Chapter 5 #2
“ Pfft …I’m fine and I can totally handle myself if anyone says anything, so don’t worry,” she assured him, squeezing his hand. “Personally, I’ll be surprised if they don’t bring it up.”
“Now I wish my cabin wasn’t right across from theirs…”
“We’re all adults, Jayce. And really, it’s not like it’s going to be a shock to anyone. They’ve all been dropping hints and gushing about how happy they are that we’re spending so much time together. For all we know, there will be strawberries and champagne waiting for us later on!”
“Oh God…” he groaned. “Don’t even put that idea out in the universe!”
“All I’m saying is while it would be nice to have a little more privacy, it’s also not the end of the world that we don’t. This is a vacation fling. Lots of people have them. It’s just a bonus that we’ve known each other for so long.”
Vacation fling.
Damn, that stung.
He was about to comment on it when his mother looked at them over her shoulder and smiled. “I figured the two of you didn’t have time for breakfast this morning, so I went up to the lodge and grabbed you a couple of muffins and some fruit.”
“O-kay…” he murmured before calling out, “Thanks, Mom!”
She looked at them again. “No worries. And if either of you need to nap instead of fishing since I’m sure you didn’t get much sleep last night, you go right ahead. We’re all fine with it.”
Hanging his head, Jayce groaned again while Kelsey laughed.
“Thanks, Mrs. Nash!” she called out. “A nap on the boat sounds heavenly!”
“Don’t encourage her,” he whispered.
She simply shrugged. “I told you, it’s not a big deal. Plus, now I can nap without anyone stopping me.”
“Hmm…good point!”
She didn’t nap.
She didn’t fish, either.
What she did do was learn to crochet while talking about books and enjoying stories about her mom.
That was a bonus perk to hanging out with the Nash family; they all knew Kelsey’s family from years of vacationing next to each other at the resort.
“Your mother and I used to share books,” Jayce’s mom, Lori, revealed to her.
“It didn’t happen right away, but after a few years of being neighbors here, we realized we were both avid readers.
At the end of one of those early summers, we agreed that the next summer, we’d bring a bag of the books we loved the most that we read over the course of the year.
That started a tradition. I never had to bring books with me because I always knew your mom would have a bag of them waiting for me. ”
“Aww…I never knew that!” Kelsey said with a smile because it was a nice memory. “Mom was always reading at home. She had e-readers and hardcover and paperback books. There was always something to read in her purse.”
“Oh, I’m the same,” Lori replied. “My Tbr list is a mile long and I’m always adding to it.”
“What do you like to read the most? I know my mom was a big fan of women’s fiction and thrillers.”
“Me too! That’s why we were so compatible and could share books! Of course, I also enjoy a good romance too. I don’t like it too spicy, but I definitely love something that gives me all the feels.”
“I love a good spicy romance!” Jayce’s grandmother chimed in, shocking them both.
“Particularly the historical ones! I’ve been reading them for years!
The spicier the better. How do you think Sean and I have kept the spark alive after all these years?
Woo…your father loves when he finds me reading, if you know what I mean!
” She winked hard before cackling with laughter.
“ What …? Mom, what the heck?” Lori cried. “I don’t want to know that! Sheesh!”
“Don’t be such a prude, Lori. There’s nothing wrong with reading sexy things or having a healthy sex life.”
Kelsey had no idea Grandma Eleanor was quite this sassy, but she was loving the hell out of the entire exchange.
Lori looked around frantically before whispering, “Okay, but we don’t need to…you know… talk about it! I don’t want to think about you and Dad and anything sexy!”
That just made Eleanor laugh even more. “Sweetheart, we’re all adults here, and we’ve all had sex. Hell, I think Jayce and Kelsey did just last night!”
Gasping so hard she started to choke, Kelsey felt her entire face heat. Jayce immediately walked over and crouched down beside her, patting her back. “Are you okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice.
“She’s fine,” Eleanor assured him. “I just mentioned how we all know the two of you had sex last night.”
And that caused Kelsey to cough even harder.
“Sooo…this is you’re handling yourself?” he murmured for her ears only.
Swallowing hard, she nodded before taking several calming breaths. “I’m fine. Really.” Facing his mother and grandmother, she smiled. “I guess I should have been more prepared for that, huh?”
