Hawthorne Harbor Box Set

by Elana Johnson

  “They can go on the back porch,” she said. “It’s covered.”

  He towed the golden retriever through the kitchen and out the back door, commanding Fable to follow. The husky did, but reluctantly, and he turned around and pressed his nose right against the glass again, begging to be let back in.

  Janey moved to the living room doorway and peeked in. At least Gypsy had stayed on the floor. Adam joined her at her side, wrapping one strong arm around her waist and pulling her against him. The touch made her jump, and a nervous giggle escaped her mouth.

  “Sorry.” Adam edged away, but Janey cozied right up to him again.

  “I’ve just—I’m not used to you touching me, that’s all,” she said, smiling up at him. “I like it.”

  “So are you going to tell me what the problem was?” He shivered, and she stepped away from him.

  “Are you working today?”

  “I was going to, yeah.” He ran his hands through his hair, sending water everywhere. “I can probably call in though.”

  “I’ll drive you home, and you can shower. Then you go on in to work and I’ll bring you lunch.”

  “Lunch in my office? So soon?” He shook his head. “Nah. I’ll bring over some of that Thai you like, and then I can check in with the maid.”

  “You haven’t even called anyone.”

  He unzipped a pocket on the side of his shorts and removed a phone encased in a plastic bag. “I’ll do it right now.” He stepped away from her to make the call, and Janey rubbed her hands up her arms.

  His low voice rumbled through the hallway, and he said, “Great, thanks, Monica,” before returning to her. “They’re on their way.”

  “I got scared,” she blurted. “I got scared when you got hurt, because I thought maybe I was a curse on the men in my life. Or something.” She paused, now that she’d started talking, her heart and mind calming a little.

  “I was worried that you had a much more dangerous job than a ferry engineer, and Matt had died. I was sure it was only a matter of time before you had something bad happen to you, something much worse than a broken leg.” She clenched her arms around her waist. “I sometimes get really deep inside my head, and I can’t see reason.”

  He nodded as if he understood. But how could he? She didn’t even understand her neurosis. “I get it. My job is dangerous sometimes.”

  The atmosphere between them turned charged, and Janey said, “I’m willing to take the risk to be with you,” her voice trembling the slightest bit. She stepped past him to collect her purse and keys from the kitchen counter.

  “You really are going to have to explain to Jess why his perfectly planned birthday dinner and birthday cake are now ruined.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Adam pressed a kiss to her temple. “Maybe we can keep this on the down-low for the next ten days.”

  * * *

  Curling up with the couch that evening was one of the hardest things Janey had ever done. Not as hard as losing her husband, but tough. Because the man she loved was with her son, and she had to pretend to still be lonely and miserable at home. By herself.

  And she still kind of was.

  She resisted the urge to text Adam, and instead called her sister. “I have some news for you,” Janey singsonged once AnnaBelle had answered.

  A shriek came through the line, and Janey yanked the phone away from her ear. “Okay, not a good time for a phone call,” she yelled to her sister.

  “Bring Harvey’s,” AnnaBelle called. “We can chat once they’ve eaten.”

  Janey chuckled, got herself to her feet, and drove over to the fast food joint that would save her sister from an evening of wanting to tear her hair out. When she arrived at the modest home on the east side of town, Janey could hardly contain her excitement.

  She pushed open the door and held it with her hip as a wave of noise rolled over her. “Hey!” she called. “I have chicken fingers and French fries!”

  Shouts and footsteps raced toward her, and Janey grinned at her niece and nephew. “This one’s for you,” she said, handing a colorful bag to Macey. “And this one has extra ranch for you, Henry.”

  “Aunt Janey!” He practically knocked her to the ground with the exuberance of his hug. “Mom! Aunt Janey brought fooood!” He skipped away from her as AnnaBelle came around the corner, her baby on her hip. Both of them looked liked they’d been crying.

  “Let me take him.” She took the one-year-old from her sister, trading Eli for a bag of food. “Where’s Don?” She cooed at the baby and bounced him up and down.

