Backward Blessings

by Rachel A Andersen

  Gone was the fourteen-year-old, back was the flirtatious sky god. He grinned and rubbed his hands. “So, when do the festivities start?”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Teresa

  “Hey, Mom, can I go to Miss Katie’s booth? Mr. Jake gave me a tip for carrying his suitcase up the stairs.”

  Teresa turned to her guest. “That was generous of you.”

  He shrugged. “I had a good bellhop. I only paid what was fair for good service.”

  Logan beamed, and a surge of gratitude raced through every nerve in her body. She’d missed that smile. She hadn’t seen it in over a year—not since his dad left. “Can I go, Mom? I was responsible, wasn’t I?”

  Jake watched her with keen interest as if he had an opinion on the right course of action in this case. It might have irritated her if she wasn’t so glad to have a positive role model in her son’s life, one that rewarded his boyish efforts at being the man of the house with the respect they deserved.

  She gestured for him to go ahead. “We’ll meet you at Miss Katie’s booth for hot chocolate and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.”

  Logan’s face split into a grin so wide she was afraid he’d break his jaw. He flung his arms around her waist and looked up into her eyes. “Thanks, Mom.”

  She barely got a chance to kiss the top of his head before he had sprinted toward his destination.

  “Be honest with me. How hard was that for you?”

  Jake’s words surprised her as she looked up. “Huh?”

  “You strike me as the overprotective mother type, so how painful was it to let your son run up ahead?”

  Anger flared up in her chest, and she opened her mouth to speak. “How dare—”

  He placed a finger over her lips as if he anticipated her flare up. “One second. I forgot the disclaimer. This isn’t a judgment. Just a question. Seeing as I’m not a parent, there are moments when I’m curious about how people overcome their natural tendencies to do what’s best for their kids.”

  There was a strange look of respect in his eye like he hadn’t expected her to give her son the chance to stretch his wings and fly out of the nest.

  His words of affirmation doused the flame which had sprung to life inside her. “What makes you think I’m overprotective?”

  A smile played on his lips. “Other than the general guarded demeanor you have with guests?”

  Teresa’s brow furrowed. “I’m not guarded, I’m welcoming.”

  Jake laughed though he played it off like he was choking. It wasn’t flattering that thinking of her as a warm, welcoming woman made him laugh, but at least he’d been kind enough to pretend that he wasn’t laughing. “So, you were trying to make me feel at ease when you told me I couldn’t park at the bed and breakfast?”

  Heat radiated from her cheeks. “That wasn’t personal. I had to chase at least a dozen people out of the parking lot today, and given your sister’s cancellation, I didn’t think...”

  He raised a hand. “It’s fine. You’re right. That’s not the best situation to judge how welcoming you are. Your son seems well-adjusted and quite loved. In my opinion, that speaks volumes about your capacity for warmth and love.”

  She gave a throaty laugh. “Tell that to my ex-husband. By the time we divorced, he was calling me the Ice Queen behind my back.”

  Her throat thickened with the pain that moniker had caused. It insinuated that Colin’s affair had been her fault for being too rigid and cold. One part of her was eager to defend those like her. A bouquet of flowers and a kind word every now and again could make the hardest days a little easier, but those had stopped the day she’d said yes to his proposal. Worse than that, her world had gotten smaller with each passing day as Colin’s wife, and all he could give her by way of conversation was a list of reasons why she would never measure up.

  Maybe that was the real sting of the Ice Queen insult. She was afraid he was right.

  The thoughts silenced when Jake laid a hand on her arm. She caught her breath at the pleasure which raced up her nerves. Her skin seemed eager to share the good news with her brain and heart with all the speed of a nosy neighbor who had a juicy piece of gossip. Teresa Rampton-Brewer was still alive.

  His eyes darkened. “Sounds like there’s a reason he’s the ex. He’s a jerk.”

  She blinked. Colin...a jerk? “I don’t think anyone has ever called him that. He’s too charismatic.”

  “Doesn’t make it any less true. Some of the people with the most charisma think too highly of themselves to treat others with any amount of respect.”

