A Reunion And A Ring (Proposals & Promises 1)

“I’ve always been active in the community,” Jenny countered quickly. “You know how many organizations I’ve been involved with. Not political exactly, but civic-minded. I like the idea of helping Thad make a difference with whatever talents I have to contribute.”

“Mmm.”

Jenny figured if Stevie bit her lip any harder, it would start to bleed. She focused on her meal and changed the subject. “How’s your burrito?”

“It’s good. So, Gavin’s still a cop, huh? I guess it’s worked out well for him.”

“Gavin was at the cabin to recuperate from being shot in the shoulder,” Jenny said bluntly, if not entirely accurately. “If you call that working out...”

Stevie flinched dramatically. She knew all too well the fears that had come between Jenny and Gavin all those years ago. “Oh, crap. You didn’t mention that. Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. I heard him tell his buddies that he was eager to get back to work.”

She changed the subject abruptly, and Stevie got the message that talk of Gavin was over for the evening. Yet Jenny couldn’t help but remember the determination in Gavin’s expression when he’d assured his friends he would be back in uniform the minute he was cleared for duty. And they’d all cheered him on, damn it. Had she been the only one who worried that he wouldn’t be so lucky next time?

Chapter Six

“I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be stranded in a mountain cabin with an ex-boyfriend.” Tess Miller stared wide-eyed across the restaurant lunch table at Jenny the following Thursday, shaking her auburn head in dismay. “If that had been me with my ex, there might have been bloodshed before morning.”

“Now that’s a story that sounds interesting,” Stevie commented with a lifted eyebrow.

Tess laughed and shook her head. “It would take a great deal of wine and longer than any of us have for a lunch break.”

Tess had called earlier that morning to say she was going to be running a business errand near Complements at lunchtime and to ask if Jenny and Stevie, both of whom she had met in a yoga class, would be free to join her. Stevie worked as a freelance interior designer specializing in kitchen remodels, and she’d happened to have a couple spare hours that afternoon to meet them at a favorite restaurant in the same shopping center as Jenny’s store.

“Maybe we should have another girls’ night soon,” Stevie suggested, scooping rice onto her chopsticks. “I haven’t spent nearly enough time with my girlfriends lately. I really should spend more time doing things I want to do, rather than... Well, anyway.”

Which only confirmed to Jenny that Stevie’s relationship with Joe, the bass player, wasn’t going all that well, though Stevie hadn’t yet admitted it. Even to herself, perhaps?

Tess sighed. “I have plenty of free nights to hang out when I’m not working, considering that my experiment in online dating has been pretty much a bust so far.”

Jenny grimaced. “The latest one didn’t work out?”

“Let’s just say he sent me some photos of himself. I have now blocked all future communications from Captain Underpants.”

Stevie laughed. “Captain Underpants? Oh, I definitely have to hear this story.”

Tess shuddered delicately. “It’s going to take more than wine for that.”

All three laughed.

“Did you ever find the nerve to tell your mom and grandmother who you found in the cabin, Jenny?” Stevie asked.

Groaning, Jenny nodded. “Yes. It was...uncomfortable.”

She was wildly understating that exchange and Stevie probably knew it. Her grandmother had been horrified.

“Nothing happened, Gran,” Jenny had assured her firmly. “Gavin was a perfect gentleman. We slept in different rooms. Considering the damage done by the storm, I’d have been in more trouble if he hadn’t been there. I’d have been stranded up there alone.”

Pointing a fork at Jenny over the dinner table Monday night, Gran had grumbled, “That’s exactly why I said it was foolish of you to go there alone in the first place. I could understand if you’d wanted to visit a nice spa, or fly to New York to shop and see shows, or some other civilized vacation. But to make a three-hour drive by yourself to some backwoods fishing cabin made no sense to me at all.”

Jenny’s mom had tried to defend her. “She just wanted some quiet time to work and to think, Mother.”

“She lives alone,” Gran had pointed out acerbically. “All she had to do was turn off her phone and lock her door.”

“I wanted to get away from the sounds of traffic and sirens for a few days. Maybe walk alongside the river and listen to birds sing. That’s not really so strange, is it?” Jenny had tried not to sound defensive, but wasn’t sure she’d been successful.

“Hmph. I can’t help wondering if you knew that man would be there,” Gran had muttered darkly. “He always had a strong hold on you. Seems like a strange coincidence that the minute your nice, ideal boyfriend is out of town, you run off to a cabin that just happens to be owned by that...that cop.” She spat the word as if it were a synonym for criminal.