“Colin Davis, that son of a b...”
“You can’t blame him,” Kelsie said. Attempting to put a stop to this argument, she said, “We didn’t do it to cause problems. We both want to help you.”
Nearly losing her temper through sarcastic laughter, Janelle shook her head and said, “Like I’ve said before, you can’t put Colin Davis’ name with any idea of something good. I don’t care what reason you give me, or how much you swear that you did it for my best interest, I won’t believe that two adults pulled off something so childish as looking through someone else’s personal things.”
She had walked another fifty feet before arriving at the front steps of her parents’ house. Turning back around to face Kelsie, who displayed nothing but fear and uncertainty on her face, Janelle said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Unlocking the door, she turned and said, “As for this, it’s over.”
Chapter Seven
Deciding against calling it quits in Seattle, she had decided to let it go. She had gone to bed with a clear understanding of the situation, and had figured out how she would handle it. She wasn’t sure what she was more upset about—the fact that they had looked in her notebook or the fact that Colin Davis had. Either way, she still despised Colin, but she needed to make things right with Kelsie.
Walking to the coffee shop had been refreshing. The rain clouds had cleared from the storm that had rolled through in the early morning hours, which allowed the sun’s bright, warm rays of light to cast its presence on the city of Seattle. Even people in her passing were happy. She had encountered several smiles and morning greetings—something she hadn’t received, nor expected, in a long time.
Rounding the corner, she saw Kelsie unlocking the door to the coffee shop. Unsettling nerves caused her stomach to twist itself in knots and her heart to race. Not sure how Kelsie would react, she took her time getting to the shop. Only when Kelsie waved, with an uncertain smile, did Janelle pick up her pace and follow Kelsie inside.
Making her rounds inside the café, Kelsie pulled the blinds open on each of the windows; which allowed the sunshine to filter in—filling the area with immediate warmth.
An awkward silence shifted between them as they continued with their morning routine. Kelsie restocked the Dixie cups while Janelle filled the coffee pots. Janelle was more than frustrated with this whole situation. Wanting to be the bigger, more mature person, she wanted to forgive Kelsie, but she wasn’t going to talk about it unless Kelsie brought it up first. She was all about moving forward, but she wasn’t about to cause drama at the café.
Unlocking the office door, Janelle pushed her way in and looked back at Kelsie, who was preoccupied with preparing for the rush of the morning crowd. Janelle could only imagine how many college students would be showing up after a wild night out partying.
Making room at the desk to work on her weekly article for the Enquirer, she pushed aside the clutter that had transpired in the last few days. After unzipping her bag, she emptied the contents inside, pulling her laptop out first. She needed to find an open electrical outlet to plug her piece of crap computer in. Unsure if it was the battery or her laptop, she decided she’d continue to use it until it completely died. She’d purchase a new laptop in a couple of months and write it off as a business expense at tax time.
A knock on the door distracted her from her mission of finding a power source. She backed out from under the desk and stood up. She quickly brushed away the dirt and grime from her skirt and knees before she opened the door. She expected to find Kelsie on the other side, but was surprised to see two people instead of just one. Colin Davis stood next to Kelsie. He rocked on his heels as he kept his hands clasped in front of him.
“Can we talk?” Kelsie asked, motioning a hand between the three of them.
Left with no choice, Janelle pushed the door open the rest of the way and allowed them to take seats around the desk. Crossing her legs and arms, she sat across from them. She waited impatiently for either of them to talk first. She wasn’t one of many words, no matter how many articles she had written for the Enquirer.
Colin spoke first. A nervous tremble was heard in his voice when he said, “I want to apologize.”
Janelle raised an eyebrow. The thought of Colin Davis apologizing to her was comical; in no way had he ever been sincere with his words. In college, his words had meant nothing to her. Today, she was willing to listen. Whether or not she would believe what he had to say would be determined the moment he started talking.
“Can I start by explaining why it happened?” Colin asked, his blue eyes pleaded, along with his words.
“I already know why it happened,” she said, looking at Kelsie and back to Colin. “She told me last night.”
“Let me explain,” Colin pleaded. Taking a glance at Kelsie before he said, “No offense, but she doesn’t know the whole reason.”
Refolding her arms in front of her, Janelle leaned back in the chair. “I’m listening.”
Clearing his throat, Colin fidgeted in his chair and adjusted his tie. “I’ve known you for a long time and I know how much you hate me.”
When he said the word hate, she couldn’t help but cringe at how harsh it sounded. She wouldn’t necessarily describe how she felt about him by using the word hate, there was a less harsh word than that. Instead of correcting him, she let him continue his explanation, because no matter what, the fact still remained that she strongly despised him, all of him, including those deep blue, pleading eyes, and that handsomely charming face of his.
Refocusing her attention on something other than the distracting factors of Colin Davis, her eyes fell on his lips—soft, pink and full of...
