“Oh.” Her father must’ve been afraid she’d tell her mom about their discussion the day before and decided to head it off at the pass.
Jo glanced over her shoulder to be sure the cooks weren’t listening. Feigning a deep interest in her cookie dough batter, she shrugged. “Chad wants me to rehab him, and in return, he’ll give me the money I need for my expansion. I turned him down. End of story.”
“I see.” Her mom dusted crumbs from her fingertips. “Why do you think he asked you and not someone else?”
“Just to annoy me, most likely.” Jo plopped the dough into little balls on the cookie sheet. Maybe a little harder than necessary.
“I’m surprised you turned him down. I’d think it would be the ultimate payback. Making him sweat, putting him through the paces, torturing him—in a legal way, of course. It might be cathartic for you.”
Jo glanced up and smiled at the twinkle in her mom’s eyes. “Legal torture? I never thought of it quite like that.” Laughing, Jo went back to her cookies.
Her mom leaned closer and whispered, “What are you afraid of, Jo?”
Anger sparked through her veins for a brief moment before she realized what her mom was up to. “Nope, not working. What else you got?”
Her mom took another sip of coffee and chuckled. “How about I just leave you with some unsolicited advice? Fundamentally, Chad was a good man. Everyone makes mistakes. Especially when we’re young. A lot of time has passed, and you’re both different people now, but there’d been a deep love there once. It might be worth seeing if it’s still there.”
“Chad just loves football. He thinks of me as nothing more than a tool to get his first love back.”
“Because he loves his career so much, he asked you for help because he trusts you and respects your abilities. Trust and respect are the basis of any good relationship. Think about it, honey.”
Mom finished off her roll, then grabbed her purse and headed for the swinging doors. “Thanks for the treat. Gotta go. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Jo tossed the ball of dough in her hand back into the bowl and sighed. Now her mother was on Chad’s side too? What was wrong with all the people in her life?
When the door swung open and Chad limped in, her mom pulled up short.
“Hey, Mrs. W. How are you?”
Mom cocked her head. “Well, look who’s back.” She drilled her index finger into his chest. “I don’t want any trouble out of you this time, Mr. Jenks.” Her mom couldn’t quite hold back her grin. She’d always loved Chad.
“You Westin ladies are all alike.” His smile slowly grew as he rubbed his chest. “You get prettier every year and poke even harder. Great to see you again, Helen.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “And I’m not here to cause trouble. Just wanted to show Jo the plans I drew up for her new expansion.”
“So you’ve finally put that architecture degree to use, huh? Let’s see what you’ve got there.”
Dammit. Would he never stop? What was she going to have to do to make him go away? “Mom, just ignore him. He plays football for a living. He doesn’t know squat about designing a restaurant.”
Jo took her tray of cookies to the oven, put them in, and set the timer. Stepping around one of the cooks, she returned to her worktable. Despite the flour on the tabletop, he had laid his plans down, pointing things out to her mother.
Ignoring her mom’s oohs and aaahs, Jo went about her business. She wasn’t going to look. Why bother? Until she got her financing lined up, it didn’t matter.
On her third pass by them, her mother said, “Come look, honey. This is just perfect!”
“Busy.” With her arms full of empty trays, she tried to slip past Chad, but his hand reached out and caught the back of her apron. Giving him the stink eye over her shoulder, she said, “Seriously. I’m busy.”
“I’ll leave the plans, and you can look at them later.” He released her, then turned to her mom. “Helen, since Jo’s so busy, would you like to see a picture of my son?”
Jo nearly dropped the trays in her hands. “You have a son?” She’d cut Shelby off yesterday. Was that the big thing she wanted to tell her?
He dug his phone out of his jeans and showed her mom. “His name’s Ryan. I didn’t know I had a son until a few months ago, so we’re still . . . adjusting.”
“He’s just a doll, Chad.” Her mother breathed out a long sigh. She really wanted grandkids and wasn’t shy about saying so.
Jo leaned over her mom’s shoulder. The kid was blond, cute, about five, and had a missing tooth. “One-night stands, a girl in every town. Nice, Chad.”