Finding Our Way Back (A Well Paired Novel) Read online

  Finding Our Way Back

  A Well Paired Novel

  Marianne Rice

  Published by Marianne Rice, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Text copyright © 2019 by Marianne Rice

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Star Hill Press

  Cover design by Just Write Creations

  Editor: Silla Webb

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication:

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  EPILOGUE

  About the Author

  Dedication:

  To Bri and your obsession with Grey’s Anatomy. Without it, I wouldn’t have come up with Jenna’s storyline.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m on my deathbed, and you’re still refusing my marriage proposal?” Jerry Bishop whined for the hundredth time since Jenna Snyder had moved in with him five years ago.

  “Jerry, you know how much I care for you.” She picked up his limp hand, riddled with age spots, and warmed it between hers. “But I couldn’t handle the jealous sneers from all the ladies at The Cove’s next dance if I showed up with your ring on my finger.”

  While The Cove was a reputable retirement home, Jerry had refused to live anywhere but his beloved farmhouse. However, Jenna would bring him to the themed Friday night dances, holiday events, and weekly Bingo.

  The women in the home flocked to Jerry’s wheelchair the moment Jenna wheeled him in. It could’ve been the novelty of having “fresh blood”—as he liked to refer to himself—or Jerry’s infamous flirtatious charm. Either way, he was as popular at The Cove as Chris Hemsworth was to her book group.

  She fixed his favorite checkered blanket on his lap and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. The flu, and then pneumonia, had hit him hard this past winter, and he had yet to recover the meager strength he’d had before.

  “Can I get you anything before I start on dinner?”

  “Did you record my show this afternoon?”

  Jenna tilted her head toward the ceiling and tapped her chin, pretending to think if she had or not. His first demand—and it was a demand—when she’d taken the job as his in-home caretaker was that she record every episode of his favorite soap opera. He often napped when it aired, and he loved being able to fast-forward through the pointless commercials. Recording it was his preference.

  When she’d first arrived, his former caretaker, a woman who now needed looking after herself, was still using an ancient VCR from the eighties to record his shows. Jenna wasn’t a huge fan of television, but she liked the background noise while she painted and worked on her pottery. She’d offered to pay for cable, including the equipment to pre-record shows, and she’d instantly become Jerry’s favorite person.

  That was when the marriage proposals started.

  “I’m going to die of a heart attack waiting for your answer.”

  “And here comes the drama.” She playfully rolled her eyes and patted his knee before getting up to turn on the television.

  “Drama? This show’s a classic. That’s all Brigitte used to talk about at the dinner table. I’ll never forget the episode when Luke and Laura finally married. You’d have thought it was my wife who had married him.”

  She’d heard the story a million times, but she listened intently while he rambled on about characters from decades ago, some still on the show, those who were killed off, and the many, many, many storylines.

  It was cute how he held onto the show, as if it kept a piece of his wife with him. Brigitte had passed away fifteen years ago and, according to those who knew the couple, they had a beautiful love story. It was too bad their two sons turned out to be such jerks.

  One was a money-hungry attorney in New York City, while the other was the CEO of some billion-dollar company in Hong Kong. In the five years she’d been taking care of Jerry, she’d only met Lucas once. And since he actually lived in the country, James had come by three times.

  Both men were in their sixties, both divorced a handful of times, and both had a few children they didn’t heed much attention to. There were grandchildren and great grandchildren out there Jerry was waiting to love.

  He didn’t talk about them much—not knowing them—and he rarely brought up Lucas and James. Instead, he reminisced about Brigitte and their beautiful love story.

  Jenna cued the show and placed the remote on Jerry’s lap. “You holler if you need me. I’ll be in the kitchen.”

  “Keep the racket down in there. Something big is happening in Port Charles today. I feel it in my bones.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Jenna chuckled as she went into the kitchen.

  Her life was a far cry from exciting, but it was fulfilling in its own way. Needing to escape the painful memories of her hometown, she’d stumbled across an ad for an in-home caregiver to a ninety-two year old man, and on a whim, applied.

  She didn’t have a medical background, but the ad said it wasn’t necessary. When she showed up for the interview, she instantly fell in love with the old man. He was sharp and funny and loved to flirt. He had a crew of nurses and therapists who came to see him on a regular basis. What he needed was companionship. Someone to be there in case he fell, to make his meals, schedule his appointments, help keep track of his medication.

  Up until last winter, he’d been able to move about the house. Albeit slowly and with the help of his walker.

  Jenna opened the refrigerator and took out the pan of lasagna she made last night. The pneumonia not only knocked him off his feet—quite literally—but it also decreased his appetite. She took the foil off the dish and cut a small slice for Jerry and a good chunk for herself before putting them in the microwave.

