Jill raced home after church long enough to change from her nicer outfit into a pair of paint-splattered jeans and a T-shirt, and pulled her hair into pony tails on each side of her face. Grabbing her bag, she sprinted toward her car, stuttering to a stop when she noted it listing to the left.
Glancing at the front driver’s tire, she instantly spotted the problem. It was flat. She squatted down and ran her hand over the black rubber. It felt spongy beneath her fingers. Standing, she wiped her hand on her jean-clad leg, and turned toward the rear of the car, intent of getting out the spare. Only then did she spot the rear tire was flat, too.
Hands on hips, she stared at the second tire, and pondered her luck. Seemed like today kept going from bad to worse. First thing this morning, the hot water hadn’t worked right, and she’d ended up having to rush through a cold shower in order to be on time for Sunday services. Fine, she could deal with that. Then her car, which had seemed okay all the way to church, or at least as all right as it ever was, started making odd noises on her way home. The old rust bucket, as she called it, made strange wheezing sounds whenever she accelerated over thirty most of the time, and rattled and shimmied at any speed over forty-five, but she hadn’t noticed anything wrong with the tires. Now she stood starting at two flats.
“Can this day get any worse?”
“Got a problem, Jill?”
Jill spun round, a hand across her racing heart, and stared at Douglas Boudreau. She blew out a shaky breath, thankful he’d shown up, even if she hadn’t been expecting him. Too bad he’d scared a couple of years off her life.
“Sorry, you startled me. And, yes, I’ve got a bit of a problem.” She pointed toward the car. “Two flats. Guess it isn’t my day.”
“Let me take a look. Maybe you ran over something in the road and didn’t notice at the time. Happens that way sometimes.”
“Thanks, Douglas.” She watched him squat down beside the car, and feel around the wheel, exactly as she’d done moments earlier. He moved with ease for such a large man, and gave a final check of the rear tire before standing.
“I can’t see anything which might’ve caused them to go flat from looking at them. I’ll give Frank a call. I’m sure he can get you fixed up pretty quick.”
“That’s okay,” she protested, “I’ll call Dante. He’s working with Frank now. I’m pretty sure he can change the tires, get me a couple of retreads until—”
Douglas’s large hand on her shoulder stopped the rest of her words, and he squeezed gently. “You’ve got enough on your plate, let me handle it. Ms. Patti sent me by to help you with some food. She mentioned you were bringing refreshments for the boys.”
Jill slapped her palm against her forehead. “The food! I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I completely spaced out about the stuff I was bringing. It’s still in the apartment.”
“Good thing I showed up then.”
“I swear I can’t seem to remember anything recently. Between the forgetfulness and my overactive imagination, I’m probably going to end up talking to myself.”
“Tell you what,” Douglas’ smile was like a beam of sunshine straight to her soul, filled with a warmth and compassion, a balm to her frazzled nerves, “let’s get the food and anything else you need loaded into my trunk, and you can call Dante on the way. Sound like a plan?”
“You, sir, are a lifesaver.”
Douglas walked her back to her apartment and within a few minutes, they’d loaded up the boxes Jill packed earlier, along with the cooler filled with drinks. She must’ve really been distracted to have forgotten something she’d worked on all morning before church. Shaking her head at her own folly, she climbed into the passenger seat, and gave a final glance toward her car. It looked forlorn and a little pathetic, listing to the side with the two flat tires. It kind of reminded her what her life had been like up until recently.
Before she knew it, they’d arrived at the bakery. Douglas pulled around the block and drove down the alley behind the storefronts, and parked at the back door. Jill sat a little straighter in the seat and looked around. She’d been in and out of the back door multiple times, but she’d never really paid much attention. Seeing it now, she grinned. If she drove to work, she’d have her own parking here in the back, and wouldn’t take valuable real estate away from paying customers who wanted to park in front. Plus, it was only a few feet from the back door to the parking space. It gave her a feeling of safety and relieved the secret fear that had taken hold of her the night before. No more worrying about strangers following her.
“I talked with Liam. He’s going to install a couple of lights back here, the kind that’ll come on at dusk and turn off at dawn.”
“Thank you. Tell him to send me the bill, and I’ll…” Her words trailed off at Douglas’ scowl. Wow, that wasn’t an expression she’d seen on his face before, and honestly? She didn’t want to see it again, especially directed at her.
“We don’t charge family.”
There it was. The royal Boudreau decree. She’d been accepted as part of the Boudreau clan, something she’d never imagined in her wildest dreams, and the warm glow deep in the pit of her stomach spread upward until her whole body felt encased in happiness.
“Thank you, Douglas.”