“Are you even listening or am I wasting my time?” Colin asked, waving a hand in front of her. “Look, I’m trying to be honest here and you’re...”
“I’m listening,” she assured him, which had been a lie, but he wouldn’t know the difference. “Continue with what you were saying.”
When he sat back in the chair, without saying another word, Janelle leaned forward in hers and tapped the desk with her pen, refocusing on her assignment from Cincinnati.
“Janelle,” he said, now sitting on the edge of his seat. Kelsie had left the room long before this conversation had begun. The morning rush of customers had swarmed in shortly after Janelle had allowed them to enter the office. It was now just him and her. “I really am sorry. For everything.”
She couldn’t help but wonder what everything meant to him. Was he referring to everything as in back in college or was he referring to what happened less than twenty-four hours ago?
“What happened in college between us never should’ve happened,” he admitted. “I never should have acted like such an ass to you. I should’ve been holding your hand and helping you along the way.”
Did he really just say holding her hand? Her heart picked up its pace—with no control of her own.
“I knew how much you wanted to own your bakery. I knew how much you loved your grandma, and I remember how terrible I felt when I found out that she had passed away,” he said, still fidgeting with his tie. “And then seeing you hurt and crying, that...”
Holding a finger up, she asked, “When did you see me cry?”
Shaking his head, he said, “That’s beside the point.”
Leaning back in the chair, she crossed her arms. “No, it’s not. I want to know.”
“It was shortly after you returned to school,” he explained. “You were sitting by yourself in the cafeteria on one of your breaks. You had a pained expression on your face. I had walked by and you were in a trance while tears streamed down your face. I wanted to sit down beside you and tell you that everything was going to be okay.”
The thought of Colin Davis wanting to comfort her was... shocking. He was last person on earth she would expect comfort from.
“Then why didn’t you?” She asked, nearly choking on her words. Tears stung against her eyes, but she fought to hold them back.
She could tell he was fighting against the words he wanted to say as he sat silently for a good minute and strummed a thumb along the edge of his tie.
Clasping his hands in front of him, he stood up from his chair and turned for the door.
“Wait,” she called out. “Where are you going?”
When he turned, she could see the anguish in his expression. This wasn’t the Colin Davis she remembered from college. The Colin Davis she remembered would never have stepped foot in this office to apologize, let alone tell her how he truly felt about the past.
“Look, Janelle,” he said, straightening the tie he had been fiddling with for most of their conversation. “I didn’t come here to talk about the past. I came to say I was sorry and that I was only trying to help you.”
A part of her anger unraveled, causing her to stand and offer him to stay a bit longer. “Tell me how you were going to help me.”
Checking the time on his watch and looking back at her, he said, “Nah, I really should get going. I have a lot of things to get done today and it’s already a quarter ’til.”
Unable to make him stay, she watched as he walked from the office, made his way to the counter, and ordered his drink to go. She had never seen this side of Colin Davis before. If she had to be honest with herself, there was something about him that caught her attention.
***
Picking up the notebook that had been breached, she flipped back to the notes she had made the day she and Kelsie had discussed her dreams and ambitions in this life. Maybe she never should’ve listened to her mother. She should’ve made her own path, whether she would later regret it or not would’ve been her problem. Either way, she was in that boat now and was unsure of what she was going to do.
The walk home from Harper’s Cafe had been the breath of fresh air she needed. The day had been long and had taken a winded toll on her. She had yet to get used to the time difference, let alone the early morning hours. If she had it her way, she would manage things from the coziness of her bed.
Shaking off her shoes at the door, she climbed the stairs to her room. Her pajamas had called her name from the time she had walked in the door. She was more than tempted to crawl into bed and stay there until it was time for her to head back to Cincinnati.
When she had told her parents that she’d come to Seattle to help them while they were gone, she had no idea that it would entail this much effort. She had no idea that she’d be this worn out. Although she was sure the thing that weighed her down the most was seeing Colin Davis. The one thing she had learned since she had stepped foot in Seattle was that carrying hate and resentment had only damaged her.
Making her way back downstairs, she decided to make something quick and easy for supper. She would’ve loved to try one of the many restaurants available, but the thought of having to save every bit of money she had until she was back in Cincinnati quickly changed her mind.
Startling at the vibration of her phone against the stand near the couch, she knocked over the vase at the bottom of the staircase. Shattered remains of teal colored ceramic mixed in with clumps of dirt surrounded her feet.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” After tossing her hands in the air, she leapt across the evidence of a shattered disaster and grabbed her phone.
“Hello,” she answered, short of breath.
“How are things going, Elle? You sound winded,” her mother’s voice echoed. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes, everything’s fine,” she replied, taking another look at the mess she had caused.
“Are you sure, dear?”
“Yes.”
“How are things going at the café?”
She debated whether to tell her mother about the latest happenings. But decided against that when she thought of how her mother would react—like it was no big deal. Her mother would probably tell her she had overreacted and to give the poor guy a chance. A chance at what? Would be Janelle’s response. An argument would ensue, and her night of relaxation would be ruined yet again.
