The Reunion, 10…
You can find earlier excerpts from The Reunion here
“So, can we see the rest of the place?” Jen was surprised at the excitement she felt in looking around at the inn. “I haven’t been in here except maybe once or twice when we were kids.”
Brian paused. “Well, maybe tomorrow or the next day if that’s okay. I want to give the floors time to dry really well before we walk on them. The plumber and electrician are coming in tomorrow, too, so maybe the day after and I’ll give you a personal tour?”
“Sure, that would be nice. I’d love to hear about how you decided to buy and run an inn in our old hometown.”
“Well, actually, I’d love to tell you. Why don’t we get dinner tonight and catch up?” Brian was proud of working in the invitation he’d been planning. Jen smiled, “Thanks, I’d like that. “
Jimmy and Pam stood off to the side with slight smiles on their faces, as though none of this was unexpected. Jim turned slightly and Jen thought she saw him wink at Pam. Uh, oh, was this part of the problem with Pam’s husband? She’d bet money that Pam didn’t even realize she was flirting with Jimmy, but if Kevin had seen that look… No, she was probably overreacting. When exactly would Pam and Jimmy ever see each other in this town?
“So, Pammie, we should probably get out of the guys’ way, don’t you think?” Jen wanted to hurry her sister out of the old inn before anything else could happen.
“Oh, of course, sorry. We didn’t mean to hold up all your work!” Pam was immediately apologetic and Jen felt stupid for saying anything. After hugs all around, Jen and Pam took their leave and Brian promised he’d be back at the house by six so he and Jen could get dinner.
Dinner out with Brian turned out to be a lot of fun. Jen had showered and dressed before Brian got home and he hurried to clean up so they were able to leave the house by 6:30. She had already fed and walked Jack and he curled up in his dog bed with a look over his shoulder that clearly admonished her for leaving him again. Jen patted his sweet head and promised quality doggy time later. With a wave of his plumy tail, Jack closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, his favorite evening activity anyway.
Brian had picked a little steak and seafood place for dinner that was about a 30 minute drive away, closer to the city. The hostess led them to their table, smiling sweetly at Brian as she seated them while managing to ignore Jen the entire time. Brian winced apologetically as the hostess walked away, but Jen just smiled and shook her head.
The food was heavenly. Jen had scallops, one of her favorites, grilled to perfection and served on a bed of wild rice and sautéed vegetables. She was glad to see that Brian liked his steak medium rare, because anything rarer than that would have left her nauseated. She liked an occasional piece of beef, too, but she preferred hers more than just warmed over lightly.
“So, Jen,” Brian started after clearing his throat, “I really feel like I should apologize once and for all about senior prom in high school. I was such a geeky idiot back then – yes, I get the irony – still a geek even now, but I like to think I wouldn’t be as big an idiot now. I’m afraid I was more worried about my lack of dancing and romancing skills than I was about hurting your feelings, and I’ve felt terrible about that.”
It was such a sweet apology and Jen couldn’t help but smile at him. “I was angry for a while, but believe me when I tell you I’ve gotten past it, Bri. I even had a boyfriend and a fiancée and an admittedly brief marriage, so you don’t need to spend another moment thinking about it. In fact, I’d really like to hear more about what’s been going on with you all these years.”
Those lovely hazel eyes of his brightened as he pulled out his phone. “Well, after I finished my degree, I got married, too,” he said, “and we have a teenaged daughter.”
At her gasp of surprise he looked a little confused then smiled again as understanding dawned. “Oh. No, not cheating on the wife. We’ve been divorced for a few years now. I wanted to move back to the small town and she wanted to move on to an even bigger city. Cities are just not for me, I’ve found. And when I heard that the old inn was for sale last year, it seemed like the perfect time to move back to Brim. This is my daughter, Casey.”
