Return to Rose Cottage

by Sherryl Woods

  Oddly, she was feeling none of the anguish she’d expected to hit her when she first set eyes on him. She was simply gathering up every precious moment and storing it away to think about when he wasn’t around. She wondered if that’s how Pete survived the separations, by making so many memories that his son was never far from mind.

  It took them two hours to build the fort to Davey’s very precise specifications. Once it was done, Jo was the first to get behind the wall and lob a snowball straight at Pete. It hit him squarely in the chest, catching him completely by surprise. Jo ducked down behind the wall when he started to reach for his own fistful of snow. While he was distracted, Davey hurled another one that he barely managed to duck.

  “Okay, you two, this is war,” Pete declared, pelting them with snowballs of his own, then chasing down Davey and rubbing snow on his neck.

  Next he came after Jo, a diabolical expression in his eyes, but she was quick. She whirled away and ran, laughing as she danced out of his path.

  The laughter died, when he snagged her ankle, somehow managing to land beneath her, so that he took the brunt of the fall. She grinned down at him. “You are such dead meat,” she said, picking up a handful of snow to rub in his face.

  But before she could do that, a fistful of snow was shoved down the back of her jacket by his sneaky little boy, whom she’d mistakenly assumed to be on her side. She should have known better.

  “Way to go, Davey!” Pete enthused, giving his son a high five. “We guys have to stick together.”

  Laughing, Jo got up to shake the snow out of her jacket. “I’ll remember this,” she warned Pete. “Just wait.”

  His gaze locked on hers. “You gonna get even, tough girl?”

  “You bet,” she said at once. “And you won’t even see it coming.”

  “Uh-oh,” Davey said, grinning at his dad. “You’re in big trouble, huh?”

  Pete winked at him. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

  Jo laughed at the pair of them. “Okay, macho guys, let’s go have lunch before we all catch pneumonia. Soup and burgers? How about it?”

  “With fries?” Davey asked at once.

  “If your dad agrees,” she told him.

  “He will,” Davey said triumphantly. “Dad loves fries better than anything.”

  He always had, Jo thought, and barely managed to keep herself from saying it aloud.

  “Not better than anything,” Pete replied quietly, his intense gaze fastened on Jo. “Some things are even more incredible.”

  Jo lost herself in the heat in his eyes for a moment, but then the moment was lost when Davey demanded to know what could possibly be any better than French fries.

  Pete tugged his blue cap a little lower to cover his eyes. “Kissing girls,” he said at once, then stole one from Jo before Davey could rip away the impromptu blindfold.

  His son regarded him with blatant skepticism. “Gross,” he declared.

  “Tell me that when you’re sixteen,” Pete said. “Hop into the truck, buddy. I’ll be there in a minute as soon as I open the car door for Jo.”

  “Can’t she open it herself?” Even as the words left his mouth, Davey’s expression brightened with sudden understanding. “It’s another one of those things to keep girls happy, huh?”

  Pete winked at him. “Exactly.”

  Davey ran on to the truck, while Pete went with Jo and opened the door.

  “See you in ten minutes in town,” he said.

  “Do you think it’s going okay?” she asked worriedly.

  “Are you kidding? The kid’s fallen in love with you,” he said. “Same as me.”

  He winked and left, leaving her with her heart thundering in her chest and a million and one dreams coming alive again.

  Lunch was an unqualified success. Pete watched his son with the woman who should have been the mother of Pete’s children and knew that they could become the perfect family. Jo was a natural with the boy and Davey was responding to her effortless teasing with increasing affection. He told himself he wasn’t leaving Kelsey out of the equation, just adding Jo into it, but it was hard to imagine Kelsey fitting in to the idyllic image in his head.

  “Hey, Dad, I have an idea,” Davey said, when they were all stuffed with hamburgers, fries and slices of pie. “You said we could rent a movie tonight. Maybe Jo could come, too. It would be like a party. You could make popcorn and hot chocolate and stuff.”

  Pete grinned at him. “Maybe Jo doesn’t like popcorn and hot chocolate and silly kid movies.”

