by Drea Stein
“It’s called a Butterfly in the Garden. I’m the pink tulip. I have a song to sing. All the mothers and fathers are coming. And there will be a party afterward with cupcakes.”
“Sounds lovely,” Jake said, tweaking Adele’s nose and getting a reluctant smile in return, even as she pouted.
“It won’t be if I don’t get to practice.”
“Soon,” Colleen said, trying to make her voice sound assuaging. She checked her watch.
“I have an idea,” Jake said, glancing at Colleen casually, as if what he was about to propose was indeed no big deal. “How about I take Adele over to rehearsal, then I’ll bring her back here. Or you can meet us at the park. It will give you a little time to work.”
Colleen stopped looking at her watch and instead looked at him. “What?”
“I have a little free time this afternoon. I’d be happy to take her,” Jake said and rocked back on his heels, his hands in his pockets. Colleen knew that while he was mostly healed from his fall, he was still supposed to be taking it easy, so maybe he really did have some free time. Or maybe not.
“I don’t …”
“Please Mama?” Adele had already hopped off the counter, ready to go, an eager look on her face.
Colleen hesitated, looking at Jake, who had a carefully neutral look on his face as if what he suggested wasn’t completely out of left field.
“It’s just down the street, you know,” he said. “And I am a responsible adult, part of the community. You can trust me.”
“I know I can trust you, Jake, it’s just …” Colleen wasn’t worried about Adele’s safety, of course. Not with Jake.
“It’s just a favor, Colleen. You don’t have to read too much into it,” he said quietly so that Adele wouldn’t hear, as if he sensed the doubts running through her mind.
“Please,” Adele was trying hard not to beg, but it was clear that she was more than ready to go.
“Okay,” Colleen finally said. “You have my cell phone number? I’ll be right here.”
“We know where you are and where we’re going. Come on little lady, got what you need?”
He held out a hand and Adele slipped hers into his, and Colleen wondered why her heart gave a little hitch at the sight.
Chapter 42
“I liked your song,” Jake said as he licked around the side of his cone of mint chocolate chip. Adele had chosen plain chocolate, and they were sitting at the park, side by side with their ice cream cones. He had texted Colleen that they would be back shortly, and she had said okay. He had decided that he wouldn’t mention the ice cream, though, judging by the amount that was getting on Adele’s shirt, he probably wasn’t going to be able to hide it. He hoped that Colleen wouldn’t mind, since Adele had assured him that ice cream was fine for an occasional treat.
“I like it too. I like the ending,” Adele said and took a lick, like he had showed her, around the sides to catch the drips.
“You’re not making a mess,” she pointed out.
“Years of practice,” he answered. The park was filling up. He recognized some of the kids and the moms from the rehearsal. A few he knew from around town because he had worked on their houses.
“The show is in just a few weeks. I do not know if we will be ready for it. Would you like to come? We can invite friends.”
He froze. The invitation had been delivered seamlessly as if Adele had given no thought about what it meant if he came. Because Jake knew that Colleen would have something to say about it, he paused, then thought, to hell with it.
“Sure, Adele, if you’d like me to, I’d be honored. I’ll put it in my calendar,” he said. He could do that. He was sure that Colleen wouldn’t mind. Adele had asked him, and he wouldn’t want to disappoint her. It didn’t seem to bother her that she didn’t have a dad around like the other kids, but still, he wondered if she ever noticed.
“I am going to play on the slide now,” Adele announced, finishing her ice cream cone.
“Ten minutes,” he said, “Your mom said to be back in ten minutes.”
He watched her run off to the slide and start talking to a couple of other little girls. He settled in, but made sure he kept his eye on her. He wouldn’t lose Adele, not on his watch.
A shadow fell over him. “Well, isn’t that adorable.”
He looked up, tried to school his face to neutrality, and said, “Amy.”
“You hanging around with little girls now, Jake?” Amy asked. Her voice had a nasty tone to it.
He took a deep breath. He hadn’t meant for things to end so badly between the two of them, they just had. If he recalled, her daughter was probably the same age as Adele, which would make sense since he’d seen Amy at the pre-school. Of course he had done his best to avoid her, hustling Adele off for some ice cream, but it seemed as if Amy had caught up with him anyway.
“Long time no see,” he said easily and shifted so he could keep his eye on Adele, who was now in an animated discussion with another girl on the top of the slide.
“Oh, it’s been a while,” she said. Her eyes followed his gaze and focused on Adele.
“So you’re hanging out with Colleen McShane’s little bastard.”
He looked up, outraged at her tone. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. Adele’s got no daddy. Think maybe that’s what Colleen is looking for. If so, we know you’re not that kind of guy. Better be careful you don’t go breaking up any more lives.”
She put her hand on his arm. The nails, as he remembered were perfectly manicured. She wore an engagement ring and a wedding ring on her finger, big, fat diamonds. He had not given them to her and that had been the point, hadn’t it?
“I’m just doing a favor for a friend, Amy, that’s all,” he said. He waved at Adele. It was almost time to go, and he was ready to get away from Amy’s gaze.
“You should be careful, very careful. You’re not a fan of kids, remember?”
