By the time the teenagers came and went, Julianna had pushed her thoughts to the side and focused on trying to figure out the new assistant manager and why Brad had hired such an imbecile.
"Julianna," John said. "I wanted to talk to you about this work schedule. With two employees gone, we need to do some rearranging."
Julianna tried to school her thoughts and not give away the sheer frustration she felt every time he opened his ridiculous mouth. "Sure, I figured you would. What are you planning?"
The question seemed to take him off guard. "Oh, well, Brad said you did all the scheduling."
"Did he now? I'm afraid he's giving me way too much credit. I only scheduled the guys in the warehouse. He scheduled the staff working inside the store."
"Oh, maybe I misunderstood."
"When is Mr. Taylor going to be back?" She hoped her question sounded innocent enough.
"Um, tomorrow I think."
"He didn't tell you for sure?"
"I wrote it down somewhere, but I can't remember right off the top of my head."
John shuffled from one foot to the other, and Julianna could have sworn he was nervous. But for the life of her, she didn't know why. "Well, when you have a minute, I'd be curious to know. I'd like to discuss something with him."
Did she see a little worry cross John's face? Good grief, what kind of manager was he? "Mr. Taylor said you have a lot of experience in retail management. Where did you say you moved from?"
"Springhill. It may not be a very big town, but I've been doing this my whole life. See, mom and dad owned the hardware store there, and I'd been working in it since I was a little kid."
"Hardware."
"Yeah, just last year dad made me assistant manager under him. It was a pretty big deal. My folks actually took a vacation after that; first one in twenty years."
"What was your position before that?"
"Oh, um, warehouse supervisor." He snickered. "Not that we had much of a warehouse. Mostly just moving incoming shipments out to the store."
"It must have been challenging, supervising your crew and keeping up with all those shipments."
This time he laughed for real. "Just me and my sister. Dad called me supervisor because I was older."
"How did Sis feel about that?"
"Oh, she was fit to be tied. Complained to Dad almost every night at the dinner table." His grin relaxed. "I couldn't believe it when Brad called and offered me the job."
"Why's that?" Julianna's hands curled into fists.
"Because I never even applied. He knew my dad from college, and he called him up and asked if I was available. Oh," he said, looking at the front of the store, "you have a customer."
He turned toward his office, leaving a flabbergasted Julianna staring after him. If it hadn't been for Mr. Johnson at the cash register, she wasn't sure she could have stopped herself from screaming. Putting on her best cheerful face, which she was certain wasn't anywhere near believable, she greeted Henry.
"Hi, Mr. Johnson."
"Are you okay, Julianna?"
He was far too perceptive or maybe she couldn't pull this one back in like she usually did. Taking a deep breath, she tried again for a genuine smile. "Sure, I'm fine. How are you today?" Deflect, deflect.
"I'm good. I had a nice chat with Sharon yesterday. She's sure pleased with the way her place is shaping up."
Julianna frowned. "I was supposed to be more help, but they called me off my vacation."
"J.R. can handle it. He's good with his hands."
Finally, a real smile surfaced. "Yes, J.R. is good."
Pulling Mr. Johnson's final item across the scanner, she went through her process of closing the sale. When Mr. Johnson left with a promise to stop by and see the progress at Mama's, Julianna's fury returned. Brad Taylor had lied to her about John and about his mother. Julianna had had enough. Calling Bobby from stacking shelves, she asked him to cover the register. The throbbing of her head worked in her favor. She hung up her apron and told John she was sick when she brought her drawer to be locked up. She couldn't get home fast enough.
When J.R. heard the little-engine-that-could roar down the driveway, he couldn't decide if he should be worried or grateful. He didn't know why Junior was home early, but maybe Stacy would leave now. Her attempt at helping did nothing but slow everything down.
"Mama," he called down the stairs, "could you come up here for a minute?"
By the time Mama was in the bathroom doorway, he had come up with a good reason for her to be there. "What do you want to do about the medicine cabinet?" he asked. "I can't remember what we decided."
Mama looked at Stacy sitting on the toilet lid before answering. "It's still in good condition. We're leaving it." She paused. "I think I just heard Julianna come home."
The back door slammed.
"J.R.!" she yelled. "I need to talk to you."
"I'll be right down," he called back, watching Stacy's reaction.
Stacy stood up. "Well, I think I'll be going. Since Julianna's home, you don't need my help anymore today, right J.R.?"
J.R. shrugged off her fingers pawing at his arm. "This is going to sound rude, Stacy, but you weren't any help today. Sitting most of the time just watching me work isn't helping."
She snickered, "I didn't mean to distract you."
"You weren't distracting. You were in the way." He heard Mama sniff and silently apologized for being blunt, but it was the truth.
Stacy scooted around the mess in the bathroom as J.R. moved into the hall, revealing Julianna leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs with a small smile and a knowing look on her face. J.R. thought maybe she would lash out, but she kept very still, too still.
"Oh, hello, Julianna," Stacy said on her way down the stairs.
"Stacy."
"I was helping J.R. today since you had to work."