Lori reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry for Mom embarrassing you. Hell, she embarrassed me!”
“You all embarrass too easily!” Eleanor said with amusement. “I thought we could talk a little more about it!”
“No one wants to talk to you about their sex life, Mom!”
“I meant the spicy books,” Eleanor replied primly. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Lori.”
They all groaned.
“On that note, I’m going back to my rod,” Jayce said, and Kelsey caught him frowning when his grandmother snickered.
Shifting in her seat, Kelsey focused on the scarf she was currently trying to crochet. “Personal spiciness aside,” she began, “I enjoy reading too. I’m not as voracious as my mom was, but I probably read a book a week. And I tend to lean more toward women’s fiction and romance.”
“Did you share books with your mom?” Lori asked.
Nodding, she continued to work. “All the time. Toward the end, she couldn’t even hold a book on her own or an e-reader, so I used to read to her.
We were going through a series where it was a family saga, but each book focused on an individual couple.
It was eleven books, and we finished that last one the week before she passed.
” Tears stung her eyes, and she was thankful for the sunglasses.
“I have that complete series now on a bookshelf in my apartment and it makes me smile whenever I see it.”
They were all quiet for a moment before Lori put down the book that she was reading and looked at her again. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course!”
“You can tell me to mind my own business…”
“ Pfft , like you’ll listen,” Eleanor mumbled.
Lori shot her mother a hard glare before returning her attention to Kelsey.
“I was just curious if you were planning on staying in Rochester. With your parents both being gone, I wasn’t sure if you were looking to maybe move and start fresh someplace new.
” She paused. “Like I said, you can tell me it’s none of my business and I won’t be offended. ”
“You’re fine, Mrs. Nash. Really. So many people have asked me that exact question and, to be honest, I really like the idea of a fresh start, but I also feel guilty about it.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s like I’m abandoning my whole life…the places I grew up, all the memories my family made…it feels weird to think about just leaving it all behind.” She quickly swiped away some stray tears and prayed no one noticed.
“My parents were born and raised in Ireland,” Eleanor said as she continued to crochet the blanket she was working on.
“They moved to America the week after they got married. My grandparents didn’t want them to go, but my parents felt like it was something they desperately wanted to do.
So, they left. It was hard and a lot of work and my mother cried all the time in that first year, but eventually, they settled in.
Made a home. Started a family.” Putting her crocheting needles down, she looked over at Kelsey.
“Your memories are always with you, Kelsey. You might not be able to walk to the park you used to play in or go to the restaurant your mother or father loved, but they’re only a car ride or plane ride away.
” She shrugged. “You know they wouldn’t want you to stay there just because of the memories. ”
She nodded, but couldn’t bring herself to look away from her sad and crooked little scarf.
“Amazing things can happen when you take a risk. A leap of faith,” Eleanor went on.
“If my parents hadn’t moved, I never would have met my husband.
We never would have had Lori. She never would have met Paul.
They wouldn’t have had Jayce…” Pausing, she smiled.
“You see all the things that never would have happened if two people didn’t take that leap of faith and decide to start fresh someplace new? ”
Another nod. “I do. I really do, but…I’m not even sure where I’d want to go. The possibilities are endless, it seems. Although…I picked a few places that interest me, but…I don’t know.”
“What about your friends?” Lori asked. “Have any of them moved away to a place you’d be interested in? It’s always nice if there’s a familiar face waiting when you make a move. Or maybe I should say it makes things a little easier.”
“Nonsense! My parents didn’t know anyone!”
“And you said Grandma cried every day!” Lori reminded her. “Why not encourage Kelsey to start where there might be something familiar?”
“I understand that, but she should follow her heart and go where that leads her!”
At that moment, she looked over at Jayce.
That’s where my heart is leading me…
It was a random thought, and she knew it was because they made love last night. It was everything she had dreamed it would be and more. He was so damn sexy and attentive, and he had thoroughly worn her out.
Only to wake up and do it all over again.
So while it was a nice thought, she knew it was only because they were in the middle of this vacation fling.
Once it was flung and they went back to their regular lives, she was fairly certain Jayce wouldn’t want her following him across the country and moving into his neighborhood. God, how awkward would that be?
Very, she told herself.
Very, very awkward.
Wouldn’t it?