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She didn’t, of course. I didn’t think Jessie was the type to swoon, but it was damn close. It was probably the gossip that preceded us that prevented it. Instead, she came rushing over to us and ushered us to an empty booth like we were visiting royalty. Before we’d even settled into our seats, she started quizzing Ivy. Lily seemed to have gotten the hang of all these impromptu Q&A’s her mama was subjected to and she chimed in right away that she was Ivy’s daughter…and ours.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Jessie’s eyes go so wide, even though she’d probably heard about it before now. Hearing it from Lily herself was something else entirely. She recovered quickly. “Well, of course you are, sweetheart. You clearly got the best traits from all of them.”
Lily beamed up at her at that one. “I even have cowgirl boots!”
Jessie was a pro at fawning over the new boots—which Lily had worn to bed with her pink nightgown.
“What else have you been up to?” Jessie asked Ivy when Lily tucked her feet back beneath the booth. “You still in Seattle?”
Ivy nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Still living with my Aunt Sarah. I’m teaching second-grade.”
Another table called out to Jessie and she gave them a nod. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “I want to hear all about it.”
Of course, she did.
After she walked away, Rory turned to Ivy. “I can’t believe you managed to raise a kid and get your degree in education.” He shook his head in disbelief. “And all on your own.”
I knew that still bothered him. He’d gotten over the fact that she’d decided not to tell us about Lily but I figured a little part of him still felt guilty that he hadn’t been there. Like he’d let her and Lily down being on her own, even though there was no way he could have known.
She shrugged, thanking the other waitress who stopped by with mugs and poured the three of us coffee. “I wasn’t alone, not entirely. I had Aunt Sarah. Grandma left me the house in her will and the sale of that covered tuition and most of our expenses until I could get a teaching job.”
That must have been reassuring for her, the nest egg, even if it had come her way because of her grandmother’s death.
I tensed, waiting for him to make another comment about how she could have reached out to us but he surprised me. He reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m proud of you.” He angled his head toward me. “We both are. You raised an amazing little girl—” He winked at Lily. “—and got the career of your dreams. Plus, you did it largely on your own.”
I waggled my eyebrows at Lily who had taken the small jelly packets from the holder and began stacking them. “Your mama is pretty amazing, you know that?”
She nodded earnestly, an orange marmalade packet in her small hand. “I know.”
Jessie returned to our table and she was wearing a smug smile along with her green uniform. “You’re a second-grade teacher, right?” Jessie was not exactly subtle. She was up to something and it soon became clear what. “You know there’s an opening at the Bridgewater Elementary School, don’t you?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. She’d helped us find Ivy and now she was helping us keep her.
Ivy shot us an amused look. She’d been gone for a while but she no doubt remembered Jessie’s busybody ways. “No, I hadn’t heard that.”
“It’s true.” Jessie said goodbye to a couple as they walked toward the door. “Rocky Ashford gave his notice this past winter. He’s retiring to Arizona so they’re looking to hire his replacement.”
“Mr. Ashford was my third grade teacher,” she said, then glanced at me and Rory. “
Yours, too.”
“Everyone in town since 1977,” Jessie replied. “That spot’s open come September.”
A teaching job in Bridgewater. Two men. A new life. Ivy looked a little flustered, and I couldn’t blame her. We’d promised we wouldn’t try to pressure her and Lily to stay in Bridgewater. We’d go wherever they needed us and we meant it. I wanted them wherever I could have them. But Jessie seemed to have an agenda of her own. We might not have been the ones putting pressure on her, but she was surely feeling it.
A woman at the next booth came to Ivy’s rescue when she waved Jessie over. Fortunately, I didn’t have to pipe up and tell Jessie to back off. It wouldn’t be polite, but I’d do it if Ivy was getting upset.
I got a glimpse of the teenager beside the woman, and took notice of the ten or more holes lining up the side of her ear, the one in her eyebrow and corner of her lip. She had more holes in her than Swiss cheese. I glanced at Lily, busy once again with her jam tower. It wouldn’t be long before she, too, wanted to bedazzle her body like that. Would I care?
Fuck, I was just getting used to a six-year-old. I could deal with teenage shit when the time came.
“Jessie, don’t tell me you’re adding headhunter to your list of careers alongside diner owner and matchmaker,” the woman teased as she turned in her seat so she was facing us. The teenager rolled her eyes, obviously well aware, even at her age, that the diner owner was a meddler.
“I found you a job, didn’t I?” Jessie gave a grudging grin. “Have y’all met Hannah yet? She’s the new doctor in town, now that Dr. Roberts retired.”
We all said our hellos to Hannah.
“This is Callie, my summer receptionist and these are my men, Cole and Declan.” Hannah made the introductions.
