by Rachel Hanna
"I don't understand. How do you ever expect to start over if you can't be honest with people about what happened to your husband? It shouldn't be a secret. Why can't you just let people support you?"
"Look, I don't have time for this right now. I have a business to run and I left Leo downstairs. I'll talk to you later." She hated hanging up on her best friend like that, but she just couldn't take any more. No one could understand the kind of pain that Tom's death brought upon Rebecca. Well, at least very few people could understand it.
Chapter 4
Jackson sat in the café across the street from Jolt and wondered about the red haired lady inside. Although their first meeting had been more of an altercation, he couldn't stop thinking about her. There was something different about her. Something deep. A sadness that played across her face, but strength unlike anything he'd ever seen. He wasn't sure what to make of her.
He also wasn't sure why he couldn't stop thinking about her. Obviously, her son was in some kind of turmoil because no normal teenager would act like that to a perfect stranger. He could feel anger in the boy, and he sort of related to it. He remembered being angry like that after his father had died, but he had no idea what the boy's background was. For all he knew, the woman might be married and the father might just be upstairs in the apartment.
"Lost in thought, brother?" Jackson hadn't even noticed Kyle walking into the café.
"What are you doing out so early?" Jackson asked kicking the chair across from him out a little bit so his brother could sit down.
"I had an early appointment, a foreclosure over on the south side. What are you doing over this way?" Kyle asked as he waved at the waitress to bring him a cup of coffee.
"Just familiarizing myself with the town again. I noticed a new coffee shop opened up and a couple of other places, so I just took a walk. Where's Jenna?"
"She just got Kaitlyn off to school. I think she had a nail appointment after that," Kyle said with a laugh. "Listen, I'm glad I ran into you. I'm getting ready to propose to Jenna soon." Kyle smiled, and Jackson was happy for him.
"Congratulations, man. It's been a long time coming," Jackson said with a smile reaching out to shake his brother's hand. "And, if you can find someone willing to marry you, you should definitely lock her down as soon as possible." Kyle laughed at his brother's jab, but there was nothing that could wipe the smile off of his face.
"Now we just have to find you Mrs. Right," Kyle said winking at his brother as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Um, no thanks. I've had enough girlfriends to last me a lifetime. There is no Mrs. Right for Jackson Parker." Jackson tried to play it off as a joke, but he was starting to believe that was true.
"I don't believe that for a minute. You might be the oldest, but I think you're the least mature when it comes to the love department." Kyle shook his head and took another sip of his coffee. "I mean, what is it with you? Why can't you stay in a serious relationship?"
"Who are you, Dr. Phil? It's none of your business, dear brother. You just focus on your love life and I'll focus on mine." Jackson was trying not to sound snippy, but he was getting a little bit aggravated.
"Or lack thereof," Kyle said rolling his eyes. "Listen; keep the engagement thing under your hat. I've got some more planning to do before I pop the question. Got to go. Running by the jewelry store across town."
Jackson waved goodbye to his brother before putting his tip money on the table and stopping by the restroom. He thought more about what Kyle had said to him, but his little brother wasn't in a position to tell him how to live his life. If there was a Mrs. Right out there for Jackson Parker, he couldn't imagine where she might be. He'd looked high and low for years, and there just didn't seem to be a woman out there who could match him. Maybe some people just aren't meant to have soul mates, he thought, as he walked outside and headed down the street toward his car.
Adele Parker loved Thanksgiving more than just about anything. Having most of her family together, she enjoyed cooking all the food and catching up on long overdue conversations. And now she had two new women in the family with Jenna and Tessa. Each of the women had brought a new strength to their family, and she was sure that her sons would be announcing wedding plans anytime now. At least she hoped so.
The one thing that was missing from this Thanksgiving was the presence of her beloved daughter Addison. She was so worried about Addison, but she didn't want to tell her sons just how worried she was. Her daughter didn't sound right on the phone anymore, as though she were keeping a secret that was too embarrassing or upsetting to tell. Adele could tell that her daughter had something going on, but she also knew that she was an adult and could make her own decisions.
The truth was that Adele had never really liked Addison's husband anyway. He seemed gruff and a little cocky. But, everybody has their own character flaws, so Adele figured that Addison must have seen something in him that she didn't. She was a mother who didn't like getting too involved in her children's business, unless she felt like she had to step in. If she could only figure out what was going on with Addison, she probably would step in which is why her daughter wasn't telling her anything.
As she rolled out the dough for the yeast rolls, Adele was lost in thought and didn't even hear Jackson walking into the kitchen.
"Mom? Are you in there?" Jackson said waving his hand in front of her face. She wasn't sure how long he'd been standing there, but she got out of her haze and turned around.
"Oh, Jackson. Sorry. I didn't see you there."
