She hadn’t come to Redbud looking for a relationship, but meeting J.T. had changed everything.
He made her feel…
***
“Edee, I read your new ad in the morning paper.” Pauline’s brow lifted to her gray curls.
“I didn’t. Where’s the paper?” Stella’s gum popped as she looked around the backroom of the town hall and grabbed a newspaper off a near-by table.
“I don’t see the sense in it, myself.” Emily Proctor dropped a tray of taffy on the table.
Edee kept her eyes glued to cutting wrappers. She could feel every eye in the room turned on her. Judging her. Would the group reject her? She didn’t know some of these women as well as she knew the group that came to her house. Maybe these women didn’t want her on the committee.
Pauline cleared her throat. Then cleared it again. “Well, if you ask me, and I always have an opinion, I think Edee’s of starting a town website is good.”
With a decisive nod of her head, Pauline picked up a double stack of candy wrappers and started cutting.
“So, Edee…are you planning to stay on in Redbud?”
Edee recognized Colleen Swift as the woman who had served their ice cream order at the drug store the other night. From the expectant look on the woman’s face, she couldn’t wait to tell everyone the details.
“I love Redbud.” Edee wasn’t ready to discuss her plans. “Tell me about the Festival.” She glanced around the group. “Do you wear fancy dresses to the dance?”
“We wear our finest, girl! The Ball is the crowning event of the Festival.”
One of the women giggled. “We even crown a Princess.”
“I heard…” Edee broke off with a gulp, feeling the heat from glaring looks. “I…uh…think it sounds like fun.”
“That’s why we wanted to practice our dance steps.” Nell Oliver said as more laughter filled the room. “The festival dance is special.”
“It’s big.” Emily Proctor’s eyes widened. “Biggest event of the year.”
“Except the Christmas Dance—”
“And the Valentine Dance.” Brandy joined the laughter.
Edee smiled. “Everyone in town must like to dance.”
“We really do.” Pauline nodded and sent a sharp glance around the group. “Dances are special events in this town. “Anyone seen Ellie?”
“She got another call from New York!” Stella’s gum popped. “That designer she studied with wants some of Ellie’s quilts photographed for a magazine spread.”
“Well, I’ll be—”
“Okay, be here tomorrow night to pull the taffy.” Pauline grabbed her purse and headed toward the door.
“Bet she’s going to Ellie’s shop.” Coleen snickered as she packed up scissors and paper.
“Why would you say that?” Stella closed the lid on the box of cut papers and sent the woman a big eyed look.
“She wants details, why do you think?”
Stella cackled. “I didn’t say she wasn’t going to Ellie’s.”
***
“That’s the last booth.” Sam picked up a bucket of nails and turned to J.T. “You’ve been quiet today.”
“Just thinking.” J.T. felt Sam’s speculative look bore into him.
Sam picked up a leftover board. “You’ve been busy this week. Thanks for helping me finish up the gazebo.”
“Glad to do it…buddy!”
Sam laughed. “You sound like Shawn.”
“Guess you settled your differences since you’re in the Oglethorpe house.” J.T. matched his stride to Sam’s.
Squinting against the setting sun, Sam said. “It took two weddings, but we got things sorted out. He’s family.”
“Shawn’s okay.” J.T. put his tools in the back of his truck and laughed. “Just keep him away from your girlfriends.”
“You got a special girl in mind?” Sam sat on the tailgate of his truck.
“Why do you ask?” J.T. braced a foot across one knee and brushed sawdust off his jeans.
“So, you’re not going to admit you’re interested in Edee.”
Chin angled, J.T. stared at him. “I said I had things on my mind. I didn’t mention a woman.”
He should have been on guard. Sam always knew what he was thinking. Except this time. There was no way anyone could know how Edee made him feel. One look in her dark chocolate eyes had his heart landing at her feet.
He even liked her cat, and he had always considered himself a dog person.
