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“Fine, okay. Here it is. We were dating and I was her client. She wasn’t supposed to date clients but we fell in love. Her company found out and fired her. At the same time, she’s finalizing a divorce from her piece-of-shit husband. She thought I was an unnecessary complication and she cut me loose. She is also under the mistaken impression that I want to move to Southern California for a job. I don’t think I screwed up, I think she got spooked.”

  He didn’t see the point in going into the whole Rich debacle.

  “Ah,” said Linda. “Sounds like poor timing. Wait. What did you say? Did you say you are in love with her?”

  “I did, I am. She’s the one.”

  “Holy shit,” Linda said.

  “Yeah,” said Jason, gazing out the window.

  “Okay, then. You need to get her back. Whatever it takes,” Linda said with resolve.

  “I plan to, and I think I know what I’m going to do. Let me run it by you and get the female opinion on it.” He filled her in on the way to the house.

  “Oh Jason, that’s the best plan. It’s perfect, and if it doesn’t work, then she never loved you to begin with,” Linda gushed, a tear spilling down her cheek.

  “Thanks sis. Here’s hoping it works,” he said softly, just as they pulled into the driveway and his mom and a very pregnant Miranda came running out of the house.

  “Jason! So wonderful to have you home!” Jeannette gushed as she took her son in her arms.

  “Hey Mom, Miranda,” he said, hugging them each in turn.

  “Where is Judy?” His mom asked. “I thought for sure she would be with you!”

  “I know, Mom. Judy isn’t with me this time, but maybe next time,” he said as he glanced at Linda in warning to keep her mouth shut. “I have some pretty good news of another kind, though.”

  They gathered in the kitchen. Jason had requested that they meet first without Miranda and Linda’s husbands so that he could break this news privately. His sisters and mom might need to process it. And possibly yell at him for not doing as they’d asked and keep the proceeds from the business himself.

  “As you know, the sale to Bradford Aviation has finalized. The paperwork has finally gone through and the checks have been issued,” he began.

  “Oh yes, dear, we knew that was going to happen,” said Jeannette.

  “Wait,” Miranda said. “Did you say checks? What do you mean checks, plural?”

  “Look, I don’t want anyone to get pissed, but there was no way I was going to sell the company and keep the profits. Dad would never have wanted that. I think he left the company to me because he knew I would do exactly what I did.” Jason said, waiting for the onslaught.

  “What did you do, Jason?” Jeannette asked quietly.

  “I worked a deal with Bradford so that half of the proceeds would go to you, Mom, and the other half would be split three ways between us kids,” he explained. “You can decide what you want to do with it, Mom – you can spend the money, or save it for your grandkids, or a little of both, whatever you want. But it’s your decision.”

  “Not to be crass, but how much are we talking about?” Linda asked.

  “We profited just over $6.2 million. Mom’s take is about $3.1 million and each of ours is about a million. This isn’t life-changing money, but it’s a nice little nest-egg, right?”

  He looked at his family. He blinked. They said nothing and stared at him, dumbfounded.

  “Well, it’s good, right?” He was a little worried. They couldn’t be mad at him for this, right?

  Linda was the first to speak. “Oh my God, Jason. Thank you.” She hugged him.

  Miranda and Jeannette followed suit and they toasted the sale and their dad with the champagne Jason had brought. He knew he’d done the right thing. After they settled down, Jeannette covered his hand with hers.

  “Now Jason, tell me exactly why Judy is not with you.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  THE CONDO CLOSING FELT like a festive event despite the general turmoil of Judy’s life. When she went in to sign the papers and pick up her check for the proceeds, she felt optimism creep into her heart for the first time in a while. The condo sold for well above market, which meant she and Greg each received more than they’d thought they would. The extra cash gave her even more time to sort out her next move.

  When she walked into Sea-Tac airport with her suitcase, she felt a like a weight had lifted. She was starting the next phase of her life and she was in complete control. Some of the awfulness of the last two weeks evaporated, except for losing Jason. That pain was still sharp and fresh, brought even more into focus since that she had let go of the disappointment of losing her job. Even though she was sad and hurt, she welcomed those feelings because they were her only connection to him.

