“Thanks.” He reached up and loosened his tie. The thought that he might try to invite her out for drinks again flitted through her mind, and she panicked.
“So, I guess we’re even?” She needed to say the words. To make him understand that this wasn’t going to continue to be a back and forth. Country opened his mouth, but Jenna didn’t give him space to speak. Without a word, she flashed a thumbs-up and shot toward the door.
Chapter Sixteen
Jenna stood on the doorstep with Tina and Chris—her cameraman for the day. Anne and Melissa weren't available to come with her at the last minute, and if Tina had declined, she would've been tempted to cozy up with a hot mug of tea in front of her gas fireplace. While Chris was a nice enough guy, she didn't know him well enough to call him a support person in a situation like this.
"When are we going to get a Chinook?" Tina shoved her hands deeper into her coat pockets.
"Do you think I should knock again?" Jenna asked. Before Tina could answer, the door swung open, and they were enveloped by a wave of warmth tinged with the scent of garlic and rosemary.
"You must be Jenna!" A spry woman who looked to be in her late fifties stepped out onto the frozen mat in bare feet and threw her arms around Jenna.
It took her a second to recover, but she pulled herself together and returned the embrace. "Mrs. Thompson?"
"Oh please, call me Sharla. And who are your friends?" Sharla stepped back and invited them in.
"This is my friend Tina?—"
"Oh! That's one of the names the boys mentioned."
Tina gave a coquettish smile. "They were talking about me? Hopefully only the good things."
Sharla laughed. "Ryan, Curtis, and Country said they all knew you in high school."
Tina shot Jenna a look. "That we did."
Jenna put her shoes on the rack against the wall, then took off her coat and scarf. "This is Chris. He's going to get some footage today for our story if that's alright?"
"Of course, of course. But I hope you're planning to enjoy yourselves and not only focus on work."
Jenna planned to only focus on work. There would be no enjoying herself in this scenario. Not because she didn't want to catch up with old friends. After hearing Tina, Anne, and Melissa talk about their clandestine get-togethers, she understood the draw of reconnecting. Unfortunately for her, dredging up those happy memories only meant more pain in the present.
It was like being forced to sit at a table with a bowl in the centre filled with freshly picked spring strawberries. If she stared at them remembering she couldn't eat them, she hurt. If she ate them, she hurt. It was so much easier to stare at pineapple, blackberries, or peaches and pretend that strawberries didn't exist.
"Jenna!" Curtis jumped up from his seat at the dining room table and strode toward her with his arms wide. Warmth spread through her as they embraced. "Took you long enough to come by."
"All it took was an ultimatum from my boss." She grinned as Curtis pulled back. "I hear you're a family man now."
"Yep, been married ten years in May. Just had our fourth."
Her eyes widened. "Four kids?" How was it possible that she had friends with litters already?
He nodded with pride. "I did most of the work."
Jenna rolled her eyes as Ryan stepped in and pulled her into a side hug. "Good to see you, Jens."
"You, too. How are things?" It felt like she’d just taken a drink of warm hot chocolate greeting her friends again. If Country was connected to every memory while she’d been coming of age, these guys were linked in just as tightly. They weren’t at the centre of her circle like he was, but they were still on the merry-go-round.
"Good. Amaya's almost seven." Ryan still had a shy, boyish look about him. Big doe eyes and long lashes. She couldn't believe he had a daughter approaching double digits.
Jenna looked around the room as Curtis and Ryan moved to greet Tina. She counted six players at the massive dining room table plus Curtis and Ryan. Three of them sat with women who were obviously their girlfriends, and Jenna thought she could pick out the Snowballs’ captain, Sean. He looked like a younger version of the man sitting next to Sharla.
Jenna forced her eyes to skim past Country and the blatantly empty seat next to him. She silently prayed that Tina would take it but couldn't get her friend's attention on the down low. So many happy couples. Did all of them have kids?
Jenna tried to breathe through the cinching of her ribs. "Let's get set up over here." She pointed to the corner of the dining room where there was a bit more space and a good angle to film the gathering. Chris nodded and hoisted his equipment in that direction.
"You're going to sit down and eat with us, right?" Curtis asked, making his way back to his seat. Ryan motioned for Tina to sit next to him, then pulled up an extra chair for Chris.
