Page 94 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

At ten minutes after eight, Jasmine entered her front door, locked it behind her, and dropped briefcase, purse and mail on the entryway sideboard. Simultaneously, she kicked off her heels and began stripping out of her clothing. First peeling off her suit jacket and skirt, then blouse, bra, underwear and hose, letting one article after another drip to the floor, on the trek toward her bedroom and master bath.

But first, she stopped in her kitchen, standing naked as a jaybird in the middle of it, uncorked a bottle and poured herself a glass of Merlot.

“Now, bubbles.”

For the next ten minutes, she took pains to turn her bathroom into a spa. Water just the right temperature, bubbles, low lights, candles, and music. A rolled towel sat waiting for her head and with the glass of wine on the table beside her whirlpool tub, she slipped into the silky softness, eased her body into the water up to her neck, laid back and closed her eyes.

This was a long time coming.

Two long, miserable days’ worth.

After returning to Atlanta Wednesday afternoon, she had plunged herself into work, every single minute of the day, Thursday and Friday. Up early, she hit the gym at her condo complex before six, working out perhaps longer and more diligently than usual. Later, showered and dressed, she was out the door by seven-thirty, navigating Atlanta rush hour traffic, and in her office by eight-fifteen. She worked late both nights to make up for the time she spent in Harbor Falls.

The days were an endless series of meetings with families, therapists, social workers, and mediators, interspersed with a couple of hearings, a dentist appointment, and working on a couple of heartbreaking cases.

Cases she feared she was going to lose. Children reinstated with families that worried her; parents making commitments she knew they could not carry through. The bottom line being that children might suffer.

It was the one thing she continually vowed she would fight for—that children didn’t suffer. That they had safe, secure environments to grow up in. That they had healthy, adequate food to eat. A warm bed to sleep in.

But they would. Suffer.

She’d seen it way too often. There were days she wondered why she tried so hard.

The system routinely had other ideas what was best for kids. Ideas that did not meet her expectations. Promises made that were too easily broken.

There were times the system sucked royally.

She rolled her shoulders a little in the water in an attempt to grind out the kinks, certain the wine, hot water, and bubbles were not going to do their trick. She was wound up tight, and it wasn’t only because of work.

Jack.

Jack’s face wouldn’t leave her alone. Her time in Harbor Falls wouldn’t let her be. Smells and voices and sights and conversations came drifting back without notice. And she kept thinking about the building on Court Street, down the street from the house she grew up in. The money. What would happen now? And for some reason, she kept thinking about her father. Where he was and why he had never tried to contact her. She thought about Ms. Leinie and her wishes.

And that she was, once again, letting her down.

Of course, there was Jack, whose heart she had broken. Again.

And then here she was. Alone. In Atlanta. Running away from it all.

Again.

Her cell phone rattled on the small table beside her tub. She’d purposely turned down the sound because she didn’t want to be bothered this evening. But something made her tip it up and look at the caller info on the screen.

Ben Samuels. A local cop who sometimes worked domestic cases.

She closed her eyes, pushed the button, and put the phone to her ear. “Yes?”

Ben’s voice was soft and slow on the other end.

“Jasmine, sorry to bother you on a Friday night, but I just wanted you to know in case you caught the evening news.”

She exhaled. This was not going to be good.

“Okay. Who is it?”

He cleared his throat.

“The Shepherd case you worked where the kids went back to the mom a few weeks ago. Remember?”

She sat up, water sloshing. Of course, ….she remembered. Timmy Shepherd. Four-year-old abused by the mom’s boyfriend. The jerk been sent up to prison. The child took months to recover in foster care. He and his brother had been reinstated to the mother’s care after she spent time in counseling and parenting classes. Jasmine had fought the reinstatement, convinced that mom wasn’t ready, hadn’t fully rehabilitated, and that she’d repeat the same bad news boyfriend behavior.

Social services thought differently.

“Yes. What happened?”

Ben took a breath.

“Tim was shot tonight. Didn’t make it.”

He paused a second.

“The new boyfriend had a gun. The six-year-old found it. And well…”

“Okay, Ben. I get it. Thanks for giving me a heads up.”

“You okay?”

She didn’t say anything. Couldn’t.

“Jasmine?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay. Thanks.”

She ended the call and placed the phone back on the table. Slowly, she slipped back into the water, sinking in over her head.

****

On Saturday, Jack lifted the post-hole digger and jammed it into the ground. He jimmied the thing, spread the handles apart, squeezed them together again, and lifted out a large clod of dirt, tossing it to the side. He repeated the process several more times until the hole he was digging was deep enough and wide enough to plant the shrub he needed to plant behind Suzie Matthews’ deck. And until the sweat was rolling down his neck and down his back.

“Goodness, Jack. Slow down there a minute.”

