Broad Street Goddesses Page 7

  “Georgia wanted me to tell you something.”

  “Oh yeah, a direct quote from the other side?” Etta smiled weakly.

  “Forgiveness is the path to a peaceful heart.”

  “Oh Paige, he’s so easy to forgive. He’s like a great big slobbery dog that you love and can’t quite train. Forgiveness isn’t the issue… I have to forget that he left me less than 8 hours after he said he loved me for the first time. I never got a letter or a call from him in all this time. He just went away.” Silent tears were running down her face.

  “Did you ask him why?”

  “No, I just asked him to leave last night. He said he needed to talk to me and I was just struck stupid… I wasn’t ready to hear anything he had to say to me.”

  “If it helps, he looked pretty defeated when he walked out of here last night.”

  “It doesn’t help to know I’ve hurt someone I love. I just couldn’t talk to him. But I will, and he’ll explain, and I’ll forgive and we’ll move forward… it’s just so hard to forget. I don’t think I’ll ever forget.” Paige listened to every word but couldn’t think of one thing to say about the situation.

  “Jake’s at my house blasting all that old paint away. It’s amazing how fast that thing works!” Paige tried to lighten the conversation.

  “He’s a good guy Paige. He really is… why don’t you get over there and tell him I’m okay. Thanks for doing the dishes.” Paige was satisfied that Etta looked lighter.

  Half of the south side of her house was exposed raw by the time she got back into her own yard. Jake was blasting away until she tapped his shoulder, “She’s ok.”

  He turned Ole Freddy off and wiped the back of his hand across his forehead, “That’s good. What’s for lunch?” His boyish smile was intentionally trying to charm her.

  “Good question.” Paige mentally scanned her pantry, “How about Pizza?”

  “ I have strict rules about what I’ll eat on a pizza.”

  “Really?” Paige put a hand on her hip waiting for his terrorist demands.

  “Yeah, no fish, no fruit, it’s a simple rule that many have a hard time with.”

  “No fish, no fruit, got it.” She headed for the phone.

  By the time Louis pulled into the drive with lunch Jake had finished the south side of the house and was relocating to the back. “Hey Lou, Glad to see you buddy, we’re starving!” Jake pulled out his money and paid for the pizza before Paige had a chance to grab her wallet.

  “Place is looking great” Louis said smiling widely at Jake.

  “She’s comin’ right along.” Jake said proudly.

  “Miss Paige, glad to see you looking well,” Louis said as he passed her getting back to his truck.

  “You too Louis…” Jake was trying to sneak a piece before he got to the table.

  “I was going to buy lunch… it’s the least I could do after all of this.”

  “Eat up champ, the back end is calling your name.” He said around the slice going into his mouth, ignoring her comment.

  Paige looked at the backside of the house and thought, what a labor of love it was going to be.

  Jake pulled his cell phone out of his pants and made a call, “Yeah, I need a favor, Bro. Scaffolding, I need the frame works on the back side of the shop and the old planks inside of it. Can you get Woody to help you and come on over to Paige’s? Paige has… I think so… but if I were you, I’d lay low for a while. You get things smoothed out with your mom? Man you’re a piece of work.”

  He looked at Paige, “Will and Woody are going to bring over scaffolding. There is no way to get to the top without it… Woody’s like a spider monkey, he can crawl up to anything. I’ll bribe him with pizza to hit the high spots.”

  Paige sat there chewing her pizza and listened to Jake take charge, which she hadn’t yet resisted. She tried to wrap her head around three men in her yard, one monkey-like crawling over the high spots while the heartbreak kid and Jake watched on.

  “When does it end Jake?”

  “When I’ve helped you put the old girl back together or you kick me out for making a pass at you.”

  “I’m not dating you. Believe me, I’m saving you a world of trouble. I thought we were friends. Didn’t we have that conversation just yesterday?”

  “Yep.”

  “I thought I was clear.”

  “Crystal clear. But, once I know you better, it won’t be enough, Paige.”

  “Have you forgotten about Betty?”

