The One For Me - January Cove Book 1

by Rachel Hanna

  “Mommy!” Kaitlyn called as she ran across the room and hugged her mother’s legs.

  “Hey, baby!” Jenna said with a big smile, hoping no one would notice her red, puffy eyes.

  “I’m coloring a picture for you, so don’t look,” Kaitlyn said shaking her index finger at her mother.

  “I won’t look. I promise,” Jenna said holding up her right hand.

  “Hi, Jenna.”

  Jenna turned around to see Susan Keller, Kaitlyn’s teacher, standing behind her.

  “Oh, hi, Susan. How are you today?” Jenna asked forcing another big smile.

  “Good. How are you doing?” Jenna could feel the sympathy in Susan’s voice. She knew about Kaitlyn’s father leaving them, and the concern in her voice was evident.

  “I’m doing very well. Thanks for asking,” Jenna said trying to avert her eyes from the older woman back to Kaitlyn.

  “Mommy, don’t look!” Kaitlyn chided. Jenna had no choice but to look back at the teacher.

  “I’m glad to hear you’re doing well. I’ve been a little… worried.”

  “Worried?” Jenna asked furrowing her eyebrows. “About me?”

  “Well, yes, a little bit. But more about Kaitlyn.”

  “Why have you been worried about Kaitlyn?”

  “She’s said some things recently…”

  “What has she said?”

  Susan waved her over to a quiet corner of the room and pointed to a chair. Sitting across from Jenna, she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

  “I’ve hesitated telling you this because I don’t want to add more stress to your life…”

  “Please. Tell me what my daughter has said.” Jenna was growing more and more anxious.

  “Last week, she drew a picture of her family, including her father. The kids were supposed to explain the picture to the class as it was about all of the things we are grateful for in our lives. As she stood in front of the class, she explained that she was grateful for her mommy and then she tore the picture in half right in front of the class. She said her mommy and daddy broke up and that her daddy didn’t love her anymore.”

  Jenna’s heart sank. Apparently her daughter had been more affected by the breakup than she’d originally thought. But what was Jenna to say to her? That her Daddy did love her? It didn’t seem to be true given the way he was ignoring her and not paying child support.

  “Oh, my goodness,” was all Jenna could manage to say.

  “Unfortunately, there’s more,” Susan said looking at her hands.

  “More?”

  “Yes. Yesterday, we were building houses out of popsicle sticks…” she started. Jenna’s stomach churned. Houses. She knew where this was going. “Kaitlyn refused to build one. When I asked her why, she said that she wasn’t going to have a home soon. She said mommy cries everyday when she doesn’t know I can hear her. She said she keeps asking the mean man on the phone if she can pay him later, but he says no. Then she started to cry, Jenna. We had to take her to the counselor’s office because the other children were getting worried about her. That’s why I wanted to talk to you about it today,” Susan said.

  Jenna’s eyes filled with tears as she tried to look away. Susan reached across and touched her hand. Jenna shook her head and pulled her hand away.

  “I can’t,” she whispered. “I can’t get upset.”

  Susan nodded and sat silently as Jenna pulled herself together.

  “Okay, here’s the truth. My S.O.B. ex-husband left us without money. The house is in my name, and I think he planned that at the beginning. He isn’t paying child support either, so we are in foreclosure. At this point, I don’t know where we’re going or what we will do. I thought Kaitlyn was oblivious to it because she never talks about it to me, but apparently she has picked it all up. She’s so smart…”

  “Kids are much more observant than we give them credit for sometimes,” Susan said. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “No. There’s really nothing anyone can do.”

  “Do you have family that can take you in?”

  “No. My family is all gone. It’s just me and Kaitlyn now. And we will make it somehow.”

  “If my house was bigger…” Susan said.

  Jenna smiled and shook her head. “Susan, I appreciate it, but this isn’t your problem. I made a mistake years ago, and this is my payback.”

  “I don’t understand…”

  “Nevermind. Listen, can we keep this between us?”

  “Of course.”

  “Great. Let’s feed them some cupcakes,” Jenna said regaining her smile and walking back toward the kids.

  ***

  Kyle drove slowly up the street looking for the foreclosure deal. The auction on the courthouse steps was in a little over an hour, and he needed to let Jimmy know whether or not to bid on it. Since it appeared that the seller was still living in the property, he decided not to walk in the yard or look in any windows. That was a good way to get shot in the South, so he opted to stay in his car.

  From the outside, the home looked perfect. He tried to imagine who these homeowners were as most people getting foreclosed didn’t continue keeping up their home. This house appeared to be immaculate with light yellow paint and hunter green shutters. The garden in the front was perfectly manicured, and the yard was trimmed. The driveway was freshly power washed, and the windows were sparkling clean. He’d never seen a more perfect family home.