“How long you going to hold out?” Sam lifted a foot to the tailgate and tied his shoe. “You know you’re interested.”
Releasing an impatient sigh, J.T. looked over his shoulder to make sure they weren’t within earshot of the other men as he slouched against the side of his truck.
“What have I got to offer a woman?”
“Are you kidding?”
“Sam, I’ve got a business. But what do I know about being part of a family? My mother worked day and night, and I never knew my dad.”
“What do any of us know?” Sam dropped his foot. Bracing his hands on his thighs, he straightened his back and sighed. “I didn’t think I had anything to offer Ellie.”
“Yeah?”
“Turns out, she didn’t care about things.” Sam’s voice deepened with emotion. “She wanted me.”
Scrubbing his hand over his face to wipe away emotions in reaction to Sam’s words, J.T. searched for a response. Voice hoarse, he said. “Ellie’s a smart gal.”
“So is Edee.”
Meeting Sam’s stare, J.T. said, “Yeah, and that’s why she doesn’t need to get hooked up with me.”
“J.T.” Sam huffed. “Will you let it go?” He slid off the tailgate and turned to pack his tools. “The past is gone. It’s up to you to make the future.”
Pushing away from the side of his pick-up, bringing him nose to nose with the best friend he had ever had, J.T. said. “I can handle things for myself. It’s adding Edee to the mix that’s got me worried.”
“Why not let her make the choice?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I can’t stop to talk, hon.” Stella plopped a Pepsi down in front of Edee. “I have to help Roy make quiche for tonight.” Gum popping like a machine gun, she dashed away.
“I need to stop by the post office, anyway—” Edee tried to keep her smile from wobbling as she watched Stella disappear. “I’ll just finish my drink and go.” She said to the empty space across from her, hoping that stating her intent would give her courage.
Go.
Nerves clenched in her midsection. What she wanted to do was go right over to Ellie’s shop, storm up the stairs, knock on J.T.’s door and…and…
“Why are you sitting around here, girl?” Pauline landed in the other side of the booth with a huff. “We have to get this festival rolling in a few minutes.”
Edee forced a smile. She knew the decorations were finished. All she had to do was wait for her shift to work the taffy booth. “I didn’t think the booths opened until ten.”
Pauline rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.
“Here ya go, Pauline.” Stella a cup and saucer clattered to the table without her usual skill. “I’ll leave the pot. If you need more, come to the kitchen.”
Pauline’s jaw worked as Stella darted through the swinging door to the kitchen. “I don’t think I have ever seen Stella this rattled.”
Edee’s glance followed the swirl of white. “I think Roy needs her help on his quiche project.”
“Well.” Pauline frowned at the kitchen door. “I’m sure things will work out. Now, come to the town hall as early as possible. We always need helping hands.”
Edee opened her mouth to reply, but Pauline made a dash for the door. Left alone, she took a big gulp of her soft drink and decided to quit stalling.
Sooner or later, she had to face J.T.
***
“Ummm…Strawberry kisses! My favorite.”
Every nerve in Edee’s body vibrated as
she looked into the eyes of the owner of that deep voice. J.T. stood outside the small booth, grinning at her over the waist high shelf. Her lips twitched in a quick response. Heart pounding against her ribs, she came straight to the point.
“I haven’t seen you lately.”
“Not many men can resist Strawberry kisses.”
Edee rolled her eyes if pretended frustration. “So I hear.” She glanced at his broad shoulders under the navy T-shirt and her heart fluttered. J.T. looked good even when he didn’t try. “Aren’t you working?”
“Building crew just finished.” He nodded to the booth. “I’m just checking our handy work.”
Feeling his glance like a torch on her skin, Edee tried to breathe normally. The message in his eyes said he was checking out more than his skill at building the booth.
“So, what’s the verdict?”
J.T. held her gaze for long seconds. Dark shadows turned his eyes the turbulent green of stormy seas. “That’s the problem. I don’t rightly know.”