  “He has business in Seattle until Friday.” AnnaBelle pulled a box of fries out of the bag and plucked two from it. “Mmm.” Her eyes rolled back in her head. “You’re a life-saver.”

  Janey grinned at her sister, almost bursting with her news. She held it in long enough to take Eli into the kitchen and strap him into his highchair. She tore up a few fries and put them on the tray before taking out a piece of chicken and cutting it into chunks.

  The other kids had disappeared down the few steps into the living room, where a cartoon blared while they ate. At least they were being quiet. AnnaBelle was too, and Janey’s enthusiasm for her renewed relationship with Adam bubbled just beneath her skin.

  “So you said you had news?” AnnaBelle asked.

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” Janey waved her hand and bit into a bacon cheeseburger.

  That caught AnnaBelle’s attention and her dark-haired head cocked to the side. “You’re lying.” Her eyes glinted in a way that said she’d get the information she wanted, one way or another.

  “I made up with Adam,” Janey said, unable to keep a straight face while she said it.

  AnnaBelle was the one who shrieked this time, launching herself out of her chair and across the room to hug Janey.

  They laughed together, and Janey embraced her sister, pure happiness flowing through her.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The ten days between when Adam stopped by Janey’s drenched, desperate, and determined and his birthday seemed to take a decade to pass. Jess came over every night, and it took every ounce of his willpower to keep the news of his resumed relationship with the boy’s mother to himself.

  Luckily, Adam had had a lot of patience in the keeping-things-to-himself department.

  “So you’ll stop by the grocery store tomorrow, right?” Jess asked.

  “Yes,” Adam said for the fifth time. “All the ingredients for macaroni and cheese. Ribeye steaks. Lots of Diet Coke.” He grinned at the boy.

  “I’ll be here to cook for you,” Jess said. “All right?”

  Adam sighed, wondering if the boy had noticed anything different about Adam’s demeanor the past several days. He’d been sneaking over to see Janey on her days off, and she’d come to his place twice after ten p.m., after Jess had gone to sleep.

  The limited contact with her made him grumpy, and he hoped to have his own surprise for Jess tomorrow. Janey had a handmade cookbook for him, a binder she’d put together of all the recipes he’d talked about, with illustrations she’d done herself.

  “I haven’t been able to read much lately,” she’d admitted a couple of nights ago when she’d shown up with the binder in her hands. “Tell me if you think he’ll like it.”

  Adam had marveled at the binder, at Janey’s attention to detail, that she knew how much of a choc-o-holic Jess was, as at least half of the recipes in the book were desserts. He’d said, “I have several I can give you that he seems to like.”

  So he’d copied out all the ones Jess had been using at his house, and Janey said she’d get them added to the binder in time for the birthday dinner the following evening.

  Finally, the day arrived. Adam endured bad singing at the station, a delicious birthday cake though it was bought from the grocery store, and a bouquet of black balloons though he wasn’t quite forty yet.

  “Next year,” Sarah said. “This whole place will be draped like the Day of the Dead.”

  When he p
ulled into his driveway, Jess had the lights on inside the house, and the scent of sugar and chocolate greeted him. “Jess?”

  “In the kitchen!”

  Adam carried the grocery bags in and set them on the clean countertop, taking in scene before him. “Did you make me a birthday cake?” His heart swelled with love for the boy, who stood at the sink, washing his hands.

  “It’s a surprise,” Jess said over his shoulder.

  Adam searched for a hint of the surprise, but didn’t find even a drop of cake batter or icing anywhere. The pans that had been used lay on the towel next to the sink. Jess turned, wearing a great big smile.

  “Happy birthday, Adam.” The boy came over and tentatively hugged him.

  Surprise bolted through Adam. He grabbed onto Jess and held him tight. “Thanks, Jess.” He backed up and held him at arm’s length. Looked right into Jess’s bright eyes. “I love you, bud. Thanks for bein’ here with me on my birthday.”

