Chapter 33
CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE
Joey got into her car outside Cake Bites and started it to get the heater blowing.
She’d gotten two calls during her morning shift, but she’d just been promoted to baking manager, and she didn’t want to abuse any of her privileges.
Her teeth chattered as she tapped with frozen fingers on her phone to get the message to play.
“Hi, Joey,” a man said. “This is Dalton Best.”
Before he even said another word, Joey’s heart plummeted to the soles of her feet.
“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” he said, and at least he sounded sorry about it. “The leak in the kitchen is bigger than we thought, and we have to dig up the plumbing in the front yard.”
Joey stared out the windshield, wondering if she’d ever be able to move into the basement apartment she’d found.
“I’m afraid it’s not going to be ready by this weekend like we thought, as we have to turn water off to the whole house and dig around to find the problem.
The weather is an issue, as I’m sure you know, and I’m not even sure of the timeline of when we’ll have things functioning again.
Will you please call me when you get this so that we can talk? Thanks.”
The message ended, and Joey’s phone started to tell her when the call had happened and give her options for what to do. She tapped numbly on the seven to delete the message, and the voicemail system went immediately to the next one.
“Hi, Joey. This is Dalton again. I just got off the phone with the excavators for the plumbing company, and they said that they’ll be able to come out and start digging on Monday, but then they won’t be working Christmas Eve or Christmas.
But they think once we find the problem, it will go fast. I’m thinking you still might be able to move in, and maybe we should set a tentative date for January fourth?
Of course, we’ll prorate the rent you’ve already paid and make sure that everything goes toward the days you’re only living here.
Just give me a call when you get this. I know you’re probably at work. ”
Another beep. More options. Joey deleted the second message.
She honestly wasn’t sure what to do. She felt like crying, but to her surprise, no tears came. She flipped her car in reverse and pulled out of the parking spot and then onto the road, simply driving aimlessly.
Before she knew it, she had pulled into Adam’s driveway in Dog Valley. Suddenly, she felt too hot, and she reached to adjust the air. She hadn’t been playing the radio, and the silence screamed through her ears.
She hadn’t called or texted Adam that she was coming, and she struggled to remember if they’d made any plans for that day.
Sometimes, Adam texted to say he would be down in Coral Canyon, and he would pick her up for lunch.
Sometimes, she grabbed something and met him at his house.
Sometimes, they planned to meet somewhere.
Her brain didn’t seem to be functioning properly, as Joey could not bring anything forward in her recollection.
Perhaps they hadn’t planned anything. She frowned, because that made no sense.
Of course they’d planned something. If they didn’t plan to get together during the day, Joey wouldn’t see him.
She didn’t work Wednesdays at Pork and Beans, and so they often spent all afternoon and evening together then—her baking and Adam doing whatever she asked of him.
But today was Tuesday—one more week until the first concert at Rising Sun Ranch on Christmas Eve—and Joey suddenly remembered what they’d planned to do that day.
She cursed under her breath as she dove onto her phone in the console. She hadn’t even remembered putting it there, but she tapped quickly to dial Adam, praying with everything inside her that he hadn’t left yet.
“Hey,” he said when he answered. “I’m so sorry I’m running late.”
“Where are you?” she asked. “Please tell me you’re not down in Coral Canyon.”
Because they’d planned to get lunch on Main Street and go Christmas shopping today.
“Not yet,” he said, and something scraped on his end of the line. “In fact, I might be another forty-five minutes or so,” he said. “Because the consultation with the stage setup crew just barely ended, and I haven’t even left my house yet.”
“Oh, good,” Joey said. “Because—guess where I am?”
“Where?” he asked, and his garage started to open.
Joey turned off her car and stood halfway from the car, raising her hand as if Adam wouldn’t be able to see her parked in his driveway. “I got some bad news,” she said, everything inside her trembling. Of course the tears would come the moment she stood in front of Adam.
He lowered the phone as he walked toward her. “Bad news?”
“It feels like everything in the world is conspiring against me moving out.” She dropped her head and looked at her phone, tapping to end the call.
“What do you mean, baby doll?”
“The owner of that house called,” she said. “I can’t move in until at least January fourth, because they have to dig up all the pipes in the front yard to find the leak.”
“Oh no.” Adam arrived in front of her, her open door still separating them. He reached for her, and she moved sideways. He closed her door and brought her flush against his chest. “I don’t think it’s a sign that you shouldn’t move out.”
“No?” She buried her face against the fuzziness of his coat. “You don’t think so?” She sniffled, feeling weak and ridiculous.
“Not at all,” he said. “Sometimes bad things happen, and it’s completely outside of our control. You should just be glad it’s not your house that has to have the front yard dug up.”
She chuckled, though she wasn’t feeling very happy.
“Why did you drive up here?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” She leaned back and looked at him. “I just started driving, and this is where I ended up.”
He smiled at her and leaned down, barely touching the tip of his nose to hers. “I’m really glad my meeting ran late, then. I was pretty irritated about it.”
