by Rachel Hanna
***
Never had Jenna felt more embarrassed than right now. He'd pushed her away this time and she supposed she deserved it. How could she expect him to ever love her again anyway? This was just part of her life sentence of being cast aside and unloved by everyone around her. Except Kaitlyn, the one shining light in her life.
"Are you listening to me?" Kyle asked as he waved his hand in front of Jenna's face.
"Oh, yes, sorry. I'm just a little tired today," she said.
"I have a proposition for you."
"A proposition?"
"Yes. You and I both know that my mother needs to slow down for awhile, get her health under control."
"Of course."
"What if I hired you to be her assistant?"
"Her assistant? At home? She'd never go for that. She'd think you were hiring a nursemaid for her."
"No, not at home. I mean at the real estate office. You could be my eyes and ears, tell me when she's overdoing it. You see, I feel like some of this is my fault. I was there helping her run the place and then I left."
"Kyle, this isn't your fault. You're a grown man with dreams of his own. You had a right to pursue your dreams."
"Dreams don't always work out," he said softly, reminding her that she was once a dream of his.
"That's true. So what would I be doing?"
"Helping her with her schedule, paperwork, stuff like that."
"But doesn't she have a secretary?"
"Yes, but her secretary helps the agents and answers phones. You would be her personal assistant. She's never had one, but she needs one now. What do you think?"
"I would love to work with Adele, you know that. But I have some concerns."
"Such as?"
"Well, first I still don't have anywhere to live."
"I've been thinking about that too. What do you think about you and Kaitlyn coming to live with me?"
Jenna's lungs seemed to go empty as she let out a cough to restart her breathing. Did he just ask her to move in?
"What?"
"Well, I figure we've already had the talk about never getting back together, so what harm is there is letting you live with me during the busy season? Once August rolls around and the tourists start leaving, you will have saved plenty of money to find a new place. Of course, you'd have to move Kaitlyn's school and all, but I don't see how that can be helped really."
"Kyle, are you sure you've thought this through? I don't want to be a burden on you. I don't want to make things uncomfortable," she said.
"It'll be like we're roommates, Jenna. That's all."
Jenna stood and walked to the window. "So many dreams we had for this place, and they're all as good as washed away in that ocean out there. Now I have to take the kindness of people who used to love me just to survive. It's humbling."
"I'm sorry your dreams got washed away, but sometimes we just have to start over whether we like it or not. We don't always get a choice in the matter," he said. She knew what he meant.
"Do you think Adele will be okay with this?"
"Of course she will. She loves you."
"You think so?" she asked turning and looking at him.
"You have to ask?" he responded with a smile. "She always seemed to love you more than she loved me."
"Not possible," Jenna said chuckling. "But, I really would think she hated me for breaking your heart."
"She was disappointed, no doubt, but she never hates anyone." Jenna nodded in agreement. Adele Parker was a strong, good, loyal woman, and she wouldn't be able to find a better boss.
"Okay. I accept. As long as Adele is okay with it, so am I." Jenna smiled a grateful smile, and Kyle quickly looked away.
"Good. I'll go talk to her now. Maybe I can stop back by this evening and take you and Kaitlyn to dinner?" Jenna was shocked by the sudden invitation.
"Dinner?"
"Yes, it's the meal that one eats in the evening."
"Ha ha very funny. I just didn't think..."
"Jenna, Kaitlyn needs to get to know me a bit before you guys move in with me, don't you think?"
"Oh, right, sure. Good thinking." For a moment, she’d thought he was asking her on a date.
"I'll be back around five," he said smiling as he walked out the front door.
Jenna slid into a chair and watched his car drive away. What on Earth had she just agreed to? And more importantly, what had Kyle agreed to?
Chapter 7
"Well, Mother, I am shocked that you are giving me grief over this," Kyle said shaking his head.
"Not grief, darling. Just a warning. I hope you know what you're doing."
"What do you mean?" he asked sitting down across from her.
"Kyle, this woman tore your heart out all those years ago. I watched you claw your way back to a normal life, and it took a long time. Surely you remember all of this," she said in her Southern drawl.
"Yes, I do, Mother."
"Why would you want to put yourself through that all over again?"
"It's just a job. We're not getting back together. I've explained that to Jenna."
"She and her child are going to be living with you, Kyle."
"And?"
"You don't think that's going to be very tempting?"
"I thought you liked Jenna."