  Leaning against the counter, she listened to Jerry in the other room as he talked to the characters on the television.

  While the house was huge, a farmhouse style built in the early nineteen hundreds, they only occupied the downstairs. The setup was a bit funky. The front door, which no one used, opened to a huge entryway that was big enough to be a living room. Only it was awkward to furnish. To the right of that was another large room. The formal living room, Jerry called it.

  Not needing the extra space for company, it was turned into a private living space for the caretakers. There was a loveseat and ottoman by the fireplace, a large artist desk in the corner by the bay windows, and still plenty of room for her full bed, a d
resser, and a few other small pieces of furniture. It was more like a studio apartment, minus the bathroom and kitchen, and it was perfect for her.

  The long, wide hallway led to a cozy living space where Jerry spent most of his time. There was another fireplace in that room and a wall of windows that looked out to a covered porch and the driveway.

  Off the living room, as he called it, was his private bedroom and bathroom. The powder room off the kitchen didn’t have a shower, so she used Jerry’s when his physical therapist worked with him in the living room. They managed to make it work.

  The microwave dinged, and Jenna took the lasagna out. She stepped into the pantry to take down two glasses for their milk. The kitchen was unique in design as well. The main part contained the oven, refrigerator, and small counter, while the sink and cabinets were in the little pantry off to the side.

  Inconvenient, but again, she made it work. Plus, she was living rent-free and earned a nice check each month. His sons were pricks, but at least they paid for their father’s medical care. Jerry was well taken care of physically, if only he had family who would come support him emotionally.

  She finished setting the table, a linen napkin at each plate, just as Jerry liked, and went out to the living room to check on him.

  “Dinner is ready,” she said when a commercial started.

  “So soon? I’m not even halfway done with my show.”

  “It’s leftover lasagna. All I had to do was reheat it.”

  “Can we stop the show now and I finish it after we eat?”

  Jenna tilted her head with an exhausted laugh. “Of course we can.” He knew that. Like the stories he told over and over and over again, he did the same with questions. Especially the ones involving technology.

  “Can’t we hold off on dinner a little longer?”

  Now he sounded like a toddler. A twinge of sadness swept over her, and she placed her hands on her belly. She’d blocked a good chunk of her life out of her memory and had no desire for it to resurface.

  “Sally and Ruth will have my hide if I bring you to Bingo late.” Which was true. The two widows clung to Jerry’s side, barely giving him enough room to breathe. One of these days he would need to take a hit off Ruth’s oxygen machine.

  “Those two hens will find someone new to pester if I’m not there.”

  “You don’t want to skip Bingo, do you?” The only time he missed it was when he was sick. Otherwise, he looked forward to his outing and socializing. The last thing he wanted was to be cooped up in the house all day, yet he refused to spend his final years in a nursing home. They’re for old people he’d say.

  “How about a compromise.” He hit the pause button when the commercial ended. “We eat in front of the television. You young people call that multitasking, don’t you?”

  Normally he preferred to eat at the table. It made him feel normal. Eating in his recliner or in bed made him feel like an invalid.

  “Are you sure?”

  “As sure as I am Sally’s going to try to cop a feel tonight.”

  JENNA WAS ABLE TO MAKE a clean getaway after dropping off Jerry, avoiding small talk with the residents. Normally she didn’t mind, but tonight was book night, and she still had a million errands to run before they started.

  Taking care of Jerry was a twenty-four-seven job. She planned the grocery shopping and other errands around his therapy and nurse visits. Bingo landed on Thursdays, which was when her book club met.

  Originally, they planned on the third Thursday of the month, but something was always coming up with schedules or weather or new boyfriends, and now husbands and ... children. So now they kept Thursdays open and met when they could.

  It wasn’t like they spent much of the time talking about the book of the month anyway. Hope had started the idea a few years ago while she and Mia were hanging around Books by the Ocean. Mia’s mom, Celeste, owned the store and let her daughter and friends hang out on the sofas and occasionally talk books.

  Jenna happened to be there when Hope and Mia were arguing about Celeste’s pick of the week, and she’d added her two cents. Which then led to a bigger heated debate on who should be cast as the lead role if a movie ever came out.

  Soon, Lily, who owned the Sea Salt Spa, joined the group, as had Alexis and her sister, Grace. Since four of them were now happy and in love, Mia and Jenna, who were happily still single, had joined forces.

  With the others distracted with their men, Jenna was able to suggest a gritty thriller by Lisa Gardner. The author lived just one state over in New Hampshire, and Alexis’ husband was working on having her visit Crystal Cove to do a book signing.

  Alexis’ husband, Ben, was awesome at marketing. He deserved the credit for launching Jenna’s artwork. He’d convinced Coastal Vines to build a function hall, which had housed town events, family concerts, weddings and craft fairs.

