CHAPTER TEN
Jessie double-checked for the millionth time that Malcolm and his parents were set before excusing herself to visit her momma.
Truth be told, she welcomed the change in scenery as her lips still burned from their kiss last night.
What she needed was a distraction ... a little space from a particular set of dark brown eyes that could stare into her soul.
“Momma?” Jessie called out as she entered her childhood house.
A warmth surged through her as she kicked off her shoes and took in the familiar sights and scents.
Family photos greeted her in the entryway, gap-toothed grins from her and Trevor over the years mixed in with random snapshots of the four of them.
Her father looking young and healthy, her mother’s infectious grin nearly leaping out of the frame.
The air smelled like coffee and cinnamon, cozy and inviting.
“In the kitchen, sugar!” Daisy called out.
Before Jessie could cross the threshold, Gus, the family basset hound, lumbered up to greet her. Jessie dropped to her knees and rubbed his belly and peppered his snout in kisses. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?” she asked, eliciting NSFW sounds from the old hound dog.
When dog and owner had had enough, Jessie strode into the kitchen and found her mother and Chief Warren sharing a cup of coffee. “Hey, Chief!” Jessie greeted as she went in search of her own caffeine. After surviving a morning with Estelle, she needed another gallon to stay sharp.
“Good morning, Jessie. How are things going with Malcolm?” Chief rose to his feet and offered his chair to her, ever the gentleman.
Jessie added sugar to her cup before filling it to the brim with coffee. “Not too bad, actually. He slept through the night, is getting his appetite back, and Estelle hasn’t smothered him to death yet.”
He’s also still the best kisser I’ve ever met ...
Shaking lustful thoughts away, Jessie took the proffered seat and slurped her coffee. “What brings you by this early?”
Her mother blinked, eyes hardly focusing, before turning back to the stove and asking, “You want some breakfast, sugar?”
“No, thanks. Estelle came over early to cook for her boy,” Jessie explained, punctuating the statement with an eye roll.
Her mother was well aware of how Estelle could get when Malcolm was fine, but when he was recovering, she was a woman on a mission.
Yet despite her statement, Daisy didn’t react at all.
Jessie cocked her head to study the chief a moment before offering, “If you’re looking for my fool brother, you missed him. He stopped by Malcolm’s with Javi on their way to the station.”
The chief tapped his watch and grimaced.
“Which is where I need to be.” Jessie watched in fascination as her mother and Chief Warren stood and bumped into each other.
He steadied Daisy by the shoulders before dropping his hands like they were on fire.
“Um, y-y-yeah ...” he stuttered as he backed out of the room.
“I’ll walk you out, Paul,” Daisy said, her cheeks flushed. In her haste to follow him out, she nearly tripped over Gus.
The hairs on Jessie’s neck rose as her mother and Paul shared a hushed goodbye.
While hardly a stranger, it wasn’t usual for the fire chief to make house calls before lunchtime.
Chief Warren used to be Captain of the fire station, working under her father.
A family friend for longer than Jessie had been alive, she was used to seeing him and his ex-wife during events and holidays.
Now though, this felt different. The sun still hung low in the sky, the birds in the middle of their morning song.
Daisy joined her daughter in the kitchen, fluffing her hair back into place. “Did you get breakfast at Malcolm’s?” she asked, not quite meeting her daughter’s gaze. She strode straight to the stove and started flipping on burners.
“Momma,” Jessie called out, lips trembling with mirth. Daisy kept on pulling out pans like she was prepared to cook Thanksgiving dinner for all of Pinegrove. “Momma!” she shouted, finally earning her mother’s attention.
“Yes, sugar?” She spun around, knocking a forgotten crust of toast onto the floor. Gus sauntered over and snarfed it up before either woman could move a muscle.
Jessie scooted to the edge of her chair, eyebrow raised. “I said Estelle cooked.” Jessie watched her mother as she paced around the table before finally taking a seat.
“That’s nice,” Daisy said absentmindedly, toying with the corner of a placemat. She looked up and blinked before asking, “Did you get breakfast?”
And that’s when Jessie knew, her mother was dating the fire chief. The woman couldn’t keep a secret long, and she’d never had a poker face. Either she was in the middle of a medical episode, or she was dying of embarrassment. Jessie would bet her non-existent pension it was the latter.
“You’re sleeping with Chief Warren, aren’t you?” Jessie asked, although it was hardly a question. The color drained from her mother’s face in record time.
