Love at Last (Finding Love Book 6) Read online

  He smiled faintly as he watched the white car disappear around the corner. If nothing else, he had a great story to tell his kids about how he once fixed a sink for a country music star.

  Chapter Five

  The cool wind moving through the trees at Lakeside Park sent a shower of leaves to the ground. Above Rosemary’s head there was just a glimpse of pale, watery sun peeking out of the thick layer of gray clouds. Not the best weather to jog in, but at least it wasn’t raining. As she reached down to zip up her jacket, she heard the interruption of the music playing in her ear and stopped to look at her phone. If it was Carl, she wasn’t answering. The name on the screen was her new assistant, who happened to be Carl’s sister.

  “Hey, Willow. Does Carl have you doing his dirty work now?”

  “He’s trying to get next summer’s schedule set up, and you’re not giving him much to work with.”

  “He told me there was no hurry.”

  “Things change; you know how it is with this business. The sponsors want to know what they’re getting for their money. When Carl can’t tell them positively that Sage is going to appear, they start to get a little jumpy.”

  “I’ll let him know by the end of the week.”

  There was a short pause and then, “Have you been keeping up with the outside world?”

  “No, and please don’t feel you have to bring me up to date.”

  “It’s my job to tell you. Several articles surfaced in the last week. Apparently, Randall gave an interview where he basically said that the reason for your breakup was because you got involved with someone else and decided you didn’t need him anymore. Since you haven’t been seen in public since your tour ended, the speculation is that you’re off somewhere with the new man in your life.”

  Just hearing Randall’s name was enough to make her sick. Wasn’t it bad enough that he’d made a fool of her? Did he have to make it worse by trying to paint her as the injuring party? Her presence in the park prevented her from taking out her frustration by yelling. Throwing her phone was too risky. This left only one thing. She ripped off her headset and sent it flying through the air. As soon as she did it, she regretted doing something so childish. She felt even more foolish when a little boy brought it back to her.

  “You shouldn’t throw things,” he said, his eyes as solemn as his voice.

  Taking it from him, she said, “You’re right. I’m very sorry.” He nodded and then took off back to the playground. When she replaced the headset, she could hear Willow laughing. “I’m glad my frustration is so amusing.”

  “This is what it’s like to live under a microscope. We could make some of this go away if you’d come out of hiding.”

  “I’m not willing to do that right now.”

  “The public is very fickle, Rosemary. Your squeaky-clean image is part of what sells your albums. If those mothers and fathers of teenage girls start thinking you’re not a good role model, there could be repercussions.”

  “I’m not going to give Randall the satisfaction of trying to defend something he did to me. Sometimes it’s best to say nothing.”

  “I hope you’re right about that. How are the headaches?”

  “Much better.”

  “And the dizzy spells?”

  “I haven’t had any more of those.”

  “Good. The rehearsals for the Christmas special have been moved up a few days, but you should be fine as long as you’re back in town by the eighteenth.”

  She didn’t want to think about leaving yet. It seemed like she’d just arrived. “I’ll be there.”

  After she hung up with Willow, Rosemary continued her run, but with nothing close to the same level of enjoyment. Would she ever escape the reach of Randall?

  * * * * *

  For the second time in a week, Jase was borrowing his brother’s tools. This particular job wasn’t going to be nearly as enjoyable as fixing Rosemary’s leaky faucet. The neighbor across the street, an elderly bachelor who hardly ever had a good word for anyone, asked him to take down the old satellite dish mounted on his second-story roof. Quinn’s ladder wasn’t tall enough which meant Jase was stuck using the one stored in the shed at the back of Mr. Buckingham’s property.

  When he finally got the stubborn door open, he groaned inwardly. The air had a decidedly off-putting aroma, cobwebs hung from the ceiling and a thick layer of dirt and dust lay over everything in sight. This place obviously hadn’t seen the light of day in years. The shed’s owner only stayed long enough to point out the location of the ladder.

