and a scarf. I’d forgo fashion for comfort any day of the week.
It was fine for a flight, but not dinner. I unzipped my luggage and lifted the lid. I started to grab jeans and a shirt, but I heard my grandmother’s voice in the back of my head, “Darling, are you really going to wear that to dinner?”
I sighed and grabbed a floor-length maxi dress instead. It wasn’t too dressy, but a definite step up from jeans.
A text came through and I saw that it was from Mia.
Mia: Just heard the news that you’re staying out at the farm. I’m so happy that you are. Dolly and Walker are the BEST. Have fun!
Fun. That’s exactly what I wanted to have with Jackson. Naked fun.
As badly as I felt for lusting after Mia’s brother-in-law, I had to admit I was a little relieved. I hadn’t dated anyone since Gio and it hadn’t been difficult at all. I hadn’t been attracted to anyone. I was beginning to think that I never would be again. But Jackson Briggs had proven that wasn’t the case. I was all sorts of attracted to him. It was just too bad that I’d met him under these circumstances. He was off limits.
Chapter 7
Jackson
“If falling in love was a choice, it would be called climbing in love.”
~ Josephine Grace Clarke
I watched as Josie ate the last bite of her dinner and still couldn’t get over the fact that she didn’t eat meat, yet she’d not said anything to my mom. And she’d eaten the chicken. It was a small thing, but it revealed so much about the person she was.
Add to that the grace with which she’d handled all the questions that my parents had bombarded her with about her grandmother, she had the patience of a saint.
It turned out that Josie’s grandmother had been my dad’s first crush. He’d seen her in a John Wayne film when he was eight and he’d fallen in love. My mom gave him a hard time about it during dinner. He’d even blushed. I could count on one hand how many times I’d seen my father blush. It was always because my mom was giving him a hard time about something. She was definitely his praying mantis.
“Thank you so much. This was delicious,” Josie said as she stood to help clear the dishes.
“Oh stop, you don’t need to help.” My mom shooed Josie. “In fact, it’s a lovely night for a walk. Jackson why don’t you show Josie around the property, and that will give me time to get her room in order.”
“The room is perfect.” Josie shook her head. “Please don’t go to any trouble.”
My mom smiled widely. “Sweet girl, I raised nine children, changing the sheets on a bed is not going to any trouble.”
Sweet girl. Unlike most Southern women, Dolly Briggs didn’t toss terms of endearment around. She only used them for people she cared about, people she considered family. It looked like I wasn’t the only one that Josie Clarke had charmed.
“I can change them,” Josie offered eagerly. “Please. I feel so bad that this just got sprung on you.”
I may not have known Josie that well, but I did know my mother. And there was no way that a guest was going to change the linens in her home.
Hoping to avoid a battle of wills, I decided to intervene. My chair scraped against the hardwood floor as I stood. “We’ll get out of your hair, Mama. Thanks again for a delicious, home-cooked dinner.” I bent down to kiss my mom on her cheek.
She leaned in for the kiss and patted my stomach. “You need some fattening up.”
“I’m fine.” I’d spent the past six months on assignment in Cambodia. There were days that I’d lived on protein rations. It was just part of the job.
I offered my arm to Josie, who I could see was battling with whether or not to accept it. I stared at her, silently communicating that she wasn’t going to win this one.
She either picked up on my unspoken cues or came to the same conclusion on her own. With a forced smile, she wrapped her delicate fingers around my T-shirt covered bicep. I tried to ignore the zap of electricity that shot through me at her innocent touch.
We’d only made it five feet away from the house when she dropped her hand. “I’m sorry. You really don’t need to do this. I’m sure you have better things to do than babysit