“Brian, she’s just beautiful!” And she was, all long blond hair and big light eyes and that tall, thin coltish look that Brian had growing up. “It’s hard to put my finger on it, but she definitely takes after you, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, thankfully she’s got Sherry’s good looks, but she kind of has my build, I guess, although I’m not sure she’d be pleased to hear that. Right now we’re not on the best of terms. I put my foot down about her traveling this summer with a group of kids. She starts college in the fall and that’s a big enough step without backpacking around the country with friends.”
“Mm-hmm, that must be difficult, but –” Jen began.
He looked pained. “Her mother thinks it’s just fine for her to be alone for a month with a bunch of guys and girls I hardly know, not even sure where they’re going to be exactly or what they’ll be doing. I’m not so old that I don’t remember what it was like to be a teenaged boy! And just being safe nowadays. I mean, the stories in the news…” He shuddered.
“But she’d be traveling with several other teenagers in a group?” I’m a little confused as to why he’s totally freaking out.
“Sure, but three girls and three guys, I can just see there won’t be a lot of good judgment going on there. I mean, her boyfriend is a pretty good kid, but he’s heading off to school in Michigan in the fall anyway. And Sherry says she knows these other kids, but really? How well can she know them?”
“Brian, I do understand, but Casey’s what, 18, 19? And she is going to be out from under her parents’ roofs pretty soon anyway. You won’t have a lot of say so when she’s away at school, especially what she’s doing at night or on the weekends. It sounds like you did a great job raising her and now you’ll have to trust her to make good choices.“
Whoops, she knew she’d really stepped into it when his smile thinned and his eyes narrowed. “And you know this from your vast experience with child rearing?”
The Reunion, 8…
You can find earlier excerpts from The Reunion here
Parking in front of the Bluebell Café on Third Street at about 9:35, Jen saw her pretty, blond sister already sitting in a booth by the window, drinking a steaming cup of coffee. Rushing inside, she forgot just how annoyed she’d been with Pam and hurried to give her a hug and kiss.
“Jen, my gosh, you look so glamorous!” Pam’s eyes went wide. “I love the hair and you look like you’ve been doing Pilates or something!”
“Pammie, don’t be silly, who does Pilates? But I do still try to do yoga when I can and walking Jack every morning and night helps a lot. But I’ll never truly be rid of these hips!” Jen studied her sister’s face and thought Pam was looking awfully tired.
“Well, I think you look great. I’m so glad you came out this week. Kevin is out of town again on business so it’s just me running the kids to their weekend lessons and getting ‘em off to school in the mornings.” Pam stopped talking and winced at the serious look on her sister’s face.
“You really are mad about Brian being at the house? Mom called a few weeks ago and said Mrs. Walsh had asked her about him staying there while he’s got some project going on. And then he called me and said he needed to stay at least a month until his place would be ready and I told him sure, Mom had said it was fine and he insisted on paying and –“
“Well, jeez, Pammie, I don’t care what Mom and Dad do with the house. It is theirs, after all. But why didn’t you just tell me he was going to be there at the same time as me? A little heads up would have been nice!”
“I was afraid you’d change your mind about coming out at all. You know you could always stay with us, but it’s hard with the kids and our dogs and little Jack not being used to ‘em – so I just figured you would stay away again. And I miss seeing my big sis!”
“Aww, honey, I miss you, too, and seeing Kevin and the kids. But like you said, it’s hard with Jack and your two dogs. Jack’s not used to all the wide open spaces and he gets pretty territorial around other dogs. You’d think he wouldn’t, as little as he is, but what can I say?”
The waitress came by just then with coffee for Jen and a refill for Pam and they put their orders in for a good, old-fashioned home cooked breakfast. Jen looked around and realized that it was kind of nice being home again, especially when she remembered her Claritin.
So they ate their breakfast and talked, then paid and walked around the little downtown area, talking some more. Jen was waiting for Pam to say something about her life, her marriage, the kids, anything that would explain the exhausted look on her face, but she said nothing. Pam pointed out the old Fairview Inn to Jen and said that was where Brian was working, and that was his big black pick up truck in the parking lot.
