Starting Over in Maple Bay by Brittney Joy

 

CHAPTER NINE

 

 

 

 

“Stay,” Jesse said to Blue, his black-and-white border collie. The dog laid down obediently on the patio, and Jesse slid open the carriage house door. He slipped inside, intending to drop off the new door hinges and then head over to Frankie’s to work with Indy. He’d spent most of the afternoon working with a few Thoroughbreds that were fresh off the racetrack. They were high-strung and fast, but not fast enough to bring in the money, so a client of his snatched them up at auction. She hoped to eventually turn them into barrel horses. Jesse would be working with the Thoroughbreds for the next few months to undo everything they’d learned on the track. Today, he’d spent a few hours with each horse, using patience to ease their anxieties. However, the afternoon had gotten away from him, and now it was nearly five o’clock. He’d only have an hour to work with Indy. Jesse didn’t like to rush his training sessions, because horses picked up on stress and that was the last thing he wanted to give them. But this morning Jesse told his mother, Joyce, he would be over for dinner, and being late to supper was not acceptable in the Weston family.

Heading up the carriage house stairs, Jesse paused when he heard a thump. Was someone here? He didn’t see Hazel’s car parked outside when he pulled into the driveway.

“Knock, knock,” Jesse called up the stairs. “Hello? Hazel?”

No reply. Maybe the boys were playing hide and seek? Jesse climbed the rest of the stairs, hoping he wouldn’t have to chase out a racoon like he did last summer when Noah left the carriage house door open overnight. But when Jesse got to the top of the stairs, it wasn’t a wily racoon he discovered. It was a dancing Hazel.

Jesse paused, his hand still on the railing.

Hazel had her back to him. She was standing in front of a kitchen cabinet that was propped up on two sawhorses. Her red hair was whipped into a messy bun. She wore black athletic shorts and a t-shirt that was tied into a knot on her side, exposing her bare middle. She was sanding the edges of the cabinet by hand and dancing as she did so.

Jesse quickly realized why Hazel hadn’t heard him. She had white ear buds in. The cord dangled down her back and led to a pocket in her shorts. Her shoulders and hips swayed to a beat Jesse couldn’t hear. He knew he shouldn’t be watching, but for a few seconds he couldn’t help himself.

Hazel was having a good ole’ time. She must’ve been listening to a dang good song because she raised her sandpaper in the air and gave it a few sways, like a flag. Jesse found himself smiling at her carefree shimmies, but when Hazel started to sing, she must’ve caught a glimpse of him. She yelped and jumped around to face Jesse.

“What are you doing?” She pressed her hand to her chest like he’d given her a heart attack. Then she untied the knot in her t-shirt as though her stomach was on fire and her shirt was the only thing that could put it out. The gray cotton spilled down and covered her middle. She pulled the buds from her ears—all while looking at him like he was some peeping Tom. “You can’t just come in here. What if I was changing or . . . or something?”

Or something? “But you were just dancing, right?”

Hazel looked offended. “It doesn’t matter if I was just dancing. I wasn’t expecting company, and this is my place now. You can’t just barge in here whenever you feel like it.”

Jesse was confused by Hazel’s reaction. How had the carefree-dancing Hazel turned so quickly into a fire-breathing dragon? Besides, the carriage house wasn’t her place yet. Hazel would have to make it through the summer, and judging by the way her blood pressure had skyrocketed in her first few days in Maple Bay, Jesse wasn’t so sure she’d make it to September. “I didn’t see your car outside. I was just going to drop off new hinges for the hay door.” Jesse held up the hardware as proof. “Had some extra in my barn and thought you could use them.”

Hazel squinted at him.

“For the hay door,” he added. “The one that fell off yesterday.”

She looked at him like he was another rooster coming to spur her in the leg. Continuing to clarify, Jesse pointed to the heavy wooden door he’d picked up off the patio yesterday and carried back into the loft.

Her shoulders relaxed. She set the sandpaper down on the cabinet, next to a few other tools and an electronic sander. “Let me grab my purse. How much do I owe you?”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Jesse replied, but that stiffened her up again.

“No, let me get my purse. I can’t just take those from you.” She looked around the loft, apparently for her purse, and Jesse wondered why she was so resistant to accepting help. Frankly, it was annoying.

“Think of it as a welcome-to-the-neighborhood present,” Jesse offered. That’s what people did in Maple Bay. They helped each other. Maybe the city had taught Hazel otherwise. “When Garrett is home this weekend, we’ll put the hinges on and hang it for you.”  

Hazel made a dismissive motion with her hands. “That’s okay. I’m sure I can do it.”

He raised a brow at her. “You think you can lift that door and slide it into its hinges? It has to be a hundred pounds.” Even Jesse knew he should wait for a second set of hands to conquer that job.

“I mean, I could hire a handyman or something.”  

“Why? It’s not a big deal. I promise. Garrett and I can do it.” Jesse felt like he was convincing Hazel to take a polar plunge in the lake come December. He was just about to give up, leave the hinges, and head out to finish his workday when Hazel walked toward him.

“I must’ve left my purse downstairs. Please, just let me pay you for the hinges. I insist—”

Her last word came out in a squeak, and suddenly Hazel was on her way to the floor. In her misguided search for her purse, she’d wrapped an ankle in the sander cord and tripped herself.

The yellow cord acted like a snare and Hazel toppled forward in an awkward blaze of hands and knees. Jesse immediately lurched up the last stair and managed to catch Hazel under her arms. She slammed into his chest, but Jesse kept them both upright, avoiding a disastrous tumble down the stairs.

