Hawthorne Harbor Box Set

by Elana Johnson

  The golden glow was almost over the mountains, and she wanted to experience the day at its birth. Wanted to see if there were any new possibilities for this Saturday. For her.

  Finally, the edge of the star peeked over the mountain, and Janey tilted her head back and closed her eyes. A sigh passed through her whole body as the first rays of light touched the little bit of skin exposed to the elements.

  “Watching the sun rise?”

  She turned at the sound of Joel’s voice, a fond smile lighting upon her lips. “Yes, come see.”

  He ambled over to her and faced the bay. “Did you hear Jess and Adam laughing last night?”

  “The whole house heard them.” Janey’s curiosity had kept her awake for an extra half-hour, especially when neither one of them would answer her texts. She didn’t expect Jess to be up for at least another hour, but Adam should be down at any time. She wanted to see him first thing.

  “Donna’s fixing to make pumpkin pancakes.”

  Janey smiled and threw a glance in Joel’s direction. “How festive.”

  “She goes crazy this time of year with the pumpkin.”

  She wasn’t sure if Joel appreciated that or not. He sipped his coffee and watched the waves. A rush of gratitude swept over her, and she half-turned toward him. “Have I told you thank you for always taking Jess when I need you to? For letting him ride the horses and go out to that wishing well, and...all of it.”

  Joel looked at her. “You say it every time I see you, Janey.”

  “Well, I am thankful.”

  “Drew does most of it.” Joel put his mug next to hers on the railing. “Jess is a good worker. He takes care of the horses pretty much by himself these days.”

  “He’s not out there every day,” she said. “So that can’t be true.”

  “When he is out there, he does it.”

  Janey nodded, glad her son wasn’t being a burden to Adam’s parents. With a realization that startled her physically, she realized that if she and Adam ever got married, Joel and Donna would become Jess’s grandparents.

  She wondered what Adam had said to Jess last night to make him laugh so hard. Had he confessed the same thing to him that he had to her? Her impatience made her feet shift and her stomach pinch.

  “Have you seen Adam?”

  “He took the dogs running.” Drew stepped beside Janey. “Left about an hour ago, so he should be back soon.”

  Janey wasn’t sure if she should be frustrated that Adam got up early and ran along the beach, or if she should admire him for exercising while on vacation. The man amazed her, and he was almost too perfect.

  Don’t forget he’s Matt’s best friend.

  That was definitely a strike against him.

  And that he’s the Chief of Police. Not exactly a safe job. He could die at any time.

  She recognized the absurdity of her thoughts at the same time she gave him another strike. One more, and would she throw him out?

  She sighed, scanning the beach now as the sunlight started warming the sand. Sure enough, only a moment later, a man rounded the curve of the bay, running with two dogs beside him.

  Drew’s German shepherds flanked him, one on each side, their tongues hanging out of their mouths as they kept pace with the cop. He wore athletic shorts and a gray T-shirt that clung to his broad shoulders. Janey had never seen anything so magnificent, and all her muscles released from how tight she’d been holding them against the chill in the air.

  “Ah, there he is now.” Joel wore the smile in his voice Janey felt stretch her mouth.

  Drew went down the steps to meet his dogs, one of which barked and ran circles around him. He laughed, and sand flew as he tried to catch the canine. Adam stretched, taking his time before he came up the steps.

  Janey held very, very still, watching him advance.

  “Morning,” he said to Joel, his eyes looking past her instead of directly at her.

  “Your mom is making breakfast,” Joel said.

  “Great.” Adam moved to step around Janey. His pinky finger barely grazed hers, and she almost fell to her knees when her bones turned to marshmallows. “Hey, Janey.”

  “Hey,” fell from her lips. Why she was going all melty, she had no idea. Because he was handsome? He’d been good-looking for years and years. Because he’d gone running with his brother’s dogs? He probably did that every day back home, but with his own dogs. She inhaled some reason into her brain and turned.

  He’d already moved all the way to the door. “Hey, what were you and Jess laughing about last night?”