  During the half hour that it took Jase to clear a path through what appeared to be decades of accumulation, he made a few colorful comments that wouldn’t have endeared him to his neighbor. Fortunately the only person who heard them was Max, Mr. Buckingham’s Saint Bernard. Once the wooden ladder had been extricated from its hiding place, Jase looked it over for any obvious structural issues. When he didn’t find any, he positioned it as close to the satellite dish as possible given the pitch of the roof. Then he strapped a tool belt around his waist and pulled on a pair of work gloves. The creaking sounds he heard as he moved from one rung to the next weren’t reassuring.

  Removing the rusty mounting brace holding the satellite dish to the roof turned out to be more involved than he thought. He was working from an awkward angle and a distance of almost a foot. When he got to the last two screws, he had to hold the cordless drill with one hand and the large, heavy dish with the other. Everything would have been fine if it hadn’t been for the mockingbird. When the gray and white bird came out of nowhere and flew right into Jase’s face, he instinctively jerked back. The next moment he was grasping at air and falling backwards.

  The impact of hitting the ground knocked the wind out of him. Searing pain radiated from his lower back to his head. When he tried to move, he realized his right arm was pinned underneath him. Using his left hand, he pushed himself into a sitting position. A wave of dizziness sent him to the ground again. He’d always wondered what the phrase ‘seeing stars’ meant. Now he knew. In what he guessed was commiseration, Max bent down to lick his face. Giving the dog a pat on the head, he worked on removing his phone from his pocket so he could call Quinn. It was obvious he wasn’t going to be able to get up by himself.

  The ride in the ambulance was agony as was the sensation of being wheeled into the emergency room, a place he’d only been in once before when he got cleated by another player during a high school soccer game. Three hours later, he was being helped by Quinn into the cottage. In addition to suffering a concussion, he had twenty stitches on the side of his head, a separated shoulder, and a sprained right elbow. This hadn’t been one of his better days, and it was only mid-afternoon.

  “I’ll get him settled,” he heard Quinn say to Ellen. “Could you get some Ibuprofen out of the medicine cabinet? I’m also going to need my laptop, a pillow and a couple of blankets.”

  After Ellen left, Jase looked at his brother. “Are we having a sleepover?”

  Quinn maneuvered him through the narrow doorway. “You guessed it. It’s going to be me and you partying all night.”

  “Sorry to take you away from your bride.”

  “Me, too. This is gonna cost you.”

  Jase laughed weakly as he tried to take off his jeans with only one hand. “I never realized how useful two hands are.”

  “Getting you out of that skin tight t-shirt isn’t going to be easy, either. If it wasn’t decorated with your blood, I’d leave you in it. I think every nurse on duty came by to check out your muscular perfection.”

  “It’s too bad I wasn’t in any condition to enjoy all the attention.” He sank back against the pillows. “My head feels like someone is inside it with a jackhammer.”

  “It’s going to feel that way for a while. If you didn’t have such a hard head, you’d have cracked your skull.”

  “Is he decent?” Ellen called from outside the room.

  “As decent as we can make him,” Quinn answered.

/>   “Here’s the Ibuprofen and some water.”

  “Thanks.” Quinn took them from her and handed Jase two of the pills. “These should help with the pain.” He closed the blinds and shut off the light. “I’ll try to keep my complaints about the football game down so you can get some rest.”

  “Can you give me my phone?”

  “Nope. Your brain doesn’t need any more stimulation.”

  “Is that really necessary?”

  “It’s only for a few days.”

  With every bone in his body hurting, Jase couldn’t find a comfortable position. He ended up laying on his back staring at the ceiling. As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered what happened to the satellite dish.

  * * * * *

  When Rosemary reached the almost empty parking lot, she noticed her rental car leaning to one side. Had she parked in a hole? A closer inspection showed that the pavement wasn’t the problem. The front passenger side tire was so flat the rim was touching the ground. Sitting down on the curb, she weighed her somewhat limited options.

