Jake leaned forward and then back so that the glider moved a bit and they kept it going like that, rocking gently as they finished their pie. It was so peaceful and relaxing.
“Is it strange, being back here after living in the city for so long?” she asked.
Jake sighed. “It’s an adjustment, but in a good way. Lewiston is fine and I liked living there, but this feels like home to me. Something about the air here, it’s different. I like the openness and going in to town and recognizing people everywhere I go. It’s smaller, and friendlier. I’m glad to be here.”
“I love it here, too. I don’t want to live anywhere else, if I don’t have to,” Jess admitted.
“Why would you have to?” Jake asked.
“Well, it really depends on what happens after I graduate and if I’m able to find work here. There’s not a lot of opportunities for new veterinarians. I may have to look elsewhere. Possibly Lewiston, even. Then I could see what it’s like to live in the city.”
Jake nodded. “That’s another reason why I never considered coming back until now. Options here are limited. I knew I needed experience before I could consider opening my own practice, or taking over someone else’s. I wouldn’t worry about it, though. Things will work out for you the way they are supposed to.”
Jess smiled. “I hope so.”
“So, are you going to watch your friend Lily and her band this weekend? Wade said he wants to get a group together to go see them play.”
“I always try to go see them when they play here. Lily’s really good. The other guys are, too. I’m planning on going on Saturday. Speaking of going, I should probably head home. I have an early class tomorrow.”
Jake stood up and Jess did the same. He reached for her empty pie plate and she handed it to him. “Well, thanks for coming to keep me company. I won’t have to eat pork chops every day this week now.”
“It was nice of you to invite me. Thank you.” She tried to fight back a yawn but Jake saw it and smiled.
“I’ll see you on Saturday. Night, Jess.”
Chapter 7
Jake was busier than he thought he’d be during his vacation. Wade was like his activities director, checking in on him regularly to say hello and see if he’d tried rock-climbing yet, or white-water rafting or gone riding with Wyatt. Jake tried everything and enjoyed all of it. He also went into town and looked up the realtor his father had recommended. She was nice and she did seem to know everyone, but he wasn’t excited about any of the rentals that she had available and he wasn’t ready to commit to buying anything yet.
He had it in the back of his mind that he might want to build something at some point, so renting first probably would make the most sense. Wade assured him that he was welcome to stay at the Copper Cottage as long as he liked, and at a good discount, too. He felt bad about that, but Wade insisted, said it wasn’t their busy time of year and it was better than having it sit empty.
He had to admit, he liked the cottage. It was homey but a bit luxurious, too. The kitchen was a chef’s dream and the living area had a soft leather sofa and big screen TV. He was quite comfortable there. And he liked being next door to Jess. She intrigued him. He’d always thought she was cute, but now that she was older, he found himself even more drawn to her. He liked her company and found himself wanting to get to know her better.
He wondered for a moment if it was partly because she was off-limits, since they were going to be working together. And she’d made it clear she was looking for a permanent role if possible, too. Dr. Henery had told him that he could barely keep up with the demand and that was another reason why he’d thought it was time to retire—it was either that or hire more people and grow the business.
Jake knew he wanted to do that eventually. It would just have to depend on how things went. He’d love to be able to hire Jess on permanently if she was good, and he had a feeling she would be. But, that would also really mean she was off-limits. He sighed as he thought about it. Maybe they were better off as good friends and colleagues. That would probably be for the best.
She was just so cute and it had been hard sitting so close to her on his porch. He’d wanted so badly to put his arm around her and pull her close to him. He needed to get out and keep busy. It was Thursday night, half past five, and he was going to head over to the main restaurant for dinner, and to say hello to Barbi if she was working. Wade mentioned that they did team trivia on Thursday nights and had a buy-one get-one deal on pizzas and that always brought some business in.
When Jake walked into the restaurant, he was surprised to see that it was packed. Wade hadn’t exaggerated about how popular the pizza special was. The dining room was full of families and there were pizzas on almost every table. Jake made his way to the bar and settled in at one of the few empty seats. An older gentleman with wavy, silver hair was setting up some kind of music equipment in the corner. Wade had said he would try to join him and he came walking toward the bar a few minutes later.
“You made it! Order me a Coke if you would. I have to run back to the office for a minute and then I’ll be back.”
The bartender, who introduced himself as Joe, was a big guy that Jake guessed to be in his early forties. He was friendly and seemed to know almost everyone at the bar. He brought Jake a menu and then a couple of Cokes while he waited for Wade to return. Jake looked over the menu as his stomach growled. He had a tendency to forget to eat when he was busy and he’d almost forgotten to eat lunch. It was so late when he remembered that he just grabbed a yogurt to take the edge off. Everything looked good, steaks, burgers—but seeing all that pizza had his mouth watering. Hopefully, Wade was in the mood for it, too, or else he’d be bringing a lot of pizza home.
“Jake, that is you! It’s been a long time.” He turned and smiled at the familiar face by his side.