"Of course, you were."
Could everyone hear the poison in her voice, he wondered? They waited until the front door opened and closed, announcing Stacy's departure.
"I'm going to go back downstairs, J.R.," Mama said. "Unless you need me for something else?"
"No, Mama. Thanks." He was certain she knew what for.
Mama nodded and gave Julianna a hug before going back to the main floor. "I'll start dinner since Julianna's home early."
J.R. walked over to Junior, who hadn't so much as moved a muscle since he first saw her in the hall. When he bent to kiss her, he could feel her rigidity like a rubber-band ready to snap. A quick peck on her lips and she let out a breath. "Come on, let's go talk in the kitchen." Taking her hand, J.R. led her downstairs.
While Mama put together a corn chowder, Julianna expounded on her findings at work.
"I don't get it, Mama. I've been especially good lately. I hold my tongue...usually. I keep my temper...until I get in my car. I don't gossip...to anyone but you. I say my prayers and read my scriptures. Why doesn't that translate into getting the promotion I wanted so badly?"
"Honey, there's no guarantee that just because we follow all the commandments that we'll get everything we want. That's not how the gospel works."
"What am I missing? What do I need to do more?"
"It's not about more. It's about learning what Heavenly Father needs you to learn and then following His will."
"He doesn't want me to be assistant manager?"
"He sees the bigger picture. There must be something else out there He has in store for you that you don't know about yet."
When Julianna looked directly at J.R., he smiled. She frowned. But if she lost the promotion because she was supposed to be with him, he was way okay with that.
"I've waited a long time, Mama."
Mama looked at J.R., and he realized she expected his arrival to play a part. He wasn't ready for any declarations and certainly not in front of Mama. He looked at Junior. "That doesn't explain why Brad Taylor is lying."
"No, it doesn't," Mama agreed. "But guessing doesn't bring answers.
Julianna, you'll just have to wait until he comes back to work and confront him."
J.R. shifted in his seat, uncomfortable with Junior confronting Brad. "Is that a good idea?"
"He hired an inept, inexperienced idiot instead of giving me a promotion I've been working on for years."
"It's not that I don't think confronting him is a good idea, but maybe you shouldn't do it alone."
Junior glared at him. Not the right thing to say, apparently. "I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long, long time."
J.R. grabbed her hand across the table. "But you're not alone now."
"You're staying in Cooper Springs?"
"I didn't say that. But we're getting this place ready to sell, right? Mama is going to move into a retirement home and...and well, what do you plan to do then?"
"If I'd gotten that promotion, I'd make enough for a small apartment of my own. But as it is, I was just going to ask someone if I could move the trailer onto their land." Her voice dropped as she finished.
"Like who?"
"I thought about asking Mr. Johnson."
J.R.'s protective instincts surfaced, and he rubbed his face. "That might work, but what if he follows Mama's lead and sells his place, too?"
"Henry's not going to sell," Mama said as she stirred the cream into the chowder. "She'd be fine out there."
A vision of the forest in Mr. Johnson's backyard and Junior's little trailer sitting on the edge of it started his imagination running off like a skill saw that couldn't be shut down. The more he pictured wild animals and, worse, wild teenagers—after all, he'd been one of them once upon a time—the more worried he became. "I don't think that's a good idea."
Julianna's eyes widened. "Why not?"
"Well, anything could happen. And Henry's not so young anymore. How could he protect you? I'm not sure he'd even hear anything if something were to happen."
"Henry's hearing is just fine," Mama said.
J.R. couldn't take his eyes off Junior, holding her gaze with an intensity that threatened to jump out of his skin. She studied him for several seconds before a flash of understanding lit behind her eyes. "I see," she said softly.
"Dinner's ready," Mama said.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
W hen dinner was over, Julianna stood up to take care of the dishes. She'd been neglecting her deal with Mama to help around the house. Not that she'd been wasting time, she had been helping J.R. with the renovation, but she hadn't been doing her chores. She wondered if that was why she felt she was being punished. Working through Mama's comments about Heavenly Father not wanting the promotion for her because he had better things planned weighed down on her. Did that mean everything she wanted for herself was wrong?
J.R. came up behind her, bringing her the empty soup pot.
"How do I know what Heavenly Father wants me to do?" she asked.
"I may not be the best person to ask. I haven't always gotten what I wanted either. In fact, at first, I only came back here because Mama guilted me into it."
Julianna shot him a measured glance.
His hands came up in front of his chest, patting the air. "But I'm really glad I'm here now. I'm truly glad to be with you again. You must believe that."
She turned back to the sink. "I do. Especially since I overheard what you said to Stacy when I first got home." She smiled but didn't let J.R. see it.
He must have heard it in her voice, though, because he wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck right below her earlobe. She shivered. His touch stole her breath away. "Let's go for a walk after you're done here."
"I'd love to." Placing the last dirty dish into the dishwasher, she took the dish cloth and ran it along the counter, across the stove, and around the inside of the empty sink before ringing it out and draping it along the top of the faucet. Flipping out the light above the counter, she turned around. "Ready."
