Hometown Love (8 page)

“Grace must love doing that with you. She talked a lot about you when she stayed with me.” Jessie reached for her iced tea as she spoke. “She really is a great kid.”

“That’s funny because she hasn’t stopped talking about you. She keeps asking when she can stay with you again. Grace said you were the best babysitter she ever had.”

At the compliment, Jessie shifted in her seat. “Whenever you need a babysitter, she’s more than welcome at my place.”

As they finished up their meals, they talked about general things, never again touching on anything personal. After he paid the bill, they headed back to his house where Jessie had left her car.

“Thanks again for the help today. Grace is going to love it.”

Jessie gave him a warm smile that transformed her whole face. For a moment, it was like he was seeing Jessie Quinn for the first time, and he wondered why Tony or another guy in town didn’t just ask her out regardless of Sean’s objections.

“Glad to do it. And if you need help with anything else, just call or stop by the store.”

Mack remained outside until Jessie pulled out and then went inside. With the painting done and a whole empty house to himself, he grabbed a beer from the kitchen and switched on the baseball game. Tomorrow, he’d put Grace’s room back in order before she came home. Tonight, he planned to just relax.

***

“Mrs. Mitchell told your grandmother you spent the day at Mack Ellsbury’s house yesterday.”

Her father’s words stopped Jessie in her tracks as she carried the dirty dinner plates to the sink. Her dad had stopped by for their weekly father-daughter meal and so far they’d talked about general things going on in town. Not once had either of them brought up her personal life. In fact, they didn’t discuss her personal life much ever, not that it bothered her. In many ways, she’d always felt a closer connection to her grandparents than her dad and who could blame her? Her grandparents had been like parents to her. Her grandfather had taken her to all but one father-daughter dance in school. Her grandmother had attended every one of her soccer games and taught her to cook and sew. Her grandfather even taught her to drive. Her dad had been on the road too much to do any of those things. Since his change in jobs, he’d been trying to strengthen their relationship, and while they were much closer now, she doubted they’d ever have the same tight father-daughter bond as Mack and Grace. From the little she’d seen, it appeared as if he put Grace first all the time. He seemed to go out of his way to make sure the little girl was happy.

“He needed some help with a painting project.” Jessie wished the image of him working alongside her on Saturday would disappear. “I wasn’t there all day, just for a few hours.” She grabbed the Boston cream pie she’d made. It had always been one of her dad’s favorites and something she enjoyed as well.

“She said she saw the two of you leave together.” Her father didn’t wait for her; instead he cut the pie while she went for clean plates.

With her back to her father, she rolled her eyes. Mrs. Mitchell was a sweet lady, but she loved to gossip. “We went out to eat. We were both hungry after painting.”

Her father took the plates she held out. “Just telling you what I heard, Jessie.” He dropped a huge slice of pie on one plate. “If you want to see Mack, that’s fine with me. He always seemed like a good guy.” He cut another slice, this one much smaller. “He’s a Boston cop, right?”

“Sorta.” She didn’t feel like explaining at the moment. “But I’m not seeing him, Dad.”

“Maybe you should consider it. I heard he got divorced.”

She didn’t want to discuss her romantic life with her father of all people. “I’m not interested in Mack like that, but even if I was, I’m not his type.” So she’d lied a little. She’d love to get to know Mack in a more amorous way. But she wasn’t lying about not being his type. She’d seen his ex-wife on television plenty of times. The woman was gorgeous. It was no wonder she’d landed an anchor position on a national news network.

Her father paused in his endeavor to polish off his pie. “You’re beautiful and smart. That’s every guys’ type.”

“You’re my father, you have to say that.” Jessie cut another slice of pie and added it to her dad’s plate before he could ask. “Do you want some coffee?”

“I can take a hint. Yeah, I’ll have a coffee, thanks.”

Mack never considered himself the type to get teary-eyed and emotional. Even still, that morning when he’d watched his little girl climb onto the school bus, he’d gotten choked up. Time was flying by and she was growing up so much faster than he’d thought possible. His own parents had warned him that would happen, but he’d blown off their comments. He’d assumed it was just another line older people told you. As he watched the bus drive away that morning, he’d realized just how true the statement was.

Now, as he headed for his sister’s house, he couldn’t wait to hear how Grace’s first day had gone. He hoped it had gone well because, even now, he remembered his first day of kindergarten and how embarrassing it had been. First, he’d missed the bus because he couldn’t find his sneakers and arrived at school late. Then, when he’d walked into class, all the other students stared at him when Mrs. Truman stopped circle time to get him settled. Later, during lunchtime, he’d spilled his entire thermos of milk on himself and Striker. Perhaps all that wouldn’t have been bad if he hadn’t fallen asleep on the bus ride home and the bus driver had to wake him up. Mack couldn’t imagine a worse first day.

His niece’s and daughter’s voices reached him when he opened his car door. Rather than head into the house, he went around to the backyard where he found the girls in the sandbox while his sister sat on the patio.