  She chewed on that a moment. She didn’t like the head space that took her to—not when she was out in public with a man she didn’t know and her son around the corner. Time to change the subject. “So, what bet did you lose that got you stuck in Blessings for Thanksgiving?”

  Jake’s eyebrows shot up like Teresa’s question was unexpected, but it couldn’t have come out of nowhere. She’d seen his agitation on the phone when she’d met him in the B&B’s parking lot. His eyes were too filled with flinty determination to relax over an old-fashioned holiday.

  There was a twinkle in his eye as he answered. “I haven’t lost a bet...yet. My sister and I made a deal. I spend a week in the poster town for Homes and Gardens Forever, she gets off my back about my attitude for the next year.”

  Teresa laughed. “Yeah right.”

  “Sounds ridiculous, right?”

  She shrugged. What else could she say?

  His eyes conveyed understanding. “Still, it’s all true.”

  The laughter died on her lips. “True? You’re betting your sister you can survive a week here?”

  “Let me guess. You think it’s paradise.”

  She shrugged. “Most people do. For example, my grandmother is one of the most ardent town promoters we have. She’s the first to tell bed and breakfast guests about the town’s events.”

  They walked past the kettle corn tent with a sizable wait for the next batch of the balanced sweet and salty ambrosia. Teresa’s mouth watered. She might tease her son about having a laundry list of favorite festival foods, but she was just as bad. She’d have to make sure to get a bag of kettle corn before she headed home for the night.

  Jake frowned at her. “So, I have your grandmother to thank for telling my sister about the Harvest Ball?”

  “Your sister knows about the Harvest Ball?”

  Jake rolled his eyes. “My sister doesn’t just know about it. She made it a clause in our bet. I have to take a date to the dance.”

  Teresa choked on her own spit. She couldn’t have heard that right. “You what?”

  Jake nodded. “Yep, I have to take a date to the dance, and whoever-she-is has to fill out a survey to prove to my sister that I met the requirements.”

  Teresa bit back a smile. “A survey. Ooh, how romantic.”

  The laughter in Jake’s eyes seemed to say that he agreed with her. “She and her husband have been married for more than five years. Either they find romance in filling out comment cards about their levels of intimacy or—”

  “—they’ve been married too long.”

  Jake grinned. “Exactly.”

  “Mom, Mr. Jake, over here!”

  Logan waved at them from the Home Again Café booth with a broad smile. In one hand, he held an orange-colored chocolate chip cookie that seemed almost as big as he was while his paper cup of cocoa sat on the white tablecloth just in front of him. A couple of crumpled bills and tarnished coins littered the table beside the boy who had put all thoughts of the money out of his unfettered mind.

  He was still only a few booths away, but Jake strode toward him with purpose. Teresa followed on his heels, still processing the news. He had to take a date to the Harvest Ball? Did his sister think this was a holiday movie with no purpose other than to find her brother a woman to come home to? These things didn’t happen in real life.

  “Hi, Teresa.” Katie reached for two already prepared cocoa cups and pastry bags.
“Logan told me you and your friend were coming by, so I got this ready for you.”

  Teresa reached into her pocket, but Katie put her hand up. “Logan paid in advance.”

  Logan turned an orange and brown grin to his mother. His pumpkin-coated fingers grabbed at the bills and coins on the tablecloth and stuffed them into his pocket. “It’s my treat.”

  With the stickiness of the cookie coating Logan’s mouth, he sounded like he had a heavy lisp.

  Jake’s eyes narrowed. He reached for his own wallet. “I have a hard time believing that these three cookies and three cocoas came to two dollars and fifty cents.”

  Katie puffed out her chest as if she’d been insulted. “The total came to two dollars and eighty-seven cents, and if you don’t mind, that’s between me and my customer.”

  The boy beamed with pride.