  “Bet she does,” Davey said confidently. “Right, Jo? You think all that stuff is cool, don’t you?”

  “Nothing better,” she agreed at once. “Finding Nemo was one of my all-time favorite movies.”

  “See,” Davey said. “So, can we ask her?”

  Pete laughed. “I think you just did.”

  Davey gave him a baffled look, then grinned. “Oh, yeah. So, will you come, Jo?”

  She cast a look at Pete, clearly seeking his permission. “What do you say, Dad?”

  “Fine with me,” he said at once. He glanced at his son. “Maybe we should let her pick the movie. What do you think?”

  Davey looked doubtful. “You aren’t gonna pick some mushy thing, are you?”

  “Nah,” she said at once. “How about I show you my choices and you can help me decide?”

  Davey nodded eagerly, then glanced worriedly at Pete. “That sounds fair, right, Dad?”

  “More than fair,” he said with amusement.

  He wasn’t sure who was manipulating whom anymore. It was just plain as day that these two knew how to work each other. It couldn’t have made him happier, but it was worrisome, too. The instantaneous bonding was going to cause problems down the road. Kelsey would hear all about this, and there would be hell to pay. But Pete had accepted that going in. Sooner or later, his ex-wife would have to come to terms with the fact that he really had moved on. He knew it would dash the hopes he suspected she had that one day he would come to his senses and chase after her.

  “Okay, let’s head for the video store and pick out a couple of movies, one for tonight and one for tomorrow. Then Davey and I can run by the store for supplies.”

  “Sounds good,” Jo said.

  “You want to come by around six-thirty and have dinner with us? We’re going with the canned spaghetti thing,” he told her with a grin.

  “I think I’ll pass, unless you can be persuaded to sacrifice the canned stuff in favor of homemade. I still have sauce in the freezer.”

  “Awesome,” Davey said at once.

  Jo slapped his hand in a high five. “There’s the man,” she said approvingly.

  “Okay, then, I guess dinner’s under control,” Pete said.

  “I’d better come at six, though, to boil the pasta and heat up the sauce.”

  Pete nodded. “We have a plan, then.”

  It was the kind of plan he’d always imagined making on a snowy Saturday with his family, but Kelsey had always insisted that Saturday was a date night, not a family night. She didn’t care where they went, as long as it was out and they were alone. He looked into Jo’s shining eyes and saw no hint of hesitation or dismay. If anything, she looked as eager as his son.

  How had he ever for a single second forgotten that she was the perfect match for him? Okay, if he was being totally honest, he hadn’t forgotten. He’d just buried the knowledge in order to live the life he’d been forced to choose.

  And now, at long last, he had a second chance. He vowed here and now that he wouldn’t waste it.

  It was nearly midnight when Jo finally got home from their outing. She was on such an emotional high, she didn’t think it was possible that she’d ever come back to earth. The spaghetti had been a big success with Davey, as had her special hot chocolate with just a hint of peppermint in it. They’d eaten a huge bowl of buttered popcorn and watched both movies, though Davey had fallen asleep fifteen minutes into the second one. Pete had carried him to bed, then retu
rned to snuggle with her in front of the TV.

  Neither of them had paid much attention to the plot of the movie, which was probably just as well, since she assumed Pete was destined to see it again on Sunday night when Davey realized he’d slept through most of it.

  Tonight had been bittersweet. It had given her a taste of all she’d lost…and maybe all she could have, if she was brave enough to take another chance on loving Pete.

  Was she that brave? She was beginning to believe she was, but now and then a vague feeling of panic would roll over her. At its core was always the faceless woman who’d stolen Pete from her the first time. Kelsey still had a powerful claim on him. Something told Jo that she wouldn’t give it up lightly. Worse, Davey was bound to be caught in the middle. Pete didn’t seem to be half as worried about that as she was, but she knew she could never do anything that might turn that wonderful child into some sort of pawn between his parents.

