The One For Me - January Cove Book 1 (11 page)

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Jenna and Kyle carted several boxes up to her room. As she unpacked a few of them into the dressers and closets, she looked out the window at the ocean and marveled at how some things never change. The sea never changes, and the feeling of something constant was what she needed. Stability.
With all her parents' efforts to make sure she was stable, they had failed. Now, she was as unstable as she'd ever been. Single motherhood. The one thing that her own mother was so critical about in Kyle's mother, and here she was in the same situation.
"Everything look okay?" Kyle asked standing in the doorway.
"Yeah."
"You alright?"
"I will be," she said with a smile as she returned her gaze to the ocean.
"Can I help?" he asked, obviously worried about her. He walked up behind her, and the scent of his cologne immediately carried her back to their days as a couple.
"No one can really help, Kyle. I was just thinking about the irony."
"Of what?"
"My mother didn't want me to date you, and one of the reasons was that your mom was a single mother. Now, here I am - a single mother. I bet she is rolling over in her grave." She chuckled softly, but it wasn't funny at all.
"Jenna, your mother loved you in her own weird way. She thought she knew best, but she didn't. Even parents make mistakes."
"I know. I just wish..."
"Don't do that. Some things can never be changed."
He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, a gesture that both shocked and comforted her. She wanted to turn around and fall into his embrace and erase all the years that had pulled them apart. Instead, she stood still, careful not to scare him away. He was like a timid dog that had been kicked by its owner, and she knew that coming on too strong would be a sure recipe for disaster.
"What time is it?" she finally asked after a few moments.
"It's eleven o'clock," he said looking at his watch.
"Oh, crap!" she said as she started scurrying around looking for her keys.
"What's wrong?" he asked following her as she ran down the stairs.
"I'm supposed to go see my Dad and have lunch with him," she said as she grabbed her purse and opened the front door.
"Mind if I tag along?" Kyle asked which stopped Jenna in her tracks on the sidewalk.
"You want to see my Dad?" she asked with her mouth gaping open.
"I actually liked your Dad... a little bit anyway," he said with a smile that made her insides melt. His dimples seemed to have deepened over the years, and she wanted to bite one of them right now.
"Sure. I'd love to have the company. Dad doesn't know who I am most of the time."
"Let me drive," Kyle said opening the door to his Jeep.
As they drove the ten miles to the nursing home, they chatted about changes in the area like the new pier and the coffee shop that had recently been bought by some out-of-towner. Laughter filled the car, and Jenna longed for those old days where she could laugh and enjoy life with Kyle. Oh, how she wished things had turned out differently. How she wished Kaitlyn was his daughter and she was his wife.
They pulled into the Shady Grove nursing home, and Jenna's palms started to sweat. How would her father react to Kyle? Would he remember her? Him? She never knew what to expect when she visited him. It was heartbreaking to her that he barely remembered her name sometimes.
 

***
 

"Good morning, Mrs. Watson," a woman at the front desk said as they walked through the double glass doors. Kyle would never get used to hearing people call her that. She would never be "Mrs. Watson" in his mind. At the very least, she was Miss Davis, although he'd hoped years ago she would eventually be Mrs. Parker.
"Morning, Sue. How's Daddy today?"
"Confused, sweetie. We found him in Earl's room again."
"Oh, no. They didn't fight again, did they?"
"No, we caught him in time. He's over in the day room," she said as she answered the phone.
"Earl?" Kyle asked as they walked.
"Earl is Daddy's arch nemesis in here. They are constantly at odds, and Daddy ends up in his room a lot. He sometimes gets into Earl's chocolate stash, and that usually results in a very slow paced fist fight," Jenna said with a wry smile.
"Slow, but deadly?"
"Something like that," she said laughing as they entered the day room. Kyle was shocked at the sight of her father. Bill Davis was a tall, lanky man, and he'd always been strong. As a top basketball star in high school and college, he was always fit and trim, and he still was. His hair was no longer jet black, but solid white. The years had not been kind as dementia had taken his facial expressions and mannerisms away.
