Josie laughed. “If you were Regan, you’d be saying how I look great for my age. Then she’d turn red and apologize.”
Whitney nodded. “That’s our Regan.”
Josie sighed. “I haven’t read the journal your mother gave me. I haven’t been able to yet. Have you given the journals to your sisters?”
She shook her head. Whitney was glad Josie knew that her mother had written to each of her loved ones. It’d be helpful to share her feelings with Josie. Although her mom had given Josie’s journal to her personally, Whitney understood why her mother wanted her to wait until the right time to give her sisters theirs. “It’s too soon. I can’t get through a day without crying. Shannon might be ready but Regan definitely isn’t.”
“Diana was my best friend ever since fifth grade when I was the new kid in the class. She was my maid of honor at my wedding. We were there for each other when our husbands died. We were going to continue doing lots of things together. I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” Josie’s lower lip trembled. “I miss her so much.”
Whitney hugged Josie. “Whenever you feel like talking, give me a call. I feel closer to Mom when I talk to you. It helps me a lot.”
“You and the other girls are like daughters to me.”
“We’ve always thought of you as our second mother.”
“Your mom would be so happy that you three are going into business together.” Josie glanced at Ben’s backyard. “She’d also be happy about your new hunk living next door.”
“He’s not my hunk.” Whitney sighed. “Regan’s been gabbing again about my life.”
Josie gave her a wide smile. “If I want to know anything, I just call Regan.”
“Did she tell you about Jack?”
Josie nodded. “She mentioned that you talked to Jack on the phone first before meeting him in person when you fell. I’m glad you’ve met two nice men.”
She wondered if Josie knew about Jack flying Rob in Iraq. “Did Regan happen to tell you that Jack knew Rob?”
Josie shook her head. “She never mentioned it. Isn’t Jack from Cornett? How did they meet?”
“Yes, Jack’s from here. He was a helicopter pilot in Iraq and flew Rob a few times.”
“How do you feel about that?”
Leaning against the kitchen counter, she said, “I’m okay with it. Jack told me some things Rob said about me.”
“Rob definitely loved you.” Josie touched her arm. “Your mom tried to hold on longer for your sake and your sisters. She loved you all so much, but she especially wanted to see you happy. She hoped you’d meet someone again and fall in love.”
“Coming home and talking to Mom about Rob helped me a lot. She understood my grief because of losing Dad.” She couldn’t talk about Rob and her mother any longer, so decided to tell Josie what was new in her life. “Ben fixed me dinner last night and it was delicious. And this evening Jack’s taking me to dinner.”
“Wow. Two dinner dates. That’s great. I hope you enjoy your date with Jack.”
She grinned at Josie. “I’m sure you’ll find out from Regan if I have a good time with Jack.”
“Or you can beat her to it and give me a call.” Josie bent to pick up two bags of clothes. “I better get going. I want to get these clothes dropped off this morning at the women’s shelter. Some of these women are so battered and worn down that just having nice clothes to wear boost their spirits.”
Whitney picked up another two bags and followed Josie to her car. “I didn’t realize how many clothes Mom had until we started going through her closet.”
Josie laughed. “She said once we should just invest in a clothing store.”
After Whitney threw the bags in the car, Josie squeezed her hand. “I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She waved to Josie before heading back to the house.
* * *
After Whitney finished curling her hair, she slid the switch to off on the iron. She glanced at herself in the mirror, pleased with her hair in long curls. She leaned closer to check her face. Good, the makeup covered her bruises nicely. Next she ran her fingers over her black sleeveless dress with cute black buttons at the shoulders. Not bad. Regan’s cinnamon rolls hadn’t gone to her hips. Her arms though looked so bare. She lifted a wide silver bracelet out of her jewelry box, trying not to think how Rob had bought it for her birthday the first year they were married. After snapping the bracelet on her arm, she decided on a pair of dangling earrings.