“Barbi! You look great. It has been a while. Come here.” He pulled her in for a quick hug. She did look great—she always had, though. Barbi had been a pretty girl and was still very attractive, with her curly, golden-blonde hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail and bright green eyes. They had dated for a few months, many years ago, until she had dumped him. He smiled thinking about it. There had been someone else she’d wanted to date and though he’d been upset about it at the time, a week later, he was dating someone else, too.
“I heard you were back in town. How’ve you been?” she asked.
“I’m good. I start working at Dr. Henery’s next week.”
She smiled. “I heard that he’s retiring. So it seems like you might be staying a while?”
“It would seem that way. I hope so.”
“Well, I hope so, too. We’ll catch up more later. I’ve got to run some drinks to my table. Great to see you!”
“You, too.” He watched her go and wondered what she had been up to since high school. Had she gone to college, maybe even gotten married or divorced? Enough time had passed that any of it was possible. He remembered that she used to love to do yoga. He wondered if she still did. She certainly had the slim figure that went with it.
“Did you see Barbi?” Wade asked as he slid onto the chair next to Jake.
“Yeah, she was just here. It was good to see her.”
“She’s a great girl. She’s worked here for five or six years now.”
“What’s her story?”
Wade thought about that for a minute. “From what I can see, she doesn’t choose the right guys. She almost got married once, soon after she started here, then something happened and the wedding was called off at the last minute, just a few weeks before. I don’t think she’s dating anyone at the moment, though. Timing could be right for you.” Wade sounded so enthusiastic that Jake laughed.
“Why don’t you date her? Or have you already?” he asked. Wade looked surprised at the question.
“I can’t do that. She works here. Not an option.”
“Really? You’ve never even thought about it?”
“Dating someone that works h
ere? Oh, you mean dating Barbi specifically? No.”
There was an interesting hesitation that made Jake wonder if there might be someone else at the resort that Wade was thinking of, but it was clear that even if there was, it still wasn’t an option.
“It’s that black and white for you, then?” Jake asked.
“It has to be. I’m the general manager here. I can’t very well enforce the rules if I don’t follow them myself, can I?”
“Good point. So, is the pizza any good here?”
Wade grinned. “It’s my favorite thing on our menu.”
When Joe came back their way, they put an order in for two loaded pizzas. They watched sports on the TV above the bar while they ate and listened to Arthur, the silver-haired man that was running the weekly trivia. Jake was surprised by how many teams were playing. There were at least a dozen and they were all ages.
“Is it always like this here?”
Wade chuckled. “Trivia and free pizza are an irresistible combination. Most of these people come every week. We give out gift certificates as prizes for the top three teams.”
After they finished eating, Wade excused himself to go to the restroom and a minute later, Barbi reappeared.
“It’s finally starting to die down, so I was able to pop back over to chat some more,” she said.
“How’ve you been? You still doing yoga? I remember you used to love that.”
Barbi smiled. “Yes, even more now. I’ve been teaching part-time at the local gym, and saving to open my own yoga studio.”
“Really? That’s great.”
“I wanted to do it years ago, but the timing was never right and my savings were never ready. Hopefully soon, though. My goal is to be up and running in a few months.”
“I’m about to become a business owner. It’s exciting and a little scary too,” he admitted.
“Oh, they’re buzzing me in the kitchen. I have to run. Talk to you later.”
Wade slid back into his chair and noticed Barbi walking off. “I’m telling you, you two could re-start things. She’s looking to start her own business, too. You have a lot in common.”
“She was just telling me about that. A yoga studio.”
“Something to think about,” Wade said with a grin.
Chapter 8
“Does this sound better?” Lily strummed her guitar and sang her newest song again, using the changes to the lyrics that Jess had suggested. They were sitting in Lily’s living room and had spent the last two hours working on a new song. Lily and Jess had been pretty much inseparable since middle school. Lily lived in a townhouse that was walking distance from Main Street and the location suited her. There were several restaurants along Main Street that her band often played at and she liked being able to walk home. Jess had stopped by after her shift with Dr. Henery on Thursday. Since she was already in town at the other end of Main Street, she went right to Lily’s after work.
“Okay, I want to hear how it sounds. You sing it,” Lily demanded. “I recorded the melody so you can sing along.” She clicked play and the music started.
Jess took a deep breath and then started to sing. She didn’t mind singing in front of Lily as it was almost the same as singing alone to herself. She knew that she had a decent enough voice. One of her early music teachers had raved about her perfect pitch and tried to get her to join the school chorus, but she’d declined. The idea of singing in public, in front of people, was terrifying. But it was always fun with Lily.
Jess loved music. She found it relaxing to fiddle with the lyrics to some of the melodies that Lily came up with, but Lily was really the musical genius. How she came up with the music side of it was a mystery. Lily had tried to explain it to her a few times, but it was like a foreign language. Somehow, Lily just felt it and knew what notes would sound good together. Jess’s role was helping with lyrics and singing the songs back so Lily could listen objectively. When Jess finished, Lily clapped enthusiastically.
“That was awesome! I think we’ve got it. I think it’s time for a glass of wine to celebrate. Root beer for you?”
“Yes, I’d love one, thanks.”