“I take the silence to mean something has gone awry and there’s something you don’t want to tell me,” her mother’s stern voice demanded a response from Janelle, one she refused to acknowledge at the moment.
“Oh, no,” Janelle said, “I was just thinking about the list of things I have yet to do tonight, is all.”
“Well, don’t let me keep you.”
In an attempt to make things normal, Janelle said, “How’s Florida Keys?”
She heard her father in the background, his voice muffled by his distance from the phone, as he rambled on about the ocean, the activities, and the endless fun they were having. Janelle’s only thought was pure envy. She’d give anything to enjoy time away from being an adult.
“Did you hear your father, Elle?”
“Barely, but from the gist of it, I hear you two are having fun,” she replied, trying hard not to sound too bitter.
“You wouldn’t believe the festivities that are happening down here,” her mother explained. “They’re preparing for spring break and here we are, us old hens in the mix of it. This should be fun.”
“It sounds like it already is. I’m sure you and dad will enjoy it.”
“I’m glad you’re so sure about that, dear.”
The thought of mentioning Colin Davis crossed her mind. She wanted to discuss his intentions with her parents and get their take on why he was such a great friend of theirs. Helping them with the café and promoting whatever else they had been allowing him to.
Instead, she brought up Kelsie. “Kelsie has done a great job around the café.”
“Yes, you’ve said that,” her mother said, sounding a bit agitated at the mention. “Say, whatever happened with Josh’s situation?”
She had actually forgotten about Josh. This week had so many twists and turns, she had forgotten to follow up with him. “I haven’t heard from him.”
“I see,” her mother said. “Your father wants to keep Josh there. So, you’ll have to do whatever you can to keep him there. Your father disagrees with what you told Josh the other day. He called Josh and told him that he can dismiss what you had told him.”
Anger twisted a range of emotions through her. She hated the fact that her parents hadn’t supported her decision. Sure, it was their business to do what they pleased, but what part of uncooperative employee did they not understand. The guy was worthless to keep on the schedule.
“Janelle, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here.” She bit her tongue, knowing her words would not sit well with her mother, at the moment.
“Not that I really care to have this conversation revolve around Josh and his work ethic, or lack thereof, but he’s a good kid nonetheless, and we feel it wouldn’t be in the best interest of the business to let him go.”
Unable to sit back and listen to her mother explain, or ramble on was a better word for it, the reasons for keeping Josh that she couldn’t care less about, she interrupted her. Something that she might regret later, but right now she needed her mother to know that the coffee shop was not a walk in the park. It had many issues that needed handling and keeping someone around who had no business to be there, was unjust.
“I promoted Kelsie,” she said. The nerves in her stomach caused rippled effects. Her stomach knotted, causing her to feel the need to find the nearest trash can. Instead, she held on to what she believed to be fair and waited for her mother’s countered reaction.
“You did what?” her mother asked. In the background, she heard her father ask what happened. Janelle imagined the look of anguish and shock on her mother’s face. She waited patiently for her mother to give her a piece of her mind. “Janelle.”
There it was. The disapproval. The tone in her mother’s voice as she said her name was proof that her mother didn’t think she was able to make these decisions for the business. Whether her father agreed did not matter at the moment, because her mother had the final say—the only say it had s
ometimes seemed.
“Janelle,” her mother said. Janelle could hear the pleading in her voice, followed up with a nice side of a disapproving tone. “I thought we had made it clear since day one that you’re not in charge of those decisions.”
She remembered the conversation. Her mother had called her a few days prior to her flight out of Cincinnati. She had explained everything—the ins and outs of the business and their daily routine. Janelle had taken her seriously as she had written down everything her mother had said. She had not missed a single word. But all of that was irrelevant when it came to actually being at the coffee shop, and seeing first-hand how much needed to be done there—starting with the employees.
“I’m disappointed that you didn’t think to call us and talk about it first,” her mother said, an echo through the phone informed Janelle they had switched to an open conversation over speakerphone. “Your father and I have worked very hard with that place and would hate to have it a disheveled mess upon our return.”
She respected the dedication her parents had for their business. She wasn’t, by any means, trying to disrespect them or step on their toes with her actions. Her mother’s disapproving tone wasn’t unheard of. It wasn’t the first time she had heard it and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“It’ll be far from a mess when you and dad return,” Janelle said, a failed attempt to stand her ground in defense.
“You’re already making quite the mess, dear.”
Wanting to stomp and wave her fist in retort to her mother’s words, Janelle decided to sit instead. She hated the way her mother talked down to her, like she had no idea what the hell she was doing—ever.
“There’s no mess here,” she said, chuckling to herself as she glanced to the bottom of the staircase. “Well, besides the shattered vase at the bottom of the stairs.”
No Place Like Home - Love in Seattle Page 6