  Maybe at some point in the future she could track him down in California and they could try again. Now just wasn’t the right time, she told herself, trying to ignore her aching heart.

  As she drove from Chicago to her hometown through rural Illinois, her thoughts wandered to what it would have been like to bring Jason here, to have him with her on the way to meet her family. It would have been wonderful, she thought. She would have loved showing him everything, and he would have loved seeing it. Kate and Susan, Judy’s mom, would have instantly liked him; she was sure of it.

  She arrived at her mom’s house in the late evening, and she heard the call of the cicadas as she stepped from the car into the warm, heavy air. The house looked much the same as it had when Judy lived in it; it was white with black shutters and a wrap-around porch. The neighborhood hadn’t changed much either. The houses all still looked the same, maybe one or two with a new mailbox. After living in Seattle for so long she marveled at how far apart the houses were and that no new houses had been added to the area.

  As she walked up to the porch, her mom and sister came out of the house. Her mom ran to hug her.

  “Judy, it’s so wonderful to see you and have you home!”

  Susan tended to wear her heart on her sleeve and she was already crying with happiness that they were all together.

  “Hey Judy, welcome home,” said Kate as she hugged Judy.

  Kate was 3 years younger than Judy, and she was married to her high school sweetheart, Brian. They had two children and lived 3 streets over from Mom. Brian was an electrician working for the city. Their lives were neat and tidy, full of love and family and nurturing. Judy had always envied the simplicity and overflowing happiness that seemed to accompany Kate. She had always radiated a certain warmth and joy that is unique to the youngest children of families. As the youngest, Kate had not felt like she had to forge any paths or set the example. She had been content to follow in Judy’s footsteps and learn from Judy’s mistakes. She was laid-back and easy to be around, and Judy had missed her.

  “Come on girls,” Susan drew them in. “This calls for a glass of wine. And Judy can tell us all the fabulous things happening in Seattle.”

  This was going to get interesting quickly. She hadn’t told her family about Greg, the divorce, her job, or Jason. She hadn’t been able to figure out how to go into these things over the phone, and she hadn’t wanted to alarm anyone, so she guessed maybe it was a good thing that Susan was opening the wine.

  “Well, I’m not so sure fabulous is the right word,” Judy said as they sat down at the kitchen table. “I have some news.”

  “Oh shit, you’re pregnant,” Kate said. “I knew it.”

  As Susan started to look to Judy with hope in her eyes, Judy cut her off at the pass.

  “No, not pregnant. Maybe the opposite of pregnant.” They stared at her expectantly. “Greg and I have divorced.”

  “What?” They both said in unison.

  She told them all about the trip to Catalina Island, the hopes she had of reconnecting and working on their marriage, and the delightful news Greg had shared about his budding relationship with the pregnant dancer.

  “I knew he would be a jerk. I just knew it,” Kate said. />
  This surprised Judy. Kate had never spoken an unkind word about anyone before in Judy’s presence.

  Before Judy could respond, Kate continued, “You can tell with a guy like him. He always knew how good-looking he was, and he enjoyed the way women looked at him. He’s so self-absorbed. I think good riddance. Now you can find the man that will treat you right and give you children.” Kate said with a wink.

  “Well, so that’s the other part of the story.” Her mom and sister both leaned forward slightly. “So, um, after Greg left me in Catalina, I sort of met someone.”

  “Wait. What? That was fast.” Kate was struggling to not be judgy.

  “I know, I know. He ended up being the pilot who flew us over from LAX to the island. I ran into him in the hotel restaurant the day after Greg left, and I offered to buy him a drink to make up for throwing up in his plane.” Maybe someday they would laugh about all of this.

  “Threw up? What the hell with this trip??” Kate started laughing.