  This one act alone was enough to make Teresa a lifelong supporter of Katie Holloway and the Home Again Café. Since coming to Blessings six months ago, the town had gone out of their way to welcome Teresa and Logan with open arms, but Katie seemed to have taken a special shine to the boy. Teresa imagined she’d have to wipe away some tears when the young woman met Mr. Right and got married. Logan insisted that one day, he was going to marry Miss Katie.

  Jake stiffened, but he must have caught a glimpse of Logan’s pride. A sheepish smile graced his lips as he relaxed and put the wallet away. “Well, if the bill’s been taken care of, then it’s been taken care of.”

  Katie’s smile widened. “That it has. Enjoy!"

  Teresa handed Jake his cocoa as they walked away from the booth. Logan’s attentions were consumed as he alternated his cocoa and his cookie. “What do you think, fellas? Should we head to the Ferris wheel next?”

  Logan bobbed his head with enthusiasm.

  “What’s your plan for getting a date tomorrow night?” Teresa asked.

  Jake took a swig of his cocoa. “What?”

  She tried to act casual as they walked. It wasn’t her job to find him a date. So, why was it on the forefront of her thoughts since he’d told her? “You’ve got to get a date for a dance tomorrow night. Who were you thinking of asking?”

  A smile tugged at the corners of his lips and a question appeared in his eyes. “I hadn’t thought that far in advance. Anyone come to mind?”

  Blood rushed to her cheeks though whether it was due to embarrassment or irritation, she wasn’t sure. Was he suggesting that he take her to the dance? “For someone who says he’s motivated to get his sister out of his personal life, it doesn’t seem that getting a date in the next twenty-four hours is much of a priority.”

  “Is it going to be difficult to find a woman in Blessings who doesn’t already have a date to the Harvest Ball?”

  She narrowed her gaze. No, she wasn’t flushed from the beginnings of some schoolgirl crush. This was irritation, pure and simple. “I’m sure you don’t mean for that to sound as insulting as it sounds.”

  Amusement danced in Jake’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I must have struck a nerve. Didn’t mean to offend.”

  That look in his eye. It reminded her of how Colin would look when he’d try to avoid an argument by saying how cute she looked when she was angry. That just made it worse. “So, the women of Blessings are supposed to just wait by the phone until you call? Will they know how fortunate they are to have you in their midst? Will every unattached woman in a ten-mile radius have a magical feeling that you have arrived, or did you advertise?”

  His eyes grew hard. She’d insulted him. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I know how to date.”

  “I have an idea!”

  Teresa shot a look to her son. The boy was on his tiptoes, his eyes begging his mother to listen to his suggestion. No doubt, it was that she and Jake should go to the dance together. Given that he was a guest staying at the bed and breakfast, that was the worst idea anyone had come up with in a long time. “Logan, go stand in line.”

  “But Mom—”

  “I told you to go stand in line, Logan.”

  Logan shrank back with the sharpness of her tone. She regretted it instantly, but she had to admit the panic building in her. Why was it that her son, known throughout town for his manners and obedience, would pick this time of all times to press his luck?

  His eyes were wide and hurt as he peered up at her. She didn’t have to hear his suggestion to know that he believed so much in it that she was hurting his pride by refusing to even hear it out. “But Mom, you don’t have a date to the Harvest Ball either. You could go with Mr. Jake. Then, both of your problems are solved.”

  There it was, the admission she’d been hoping to keep Logan from blurting. Teresa wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole.

  Jake reached into his pocket and pulled a bill out his wallet. “Here, buddy. Take this and buy a bunch of carnival tickets, will ya?”

  The boy looked torn as his eyes darted between his new friend and his mother.

  She forced a smile to her lips. Now that the cat was out of the bag, the damage was done. Making him feel worse than he already did about the situation wouldn’t help either of them. “Go ahead, sweetheart. We’ll be right behind you.”

  Logan bit the inside of his cheek before he raced off to do what he’d been asked.

  Jake waited another moment for the boy to get out of earshot, then he turned back to Teresa. “Look, I think I know what’s going on here.”

  Fire flashed in Teresa’s eyes. “Oh, you do?”

  He nodded as he stepped toward her. “I just didn’t want to presume...”

