Heart storms, p.21
Heart Storms, page 21
Devlin’s baby boy came into her mind. Visualizing him with not much of a mother or father, meaning he’d have not much of a future, her heart softened even more. The boy probably resembled both his parents with blonde hair and blue or green eyes and cute as a button. To treat an innocent baby’s father the way she treated Devlin seemed small and mean. She’d gotten her revenge. His divorce was imminent, his life broken. None of it had been her fault, but he’d now experience at least some of what she did. Here it was the holidays and she felt like a small-hearted, bitter Grinch. The Grinch was one of her favorite Christmas cartoons when she was a kid. She loved how his heart grew when he saw how much the Who people loved each other and still celebrated the holiday even though he’d stolen all their gifts and food.
Jade became a real-life Grinch now, hating Devlin even after he tried to apologize and came to her for help. It was ballsy of him, true. Here I am working in this gorgeous place decorated with beauty and love, with good, caring coworkers, a kind boss, money in the bank, a wonderful home, and most of all, a loving, healing relationship with Gabe. During one of the most festive, sacred times of the year, she’d been so blessed since her destruction almost two years ago. She’d gained a whole new life, the phoenix rising from the ashes. Whereas Devlin’s new life had been a sham and he was still stumbling around in the ashes, still destroyed for all his efforts.
She called her mother to tell her what happened. Maggie was not one to say, ‘I told you so.’ Instead she said, “I’m so glad my daughter’s beautiful heart has returned. You realize Gabe had something to do with it, don’t you?”
“Of course. And now I want to do what’s right, and I’d like your perspective because you were the closest person to me during my darkest times. Is there anything I can or should do to rectify my uncaring behavior?”
“Do you think calling Devlin and apologizing would do it?”
“I don’t have his cell number; besides, it didn’t work for me when he tried to apologize. Apologies are just words.”
“If words won’t cut it, what will?”
“I have to do something; something tangible to help, like bringing in a stray cat from the rain, even if for one night.”
“Does the inn have a room available?”
“No. We only have one room available in the small inn which I keep open in case a returning guest is in a jam. I can’t give it away. Besides, Rick wouldn’t allow Devlin to stay here, and we already told him we were full.”
“It sounds to me like you want to help him at least be safe and possibly get back to California to deal with his mess.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’s what he needs most right now. It’s too cold to sleep in his car and he doesn’t know where the homeless shelter is, let alone he’d never stay there.”
“Oh, Jade. You should do something. Even something small. Whatever your heart tells you is right.”
As Jade listened, she flipped through pamphlets on her desk and saw one for a motel where she knew the owners and got an idea. “I know what to do, Mom. Thanks, you’re a doll for helping, as usual. And you’re still planning to come out here in February, right? Gabe already likes you from what I’ve told him and can’t wait to meet you.”
“I’m still planning on it.” The words caught in her throat and she hesitated. Her heart sank with an intuitive feeling—she wouldn’t get to meet Gabe in February, maybe never. But she said, “I want to meet him, too.” She worried for Jade but had to leave their fates to the forces of the future. She prayed for them, their safety, good fortune and their love.
As soon as Jade hung up, she called the owners of the motel a couple miles away. They were a retired, kind-hearted couple and acquainted with Jade from the Chamber of Commerce. She explained she had a person who got stuck without a room, and they worked out a deal.
The inn’s night manager had shown up and Jade gave him the names of a married couple checking in within a half-hour and the extra room to put them in. She put on her coat, grabbed her purse and ran outside, looking up and down the street for a car with out-of-state rental plates with a lone man sitting inside. Two blocks away she saw a black compact car with rental plates, and a man Devlin’s height, build and coloring leaning against the car. He had a bottle in a brown bag and drank from it. That’s got to be him, solving his problem by getting drunk. He’ll end up driving drunk and in jail, or in the hospital, or dead or kill someone else. Lightning streaked overhead and thunder rumbled close by. She thought of the baby in California and the stray cat in the rain. She couldn’t let Devlin go off into a black, stormy night, drunk and driving in a strange town. Jade ran down to reach him before the deluge came and took his arm.
He jumped back. “Jade! What the hell…? Get away from me. Haven’t you done enough already to get revenge?”
“I don’t want revenge and I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help. But only if you go home and take care of your mess. Your son deserves a decent father. Let’s get in the car out of this rain and talk.” She grabbed the bottle out of his hand.
Once in the car, she asked him to empty his pockets. He had a wallet with only fifty dollars in it, his license and passport. She held it up. “Trying to leave the country?”
“No,” he said with sloppy speech. “But I wish I had the money to get out.”
“And what good would leaving do? You’ll still get divorced, still need a job to make money and live and support your child. Unless you want to die. Do you want to die?”
He looked at her like she was an alien. “Hell, no.”
Jade laughed realizing he was too vain and narcissistic to consider suicide. “Okay, you have to figure out how you’re going to live. Do you love your baby?”
“Of course, I do. He’s the best thing to come out of all this mess with Candace. I love him more than anything.”
“You have to do right by him. You want to be a good father?”
