Chapter 8
“You thinkhe’d stoop low enough to use the city to take my home?” Her grandma wrung her hands as she sat on the edge of the floral couch she’d had since Jo was a kid.
Jo nodded. “Yes, he would. He’ll do what it takes to get a deal done.”
“Even kick an old woman out of her house?”
“You’re not old,” Jack said.
Her grandma smiled. “Thank you, even though we both know that I am.” She returned her attention to Jo. “What do I do? I don’t have?—”
“I’ve got some money in savings. I’ll pitch in with finances, and I’ll help Jack work on the house while I’m here.”
“You have an article to write.”
Jack crossed his arms over his expansive chest. “Charlie’s got a point.”
Taking a seat on one of the high-back chairs across from the couch, Jo replied, “I’m on hold since Serenity has flown back to Los Angeles, and she won’t be back for three weeks. So I can devote the entire time to helping. After the wedding, I can give it my entire focus. You’re not losing your house. Our house.”
Her grandma smiled. “Our house?”
“I just mean… it’s been in our family for this long, and it’s going to stay in our family.” The good memories from her childhood were mixed with the bad from being abandoned by her mom. She didn’t mind pitching in to help fix the place up, but there was no way she could stay.
Jack dropped his arms to his sides. “I guess that means I need to get back to work and step up the pace.”
“I need to call my boss and let her know I need to take a little more time once the article is complete, but I can help after that.”
“I can help too,” her grandma said. I can’t climb ladders. I should say won’t, but I can do other things.”
Nodding, Jo smiled. “All right. Let’s get to work.” She looked at Jack. “I’ll be out there as soon as I finish talking to my boss.”
“Okay,” Jack said and trotted out the front door.
“I’ll get lunch going. Something that’s quick and easy.” Her grandma stood, pulled Jo to her feet, and hugged her. “Thank you. I’m sorry I let it get so bad.”
Shaking her head, Jo replied, “Things happen. We’ll get it worked out.”
Her grandma patted her cheek and left the room.
As soon as Jo was alone, she pulled her phone from her pocket and called Delia.
“Hey! How are things going?”
“I’m… I’m going to need more time in Wishing Well once the article is finished.”
“More time? What do you mean by more time? Once Serenity is married, you don’t need to stay.”
Jo caught her bottom lip in her teeth and palmed her forehead. She didn’t want to divulge to Delia that Wishing Well was her hometown. It was silly because Delia wouldn’t care as long as it didn’t interfere with getting the article written. “The reason I didn’t really want to come to Wishing Well was because I’m from here.”
“Wait. You grew up in Wishing Well?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” her boss asked.
Dropping her hand from her forehead, Jo looked upward and exhaled. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to get into why I didn’t want to return, but now that I’m here, I’m going to need some vacation time after the article is written. My grandma needs my help.”
“Uh, okay. How much time are we talking?
Jo rolled her eyes. More articles. “I don’t know. Long enough to help her with her house. Hopefully, not too long. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
“Well, good. Apparently, Serenity is so impressed with you that she’s already telling her friends, and they’re telling their friends. I’ve got a dozen requests already.”
“A dozen?”
“It seems you’re going to be quite busy when you get back.”
“But Delia, you said after this article…”
“I know, and I’ve given it some thought. How about you hand in a few photographs to go with your write-up? We’ll see how well readers respond to them.”
A gasp rushed from Jo. “Really?”
“I know how much you love taking pictures. As long as they’re up to the standard of Eternal Vows magazine, we’ll print them.”
“Thank you, Delia, thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.” Elation laced the words. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Well, stop. I’ve got work to do.” Delia laughed. “I’ll have Bridget call you and get your calendar worked out, okay.” Papers rustled in the background. “I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Okay, b?—”
The line went dead.
Work on her calendar? Jo closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Sometimes, she wondered why she even had a camera. She barely got to use it anymore.
Her phone rang, and she answered it.
“Hey, Jo,” Bridget said.
“Hi, Bridget.”
“I know you just talked to Delia, and we need to go over your calendar, but first, how are you doing?”
Jo repeated what she’d told Delia, adding information about her grandma’s house and Craig’s visit.
“I can’t believe he showed up. What are the odds that he’d be in Wishing Well at the same time you did?”
Scoffing, Jo strode to her room and looked for a hair tie. If she was helping Jack today, she’d need her hair off her neck to keep herself cool. “I’m sure someone told him. He probably thinks I can talk Grandma into selling the house. It’s not going to happen. Jack and I?—”
“Wait, Jack? Who’s Jack?”
Jo winced. Crud. “Um, he’s the guy fixing the house. Grandma hired him before I got here.”
“Mhmmm.”
Jo could practically see the wheels of her brain turning. An interrogation was incoming.
“Did you know Jack prior to your grandma hiring him?”
“Um, nope.” She knew of him which wasn’t the same as knowing him.
“Jo.” Bridget’s tone lowered. “You are a terrible liar, and if you’re lying about him, that must mean there’s something there.”
With a heavy sigh, Jo worked her jaw. If she didn’t come clean, Bridget would never let it go. “He was a senior the year I was a junior. He was super popular, the quarterback. We didn’t run in the same circles, and we rarely spoke. The only time we had any contact was when I took photos for the yearbook. Even then, when we communicated, it was say cheese.”
“Is he cute?”
“He’s…” She couldn’t even bring herself to try and lie about that. “He’s gorgeous. Maybe even more so. Sweet, kind, generous.” She put her phone on the speaker and worked to pull her hair up. “He hasn’t changed.”
“Oh…” Her voice took on a playful lilt.
“There’s no ooohhh or ahhh. He’s just a nice guy, helping my grandma with the house. I’m not even close to being in his league, and even if I was, I’m not staying in Wishing Well. There’s no point in even thinking about it.”
“You were saying you wanted a change…”
“Wanting a change isn’t the same thing as picking up my life in New York and moving back to Texas. I’m doing the article, helping my grandma, and then I’ll be back.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so.” Jo finished putting her hair up, grabbed her phone, and took it off speaker.
“Okay, fine. So, your calendar.” She sighed. “Did she tell you that you’re booked for the foreseeable future? Serenity Harper must really love you.”
A smile teased Jo’s lips. She’d work with some serious bridezillas, and so far, Serenity wasn’t even close to that. “Yeah, and I like her too. She’s super sweet.” She quickly added, “Delia says she wants me to take photos to go with the article.”
They squealed together as Jo jumped up and down. “Can you believe it?” Jo asked.
“Honestly, no, but I think it’s wonderful. You have a great eye, and once she sees your photos, there’s no way she won’t print them. I’m so happy for you.”
“Maybe this means she’ll actually let you write too.”
Bridget snorted. “Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“Hey, don’t give up hope.” The pounding of a hammer against wood sounded through the house. “Uh, Bridget, I really need to run. Maybe we can talk later tonight?”
“Okay, but Delia will kill me if we don’t get this worked out. She wants it on her desk ASAP.”
“I promise we’ll get it worked out.” Jo sighed. “All right, I need to go. I’ll talk to you later?”
“You bet you will. Tonight. The faster I get your schedule to Delia, the less chance she’ll fire me.”
They talked for a few more minutes and then said their goodbyes.
Jo took one second longer and looked at herself in the mirror. It was time to get to work. She just hoped she could get everything done that she needed to. If not, it wasn’t only her grandma who would have problems.