Chapter Three
Jaxson drove around the town square, and he spotted Tillie sitting on the park bench. Belle was on her lap, as the dog didn’t seem to like lying on the floor. In her hand was a mug, and there were several pigeons on the ground.
He quickly had to press on his brake, as he’d been paying more attention to Tillie than to the car in front of him. Thankfully, no one was behind him, and he was able to stop in time before he bumped the person in front, not that it made him feel any better, far from it.
There was a space up ahead, and rather than get to his next job, he quickly pulled into it. Directly in front of him was a sandwich shop. Climbing out of his truck, he made his way inside, grabbed two turkey club sandwiches, then made his way across the parking lot.
It was Tuesday, and he’d not gotten the chance to catch a glimpse of her on Monday.
They spent Sunday together. He didn’t like the way that doctor was looking at Tillie.
Mitch Anderson was a good doctor and a respected member of the community, but Jaxson didn’t like him.
Actually, before Sunday, he didn’t really think much of him, and then he got pissed off with the way he was looking at her.
Once they were in her home, though, that had all changed, and the whole afternoon was spent preparing food for the coming month.
She marinated chicken and would describe the taste for him.
They prepared some pork mince, and for some reason, Tillie didn’t like to eat beef, nor did she eat lamb.
She preferred pork, chicken, turkey, or fish. Not that he had a problem with that.
He didn’t care what he ate, as long as he got fed. He was not a picky eater. After they had gotten their food prepared, she talked him through how to stack it in the freezer, and loaned him a couple of coolers to take his food home, so it didn’t spoil in the travel.
Jaxson didn’t know if she was that good of a cook, but last night was the best spaghetti sauce he had ever eaten. She helped him cook up a large batch. They did all the cooked food in the morning, and the marinating of the meat for prep in the afternoon.
She even wrote labels, how to cook everything for him, so he wasn’t completely clueless when it came time to eat, which he appreciated. She was so good at what she did.
Also, he stayed long enough to try a slice of her chocolate fudge cake, and it was heavenly. She had even given him several slices to take home, and he’d already eaten them.
Loaded up with a couple of sandwiches, he walked across the square and took a seat beside her.
“Jaxson, hi,” she said, and he held out a sandwich for her. “What’s this?”
“I figured you hadn’t eaten lunch, so I thought I would get us both something.”
“That is so kind of you.”
Belle lifted her head up, and he stroked the top of her head and was surprised as she crawled off Tillie’s lap and snuggled into his. He saw the shock on her face, and at first, he thought she was really disappointed.
“Oh, my, she must really like you. You know, I’ve heard dogs are amazing judges of character,” she said. “And you must be a great person.”
He was loving this dog more and more. “I do my best. So, what brings you outside?” he asked.
It was Tuesday, which meant it was a filming day for her, and not that he was a stalker or anything, as she told everyone on her videos what her plans were for the coming week.
“My house is haunted.”
Of all of the things he expected her to say, that was not one of them. “Haunted?”
“Yes, either that, or there is something wrong with the wiring in my studio. Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound crazy.”
“Why would you have sounded crazy?” he asked.
“You know, the whole haunted thing is not exactly a great advertisement, is it?”
Jaxson laughed. “There are a lot of unexplained things in the world, but if it’s your wiring, I can take a look if you’d like.”
“Don’t you have a busy day?” Tillie asked.
“Don’t worry about them. They can wait.”
She held her hand up and shook her head. “Absolutely not. I am not jumping the line. If you’d like, you can come to me when you’re done.”
“It’s going to be a little after six,” he said.
“Fine, I can cook dinner, would you like that?”
He looked at her and smiled. “I’d like that very much.”
“Good, there is no way I would be happy at jumping any kind of line. I don’t mind waiting.”
“Why didn’t you call me when the wiring started to screw up?” he asked.
She bit down on her lip. “I don’t actually have your number, and I figured if I stayed here, I’d spot your van.” She held up her hand, and he couldn’t help but laugh, as she’d been waiting for him. “I was going to give you a call after you finished your lunch.”
“Give me your cell phone,” he said.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the cell phone.
He had actually watched her sew that bag, and he spent a great deal of time admiring her cleavage. She’d worn a dress that molded to her curves, and the angle of the camera had made it next to impossible not to watch her.
She handed him her cell phone, and he quickly added in his number.
“You can call me anytime. You don’t have to wait for an appointment.”
“You’re sweet,” she said. “How did you know I love turkey club sandwiches?”
“I took a wild guess.” Also, he had stood behind her several times when she ordered a sandwich.
“Thank you.”
He winked at her, and he watched as she blushed, or it could have just been the heat of the sun.
****
“Ouch, fucking bastard.”
Tillie winced as she heard Jaxson’s cursing echo throughout the house.
She had on a large pot of her chili, which she had already done most of the work for on the Sunday she was with him.
She liked to make her chili with ground pork, lots of spices, and beans.
Also, if she was cooking it from scratch, it was a meal she prepped the previous day and finished on the second to allow the flavors to mature.
