Falling For You - January Cove Book 3 (11 page)

“
Protection mechanism?
”
He acted as if he had no idea what she was talking about, but in reality she nailed it. Bull's-eye.

“
Yeah. You were the leader of your family for your whole life. You were in charge as the man of the family after your father passed away. All of that responsibility so young probably made you want to run off as soon as you could to start your life. But it also made you wary of getting too close to someone who might leave you.
”

“
Ah, sounds like we might have a new psychologist in the family,
”
he said trying to hide his nervousness.

“
Come on, Jackson. Be serious. I know it must've been hard to have so much responsibility as a young kid. And then on top of that, you go off to find yourself and create a career, but you can't connect with a woman. You're afraid of being alone, but at the same time you're afraid of falling in love and risking your heart.
”

Jackson looked over at her, and he could see a hint of sadness in her eyes. He knew Tessa's story. Abused by her husband, ran away to save herself and her son. When Aaron had gotten involved with her just a few short weeks ago, he'd worried about his brother getting involved with someone who had so much baggage. And when her abusive husband was killed right here in Aaron's RV park, he wasn't sure if the two of them would stay together. But she loved his brother, and she'd been through worse than anything Jackson could've imagined.

“
You're probably right, but it's hard to change at my age.
”

“
It's hard to change at any age, Jackson. The question is, how much do you want it? How much do you want to be in love and have a stable woman beside you? And how much are you willing to risk?
”
All were good questions, but he didn't have any answers.

“
Things to think about, I guess,
”
he said shooting a look at her.

“
So tell me what's going on today. Did you ask her on a date or something?
”

“
Sort of. I guess
…”

“
Well, I hope you
’
re more sure of yourself when you
’
re talking to Rebecca,
”
she said with a laugh as she bumped his shoulder with her own.

“
Me too. I invited her and her son over to this little island that I know about tomorrow morning. Thought we might have a picnic.
”

“
Her son? Do you think you can handle that?
”

“
I helped raise four siblings, so I can handle a punk fourteen-year-old kid.
”

“
My first piece of advice would be not to talk about her son like that. You might slip up, and a mother doesn't want to hear you refer to her son as a punk.
”

“
Good advice. I should stop saying that. The kid is obviously been through a lot losing his father in September eleventh.
”

“
I imagine he's been through more than we can even fathom. You have a lot in common with him, losing your dads at a young age.
”

“
We do, but at least I got to know my father during my early years of life. Leo doesn't remember his father, and I think he's angry. And I bet he doesn't even know why he's angry. He's missing something he doesn't even understand, and it's becoming more important during these formative years. He has no man to show him how to be a man.
”

“
Sounds to me like you want to be there for this kid and his mother.
”

“
I don't know what I want. I just have to take it day by day. I mean, I don't even live in January Cove. My life and my business are in Atlanta, so I probably shouldn't be pursuing this at all right now.
”

“
The thing is, you can't always do what your head is telling you. Sometimes, you have to let your heart be in control.
”
He knew she was speaking from experience.

They reached the end of the pier and sat down, their legs dangling over the ocean. Jackson always found peace at the ocean. Something about those waves coming in and out, always bringing something new to the shore every moment of every day. It reminded him that life can change on a dime, in good ways and bad ways.

“
I know you're right.
”

“
So why did you invite Rebecca and her son on a day trip?
”

“
I guess I just felt sorry for her. I know she's struggling trying to get him in line, and I remember what that was like to lose my father. I really want to help both of them, but I feel a little bit powerless to tell you the truth. I mean, I've got an entire life back in Atlanta that I need to go home and tend to, but something is keeping me here. And this time it's not my own family.
”

Tessa looked over at him and smiled.
“
Jackson, I think you're kidding yourself. You don't want to stay here because you feel sorry for her. You want to stay here because you feel sorry for you.
”

He looked at her for a moment, unsure of what she meant.
“
Excuse me?
”

“
Please, don't take offense to what I just said. But I think the real reason that you invited Rebecca and her son on a day trip, and the real reason you're not going back to Atlanta immediately, is because you know that you've been missing out on love. You've spent your whole life taking care of other people, so I fail to believe that this is just another charity case you're taking on. From what your brothers have told me, you are a pretty ruthless businessman back in Atlanta. You could easily be back there right now, but you're not. I think you're sticking around because you see something in Rebecca. You see some kind of potential, and your brain and your heart are having a disagreement. Now you just have to decide which one is going to win the argument.
”

“
And how does that indicate that I feel sorry for myself?
”

“
Because you finally know that there might be someone out there for you, and you
’
re feeling conflicted and almost victimized by your circumstances. A job and a life in Atlanta are circumstances of your own making, Jackson. You set that life up, and you have the power to change your life. One decision can do that. For me, the decision to head South changed by life when I ran out of gas in January Cove. For you, the decision to go on a picnic might just change your life if you let it.
”

With that, Tessa stood off and brushed down the sides of her long skirt. Jackson looked up at her, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight.