"I adore Jenna! I fully expected her to be my daughter in law. But she broke your heart, Kyle, and I love you more. I just don't want to see you get your hopes up and something happens to tear you apart yet again."
"Mom, I promise that I am going into this arrangement with my eyes wide open this time. It's just about finding her a job to support her daughter and giving them shelter for a few weeks. That's it. Now, are you in agreement about giving her a job?"
"Of course. Whatever I need to do."
"Good. So, how are you feeling today?"
"Still pretty tired and worn down. Glad to be home, though."
"You gave us all quite a scare. Where's Jackson?"
"He had to head out early this morning for a closing in Atlanta."
"Wow. That was a short stay."
"Yes. You know how Jackson loves the big city. January Cove has become too small for your older brother, I suppose." She smiled wearily, and Kyle knew it was time to go.
"Get some rest, Mama. I'll check in on you later."
"Kyle?"
"Yes?" he asked turning around at the door to her bedroom.
"Be careful."
"Careful of what?"
"Hold your heart close, son. Protect it, okay?"
"Don't worry, Mama, I will."
***
Kaitlyn sat on her bed, eyes full of tears, with her arms crossed in defiance.
"I will not, Mommy! I will not pack up my toys!" she said pursing her lips.
"Sweetie, I know this is hard for you," Jenna said trying to soothe her upset daughter.
"I can't leave Lila! We just started our own club and we were going to build a tree fort!"
"Honey, Lila will always be your friend no matter where you live."
"I don't want to move, Mommy! Please don't make me move!"
Jenna felted wracked with guilt inside. She knew all of these changes her daughter was going through were partly her fault. Sure, Nick had cheated on her, but what she had done had certainly contributed to it. Her daughter could never know that. She certainly wouldn't understand it.
"Kaitlyn, sometimes in life we have to do things that we don't necessarily want to do. This is one of those times. Mommy doesn't want to move either, but some things have happened that have caused Mommy to have to move. I'm sorry, but we are going to move at the end of this week. You're my big girl, and I need your help packing up these things, okay?"
Kaitlyn wouldn't look at her mother. "Fine, but I'm going to hate the new place."
"I doubt that. Where we're going is near the beach too, and my friend Kyle will be there with us. So you'll have a lot of new adventures."
"I don't like him either."
&
nbsp; "You don't know him, Kaitlyn."
"I don't want to know him."
"Well, you'd better be nice because he's coming to take us to dinner tonight."
"No!" Kaitlyn yelped and ran into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Jenna sighed and wondered how in the world she was going to navigate this new storm in her life.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Looking at the clock, she realized it was just before five.
"Hey," Kyle said as he stood on the porch with his hands in his front pockets. Man, was he sexy at the end of the day with a little stubble along his jaw line.
"Hi."
"Everything okay?" he asked. He was always able to read her facial expressions.
"Not really. Kaitlyn is upset about all of this. She doesn't want to move, and it's all my fault. I feel like the world's worst parent."
"It's not your fault. It's your sorry ex husband's fault."
"Kyle, I have to tell..."
"It's also my fault for making you move. Jenna, if there was anything I could do to let you guys stay, I hope you know I would. It's just that I bought this place using private lending, and the interest rates are very high. Plus, I bought it with one of my partners so I didn't tie all of my own money up."
"Kyle, this isn't your fault or your responsibility. I don't blame you. I'm just thankful that you are helping us at all, given our history."
"Let's try not to think about it anymore today because I'm starving and it might ruin my appetite," he said smiling, causing Jenna to remember the wonderful sense of humor he always had.
"Okay. Let me go get Kaitlyn."
She walked upstairs and Kaitlyn was still sitting on her bed looking out the window.
"Honey, our friend Kyle is here. We're going to get some dinner, so come on downstairs."
"He's not my friend," she snipped.
"Well, he is my friend and he's doing a kind thing by taking us to eat dinner, so come on."
"But..."
Jenna kicked into mom gear. "Kaitlyn, do not talk back to me anymore. I'm not having it. Get your shoes on and come downstairs, young lady, or you will be on restriction from TV the rest of the weekend."
Kaitlyn was not used to her mother talking to her that way, but she knew she was serious so she put on her flip flops and huffed downstairs.
"Hi there, Kaitlyn," Kyle said as she stood at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed.
"Say hello to Mr. Parker, Kaitlyn," Jenna chided as she walked up behind her daughter.
"Hello."
Kyle smiled at Jenna. "She's having a moment," Jenna said rolling her eyes.