  Jess nodded, his chin wobbling and tears splashing his cheeks. “My mom’s coming,” he blurted. “I’m not supposed to tell you, but I’m really bad at keeping secrets.” He sniffed, but the liquids just kept pouring out of every hole in his face.

  “I hope you’re not mad. She’s bringing the ice cream, and she says she loves you too.” He swiped madly at his face, still blubbering.

  A smile grew on Adam’s face, and he started laughing. Jess managed to get himself under control, and he glared at Adam. “What?”

  “Yeah, she told me she loved me a week or so ago when I stopped by her house and begged her to take me back.”

  Jess blinked, the tears completely gone now. “What?”

  “She didn’t want to ruin the birthday surprise dinner you two had planned. I went along with it.” He started unpacking the groceries. “So are we grilling these steaks tonight?”

  “Yes, but...are you saying you guys got back together?”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

  “A week or so ago.”

  “Something like that. It was a Wednesday. I knew she’d be home from work.”

  “I knew I heard her sneaking out at night!” Jess scoffed. “You guys will never be able to ground me for sneaking out to go see the girl I like.”

  “Nice try,” Adam said. “You leave the house after dark to go see Dixie, and I’ll drive around in my cruiser and tell everyone over the loud speaker.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.” Jess looked horrified, and he reached for a package of macaroni noodles with a little too much force. “Besides, I’m over Dixie.”

  Adam laughed and pulled down the salt and pepper shakers so Jess could season the steaks. “Right. Just like I was totally over your mom after she broke up with me.”

  He met Jess’s eye and they burst out laughing. “So, I have one more secret....”

  Jess shook his head. “No. No way. I can’t keep secrets.”

  “Just for a couple of hours.” He reached up to the top of the refrigerator and pulled down a dark blue velvet box. “I may have bought your mom a ring.” He cracked the lid and tilted the box toward Jess. “Do you think she’ll like it?”

  Jess goggled at the ring. “Uh, yeah. I think she’s going to like that.”

  “I was thinking of asking her to marry me tonight, after cake and ice cream. You wanna help with that?”

  A devilish glint entered the boy’s eyes. “Yeah. I wanna help with that.”

  A moment later, his doorbell sang and Adam practically jumped out of his skin in his haste to put the ring box back where no one could see it. “Quick plan. Get her out of the room before we do the cake. I’ll get the ring in it somehow.”

  “It’s not that kind of cake,” Jess hissed.

  Adam paused, his eyes flickering to the front door. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, it has to be sliced,” Jess said. “How are you going to make sure the ring is in her piece without smashing it?”

  The doorbell sounded again, and he yelled, “Just a second!” his mind whirring. “I have no idea how to do this. Maybe I just should answer the door with the diamond in my hand.”

  Jess shook his head. “Nope. That’s lame. Stay here.” He shook himself they way Gypsy did when she was trying to get the water off her hair. “Game time.”

  He strode away, leaving Adam to wonder what was lame about answering the door with a diamond in his hand.

  “Mom!” Jess exclaimed in a falsely bright voice. “What are you doing here?”

  Adam heard the lighter, more feminine lilt of Janey’s voice, and then Jess said in an overly loud voice, “Yes, it is his birthday.”

  Adam supposed that was his cue to come out and pretend like he and Janey hadn’t shared a kiss just last night. He did, the sight of Jess and Janey framed in his doorway one he wanted to hold in his mind’s eye for a long time.

  “Happy birthday,” Janey said, her face radiant with happiness. “But this present is actually for you, Jess.” She handed him the beautifully wrapped gift. “It’s from both of us.”

  “It’s from your mother,” Adam said, lifting his arm and securing Janey against his side. “I told him we got back together a few days ago.”

  “Oh, you did, huh?”

  “He may have blurted out that you were coming over.” He shared a smile with Jess. “Seems like neither one of us are that great at keeping secrets.”

  She looked back and forth between the two of them. “I’m always going to be the last to know, aren’t I?”

  Adam shrugged and Jess said, “He has something for you on top of the fridge.”

