And this story has grown to three chapters now...

Chapter Two

Jessica returned to Cabot Cove seven weeks after she left. She took a cab from the train station in Portland. She would have to spend three to four weeks with her editor but Vaughn was ecstatic. He predicted all three books would be best sellers and was tempted to sell them as a three book set in November, just in time for the Christmas season. He was already speaking to marketing personnel about appearances trumping the book in early November. Jessica wanted to be offline from June through October and he readily agreed. Five months wasn't too much to ask and he was certain she would be itching to start another book.

Her house was intact. Herb Lewis had been contracted to make sure her house was protected from nature so he ran water through her pipes when needed, prepared her yard for spring, took down her shutters, etc. Normally she would have asked Seth to check on it but since she no longer had her bird, and not knowing if he even wanted to help, she just paid someone else to do it.

She opened up the house to air it out and began checking her food stock. She emptied out most of her refrigerator and then gave it a good clean while her washing machine was working on the first load. Dusting, vacuuming, folding clothes, hanging up clothes, and wiping down her table and counters filled out the rest of her day. She was happy to crawl into bed.

She woke early and headed out with her grocery list. She decided to walk since she would have to taxi home with all her groceries. She greeted friends along the way. She stepped into Loretta's to make an appointment for the afternoon and greeted the women inside. Eve Simpson updated her on a few of the happenings while she was gone.

Once home again she started a pot of clam chowder. She had been missing her most favorite comfort food for weeks. While it cooked she baked some cookies for the cookie jar and gathered her mail to sort. Her routine bills automatically went to her accountant to pay but there was always correspondence to keep her busy. She nibbled a cookie while she sorted her mail into three stacks, bills, mail to answer, and mail to toss.

She was on the phone with her editor, arranging dates to work together, when Seth knocked on her kitchen door and entered.

"Good morning, Seth," she greeted and held up one finger. She got off the phone quickly and turned to him.

"How was your trip?" He noticed she wasn't tanned and couldn't help commenting. "I see you didn't get any more color than usual."

"Fair skin is my cross to bear," she replied easily. "Would you like coffee?"

Seth agreed and took a seat at the table. Jessica was being polite, friendly, but there was a coolness he had never heard from her before. She placed a plate of cookies in front of him and he took one.

She turned off the pot of clam chowder and sat it on the warmer to stay hot until dinner.

"Making dinner already?" asked Seth, more to try to bring out a discussion than actual interest.

"I have an appointment at Loretta's this afternoon and there's probably a lot of gossip to catch up on so I don't know how long it will take." She finished wiping down her counters and stove.

"I would have checked on your house for you. You didn't have to ask Herb to do it," commented Seth.

"I didn't know your plans and didn't want to inconvenience you," she replied. "It seemed like a lot to ask."

Seth finished his coffee and stood. "Well, I won't keep you. I know you have chores to do."

"Thanks for stopping by," she said. He left and she blew out a breath. That was uncomfortable.

Seth frowned as he walked to his car. Usually she would have invited him to dinner. She knew he loved her clam chowder. He wondered if she had invited someone else.

The week passed slowly for both of them. Seth wanted to invite her fishing on Saturday but was afraid to call while Jessica filled her time editing her book and keeping busy.

The gossip at Loretta's beauty parlor had focused on the new gym in town. There was lots of flirting going on inside the coed gym. While the aerobics class was mainly the female population, the exercycles and treadmills were used equally by both sexes. Jessica got enough exercise walking, running, and cycling but she thought she would take a look. She knew they had personal trainers available and willing to answer questions.

Oh my, she thought when she entered the gym the following morning. The trainers were certainly in very good shape. Tim, the receptionist assigned to show her around, was quick to show her all the advantages of a gym membership and having a personal trainer. He introduced her to Micah, a trainer that specializes in women over fifty, who was certainly a fresh breath of air. He was telling her about optimum performances when she saw Seth enter.

Seth in a gym? The sky must be falling. She focused on what Micah was telling her and asked him if there were nutritionists available as well. This led to Micah's intense love of eating healthy foods and he led her to the juice bar to have a seat. Micah was a lot of fun. He was knowledgeable and friendly and a major flirt. He told her his wife told him he could flirt with every woman over seventy-five but he got her to compromise and he could flirt with women over fifty if he was trying to get them to join or over sixty if they declined.

"Oh no! If I decline you won't be able to flirt with me anymore," she laughed. Micah joined in and got up to get their drinks.

Seth watched them from a room filled with treadmills that overlooked the juice bar. His anger was building as he watched them laughing and joking. They left the juice bar and the trainer took her over to the barre to evaluate her flexibility. He kept his hands on her waist and instructed her on how to breathe. Was it necessary for his hands to encircle her waist? Did he have to stare at her chest while watching her breathe in and out?

