Perfectly Ms. Matched(64)

Lori said, “Wait. Did he respond?”

“No.” Jo grabbed her purse and coat and slid out of the booth. She needed to leave before the tears she held back busted loose. “He’s probably busy being Chad Jenks on a Saturday night. See you guys.”

Jo hurried for the door. The blast of cold air reminded her to put her coat on. As she quickly walked to her car, she let her tears fall. The pain in Lori’s eyes as she told of missing her deceased husband was something Jo wouldn’t soon forget. And it’d hit a nerve. Was aching for Chad worse than being occasionally put on the back burner? At least she’d know he’d always come home to her. She’d never loved any other man like she loved him. Was she just expecting too much from him?



Sunday morning, there was still no word from Chad. Jo might have stayed in bed all day with the covers over her head, except she had to meet an electrician at her café. And she’d accepted an invitation from Chad’s mom earlier in the week to go riding later.

First she needed to get her oven fixed before the Monday morning crowd hit. It’d cost her a fortune for a weekend service call, but what choice did she have?

The old, used oven had been popping the breaker again. She’d gone in Saturday to grab some paperwork to do at home and had no electricity. She prayed he’d be able to fix the oven one more time. They’d warned the last time that it needed to be replaced, so she had her fingers crossed. She needed another year out of it, at least.

They’d sent a young kid instead of her usual guy, so after he got the electricity back on, Jo showed him the oven and left him alone to do his job.

In her office with nothing but boring paperwork staring at her, she picked up the remote. The TV on the wall was already tuned to the sports channel. She hoped Chad’s knee would hold up for the game later. It was too soon for him to be back, as far as she was concerned, but Chad would do whatever he could to get back out there. She hoped he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

She’d been watching Chad give interviews all week. The “Chad’s Back” contest was trending on social media, and now the diehard fans had started tailgating and waving their signs for the TV crews hours before the game was scheduled to start later. He was probably in paradise with all the adulation and wouldn’t have time to text her back. That was if he ever decided to text her back at all. She’d really screwed things up.

The kid popped his head into her office. He held something in his hand. “This is shot. Need to order a new one. Probably take a few days to get it in.”

That meant a big part of her menu was going to be unavailable. And she’d have disappointed customers on her hands. “The last time, my usual electrician did something so I could bake until the new part came in. Any chance of doing that again?”

The kid raised a brow and studied the part in his hand. Then a slow smile formed. “I bet I can rig something up.”

After he left, Jo turned her attention back to the television—and Chad. Her thoughts soon made the noise from the TV fade as she recalled their fight. It hadn’t really been a huge confrontation. More a heartfelt request—a plea—that he be the man she knew he could be. But maybe she was wrong to ask that of him.

She thought again of what Chad had said about loving her and Ryan as much as football. Maybe Chad just wasn’t capable of loving her like she loved him. Could she come to terms and live with that, like her mother had done with her dad?

Did Chad just love her in a different way than she loved him? If her mom could take her father back and then raise the product of his affair and love her too, and still claim to be happy, then maybe she could be happy too.

Or maybe Chad just wanted football in his life for now. Maybe she was a complication he didn’t need as he fought to save his career.

The electrician returned and interrupted her deep musings. “Okay. I did the best I could. Hopefully it’ll hang in until we can get your new part. But that thing is older than I am.”

“I know. Thanks.” Jo grabbed her purse and then walked out with him. Chad’s mom was expecting her. Riding Black Jack had seemed like one way to keep her mind off Chad. But that was proving to be impossible.

After she locked up the café, she headed toward her car. She beeped her locks and slid behind the wheel. Digging her phone from her purse one more time, she prayed Chad had answered her. But still nothing. Was it too late to fix things between them?

Turning the key made nothing happen. Not even a clicking sound. She tried again. And again, but it was no use. It was dead. Dammit! What else could break in her life?

Mary was waiting for her, so she called her landline. Mary answered with, “Hi, honey.”