Franklin nodded his head, staring at her with his big brown eyes while Liam looked on, his eyes wide. “One, two, pull!” She tugged as hard as she could, and a loud rip filled the air. Franklin wiggled out from under the tank and got up, a big hunk of his shirt now missing. Zaina leaned back, hand to her chest and looked up, “Thank the goddess. He’s fine.”
On the other side of the metal gate, Nicole and Devin were locked in a hug swaying back and forth. Zaina got to her feet. Nicole and Devin separated, and then in a blink of an eye Franklin and Liam had run to the gate, dropped to the ground and squirmed their way underneath and right into their mother’s arms. Everyone was crying; from behind a deep voice shouted, “What in the world is going on?”
Zaina gave Jasper a weak wave, while Devin began using all her lawyerly skills to explain the situation.
A short time later, Jasper had calmed down enough that he’d unlocked the gate, letting Zaina out. He’d even gotten a ladder and climbed up to retrieve Liam’s hat. Zaina gave quick hugs to Nicole and Devin and made a beeline for the door, avoiding Jasper. Jasper kicked Devin, Nicole and the kids out of the brewery mumbling something about getting an alarm for the back door. Outside, Nicole found Devin’s wagon, helped get the boys situated and then they walked to Devin’s car. Devin had insisted that Zaina and Nicole come over for a celebration for saving her kids.
“I know it’s been a super scary day for you. Do you want me to spend the night? I haven’t gotten to help tuck in the boys in ages,” Nicole offered.
The furrow between Devin’s perfectly plucked eyebrows softened, “Would you?”
“Of course,” Nicole said, and they left the fest.
Chapter Twenty-Two
SEAN
Sean dumped the hot dog water in the railcar sink. One lone hot dog had been left floating in the oily water at the end of the fest and if that wasn’t a metaphor for his day, he didn’t know what was. After Nicole had taken off, he’d had a few stragglers looking for food and then it was time to start cleaning up. He was torn between taking his time in hopes that Nicole was planning to come back and say goodbye to him and the urgency he had to get back to Jesse’s Pub where an engagement party was due to arrive in two hours and twenty minutes. Thank goodness his refrigeration system was back in working condition. That had allowed him to do all his prep for the party yesterday.
Once everything was loaded up in his foldable wagon, Sean pulled down the overhead shutters and mopped his way to the door. He locked it behind him, and then sent a quick text to Nicole.
SEAN: I’m heading out, are you still here?
He spent a couple of minutes double-checking the wagon, making sure he had his keys and took a quick look through his texts on his phone, just in case she was still there and was walking over. When she didn’t respond, he started the long walk to his car.
As he walked by the main brewery building, he looked for Nicole in the sea of orange volunteer shirts but didn’t see her. He didn’t know what the emergency was that Zaina had dragged Nicole off to. He pouted a little, wishing he didn’t have to rush off to work a private party. He’d like to know what was going on with Nicole’s friend, Devin. By the looks of things at the brewery, whatever the emergency was, it had been resolved. His daydreamed how nice it would be to kick back with a pint of Jasper’s award-winning Oktoberfest beer in one hand and his other arm around Nicole. But off to work he must go.
Once he got to his car, he checked his phone again, to see if Nicole had texted him back, but she hadn’t. Sean sighed and put on one of his favorite up-beat playlists to get in the mood for work. He’d had a little pity party and now it was time to get his game face on. He was lucky to have this event. He’d lost a few grand and several of his employees had lost shifts they couldn’t afford to lose because of the refrigeration malfunction. Now they had a chance to make up some of that ground.
Before he knew it, two hours had passed and the party goers had arrived. He’d forgotten that this was an engagement between two high school sweethearts that had reunited at their fiftieth high school reunion here in town last year. Sean really got a kick out of seeing the happy couple hand in hand as they walked around thanking their guests.
Sean noticed that on a few occasions when they weren’t together the future groom would watch his bride-to-be with a smile on his face and sparkling eyes. Sean felt heat radiatingthrough his chest as he imagined what it would be like if it were his engagement party. How he would follow Nicole with his eyes, watching as she savored their dinner and as she spoke excitedly with Zaina and Devin.
What a time Nicole would have trying to decide who would be her maid of honor. And on his part, if he invited all his half and step siblings, would they even have room at Jesse’s Pub for everyone? Did he need to invite his various stepmothers and stepfathers as well? His mood soured a little. He shook himself to end his daydream and went back into the kitchen to start plating the desserts.
After the engagement party was over and the restaurant was cleaned up, he finally made his way home. Sean let himself into his apartment and slid out of his Crocs. He yawned so wide, his jaw popped. He shuffled to his bedroom and pulled pajama bottoms out of his dresser drawer. Then, he brushed his teeth and turned on the shower. He tried to lather up and shower but the warmth of the water only made him that much more tired. The long day, the joy of spending time with Nicole, coupled with not getting to finish their conversation had spent him. He toweled off, threw on his pajamas, and fell into bed.
***
NICOLE
Nicole woke Monday morning and for a few seconds, she’d forgotten all about Sean. Then it came back to her. She checked her phone and saw his message from last night. It still sat at the top of her texts unread. She clicked the text, read it, but didn’t reply. What would be the point of replying? Even if he said he didn’t care that she couldn’t have kids, he was a young guy and he probably didn’t even realize he’d want kids of his own. What she was doing was for the best in the long run.
She wasn’t what he’d need when his biological clock started ticking. She didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to deal with a long conversation about her inadequacies as a woman. She’d done enough of that when Duncan had left and since then, she’d spent far too much time focusing on what she didn’t have to offer. She just wanted to go back to her calm structured days. Work, home, time with friends and the occasional trip to see her parents. She needed to keep her peace intact. She kept telling herself it was a liberation to be free of Sean and any expectations for the future. Maybe she’d run into him at the school years from now when he had a child of his own. She really wished nothing but the best for him.
From the moment she walked into work, she was greeted with a parade of problems. First, three teachers were out with the flu and each of them had a brand new sub filling in. Mr. Steve, the janitor slipped while cleaning up a hallway water spill and they had to call the ambulance. Then there was a drop-in safety inspection from the state. Nicole hadn’t had a moment to think about Sean or even to sit down all day. Finally, at two order was restored.
Nancy walked back into the office. “I will be so glad when Principal Adams is back from that conference. Who schedules a week-long conference for elementary principals in the fall? Isn’t that what summer is for?”
“It’s completely ridiculous!” Nicole agreed, half paying attention. Now that things had quieted down, she had time to think about Sean. She clenched her fists and tried to banish his handsome face from her mind. She loved the way he laughed at his own bad jokes, and when he did, it made his eyes crinkle and his dimples pop out in the midst of the scruff that covered his perfect chin and strong jawline. She started to feel warmth spreading throughout her. This was going to be harder than she thought.
“Nicole, Nicole,” Nancy snapped her fingers in her face trying to get her attention.
Nicole shook her head, coming out of her daydream. “I’m sorry. What were you saying, Nancy?”
“Did you enter the afternoon kindergarten attendance forms?”
“Yep, it’s all done. Everyone was here today, which was a surprise. I thought for sure some of the kids would have been absent after the fest yesterday.”
