“You could ask.”
She walked over to Jack, sat on his lap, and put her arms around his neck. “That would mean we could spend the whole day together tomorrow. It’s Saturday, so you don’t have to work.”
“I’ve heard that all work and no play makes me a dull boy. What do you want to do?”
Becca leaned to kiss him. “I think we might be able to think of something.”
Sometime in the middle of the night, Jack disappeared to go tend to Frank. The next morning, someone knocked on the door. Becca peered through the peephole, smiled, and let in Jack. As she closed the door behind her, he looked her up and down. “Are you planning to get dressed?”
“Not unless you want me to.”
Grinning, he began removing his clothing. “No. Not at all.”
Later, they went to go get Frank for a walk near the lake. As they strolled along the shore, Becca couldn’t stop thinking about leaving Jack the next day. The idea of not sleeping curled up with him and feeling his warmth next to her made her noisy, lonely apartment seem utterly depressing.
They walked along the shoreline path as Frank cavorted around on the rocky beach. Jack stopped and turned to look at her. He cupped her chin with his palm and caressed her cheek with his thumb. “You’re awfully quiet. Are you okay?”
“You always ask me that.” She looked into his eyes. “When am I going to see you again?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got to get this forestry management plan done.” He scratched his ear. “As you know, I’m a little behind on it.”
Wrapping her arms around him, Becca leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m going to miss you.”
He smoothed her hair. “I’ll miss you too. But we’ll figure something out. Right now, we should just enjoy being here together.”
She lifted her head and looked out at the lake. “It is really beautiful. But I’m getting cold.”
“Okay. Let’s go back to my place. You can contend with my chair while I feed Frank and make us something for dinner.”
She laughed. “If I get into that chair again, I might not be able to leave.”
Inclining his head to kiss her, he whispered, “That thought had crossed my mind.”
After dinner, Becca sat next to Jack on the mattress. Frank was snoring at their feet, half falling off the mattress onto the floor.
Becca pointed down at the dog. “Honestly, how can he possibly be comfortable like that?”
“Frank sleeps hard. I’m sure he didn’t notice when the back half of his hairy body rolled off.”
“Kat said I could pick up Mona at seven tomorrow. I guess with that many dogs they get up pretty early. So that means I’ll be leaving at six thirty or so.” The slightly queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach had returned now that she was talking about leaving. Her departure was getting so close. And there were so many things she wanted to say to Jack, but wasn’t sure she should. He was wrong about her being brave about facing hard conversations. She’d rather face twelve uncooperative employees in the assessor’s office than risk seeing what Jack’s reaction would be when she told him she loved him.
He put his arm around her. “I’m sure Mona will be glad to see you.”
“I don’t know about that. I think she likes it better out at Kat’s place than she does with me. She’d probably be happier in another home.”
“I don’t think that’s true.” He squeezed her shoulders gently. “Mona was awfully excited to see you the last time you picked her up.”
“You should see her at my place though. It’s like Mona is a different dog.” Becca shrugged. “I guess really it’s more like she’s a different dog here in Alpine Grove. A happier dog. I just feel bad for her, like it would have been better if someone else had adopted her.”
“You aren’t going to give her away, are you?”
Becca shook her head. “I can’t do that. I’d miss her too much. That probably makes me a selfish person though.”
Jack touched his fingertips to her chin, turning her head toward him. “I don’t think you’re selfish. Adopting Mona, saving her life, and taking her into your home to care for her seems pretty generous to me.”
Becca looked into the deep blue eyes that she’d come to love and mumbled “Thanks” before closing her eyes and kissing him. He took her in his arms and held her close as he tenderly caressed her and brushed his lips along her throat. Although Becca had enjoyed the many energetic and exciting adventures in bed with Jack at the dingy H12, this was different. Slower and more intimate. She relaxed in his arms and let the sensations overtake her. As she touched him, she tried to memorize the contours of his body, so she wouldn’t forget.
The next morning, the alarm went off and Becca jolted upright on the mattress. Jack launched up and hit the clock on the dresser, sending it crashing to the floor. He picked it up and crawled back onto the mattress, sprawling out on his stomach. “Well, you wanted to get up early. Ugh.”
“All this minimalist living and yet you actually have an alarm clock.”
“A loud one,” he grumbled into the pillow.
Becca leaned across his back and kissed his neck. “It’s definitely not Zen. Even Frank is awake now. I’m going to go take a shower.”
Jack’s only response was, “Mmfmmfh.”
After her shower, Becca left the bathroom and found Jack in the kitchen with Frank, who was staring up at him intently. Breakfast was imminent and the dog was on alert. Jack looked somewhat less rumpled, but seeing him shirtless with all those muscles and wearing nothing except old Levis reminded her of a poster all the women in her dorm had drooled over back in college. Even Jack’s bare feet were sexy.
He looked over his shoulder at her. “I have coffee here. Your elixir of awakeness is served.”
Becca took a mug and leaned on the dresser, cradling the mug in her hands. “Thank you.”
“You’re sure you know how to get out to Kat’s place, right?”
“Yes, I’ve been there more than once now. It didn’t snow. And I have a map.”
