Chapter Sixteen
Jesse hammered a nail home with four extra whacks. If he didn’t watch himself, he’d mar the wood and have to start again. This should be easy. The pieces were pre-cut and stained, four tiny nails and a dozen screws and this shelving unit would be finished.
He slid the hammer into the tool belt at his waist and pinched the bridge of his nose. How had a simple act of defiance gone so far astray? When Hailey had reacted badly to his identity, he’d been annoyed. When she assumed he was down and out, he thought it was good payback to let her mistake slide.
He should have told her the truth; she was right about that. This was why he honored the truth; lies had a way of getting out of hand. He should know, he’d watched his mother fall apart after lying about tripping at Two Angels Gifts so long ago.
The self-recriminations on Hailey’s face had floored him. Now, an hour later, he felt as guilty as hell. His head pounded from his self recriminations. To make matters worse, he’d forgotten why he went to Beth’s Beans in the first place. Food. He’d skipped breakfast to work at the women’s shelter.
Focus. He adjusted the last shelf, tapped the nails in and completed the tree-shaped unit. He had to admit it, it looked great. A few ornaments and it would be perfect.
With a couple modifications, it would be a great display in someone’s home Christmas village. He could probably sell them.
“It looks nice, I love it.”
Hailey’s voice came out of the blue. He dropped his hammer, narrowly missing his toes.
“Darn, you scared the life out of me. Don’t you know not to startle a man with a hammer.” He grinned at her to take the edge off his words and scooped up the hammer.
“Sorry. I’m glad it wasn’t a power saw. You could have hurt yourself. It does look fabulous though.” She walked around the unit, studying it from all angles. “It’s perfect. I could probably sell them.
“Funny, I was just thinking that.”
She thrust a bag at him. “I brought you a snack.” She raised her other hand. “And a coffee.” She sucked in a breath and sighed, as if she had something on her mind. “Kind of a peace offering. I guess.”
“If it’s an olive branch, it should come from me, but I’ll gladly accept it. Thank you.” He looked at the floor, still chagrined by his deception. He really did owe her an apology. He just didn’t know how to explain his feelings. He didn’t understand his feelings or why he’d started playing the down and out role when he took his first job as a carpenter’s apprentice at sixteen. He’d kept his best clothing for school, there wasn’t money to replace them after his mother lost her job.
He and his sister, Amy Jo, had shared the burden of paying the bills. They barely covered the basics. Clothing was a luxury they couldn’t afford. As the months passed, he bulked up from the heavy lifting, nothing fit and secondhand stores and thrift shops became the place to replace his work gear. The habit stayed after he graduated high school and worked full time. Every spare penny went into savings to pay for his carpentry schooling. He was now a Red Seal carpenter with a large staff of employees. He was proud of the man he’d become.
Maybe it was a case of old habits dying hard, or perhaps he was stubborn. But the people who hired him didn’t care if he wore work clothing every day, day in and day out, so why should he? Yeah, his mom and sister grumbled. Every birthday and Christmas gift was something to wear. Clothing he didn’t need or want. He had drawers of brand new, unused clothing.
The beard started as protection from the elements while re-siding a fire-damaged house in minus thirty weather. Letting it grow was easier than shaving, and he fell into the habit of hand trimming it to keep it from being unruly, without really caring how it looked.
All in all, it added up to plain stubbornness and he didn’t want to admit it, nor did he intend to change. He was fine the way he was.
“Jesse? Are you okay? You’ve got the weirdest look on your face.” She touched his shoulder. “Jesse?”
“Sorry. I got lost in my head. It’s a strange place.” His joke fell flat in the face of her obvious concern. “Thanks for the food. I’m hungry.”
“You left without ordering. I thought I’d bring you something. Go ahead and eat, maybe it’ll clear your muddled head.”
He realized she was always kind and generous. Looking out for other people. Frustration at his own stupidity stole his appetite. He forced the food down without tasting a single bite.
“I’m sorry. I took my deception to the extreme. You didn’t deserve that. I have no explanation. Any reason I gave would just be an excuse. I promise full honesty from now on.”
“Apology accepted.” Her expression showed she had questions, but she kept them to herself, and he wasn’t going to press the issue. “And, I’ll make an honest effort not to judge people by their looks in the future,” she added.
“We’re good then?” Hope blossomed in his chest. He didn’t want to be at odds with Hailey. He wanted to return to the comfortable companionship and growing feelings they shared.
“We’re good.” She sounded hesitant.
“I hear a but in there.” He waggled his fingers in a come-on gesture. “Fess up. What’s the but?” Now she looked guilty. He thought he was figuring her out, now he wasn’t so sure. What if she wanted to end their friendship, despite her agreement that all was mended?
“We’re good, for now. But I don’t know if we will be after I tell you this.” She looked around the room, her gaze darting everywhere, except to him.
“How bad can it be? You can tell me.” He waited for her to find the courage to continue. It was the longest two minutes of his life. She wasn’t ending their friendship, was she?
“I lied to you.”
