Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Twelve
JESSA
Y ou’re spiraling,” I told Ellie, who had spent the last ten minutes talking non-stop about how they’d had no luck finding alternate locations for their wedding ceremony and reception.
Even Vonda noticed Ellie’s panic as she brought our food to the table.
“She looks jittery. Did she have coffee before coming here?” Vonda asked.
I shrugged.
“No, I didn’t have coffee. My wedding is ruined.”
“Now, what kind of attitude is that?” Vonda placed Ellie’s plate in front of her. “You’re an event planner. Do what you do best.”
“She’s right.” Penny jumped in. “You put on every event in this town for years. You can take any space and make it into a beautiful place for a wedding.”
A hint of a smile shone on Ellie’s face.
We were thankful that power for part of the downtown area had been restored, and Jimmy’s was open. They were even offering free meals for the city workers who were helping with the cleanup.
“What places have you called?” asked Tally.
“All the other churches in town,” Ellie answered. “They’re either without power, have damage, or already have an event going on there. I called the hotel, where we’re supposed to have the reception. I thought maybe we could have the ceremony there too, but they’re being told by the electric company that power won’t be back on for another day or two.”
“How about the pavilion for the ceremony?” Penny suggested.
Ellie made a face. “It’s too close to downtown. Anyone could just drive by while we’re saying our vows and honk their car horn if they wanted to.”
“Isn’t the whole town invited? Who would be left to honk their horn?” I asked with a wink.
“Not the whole town.” She wrinkled her nose at me. “I don’t love the pavilion for us, Pen, but thanks for the suggestion.”
“What about having it in Grand Rapids or Battle Creek?” Tally asked.
Ellie shook her head back and forth at that idea. “I want to get married here in our hometown.”
“How about your back yard?” I suggested. “Under the treehouse Cooper built you. That would be romantic, right?”
The three of them all stared at me without words.
“What? Is that a bad idea? Because you could rent a tent and have your reception back there too. Problem solved.”
Ellie’s brow furrowed, and I could tell her mind was working. “I never thought about having it at home, but that would actually be ideal. We could string more lights up in the trees and hang balls of flowers from the branches. It could be really beautiful.”
“That does sound beautiful,” Tally said.
“And romantic getting married where Cooper proposed to you,” I added.
Ellie jumped up from her seat and attacked me with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Jess.”
“No problem. It seemed like the obvious solution to me.”
“I never wanted an outdoor wedding,” she said as she took her seat again. “I was always worried about the weather. But I didn’t expect a tornado to prevent me from having an indoor wedding.”
We all laughed.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Vonda said as she walked past our table on her way to deliver food to another.
Ellie proceeded to throw out a plethora of ideas for altering her original wedding decorations to suit the new backyard location. “I kind of love the idea of getting married at home where we made so many memories with my parents. I know they’re always with me, but I feel like they’ll be closer now.”
The mention of her parents had me thinking about Ethan. I wondered how he was feeling this morning, but I didn’t want to ask. Instead, I discretely took out my phone and sent him a text asking how he was. His reply that he was much better brought a little smile to my face, and I quickly wiped it away and glanced up to make sure none of the girls saw me. Luckily, they were still in the middle of wedding talk.
Ethan asked if I got my car, and I told him about the hail damage. His “Oh, hail no!” comment made me chuckle, and the girls looked at me.
“Are you texting someone?” Penny asked.
“Funny video.” I covered.
They went back to talking, and my phone buzzed again with Ethan saying he’d see me tonight at the rehearsal. I briefly replied, “Yeah.”
Then another came through.
Can’t wait. I’ve been thinking about you.
Unexpected butterflies overtook my stomach, and I envisioned capturing them all with a net to stop their flight. I was not a girl who got butterflies over a guy. But I couldn’t deny that he was also in my thoughts. He had been all night. I don’t know what possessed me, but I replied, “Me too.”