Jenna crouched beside where he was sitting in a chair facing the window. "Hey, Daddy," she said kissing him on the cheek.
"Who are you?" he asked immediately. Her expression didn't change which told Kyle that she was pretty used to that reception from her father.
"Daddy, you know who I am. It's your daughter, Jenna," she said smiling.
"Oh, that's right," he said gruffly.
"I brought an old friend today," she said waving Kyle over. He walked in front of the chair as the old man looked up at him. Bill's eyes widened.
"Kyle Parker," he said softly. Jenna's eyes widened too and then filled with tears.
"You remember me, Mr. Davis?" Kyle asked with a smile.
"How could I forget you? My daughter was obsessed with you. Did you know my daughter, Miss?" he asked Jenna.
"I sure did," she said, struggling to hold back the tears.
"Tell her to come see me sometime," he said.
"How are you doing, Mr. Davis?" Kyle asked as he sat on the sofa next to the chair. Jenna turned and wiped away the stray tears that inevitably came when he didn't remember her.
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm getting out of here soon. I hurt my leg, so they have to do all their doctor stuff to fix it." Jenna shrugged at Kyle.
"How'd you hurt your leg?" Kyle asked playing along.
"Basketball, of course. Jump shot gone wrong," he said winking and smiling.
"I'm going to get your lunch ready, Daddy," Jenna said excusing herself.
"Is that your girlfriend?" Bill asked.
"No, sir. Just a friend."
"She's a pretty girl. You should ask her on a date," he said nodding his head. "Good women are hard to find."
"Yes, sir, they are."
"Listen, I'm glad I have you alone for a moment," Bill said leaning closer to Kyle.
"You are?"
"Yes. I've been meaning to tell you something, but I haven't seen you around town in a long time. You been on vacation?"
"Vacation? Yes, actually I just got back," Kyle said playing along with Bill's confused memory.
"Well, I need to say I'm sorry about something. See, my daughter, Jenna.... you know her?"
"I do."
"Well, she had a big crush on you, but her mother didn't like it. She didn't approve, and I went along with her. I shouldn't have done it. I knew how much you loved my daughter, but I didn't stick up for you or her. For that, I'm sorry."
Kyle sat there stunned as he processed what the man had just said to him. Jenna appeared beside her father with a tray of food.
"Hungry, Daddy?" she asked.
"I could eat a little something," he said chuckling as Jenna helped him up and walked him to the table. Kyle didn't move.
"You okay?" she whispered after she got her father settled.
"Huh? Oh, yeah..."
They sat with Bill as he ate, and he never said another word to Kyle. He didn't even seem to realize he was there at all. He focused on his food and the TV that sat off to the side of the table. The sadness in Jenna's eyes was palpable, and Kyle felt sorry for her.
"Daddy, I'm gonna go, okay?" Bill simply nodded without making eye contact. "He gets tired after he eats," she said.
"It was nice to see you, Mr. Davis," Kyle said as he rubbed Bill's shoulder. Again, Bill just nodded and didn't look at him. It was obvious the moment of lucidity was gone.
When they reached Kyle's Jeep, Jenna waited for him to unlock the door. Instead, he walked around to her side of the vehicle and pulled her into his arms. Enveloped in her strawberry scent, he held her as tight as he'd ever held anyone. Her face pressed into his solid chest, she began to weep quietly. He let her cry and just pressed his mouth to the top of her head. They stood that way for several minutes before she pulled back a bit and looked at the wet mess she'd made on his shirt.
"I messed up your shirt," she said through a choked sob.
"No biggie. It can be washed."
"Thanks for that," she said.
"For what?"
"For coming with me. For letting me cry all over you. For holding me. It's the safest I've felt in years," she admitted softly.
A knife went straight into Kyle's heart. The safest she'd felt in years. In his arms.
