“Love you,” Emily said, bending down to give her a hug. “Even if you did give my conscience a nasty poke.”
“I live to make you a better person,” Gabi told her. “Love you.”
She watched as Emily left, her step a little slower, as if she suddenly had a lot on her mind. Gabi hoped she did, because it was way past time for this silliness between her and Samantha to stop. It was the sort of thing that could crop up at the most inopportune time, and she didn’t want any sort of spat to spoil Emily’s wedding.
13
Jimmy paced anxiously as Wade read his essay for the scholarship application. Every couple of minutes he’d pause in front of Wade, watch him intently, then take up pacing again.
“I’d be able to read faster if you’d sit down,” Wade told him, amused. “Or at least stop jiggling the change in your pocket. You’re messing with my concentration.”
“If what I wrote was any good, wouldn’t you be able to focus better?” Jimmy asked worriedly. “It’s because it’s awful that you’re so easily distracted.”
Wade studied the teenager and realized he really was panicked over this. “Sit,” he ordered.
Jimmy dragged over a chair and straddled it.
“Now, I want you to listen to me very closely,” Wade said. “I’m not finished yet, but this is not awful. Far from it.”
Jimmy’s eyes brightened. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Wade assured him. “Now give me ten quiet minutes and I’ll tell you exactly what I think. If you don’t think you can sit still that long, get Tommy to put you to work. I’ll find you as soon as I’m done.”
Jimmy shook his head. “I’ll wait.”
“Quietly,” Wade reiterated.
“As a mouse,” Jimmy said, grinning. “That’s what my mom used to say before church, that we had to be quiet as a mouse.”
Wade laughed, remembering similar admonishments. “Okay, then. Let’s give it a try.”
He finished reading, though he was fully aware that Jimmy was still watching him intently, still looking half-afraid that Wade was about to rip his heart out with his criticism.
Before he could speak, Jimmy piped up. “English was never my best subject, so it probably needs some work on the grammar and stuff. Just tell me where I screwed up, okay?”
Wade held up a hand to silence him. “Jimmy, it’s a wonderful essay. I promise you it’s going to knock their socks off. You told them exactly why you want this, how hard you’re willing to work, what you think will motivate you to be the best student ever.”
“It’s not dorky?” he asked worriedly.
“No,” Wade assured him. “It’s honest and sensitive, especially the part about how hard your dad has always worked and the lessons that’s taught you about being responsible and being a good man.”
“My dad’s a great guy,” he said simply.
“And that comes across loud and clear,” Wade said. “And you know what else is loud and clear? What a fine young man you are.”
Color rose in Jimmy’s cheeks. “I just don’t want it to sound dumb.”
“There is nothing dumb about it. Want to go over to Castle’s for lunch and let Gabi read it? She has a lot of experience with writing things to make a point. I’m pretty sure that’s what press releases are all about, and the way I hear it, she writes exceptional press releases.”
“Do you think she’d mind taking a look at it?” Jimmy asked hesitantly. “It’s enough that she got me this chance. I don’t want to be a pest.”
“I think she would love to see the essay,” Wade told him. “Let me make sure she’s over there.”
But when he called Castle’s, Cora Jane told him that Gabi was meeting with the owner of the store where she’d found the wind chime and then going by to see the artist who’d created the wind chime she’d purchased.
“Tell you what,” she said. “Why don’t you bring Jimmy by the house for dinner this evening? I know Gabriella will want to see this essay of his, and she’s bound to have news about this latest project of hers. I imagine you’re anxious to hear all about that.”
“Sounds great,” Wade said eagerly. “What time?”
“Six-thirty? Jerry’s coming by to put some fish on the grill. He stopped by the docks earlier. He told me today’s catch was especially good, so he bought extra for tonight.”
“Hold on a sec. Let me check with Jimmy.” Wade told the teenager the plan, and Jimmy immediately agreed. “We’ll be there, Cora Jane. Anything I can bring?”
“Just yourselves.”
When he’d disconnected the call, he caught Jimmy grinning. “What?” Wade said.
“This worked out real good for you, didn’t it? Thanks to me, you got yourself a date.”
Wade frowned at him. “I don’t think that’s exactly true. Gabi doesn’t even know about this, so if I have a date with anybody, it’s with you and Cora Jane.”
Jimmy immediately looked worried. “You think Gabi might not show up?”
Wade thought about Cora Jane’s determination to play matchmaker. “Oh, I imagine she’ll be there. Cora Jane will see to that,” he conceded.
“Then in a way you owe me,” Jimmy said.
“Do you really want to go there?” Wade asked, not even trying to hide his amusement. “Because without me, you wouldn’t have met Gabi. Without her, you wouldn’t have met her dad. And this whole scholarship thing...” He gave him a long look. “Well, I think you can see where I’m going with this.”
Jimmy’s impudent expression faltered only slightly at the reality check. “Still, I’m pretty sure I’m your ticket to getting tight with Gabi. She likes me. I don’t scare her the way you do.”
Wade frowned. “Scare her? You think I scare her?”
“That’s the way it looks to me,” Jimmy said with surprising confidence. “You get all intense and lovesick when she’s around. That’s got to be scary for a woman who’s pregnant with some other guy’s kid. I’m thinking you need to chill.”
As much as he wanted to dismiss what Jimmy was saying, it struck Wade that the teen
