Learning to Love Again (14 page)

THURSDAY MORNING, NICOLE LEFT AUSTIN AND HEADED back to Waketon.  She was about halfway there when her cell phone rang, the display showing Jack’s name and number.  Surprised he was calling now after almost a week of silence from him, she hit the button for the speaker and answered the call. Then again, he always had been able to know, even from half a continent away, when she just needed to be left alone to think things through.

“What’s up?”  She answered.

“Hey, kid, where are you?”  He asked her.  “We’re having a party tonight, and they’re starting to place bets as to whether or not you’ll show up.”

“Which side did you bet on, that way I’ll know whether or not to show?”  She teased him with a laugh.

“I always bet on you, you know that.  You won’t disappoint Helen.”  Jack told her.  “Seriously, where are you?  I expected you back yesterday.”

“Relax, Jack.  I'm fine.  I had a few things I needed to wrap up that I couldn’t take care of on Tuesday, and the last meeting ran late yesterday.  I was too tired to make the drive.  I left Austin a little over an hour ago.”

“Good.  Stop by my office on your way in.  I’d like to talk to you about something I’ve been kicking around in my head.”  Jack told her, hanging up.  Shaking her head at his abruptness, she tossed her cell phone on the seat beside her.  An hour and a half later, she parked the car in Jack’s parking lot and headed inside his office.

“Hey.  You okay?”  Jack met her at the door and gave her a warm hug, before holding her away from him so he could look her over.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, rolling her eyes.

“Carly said the interview went well and that they were begging you to come back,” Jack led the way into his office, offering her a choice of coffee or soda.  She gave him the highlights of the offer she had received.

“Wow.  Tough decision!” he whistled when she finished, studying her face across the desk.  “So, do you know what you’re going to do?”

She sighed and leaned back in the chair, stretching her legs out in front of her.  “I’m still thinking it through.  I don't want to rush into anything, no matter which way I decide,” she told him, meeting his gaze.  “So, what did you need to see me about?  You sounded so mysterious!”

“I don’t want you to say anything right now, I want you to think about this, give it some serious thought," he waited for her nod her agreement.  “I need to hire a partner for my practice.  I know Mitch mentioned to you the other day how my reputation has grown; he wasn’t kidding.  It seems like everybody not only here in our county, but in the next five counties, are starting to come to me for everything from estate planning to ranching matters, family matters, and your typical DWI’s.  I need help, Nicole, or I’m going to have to start turning people away.”

“What about hiring a paralegal?”  She tilted her head to the side, her heart rate speeding up a bit as she considered where he might be going with this conversation.  Jack shook his head at her suggestion.

“That would be a Band-Aid over a ruptured artery, so to speak.  I need someone who can cover in court, if need be.  I need someone that I would trust with my own family, with my own life.  People are going to walk in that door and expect to work with me.  I need to be able to say that if I can’t work with them myself, the person who will be, my partner, is the next best thing.  If you joined me, I could say it and mean it.  Anybody else, they’d have to earn that trust from me, and that would take time.  And you know how people are in communities like this; that trust is not going to come easy; it could take a few generations.

“I had planned on talking to you about this over the weekend, and then Jason had to go and pull his stunt on you, history repeating itself and all that crap.  And once Carly told me why you were up in Austin, I wasn’t about to throw this out there before your old firm hit you with their offer.  You needed to hear their offer up front, with a clear conscience.”

He came around the desk and leaned against the corner.  “You’ve worked your ass off for the last six years to get to this spot, Nicole.  I know better than anyone out there exactly how hard you
have
worked to get here.  So, if that job is what you want, then you need to take it, and you show those assholes how big of a mistake they made by not promoting you six months ago, like they should have.  Don’t let anyone stand in your way—not Jason with his guilt trips, your mother with her taunts from beyond the grave, and certainly not me.

“But if you’re ready for a change, and you’d like to come home for good, my offer is solid.  I can’t offer you the six figure salary they’re offering in Austin, but you can have a corner office and your name on the door as a partner,” he teased, “but best of all, you’d be home with the family.”

He reached out his hand and pulled her to her feet.  “You’re my best friend and I love you.  I would love for you to come home and practice law with me.  But above all, I just want you to be happy,” he held her by the shoulders and held her gaze.  “You have two solid offers on the table.  Think about them.  I’m not going to pressure you with mine and I haven’t mentioned it to anyone, so no one else will be trying to influence you either.  I’m in no rush to get an answer.  Okay?” he waited for her to nod before he pulled her back into his arms for a warm hug.

“Now, Helen has been chomping at the bit all week, waiting for you to come home so that she could make sure for herself that you are okay,”  Jack gave her a gentle shove in the direction of the door.  “I’ll see you tonight.  Think about my offer for as long as you need.”

She paused at the doorway of his office, glancing back over her shoulder and giving him a brief smile.  She headed back out to her car and made her way back to the ranch, mulling over what Jack had just offered her.  Halfway to the ranch she realized she hadn’t said a single word to Jack since he’d started laying out his offer.

Twenty minutes later, Nicole parked the car in front of the house, and Aunt Helen came running down the porch steps to see her.