Her insides shivered under the intensity of his glance. No man had ever confused her like this. J.T. was light hearted and teasing one minute, and the next, shadows in his eyes told her he was harboring dark secrets.
“Here,” she tossed a paper wrapped piece of candy toward him, “maybe that will help.”
His glance warmed her face as he unwrapped the candy. “Maybe.” A hint of laughter filled his eyes as he pulled a newspaper out of his back pocket. “I read today’s want ads.”
Edee kept her hands busy arranging the candy display. But she couldn’t resist a quick glance at his expression. His face was blank, except for the slight furrow of his brow.
“I’m not sure it makes any sense.” She licked suddenly dry lips.
Brows lifting to his hair, he cut a glance in her direction. “You’re offering to set up a web site for the town.”
Edee knew the words by heart. She had been furious when she typed out today’s ad. It was bad enough that J.T. hadn’t had the homecoming he deserved, but for the town council to block his efforts to help re-store downtown just made her see red.
“You can’t be the only person who wants to rebuild Redbud’s business district.”
“Those are powerful words.” J.T.’s voice teased, but his eyes were serious.
Edee studied his questioning look. Did he take the snubs this town had offered to heart, or did he let things go as if it was rain off a duck’s back?
“I meant every word.”
His smile widened. Light danced in his eyes. “You know what? You make a loyal friend, Edee Cutt.”
Edee’s heart…and all the dreams floating in her head…dropped to her toes.
She wanted more from J.T. than friendship.
Her heart had known that from the second they first met. Her head might be slow in recognizing that fact but from the moment J.T. walked in the diner, she had responded to him. He didn’t just make her laugh. He made her believe her dreams for the future could come true.
His decision to return to Redbud made her even more determined to make this town her home.
Friend, indeed. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled.
“I don’t know if I have a date for the dance tonight, or not.” She brushed her hand over the pocket of her jeans, and squared her shoulders.
She wouldn’t give up her attempt to make this town accept J.T.
His brow arched. Emotion flashed as a wicked teasing light filled his eyes. “You have doubts?”
Those three simple words almost made her heart stop.
“Don’t you?” Air whooshed out her lungs.
There, she’d said it.
Tension made her knees weak. Crossing her forearms on shelf opening of the booth, she leaned toward him. The look in his eyes sent a wave of courage washing over her and added a lilt to her voice as she sent him a daring look.
“In case you’re wondering, I’m saying yes, unless you’re afraid to practice your dance steps in public.”
Her words wiped the grin off his face. One second his smile made his eyes sparkle in the bright afternoon light. The next instant, storm clouds darkened his glance. Then, just as she was ready to give up hope, the glitter of humor returned.
“I would be honored to escort you, if you aren’t afraid to be seen in public with me.”
Edee shoved off the shelf and straightened to her full height as she glared at him. “Don’t even start, Jacob Troy Knight.” Her lungs expanded as she gulped air and lights exploded behind her eyes. “I know about your past.” At his doubting look, she got even more riled. “And I know about all the good deeds you try to keep a secret.”
Feeling as if she had run a race, Edee rammed her hands in the pockets of her jeans and stared back at him.
Muscles rippled along his jaw. His fists clench at his side. She realized she had gone too far. But she didn’t regret one word. And it was too late, to take them back, anyway. Her words hung on the soft May breeze like bees swarming a beehive.
“What about your secrets?” J.T. faced her. Muscles along his jaw rippled. His fingers snagged in the front pockets of his jeans.
“What secrets?”
J.T. rolled his eyes as he said, “Your advertisement on the internet for clients.” His words snapped through the air. “When were you going to tell me you were continuing with the web design?”
“I didn’t think it mattered as long as I do the work you asked.” Edee crossed her arms over her chest. “How did you find out?”
He shrugged and stared past her shoulder. “I saw your web site the night I came to check for leaks.”
