Love Finds You: A Helena's Grove Novella (2 page)

Jen stayed close to Aunt Gabby for the next couple weeks, helping her work in the garden and deep clean the house. They had many wonderful conversations about life in New York, the challenges of law school, how to bake pies, and the correct way to grow roses. Jen couldn’t remember when she’d enjoyed herself more. She truly appreciated her aunt’s “don’t give a shit” attitude. She did what she wanted, when she wanted. If she wanted pie, she made a pie. If she wanted to sleep in, she did. If she felt like getting up early, she was up at the crack of dawn. Despite her fiery personality and sharp ability to say what was on her mind, she was still respectful and courteous to those around her. The neighbors seemed to enjoy her, and Annie, who stopped by a couple times, seemed to worship the ground she walked on.

Jen woke up on Friday morning, her third week in Ohio. Aunt Gabby must have chosen to sleep in today otherwise she would have woken Jen up. The clock said 7:34; perfect time to be up. Jen made her way downstairs, planning on making some yummy coffee and sitting on the back porch swing with Aunt Gabby. It was interesting to her how easily she had become comfortable with this place. How it really felt like home.

She turned the corner into the kitchen and let out a shriek. A man was standing in the kitchen! As she cried out he whirled around, dropping his mug of coffee. Hot liquid splashed across the kitchen floor and the cup broke into pieces. Jen ran to a drawer and pulled out a large knife, pointing it at the stranger as he reached for a towel to wipe up the coffee.

“Who are you?” Jen demanded.

“Whoa, lady calm down!” the stranger said; his hands up like she was holding a gun. “I’m just a friend with no particular desire to be stabbed by a crazy woman.”

Jen stared as he slowly bent down and began sopping up coffee. “What do you want?” She was poised, ready to strike.

“Two things,” the man said without looking up at her. “First, I want you to put down the knife. Seriously, you are worrying me. And second, I want a cup of coffee; hence the coffee.” He gestured to the floor where the coffee mug lay broken and little puddles of coffee still spotted the floor.

“Do you make a habit of walking into people’s houses and drinking their coffee like you own the place?” Jen tried to sound threatening; she still hadn’t put the knife down.

“Not usually, but I didn’t know Aunt Gabby had company. I apologize for scaring you.” He finished wiping the floor and carried the pieces of broken mug to the trash and dropped them in. “I really liked that mug,” he mumbled to himself and then looked up at her. “Will you please put the knife down?”

Jen looked him up and down before slowly lowering the knife. “You know Aunt Gabby?” she asked hesitantly.

The man smiled and Jen noticed a dimple in one cheek. It was barely visible through his dark facial hair. He didn’t have a beard, but he clearly hadn’t shaved in a few days.

“I do know Aunt Gabby; I help her out when she needs it,” he said. She met his gaze to see if he was being honest; his brown eyes and dark hair combined with a handsome, tan face made Jen forget her question altogether.

Just then Aunt Gabby came in through the back door. “Zachery!” she said adoringly as he rounded the counter to give her a hug. “Oh I’m so glad you’re back!”

“It’s good to be back,” he said smiling as he pulled back. “And I see you’ve acquired a house guest since I’ve been gone. I’d be careful with this one Aunt G,” he whispered loud enough for Jen to hear, “she seems a little jumpy.” He smiled at Jen jokingly but she didn’t think it was funny.

“Zack, this is my niece, Jennifer Berkley from New York,” Aunt Gabby introduced her. “Jen, this is Zack LaFaye, he has helped me out a lot around here over the years.”

Zack shrugged his shoulders, “I do what I can.” His modesty gave him away. It was clear to Jen that he was a big reason this place looked the way it did. Judging from his physique, he was a hard and strong worker. She tried not to look at his tan muscles as they p
eeked out from under his white t-shirt.

Jen suddenly remembered something, “Wait, LaFaye? Are you related to Annie?” She silently and against her will hoped he didn’t say he was her husband.

Zack nodded, “She’s my little sister. You’ve met her?”

“She picked me up from the airport.”

“Ahh, I see,” he said suppressing a smile that made his dimple more prominent. “What do you think of her?”

“She is very friendly,” Jen said, smiling.
             

“That’s a good way to describe her. Talkative, is another term I use quite often.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye to see if she caught the humor in his tone; she did and laughed out loud.

“Talkative is a very good term. But she’s adorable and has been very kind. I appreciated having someone that wasn’t afraid of the big bad New Yorker.” Jen emphasized ‘New Yorker’.

Zack laughed, “Oh Annie isn’t afraid of many people. Her fears tend toward hungry kittens and puppies that don’t get the love they deserve.”

Jen giggled at that, Annie did seem the humanitarian type.

Just then Aunt Gabby walked to Zack and p
atted him playfully on the back. “Would you like some breakfast honey?”

Zack put his hand on his heart.
“Oh Aunt G,” he said dramatically, “I would love some if your kind hands are willing to feed me.”

She chuckled and began pulling out the ingredients for a pancake and egg breakfast. Zack turned to Jen and smiled.

“So, Jen, how long have you been in town?”