Without any hesitation, she picked up her black leather sandals with four inch heels. She loved the silver studs in the straps with platform fronts. It was nice not having to worry about heels making her taller than Jack. She’d noticed his height when he’d dropped by on Thursday to give her several movies to watch. He hadn’t stayed because he’d been on his way to work. But as her paramedic, he’d said she needed to rest. Her paramedic… she liked the sound of that.
After she finished putting her shoes on, she sprayed a few squirts of a light perfume behind her ears, realizing she hadn’t spent this much time getting ready when she’d gone with Ben to the resort or to his house for dinner. Well, of course not. Jack was taking her to an expensive restaurant. And she hadn’t looked terrible when she’d been with Ben. Hey, she’d showered and worn attractive casual clothes.
Rob had taken her to very elegant restaurants in New York. She hadn’t gotten dressed up like this to go with a guy to eat since the last time she’d gone with Rob. For a moment, she stared at his photo and her eyes filled with tears. She bit her lip. No, she wasn’t going to start bawling. I’m going to have a fun time tonight. Grabbing a tissue off of the dresser, she dabbed carefully at her eyes to save her makeup.
Only one thing left to do. She needed to dig out her little dressy black purse to use. As the doorbell rang, she clipped her purse shut.
She didn’t want to keep her date waiting, so took quick steps to the front door and pulled on the doorknob. The door stuck. She pulled harder to get the blasted door opened. “Hi, Jack.”
“Hi, Whitney. You look very pretty.”
“Thank you.”
Jack wore a white shirt with narrow stripes, a dark sports jacket and gray pants. His brown hair had a bit of wave to it, and he had the sexiest blue eyes. She definitely liked his rangy handsomeness. She’d have to tell her sisters that with seeing two good-looking and kind guys now, they might as well get their money back from the skydiving adventure they’d paid for. She didn’t need to experience floating in the sky to meet men. Interesting though that she’d met Jack in the air after talking to him on the phone.
But the best part was when she looked at Jack, she felt no guilt about going out with someone other than Rob. Maybe she was starting to heal from a broken heart.
He flashed her a grin. “Do I pass inspection?”
She laughed. “Sorry about the staring. And yes, you do.”
“You had me worried there for a moment. I thought maybe you were thinking you’d rather your dinner date was with Ben. He seems like a nice guy, but I’m nicer.” He winked and grinned.
As they walked to his car, she said, “That’s something you’re a pilot. Do you own a plane?”
He opened the car door for her. “No, but my dad has one I use. I’ll be happy to get it if you ever want to go flying, but I remember you said you hated flying.”
Once on the road, she told him about the skydiving her sisters had wanted her to do.
“I’ve gone skydiving. If you want to try it, I’ll go with you.” After he stopped at a red light, Jack glanced at her. “But I’m surprised at your sisters for wanting you to go since you hate heights.”
“They were thinking more about the fact that a lot of eligible men go skydiving.”
He turned and smiled at her. “I hope they’ll quit playing matchmaking now.”
She nodded. “Me too. Also I got them busy thinking about starting a business together. Not just because I wanted them to stop tryi
ng to fix me up, but I need something to do now that I’m not taking care of my mom.”
Maybe she should’ve phrased it differently, so it didn’t sound like she only wanted to work to fill time. If she was careful with the money from Rob’s big life insurance policy and her parents’ inheritance, she never had to work again for money. Jack might realize she’d received money after Rob’s death and could take her time in choosing what to do next.
On the remainder of the drive to the restaurant, Whitney told him about some of the businesses they’d been considering and how she wanted to do a television talk show.
She sighed. “I thought we were all committed to our TV business plan, but Shannon had a change of heart. She decided it might be too much for us to attempt and wants us to think about doing an online business.”
He stopped in front of the restaurant. “Starting a TV program would be a perfect choice for you. I don’t know your sisters, but since you feel in your gut it’s the right business for all of you, then go for it.”
“Now I just need to convince them again.” Tomorrow she planned on talking to Shannon and Regan after church. Hopefully, they’d want to do a television show when they heard that Cora’s show might be available for their use.
