Authors: Meg Jolie
“Sorry,” she said, mistaking his silence
for something it wasn’t. “That sounds so needy and clingy.”
“No,” Luke said as he pulled her back in. “You’re the strongest person I know. You don’t sound needy and clingy at all. But I was just thinking, if you don’t mind,
I’d like to just sit and hold you all night.”
~*~*~
“Oh my goodness, Carly, it was so sweet. Carter curled right up on Luke’s lap and fell asleep,” Quinn said.
“You don’t think he likes Luke better than he likes me, do you?” Carly demanded.
Quinn laughed. She knew Carly was joking. Or at least, she thought Carly was joking. “You know, he hasn’t seen much of Luke either for months because he’s been out of town. So to answer your question, no, Carly, I think he loves you both the same.”
“Good. So,” Carly said, moving on with the conversation, “two dates down and another one lined up? That’s good, right?”
“Yes,” Quinn said. “And do you know what I was thinking?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I was thinking that you should bring Nolan home over Thanksgiving. Everyone can meet him. Then the four of us could maybe go out on Friday night?” Quinn was met with silence. “Or not,” she said. “I know I already asked but I really wish you would rethink it.”
“We’ll see
,” Carly said. She changed the subject, telling Quinn about her classes, asking about Carter, wondering if their mom had been tolerable lately. “Have you told her about you and Luke?” Carly demanded.
“I did, actually, just this morning,” Quinn admitted. “I didn’t want her to hear it from anyone else. And after last night, I think Luke and I…might…have a chance at really making this work,” she said slowly.
“How did Mom take it?”
“Honestly? Better than I thought. She didn’t seem all that surprised. She did thank me for waiting a ‘respectable amount of time’ before I decided it was necessary to date my
‘departed husband’s brother’.” There was a slight growl to Quinn’s tone. “But she really does hope that things work out for us because I deserve some happiness.” Her tone was a little mocking when she repeated the last part.
Carly groaned. “Wouldn’t you think that
just once
she could say to us…‘I’m so happy for you’ and just let it go at that?”
This brought laughter from Quinn. “She totally wouldn’t be
Mom
if she did that. But at least I went into the conversation mentally prepared. And like I said, overall, she took it better than I thought she would. I guess really, maybe she knew she didn’t have a choice.”
“I swear Quinn, if I turn into her, do something drastic to me to make sure I see the error of my ways.”
Quinn burst out laughing and promised that she would; as long as Carly reciprocated the favor.
Carly was silent
for a few moments after that. Finally, she dove in with what Quinn assumed was the topic she really wanted to tackle.
“You mentioned Luke was living with Jesse,” she began hesitantly and Quinn cringed. “I was just wondering…has he mentioned how Jesse is doing?”
Quinn dropped herself down into her couch cushions and blew out a breath. “I think he’s doing well.”
“I meant…I wondered if he’s happy?” Her voice was soft.
“I assume you’re asking if he’s happy with Betsy. But I can’t really answer that because I’ve never really seen them together. When I see Jesse, it’s usually when he’s hanging out with Luke.” It wasn’t a lie…but it wasn’t the entire truth, either. Luke made it sound like maybe Jesse wasn’t all that happy. Quinn didn’t know that for sure so she just didn’t see the point in telling Carly that. Not when she’d just gotten back together with Nolan.
“Okay,
” Carly said with a sigh. “I was only asking because…”
Quinn waited for her sister to pick up the thought. When she didn’t, she pressed for more. “Because, why, Carly?”
“I guess because I needed to know. I need to accept that things with Jesse are really over this time. I think maybe things didn’t work out with Nolan before because I didn’t let them. I’ve been thinking that I didn’t really give him a chance like I should have.” She sounded utterly dejected. “I really need to put the past behind me. I need to move on. Just like I’ve been telling you to do.”
“Don’t hate me for saying this,” Quinn said softly, “but I think you’re right. You and Jesse…you just never rea
lly seemed happy together. To be honest, you don’t exactly seem happy now, either. But maybe that’s because it’s like you said. You need to put the past in the past.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” Carly asked.
“I’m trying,” Quinn said. “There are days that are harder than others. On the other hand, sometimes you don’t have a choice in the matter. So you just do what you need to do.”
“You know time supposedly heals,
” Carly said. “I hope that’s true.”
Quinn nodded, silently wondering which one of them Carly was referring too.
9
The next few months passed quickly. November faded into December and December quickly turned
in to January. The holidays kept everyone busy. This caused time to feel like it was passing at a faster rate than usual.
The holidays weren’t nearly as difficult as they’d been
the year prior, the year immediately following Jake’s death. Last year had been Carter’s first Thanksgiving and Christmas. He’d been too young to know the days were special.
This year had been
different. He brought much needed delight and amusement to his family.
Quinn and Luke spent the holidays
together, rotating between their families. Quinn was frustrated that Margo wasn’t as accepting of Luke as she’d hoped. Pete seemed happy with whatever made Quinn happy.
Neither Quinn nor Luke
had any doubt that Nora and Tom were okay with them being together. And Carly was finally caught up in her own love life, with Nolan.
Quinn was disappointed he hadn’t appeared at either Thanksgiving or Christmas
. Since it didn’t seem to bother Carly, she was determined to not let it bother her either. Carly assured everyone they would meet him when the time was right.
Apparently, that time wasn’t quite yet.
