Chapter Four
Seeing pictures of his niece on his mother’s phone, he tried to imagine what his own children would look like one day.
He had a standing date with his mother and his aunts, along with several of his cousins. They would all crowd into the local bakery, Sara’s Nook, the first Saturday morning of each month and catch up. It wasn’t as if they didn’t see one another all the time, but at least once a month they made sure they were all together instead of just running around and bumping into one another somewhere in town.
“Can you believe she’s already walking?” his mother said, looking down at the picture of Georgia Jordan.
His mother handed the phone back to Georgia’s mother, Blake Jordan, who had married his cousin Matthew almost two years previous. Even though Georgia was currently sitting in a highchair next to her mother, everyone around the table still gushed over the short video of the girl taking her first steps.
Not that he didn’t think little Georgia was absolutely perfect, but he didn’t get the big deal. Kids crawled, then walked. Soon, he bet Blake and his cousin Matthew would be racing after the little girl who would, no doubt, be getting into everything.
He loved his family, really, he did, but lately, the monthly breakfast meetings had turned into more of a show-and-tell than a catch-up session.
And the fact was, he didn’t have anything to be proud of. No photos on his phone to pass around. No great achievements. No new experiences to brag about.
“I saved Kara Jenkins the other night after the wedding,” he blurted out before he had time to think about the storm of questions his words would cause.
“You did?” His mother’s face changed, and her eyes grew narrow as she scanned his face. Instantly, he realized he’d stepped in it.
He guessed that his mother, all of his aunts, and even his cousins were now plotting out his future.
“Can you believe she went swimming after the wedding?” He cleared his throat. “I mean, who goes swimming after dark?” He shook his head and tried to play it off as just another rescue. He could tell by the look his mother was giving him that she wasn’t buying it.
“Well.” He stood up suddenly. “I’m…” He scanned his mind for any reason to leave and came up blank. He had the rest of the week off and had no commitments with anyone. “I’m going to head out,” he finished.
“I’ll walk you out.” His mother stood suddenly as well.
“No need…” he started to say, but she narrowed her eyes, and he cleared his throat again.
“I hope you’re not coming down with a cold,” Riley said sweetly before turning to Lilly and whispering something to her, causing them both to giggle. That is how it had always been. The two cousins were closer than most siblings.
“I’m fine,” he replied to her. “Later,” he said to everyone else. He waited for his mother to gather her purse and follow him outside.
“I don’t like it that you’ve been swimming at night.” His mother turned on him once they were outside. Her words caught him off guard. He’d been sure that she was going to try and set him up with Kara somehow.
He shook his head. “I don’t, very often,” he lied.
“Allen has been talking to your father. He says you’re training at night.” She sighed. “It has your father worried. You know how he lost his father and his hearing.”
“Yeah.” He shifted and leaned against his truck. “It was a boat accident, not an evening swim. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to have much longer this year to enjoy them. It was pretty cold the other night.”
His mother smiled slowly. “Kara’s single.”
He groaned and rolled his eyes and started to reach for the door handle.
“Indulge your mother for a moment.” She reached for his arm, stopping him.
He stilled and then turned back around to wrap his arms around her.
Allison Jordan was still a very beautiful woman, even though he could see a few more gray hairs on her head.
Conner was tall like his father and even though his mother wasn’t a short woman, he still towered over her. Resting his chin on the top of her head, he sighed.
“I know that lately you’re unhappy,” she said against his chest. “We just want to see you happy.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He could smell fall and the soft subtle scent of his mother. Both of them were comforting to him.
“I’m getting there,” he replied.
“You know,” she said suddenly as she looked up at him, “your brother might need some help today. They are supposed to break ground on the clubhouse. He could possibly use some encouragement.” She nudged him in the chest. “Besides, he’s been complaining about working with Rose again.” His mother groaned, but then smiled again. “Those two have never really gotten along. Ever since they were children, they’ve been at each other’s throats.”
Rose Derby was a family friend. Her parents were very close with all of his family. Ric and Rob, or Roberta, Derby had a summer home in Pride and had spent so much time in Pride that everyone in town thought of them as locals. Rose Derby had grown up right along all of the Jordan kids.
It was true—for some reason Rose and Jacob were always at each other’s throats.
Todd, Conner’s uncle, had recently hired Rose straight out of college to design the hundred-and fifty-acre subdivision he was building on the land that he’d purchased recently. Parker Clark, Todd’s son-in-law, was slated to take on all the construction since he was in the business of building homes. Jacob had been hired to oversee it all.
Rose and Jacob were having to work very closely together on the massive project, which would no doubt stretch over the next few years. Hidden Cove subdivision was going to be the first new subdivision in Pride in over three decades. It was due to help out with the current housing shortage in the area.
“Sure.” He shrugged. “I’ll head up there today.”
“Good.” His mother’s smile was back. “Now, I’ve got to go meet your father. We’re heading into the city today to meet Rose’s parents.”
He’d heard the story of how the Derbys had met his folks plenty of times. If it hadn’t been for Ric Derby, his mother’s art wouldn’t be in such high demand, or so both of his parents said all of the time.
“Have fun.” He kissed his mother’s cheek and then watched her walk over to her car and drive away.
Glancing around the small town he’d grown up in, he knew that the main reason he was home was to give himself time to decide his next steps. Living in the city had been okay, but at times he’d struggled to get outside his shell. And, to be honest with himself, it hadn’t felt like home.
This did. Seeing the same townspeople rushing around with their daily lives somehow made him feel part of something bigger than himself.
Jumping into his truck, he drove slowly through town, taking his time on his way up towards the new subdivision.
As he was passing his cousin Suzie’s flower shop, All in Bloom, he happened to glance over and catch a glimpse of something bright red. Taking a moment, he turned and smiled when he saw Kara stepping out of the shop, her arms full of flowers. Pulling over, he jumped out of the truck to help Kara with the armload.