  “Yeah, I know. We hit a storm or something on the way over and it was a bumpy ride and I lost my breakfast. Anyway, he joined me that night for dinner at the hotel. We hung out the next day, too. Nothing happened at first. We were becoming friends. But then we ended up having a couple of dates on Catalina before coming back to Seattle.” Judy thought it wise to leave out the racier parts.

  Kate’s eyes narrowed. She knew exactly what Judy was leaving out.

  “Then what happened?”

  “We went our separate ways after Catalina. I thought it was stupid to subject him to my life that was revolving around a divorce, and as it turned out, he didn’t want to be an unwelcome distraction in my life. We were both wrong. Anyway, I took over the aviation accounts at work, and my main project was coordinating the press for a merger of two companies. One of those companies was Jason’s, and we ended up working together.”

  She felt her heart grow warm despite herself. Her body responded to even just the idea of Jason.

  “Wow. That’s romantic.” Kate smiled. Susan sat quietly while Judy told her story.

  “Yeah. Our relationship grew serious over the last few months. But then my boss found out that we were dating, and I was fired because of the zero-tolerance policy on dating clients. So, here we are.”

  “You were fired? Oh, man, that is awful. Are you okay?” Kate stood up and gave Judy a hug.

  “Oh yeah, it’s fine. I mean, I’d kind of been thinking about changing careers anyway. The divorce is actually a good thing, too—it set me free to figure out my next move.”

  “Judy, I’m confused about one thing.” Susan finally spoke up. “If things are serious with Jason, why isn’t he with you? Is he working?”

  “Jason’s company was purchased by a bigger corporation—that was the merger I was working on. It had been his father’s company, and Jason didn’t want to stay with it after the merger. He had planned to leave that position even prior to meeting me. He is planning to take a job in Southern California, flying charters like the trip to Catalina that he piloted for me and Greg.” She felt monumentally sad. “I don’t want to leave Seattle, but I don’t want to hold him back either.” A tear slid down her cheek.

  “So, you broke up with him?” Kate finally understood.

  “Yeah. I told him I just needed time. That was a couple of weeks ago. I want him to be free to have his own life, too. He has put so much into finalizing this deal and phasing himself out of the company so he can join his friend’s charter business in Southern California. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

  “Maybe you should let him decide whether you are in the way or not.”

  It was obvious that Susan didn’t agree with Judy’s decision to break it off with Jason.

  “No kidding. I mean, first off, he’s a pilot, which is unbelievably hot,” Kate said. “There’s that whole mile-high club and all that. Second, he’s a man with a plan, which makes him already a thousand times better than Greg. Third, I can tell by looking at you that you are in love with him.”

  “God, Kate. Are you pregnant again? You are positively sex-crazed.” Susan turned to Judy. “You know how she gets when she’s with child.”

  Kate had been pretty vocal about her various needs when carrying her first two children.

  “No, not pregnant, not yet,” Kate said. “But I’m working on it.”

  Judy laughed, and then quickly started to cry. She missed him so much.

  “Oh honey,” Susan said as she took her hand. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll sort it all out.”

  Chapter Forty-Two

  JUDY SPENT THE NEXT couple of weeks letting Susan and Kate take care of her and getting reacquainted with her home town. Susan kept her busy with all sorts of “sudden dinner engagements” with single men in town and Kate took her drinking at the local bars. She had fun. It was wonderful to be with her family and see her friends from high school who had stuck around.

  She also looked into going back to school for her teaching degree. She only needed about year or so of classes, which should be easy. She could probably knock it out and go full-time if she was careful with money. As she was looking at classes, Kate walked into her bedroom.

  “Hey sis, what’s up?” Kate asked casually.

  “Not much, just looking at classes for possibly enrolling at UW in the fall. What are you up to?”

  Judy knew Kate had something on her mind. Kate was as transparent as a baby doll nightie.

  “Well, I’ve been thinking,” Kate began.

  “Christ. What?” Judy asked. Kate thinking was always trouble.

  “Look, Judy. I know you are heartbroken about Jason. It’s written all over your face.” Kate paused.

  “Yeah, so?” She felt defensive, but she wasn’t sure why.

