Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Jolene glanced at the clock on the wall and smiled.
Only forty-three minutes until closing. Only a little over an hour until she’d be back in Cal’s arms. She’d missed him last night.
She had made a special dinner from a chicken casserole recipe she’d found online and had borrowed a folding table and chairs from the bank’s break room so they’d have a place to eat.
Once she had everything ready, she’d realized she’d forgotten the salad dressing and had run to the Simple Market to get some.
She was on her way back when she discovered Cheyenne.
The poor thing had looked so forlorn there was no way Jolene could’ve left her alone.
Once she brought Cheyenne home, she’d put the casserole in the refrigerator and called Cal to cancel.
Jolene probably should’ve told him his daughter was at her house.
But she sympathized with Cheyenne. Her own teenage years had been tough and made even tougher by an overprotective father who got mad first and asked questions later.
Still, Cal needed to know the truth. And Jolene planned to tell him tonight—once she’d buttered him up with chicken casserole, a bottle of expensive wine, and some sweet loving.
She smiled. Their loving was sweet . . .
and hot. Cal knew exactly where to touch her to make her melt.
And she knew exactly where to touch him.
After Kyle broke their engagement, she’d worried that her performance in the bedroom had been one of the reasons he left.
But Cal’s response to her lovemaking had disabused her of that idea.
She loved to make him moan and beg for more.
Her newfound sexual confidence had turned her into a truly wicked woman.
She pushed off with her feet and whirled around in her office chair, giggling with glee.
When she finally slowed to a stop, she checked the clock again.
Maybe she wouldn’t wait until closing time to leave.
Maybe she’d take off early and spend a little more time getting ready.
She’d ordered some sexy lingerie and it had arrived yesterday.
Maybe she’d greet Cal in nothing but the black lacy bra, thong panties, and her pink high heels.
If her father got mad at her for leaving early, who cared?
He couldn’t fire her. She was part owner of the bank.
As an owner, she could make her own hours.
With the decision made, she shut down her computer, locked up her files, and grabbed her purse from the bottom desk drawer. She had just started to open the door when the phone rang. She thought about ignoring it. But what if it was Cal?
She headed back to her desk and picked up the receiver. “Hello. This is Jolene Applegate.”
“And this is Charlotte Applegate.”
“Lottie!” Jolene hugged the phone to her ear as if it were her sister. “I’m so glad you called. You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to call you, but I didn’t want to interrupt your tropical vacation. So how is Maui? I bet it’s amazing.”
“It’s pretty amazing.” Charlotte hesitated. “But not as amazing as the engagement ring on my finger.”
Jolene’s eyes widened as she flopped back down in the chair. “Matthew asked you to marry him?”
Charlotte released a squeal that almost broke Jolene’s eardrum.
“Yes!” She continued to talk in a high-pitched excited voice that had Jolene switching to speaker.
“It was the most romantic thing in the world, Jojo. He took me to this restaurant right by the ocean and after we finished eating an amazing dinner—complete with champagne—he suggested that we go for a walk on the beach. And right there on the sand, glittering in the moonlight, were these beautiful shells. They spelled out Marry Me.” Her voice thickened with tears.
“Then he got down on one knee and pulled out this gorgeous diamond ring.”
Jolene couldn’t help it. She started crying. “Oh, Lottie. I’m so happy for you.”
“I know you are.” Charlotte sobbed right along with her. “You’ve always been happy for my happiness. You are the best sister a girl could have. And I wanted to call you last night, but with the time change, it was too late. And then this morning . . . Matthew and I kinda slept in.”
Jolene laughed and wiped at her eyes. “I’m sure sleeping was all you were doing. So tell me everything about this amazing vacation.”
Charlotte was happy to comply. While she described in detail her wonderful Hawaiian adventures, Jolene should’ve felt jealous.
She didn’t. A vacation in sunny Hawaii might be fun, but it didn’t compare to the fun Jolene had been having right here in Simple.
