Full Potential

by L. J. Kentowski

  Jena met his gaze as he stared. After a tortured battle of wills, he relented with a nod. He stood, and she thought she was being given a chance to breathe, but he moved in close to her chair and drilled down on her with an intense gaze. “I’ll leave you alone, but I’m not going anywhere.” Bending down, he planted a tender kiss on her cheek. “I love you, Jena,” he whispered into her ear.

  Then he left—taking her heart and soul with him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  It had been a week since Jena and Tyler’s heart-to-heart at Zane’s house. He’d given her space, as promised, and while it killed her not to talk to him after he’d confessed his love for her, she was relieved to have the time to think things through on her own. The break had given her the chance to sort through all her complicated emotions about Tyler, Seeton, the shop, her future. Mostly, it helped her realize what she needed to do.

  As she walked through the door of Lynn’s shop, the bell’s chime echoed louder than expected, and when Jena glanced around, it registered why. Many of the fabrics previously displayed throughout the store were gone; hangers full of clothing were sparser on the racks; pictures previously hung on walls, missing. The place was being emptied for a going out of business sale. Which it was, of course. She simply didn’t realize it was public knowledge.

  With Lynn nowhere in sight, Jena made her way up to the counter. “Hello?”

  “Jena,” Lynn welcomed, stepping from the dressing room area. “Sorry. I was overseeing some construction in the back. How are you?”

  “I’m good. Construction?”

  “Minor things,” she said with a wave of her hand. “What can I do for you, dear?”

  It was now or never. Jena shook out the hands at her sides. “I’m here to accept your offer.”

  Lynn’s eyes widened and slowly crinkled at the sides as a smile lifted her mouth. Clasping her hands together in front of her chest, she said, “I just knew you would. This is going to work perfectly. For everyone.”

  Jena smiled back at the woman who seemed to have all the answers without a care in the world. Her blind faith and generosity were amazing. “Thank you, Lynn. I’m so grateful to you and Mr. Cole. Really. This is such an overwhelming opportunity, and I’m going to work my butt off to make it a success.”

  Lynn walked around the counter, grabbed Jena’s hands, and stared up at her for an awkward moment. Then, Tyler’s mom surprised the hell out of Jena with a smothering hug. When they pulled apart, Lynn’s eyes were full of tears.

  Not sure she could handle seeing the woman cry, Jena averted her gaze. “So, what do I need to do?”

  Blotting her eyes with the back of a finger, Lynn sniffled. “Oh, well, I already had Chris write up an agreement in anticipation of this. We only need to set up an appointment with him to sign everything after you’ve had a look at it. I can call him today to arrange a meeting. Does tomorrow work for you?”

  “Yes, that would be fine.”

  “Great.” She beamed like a proud mother. “I’m so excited for you, Jena.”

  “Thanks. I’m excited…but scared too, you know? There’s so much to think about.” She turned, regarding the place, getting ideas of what she could do to make it into the daycare she’d dreamed about. Kid-friendly paint on the walls, maybe animals, sunshine, rainbows…something colorful. She wondered if anyone in town was creative in that endeavor. Shelves would need to be built for bins to store books, toys, and art supplies, and an area sectioned off to put playpens for the little ones. Of course, she’d need to learn all the regulations.

  God, there was so much to do, and it seemed overwhelming now that she’d finalized the decision.

  “It’ll all come together,” Lynn said as if reading her thoughts. “When I first bought the shop, I had the same anxiety I’m sure you’re feeling now. Trust me, it will fall into place, and you have plenty of people here in Seeton who want to help. Let them. It’s okay to lean on others. Believe me, they want you to. No one thrives on their own. The most successful people make it because of others who care about them.”

  Jena wondered if Lynn was specifically talking about her son, or the people of Seeton as a whole. She didn’t ask for clarification, though, wanting to avoid the subject of Tyler until talking with him personally. That was next on her list of things to do. There were some important things she wanted to tell him.