“Well, he said he was going to be working there today. I guess he got an early start, because he was long gone before I got up and Jack never barked. Is he some kind of handyman or carpenter or something?”
Pam looked slightly amused at that. “No, Jen, he’s a builder. I think he got his degree in architecture. I thought you knew that. I’m not sure, but I think he said he was fixing up the Inn and planning to reopen it again as an even site or something. There’s been all kinds of meetings going on down at City Hall with the Zoning Committee because of some changes he wants to make.”
“You’re kidding, right? Who even knew Brim had a Zoning Committee?”
“Well, I guess if you’d see fit to come back here a little more often, you’d know how up and coming we’re getting to be,” Pam smiled. The college getting bigger has created a lot more jobs around here and it looks like things may pick up a little.”
“So, little sister, what’s going on with you? You look great, but maybe a little tired. Are the kids running you ragged?”
Pam looked a little uncomfortable and scuffed her toe against the concrete sidewalk. “Not exactly. Kevin and I have been having some problems. For awhile now, I guess, if I’m being honest.”
The Reunion (6)…
You can find earlier excerpts from The Reunion here.
Well, that barely there kiss had caught her by surprise. When did Brian Walsh get to be such a hottie, with moves even? Obviously he’d gotten over his shyness and reluctance around females! Jen shut her bedroom door gently after surreptitiously peeking out to watch him ascend the stairs. From the looks of it, he had a pretty great ass under that towel. He might actually have turned out to be a nice guy. He’d been flirting, she decided, and kind of hoped it wasn’t just so she’d let him stay. She smiled as she thought about future possibilities with them sharing a house and sent Pam a text, asking her to meet for breakfast in the morning.
Hey, Pammie, can you do breakfast in the morning?
Is 9:30 okay?
Sure, perfect. Where’s a good place to meet?
How about Bluebell’s, that little diner on 3rd Street? Do you remember from last time you were out?
Oh, of course. Seems we have some surprises to talk about!
Ahh, so you saw Brian?
He scared the shit out of me, Pammie! You’ve got some ‘splaining to do, girl!
LOL, tomorrow!
Well, tomorrow she would talk it out with Pam and see what was really going on. Tonight she was dead tired from the drive and now that her heartbeat had slowed down to normal, she hoped she’d fall asleep easily. Jack had settled down on his little dog bed and curled his fluffy tail under him, the signal that he was out for the count. And all in all, it felt good knowing she wasn’t alone in the house.
***
The next morning Brian crept down the stairs at 6 a.m. with his blueprints in hand. He needed to get over to the Inn early, before the others got there, and he didn’t want to risk waking Jen or having her little dog hear him and start barking. She’d looked pretty beat last night and he wondered how far she’d driven.
It was true that Jen had looked great. He thought back to all the times their families had gotten together for barbecues and picnics over the years. He and Jen and Pam had played together as little kids, teased each other in junior high and then had somewhat stilted conversations as teens as their interests changed and they drifted apart. None of that had prepared him for this new, improved version of Jen Meyer.
She’d been rounder in high school and kind of shy, but she’d always been friendly to him, at least until the whole prom fiasco. Boy, had his mom been pissed at him about that. He winced to himself, remembering how furious she’d been when she found out he’d gone into work and called the date off at the last minute. Of course, she thought it probably reflected badly on her and how she’d raised him, something he hadn’t really considered back then.
He figured he’d ask Jen to dinner and try to explain about what an idiot he’d been back then and apologize once and for all. He wondered if she was here for the reunion, which wasn’t until next weekend, or some other reason. Or maybe just to visit, although he thought her sister was her only family still in Brim.
He maneuvered his pickup around her little car, amused at the way she’d parked almost off the driveway, like she’d been in a huge hurry to get out of the car and into the house. He drove slowly through the neighborhood, figuring he’d grab a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich at the BP gas station just a mile or so away, off the main highway. Hopefully they still had decent enough coffee because he sure could use a big old cup. Or two.
