Over You (3 page)

Anxious now to find her aunt, she continued through the library and ended up back in the foyer and at the base of the grand staircase. Jessica always loved the way the staircase curved upward. Hudson had moved halfway up the wooden stairs and she followed, quickly reaching the landing.

She walked down the hall toward her aunt’s bedroom, but found the door closed. Assuming her aunt was napping, she gently knocked on the door and called out, “Ellen? Are you in there? It’s Jessica.” She heard the sound of the bed creaking, and opened the door to peek inside. Her aunt lay in bed, but lifted her head at Jessica’s entrance. “I’m sorry if I woke you. I just got here and when you didn’t answer, I got worried.”

“I suppose I fell asleep.” Ellen slowly pushed herself to a sitting position on the side of the bed. “I’m sorry, Jessica. I meant to have everything ready for you when you came, but this flu has really knocked me for a loop. I haven’t even put fresh sheets on your bed. What kind of hostess have I become?”

“Don’t worry about it, Ellen. I can take care of that. I don’t expect you to wait on me. I just want to enjoy your company.”

“Oh, you are so sweet.”

Hudson meowed in the doorway.

“Well, who do we have here?” Ellen asked.

Jessica picked Hudson up and carried him over to her aunt. “This is Hudson. I got him after I last saw you.”

Ellen ran her fingers through his soft fur, and Hudson began purring. “Oh, I like him. May I hold him?”

“Sure, but he’s kind of heavy.” Jessica set Hudson in her aunt’s lap.

“Oh my. He certainly is.”

Hudson sniffed Ellen for a moment, then jumped to the floor.

“He’s not really a lap cat,” Jessica said, watching Hudson enter the closet to continue his exploration.

“Are you hungry, dear?” Ellen asked, a concerned look on her face.

Though ravenous, she didn’t want her aunt to worry about feeding her. “I can figure something out.”

“I meant to get to the store, but I just haven’t had any energy. I’m starting to feel better though.”

Concerned that her aunt wouldn’t allow anyone to take care of her outright, Jessica decided to be careful with what she said. “You know, if I’m going to be staying here for a while, I would feel a lot better about accepting your hospitality if you would let me help out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, perhaps I can run errands, clean up, that kind of thing.” When she saw her aunt open her mouth to object, she quickly went on. “It’s really something I need to do. It helps me think when I’m stuck on a programming problem for work.”

“Oh. Well, I suppose if it helps you it would be okay. But I don’t want you to feel obligated. You are my guest, after all.”

“Thank you, Ellen. I appreciate you understanding.”

Ellen pointed to the back of the door. “Can you hand me my sweater? It’s a little chilly.”

Jessica got the red sweater, knowing it was her aunt’s favorite color, and helped her put it on. “Would you like me to fix you something warm to drink?”

“That would be lovely,” Ellen said. “I always enjoy a good cup of hot cocoa.”

Jessica watched her aunt stand and begin walking toward the door. Worried that her aunt would have trouble on the stairs, Jessica stayed close to her side as they descended the staircase. Once they reached the kitchen, she led Ellen to the cheerful sunroom and helped her get settled in an overstuffed chair covered in a yellow and blue chintz fabric, then gathered the ingredients to make mugs of hot cocoa for both of them.

“I might have some whipped cream in the fridge,” Ellen called out.

Opening the fridge, Jessica glanced inside, already knowing there wasn’t much there. Standing, she turned toward her aunt. “I don’t see any, but I’d like to take a trip to the grocery store and get a few things, if that’s all right.”

“I’m sorry to make you go to so much trouble, Jessica. I’ll bet if you’d realized that you’d have all this extra work to do, you would have thought twice about coming.”

Jessica set the mug of milk in the microwave and turned it on, then walked over to her aunt and knelt in front of her. A warm smile on her face and her voice soft, Jessica said, “Let’s get one thing straight right now. I
want
to be here. I
want
to help out. I enjoy spending time with you and I don’t want to hear any more comments about you being sorry if there are tasks I need to do. I have lots of energy and it makes me feel good if I can make your life easier. Don’t take that away from me.” Then, hugging her aunt, she whispered, “You’re like a second mother to me. I love you.”