  “I will,” she said. “Well, I don’t want to take up any more of your time.” Jena grabbed her purse from the counter. “Why don’t you call me after you talk with Chris. Anytime works for me.”

  The bell above the door rang. An elderly woman entered the shop with what appeared to be a pair of pants hanging over her arm.

  “Delores,” Lynn called out, a bit loud for the small distance between them. “So nice to see you. How are you, young lady?”

  Delores gave a pfft and continued to waddle to the counter. “Jerry blew the zipper out of his pants again. I keep telling him to switch to the elastic waistbands, but he refuses to listen to me. Old fool.”

  “I’ll let you get to work, Lynn,” Jena whispered. “Thank—”

  Lynn reached over the counter and latched onto Jena’s hand. “Wait. The paperwork Chris drew up is on my desk. Go grab it, so you can read it and be ready to sign tomorrow.

  Jena drew back. “You have it here?”

  “Yes. He gave it to me the other day to look over. It’s in the back. Go get it.” She shooed Jena away and stepped around the counter and met Delores. “Now, let’s see what you have here.”

  Jena sidled toward the rear of the shop. After accepting the offer, she’d expected a long, slow process to take over the place. It blew her away that a contract had already been written up, waiting for her to sign.

  She knew exactly where Lynn’s desk was, having been in the area several times when sizing up the space for the daycare, but when she stepped through the doorway and realized the entire room had been gutted, she froze. Gaping, she blinked at the shelving in progress along the walls, bins stacked in a corner, cubbies filled with baskets and books. It appeared as if someone was already turning the place into the daycare she’d dreamed it to be.

  “What the…”

  A door leading to an alleyway behind the store opened, and Tyler entered the room. He stopped mid-stride, obviously as surprised to see her as she was him. Jena took in the sight of him. Safety glasses resting on top of his head, dirt-stained t-shirt and jeans, and a drill in one hand at his side. It was positioned near the sexiest tool belt she’d ever seen. Sure, it might have looked like any other tool belt, but on Tyler Cole, that sucker was porn material.

  A buzzing noise sounded.

  “Eyes up here, Red,” he said, taking her attention away from his package…er, belt, the drill raised in the air next to his head. A self-satisfied smirk curved the side of his mouth. “Hi.”

  “Hi,” she whispered.

  After setting the drill down on a table in the corner of the room, he took one step toward her. “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to see it so soon, but…surprise.”

  Averting her eyes from the intensity of his gaze, she glanced around the room. “Tyler, what is this?”

  “What does it look like?” he asked, now standing in front of her. She had no choice but to peer up at him.

  “It looks like…everything I…but how?”

  “You told me the night we talked about what you would do if you had your own daycare, remember?”

  “But how did you know I would…”

  “Accept the offer?” He cupped her cheeks, his gaze softening. “This is me making sure you didn’t have a choice because you didn’t give me one either. My heart was yours, Jena, the second you pushed your way into my firehouse and wanted to slide down my pole.” He winked with a sly grin that stole her breath. “Ever since then, all I’ve wanted was to have you near me. That’s my dream, Jena. You, here with me.”

  Gaping, she sighed like a lovestruck schoolgirl.

  Tyler took that moment to pul
l her into him and thank God because she was melting. He was right. Neither one of them had a choice. This was where they were meant to be. Together. If he left, part of her dream would still be missing.

  “I love you, Jena.” He kissed the top of her head.

  She pushed at his chest, causing him to back away. “Damn you, Tyler.”

  “Uhhh…”

  “You ruined everything.” Tears threatened to fall past her lids.

  “What?” His expression was a cross between anger and pain. Oh, and confusion.

  “I was supposed to say that to you.” When he still regarded her as if she was due for a psych evaluation, she explained. “After I came here to tell your mom I was accepting the offer, I was going to come and find you. To tell you…” She closed the distance between them and set her hands on his chest. “To tell you, I love you. I love you, Tyler Cole. And I don’t want you to leave.”

  A smile crept up his lips. “You do?”

  “I don’t. I don’t want you to leave.”

  “No, the other thing.”

