Before Wade could reply, Jerry jumped in. “I personally admire a man who’s direct,” he told Jimmy. “You never have to worry about what he’s hiding. And, to answer your question, I am courting Cora Jane. One of these days I figure she’ll give up and marry me.”
Jimmy’s eyes widened, but all he said was, “Cool!”
Gabi thought it was pretty cool, too. Cora Jane, however, looked fairly flustered by the very public declaration of a strategy that had been plain to her granddaughters for months now. It was about time Cora Jane had the tables turned on her. She wasn’t the only one in the family, after all, capable of a little scheming.
14
After dinner, Jimmy volunteered to help clean up the kitchen, while Gabi took his essay into the living room to read. Wade hung out in the kitchen to lend a hand, as well.
Just as earlier, there was no mistaking Jimmy’s nervousness as he awaited Gabi’s verdict.
When she came back into the kitchen in just minutes with a smile on her face, not only Jimmy but Wade breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay?” Jimmy asked.
“It is so much better than okay,” she said, giving him a hug. “You nailed it!”
“That’s what Wade said, but he says you’re some kind of expert when it comes to writing.” He studied her face intently. “And you really didn’t find any mistakes or anything?”
“Not a one,” she assured him. “Do you have the application ready to go?”
Jimmy nodded. “This was the last thing. I can send it over to your dad tomorrow, if you think the essay’s okay.”
“Send it,” Gabi told him, picking up a dish towel to help out with drying the last of the dishes.
Cora Jane might have professional-grade dishwashers installed at the restaurant, but here at home she insisted on doing the task the old-fashioned way. Over the years Gabi and her sisters had grumbled about it, but amazingly in retrospect she realized how wonderful the postdinner camaraderie had been. It felt that way tonight, too.
As soon as they’d finished, the teen looked at Wade. “I figure you’re gonna be here awhile. Is it okay if I take off? I was gonna walk over to a friend’s house.”
“And you’ll have a way to get home from there?” Wade asked him.
“He’ll take me.”
“Any curfew at home?”
“Come on, man. I’m almost nineteen,” Jimmy retorted, looking at Wade as if he’d just arrived from some faraway planet.
“Hey, you’re still living at home,” Wade reminded him. “I imagine there are rules.”
“Okay, sure, there are some,” the teen admitted. “Clean up my room, help around the house, stuff like that, but I don’t have a curfew.” He turned to Gabi. “How about you? Does Cora Jane have you on a strict curfew? I wouldn’t want old Wade here to get you in any trouble.”
Wade chuckled. “Okay, point taken. Get out of here.”
As Jimmy took off, whistling happily, Wade shook his head. “He’s something.”
“He is, indeed,” Gabi agreed. “And you’re good with him. He obviously looks up to you.”
“Not just me,” Wade said. “His parents have taught him to respect his elders, period. You saw him tonight. He doesn’t hesitate to speak his mind, but he’s quick to worry that he might have overstepped. He’ll figure out how to make his way in the world.”
“I think so, too,” Gabi said. “Now, do you need to get home or do you have time for me to tell you about my day?”
“I always have time to listen to you,” he told her. “Seems to me as if everyone else has taken off for bed, so we have the living room to ourselves. Or it might be nice enough to sit outside.”
“Let me grab a sweater and let’s walk down to the pier. Sitting on the porch would be nice, but I guarantee Samantha’s window will be open and she’ll listen to every word we say.”
“Because that’s what you would do?” he asked, his expression amused.
“That’s what she and I did to Emily and Boone,” she corrected. “I doubt Samantha has suddenly mended her ways.”
Wade waited for her to get a sweater from upstairs, then walked with her across the lawn to the wooden pier. The grass was damp from an earlier shower, but now the full moon was out, casting a silvery steam of light across the water. Gabi could hear the chug of a boat’s motor in the distance. Otherwise, it was incredibly peaceful with no nearby traffic to break the silence.
Though the air was pleasant, an occasional breeze stirred. Wade must have noticed her shivering, because he shifted to sit closer, then put his arm around her. She leaned into his side.
“If you’re too chilly, we can go back in,” he offered.
“I’m good,” she said. “Your body’s like a furnace.”
“High metabolism,” he claimed. “Tell me about your day.”
Gabi described her meeting with Meg Waverly.
“Do you know her?” she asked.
“We’ve met. She carried a few of my carvings in her store. She’s good people, as folks around here would say, no question about it.”
“I think we’re going to be friends,” Gabi said, not even trying to keep a sense of wonder from her voice.
“Why do you sound so surprised about that?”
“Okay, I know this is going to sound pathetic, but I’ve never taken the time to have friends, not good ones, anyway. Emily, Samantha and I are close, and that seemed like enough. Friendships take time and effort. I never wanted that connection badly enough to take time away from work.”
“But there must have been people you saw from time to time, had dinner with or lunch,” he said.
“I had work colleagues,” she said. “Sure, we went to lunch, even to dinner, but the talk was all about work. It’s not as if we really knew one another. Not a one of them has called to check in since I left the company. I imagine there were even one or two who