  He gave her a flirtatious grin and said, “I’ll tell you later.” He went inside without another word, leaving her to face two slobbery German shepherds who’d just launched themselves up the steps to the deck.

  After breakfast, which she’d eaten between Gretchen and Jess, she sat with Gretchen at the dining room table, a binder spread before them. She peered at the columns labeled Flowers, Dress, Photographer, Reception Center, and at least half a dozen more.

  “You’re doing the flowers,” Janey said, reading the notes. “How’s that coming?”

  “Pretty good. I’m making all the centerpieces. My bouquet, the boutonnieres, and flower crowns for the bridesmaids.”

  “Flower crowns?” Janey couldn’t imagine herself wearing a flower crown. “What’s that going to be like?”

  Gretchen flipped to the FLOWERS divider and a sketch sat on the first page. “Something like this. It won’t be too huge.”

  It looked huge to Janey, and she studied it for a few moments. “Is that a daisy?” Several smaller flowers ran along the forehead, with a much larger one over the right temple.

  “Yes.” Gretchen gazed at the sketch with fondness. “I’ve been engineering a hybrid daisy. It’s an indigo daisy, and they’ll be ready by the wedding.”

  “I’ve never heard you talk about an indigo daisy.” Janey’s voice was laced with surprise and admiration at the same time.

  “Oh, I’ve been cross-pollinating them for a few years.” She giggled and turned the page. “Dreaming.” She shrugged and said, “I guess sometimes dreams do come true.”

  Janey thought of Adam, and how long he’d been waiting to go out with her. Had one of his dreams come true when they’d eaten soup at the lodge?

  The weight of fulfilling someone’s dreams suddenly seemed crushing, and she leaned away from the binder. “So you knew Drew for a while before you guys started dating, right?”

  “Yeah, well, sort of. He delivered Daisy, and we’d spent some time out at the lavender farm when I used to come as a teenager. Nothing serious.”

  “Nothing serious,” Janey echoed, her thoughts moving away from the wedding preparations.

  Gretchen didn’t flip more pages, or move to a new section, or ask another question. By the time Janey felt the weight of her stare, it was too late to play off as nothing.

  “Janey,” she said in a cautious voice, almost a sing-song. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly.

  Gretchen tucked Janey’s hair behind her ear. “You’ve never lied to me before. It’s kind of cute how you think you can.”

  Janey smiled and laughed with Gretchen. “Fine. All right.” She straightened and tossed her head, as if preparing to do something wild and adventurous. “Okay.” She cleared her throat.

  “Are you dating someone?”

  Janey pressed her lips together to keep them from smiling and nodded.

  Gretchen bounced in her seat, her eyes alight. “Oh my gosh. This is huge!”

  “I know.” She glanced around. “Sh. No one knows yet. I haven’t even talked to Jess about it.” Of course, Adam was supposed to talk to Jess, but “later” hadn’t come yet so she didn’t know if he actually had. Or why they’d been laughing. He’d gone down to the beach with the kids and the rest of his family, leaving her and Gretchen to work on the wedding.

  Gretchen quieted and leaned in farther, also glancing around. “Okay, I’ll be
quiet. But come on. You haven’t dated in years. Or even seemed interested in it.”

  “That’s not true. I’ve been thinking about it for a few months.”

  “Thinking is a lot different than doing.” Gretchen cocked one eyebrow. “You won’t even give me a hint as to who it is?”

  Janey could give little clues, sure. But she liked the idea of just saying Adam’s name. Maybe not as much as she liked keeping their budding relationship secret. So she oscillated between blurting out his name and bottling everything up.

  “Just a hint,” Gretchen said.

  “He’s an old friend.”

  “Oh, that doesn’t narrow down the playing field at all.” Gretchen flipped to the RECEPTION CENTER tab in her binder. “You grew up in Hawthorne Harbor, and so did just about everyone else who still lives there.”

  Janey didn’t want to detract from her friend’s weekend, so she focused on the binder. “Magleby Mansion will be beautiful at Christmas.”