He stared at Jade with a solemn look. “I do. I really do. I didn’t have much of a father and I want to be a great one for Adam.”
“Well, get a plan and stop feeling sorry for yourself. My mother and my best friend helped me when I was in your situation, so I’m going to pay it forward by helping you. Mostly because of an innocent baby. And because I can’t leave strays out in the rain to die.”
He looked sideways at her and said, “Whaat?”
“Never mind. Do you have a return plane ticket to California? Let me see it.”
He took it out of his coat pocket.
“Good. It’s for tomorrow afternoon. Even better. I’ve arranged for you to stay at a nice motel down the road. I know the owners. I took in two of their guests and they’re preparing a room for you right now in return. Tell them you’re Jade Armstrong’s guest and you’ll have a comfortable, warm, free room for the night.”
“You really got me a room? I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. I’m not a monster. Next. Stop drinking. Go home sober. Attend AA meetings with a record of your attendance. You’ll need it for the court so you can get joint custody of your son. You’ve got those pictures of Candace and her lover. Use them. You could even use them against her to keep this divorce out of court. Tell her you’ll leak them to the papers, to her family, whatever. Do what you do best—use her—manipulate her to get what you need to survive. With the pre-nup you won’t get any share of the house or properties. But make her give you a car. She’s probably got, like what, five of them at least? Tell her it’s for the good of your son. Which it is.”
Devlin stared out the window as he listened. Jade tapped him on the cheek. “Are you paying close attention? Look at me so I see you’re getting this.”
He turned to face her. “Oh, I’m getting it all right. I just can’t believe you’re giving me such good advice.”
“Follow it. Next, make Candace see the better your life is, the better Adam’s life will be. Get a car, get as much money as you can from her to start over and ask her to help you get a job. She’ll be ecstatic to find a way to not have her dirty laundry aired in public and her family’s name dragged through a scandal. She doesn’t want her reputation ruined, so I predict she’ll do what you ask within reason. But don’t take advantage and ask for too much or she’ll balk. But with her fortune, and a child she probably doesn’t want to be tied down to seven days a week, you should at least propose a generous monthly income, a place to live in a good neighborhood and a car.”
All the while Jade talked, Devlin paid closer attention. He listened, nodded, understood. He’d say, “Yeah, true.” And “That’s right.” And “Good. Yeah. I’ll do it.” And “You’re good at this kind of thing, Jade.”
With a mocking look on her face, she said, “I had a great teacher.”
He said, “Again, I’m so sorry for how I treated you and I can’t thank you enough for helping me now. You’re a saint.”
“I’m no saint because I’m grateful to have you out of my life. For good. But I will do one last thing then you and I are done with each other. Deal?” She’d been writing something while he talked and slapped it in his hand. “This is for you to get home, put in the bank, use for what you need most until your divorce settlement comes through—maybe a place to live in a decent part of town, not for booze or drugs. Promise?”
“I promise—no more addiction. My life right now is about survival.”
“Right. With this at least you’ll have a place to stay until she calms down and sees she’s better off helping you start over since she’s the reason for it. This will tide you over until you get a new start.”
Devlin looked down at the check. It was made out for $5,000. “Jade, my God, I can’t take this from you.”
“Consider it a loan, then. I’ll be checking up on your progress through various sources to make sure you’re holding up your end of the deal. If you don’t, I swear I’ll drag you into court to pay me back every dime.” Jade looked out the window, not wanting to see his face anymore. “And never ask me for anything else. You hear me? I’m building a new life and I don’t want to hear from you or have you asking me for more. This is it. I think I’ve done enough to ease the Grinch in my heart.”
“Whaat? The Grinch???”
“Forget it. I mean what I said. People helped me, so I’m paying it forward. I won’t hear from you again, right, unless you want to repay the loan via mail anytime in the future.”
With tears in his eyes, he said, “I promise. There’s not a better soul on earth than you, Jade. Thank you. How can I repay you for this kindness when I was such a shit?”
“First, don’t remind me how much of a shit you were, or I might take it all back. Second, pay me back by living a clean, good life, pulling yourself together, getting what you deserve out of your sham of a marriage, and, mostly, be a great father to your little boy.”
“I will, I promise.” They shook hands. She gave him directions to the motel and wished him well.
As she got out of the car, he said, “Hey, Jade… have a great New Year.”
She smiled and waved back. “Yes, now it will be.”
***
When Jade got back to her cottage, Gabe waited for her with a light meal and a chilled bottle of wine. She fell into his arms, exhausted more emotionally than physically. They sipped wine by the Christmas tree in the living room lit with tiny white lights strung all around and glowing white candles. She wasn’t sure how he’d take the story of what she did for Devlin. He’d either be upset or okay with it. But after she told him the details, as usual, Gabe surprised her. He set aside his glass, stood and pulled her up. “Come here, you.”
“What?”
He wrapped her in his arms and squeezed hard. “Oh, you, my girl. I’m so proud of you. I’m so happy you’re the kind of person who can do what’s right even if it hurts, even if they wanted to get even. You’re one-of-a-kind, Jade and I’m so glad you’re mine.”