Seeing as she made it in advance, she didn’t have to worry about that.
Her lights flickered once again, and then they seemed to stabilize. Her oven pinged, letting her know the baked potatoes were finished, and it was time for her to load everything up.
Leaving her pot on a low simmer, she walked to where Jaxson was working in her studio.
“How is everything?” she asked.
“It’s fine. One of your wires was faulty, and I can fix it. I’ve been able to make a quick replacement, so you can catch up with your work, but I will need to order a few parts and return to complete it.”
He quoted her a price that was reasonable, and she was more than happy to pay for it. She needed her studio in top shape. She did everything in advance, so there were always videos waiting to upload. She spent a lot of time on filming and editing. It was a hard process, but one she did enjoy.
Her mother had been the one to convince her to start her own sewing vlog. Every step of the way, her mother had been there, to give her a pat on the back and the confidence she didn’t have. She didn’t know how her mom had so much faith in her, when she barely had any herself.
“Dinner’s ready, does that mean you’re ready to eat?” she asked.
“Hell, yeah, I’m starving.”
“Follow me.”
It was still warm out, so she headed into the kitchen and started to serve them. “Do you want some sour cream?” she asked.
“Load me up.”
“Will do, why don’t you head out into the yard, and I’ll get your food ready.”
He nodded and left his bag of tools near her front door. Loading up his plate with all the right fixings, she did the same with her own, then carried out their plates.
Jaxson was sitting on one of the deck chairs, and she handed him his plate, then a tray so he could sit and eat. There were many times she and her parents had eaten out like this. It was so lovely to watch the sunset and enjoy their food.
“Fuck me, that’s good,” Jaxson said, which made her laugh.
“I’m glad you like it.”
She took a bite and knew it was good, totally not authentic, but it still tasted good.
“Did you always want to sew?” he asked. “You know, and create that studio and do what you do?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. I mean, I’ve always loved to sew and craft.
I didn’t go out and party, nor did I make a whole lot of friends.
My summers were spent making my own clothes for the term to come, you know?
My mom taught me as much as she could, but she was more of a knitter and not a sewer, but she took me to Kate’s Fabric Shop, when Kate’s mom actually owned the shop, and she helped me out.
Then it was trial and error, but it was always something that made me happy, and I loved doing it.
Besides, I’m sure you heard the disaster of the doctor’s surgery and what happened there. ”
She heard him chuckle.
“Just a little. You passed out?” he asked.
“Okay, yes, I passed out and it was totally bad, but I didn’t mean to. I didn’t even realize I was that squeamish at the sight of blood, but one moment I could see it, and the next moment, I couldn’t.”
“Tell me, Tillie, do you even like horror movies, or gory movies, where you see every break or blood-spurting scene?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No.”
Jaxson laughed.
“Okay, okay, I get your point, but in my defense, I have never watched a lot of television, so how was I supposed to know that?” she asked.
“I wasn’t. Anyway, I was fired, and my parents had been working on transforming the garage, and it was a shock.
They told me they believed in me, and they couldn’t give me college, but they could help me with this.
So, that’s what they did, and the rest is history. ”
“Your parents were always good people,” he said.
She looked toward him and nodded, because that meant a lot. “Thank you.”
He nodded.
She didn’t like the overwhelming sadness that enveloped her. “So, I heard you left town to explore a dream. Do you want to share what that is?” she asked.
He groaned. “Not particularly.”
“I shared.”
“But yours is not embarrassing.”
She gasped. “Seriously, I fainted on a patient who was in terrible pain, and my job was to remain calm.”
“True, true, okay, fine, if you must know, I went to the city, because I thought I would prefer it there, compared to here. Also, I went looking to be the next big thing in tattoo artistry.”
“Tattoo artistry?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?” Tillie asked, curious. No one in town really knew what Jaxson had done. They all knew he had left town, but he always intended to, because he hated it there. Everyone knew he had a complete lack of love for the place.
“Let’s just say I have a new appreciation for small-town living, and being a tattoo artist, although it is a dream, is not something I’m going to make a lot of money from. I’m good with my hands.”
“Did you design the ink on yourself?” she asked.
He looked down at his arms.
“Yes.”
“It looks good,” she said.
“Thanks. I just don’t like the city life.”
“Did you think it was going to be better than Higher Ridge?”
“Yeah, I did. I thought it would be nice for people not to know my business or to give me their two cents, and all that shit. I was wrong. I happen to like Higher Ridge, and I like ... town life.”
Tillie laughed. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, and I happen to love it as well. I’ve never been tempted to leave.”
“Not even for a couple of days? A week? A month?”
“Nope. I don’t mind this place. I like walking through town, waving at everyone, and small-town quirks.
It’s home, that is how I want to have a family, surrounded by people I know and love, who I know will love my kids.
” She felt her cheeks getting bright red as she suddenly felt overwhelmingly flushed.
“Would you like some cake?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“Love some.”