The woman walked up to Lissa and offered a tentative smile. "Is Mr. Kincade here?"
Mr. Kincade? That's odd. Was she talking about Jesse or his father?
"No, I'm sorry, he's not here. He already left for the day. Can I give him a message for you?"
The young woman fiddled nervously with her purse, looking as if she wasn't sure whether she should open it or not. Lissa studied her closely, intrigued. Her mother hadn't become the town busybody without passing on some of her nosiness to Lissa.
"In fact, if you want to give me your name and number, I can relay it on to him this evening."
The woman took a step back, eyes wide, shaking her head quickly. "No, no. That's fine. I'll just come back some other time." And just as abruptly, she turned and hurried back to the front door.
Lissa called after her. "Can I at least get your name?" But it was too late. The woman was already out the door. How strange. But before Lissa had too much time to dwell on it any further, she glanced at her watch again and realized that she would definitely be late for dinner now. Determined to put all thoughts of the stressful day she'd had aside and enjoy her evening with her family, she locked up and headed to her parents' house.
In spite of her difficult day, when she climbed the porch steps to her family's large ranch-style home at the edge of town, she couldn't help smiling at all the noise and activity that greeted her before she even opened the door. Never a dull moment in the Winters household. It had always been that way. What else could be expected in a house full of five lively children? And even though the Winters children all had their own personalities, they were somehow each just as loud as the other. People expected that at least one or two of them would be the shy quiet type, but no. In a house where you had to fight to be heard your entire life, volume was something none of them lacked.
"Lissa!" Evelyn Winters turned and gave her daughter a warm smile from where she was standing at the stove. "It's not like you to be the last one here."
"There were some things I had to take care of at the office." Her smile faltered at the words, but she quickly tried to move on, knowing that if she didn't change the subject her mother would figure out that something was going on. "Also, there was a woman that came in at closing time. Someone I've never seen before. Any news of someone new in town?" One surefire way to distract her mother was to pump her for the town gossip.
But she simply frowned. "No, I can't say that I've heard of anyone new in town. How odd." Odd indeed. Mrs. Winters knew every bit of gossip to be had in Willow Valley. Lissa knew that by morning, if there were anything to know, her mother would have all the details. The woman had eyes and ears everywhere it seemed.
"There's my girl." Her dad came around the corner and gave her a big hug, and Lissa let herself take comfort in his arms. Her daddy was the absolute best, and he always knew how to make her feel better. He must've sensed something in the way that she hugged him back because he pulled back slightly and looked down at her. "Everything okay with my girl?"
She gave him as big a smile as she could muster. "Just some stuff at work. Nothing I feel like talking about now." Luckily, she didn't have to because her youngest sister Maggie bounded into the room at just the right moment.
"Lissa, about time you got here. You have to come look at this new dress I found." Lissa had to laugh. Maggie had just turned eighteen and was already a budding fashion designer. She had plans to start her own clothing line one day. And Lissa had to admit, she was pretty good.
Pulling away from her father's embrace, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and followed her sister into the living room, where she had several dresses draped across the back of the sofa.
"Tell me, which one do you think would be best for the prom?" Maggie asked. All three of the dresses were in various states of completion, and it was obvious they would all be gorgeous, but her eyes were immediately drawn to the peach-colored one. It would be absolutely gorgeous with Maggie's coloring. With her bright blonde hair, she looked quite different from Maggie and her deep auburn waves, though they did share the same emerald eyes, just like their sister Melanie and their brothers Mitchell and Morris. None of whom she had seen yet.
"Hey, where are Lanie and Mitch? Morris was in the military, stationed overseas at the moment, but Mitch and Melanie never missed a dinner.
Maggie put her hands on her hips. "I'm sure they'll be here, but infinitely more pressing is, which dress?" She waved her hand dramatically at the three dresses.
"The peach, no question."
Maggie smiled. "That's what I thought but I just wanted a second opinion. Thanks, Liss, you're the best."
Lissa sank into the comfy leather chair and propped her feet up, enjoying the momentary peace after such a day. Suddenly, all of the stress came flooding back to her just as Lanie walked through the front door. Only ten months apart in age, she and Lanie had always been extra close. Lanie immediately saw that something was troubling her—of course she would. She came over and squeezed herself into the chair next to Lissa.
"What's wrong?" Her eyes were full of concern.
"Don't worry about it. I don't want to think about it. I just want to enjoy the night."
"That bad, huh?" Lanie gave her a sympathetic smile and dropped the subject, but Lissa knew that it wouldn't be the end of it. There was no way her sister would let her leave the house tonight without dishing the full scoop. Typical Winters woman. Lissa had to grin at the thought.
Just then, their mom poked her head through the doorway and called them all to the dinner table. They all certainly missed having Morris with them, especially for Monday dinners, but it was still wonderful to all get together at least once a week. It meant so much to have that ritual, to reconnect when they were all so busy with their own separate lives.
They laughed and joked over dinner, Mitch telling everyone about his latest ideas. He was trying to find some gigs for his band. They had made quite a name for themselves in the county, and people were starting to request them even more widely around the state. It was all very exciting, and he kept the dinner conversation lively. When dinner was over and Lissa finished helping clear the table and clean the dishes, Lanie pulled her aside. Just as she expected. There was no way she was getting out of the house without spilling the beans.