He chuckled. “Sorry, but I’m definitely not impressed with your map.”
“Neither am I.” She turned to look at the obnoxious alarm clock. There really were no more excuses to stay and she was going to be late if she didn’t leave soon. “I should get going.”
He put down his mug and walked over to her. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”
“No, it’s fine. I know you need to catch up with work. So do I.”
Enveloping her in his warm embrace, he said, “Drive carefully.”
“I will.” Becca kissed him and placed her palms on his chest for one last moment. “I’ll call you when I get home.”
She picked up her suitcase and with her free hand gave Frank a goodbye pat on the head. “You behave Frank. Don’t mess with the hyperactive squirrels.”
Jack leaned against the door jamb as she walked by. He took her hand, pulling her back toward him. “I’m going to miss you.”
Becca smiled weakly. “I’m going to miss you too.” She leaned to kiss him hurriedly one more time before she burst into tears. “Bye.”
She scuttled down the stairs and out of the building to the Explorer. After heaving her suitcase into the passenger seat, she got in the driver’s side and started the engine. Covering her face with her palms, she finally let herself sob. She was such a coward. Why hadn’t she told Jack how she felt?
After a few minutes of pretending to warm up the car, but mostly crying, Becca took a deep breath. Pulling herself together, she put the Explorer in gear, pulled out of the parking lot, and headed north.
Becca was glad that it took almost half an hour to get to Kat’s house. By the time she was bumping her way down the driveway, she was more or less ready to face the world, both human and canine, again.
Kat was outside with Mona and a number of other dogs who were having lots of fun playing in the snow. Becca got out of the Explorer and opened her arms wide, “Mona!”
The dog went running to Becca and crashed into her, knocking her back into a pile of snow, but Becca didn’t care. She hugged her dog and ruffled her ears. “It’s so good to see you!”
Kat walked over and extended her hand to help Becca up. “I think Mona is glad to see you again.”
“I missed her.”
“She was a good girl. Just one of the canine gang again.”
“Yes. I notice she’s not even on a leash.”
“No. Mona doesn’t need one here. She’s like Linus. Those two won’t leave my side. It’s like having large furry things glued to you. I can’t go anywhere alone. Mona has become one of the Velcro dogs.”
Becca laughed. “I love that. It makes me feel so much better. Thanks for letting me pick Mona up so early.”
“It’s no problem. As you can see, everyone is very much awake.” Kat looked at Becca quizzically. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” Becca looked down at herself. Sure, she was distracted this morning, but she seemed to be dressed okay. “What do you mean? I’m fine.”
Kat motioned her hand along her face, indicating Becca’s eyes. “I think you might want to redo your mascara.”
Becca rubbed her lower eyelids with her fingertips. “Oh. Oops.” She looked at the blackness on her fingers. “Wow. Well, that’s not pretty, is it? I’m okay. I’m just having trouble leaving.”
“I had that problem when I first got here too. In the end, I just stopped leaving, which solved the problem.”
“Really?” Becca looked at Kat intently. “I mean, I hated Alpine Grove. Every time I had an appraisal assignment here, I’d get lost. And then when my uncle made me come up here again over Thanksgiving, I was totally furious.”
“And now?”
Becca waved her arms toward the trees. “It’s so quiet and beautiful. At The Shack, at first the quiet made me want to tear my hair out. But something changed while I was there. I don’t know. It sounds so silly, but now I just feel like I can actually breathe here. It doesn’t hurt that Mona is so happy too.”
Kat put her hand on Linus’s huge head. “And that Jack lives here?”
Becca looked down and stroked Mona’s head. “Well, yes. But I don’t think that will work out.”
“How many more days until he’s not married now?”
“Four. But I don’t think he feels the same way I do.”
Kat stroked Linus’s fur slowly. “Did you ask him?”
“No.”
“Maybe you should.”
Chapter 11
Other Plans
As Becca drove back toward Alpine Grove, she thought about what Kat had said. No one could be as tender and loving as Jack had been last night without feeling something. It couldn’t just be lust. He couldn’t be that good an actor, could he? Becca certainly wasn’t, given her tendency to spill her guts to Jack on a regular basis. Maybe he really was moving on. From what he’d said, it sounded like his marriage was truly over.
To leave Alpine Grove and return to the city, she had to drive through town right by the turn to Jack’s apartment complex. Maybe she should stop and talk to him. It didn’t seem right to leave things unsaid. She didn’t even know when they were going to see each other again.
Becca sat up straighter in the Explorer’s plush bucket seat and readjusted her hands on the steering wheel. Jack was probably still there at the apartment hanging out with Frank, so she could just stop by, say what she needed to say, and give him another goodbye kiss. She wanted one more kiss. Okay. It was a plan. Everything was better with a plan. Turning to look at Mona in the backseat, she said, “Mona, we need to make one more little stop before we head home.” Mona wagged her tail, indicating her support for the idea.
