Page 47 of The Choices I've Made
A gentle smile spread across each of their faces. Mrs. Lovell forced me to sit and join them, making her way around the eat-in kitchen like she belonged there. Over the years, I’d come to learn she was actually a very accomplished cook herself, even going so far as to run her own part-time catering business in their native state of Ohio.
I wanted to protest, firmly believing that my guests should feel pampered at every moment of their stay, but my foot was aching. Had it been anyone but this specific couple, I would have.
But sitting down did feel mighty good.
Mrs. Lovell poured me a cup of coffee as I scooped up large helpings of the casserole and handed them out. Everything in this inn was served family-style. It was the one thing I’d never change. My parents had been big on creating a warm, family-like atmosphere in this place, and this was just one of the ways they’d accomplished it.
“How is your beau?” Mr. Lovell asked, already digging into his breakfast.
“I wish I could say he was good, but it’s been a rough road.”
He nodded thoughtfully, those adorable old lines on his forehead moving right along with every expression. “Mmm, I can imagine. Quite a shock for a young man like that. Growing old, you expect to lose certain abilities. Simple tasks aren’t as easy as they once were, and don’t even get me started on all the new aches and pains I discover every day. But it’s gradual. I didn’t wake up one morning, having my youth ripped out from me. I wager that’s how your Dean is feeling. Like he was robbed and has no way of getting those years back.”
Remembering the way he’d seemed to look right through me the last time I was there, I nodded thoughtfully.
“You’ll pass on our sympathies? We’ll keep him and his family in our prayers,” Mrs. Lovell added, taking a moment to gently touch my hand.
“I’m planning on driving up there to see him today. I’ll definitely let him know.”
“You’re driving where?” a deep voice asked.
Mr. and Mrs. Lovell turned their attention toward the doorframe.
“Jake! Long time no see.” Mr. Lovell grinned, rising to greet him with a firm handshake. “Glad to see you’ve settled in.”
“You, too, Mr. Lovell,” he said, smiling from ear to ear. “Sorry I didn’t get a chance to sit and chat with you yesterday. This one had me running all over the island.”
Both men turned their heads toward me.
“Ah, well, I can understand that. Can’t leave a friend in distress, can you?”
I loved how Mr. Lovell naturally assumed we were nothing more than friends rather than prodding and meddling for information on the nature of Jake’s stay. It was the natural good nature of the man that always assumed the best in people.
I wished it would rub off on me. I couldn’t help but eye Jake with his tall frame and milky-blue irises and wonder what he was up to.
As if his sole purpose here were to ruin my life.
But the Lovells simply greeted him as an old friend rather than a man who’d run away from everyone he loved because he couldn’t quell the darkness in his soul.
“What was this I heard about you driving today?” Jake asked, not waiting for an invitation as he sat himself down next to me with a steaming cup of coffee and an empty plate.
I forced myself to be nice. After all, he was a guest. Who was paying double.
“I have to drive up the coast and visit the hospital today,” I explained.
He took a moment before answering, taking several bites of casserole. I watched as he took his first bite and smiled slightly when his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. Maybe he wasn’t half bad after all.
“And just how do you expect to drive with that foot?”
Moment over. I was back to wanting to kill him.
“I’ll manage,” I said, feeling like a child in front of my guests.
How many times had this man berated me since his arrival?
Why did he even care?
“Yeah, I don’t think so. Your right foot is imperative to operating a motor vehicle. I can’t in good conscience let you drive with that sprain.”
