Sweet Love on the Cove Page 3

  Jeannie dropped her shoulders. “I trust you. But I don’t want to risk it, either. I understand you are all worried about my health, and I’m asking you not to be. I’m alright. I promise, if I feel the need to take a break, to go home and rest, I will.”

  “You promise?” Sarah asked.

  “Oh, come on. We know that’s a lie,” Mason chimed in. “Let’s just hope that Lily wakes up soon, for mum’s sake. She’s not moving an inch from that hospital until she does.”

  “You’re probably right,” Sarah concurred. “We’ll keep calling to check up on you and Lily, mum. If there is anything you need at all, make sure you call us right away, alright?”

  Jeannie nodded. “By the way, Sarah, where are you? I’m sorry, I haven’t asked how you three are, or even called to check up on you guys, either. How are you? What have you been up to?”

  A brief pause ensued. “Well, we’re wrapping up the season,” Mason said. “My team is in third place, but that can change, and I’m hoping it will, since our aim is to take home the trophy. Thankfully, I haven’t sustained any severe injuries. But my ankles are swollen right now.”

  “Oh, honey,” Jeannie said, holding the phone closer to her face before realizing it wouldn’t bring Mason any closer on the screen. “You look tired, too. Are you getting rest at all?”

  “How could he be getting rest?” Sarah asked. “He plays in a match practically every day. If he isn’t playing, then he’s training.”

  Jeannie stared back and forth at Lily and her phone screen. There was so much going on that she wasn’t paying attention to other things in her life. She barely knew what Mason was up to, or where Sarah was, or what Emily was doing. They made it a duty to call her several times a week to inquire about her wellbeing, but Jeannie had been too preoccupied to ask about theirs.

  “I’m in Peru at the moment,” Sarah revealed. “Hubby has a meeting here this weekend, so I tagged along because I felt like it.”

  “Peru?” Emily asked. “Do you even still live in New York? At this rate, you’d visit the fifty states before the end of the year.”

  “When will you be going back to New York to settle down, Sarah?” Jeannie asked her. “You are my only current hope for a grandchild now, you know? Emily and Mason are both married to their professions, and Lily, well…Lily’s young.”

  “Don’t worry about that, mum,” Sarah said. “I’ll give you your grandbaby.”

  Jeannie chuckled. “Thank you, my darling. Emily? Anything you’d like to tell me? How’s work?”

  “Work’s fine, I guess. There’s not a lot going on for me at the moment,” Emily answered.

  Jeannie nodded. “I’m sorry I don’t call to check up on the three of you like I used to. Hopefully, things will go back to normal soon, and all of that will change.”

  “Oh, come on, mum. It’s not like we’re toddlers,” Sarah replied. “Just take care of your health. Emily, Mason, and I sent you some money. Use it to take care of yourself. We’ll send you some more by the end of the week.”

  “Thank you so much. I love you all very much.”

  “We love you, too,” Emily answered. “Bye, mum.”

  “Bye,” she said and blew kisses.

  Once the call ended, Jeannie rose to her feet to check on Lily. Three days was a long time for her to be asleep. But everyone else didn’t see anything to worry about, hence she had to remain calm, too. Lily was fine. The doctor had said so himself.

  “Jeannie? Jeannie, wake up.”

  Her eyelids were heavier than usual. Jeannie tried to open her eyes, but the best she could do was bat her eyelids repeatedly. She caught glimpses of a figure squatted by her side by the sofa, and from the rich scent of the perfume the person had on, Jeannie was certain that it was Aaron.

  “Aaron,” she said lazily. “You’re back.”

  “I am,” Aaron said, drawing lines on Jeannie’s forearm with his finger. “Are you alright? Have you had anything to eat?”

  Jeannie dragged herself up from the sofa and sat. “I’m fine. I had lunch earlier, but I’m not hungry yet, so dinner can wait. Did you just arrive, or have you been here for a while?”

  “I just got here,” Aaron answered. “You look tired.”

  Jeannie yawned. “I didn’t get much sleep last night,” she answered. “I don’t know why. I just couldn’t stay asleep.”

