Beesands, cottage, 5am
Elizabeth moaned as she blew her nose for the thousandth time. It hurt but obviously it was necessary.
Her throat hurt, her head pounded and her ears were plugged. She didn't have a thermometer but she was pretty certain she had a fever too.
She wasn't going to sleep anymore so she got up and searched for tea. She had bought it the day before so it had to be somewhere.
A coughing fit took her over for a moment and then she filled her teapot with water and put it on the stove.
Next, she headed to the living room and turned on her fireplace, grateful for the warmth.
As she sipped her tea she thought about the man next door. Nathan. What was his story? Who is Kingston's mom?
Eventually, her tea warmed her insides and she fell asleep on the couch. Then she was awakened by knocking on her door. At first she wasn't sure if she was dreaming but then she heard it again and again.
"Coming," she tried to yell but it came out all froggy.
"Elizabeth Thornton?" the man at the door said.
"Yes," she told him.
"I'm from the moving company. We have some items for you ma'am."
She opened the door and let him and two other guys come in. By the time all was said and done, her living room and kitchen were filled with boxes and she had zero energy to unpack them.
After sleeping more, she was awakened by someone at the door again.
She opened the door. "Mr. Grant?"
"Elizabeth, you look terrible."
"Gee thanks. I feel terrible too. You better stay back."
He handed her a take out container. "I brought you some clam chowder."
"You made me clam chowder?"
He laughed. "Um no. I don't have that particular talent. I got it from Britannia at the Beach." She'd been to that restaurant with Rosie and it was amazing.
She smiled but then was overtaken by another coughing fit.
"Elizabeth, why don't you sit?" he suggested, closing the door and leading her to the living room.
"I need a spoon," she told him.
"I'll get it." She didn't have the energy to stop him so she sat down and closed her eyes.
He returned with a spoon. "What do you need?"
"Nothing. Thank you for the soup."
"Are you sure?"
She looked at him, curious. "You barely know me, Mr. Grant."
"Nathan."
"Yes, Nathan. Are you and King really this nice?"
"I'd like to think so, yes."
"Don't get me wrong, I appreciate his cookies and this soup. I really do."
He sat down on her chair by the fireplace. "If I can be forthcoming…"
She opened the soup and took a small bite, letting the heat slowly fill her. "Yes, please."
"When I realized you were from the states and you'd lost your husband...It made me want to get to know you."
"Nathan, I'm not really looking for a relationship…"
"Oh, no. I meant...forgive my lack of eloquence. I meant, we have that in common. I lost my wife about nine years ago and to meet someone who might want or need a friend, much like I do...it intrigued me."
"I intrigue you?"
He smiled and nodded.
"I guess I'd be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued myself."
She put the soup container on the end table and closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry to keep you, Elizabeth. You need your rest."
He headed into the kitchen and wrote her a note and put it on the refrigerator. She'd find it later. Then he let himself out the door.
6 am, Henderson, The Flynn's house
"Morning, Mom," Tara said, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "You're up early."
"I figured I might as well see how my favorite daughter is doing."
"Only daughter," she corrected with a smile, joining her at the island. "I'm fine."
"And Jake?"
"He's fine too."
"Any progress on the apartment hunt?"
"No, not really."
"Patience is a virtue, love. Maybe you just need to wait and see if another opportunity presents itself."
"Like what?"
"Not sure," Clara told her. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're a smart girl."
"Are you talking about Jake?"
"I'm not talking about anything specific."
"He asked me to move in but that defeats the purpose of being on my own, doesn't it?"
"Yes and no."
"I want a chance to prove that I don't need to rely on anyone. I am capable."
"Who are you trying to prove this to? I know you're capable and so does your father. I can wager a bet that so does Jake."
"Are you telling me to move in with my boyfriend, Mom?"
"If that will make you happy, baby. Think about what you want. How you feel about Jake and living with him."
"I love him. Very much." And living with him definitely held a certain appeal.
"That's nice to hear. Follow your heart, Tara Renee. Do what you want to do."
She wanted to talk to Jake so she called him but he didn't pick up.
When she got to the station, he was already on patrol so she got to work herself, hoping to talk to him at lunch.
However, he didn't return at lunch so she waited around after she got off. Finally she saw him pull into the lot.
When he got out of the car, he nodded and walked towards her, hands by his side.
"Hey! How was your day?" she asked, stepping close.
"Fine I guess."
"Can I cook you dinner, Jake?"
"I'm working late. Chief asked if I could take some extra shifts."
"Oh. Alright. I guess I'll go home then."
"See you tomorrow?"
"Sure. Or...maybe I could stay over? I think we need to talk about the 'moving in' thing."