“Jessica June Mays! I raised you to be a lady.” Daisy’s voice was indignant, but Jessie didn’t miss her trembling fingers as she combed through her air.
Jessie tittered. “Says the woman who just said goodbye to her booty call.”
Daisy’s cheeks suddenly filled with color, and she covered her face. “My word, sugar. I think all your manners must still be south of the equator.”
Jessie drained the last of her coffee and slid the cup away.
“What’s going on, Momma? Are you worried I won’t approve?
” Far be it for her to judge anyone on their dating situation.
She was less than twenty-four hours removed from a scorching kiss with her ex, whom she was helping recover from a horrible fire.
An ex who still made her stomach flip with merely a wink.
An ex she shared a complicated past with. Yeah, she had no room to judge anyone.
“Yes. Paul and I are seeing each other.” Daisy fiddled with her bracelet, unable to look up at her daughter. “Trevor knows, and truth be told, it took him a little while to calm down. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I hated the idea of telling you over the phone.”
“Momma, I’m not mad,” Jessie promised, resting her hand on top of her mother’s. “Daddy would want you to be happy, and he loved Paul.”
Incredulous, her mother scoffed. “You’re not mad? Not even a little bit?”
Jessie lifted a shoulder. “Not really. I mean, should I be? You’re a grown ass woman and poor Daddy wouldn’t want you to wallow forever.”
Daisy’s worry melted away as she covered Jessie’s hand with her own. “Thank you, sugar. I knew you’d understand.”
Jessie blinked back tears, utterly delighted to see her mother so happy again after years of mourning. “I do, and I hope my goober brother got on board. Otherwise, I’d be happy to whip him into shape.”
Her mother snorted. “He’s been whipped into shape all right. Whitney is a Godsend.”
“When do I get to meet this wonder woman?” Jessie asked, intrigued and eager. Trevor and her mother spoke of nothing else since she landed in Atlanta.
“How about now?” Daisy suggested, pushing to her feet. “I thought we could do a little shopping before you’re back on nursing duty.”
Jessie wrinkled her nose. “Shopping?”
The “girl gene” skipped Jessie, leaving her poor mother without a daughter to take to manicures and hair appointments.
Jessie was more likely to shave her head than get it styled.
But every once in a while, Jessie was forced to follow her mother around town for a shopping excursion, mostly because she didn’t want to wear rags.
Fashion had never been her thing, and she was fine with that.
Give her a pair of shorts or jeans, and she’d be happy as a pig in slop.
Daisy’s gaze swept up and down her daughter’s frame. “Yes, sugar. Shopping. For clothes that aren’t overalls and cut-off shorts. If you’re going to be in town for a bit, you should look like you belong.”
Jessie looked down at her ensemble of denim and a tank top that had seen better days. There was still a mud stain at the hem from last month’s trek into the jungle. Considering she was going to stay a little while longer and she wanted to meet Whitney, she gave in.
“Fine, Momma. You win. Let’s go shopping.” Daisy clapped her approval, and Gus barked from his spot under the table.
Twenty minutes later, they strode into Kim’s Creations, a boutique in downtown Pinegrove that boasted the cutest clothes and was also the employer of her brother’s girlfriend, Whitney.
A gorgeous, curvy woman with a shock of black curls squealed as soon as the door opened. “Oh my stars, you must be Jessie!” she ran over to Daisy and Jessie, pulling them both into a group hug that sucked the air from Jessie’s lungs. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Jessie said through a mouthful of Whitney’s hair. Untangling herself, Jessie shoved her hands into her overalls and rocked back on her heels. “My fool brother has had nothing but wonderful things to say about you.”
Whitney averted her gaze, but her cheeks pinked. “Oh, you’re sweet.”
“Jessica June Mays, as I live and breathe,” Kim, the shop’s owner, said as she joined the trio. She carried a tray of lemonade, her gray hair pulled back into a bun. With every step she took, she jingled from the array of bracelets running halfway up her forearm. “How ya been, girl?”
Daisy took two glasses, handing one to Jessie. “She’s back helping Malcolm, and I thought we’d take advantage of her time in the states and get her some new clothes.”
Whitney bounced on the balls of her feet. “Hooray! What are you looking for?” Her gaze swept up and down Jessie, cataloging every curve and angle. “With your cute frame, you’re going to be a delight to style.”
Although Jessie would rather be out in the fields of Costa Rica digging irrigation trenches, she couldn’t help but be delighted by Whitney’s enthusiasm. “Okay, but nothing too girly.”