Seth was grumpy, as per his usual, but he didn't know how to stop feeling, what? Jealous? He walked over to the abdominal machines and began going through his sets. He wasn't trying to bulk up his muscles, just tone them a bit and maybe take a few inches from around his middle. The entire workout he watched Jessica. He didn't like what he was seeing and left eventually in a huff. Couldn't she see he was just trying to sell her something?

Seth urged his final patient out the door and told Beverly he was going upstairs and to lock up when she left. Seth stepped into a hot shower and tried to loosen his muscles a bit. He overdid it. He worked out thirty minutes longer than usual. He took two pain relievers and a muscle relaxer before drinking a glass of water and crawling into bed. It was only seven o'clock but he was exhausted.

Jessica felt Seth's eyes on her the entire time she was in the gym. She refused to look at him however. She wondered why he decided to start going to the gym. He always scoffed at them before. Her day finished, she thought about a good book to read in bed but she was restless and decided to take a walk instead.

She was passing Seth's street when she decided to detour and walk past his house. She saw Beverly make several trips to her car with her hands full and hurried to help her.

"My goodness, Beverly, what are you carrying?"

"Oh hello, Jessica. Back in town?" Seth's nurse dropped a load of magazines in the back of her car. "Once a year we take all our old magazines over to the elementary so the children can make their scrapbooks when school starts up again. It's just easier to do it during summer so the teachers can go through them and take out the inappropriate pictures. Remember the year Jimmy Payton posted the pregnant lady's uterus?"

They both laughed. "Well, let me help you." They made several trips and Beverly waved as she drove away. Jessica looked back at the house and noticed the front door was still opened. Walking up the steps she reached the door handle. She heard a moan and wondered if a patient was inside. Strange that Beverly would leave unless Seth told her he could handle things. She was about to close the door when she heard another moan. It sounds like Seth. Then she heard cursing and knew it was Seth. Making a decision, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

She walked cautiously up the stairs and paused at the top. Seth cursed again and she inhaled deeply before marching forward.

"Seth?" She called his name before appearing in his bedroom doorway.

"Jessica, did you need something?" He tried to sound normal but the cramp in his leg wouldn't ease.

Jessica moved into the room. "Charlie horse? Let me help."

"No need," he said through gritted teeth.

"For goodness sake, Seth." She pushed his hand away and began pressing on the cramp. Using her fingers she was able to massage away the Charlie horse cramping his muscle. Seth was moaning the entire time. He was wearing his robe and at first she thought there was nothing underneath but the legs of his boxers were slightly visible and she relaxed.

"Thanks," Seth said grudgingly. He felt his leg and could feel the echo of the cramp just lying in wait for later. "I can manage from here."

"You might be overdoing the exercising," she managed to say casually. "Do you have any bananas in the house?"

"I am perfectly able of taking care of myself, thank you," said Seth. He stood up adjusting his robe. He grabbed his lower back as overworked muscles caused pain to shoot down his leg.

"Why not take a long soak to help your back?"

"Are you giving me medical advice?" snarked Seth. "I forget which medical school gave you your diploma.

Jessica ignored his bad mood after years of practice. "You don't need a degree for common sense." She left the room.

Moments later Seth heard the water running from the tub in the bathroom down the hall.

"Let's try walking," suggested Jessica returning to his bedroom.

She managed to support him, thankful they were almost the same height. She turned off the taps and proceeded to help him remove his robe.

"I can do this!" He snapped at her.

She ignored him and hung his robe on the hook on the back of the door. She turned and walked out of the door, leaving it ajar. Seth grumbled but slowly removed his boxers and got into the tub. It felt heavenly. He admitted to himself he wouldn't have gone to the trouble but was thankful she did. He heard the front door close and frowned. She left? What if he couldn't get out of the tub?

Fifteen minutes later he heard the front door open and close again. Then footsteps on the stairs.

"Seth, can you manage to get out or do you need help?" she called from the hallway.

"I'm out," he replied before pulling his robe tight. She would probably just walk in. Seconds later she gave a perfunctory knock and did just that.

"Have you heard of privacy?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," she replied coolly. She drained the water from the tub and cleaned it efficiently. Seth trudged down the hallway and into his room. There on his nightstand was a bowl of bananas. One was already peeled.

He was about to sit on his bed when Jessica pulled back his covers and urged him to lie on his stomach. He eyed her warily.

"I'm going to massage your back. I got this liniment from your medicine cabinet."

"No, you're not!"

"Yes, I am!"

She loosened his belt before he could grab it and pulled off his robe. "Are you going to stand there so I can eye your goodies or will you get on the bed?"

