Let It Snow(14)

“Yep. Well Harrison soon-to-be Stevens. She and Ben should be tying the knot any day now.”

“Ben?” Tessa didn’t remember a ‘Ben’ growing up, but Henry was referring to him as if she would know who he was.

“Her co-host on Home Sweet Vacation Home, Ben Stevens,” Henry explained.

“Oh, okay,” Tessa said, somewhat relieved that she wasn’t going crazy after all. “Yeah. If you could have her meet me there at her earliest convenience, that would be great.”

“Will do, sweet pea. Now you call if you need anything. I’m sorry again for your loss. That Adeline was one fine woman,” Henry said as he stood and picked up his Stetson. Before he left, he paused and said, “It sure is good to see you home. This town looks good on you.”

Tessa smiled and politely said, “Thanks.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him that this wasn’t her home. Sure, at one time she’d thought that it would be. That she would make a life here. With Jake. But that all changed. Now, there was no way she could live here.

“More coffee, hon.?” Sue Ann asked cheerily as she shuffled over to the table.

“No, I’m good. I think four cups in two hours is my limit.”

“Everything okay?” Worry creased Sue Ann’s brow.

No. Everything was not okay. But there was no way Tessa was going to burden anyone with her issues. She would handle it alone. Just like everything else in her life.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Tessa tried to sound as upbeat as possible. Which was difficult since she was pretty sure she was going throw up.

“Well, you know me. I don’t like to pry in people’s business. And I tried to give you and Henry a little privacy.” Sue Ann set the pot down as she slipped into the chair Henry had just vacated.

“I appreciate that. Thank you,” Tessa smiled at her.

“But it’s a small place and I did overhear a few things. Adeline was your blood, but she was also our family, and so are you.” Sue Ann reached across the table and patted Tessa’s hand supportively.

Tessa nodded, not trusting herself to speak. After being away for so many years, she wasn’t used to this outpouring of emotion, and it was a little—a lot!—overwhelming.

Sue Ann gave Tessa’s hand one more pat before she nodded decisively. Then she stood and grabbed her coffee pot. “Now, honey, if you need anything, anything at all, you just let me know.”

Since Tessa didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask if Sue Ann had thirty thousand dollars she could borrow, she asked instead, “Actually, do you know where I could find Jake?”

Tessa could pretend that she just needed to return his jacket, but the truth was that she felt like her world had just been turned upside down. And even though she knew it was a bad idea, she couldn’t help herself. She just wanted to look into his eyes, even if it was only for a moment.

Sue Ann’s eyes sparked with interest and her mouth twitched, but she quickly covered it with her response to Tessa’s question. “Well now, if he’s not at one of his houses—”

“One of his houses?” Tessa repeated. How many houses did he own?

“Well he has the condo and the house,” Sue Ann explained, “but I would bet he’s down at the fire station. Since he got promoted to chief, he’s been there a lot.”

Tessa shook her head. “So Eric is the Police Chief and Jake is the Fire Chief?”

A bright smile lifted on Sue Ann’s face. “Yep. Those Maguire boys are good men. Rosalie and Sean did a good job with those boys.”

“How are Rosalie and Sean?” Tessa asked as she stood and placed a twenty down on the table. She’d always loved Jake’s parents.

Growing up, her house, no matter where it was, was always quiet. Her dad liked it that way and her mom did everything she could to keep her dad happy. When her parents moved to Germany her senior year of high school, she’d been so excited to be allowed to stay with her Gran. And her Grandma Adie’s house had been much happier. There was always music playing and they had game nights where they would stay up late and play Trivial Pursuit and Scrabble. But as much as she loved it, it was still just the two of them.

When she’d go over to Jake’s, there was always life, activity, and noise. She remembered that Rosalie had always been in the kitchen. Usually Amy had been somewhere reading. Nikki had always had two or three friends over. And Sean had always been fixing things, either in the garage, the yard, or the house—working on what he called his “honey-do” list.

“Oh they’re doing pretty good. Sean’s retired and they just celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary not too long back. You should stop by and see them. I know they’d love that.” Sue Ann winked at her before heading back into the kitchen.