  “Mabel is decorating it herself.” Gretchen flipped a page. “I need to decide on the menu, though.”

  “Are you doing a full dinner or cake and refreshments?”

  “Mabel said I could have whatever I wanted.” She met Janey’s eyes. “Aaron and I had a simple wedding, because we didn’t have any money. Is it wrong of me to want to splurge?”

  “Heavens, no.” Janey looked at the paper. “So this is a full menu. Oh my goodness. This one comes with crab legs?” She scooted the binder closer so she could read the scrumptious descriptions of the food. “Mabel can do all of this?”

  “She has three chefs that come in for weddings.” Gretchen pointed to the second one down. “I was thinking of the salmon. It says Washington, and it’s Drew’s favorite fish....”

  They worked through the menu, the cake flavor, as well as the design, and gushed over the photographer’s online portfolio. By the time lunch rolled around, Gretchen was happy with their progress, and Janey couldn’t wait another second to see Adam and find out the answers to her questions.

  Gretchen got up and stirred the soup she put in a slow cooker after breakfast. “Can you get out the rolls and slice them?” She replaced the lid and moved to the back door. After going out on the deck, she called everyone in for lunch.

  Janey finished slicing the rolls and set them in a basket next to the butter dish. She took pitchers of strawberry punch out of the fridge and braced herself for the fray as the dogs arrived first. Then Jess and Dixie. Adam entered, chattering with Drew, and he stepped right over to where she stood in the kitchen, sweeping one arm around her waist.

  “Hey.” He grinned down at her and twined his fingers in hers before realization made him freeze.

  Everything had happened so fast, Janey hadn’t had time to breathe, think, or react. Adam stepped back, but a hush had fallen over the kitchen.

  “See?” Jess said to Dixie in a know-it-all voice. “He likes my mom.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Adam had lost his mind. Lost it completely. Maybe it had been addled by the sun. Or burned by the wind. Something.

  He tore his eyes from Janey’s stunned ones and looked at Jess. “Hey, that was a secret, remember?”

  Jess’s eyes rounded and his half-tanned, half-sunburned face paled when he added, “You want me to spill your secrets?”

  The boy shook his head, and Adam nodded before looking at Drew, who gaped at him like he’d never seen Adam with a woman.

  “Are you—?”

  “We’re dating,” Janey blurted before Adam could say anything. She edged toward Jess as Adam’s mom and Joel entered the house.

  “Oh...okay,” his mom said, taking in the scene. “What did we miss?”

  “Janey and Adam are dating!” Gretchen squealed the words, her voice pitching toward intolerable levels by the last word.

  A flurry of activity happened then, almost too much for him to catalog. Gretchen hugged Janey. Janey gripped Jess’s shoulders and asked him something. He nodded. Smiled.

  Drew clapped Adam on the back like he’d just gotten engaged instead of having gone out with a woman for dinner a couple of times. He kept one eye on Janey until the clamor died down. He wanted to lace his fingers through hers, but that was what had gotten him in this mess to begin with.

  “So when did this happen?” his mother asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Janey said evasively.

  “The night you two kept Jess while Janey went up to the lodge. We went to dinner.” He’d enjoyed their secrecy, and he wanted it a little longer, at least with the people in town. “We were keeping things simple,” he said. “Private, because of Jess, and because of my job.”

  “But Adam told me last night.” Jess grinned at him, and a flash of love for the boy bolted through Adam. He’d spent the whole morning watching him and Dixie play in the water, build sandcastles, throw a football, and play with Drew’s dogs. They were great kids, and Adam was glad he’d get to be Dixie’s step-uncle. As for Jess...he wasn’t sure what to hope for yet.

  The thought of replacing Matt was laughable. Adam had never been as good as Matt, and he’d always known it. It was why he was on the offensive line in high school, while Matt was the quarterback. Why he’d faded into the background and let Matt date Janey. Why he’d swallowed his feelings until they went away. Why he’d thought for years that even if he’d gotten to Janey first, she still would’ve chosen Matt over him.