* * *
While they ate their dinner, Jack thought how glad he was he’d met Whitney. She was beautiful, smart, funny, and sweet.
“This prime rib’s delicious.” Whitney looked up at him after cutting a piece of meat. “So do you have any siblings?”
“I have a twin sister, Jessica.”
“That’s so cool. Do you look alike besides the fact you aren’t the same gender?”
“Well, it’s obvious that we’re brother and sister. People just get thrown sometimes because we look the same age, and they expect one of us to be older or younger. Her hair is blonde instead and she has natural curly hair. She also has blue eyes.”
“If we do a TV program, maybe we can have a segment about twins. Does your sister live nearby?”
“Jessica lived in Cornett until she got married a year ago. They moved to Dayton so she’s not too far.” He stabbed a piece of broccoli with his fork. “She’s a little shy so I don’t know if she’d want to be on your show.”
“Is she in the medical profession too?”
“No, she gets squeamish around blood. She’s the artistic one in the family. She’s a sculptor. My parents and I are pretty excited because Jessica’s pregnant. It’ll be fun having a baby in the family.”
“Rob and I never had any kids. I wish we would’ve had a baby.”
A shadow of disappointment crossed her face. He remembered Rob mentioning they wanted children someday. Jack put his hand over hers. “I’m sorry you and Rob never had enough time together to have children.”
She gave him a small smile. “I do get to babysit for Lily. She’s Regan’s and Casey’s little daughter. She’s a great kid and I love spending time with her.”
“I saw Lily with Casey at a fundraiser. She’s cute.”
“Shannon has two wonderful kids, Caitlyn and Brandon. Caitlyn’s in high school and Brandon’s in junior high.” She sipped her wine. “I can see you as an uncle. You’ll probably spoil your niece or nephew.”
“You’ll have to give me some pointers since you’re an experienced aunt.”
“I’ll try. I was in New York when my nieces and nephew were babies, so I didn’t see them as much as I do now.”
He laughed. “Since I don’t know anything about babies, I’m sure you’ll be able to teach me a lot.”
“So would you like to have your own kids someday?”
He nodded. “Hopefully, I won’t be too senile to enjoy them.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m thirty-one.” He saw her surprised look at his age. “Am I too old for you?”
“I guess not since I’m thirty-one. I can’t believe we’re the same age. When’s your birthday?”
“January. When’s yours?”
“November, so I’m older. How do you feel about seeing me again since I’m an older woman?”
Man, he loved what just came out of her sexy mouth. Whitney wanted to see him again. “Not a problem.” He grinned. “You look great for your advanced age.”
She touched the glass globe over their table candle. “Eating by candlelight helps. And I’m sure I look better tonight than when you first met me. I’m glad I didn’t get sick in the helicopter.”
“You were beautiful even with a bruised and bleeding face. I thought you were sweet when you defended Ben and said it wasn’t his fault you fell.” Shit, why did he have to mention Ben? He wanted Whitney to only think about him. He didn’t mind some competition, but Ben already had an advantage over him. He had Adam and Whitney loved kids. Maybe he could get Jessica to talk her husband into moving back to Cornett. Whenever he watched the baby, he bet Whitney would love to help him.
“I don’t know if Ben thought I was sweet the other day when I mentioned appearing on my old TV station to talk about my date with him. My friend and former co-worker had an idea for a segment about the worst first dates.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I’m glad I was the one taking you to the hospital.”
She then explained to him the only reason she might do the feature for The Bold News and again on hers, but she hadn’t made plans to do it. Obviously her television show might never happen, and she wasn’t keen on hurting Ben’s feelings for her gain.
He kept his eyes on her lips as she talked, realizing how much he wanted to kiss her. Jack couldn’t help himself because he was crazy about Whitney.
“Hey, Jack. You didn’t answer me.”
What had he missed? Had she asked if she should do the worst first date thing for The Bold News? “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were asking me what you should do. It’s up to you.”