Glancing up, he watched Suzie move down the back steps, a glass of iced tea in her hand that was sweating almost as much as he was.

“If you aren’t a sight for sore eyes.”

“Me?”

Suzie asked.

“No, the tea.”

Suzie chuckled and handed him the glass. He didn’t wait to take a long drink of the cold and sweet liquid.

“Ah. Suzie Matthews, you sure know how to please a man.”

She laughed.

“Well, if that’s all it takes, then I’ve been doing it wrong.”

She winked and sat on the step.

“Why don’t you sit a minute, Jack. You’ve been wrestling that hole for over an hour now.”

Suzie and his older brother Sam were in the same class at Harbor Falls High. They’d all been good friends ever since. He and Sam took care of Suzie’s landscaping here at the inn and had done so for years.

“I need to get this done.”

“Hot date tonight?”

He huffed.

“No. No hot date. Just a lot to check off the list today.”

“Keeping your hands and mind busy, huh?”

He cocked his head.

“Why do you say that?”

She shrugged.

“Heard down at Ralph’s that you and Nora broke up.”

Nora. That seemed ages ago. When was that, just last weekend.

“Yeah. We did. But that’s old news.”

“Then why the hell are you taking it out on that poor hole in my yard? Mercy, Jack, you could bury someone in it. All I wanted was an azalea!”

He looked back at the hole. Hell. He had gotten a little carried away, but the physical exertion felt good. And yes, by God it had taken his mind off things.

“Jasmine was in town this week,”

he said, not looking at Suzie.

“Jasmine Walker?”

He glanced back. “Yeah.”

“I haven’t seen her in years. How is she?”

Jack exhaled.

“I guess she’s fine. She left rather abruptly.”

“Was that who you called me about needing a room?”

He nodded. “It was.”

“Where’d she end up staying?”

Jack stared at her. “With me.”

“Ah.”

“We didn’t do anything.”

“Jack, you’re an adult. So is Jasmine. You’re not kids any longer.”

He glanced off. Suddenly, his head hurt again, and his chest was tight. No, they weren’t kids any longer but they were still playing games.

“I let her get away. Again.”

Suzie grasped his hand.

“Jack, sit down. Go pull that lawn chair over here and sit a minute. You and I are going to have a little talk.”

Jack rolled his eyes.

“Suzie, Sam will have my hide if I don’t get this azalea in the ground before he gets back. Why don’t you just talk at me while I’m working? I doubt anything you say is going to sink into my thick skull anyway.”

He turned back to his work.

“Giving up, aren’t you?”

“Probably.”

“You’re still in love with her though.”

“Yep.”

“And you’re going to be a miserable SOB for the rest of your life because of it?”

Jack grinned and looked back at her.

“I’m going to try like hell not to be.”

“That’s good.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d hate for you to be miserable all night tonight at the lodge.”

“The lodge?”

Hell, that’s right. There was that couples thing.

“I’m not going.”

Suzie stood.

“Oh, yes you are. I need a date. Brad’s too busy in the kitchen and I want to dance. I already have a sitter, so pick me up at seven. Got it?”

“Suzie….”

She glared at him.

“Jack Ackerman, you’re not going to mope around all day and night when you could be out having some fun and getting your mind off things.”

“You’re not going to try any of that matchmaking crap on me, are you?”

She chuckled.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. Just be here by seven.”

****

Jasmine stood at the end of a country lane; her car parked off to the side of the narrow, two-lane mountain road. A rusty mailbox sat planted to her left and an even rustier cattle guard loomed before her.

She crossed the gate without incident and sauntered up the dirt road, wondering what she was going to say when she reached the house at the end, and if the person who lived there, would open the door and let her in.

She just wanted to talk. That’s all. And there was so much she wanted to say, and to understand.

Breathing deep, she moved on. One foot in front of the other. Step by step up the old porch. Two strides to the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The inside door swung open. She stared at him through the screen door. His face was full of question. For a moment, neither of them said a word.

“Jasmine?”

She nodded.

“Hi, Daddy. May I come in?”

****

Why in the world I let her talk me into this, I’ll never know.

The last place Jack needed to be tonight was at a couples function. Everywhere he turned, there were pairs. Dancing. Eating together. Kissing.

What was Suzie thinking?

What was he thinking?

Jack wasn’t certain.

The couples thing was a benefit for the local hospital. An annual event, and Suzie’s husband, Brad, always offered up the lodge for no charge. Brad and Suzie together catered the event and footed the bill, while the townspeople and local artisans offered their wares up for silent auction.

It was for a damned good cause, but he wasn’t up for the whole shenanigans. So, he bid on a couple items and slipped Suzie a donation before they arrived.

He’d done his part.

Now, at fifteen minutes after eight, Jack was ready to move on.

If Jasmine had been here, though, he could have danced all night, and he was pretty darned sure he’d have the most beautiful women in the room on his arm.