  “I think you should call him, or text him, or email him, whatever. Don’t leave it like this. Nothing ever good comes from ignoring the love in your heart.” Huh. Sometimes Kate came off quite wise.

  “I don’t know, Kate. I was unkind to him.” She felt a mountain of regret as a big tear fell down her cheek. “What if he has moved on?”

  “Oh baby,” Kate said as she hugged Judy, “He loves you. I’m willing to bet he’s waiting for you, his heart as broken as yours.”

  Judy’s sleep was fitful that night. Even though Susan and Kate had taken over Dani’s role of harping on her to get in touch with Jason, Judy needed to get her head straight and not think with her heart. She had big decisions to make and she was not getting any younger. Being back in Illinois allowed her that focus because there were none of the distractions that existed in Seattle. She was not thinking of where to live, whether she would run into Jason, whether she would run into anyone from her old job, or God forbid, Greg and his pregnant girlfriend.

  When she awoke the next morning, she decided a run was in order before the heat and humidity set in. She pulled on her running shorts and a tank, and mulled over how much she used to love running around her small town. She used to solve her problems by going for a run. It always seemed that somewhere around the third or fourth mile, her mind would be clear and she could solve find the solution to whatever was hassling her.

  She hadn’t gone for a run since Catalina, she thought a little wistfully.

  Well, whatever. Today was a new day, and it was time.

  Toward the end of her run, she noticed a low-flying aircraft flying over the neighborhood. Her town, like most of the rural Midwestern towns, had a small, all-but-deserted airstrip for planes that needed to make an emergency landing or that were one of the rare aircraft seeking to come to this part of the state. It was unusual, though, to see a plane use it. That plane put her in mind of Jason’s Cessna. She thought for a second maybe it could be his plane. Maybe. No, that was crazy. It was just maddeningly wishful thinking.

  Half an hour later she walked up the driveway, and noticed an unfamiliar car. Judy was beyond hot and sweaty and she hoped she didn’t have to do lunch with whatever friend Susan wanted to int
roduce her to this time. The humidity in Illinois in July was killer even at this early hour. She rushed to get into the air conditioning, only mildly considering who might be visiting, thinking about how to avoid meeting another new friend. It was Susan’s day off, so maybe she was having someone over for coffee and Judy could make herself scarce.

  As she walked into the house, Susan called out to her, “Judy, we’re in the kitchen!”

  Sheinwardly groaned. In hindsight, she should have connected the plane and the unfamiliar car.

  Suddenly, she felt electricity in the air. It seemed impossible, but Jason was here. She knew it; she always felt him. She couldn’t move. Excitement rose in her heart and her heart rate, which had just returned to normal, began to increase again. Susan walked out of the kitchen into the living room where Judy stood.

  “Judy, what are you doing? Come on in and see who has stopped by!”

  Susan smiled a goofy smile, and just then, Jason appeared behind her. He stopped momentarily and gave Judy a long look, like he was drinking her in. She was stunned into silence.

  He gave her a half-smile. “Hey, Judy.”

  “Jason,” she said, in a whisper. She was glowing because she was so alive with his presence.

  “Okay, well, I have some laundry to tend to,” Susan said quietly as she made a graceful exit.

  Jason moved closer, until he was just a foot away from her. He stood there with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, just looking at her, trying to guess at what she might be thinking. She thought about those jeans and how fantastic he looked in them. And about his golden hair that was slightly messy, his scruffy beard that seemed to beckon her. When had he let his beard come in? That beard, that wonderful beard, that demanded such amazing things from her body on Catalina Island. Her heart pounded.

  She looked into those blue eyes and she knew that she was not going to turn him away. As much as she thought she should, and that she should sort out her life before joining it with his, she knew that she had to be with him. That was the conclusion that she had come to during her run that morning. There was no other answer for her but Jason. She had intended to book her ticket back to Seattle and try to catch him before he moved to California and out of her life. She had all these thoughts and felt like she’d finally solved the problem, and here he was, in her childhood home, standing there, maybe more handsome than she had ever seen him.