  She smiled back. “I do. I love you, Tyler.” Raising up on her toes, she leaned in and kissed him.

  He let her lead for only a second before taking over, parting her lips with his tongue and going in full force. Their mouths fought for more until they were nearly out of breath. His head eased back, but he kept her trapped to his body with arms she hadn’t even realized were wrapped around her waist.

  “It’s the tool belt, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “What?”

  He shot her a cocky grin. “I’m not opposed to wearing it all the time, you know. With or without clothes, if that’s your thing. It holds all kinds of tools.”

  Jena slapped at his chest. “You’re terrible.”

  He pulled her even closer. “I’m horny. You just told me you loved me, and I haven’t felt this body against mine in way too long. Say it again.” He leaned in and nibbled on her earlobe.

  “Tyler…”

  “Say it.”

  “I love you.”

  With a groan, his tongue slid down her neck, using it to lap at the spots he’d nipped.

  “If you kids are going to start sexting, you need to do it somewhere else.”

  “Oh, my God,” Jena called out at the same time Tyler cried, “Mom.”

  They jumped away from each other and stared at Lynn in the doorway, eyeing them with arms crossed over her chest.

  “I’m not opposed to you two starting on my grandbabies, but I’d prefer not to be in the next room.”

  “Mom,” Tyler said, his voice more appalled than surprised this time.

  She shrugged. “What? I told you I was ready for them any time.”

  “Jesus,” Tyler groaned, shooting Jena an embarrassed glance before casting his gaze to the floor.

  “So, what do you think, Jena?” Lynn asked.

  Jena’s eyebrows flew up to her forehead. “About grandbabies?”

  “No, no,” she said, chuckling. “About what he’s done so far?”

  Jena spun in place, scanning the room again. She spotted a board set on the floor in the corner near a cubby and went over to it. Picking it up, she studied the beautiful, stained wood sign. Red’s Readers was painted in crimson, a picture of a happy child reading a book illustrated below the words. She turned, tears free-falling down her cheeks, and locked in on Tyler’s gaze. “It’s perfect. Everything is perfect.”

  Tyler stood beside her and looked down at the sign. “Saw something like it on Pinterest.”

  “Wait. You have a Pinterest account?”

  “Hell, no.” He grimaced. “I value my man card, Red. Riley showed me on hers.”

  She should have known her friend would be knee-deep in Tyler’s plot to sweep her off her feet. God, she loved that woman.

  “Well,” his mom piped up. “I’ll leave you two alone, but no more sexting. Take it somewhere else, yes? Jena, I’ll call you later when I have the appointment with Chris.”

  Jena agreed, and after Lynn left, she sidled in closer to Tyler. Using an index finger, she trailed a path down his chest and abs. “Well, after you’re done here,” she said, her voice low and seductive, “want to add some gold stars to that man card of yours?”

  “Funny thing, I was just finishing up for the day and needed to get naked with a particular redhead.”

  “Oh, really? And am I the lucky redhead you had in mind?”

  “Baby, you’re the only redhead on my mind. Now, let’s go before I embarrass myself in front of Mom again.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  “So, he already started making his mom’s shop into a daycare before you even accepted the offer?” Riley asked, her head on her hand. She appeared all starry-eyed while leaning an elbow on the bar.

  Jena smiled, a bit starry-eyed too…thinking of everything Tyler had done for her, including the ones that gained him several gold stars that night. “As if you didn’t know, but yeah, and thank you. He said he wasn’t giving me a choice.”

  “I never would have guessed Tyler was such a softy.”

  “Oh, there’s nothing soft about him,” Jena said with a sly grin.

  “Ewww. Please stop.” Ivy appeared next to their stools, flashing an expression that said she’d taken a bite of bad cheese.

  Jena giggled. “Sorry, it’s true. Your cuz is one hard—”

  Ivy’s hand shot up and covered Jena’s mouth. “When did she lose her filter?”

  “Actually,” Riley said with a laugh, “I think there was simply a cap on it for a while. This is the Jena I know and love. Well, I didn’t love it back in the day, but now that I understand it…” She shot Jena a wink.