It was the best stay-cation ever. Complete with a hot mechanic who knew how to spark her plugs.
“So what about you?” Charlotte cut into her thoughts. “What have you been up to? Let me guess. You’ve been working at the bank until late, then going home to read. You really need to start having some fun, Jojo.”
A smug, satisfied smile spread over Jolene’s face. “Actually, I have been having fun.” She paused for only a second before she revealed her secret to her sister. “I’ve been having a secret affair.”
There was silence before her sister’s breath released. “What? Are we talking a sexual affair?”
Jolene laughed. “That would be the kind.”
“Oh. My. God. Who is he?”
“I can’t tell you. I don’t want you letting it slip accidentally. He’s a very private person and doesn’t want anyone to know.”
“He’s not married, is he?”
“No. He’s divorced.” There was another long stretch of silence, and Jolene worried that their connection had been lost. “Are you there, Lottie?”
“I’m here. I’m just a little speechless. I can’t believe my big sister, who I thought was against all men after what Kyle did, is having a secret affair. And why secret if you’re both single?”
“Neither one of us want to be the brunt of gossip. You know how the townsfolk of Simple are. We don’t want what we do in private hurting either one of our businesses.”
“This sounds nothing like you, Jojo. You don’t do things like this . . . I do.”
Jolene laughed. “Well, maybe I’m taking a page out of your book.”
“But why this man? What made you choose him?”
Jolene picked up a pen and started doodling on her desk calendar as she thought about the question.
There was the sexual attraction. But even before Cal had touched her, she’d admired him.
“He’s hardworking and dependable and honest. If he tells you he’ll do something, he’s going to do it.
He’s really good-looking, but he’s completely unconcerned with his looks.
I thought he wasn’t much of a talker, but he’s just a man who thinks before he talks.
The same goes for his smiles. He doesn’t smile just for the sake of smiling.
So when he does smile, it’s like a special gift.
” Just the thought of Cal’s smile made Jolene feel all gooey inside. That feeling left when Charlotte spoke.
“Oh my God, Jolene. You love him.”
Jolene stopped doodling and sat up straight. “What?”
“You’re in love with him, Jojo.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I like him. I wouldn’t have sex with him if I didn’t like him. But I don’t love him.” She glanced down at the doodles she’d been making. Right there in Thursday’s square was a big black ink heart. Inside the heart were three letters.
CAL.
Jolene’s eyes widened, and she quickly scribbled out the name in the heart. “I can’t be in love with him. Our arrangement is just sexual. No attachment and no strings. I just moved out of Dad’s house and I’m not ready to exchange one stubborn man for another one.”
“What?” Charlotte’s voice rang through the speaker. “You moved out of Dad’s house?”
“Actually, he kicked me out.”
“Daddy kicked you out?”
“Don’t get mad, Lottie. I’m glad he did. I probably never would’ve left on my—”
Charlotte released a loud squeal and cut her off. “Mad? I’m not mad. I’m ecstatic that you finally moved out from under Daddy’s rule. I’ve been waiting for this day forever and I thought it would never come. What happened?”
After Jolene finished telling her sister the entire story, Charlotte laughed. “I should’ve known that the only reason you would ever go up against Dad would be to protect someone else. You stood up to him for me more than once. Now it sounds like you’ve championed Cal Daily.”
“It was wrong of Dad to turn down Cal’s loan.”
“Of course it was. Poor Cal has been through a lot. If anyone needs a helping hand, he does. If it had been up to me, I’d have just given him the money for the gas station.”
“I wanted to, but Cal isn’t the kind of man who likes charity. He’s too proud and stubborn. He doesn’t know that he didn’t qualify for the loan. He thinks—”
She heard a sound and her gaze moved to the door. She hadn’t realized she’d left it open a crack. She got up to close it so no one would overhear her conversation. But as she went to push the door closed, she peeked out. . . right into a pair of familiar hazel eyes.
The anger she saw there made her realize that Cal had been eavesdropping. Hopefully not the part about her being in love with him. Although the other part of the conversation was just as bad.