  Too wound up to sleep, she made herself a cup of chamomile tea, then sat at the kitchen table, wishing for once that her sisters were here to listen to her jumbled thoughts and help her make sense of them. Unfortunately, if she told them everything now, she had a feeling not one of them would see Pete for the incredible man he was. They would focus exclusively on the fact that he’d broken her tender young heart.

  When the phone rang, she almost laughed. It was bound to be Ashley, checking up on her, putting her mind at rest that Jo had survived her day with Pete and his son without any emotional scars.

  “Hello, worrywart,” she said, when she picked up.

  “How’d you know it would be me?” Pete asked.

  “Actually I was sure it was going to be Ashley. I thought you’d be sound asleep by now.”

  “I couldn’t sleep till I knew you were home safe and in bed. Are you in bed?” he asked hopefully.

  “Nope, fully dressed and in the kitchen. Sorry to spoil your fantasy.”

  “Ah, well, I have a pretty vivid imagination anyway. I’ll make do.”

  “Today was fun,” she told him quietly. “Thank you.”

  “It was fun for me, too, and Davey was over the moon. Of course, he’ll never be satisfied to eat spaghetti from a can again.”

  “An educated palate is never a bad thing,” she told him.

  “I’ll add that to the list of lessons I can take credit for,” he said lightly. “’Night, darlin’.”

  “Good night, Pete.”

  It was fully a minute before Jo finally hung up the phone and cut the connection. She sighed when it rang again.

  Smiling, she picked it up. “I thought we’d said good night, Pete.”

  “So that’s who you were on the phone with,” Ashley said. “Didn’t you just leave him?”

  “You’re up late,” Jo commented, ignoring her sister’s testy tone.

  “I wasn’t waiting up for you to get home, if that’s what you’re thinking. Josh and I had to go to some big dinner-dance thing with his old law partners in Richmond tonight. We just got back. Thought I’d check on you before going to bed, but your line was busy.”

  “How was the event you went to?”

  “Boring,” Ashley said. “I’d almost forgotten how dull a roomful of lawyers can be.”

  “Oh, my God,” Jo said with exaggerated alarm. “Let me check outside to see if the sky is falling.”

  “Very funny. How was your date with Pete and his son?”

  “Amazing,” Jo admitted. “And scary.”

  “Scary? Why?”

  “I love that kid,” she admitted. “Now the stakes have really gotten high, Ashley. I want them both in my life. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to handle it if I lose them.”

  “Why would you lose them?”

  “It could happen,” Jo insisted. It was something she knew only too well.

  “Do you want me to have the guys take Pete out and have the honorable intentions talk?”

  The very idea filled Jo with horror. “Absolutely not.”

  “It’s one way to get answers,” Ashley reminded her.

  “I think I’ll use my own technique, thank you very much.”

  “You have a technique?”

  “Well, no,” she admitted. “Unless you count leaving it up to fate.”

  “Normally I’d be the first to tell you to forget that and take charge of your own future,” Ashley said.

  “But?”

  “I’d have to say destiny’s done all right by the rest of us, wouldn’t you?”

  Jo chuckled. “You have a point. Maybe I will just trust in fate.”

  “You might want to toss in some mind-boggling sex to seal the deal,” Ashley suggested tartly. “Worked for me.”

  “I’m sure Pete would appreciate that technique,” Jo agreed. “I’ll give it some thought.”

  “Just be happy,” Ashley said. “If you think that man can make you happy, then fight like heck to keep him.”

  Ashley’s words continued to ring in Jo’s head long after she’d hung up. That was the big difference between seven years ago and now. Back then, she hadn’t known how to fight for her man, hadn’t even known until too late that she needed to. Now, though, she was all grown-up and stronger than she’d realized. This time she would fight with everything in her to hold on to the happiness she’d found once again with Pete.

  And heaven help anyone who got in her way.

  13

  It was barely seven in the morning when Jo’s phone rang. Sure that it would be Pete, she already had a smile on her face as she answered. When she heard Davey’s voice, her smile spread even wider.

  “Well, good morning,” she said, instantly cheerful despite the early hour. “How are you?”