Seeing Jen in pajamas, all flustered when caught by surprise, had played havoc with his sleep last night. She’d tried to hide it, but all that jiggling and bouncing as she’d jumped up from her exercise mat had made it clear she wasn’t wearing a bra under her little shirt. Luckily, she still had those great curves. Her cheeks had turned pink and her mouth had opened in surprise when he told her he had no intention of leaving. She looked so adorable that he couldn’t resist leaning in for a taste of that mouth and thankfully she hadn’t slapped his face. He smiled ruefully and reminded himself that he was 38-year-old man with a daughter of his own and not a teenaged boy with raging hormones. But, damn, she sure looked good.
The Reunion (5)…
You can find earlier excerpts from The Reunion here
As soon as her heart stopped pounding in her ears, Jen clumsily scrambled to her feet. She hastily pulled down the hem of her tee-shirt which had pulled up and exposed a strip of pale skin, purposely ignoring the hand he held down to help her. He was smiling a little bit, looking awfully unintimidating for an intruder, especially one dressed in just a towel with damp hair. Okay, she needed to get a grip. No one would break into a house and take a shower, right?
She tried to think what to do next, and found herself looking at his bare feet and then again at the towel. She forced her eyes up to his face and — something niggled at the back of her brain. He did look familiar. The height, the dark hair, the rather serious look on his face with just a hint of a smile. “Brian?” she blurted out. “Brian Walsh?”
“Uhm, yeah. Sorry, I didn’t know anybody else was staying at the house right now. And you are?” He raised his eyebrows in question, no sign of recognition on his face. She was pretty cute, he thought, all flustered and pink-cheeked, standing there in her flannel pants and little tee-shirt looking like she might punch him. Kinda sexy, actually.
“For God sakes, Brian, it’s Jen. Jen Meyer,” she scowled impatiently. “Maybe you should have put your glasses on before you came barreling down here. What do you mean, you didn’t know anybody else was staying here? Why are you in my parents’ house?”
He held up one hand, carefully keeping the other one on his towel. “Whoa, hang on. I got a key from Pam and I’m staying here while I’m doing renovations on the Inn. And if it’s not too much trouble, maybe I could get my shorts back before the little dust mop chews them up?”
“Oh, good Lord, his boxers were still in Jack’s mouth. Face burning, she reached to snatch them away, but of course Jack gleefully launched into their usual game of tug and it took a few minutes before Jen could get the cloth out of his mouth, all the while having to hold onto Brian’s boxers while he just stood there and smirked. “Here, take them,” she said, ungraciously shoving the damp things into his big hand.
“Oh, and by the way, I can see you just fine. Had Lasix surgery years ago and I don’t need the glasses anymore. Afraid I just didn’t recognize you. It’s been a long time, Jen, and you’ve – well, changed.”
He stopped, as though embarrassed to say that she wasn’t a chubby girl with braces anymore. “I mean, you look great, really great. It’s been a long time since I saw you last…” He trailed off, remembering that the last time they’d really spoken had been at high school graduation, when he’d tried to apologize for not taking her to prom. Again.
God, he’d been a geeky 17-year-old who panicked at the last minute about sweaty palms and unexpected boners while slow dancing with a girl. So he’d gone into work and ditched Jen, not realizing back then what a big deal it had been for her. Never realizing what a big deal dressing up was until his own little princess had been born.
“Well, thanks,” she mumbled. Then she seemed to realize that she was in her sleep shirt and pants with nothing underneath and he was wearing a terry towel slung low on his hips and dangling his boxer briefs by the waistband because they were damp from Jack’s doggie drool. Hoping her shirt was loose enough not to let anything too revealing show, Jen gestured to the door, smiling sweetly.
“Hey, don’t let me keep you from, uh, whatever it was you were doing up there. I’ll talk to Pam tomorrow and get everything straightened out. Maybe you just misunderstood about the house? There’s lots of little motels around here now, probably some with kitchenettes. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.” She couldn’t believe that Pam would have forgotten to mention that she’d told good old Brian Walsh he could stay at their parents’ house the same week she was planning to be there. Boy, was she going to give Pam a piece of her mind when they talked!
