Chapter 14 - Jensen
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Jensen
The shop is bustling with people. Even with the door to my office shut, I can still hear the clanging and banging of tools in the bays, chatter coming from the waiting room, and the music we play over the speaker in the lobby.
It’s not overly loud, more ambient than anything, but I crave quiet.
No, I need quiet, and this is hardly the place for that.
Most of the time, I find the busyness of the shop soothing.
It keeps my mind occupied and my hands busy, keeps me from running straight off the edge I always feel so precariously close to.
But on days like today, when every sound is magnified, and when the chaotic energy of the place presses in on me, threatening to snatch the next breath from my lungs, my office offers little solace.
Squeezing my eyes shut and pinching the bridge of my nose, I let out a deep exhale, trying to force some of the pressure from the front of my skull out through my nostrils.
Maybe if I’d gotten a full night’s sleep, I would be better equipped to handle today, but the usual shadows had been my unfortunate bedfellows, digging their claws into my mind and robbing me of my peace.
It wasn’t my usual nightmare, either. Callie floated in and out of my subconscious, while the shadows held me in their grip, and each time I woke, gasping and clawing at my chest, it was her name on my tongue.
I let out a groan and drop my head into my hands.
I just need this day to be over already.
Once the last customer leaves, I plan to go home, curl up on the couch with my dog, and pretend that the rest of the world doesn’t exist. It’s Friday night, which means there are two whole days ahead of me where I don’t have to pretend I’m holding it together.
There’s a knock on the door, the sound exacerbating the throbbing in my temples.
“Come in,” I groan, fully expecting it to be Frank with more supply orders. Business has been booming lately, and we’ve been running through our usual cache of parts and materials. “Just put them on the corner of my desk.”
I wait, but when Frank doesn’t respond with his usual, “ Roger that, Boss Man,” I look up.
Callie is standing in front of my desk, holding a crystal dish that’s covered in tin foil.
The color of her t-shirt matches her eyes and with her long hair twisted back into a ponytail, I can see just how slender her neck is.
Her strawberry-pink lips are lifted in a hesitant smile.
“Hi.” She gives me a little wave. “I hope you don’t mind me just stopping by like this. The guy out there in the service bay told me it was okay to knock.”
I stare at her for a moment before my brain decides to supply me with a response. “No, it’s fine.” I tap the massive stack of papers in front of me. “I needed a break anyway. What can I help you with? Everything okay with the RV?”
“Oh yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted to stop by to bring you this.” She holds out the bundle.
“I was going to bring it by the farmhouse, but I used Mabel’s kitchen, and the bungalow isn’t far from here.
It’s an apple pie. I made it myself.” She gently sets the pie down in front of me.
“Sutton told Mabel that it was your favorite so . . . ”
She trails off, nervously chewing the corner of her lip as she waits to see what my response is going to be.
It’s then that I realize what a jerk I’ve been to this woman.
She’s done absolutely nothing to deserve the way I’ve been treating her.
First, it was ghosting her when she reached out after the photoshoot.
Then, it was all of our awkward run-ins around town, and every moment since she became my tenant, I’ve acted like she was some kind of thorn in my side that needs to be removed. I owe her an apology.
“Callie,” I breathe out, anger at myself swelling in my chest. “I—”
“You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to,” she hurries to cut me off. “It won’t hurt my feelings or anything, I just wanted to do something nice, and my mama always said that the best way to show how you feel is with a pie. So,” she points to the pie. “Thank you.”
I pull the pie a little closer, the warmth of the glass dish seeping into my skin, and the smell? It’s heavenly. “This really isn’t necessary.”
“Yes, it is,” she insists. “I got that job at the elementary school.” Her face lights up. “They called me this morning.”
“That’s really great, but you don’t owe me thanks for that. You got that job all on your own merit.”
“True, but I wouldn’t have even known about the job if it weren’t for you. Besides, I was thinking,” she lets out a low breath, “maybe it could be a thank you pie but also a peace offering?”
There it is. The elephant in the room. And despite my horrible behavior, it’s her that’s brought it up. God, I really am a jerk.
I stand up and walk around my desk. “I think it’s me that owes you a peace pie. I’ve been . . . Well, I haven’t been the friendliest. And you didn’t deserve that. I’m really sorry. ”
She shrugs. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not, and I can promise you that I’m not the kind of man who takes out his baggage on other people.” I give her a half smile. “Or I try not to.”
It’s not a great explanation, but there’s no way in hell, I’m getting into all that now. It’s the best I can offer her.
“You’ve been nothing but kind to me since the photoshoot, and I hope you can forgive me for my behavior. If you’re open to it, I’d like for us to be friends.”
The words spill out of me, and I ignore the pang of disappointment settling in my gut at the word. Friend .
Callie studies me for a moment, her brow scrunched as if she’s waiting for me to change my mind. “You want to be my friend?”
“I do,” I tell her as earnestly as I’m able. “Think maybe we can just start over?”
There’s a pause and then her cheeks lift. “Sure. I’d like that.” She holds out her hand to me. “Hi, I’m Callie.”
I wrap my hand around hers, ignoring the sensation it sends shooting down my arm. “It’s nice to meet you, Callie. I’m Jensen.”
Her smile morphs into a full-blown grin at that, and my god it’s such a lovely sight, I nearly stop breathing.
