Return To Snowy Creek (3 page)

“Thanks,” Grant said. “I’m really excited to
get my hands on the project.”

Jackie spun her hair back up and slipped the
pencil in behind the bun. She waved goodbye to Grant and headed for
the house.

***

Grant marveled at her positive attitude.
He’d dated women, including Jennifer that would allow their entire
day to be ruined by one small stain. But not Jackie. She seemed to
take things in stride. He liked that.

Grant turned around and watched Jackie walk
away. She didn’t have a stitch of makeup on her face, yet she was
plainly beautiful. He enjoyed talking to her. She was calm-natured
and had a good sense of humor. Besides, he wasn’t even sure he
would’ve been so polite about being covered with paint and then
mustard, all in the span of a couple of days. She was something
special. Grant had tried and tried to remember where he knew her
from, but it still hadn’t come to him. He knew it would eventually.
Especially since he couldn’t keep her off of his mind.

***

“I’ve found the perfect girl for you,”
Maryann said. She carried a load of laundry through the living room
and set it on the floor next to the coffee table. She lifted some
jeans out of the basket and started to fold them.

Grant leaned his back into the couch and
looked at his mother. “Mom, I hate to put a damper on your
matchmaking, but I’m not too interested in settling down with a
woman right now.”

Maryann put the jeans on the coffee table.
She lifted out another piece of clothing from the basket and said,
“Ya know, before I met your dad, I was engaged to someone
else.”

Grant straightened up in his seat. “I never
knew that.”

“It’s not something I’ve shared with too
many people.” Maryann continued folding clothes as she talked. “He
broke up with me and I was heartbroken. I don’t know if I’ve ever
been so hurt. I was devastated without him. I didn’t see how anyone
could take his place.”

“So what did you do?” Grant saw another side
to his mother that he never knew existed. He felt more of a
connection to her. Maybe she understood how he felt about losing
Jennifer.

“I decided I wasn’t going to wallow in that
misery,” Maryann folded up a shirt and set it on top of the pile of
folded clothes. “I refused to set my sights on him coming back and
I moved on. And you know what’s funny?”

“What?” Grant’s interest piqued.

“He did come back.” Maryann smiled a
wide-toothed grin.

“So what did you do?” Grant sat up and
leaned against the armrest on the couch.

“I told him I didn’t have room for people
like him in my life.”

“What did he do after you told him that?”
Grant asked.

“He came around for a while and continued
trying to win me back. But I’d met your father.”

“I think I know how this story ends,” Grant
laughed and winked at his mother.

“Your dad kept asking me out,” Maryann
added. “And I refused. I didn’t allow myself to be ready for
another relationship, although I knew I’d never take my fiancé back
again.”

“So?” Grant always assumed his parents just
met, dated, and got married. He had no idea there was another man
keeping his mother’s interests.

“Your dad went out of town for a while. He
went to help on his grandmother’s farm for the summer and I missed
him terribly. It was then I realized how much he meant to me,”
Maryann said. She set a shirt down and stopped folding for a
minute. “Your father was so easy to get along with. He was fun, and
I enjoyed his company. I missed that. And when he returned home, we
got married and I never looked back.”

“I never knew about how the two of you got
together. I’m so glad you shared this with me, Mom.” Grant smiled.
He loved seeing this side of his mother. She had always been there
for him when he needed her most. Even the times he didn’t know he
needed her.

Grant thought again about Jennifer. In their
short whirlwind romance, he thought he loved her. But Jackie
continued to pop back into his thoughts. She was not only
stunningly beautiful, but kindhearted and fun. In the two short
times he’d talked to her, she had a good sense of humor and took
things in stride. But it was too early to tell. Jennifer seemed fun
at first, as well. As time went on, he realized she was more
concerned about her career than anything else around her, including
him.

***

Grant stared at the tabloids in the grocery
store rack. Jennifer seemed to be on the cover of all but one of
them, wrapped in the arms of her new boyfriend. Grant was used to
seeing pictures of her splashed all over the magazines, but not
with another man. It hurt, he had to admit.