"Got it. Ready to go?"
"Yes. I'm starving," Jenna said smiling as Kyle opened the door for them both. As she walked toward the car, he stopped and stood in the yard.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"I thought we were going to dinner..."
"We are."
"We're walking?" she asked confused.
"Yep," he said as he pulled a big picnic basket from behind his vehicle.
"What's going on, Kyle?" she asked with her mouth gaping open a bit.
Kyle walked closer where only she could hear him. "Well, I figured what better way to get her to like her new landlord than fulfilling something that her father never did?"
Jenna put her hand over her heart and took a breath. "Kyle, you don't have to do this..."
"Relax, woman. It's just a picnic on the beach. You live right across the street. Honestly, I don't know why you haven't done this yourself."
"I don't know why really. I guess I always felt like it wasn't enough for her to just have a picnic with me," she said softly.
"Well, now she has me too. And I am super cool," he said grinning that schoolboy grin that stole her heart so many years ago.
The three of them walked across the road onto the beach. No one was there as this stretch of beach was mainly used by the locals and not the tourists, and most people were further down the beach. Kaitlyn said nothing as they walked onto the warm sand.
"How about over here?" Kyle asked pointing to a spot.
"Looks good to me," Jenna said smiling. She marveled at how they felt like a family already, but she quickly brushed those thoughts aside. He'd been very clear about where they stood, and she had to abide by that.
Kyle opened the picnic basket and spread a red and white blanket across the sand. "Have a seat everyone," he said. Kaitlyn continued staring at the water as she sat down.
"Miss Kaitlyn, I know you are not happy about moving. That would really stink. I think you should do your best to frown about it as much as possible." Kaitlyn shot a look at him that was irritation mixed with confusion.
"You do?" she said.
"Oh, yeah, for sure. The more you frown, the more friends you'll make."
Jenna stared at Kyle, unsure of where he was going with this conversation.
"I will?"
"Of course. People love to see others who frown. Don't you like seeing sad, angry people?"
"No..." she stammered.
"Oh. You don't? Maybe I'm wrong then," he said quirking his lip up.
"You're wrong. I don't like sad, angry people. My friends all smile."
"Well, then, you'd better turn that frown upside down, as they say," he said with a smile. "And I think I know just how to do that."
"How?"
"It's my super duper, out of this world, amazingly delicious 'Kyle's the Man’ cupcakes!" he said as he pulled a tray of pink fluffy cupcakes from the picnic basket. Kaitlyn's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "See these sprinkles?"
"Yeah," she said licking her lips and trying to avoid a smile.
"Well, these are my special happy sprinkles that make people smile. I've never fed them to anyone who didn't smile after eating one, but you have to be careful."
"Why?"
"Because they are so powerful that they might make you feel happy about moving, and we wouldn't want that would we?"
"Well..."
"Wait. You mean that you might actually want to feel happy about moving? I mean maybe you could think of it as an adventure?"
"Maybe," she said, sitting back and crossing her arms. "I do like adventures." Jenna was quiet watching the exchange in awe.
"I have adventures at my house all the time."
"You do?" she asked with her eyes wide.
"I do. You see, I also live on the beach only there is no road between my house and the water. Your bedroom will have its own balcony just like a princess. And, if you get up early enough, you will see Snickers."
"Who's Snickers?" she asked.
"My dolphin."
Kaitlin couldn't contain her grin this time. "You have your own dolphin?" she asked.
"Actually, he's just my favorite, but I know his whole family. There's Snickers, Jumper, Flipper and Bob."
"Bob?" Jenna said under her breath with a smile.
"Yes, Bob, thank you very much," he said with proud grin. "His real name is Robert, but we don't like to be too formal." Jenna could barely contain her laughter. Kyle had always been funny and outgoing and adventurous. He'd always been the one to act out in public just to get a laugh. It was a big part of what made her fall in love with him in the first place, and it was a big reason why her parents disliked him so much. He wasn't mature enough in their eyes. She wondered what they'd think now that he was so financially stable and her ex had left her without a penny.
"Can I see Snickers?" Kaitlyn asked breaking Jenna's thought process.
"Well, that depends. You see, Snickers has two requirements for being his friend. One, you have to smile. He won't come around frowning people. They scare him. Two, you have to live at Parker Place."
"Where is Parker Place?" she asked.
"It's the house where I live, the one with the balcony. As long as you live there and have a big smile that Snickers can see all the way from the ocean, he will come around because he knows he can trust you."