“Three weeks,” she replied.

“How do you like it so far?” he inquired, taking a sip of a newly poured cup of coffee.

“It is much…” she paused, looking for the right words, “slower pace, than New York.”

Zack laughed, “That’s the truth! More quiet and peaceful as well.”

Jen looked at him in surprise.
“Have you been to New York?”

“I have,” he said mysteriously. Then he winked at her.

Oh my
, Jen thought.
He is good! Oozing charm from every pore!
She had dealt with his kind before – arrogant, cocky; completely aware of their good looks and how to use them. No doubt he had a girlfriend in every city he had ever been in. Well, she wasn’t going to fall for that small town, farm boy crap. She was here to spend time with her dying aunt. She hoped he understood that was why she was there. She would hate to have to tell him to back off and give her and her aunt some space. She didn’t want to be that person, but she would if she had to.

“How long are you planning on staying?” Zack’s question brought Jen out of her thoughts.

“My plans extend through the summer. I’ll have to get back to New York before September; set up my new office.”

“Are you getting a new job?” Zack asked.

Jen froze, she had slipped. She couldn’t tell Aunt Gabby that she was going to become partner at the end of the summer. She would definitely wonder why she was getting promoted after being gone for three months. Her mind whirled and she had a hard time finding words. She scolded herself inwardly.
You’re a lawyer for hell’s sake, think!
She remembered reading somewhere that the brain can process thousands of thoughts per minute.
So, come up with something!
While it seemed to her that she stalled for an unnatural amount of time, she was able to pull it together before either of her companions noticed her mistake.

“We are in the process of moving some of the offices around. The firm is growing and it’s time to do some rearranging.” She smiled and nodded, trying to look confident in her lie.

“I’m glad things are going so well for you and Roger,” Aunt Gabby offered.

“Thank you, we’ve worked hard to make it so.”

Zack said nothing but seemed to be listening intently. When Jen looked at him he simply smiled and went back to his pancakes. Crises averted. But she was feeling strangely guilty, though she couldn’t understand why. Why should she feel guilty about telling Aunt Gabby about her father’s plans to promote her to partner? In reality it was going to happen. So, why had she lied? As a lawyer you have to be willing to twist the truth; not lie necessarily, but “twist” the truth so the jury can see things your way. That’s all she had done. They didn’t need to know the truth so she didn’t tell them the truth. That’s all… that was all.

That night Jen had a hard time sleeping. She realized she didn’t want Aunt Gabby to feel hurt about the reason she was there. She didn’t want her to know that her Dad had to bribe her with a fancy new office, major pay raise and a new title as partner to get her to come here.
You’re going soft Jen
, she said to herself.
One month ago you couldn’t care less what anyone thought or felt
. She rolled onto her side and slipped one hand under her pillow. She tucked her legs in and curled up tight, pulling the blanket to her chin. And then she realized… she
had
gone soft. In less than a month she had learned to love her little old aunt. She felt a pain in her chest as she thought of her father’s words that day at the hotel, “
She is unwell… cancer for some time… wants to see us before she goes.
” Jen had never met a spryer, upbeat woman. Aunt Gabby was more fit than some woman half her age. She didn’t act like she was sick. Jen hadn’t seen any pills or medical things around the house. Aunt Gabby did go to bed fairly early every night, but older people did that. There was really nothing to indicate that she was close to death. Strange. Very strange.

As she started to drift into sleep, the events of the last few weeks played in her head. Pie, gardens, air plane, Annie; she smiled to herself, remembering Zack’s description of his sister. The thoughts continued… Aunt Gabby, cancer, the firm, partner, coffee; another smile escaped her lips as she remembered Zack mopping up spilled coffee as she threatened to stab him with a kitchen knife – poor man. He had to understand, she was a New Yorker after all. It’s weird to wake up with a strange person in your house. But this wasn’t her house. In a way, she supposed it was as strange for Zack to see her there as it was the other way around. Jen’s mind started to slow and sleep began to creep in, the last thing she remembered was Zack’s smile and the dimple in his cheek.

Jen slowly came out of a deep sleep and realized someone was gently shaking her. “Jenny, Jenny, wake up darling.”

“Wha… what’s wrong?” she asked, still half asleep. “Do you need something?”

“Sure do, I need you to get up and come with me.” Aunt Gabby turned and started to walk away. Jen raised herself up onto her elbow and looked at the clock on the white nightstand next to her twin bed; 4:45. She cringed. “Lord have mercy Aunt Gabby! It’s not even 5 A.M.!” she whispered harshly.

“Child, I don’t know why you are whispering; it’s just me and you in this house. You don’t need to worry about waking anyone. Now get up, get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten minutes.”

Jen sat up, her blond hair a tangled mess. “What are we going to do?” she asked through a yawn.

Aunt Gabby turned when she reached the door, mischief in her eyes, “You will see, you will see, you will see.” She made a little song out of the phrase that Jen could hear her singing all the way down the stairs. This couldn’t be happening. Jen could not remember the last time she was up before five o’clock in the morning. It wasn’t natural, wasn’t right. She dragged herself out of bed and began to get dressed.

