Second Chance at the Orchard Inn, page 21
Cece’s mouth fell open. “But he broke up with you.”
“I know, but I think— I don’t know, he was heartbroken, too, when I left.”
“Because he regretted it. Because he wanted you back.”
“Yeah, I…” Aurora shook her head. “But that was years ago. It doesn’t make any difference now.”
“It makes a huge difference! What if he was still in love with you, even after you left? What if he’s always been in love with you?”
Cece was being a hopeless romantic. Aurora wanted to cry and scream and run to Jude and for the hills, all at the same time. If he’d still loved her then, if he still cared now, why was he shutting her out and pushing her away again?
“There’s something else though,” Aurora added. “Jude said he was done talking about the restaurant. It’s over because he thinks trying to push his dad about the project brought on the heart attack. He said we can’t talk about it anymore.”
Cece hit the brakes a little too firmly at the red light. “He did not.”
A crack began to show as her voice broke. “He called the restaurant stupid. So that’s it. I know he was upset, and some of what he said was only out of emotion, but not when he said we couldn’t talk about it anymore. You should’ve seen his face, Cece. Hard and cold. I’ve seen that face before.” The first tear welled up and rolled down Aurora’s cheek and she swiped it away.
“When he broke up with you?”
She nodded. “I can’t believe I’m seeing it again. I can’t believe I’m in this position. Again.”
“Aurora.” Cece sat at the light, missing when it turned green, until the car behind them beeped.
They drove another block in silence as more tears fell. “I’d gone so far as planning to turn down the Malibu offer. I was going to be Jude’s chef. I was going to leave my life in California. I’m such an idiot!”
“No.” Cece reached for her. “You’re not an idiot for believing in something.”
“I was stupid for believing there was enough between me and Jude that things would be different this time. That we had what it’d take to make this work. I should’ve never gotten mixed back up with him and the past, all those feelings. I knew, going into it, this was a bad idea. But what did I do? I strolled right in like a glutton for punishment.”
Cece pulled her car over on the shoulder and jammed it into park. “Now you listen here. I don’t want to hear you putting yourself down, not one more time, you got it?”
Aurora blinked at her sister, caught off guard at her vehemence. “I mean it. If Jude doesn’t open a restaurant, even if he never speaks of it again, so what? Supporting him when he did believe in it doesn’t make you stupid. Just because he gives up doesn’t mean you have to. If your dream is to be head chef of your own place, where you can run the show, then follow it. You could still stay in Texas and open your own restaurant.”
Aurora gave her sister a dubious look.
“I’m serious. Why not? Why can’t Aurora Shipley open her own restaurant?”
“Um, money, for one. The main one.”
“Get investors. That’s what all start-ups do. I could help. I’ve gotten very good at PR lately. And I know people. Just saying.”
Aurora swiped at the corner of her eye and shook her head. “I think the best thing I could do right now is go back to L.A. Even if I turn down Malibu, I could probably keep my old job and live my life as I have for years.”
“Now that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I know you’re happier here. Long before you ran into Jude Jones, you were more at ease and happier than I’ve seen you in years. I know you don’t want to plan wedding menus forever, so don’t. Open your own restaurant.”
Aurora shook her head. That was such a huge risk and responsibility.
“I know it’s scary, but you’re so much braver than you realize.”
“I’m not.”
Her sister huffed in frustration. “I never told you about the time I saw Erica and her friends at the lockers that day, did I?”
“What?”
“Your senior year, my sophomore. It was after school, you were at your locker, and Erica and her friends walked by. You remember?”
It’d been at least a week of the rumors swirling about her being easy as the only reason Jude was with her. She’d been exhausted from the slut-shaming, sick of the attention, and wanted to disappear. At the end of a long day, Erica was there with her friends to turn the knife a little bit. They’d loudly contemplated who all Aurora had slept with before Jude.
“You were there?” Aurora asked.
“I was at the end of the hall, in a doorway. But I could see you and hear them. I heard the names they called you. I wanted to run down there and throat punch all three of them.”
Aurora could picture her sister, with her sweet blond curls bouncing as she stalked toward those girls, taking a swing at a few upperclassmen. The vision made her smile.
“But you finished up at your locker, closed it, and walked right by them. Head held high. They might as well have been invisible for all the attention you paid them. I’d heard the rumors and knew how mean those girls could be. I always admired you for handling that the way you did. Then you kept your head up after the breakup, you moved away for culinary school and made it, all on your own. You are the strongest person I know, Aurora.”
New tears rolled down Aurora’s face.
“You’ve always been my hero. Because of you, I became more determined. You’re the reason I don’t hesitate when trying new things and putting myself out there on social media. You helped me believe in myself because you believed in yourself. I know you can do anything you put your heart and mind to.”
“Cece,” she managed, probably smearing mascara as she wiped at her face.
Her sister reached over and hugged her. “So, no more talking down about yourself, okay?”
Aurora nodded.
Cece put the car back in drive and they made their way home in silence.
Maybe Cece was right. Maybe Aurora didn’t have to give up on the dream of running her own restaurant, with or without Jude, with or without a restaurant group in California.
