Hometown Love (Love on the North Shore #2)(5)
It wasn’t as if the boxes were going anywhere. She went into the bathroom, dismissing the boxes from her mind as she again wondered whether or not she should speak with Sharon.
Forty-five minutes later, dressed in a denim skirt and Quinn’s t-shirt, Jessie walked into the hardware store, her home away from home.
***
“Thanks for the help today,” Mack said to Sean, Tony, and Striker over the pizzas and beer he’d bought for them when they finished emptying the truck.
“Still surprised you moved back,” Striker said as he reached for another extra large slice of meatball pizza.
Part of Mack was surprised, too. Growing up, he’d had a love/hate relationship with North Salem. While he loved the people, it wasn’t always easy growing up in a place where everyone knew everyone’s business. Thanks to the fabulous grapevine in town, it was highly likely that if he got into trouble at school, his parents would know about it before he even handed them the note from his teacher. If he made out with a girl in the park by the river, the girl’s parents would most likely know before he brought her home.
Yeah, as a teenager, he’d looked forward to getting out of North Salem. Watertown had been a perfect spot for him. It was close enough to his family, but far enough away that the entire town didn’t know his business. Or at least it had been a perfect place before Grace.
The older his daughter became, the more he recognized the benefits of a small town. Here, she was closer to her grandparents, and she’d grow up in a place where people cared about each other. For all their quirks, residents in North Salem took care of their own.
“Changed my mind about the town.”
“Change seems to be a theme around here these days,” Striker said beside him.
From all he’d heard and seen, he couldn’t argue. “How’s the Victorian Rose doing without your mom and you in charge?” The bed and breakfast Sean and his mom ran for years had become part of Sherbrooke Enterprises a month ago.
“Seems to be doing well. The place is always booked solid. Ma couldn’t stay away, though. She pops in one day a week and helps in the kitchen.”
“Talking about change, what do you think about Jessie?” Tony asked, his beer halfway to his mouth.
“Almost didn’t recognize her,” Mack admitted. She didn’t look at all like the woman he remembered from his last visit to the hardware store, and she definitely didn’t look anything like the skinny girl who’d played soccer with his sister and attended her slumber parties. “She looks good.”
“Good? She’s hot. Don’t know how it happened. Thinking about asking her to the baseball game in Boston next weekend.”
Mack laughed. To hear anyone refer to Jessica Quinn as hot struck him as crazy, but Tony was right. She had changed. He hadn’t missed her cute ass or toned legs when she’d jogged away. In fact, he’d stared at her until Striker called him over to the truck.
“Find someone else, Tony.” Sean reached for his beer.
“Evidently, O’Brien’s the only one allowed to have fun.” Any humor in Tony’s voice was overshadowed by his sarcasm. “You know he’s dating Mia Troy, right? The movie star.”
“Christ, Tony you know that Jessie’s not your type. All you’re looking to do is score. If you’d stop and think with your brain and not your dick, you’d realize she’s the kind you bring home to meet your mother. She’d be better off going out with Mack or Striker,” Sean said, sarcastically.
Tony chugged the rest of his beer. “Have you met Striker’s last two girlfriends?”
Sean shrugged. “Okay, she’d be better off with Mack, then.”
“There wasn’t anything wrong with Charlene.” Striker finished his pizza.
Tony laughed before opening another beer. “Did you forget the Fourth of July already? I thought Mrs. Mitchell would have a heart attack when Charlene showed up on the Common wearing that dress. And with the little peep show she gave Father Perkins when she bent over to pick up her purse.”
Grace had gotten sick while waiting for the fireworks so they’d left early—a fact Mack hadn’t been happy about until just this minute. “Sounds like I missed quiet the show that night.”
“Forgot about that.” Striker shrugged. “Guess that only leaves you suitable material, Mack.”
Right now Mack wasn’t sure he wanted any woman in his life. He had his hands full with a growing daughter. “All set. You’ll have to find someone else to play matchmaker with.”
“Bet he has a hot piece of ass in Boston.” Tony nodded Mack’s way.
Before Mack could confirm or deny that—not that he planned to—the doorbell chimed. Saved by the bell. He wasn’t up for the ribbing his buddies would give him if they learned he hadn’t been out with a woman in eight months.
Leaving his friends to finish their pizza he made his way around the maze of unopened boxes to the door.
The minute he opened the door, Grace rushed in, grabbing him around the waist. “Daddy, look what Grammy bought me for my new room!” Grace pointed at the lamp his mother held in one hand while she clutched a large shopping bag from the mall in the other. “And she got me a new comforter that matches the lamp. Can we go put it on right now?”