Perfectly Ms. Matched (Rocky Mountain Matchmaker Series Book 2) Page 3

  “Nothing really viable. But I’m not asking you for money, Dad. I just need your co-signature on the loan. You’ll never have to hear of it again, because I’m going to pay it all back.”

  “So, Chad Jenks didn’t offer to pay you to rehab him? Don’t tell me you’re so desperate you’ve resorted to lying to your father. Chad told me himself.”

  Chad knew the family dynamics and used it to his advantage. Another excellent reason to tell the man to take a hike. “I said I had no other viable options. I’d have a hard time expanding my business and helping Chad at the same time.”

  “Why? You only serve breakfast and lunch. You have every afternoon free. It’d look impressive on your résumé, Joann. Chad is a very big star.”

  Jo wasn’t sure who was a bigger threat to her sanity. Chad or her father. Her dad could never understand why she’d own a restaurant that didn’t serve dinner instead of catering to the downtown working crowd. “I spend my afternoons baking fresh breads and desserts for the next day and ordering supplies, among other things. You must’ve missed my review in last Sunday’s paper. It said I served the best breakfast and lunch in the downtown area. That’s what looks good on my résumé.”

  Her father shook his head. No doubt disappointed with her answer. “You need to give this little restaurant up and go back to a solid profession. That accident wasn’t your fault. I looked at the autopsy report myself.”

  Of course he’d gone behind her back and checked up on her.

  It still haunted her. All the memories came rushing right back of how Jed Dawson had begged her to push him to his limits, to get him back out on the slopes in time for the first big race of the season. They’d worked out every day for three months, and he’d become a good friend. She’d curled up on the couch with a warm mug of hot cocoa on race day, ready to cheer him on, but instead she’d watched him die. He’d hit a rut going sixty miles an hour. His knee, the one she’d helped rehab, the same knee she was so sure was as good as new, gave out. Failed him. He’d lost control and slammed into a tree.

  Had she rushed his treatment? Had she built up the right muscles around his knee to withstand that kind of strain? She’d never know for sure if she was to blame, but she’d given her notice the next day.

  “I’m not going back to PT work. End of story.”

  “I understand you love to cook. And that’s great. But it’s a hobby. I think you should go back to being a PT and let a manager run your restaurant.”

  “I need to run my restaurant the way I know it needs to be run, Dad.”

  “I’m sorry, but I won’t cosign a loan with you for that. If you want to start your own PT practice, I’ll be happy to loan you all the money you’ll need. At a fair interest rate, of course.”

  Of course.

  “How many boob jobs or tummy tucks does it take for you to make the kind of money I need? Two, three? It’s a drop in the hat to you. Pocket change. Why would you want me to lose my restaurant after all the hard work I’ve done to make it a success? And why would you ask me to spend time with a man who hurt me as deeply as Chad has just to prove your point? I tried to do it your way, and I was miserable. Doesn’t my happiness count for anything?”

  “Of course. But anyone can cook. You need to give being a PT another chance. It’s a good, solid profession.”

  He didn’t understand. “Never mind, Dad. I have to go.” Disappointed she couldn’t make him see that baking and owning her own café was the better choice for her, she rose and headed for the door.

  When her hand was on the doorknob, her father called out, “I don’t want your mother to hear of our discussion today, Jo. Her days consist of spending my money. She’d cosign your loan if you asked, but I’m forbidding you to do so.”

  She’d never put her mother in a bad spot with her dad. “Mom spends lots of money because you work too much. Money is the one thing that gets your attention. Sorry to have taken time from your busy day.” Jo softly shut the door behind her, ignoring the curious stares from the nurses.

  Her hands shook as she stabbed the button for the poky elevator. He had been her last resort. What was she going to do now?

  After a few moments of waiting, she gave up and hit the stairs. It was only three floors.

  What the heck had she been thinking? She knew her father would never cosign the loan. She hadn’t lived up to his great expectations. As usual. This was just one more way for him to punish her.

  And she wanted to strangle Chad for his part in ruining her chances with her dad. She’d let Chad have it if he had the nerve to show up in her restaurant again.

  As she descended each new flight, regret dug a deeper hole in her gut about her ill feelings for her father.

  That wasn’t fair. Her parents had adopted her. Taken her in and saved her from a woman who couldn’t care for her properly. She’d been young, irresponsible, and jobless. Her new parents had given Jo every advantage life could offer.

  And she really shouldn’t have said that about her mom. It made her appear weak, but her mother wasn’t that. She was just a kindhearted woman who loved the wrong man. Heck, maybe that was why Jo’s luck had been so rotten with men as well. Look who her role model was. Maybe she was the same way.

  Jo pushed the glass lobby doors open and started for her nearby car. She took out her keys and pressed the button to pop the locks. After climbing inside, she sat and stared out the windshield. What was she going to do now?

  Shelby had already risked enough in Coffee and Confections. Asking for more was out of the question.

  Shelby had been miserable working for her family, so when Jo had quit her job, they’d decided to take the plunge together. They’d both resigned and then taken a chance at happiness.

  Shelby’s dream of being a full-time writer was now just a few more books away. And nothing made Jo happier than baking for her customers every day. Seeing their eyes light up with joy when they took that first bite of one of her creations always warmed her heart.