“So is it true?” The cashier said, breaking
into Grant’s thoughts.

“What’s that?” Grant asked.

“Was she your girlfriend?”

“We dated for a while, it’s true.” Grant
slowly nodded his head.

The cashier lifted a new tabloid from behind
the counter and showed it to Grant. “This is the latest one. We
haven’t even put it out on the racks.”

“Oh, I haven’t seen this one,” Grant smiled
and shook his head back-and-forth. He pointed to a picture of
himself on the cover of the magazine, next to Jennifer. “Being the
man in the center of that circle with the slash is a little
harsh.”

“Breaking up is hard enough without seeing
your ex-girlfriend with another man on all the tabloids,” the
cashier said. “I can only imagine.”

“You have no idea,” Grant said. He just
wished the entire town didn’t know about it. He’d already fielded a
lot of questions about why the two split ways. Grant wasn’t even
sure he knew himself what happened.

Grant paid for his items and walked outside.
He zipped up his jacket and looked up at the sky. The gray clouds
had rolled in and the snowflakes were gently floating down from the
sky. He opened the door to his rental car and drove up the road to
help Jackie build the TV unit. He was so glad for the retreat from
tabloids, his mother’s matchmaking, and the questions about his
failed relationship with Jennifer. Plus, he was excited about
spending more time with Jackie.

By the time Grant arrived at the house, a
light dusting of snow covered the ground. Several cars were parked
in the large driveway, no doubt workers.

Grant knew Jackie was a contractor, but
didn’t realize she worked on such large houses. The massive
structure had to be at least 4,000 square feet by the looks of the
outside. All of the framing and walls were up. She was over halfway
done with the house.

Grant walked to the front door, rapped
gently a few times, and walked inside. A burst of laughter came
from the back room, and he followed the sound.

Several teenagers were standing around
Jackie. She spotted Grant in the doorway and turned to face
him.

“Class,” Jackie said. “I’m sure some of you
already know, Grant Williams is from Snowy Creek.” She pointed to
Grant standing behind all the students. They turned and faced
him.

Several small screams popped out of the
girls as they moved in closely around him.

“Can we have your autograph?” One of the
young girls asked.

“Will you take a picture with us?” Another
student said.

“Okay, okay, give him some room,” Jackie
said. “He’s here to help out. You’ll all get a chance to talk to
him.” She moved some of the students out of the way and grabbed
Grant by the arm and pulled him into the living room. “If you guys
give us a moment, I’m sure he’d be glad to take a picture with all
of you.”

With reluctance, the students left the two
alone and went back into the room where they were working.

“Sorry about that,” Jackie said, smiling. “I
knew they’d be excited about you being here, I just didn’t know
they’d mob you.”

“No problem,” Grant said. “They seem like
good kids.”

“They are. They just get excited,” Jackie
said. “Listen, do you mind showing a couple of them how to build
the TV unit? I know you didn’t sign up for all this, but I have a
couple of the kids that really like woodworking.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad I can help,” Grant
said. “Let me make some measurements and I’ll go down and get the
wood and we can get started.”

“Thank you so much.”

When Jackie turned around, the youth were
all hiding in the hallway watching the two of them talk. As soon as
she saw them, they giggled and ran back into the other room. “All
right, enough. Get back to work. And Jason, make sure you seal the
lid on the paint can when you’re done. The last time you painted, I
ended up with more white paint in my hair than in the can.”

“No worries, Miss Jackie. I’ll close it good
and tight this time. You look good in white though,” Jason
responded.

Grant laughed at the comments. He knew this
would be an enjoyable experience. He pulled out his tape measure
and started working.

***

Jackie walked into the living room where
Grant was finishing up for the day.

“You’re really good with the kids,” Jackie
said to Grant. “I watched you with them today.”

Grant wiped his hands against his pants,
stirring up some sawdust. “They seem like they are pretty
interested in learning the trade. I like to see that in them.”

“They are all good kids. They seem to really
like you, too,” Jackie said.

