Chapter 25: Jack

Jack

The next morning, I shower, dress, and head to Maggie's. When I walk into the grocery store, I find her standing at the check-out counter. Her baby is asleep in some kind of baby sling strapped to Maggie's chest. I notice the back door is propped open, and Owen is wheeling in a dolly stacked high with boxes. I can hear a big truck idling out back.

"Good morning," I say. "Claire, right? I saw you bring her into the bar last night. She's a beautiful baby."

"Thank you." Maggie smiles as she glances down at her daughter. She lightly fingers her soft, brown curls.

"Is she your first?" I ask.

"No. I have two teenagers, both boys. Their dad and I divorced years ago. I only recently met Owen, through Hannah McIntyre. Claire was sort of a surprise for both of us—but a welcome one. Do you like kids, Jack? Do you see yourself becoming a father one day?"

"I hope so. Time will tell, right?" I find it interesting that Maggie and her husband are around my age, and they have a baby. I guess there's still hope for me.

"So, what brings you in this morning?" she asks.

"I have a kitchen to stock. I'll be staying in the apartment above the bar for the foreseeable future, and right now the fridge is empty."

"You've come to the right place," she says. "Let me know if you need help finding anything."

I grab a cart and start filling it with everything a person needs on a daily basis, everything from toilet paper to bread and butter, eggs, pop and beer. When I think I have the basics, I return to the check-out counter, and Maggie rings me up.

She winces. "Ouch. That'll be $210.59. Sorry."

"It's expensive to start from scratch, isn't it?"

Just as she's done counting out the cash I handed her, Owen walks up beside her and kisses her left temple. "That's everything. I'll take Claire home now and put her down for her morning nap. We'll come back later this afternoon, and I'll unpack and shelve everything."

"Thanks, honey," Maggie says.

"Can I help you haul that out to your car?" Owen asks me. We'd met briefly the day of the search and rescue mission. He's a good guy. Former military, I can tell. He's big, muscular, knows how to handle himself. It's clear he's crazy about his wife and baby.

"Actually, all this is going into the apartment above the bar," Maggie says. "Jack's moving in there."

Owen's eyes widen in surprise. "Really?" He glances at Maggie, a clear question in his eyes. "I can help you carry all this stuff up there if you like," he offers. "Maybe between the two of us, we can make it in two trips."

I don't mind making the extra trips, and I don't really need help, but I figure this is a good opportunity to get to know Owen better. "That'd be great, if you have the time. Thanks."

"No problem," Owen says, brushing off my thanks. "I'd be happy to."

After we carry all the groceries up to the apartment, Owen leaves, and I unpack everything and put the stuff away.

Now I can move on with the rest of today's agenda. I plan to stop in at the diner for lunch—namely to visit Jenny Lopez. After that, I'll stop in at Micah's auto repair shop and have a chat with him. My tires need rotating, I'm sure of it.

I figure by spending time with Ruth's friends, I'll make a good impression and learn more about her in the process. I'm not above mining her friends for intel. It's all part of my diabolical plan to convince her I'm the right guy for her.

I head to the diner for lunch—a turkey melt with fries and hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream. I'm seated at the counter, so Jenny has lots of opportunities to chat with me between waiting on customers and dishing out more pie. She's one hell of a multitasker, and she keeps that diner running smoothly with a pretty small support staff.

"So, Jenny," I say after taking a sip of coffee, "what do you think Ruth would consider the perfect date?"

Jenny grins. "Smart man. Anything outdoors. She loves hiking, and she loves water. You could even take her fishing. Her grandpa always took Ruth and Micah fishing when they were young. Kayaking is also good. Canoeing."

"What about whitewater rafting? I hear there's some good rafting around here."

Jenny shakes her head. "No, that's too chaotic and noisy for Ruth. She likes quiet. She's an introvert, if you hadn't noticed."

I smile. "Yeah, I've noticed. Okay, hiking and water. Got it."

