A Reunion And A Ring (Proposals & Promises Book 1) (15 page)

Jenny groaned into her hands. Perhaps having breakfast with a friend hadn’t been the best idea today, after all. Clearly it would take more time than she’d expected to recover her characteristic composure that had been shattered last night. She would go home and work on that before she spoke with Stevie.

She would most definitely have to get a grip before she saw her mother and grandmother that evening, a meal she wasn’t looking forward to at all.

* * *

Though Gavin had promised himself he would wait for Jenny to phone him, he kept second-guessing that decision as Sunday crawled by. Maybe he should call her, just to make sure she was okay. But he’d told her he’d give her time.

Though he hadn’t heard a ring, he checked his phone for missed calls Sunday afternoon, vaguely disappointed to see that there were none from Jenny. Was she waiting for him to call her? Had she talked to that other guy yet today?

Had last night been a one-time thing, an impulsive trip to the past, a way for Jenny to get him out of her system for good before moving on? Before making what Gavin was certain would be the biggest mistake of her life?

Surely she would break it off with Thad now. She couldn’t marry some other guy after what she’d shared with him last night, could she? No one else could possibly make her feel what he did, just as the reverse was true for him. She couldn’t even considering marrying someone else when all it took was a touch, a kiss, to ignite a blazing fire between them. Could she?

“Hey, Gav, break’s almost over.” Holding a basketball and wearing shorts and a tee, Avery approached. “You are still playing, right?”

Gavin stashed the phone in his gym bag again. He, Avery and J.T. had been playing Rob and a couple other medics in three-on-three basketball. The score was tied at two wins, and they’d agreed to play a twenty-one-point tiebreaker. “I’m coming.”

“You weren’t thinking of calling her, were you?” Avery asked suspiciously. He didn’t bother to clarify who he’d referred to, as there was no need. Gavin hadn’t told his friend about last night, but somehow Avery knew something was up.

“Let it go, Avery. Let’s play basketball.”

“Damn it, Gav, why are you letting her do this to you again?”

“Just give me the ball. The way you’re playing this afternoon, the medics are going to kick our butts this time.”

“I’m not the one who got distracted and let the ball hit me in the jaw,” Avery reminded him irritably. “One guess who you were thinking about.”

Gavin scowled and rubbed his chin.

“Hey, guys, come on. Let’s get this massacre over with,” one of Rob’s friends called out. “I’ve got to be home in time for dinner.”

“Drop it,” Gavin said when Avery started to speak again. “Just play ball.”

With a gusty exhale, Avery spun on one athletic shoe and stalked toward the court with Gavin following. Gavin didn’t really blame his buddy for being so pushy. Avery had been there to see what the last breakup with Jenny had done to him. Just as Gavin had been there during Avery’s painful divorce from his first marriage a few years ago. He would give anything to make sure his friend wasn’t hurt like that again. Avery certainly felt the same about him.

His friends wanted the best for him, he thought with a sigh. Maybe he should listen to them.

Maybe he’d call Jenny after this game.

Or maybe he’d wait and let her call him.

Damn it, Avery was right. He really was letting her mess with his head—and his heart—again. If he had a lick of sense, he’d forget he ever ran into her again. But when it came to Jenny, he’d never had a great deal of sense.

* * *

“So I told Margaret this morning after Sunday school that I don’t care what her grandson’s excuses are, there’s no way I’d spend any more hard-earned money to bail out his sorry butt if I were her,” Gran proclaimed over dinner, completing a story that had droned on endlessly through salad and now to the ham and potatoes course. “They’ve spoiled that boy something terrible and now the whole family’s paying the price for it, especially Margaret, since she’s the only one of the bunch who had enough sense to put away a little money for her latter years.”

Jenny’s mother shook her head in disapproval. “I feel sorry for Angie and Don. They don’t deserve to be punished this way. But Angie still makes excuses for him, blaming all his problems on everyone but him. She can’t accept that he’s a grown man in his twenties now, and that he has to take responsibility for his own failings.”

As uncomfortable as she was by the gossip, Jenny was relieved that at least they were focused on someone other than her for now.