  Aaron sat by Jeannie’s side and rubbed her back. “Do you want me to get you some medicine to help you sleep? Or perhaps some milk?”

  Jeannie shook her head. “No pills, thank you. I’m trying to stay away from taking pills unless they are necessary. It’s not that serious. I’ll just turn off all the lights this time and take some milk, like you said.”

  Aaron glanced at the sofa. “I think we should get a bed in here,” he suggested. “A small but comfy one that we can easily move around. That way, you don’t have to keep sleeping on the sofa. It’s our best option since you refuse to go home.”

  “Aaron, you’ve already done enough,” Jeannie said. “I don’t have a problem sleeping on the sofa. I promise, if it gets too uncomfortable, I’ll tell you. But I’m fine.”

  “You just said you find it difficult to sleep.”

  “That has nothing to do with the sofa,” Jeannie argued. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Aaron stared at her in an obvious state of indecision between remaining quiet and saying something else. He sighed and reluctantly threw in the towel. “Fine. I brought you dinner. It’s Mexican.”

  A smile formed on Jeannie’s lips. “Oh, thank you. I like Mexican food.”

  “I know. Now eat something.”

  “Later,” Jeannie groaned. She took the bag from him and placed it on the small table. “Now, tell me about you? How was your day? How was work? What did you do?”

  Aaron placed his head on the sofa. “You’ve asked me that three days in a row. Why don’t you tell me about your day this time?”

  “There’s nothing to tell,” Jeannie said. “You know this. My day was uneventful. Tell me about yours. I want to hear about it.”

  Jeannie leaned her head on the sofa, too, and stared directly into Aaron’s eyes with a smile on her face. They were ignoring the obvious elephant in the room. Lily’s incident had brought them back together, and it appeared they had made up even without talking about their relationship. Jeannie blamed it on poor timing. Aaron wouldn’t want to bring it up because there were more pressing matters at hand. Jeannie sensed Aaron was waiting for her to talk about it. She, on the other hand, liked how things were between them. She was scared that bringing up their argument, and the reasons they separated in the first place, was going to create a gap between them all over again. A gap that Lily’s accident had closed.

  Amidst all the confusion caused by the accident, Jeannie was sure of one thing. Her feelings for Aaron were strong. Certain. The last three days had really shown her that Aaron was the man of her dreams. Their quiet conversations in Lily’s hospital room lasted for hours, and Jeannie fell asleep better in Aaron’s arms. He knew the right words to say to encourage and soothe her, and he was always there, even though he was a busy man.

  “How about we make a deal then?” Aaron asked, adjusting in his position.

  Jeannie’s eyebrows furrowed. “What deal?”

  “I will tell you all about my day, the new clients we have, and how work is going if you have breakfast with me at a nice diner tomorrow.”

  “Are you asking me out, Aaron Horn?” she questioned teasingly.

  “Would you feel better if it wasn’t a date?” he asked. “I just want you to get some fresh air, Jeannie. It’s only breakfast. I’ll have you back here at the hospital in two or three hours.”

  Jeannie glanced at Lily and then turned her attention back to Aaron. The least she could do was put in an effort before she ruined things with him again. Besides, she really needed some fresh air. A walk would do her some good, too, given that she had barely left the hospital room for anything.

  “I’d love to, Aaron,” Jeannie answered with a smile.

  Chapter Four

  “It’s been a week, Aaron. I think it’s only reasonable that I worry.”

  The aromatic scent of flowers filled Jeannie’s nose as they strolled by a floral shop in the center of town. It was the third time in four days that they had gone to Wendy’s for breakfast. Jeannie didn’t think she’d be out of Lily’s room that often, but she found it hard to turn Aaron down anytime he asked her out for breakfast. It was his attempt to distract her from Lily’s state, and Jeannie was thankful for it. Most of the time, it worked. They would spend the morning talking about everything else, about Aaron’s work, what he was up to…

  The bakery was also running smoothly thanks to him and Cathy. They had squeezed out time to run it in her stead. Her employees also made it easy for Jeannie to be at the hospital. They would sometimes video call Jeannie and show her how busy the store was or ask questions about her recipes. Everyone was doing so much to make Jeannie’s life easier. Just thinking about it brought her to the edge of tears. There was so much she was grateful for. Sometimes she wondered if she had been a hero in her past life to have earned so many good people around her now who made her wellbeing their priority.