"What's going on, hon?"
Lissa took her arm and pulled her out the front door so they could sit on the porch out of earshot of the others.
"Please don't say anything. But Jesse told me today that he's going to sell the store."
Mel's jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me."
Lissa shook her head in dismay. "I wish I was. We've been struggling for at least the last year, ever since Mr. Kincade handed everything over, but I had no idea it had gotten so bad. I should have, though." Lissa frowned. How had she not known that it had come to this? Had Jesse gone to such great lengths to hide it from her? He must have. She was intimately involved in all of the details of operating the business, so it was almost unbelievable that it had gotten to this point without her knowledge.
"I'm so sorry," Lanie said, placing her hand over Lissa's and squeezing. "Are you going to be okay? How long do you have to find a new job?"
"I'm not worried about that. Jesse has set up a severance package for a year, believe it or not."
Lanie looked at her knowingly, giving her a sly grin. "Of course he did."
"Stop," Lissa groaned. "You know it's not like that."
"Not that you don't want it to be." And there was the downside of having a sister that knew her as well as she knew herself. "Are you sure there's not another way?"
Lissa shook her head again. "That's what I've been trying to figure out. I asked Jesse if there was any other solution, anything at all, and he said if we didn't do this now then things would only get worse and he would end up losing everything, not just the business."
"There has to be something else. You can't just let it go just like that." Lanie scrunched her eyebrows together, t
hinking. If anyone could come up with a solution, it would be her. She was going to school for her MBA and had a natural knack with business matters.
"Don't worry, Liss, we'll figure this out. I'm going to do everything I can to help you keep from losing everything. I know how much you love it."
Though she didn't say it, Lissa knew there was more to her sister's words. It wasn't just her job she was worried about losing—not at all. Even more than the job, it was Jesse. For some inexplicable reason, she felt that this was vital. That somehow her future hinged on whether or not Kincade Supply survived.
What would happen if Jesse gave up on the business? Would he leave town? His life had always been so closely tied to the store that he'd never even had the choice to pursue anything else. Despite the fact that he'd told her in no uncertain terms that they had no future, part of her felt that this wasn't it. Not for them, and not for the store. She was fighting not only for her job but for the man she'd secretly loved her entire life.
CHAPTER THREE
Jesse made his way into the store the next morning completely drained. He went to have a talk with his father last night after he left work, and it had gone even worse than expected. He shook his head, remembering how his father had laid into him about throwing away everything that he had worked for his whole life. How he had sacrificed everything for that business and now Jesse was ready to call it quits. Of course, he'd made it about himself and not Jesse.
Jesse knew better than anyone what exactly his father had sacrificed. He laughed bitterly. If there were any way to salvage the business, he would. Just remembering the look on Lissa's face was enough to put him in a funk. He had gone over there to see his father, motivated by pure anger that his father had placed them in this predicament. Yet his father had the nerve to put the blame on him, to say that he was giving up, just walking away. Well, what other choice did he have? It was either sell or let the bank take the business. He wanted to at least get out from under the whole mess with enough to start fresh.
He brewed a cup of coffee in the fancy little one-cup-at-a-time machine that Lissa had insisted they have in the office. He smiled thinking about how adamant she was that coffee was something too important to drink any way other than completely fresh. One of her many endearing quirks.
Just as his cup finished brewing and the machine spit out the last of the thick black liquid, Lissa came bounding into the office, arms full of notebooks and a big bag from Cassie's bakery. What struck him the most was the bounce in her step and the giant grin plastered across her face.
"Good morning," she singsonged. "Isn't it a lovely day? Spring is in the air."
What on earth had gotten into her? Had she finally cracked, the stress of losing her job making her totally unhinged?
He looked at her quizzically. "Good morning?"
Lissa laughed, the sound sparking Jesse to life even more than a cup of coffee could. "What has gotten into you? You do remember that we are trying to gracefully shut down this business, right?"
Lissa deposited the notebooks on her desk on top of what was already a complete disaster zone of files, something that only she would be able to sort out. Jesse had no idea how the woman managed to run an office so efficiently when she appeared to be so scatterbrained. She opened up the bakery bag and walked over to him, waving a fresh banana nut muffin just under his nose teasingly before taking a big bite of it herself.
"That's what you think." She smiled at him, her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk's with that muffin.
If he weren't concerned for her sanity, he would have laughed. She was in denial. That was the only explanation. Way to make him feel even more of a jerk!
"Lissa, sweetie, I was very serious yesterday. This is no joking matter. I need to know you're taking this to heart."
She swallowed the bite of muffin and gave him another huge grin. He couldn't stop himself from reaching over to brush a crumb off her lips. When she stiffened visibly, he yanked his thumb away, chastising himself. If he didn't stop reacting to her like this, he knew that it wouldn't be good for either of them. He didn't want to lead her on.
