Choosing Happiness (3 page)

He thought for just a second. "It's in the shopping center with Grant's Market isn't it?"

"Yeah, I think so. Let's meet there. We can have some coffee, eat something if we feel like it and unwind a little. Then, we can decide where to go from there."

"That works. I’ll look forward to it." He placed a gentle kiss on her ear.

The music ended and they made their way off the dance floor, each going separate ways. Jake went to Ben, Andrea saw them standing together talking while she made her way to her mother.

“How are things going?” She sat down beside Sophia.

“So far so good.” Sophia looked around the room, watching for anything that might need her attention.

“Where’s Dad.”

“He’s around here somewhere. I saw him over there talking to Eddie Cruz a little while ago.” She motioned to one side of the large room. “Is the car ready for Ben and Jeanie to leave?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll check on it.” Andrea went out to see if the car was ready. She smiled at the balloons attached to the top and trunk. She thought the groomsmen had decorated it well and let her mother know it was ready.

Less than an hour later they had loaded the newlyweds into the decorated rental car and sent them on their way with shouts of good luck and have fun. People started drifting away faster after the couple of honor were gone. Within an hour there were less than ten people left. Andrea started cleaning up, picking up the abandoned plates and cups scattered around the room and depositing them in a large trash can she dragged with her, until her mother made her stop.

"We'll get this done in the morning, dear," Sophia said "Let's just get the gifts loaded and call it a night."

Andrea looked around and seeing that all the plates of food were gone, she nodded. "Alright, Mom. Do you want to back the car up near the door? I think that will be easier than hauling them all the way out."

"Will you do that for me? I don't trust myself to back it in, not in the dark." Sophia held out the keys to her car.

"No problem." She accepted them and headed outside.

Between Andrea, her parents, Jake, and a couple other friends who had hung around to help, they made quick work of stacking the gifts into the back of Sophia's car.

Closing the trunk, Andrea turned to Sophia. "Do you want me to follow you home and help unload these?"

"No, I'm going to pull the car into the garage and not worry about unloading them until tomorrow. I think your father and I can manage it."

"All right." Andrea started to walk away but turned back. "What time do you want to meet here to finish the clean-up in the morning?"

"Not too early. I plan to sleep late tomorrow."

"So about nine?"

"That sounds good." Sophia agreed.

"I'll be here, too," Jake interrupted.

"You don't have to do that, dear." Sophia told him.

"But I do. I can't leave you two to do all the work. Those tables are heavy and you're not moving them by yourselves. Besides, Ben told me I could adopt his family and I won’t let you do all this work alone. You're just going to be stuck with me." He grinned, letting them know he was as serious as he was teasing.

"If you insist, I won't turn down the extra help." Sophia gave him a smile. "Besides, it'll be good to have something nice to look at while we work." She patted him on the arm before turning back to Andrea. "I guess I'll see you in the morning. I'm going to get your father home and to bed." She climbed into the passenger’s seat beside Andrea's father, Charles, who waited in the driver's seat. Andrea watched them pull out before she turned to Jake.

"I just have to lock up here, why don't you go ahead? I'll be right behind you."

"Nope, I'm not leaving you."

"Do you think I'm not capable of doing something so simple?" Andrea was instantly indignant.

"Not at all. I'm just worried about who may come along, find a woman alone in an empty building and take advantage of the situation. I wouldn't let my mom do it, my sister, if I had one, or a stranger. It has nothing to do with how capable you are, it's just my nature."

"Well, when you put it that way." The fight went out of her.

"How about you give me the keys. I'll lock up and meet you at the restaurant."

"But what about you being here alone?" Andrea lifted one brow at him.

"Babe, I've got training most men’ve never dreamed of. Unless there's a half dozen, I'll be fine."

"All right. There's one small door on each of those sides." She motioned in the direction of the doors. "As well as this one and the big one. All but this one get locked from the inside. And the lock for the overhead door is hanging on it." She pointed up to the lock dangling far overhead.