  Aaron placed both hands on Jeannie’s shoulders and guided her away from the road. “The doctor says Lily is stable for now, but they cannot tell us anything until she wakes up.”

  “That’s exactly my point,” Jeannie said. She took a sip from the already melted iced latté in her hand and sighed softly. “Why does it feel like I’m exaggerating when this should be a cause for concern? It’s been seven days. She’s been in a coma for seven days, and the doctors don’t think it’s a big deal.”

  “They are doctors, Jeannie. I’m sure th
ey have handled this sort of situation before. I mean, it’s what they studied in school, is it not? If they say there is no cause for concern, then I don’t see why you should start panicking.”

  “I read about something like this on Google,” Jeannie revealed. “If Lily is in a coma for too long, then she might become a vegetable. That’s brain death, Aaron, and she has been like this for a week. I mean, how long is too long?”

  “Have the doctors mentioned anything about Lily falling into a vegetative state?” Aaron asked.

  “Well, no, but—”

  “But nothing,” Aaron said to her. “Goodness, Jeannie. You worry way too much over things you cannot control. There is nothing we can do right now but wait for Lily to wake up on her own, but you are worrying like the doctors have announced that Lily is dying.”

  “I have nothing to do but worry, Aaron,” Jeannie said. “What else am I going to do with all the time on my hands? I overthink, I can admit that, but you have to admit that I have every right to be worried.”

  “You do, but this isn’t just worry,” Aaron said. “What you are is paranoid. You have a vivid imagination, Jeannie, and you use it to think up horrible things. You’re not a very optimistic person.”

  “Well, can you blame me? My life hasn’t been that rosy or filled with opportunities. Every single time I have been optimistic in the past, my hopes have been shattered. What I do is, I think of the worst that can happen, so when something good happens instead, I am pleasantly surprised.”

  Aaron paused abruptly and arched his eyebrows. “That is just weird, Jeannie Miller.”

  Jeannie giggled and stood in front of him. “Why? I like surprises. Pleasant surprises.”

  “Well, no…I don’t think you should,”—Aaron swallowed—“You have a weird logic, Jeannie. I am so confused. Why would you think the worst so you can be pleasantly surprised when something good happens? You can still be pleasantly surprised if you hope for the best.”

  Jeannie tilted her head to the side. “You’re telling me you don’t do the same thing?”

  Aaron shook his head. “Not at all. I like to be hopeful. Very hopeful.”

  “Well, what do you do when things don’t happen the way you wanted them to? I mean, if you’re too hopeful, you won’t see it coming.”

  “If things don’t work out how I want them to, I get disappointed. That’s normal. I don’t enjoy thinking of the worst that could happen.”

  “Well, I don’t like to, either, but I can’t help that I think about it first before anything else,” Jeannie said and shrugged her shoulders. “How do I explain it…it’s like covering the ground, making sure you have thought about every single possibility before the result comes in. For me, when I’m hopeful and things don’t work out how I planned it to, I get heartbroken. Sometimes I cry, and it hurts. I don’t like to be caught off guard, that’s all.”

  Aaron crossed his arms. “I’m pretty sure there is a psychological term for this. I just don’t know what it is.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Aaron. I hate it when things don’t go as planned,” Jeannie explained. “It’s not the same with Lily. For Lily, I pray every single day that she wakes up and talks to me. But I also need to know every single thing that might go wrong, so I can pray about it and be prepared to tackle it.”

  “Luka did this to you,” Aaron said, catching her off guard. “The constant disappointment did this to you, I’m sure of it. It has forced you to guard your heart, so it doesn’t suffer another heartbreak again.”

  “Alright, now you’re jumping the gun,” Jeannie said and continued walking.

