Chapter 11
“Thankyou for having us over, Mrs. Turner.” Jo pushed back from the table and picked up her plates. “Dinner was delicious.”
“Especially since I didn’t have to cook it.” Charlie laughed.
Jack quickly took them from her and grabbed Charlie’s plates, too. “I’ve got them.”
When he invited her for dinner the day before just before he left, he was unsure she’d accept. She might have declined if it hadn’t been for his mom’s suggestion that he include Charlie in the invitation too. It had been an excellent piece of advice. As soon as Charlie heard her name and learned she wouldn’t have to cook dinner, she was in, which meant Jo would be there as well.
Ethan would have been in attendance if he hadn’t been invited to a last-minute interview at a college in California. He hadn’t made his mind up about teaching yet but wanted to keep his doors open. Plus, it didn’t hurt to meet people in his field. Sometimes, those connections were worth more than anything.
Charlie smiled. “Thank you, dear.” She patted his mom on the hand. “You have raised such a good boy. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate him working on the house.”
His mom caught his eye as he left the dining room, smiling ear to ear. “Thank you. I think he’s pretty great. When he isn’t being completely rotten.” She winked.
He feigned insult. “Rude,” he called as he reached the sink and set the plates down. As he went to rinse them, he felt a presence that he’d become familiar with over the last several days.
“Want some help with the dishes?” asked Jo.
“I just need to rinse them so I can stack them in the dishwasher.”
“Oh.”
“Would you want to maybe take a walk when I’m finished?”
She smiled brightly. “Sure. Got anywhere in mind or just aimless?”
He grinned. “Aimless. It feels like a random kind of nightly walk. One that might be filled with all sorts of adventures.”
Her shoulders bounced as she laughed. “You definitely get your humor from your dad.”
“I’ve been told that, but I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. He can be kind of corny.”
“It’s good. I like corny.” Her eyes widened. “Not that I’m a judge or that you need to be funny for me or like that or—” She rolled her lips in, mumbling under her breath low enough he couldn’t catch what she said. The woman was just too cute.
Using his elbow, he jabbed at her. “Hey, if I’m going to make anyone laugh, I want it to be you.” He realized what he’d said and returned to rinsing dishes. This whole nervous around women thing was becoming an issue. Well, not women, Jo. She made his brain fuzzy, especially when she was adorable.
He finished with the dishes and cleared his throat as he turned to her. “So, uh, that walk?”
“Okay.”
A weird energy crackled between them as they left the house. It continued as they strolled for a few minutes, building to the point that he nearly pulled on his collar.
“So, uh, are you still not a fan of Wishing Well?” Not the best topic in the world, but he was curious. It seemed like she was having a pretty good time, at least to him it did.
“Actually, it hasn’t been too bad. And I’ve never hated it. I just… I worked hard to build a life in New York. I don’t want to get my grandma’s hopes up that I might stay.”
“Oh,” he said, looking at her. “Has she said she wants you to stay?”
“No, not exactly, but I know she’d like it if I did.”
“Ah.”
A few steps later. “That’s what I need to ask the next time I see Serenity. Or maybe I can email her.”
“Uh, I missed part of this conversation.”
She waved him off as she laughed. “No, I was just thinking about where I was living, and I wonder where Serenity and Ethan will live when she’s not filming. I think it could go either way. Here or Los Angeles or somewhere completely different. Have they said anything to you?” asked Jo.
“Uh, I think, and don’t quote me,” he said and smiled. “But I think they’re going to stay in California. There are a few colleges that are courting him to be a teacher.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh, wow. That’s great.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty proud of him. He’s worked hard and deserves all the awards and good things. He’s a good man. He’s going to be a great husband and father…well, one day.”
She glanced at him. “How about you?”
Sliding his hands into his pockets, he thought for a second. “Uh, well, I hope I’ll be a great husband.”
“Duh.” She popped him on the arm. “Kids. Do you see yourself having kids?”
“I would love to have a couple, but I guess it’ll be up to me and the non-existent wife prospect. How about you, Miss World Traveler?”
“I—” She took a deep breath and hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her shorts. “To be honest, I’ve never really thought about it before now.”
He looked at her, eyebrows raised. Genuinely surprised the conversation had never come up. “You and Craig never talked about having kids?”
Shaking her head, she replied, “Not really. He was too focused on his law career. When I’d bring it up, he’d change the subject.”
“Well, then, what do you want?”
She blinked like it was a foreign concept that someone would even think to ask. “Uh…” She took a few beats. “I would. I want to have at least two. I think it brings balance, but like you, it’ll depend on what my non-existent husband prospect thinks.” She grinned.
“I suspect that’s what a relationship boils down to. Listening to each other, keeping the lines of communication open. Respecting the other person’s wishes and desires. A willingness to compromise. Finding someone who is willing to do the same.” He glanced at her and found her smiling at him. “What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Just… I agree. You can’t expect the other person to do all the compromising. You have to think about their needs and wants and desires.”
Natalie left Jack after his accident, but there had already been cracks in the relationship. She liked fun, wild Jack. The guy who was close to ruining his life. She didn’t want to compromise or grow up or push him to be a better person.
Sadly, he didn’t feel compelled to be a better person for her.
A nearly one-eighty from the way he felt about Jo. Not that he needed to have those sorts of thoughts. They were still getting to know one another, but man, did he see the potential.
His brain screamed at him. New York! She lives in New York! His heart, the rascal, seemed to whisper, she isn’t a prisoner there. She can move.