  Facing the beach from across the two lane road that led into town, the house was a great investment, no doubt. But Kyle couldn’t help but feel bad for the owners losing it. Why would they continue to maintain a home so well if they were going to be put on the streets any day now?

  He didn’t know why that thought bothered him so much. Real estate investing had to a numbers game. He couldn’t be worried about someone else’s bad luck or poor choices when it came to paying their mortgage.

  “Jimbo? Yeah, listen, go ahead and bid on that house. What’s the starting bid again? Uh huh… Okay, bid the starting bid and only go up about five grand more. Also, what’s the owner’s name?” Kyle asked as he ran through the plans with Jimmy. “J.A. Watson? Doesn’t ring a bell. Alright, get back with me later and let me know if we got it.”

  Kyle took one last look at the house and then drove down the road toward January Cove. As he made the twenty minute drive, he thought about the name. Watson. He didn’t know any Watsons. Of course, he rarely went that direction. People in January Cove tended to stay there since everything they needed was close by, including a beautiful beach and large shopping area.

  As he heard his stomach rumble over the jazz music blaring on his stereo, Kyle decided to stop just outside of January Cove for an early lunch. He pulled into The Round Table, a small country restaurant that offered a great lunch buffet.

  “Well, I’ll be! If it ain’t Kyle Parker!” he heard a booming female voice say from behind the counter. Kyle cringed a little when he realized Dolores Banks was working the lunch shift. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, but she was the town gossip and her goal in life was to find out as much about the Parker’s as possible so she could spread her version of the truth all over town.

  “Hey there, Dolores,” Kyle said, planting a fake smile on his face.

  “How’s that pretty mama of yours?”

  “She’s doing just fine,” he said as he slid into a booth. Dolores slid in across from him, although it was hard given her non-petite frame. She shoved herself into the small space anyway. Anything for some gossip.

  “I heard about your poor brother, Aaron. He must be devastated over his breakup…” she said, obviously digging for information. It was crazy that everyone in town knew Dolores was a gossip of epic proportions, yet people still told her stuff. Kyle would never understand it. “Have you talked to him?”

  “Of course,” Kyle said with a wry smile.

  “Is he okay?” she continued to pry.

  “Of course,” Kyle said again, this time with a
knowing grin.

  “Anything I can do to help?” she asked with a forced look of concern on her face. Kyle leaned in slowly and waved his hand for her to come closer. He could smell her spearmint gum mixed with some kind of stinky perfume.

  “You can stop gossiping about him.” With that, Kyle stood up and got a plate from the buffet, piling it high with delectable Southern dishes as he smiled to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dolores get up from the booth slowly, partly out of shock and partly out of her inability to pry her physique from the clutches of the small space, and walk back into the kitchen.

  As he finished up his early lunch, his cell phone rang.

  “Hey, boss. We got it,” Jimmy said.

  “Cool. How much?”

  “Two thousand over.”

  “Not bad. Send the guys over to post a note. Schedule them for tomorrow morning to do the clean out. They need to touch base with me as soon as things are done.”

  Kyle had a crew of people that would post a note on the house letting the now former owner know that the home had officially been foreclosed. Then, he would give the owner twenty-four hours to vacate, mainly for liability reasons, and have his cleaning crew remove any excess items.

  Normally, homeowners were long gone by now. After getting late notices and a foreclosure notice four weeks before, they usually moved out before the home went to the courthouse steps. He couldn’t figure out why this owner had stayed around, and maintained the property so well, but that wasn’t his problem. He or she needed to get out… and fast.

  Chapter 4

  After spending the day with Kaitlyn at school, Jenna’s spirits were starting to lift. Sure, a day with a bunch of elementary school kids wasn’t going to change her situation, but she was happy for a respite from the constant barrage of scary thoughts entering her brain on a daily basis.

  As they pulled out of the school parking lot, Kaitlyn requested ice cream. Although Jenna didn’t really have the extra money to spare, she dug change out from the bottom of her purse and went by the local ice cream shop. They sat together as Kaitlyn recounted stories from school and ate chocolate ice cream with sprinkles on top.

  Pulling in front of her house, she parked her car and watched as Kaitlyn immediately headed for the climbing tree in their front yard. The sun was starting to make its descent over the ocean, and Jenna’s heart broke at the thought of not waking up to see that beautiful ocean from her front porch.

  Kaitlyn ran across the yard and up to the front door.

  “Mommy, we have a note from someone. It’s pink!” she yelled with delight. Jenna wasn’t too fond of the color pink anymore. Kaitlyn met her at the top of the stairs and handed her the note.

  Attention Homeowner: Your home was officially foreclosed this morning on the county courthouse steps. Our company has taken ownership of this property, and we will be taking possession within 24 hours. Please remove any property you plan to take with you to your new residence before noon tomorrow as our clean-out crew will arrive at the property at that time. Thank you.

