Page 10 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“Let me help you get your bags upstairs, and I’ll put the kettle on for coffee,” Jennifer offered, lugging the bags into the hall and up the stairs to Caroline’s bedroom. “I’ll go put on the coffee.” She looked at her wristwatch. “The food should be here any minute.”
“You’re an angel.” Caroline sighed. “I’m going to leave the unpacking for later and shower.”
“You do that,” Jennifer said, leaving Caroline and going downstairs to the kitchen.
She had just put the kettle on the stove when the food arrived from Cobble Cove Restaurant.
“Hello, Reef,” Jennifer greeted him.
Reef was Carly Donovan’s son. Carly owned the Cobble Cove restaurant.
“Hello, Miss Gains.” Reef greeted her respectfully, handing her the bag of food. “Is Jules home?” He glanced at Caroline’s car.
“Yes, they arrived a few minutes ago,” Jennifer told him, suppressing a smile as she gave him a nice tip. “Here you go.”
“Wow!” Reef’s eyes widened, holding up the dollar bills. “This is too much.”
“No, you’re off to college soon,” Jennifer commented. “You’re going to need every cent.”
“Thank you, Miss Gains,” Reef said politely, stuffing the bills into the pocket of his jeans. “Will you tell Jules I said hi, and I’m looking forward to seeing her at the restaurant tomorrow, please?”
“I will do that,” Jennifer promised, biting back another smile, knowing Caroline would not be pleased to hear that!
“Enjoy the meal,” Reef said, turning to go. “Bye.”
“Thank you, Reef.” Jennifer waved him off. “Bye.”
As he pulled away in the restaurant van, Jules flew into the kitchen.
“Did I hear Reef?” Jules’s eyes were wide with excitement.
“You just missed him.” Jennifer turned, smiling knowingly, as she took the food items from the bag and placed them on a tray.
“Oh no!” Jules’s voice was laced with disappointment. “I wanted to say hi.”
Jennifer turned and looked at her. “Reef asked me to tell you he said hi and is looking forward to seeing you at the restaurant tomorrow.”
“He’s working tomorrow?” Jule’s eyes lit up once again. “Great!”
She walked over to the tray and started going through the tubs. “Are you feeding an army, Aunt Jen?”
“I thought Brad and Connor were going to be with you,”Jennifer told her.
“Oh, yeah, they’re coming here later.” Jules turned to look at Jennifer. “Maybe Mom will let us have some friends over later this afternoon.”
“I don’t know, sweetie.” Jennifer pulled a few plates from the cupboard to place on the tray. “Your mother is exhausted, and I think you all just need a quiet night to recuperate.”
“You’re right!” Jules nodded, stealing a few fries. “Lila is home tomorrow and is coming to spend the night. So tomorrow would be better.”
“That’s right,” Jennifer confirmed, saying that her brother, Liam, and his teenage daughter, who was the same age as Jules, would be home the next day. “I think that’s a great plan.”
“Yes, and I can ask Tucker to come over.” Jules took a few more fries as she plotted. “Mom is always more at ease when my cousin Tucker is around.”
“That’s because he’s like your big brother, and your mother knows he’ll look out for you,” Jennifer agreed. “You’ll see Reef when you work your shift at the restaurant tomorrow morning.”
“We’re just friends!” Jules shrugged, her cheeks pinkening slightly. “Now that I’m older and Tucker doesn’t mind having Lila and me around, we’re like a group of friends.”
Jennifer smiled at the beautiful teenage girl. “It’s so nice to see you happy again, Jules.”