His single nod told her more than mere words how he felt, and she waited quietly, still a little stunned at his pronouncement, while he strolled around the car and opened her door. Clicking his key fob, the trunk slid open, and he walked over to the bakery’s back door and gave a couple of hard raps. Only a few seconds passed before it swung inward and Chance stuck his head through the opening.
“Dad?”
“Come help me with these boxes. Jill, you go ahead inside, we’ve got this covered.”
Knowing she’d been dismissed, she smiled at Chance and walked inside, marveling again at how much they’d accomplished the day before. The overhead lighting fixtures illuminated every inch of the kitchen, which was spotless. The floors shone beneath the glow, clean as a whistle. They wouldn’t stay that way for long, not with all the work still to be done, but for the moment, everything seemed perfect.
Voices from the front drew her, and she pushed open the door between the kitchen and the front area, and spotted Ms. Patti, Antonio, Serena, and Nica spreading canvas tarps on the floors. Tessa was taping the edging around the windowsills, and Rafe teased her about how she was doing it wrong. Her hand flew to her mouth to hold back her laugh when Tessa threw the roll of tape at him.
“If you think you can do a better job, do it yourself, hotshot.”
He caught the tape one-handed, and grabbed Tessa around the waist, pulling her in for a quick kiss, before taking over where she’d left off.
“Jill, good, you’re here. I think we’ve got everything pretty much ready to go. All you need is to point out where you want what colors, and let’s put these lazy people to work.” Ms. Patti gave her a wink, amusement coloring her gaze.
“Right, gotcha.” She pointed to the can of light cream-colored paint. “This color is going on all of the walls except that one.” Indicating the one wall between the bakery’s front and the kitchen, she picked up a can of the peach-colored paint. “This color is going on the dividing wall, as a backdrop accent color behind the shop’s sign.”
“Oh, I like that color.” Nica picked up the can and examined the splotch painted on the lid. “It’ll go great with the sage green color. Where are you using it?”
“The green is for the beadboard wainscoting and the baseboards. Also for the trim around the windows.”
“Nice color choices,” Ms. Patti added with a smile. “Not that I’d expect anything else. I’ve always said you have a lovely sense of style and color.”
You did? I never knew that.
“I’m not sure what I expected. Whenever I think about a bakery, I’m always thinking trendy, bright colors, primary colors like red, and blue, and yellow.” Serena picked up a roller and an empty paint tray and gave Jill a smile. “I like this better. Sometimes all the overabundance of color makes it a little too, I don’t know, frenetic? Doesn’t make me want to linger because it’s too overwhelming to the senses.”
Reaching around Jill, she grabbed the can of peach paint from Nica. “Gimme. I’m going to start on the back wall there.”
“Hey, wait! I was going to work on that one.”
Serena grinned at Nica. “You snooze, you lose, sister!” At the disappointed expression on Nica’s face, she relented. “Grab a paintbrush. You can cut in the edges while I roll, how’s that?”
“Deal.”
Douglas and Chance came through the kitchen entrance, arms loaded down with boxes, and Chance also carried the cooler. Ms. Patti immediately took charge, directing the men on where everything should be placed. She winked again at Jill, then began assigning jobs, delegating like a Marine Corps drill sergeant who’d brook no backtalk. Not that she got any. Everybody knew when Ms. Patti was in the room, she was in charge. Well, everyone but Douglas. There wasn’t a single doubt he was the family’s patriarch, who ruled with a firm yet loving hand. He was simply smart enough to step aside and let Ms. Patti do her thing, while he smiled indulgently. The love shining in his eyes spoke more eloquently than any words, and Jill envied their shared affection and devotion.
Within minutes, everybody knew what their job was and dug in with an exuberance that defied description. Paint started going up on the walls, while Tessa carried a bucket of hot soapy water outside, and began scrubbing the big window out front.
“Where do you need me, Ms. Patti?”
“We’ll be in the back, dear. I want to go over our list, make sure we’ve covered all the bases, and everything you need has been ordered.”
“Hang on a sec, darlin’.” Douglas walked over to stand beside his wife, his large stature nearly dwarfing her. “Jill had a bit of an issue before we got here.” He looked at her, brow quirked, as if silently asking if she wanted him to say anything.
“Thanks for reminding me. I better call Dante and have him pick up my car.”
“Car trouble? Douglas, why didn’t you call Frank?”
“Jill wanted to call her brother to handle it. He’s working at Frank’s garage now, and I didn’t want to overstep.”
Ms. Patti’s hand on her arm startled Jill for a second. “Is there anything we can do? Shiloh’s car’s up at the Big House if you need a loaner for a bit. He’s back in San Antonio, I’m sure he won’t mind you borrowing it.”