He scanned the crowd looking for Suzie and not seeing her, deciding she must be back in the kitchen with her husband. His brother, Sam, and sister-in-law, Becca, were talking to another couple across the room. Jack gave him the high sign and tipped his head toward the door, which was man-code for ‘I’m outta here.’ Sam nodded back with a thumbs up.

I can’t wait to get back home.

But he couldn’t leave without telling Suzie, even if it meant risking another talk. He headed off toward the kitchen.

Suzie met him as he rounded a corner, Brad at her side.

“Jack!”

“Hey Suzie. Brad. Listen, I’m going to head out of here…”

Suzie smiled and hooked her arm with her husband’s.

“That’s fine, Jack. I hope you had a good time. I know this is not a singles thing—it might have been more fun for you if it was—but it sure beats sitting alone in that big ol’ house of yours.”

Actually, that sounded pretty good to him right now, but he simply nodded and agreed.

“It was real nice, Suzie. Thanks for asking me.”

“Thanks for bringing me up. Brad will see me home.”

Brad reached out to shake Jack’s hand.

“Thanks, man. Glad you could come.”

Jack shook back.

“Wouldn’t have missed it. Keep doing the good work.”

He lifted his hand to wave good-bye but stopped when Brad spoke again.

“I hear you are doing some good work, yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“For Ms. Leinie. The new family center over on Court Street.”

Jack sighed. Had that gotten around town already.

“There are still a lot of details to work out,”

he told him.

“but the building is on schedule and will finish on time.”

“That’s great. I heard Ms. Leinie left Jasmine Walker the money to run the operation. That true?”

Suzie nudged Brad in the side and smirked. Jack almost laughed.

“Man, secrets don’t last long in Harbor Falls, do they?”

“It’s Harbor Falls, Jack. There are no secrets,”

Suzie said.

He nodded.

“But to answer your question, yes, Ms. Leinie left Jasmine the funds to operate the family center but there were…um, stipulations, and Jasmine is, well…still thinking it over.”

Suzie perked up. “Really?”

“No. Not really. I just made that up.”

“But you wish she was just thinking it over?”

Jack agreed.

“Yes. That’s why I’ve asked the bank to give her a few more days to see if she comes around. I don’t know if she will, but—”

“But you can hope. Hot damn, there is still some spunk left in you. I was worried.”

Suzie stepped forward, and looked up into his face, determination spread all over hers. She might be petite in size, but her manner packed a punch.

“Jack Ackerman, what in the hell are you doing waiting around for that girl to make some sort of decision? Go the heck after her!”

Jack backed up.

“Whoa. No, you got that wrong. She walked away from everything. I’m just hoping she’ll reconsider.”

“Then you’re going to have to nudge her.”

“I want to respect her wishes.”

Suzie’s hands went to her hips.

“Well, you can respect her wishes until you are old and gray but that doesn’t warm your bed at night! Man up, Jack. Go get her and bring her back here. Do it now.”

“Now?”

“There’s no time like the present.”

A sense of urgency struck him. Jack turned and headed for the door.

The drive home took approximately fifteen minutes, normally. But Jack took his time on the winding mountain roads, letting a lot of people’s words rattle around inside his brain. His. Suzie’s. Jasmine’s.

It was the first time all day he’d had a few quiet minutes to himself. To think. Hell, for the past few days he’d kept himself busy at the nursery and with clients, as well as at the construction site on Court Street.

Busy hands, busy mind. There you go, push everything out except the task at hand.

He’d had plenty to keep himself occupied. If he could his brain would stop replaying Jasmine’s last words:

And I’m looking at you right now and telling you, with all of my heart, that I love you back. I always have and I always will. But I’m not the woman to give you those babies. I’m not the woman to sleep in your bed. I can’t. I can’t give you babies. I can’t live here. And I can’t love you like you want me to love you.

Those words played on an endless loop in his head for the past two days. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t. Not that she wouldn’t, but that she can’t.

What the hell did that really mean? Can’t?

He was going to find out.

He might have let Jasmine go once, when he was too young to do anything about it, but he wasn’t about to let her go a second time. Times have changed and he was older. Dammit. No matter what, he wasn’t stopping until he brought her home.

Jack glanced at his watch. Eight-thirty-five. Time enough to throw some clothes in a bag and drive like hell. He could be in Atlanta by midnight or so. He didn’t know how he would find her but he sure as hell knew people who could help him along the way. By the time he got to Atlanta, he expected to have an address.

He picked up his cell phone and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Suzie?”

“Jack? What’s wrong?”

“Not a thing. Just taking your advice, but I need your help.”

“You got it.”

“Either start working some of your matchmaking magic shit or Google the hell out of Jasmine’s name and get me an address. I’m heading to Atlanta.”