  Mrs. Jenkins was out of town for the weekend visiting her grandchildren. Since it was well after five on a Sunday evening, the car repair places were closed. She could walk back into the park and try to find someone. That might get her into more trouble than the flat tire. There was one other alternative. She removed her purse from the trunk and dug around inside it until she found the card Jase had given her.

  The phone rang several times before a woman answered. A momentary sense of disappointment went through her which was ridiculous in the circumstances.

  “Hello. This is Rosemary Murphy. I’m trying to reach Jase. Is he available?”

  “Hi, Rosemary. I’m Ellen, Jase’s sister-in-law. He had an accident earlier today. Right now, he’s sleeping.”

  “Oh, no! I hope he’s okay.”

  Ellen laughed. “It’ll take more than a concussion to slow down Jase.”

  “Do you happen to know of a reliable towing service? I’ve got a flat tire, and I’m not sure who to call.”

  “There’s no need to call anyone. My husband can take care of it. Where are you?”

  “I can’t bother him with this.”

  “Don’t be silly. It’s no problem.”

  “I’m at Lakeside Park, opposite the playground.”

  “We can be there in ten minutes. We’ll be driving a black car.”

  While she waited, Rosemary took a drink from her water bottle and walked around to lean against the rear bumper. Her efforts to avoid involvement with Jase weren’t having much success. A flash of headlights told her that help had arrived. Two people emerged from a gleaming Jaguar: a pretty brunette and a man whose face was riddled with scars.

  “Hello, there,” the woman called to her. “I’m Ellen, and this is my husband Quinn. He also happens to be Jase’s brother.”

  Rosemary tried not to stare. Quinn had obviously been in some kind of accident of his own. “I apologize for interrupting your Sunday afternoon like this.”

  Quinn opened the trunk of his car. “That’s okay. My football team is losing so I didn’t mind taking a break from the game.” He reached inside and pulled out a hand jack and a lug wrench. “I’ll go get started while you two get acquainted.”

  “Let us know if you need any help,” Ellen told him and then turned to Rosemary. “I’m teasing. He won’t need our help. He can change a tire in his sleep. Jase told me how you two met. How long are you going to be in town?”

  Had Jase also told her that Rosemary had once again repaid his kindness by running from him? “Another two weeks.”

  “Maybe by that time you’ll change your mind and decide to stay. That’s what happened to me. I grew up here, but moved away after high school. A few years ago I was working at a bank in North Carolina when I found out I’d inherited a floral business in St. Marys. It only took a few days of being here again to convince me that this is where I wanted to be.”

  Rosemary remembered the name on the card in her pocket. “Do you own Violets are Blue?”

  “Yes. Selling flowers is so much more rewarding than sitting at a desk all day. I’m in the process of hiring someone to take over for me for a while. My baby is due in April.”

  “Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. Quinn hasn’t stopped smiling since I told him, and Jase is nearly as excited as we are.”

  “I noticed how good Jase was with Winnie.”

  “I don’t think there’s a female alive that Jase can’t charm.”

  Rosemary could attest to that. “How did he get hurt?”

  “He fell off a ladder while he was trying to take down our neighbor’s satellite dish.”

  “I’m glad he didn’t break a leg or anything.”

  “Me, too. It could have been much worse.”

  Quinn appeared behind Ellen carrying the flat tire. “I found the problem. You picked up a screw somewhere. There’s a place about two miles down the road called Tire Kingdom. Take the tire there tomorrow, and they’ll be able to tell you whether they can plug the hole. If they can’t, you’ll have to buy a new tire. In the meantime, I put on the spare for you.”

  “Thank you so much for all your help.”

  “You’re welcome. Jase is going to be out of action for a few days. I’m sure he’d like to see someone other than me and Ellen. If you want to stop by, we’re at 2229 Sea Grape Lane. He lives in the cottage behind our house. The GPS in your car will get you there.”

