“That’s sweet. Thank you.”
“Why don’t you go check it out?”
She turned to him. “What do you mean? Drive down there and look around?” As she spoke the words, she realized they actually made sense. Maybe going there for a couple of days was a good idea. She could see the place and figure out whether or not she was interested in moving or if all this was just a lot of cheap talk.
“You could go over Memorial Day weekend. You have both the Friday and the Monday off. That would give you plenty of time to explore. If you want company, Noah and I could go with you.”
“You’d do that? Are you sure?”
“Getting away would be good for him. We could stay near Balboa Park, go to the zoo. I’m sure there’s more for us to do. We could keep busy while you look around.”
“It’s coming up quick. Do you think we could pull the trip together that fast?”
“Sure we can. When I get home, I’ll look into a rental or a couple of hotel rooms.”
She felt a flicker of excitement. “If you’re sure, I’m in.”
“I’m in, too.”
Chapter Seven
“You’re not listening to me,” Cheryl said, her tone mild. “I’m going to assume it’s not personal.”
Jax looked at her employee and sighed. “No, it’s not. I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind and I’m distracted. I promise I’ll listen intently starting now.”
“What’s going on?”
Jax started to saynothing, but there was something about Cheryl that made her want to spill everything. It was probably leftover teacher mojo, the kind that had kids confessing every secret before they realized what they were doing.
“I’m worried about Harris and Shawna, which is ridiculous. I’ve only met Shawna once and it’s not like we’re friends. Although I suppose my concern is more generic worry for someone who’s going to get her heart broken. I’m pissed at my ex for what he’s doing. However this ends, it’s going to affect all of us, especially the kids. While I don’t think Harris means to marry her, we all have to pretend he does which means I’m going to have to deal with the whole stepmother thing with Gentry and Xander. They’re going to have questions I can’t answer.”
“They can’t know you suspect their father isn’t in love with Shawna.”
“I agree and I won’t say anything. But the situation is a mess and it’s all his fault.”
“There’s a reason he’s your ex. Besides, he might discover he’s madly in love with Shawna and everything will work out.”
“You’re an optimist.”
“I try to be. Anything else on your mind?” Cheryl asked, taking off her reading glasses and watching Jax with an expression that said she had all the time in the world.
Jax rested her elbows on her desk. “Ryleigh. She’s talking about moving to San Diego and I don’t like it.”
“Why would she want to move? Oh, right. Dustin. Things didn’t work out there and now she’s unsettled. A move would certainly change up her life.”
“But she can’t go. Her life is here. Her family, her friends, her job. She loves her job.”
“She does,” Cheryl agreed. “But she needs more than a job to make her happy.”
“She has us and she just can’t move. I always thought of my life as a four-legged stool. I had Harris, my kids, the bookstore and Ryleigh. I’ve already lost Harris, leaving me with a three-legged stool. If Ryleigh moves away, I won’t have a stool anymore. It’ll just be two legs and it can’t stand up like that.”
Marcus stuck his head in the door. “When you have a second, I need to talk to you. And if you have a broken stool, I can probably fix it for you.”
Despite her unsettled emotions, she smiled. “Thanks but I’m okay. The stool is a metaphor for my life. It doesn’t exist on this plane.”
He frowned for a second. “Okay, sure.”
Cheryl rose. “Why don’t you talk now? I have plenty to keep me busy.” She left the office. Jax stood and joined Marcus.