Okay, he wasn’t exactly a stranger, they’d known him and his family for years. And he had grown into a nice looking guy with damp, curling dark hair and big, broad naked shoulders. And who knew his geeky, black framed glasses had hidden such gorgeous eyes?
“Oh, sure, but I’ve already found something I like,” he said, winking at her. “Besides, I already paid Pam for the next month, so I’m not planning on going anywhere tomorrow, except back to work on the Inn.”
When her mouth dropped open in disbelief, he leaned close and brushed those soft, full lips over hers. “Sleep well, Jen,” he smiled and headed back up the stairs. Maybe being back in Brim was going to be fun after all, he thought.
The Reunion (4)…
You can find earlier excerpts from The Reunion here
Jen sighed with relief as she finally pulled into the driveway of what had been her parents’ house until they’d moved to always-sunny Phoenix, if only to get out of the car and stretch. She and her sister, Pam, both had keys to the little white farmhouse where they’d grown up and Pam and her family lived close enough to check on it occasionally. And, of course, her mom and dad stayed there whenever they came back to Iowa for a visit. As Jen unloaded her bags from the back and put them on the front porch, she breathed in the beautiful clean night air. And sneezed. And sneezed again. Damn goldenrod. She’d have to dig out her antihistamine tonight.
Jack was yipping away and running circles in his little crate, just in case she might have forgotten about him. “Come on, sweetie, let’s get you out of there,” Jen crooned. Boy, he really had to pee –and he wasn’t the only one. Hustling Jack and all their baggage into the house, Jen flipped on the downstairs light and quickly locked the front door behind her. Unpacking would wait until morning. She needed the bathroom, a quick shower and then some yoga stretches before bed to work out some of the kinks from the drive.
The downstairs bedroom that used to be her parents was definitely beckoning Jen as it had a lovely, queen sized bed. She pulled her suitcases in, with Jack trailing behind her, sniffing his way along the hall. New smells were doggy heaven for sure. He’d been asleep in the crate most of the evening and, even though he was definitely a snuggler and cuddler, Jack needed his play time every night.
Jen dug through one of the bags and found some stuffed dog toys that he liked to chase after and threw one down the hallway. His little feet found purchase on the carpet and he was off like a shot, back in less than a minute, prancing into the bedroom proudly with his stuffed duck hanging out of his mouth. They played a gentle game of tug and he took off again after the duck, but this time she heard him racing up the staircase and down before he came back into the bedroom and deposited the duck in front of her.
Before she could even throw it again, he took off running down the hallway and up the stairs, making more noise than a 20 pound dog should be able to make. It was his wild time of the evening, just running off some of the energy until he’d eventually come back down, sniff out his little padded bed and settle in for the night. Jen headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take her hair down, rubbing her scalp from having had her hair gathered up for so long.
She changed into a soft tee and sleep pants, wanting to be comfortable and cozy tonight. She spread out her yoga mat next to the bed and lay down to begin some simple stretches. She’d progressed to downward dog, hands and feet on the mat, her body bent in two, when it occurred to her that Jack hadn’t come back to the bedroom. She peered between her legs at the doorway and spotted a quick flash of brown and white fur.
Ahh, here came Jack now. Jen waited for the inevitable dance as he came into the room, but this time it wasn’t a duck in his mouth. It looked like – men’s boxer shorts?? And close behind him, as she struggled to stand up, ending up in a heap on the mat instead, were a big pair of masculine feet. Naked. Jen briefly debated whether she could pretend she’d hit her head and just stay down on the floor, then decided it was probably too late for that. Crap. Pushing down flurries of panic — this was Brim, Iowa, for goodness sake, not some big city with big city crime, she turned and faced the intruder head on.
Her gaze quickly travelled up long hairy legs to a white towel wrapped around a trim waist, a broad bare chest and finally jerked up to meet amused hazel eyes under dark brows raised in question. “I’m guessing the little dust mop belongs to you?”
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