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Spending Sunday taking photographs had reignited her passion. It’d made her realize just how much she missed that part of herself. Things couldn’t go on as they had. Her soul just couldn’t do it.
Hopefully, Delia would understand that.
CHAPTER 14
Jack
Jo was avoiding him.
It wasn’t just a feeling either. Jack texted her, and the short, one-syllable responses reinforced what he already suspected. When he realized what she was doing, he’d decided against asking her out, which was why he was having Friday night dinner with his family.
He couldn’t really fault her. That kiss had shaken his world and made him question what he wanted in life. He knew he still wanted a family, but did that mean in Wishing Well or somewhere else? Especially if that somewhere else meant he was with Jo.
Moving though? She lived in New York. How would he handle living in a place like that? She was talking about being busy traveling the next year. What did that mean if they decided to make a go of a relationship? Even if he went with her, changed his life completely, if they never got to see each other, it’d never work.
Then there was him. What if she wanted high school Jack? The one with big dreams and zero limitations. Would she wake up one day and realize that she’d settled when there was a sea of highly successful choices in New York? What if she decided he wasn’t enough? What then?
“You’ve definitely got something on your mind.” Ethan handed him a glass of tea as he sat down in the rocker on the front porch of their parents’ home. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, talk. Maybe you can figure it out.” His brother smiled.
Jack sat quietly for a moment. “I… I like Jo, but it would never work. She doesn’t live here. I definitely don’t want to move to New York, and even if I did move there, the odds of things working would be slim. She travels a lot, and that just doesn’t work when you’re in a relationship.”
It was just not his speed. Plus, he loved his life in Wishing Well. He loved the small town where everyone knew each other. They helped each other. Wishing Well was his home and where he belonged. He just wished Jo felt the same way.
He loved the folklore surrounding the well, even if he didn’t exactly believe it himself. It was fun playing like he did. To him, it wasn’t much different than the tooth fairy or Santa or the Easter bunny. He loved the festival each year. He loved his family and friends.
Wishing Well was his home and where he belonged.
“Serenity travels a lot.”
“Yeah, but you get to go with her. Jo writes for a wedding magazine, and I’d have my own job. It’s not like staying at a location for months on end, like you and Serenity.” He set the glass of tea down and sank lower in the chair. “I don’t even know why I’m thinking so hard about this. I just met her.”
Ethan leaned his head back against the rocker. “Love isn’t logical, big brother. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d meet an actress, fall in love, and get married, I would have told you that you were out of your mind.”
“Your situation is different.”
“Not really. At least Jo went to our high school. I had no idea who Serenity was, and while she didn’t outright lie to me, she did by omission. I didn’t know who she was until the paparazzi figured out where they were filming the movie.”
Jack cleared his throat. “And we talked about this. Yeah, she wasn’t completely on the up and up, but she had a good reason. How many guys only wanted to date her because she was a star? She liked you and wanted you to like her for her, not her status.”
His brother nodded. “I know, but at the time, it didn’t make it hurt any less or give me solid grounds to continue in a relationship with her. She’d led me to believe one thing while being something else.”
“I know, and I hear you. Jo has been completely honest from the beginning. She isn’t moving back to Wishing Well.” He stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them at the ankles. “I like—no love—my life here. I have my business that I’ve worked hard to build. As much as she doesn’t want to move here, I don’t want to move there.”
“Convince her to move here.”
“Don’t you think I’ve thought of that?”
“Don’t just think about it. Come up with a plan. Show her it’d be worth coming home.”
His brother made it sound so simple when it was anything but. Jack had toyed with all sorts of ideas that might show her it was worth sticking around Wishing Well… sticking around for him.
“I—” Jack stopped short as Jo appeared at the bottom of the steps. “Hey…” The word came out just above a whisper. He was both shocked to see her and pleasantly surprised. Suddenly, he was jittery, like he’d downed an entire case of energy drinks.
After not seeing her for almost a week, it took effort not to fly down the steps, sweep her into his arms, and kiss her. She looked great, too. A sleeveless floral dress with a sleeveless jean vest over it with tennis shoes made her look every bit the small-town girl.