"Got it. You head out, I'll just be a few minutes behind you."

"All right. I'll get us a table and wait. You want me to order you something to drink?"

“Coffee, black.”

Her brows shot up. “Coffee, this late? Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m used to it.”

“All right.” She climbed in her car and headed for the all night diner.

J
ake arrived at the Denny's and made his way inside, shivering from the chill in the late evening air. He spotted Andrea sitting at a booth way in the back of the small restaurant and waved at the waitress before heading in her direction. He slid into the seat beside her instead of across the table.

"Found anything that interests you?" He took a deep drink from the waiting cup of coffee and leaned over to look at the menu she was holding.

"I'm debating a burger. Dinner was a long time ago and I'm getting hungry."

"I was thinking the same thing on the drive. Especially after my stomach loudly complained that it has been too long since I ate."

Andrea laid the menu down on the table between them. "Here, you look. I've decided what I'm having." She leaned back and took a long drink from the glass of iced tea sitting in front of her.

"I thought we were going to have coffee?" Jake asked, nodding at her glass.

Andrea shook her head. “If I drink coffee this late I’ll be up all night. Even decaf keeps me up, I think it's the flavor."

"Could be." He went back to perusing the menu. "I drink it day and night. It’s never bothered me, but we had a guy in our unit who couldn't drink more than two cups a day or he'd never sleep. It was handy when we had to stay up for days, but a pain when he'd had too much and wanted to sleep."

The waitress approached. A young woman, probably no more than 20, with pale skin and red hair that obviously came from a bottle. "Have you decided if you’re going to eat?"

"Yes, please." Jake hadn’t even picked up the menu.

"All right. What can I get for you?”

Jake looked at Andrea, waiting for her to place her order.

Once they'd both ordered and the waitress left to turn it in and get a pot to refill Jake's coffee, he turned back to Andrea. "So, I know all about your brother, and what he told me about your family, but there’s one thing I’d like to know.”

“What?” she gave him a confused frown.

“What do you do?"

Andrea laughed, realizing her brother had probably never told him what she’d been studying the last time she’d seen him, and really why would he? "I'm a nurse."

"So you work at Grant County Hospital?"

"Yep, been there for a little over a year."

"What ward?"

"I don't work the wards. I'm strictly an emergency room RN."

"That's pretty high stress.” He tilted his head to one side and watched her.

"At times, yes. Thankfully, those times aren't often here. I mean, sure, we see the occasional car wreck, or traumatic injury. Most of those are sent out to Tucson though, we only have to deal with stabilizing them until they can be transported. Most of what we deal with are accidental injuries and weekend illnesses."

"That's good, too. It means you live in a good community, where people aren't trying to kill each other on a daily basis."

"It's good for you, too, fewer violent call outs, less chance of being hurt on duty." She agreed, it was a good town. Big enough to have the services most people wanted and retailers that handled most of what you could want, without having the impersonal, lost in the crowd feeling of a city.

"There is that." He drained his cup and held it as the waitress refilled it.

“You sure you don’t want any cream?” the waitress asked.

“I’m good, thanks.”

"You're food should be out in just a few minutes. Is there anything else I can get you until then?" She looked at Andrea. "Would you like some more tea?"

"Yes, please." Andrea said.

"I'll be right back with that."

True to her word, she was back in just a few seconds with a pitcher and after she refilled the glass she left them alone, going back to refilling salt and pepper shakers on the other end of the restaurant.

"So, now that you've spent some time with all of us, not just heard Ben talk about us, you still sure you want to adopt us?"

"Without a doubt. The way everyone pitched in and did whatever needed to be done to ensure that today was successful and happy for Ben and Jeanie. That's what I’ve always dreamed a real family does."

"I'll warn you though. We were all on our best behavior to make it special for him. We often bicker and argue, sometimes at the top of our lungs."