"Apparently not," Jackson said raising an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"
"Sure. Just thinking about all the things I need to make for Thanksgiving…"
"Mom, it's me. I know you better than anyone else, and something is going on. Out with it," Jackson said. He was right. He had helped her raise his siblings much like a husband would, and he knew her better than anyone else in the world. He knew her facial expressions, her tone of voice and a multitude of other pieces of body language that would tell him when something was really wrong. In fact, sometimes it made him feel guilty that he didn't live close by anymore so that he could make sure to keep an eye on his mother. Maybe that was why she had a mild stroke last summer. Maybe it was because he wasn't around enough to watch out for her. Shrugging off the guilt as best he could, Jackson went back to trying to figure out what was wrong with his mother.
"It's nothing, really. There's nothing to worry about, Jackson. I'm fine. Sometimes mothers just get lost in thought." She turned around and went back to rolling the dough for the yeast rolls, and Jackson knew for sure that something was wrong. He thought for a moment about her mention of being a mother and realized that she had to be talking about her only missing child, Addison.
"This is about Addison, isn't it?" he asked.
Adele didn't say anything or turn around, and he could see that she was hanging her head a little bit lower, a sure sign that he had hit the nail right on the head.
"Mom, turn around and look at me." he said. Adele slowly turned around, and he could tell that she had tears in her eyes. Adele was a woman who didn't cry a lot. She never had time to cry with all that she had to do to raise five children, so when she teared up he knew that she was really worried about his sister.
"Okay, fine. It's just that Addison doesn't sound right when I talk to her on the phone or even when she texts me. I feel like something might be wrong, but she's not telling me what it is. I just hope that she's okay. It worries me," she said in a whisper. She didn't want to worry the other kids or cause a darkness over Thanksgiving for everyone else.
"Don't worry, Mom, I will talk to Addison," Jackson said. He was always taking control of situations, and this was no exception.
"No, don't. Really, Jackson. I don't want her to feel like we're all talking about her behind her back."
"Okay, fine. How about I just make a normal phone call between brother and sister and see what I think? If it sounds like she's not herself, maybe I can do a li
ttle digging around in our conversation to see what's wrong. Addison and I were always close when she was growing up, so maybe she will tell me something that she hasn't told you." Adele nodded and swiped at her eyes, brushing away a stray hair that had fallen in her face. She reached out and hugged her son tightly as if she was so appreciative of his presence back in the house. Jackson felt a pang of guilt again that he hadn't been around enough in recent years.
It was like he'd escaped from his family in January Cove, but there was nothing there that was horrible. A lot of people ran away from their lives because they wanted to get away from toxic family or areas of the country that gave the bad memories, but that wasn't the case for Jackson. His sole reason for being away from home was simply that he was alone and a failure at love so far. Maybe he was jealous of his brothers' good fortune in the relationship department, or maybe being in January Cove just reminded him that he hadn't progressed very far in his personal life since he was thirteen years old.
He couldn't quite put his finger on why he'd run away. It was like he was trying to prove something to himself and everyone else. He wanted to prove that he was the most successful brother in the family since he was the oldest. He had to excel above everyone else or he would feel like a failure.
Jackson left his mother to finish up her work in the kitchen while he walked outside to the back deck. The solitude of January Cove provided him a welcome respite from the stresses of his real estate career. Suddenly, he was starting to feel like his life in Atlanta wasn't nearly as fulfilling as he pretended it was. There's something that always drew him back to his family, his home, the waters in the ocean. He had missed the smell of the salty sea air, the breeze that lightly touched his face, the small-town life where everyone knew everyone else. And now he felt conflicted in a way that he never had before.
Jackson woke up on Thanksgiving morning way earlier than he'd planned. He could already hear mixers going in the kitchen, and the loud laughter of the women as they started preparing the big Thanksgiving meal. He wondered what they were talking about that was so hysterically funny at six o'clock in the morning.
Sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes, he stepped out onto the hardwood floor and headed for the restroom. He put some cold water on his face, brushed his hair and threw on a T-shirt and a pair of baggy athletic shorts. Even though it was winter time, he still found January Cove to be warm enough to wear shorts in November. After all, he had been in Atlanta where it was a lot colder during this time of the year.
"Good morning, ladies," he said with his best smile. The women giggled, and his mother tried to stifle a smile. "Is something funny? Is my hair askew?" he asked pretending to fix his hair with his fingers.
"No, honey, you look lovely," his mother said ruffling his hair as Jenna and Tessa started laughing.
"Okay, ladies. I can tell that you're laughing at my expense. What's so funny?" he asked crossing his arms and shooting a sly smile their way.
"Well, your mom was just giving us the lowdown on some of your romantic adventures as a teenager," Jenna said cutting her eyes at Adele who started to laugh.
"Oh really? My dear mother is talking about my private romantic life?" Jackson said wagging his finger at his mother. "And what, pray tell, did she tell you ladies?"
"Well, there was talk about a couple of teenage girls climbing out of your window…" Tessa said wagging her finger back at him. He liked this Tessa chick. She seemed to have just enough of a rough edge to fit right in with the rest of the Parker siblings.
"Mom! I can't believe you told them that. I told you that I was just playing board games with them!" he said with his hands on his hips."
"Oh, yeah. Sure. Board games. Likely story," Jenna said rolling her eyes. "Besides, I heard one of those was a Callahan sister."
