I laughed. “You know, if Jett heard that, he’d get freaked out.”
“I can cook a meal for a family,” Cherry said. “But don’t get me wrong… I can still throw back whiskey and make a man blush in the bedroom.”
“Wow,” I said. “You’re my hero.”
“Hardly.” Cherry sipped her coffee. “What do you think is going to happen here, Julia?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “And I always know. I always look for signs. Or I try to plan everything out. But this… I mean, of course Jett has been lingering around. I’ve been lingering too. And there’s so much hard stuff we have to talk about. We have to go through everything, Cherry. Everything that happened. I mean… Aunt Bea. Scotty. Azel…”
Cherry frowned. “There’s been a lot happening. And I’m really sorry about Bea. That poor woman…”
“The heart can only take so much,” I said.
“Is that what you’re afraid of?”
“Dying?” I asked. “Jeez. No. Not at all. I mean, not when it comes to Jett. I just don’t know how to climb that mountain of our past. It’s so easy to just fall back into it all. And, yeah, the bedroom thing… it’s amazing. But it can’t just be that.”
“So don’t let it be just that,” Cherry said.
I laughed. “He’s been showing up to the bakery. Every single day. And he acts like a stranger to me.”
“That’s Jett,” Cherry said. “His way of giving you what you want. What he always did. I don’t need to tell you how much he loves you.”
“Nobody does,” I said. “And that makes it even harder.”
“Maybe you’re just overthinking it.”
“Because of my stupid signs?” I asked.
“Your signs aren’t stupid,” Cherry said. “Everyone believes in signs.”
“Jett doesn’t.”
“Jett’s an idiot,” Cherry said without wasting a second. “He believes in signs. Trust me. Maybe a different kind of sign.”
“So what do I do here? Just let him show up each day and we both pretend we’ve never met before?”
“That’s up to you, Julia. There’s no right or wrong. You two were wild together. And then a lot happened. Maybe you shouldn’t have been apart. Maybe it was for the better. You can’t go back and change anything.”
“See, I know that. But I told Jett before… you can look at the past to make sure you don’t do the same crap again.”
“What are you worried about? Getting together with Jett and…”
I looked down into my coffee. “It was just so much at once.”
“Can I tell you a story about Bea and myself?” Cherry asked.
“Of course.”
“She was smart. Fierce. But she was too good. Hope you don’t mind me saying that.”
“It’s your story to tell.”
“She was the kind of girl who dressed up every day. She did all the classwork. Got good grades. Won awards. She never smoked. She never drank. And when it came to boys…” Cherry laughed. “Now, me? I was the opposite. And we didn’t like each other at all. Even as adults we didn’t like each other. Which seemed so strange. But sometimes people are just opposite. It pained me when she lost her husband. And I knew she was seeing another man and he suddenly passed too.”
“Art,” I said.
“The painter, yes. And I remember you worried about her, Julia. And when she went…” Cherry shook her head. “You know, I have no point to this story. I guess I’m just reminiscing. Seeing Bea with her thick, braided ponytail behind her, hugging her books to her chest, worried about homework. And there I was. Worried about the cute guys and sneaking out of class to smoke cigarettes under the bleachers.”
“Who’s the one feeling guilty now?” I asked with a grin.
“You know what? There is a point to my story. Don’t feel guilty. We cannot live feeling guilty for anything. Whether it’s our height, weight, eye color, smartness, job, money, house, car… or time. I can’t sit here and feel guilty that I have had more time than Bea. If I do that, then I’m just wasting the time I have.”
“And that’s what I’m doing. Wasting the time I have.”
“You’re the only one who can feel that and do something about it.”
“I really missed talking to you, Cherry.”
She leaned toward me. “I never went anywhere either. That’s the thing, Julia. Nobody went anywhere.”
I finished my coffee and worked my way to the front door.
I needed to get back to the bakery.
Out on the porch, I hugged Cherry and choked back tears again.
“Can I ask you one more thing?” I whispered.
“Of course.”
“Did Jett ever…” I wiggled my head and nose. “Did he ever love anyone else?”
“If you’re asking if Jett saved himself for you…”
“No, no, not that. I… did he ever bring someone else here?”
Cherry grinned and touched my cheeks. “No, Julia. Jett has never loved anyone like you. Let me rephrase that. He has never loved anyone but you.”
“That hurts me,” I whispered. “I married someone…”
“And then you weren’t married anymore,” Cherry said. “Julia, sometimes we see a shooting star and that’s a sign, right? But what if the sign you’re looking for is the big lunk of a man who shows up to your bakery every single day, waiting for you to realize that he himself is the sign?”
“He really is such an idiot sometimes,” I said.
Cherry smiled. “Sorry, Julia… but he’s always been and always will be your idiot.”
* * *
I stood at the table where Jett always sat.
It was the same table where Aunt Bea used to sit with Art.
My fingertips touched the wood and did the one thing I said I wouldn’t do as I ran a million different scenarios through my head.