“I can only imagine,” she whispered, breathing in the scent of his cologne and the crisp cottonness of his clothing.
“I don’t feel like going shopping today,” she said. “Maybe we can drive down the northern highway and get some brisket and then just come back here and watch movies.”
“Is that what you do when you’re upset?” he asked. “Brisket and movies?”
Joey grinned at him. “Yes—or a coffee, a bean bag, and a book.”
“You’re going to love what I got for you then.” He took her hand and led her into the garage, and then up the few steps into the house. He had a proper mudroom off his garage, and he removed his coat and hung it on a hook, then took hers from her and did the same.
“You got something for me?” she asked.
Adam was always buying her thoughtful gifts, and some of her hopelessness faded away.
“Yep, come see.”
He led her through his expansive kitchen, and past the big dining room table, and through the living room. He started down the hall, and Joey’s eyebrows raised.
He led her into the first bedroom on the left and said, “Ta da,” as he gestured toward an enormous pink bean bag that had been stuffed into the corner of the room.
Joey blinked at it, not quite believing her eyes.
“This room has such great light,” he said. “From the big front windows, and I ordered a bookcase, but it’s not here yet. I thought we could put it together on Christmas Day, and this could be your book nook.”
She turned away from the most glorious thing anyone had ever gotten her and looked at him. “You got me a pink bean bag?”
“Yes,” he said. “And did you see the TV tray?”
He took a couple more steps into the room and indicated the solid wood tray that barely rose over the edge of the bean bag. “I thought it would hold your snacks and a drink.”
Embarrassingly, Joey began to cry, and when Adam turned back to her, the pure, pure joy on his face melted into a frown.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I thought this would be nice.”
“It’s amazing,” Joey said, and she took the few steps to him and grabbed on to him in a hard, tight hug. “I love it. Thank you.”
He stroked her hair and simply held her, and when Joey didn’t feel like she might fall apart, she let go of him and looked up.
She wasn’t sure why he’d decided to make a book nook for her in his house.
She didn’t live here, and as she searched his face, she felt herself falling more and more in love with him.
He leaned down and touched his mouth to hers in a sweet, chaste, surely-meant-to-be-comforting kiss. She allowed that for a moment, and then quickly took things deeper, hoping to let him know of her quickening feelings.
They broke apart, and Adam exhaled heavily. “I know you can’t move in here with me,” he said. “But I wanted you to know that that’s where I want you.”
Joey pulled away and searched his face again. He gave her a small smile that was about as timid as Adam ever got.
“Harry sent me the list for the wedding party today,” he said. “You and I are walking down the aisle together.”
Joey nodded, because she’d gotten the list too. Belle had taken her size and would have her bridesmaid’s dress before Christmas. She didn’t know what to say into this silence, and Adam was the better communicator out of the two of them anyway.
“It’ll be fun. Don’t you think?” He raised his eyebrows. “Walking down the aisle together?”
“You realize that when a man and a woman get married, they don’t walk down the aisle together,” she said. “It’s not like we’ll be practicing for our own wedding or anything.”
“Of course not,” he said, but the smile on his face didn’t go anywhere.
He sobered and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I’m really sorry about your apartment. Sometimes Satan puts roadblocks in our way, because he knows we’ll start to doubt ourselves, and he knows if you do what you’ve been planning to do, it won’t be good for him. ”
Surprise lifted Joey’s eyebrows. “Is that right?” she asked.
He nodded soberly.
“Did your momma teach you that?” she asked.
“I actually heard it in a sermon when I was a teenager.” He stepped back and took her hand. “Let’s go get some food. I’m starving, and then you can decide if you’d rather read in here or watch movies on the couch with me.”
“I want to be with you,” Joey said softly, and Adam nodded just once.
She let him take care of her from then, driving them to the barbecue stand.
He went to order from the outdoor hut while she stayed warm and dry in the car.
He drove them back to his house, put their food on a tray, and tucked her in with a blanket before turning on the TV.
He kept their conversation light and easy, telling her about the concert series, and how his sister was pregnant again, and that he had finally told his mother that they were dating.
Joey knew most of what he said, which was why it was so comforting for her. Once she’d eaten her fill of brisket and macaroni salad, she lay down with her head in Adam’s lap. He covered her with the blanket and stroked her hair. She closed her eyes and let herself float.
She’d felt lost in her life before, and she’d been physically lost in New York City. That had been a panicked, frantic feeling, with her breath coming quickly and her mind moving fast.
Feeling lost in her life felt hopeless, like she was drifting out to sea on a raft made of sticks, screaming for help with no one around to hear. Thankfully, she didn’t feel like either of those things right now.
She felt safe and cared for. She was warm and comfortable, and she knew she was exactly where she needed to be. So whether she was able to move into the basement apartment or not, it didn’t matter.
She was with Adam, and for the first time, she felt deserving of his love, attention, and care.