Engrossed in whatever they were working on, neither girl said hello, so he took the opportunity to watch them work together. When they’d managed to get the bucket tipped over, Grace glanced up. Without any hesitation, she jumped up and sprinted across the yard toward him, her lopsided pigtails swinging as she ran.

“Daddy!” she shouted, throwing her arms around him. “Come see what Brianna and I built.” Letting go of his waist, she grabbed his hand and tugged.

With a wave in his sister’s direction, he allowed Grace to lead him over.

“Do you like it, Uncle Mack?” Brianna asked, looking up from where she was making a path in the sand.

Although parts were crumbling and other areas did not connect, it still resembled a castle. Crouching down so he could get a better look, he said, “Let me guess. Cinderella’s castle.” Cinderella was one of Grace’s favorite princesses.

“No. This castle is for my horse, Stormy.” Brianna pulled a gray plastic horse from the sand.

“And her sister, Cloud.” Grace held up a white plastic horse.

“It looks great, ladies. Are you all set to go, Grace?”

“Can we finish? We are almost done.”

“Please, Uncle Mack.”

“You have to be careful when those two gang up on you,” Erin called from the patio.

Mack looked from one expectant face to the other. “Tell me about it,” he answered. “Ten more minutes, then it is time to go.”

Happy to have won some more time, the girls went back to work, dismissing the adults while Mack joined his sister.

“They got off the bus talking nonstop about their day. It sounded like they loved school.”

“Good. I’m glad she didn’t have a first day like mine.”

“The school sent home all the emergency paperwork. It is in Grace’s folder. They want it back by next week.”

At least he didn’t need to do it all tonight. He’d spent enough of his day on paperwork already.

“They ask for three emergency contacts besides myself. I added you as one. Hope you don’t mind.” Erin reached for her glass of juice.

“Why am I not surprised you already filled yours out?” His sister never put things off. “Yeah, of course that’s fine.”

“Before I forget, I can’t watch Grace on Friday. I’m having another ultrasound that afternoon.”

Mack ignored the first part of her comment. “Is everything okay?”

Erin waved a dismissive hand. “It’s more a precautionary thing. The doctor says I’m measuring a little smaller than normal and he wants to play it safe.”

Erin’s response didn’t cancel out all of his worry, but since she didn’t seem concerned, he accepted her answer. “Don’t worry about Grace. I’ll figure something out. Who’s watching Brianna? Mom?”

“Mom has an administrators’ meeting after school and Dad is doing interviews at the station. Brianna will go home with her friend, Melanie. They went to pre-school together.”

Okay, that crossed his parents off his list. “Like I said, I’ll figure something out.” Mack checked his watch. “Time to go, buddy. Say goodbye and grab your stuff.”

In the sandbox, Grace stopped but didn’t make a move. “But we’re not done.”

“You can finish tomorrow.” Mack used a sterner tone, one that Grace didn’t argue with.

With a sigh he heard from across the yard, she gave her cousin a hug and stood. “Bye Auntie,” she said as she walked toward door.

“Just a little bit of a drama queen.” Erin laughed as Grace disappeared inside the house.

“Tell me about it. See you tomorrow. Bye, Brianna.”

Too busy with her castle, Brianna only waved in his direction.

Mack started his car and backed out of his sister’s driveway once Grace buckled herself in the back seat. “I thought we could go out for dinner to celebrate your first day of school.” For better or worse, his daughter loved to eat out. “Does that sound good?”

“Yes,” Grace answered with no hesitation. “Can we go for Chinese?”

He’d had his heart set on something Italian, but since this was her celebration, he’d do Chinese instead. Besides, The Jade Orient was closer to their house than Tuscany. “If that’s what you want.” Mack turned onto Highland Street, which would eventually bring him to Pleasant Street where the restaurant was located. “Tell me about your first day. What was the best part?”

From the back seat, Grace started to fill Mack in on all the details starting with the bus ride, which in her opinion had been the absolute best thing ever. By the time they pulled into the restaurant’s lot, she’d made it up to their morning snack.

“You got to play at the sand table and do an art project, but the bus was the best part of the day?” he asked while Grace got out of the car.

Grace slipped her hand into his and nodded.

“What was so great about the bus?” His own memories of the school bus were less than exciting. He remembered them as noisy and hot in the summer and cold as hell in the winter.

“We didn’t have to wear any seatbelts or sit in car seats.”

Rather than say anything, he pulled open the door for Grace. After all, how could he argue with logic like that? Besides, he assumed that, in time, the novelty of riding the bus would wear off and she’d find another aspect of school to fall in love with.

“Someone will be with you in a moment,” a waitress carrying a full tray said as she passed Mack and Grace.

Mack nodded, his attention more on Grace. “How was lunch? Did you like eating in the cafeteria?”

“I got to sit with Brianna and her friend Melanie. Melanie is in our class, too. Her sister has Mrs. Hockner,” she explained. “Brianna said they’re twins but they don’t look alike.”

Before Mack could explain that not all twins looked alike, an older woman approached them with menus. “This way, please.”

Still holding hands, they followed the woman around the half wall that separated the waiting area from the main dinning room. Being a Monday night, much of the restaurant remained empty.

