Page 36 of Then Came Love
Chapter Seven
JORDAN HAD NEVER been so sore in her entire life.
She grimaced with every step as she headed down the hall Friday afternoon to check in with the Crafty Crocheters before taking off for the day. She’d met Jax yesterday morning for their run, which had turned into a walk/run, and she’d had a great time with him and Coco, but she hadn’t realized she’d be this sore. She smiled to herself, thinking about when Kelly had walked into her office Wednesday morning with a box of running shoes that had been delivered for her with a handwritten card from Jax that read, No excuses, Ms. Lawler. Looking forward to tomorrow’s run. JB.
She couldn’t believe he’d remembered that she’d said she didn’t have running shoes. But after designing with him until nearly eleven o’clock each of the last three nights, she’d learned that he really never missed a thing. He was meticulous and patient, and while she’d expected to simply give her two cents about his designs, he’d actually wanted her to sketch her ideas in conjunction with his. It was amazing how well they worked together. Their styles complemented each other’s, and they were coming up with new concepts that surprised both of them. That patience and attention to detail had carried over to their run. He’d timed it perfectly, and they’d watched the sun rise over the mountains from the crest of a hill that was covered in daffodils, another sign of hope. He’d thought to pad his calculation to include time for her to warm up and stretch, which she hadn’t even considered, and walking some of the way instead of running. But despite warming up and stretching with him, she was still sore.
She paused by the program board and saw that someone—Ruth, she was sure—had crossed out “Crafty Crocheters” and written “Knotty Hookers” above it. She chuckled to herself as she walked into the craft room, where Ruth, Gloria, and Sophia were chatting up a storm with five other ladies, their needles hard at work.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” They greeted her as she went to their table and put a hand on the back of Ruth’s chair. “You wouldn’t happen to know who changed the program board, would you?”
Gloria clamped her mouth closed, eyeing Ruth and Sophia.
“I didn’t notice anything,” Ruth said. “Did you, girls?”
Four other ladies shook their heads, sharing guilty expressions, but Carla, who was ninety-two and showing signs of Alzheimer’s, said, “You did it, Ruthie. And you call me forgetful. Pfft. I guess we’re all getting old.”
Jordan gave Ruth a disapproving look. “Ruth, you know we can’t have that club name on our public board.”
Ruth rolled her eyes and held up a limp wrist. “Go ahead. Give it a slap, and then take a seat and we’ll show you the hats we’ve made.”
“I’m not going to slap your wrist, but please respect the rules.” Jordan winced as she lowered herself into a chair.
“Hemorrhoids?” Sophia asked.
“What? No.” Jordan laughed.
“Did your man come to town early and make up for lost time?” Ruth waggled her brows.
“Ruth. No, he did not, and if he had, I wouldn’t discuss it with the queens of Gossip Central.”
“I think he’s in town,” Sophia whispered, and the other ladies giggled.
“He did not arrive early. I went running yesterday morning with a friend, and I’m feeling it today.”
“That’s not nearly as fun as I’d hoped,” Ruth said.
“Who needs enemies when your friends are willing to torture you like that?” Sophia asked.
“I actually enjoyed it,” Jordan admitted. “It was nice spending the morning chatting with someone and moving my body instead of going through the same old morning routine before work. He brought his dog, and we watched the sunrise. I’m sore, but I had a lot more energy yesterday.”
“A good man can get all those endorphins pumping in a much more enjoyable way,” Ruth said, and the other ladies agreed.
Jordan wasn’t about to tell them that making love with Todd had never left her as happy as spending the morning running with Jax and playing with Coco had. But that was another thing she could barely admit to herself.
“Before we show off our hats, we have a little something for you.” Ruth reached into her bag and handed Jordan a small box wrapped in silver paper.
“What is this for?”
“For being you.” Ruth smiled. “You might be a bigwig director to everyone else, but to us, you’re sweet Jordan, our surrogate granddaughter and the woman who makes sure we have full, exciting lives.”
“Even if we do try your patience from time to time,” Gloria added.
A lump formed in Jordan’s throat. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
“Open it, honey,” Sophia urged.
Jordan looked at the kind faces around the table as she unwrapped the box. When she lifted the top, she found a gorgeous pair of thin, crocheted-lace fingerless gloves that hooked around the middle finger, forming a V over the back of her hand to her wrist, under which they were secured with two pearl buttons. Her first thought was how much she loved them and the women who had made them for her. Her second thought was that she needed to text Jax a picture of the gloves so he could find a way to match them to her gown, but on the heels of that thought was the reality that Todd might not like them. He wasn’t big on anything that didn’t cost a fortune. That had always irked her, but it had never seemed as big of an issue as it did right then. But it wasn’t fair of her to assume the worst. He’d surprised her before, like when she’d first rented the cozy house in Maryland. She’d thought he’d hate it because it was older and not as flashy as some, but he’d said if it made her happy, he loved it, and it did make her happy. It reminded her of her childhood home with three small bedrooms and a fenced backyard.
She looked up, her throat thickening as she met their eager expressions, and vowed to wear the pretty gloves no matter what Todd thought. “I love them. Thank you so much.”
“Quick, show her the baby hats before she cries,” Sophia urged. “Because if she cries, Gloria will cry, and then we’re done for.”
Jordan was relieved when they reached into their sewing bags and pulled out tiny crocheted hats. She put the top back on the box, mouthing, Thank you, to Sophia, who winked.
They passed the adorable hats around the table to Jordan. There was a white bonnet with scalloped edges and a pink flower on the side, a blue one with navy trim, a green and white striped hat, a pink one with rainbow stripes, and several others, including a little gray hat with a tiny brim and a yellow-and-black bumblebee on the side.
“These are the cutest ones yet.” Jordan imagined tiny newborns wearing them. Like her gloves, knowing how much love went into every stitch made those hats even more special.
“One day we’ll make hats for your babies, too,” Gloria said warmly.