“Oh, honey, it’s so good to see you!”  Helen grabbed her niece and pulled her into her arms.  “We so wanted to return home, but they needed us on the mission trip and the boys said you were doing fine and Carly swore she was making sure you were doing the rehab.  But I still felt so guilty not coming back!”  Helen led her up the steps and into the house.

Laughing, she returned her aunt’s enthusiastic greeting.  “I felt guilty enough over Mitch and Carly cancelling their vacation.  I’m glad you and Steve stayed with the rest of the missionaries.”  They walked into the living room and Nicole sat down on the couch, Helen next to her.  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here on Sunday.”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry about that!  Carly and Mitch filled us in.  I’m just happy you’re here now.”  Helen told her, giving her another hug and then held her niece by the shoulders as she looked at her.  “Now, how are you
really
doing?  And remember, Carly has a temper and has been threatening various body parts of our young friend Jason.”  Helen grinned at her niece.

She sighed and closed her eyes.  “I don’t know anymore, Aunt Helen.  I think I’m falling in love with him, all over again, but he hurt me.  I’m having enough trouble figuring out what I want to do with my life, where I want to live, if I want to continue working.  I didn’t need this mess thrown on top of it.”

Helen wrapped her arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring squeeze.  “I know, sweetheart, I know.  I wish I could snap my fingers and make it all go away for you, but a mother has to let go sometime and let her babies fly from the nest.”

She pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her hand to pull her up.  “And while I may not be your real mom, I feel that I had more to do with your upbringing than that stupid sister of mine who made you so afraid of love.  Love is always a gamble, sweetheart.  You just have to place your bet and let it ride.  Sometimes you win big when you stick with it long enough.”  She smiled at her niece as she led her into the kitchen.  “But I’m still very glad that you are here, now.”

“Yeah, me too.  You can help with some of this cooking!”  Carly complained good-naturedly, giving her a quick hug as well.  “We expected you earlier.  Did you get a late start out of Austin?”

“That, and Jack needed to see me in his office, so I stopped by there on my way in. So, what time does this shindig start tonight?”

“Six sharp,” Helen told her, looking at her watch.  “Oh, my goodness.  I need to go meet Steve in town.  Will you girls be alright?”

“Of course,” Carly told her, as she exchanged amused looks with Nicole.  “The caterer is going to be here at four-thirty and I’ll make sure everything is under control.”  They watched Helen rush out the door, and then they sat down at the table, laughing.

“She’s still a whirlwind of energy,” Nicole commented.

“She never stops.  And now she’s fussing over me like a mother hen.  I’m glad you’re back, she can fuss over you for a while,” Carly teased.  “How long are you back for?”

“We’ll see.  I haven’t made any job decisions yet,” Nicole replied evasively.  “What all do you need to do to finish up in here?”

“Are you kidding?  Between Maria, the girl she brought in to help today, and Helen, everything is done.  I was just putting the finishing touches on one of the desserts when you walked in, is all.  I am going to go up and start getting ready, and leave the rest to the hired help!”

“Well, in that case, I’m going to go do the same.”  She stood up and started to walk out but turned at her friend’s voice.

“By the way, Jason is supposed to be here tonight,” Carly warned her friend.  “He’s been trying to get your cell phone number out of me.”

“Thanks for the heads up.  I can handle him now,” Nicole smiled at her friend and went outside to get her bags out of the car.  Too bad she didn't have time for a nap before this party.  Something told her it was going to be a long night.

NICOLE CHECKED HER REFLECTION ONE LAST TIME in the mirror.  She had left her hair down, brushing it out so that it fell in soft waves to her shoulders, and her makeup was flawless.  She’d picked out her favorite dress, a simple black clingy number that was tight at the waist, and then flared out over her hips and fell to just below her knees.  Because she was still a little self-conscious about the scars on her leg, she’d worn black stockings.  She stepped into the strappy black heels, and fastened the straps.  She was just putting in her earrings when a knock sounded at the bedroom door.

“Come in!” she called over her shoulder, struggling with one of the earring backs.

“Wow.” Mitch whistled as he stepped into the room and caught sight of her.  “Mom sent me to check on you.  You about ready to join the rest of us for a drink in the living room?”  She nodded, checking her hair one last time.   They walked down the hallway to the living room, where Nicole greeted her uncle warmly.

“Had a man riding the fence line over by your folks’ place today, said he saw a pickup there, some architect and zoning company out of Austin.  The guy said he had your permission to be looking around.”  Steve raised his eyebrows at her.  “Anything you’d like to share?”

“I asked a guy from Austin to come look around, nothing else to it.”  Nicole accepted the glass of wine Jack handed her as the doorbell rang.

“Was it a land developer?” he asked with a wink, causing Steve to shoot him a murderous look as he and Helen turned to leave the room to begin greeting their guests, causing Nicole to giggle.  Uncle Steve hated land developers with a passion.  Mitch and Carly peppered her with questions, trying to get more information about the man from Austin hanging out on her property.