  “Nope. Betty will always be my best girl.” He said with a cocky grin.

  “You’re infuriating! If you think I’m going to…” The compressor that was powering the washer kicked on with a loud and clanging whir as Jake said, “We’re not...” The hose blew spewing water wildly circling through the air.

  “Save the pizza Paige, I’ll get the hose.” Jake yelled. “Damn it.” He turned everything off and looked at Paige who resembled a pissed off wet cat holding a pizza box. “You sure look cute with your hair all curling up.” Jake was standing in a puddle, handle in hand, water running over his head and dripping off of his nose.

  Paige couldn’t help it; she busted out laughing, “What in the world just happened?”

  “My fault, I should have checked the hoses, they haven’t been used in so long they got brittle.”

  Pulling up the bottom of his t-shirt and wiping his face, Jake exposed his toned and tan abdomen which Paige had to blink twice against before she quickly turned away and found a dry spot on the steps to set the pizza.

  “I’ll grab a towel.” Paige said as she flew into the kitchen and caught herself, stopping with both hands on the table, “Don’t do this, Paige!” she whispered. She couldn’t afford another mistake, not in her new town with a fresh start.

  “Pie?” Georgia said with humor.

  “Go away!” Paige called into the empty room.

  After changing into dry clothes Paige felt helpless as she watched the scaffolding erected against the side of the house. Jake replaced the hose and immediately, Will and Woody got to the job at hand. Woody was a goofy guy with a tall wiry build. He didn’t say much, but nodded a lot and was so nimble on the scaffolding Paige thought he could climb the house without it. Will worked deftly and quiet like a man with a lot on his mind. She decided to provide a thank you to them and headed to the market to buy beer and some chips and salsa.

  By the time she returned from the store, Will was smiling and joking with Woody and Jake. Paige brought the bags straight to the patio table and called a break. Handing out beers into eager hands she said, “Thank you all for your help!”

  “All the thanks necessary,” Will held up his bottle.

  “Yeah” Woody nodded and chugged his beer half gone.

  “We’ll be done here in no time.” Jake announced shoving onto the bench next to Paige. His leg was intentionally resting up against hers creating heat.

  She wiggled away, “So, Woody, have you known these guys for long?”

  “Yeah, Yeah,” Woody nodded, taking out a cigarette and lighting up.

  “You know what sucked about growing up in a small town?” Will asked.

  “Having everyone know who you are? Not being able to get away with anything?” Paige volunteered.

  “Exactly!” Jake interjected, “Will and I tried so hard to be bad. We tried smoking out behind my granddad’s cabinet shop after school one day. Will took the smokes from his mom and we stood out there behind all that machinery and huddled down, swearing to God, no one knew we were back there. We coughed and choked and smoked a whole cigarette between the two of us. We were walking tall, swaggering and bragging about what we did. By the time we got to the house, Auntie Mim told us she knew where we’d been and what we’d done and slapped a pack of cigarettes down the table and told us to have a smoke. We shook our heads no but she insisted we smoke until we were sick. You know what?”

  “What…” Paige said trying to stop herself from laughing out loud.

  �
�We never smoked again. Not once since that day has smoking sounded like a good idea.”

  Woody looked at the smoke between his fingers and shrugged, taking a deep satisfying drag.

  “Any idea who ratted you out?”

  “Oh it could have been one of a dozen people. I’ll never know. It might have even been my Granddad; he always had a knowing eye on us.”

  “A whole town of people who cared about you must have been infuriating as teenagers!” Paige felt herself relax and she popped open a beer.

  “Well, let’s wrap this up…” Will sat his empty bottle down and headed toward the scaffolding. Woody jumped up and followed closely.

  “You be around for a while?” Jake asked her.

  “I live here. What’re you asking?”

  “If I can talk to you before I go?”

  “I… Jake,” she stumbled, “Of course.” infuriated that she was incapable of saying no. How could she after he’d helped her all day, endured the humiliation of being drenched by his own machinery and abused his friendships to finish the stripping project? “I’ll be in the kitchen. Wally needs his dinner.” Paige made a hasty getaway.