  “I’d still like to keep it between us,” Adam said, finally latching onto Janey’s hand, glad when she squeezed back. “The people of Hawthorne Harbor like to...speculate about my relationships. Can we do that, as a family? Keep this to ourselves?”

  Murmurs of assent and nods went through the group.

  “Great.” Adam looked at Janey. “Time for lunch?”

  “Yes,” she said, her dark eyes bright and filled with laughter. “Time for lunch.”

  * * *

  Adam woke on Monday morning, in his own bed, the ghost of Janey’s hand still in his. Once he’d announced that they were dating, he’d got to walk down the beach with her and laugh easily with her. Jess hadn’t said anything else about it, and they hadn’t talked about Dixie either.

  He’d run and laughed and played with her just fine, so he was obviously much better at hiding his feelings than Adam was—at least since that dinner at the lodge. He’d been quite adept at keeping everything hidden before the door had been opened and that soup had been consumed.

  Who would’ve thought that soup would be the reason he’d finally get to be with Janey Germaine?

  He rolled over and knew from the light streaming through the bedroom window that he’d overslept and didn’t have time for a run before work. So he got the dogs fed and let them into the yard, packed himself a lunch, and went to the station.

  “Morning, Sarah,” he said as he passed.

  “Messages on your desk.”

  He suppressed his groan and made it to his office before sighing. He’d known his job would come with a lot of desk time, but he didn’t have to enjoy it. He worked through the messages, calling people back and setting up meetings with the appropriate people.

  Public works, the traffic team in his own department, emergency services. All of them had to coordinate and work together to handle the influx of people for the Fall Festival. He pulled out his calendar and realized he only had a month to get everything in place.

  He’d been able to stay on task at work while dating before, but there was something different about Janey. She seemed to consume his every thought, take almost all of his mental energy, and he couldn’t devote so much attention to her. At least not while at work.

  The alarm on his phone went off at the same time his phone beeped. “Trent’s ready for you,” Sarah said over the intercom.

  He swiped his phone off his desk and left his office. “Where is he?” he asked.

  “Conference room two.” Sarah swiveled toward him. “You need this.” She handed him a folder and he perused it as he maneuver
ed through the desks and down the hall to the conference rooms.

  Trent and two other officers were already inside, fiddling with the projector. “Maybe if I push this button.” Trent did and twisted to look at the screen. “Ah, got it.” He met Adam’s eye. “Hey, boss. How was the beach?”

  “Relaxing,” he said with a smile.

  “At least the rain held off until today,” Lex said, one of the leaders of the traffic crew at the department.

  Adam glanced out the window, where a steady drizzle had made most of the landscape gray and foggy. “Yeah. Lucky, I guess.” He exhaled as he sat at the end of the table, facing the screen. “So where are we with our parade route?” He tapped the folder. “Lisa is getting pretty anxious to get the website updated.”

  “Right,” Trent said. “We’ve got that info for her. As well as a schedule of when the roads will be blocked, and which officer will be where that Saturday.”

  The Fall Festival went for a full week, with a culminating parade on Saturday, which was the most work for Adam’s department.

  “All right,” he said. “Lay it on me.” He managed to listen and contribute while Trent went over their plan, and then while Lex detailed how many cops they’d brought in from Bell Hill and Port Williams to help with crowd control and general peace-keeping.

  By lunch, he couldn’t wait to escape to his office and eat his simple peanut butter sandwich. Because then he could think about Janey. Maybe even text her.

  Before he could do any of that, a text came in from a number he didn’t have saved in his phone.

  Hey, Adam, this is Jess. I was wondering if I could come over and we could work on that motorcycle sometime?

  Adam smiled, the thought of tinkering in the shed with Jess more appealing than Adam even knew.

  Sure. Tonight?

  Let me ask my mom.

  I can swing by and pick you up on my way home from work. Make it easy for her.

  Several minutes went by, and Adam waited to text Janey until he heard from Jess. He’d reached out, and Adam wanted to give the boy a chance to make his plans.

  She says she can bring over dinner and then we can do the motorcycle. Is that okay?