She pulled open the door. “Cal, it’s not what you think.”
He stepped into the office and took off his cowboy hat. His brown hair was endearingly mussed and she had to fight down the urge to reach out and smooth it.
“Did I get the loan fair and square, Jolene?” he asked. “Or did you give it to me out of charity? Because you felt sorry for poor Cal Daily?”
She wanted to lie. But she figured it was too late for that. She closed the door and took a deep breath before she turned to him. “I approved your loan. But it wasn’t out of charity. I’ve known you since we were in grade school. I know you are the kind of man I can trust to pay back every penny.”
“It’s too bad you aren’t the kind of woman I can trust.”
His words stung, but she knew where they came from. He’d talked enough about Clarissa for Jolene to know how much her betrayal had wounded him. And how much trust meant to him.
“Would you have taken the loan if you’d known you didn’t qualify for it?” she asked.
“Hell no, I wouldn’t have,” he snapped. “I don’t need your charity, Jolene Applegate. I don’t need anyone’s charity. I’ll get you your money back. Even if I have to sell the garage.”
The comment made anger boil up inside her.
She was sick and tired of dealing with stubborn, prideful men.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t sell a business you’ve worked so hard to make a success.
This isn’t just about your pride, Cal. You have a daughter to think about.
If accepting help from an old friend can make her life better, than you’d be a fool not to take it. ”
His eyes widened. “So now I’m not just a charity case, I’m a fool.”
She crossed her arms. “If you’re thinking about selling the garage, yes.”
“Well, it’s not any of your damn business what I do with my garage.” He leaned closer. “Or my daughter. But for some reason, you keep butting your nose in where it doesn’t belong. I know she was with you last night. I know that’s why you canceled our meeting. You were hiding her from me.”
The comment was so absurd that Jolene laughed. “Hiding her from you? I wasn’t hiding her. She was upset and I was consoling her.”
“Well, it’s not your job to console her.” He thumped his chest like a male gorilla showing off his prowess. Jolene wasn’t impressed. “It’s my job.”
“And if you had found out, you’re telling me you would’ve consoled her?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer. “Of course not. You would’ve been angry that she broke your ridiculous rules.”
His eyes darkened. “Ridiculous rules? Keeping her away from Joey Mac is not ridiculous. That boy is a heartache waiting to happen.”
“You’re right. Joey broke Cheyenne’s heart, which is exactly why I was consoling her.”
“See! That wouldn’t have happened if she’d followed the rules and stayed away from him.”
“So you’re planning to keep her from every boy?
” She snorted. “That is ridiculous. You can’t stop Cheyenne from growing up, Cal.
You can’t stop her from falling in love and getting hurt.
That’s all part of life. Just because you got hurt and don’t want to give love another chance doesn’t mean you should force your silly rules of no strings, no attachment, and no expectations on your daughter. ”
He stared at her. “Silly? You didn’t think they were so silly when you agreed to them. And those rules weren’t for me. They were for you.”
She felt like the breath had been knocked out of her. It took a moment to speak. “Ahh. Of course they were. Cal Daily would never fall for the town’s old maid.”
He released his breath and slapped his hat against his leg. “Damn it! That’s not what I meant.”
“That’s exactly what you meant. You came up with those rules because you didn’t want to feel guilty about hurting pathetic Jolene Applegate when you grew tired of her.
Well, you don’t have to worry.” She straightened her spine and glared at him.
“I’m tougher than I look. Our affair is over, Mr. Daily.
You can leave now with no strings or attachments to hold you. ”
She waited for him to say something. Something that would heal the deep hole that had opened up in her chest. But he didn’t say anything. He just stood there for a moment before he pulled on his hat and walked out the door.
After he was gone, Jolene wilted against her desk. Her sister’s voice startled her.
“I’m sorry, Jojo. I’m so sorry.”
Jolene was sorry too. Sorry she’d ever thought a secret affair had been a good idea.