“He was here again,” Whitney said. “Left you a note on a napkin. But I tossed it.”
I turned my head. “What did it say?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t read it. He tried to tell me he was a hurricane and I was sticking my finger in a hole in the ceiling to stop a leak.”
I looked up to the ceiling and grinned.
I could hear Jett saying something stupid yet tough like that.
“Are you okay?” Whitney asked.
“Fine.”
She hurried over to my side. She touched my arm. “Did I do wrong by tossing that out? I was under the impression you didn’t want to see him.”
I smiled at Whitney. “You didn’t do anything wrong. When it comes to Jett, everything is really complicated.”
“I hate that word.”
“Yeah?”
“I vowed to never get that way. No offense.”
“None taken,” I said. “I don’t think I had a choice with Jett though. He was just… whew.”
“Well, I’ve never felt whew before in my life.”
I switched it up and touched Whitney’s arm. “And I’m not sure I can tell you I hope you feel it. Because it’s a ride and a half.”
“That’s why I keep my ride and a half a good drive away. Keeps the feelings away.”
Whitney winked at me and went back to work.
I casually walked through the bakery and when I got behind the counter, I dropped down and pulled out the small trashcan under the register.
I literally picked through the trash until I found the note from Jett.
Meet me out back for a smoke, sweetheart. Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want you to get in trouble. ;)
I threw the napkin out again and stood up.
I bit my lip and knew exactly what that meant. Where to go. What time to show up. Jett’s way of telling me the past was never going to go away. But we could see where things went in the present.
Which meant all I could do was look at the clock and wait.
Just like I always used to do.
* * *
I sent Whitney home.
&n
bsp; Her last task of the day was to lock the front door on her way out.
She normally argued with me over leaving but today she didn’t. I asked if she was feeling sick and she grinned, telling me she had a night of driving ahead of her.
Which meant her thing but not a thing was waiting for her.
That was a disaster waiting to happen but it wasn’t my place to tell her that.
Whitney wasn’t just pretty. She was smart.
She knew what she was doing and she knew it would eventually blow up.
It wasn’t my situation to worry about. And when the time came for it all to blow up, I had myself mentally prepared for two scenarios. One being Whitney needing a friend and I would be there for her. The other being Whitney packing up and leaving. Which I hoped she would do. She was far too smart for this little bakery in this little, rich, beach town.
Why I kept thinking about Whitney as I stood outside the bakery… well… I did know the answer to that. Anything to keep my mind off of Jett. And off of everything Cherry and I had talked about.
But there was no escaping when Jett showed up on his motorcycle.
My heart jumped up into my throat and then took a nosedive down into my stomach. I had the skill to just stand there though, making sure I didn’t give myself away about how excited I was to see him.
Which was unfair because all my excitement was based on the past.
Definitely not based on the way he looked now. Riding a motorcycle. Climbing off the motorcycle. The way he took the bucket helmet off his head and ran a hand through his messy, dark hair. The steel cut look of his jaw that hid just underneath enough scruff to make him look rugged. Or the menacing glare from his eyes that were somehow still beautiful too. My mind desperately tried to flash images of the night I met him but I had to throw those away.
This guy wasn’t the same Jett.
That guy was toned and strong.
This guy was built.
Jett walked toward me and looked around.
“Nice place you have here,” he said.
“Yeah,” I said. “It does okay. Where do you work at?”
“Ever hear of WEAZ?”
“The garage?” I asked playfully.
“There you go, sweetheart.”
“Wasn’t it named something else?”
“Yeah. It was. The guy who owns it though… lost his grandson. Poor kid drowned in the ocean. So he changed the name. For that grandson and his brother, who’s still alive. I think you might know him. Wes?”
I laughed.
This is stupid, Jett.
The urge to kiss him started to take over in my heart and head.
I knew all these stories.
I remember hearing about poor Azel.
And that Wes had been the one who was there when it happened.
I showed up to the funeral services and held all my emotions back until I got into my car. Then I cried my eyes out and screamed, my heart shattered for Jett and everyone in his family. Even though they weren’t blood family, they were goddamn family.
Kinney had been away on some kind of hiking trip.
And I had nobody to go home to.
And I wanted to be with Jett.
And I knew he had been probably chasing his guilt away with cheap shots of whiskey and even cheaper women.
“So, are we going to have that smoke together or what?” Jett asked.
I pointed to my cigarettes. “I’m here. You’re here.”
We each lit a cigarette.
Jett grinned.
“What?” I asked.
“I like the way you handle yourself, Julia,” he said. “The way you stand. And smoke. Reminds of someone I used to know.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked.
“Yeah. Except she smoked these terrible cigarettes. These minty tasting things.”
“She sounds like a bitch,” I said.
“She was actually the first girl I ever loved,” he said. “I mean that too. I never knew what that feeling was until I met her.”
I played into it. “What happened to her?”