He turned to her. “That baby wasn’t mine, and you knew it. Still you tried to get me to be something I wasn’t. But you got what you wanted. You have your husband and kid. Leave me alone.”
“What will happen when Colleen finds out you’re a runner, Jake, not a family man?”
“People change,” he said.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said.
He shook her arm off and left her, calling for Adele. It took a little cajoling for Adele to come down, but he promised her a piggyback ride and that made it easier. All he knew was that he needed to get away from Amy.
Chapter 43
Jake pushed open the door to the shop and gave himself the gift of being able to watch Colleen for a moment before she turned around and realized he was there. She was wearing cropped white pants, a simple black t-shirt, and a pair of impossibly high heels while balancing on a stool. She teetered a bit, and he instinctively moved closer to her, saying as he did, “I heard you were putting up the shelves. I thought you might need some help.”
She half turned. Jake’s arm came around her, steadied her.
“How about you hand them to me, and I’ll slide them in. That way you won’t fall off the stool.”
“I’m handling it,” she said, knowing she sounded cross.
He looked at her then asked: “Would you let Adele climb up on something like that?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, I am not going to let you either,” he said.
“You’re not my father.”
“I don’t want to be,” he replied, and because she looked very pretty with her hair pulled back he had to kiss her.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“Because I like you,” he said and watched the expression on her face. Before she could think it through too much, he decided just to go for it. She needed to stop overthinking everything. “Because you smell nice,” he continued, hooking an arm around her waist and pulling her toward him. She fell into his arms. She felt light, almost insubstantial. He knew she was working a lot,
that she had put a lot of pressure on herself to get the opening of the store, along with the sidewalk sale, just right.
A lot of talk was going around town. The merchants were excited by the idea, and he’d heard that the Osprey Arms had a surge in bookings thanks to the blog posts from Colleen and the press releases she’d sent out. He wanted to tell her that it would all be okay but knew she wouldn’t listen. The most he could hope for was to see if he could take her mind off of things for a while.
He kissed her again and felt as she relaxed into him and returned his kisses. Her arms came around his neck, and he swung her off the stool and nudged her back against the counter. He ran her hands over her back and cupped her backside with his hands. She made a sound, halfway between a moan and purr at his touch, and he ran his hands up her side and lifted up the edge of her shirt so he could feel her smooth, cool skin. She shivered under him, and he could feel as her body tensed with desire. He took a step back, saw the look in her eyes and was satisfied.
“The door is open,” she said, her voice breathy with desire. It was a turn-on, and he decided that he wasn’t going to let anything like an unlocked door get in their way.
“In here.” He pushed her back through the curtain into the back storage room. There was a table there, spread with some stuff. He didn’t quite clear it with a sweep of his hand, but he shoved enough aside and hiked her onto it.
Their hands were all over each other, and he pulled her shirt off to expose the swell of her breasts. He touched his lips to them, kissing one then the other and then sent a trail of kisses down her flat stomach. She trembled, her hands in his hair. Slowly he undid the snap of her jeans and pressed at the juncture of her legs. He was rewarded with a hiss of her breath, and he explored deeper with his fingers, peeling away her jeans with the other.
He kissed her thighs, and used his fingers to drive her higher and higher until he could feel her coming to her peak. He slowed the rhythm down, letting her ride the wave as her hands fumbled with his belt and pants. They slid down around his ankles, and she touched him through the fabric of his boxer briefs, and it was his turn to moan.
“God, I need you now,” he whispered, and she pulled him to her. It was brief and intense and it was over all too soon, but she was smiling at him, half-clothed.
“Bien?” he couldn’t help but ask, some long-ago learned French resurfacing, as he brushed a lock of her hair away from her face. She was warm now, her pale skin flushed and her chest heaving.
“Tres bien,” she said and leaned her head into him for one brief moment. He wanted to stay like that forever, joined together, but she pushed away, ready to disentangle herself.
He stopped her for a moment, put his hand under her chin and kissed her. It was a simple kiss and he meant it that way.
He ended it, and she blinked as if unsure.
“Tres bien,” he agreed and handed her top back to her.
There was a tinkle of the bell, and she cursed as she hurriedly pulled it over herself.
He took a step back and pulled up his pants.
The curtain parted.
“Well, well, well,” Darby Reese said.
Colleen felt the slow flush of red crawl up her cheeks. Of all the people who had to come in.
“Hey Darby, how you doing,” Jake said as if nothing had happened. Darby stood there with hands folded over her chest and a smudge of flour on her nose. Colleen decided to focus on that. She hopped off the table, and Jake draped his arm around her.
“Fine. I had a question for her,” Darby said and inched her chin toward Colleen.
“Well, don’t let me hold you up. I’ve got to be going. Hey Colleen, how about I pick Adele up and take her to the park? You can meet us there.”
Colleen opened her mouth and looked up at Jake.
“I know you wanted to spend some more time getting things set up,” he coached her.
She nodded.
“Good, see you later. I left a coffee for you up front,” he said and swaggered out as if nothing had happened.