Seth moved as quickly as he could and stretched out on the bed. He began to grumble about bossy women taking over his life but Jessica was humming and ignored him. Eventually he stopped and listened. She brought back memories of his mother soothing his little hurts and he felt an ache he hadn't felt in a long time. She continued massaging his back, moving upward in long strokes, then down again.

The strong smell of the liniment was comforting, none of that sissy lavender stuff that was all the rage. Medicinal smells were normal to him. He felt her covering him with a blanket and turned to look at her. Tears were rolling down her cheek but she turned away from him.

"Jessica?"

She shook her head and wiped her face. It was blotchy and red but she didn't say anything.

"Aw, Jess, I'm sorry. I'm in pain and grumpy. Please don't cry." She didn't speak, just helped him to roll over on his back. She cleared her throat before talking to him. She didn't care about being grumpy. She was used to it. She was just sad she probably wouldn't be able to care for him much longer.

"Do you need another pillow?" Not waiting for an answer, she pulled a pillow from his closet and used it to support his back. "I'll be back in the morning. Don't get out of bed until I return, please."

"Thank you, Jess."

She gave him a small smile and pulled a small nightlight from her pocket. She plugged it in by the door before turning off his lamp.

"Goodnight Seth."

Despite his pain Seth slept the night through and woke feeling much better. Jessica didn't want him to get out of bed but didn't she know about full bladders?

Apparently she did. She knocked and walked in only moments after he thought about the bathroom. She helped him out of bed but let him walk down the hall and relieve himself without her help. "Probably would have held me while I peed," muttered Seth.

He showered and shaved while he was in the bathroom and returned to his room. He was surprised she wasn't waiting on him. He was pleased that his muscles weren't as sore and only ached when he moved, walked, or sat down. How was he going to get through the day?

Jessica tapped the door with her foot and nudged it open. She carried a tray with a full breakfast on it. She placed it on his writing table, which she obviously cleared at some point. She pulled out his chair for him.

"Beverly canceled your appointments for this morning, except for two important ones. Those she moved to this afternoon." She made his bed while she was talking. "We thought a rest this morning would help and since it's Friday, you'll be in wonderful shape by Monday."

Seth mumbled something under his breath but remembering her tears from last night he stopped. "Thanks for all your help, Jess. I'm grateful."

"That's what friends are for," she said softly. I'm going to leave now. I hope you feel better soon."

Seth opened his mouth to speak but she was gone before he uttered a word. She's a much better friend to me than I've been to her lately, he mused.

May in Cabot Cove is usually glorious. Flowers are blooming and the weather is mild. An absolutely perfect time for fishing. Seth decided to go to the diner for breakfast and then to see if Caleb wanted to go out on his boat. He was looking out on the water when he caught sight of Jessica walking along the dock. She stopped at Caleb's boat and he held out his hand to help her aboard. She was letting him help too. She never allowed him to do it. She was always proving she was capable.

Without thinking he started hollering and rushing toward the boat. Both heads turned his way and watched him navigate through pedestrians in his way.

"I was just thinking about going out today after breakfast," he called to them. "Where are you headed?"

"Thought we'd go out to Pelican Island for a while then see if Thunder Pass has fish biting. I also need to pull up my lobster traps." Caleb took people out on his boat but he worked as well so you had to go where he was going.

"Is there enough tackle for me?" asked Seth.

"Plenty," answered Caleb. "I'd like to get underway. I need to be back by five."

Seth climbed aboard and looked around for Jessica. She was port side pulling out the nets and checking for holes. Caleb hated losing fish through holes in the nets. Seth reached down and helped her lay the nets flat. Jessica repaired a few tears with extra netting. Neither spoke for a few minutes.

"It's a fat day for fishing," commented Seth.

"Yes, it's supposed to be a good weekend."

Caleb joined them to haul up the nets and get them ready while his assistant, Joel piloted the boat. Jessica moved to the bow of the boat and lifted her face to the sky. The sun felt good on her face and the wind blew her hair away from it. She wasn't sure how she felt about Seth joining in. She had wanted a peaceful day away from stress. She felt him move next to her.

"What's say we cook up our dinner tonight? Fish chowder, salad, baked potato, and I'll bring dessert." Seth looked at her.

She thought for a moment before answering. "Sounds good."

Things started out tentatively but as they fished the conversation became less stilted and more comfortable. They sat on overturned buckets while they fished. Seth's stomach began growling after an hour or so. He remembered he didn't eat breakfast.

"Excuse me, I was going to eat breakfast at the diner when I saw Caleb about to head out." His stomach rumblings were loud.

Jessica went over to her satchel and pulled out a sandwich. Wordlessly she handed it to him.

"Thanks. Are you sure you want to give me your lunch?" He asked.

"Well, I could just continue listening to your stomach's symphony," she quipped.

Seth laughed loudly. He missed her sense of humor. Come to think of it, when they were together lately, it was pretty stilted and felt unnatural, like she wasn't going to risk herself getting hurt and was guarding herself.