  While Jenna couldn’t retire off the money she made selling her paintings and pottery, it was a nice cushion to add to her nest egg. Living rent free and the generous paycheck from the Bishop sons helped as well.

  “I’m starving,” Mia said as Jenna stepped into Books by the Ocean. “Tell me you brought something filling and amazing.”

  They rotated roles every meeting. Tonight was Jenna’s turn to provide the snacks. Lily had drink duty, and Hope was designated driver, if anyone needed it.

  “I bought an antipasto salad from the store and have a box of crackers. Will that do?”

  “I love you. I truly do. I was worried you’d bring a veggie platter or something.”

  “Hey, at least she’s being health conscious.” Hope hopped up from the couch and defended her.

  “I don’t recall there being any leftovers when I brought that cheesecake sampler,” Mia said.

  “What was wrong with my veggie platter last month?” Grace asked as she billowed through the door.

  When Jenna first met Grace after she moved back to Crystal Cove last year, she thought the woman was a spoiled snob. They all did because ... well, she was. But they learned it was all an act and that Grace actually had a tender heart. Which was evident when she gave up an opportunity to move to Boston and run a high-end boutique to live on a blueberry farm with Brady Parker. The princess and the farmer. It was kinda cute.

  “I’ve got the drinks,” Lily said, coming in behind Grace.

  “I thought it was Alexis’ turn to bring the drinks.” Hope took the wine bottles from Lily and set them on the counter.

  “She called me an hour ago to say she’d be late.”

  “Is Sophie feeling okay? Alexis hasn’t said anything about my adorable little niece being sick.” Grace uncorked one of the bottles and reached under the counter for the stemless wine glasses they now kept in the store.

  Sophie. Back in the day, Jenna used to love kids. The baby itch monopolized every second of thought. And now, babies were a reminder of the most horrific moments in her life. It wasn’t that Jenna begrudged her friends with kids, but she didn’t want them to be rubbed in her face either.

  They’d all been hinting that Hope would be making a pregnancy announcement soon, and while Jenna would be happy for her and Cameron, the jealousy wouldn’t go away.

  “No. Sophie’s good. Alexis had a business meeting. She said Ben had a pretty cool idea for something, and she’d share it with us tonight if it all worked out.”

  “Is business meeting a euphemism for sex?” Mia plucked an olive from the platter with a wink.

  “You and sex. Is that all you think about?” Lily tskd.

  “Says the girl who’s married to my brother and has turned him into a horn dog.”

  “Mia.” Lily blushed.

  “Let’s change the subject. Since Jenna and I are the ones not getting lucky on a regular basis, we should be exempt from DD duty.”

  “I’m the DD tonight anyway, so why the complaining?” Hope sipped from her bottle of water and returned to the couch.

  Jenna took her glass of wine and sat next to her. “I’m
not complaining. I don’t mind being the DD every week. It’s not like I can go home drunk. If I can’t hold myself up, how am I going to help Jerry get around?”

  “I take it back.” Mia topped off her wine glass.

  “Take what back?” Lily joined them on the couch, sitting to Jenna’s right.

  “Jenna is in a category of her own. At least I can go out whenever I want. Party it up in the city. Do my own thing.” Mia dropped to the chair opposite them and rubbed her leg. It still bothered her from the hit and run accident over a year ago, but she rarely complained about it. “Poor Jenna is like a married woman only she doesn’t get the sex, the romance. And she doesn’t have the freedom of a single woman.”

  “My life isn’t that bad. Jerry’s great company.”

  “Wow. Next thing you’re going to tell us is you adopted twenty cats.” Mia stretched her legs out on the coffee table. “We need to find you a guy.”

  “I don’t—”

  “What about Carter? He’s fun. Totally opposite of Brady.” Grace crossed her legs and sipped her wine.

  “You’re dissing your boyfriend and pimping out his brother?” Hope chuckled.

  “No. You know what I mean. Brady is the serious one, and I love him for it. Carter’s too carefree for me. I think we’re too much alike. But he’s exactly what Jenna needs.”

  “I don’t need fixing up with anyone.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Lily said, ignoring her. “Ty and I can stay at the farmhouse and look after Jerry while you guys go out.”

  “I—”

  “We can double date if that will make you feel more comfortable. I can’t remember the last time Brady and I went out.”

  “Grace—”

  “Cameron and I would love to join you. He doesn’t hang out with the guys enough.”

  “What’s going on?” Alexis asked as she joined the group. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “We’re going on a group date. You and Ben should come too.” Hope got up and poured Alexis a drink.

  “All of us?” She shrugged out of her coat, tossing it over the back of Mia’s chair.