Hazel went ridged in his arms, and Jesse half-expected to get blamed for tripping her.

Then she put a hand on his chest, lifted her head, and looked him straight in the eye. They were close enough to breathe the same air. “I can’t believe I just did that. I’m so sorry. Did I hurt you?” she asked.

Up close Hazel didn’t look like a fire-breathing dragon. Her emerald green eyes were soft, worried. They searched his face.

Jesse held her close, making sure she got her balance. “No, I’m fine.” Though he found himself a little dazed by her proximity. She smelled sweet—like strawberry shortcake—even though she’d been working and dancing in a stuffy, hot loft. Her freckled face glistened. A few strands of red hair were loose from her bun and stuck to her face and neck. “Are you okay?”

“I stubbed my toe pretty good, but otherwise I’m okay.” Hazel leaned into him and shook her leg, trying to get her foot free from the electrical cord. She clung to his shoulders until she shook free of the cord. When it slapped the ground, she looked back at Jesse and his eyes must’ve held all the shock he was feeling as he held her.

Hazel quickly put both feet on the ground and dropped her hands like he’d stung her. “Oh, I—"

A little voice from downstairs cut Hazel off. “Daddy?”

Jesse glanced down the stairs to see his little girl, Charlie, bouncing up the staircase toward him. She was followed by Jesse’s mother, Joyce, and his dog. “What you do?” Charlie asked.

He kind of wondered that himself.

Charlie sprung up the rest of the stairs, and Jesse scooped her into his arms. “Hey, Princess.” She wore leggings and the rainbow-colored tutu Joyce had given her this year for her fifth birthday. The outfit was perfectly accented with rubber boots—at least, the outfit was perfect in Jesse’s eye. He brushed Charlie’s white-blonde curls from her face. “Did you drag your Grandma all the way over to the house to get your tutu?”

Charlie gave him a smile, like she knew she wasn’t supposed to do that but couldn’t resist.

“I told her we’d come get it if she helped me pull weeds,” Joyce said, now halfway up the stairs. Blue followed behind her. “When we were at your house, Charlie spotted Blue laying outside the carriage house door. Figured you were in here.”

“Hi!” Charlie waved at Hazel.

“Hi, there,” Hazel replied with a smile, though she still looked dazed.

“Hazel, this is my daughter, Charlie, and my mom, Joyce.”

Charlie waved at Hazel again. Hazel waved back, warmth returning to her face.

Jesse switched Charlie to his other hip and met Joyce on the stairs, helping her the rest of the way up. She gasped when she got to the top.

“As I live and breathe,” Joyce started. “You’re Rose’s daughter, aren’t you? Hazel?”

Hazel nodded and stepped forward to offer her hand. “I am. Very nice to meet you, Joyce.”

Joyce ignored Hazel’s hand and snatched her into a big hug, rocking her back and forth as she squeezed her. Jesse chuckled. Hazel was obviously not used to being greeted like that by a stranger.

Joyce pulled back from the hug but kept her hands on Hazel’s arms. “My, oh, my. You look just like Rose.” Joyce paused for a few long beats. “We are so very glad to have you here.” She rubbed Hazel’s arms like she was warming her up. Maybe she was, because Hazel didn’t look nearly as flustered as when Jesse had barged into the carriage house.

“Thank you,” Hazel replied.

“I want to give her a hug too.” Charlie squirmed and Jesse set her down. As soon as her feet hit the floor, Charlie ran to Hazel. Hazel didn’t miss a beat. She squatted down and picked Jesse’s daughter up like she’d known her forever. Charlie’s blonde curls bounced.

“I love your tutu.” Hazel brushed the fluffy fabric with her fingers.

Charlie giggled and pressed her hands to her face. “Grandma gave me this one. Daddy got me a pink one and a purple one and a sparkly one.”

A big smile grew on Hazel’s face. “Well, those are pretty special presents.”

“Do you want to see them all?” Charlie asked.

Hazel looked a little flustered, like she didn’t want to let Charlie down. For a split-second, Jesse’s heart skipped a beat.

Jesse held an arm out to Charlie. “Hazel has some work to do right now. Let’s let her get back to it.”

Charlie pouted her lips, but then said, “Okay.”

“I’d love to see them another time.” Hazel set Charlie down, and the little girl skipped over to Jesse.

Joyce patted Charlie’s head. “Would you like to join us for dinner?” Joyce asked Hazel. “I’m making ribs, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole.”

“Oh, thank you very much, but I’m a sweaty mess and I should finish the project I started.” Hazel pointed back toward the partially sanded cabinets.

“Maybe this weekend then?” Joyce prodded. “For Sunday dinner?”

“Of course. I’d love to.” Hazel tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It was very nice to meet you, Joyce. You too, Charlie.”

“Yeah,” Charlie said. “Glad we could all give you hugs.”

His daughter’s comment reminded Jesse of how Hazel had accidently tossed herself into his arms. He looked back at Hazel, expecting her chilly demeanor to return.

Instead, she replied matter-of-factly to Charlie. “Me too.” Then she gave Jesse a tight-lipped smile. “Thank you for your help.”

Jesse nodded and followed Charlie and Joyce down the stairs. He thought he might’ve just received a truce from the fire-breathing, rooster-fighting city-lady. But he wasn’t exactly sure what to do with that truce.