Jenny: Chapter Three
2054 Words
Jenny: Chapter Three
Dare: It’s Dare. Thanks for the number. Texting is easier. Bigfoot’s loss.
Jenny: Aw, thanks. You’re up early. Unless you’re on the East Coast. The sun is still asleep here.
Dare: Where’s here? I’m in Georgia.
Jenny: Washington.
That meant a three-hour time difference. It was still the middle of the night where she lived.
Dare: Sorry I woke you.
Jenny: I was awake. My sleep pattern is completely off due to working crazy hours to finish my project.
Dare: That happens to me. Exhausted, need to sleep, but can’t.
Jenny: Exactly. I can’t shut off my brain.
Dare: I was the same way last night.
Jenny: Everything okay?
Dare: Yes. Today’s looking much better.
Jenny: Good. I should try to sleep or I’ll be a zombie all day.
Dare: Sleep well.
Jenny: TTYL.
Jenny could count on him talking to her later.
With a big smile on his face, Dare leaned against his pillow and reread her texts.
****
After two weeks of texting with Dare, Jenny decided the time had come to tell her book club that she’d heard back from the person who found her message in the bottle. She wasn’t sure why she’d kept that a secret when she looked forward to hearing from him. The exchanges were mostly silly, but she liked waking up to his texts.
Sitting on the living room couch, she typed a message to tell her friends what she knew about Dare—he lived in Georgia and found her bottle on a beach in Key West—and that their exchanges were friendly, not flirty.
Which was fine with her.
So far, five of the book club members had heard from their bottle finders. Not quite half, but that was a better percentage than Jenny had expected.
Meg’s message had led to her being invited on the reality TV show One True Love. She’d ended up falling in love with the producer, not one of the contestants. Jenny doubted anyone would be able to top that. She sure wouldn’t.
Dare’s first email about him not being in the market for a soul mate or wanting to find true love had been a clear warning, and that was good. It made writing to him easier.
No pressure. No reason to read anything into what he wrote.
Her message in a bottle might not have brought her a happily ever after, but she’d made a new friend. One whose emails and texts brought a smile to her face and didn’t make her feel so isolated and lonely when she spent so much of her time by herself.
She closed her laptop and walked into the kitchen. Missy was unloading the dishwasher. She was working her regular shift at the cupcake shop now that Elise was feeling better.
“We have a housekeeper to do that,” Jenny said.
“She doesn’t come every day, and I want to bake cookies. There’s stuff I need in here.” Missy wore colorful paw-print leggings and an oversized T-shirt with Semper Fi written across the front. “We’re going to celebrate!”
“What are we celebrating? Did another cat from the rescue get adopted?”
“No, but your new bookmarks arrived. They’re gorgeous.” She pointed to a small cardboard box on the counter. “And while I was at the post office picking them up, I bumped into Josh Cooper. He’s been meaning to call you. Mentioned something about you two getting together.”
“I…” Words failed Jenny.
Josh had been her high school crush. Who was she kidding? He’d been every girl’s fantasy.
Smart, athletic, hot.
“What’s he doing in town?” she asked. “I thought he was a big-time sports announcer.”
“He is. Football, I think, but he bought a house not too far from here. Said he needed a home base. Since he owns a plane, he can easily fly to the Portland airport if he can’t get to a game directly.”
“A plane, huh? Moving home should be good for him.”
“And you.” Missy pulled out a measuring cup and mixing bowl from the dishwasher. “You can finally go out with your dream guy.”
“My dream guy when I was a teenager.” That was well over a decade ago. “Josh isn’t going to ask me on a date. He probably wants to have an old classmate stroke his ego.”
“Or another appendage.” Missy grinned.
Jenny shook her head.
“What? He’s still attractive, and you had a thing for him once. That’s why I gave him your number. You need to get out more.”
“I get out as much as you.”
She shot Jenny a no-you-don’t look. “I have two jobs—one at the cupcake shop and one with you—and I volunteer at the cat rescue.”
“I work from home.”
“Exactly. Going out with Josh will be good for you.”
“I get out to do book signings or writer workshops and events.”
“Not enough, especially when those are work related. You’re thirty-one. Pretty and successful. You should be dating, partying, and having the time of your life.”
“I’m happiest staying at home and writing. I can’t help it. I’m boring.”
Missy tsked. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Keep feeding me, sending my reader newsletter to fans, and staying on top of my social media.”
“You know I will, but please say yes when Josh calls. He could be the one for you.”
“He just wants to go out with Jenna Ford.”
Guys hit on Jenna Ford a hundred times more than Jenny Hanford. The reason was money. Jenna Ford had bank.
Been there, done that, gave back the ring two weeks before the wedding.
Three years ago, she’d discovered her then-fiancé, Grant, had racked up six-figures worth of gambling debt. He’d claimed to have gone to rehab to help his addiction. She’d had no reason to doubt him, but friends had suggested she postpone the wedding to give Grant time to pay off the debt so she wouldn’t have to. It had sounded like a smart idea to Jenny. Except Grant hadn’t wanted to wait. He’d wanted to get married as they’d planned.
Jenny was willing, but she decided to speak to her CPA and her attorney first. Both recommended she have Grant sign a prenuptial agreement so her assets would not be used to pay off his debt. Her lawyer had also added verbiage so that Grant gave up his rights to her intellectual properties, aka books.
Grant wouldn’t sign it. During a tantrum worthy of a two-year-old, he’d claimed to have only proposed because she was Jenna Ford and rich. He’d said no man would ever be interested in Jenny Hanford.