As soon as she was ready, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She wore a white sun dress with a yellow short sleeved jacket, and yellow high heeled shoes. Her golden hair hung loosely around her face and touched her shoulders.

“My, don’t you look like a ray of sunshine!” Aunt Gabby complimented.

Jen smiled, she knew she looked good. “Thank you,” she said graciously, “I just bought the shoes before I came.”

Aunt Gabby nodded, “They are very fashionable. However, I’m not sure they’ll be appropriate for what we’re doing today.”

Jen looked down at her shoes. “What
are
we doing today?”

Aunt Gabby smiled and winked. “It’s a surprise!”

“I’ll need to know what we are doing so that I can dress appropriately,” Jen said, feeling a twinge of annoyance.

Disregarding what
she said, Aunt Gabby hurriedly told her to get some breakfast. “Zack will be here in five minutes. Grab yourself a muffin and banana and we’ll be off.”

“Aunt Gabby, I do not eat carbs. You keep trying to
make me eat them when I don’t,” Jen said for what felt like the thousandth time.

The look she got from Aunt Gabby was the closest thing to a motherly look Jen had ever had. It said:
If you don’t want a muffin that’s fine. But don’t whine to me when you are starving in an hour!

A knock and hello from Zack at the front door broke their moment. “Everyone ready?”
His cheerful voice rang through the house. “We’re burnin’ daylight people, let’s go!”

Aunt Gabby grabbed an apple. “I’m comin
’ Zacky, I’m comin’,” she sang as she hurried out the door.

Zack turned to Jen, “Wow, you look like a ray of sunshine.” Jen rolled her eyes. She was starting to think that wasn’t a compliment. “You might want to change your shoes,” Zack offered. He tilted his head sideways and looked at them. “I haven’t seen shoes that high in a while,” he said, suppressing a smile.

Jen gave him a dirty look. “I know fancy shoes are a rare thing out here in the middle of nowhere, but where I come from, girls kill to have shoes like these.”

“Really?
” Zack said in mock fascination. “Who’d you kill?”

Jen let out a frustrated breath.
“Do you always enjoy being such a smart ass?”

Zack chuckled a
nd held his hands up in defense. “Hey I was just curious.”

“Let’s just go,” Jen grumbled as she grabbed her purse.

“Are you going to grab something to eat?” Zack asked, pointing to the muffins.

“I don’t eat in the mornings,” Jen said
in a snobby tone she didn’t intend.

“Alrighty, but don’t whine to me if you’re starving in an hour.”

Jen huffed and turned to walk out. Zack and Aunt Gabby seemed to have a lot of the same thoughts! He opened the front door and waited for Jen to walk onto the front porch before closing the door behind them.

“How much did you pay for those shoes?” Zack asked as they walked to the truck.

“None of your business!” Jen snapped. She wasn’t going to give him more to scoff at.

“I’m honestly curious.” He smiled at her and his dimple appeared, mocking her.

“They’re Vera Wang; let’s just leave it at that,” Jen said in an irritated tone.

Zack nodded and let out a slow “Hmmmm” that proved to Jen he was just pretending to be interested.

They had reached the truck and Zack opened the passenger door for her. Aunt Gabby was already nestled in the middle, clearly eager to get a move on. Zack got into the driver’s seat and started the truck. It roared loudly and they were on their way.

“So, where are we going?” Jen asked. She had forgotten to get an answer from Aunt Gabby.

“We’re gonna go do some branding,” Zack said enthusiastically without looking at her.

Jen had absolutely no idea what that meant, but she wasn’t about to give Zack the satisfaction of knowing that. So she just nodded, determined to look as if it hadn’t faze
d her. Aunt Gabby chatted happily to no one in particular as they drove. Jen stared out the window, not intentionally ignoring her but not really paying much attention. She had her own thoughts to deal with and realized she had a problem. She couldn’t decide if she was attracted to Zack LaFaye, or if he annoyed the ever living hell out of her. She sneaked a peek at him; he wore a navy blue t-shirt and jeans. Did this guy ever dress in anything other than a t-shirt and jeans? Of course not, this was Ohio. Farm boy town. They all dressed that way, or so she assumed. His dark hair was uncombed; it looked like he’d been wearing a hat. He still hadn’t shaved. His whiskers would become a full blown beard if he didn’t trim up soon. Maybe that’s what he was going for. Maybe he didn’t care about the way he looked. Maybe he was one of those back-woodsy type people that never showered or shaved. Jen’s eyebrows furrowed, and then she mentally scratched out that thought. He didn’t seem dirty; just… she searched mentally for the word. ‘Rugged’ was what she finally came up with.

Her thoughts were broken when Zack turned and caught her looking at him. She didn’t move. The last thing she wanted was for him to think she was intimidated. Their eyes locked for a few seconds. He didn’t smile. Jen finally looked away; three seconds, maybe? She felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach and immediately pushed it away. She looked back at him one more time. He caught her again and this time he winked. She turned away quickly in defiance.
Annoying
. He definitely annoyed her. He was annoying. It was official.