  “I’m great,” he said, his voice brimming with exuberance. “I wanted to call you before, but Dad said it was too early and that we had to wait till at least seven, so we wouldn’t wake you. I know it’s not quite seven, but I couldn’t wait anymore. So, did we? Wake you up, I mean?”

  Jo laughed. “No. I was awake.”

  “See, Dad? I told you it wouldn’t be too early,” Davey called out triumphantly to his father.

  Jo couldn’t hear Pete’s mumbled response, but grinned as she imagined his side of the exchange. She could practically see the tolerant amusement on his face.

  “Dad says to ask you if you want to go have waffles with us,” Davey said. “He can’t make waffles, ’cause you need some kind of iron thing, which is dumb, if you ask me, ’cause waffles aren’t smooth.”

  Jo laughed. “It is dumb, now that you mention it. Are waffles a favorite of yours?”

  “They’re the best,” Davey confirmed. “Even better than pancakes, ’cause there are all those little places for the syrup to go. So, will you come? Dad says we can come get you.”

  “How soon?”

  He relayed her question at his father, then said, “He says twenty minutes. Can you be ready then?”

  “I’ll be ready,” Jo promised.

  “With your coat on and everything?” Davey asked worriedly. “I’m starving.”

  “I’ll even be waiting outside,” she assured him. “We definitely can’t have you starving.”

  “Okay. Bye,” he said, then put the phone down with a clatter.

  Jo stared at the receiver, a smile on her lips, then finally hung up and raced to put on a little makeup and do something with her hair before her allotted time was up.

  She was outside in the driveway when Pete turned in. He frowned at her as she got into the truck.

  “Why are you standing outside?” he scolded. “It’s freezing. You should have waited till we pulled in before coming out.”

  She winked at Davey. “I promised not to hold things up.”

  Pete turned to the backseat and frowned at his son. “You don’t make girls stand around in the cold for your convenience,” he chided.

  “Are we gonna waste time while you tell me another one of those things about keeping girls happy?” Davey asked plaintively. “It’s going to be ye
ars and years before I need to know that stuff.”

  Pete regarded him with resignation. “Have you gotten the message?”

  “Yes,” Davey said at once. “Can we please go now?”

  “Yes, please,” Jo added. “I’m starving, too.”

  Pete laughed. “Something tells me this breakfast is going to cost me a fortune. Hope I have enough cash.”

  “I have my allowance,” Davey said. “I can pay for my own.”

  “How about mine?” Pete retorted. “Can you pay for mine, too?”

  Davey immediately reached in his pocket and brought out a fistful of dollars and some change. He shoved it in Jo’s direction. “Is this enough?”

  She solemnly counted out his four dollars and sixty-seven cents, then shook her head. “Not quite,” she told him. “But don’t worry. I’ve got it covered.”

  “Girls don’t pay,” he responded at once. “Right, Dad?”

  “That’s right,” Pete confirmed.

  “It’s okay for girls to pay for things some of the time,” Jo corrected. “But it’s always nice when the guys offer.”

  Davey regarded her with confusion. “How am I supposed to know when it’s okay?”

  Jo laughed at his perplexed expression. “Sweetie, it is not something you need to worry about for at least ten years or so.”

  “I don’t think I’m ever gonna need it,” Davey said. “It’s probably easier just to stay away from girls.”

  “Easier, maybe,” his dad said, clearly amused. “But not nearly as much fun. You’ll see.”

  “I doubt it,” Davey said with blatant skepticism as Pete pulled into a parking spot in front of the café in town.

  When the three of them walked through the door, a half-dozen curious glances were directed their way. People spoke to Pete and grinned at Davey, but faltered a bit when they came to Jo. She was relieved when they were finally seated in a booth toward the back. She hadn’t stopped to think about how awkward this might turn out to be. Naturally, most people here had known Kelsey. Many of them might have a vague recollection of Jo, but after seven years they obviously didn’t recognize her as the young girl who’d spent an entire summer coming in here with Pete.