To both, he forcefully said to shut up. The last thing he needed or wanted was his heart broken. Losing his career was hard. He could see losing her, raking him out and leaving him so empty he would never recover.
No, he needed to keep his head straight and his heart duct taped in the basement, at least for now.
Jack stretched his legs out in front of him. He’d returned to his apartment, taken a shower, and laid down on the couch, not really watching television but wanting some noise.
A knock came on the door, and his heart immediately sped up. Jo.
He jumped up, strode to the door, and deflated as his brother’s ugly mug came into view. “Hey.”
“Don’t look so happy to see me, big brother.”
“I thought you were someone else.”
“Jo?” He wiggled his eyebrows as he moved past Jack into the apartment. “Mom said you two were cozy, and you took a walk with her. She said you’ve been moody ever since.”
He grumbled, trudged back to the couch, and sat. “I’m not moody.”
“Says the grouch on the couch.” Ethan joined Jack on the couch, sitting with his back against the arm. “Where’s your trashcan?”
“Shut up.”
Ethan leaned over and pushed his shoulder. “What happened?”
Jack crossed his arm over his chest. “Nothing happened. We had a walk. It was great. End of story.”
“Dude, I know you. Tell me what happened.”
Nothing. Nothing happened except that he realized it was pointless to even pursue a relationship with a woman who lived a thousand miles away. All it would bring was chaos and destruction. That and she lived in a city with sophisticated, wealthy men whom Jack couldn’t even begin to compete with.
He was pretty sure Jo had sensed a change in his mood, too. Maybe not as much as the rest of the people who knew him because he’d tried hard to mask it.
“I know I’m the younger brother, but I’m not that bad with advice, you know?”
Jack looked at his brother, exhaling heavily. “Jo doesn’t live here and has zero desire to move here. I’m not leaving Wishing Well. That’s the crux. Aside from the fact that she’s got an entire city full of men who could offer her a life I never could.”
Ethan tilted his head. “Well, the distance, I can see as an issue. A big issue, but not insurmountable. As for the other, there is no one who could give Jo a better life than you because you are a good, honorable, hard-working man. You would love her with your whole heart, and she’d be lucky to be loved by you. Period. Full stop.”
“The miles, though. Ethan, how are they not insurmountable? At some point, if things progress to marriage, someone will have to move.”
“Then someone has to move. It’s not the end of the world. If you love each other you can figure it out.”
“Okay, well, even if that’s true, her job is an issue. Her boss has her traveling all over the place for who knows for how long. A relationship can’t withstand that.”
“Is she even happy with her job? I mean, when we were in school together, her camera was practically glued to her hand. Her class picture had “most likely to be a photographer.”
Jack sat back. “Really?”
“No, and she was vocal about being one. Has that changed?”
He shook his head. “No, she still wants that. Her boss keeps telling her that she’ll let her move to photographing, but then keeps breaking her promise.”
Ethan waved his hand. “Well, then, there you go. You just need to remind her of what she loves. Of what it’s like living here.”
“She hates it here.” Another rather large obstacle.
Ethan’s eyebrows knitted together. “Okay, I know I didn’t hang out with her a lot, but I don’t ever remember her saying she hated it here. In fact, in one of our English classes, we had an assignment. I remember her paper because the teacher gushed over it about it being so romantic about Wishing Well. Opening a bed and breakfast with her grandma. Our teacher loved it. She loved it here.”
Now, Jack was thoroughly confused. “That doesn’t make any sense then. I was already in college. Did something happen between her junior year and when she graduated?”
“Craig. He took the title of golden boy after you graduated. Not the quarterback or hometown hero, but he was well-liked by everyone and had the attention of a lot of the girls. He was funny and charismatic and outgoing. He decided he liked her, and shortly after that, they were together.”
“Do you think Craig convinced her that she didn’t want to live here?”
“Maybe, but there’s no way to know.”
If Jack was right about Craig, and he did talk her into hating Wishing Well, it wouldn’t have been a hard sell given the memories of her mom. If she was talked into leaving, maybe Jack could change her mind.
That changed things. The information didn’t mean there was a guarantee that he could have something with her, but it did mean the door was open, even if just a hair.
There was still the chance his heart could get broken, though. Could he handle that? He shook his head, clearing his thoughts and pointless hope. “All of that is good information, but that still doesn’t mean?—”
“You have to put your heart out there, Jack. Will it get broken? Maybe. There’s a good chance it will, but the only way you’ll ever know is if you go for it. Do you really want to live the rest of your life wondering what if? You told me that I didn’t want to live with regrets. That Serenity was worth the risk. I guess you need to ask yourself that same question about Jo. Is she worth the risk? Is she worth your heart?”
Jack exhaled and sank further into the couch, leaning his head back. “I need to think about it.”
“Don’t think too long. You need all the time you got if you’re going to make a move.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, his mind engulfed in chaos.
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing everything to be still.
At the heart of all of it, the bottom line was Jo. Was she worth the risk?
As frightening as the thought was, he thought she just might be. Even if she didn”t choose him, even if they weren”t meant to be together, maybe he could help her find her joy again. Remind her of her dream and refuel the passion to chase it.
Now, he just needed to put a plan together. If she didn’t hate Wishing Well, maybe he could remind her why she loved it. Remind her of her dream and refuel the passion to chase it.
Even if she didn’t choose him, maybe he could at least help her find her joy again.