Done (Harmony Haven #1)

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

EASTON

I had one drink with my brother at Fiddler’s on Wednesday night. Then Thursday, Grams and Gramps called and needed help with some things around the house. Somehow, between those two places and my own home, I lost Jesse’s binder. I didn’t remember taking it out of my truck, but it wasn’t there.

It was nowhere.

I had spent my entire Friday tracing my steps back through the last few days, and although I didn’t think it’d be there, I was finally checking at Fiddler’s.

“You didn’t have a binder, Easton. It’s like you said, you had one beer and left.”

“Miles was with me?”

“You were safe and sound,” Blue assured me, seeing the panic in my eyes. She was the regular bartender at Fiddler’s and knew everyone and everything that happened inside those four walls. “Miles was with ya. You two left and I said see ya later. You even drove yourself home.”

Just as I remembered, yet, I couldn’t think of what I had done with the binder. Or if I had done anything at all.

“You were distracted, and Miles was laughing at you the whole time. It seemed innocent enough,” Blue shrugged, placing a napkin in front of me. There was a slight hesitation on her face, and her eyes looked sad and distant.

“Hey,” I leaned in closer so I could talk lower. “Everything okay around here?”

“It’s nothing I’m not used to,” Blue sighed. “Jeff is barely around and it's like I’m running this place alone for minimum tips and a whole lotta headaches.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Psh,” Blue smirked and a little light came back into her eyes. “You can’t even find your binder. I think I’ll be okay on my own.”

“Ha. Ha.”

Blue laughed and then waved a hand around before taking another deep sigh. “I’ll be okay around here. I can handle it. You know I’m not one to be messed with. I’m just getting tired, that’s all.”

With that, she was called down the bar, and I never got to reiterate that I had her back. Blue and I weren’t exactly close, but I had been down to Fiddler’s enough to know she graduated in the next town over, was a nice girl, and had a tough exterior. But I didn’t know anything about what lay beneath the surface.

Instead of lingering at the bar, I decided to head to the station and check my room. It was the one place I hadn’t checked because I hadn’t been there, but I was getting desperate.

“Don’t you have better things to do on a Friday night?” Captain Reed called out from behind his desk as I ran down the hallway past his office.

“Just need to pick something up!” I hollered back, without stopping to chit chat.

“Hey,” he yelled, making me halt and turn around to peek around the door jamb into his office.

“Yeah, Cap?”

“You looking for this?”

There it was, my binder of questions in the hands of someone that had the power to make my life miserable. At least it was Captain Reed that found it, though. Anyone else and I would undoubtedly be subjected to some hazing.

“Found it in Rory’s hands,” he gruffed, making my hopes of not being teased go up in flames.

“Rory? What was she doing with my… recipes?”

He quirked an eyebrow at me and shook his head, knowing damn well there were no recipes in that binder. Hey, it was worth a shot. My hope was that he didn’t even open it, or read the front, or…

Well, he knew it was mine, so screw it. He knew everything.

“I’m not sure how she got it, but one look at it and I knew it wasn’t something she needed to be passing around the station. She causes you enough trouble. The last thing I need is my best lieutenant being the butt of everyone’s jokes for the next six months.”

“Ah, Cap,” I shrugged. “It's a little embarrassing, but if they saw the legs on this woman, they’d be making her binders as well.”

That probably wasn’t true, because if they saw her legs and felt the need to make her a binder, I’d kill them. And then, they wouldn’t be alive to get Ms. Ellison to deliver it, which I thought was a cute touch.

I was spiraling again. It seemed to be easy to do when I thought about Jesse. I had never even touched her, yet I felt like I’d kill my coworkers for her.

“Here,” Captain Reed handed the binder to me and then pointed in the direction of nowhere in particular. “Take it up with Rory if you want. But settle it without a war.”

“Of course,” I assured him calmly, while underneath I was on fire.