Then, as if it had never happened, Lissa launched into excited chatter. "You'll never believe the idea we've come up with. We stayed up practically half the night. I've hardly had any sleep." He never would've guessed that considering how chipper she was. "You're just not going to believe it. Here, come sit down." She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him over to the sofa on the side of the office and plopped down next to him, opening up one of the notebooks she was carrying and pointing to a bunch of scribbles.
"Really, it was a combination of Maggie and Lanie. I can't believe I didn't think of it before. Well, yes I can. That's not exactly my forte, but still." Jesse had no idea what she was going on about—it was hard to keep up. And the sketches of boots and jackets and dresses meant absolutely nothing to him.
"I'm sorry, I'm not following. What are you talking about?"
Lissa laughed again, excitement written all over her face. "I'm sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself. So, last night after dinner with my family, Lanie dragged out of me what was going on with the business."
Jesse opened his mouth to protest. He had made it clear before he left yesterday that he didn't want this news making its way around the town yet, something he knew was very unlikely with Lissa having Evelyn Winters as a mother.
"I know, I know," she cut him off before he could say anything. "You told me not to say anything. But that's just the way it is with my sisters. They can read me like a book, and once Lanie started to pry, it just all spilled out."
Jesse couldn't hold her fault for that. He had always envied the relationship she had with her siblings. It was one of the things that made her so special. Her love of family. And, he reminded himself, the very same thing that made them so wrong for each other. That hit him like a punch to the gut.
Lissa didn't show any sign of stopping, and he wondered how she caught her breath talking as fast as she was. "So, anyway, Maggie was showing me some of the dresses she had designed for prom earlier in the night, then later I was talking to Lanie, and suddenly it just hit us. As if it were meant to be, right out of the blue." Lissa's eyes sparkled, and Jesse couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she looked with her face flushed, a huge smile making her appear almost angelic.
"We have all this extra space up front in the store. Most of the things we sell are out back in the barns, yet we have all of this room just sitting here on the inside going to waste. Why not make use of it? We have a whole town full of women, and we haven't tapped into that market one bit."
Jesse wrinkled his eyebrows together. "Still not following. You're going to have to spell it out for me, hon."
"A western wear shop," she declared triumphantly.
What? “Are you serious?” Kincade Supply was just that. A farm supply store. “You want to turn the store into a clothing boutique?”
Lissa nodded, her eyes going wide with excitement that he was finally following along. "Exactly. We'll have boots, denim jackets, dresses, all kinds of great clothes. It will bring a whole new clientele into the store. Look, check out these numbers that Lanie put together for me."
He knew that Melanie was in the top of her class at the business school she attended, so he gave the figures credibility. And as he and Lissa spent the next hour going over the details of the business plan the women had put together last night, her excitement slowly became contagious. By the time he fully understood all that she intended, he was feeling more positive than he had in weeks, hell, maybe months.
"I can't make any promises, Jesse. But you have to at least give this a shot. I know how much this business means to you, and I would hate to not do every last thing we can to try to save it."
She was absolutely right. He wanted to do this, he wanted to give her idea a try. If anything, it could at least buy them a little more time to figure out where to go from here, to maybe tip the scales in their favor to get out of the red.
&nbs
p; "Okay. I'm sold. We'll give it a try."
Lissa flung her arms around him, squeezing him tightly and squealing. "Seriously? Oh, I'm just—Wow! Thank you, Jesse! This just has to work. I know it."
He laughed at her enthusiasm. Squeezing her back, he put a hand on either side of her face and looked earnestly into her eyes. "No, thank you, Liss. This means more to me than you could know. The fact that you weren't willing to accept defeat or walk away..."
She stared back at him, suddenly growing serious. "Jesse, you know I would do anything for you."
He couldn't help himself. He knew how wrong it was. Had told himself for months not to do this, not to give in to his desires because he'd only hurt her in the end. But he couldn't resist her. Not when she was in his arms looking at him like that. He gave her a crooked half-smile and tipped his head down toward hers.
Ever so slowly, his lips inched closer to hers. A battle waged between his mind and body, but when her eyes fluttered closed and she lifted her chin, bringing her mouth ever closer, his body took over. Even as his rational mind sounded warning bells, he ignored it, ready to finally lose himself in this woman once more. To taste what he’d denied himself for too long.
Suddenly they were both jolted out of the trance by the sound of the front door swinging open, and he realized the warning bells in his head were actually the door chimes clanging extra loudly to his heightened senses.
Lissa jerked back quickly, and Jesse shook his head, trying to clear the haze of the spell she seemed to put him under. He wanted to think they were saved by the bell, but part of him knew that she was getting under his skin—hell, had been for a while—and as he’d just proven to himself, it was only a matter of time before his resolve was too weakened to resist her.
***
I would do anything for you? Seriously, Liss? How embarrassing.
Grateful for the interruption, Lissa took a moment to gather her wits about her as Jesse jumped up from where they had just been about to kiss—appearing equally grateful for the interruption—and darted from the room like it was on fire to see who had come into the store. She had to be losing her mind saying something like that to him. Of course, she figured he knew how she felt about him, or at least how much she was attracted to him. Because who wasn't attracted to Jesse Kincade? And after that simpering display, it was glaringly obvious.
Meant for Love Page 2