“What will we do about the parking situation, though?” I put my phone away and focused on Ellie’s question. “How will that work? There isn’t enough room for all our guests to park on the street.”
“You could rent a van or bus to shuttle guests from the church parking lot to the house,” I answered. “They’ll already be going to the church, expecting you to get married there, so you won’t even need to contact guests to let them know. You could post someone there to inform everyone of the change of plans and direct them to the shuttle.”
“Who’s the event coordinator now?” Ellie said with a giggle.
“And who’s become the hopeless romantic suddenly?” Penny gave me a look.
“I know I’m not a girly girl, but I know when something is romantic. And just because I haven’t dated in a long time doesn’t mean I don’t ever want to again.”
Ellie’s eyes widened.
Tally’s mouth fell open a little.
Penny raised an eyebrow and leaned closer. “Tell me more about that. Are we talking about someone specific?” She leaned closer still. “Maybe someone we all know?”
I tensed up. Did they know something happened between me and Ethan?
“Maybe a certain famous drummer?”
My shoulders relaxed.
“You two have been getting along pretty well, haven’t you?” Ellie asked.
“If you got together with Cash, you could move to Nashville and go on tours with Ellie and Cooper.” Penny was way too excited about this.
I twisted my lips to one side in disapproval. “Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself there?”
“So, you admit it.” Penny pointed in my direction. “You like Cash.”
“What’s not to like?” I should’ve liked Cash. He was handsome, athletic, talented, funny, and sweet, and we got along well and flirted famously. Pun intended. But he wasn’t the one who had my heart beating faster, who elicited all these thoughts I hadn’t had about a guy in a very long time. I could still feel Ethan’s touch, his hold on me, and his breath against my face. I could hear the deep sounds in his throat he made while kissing me. Just remembering made those darn butterflies resurface.
“You’re blushing!” Penny said.
“What? No, I’m not.”
“She’s right,” Tally said. “Your cheeks are so pink right now.”
“It’s just hot in here.” I took a drink of water.
“Do you want me to put in a good word for you?” Ellie asked.
“Do not do that,” I told her. “I’m a grown woman, and I’m capable of letting a man know I’m interested.”
Boy, was I ever.
I had planted one on Ethan at that moment when all seemed the scariest and most frightening. I’d clung to him while the world was going crazy around us. And now I was utterly confused.
“I thought maybe you’d forgotten how after all this time.” Penny teased, and I wadded up the closest napkin and tossed it at her.
I’d been fine on my own all these years. At least that’s what I told myself. But was I actually interested in Ethan past having someone to argue with all the time? Did I only want attention after denying myself that kind of connection all these years? Or was there more to it? I wasn’t sure. And I didn’t trust myself to answer that question right now.
Being interested in Ethan just seemed … weird. He was Ellie’s brother. Her kid brother who had always been around, teasing all Ellie’s friends our whole lives. But somewhere along the line, he had turned into this funny, sexy guy, who was so much more. I didn’t know when all that had shifted, or when I’d started trying to ignore that fact, or what to do going forward.
But seeing him cry and grieve had carved out a spot for him in my heart that would never go away. He was there now. Deep inside. And I kind of liked having him there.
“I actually thought there might be someone else …” Ellie let her words fade and waved away wherever it was she was going with that. “But this is good. This could be really good, Jessa.”
The table was quiet for a few long moments, and the girls exchanged looks.
“I kinda thought the same,” Tally said.
“Honestly, me too,” Penny agreed.
“It makes total sense, doesn’t it?” Ellie held her hands with palms up, and they all bobbed their heads up and down and smiled in agreement.
“Care to fill me in?” I looked from one friend to the next and back again.
Ellie finally spoke. “Seeing you and Ethan together out on the island and again last night when you got home, I really thought there was something more going on between you.”
I hesitated to reply. Their stares put me on the spot. Part of me wanted to keep things to myself. It was my usual defense mechanism kicking into gear. But these were my best friends, my Solo Sisters. If I couldn’t talk to them, who could I talk to?