“
Where you going?
”
he asked.

“
I've got some shopping to do, and then I'm meeting your brother for lunch. Plus, I think you need a little time alone to figure out what you're going to do next. I hope you make the right decision.
”
She reached down and squeezed his shoulder before turning and walking back up the pier. He watched her for a moment, and listened to the clicking of her boots as she walked out of sight. In that moment, he was able to clearly see what his brother, Aaron, saw in her. She was sassy, honest to a fault and beautiful to boot. And he hoped that someday he would find a woman who would challenge him in that same way. And then it occurred to him that maybe he already had.

***

Rebecca was nervous, more nervous than she
’
d been in quite some time. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't broken the news to her son yet that they were going on this day trip with Jackson Parker. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't been around many men like him in a long time. This felt an awful lot like a date even though her son would be there, and she didn't know what to make of that.

Leo would be home any minute now, and she wasn't sure how to broach the subject of the day trip. He'd gone out skateboarding with a friend of his from school, and she had to admit that she welcomed peace and quiet for a few hours. She loved her son, but being fourteen and fatherless seemed to have done things to his personality that she was incapable of undoing.

As she took her last sip of coffee, she heard him keying the lock to the door of their small apartment above the coffee shop. She had closed down early, mainly due to lack of traffic and her inability to concentrate after Jackson's visit. If she'd had any customers, she would've stayed open just because they needed the money. But it was a virtual ghost town in January Cove anyway, and staying open was just useless.

“
Hey, honey. Did you have a good time?
”
she asked as he walked in and slid into one of the chairs beside the sofa. She hated how does hair hung in his eyes now, but that was the popular look apparently. Seemed like every boy she saw in his age range had hair longer than she did when she was a kid.

“
Yeah. We went down by that old abandoned shopping center at the edge of town.
”

“
What? I didn't give you permission to go all the way to the edge of town. You said you were going to the school parking lot.
”

“
We changed our minds. There were too many cars still in the parking lot. I guess some of the teachers left their cars there over the holiday weekend.
”
He flipped the hair out of his eyes and started texting on his phone. Sometimes, she really hated the advancements in technology. It seemed like electronics were putting a wedge between her and her son.

“
Next time, at least give me a call to let me know where you are.
”

“
Fine.
”
He sighed and reached across the table to take a handful of candy corn that was still left in a dish from Halloween.

“
Listen, don't make any plans for tomorrow. We're going on a day trip.
”
She steeled herself for what was to come because Leo liked to argue about everything anyway. As soon as he found out they were going with Jackson Parker, she was sure that he was going to blow a gasket.

“
A day trip? To where?
”

“
To a little island that we can get to by boat. We're going to have a picnic and maybe throw the football around.
”
She tried not to make eye contact as she wiped down one of the kitchen counters.

“
You're going to throw the football around with me?
”
He laughed, and for just a moment she wished she had a ball to hurl at his head. But then she remembered that she couldn
’
t throw a football to save her life and would likely just end up breaking her favorite vase.

“
No,
”
she said as she continued straightening up the kitchen without looking at him,
“
Jackson Parker is taking us.
”
A deafening silence fell over the room. She didn't turn around, but instead waited for him to say something. But he didn't. It was just quiet.
“
Did you hear me?
”
she asked as she turned around and looked at him. He had put his phone on the table and was crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair glaring at her.

“
Yeah, I heard you all right. And if you think I'm going with that jerk to an island, you've lost your mind.
”
He started to stand up, but she walked in his path. He was taller than her now, and sometimes it made her concerned that if his anger ever got the best of him they might end up in a physical confrontation. She'd never known him to be that way, but as a single mother of a hormonal teenage boy, she didn't know what to expect. He didn't know his own strength, and it was times like these that she missed having a male figure in the household.