Maybe the thought had crossed her mind too soon. Her grandmother turned to smile smugly in her direction. “I told Margaret that I hated to brag, but I was glad I haven’t had to deal with that sort of disappointment from my grandchild. I said that Jenny hasn’t given us a day’s trouble since her little college rebellion, and even that was fairly mild and short-lived. Only natural, I suppose, for a teenager to test her wings when she’s away from home, but we’d given her enough solid raising that she straightened up with only a little guidance from us.”

Wincing at the indirect reference to Gavin, Jenny said peevishly, “I’m right here, Gran. Must you talk about me as if I weren’t?”

“Just telling you what I said to Margaret.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have. She’s upset about her grandson, and it seems unkind to boast about me to her. Besides, I’m hardly perfect.” Nor was she a possession to be pulled out and shown off, she added silently. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt that her grandmother saw her that way.

For years, she’d tried to please her exacting grandmother, who had dealt out gestures of affection like earned rewards.

Jenny’s mom had been more generous with her affection, but as a hospital nurse, her hours had been very long, leaving Jenny more often in her grandmother’s care. Her mom was also quieter, often overshadowed by her forceful parent, so it had been Gran who had most inspired trepidation in Jenny. Funny how those deeply ingrained patterns could carry over into adulthood, she mused as she played with the food she didn’t want but was afraid to push away for fear of rousing her grandmother’s suspicions.

“Margaret understands that I was only expressing my gratitude that I’ve been blessed with a more successful grandchild,” her grandmother shot back, oblivious to the offensiveness of her comment. “At least I know I won’t have to worry about my bank account being drained by irresponsible family members. Both you girls have worked hard for your livings, and once you marry Thad, I’m sure you’ll make sure your mother and grandmother have what we need, won’t you, sweetheart?”

It was another not-so-subtle reminder of how selfish Jenny would be if she didn’t take advantage of an opportunity her grandmother had prepared her for all her life.

“I will always do everything I can to take care of you and Mom, Gran,” Jenny replied carefully.

So far, her popular boutique had proven satisfactorily lucrative, and she hoped her new venture in the northeastern part of the state would be as successful. She had ideas for more stores in Conway and Fayetteville, two other Arkansas college towns with demographics that suited her line of youthful, trendy, high-end merchandise. She knew the risks of opening new businesses, but she had prepared herself as thoroughly as possible for this venture. She knew about budgeting, advertising, creating buzz on social media, targeted selection of merchandise. She’d reassured herself often that she would be able to put that training to good use as Thad’s wife, but now she wondered how she could have even considered voluntarily giving up the business she loved.

She wanted to believe she’d have come to her senses eventually on her own. But if Gavin hadn’t been at the cabin that weekend, would she actually have convinced herself that providing security for herself and her family outweighed her personal desires? Would she have allowed herself to be swept into a marriage with Thad that might have proven successful, but never truly fulfilling? A tiny part of her wondered...

“Jenny, is everything okay?” her mother asked quietly as they cleared the table after dessert. “You seem so distracted this evening.”

“I’m sure she’s missing Thad,” Gran answered, complacently certain of her accuracy, as always. “Perfectly understandable, Jenny, but don’t mope. It isn’t becoming.”

Jenny drew a deep breath and held it for a moment before replying, “I’m not moping. Just a little tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“You work too hard,” her mother fretted. “Why don’t you sit in here with your grandmother and I’ll clean the kitchen?”

“I’ll help you clean up, Mom,” Jenny countered quickly. “It’s the least I can do after you cooked this delicious meal.”

“I want to watch television, anyway,” Gran proclaimed. “You know I always watch my program at this time every Sunday night. Jenny’s not interested in it, so she can help you.”

Carrying with her the tiny glass of red wine that had been part of her nighttime routine for the past forty years or more, Gran retired to her bedroom with restrained cheek kisses for her daughter and granddaughter. She was the early-to-bed and early-to-rise type, so this was good-night. It was with some relief that Jenny watched her leave the room without any further discussion of Thad. Soon enough she would have to tell her grandmother that there would be no fancy society wedding, but she wasn’t ready to deal with that tonight.