She couldn’t help but be touched by the offer. “It’s nothing mechanical. Just a flat tire. Dante will have it fixed and back to me by this evening, I’m sure.”
Douglas cleared his throat, but didn’t rat her out, which she appreciated. “Good thing you sent me along to help her. I found her in the complex’s parking lot.”
Ms. Patti’s hand cupped his cheek, and she smiled. “Thank you, honey.” Turning, she met Jill’s gaze. “You go ahead and call Dante, and get your car handled. We’ve got this. Take your time. Nica, stop playing around. Serena doesn’t need a peach-colored streak in her hair.” With that, she was off across the room, whispering something to her daughter.
“You didn’t want my wife to know about you having two flat tires?”
Jill ducked her head before answering. “It wasn’t intentional. I said flat tire, and then I realized if I corrected myself, it would make it sound like a bigger deal than it really is.”
She could almost feel Douglas studying her, weighing her words. Darn it, he was one of the most astute men she’d ever met, and one of the best judges of character. She needed to somehow divert his attention, or he’d get suspicious that it was more than simply running over something in the road. Which it probably was, right? Nobody had messed with her car. There was no reason they would. Like nobody had followed her the night before.
“Jill, you want to tell me what’s really going on?” His deep voice held concern with an underlying thread of steel which refused to be ignored. She couldn’t help wondering how many times his sons had heard that exact tone when they’d been growing up. And since he seemed insistent, she wasn’t about to lie to him. The Boudreaus had been good to her, and she wasn’t about to do anything to tarnish their trust.
“I…it’s probably nothing. I thought somebody was following me last night after I left here. It’s silly, because I looked and there was nobody around. Just an overactive imagination working overtime.”
“Did you call Rafe?”
She shook her head. “Honestly, it’s nothing. Dusty even stopped by last night when he saw the lights on. Nobody would have been hanging around if they saw a deputy talking to me, right? Oh, I did mention it to Lucas last night when he called.”
“He wasn’t concerned?”
Jill felt a blush heat her cheeks. “He wanted to come over and make sure I was okay. I convinced him everything was fine, and that I’d see him today. Really, Douglas, the tires are simply bad luck. Dante will get me fixed up good as new.”
Douglas did something then that shocked Jill speechless. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. After a second or two, she returned his embrace, allowing his sense of calm and stillness to sweep through her, and she felt a wave of acceptance fill her that brought tears to her eyes. She blinked them back, hoping nobody noticed.
“I need to make that call, get hold of my brother.” She gave him a final squeeze and stepped back, only then noticing the utter silence surrounding them. Everyone had stopped working and stared at them. Once again, she felt a wash of heat fill her cheeks. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention, although nobody seemed all that surprised to find her in Douglas’ arms. Ms. Patti smiled indulgently. Nica grinned from ear to ear. Serena gave her a surreptitious thumb’s up.
“If you need anything,” Douglas whispered in her ear, “day or night, you call me, you hear? I want your word, Jill.”
She drew in a shaky breath, and nodded. “I promise.”
Dipping his head once in acknowledgement, he walked over and put his arm around Ms. Patti, and surveyed everyone standing around. “Back to work, people. Walls ain’t gonna paint themselves.”
Paintbrushes slapped against the wall, and rollers began spreading paint at a rapid rate before he’d finished his sentence. He bent down and whispered something in Ms. Patti’s ear, and at her nod, he placed a kiss against her cheek and walked out through the kitchen door.
“Jill, why don’t you and I unload the food and drinks? By the time we’re done, this crew is going to have worked up an appetite.”
“Yes, ma’am. Give me a second to call Dante, and then I’m all yours.”
Dante agreed to head over to her apartment and handle changing the tires on her old sedan as soon as he let Frank know what was going on. Said he could get a couple of retreads on and it wouldn’t break the bank, which was a good thing because her savings account was on life support. She’d get her final paycheck in a few days, which would help because the insurance company was paying her for all the vacation and sick time she had banked, which was a lot since she’d never taken any time off.
After getting his promise to have her car ready by later that afternoon, she turned around, and couldn’t hold back her smile. Watching all her friends, and she’d come to think of all of them as friends, pitching in and helping out made her feel more like a part of the community than she’d felt in a very long time.
For the first time, she allowed herself to realize everything in her future looked bright. She crossed her fingers, and wished with all her might for her happy ending. With a contented sigh, she joined Ms. Patti and started laying out the sandwiches, cookies, and brownies.
Even with a rotten start, it was turning into a pretty good day.