It might be terrifying, and she might fail, but how would she know if she never tried?
The advice she’d given everyone else recently, she needed to take herself. Aurora needed to follow her own dream, and not let fear or doubt or anyone else stop her.
Chapter 22
Jude hunched over in the chair by his father’s hospital bed, praying over and over again that everything turned out okay for his dad. His limbs felt like bags of cement, his head a jackhammer. Wandering the hospital corridors hadn’t helped, and now all he wanted was to have his family home, safe and healthy.
The doctor had come out an hour ago, informing them about his father’s bypass surgery and allowing their mom to go back and see him. Jude and his sisters had waited impatiently for their turn.
His dad was asleep now, and while his sisters had gone to get something to snack on, Jude had stayed by his dad’s side.
No matter what anyone said, he was responsible for his dad’s heart attack, and he wanted to be there when his dad woke up again. He’d never forgive himself if there were long-term, lingering effects. He should’ve never pushed the restaurant idea.
Jude scrubbed at his stubble as he glanced around at all the monitors and IVs. He’d meant to shave last night but had spent the night in the loft with Aurora. No razors in the loft.
He dropped his hand.
Aurora.
He’d been short with her in the waiting room. Standoffish. Even rude.
He hadn’t meant to be, but he couldn’t even think about the restaurant or his future or anything else right now. Not with his dad’s life in the balance.
Screw the restaurant. Forget about branching out. He’d give it all up if he could just have his dad back, healthy and whole.
He’d run the farm exactly like his dad wanted and handle the business the way John Jones intended. All that mattered was that his dad pulled through this. He’d bargain and barter his way through it if the outcome meant keeping his family intact.
“You look worse than I feel, son.”
His dad’s croaky voice startled him. “Dad.” He scooted his chair up to the edge of the bed. “Hey.”
“How long have you been here?”
Jude looked around for a clock. “I don’t know. As soon as Mom finished seeing you and told me you’d come around. You fell back to sleep though. You want me to go get her?”
“No, no. I talked to her before.” He held out his hand and Jude took it. “I want to talk to you now.”
“Okay.”
“How are your sisters? They here?”
“Yeah, they’re with Mom. They’re okay. We’re all just worried about you.”
His dad patted his hand. “I know, I know. Worried myself for a bit there too.” He gave Jude a wobbly grin. “Your mom will never let up after this. I’ll be eating rabbit food till the day I die.”
“You’ll do whatever you need to do to be healthy. We want you around for a long time, Dad.”
His dad nodded, his gaze going to the industrial-tile ceiling. “You sure you wouldn’t be better off without me?”
“What? No. Dad, stop that.”
He patted Jude’s hand again. “I don’t mean it like that. Not dead, just…not pestering you kids. I know you and your sisters love me and want me around to be your dad. But I also know I can be an ornery cuss about the farm.”
Jude schooled his expression to show no reaction.
“I know I can, son. You can say as much. Your momma says it all the time.”
“Maybe a little stubborn is all.”
“Aww, now, I’m a lot stubborn. Set in my ways. It’s in our blood. Stubborn, hard-working, and prone to heart issues. You better start watching your cholesterol now, son.”
Jude smiled despite himself.
“I know I’ve been down on you about wanting to expand things on the farm or, how do you say it? Diversify.”
Jude opened his mouth, but his dad talked over him.
“Especially about that restaurant, I know I lost my cool—”
“Don’t worry about that anymore.” Jude shook his head, stopping his dad. “Forget I ever said anything about a restaurant. It was a crazy dream anyway. Just focus on getting better and stronger, and getting back home.”
John cocked an eyebrow at him. “What if I don’t want to forget about it, son?”
Jude ignored his father giving him that look. “It’s not good for you to get worked up. I’m not going to bring up the restaurant or any new ideas anymore. I just want you to be okay.”
His dad pushed himself to sit up some and look Jude in the eyes. Jude got up to try to stop his dad from exerting himself, but his dad waved him off. “Stop fussing over me, boy. Let me just say this, and you sit your tail down and listen.”
Jude sat down, all too familiar with his old man’s tone, and buoyed by the fact he still had the spitfire to use it.
“Jude. I don’t want you to stop talking about your crazy ideas, you hear me?”
Jude blinked. Had he heard what he thought he just heard?
“This farm, our farm, has been around for almost a hundred years. A hundred years, son. It’s hard to believe. Generations have made a living off that land. But I know…or I guess I need to admit, that times are changing.” He patted Jude’s hand again. “Just because something worked fifty years ago doesn’t mean it works now or that it’s going to work forever. Profit margins ain’t what they used to be and, if we keep on like we are right now…well, we might not be around for future generations.”
His father’s admission made his heart jump. Could it be? Would his father consider…change?
“I don’t want that to happen. I want the farm to be there for you and your sisters, maybe for grandkids, I don’t know. But I don’t want to stand in the way of some things that might help us grow. I know the core of what we do works, and it will stand strong because it must, but…I don’t know. Maybe we need to broaden our scope a little?”
Jude nodded, his legs going a bit numb. He was scared to hope.
“But I’ll be real honest with you, son, that scares the pants off me.”