She and her mother talked of inconsequential things during the brief cleanup. Summer trends at the shop. A party her mom’s hospital coworkers had thrown for a retiring administrator. Afterward, they moved out to the patio to sit in gliders, her mom with a cup of hot herbal tea, Jenny with a mug of coffee.

Her mom nodded toward Jenny’s steaming mug and shook her head. “I don’t know how you can drink that this late and still get any sleep.”

“One cup after dinner doesn’t usually affect me.”

“I know. You got that from your father. He could drink strong coffee right up until bedtime and still sleep like a log for a good six or seven hours, the most he ever needed.” She laughed softly at the memory, her expression suddenly looking far away.

Jenny bit her lip and ran a fingertip idly around the rim of her mug. She and her mom never talked about Jenny’s dad when her grandmother was around. Probably because Gran always had something disparaging to say about her late son-in-law.

“Honey, are you sure there’s nothing wrong? You look so unhappy.”

“I’m not unhappy, Mom. I’m just, well, a little distracted.”

Her mom sighed. “It’s Gavin, isn’t it? Ever since you ran into him again, you seem troubled. Mother was livid that he came back into your life even for a brief encounter, but she’s convinced herself since that you haven’t given Gavin another thought. That you are totally committed to Thad. I haven’t been so sure.”

Jenny turned her head to look at her mother. Though she knew her grandmother couldn’t possibly overhear, she spoke quietly when she said, “I’m not going to marry Thad, Mom. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, but I just can’t go through with it.”

If there was a momentary wistfulness, it was well hidden when her mom said flatly, “You have to make the decision that’s right for you, Jenny. If you don’t love Thad with all your heart, then you shouldn’t marry him. It wouldn’t be fair to either of you.”

Jenny could imagine how her grandmother would snort in derision at such a sentimental remark. She would be sure to point out that Jenny was quite fond of Thad and vice versa, and that was a perfectly adequate foundation for a successful marriage.

“As for whether I’m disappointed, you mustn’t even think that, dear,” her mom added warmly. “Nothing you could do would ever disappoint me. You’ve been the best daughter I could ever have imagined, and I am so proud of you. I wouldn’t change a thing about you. I know your father would be proud, too.”

“I hope he would,” Jenny murmured. “I wish I remembered him better. I was so young when he died.”

“We both were. I was too young to be widowed and you too young to be left fatherless. Even in my grief, I was angry for a time that he was so reckless and irresponsible, that he died doing something so wild and foolish. I let Mother poison my mind against him for a few years, and I regret that now. I should have talked about him more to you despite her disapproval, kept him alive for you. Kevin was a good man and I loved him madly. I’ve never been able to feel that same way about any other man.”

Staring somewhat fiercely into her cup, Jenny said, “That’s so sad. That you’ve had to live all these years with the pain of losing him, I mean.”

“Of course I wish he’d been with us longer, but despite whatever my mother says, I don’t regret marrying your father, Jenny. I knew when I fell in love with him that he would never play it safe. He was a charming daredevil, what they now refer to as an adrenaline junkie, but he was also loving and kind and generous. Too generous sometimes. Money meant very little to him. But he had a heart as big as the sky, and he adored us. He even tolerated my mother. He said we should understand that her bitterness was rooted in pain and disappointment. He never failed to kiss her cheek when he parted from her, even when she batted him away. He even teased a smile out of her a few times. She cried when he died, though she tried her best to hide her tears from me, and then she just grew more bitter that another man she’d started to care for had left us too soon and in a financial bind.”

That must have cemented her grandmother’s hard-earned belief that it was better to marry for security than for love, Jenny thought sadly. No wonder Gran hadn’t allowed herself to like Gavin, and that she promoted Thad.

“Have you told Thad yet?” her mother asked gently.

“No. I’m waiting until he gets back. Please don’t tell Gran yet. I’ll deal with her tantrums when it’s all settled.”

“Of course. I’m glad you felt comfortable talking to me.”

“You’ve always been there for me when I needed you, Mom.”

“And I always will be.”

“If you need anything, anything at all, I’m doing fairly well with the store, you know. I have a little put away...”