by Sarra Cannon
“Do you have a second to show us to our table?” Knox asks.
She blinks for a moment and then it seems to dawn on her. “Oh my gosh, of course,” she says, grabbing a couple menus from beneath the hostess stand. “I got so wrapped up in the trial run that I forgot you guys were coming in to eat tonight, too. Let me show you where we’ve got you set up.”
She leads us toward the far side of the restaurant where a large circular table occupies the entire corner. Jo’s father, Rob is already there in his wheelchair, and he manages a smile as we approach. Next to him, Colton stands up and extends his hand to Knox.
“You made it,” he says. “We were beginning to wonder if we were going to be the only ones here with this big table all to ourselves.”
He leans over and kisses my cheek.
“You look lovely as usual, Leigh Anne,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say. I walk over to Rob, kiss his cheek and squeeze his hand. “Congratulations on the new place. It looks amazing. People are going to go nuts over this place.”
“Jo’s cooking,” Rob says. His speech is slurred, but still understandable.
He was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year, and it’s been advancing more rapidly than any of us expected. But he seems happy, and overall, he’s handling it better than the rest of us.
“Damn right,” Knox says, putting his hand on his uncle’s shoulder. “Once the word gets out, people are going to be driving from all over the south just to eat here.”
“We’re here,” Penny says, appearing next to us with her husband Mason at her side. “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. It’s so good to see you guys.”
I give her a huge hug and look around. “Where’s the little one?”
“Mom’s watching her for us,” Penny says. “She jumps at any chance to get that sweet little girl all to herself, thank God. Momma needs a break every now and then.”
We all choose our seats around the table and order our drinks. A few minutes later, Jenna and Preston arrive, filling out our group of eight.
“Oh my gosh, look at this menu,” Jenna says. “I don’t even know what I want to try first.”
“I’m going for the fried chicken and dumplings,” Preston says. “I know I’ve had it before, but I can’t get enough.”
“Well, I’m trying something new,” Penny says. “I’ve never had Jo’s shrimp and grits before.”
The server comes over and takes our order and the eight of us settle into excited conversation and talk about what everyone’s been up to lately. Now that we’re all graduated from college and out on our own, we don’t have as much time to spend together as we used to, so it’s a rare treat to all get together like this.
Penny is thriving as a business advisor to a lot of the entrepreneurs and small businesses here in town. She also just started an MBA program with a concentration in accounting.
“I’ve been volunteering at the children’s hospital as much as I can, too,” she says. “It keeps me sane while Mason’s out of town with the band.”
“I don’t know how you do it all,” I say. “Aren’t you exhausted?”
“Sometimes, but it’s fun. I make it out to as many of his shows as I can, but with Rachel at home, it’s not always easy,” she says. “But we’re making it work.”
“We just booked a show at a huge bar in Athens,” Mason says. “It could be a real shot for us to get the word out.”
His band, The Mason Dixon Line, has been booked every weekend for months. They’re starting to get a real following on social media, and they’ve even had a few producers contact them about a possible recording deal.
“What about you, Preston?” Mason asks. “I feel like we’ve hardly talked for weeks. What have you been up to?”
Preston shrugs. “Still working at my dad’s company,” he says. “It’s funny. Back when I thought I had no choice but to work there, I was miserable. But when I started thinking about what else I’d rather do, I started to realize that I love the work. I’ve started taking on some leadership roles lately, and I’m actually pretty good at it, if I do say so myself.”
Mason raises an eyebrow. “Seriously? You love working for your father?” he asks. “I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth.”
We all laugh. It’s true, but Preston looks happy, and that’s what matters.
“I thought about breaking off and starting a business of my own, but I found out that I’m really more interested in taking what Dad’s already built and making it bigger,” he says.
I nearly choke on my bread. “Bigger? Is that possible?” I ask. It’s already one of the most profitable companies in the country. It’s hard to imagine how to grow a business like that.
Jenna laughs and elbows Preston in the ribs. “Excuse him, folks. My boyfriend has a confidence problem,” she says. When he looks confused, she clarifies. “You have too much confidence.”
He laughs and leans over to kiss her. “You’re the one who taught me to go after what I want,” he says. “Have you guys been down to Jenna’s place lately?”
“I was there a few weeks ago,” Penny says. “Your art is truly stunning, Jenna. I don’t know how you do it.”
“How are sales going?” I ask.
“It’s getting to be more than I can handle on my own,” she says. “I think I’m going to have to hire a few people to help with the shipping and the marketing, so I can just focus on the artwork.”
When she graduated from college, she started her own online business making art with paper. She does the most incredibly creative things with antique books, quilling, and has recently gotten into hand-lettering. She’s selling like crazy on Etsy and at local craft fairs, but now her local shop has started getting a lot of attention, too. I’m so proud of what she’s created in such a small period of time.
“I might stop by there next week to see if you can help me come up with something pretty to put on the wall in our kitchen,” I say.