  She backed away from him as she raised her hands to protect herself. “Stop.”

  Jake’s brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. I thought you wanted me to ask you to the ball. Isn’t that what you were hinting before I made the mistake of insulting the women in Blessings?”

  Teresa rubbed her temple with a finger. If this discussion continued, she’d nurse a migraine before bed tonight. “I don’t have a date to the Harvest Ball because I have Logan.”

  He scoffed. “I’m the poster boy for commitment issues, and even I think that’s a flimsy excuse.”

  That stung. “Hey!”

  “Teresa, you have a great kid, and he’s seven. I may not know much about parenting, but I think he’ll be okay if you leave him with a sitter for a couple hours.”

  Teresa’s anger flared. How dare he tell her what would be best for her son? “Do you know what I have on my nightstand? A book entitled Kids Recovering from Divorce. You’ve known Logan for two hours. Of course, he looks well-adjusted. He likes you. Do you know why he likes you? You remind him of his dad.”

  Jake’s sharp intake of breath signaled that her words had hit their target.

  “You’re charming and fun, but you’re a guest in Blessings to prove a point to your sister. If you had your choice, you’d be—what? In Cancun? If it weren’t for your sister, you wouldn’t be here, you wouldn’t be thanking anyone for anything, and you wouldn’t think twice about leaving a little boy to do it. So, don’t tell me how to take care of my son. Not if your only motive in doing so is to catch your own way out of here.”

  Her knees shook. She’d need to find a place to sit to recover her strength. Voiding her emotional reserves had left her hollow and depleted, but the toll of unleashing her fury was worth it. She’d never felt so free.

  ...until she saw his eyes.

  Somewhere between the start of her rant and now, the amusement vanished and was replaced by shame. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His shoulders rounded as he looked at the ground. His Adam’s apple bobbed once. The familiarity of his stance shook her. This was what he saw when he looked at her. This was what she looked like after all those years with Colin berating her for being any less than his idea of perfect.

  He forced a smile to his lips when he caught her eyes on him. That killed her worse than seeing his bravado stripped away. He didn’t want her to see him so vulnerable. She was no longer safe.
>
  She’d done that to him. A stranger who’d been nothing but kind, and she’d eviscerated him.

  He wasn’t the one like her ex-husband. She was.

  “Tell Logan to enjoy the tickets. Sounds like the kid deserves to have a little fun.”

  Nausea roiled her in gut. “Jake, I’m sorry, I—”

  He gestured behind him. “I should go now. Don’t worry about the room. I’ll pay for the night.”

  “Mom.”

  She only gave the word a split-second of her attention before she realized that the voice was too high to be Logan’s. By the time she looked back, however, he was gone.

  Regret wedged itself firmly in her chest, stealing the little peace she’d found just a moment before.

  What had she done?

  CHAPTER THREE

  Jake

  Jake stuffed his socks back into the suitcase. What had he been thinking to agree to his sister’s deal? He wasn’t going to break a streak of cursed Thanksgivings just to prove his sister wrong. It didn’t work that way no matter how much he wanted it to.

  It didn’t help that Teresa was right. What did he know about kids? Nothing. Zip.

  Emotion caught in his throat as he recalled the angry, bitter words she’d flung at him. She thought he’d suggested getting a sitter just to help with his predicament. That was the furthest thing from his mind. All he had thought was that it was a shame for her to lock herself away from the world, a habit she could have picked up from a toxic ex. All he wanted was to remind her that she didn’t have to play by her ex’s rules anymore. She was free to write her own.

  That advice might come better from someone she didn’t paint with the same brush.

  That had hurt. Three decades of reflecting on the lessons his mother taught him about how to treat women had failed him tonight. Maybe Melissa was right to intervene. Maybe he’d lost sight of the person he’d wanted to be—the person his mother had taught him to be.

  His spirits sank. What a happy thought.

  He scanned the room for any other items he might have forgotten to pack. He hadn’t spent a lot of time in the room, but he had changed out of his uniform before the carnival, so it was possible that he’d forgotten a few things.