"But at the end of the day, you're all willing to set aside any differences of opinion in order to do this for him, right?"

"Of course."

"That's what I mean."

“But if you’re family, then I’m not sure I should be going home with you tonight. It would be too much like incest.” She looked at him from the corner of her eye, as if trying to see if he bought it.

He laughed. “There’s more than one way to be family. You consider Jeanie family, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“So I can adopt you as my family for now, maybe I’ll find a different way to make it official later.” He gave her a cheeky grin

“You’re getting ahead of yourself there, but I see what you’re saying.” She shot him a shy smile. "You know Ben well enough to know what you're getting into. You should know though, he’s scared off every one of the few guys I’ve ever brought home to meet my family."

"Then you've been dating the wrong kind of guy, sweetheart."

"That may be true, but it wasn't my family like you saw tonight that scared them off, or even our bickering and yelling. It was Ben."

"Ben's been scaring off anyone you bring home?"

"Yep. He puts on this big tough act and uses his size to intimidate them. Even if I've told them that he's just a big softy they end up running. I’m sure if he finds out there’s something between us, he’ll try to do the same to you"

Jake laughed.

She was sure he knew how Ben used his size intimidated people.

"Ben doesn't scare me. We've been through too much together. Besides, I know all his secrets." He laid his hand on top of hers on the table. "Last time, I didn’t recognized you from the picture Ben kept in his Kevlar, but you're not that shy teenager anymore. You look just like the playful girl I met a few years ago though I’m sure you’ve changed since then, too. I knew as soon as I saw you on the side of the highway that you'd become someone special."

"I can't believe he carried a picture of me." She shook her head and looked down at the table.

"He did and one of your parents, too. One tucked into either side. Carried another photo of all of you in his pocket. He used to read letters to me, too. I've always wanted a family like his and he was sharing what he had with me."

"Don't you have a family?" She frowned.

"Not really. I had parents of course, but not a family. My dad was in and out of jail for different things and Mom hid behind a series of pain pills and alcohol. I was on my own most of the time."

"That's horrible."

"Nah, it's just life. I survived until I was old enough to join up, then I got out."

"Did you ever go back?"

"Yeah, I went to Mom's funeral a couple years ago. It seems she mixed some pills she shouldn't have and overdosed. They finally nailed Dad for something that put him away long-term. I haven't seen him since I left the first time. I made a clean break from him years ago."

"That's so sad."

He shrugged. "I did what I had to do. I knew I didn't want the life they had. I didn’t want to be just another link in the cycle. So, I broke loose. I got out."

"I can see why you’d need to break free and leave it all behind. I just hate to think of any kid living through that, having to survive what you did. I'm glad you had the strength to know what you had to do and to do it."

"It's not what I would have chosen and it's not what I want for my kids, that's for sure."

"You have kids?" She looked at him, alert.

"Not yet, but eventually I'd like to have a couple." He met her gaze.

She nodded and looked away without saying anything.

He twisted slightly in his seat and with one hand turned her face back to him. "I've been waiting all night to do this again." He lowered his head slowly, giving her a chance to say no before he covered her mouth with his. Seeing what was coming she leaned in and met him halfway, quickly opening her mouth beneath his. It was a soft, gentle kiss. He was careful not to get carried away in such a public place. "Mmm," he pulled back. "It was worth the wait."

"I agree, I can't wait for more." She spotted the waitress headed their way with their food and nodded in her direction to let Jake know she was there. They straightened in their seats and prepared for her to place their plates in front of them.

"Anything else I can get you?" The young waitress asked once she’d unloaded her tray. They both looked down at their plates.

"Looks great, thanks." Andrea reached for the salt for her fries.

"I'll let you eat then. I’ll check in after a while. If you need me just call out."

"Will do." Jake took the salt Andrea offered him and used it on his own plate.

They ate quickly, without much conversation. Both were eager to finish and go back his place.