Edee remembered the night. Thoughts of the cold rain made her shiver. Memories of sharing stew with J.T. filled her face with warmth. She had considered telling him, but how did you reveal your lack of confidence in your boss?
“I-uh-wanted to line up some clients incase there was a delay on your permits.” She clenched her hands, remembering how she had felt when he walked out that night.
“No, the fact is, you didn’t trust me.” He angled his chin and stared. “I wouldn’t have made fun of your attempts to build your client list.”
Edee slumped against the counter as his glance pierced the protective wall around her heart. She recognized the truth in his words. Releasing a shuddering breath, she looked him in the eye.
“I know you wouldn’t.”
Of all people in this town, J.T. was the one who would understand her unease at having her work accepted. He would identify with her doubts. Swallowing the lump threatening to choke her, she took the risk.
“I-I received two rejection from clients in today.”
There, she had said the words out loud.
Rejection!
The sound of the word floating on the strawberry scented breeze seemed less harsh than reading the words.
Maybe confiding in J.T. wasn’t a bad thing. Seeing the dark expression in his eyes, made it clear she wasn’t the only one with issues.
Calling on courage she hadn’t realized she had before coming to Redbud, Edee held his glance. “I keep reminding myself to let the past go. It’s the future that matters.”
***
“Edee, you sewed the cow’s tail where the horns should go.” Ellie stared down at the pieces of fabric in Edee’s hands and frowned. “Anything wrong?”
Wrong? What could be wrong? She had meddled in J.T.’s business…and ruined any chance of him taking her serious.
Looking at the mangled mess in her hands, she sighed. “I’ve just ruined everything, that’s all.” Looking at her friend, Edee let the words flow. “I know just enough about sewing…and running a business to get myself in trouble. Now, I’ve ruined everything.”
“Whoa, stop.” Ellie frowned as she held up a hand. “This isn’t about sewing, is it?”
Propping her chin in her hand, Edee shook her head. “I meddled in J.T.’s past, now he hates me.”
Ellie stared down at the pieces of fabric in her hands and reached for her pin
s. “I don’t think so.” She murmured, lips twitching. “Isn’t he taking you to the dance, tonight?”
Blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes, Edee sighed. “Only because I forced him to.”
“I doubt anyone could force J.T. to do something he didn’t want to do.”
“Well,” Edee said, stabbing the seam ripper at the offending cow’s tail. She didn’t know one end of a bovine from the other. How was she supposed to know what J.T. was thinking? “All this talk about taking dance lessons forced him to ask me to the dance.”
“You really believe that?”
“I’d like to think he asked me because he wanted to go with me, but I know he doesn’t like meddling in his private life.”
“You think Sam, or any man does?” Ellie shook her head. “You can bet they don’t. But what they call meddling, women call caring.” She laughed. “How do you think men would survive if we didn’t give them a shove, now and then?”
***
Edee watched the entrance door of the town hall with an eagle eye. She had been on pins and needles since J.T. picked her up for the dance. Just looking at him was enough to give her heart failure.
Broad shoulders filling the dark blue fabric of his jacket, made him look strong enough to take on anything. Gray slacks made his legs look long, which wasn’t a surprise, since he was the tallest man in the room.
Her heart danced in tune with the music when she thought about being his partner for the evening’s events.
She glanced down at the dress she had bought especially for this night. Varying shades of green floated around her, making her feel as glamorous as a princess. She reached a trembling hand to adjust the spaghetti straps of the v-necked dress.
But she knew she wouldn’t enjoy the dance until the full extent of her meddling had been revealed. She couldn’t relax until J.T. understood that she would move mountains if it would help him.
But her activities hadn’t reached fruition, and her nerves were wound tight. When J.T. discovered her part in tonight’s events, she doubted he would appreciate her attempts to make things right.
A Bride For Mr. Right (Redbud Romance Book 2) Page 18