I took in a deep breath and let it out in one steady blow.
“We kissed.” The words were out, and it was a relief to tell someone.
Their mouths fell open.
“You kissed who?” Ellie’s eyebrows raised. “Cash?”
I pressed my lips together and slowly shook my head.
“Ethan?” she squeaked.
“Are you serious?” Penny was practically bouncing in her chair.
“Like, on the mouth?” Ellie asked with wide eyes.
I snort-laughed. “No, we air-kissed like they do in Europe.” I did a little back-and-forth kiss to the air.
“I mean, you kiss-kissed? Not just a peck? Like a real kiss?”
I nodded.
“I can’t believe it. My brother kissed you?”
“Actually, I kissed him,” I replied rather confidently.
Ellie sat back in her chair with her mouth hanging open, and Tally shared the same expression.
“What does this mean?” Penny asked. “Are you dating now?”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head.
“Why not?”
“How did this happen?” Ellie perched forward on her chair and rested her forearms on the table, giving me her full attention.
“It was kind of fueled by adrenaline. We were in the middle of a tornado.”
Her shoulders slumped and her chin tilted down. “Nooo, don’t say that.”
“Why?”
“Because I was hoping it was for other reasons. You two looked pretty close yesterday, and that was before there was any tornado in sight.”
“Do you feel more for him?” Tally asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never thought about him like that before.”
“Maybe you should start,” Ellie said.
An image of Ethan sitting on the island, his dark wavy wet hair hanging over his forehead, his cobalt blue eyes staring in my direction, made a smile cross my face.
“I saw that,” Tally grinned.
“So did I.” Ellie pointed at me.
“I think it’s already happening, ladies,” Penny said with a smile.
And now I was blushing again.
After breakfast, Tally went to get the girls from their grandparents’ house, Penny went with Ellie to help make arrangements to have the wedding at the house, and I went to my office building to see how it had fared the storm.
There was some debris on the street, but the building had seen no damage. I was thankful the tornado had only been registered as an F2 level, which meant wind speeds reached 150 mph at their highest. It could’ve been so much worse.
Some of the townsfolk were out on the streets with garbage bags, picking up debris. I loved that everyone was working together to clean up the town.
I let myself inside and checked the time before grabbing a garbage bag of my own and heading back outside to help. There was plenty of time before I had to get cleaned up and head to Ellie’s for the rehearsal.
Outside, I collected debris from the sidewalk in front of my shop.
“Can you believe that storm last night?” A woman approached with a garbage bag of her own.
I looked over and shook my head. “Worst storm I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve lived here my entire life.”
“There was a bigger tornado than this back about forty years ago, but it hit outside of town. Took out some farmhouses and barns and wiped out a lot of trees, but nothing in town was damaged in that one. It made that same loud rumble like a train, though. I can still remember that so vividly.”
“I never knew about that one.”
“Well, you weren’t even born then.” She chuckled.
“True.” I went back to picking up trash.
“What happened to your foot?” she asked.
I glanced down at the bandage I’d wrapped around my ankle. “I slipped on some mud and twisted it.”
“You should get it checked out. Maybe an x-ray. What if there’s a fracture or a broken bone?”
“I’ve sprained my ankle before, so I know that’s what this is. But thanks for your concern.”
She gave me a little smile and continued filling her bag.
A couple walked up, pulling a wagon behind them that was filled with bags. “We’re collecting all the bags and taking them to the dump if you want to put yours with ours. The wagon will be parked at the end of the block.”
“Thanks,” I replied.
“That’s nice of you,” the woman said.
“No problem,” they said as they walked away.
“I guess my plans for this weekend are foiled,” the woman said. “I was going to catch a movie and then go to Abbottsville Bible on Sunday, but the theater has no power, and I heard the church lost its roof.”
I nodded. “I can’t help with the movie, but I heard they’re going to hold a community church service outdoors at the pavilion since so many of the churches are without power or damaged.”