The microwave beeped, and Jessica pulled back to see her aunt’s eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “Oh, sweetie, I love you too.”

“Okay, then. Enough of your feeling guilty nonsense. Deal?”

Ellen laughed. “Deal.”

“Good. Let me finish making our cocoa, then I’ll come sit by you and we can catch up.”

Half an hour later Jessica had finished telling her aunt all about her job and about her breakup with Alex. “So you see, I’m really glad to get away for a while. Someplace where I can focus on work and you and myself.” Jessica looked over at Hudson, who had curled up on an empty love seat where a patch of sun shone in. “And Hudson, of course.” His ears twitched when she said his name, but other than that, he didn’t move.

“Well, I’m glad you decided to come stay here for a while. There’s that nice old desk in the library that belonged to your Uncle Patrick. If you’d like, you can set up in there to work.”

“I’d like that very much. I remember as a child sitting at that desk and coloring in those coloring books you always bought for me.”

“I think I still have those old things up in the attic. Maybe we can make a project of going through some of those old boxes. I’d sure like to get some of that junk cleared out of there. There are even boxes from the last owner. I’d always meant to look through them, but there was always plenty of storage space, so I’ve never bothered. It always seemed too much like work.” She chuckled.

“The old owner? Where does he live now? Don’t you think he or his family would want his things?”

“I never met the man, but he died before we bought this place, oh about thirty years ago. I guess he didn’t have any family to speak of, so we inherited the boxes in the attic. You know, much of the furniture in this house was his as well. When your Uncle Patrick and I bought this place, we’d lived in a much smaller house and didn’t have nearly enough furniture to fill this place. Not only that, many of the pieces in here are quite lovely, so I was thrilled when the realtor told us the furniture was included.”

“Huh. I wonder why I didn’t know that.”

“I think when you came to visit you were too busy exploring this place to wonder about anything like where the furniture came from. We’ve lived here since before you were born, so I guess it’s all you knew.”

Jessica nodded. “Well, I think I’d better make that trip to the grocery store before it gets too late.”

“If you don’t mind, I think I’ll wait for you here.”

“That’s fine. You can keep an eye on Hudson.”

As Jessica drove toward town, she enjoyed the beauty of the woods near her aunt’s house. Ellen’s property was on the outer edge of the small town, and neighbors were typically a mile apart. Though Jessica knew her aunt enjoyed the solitude, she couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if her aunt became ill or got hurt and no one was around to help. Did anyone check on her regularly?

At least that won’t be a concern as long as I’m here, she thought as she turned onto the main road, which led to the local grocery store. Forty minutes later she was loading groceries into her trunk, then heading back toward her aunt’s home.

When the house came into view, she was surprised to see a truck parked out front that wasn’t there before. Jessica parked her car and opened the trunk, lifting out the groceries. Her luggage was still inside, so she left the trunk open, planning on coming back out to get her things. She hurried inside, her arms full of groceries.

“Here she is now,” Ellen said as Jessica walked into the kitchen.

Jessica nearly dropped the bags when she saw who was talking to her aunt.

Chapter Four

“Kyle? What are you doing here?” Jessica hadn’t meant to sound rude, but the shock of seeing him after all these years dredged up a sea of emotions, and she’d blurted the first thing that came to mind. He was the last person she had expected to run into, especially in her aunt’s kitchen.
 

“Hi, Jessica.”
 

Jessica turned away, setting the grocery bags on the counter as she tried to compose herself. Heart pounding, her mind whirled and she had trouble thinking clearly.

“Kyle is here to bid on some work I want to have done,” Ellen said.

“Oh.” Jessica turned to Ellen and wondered if her aunt realized the affect seeing Kyle was having on her. “I just need to get these groceries put away.” Jessica turned her back on them, her hands shaking, and focused on getting the food put away as quickly as possible. Though Ellen and Kyle resumed their discussion, Jessica could sense Kyle’s attention shifting to her.
 

Mercifully, she finished her task in only a few minutes. “I need to put my things away,” she mumbled, glancing at her aunt.

“Of course, dear.”