“Of course,” Jenna says. “Stop by anytime.”
We go around the table, everyone giving updates on their lives and careers. Colton tells us about his job at the local radio station and Knox tells everyone about the houses he’s been working on, but when it comes around to me, I don’t have anything impressive to say to anyone.
All my friends have these huge things going on in their lives. New businesses, music deals, amazing jobs they love. But I’ve done nothing since graduation this past May.
I almost wish they’d skip right over me without asking how things are going, but I’m not that lucky.
“How are things going on the job front for you, Leigh Anne?” Penny asks. “Any ideas about what you want to do?”
I want to shrink down and hide in the corner when everyone’s eyes turn to me. I used to be this town’s golden girl. The one most likely to succeed, heading off to an Ivy League school after high school.
“I don’t know what to say.” I clear my throat, anxiety clawing at my insides. “Nothing new to report.”
I try to laugh it off, but there’s an audible break in the conversation.
“Leigh Anne and I have been so busy getting the restaurant and the house ready there hasn’t been much time for anything else,” Knox says. “She’s been incredible at helping me find some houses to restore, too. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have any business right now.”
“Maybe the two of you could go into business together,” Penny says. “Leigh Anne, you’d get to use that marketing degree of yours. If you want to sit down and talk about setting something up officially, let me know. Mason goes out of town for three days next week. You could come and keep me and Rachel company and we could talk all about it.”
“Thanks,” I say. And I’m grateful for their support, but there’s still a lump of disappointment in my throat. I wish I had some big news to share with everyone. Some amazing thing I’d accomplished. Compared to the rest of them, I’ve barely done anything.
Luckily, I�
��m saved by the arrival of our food.
Conversation comes to a complete halt as everyone starts eating. We look up a few minutes later and laugh at our silence.
“It’s so good,” Penny says, her mouth half-full. “I don’t even want to stop eating to talk to any of you.”
“Me, either,” Colton says.
“Oh hush, you get to eat Jo’s cooking all the time,” Jenna says.
“If things turn out okay, hopefully everyone in town will get to eat here anytime they want,” Jo says. She comes over and puts her hand on the back of her father’s wheelchair. “How is it, you guys? And be honest.”
“It’s incredible,” Preston says.
Everyone answers in agreement, telling Jo how wonderful the food is, and I take a moment to look around the table at my closest friends in the world. They’re all laughing and having a great time, and I realize that this is the only place in the world I want to be.
I reach under the table and grab Knox’s hand. I never thought about the idea of us starting a business together, but the idea has me excited about the future for the first time in a long time. I wonder if that’s something he’d be interested in? I can’t wait to talk to him about it later.
“I love you,” I say in a whisper.
He studies my face for a moment, and then pushes my hair behind my ear. “I love you, too.”
I may not know exactly what I want to do with my life, and I may not have some huge list of accomplishments on my resume just yet, but sitting here with the people I care about, I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
Chapter Four
Jo says goodnight to the last server to head out and locks the door behind her.
“Oh my God, we made it,” she says. She sits down next to me at the bar and laughs. “I was so nervous for this test run, but it went so smoothly, I can hardly believe it. Please tell me I’m not dreaming.”
“It was not a dream, my dear cousin,” I say. “You really did it.”
She shakes her head. “I really did it,” she echoes. “It wouldn’t have been possible without you and Leigh Anne and everyone stepping up to help out. I could never afford to repay you for everything you’ve done for us, Knox.”
“It’s a good thing I’m family, then,” I say. “No repayment needed.”
She loops her arm in mine and rests her head against my shoulder for a second. Leigh Anne went over to Penny’s for a while and everyone else headed home, but I stayed on to help Jo clean up for the night. Now that the servers and cooks are gone, it’s just the two of us left in the restaurant.
“Do you remember when we were younger and we used to stay up late in the summers waiting for Daddy to close up so that we could come in here and run around while he cleaned?” she asks. “I mean, looking back on it now, it was incredibly irresponsible of him to let us do that, but those were some of the best nights of my childhood.”
“Mine, too,” I say.
“It must have been well after two in the morning, and we were what? Eight or nine years old?” she asks. “Remember watching movies and struggling to stay awake just so we would get to come over here?”
“Like it was yesterday,” I say. “Coming to visit you guys here in Fairhope were the happiest times of my childhood, too. Those memories got me through a lot over the years.”
“It’s hard to believe he’s not going to be around forever,” she says. When I look over, there are tears in her eyes. “He looked happy tonight, though, didn’t he?”
I put my arm around her. “He looked proud and happy,” I say. “You did good, Jo.”
“Thank you,” she says, wiping the tears from her eyes. She stands up and walks around to the other side of the bar. “I think we deserve a drink.”
“Scotch?”
“Of course,” she says. “The good stuff.”
She puts two clean glasses on the bar and uses her key to unlock a special box under the counter.
“Here’s to Rob’s,” she says, pouring her best scotch into the glasses. “Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I say. I toss back the scotch, and she refills my glass.