  “Hey,” Adam said, his heart suddenly fluttering in the back of his throat. “It’s my birthday. Doesn’t anyone have any gifts for me?”

  “You have something for me on top of your fridge?”

  “It’s for later.” He said the last word through clenched teeth, glaring at Jess. “Why don’t you open yours first, Jess? Then we can start on dinner.”

  Jess complied, peeling back the blue and gray paper to reveal the binder Adam had seen earlier. He looked at his mom, hope shining in his dark eyes. Adam had seen that look so many times before, usually right before Matt said something funny—or got them both in a heap of mischief.

  His heart tugged, and he couldn’t believe he was going to get to be this boy’s father.

  Jess opened the front cover and sucked in a breath. “Mom, did you draw these pictures?”

  She moved over to him and put her arm around his shoulders. “I did.”

  He traced one finger down the page Adam couldn’t see. “You said Dad taught you how to draw.”

  “He did.”

  Adam didn’t know that, and he felt like an intruder in this moment, watching Janey and her son talk about Matt.

  “Hey, this is your mom’s chocolate pie recipe.” He looked up at Adam, his eyes shining with disbelief.

  “I told you it was from both of us.” Janey beamed at Adam, welcoming him to their moment, to their family. Adam stepped stepped forward, took Janey’s hand, and pointed to the SIDES tab.

  “Check there.”

  Jess flipped to that section of the cook book, his eyes travelling past the macaroni and cheese recipe he had memorized. He pulled in a breath and gave a triumphant yell. “The macaroni salad!” He barreled into Adam and hugged him tight.

  “All right.” Adam cleared his throat. “I’m starving and we haven’t even started dinner yet.” He gave Jess a look that said, Not another word about the box on top of the refrigerator.

  They worked together, the three of them, in the kitchen as Jess grilled and Adam put together the mac and cheese. Janey rummaged around in the fridge and came up with a bagged salad to add something green to the meal.

  They ate, and laughed, and Adam couldn’t believe this could possibly be his reality in the near future. He’d fantasized about it so many times, and those dreams hadn’t been close to how wonderful this actually was.

  “Time for cake,” Jess announced. He jumped from the table
and ran onto the back deck.

  “You’ve had the cake out there?” Adam eyed the door as it swung open.

  “It’s not raining,” Jess called. A few moments later he filled the doorway, a gorgeous, three-tiered cake in his hands. “Happy birthday to you....”

  Janey joined in, her face a picture of pure delight. Adam hated all the attention, but he grinned through the song, blew out the candles, and stared at the cake. It had rich, chocolate frosting in perfect peaks, with a toy police cruiser right in the middle.

  “Jess, this is awesome.” He looked up him, those emotions pushing against his composure. “How did you learn how to do this?”

  “Internet videos,” he said. “Mom, where’s that ice cream?”

  She jumped to her feet, her face a perfect mask of panic. “I left it in the Jeep.” She headed for the front door.

  Jess exchanged a glance with Adam and hissed, “I’ll stall her. Don’t mess up the cake too badly.”

  Adam waited until the front door clicked closed, and then he sprang into action. He collected the ring from the velvet box and grabbed a sharp knife from the block beside the stove. He sliced a line in the cake near the back of the cruiser and pressed the ring into the space. He re-peaked the frosting and had just wiped the knife when he heard Jess and Janey return.

  “I’m sorry, Jess,” she said.

  Adam rounded the corner, the knife still in his hand. Clearly, he would be cutting and serving the cake. “Melted?” he asked.

  “Melted.” She set the two containers of ice cream on the counter. “We might be able to get some more solid parts from the middle.”

  “It’s fine, Mom,” Jess said. “I’ll get the plates.” He moved around Adam’s house with ease, and Adam cut the first slice—right near the rear of the cruiser. He slipped it onto the plate and nudged it toward Janey. Jess put a fork on the plate, and Janey picked it up.

  She waited while Adam cut two more slices, and only when Adam and Jess both had cake did she dip the fork into her piece. Adam worked hard not to stare at her, but she didn’t lift her fork to her mouth the way he and Jess did.