  It was definitely a raspberry pie cooling in the window. It smelled incredible. Wally was nowhere to be seen and Georgia lurked in the kitchen with a smugness that infuriated Paige. Now what? She’d have to offer the pie to Jake as a thank you and he’d want to have a piece right there and it would almost be dark. Jake would lure her into a conversation, which was becoming much easier than she wanted it to be with him. She wanted to watch Jake’s face as he told her a story and to get a little too close to him and feel her skin tingle in anticipation to be touched. The possibility of finding herself in exactly the same position she was in back in Oregon was the only thing that kept her from throwing herself onto him just to feel the heat they could radiate. How was she going to avoid this? And now a Raspberry pie, great.

  “You made pie!” his eyes danced as he put his face close enough to breath in the sweetness of the pie.

  “Why don’t you take it home with you? You can share with the boys.”

  “I’m not sharing this with those wolves! I’m going to eat it right here…” he pulled out a chair from the table and sat down expectantly.

  Right, thought Paige, if she had indeed made him a pie, which she had not, wouldn’t she be anxious for him to have a piece? Her lips pursed up as she turned to get a plate from the cupboard, “Georgia, quit meddling.” She muttered.

  “Excuse me?” Jake said.

  “Nothing!” she gasped, “Whipped cream?” she asked sweetly.

  “Smells delicious! Did you have trouble finding Raspberries? Whipped cream, yes.”

  “No trouble at all,” Paige answered truthfully.

  The pie cut solid, showing no signs of its transcendental origin. She held her breath as she inspected the filling and placed it onto a plate with a squirt of whipped cream on top. Jake took an eager bite and released a moan bordering on obscene. He reached for the whipped cream can and liberally covered the rest of the piece with a white mound of creamy sweetness.

  “It’s ok?” Paige had been holding her breath.

  “God yes, I haven’t had pie this good since before Auntie Mim gave up carbs in the 90’s. We all suffered when she stopped baking the good stuff. Have you ever had a sugarless cookie?”

  “Actually, I don’t recommend it.” She agreed.

  Fascination washed over Paige as she watched him eat. An artful tongue darted at the tiniest wayward crumb. He ate with his whole body savoring every drop. Paige looked forward to watching him lick the plate with guilty anticipation, but he stopped short after licking his spoon. Apparently, Georgia was a great baker.

  “You have to serve this at the Bed and Breakfast. What else do you bake?” Jake’s question seemed to be self-serving.

  “I haven’t decided. I’ve got a few more months before I have to put energy into a menu.”

  “Well, not trying to boss you, but the menu is pretty important. Why not leave the dirty work to those with proper tools and focus on the details that are going to make your place shine, like menus and marketing.”

  “I love working on the house. It’s restoring me.”

  “Can you at least agree to ask for help when you’re over your head?” It was a kind request.

  “I can try.”

  The air between them became calm and easy. He reached for her hand as they sat at the kitchen table, “its ok to ask for help, Paige.” His blue eyes were so sincere she almost cried.

  “Jake, I’ve always done things my way. I’ve always had to make due… alone.” Paige tried to look strong as she crossed her arms leaning back on the counter.

  “I think it’s time you relaxed.” He sat his plate in the sink and turned to her. One hand on each shoulder he turned her tummy to the counter’s edge and massaged her shoulders from behind. The strength in his hands grew warm and healing as he rubbed her knotted neck and shoulders. Paige closed her eyes and allowed the sensation to fill her. His hands relaxed her down through her center, creating dreamy thoughts, the tingling lingered in her head and traveled down through her body pulsing to a throbbing burn in her… holy shit!

  Her eyes flew open and she grabbed his hands, “Jake you need to go.”

  “Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry…” He looked crushed.

  “No,” She turned quickly, which put her lips right next to his chin. She looked up into his eyes and swallowed her own gasp before she said, “You really need to go.” She guided him toward the kitchen door to the back porch. He was grinning like a fool by the time she threw the door open and stood waiting for him to leave.

