Page 17 of Autumn Leaves and Pumpkins Please

“I actually wish you luck. Between Cayley and Whitney, you are going to have your hands full.” I clap him on the back a few times.

“I’ll take it,” he tells me, with a mushy smile. I wonder if I smiled like this at anyone while I was thinking about Capri. I know it’s possible, but I really hope I didn’t. “So, what about you?” Everett asks, as I head back towards the porch to finish it up. I stop and turn back around to face him.

“What about me?”

He raises his eyebrows. “You and Capri Owens.”

Immediately, my fingers move up to pinch the bridge of my nose. “There is no me and Capri Owens, so I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Say whatever you want, but there was something. You two were spotted all over town together. Normally, I’d say no big deal, but this is you we’re talking about, Jayse. That is a big deal, a really big deal. Everyone noticed and talked about it.”

“Everyone should mind their own damn business. What I do or don’t do shouldn’t be town gossip.” Frustration and anger courses through my body like a racing car pumping gas.

“Jayse, you know how Blue Ridge works. It’s a small town and it thrives on gossip. It’s how it goes. You’re the town’s golden boy. Won a state championship. All around good guy. The town adores you, Jayse.”

I shake my head so hard some of my hair escapes the hair tie holding my hair in a low ponytail. Rejecting his words. Once upon a time, I was the guy he just described, but I haven’t been in a long time. “I’m not him anymore.”

“The hell you aren’t! This porch that you’re fixing for Mr. Cower, is he paying you for the work?” Silence falls between us. “I know for a fact that he doesn’t have the income to pay for the repair, but this old porch was dangerous. You’re still the same guy.”

“The hell I am!” My voice rises in anger.

Everett slams a hand down on the wooden postI’m using to make the porch fence. “Yes, you are. You might have closed the world off from yourself, but the world didn’t turn its back on you. Just because you couldn’t save Bradee and Sam and that doesn’t mean the town turned its back on you. You’ve created your own personal hell that you just live in constantly. Capri was the first person who managed to get in, past all the broody bullshit you throw at people. You deserve to be happy again. Bradee would have wanted that, you know she would have. So be happy, Jayse.” He turns around and leaves. I don’t turn around until I’m certain he’s out of the driveway and heading down the street. His words run round and round in my head. I finish up the porch then head home to shower. As I stand in my bathroom, I know what I have to do from here.

FIFTEEN

Capri

It’s amazing how someone can become such a huge part of your life in such a short amount of time. Jayse and I had no more than a week’s worth of actual time combined that we spent together, yet since I walked out of his house last week it feels like years. My mind often wanders to him and what he is doing. What project is he working on? I’ve closed my curtains that cover the windows facing the alley and Jayse’s backyard. I can’t bring myself to look at him. I’ve managed to keep my eyes averted every time I leave my apartment from looking in his direction. My heart aches, which sounds dumb and naive.

When I walked away that night my head and heart felt like they were locked in an internal war. Neither could agree on anything and I was at a loss of what to do. I wanted to follow my heart, but I had done that so often and it had gotten me nowhere. Convinced that things with Jayse would be the same I ended up listening to my head, but now it seems like it might have switched sides as well. Now, it’s my head and heart at war with my pride. I’m too prideful to walk across that alley and ask him how he is.

As I head down the stairs, I eye the covered canvas and easel in the corner. The two curtains on the outer windows are drawn shut, only allowing the light from the middle window to fill the living room. I haven’t touched that canvas since I came in that night. I had looked at it through my tear-filled eyes, the image I had painted blurry but perfectly clear in my head. Taking a sheet from the corner I had tossed it over the easel, trying to silence my emotions. It was a picture of him. It was him...at least in my mind. Looking at it was just too much to bear. After I covered the canvas, I pulled the curtains. They had come with the apartment when I moved in, but I had always opted to leave them open. I loved the way the natural light filtered inside, and it made my painting corner perfect, but now I can’t even find it in me to even try.

Thora was lounging on the windowsill of the middle window. Her head popped up to watch me as I made my way to the kitchen where I started a cup of coffee before grabbing my basket of laundry sitting next to the door and heading downstairs. The moment I stepped inside the laundry room, I felt him. His presence was still here lingering in the small room. The memories of him fixing the washer rushes back to me. I really am being ridiculous; I mumble to myself.

Once I have the laundry washing, I go back upstairs and fix my coffee before sitting in front of the TV. Zoning out on mindless television seems like a good idea. For a couple of hours, I sit on the couch, coffee mug in hand, the hot coffee long since gone cold until I realize it’s time for my shift at Bee’s Batter. I dress quickly and warmly since the chill in the air has turned cold overnight.

Fleece lined black leggings, a long purple tunic, and black leather jacket paired with over the knee boots feels warm enough to me. I throw my hair into a messy bun, slip on my purple framed glasses and grab my black, fluffy earmuffs and gloves before heading down to my car. Giving my car some time to warm up is hard because as soon as I slide into the driver’s seat I want to get as far away from his backyard as possible. It’s almost as if I can hear it calling to me, begging me to just look in its direction, but I don’t. Instead, I turn up the music and drown out my thoughts. Two songs later I’m heading to work.

There are no parking spaces along the front of Bee’s Batter. With the colder temperature and this being the last week of Bushels of Fun, I’m not shocked, so I circle around back, using the alley and park behind Warbee and Jolie’s vehicles. The back door is locked so I knock and wait. Teaganne, Warbee’s best friend, opens the door. Her long, sleek raven colored hair is down and flowing around her hips. She smiles. “Oh, come inside, it’s freezing out there.” She moves aside to let me into the kitchen. The warmth hits me instantly followed by all those smells that I love so much, pumpkin, apple, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg. My stomach growls. “I almost didn’t recognize you with the hair color change.”

I smile. Teaganne is gorgeous. She’s a fashion designer turned interior designer but really, she should be a model. She’s tall and curvy with flawless olive skin. Her honey eyes are bright and kind with a hint of intelligence and determination. Teaganne has long raven hair that hangs around her waist. She reminds me of Cleopatra, which makes sense since she’s half Egyptian. “Yeah, I felt like maybe I should start to tone it down for a little bit. I’ve gotten lucky and it hasn’t done as much damage as I thought it would.”

“That’s always great, but don’t tell Seraphina or she’ll start to think you aren’t a mermaid.” Teaganne winks and laughs. Seraphina is Teaganne’s little girl who is just a toddler. From the moment she saw me, she believed I was a mermaid. My ever-changing hair color made her believe I was one of the underwater creatures.

I smile back. “I’ll keep the secret.” I can hear chatter, music, and commotion coming from beyond the kitchen doors that lead into the main area of the bakery. I point towards them. “Are we busy today?”

Teaganne bobs her head up and down with wide eyes. “So busy! Warbee and I had a meeting with a possible client earlier and when I dropped her back off the place was swamped, so I offered to help for a bit. I’m just pulling things out and putting new stuff in when the timers go off. “

“Wow, she could have called me in earlier,” I comment.

“I don’t think she wanted to bother you. Honestly, we figured it’d die down after lunch, but it hasn’t yet. I’m so glad to see you now though.” One of the many timers starts beeping so Teaganne gets busy with switching the baking sheets out. I rush towards the back where we keep our personal belongings. I grab my apron and tie it around my waist as I head back through the bakery and out to the front.

Jolie sighs in relief at the sight of me. Warbee smiles. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“You should have called me earlier. I would have come in,” I tell her. Stepping up beside her I help her fill the boxes lining the back counter with the orders sitting in front of them.

“I know you would have but you also need some time off.” Warbee moves over to the coffee maker and starts filling to go cups.

---