“This has been a dream of mine for so long, it’s hard to believe it’s really real, you know?” she asks. “If it wasn’t for Daddy being sick, everything would be perfect right now.”
“At least he’s here to see it,” I say. “Life is rarely ever perfect, but we have to be grateful for the things that are good. Enjoy them while we have them.”
She nods, and I think for a moment, we’re both remembering my mother.
“I wish she would have moved back here when I was younger,” I say. “Maybe being closer to family could have changed things for us somehow. Maybe when she died, I could have stayed with you guys, instead of being shipped up there to stay with the devil.”
She shakes her head. “We would have gotten in so much trouble if we had gone to high school together,” she says with a laugh. “It’s probably for the best, or neither one of us would have ever graduated.”
“I never really did,” I say.
She raises an eyebrow. “That’s right,” she says. “You were in kid-jail for a while. GED, right?”
I nod and take a sip of the scotch. “I was never expected to amount to much of anything,” I say.
“Now look at you,” Jo says. “Look at both of us. Neither one of us went to college, but we’re both business owners now.”
I shrug. “I don’t know how much of a business I’ve really got going,” I say. “But it’s a start.”
“You’ve got a rare talent,” Jo says. “There’s nothing holding you back but you. You do realize that, right?”
“Maybe,” I say. “Seeing you do this with the restaurant definitely has me thinking, though.”
“About what?”
“About getting my business going for real,” I say. “Putting myself out there in a bigger way.”
“What’s stopping you?” she asks.
I shake my head, unable to put my finger on it, exactly. “I don’t know. I guess I just think of all businessmen being like my father,” I say. “All about money and networking and shady, underhanded deals just to get ahead. Cutting corners and finding shortcuts. I don’t want to turn into that kind of man.”
“You’re nothing like him,” Jo says, leaning toward me. “Nothing like him at all, and don’t you ever think that even for a second, you hear me?”
I nod, but there’s something still stuck in my throat when I think about it.
“You know, he wasn’t like that when he met my mother, either,” I say, staring into my drink. “But something changed him. Money and success, I guess. I don’t want to end up like that. But at the same time…”
My voice trails off before I put words to the rest of my thoughts.
Jo puts her hand on mine, and I look up into her eyes.
“You aren’t him,” she says. “And you deserve to live whatever life you want, Knox Warner. You can’t live with his ghost following you around all your life.”
Her words hit me deep in my gut. I know she’s right, but fear is a powerful monster. Some days I’m not sure how to fight it.
“What if I’m not good enough for her?” I ask suddenly, giving voice to my biggest fears.
Jo makes a face. “For who? Leigh Anne? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m serious,” I say. “Think about it. When she was in high school, she dated the richest guy in the state. A billionaire who’s about to be running his father’s company.”
“She dumped him, remember.”
“Only because he cheated on her,” I say. “Besides, she left Fairhope for a reason, Jo. She wanted to get out of here and live in a big city. She wanted to make something important out of her life.”
Jo shakes her head. “She came back here on her own,” she says. “And if she didn’t want to stay here, she wouldn’t have. She loves you, Knox.”
“I just don’t want to hold her back,” I say, a k
not building in my stomach. “Maybe if I started a real business and started building a name for myself around here, she’d be happier. We could buy a house on the beach, maybe.”
“Spend more time at the country club,” Jo says. “You could take up golf and start wearing khaki's.”
I roll my eyes and take another drink. “Don’t make fun of me. I’m being serious.”
“That’s what scares me,” she says. “Listen to me. Leigh Anne loves you for who you are. Period. If she wanted to be with a guy like Preston, she would have gone looking for one. But she doesn’t. She wants you. You have to know that.”
She leans across the top of the bar, shaking her head.
“Where’s all this coming from, anyway?” she asks.
“I’m going to propose,” I say, and despite my doubts, I can’t help smiling at the thought.
Jo straightens and slams her empty glass down on the bar. “Hell, yes. It’s about time,” she says. “You’ve been holding onto that ring for months. Please don’t tell me you’ve been holding back because you’re afraid she’s going to say no?”
“Not exactly,” I say. “I’m more afraid she’s going to settle for less than she deserves.”
It’s an embarrassing thing to admit, but I can be honest with Jo.
She takes my hand, and I look up to meet her eyes.
“You are one of the greatest men I’ve ever known,” she says. “Any woman would be lucky to get to spend their life with you. Besides, what Leigh Anne deserves is a man that loves her with all his heart. Someone that will be there for her when she needs him. I think you’ve more than shown that you’re that man.”
“I hope you’re right,” I say. “Want to help me out with the proposal?”
Jo smiles, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter Five
My phone buzzes on the night stand, but I ignore it, pulling the covers tighter around my shoulders. I snuggle into the crook of Knox’s arm and smile a sleepy smile. This is my favorite place in the entire world, right here next to his warm body in the early morning hours.