“Daddy, look. Jessie’s here.” Grace tugged his arm and pointed to a booth along the wall. “Can we say hi?”

The hostess stopped at an empty table feet from where Jessie sat. “She probably already heard you.” In fact, he assumed everyone in the restaurant had heard her.

Taking that as a yes, Grace bypassed her own seat and went to Jessie’s booth. And much like she had every other time she’d seen Grace, Jessie gave his daughter a warm smile. “Hi, there. What are you doing here?”

“Daddy said we could celebrate my first day of school with dinner.”

Jessie looked at him, giving him a smile as well. “Sounds like fun. And how was your first day? Who do you have this year?”

He assumed Jessie was waiting for someone since there were two glasses of water and two menus on the table, yet she didn’t give any hint that she wanted Grace to buzz off. He’d discovered since becoming a parent that sometimes people without children wanted to be left alone when they were out. Even people with children got that way if they didn’t have their own around. Jessie, though, didn’t give him that impression, at least not during any of the times they’d met since his return.

“It was great. Brianna and I have Mrs. Wilks and you know what the best part was?” Before Jessie could guess, Grace continued, “The bus. I can’t wait to go on it again tomorrow.”

Looking up, Jessie caught his eye and smiled.

“You know what else, Jessie?”

Jessie’s lip twitched as if she wanted to laugh, but didn’t when she glanced back at Grace.

“I love my room. Daddy painted it when I was at Grammy’s and I put up the princesses and puppies. Can you come over and see it?”

“I’d love to, but not tonight. I’m meeting a friend for dinner.”

He’d only been half-listening to the conversation, but her admission caught his full attention. He’d guessed she was waiting for her dad. She’d mentioned they met for dinner once a week. For some bizarre reason, when she stated otherwise, he couldn’t help but wonder who she was meeting. While it was none of his business, he wanted to know who the friend was. Had Tony ignored Sean’s warning and asked her out? He couldn’t wrap his head around the idea of Tony and Jessie together.

The friend could be female.
Why had he immediately assumed she referred to a guy? And why did he care anyway? She had the right to see whoever she wanted. Until last weekend, he hadn’t seen Jessie in months. Despite knowing it was none of his business, he wanted to ask.

“Can you come after dinner?” Grace asked.

“Afterward Maryann and I are going shopping. But I promise I’ll stop by soon and see your room.”

The unease in his chest evaporated when she mentioned Maryann. “Let’s sit, Grace, and leave Jessie alone.” Mack dropped his hand onto Grace’s shoulders. About to turn her to head toward their table, he stopped as an idea came to him. Maybe Jessie could watch Grace after school on Friday. He did need to find a solution for the afternoon and Grace liked her a lot. Not to mention, Jessie had told him to just ask if he needed help.

Don’t do it
. Just because she offered didn’t mean she meant it. Then again, the Jessie Quinn he’d grown up with and tutored in high school always meant what she said and was known to go out of her way to help others.

Even knowing all that, something bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. Still, he needed a babysitter and he didn’t have many options.

“Jessie, I understand if you can’t, but is there anyway you could watch Grace after school on Friday?” Mack ignored whatever bothered him. “Erin has a doctor’s appointment and my parents have meetings.”

“Please, Jessie.” Grace clasped her hands together.

Jessie bit down on her lip as she considered his request. “Sure. Do I need to pick her up at school?”

He hadn’t considered that part. “No, I can have the bus drop her off at my house if you want to meet her there.” Since she was doing him this favor, he didn’t want to make it difficult for her. “I’ll put a key in the front pocket of Grace’s backpack so you can just let yourself in.” As he spoke, Maryann arrived and settled in at the table.

“Sounds like a plan. What time does the bus get there?”

Another thing he hadn’t considered. “No idea. School gets out at three o’clock, that’s all I know.”

“The bus drops my neighbor’s kids off at quarter past three.” Maryann lived on the same street as Mack and Grace. “Grace must ride the same bus and she’d get dropped off before my neighbors.”

“Then I’ll plan to get to your house for three and just wait.” Jessie looked back at him.

Although she’d agreed with little hesitation, his conscience bothered him for once again asking for her help. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll have fun.”

His mother’s words from the week before popped up. He didn’t want to take advantage of her generous nature. “If you change your mind, let me know. I’ll understand.”

“I’ll see you on Friday, Grace,” Jessie said, ignoring his comment as the waitress appeared.

“Come on, Grace. Let’s sit and let them enjoy their dinner.” With a final goodbye to both Jessie and Maryann, Grace let him lead her away.

From his table, he kept looking back over at Jessie as they waited for their dinner and Grace told him all about her first day of school. Every time he did look, Jessie had a smile on her face as she and Maryann talked. Even before tonight, he noticed what an attractive woman she’d become, but when she smiled her face transformed from pretty to beautiful. Perhaps not Hollywood beautiful, but she had a girl-next-door beauty which he found himself attracted to more so now than ever before.

“My cubby at school is purple and it’s next to Brianna’s, but I have to share it,” Grace rattled on. “I share with Sydney. She has a princess backpack just like mine.”