She’d thrown the engagement ring at him. Not her finest moment, but his words had decimated her self-confidence. She’d been devastated. Not because she canceled the wedding—that was just collateral damage—but from being viewed as an easy mark to be taken advantage of by a handsome, money-hungry charmer. She’d lost faith that decent men existed. Or if they did, in her ability to find them.
“Josh didn’t mention Jenna.” The disapproval in Missy’s eyes stung. “He called you Jenny.”
Jenny lifted her chin. “Don’t give me that look. Remember Grant?”
“Grant was a taker. A total loser looking for a quick payout. Josh knew you before Jenna.”
“And he’s never said a word to me. Not during high school. Or when we were in college and came home during the holidays.”
Now he wanted to get together? Call her paranoid, but she hoped Josh didn’t call.
****
Jenny: Hope you are doing well today.
Dare: What’s wrong?
Jenny: What do you mean?
Dare: Something’s up.
Jenny: Why do you think that?
Dare: You always start out with something more off the wall.
Jenny: You know me that well already?
Dare: Am I wrong?
Jenny: No.
Dare: Spill.
Jenny: I got asked out.
Dare: By?
Jenny: A guy I knew in high school. He moved back to town and wants to get together for coffee.
Dare: Coffee sounds like a good first date.
Jenny: Yes, but I don’t want to go.
Dare: Why not?
Jenny: The guy is allergic to cats. That’s a deal breaker for me.
Dare: How many cats do you have?
Jenny: None.
Dare: Then why is it a deal breaker?
Jenny: What if I want a cat (or a dog) in the future, but couldn’t get one due to someone else’s allergies? So, yes, a deal breaker. And why it was on my list.
Dare: List?
Jenny: Message-in-the-bottle list.
Dare: Oh, yeah. But think about this for a minute. You’d really walk away from the hypothetically perfect guy for a cat (or dog) you may or may not even want in the future?
Jenny: I never said he was perfect. But yes, because that’s not all.
Dare: What?
Jenny: He doesn’t believe in aliens or Bigfoot.
Dare: You asked?
Jenny: Sort of.
Dare: Not much you can do about allergies, but differences can be overcome if you care enough.
Jenny: Speaking from experience?
Dare: Yes, though she liked my best friend better than me. Ended up with two exes by the time that was over.
Jenny: Ouch. That had to hurt.
Dare: Yep.
Jenny: You’re better off without people like that in your life. Though, maybe the differences between you were more the deal-breaker kind.
Dare: You may be right, but that shouldn’t stop you from saying yes to coffee.
Jenny: You think so?
Dare: Could be fun.
Jenny: I guess.
Dare: But you need to be careful. Drive yourself. A coffee house is a public place, so that’s good. Be sure to let a friend know your plans.
Jenny: Big brother, uncle, or dad?
Dare: Three sisters. Let me know what you decide.
Two days later…
Jenny: I said yes.
Dare: And?
Jenny: I didn’t think meeting for coffee could be so horrible. I was wrong.
Dare: You okay?
Jenny: Yes. I owe you a thank you.
Dare: Why?
Jenny: I followed your instructions. You saved me from things being much worse.
Dare: What happened?
Jenny: He’d been drinking before he arrived, called me the wrong name the entire time, put a picture of us on i********: as if we were a couple, and then asked if I wanted to go to his place to have s*x.
Dare: What—are you joking?
Jenny: I wish I were kidding. I have a feeling his drinking might be one of the reasons he’s moving back here. I hope he gets the help he needs, but lesson learned. I’m going to stick to my list in the future.
Dare: The guy’s a loser. The list rules from now on.
Jenny: Yes!
Dare: You might want to take a self-defense class. Just in case.
Jenny: I might.
Dare: Do and shake this off. You gave it a shot. That’s what matters. It’s not your fault the guy is a jerk and a drunk.
Jenny: Thanks. Any hot dates for you?
Dare: Not lately. Married to the job. Big trip coming up.
Jenny: Work won’t seem as important when you meet the right person. At least, that’s what my friends tell me.
Dare: These wouldn’t be the same friends who tossed bottles into the sea with you?
Jenny: Yes, they would be. A few have even fallen in love and gotten married to the guys who found their bottles.
Dare: Wow. That’s great.
Jenny: Very happy for them.
Dare: But poor you ended up with me.
Jenny: Not poor me. I have a new friend.
Dare: Hope this doesn’t sound weird, but I’m glad I found your bottle.
Jenny: Not weird, and so am I.
****
Gear packed and ready to go before sunrise, Dare sat on the floor with his back against the wall as rangers from his company gathered. He tried to shut out the conversations around him. He needed to write Jenny.
Just thinking her name made him smile.
They’d been texting almost every day, depending on what he had going on with the pre-deployment workup, and he wanted to tell her he was leaving on his “big trip.” Not a lie. A deployment was a big trip.
He hadn’t known what else to tell her. They hadn’t shared much personal information. He had no idea what she did for a living, where in Washington she lived, or how old she was. His curiosity grew by the day, but there was no rush in finding out more about her. He hoped she was careful if she got asked out again and remembered what he’d told her.
Dare typed an email. He had more to say than would work via text. He didn’t want Jenny to think he disappeared on her if he couldn’t get online.
“Wheels up at zero six thirty, O’Rourke,” Hamilton barked. “Is your squad ready?”
Dare’s guys had been ready three days ago. “Yes, Sergeant.”
“Don’t you have something else to do?”
“Just need to send an email first.”
“To your girl? Jenny?”
Dare nodded. He liked the idea of Jenny being his girl.
A corner of Hamilton’s mouth lifted into a smirk. “Carry on, O’Rourke, but make it quick. I’m counting on you to ensure a smooth departure.”
- Writer