  Jenna’s breath felt like it was sucked out of her. She sank down onto the top step, holding her stomach like she’d been gut punched.

  “Are you okay, Mommy?” Kaitlyn asked patting her mother on the head.

  “Yes, honey. I’m just fine. Listen, why don’t you run over the Lila’s house for a few minutes and tell her about those cupcakes we ate today, okay? Tell her Mommy I will come get you in just a few minutes,” she said as Kaitlyn bounced across the yard and into Lila’s house.

  Jenna struggled to get to her feet, feeling like the life was drained out of her and she might just pass out. What on Earth was she going to do now?

  She quickly unlocked the front door and sat down on her sofa, dialing the mortgage company’s phone number on her cell phone. After confirming her account information, she was connected with a customer service representative.

  “Yes, hello. This is J.A. Watson, and I received a strange notice on my door saying my home was foreclosed today?”

  “Yes, ma’m. According to our records, your home was sold to an investor this morning.”

  Jenna struggled to hold back tears. “But I thought I had more time…”

  “With all due respect, you had several months, Ms. Watson.”

  “I know, but…” She took a deep breath. “Thanks,” she said as she hung up. There was really nothing she could say. She didn’t pay her house payment. She couldn’t catch up in time no matter how many hours she had taken on.

  “Everything okay, Jenna?” She heard a voice in her front doorway. It was Rebecca, Lila’s mother from next door.

  “Oh, Becca, I’m so sorry for sending Jenna over unannounced. I’ve had some upsetting news, and I just didn’t want her to see me,” Jenna said standing up and wiping away a stray tear.

  “What’s going on?” Rebecca asked walking closer. Jenna handed her the notice that had been posted on the door.

  “Oh, Jenna… I had no idea you were going through all of this,” Rebecca said with sorrow in her eyes.

  “I know. I didn’t tell anyone. I kept hoping I could get enough hours, but I could never catch up.”

  “What are you going to do? You only have until noon tomorrow?”

  “Yes. And I have no idea what I’m going to do.”

  “Well, you and Kaitlyn can stay with us. Billy can move out of his room and…”

  “No, I wouldn’t hear of it, Becca. You just redecorated Billy’s room, and that isn’t fair to him.”

  “Then you’ll take my office. I can always work from my laptop…”

  “Sweetie, I appreciate the offer, but this is my mess, and I have to handle it the best I can.”

  “Actually, this is Nick’s mess,” Rebecca fumed as she mentioned Jenna’s ex.

  “Part of it is, of course, but I should be able to take care of myself and my daughter as a grown woman.”

  “Jenna, you can’t possibly blame yourself.”

  “I shouldn’t have given up my life and dreams for my parents or Nick. If I’d just done what my heart was saying all those years ago…”

  “Don’t do that, girl. You can’t regret things. Think of it this way, if you hadn’t married Nick, you wouldn’t have our sweet Kaitlyn,” Rebecca said with a half hearted smile as she put her hands on Jenna’s shoulders. “I feel really bad to leave you here alone.”

  “Oh, that’s right, you guys are leaving in the morning, aren’t you?” Rebecca and her family were leaving for a week long trip to see her parents in Colorado.

  “You have full access to our house, okay?”

  “Thanks,” Jenna said with a smile, all the while knowing she would never go into Rebecca’s house no matter what happened. She had too much pride for that. She wasn’t going to let someone else clean up her mess.

  "Can you do me a favor?"

  "Sure."

  "Give me about thirty minutes to get myself together and then send Kaitlyn back over."

  "Will do. I'm so sorry, Jenna. I wish there was something I could do."

  "Find Nick and kill him."

  "Done," Rebecca said with a chuckle. "Consider it an early Christmas gift."

  After Rebecca left, Jenna cleaned her face up and started cooking dinner. When Kaitlyn came home, she served her spaghetti and then started the process of explaining what was about to happen. Kaitlyn didn't seem to understand it well, but Jenna could only hope that she would roll with it the next day when they had to start packing up their belongings.

  She put Kaitlyn in bed early and started packing her things into the boxes she'd kept in her garage for years. Thankfully, she had enough to pack up although she had no real way to transport them and no place to take them to. Tomorrow she would start calling apartment complexes to see if she could find a small studio apartment or even a one bedroom if she was lucky. Maybe she would end up in an extended stay hotel. Either way, she would make sure that she and Kaitlyn were fine.

  As Jenna slid into bed that nig
ht, she was exhausted. The mental and emotional toll was hard enough, but now her body was tired from packing too. How would she ever get through this?

  "Mommy?" she heard Kaitlyn's strained voice beside her in the dark, noticing the time on the clock was two in the morning.

  "Kaitlyn, what's wrong?"