“Wonderful.” She continued picking up a little way down the sidewalk from me. “Were any of your plans ruined?”
“Yeah, my friend was supposed to get married in that church tomorrow.”
“Oh, you’re kidding.”
“Afraid not.”
“What’s she going to do?” The woman seemed genuinely concerned.
“Getting married at home instead.”
“That must’ve been quite a disappointment.”
I pursed my lips. “It might not be what she thought she wanted, but I think it turned out for the best.”
The woman looked at me with tenderness in her eyes. I thought she might actually start crying, that’s how emotional she appeared to be.
“You have a great perspective,” she said.
I shrugged. “I try.”
“I bet your family and friends are proud to have a young woman with such a positive attitude in their lives.”
I almost laughed since snark and sarcasm were pretty much my M.O. “That’s nice of you to say.”
“Enjoy your friend’s wedding.” She gave me a kind smile and walked down the street toward the wagon.
I went back to gathering small branches and papers that had gathered along the edge of the curb, and something made me look up.
The woman was watching me from the corner, and when we made eye contact, she gave me a wave then walked away. I’d never been complimented on my attitude or perspective before, and her words were a little blessing to me that morning after all the craziness of the past twenty-four hours. There really were such kind people in our community, and I hoped I had encouraged her in some small way too.
Once I was finished, I went inside and did a little catching up on emails. There was an email from Carolyn from Texas with praise about the changes to her business logo. I felt such a kinship with her, which was so uncommon in my work. I answered her message and sorted through some physical mail before heading out.
On my way home, I swung by my family’s HVAC company, Landry and Sons. If I’d had any interest in being part of the family business, I probably would’ve felt slighted by that name, but I didn’t. If ever I wanted in, I’m sure Dad would add “and daughter” to the sign if I asked him to.
My brother Shane, the youngest of my three older brothers, was up on a ladder when I got there. One of the signs was hanging sideways, and he was detaching it from the pole.
“At least it was only one sign,” I said as I shut the door of my car and walked over.
“It was worse this morning before we cleaned up. Branches and trash everywhere. And go look out back. A tree branch fell and took out one of the office windows.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. And beware of Wyatt. He’s in a mood.”
“More than usual?” I asked.
“Much more than usual.”
I entered the shop just as Wyatt kicked an empty cardboard box out of his way.
“Hey, what’s up?”
He scowled at me over his shoulder but didn’t answer, so I left him to his grumpiness and walked down the hall to Dad’s office.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, Jessie.” He was the only one who got away with calling me that. “Survived the tornado, I see.”
“And so did you. Have you talked to Levi? He might want to hear what happened here last night.”
“He called this morning when he heard the news,” Dad said.
“He was probably glad he no longer lives here after hearing that.”
“I heard the church has some damage. What’s Ellie going to do about her wedding?” he asked.
“Get married at their house. But everyone will still park at the church. They’re getting a shuttle to drive everyone over.”
“Good.”
I glanced toward the hallway. “What’s up with Wyatt? It doesn’t seem like there’s enough damage for him to be as moody as he is right now.”
“I’m not sure what’s up his butt today. Probably something to do with Erica. They’re still struggling.”
“That sucks.”
His phone rang, and I waved at him and left the room so he could get back to work.
I walked past Wyatt’s office on my way out, and he was sitting at his desk, staring out the window as if in a trance.
“Hey.”
He jumped. “Don’t do that to me!”
“Sorry.” I hesitantly entered the room. “Want to talk about it?”
He looked over at me, and I noticed his eyes were red and puffy as if from tears.
“Hey, I’m sorry you and Erica are having problems.”
He shook his head. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
His chin began to quiver. “I can’t tell you.”
“Wyatt, you can tell me anything.”
“Not this.”
The strange look on his face was unsettling. “You’re scaring me.”
“Just trust me. You’re better off not knowing this.”
He faced the window again and went back to staring. I stood there for a few moments before walking away, filled with worry about my brother and what he might be keeping from me.