  “You don’t have to do that Paige, I wasn’t trying to seduce you.” He stopped at the threshold. She refused to meet his gaze and tried to take a deep breath, but her heart became a humming bird in her chest.

  Jake’s fingers grazed her gently at the jaw and she looked up into the eyes she’d been painfully trying to avoid, “It comes down to trust…” his breath was on her skin creating sparks of electricity.

  She gasped out trying to capture a cool edge of indifference, “You need to know, Jake, I’m not interested in dating.”

  “You’ve made that crystal clear. I just want you to know me better.”

  “Why do you want me to know me better?” Her eyes flashed.

  “So you can trust.”

  “Trust is earned… not granted.” She pulled away from him.

  “Exactly.”

  “And what makes you want to earn my trust?” she moved towards the fridge to put away the whipped cream and Jake was right behind her.

  “You’re interesting, beautiful and I believe… trustworthy.”

  Paige laughed out loud, “How did you come to that conclusion?” She grabbed the pie so she had something to put between them and turned quickly.

  Jake shook his head, “Instinct. Anyone who would buy an old house, sight unseen and love it back to life has my vote in the trustworthy department. In my opinion, and it is a humble one, it’s easier for you to trust others than to trust yourself. My guess would be you got out of your old business because you wanted to find more meaning in your life. You came here because you were drawn here and now you feel like your home. That has settled in your heart, but not in your head. Once it all has a chance to simmer down I might have a chance at romance. Until then, I’ll wait… and be a good friend.”

  She couldn’t speak. He kissed her forehead, which came as a complete surprise. Her eyes went wide in disbelief as he kissed the tip of her nose. “I will wait.” His breath buzzed of passion as it grazed her cheek, she tilted her lips higher in anticipation of a forbidden… the cool breeze of a door being gently closed was all that was left of her evening, well that and a raspberry pie in her hand. She felt like an idiot.

  ~

  Blue light from the television flickered against the walls of the

  living room as Jake entered, “Hey Bro, did you get things right with your
Mom?”

  “You know I love my Mom, but I think she’s going to bust my ass until I’m seventy.” Will said flipping mindlessly through the channels on the television

  “Beer?” Jake tossed one into the darkness of the living room from the kitchen.

  The beer hissed open and Will chugged half of it.

  “We need to talk, Will.”

  “Tonight?” Will chugged the second half, “You know I’ve had my belly full of es’plainin’ myself.” His slow and sloppy words let Jake know it wasn’t a good time to get things straight.

  “What is this brainless swill you’re watching?” Jake wrestled the clicker away and it hit the floor. They both tried grabbing for it and ended up with a solid head butt.

  Falling back to the sofa, Will rubbed his head, “It’s bad.”

  “What’s the matter Suzie, are you bleeding?” Jake was starting to look for dripping blood.

  “No, I’m ashamed, I’m worn out and I’m mad as hell” Will blurted out.

  “Ahh, you’re ready to confess. Ok Buddy let it rip.” Jake settled in for the long chat.

  CHAPTER 10

  Will and Etta

  (One year prior)

  Parking his newly acquired classic red Alpha Romero Spider and curbing the wheels in front of the flower shop in Nevada City, Will sat for a moment to soak it all in. He had a handful of money in his wallet and whole lotta money in the bank after making it big in the art world. His art captured the heart and energy of his hometown; some saw the images of their own memories, some saw the history of a small town. Everyone saw artistic brilliance. A canvas painted by Will was fresh, ethereal and very expensive. He turned down pearl Jam on his stereo and cut the engine.

  Will hopped out and ducked into the flower shop. The cherub-like woman clapped her hands together and flushed when she saw Will burst through the door.

  “Oh, my! Look how handsome and grown up you are!” Mrs. Chapel wiped her chubby hands against her apron and rounded the counter to hug him. Her cheeks were glowing like peaches and she always smelled of formaldehyde and carnations.