Rory had crossed the line twice when it came to Jesse. The first time, I let it go, choosing to keep the station camaraderie on an even keel. But the fact that Rory had most likely taken the binder from my truck was making me reconsider my morals and my stance on never hitting a woman.

Giving the captain a quick nod to say bye, I jogged from his office and back to my truck. Rory was probably on duty, since most of the crew worked two on and two off, but I had to let my wrath settle a bit before I handled her in a way I’d regret. Not to mention, I was running out of time for that fifth question I had asked Jesse.

It was Friday night, and if she so much as gave me a hint that she was up for company, I’d head straight to her house.

Opening the binder to the fifth page, I looked at her girlie handwriting and read everything as quickly as possible.

Question 5: What are you doing Friday night?

My Friday is incredibly exciting. It's my monthly trip to Wal-Mart where I will be battling a three-year-old’s impatience while stocking up on necessities so that I don’t have to go back for another month. Super exciting. You’re welcome to join me.

Without hesitating, I threw the binder back into the passenger seat and put the truck in reverse. Jesse’s house wasn’t far and I hoped I caught her before she left. If she thought I wouldn’t want to go to Wal-Mart, she was wrong.

Damnit, I loved Wal-Mart. I could get a pair of jeans, an oil change, my eyes checked, and a Subway Club without having to go to four different places. For a guy, that was practically the epicenter for getting shit done. With Jesse there, it would be better than going to church, or a Kings’ game, or even Sunday dinner.

Pulling up to her house, I immediately noticed her car was gone but I was tempted to get out and knock anyway, because she could have had the car in the garage. But before I got that far, Ms. Ellison knocked on my passenger window and made a motion for me to roll it down.

“She left thirty minutes ago,” Ms. Ellison pointed down the street to indicate which way she had gone. Not that it mattered, there was only one Wal-Mart close enough to bother going to, and I knew exactly how to get there. “I knew you’d show up.”

All I could do was shrug and smile as I waved goodbye. She backed away so I could take off, and before I knew it, I was speeding down the main highway toward Wal-Mart.

It was nearly dark but the parking lot was still full. Without looking for her car, I parked in the back and made my way in. While guys may have liked Wal-Mart for its practicality, we hated the crowds, which I had to navigate through just to get to the middle aisles.

Could I have called her to make it easier to find her? Of course. And I would do just that if it took too long to track her down. But I also wanted to surprise her. She thought her Friday plans were boring, but she had no idea how eager I was to spend Friday night with her, no matter what we did.

Walking quickly I scanned down each aisle, trying to find a woman and a little boy. With each passing aisle, I got closer and closer to just calling her, but I finally saw her and Max. She was on aisle seven, bending over, looking at the bottom shelf while Max was playing with a book and sitting in the cart.

They were the only ones in the aisle and I started walking down slowly, trying to pretend that I hadn’t just been practically running through that place.

“Fire truck!” Max yelled, seeing me approaching and dropping his book. “Fire truck!”

“Does the book have a fire truck?” Jesse asked without looking up.

“Fire truck!” Max’s arms reached out for me and I lifted him up just as Jesse was standing with a box of whatever she had decided on from the bottom row.

“That’s right,” I laughed, twirling Max around. “The fire truck is here! Your mom thought I wouldn’t show up, but she’s crazy if she thinks I’d rather spend Friday night anywhere but with you guys.”

I finally looked at Jesse whose eyes were wide. She was clutching the box to her chest, her mouth gaped open as I settled Max onto my hip.

“Whatchya got?” I winked.

“What’re you doing here?” She asked instead of answering my question.

“You invited me. Sorry I’m late, it's a long story and I hate that I messed up our first date by being tardy, but I promise to make it up to you.”

“This isn’t a date,” she laughed uneasily. “You’re a crazy person for even being here.”

I couldn’t deny that she had turned me into a crazy person, but my wink and smirk made her turn pink and she spun on her heel back toward the cart. She tried to subtly put the box she had been holding back on the shelf, but I caught her and grabbed her arm.

“You better get those,” I growled into her ear. “You just never know when they will come in handy.”