J.R. chuckled. "I'll get our jackets."
"Mama," Julianna called into the living room, "we're going for a walk."
No answer.
Julianna walked into the living room and found Mama resting in her favorite chair, the TV turned on to the evening game shows, snoring away. Back in the kitchen, she wrote a quick note, letting Mama know where they were going and left it on the table.
J.R. helped her into her denim jacket, but she wasn't even sure she needed a coat tonight. J.R.'s intense gaze and warm hands could keep her comfortable no matter how chilly the night had turned.
Taking the road away from town, J.R. didn't waste any time taking her hand out of her pocket and putting it inside his, with his hand tightly intertwined. "I've wanted to be alone with you all day."
Julianna laughed. "Didn't I see you at lunch?"
"We weren't alone."
"And didn't I see you again at dinner?"
"We weren't alone then either."
"Why, Mr. Bentley, why ever would you want to be alone with me?" Her heart lightened and the cares of promotions, Stacy, and not getting the renovation further along all faded into the sunset surrounding them.
J.R. squeezed her hand. "When we're about a mile out, I'll show you."
"You need a whole mile?"
"I don't want to get interrupted again."
Julianna leaned into J.R.'s side and squeezed his hand back. "I can hardly wait."
Walking in companionable silence, her thoughts wandered back to what Heavenly Father wanted for her. Did J.R. play a role in it? If only she could start from here and forget the past. She felt like he had a spell on her and whenever he was around, she couldn't escape his magnetism. He cared for her; she knew that. It was why he worried about her living out at Mr. Johnson's place. But then why did he do what he did in high school? Was it just lashing out because of his father's death? What if he had stayed? Would they have sorted everything out...eventually? After Stacy had married Steve?
Rounding a curve in the road, J.R. pulled Julianna aside and toward a small grove of trees. The sun had disappeared behind the tree-lined hills, but the twilight guided their way. Stars twinkled in the darkening sky, like diamonds from heaven itself. Julianna sighed as J.R.'s hands cupped her face and she knew something else; she knew she loved him still. Only this time her love was that of a woman, not a high school girl fretting about her foster parents, worried about fitting in with the other kids, and trying to get people to see past her background. This was full on, grown-up love; deep and lasting for a man she could no longer imagine her life without.
When his lips took hers, she gave herself completely, relishing in the softness of his mouth and the warmth of his kiss. Her hands found the back of his neck, and her fingers ran through his hair. He pulled her closer, and she clung to him. This was right. This was meant to be. Kiss after kiss, his lips danced along her jaw, down her neck, across her ears, and back to her mouth as she languished in his caress.
She gave as good as she got, invading his mouth and letting all the passion inside bring them to a frenzied fervor. The night was no longer cold but heated to the point of burning.
Stopping to catch their breaths, Julianna wrapped her arms inside his coat and held him. She could feel the erratic beat of his heart through her cheek. It matched hers perfectly.
"Julianna," he said, and she noticed he didn't stumble over her name for the first time. Maybe he was ready for her to be all grown up after all.
"Yes."
"I love you. I've always loved you."
"I love you, too, J.R. I didn't think I could again, but I do."
His arms tightened around her. "I need to know what happened, Junior."
And just like that, she was back in high school. The pain of those days pierced her heart and she let go. Then, with a silent prayer on her lips, she quietly asked, "What do you need to know?"
"Why did you say what you said on graduation day? About never having to see me again?"
"I was angry with you."
"But why? What did I do? I thought, after prom, we would be togethe
r always. I even proposed to you."
"You did not."
"Well, it wasn't the most eloquent proposal, I suppose, but I still asked you to marry me."
"If you had, I would have remembered. I don't remember any proposal."
"It was unconventional."
"It must have been."
He paused and asked, "Why were you angry?"
"How did you propose?"
"You answer my question, and I'll answer yours."
"Okay." Julianna swallowed hard. This was her moment of truth. What would he say? Would he deny it? Did she care anymore? "Stacy and I were pretty tight back then, and the night before graduation, I told her about being with you after prom. I didn't go into any details, I just let her know we had crossed that line and I was in love."
"So, why were you angry?"
"I'm getting to that. When I told her, Stacy went all pale and stuff and started crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she said she was upset because you had done it—you know, 'it'—with her, too, and told her you were in love with her. She said you felt sorry for me and never planned to see me after we started college. She sounded sincere and she was so worked up...I know I should have kept what we had done to myself, but I wanted to shout to the world that we were in love and loving you was the most amazing thing that had ever happened in my life."
If ever there was a time when J.R. thought he could literally kill someone, it was that moment when he learned Stacy had been the one to shatter his dreams with Junior...Julianna. Taking deep breaths of frigid air to calm the raging storm that unleashed itself in his soul, he grabbed Junior's hand and started back to the house at a fast clip. How could Stacy do that? They weren't even friends, except that he was nice to her because she was Junior's friend. Well, apparently not even Junior's friend, as she had proved since he came home. J.R.'s clenched jaw started to ache, and he pulled harder on Julianna's hand without thinking.
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