"I get off at midnight," he told her, handing her a key. "It'll be nice to have you there."
She smiled, took the key and kissed him softly. "See you later."
Jude felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket as he finished work at the country club.
"Hello?"
"Hi, may I speak with Jude Wyatt please?"
"This is Jude."
"Jude, my name is Lee Coulter. I own Coulter Enterprises."
"The lumber company?"
"Yes. I heard you may be in need of some lumber and construction work on a property you own."
Gracie. It was either Gracie or Charlotte. Either way, he was ecstatic.
"Yes, sir. I am."
"Well, I'm willing to donate time and a few of my men to make that happen."
Jude fought his emotions for a moment. "Thank you, sir. This means everything."
"Jude, from what I hear, you're doing an amazing thing helping those who need it. I'm proud to support you."
They chatted about timelines and a few other things and then hung up. Instead of calling Gracie, he headed to the flower shop and then over to her apartment.
He knocked and waited. When the door opened, it wasn't Gracie.
"Hey, you must be Hannah," he said. "I'm Jude. Is Gracie here?"
"She's not. I think she went to visit her Aunt Rosie."
"Oh. Um, would you give these to her? I'll call her too, but...maybe just put them where she'll see them."
"Sure will. Nice to meet you."
"You too."
He called Gracie but she didn't answer, so he left a message.
"Hey, I'd love to see you. Hannah told me you were visiting your aunt so I dropped something off for you at the apartment. Anyway, call me and we can set something up. Maybe dinner? Talk to you soon."
Then, he just went home to his own apartment and called his brother. Ray was a successful guy in all respects. He was quite a bit older, by fifteen years, and was happily married with four girls. He owned his own business and he and his wife traveled whenever they got the chance.
He was pretty much leading the life Jude wanted. However, that being said, his non-profit wasn't going to make him rich. That wasn't the point of it and Jude knew he would need to work in addition to make ends meet. He also knew that to have a family and support them properly, whatever job he did would need to be full time.
There was no hurry, but perhaps he should finish his degree so he had more options.
"Hey, Jude, what's going on?"
"Hey, Ray. Just needed to hear your voice."
Gracie finally called Jude and they made plans to have dinner at his apartment which she hadn't seen yet. Before that, she had gone home to change and found the flowers. No one had bought her flowers before and it made her feel feminine and loved, even if they weren't near that point yet.
When she arrived at his apartment, she instantly knew something was bothering him.
"Hey." He opened the door and then closed it behind her.
"Jude, what's wrong?"
He shook his head, feeling his nose burn with emotion.
She hugged him tight, making sure he knew she was there. "It's just me, Jude. You can tell me anything."
He wrapped her even tighter, pressing his face into the space between her shoulder and her neck.
"Whatever it is, I'll help you get through it."
A few moments later, they sat together on his couch and he let her in on his day. "First, let me just say that after work, hearing from Lee Coulter made my day. You, making that happen...it meant everything, so thank you."
"I told you I would make some calls."
He nodded. "Believe it or not, we will actually be able to get started in about ten days. The wood, the remodel. It's unbelievable."
"I'm glad."
He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I called my brother."
"Ray, right?"
"Yeah. He was fifteen when I was born so I always looked up to him and he was always there for me, no matter what."
"Older brothers are pretty great," she agreed.
"I called him just to catch up on things and I didn't expect…"
"What happened?" she asked softly.
"He says...that my parents...they can't take care of Kylie much longer. Apparently my dad now has diabetes and my mom's arthritis is getting worse. And Ray...he has four kids."
"He wants you to take her?" she guessed.
"Yeah. I thought I had my ducks in a row, Gracie." He stood and paced. "I had just decided to finish my elementary education degree. I have one semester to go. I'm finally going to move forward on Kate's House and you and I...we are moving forward too. It was going to be great."
She walked over to him and stopped his pacing. "You can still do all those things, Jude. Maybe talk to your parents and see if they can keep her until you finish your degree. In the meantime, when I'm not at school, I can help at Kate's House when I'm not working."
"I love Kylie, Gracie. She puts everything in perspective and...she's like my sunshine, you know? I'd love to raise her, adopt her even." He walked away to blow his nose. "I just wonder if it's all too much."
A sense of panic hit her in the gut. "Are you talking about us?"
"No...just everything. I don't know if I can do it all."
"I'm going to help you, if that's alright? Even if...just as your friend."
He felt a slight bit of relief overcome him. Was it that he wouldn't have to fit a relationship into the mix with everything else? Or just the fact that he had another person in his corner?
Did he want to be just friends with Gracie? He could honestly answer that with a no. The question of the day was, would he have the proper time to devote to her?