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“Well, when I grabbed it he didn’t pull it away, so he’s stuck.” Jubilee smiled and returned the hug that Clara gave her.
“That’s not how it happened at all. I took her hand. I didn’t grab it, I gently slid my hand into hers and she didn’t slap me, so that’s where we are.”
“Matt. Wow. After all these years. This is going to make our mom so happy. She just thinks the world of Jubilee, and the two of you —” Clara shivered a little, like she was just overcome with all the things she wanted to say.
But Matt could feel Jubilee panicking beside him. She already said she was scared. And the idea that Clara practically had them married...
Of course, what else would it mean when he was running around town holding her hand? Maybe to some people that didn’t mean anything, but Strawberry Sands was small enough to know that it did mean something to him. It meant a lot to him. Everything. He should have known what the reaction would be. But he didn’t realize it was going to scare Jubilee. Didn’t realize the idea of another relationship was such a hurdle for her to get over. Of course, it was for him, but that was years ago.
“Clara, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else,” Jubilee began, and Matt figured it was an attempt to politely steer the conversation from the direction it was going, into something that Jubilee felt she could handle a little better.
He waited. Wanting to help her if she needed it, but not wanting to jump in if she could do it on her own. He didn’t figure she would appreciate that, although... Jubilee hadn’t seemed like the kind of woman who got angry or offended when he tried to help.
He liked that, because he wanted to help. Wanted to step in and do things for her. That was one of the ways he showed that he cared.
He thought back to that whole love language book, which he would never have read on his own, but he supposed there were advantages to having sisters.
One of his love languages was service. He almost snorted, and in order to keep himself from any other noises that didn’t go along with whatever conversation Jubilee was having, he dragged his attention back to her.
“Of course,” Clara said, “What would you like to know?”
“Eva and I are in charge of the Strawberry festival entertainment, and we decided I would be responsible for getting vendors for that weekend. After you and I talked, I started to think that it might be nice to have an art vendor. We have a lot of food, drinks, ice cream, and even some arts and crafts type things, but no actual artwork. Would you have enough things that you could set up a stand?”
“Oh my goodness. I’ve never even considered any of that, although after you and I talked, I asked for an extension on the decision I have to make at my job. My boss gave me a month.” She rolled her eyes. Matt knew from talking to her over the years that her boss was not exactly her favorite person.
“You know you always have the family safety net if things don’t work out. Not that I think they’re not going to, but you’re young, you’re not married, you don’t have anyone depending on you, this is a great time for you to step out on your own.”
Jubilee smiled at him like he said all the right things, and that feeling of his chest expanding and with all the good things beat strongly in his soul again. He figured he could pretty much do anything if he had Jubilee beside him looking at him like that.
“I don’t think quitting my job is probably something I want to decide on the spur of the moment, but I’ve definitely been praying about it,” Clara said giving him a thoughtful look. “But, I do think you’re probably right that the festival would be a great way to put myself out there and maybe see how it goes.”
“Sure. And that storefront is still available.”
“The one right by the beach?”
“Yeah, that would be perfect for the diner. I suggested to Chi that she ought to move the diner from where it is now, to that spot right on the end.”
“That’s a great idea! They could make a back patio and have seating that overlooks the stable and the lake. It would be really pretty to have people sitting there eating, watching the horses grazing and enjoying the view of the lake.”
“That’s brilliant,” Matt couldn’t help but say. He could get into that right away. He’d enjoy going just for the great view.
“I agree. I hope she does it. Of course, Griff’s cheesecake will still make me want to go to the diner anyway, but a view like that would make it pretty much perfect.”
“She seemed interested. But moving the diner would be a lot of work. Plus there’d be even more work that would have to go into making that building on the end work for them.”
“Maybe I’ll talk to Griff. I could give them a hand.”
“It’s Chi, not Griff.” Clara’s look held a warning. Matt snapped his mouth shut. It wasn’t a secret, at least not to him, that Griff had a thing for Chi. But, maybe Clara was telling him that the feeling was not mutual.
“Isn’t that the lawyer?” Jubilee said and Clara turned her head to where Jubilee was looking immediately.
“That’s him. What a jerk,” Clara muttered.
Matt had to search, because he wasn’t quite sure who they were looking for. But then he saw Eva, chatting with some dude who wore a polo shirt with a small logo in the upper left corner, along with khaki pants and shiny shoes that didn’t look like they belonged on the beach.
“I guess I just never trusted those guys who look like they have to use a half a bottle of gel to get their hair to stay down. I don’t know why, but it makes me wonder what else there is in their life that they’re trying to hide,” Clara muttered.
Jubilee’s lips pressed together, but she didn’t say anything else. It wasn’t hard for Matt to read her expression though. She didn’t like the guy. And he figured that Eva probably wasn’t gaining in popularity by talking to him, because when he glanced around and laid eyes on Chi, she was staring at the two with her heart in her eyes.