Ignoring Kyle, Jessica managed to walk out of the kitchen and toward the front door, despite the fact that her ears had started to ring, and dizziness had begun to sweep over her. She stepped onto the front porch and sank into a chair, hanging her head and forcing herself to breathe deeply and slowly until the dizziness passed. When she felt better, she lifted her head and gazed at the truck parked out front, which she now knew to be Kyle’s. She read the stenciling on the doors:
Judd Construction
.
 

How did I miss that when I pulled in? Sighing, she pushed herself out of the chair and walked to her car, then lifted her things out of the trunk and carried them into the house. She went up the stairs and into the guest room where she always stayed when she came for a visit. It didn’t take long to get her things put away. She went to the linen closet in the hall and paused at the top of the stairs, listening. Kyle’s deep voice floated up the stairs. Though she couldn’t make out what he was saying, the timbre of his voice brought back a flood of memories, all of them good. All except the last time she’d spoken to him.

Sighing again, Jessica opened the door to the linen closet and pulled out a set of sheets and a large, fluffy towel, then carried them back to her room. She set the sheets on her bed, then went into the hall bathroom and hung up her towel. Trying to ignore the memories tumbling around her head, Jessica wondered what work her aunt wanted to have done. Though the house was in pretty good shape for such an old house, it was somewhat outdated.
 

Jessica put the sheets and blankets on the bed, and just as she finished, she heard the creak of someone coming up the stairs. A moment later her aunt stood in the doorway.

“I like the looks of this room much better when someone is using it,” Ellen said.

Jessica smiled. “I hope this is the room you wanted me to use. I just assumed, since this is where I’ve always stayed before.”

“Oh yes.” Ellen walked over to a pair of wingback chairs tucked in a corner and sat down. “Are you getting settled in all right?”

“Yep. I’ve pretty much moved right in.”

“Good. That’s what I want to hear.” Ellen rested her hand on the arm of the chair adjacent to her own. “Come sit, Jessica.”

Obediently, Jessica sat next to her aunt, although she dreaded the conversation she was sure was about to begin. “I didn’t know you were planning on doing any remodeling.”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. Your Uncle Patrick and I had talked about it off and on for years, so I decided to go ahead and make some of the changes I’ve been wanting.”

“Like what?”

“Mostly just updating the bathrooms and kitchen. I want to keep the character of the place, but those rooms are rather dated.”

Jessica nodded, not wanting the conversation to lead to where she knew it inevitably would.

“There are very few contractors available around here.” Ellen looked at Jessica closely. “There is one other I’m considering, but I felt it best to get more than one bid.”

“I was just caught off guard to see him. You know it’s been five years since he . . . well since he left.”

“I made the appointment before I knew you were coming. And then I forgot about it until the moment he showed up on the porch. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. How long has he been back?”

Ellen furrowed her brow. “Oh, I suppose about a year now.”

“I guess things didn’t work out for him in the big city.” Jessica tried to hide her derision, but knew she probably failed.

“You were both young. I think it’s time for you to forgive him.”

“Ellen, we were
engaged
. And he just . . . left. No warning, no good-bye.” Jessica felt hot tears push into her eyes, and was surprised by the strength of her emotions after all these years. “Tonight is the first time I’ve seen him since then.”

“I suppose it would be a shock.”

Jessica took a deep breath, gaining control of her emotions. “That’s an understatement.”
 

“Well, maybe now that you’re both back in town, you can get to know each other again. I’m sure you’ve both changed quite a lot over the years.”

Without hesitation, Jessica shook her head. “No way. Not going to happen. I literally broke up with Alex yesterday. I have no interest in kindling an old flame. Or creating a new one.”

Ellen’s voice softened. “Oh, Jessica. You loved him so much.”

As the words left her aunt’s mouth, Jessica felt the absolute heartbreak of Kyle’s sudden and unexpected departure as if it had happened that very day, and this time she couldn’t stop the tears. She pictured him standing in her aunt’s kitchen and admitted, if only to herself, that he had become better looking since she’d seen him last. His hair was still as dark and thick as she remembered. But it was the unusual color of his eyes that she had never forgotten. Sea-green and fringed by dark lashes, his eyes had always drawn her in.