Caleb anchored and they cast their lines again. The fish were biting and they were too busy hauling in fish to say much. Caleb and Joel were casting the nets and separating the small fish and tossing them back. At three o'clock they headed back toward the harbor. Caleb was piloting while Joel was gutting and cleaning fish. Seth helped him since he came out without an invitation. Normally Jessica didn't work too hard on the return journey but she swept the deck and started sorting the fish by approximate sizes.

They were two fishy customers when they docked and Seth offered her a ride home. They were covered in fish scales and she didn't want to think about what else was coating her clothing. They had four nice sized fish for their dinner and Caleb tossed in a lobster as a treat.

Seth dropped off Jessica and went home to clean up. He was looking forward to dinner and time with Jessica. He took care to shave and put on cologne.

Jessica showered and washed her hair. She was pretty tired but Seth seemed to want to have dinner with her and she wasn't going to complain. She put on a skirt and blouse and went downstairs to start the chowder. While it was cooking she put the potatoes in the oven and made a salad. She found some rolls and sat at the kitchen table.

She had elected not to join the gym and continued biking and jogging when she had the time. She had lost a few pounds since she wasn't eating out with Seth anymore. She ate out alone while traveling so she didn't want to eat alone at home. She missed their camaraderie and the easy relationship they had. She took it as a sign that they were friends only and while she was disappointed he didn't want more, she was more disappointed in the way he handled things. He was not the man she thought him to be. Her mind started to wander as it always did and she thought of the time he stood before her naked. She had an excellent memory and had taken a good look so she could recall every detail. She felt her face flushing just thinking about it.

Seth knocked on her back door and waited for her to invite him in. That wasn't normal either.

"Come on in, Seth," she called out to him.

He came in carrying a bouquet of chrysanthemums of various colors.

"Seth, they're lovely. Thank you." She carried the flowers over to the counter and reached below the sink for a vase.

"They represent friendship," he added. He came over to stand beside her and watch her arrange the flowers.

"Yes, I know," she said softly. She guessed he wanted to make sure she knew nothing else would grow from their relationship. It was embarrassing that she had been so obvious. "Did you bring dessert?"

"Oh, I left it in the car. Be right back." He left and returned with a box. "Sassi made it especially for us." He lifted the lid and turned the box so she could see inside.

"Key lime pie!" he exclaimed. "To remind us of our wonderful time in Florida."

Jessica lifted her head sharply and stared at him. "I can see you had a great time."

"Didn't you, Jess? I know you stayed longer and Vaughn and Olga are a lot of fun."

"Vaughn and Olga left a week after you did. I spent the time writing although I enjoyed mornings and evenings on the beach when it was cooler," she replied. "Mostly I worked."

"You wrote a book? I thought you were on vacation." Seth looked confused.

"I went down for a funeral and to spend some time with a friend." Jessica sighed. "I know you had a fine time having women drool over you but I lost a dear friend."

"Jess, you weren't that close to Portia," argued Seth.

"No, I didn't know her as well as I could have," agreed Jessica. "But I lost you and suddenly you were ignoring me. You wouldn't tell me why. I still don't know what I've done but I'll live with it."

"Men fawn over you all the time!"

"When Seth? When are men fawning over me?"

Seth started stuttering. "There are pictures of you with different men in the papers all the time!"

"And where are you while those pictures are taken?"

"Right here! You're the one gallivanting all over the world."

Jessica turned away. "So when men are fawning all over me, you aren't around but when women drool all over you, I'm there with you. I guess I thought we were better friends with each other."

She turned back to him with a smile. "Well, I understand now. Let's get the food on the table."

Seth stood without moving. Was that how she saw it? Jessica was talking and urging him to sit while she put dishes of food on the table. It was a pleasant meal. Jessica talked and he ate. She gave him the lobster knowing how much he loved it. Seth wished she would bring up the subject again but she didn't. Instead she was the perfect hostess, putting him at ease, keeping the conversation moving along, and smiling. Only he knew her. Her smile didn't reach her eyes and he could almost see her with bricks and mortar, ready to build a wall around herself.

He asked her if she wanted to go out again next Saturday but she didn't commit, just told him she would call him later in the week. Somehow without him noticing, her routine changed.

She was home all week while he was at work but every Friday morning she left and didn't return until Sunday evening. He wondered where she was going but she didn't volunteer the information. In fact, he felt like she was closing herself off. One weekend she stayed at home. They attended Vincent Barber's and Pleasant Tidbury's wedding at the end of June but he didn't get to dance with her. She always saved the last dance for him but this time she was in someone else's arms. They also didn't arrive or leave together. He woke early the next day. It was time to speak with her and straighten things out. He didn't like the way things were headed between them.