Jett stared me in the eyes. “She saw me for who I was. And I had to realize that maybe sometimes no matter how hard you try or how much you get things ready for the future, it just doesn’t work out. And I can never really be mad at her for that. I just wish I could see her one more time… back then, I mean… and just tell her that no matter what happens, I’ll always be waiting for her.”
Cue my heart ripping, melting, and exploding all at the same time.
Jett moved and I jumped for him.
My hip bumped into a chair.
I stumbled with a slight limp as I grabbed for his arm.
“Jett,” I said.
He looked at me again. “Yeah, sweetheart?”
“She knows that… I swear… she knows that… and she feels the same…”
Chapter 21
NOW
Jett
“Rhyno needs to take a ride in a little bit,” I said to Pop. “I’ve got Tony on those two rides to give them one more look. I’ll triple check again tomorrow before we make the call. The pups are all catching up on the other work.”
Pop slowly turned in his chair. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, Pop. Did you hear anything I just said?”
“Something about Tony stealing puppies?”
“Thanks for that,” I said.
Pop chuckled under his breath. “I’m in the middle of something here.”
“Watching a show,” I said. “Busy work.”
“Hey. The place is still functioning.”
“Yeah. Thanks to you, right?”
Pop curled his lip. “Something you want to say?”
“Keep an eye on the garage, Pop. It’s not just Wes and Elijah here.”
“Who else is here?”
“Walker and Ryker,” I said with a grin.
As Pop shook his head he said, “What the hell… those two are like an itch on your ass you can’t scratch.”
“That’s your bloodline there, Pop.”
“If that’s the case, I should have taught my sons how to pull out better.”
I laughed. “That’s pretty mean to say.”
“That’s the nicest thing I can say about those two.”
I pushed from the desk. “Let me know if you need anything, Pop.”
“Where the hell are you going?”
“I have to be somewhere.”
“Are you getting soft on me, Jett?” Pop asked.
“What’s that now?”
“You leave every day for coffee and cookies,” Pop said. “Did you lose your balls somewhere or something?”
“If you think I’m going for cookies then you don’t know me.”
“You think this game is going to work for you?”
“I tried the other way and it didn’t,” I said.
“A woman that can’t leave the past behind will never have a future,” Pop said.
“Are you giving me relationship advice, Pop?”
“Nope,” he said and he turned his head to look at the TV.
That was my cue to leave before one of us got really pissed at the other.
Pop did have a point, though I’d never admit that to him. One thing you never did in life was tell the old man he was right. He’d keep that shit locked in his mind for a long damn time.
I lost track of how many days in a row I had gone to the bakery. Or coffeehouse. Or coffeeshop. Or whatever the fuck you wanted to call the place. It was Julia’s place. That’s what I knew. It was her business. She worked her ass off to get things in order when Aunt Bea was getting close to having no choice but to shut the place down. And then when Aunt Bea passed, it was all left to Julia. She wasn’t expecting it either. She had no idea that Aunt Bea had made arrangements for everything to go to her. It was a great showing of love from Aunt Bea but it crushed Julia because she missed her.
And you know what?
Damn that woman for not grabbing Julia and telling h
er she loved her when she was alive and had the chance.
I rubbed my jaw and left those memories outside.
I opened the door, pointed to the bell, and looked to the counter.
There was nobody there.
From the corner of my eye I saw someone waving.
I pointed to Aira and nodded.
She was with Novalee and two other girls.
Kailey and Emma.
They all stood up from their table and moved toward the door.
“Is Wes still working?” Aira asked.
“If it were up to me he’d be in that garage for the rest of his life,” I said. “To make up for all the dumb stuff he did when he was a kid.”
“Oh, we know, Jett,” Aira said. “You know you’d be lost without him though.”
“I know,” I said. I looked at Novalee. “How are you doing?”
“Living my best life,” she said in a cocky tone.
I laughed.
Good luck with that one, Elijah.
Whatever storm they had all calmed was good. But it was still there. I knew it was only a matter of time before Wes and Elijah were exchanging punches again.
But that’s how life worked at that age.
“See you later, Julia!” Aira called out.
I turned my head and saw Julia behind the counter.
“Good luck, Jett,” Aira said to me.
Then they all laughed as they left the bakery (slash-coffeehouse-slash-coffeeshop).
I wasn’t a fan of being the ass end of a joke in town, but Julia and I had left our mark… and with both of us still here…
I walked to the counter.
Julia had everything ready for me.
One coffee.
One chocolate chip cookie.
One oatmeal cookie.
I put the same amount of money on the counter like I always did.
And then I walked to the same table and sat in the same chair.
And I waited.
There was no other choice when it came to Julia.
I had been waiting so long already.
So what was the rest of my time hanging around here worth?
Everything I ever wanted to do I did.
I fit in.
I ran the garage. I argued with Pop. I kept a close eye on Wes, making sure he didn’t go too far off the good path in life. I made a ton of money for myself. I bought the big ass house next to the beach. Then came all the cars, trucks, and motorcycles I could have ever wanted.
HIDDEN CREEK THEN: a hidden creek high novel Page 18