“Thanks for understanding. You’re not bad yourself.” She pulled away slightly. “And how about the fiancé comment and Rick’s reaction?”
Gabe gave a weak smile. “Ooh, boy. That was a close one. I really meant it when I said it. But seeing his shocked reaction, I had to react quick and pretend I was kidding.”
“Talk about nerves of steel. I was a wreck watching the scene go down.”
Laughing, they sat again. “It was a close one, but this is getting to where he’ll have to be told the truth. I don’t know how we’ll deal with it, but we don’t want him finding out from someone else.”
“Let’s not think about it now. We’ll figure out what to do in time. Let’s relax tonight. I feel as if a hundred-pound weight’s been lifted off me. Now I can really enjoy bringing in the new year.”
“You’re right. We’ll tell Rick about us when the time is right.” But Gabe groaned. “I have to be honest; I don’t look forward to it and I hope nobody beats us to the punch.”
***
New Year’s Eve and Day had passed as great successes the week before. Rick couldn’t have been happier. The following week the staff was busy taking down the holiday decorations and cleaning up the inn. Business was the quietest they’d seen since opening. Rick had announced if any staff wanted to take a vacation or time off, January and February were the months to do it.
Roy jumped at the chance and asked him for time off the same week. Although it was short notice, Rick said it was no problem because he guessed Gabe wouldn’t mind tending bar for the few guests they had.
“Speaking of problems,” Roy said, “there’s something going on that could cause you some trouble, something you might not be aware of.”
“Which problem are you talking about? The leaky roof, or the old laundry equipment, or the new tables we need in the bar area?”
Roy stared at his feet and put his hands in his pockets. “Well, sir, I’m talking about a people problem.”
Rick’s voice took on a ‘I don’t believe you’ tone. “And exactly which people are you talking about?”
Roy kicked at the ground. “I hate to be the one to tell you this.”
Rick’s eyes narrowed, his face stern. “I’ll bet you are. Why don’t you spit it out?”
Roy glared at him. “Fine. Did you know Jade and Gabriel are in a relationship? An intimate love relationship?”
The information caught Rick by surprise, or more accurately, with extreme shock. But he hid his true emotions because this wasn’t Roy’s business. He tried to make light of it while writhing inside. “I suspected it. But I’m sure you’re going to give me proof, right?”
“Yes, sir. A few months ago, I overheard them one night when they thought I was gone for the night. They talked about having sex and getting together at her house at night. Another time, I spotted them coming out of a store. Inside they kissed and held hands, then once outside they went their separate ways pretending not to be together. And recently my brother served Gabe at the bar down the street from Jade’s cottage…”
Rick put his hand in the air. “Stop! I don’t need to hear any more. It’s highly improbable they could’ve hidden something as torrid or long-term for so long.”
“They’re good, boss. They keep it under wraps real good. But remember the night Devlin showed up? Remember Gabe slipped and said he was Jade’s fiancé?”
“Slipped? He didn’t slip. He was lying to shut Devlin up.”
Roy grinned. “I don’t think he lied. He was so riled up at Devlin, he spoke the truth, ‘I’m her fiancé, that’s who I am,’ he said. Then he had to quick pretend he was kidding.”
Rick got up from his desk and paced, his face red and scowling. He didn’t care for snitches. “I’ve heard enough. I’ll look into it.” He stopped walking and stared at Roy. “If they’re together and happy, we should be happy for them. Right?”
It wasn’t the response Roy expected. He imagined Rick would be crazy angry and maybe fire Gabe. “You’re taking this pretty good, boss, considering.”
“Considering what?”
Sheepish, Roy said, “You know, considering Jade’s your girl. Everybody knows she’s the boss’s girl.”
Rick pointed at the door and bellowed, “Get out Roy. This is a ridiculous conversation. Have a great vacation. See you in a week. Take two if you want. Paid.”
At first, Roy smiled ear-to-ear. “Well thanks, Rick. I will take the two weeks.” But after he left Rick’s office he wondered about Rick’s supposed generosity and if his days as the bartender might be numbered. Ratting out the happy couple had backfired on him or so it seemed.
Chapter 25
The third week of January, Rick called Jade into his office. He’d taken a week to think about what Roy told him. He was angry she hid the truth from him, but he had been avoiding her lately. He’d had his chance with her and blew it, but hoped she knew his true feelings and would wait for him to get over his issues. She thought I’d never get over them and she couldn’t wait forever. She’d been through too much emotionally and was hurting, too. He’d seen it when she interviewed and ever since—a hidden sadness, anger. As much as he was falling in love with her, his gut told him he was right to not get involved quickly. But then there was Leah. His love for Jade was always the trigger for his soul-deep grief over Leah.
Rick rubbed his hands over his face and head, frustrated and confused, there was something else bothering him—what was it? He felt it first in his heart, then his head with the realization: Pain. My heart is breaking apart with pain. He was in agony knowing Jade might’ve fallen in love with someone else, but could he blame her? He’d noticed a change in her. She seemed a different person, always cheerful, dressing up and looking consistently stunning.
