink. She sighed, “Can I get your help with something?”
“Always, kiddo.”
The parts of the unassembled chair Clayton had bought on Sunday for himself were strewn on the floor of Clayton’s office. She’d drafted Pete to put it together. As she guided him through the house, Pete asked how much time she had spent at the farmhouse but then raised his hand, saying, “Wait, don’t answer that.”
As Pete put together the chair, Elle ran over to the Little Red Barn telling him she had to answer some work emails. Best to keep her moving into the farmhouse a secret. After Pete left, she’d bring her stuff over. By half-past six, Pete had finished the chair and was ready to head home.As she walked Pete to his SUV, he let out a long breath and asked her to let him help move her suitcases over to the farmhouse.
“How do you know?” she gaped.
“This was a giveaway.” Pete lifted up one of Clayton’s Post-It love notes welcoming her to staying at the farmhouse. He heaved a concerned sigh, “Are you happy?”
“Blissfully,” Elle said without thinking. And she was. Unaccustomed happiness had bubbled through her since Clayton had crossed that field of goats. “I like him a lot.”
“I do too. He’s a good man.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “I’m still going to show him my gun collection, though.”
They both laughed.
“Poor Clayton.I am so not worth it.” She shook her head.
“You are worth everything,” he chided with a warm smile. “I have a feeling that man would walk through fire for you.”
“Do you plan on being the fire?” she teased.
“Nah, I think you’ve had enough fire in your life.” He placed his lips to her temple.
Elle swallowed hard. If only you knew.
“I am happy though, that you found someone you feel is worthy of you. I know your aunt has needled you a lot about dating. I knew you wouldn’t waste your time on the Mr. Almosts out there. There’s a reason why he was one of Tobey and Jerome’s best men, because he’s the best man…best man for you.”
“That means a lot coming from the other best man…Don’t scare him off, though. I really like him.”
“As long as he keeps you blissfully happy, he’s okay in my book. I just never want to hear the details of how he’s making you blissfully happy.”
After Pete left, the rest of the evening was quiet as she unpacked. Clayton had made space in the closet, a section of empty hangers waited for her, and the top drawer of the dresser featured a yellow Post-It proclaiming, Elle’s Drawer .
After some light cleaning, dinner, and laundry, she settled with Fitz on her reading seat. Losing herself with Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot she drifted into the angsty love story waiting for her own leading man to come home.
“I like this view.”His deep voice called her away from the book.
She glanced up to find him leaning against the door frame. Had door frames always been sexy, or was that just a consequence of proximity to Clayton?
“Hey.” She grinned.
“I like when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“You smile with your whole face.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “You have all these different smiles for different things. You have so many, but that one…that’s my favorite.”
“It’s my ‘Clayton’ smile.”
“Yeah,” he murmured. Deep lines of exhaustion were etched on his face as he approached the window seat.
Elle scooted up, allowing him to move in behind her. “Did you have fun?” she asked, as his arms snaked around her waist.
“I did. Mom was so happy.” He nuzzled her neck. “They can’t wait for you to come to dinner tomorrow.”
“I’m glad she enjoyed her birthday outing. I got your mom and sister gifts for tomorrow. Janet helped me make Magic Bars for your dad.”
“I see you’ve been busy.” He gestured to the assembled chair.
“Pete helped…um… He also helped me move my things over. So…”
“He’s going to show me his gun collection,”Clayton chuckled. Tiredness chugged through his tone like a car about to run out of gas.
“You’re so tired. You have been taking care of everyone today.” She twisted her head to look at him. “Let me take care of you. Let’s go to bed and I can read to you until you fall asleep.”
“Elle, I am…” He paused, cupping her face, his eyes tired but adoring. “…so ha…ha…ha…happy you are here,” he stuttered.
“When Pete found out I was moving my stuff over here, he asked me if I was happy.” She stroked his cheek. “I told him blissfully.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “There’s that smile again.”