"Listen, I never had any luck with the Callahan sisters. I was too busy helping to raise my snotty little brothers and sister." His attempt at a joke seemed to fail.
A hush fell over the room for just a moment, and Jackson could tell that he had made his mother feel bad or inadequate or something. She looked at him for a brief second and then turned around and started stirring the mashed potatoes. He felt terrible. "Listen, mom, I'm going to go grab a shower and then make that phone call we talked about. Okay?"
She turned around and nodded. "Sure, honey, that would be great. Lunch is at noon, so just make sure that you are back down here by then."
He gave her a quick kiss on top of the head and then trotted back upstairs. He wasn't sure why what he said caused her to pull back so. Maybe she felt guilty that he'd had to step up after his father died. He'd always been her right hand, but he didn't know how his mother really felt about that.
Jackson got a shower, made himself a cup of coffee in his little coffeemaker upstairs and sat out on the deck for a little while. He watched traffic go by and for some reason his eyes kept getting drawn to the new coffee shop. Jolt. Even though he had an altercation with the sexy new owner, he didn't have any plans to go back to that place. Her son had a major attitude problem, and she obviously wasn't going to do anything about it. What kind of mother allowed her son to talk to people like that? She obviously wasn't a very good disciplinarian, and he could probably teach her a thing or two about that. If one of his brothers had ever talked to anyone the way that kid had talked to him, he would've smacked the snot out of them. But, this woman apparently didn't have much of a backbone.
He finished up his coffee and dug his cell phone out of his pocket. It was time to call his sister and try to figure out exactly what was going on. He had a feeling his mother was right. Addison had never pulled this far away from the family, and she rarely missed a holiday. Although she and her husband did travel quite a bit, Addison always stayed in close contact with the family. Lately, things hadn't been the same, and he could feel it himself.
"Hello?" Addison answered. Her voice sounded softer than normal, and for a moment he wondered if he'd woke her up. It was already after 9 AM, and she was usually a pretty early riser. Of course, he had no idea where she was in the world right now.
"Hey, sis. It's Jackson. Are you okay? You sound tired," he said.
"Oh, hey, Jackson. Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a late night out. You know how we like to have a good time. Slept in for a while this morning. How is everyone?"
He could tell that she was brushing his concerns off, and that just made him even more worried about her. "We're all fine. Missing you for Thanksgiving, though."
"Yeah, I really wish we could've been there. I hate missing a holiday with my Parker brothers. But, I'm going to try my best to get there for Christmas."
"I thought you guys were in Greece or some other exotic locale?" Jackson said. There was a silence on the other end of the phone for a moment as if she was trying to think of something to say.
"Um, yeah, at the last minute Jim had a change at work…" She was stuttering and stammering, and Jackson knew he had to act fast.
"Come on, Addison. You and I both know that something is going on. You would never miss a Thanksgiving with the family if you were stateside. I'm your big brother. I can help you. Please just tell me what's wrong."
Addison didn't say anything for a moment and then he heard what he thought was a sniffle on the other end. "Jackson, I'm fine," she said through what sounded like tears.
"Why won't you let us help you?" he asked. He was aware that his tone sounded like he was begging, and he really was. He wanted to help his sister. All the brothers felt that way about her being the only girl.
"There's nothing to help me with. Really. Everything is fine. I've got things under control."
"Are you okay? Are you safe? Has someone hurt you?" Jackson started rattling off questions to her.
"I'm safe. No one is hurting me, I promise. I just need to be away right now. Please don't say anything to Mom. I don't want her worried about me."
"Too late. She's very worried about you, Addison. And now that I've talked to you, I'm worried too. If
something is going on with your husband, you need to let me know about it. I can help you fix this."
"Jackson," she snapped. For the first time in their phone conversation, he heard his sister getting aggravated. She was usually a pretty feisty one anyway, so he was kind of glad to hear her backbone finally. "I'm not going to say it again. Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about. I've got things handled." There was a silence between brother and sister for a few moments before Jackson finally got the message that his sister wasn't ready to talk about whatever was going on with her.
"Okay. Just know that you can call me anytime, day or night. I will be there to help you. I promise."
"I know you will. You always have been. And I thank you for that. But I really need to take care of myself right now. I hope you can understand that. And please make up something to tell mother so that she's not worried about me. I can't take the guilt of her having another stroke just because she's worried about me."
"Alright. I hate lying to Mom, but I know it's for the best in this case. I'll tell her that something came up with Jim's job, and that finances are a little tight right now. I'll just tell her that you guys are too proud to ask for money to travel, so you're staying closer to home."
"Sounds like a good cover story. That will work. Thanks, Jackson."
"And, Addison, just know that I love you," Jackson said.
"I know. And I love you too. I'll be home soon. See you at Christmas," she said with her voice cracking before she hung up. Jackson sat there for a moment wondering if there was anything else that he could do, but Addison was a grown married woman who had made her requests clear. And he understood that himself because he didn't like people interfering in his life either. But as her older brother and stand-in father for most of her life, he was used to taking care of things for his little sister. Feeling like his hands were tied, he set his cell phone down on the dresser and started to get ready for the Thanksgiving festivities.