Becca turned down the side street toward Jack’s building and stopped the car. Jack was standing in the parking lot facing Annie, with his hands in the pockets of his long dark coat. Becca couldn’t see his face very well, but his head was bowed. She backed up a few feet and parked the car, trying to decide what to do. Should she walk up and make a scene? Jack said she was brave, but there was a fine line between bravery and utter stupidity. Even she wasn’t gutsy enough to have that confrontation.
Becca got out of the Explorer and walked a little way down the sidewalk, so she could stand casually next to a tree out of sight. Okay, yes, she was behaving like a stalker, but given the body language between Jack and Annie, there was no way she was leaving without finding out what happened next. Then, after Annie went away, she could still talk to Jack.
As usual, Annie looked gorgeous. That woman would never be caught dead in a grubby old flannel shirt. Her long blonde hair fluttered in the breeze and although Becca couldn’t hear what she was saying, Annie was gesturing wildly at Jack, emphatically making a point. He shook his head and whatever he was saying appeared not to go over well with Annie. Becca gave a little internal cheer for Jack sticking to whatever he was saying.
Annie shook her head and flipped her hair back with her hand. She reached into her coat pocket, pulled something out, and handed it to Jack. He took it with both hands and gazed into Annie’s face with a look of incredulity. Annie grinned at him and he moved forward, wrapping her in a hug.
Becca put her hand over her mouth and waited. The time frame for a “friendly” hug had officially been exceeded now. That was the type of hug that could evolve into a lot more than a hug. Annie stepped back away from Jack smiling, nodding, and still holding his arm possessively. Becca had seen enough. More than enough. It was time to go now.
Moving back behind the tree, she ran back to the Explorer, and got in. Throwing the vehicle into reverse, she backed into a driveway and turned around. Mona fell off the backseat and glared at her from the floor. “Sorry Mona, but we’ve gotta get out of here right now.”
As Becca drove down the mountain back toward the city, it seemed like she went through every possible emotion. Well, except happiness. But shock, confusion, disappointment, sadness, shame, anger, and jealousy were well covered. The chatterbox in her brain was working overtime. How could she be such an idiot? Do not fall in love with a man who has not gotten over his wife. It was obvious from his face that no matter what he might have said or done with Becca, he was still in love with Annie. His wife. Of all the bad choices Becca had made in her life, this had to win some sort of prize for stupidity.
By the time she pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building, Becca was emotionally exhausted. It was going to be a relief to immerse herself in work and forget about everything. She grabbed her suitcase and laptop and unloaded Mona from the back. As she opened the door to her apartment, a fire truck went by, its siren wailing off into the distance. A car honked, there was a screech of tires, and then a lot of shouting from the sidewalk below.
She set her laptop next to the desk and looked up to see Mona skittering off to the bedroom. “Welcome home, little dog.”
After unpacking and eating something, Becca’s world seemed a little bit brighter. She loaded Mona and the laptop back into the Explorer so she could return the car and go to the office. At least her little cave of an office at Radcliffe and Associates was quieter than her apartment.
At the office, she copied the files from her floppy disk backups onto her own desktop computer and set to work, while Mona snoozed under the desk. It was hard to focus and her write-up was probably not as good as it should have been, but later that evening, at last, all the photos were scanned, the data was entered, and the appraisal was finally finished. Becca held the printout in her hands, and then set it down in her out-box. She leaned forward and flopped her arms across the desk. That had to be the longest, most complicated appraisal trip ever.
After a few moments of sitting there, silently thanking the computer gods for cooperating, she stood up wearily and peeked under the desk. “Okay Mona. I’m finally done. Let’s go home.”
Monday, Becca went back to work and gave Pat the bad news about the demise of the laptop’s hard drive. He was philosophical about
the computer issues, but thrilled to see the finished appraisal. After he read it over, he offered a few instructions for improvements she could make next time. But he signed off on everything and left to take the appraisal to the client with a happy little spring in his step. Becca was just glad that she never had to see the stupid thing again.
Now that the gigantic and fashionably late appraisal was finally off her desk, Becca turned to the other smaller assignments that had been filling up her in-box in her absence. They were all local and since she didn’t feel like driving, she busied herself accessing a few online databases. When more information was online, her job would be so much easier. Of course, in tiny towns like Alpine Grove, it could take decades for them to embrace the wonders of the World Wide Web. But she wasn’t going to think about that place anymore. Pat would just have to get someone else to do those appraisals in the future. As she went through the piles of papers, she tried to ignore the tightness in her chest by working on her deep-breathing exercises. It was beyond time to get herself back to a yoga class.
That evening, instead of going to a class, Becca decided to fully embrace the Monday blues by getting into her jammies and spending some quality time with a restorative quart of ice cream. She sat in front of the TV, which she had turned up extra loud to drown out the din from Mr. Rap Dude’s latest CD acquisition. Fortunately, there was a re-run of the Friends Thanksgiving episode she’d missed. Ross and Rachel were busy arguing on the screen when the phone rang. Clutching the ice cream container to her chest, she rammed the spoon into the frozen goodness and picked up the receiver.
Jack said, “Hi Becca. I guess you made it home okay?”
Becca put the ice cream container on her desk. “Yes.”
“I thought you were going to call.”
Snow Furries (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 4) Page 19