Friend, friend, friend . My brain reminds me, and even though there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to let her go, I drop her hand.
“Well, I won’t keep you, I’m sure you’ve got a lot of work to do here.” Callie flips her ponytail over her shoulder and reaches for the keys she’s placed on the corner of my desk. “Thanks again for giving me the heads up about the job. I owe you one.”
I point to the pie. “Nah, I think we’re square. Especially if it tastes as good as it smells.”
That earns me another smile. “Oh, it does,” Callie assures me. “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”
“I’m definitely going to have to hide this from the guys.” I nod toward the shop. “I’m not sure how you got it past them, but I’ll be lucky to get a few crumbs if they find out I’ve got homemade pie in the office.”
“If that happens, just let me know and I’ll make you another one.”
“Deal.”
Callie takes a step toward the door, but then turns back, her eyebrows drawn together. “There’s one more thing.”
The concerned look on her face has me stepping closer. “Yeah?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“Okay,” I say, my spine stiffening. I don’t like the unexpected. “Shoot.”
“ Good Day, Alabama wants to do a feature about the photoshoot. You know, since the pictures went viral and all. They want to interview us.”
She catches me by surprise that’s for sure, and when I don’t immediately respond, the V between her brows deepens. “If you don’t want to, I totally understand, but it would really mean a lot to Mabel if you said yes. It would really mean a lot to me, too.”
A live televised interview? Definitely not my kind of thing, but the look on Callie’s face hits me square in the chest. Besides, given my behavior, it’s the least I can do. “I’ll be there.”
“Really? You don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind,” I say, offering a smile.
Callie reacts by throwing her arms around me, tugging me into a hug. “Thank you, Jensen. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”
Her body is warm against mine, but the shock of having her this close renders me frozen.
She leaps back a second later, her cheeks bright pink.
“Sorry, I—” She clears her throat, clearly embarrassed.
“Okay, well, I better get going. I promised Mabel I’d come over early so we could get ready together.
We’re headed out to the dance hall tonight to celebrate the news. But, um, enjoy the pie!”
She gives me a little wave and dashes out of my office before my brain has a chance to catch up, but once it does, I sink back down in my chair, my eyes landing on the warm apple pie sitting atop my stack of papers.
I should have hugged her back, and the disappointment and frustration spiraling in my gut agree with me. I run a hand down my face and let out a breath. Friends, I remind myself. That’s all. Just friends .
My stomach flips over as the door to my office flies open and Frank pops across the threshold like a damn jack-in-the-box. “Do I smell pie?”
—
“Well,” I look over at Peaches who is curled up on her dog bed by the fireplace. “She definitely wasn’t wrong.”
I scrape the remaining tidbits of pie off my plate and lick the fork. I’d managed to bring at least a quarter of Callie’s pie home after splitting it with the guys, and after scarfing my dinner, I’d plopped down in my chair with a slice as my reward after a very long day.
Things had gotten better after Callie’s visit, though I didn’t want to think too hard as to why. So instead, I’d busied myself at work, keeping my mind occupied so it couldn’t ask any questions.
Now that I’m home, there are fewer distractions and already thoughts are forming in my brain, what-ifs that I don’t want to even consider.
“Nope,” I mutter under my breath as I walk to the sink to put away my dishes. “Don’t even go there.”
Yet, that doesn’t stop me from scooping up my phone from the counter and pulling up the photos I shouldn’t have saved but did.
I slowly swipe through, taking in every detail.
Sure, the photos are lovely and Mabel’s talent behind the camera is clear, but I’m more drawn to the shape of Callie’s mouth and the way her hair shines in the golden sunlight.
She’s stunning in these photos which only makes my brain conjure up images of her in real life.
I think of today, of how beautiful she looked, standing there in front of my desk, and my pulse quickens.
And now you’re friends, my brain reminds me—to which my heart gives a pathetic little flop. It’s for the best, that same voice reasons, and I don’t bother arguing. Because it is for the best. Although, that doesn’t stop me from wanting to be around her.
Even if I can never act on it, being around Callie makes me feel . . . lighter. Even now, with the shadows lingering, waiting to pounce, I crave that feeling.
There’s just something about her, something about the way she makes me feel.
It’s a mercurial high that I know is only going to wreck me in the end, but maybe just maybe if I can keep it together and keep things in perspective— Just friends, Shepherd.
Just friends —then maybe it’s okay to take another hit. Right?
Callie’s words from earlier come back to me then: I promised Mabel I’d come over early so we could get ready together. We’re headed out to the dance hall tonight to celebrate.
The mental image of her at the dance hall, dancing with other men has me squirming in my seat. I don’t like it at all. Yet, it’s not my place to feel this way. I shouldn’t care who she dances with. It shouldn’t matter to me.
But dammit, it does.
Just friends or not, it matters.
I don’t give myself time to dwell. I tap the screen, dialing Sutton’s number. “Hey, you busy tonight?” I say in the way of a greeting when she answers.
“Not really. Ethan is at a sleepover down the street, so I was thinking of drinking an entire bottle of wine and watching reruns of The Office .”
I’m already pulling on my boots. “Well, don’t pop that cork just yet. Get ready, we’re going out tonight. Pick you up in fifteen.”