"I need to tell you something," he said.
"What?"
"Your Dad remembered me."
"I know. He said your name."
"No, I mean he remembered about you leaving me. He apologized. Said your mother pushed him to agree with her and that he was wrong. He said he knew how much we loved each other, and he should have stood up for us." A huge smile crossed Jenna's face.
"He remembered that?"
"Yep."
"Oh, Kyle, thank you! Thank you for telling me that!" she said hugging him tightly around the neck. Her shape, her form, her scent - it all felt so right in his arms. As warning bells went off in his head, he did his best to breathe in and out and avoid every manly urge he was having.

When they arrived back at Kyle's house, Jenna finished unpacking a few things and then went to pick up Kaitlyn at school. As she drove back to her house, she thought about what her father had said to Kyle. For some reason, she finally had a small slice of peace about the situation.
Most people would have looked at their breakup as just a childhood rite of passage that everyone goes through, but not Jenna. Being with Kyle wasn't about being young or impetuous. She believed, and still did, that he was the one for her. He wasn't just some high school fling she had that came and went. He was a part of her soul, etched into the tiny crevices of her heart forever. That had been apparent during her marriage, and it still wasn't going away now. In fact, her feelings seemed to be increasing day by day.
"Go inside and get your room cleaned up," she called to Kaitlyn as she bounded into the house. Jenna pulled the empty boxes from her car and started to take them into the house.
"Hey!" Rebecca called as she trotted across the yard.
"Hey there," Jenna said smiling from ear to ear.
"Ooohh... Something good must have put that smile on your face, girlfriend."
"Come sit a minute and I will fill you in on all the details," Jenna said throwing the boxes on the porch and sitting on the top step.
After a few minutes of intense girl gossip, Rebecca was up to date on the day's happenings.
"Wow. That is big news. I am thrilled about your Dad," she said patting Jenna's leg.
"Yeah, that was pretty amazing. Kyle always could cause some pretty amazing things to happen..." she said with a big sigh and a lovesick look plastered across her face.
"Girl, you have it bad."
"What?"
"A case of the lovies," she said laughing as Jenna smacked her on the arm.
"I do not. I can't."
"Love wants what it wants, sweetie. Now is the right time to start putting the plan into action."
"You sound like a military commander," Jenna said rolling her eyes.
"Drop and give me twenty!"
"Very funny. I just don't know if this is the right time to start making him jealous. Everything is so easy and good between us right now..."
"Is that what you want? A cordial relationship that's easy and good? Or do you want a sizzling hot rekindling of your passionate love affair?"
"Well, when you put it that way..."
"Good. It's settled. I'll call Frank tonight and we'll get the ball rolling."
"Exactly what are we doing?"
"Frank will have it covered. You just answer the call," she said rubbing her hands together.
"You should've been a secret agent," Jenna said.
"There's still time..."
The two women parted ways while Jenna went into the house to pack and cook dinner. The next two days were filled with packing, and she didn't really see Kyle. He seemed to be busy working, and she was glad to get a little distance. Their emotional connection had always been strong, and time had done nothing to lessen that.
The most unique part of their relationship had been the one that Jenna never told anyone. When she met Kyle, she was a virgin, and when she broke up with Kyle she was still a virgin. As hard as it was for most people to believe, she'd made a decision very young to stay "pure" until marriage. Kyle, a red blooded American male by every account, had respected her in that. They came close to breaking that pact a few times, but he'd always stopped himself.
Once she asked him why he was agreeing to wait for her to be ready and he'd said, "Don't you know, Jenna? The best things in life are worth waiting for and you're the best thing in my life." She'd almost jumped on him then.
She swore that part of the hurt in his eyes when she'd left was knowing the fact that some other man would have her in his bed. That he'd waited for nothing. It made her sick to her stomach that she'd given herself to Nick, although Kaitlyn had been the one good thing that came from that.
Nick didn't wait for her. But she didn't like to talk about that.