Steps on the path announced a visitor. Lena rose to greet Maggie.
Only, it wasn’t Maggie.
Jess approached, one hand around a bottle of wine, the other carrying two glasses. She stopped in front of the porch. “Um, hi.”
Her tentative smile was difficult to resist, but Lena had spent all week hardening her heart against the impact of Ella’s gaze, so she was trained to ignore the charm of the Riley women. They needed to talk first. “Hi.”
Jess’s smile faltered, but her eye contact didn’t waver. “I hoped you’d let me apologize. Again. And I come bearing gifts.” She held up the bottle.
It was the wine they’d drunk at the beach house together. That Jess had remembered and made the effort to find it charmed Lena more than she cared to admit. She took a step back from the railing and invited Jess to join her with a sweep of her arm. “The wine is a good argument.” She sat again with a sigh.
Jess placed the two glasses on the table and retrieved a Swiss army knife from her pocket. The bottle was open in no time, and she poured both glasses. “May I sit?”
“Of course.” The formality was cute and annoying at the same time. Even if Lena was mostly annoyed at herself for finding it cute. “You’re sure about red wine? You could end up with another ruined shirt.”
Jess had picked up her glass and swirled the dark-red liquid around. “I trust you not to abuse your power.”
“Okay.” Lena sipped her water. She needed a clear head for this conversation.
Jess took a big gulp of the wine, placed her glass on the table, and wiped her hands on her shorts. “I’m sorry for what I said and how I handled our talk last week.”
The words were rushed, and the signs of nervousness tugged at Lena’s determination to keep her distance. She didn’t trust her voice to remain neutral, so she said nothing and waited.
Leaning forward, Jess put her hands on the table, palms up. “I was an arrogant ass. I accused you of selfishness, but it was all on me. Instead of really apologizing to you, I tried to push my solution to my problems on you. And I’m sorry I said you only cared for Maggie because you want a substitute mom.” She grimaced. “That was uncalled for.”
“Why did you say it?”
“Mostly selfish reasons.” Jess cringed but held her gaze. “I wanted to hurt you because you said a truth I didn’t want to hear. You challenged me and held me accountable. That hasn’t happened in a long time, and I needed it. Without you, I wouldn’t have changed. Thank you.” Something new resonated in Jess’s voice. Respect.
Until this second, Lena hadn’t known she needed to hear this. It soothed her frayed senses better than any birds, sunset, or wine ever could. Before she could find her voice, Jess continued.
“You were right. I was asking too much of my mom. Then I arrogantly thought I could solve all our problems by foisting a solution on you that you neither wanted nor needed. And when you told me to stop, I didn’t listen. I’m sorry for that as well.” Jess’s eyes were filled with a myriad of emotions like the shades of a stormy sky by a master painter. Remorse. Self-deprecation. Fear. Trust. And respect again.
Lena considered the right wording for her answer. The apology seemed genuine and was different from last week. Jess had given it some thought.
The want to forgive Jess warred with the instinct to protect her own heart from pain. For that she had to keep her distance. To gain some time, she took a small sip of the wine. It was as good as she remembered and conjured memories of their first kiss. That wasn’t helping in the least. She scowled at the wine and her traitorous brain.
“Okay. I’ve said what I needed to say, and I’ll leave you in peace.” With a sigh, Jess rose and picked up her wine glass. “Tonight, I’ll stay in my room, and tomorrow I’m going to my condo. I’ll keep out of your way.”
Oh no. Jess thought Lena was still angry at her. “No, wait. I wasn’t scowling because of you, just at myself, and… Stay, please?”
Jess sat again, waiting.
“I accept your apology, and I owe you one too. I…” Lena swallowed against her sudden dry throat. All week she had thought about the apology and now that she faced Jess the right words eluded her. “When you offered me the position as a nanny, some of my baggage surfaced and I saw red. You couldn’t have known what you really asked of me because I hadn’t trusted you with all of my past. Instead of explaining, I mixed all my emotions from the past and present and overreacted. And what I said about you killing your mother… I’m sorry, that was horrible.” She blinked to keep her tears from falling.
“Thank you. So we’re okay?” Jess’s voice hitched.
“We’re getting there.” Lena held up her wine glass in a peace offering.
Jess clinked hers against it, and the bright note made Lena smile.
For a moment, it was enough to drink the wine in silence as the apology settled around her. The evening sky faded from pink to dark purple, and the darkness gave her the courage to open up. To honor Jess’s respect with trust.
“I’ve told you about Tammy but not the whole story. I was overjoyed when I moved in with my mother and when my baby sister was born. She was adorable. It was like a dream come true, playing happy family. But then things started to slide. I was afraid to tell my grandma because she had warned me about my