“I have to admit, I knew I’d enjoy coming up
here and working on the unit, but I had no idea I’d enjoy it this
much. This has been a really great day,” Grant said as he watched
Jackie. The kids were fun to work with, but Jackie made the day go
smoothly and enjoyable. Even in her carpenter pants, with grime
smeared across her face, and her hair pulled up into a bun with a
pencil, she could outdo any movie star in looks alone.

“You’re welcome to finish the unit tomorrow,
even though it’s Saturday, or you can come back Monday with the
kids.”

“I’ll come back Monday. I think they’d like
to know how to finish the project.”

“When do you have to return to Los Angeles
for your next taping?” Jackie asked.

“
I’m not sure,” Grant said,
lowering his head. “The execs were talking about not renewing the
show.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Jackie added. She
looked down at the floor and moved some of the sawdust with her
boot.

“That’s the way it goes. Usually when one
show gets cancelled, another pops up in its place.” Grant didn’t
like the idea of losing his show, but he knew there would be plenty
of work.

“I sure hope you’re able to get another
show. Your work is really nice. I think the homeowners are going to
be very happy with the job you’ve done,” Jackie said, pointing to
the TV unit. Grant had chosen hickory wood to match the cabinets in
the kitchen.

Grant’s phone dinged and buzzed in his
pocket. “I bet that’s my mother. She’s got a crazy habit of texting
me every ten minutes or tweeting my every move.” He slid his hands
in his pocket and pulled his phone out and looked at it. “Yep,
that’s her.”

Several texts popped up on his phone, along
with the loud accompanying dings. Both Jackie and Grant laughed at
his mother’s incessant texting.

He looked down at the
phone, which read,
Ask her out. Gary told
me you were helping a pretty woman. Now’s your chance. Don’t miss
out
.

Grant read the texts to himself and laughed.
“As much as she drives me nuts, I’ve missed my mother.”

“You’d better respond,” Jackie said, walking
over to the counter to set down some of her tools.

Grant texted her back and put the phone in
his pocket. “Are you hungry? I’d love to take you out for a
bite.”

“I could eat,” Jackie said. “But I’d like to
get a shower first. Can I meet you somewhere?”

“Sure, how about some pizza?”

“Sounds great. Why don’t we meet at Chad’s
Pizzeria on Main Street in about an hour.”

“You don’t need longer?” Grant’s eyebrows
met in question.

“No, why would I need longer?” Jackie put
her hands on her hips.

“I thought girls needed three hours to get
ready to hit the town. Humph. That’s a new one on me.”

“I don’t have a bucket of paint, or a ham
sandwich to wash off this time, so one hour is good.”

Grant smiled. He liked the idea that a woman
didn’t need three hours to put on a ton of makeup. “Okay, see you
then.” Grant walked outside to a light dusting of snow on the
ground. It had snowed off and on throughout the day, but a little
bit of it decided to stick to the ground after all. He looked down
the mountain at Snowy Creek in the valley. The sun had set and all
the lights were burning bright. He missed the view from the
mountaintop. He missed a lot of things about Snowy Creek. Somehow
he knew if he left again, he’d most likely miss Jackie.

***

Grant sat down at one of the tables at
Chad’s Pizzeria.

“Well, Grant Williams. I haven’t seen you
since high school. How ya been?” The waitress said. She had a smile
pop across her face.

“Hey Susan,” Grant stood up from his chair
and gave her a hug. “How’ve ya been?”

“How have
you
been? You’ve turned
into quite the star around here. You put the town on the map. We
even have a picture of you over the bar. You’re our local
celebrity.” Susan pointed to a picture hanging on the
wall.

Grant turned in his chair to look at the
picture. As soon as he turned, he spotted Jackie. Her hair was
draped across her shoulders and shone in the lights. She didn’t
need gallons of makeup or a fashionable dress. She looked amazing
in jeans and a t-shirt. Amazing.

Grant stood up as Jackie walked to the
table.

“Hey Jackie. Did you know our star is here
in town?” Susan asked, still standing by the table.

“I did know. He’s been helping the kids in
the shop program since he’s been home.” Jackie walked to the other
side of the table and sat down.