Jenny raises her index finger. "Oh, and good food. She likes food. She likes to try new restaurants, but with working so many hours, she doesn't have a lot of time for that. Make time for it. Take her to Estes Park or Boulder or Fort Collins. There's even Denver, of course, although that's a bit of a drive. Ruth works long and hard and rarely takes time off for herself. She needs someone who will coax her into taking time to have fun. But don't baby her. She doesn't want to be coddled. She's independent to the core. The right man for her will understand that and give her space. Respect her strengths."

"Thanks, Jenny. I appreciate the info."

Jenny reaches out and squeezes my hand. "I'm glad you're here. Ruth is amazing, and she deserves someone equally amazing. I think that's you. You just have to learn how to break through her protective walls without breaking her in the process."

After I leave the diner, I head to Micah's auto shop. I walk into the office to speak to the woman sitting at the front desk. She's reading a dog-eared romance paperback. "Is Micah here?"

"In the shop," she says without taking her eyes off her book. She points behind her at a glass door.

Through the door, I can see Micah leaning over the engine of a silver minivan. "Thanks." I join Micah beside the vehicle and gaze down at the engine. "Hey."

He glances up at me. "You're still here? What do you want?"

Ouch. Tough crowd. But he's her brother, so I shouldn't expect anything different. He's just watching out for his sister. I get it. "Yeah, I'm still here. I plan to be here for a while. Hopefully a good long while."

Micah frowns. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I came back to Bryce for Ruth. Your sister is an amazing woman, Micah, and I want to be part of her life."

Micah straightens and studies me for a moment. Then he nods. "I can't disagree with your assessment of my sister. So, what do you want with me?"

"I want us to get to know one another. I'm hoping we can be friends because I can use all the allies I can get."

He chuckles. "And you think I can help you with that?"

I nod. "Yeah, I'm hoping you can. You know Ruth better than anyone. What does she need in a partner?"

"My sister is strong-willed, ornery, and stubborn as hell. If you want to impress her, just don't get in her way. She's self-sufficient and fearless. Hell, she chops her own firewood for the wood stove when she could easily buy it and have it delivered. I've offered to chop it for her, and she gets pissy with me. Don't offer to chop her firewood, and don't kill the spiders for her. She can fend for herself. She doesn't need a man. So you have to make her want one. You have to show her you can add to her quality of life without taking away from it. Got it?"

"Yes, thanks. By the way, I need to make an appointment to get my tires rotated."

He raises an eyebrow. "Are you just trying to suck up to me by giving me business?"

I grin. "Yeah. Is it working?"

* * *

Scott, the new dishwasher shows up the next day for his interview and he passes with flying colors. Ruth puts him straight to work, which makes everyone happy.

I work the bar that afternoon and evening, and at the end of the day, I take Ruth's cocktail recipe book back to the apartment with me to study it.

The next day, I make a trip to Estes Park to shop for a few furnishings I need for the apartment. Not much, but a few things for the kitchen and living room. I stop at one of those big box stores that carries everything and buy some books, a TV, pillows and a blanket for the sofa, cookware and a set of dishes and silverware. I don't know how Ruth makes do in that apartment, but it's lacking in pretty much everything.

That night, Ruth and I lock up after everyone else has gone home. She reconciles the till, while I turn off the OPEN sign and lock the front door.

When she's done, I walk her to the back door.

"Have you got everything you need?" she asks me.

"Actually, there's only one thing I need," I say.

The heat I see in her eyes is encouraging. "And what's that?"

I reach for her hand. "You. I need you." She lets me pull her into my arms. "Stay with me tonight," I say. "Let's have a sleepover."

"A sleepover?" she asks, smiling.

"Yeah. No sex, purely platonic. I just want to spend some time with you. Come on, I'll even make you some dinner. Neither one of us had a chance to grab anything to eat this evening. You've got to be hungry. Say yes, Ruth."