“I knew I lost you.” She chuckled. “I said how I threatened my sisters with having a girls’ band because I’ve had a secret desire to be a drummer. I’ll be nice and repeat my question. What is your secret desire? Is there anything you’ve always wanted to do?”
“I can’t believe I missed part of your conversation. Sorry.”
She took a bite of her roll. “Maybe a talk show isn’t a good choice. I must be boring as a conversationalist since I lost my audience. Or you are stalling for time to avoid telling me your secret?”
“I’d like to be the lead singer for your band.”
She shook her head. “No fair. You just now made that up.”
Jack nodded and swirled his fork through his mashed potatoes. “Okay, I’ll tell you. I do have a dream. I’d like to have a kids’ camp with the emphasis on horseback riding.”
“That’s a cool idea,” Whitney said. “I like it.”
“Did you ever go riding?”
“While I was growing up, we visited our cousins in the summer and went riding on their horses. Regan and I thought it was fun, but Shannon wasn’t too keen on riding. We learned to saddle up ourselves. I even cleaned out stalls.”
He grinned. “I might have to hire you to help with my camp.”
After they left the restaurant and were outside, Jack stopped Whitney by a water fountain. He gently gripped her elbow and turned her to face him, and her smile stole his breath. The lights in the fountain twinkled in her green eyes. She was a knockout in her sexy dress. The hemline stopped a few inches above her knees, showing off her long, tanned legs.
“What?” she asked.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you all evening.” He saw her green eyes brightened with pleasure.
She gave him a wide smile. “I love the sound of running water, so this is a perfect spot for our first kiss.”
He crushed her to him and his mouth swooped down to capture hers. Currents of desire raced through him as Whitney gave herself freely to the fervor of his kiss. He could kiss Whitney’s full lips all night. When he raised his lips from hers, he gazed into her eyes and felt happiness in seeing warmth and intensity there
.
In a breathless soft voice, she said, “How about another kiss for the road?”
While he did exactly what the lady wanted, Jack wondered how much it’d cost to get a fountain installed in his backyard.
Chapter Twelve
“I’m glad we decided to do this,” Whitney said. When she’d mentioned they should all go out to brunch together after church, everyone had liked her suggestion.
“We should do this every Sunday,” Shannon said, glancing around the round table. “I love their stuffed cinnamon toast.”
Caitlyn, seated next to Lily, leaned over to speak to her little cousin. “What’s wrong? Don’t you like what you ordered?”
Lily pointed at Brandon. “He took my sausage.”
“Brandon, shame on you,” Shannon said. “You shouldn’t have taken Lily’s food.”
In an indignant voice, he said, “I asked first and she wasn’t eating it.”
Lily pouted. “I want it back.”
Brandon frowned at Lily. “How can I give it back to you when it’s in my belly?”
“I don’t have any sausage, but how about I give you a bacon strip instead?” Whitney asked. “It’s nice and crispy.”
“If she doesn’t want it, I’ll take it,” Brandon said.
Shannon’s jaw tightened. “Brandon, be quiet.”
He shrugged. “Sorry. I’m a growing boy.”
At Lily’s nod, Whitney walked around the table and gave her the bacon.
“I like your bracelet,” Caitlyn said, putting her cell phone down on the table.
“Thank you,” Lily said after she swallowed a bite of bacon. “Daddy’s girlfriend gave it to me.”
“Lily, Anna’s not your daddy’s girlfriend,” Regan snapped. “She works with him.”
Casey put his arm around Regan. “Honey, your mommy is my girlfriend.”
Lily shook her head. “Mommy’s your wife.”
Tim looked at Casey, laughing. “She’s got you there.”
“Would anyone like refills on your coffee?” Their waitress smiled at them.
Whitney and the other adults answered, “Yes, please.”
While the waitress refilled their cups, Whitney glanced at Brandon, noticing how much he resembled pictures of her tall and handsome dad when he was a young man. Blonde haired Caitlyn, wearing an aqua blouse with a ruffled neckline and a white skirt, looked a lot like Shannon.
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