  She couldn’t very well refuse after they’d been so nice to her. How much harm could one short visit do? “I’ll come tomorrow afternoon after I take care of the tire.” As she drove home, she tried to rationalize the excitement building up inside her. When that didn’t work, she forced herself to remember the tidal wave of press coverage she received following the announcement of her broken engagement.

  * * * * *

  Jase felt Quinn’s hand on his shoulder shaking him awake. “Take it easy, man,” he grumbled irritably. “I hurt all over.”

  “Sorry about that, but I’ve been at this for five minutes. My next choice was pouring water on you.”

  Jase winced in pain as he rolled over. “What time is it?”

  “A little after seven. Are you hungry?”

  “Not really.”

  “You must feel bad to turn down food.”

  “I’ve felt better; let’s leave it at that.” There was a look on his brother’s face that even in his less-than-stellar state made Jase suspicious. “Okay. Out with it. What’s going on? Did Oprah pick one of my books for her reading club?”

  “Uh, no. I think what I have to say is better, but you’re the best judge of that. Your friend Rosemary called earlier. She had a flat tire. Ellen and I went to Lakeside Park, and I put on her spare. She’s coming to see you tomorrow afternoon.”

  Jase started to shake his head in disbelief and then thought better of it. “It’s not nice to tease a man when he’s down.”

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Well, if you are telling the truth, you couldn’t have prescribed a better medicine.”

  “Is this your concussion talking?”

  “Nope. This has been going on since I held her hand on the plane.”

  “Why am I just hearing about that? It’s not like you to keep those kinds of details to yourself.”

  “I know. Does that tell you something?”

  “Probably more than you intended. Anyway, she seems very nice, and Ellen liked her. It’s up to you not to scare her away.”

  This time Jase did shake his head. “First Mom, and now you. Who else is going to give me dating advice?”

  “I don’t know, but given your level of success, you might want to start listening.”

  “Maybe I will. Anyway, thanks for changing Rosemary’s tire.”

  “No problem. I look forward to watching this romance unfold.”

  Jase hoped there would be a romance to watch. He never thought he’d have cause to be grateful for a flat tire, but
it had done what all his wishing hadn’t: provided the means to see Rosemary again.

  * * * * *

  It was late afternoon by the time Rosemary finished at Tire Kingdom. As Quinn had said, her GPS found Sea Grape Lane easily enough. As she parked behind a gray SUV, her eyes moved from the two-story brick house to the smaller dwelling sitting in its shadow. The same attack of nerves she’d experienced when Jase came over to the house struck her again. She could find no reasonable explanation for it, only a few implausible ones that were better ignored.

  A woman who wasn’t Ellen opened the door in answer to Rosemary’s knock. The green eyes and light hair were too similar to Jase’s for her not to be a relation.

  “Hello. You must be Rosemary. Jase has been talking about you all day.”

  Rosemary laughed. “That must have made for very boring conversation.”

  The woman stepped aside to let her come in. “Jase is many things, but he’s not boring. I’m Terry, his sister.” She motioned Rosemary to follow her down a short hallway. “He’s in bed, but he’s not asleep. Since he can’t watch television or read, he’s very bored. Quinn made it worse by confiscating his phone and laptop. Seeing you should make his day.”

  It was ridiculous to blush, but that didn’t stop Rosemary from doing it. She would have sworn she was past such things.

  Terry stuck her head through the half open door. “Here’s someone to see you, Jase.” She turned to Rosemary. “Go on in. I’m going to run over to see Ellen for a few minutes.”

  Rosemary stepped into the room and stood for a moment on the threshold. Jase was lying slightly propped up in bed and appeared much worse than she expected. Lines of fatigue and pain stood out on his thin face, and his eyes had a feverish brightness to them.

  “I shouldn’t have come. You don’t look well enough for company.”

  He smiled. “Believe it or not, I look worse than I feel.”

  “I think you’re just saying that,” she said as she walked over to stand by the bed.

  “No, I’m not. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror this morning. It was enough to keep me from doing it again.”