Colleen wasn’t sure what to think. Was she mad at him for leaving her alone with Darby or was she thankful that he showed no embarrassment? He’d been possessive though, what with the arm draped across her shoulder and the offer to pick up Adele, but she could use the help.
Colleen raised her chin defiantly. She was a grown-up, unattached. And so was Jake. He was no one’s prom date, least of all Darby’s. Darby was happily married with a kid, and another one on the way. The silence stretched between the two women as Jake’s footsteps receded and the door clanged shut.
It was Darby who broke the silence first. “So you and Jake,” she said. “Guess you’re doing a bit more than drinking coffee together.”
“Me and Jake. Jake and I. I assume you don’t have a problem with that?”
“No. He’s free. I’m assuming you’re free.”
“Yes,” Colleen said shortly.
Darby shrugged. “None of my business.”
Colleen raised her eyebrow and said, “No, you have something to say. Go ahead and say it.”
Darby looked uncomfortable. “Jake doesn’t just take someone’s kid to the park because he wants to get into their capris.”
“So …”
Darby sighed. “Just you know, be kind to him.”
“I am. I will,” Colleen said and shifted, then said what she was thinking: “It’s complicated. With Adele. And well, I just don’t want anyone to get their expectations up.”
Darby gave her a shrewd look and said, “I think you’re way past that.”
“I don’t need him. I don’t need a father figure. Adele is just fine.”
“I am sure she is. She looks fine to me. Looks like you’re doing fine here. You might not need Jake, but he wants you. In a bad way. Just go easy on him. He’s not as tough as he looks.”
Colleen snorted. “You don’t have …”
Darby shook her head and said, “I do. Kind of. This is a small town, remember. We all go way back. It is complicated. That’s all I am saying.”
Colleen took a deep breath and was about to protest, but it died on her lips before she could give voice to the thought, because Darby was right. They were all connected. Something she hadn’t thought about too much when she decided to move back. She had just assumed that it would be a good, safe community for her and Adele. Phil’s legacy had opened the door for her, and now she had walked right through it. No getting away from it. And she didn’t want to. In fact she wanted to be in it.
“Now that that’s settled, I have a few ideas,” Darby said as she flipped open the portfolio she’d brought with her.
Darby left finally and Colleen was smiling to herself. The former valedictorian turned lawyer, turned baker had had a number of good ideas about how to make the sidewalk sale a success. Colleen had enjoyed working with her, and it had brought back memories of high school when they had worked together planning pep rallies and dances.
So there was more at stake here; both their businesses, and the whole town, could benefit from this. Queensbay was still up and coming, Darby had explained, and could do with a little bit more discovery from the tourists. Together they had mapped out a plan, and now Colleen’s to-do list was even longer. It had felt good to be working with Darby. She checked her phone. She had a text from Jake. She smiled. He had sent a photo of him and Adele smiling in the camera. They looked like they were near the pet store, but he had said for her to meet them at the park.
She knew that it was dangerous to let Jake spend time with Adele. She couldn’t let him get too close, let Adele grow to like him too much. As she looked into the picture, she realized that it wasn’t Olivier she had missed, no, not at all, but the sense that she had a partner in raising Adele, and to some extent living life. She had missed having someone who could take Adele to the park or weigh in on decisions about how Adele should be raised.
Of course she had Lydia, who seemed to have assumed responsibility for Josh, but Lydia was even mor
e lost than she was. Who was to say that Jake knew any better than she did? After all, he’d never had a kid. He’d been one: the cute, carefree, get dirty, go out and play all-American kid. Something that Adele needed and could use a little more of.
“Want to come play?” Jake’s text was accompanied by a smiley face.
She smiled. It was a sunny, gorgeous spring day. Of course she wanted to play.
She texted back: “BRT”
Chapter 44
“Are we going to the park?” Adele looked at Jake, running to him as he waited outside of Happy Faces. He studiously avoided the glares Amy was sending his way.
He took a moment, pretended to think. “Only if we get ice cream.”
Her eyes lit up for a moment and then her face settled in a small frown. “Too many sweets aren’t good for you.”
“Who told you that?”
“Mama. And Grand-mama, but she was eating a donut when she said it, so I do not think she meant it.”
He had to smother a smile. There was something about the preciseness with which she spoke that got to him. Maybe it was because she was thinking in one language and speaking in the other, but it made her sound wise beyond her years.
“How about a small one?” he suggested.
Adele’s gray eyes grew serious as she thought about this for a moment.
“Yes, that sounds good.”
“Okay, good. Are we going to walk or drive?” he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
“We walk, of course.”
“Of course,” he murmured and followed Adele out the door. She jumped up on the ledge of the small stone wall, arms out, balancing. The sky was a brilliant blue; a few puffy white clouds dotted it. A light breeze pushed the clouds along, but the sun stayed strong and bright, and he laughed as Adele danced and skipped her way along. He was ready for her when she came to the end of the wall, his hand out as she jumped down, and they continued in the direction of the park. They had fallen into a routine, the two of them. Colleen had objected at first, when he said he didn’t mind picking up Adele every once in a while. Besides, Colleen was working her tail off getting everything ready for the grand opening of the shop, so he figured it was the least he could do.