Quinn and Luke had spent most of their evenings in, as opposed to going out, over the past few months. With the weather being as cold as it was, there wasn’t much to do around town, anyway.
So far, they’d managed to avoid Jesse and
Betsy. Quinn didn’t mind Jesse; it was Betsy she had an issue with. She’d had a run in with her before. Betsy disliked Carly. She didn’t mind who knew it. This alone was enough of a reason for Quinn to keep her distance.
Yet, when Luke told her that Jesse
invited them to meet for burgers, she didn’t want to disappoint Luke. He and Jesse had known each other a long time but had really gotten to be good friends over the past half year.
They had decided to keep it casual so they met at Shady’s, the local bar and grill. The evening had gone well through dinner but as Betsy’s beer consumption
increased, so did her attitude.
The waitress had cleared their burger baskets away, and replenished their drinks
. There was a lull in conversation and then Betsy shifted in her chair. She leaned forward to speak to Luke who was directly across the table from her.
“So Luke, how’s the house hunting going?” Betsy wanted to know.
She had a smile plastered on her face. Her head was cocked to the side.
Quinn thought the smile, like her caring attitude, seemed entirely too fake.
Luke shrugged as he set his beer back down on the table. “It’s not.”
“It’s not,” Betsy repeated. She was
clearly not pleased.
“Come on Betsy, it’s the middle of winter,” Jesse said. “No one wants to deal with a move in the middle of winter.”
“Spring will be here before we know it. It’s not like a sale goes through overnight. Really, don’t you think he should be looking?” she huffed. She’d crossed her arms over her chest and she was giving Jesse a defiant look.
Jesse shrugged and looked at Luke. “He’ll find a house when he’s ready.”
“Are you sure about that?” Betsy asked. She took a big, unladylike gulp of beer. Quinn grimaced. “Or is he just going to continue to mooch off of you?”
Jesse shook his head at her. “Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s not ‘mooching’ off of me. He’s paying rent. He’s welcome to stay as long as he’d like.” He shrugged as he looked at her. “The extra income is kind of nice.”
Quinn was sure that last line was thrown in for Luke’s benefit. Jesse was a successful loan officer at a bank in town. He really didn’t need the money. They all knew he was letting Luke stay with him as a favor to Luke. And probably because he thought Jake, who’d been his best friend, would approve.
Betsy wasn’t happy with
his answer. She turned to Quinn. “Why doesn’t he just move in with you? It would make more sense.”
Quinn
stared at her in surprise. The thought had not crossed her mind.
“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Luke asked with a smile, but his
tone had an edge.
She shrugged. “
You’ve taken over Jake’s life in every other way. You took over his job, his best friend, his wife, probably his kid. Why not just move into his house and finish it off?”
“I can’t believe you said that,” Quinn quietly seethed.
“Neither can I,” Jesse agreed.
“Besides it’s a family business. Luke worked there before he moved to Baxter. He just took back the job that had been his all along,” Quinn pointed out.
Betsy shrugged. “Fine, the job was his. You can’t make that excuse for the rest of it. Because none of it was his to take but it looks like he’s helping himself anyway.”
Luke’s face had turned white. He didn’t say a word. Quinn leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe we should go,” she suggested.
Her eyes scanned the dining area. The place was crowded, as it typically was on the weekend, but everyone around them seemed to be enmeshed in their own conversations. The last thing Luke needed was to have this conversation in public.
With Betsy of all people.
Quinn knew that he already struggled with some of these issues. Neither of them needed Betsy to make them any worse. She’d had a hunch this dinner was a bad idea. She was more than ready to leave.
Jesse was glaring at Betsy. He slowly turned his gaze away from her. His eyes glittered with anger when he looked to Quinn and Luke. “No. You two stay. I’m sure you deserve a night out.”
Luke shook his head.
He kept his gaze lowered. “I actually don’t really feel like staying.”
“Well,” Jesse said as he stood, “you do what you need to do. But Betsy and I are getting out of here.”
Betsy rolled her eyes. “Don’t you think you’re overreacting? Everyone else is thinking it. I’m the only one that’s bothered to say it.”
Jesse shook his head. “It’s not what
I’m
thinking. Actually, what I’m thinking is that you and I need to get out of here. I think some privacy is in order.”
His tone was harsh but she ignored it. Either that, or she was seriously too self-absorbed to notice it. Because she said, “Privacy would’ve been my preference all along.”
Jesse nodded his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Betsy sighed as she got to her feet. She took o
ff without a goodbye and without waiting to see if Jesse was keeping up.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Luke, she was totally out of line. What she said was bullshit.” He turned to Quinn and shook his head. “She’s not always like this. I think something about you bring
s out the worst in her.”
“Something about me?” Quinn asked with raised eyebrows. “Something like, oh, say, my sister?”
Jesse grimaced for a second before pulling his gaze back to Quinn. “Yeah, that would be my guess.” He glanced over his shoulder. Betsy was standing at the door, arms crossed, scowl embedded on her face. Jesse muttered something under his breath that neither Quinn nor Luke caught.
“
I’m paying for dinner, so no arguing,” he said as he pulled out his wallet. “It’s the least I can do. I’ll see you two later. I hope this didn’t ruin your evening. But I’ve gotta go. I’ve got some things I need to take care of.” He left, heading to the bar with their bill in his hands. His scowl when he left matched Betsy’s.