Lily went to the kitchen to get their drinks, then returned and handed Jess a tall glass filled with ice and foamy root beer. She settled onto the fuzzy shag rug on the floor and sat Indian-style.
“So, now we can catch up. Tell me, what’s it like having your former crush living right next door? Any chance of anything there?” Lily looked hopeful.
“No, I don’t think so. Jake is a really nice guy. He had me over for dinner the other night, which was sweet of him. He’s a good cook, too, but no, there’s nothing there. There never was and even if he was attracted, we’re going to be working together.”
“Office romances happen all the time,” Lily insisted.
“I’m still attracted,” Jess admitted. “If anything, even more so. But, I’m sure it’s one-sided, like it was before. And this job is important to me. If there’s even a chance I could get hired on permanently, I don’t want to screw it up.”
Lily took a sip of wine and looked thoughtful. “It could be a good opportunity to just be his friend, get to know him better. Maybe you won’t even want things to go further…or maybe you will. See what happens. If it doesn’t work out, there’s always Ed.”
Jess felt her hand tighten around the glass she was holding. Just the mention of Ed made her feel tense.
“That is not even funny,” Jess said.
“Have you heard from him again?” Lily sounded surprised.
“I’ve had missed calls twice this past week, from a blocked number.”
“You think it’s him?”
“Maybe, or maybe it’s just a tele-marketer. But he left me a few messages before that and I didn’t return his calls.”
“Ah, so maybe he is trying to catch you live, and off-guard.”
“Possibly.” The thought of it made her stomach flip. Ed Thompson needed to give up and go away.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. I’m sure he’ll find someone else to bother. He is rich. Someone is bound to at least be interested in that.”
“No doubt.”
“It’s still early. Do you want to try and catch the second half of trivia and get the pizza special? I’m starving all of a sudden.”
Jess felt her stomach rumble, too.
“I’d love to. I’ll need to stop by the cottage to change quickly, though. I don’t want to go out in public like this.”
“Good idea. I don’t think I even want to know what that big round stain on your shirt is from.”
“No, you probably don’t,” Jess agreed with a chuckle.
* * *
Jess stopped by her cottage to change into jeans and a pale blue sweater, and then she and Lily walked over to the restaurant. It was still busy, but the crowd was thinning out and everyone that was left was playing trivia on the bar side.
“Hi, Wade!” Lily called out as they reached the bar and saw both Wade and Jake sitting there. The two seats next to Jake were open. and Lily made her way over there and sat down, leaving the seat next to Jake empty. Jess glanced around the bar, worried that they were being too forward by plopping themselves down right next to him, but they were the only two vacant seats that were together. She sat down and was relieved to see that he didn’t seem to mind. He actually seemed happy to see her.
“Are you here for trivia?” he asked. Jess noticed a pizza box by his glass. Leftovers, no doubt.
“Yes, and pizza. We haven’t eaten yet. Are you playing?”
“Trivia? No. Wade and I were too busy eating and catching up. Will they let you jump in now?”
“I think so. They usually do let new people join at half-time. They give them some points to get started.”
“Oh, maybe we’ll join you then. If you don’t mind a few more on your team?” He glanced at Wade and he nodded.
“The more the merrier,” Jess said. With trivia, it generally paid off to have at least three or
four people on a team. That way, the odds were better that someone might know something. Jess never got the history questions, but she usually did well with biology or entertainment. Reading People magazine came in handy for that.
Joe came over to them and they ordered two cheese pizzas. Arthur, the trivia leader, gave them a score sheet with some points on it and they joined in. He usually asked a question, then played a song and gave them until the end of the song to turn their answer in.
Wade turned their answer in and when he sat back down, he said, “Oh, Jess, I found those decorations you were asking me about. Stumbled onto them this morning when I was looking for something else in the storage room. There are mini-Christmas trees, all kinds of ornaments and red velvet garlands. You’re welcome to use any or all of it.”
“Really? Oh, great! Maddie is going to be thrilled. We were just talking about that the other day.”
Jake chuckled. “It’s a little early for Christmas, isn’t it?”
“It’s for a Christmas in Spring fund-raiser. It’s to benefit the food pantry and the town animal shelter,” Jess explained.
“That’s a great cause, but why Christmas? Why not just call it a fund-raiser?”
Jess smiled. She knew it did seem strange to be talking about the holiday at this time of year.
“Well, partly to get people’s attention, but also because people tend to give more to pantries and shelters around the holidays so we always have plenty then, but this time of year it’s not on people’s minds as much to give, so we often run short.”
He nodded. “That makes sense.”
“And Lily’s band is going to be playing. It should be a lot of fun.”
Joe set their pizzas down and both Jess and Lily immediately reached for a slice.
“I know it’s hot, but I am starving,” Lily said as she went to take a tentative small bite to gauge how hot it actually was.
Jess had just taken a huge bite when she noticed Barbi Johnson come up behind Jake and rest her hand on his shoulder. He turned at the touch and smiled up at her. Barbi glanced at Jess and Lily and smiled. They exchanged hellos and then she turned her attention to Jake.
Veterinarian's Vacation (River's End Ranch Book 2) Page 4