  “I think I’m right. Remember what you told me when I started to like you?” Aaron asked. “You said you didn’t come to Chickadee Cove in search of a relationship. You came to start a bakery.”

  “Okay…so?”

  “You had totally given up on the idea of love, Jeannie. I think that’s because the same person has hurt too you many times. You know, once bitten, twice shy…but in your case—”

  “Don’t say it.” Jeannie chuckled. “I know I was bitten repeatedly. You don’t have to remind me. I live with the shame every day. You might be right, but you could be wrong, too. However, you should know that I am working on myself, and I hope I become that optimistic person that I strive to be.”

  “I have a feeling you will be soon,” Aaron said to her. “Once Lily wakes up, you’ll see that you had no reason to be worried at all.”

  Jeannie sighed. “I hope so, Aaron.”

  Aaron met her gaze, and she looked away quickly to hide the blush that had formed on her cheeks. Breakfast with Aaron was now the only activity she looked forward to doing every day. She loved their walks. It was the perfect opportunity for her to clear her head and have a laugh.

  “The weather is nice out today,” Aaron noted.

  Jeannie glanced at the sky. She smiled in response and stared at Aaron’s hand. Jeannie fiddled with her fingers as she contemplated reaching for him and holding his hand. Was it too forward? Too soon? She didn’t want to catch him off guard.

  Before she could decide, Aaron’s phone rang in his pocket. He reached for it quickly, and when his voice changed after accepting the call, Jeannie knew he had to go.

  “Jeannie, I am so—”

  “Don’t apologize, Aaron,” Jeannie said to him. “You are a busy man, and I am grateful that you sacrifice your time to be with me. Go. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I apologize,” he said. “I’ll be as quick as I can, and I’ll make sure to come back soon.”

  “Aaron, don’t inconvenience yourself because of me. I want you to come back, but if you can’t, then it’s fine.”

  “I want to,” Aaron said. “I’ll see you tonight.”

  Jeannie instinctively smiled. “See you tonight, Aaron.”

  Aaron took a step forward and jerked back. He spread his arms, then clenched his hands into a fist and dropped them awkwardly. Jeannie was certain he was going in for a hug, but then he changed his mind.

  “See you,” he said and patted her shoulders.

  “Wait, your car is parked at the hospital,” she said. “Where are you going? We can just walk there together.”

  “I’ll just take a cab, then come back for it when I return to see you,” Aaron said. “Bye, Jeannie.”

  “Bye,” she said inaudibly.

  The elephant in the room was getting bigger and bigger by the day. Jeannie watched Aaron hail a cab and hop in. He was unsure of where they stood and probably confused, too. They hadn’t addressed their differences, and suddenly, they were talking like nothing had happened. It was weird.

  She had to clear the air, or else the gap would form again on its own.

  The day passed by even slower than usual. However, the minute Jeannie closed her eyes for a quick nap, she woke up at nighttime. But even after so many hours of sleep, Jeannie still felt drained. She jumped into the shower for a quick bath and a change of outfit before Aaron arrived. It had been four days since she last washed her hair, and she wanted to look pretty for Aaron that evening. They were going to talk about their relationship. She wanted to look her best…or at least, the best she could.

  Jeannie stared at the sofa as she towel-dried her hair. Sleeping on it had left a dent right in the middle. Just like Mason had predicted, Jeannie was already feeling back pains from constantly sleeping in a fetal position. She didn’t want to complain to anyone or take any medication for it, either.

  Jeannie turned to stare at Lily. “Lily, darling. Please wake up. Mum’s back hurts from sleeping on the sofa. For someone who hated being idle, you sure have been asleep for a long time.”

  Jeannie crashed on the sofa and picked up her phone. Denise made it a point of duty to send videos of the shop every single day to show Jeannie how things were going. She’d show customers making orders, the crowd seated at the bakery, the workers…everything. It was their little way of assuring Jeannie that they had everything under control. Jeannie had Aaron to thank for his keen eye. During the interview, he had advised Jeannie on her choices. In fact, Jeannie hired all the people he had selected. It turned out that he had been right about them. They were amazing people. Jeannie couldn’t have asked for better workers.