  “You two are nuts.”

  “Probably,” Riley said.

  Jena nodded her agreement.

  “So, I hear you’re going to be a permanent fixture here in Seeton,” Ivy said.

  “Yep. You’re stuck with me.”

  “And you and my cousin are a…thing, now?”

  Jena paused for a moment before answering. While Ivy seemed friendly enough lately, she hadn’t forgotten the wrath the woman put out when she was protecting family and friends.

  “Don’t worry.” Ivy had relieved her of answering. “I think you’re good for him. ’Bout time someone started putting Tyler in his place. I’m exhausted. He’s been a pain in the ass all our lives.”

  They all chuckled.

  Jena had learned a thing or two about Ivy since she’d gotten to town. The girl spent all her time focusing on the lives of friends and family yet did nothing for herself. She wondered why.

  “Yeah, I’ll take Tyler off your hands.” Jena scooted a stool over so Ivy could sit with them. “What will you do with all that spare time, though? You know, with Dax and Tyler having new babysitters now?”

  Ivy sat, sticking her black, combat boots onto the rungs of the barstool. “Well, Wade’s still a problem, so there’s that. I have to be careful with him, though. He’s threatened to shoot me a few times already.”

  Jena nearly fell off her stool laughing, Riley right along with her.

  “While we’re on the subject,” Ivy said, “of my spare time, not Wade shooting me, I wanted to ask you something, Jena.”

  “Anything.”

  “Do you think I could get a job at the daycare? I could even help set up for the opening.”

  Jena was speechless. She’d considered having to hire help somewhere along the line, but she never imagined Ivy as that person.

  “You like working with kids?”

  “Well, I don’t mind them.” Her brows pinched. “I don’t think. Honestly, I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but I could learn, right?”

  Jena shot a glance at Riley, who appeared just as floored by Ivy’s interest.

  “What about the diner?” Riley asked.

  “No offense to Aunt Terry, but I’m tired of being a waitress. I’m starting to hate food from working with it so much.”

  Riley gasped as if she’d hear
d the worst news of her life.

  “Okay,” Jena said. “Well, I can definitely use the help opening up. I won’t be able to pay you much, though.”

  “It’s okay. Money isn’t an issue.”

  “It’s not?” Jena and Riley asked at the same time.

  She flinched. “No. I have money from my parents’ life insurance. You didn’t know that, Riles?”

  “Um, no.”

  “Yeah, I got it when I turned twenty-one. Anyway, I’m not worried about the money.”

  “So, if you have money, then why were you working in a place you’re sick of?” Jena asked.

  “Because there was nothing else for me to do.”

  Although initially shocked by Ivy’s revelation, she understood. It reminded Jena of herself. If her assumption that the girl simply hadn’t found where she fit in yet was correct. Ivy wasn’t much of an open book. Maybe those pages would open if the two spent more time together.

  “Well, then, yes,” she said. “I could definitely use the help. And maybe we can do a few trial runs with some babysitting jobs. Sound good?”

  Ivy nodded, smiling. “Sounds awesome. When?”

  “After the wedding?”

  “Perfect. That gives me time to talk to Aunt Terry.”

  Tanner showed up on the other side of the bar. “You ladies want another round?” He zoned in on Ivy. “Beer?” His tone had flattened.

  Ivy’s smile vanished. “Nope. Leaving now,” she said, glaring at him. Her expression softened when she stood and faced Jena. “Thank you. This means a lot, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “Me too, Ivy, and you’re welcome.”

  Ivy said goodbye to the two women, definitely nothing to Tanner, and then left as quickly as she’d shown up.

  “What is she looking forward to?” Tanner asked.

  Jena eyed him. “Why do you want to know?”

  She could see him working something out in his head. “You know what? I don’t. Another round?”

  Jena and Riley nodded, grins plastered on their faces.

  Once they had a new set of drinks, Jena huddled close to Riley and whispered, “What’s the story there?”