“I am not ready to tell you all yet!” she laughed, bumping her cousin’s arm with her elbow.  “I still have a few things to think about, and once I make all of my decisions, I will let you know!”  When she saw a few people walk in that she recognized as having been friends of her father’s, she excused herself to go over and say hello.

Within an hour, the downstairs was full of people.  Nicole knew most of them and they had all heard of her accident, so she was busy assuring them that she was fine now; no permanent damage had been done.  Even though she’d been living on the ranch with Mitch and Carly all summer, she’d been pretty secluded and had kept to herself.  Most of the other ranchers and their wives hadn’t had a chance to see her yet until tonight.  Helen kept dragging her over to the entryway to greet more old friends, but after a while, she was able to slip away and hide in a corner, talking to another area rancher that had been a good friend of her father’s.

She didn’t know how long he’d been at the party, but Nicole was aware of Jason as soon as he entered the room.  He was standing just inside the doorway.  He was looking around, and when their eyes met, she felt the jolt, almost like a bolt of lightning.  She no longer paid attention to what her father’s friend was saying to her.  She couldn’t take her eyes off of Jason.  He started across the room, towards her, and she excused herself, and met him halfway.

“I need to talk to you, in private,” he murmured, his eyes searching hers.  “Can you break away?”

She nodded, and he took her hand, leading her through the French doors and out onto the patio, which had been converted into a dance floor for the evening.  With a muttered curse, he led her down the steps and out into the garden that was Helen’s pride and joy.

“God, I’ve missed you.”  He reached to take her into his arms.

“You said you wanted to talk.”  She reminded him, stepping back out of arms reach.  Her pulse was already racing, just from the sound of his voice as well as the touch of his hand on hers.  She needed to keep her hormones under control.

“I’m sorry.  Yes, I do want to talk,” he dropped his arms and stepped back.  “I wanted to say that I was sorry for the way I acted the other morning.  I have to tell you, you broadsided me with your news.  I guess, after our other conversation…well, I just assumed you wouldn’t give your career a second thought.”  When she didn’t say anything, he took a step closer.  “I was hurt, and angry, that we had come so far, only to be back at what I see as square one.”

He reached out and took her hand, tightening his grip when she would have pulled away.  “You were right, I was trying to make you give up your dreams, and if we had talked about it before, I probably would have expected you to turn the job down then, too,” he admitted in a low voice.

“Where does that leave us now?” she whispered, her eyes searching his face for the answers.

“I don’t know, to be honest.  What did they offer you on Monday?”

“I would be department head, the position they turned me down for almost six months ago.  I would only travel if there were problems on site that my team couldn’t handle without me.  I would be able to hire, and fire for that matter, at my own discretion.  And a substantial pay increase,” she told him, looking away from him.  “I told them I needed to weigh all of my options, and I would give them an answer on Monday, when I meet with them again.”

“What are your options?” he reached out and touched her cheek with his finger.

“I could take the job and move back to Austin, pick up where I left off before my accident,” she turned back to him, meeting his intense gaze.  “Or, I could stay here, start new.  I have my inheritance; I could live off of that if I had to, plus my investments,” she was hesitant to tell him about Jack’s offer, afraid he would push her in that direction.  She knew that whatever she did decide to do would affect him as well, but she just couldn’t make herself confide in him, to trust him again.

“So I have until Monday morning to convince you to stay in Waketon.”  He looked down at her and then bent his head and brushed her lips with his.   “Will you spend Saturday with me?”

She studied him, seeing the tension, the fear and the hope in his eyes.  She so wanted to dispel his doubts, but was hesitant to give in to him just yet.  “If you agree to no sex,” she hedged.  “I need to make this decision with my head.”

Smiling, he agreed, and laughing, pulled her into his arms.

“Jason…”  She leaned back, a warning in her voice.  “I’m serious.”

“Kissing isn’t sex,” he whispered, holding her tight and bending his head towards her again.

“With you, it tends to lead there!”  She put her hands on his chest and gave a gentle shove backwards.  Chuckling, he released her, but held onto her hand.  “Will you be my date for the rest of the evening?”  Smiling up at him, she nodded, just as Jack wandered towards them.

“Everything okay out here?” he asked, catching and holding her gaze.

She nodded at him as Jason answered.  “We’re fine.  I’m just trying to convince Cole to stay in Waketon.”

“Good.  Let me know if you need any help.”  Jack glanced at her again and smiled.  “I have to get going.  You’ll let me know about Monday?”  She agreed and watched him walk away.

“What’s that about?” Jason asked, leading her back to the patio.

“Just stuff.  You know how protective of me he gets,” she answered after a brief hesitation, accepting the glass of wine he snagged off a passing waiter’s tray.  He reached over and cupped her cheek with his hand.

“I’m very sorry for hurting you on Saturday, Nicole.  And if it is the last thing I do, I will make it up to you.”  He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.  “Will you dance with me?”  Moving out to the dance floor, he took her in his arms.  With a sigh, she dropped her head to his shoulder and closed her eyes, hearing his answering sigh as his arms tightened around her.  Nicole knew what her decision was, what it had to be, and prayed that it was the right one this time.