The tremble in his dad’s voice tugged at Jude’s heart. That was a ginormous admission for a man like John Jones. To confess fear wasn’t something his generation did.
“I don’t like change.”
No kidding, Jude thought, smiling to himself.
“And I know it scares you too. Yet you still believe in it. As thoughtful as you are, the way you like to plan things out and double-check daggum locks and lights and”—he chuckled—“all that stuff you do. As careful as you are, and you still want to make these additions and branch out…I have to believe you’d put a lot of thought and care into it.”
Jude felt like his heart might explode. “I would, Dad. I have. I only want what’s best for the farm. For our family. I wouldn’t even consider it otherwise.”
“And that’s what matters, right here and now, for the farm. When I was in that ambulance with your mom, I realized that’s all that matters. My family. And the future isn’t about me working all the time and doing things my way. This is about you, and your sisters, and keeping the farm in the family for a hundred more years. It’s about what y’all want to do going forward, and I don’t want to run y’all off. Your mother would kill me.” His father managed a grin.
Jude could’ve jumped up and hugged his dad around the neck if it weren’t for the IVs and sensors.
“And listen, I don’t want you to be just like me. You’re your own man. You think big and outside the box. You always have, and you’re always smart about it. What’s more, you’ve got two whip-smart sisters who aren’t afraid to let you know they think you’re screwing up.”
Jude laughed. They’d be very quick to point out if he was wrong.
“I want you to keep dreaming up ideas, and just know some are going to work and sometimes you’ll fall flat on your keister. That’s okay too. I need to let you know that.” His dad shook his head. “You realize a lot of things, real clearly, when you think you’re going to die.”
“Dad.” Jude gripped his hand that much tighter.
“I should’ve let you make your own decisions and mistakes years ago, and I can’t stand in the way of you making them now.”
Jude was stunned speechless. It was all he’d wanted to hear from his father, and then some. He swallowed down the lump in his throat and choked back the emotion.
“Speaking of standing in your way, what about that girl of yours? Aurora.”
Jude had to work not to laugh or cry at the same time. “She’s not my girl, Dad.”
“Ah, hogwash.” His dad grumbled as he scootched up in the bed. “You listen to me now. I know I was a big ol’ monkey wrench between the two of you a long time ago. I’m sorry for that, I really am. But, I…ah hell, I don’t know. I thought I was doing what was best for you. I don’t know if I was though. Regardless, I never intended to do the same thing now.”
Jude gazed toward the hospital room door. “Pretty sure I’m the monkey wrench this time, Dad. Not you.”
“Why? What’d you do?”
“I don’t…” Jude shrugged, figuring what was the point in sugar-coating the truth now. “I think I told her the restaurant was stupid and I never wanted to talk about it again.”
His dad’s eyes went wide. “That was dumb.”
Jude laughed as he hung his head. “I know. I thought I was going to lose you. I feel like I caused this, and I just wanted you to be okay. I’d give up all those ideas if it meant my family being okay.”
“I am okay, son. But are you?”
He sighed, really considering his father’s question.
He wasn’t okay. Better, because his dad was going to be just fine, but he’d chased off the best thing that’d ever happened to him.
“No, I’m not,” he admitted.
“Because of Aurora.”
Jude nodded. “I think I might’ve run her off. Again.” He hadn’t meant to shut her out, but he’d done what he swore he’d never do. He’d pulled away, so caught up in making things right that he forgot to be true to himself.
“Not if you own up to your mistakes, you haven’t. Remember what I said. You’re going to fall flat on the ol’ keister sometimes. That’s unavoidable. It’s how you deal with it that matters. If you want to make things right with your girl, then do exactly that. You’re a good man, Jude. I know you can handle it.”
And Jude’s truth was he wanted to bring the farm into the future and have Aurora by his side.
He wanted both and having the farm and restaurant without her would be an empty life. A future without Aurora was no real future at all.
His dad nodded, as if reading his thoughts. “She’ll understand what happened tonight, and what you’re going through. But you let her decide what she wants as well. I know it’s scary, but all you can do is speak your mind, and be honest about how you feel. You can’t control her or what she wants. All you can do is love her true.” His dad closed his eyes and laughed. “If you could control a woman, I’d make sure Linda didn’t take my bacon and steak away, but I already know how that’s going to go.”
Jude gave his dad’s hand a squeeze. “You get some more rest now, Dad. And thank you. For everything.”
Chapter 23
The Stonewall Peach JAMboree and Rodeo was that weekend, and it’d snuck up on everyone. Aurora ran around the next morning like a headless chicken, her sisters doing the same.
She was almost busy enough not to think about Jude Jones every five seconds.
Almost.
“I still need to tie up all the little takeaway gift bags for the inn.” Cece hurried into the kitchen. “But I can’t find my scissors. Have you seen my scissors?”
Aurora tried to think back to the last place she saw Cece working on the one hundred cellophane gift bags that contained a delicious chocolate chip cookie—Aurora’s secret recipe—a recipe card for a delicious dip—not a secret recipe, also Aurora’s—a scented votive candle, and a brochure about the inn.