  She and Shelby had scraped together their savings for the café but came up a little short and needed a loan. All the banks said no. The restaurant business was too risky, and Jo had no experience. But Shelby’d found the perfect space, and the real estate investment firm who owned it said they’d be willing to take a chance on them. But the loan came with a nasty balloon payment she needed to make or lose it all.

  Losing her restaurant was not an option.

  She turned the key to start her car. The engine sputtered and groaned and eventually caught, so she put it in gear and headed back to work. There was baking to do. She’d make bread first. All the punching and kneading bread required might help rid her frustrations with her situation, her father, and Chad too, for that matter.

  Hopefully a new plan would come to her while she beat the crap out of that poor dough.

  3

  FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU. FOOL ME TWICE—SO NOT HAPPENING.

  The next morning, just as Jo pulled a tray of fresh, buttery croissants from the oven, her mom popped her head through the swinging doors of the kitchen. “Morning, sweetheart. It smells heavenly in here. Got a minute?”

  Jo placed the tray on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. “For you, always.” She pulled her mom into a much-needed hug.

  After she practically squeezed the air from her mother’s lungs, her mom whispered, “What’s wrong, baby?”

  “Nothing. I just haven’t seen you in a while.” Jo turned and grabbed a fresh croissant for her mom, grateful the oven wasn’t acting up again, and slipped it onto a plate. “Have a seat and keep me company while I work.”

  “I’d love to, but first I need to show you the present I brought for you. One of your servers helped me hang it.”

  Her mom, as blonde, short, and cute as Shelby, dragged all of Jo’s five feet, eleven inches along with ease. They zigged and zagged through the busy dining room, finally stopping in front of a newly framed newspaper article on the wall.

  “Ta-da! My tale
nted daughter’s first of many to come five-star reviews!”

  Some of the nearby customers stopped eating and gave Jo a round of applause. She thanked them and leaned closer to study the framed review from Sunday’s paper. Her mom had it blown up to poster size. Tears stung her eyes. “That was really sweet of you.”

  “Your father and I are so proud of you, honey.”

  Well, her mom was anyway, and that was enough. “Thank you. I’ll go grab a cup of coffee for you and meet you in back.”

  Once settled onto a stool in the kitchen, her mother took a sip of coffee and started in on her croissant. “I gave you a chance to spill your news, but since you didn’t bite, I’m prying. Your father told me about Chad’s phone call and your visit to his office.”

  “Oh.” Her father must’ve been afraid she’d tell her mom about their discussion the day before and decided to head it off at the pass.

  Jo glanced over her shoulder to be sure the cooks weren’t listening. Feigning a deep interest in her cookie dough batter, she shrugged. “Chad wants me to rehab him, and in return, he’ll give me the money I need for my expansion. I turned him down. End of story.”

  “I see.” Her mom dusted crumbs from her fingertips. “Why do you think he asked you and not someone else?”

  “Just to annoy me, most likely.” Jo plopped the dough into little balls on the cookie sheet. Maybe a little harder than necessary.

  “I’m surprised you turned him down. I’d think it would be the ultimate payback. Making him sweat, putting him through the paces, torturing him—in a legal way, of course. It might be cathartic for you.”

  Jo glanced up and smiled at the twinkle in her mom’s eyes. “Legal torture? I never thought of it quite like that.” Laughing, Jo went back to her cookies.

  Her mom leaned closer and whispered, “What are you afraid of, Jo?”

  Anger sparked through her veins for a brief moment before she realized what her mom was up to. “Nope, not working. What else you got?”

  Her mom took another sip of coffee and chuckled. “How about I just leave you with some unsolicited advice? Fundamentally, Chad was a good man. Everyone makes mistakes. Especially when we’re young. A lot of time has passed, and you’re both different people now, but there’d been a deep love there once. It might be worth seeing if it’s still there.”

  “Chad just loves football. He thinks of me as nothing more than a tool to get his first love back.”

  “Because he loves his career so much, he asked you for help because he trusts you and respects your abilities. Trust and respect are the basis of any good relationship. Think about it, honey.”

  Mom finished off her roll, then grabbed her purse and headed for the swinging doors. “Thanks for the treat. Gotta go. Love you.”

  “Love you too.” Jo tossed the ball of dough in her hand back into the bowl and sighed. Now her mother was on Chad’s side too? What was wrong with all the people in her life?

  When the door swung open and Chad limped in, her mom pulled up short.

  “Hey, Mrs. W. How are you?”

  Mom cocked her head. “Well, look who’s back.” She drilled her index finger into his chest. “I don’t want any trouble out of you this time, Mr. Jenks.” Her mom couldn’t quite hold back her grin. She’d always loved Chad.

  “You Westin ladies are all alike.” His smile slowly grew as he rubbed his chest. “You get prettier every year and poke even harder. Great to see you again, Helen.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “And I’m not here to cause trouble. Just wanted to show Jo the plans I drew up for her new expansion.”

  “So you’ve finally put that architecture degree to use, huh? Let’s see what you’ve got there.”

  Dammit. Would he never stop? What was she going to have to do to make him go away? “Mom, just ignore him. He plays football for a living. He doesn’t know squat about designing a restaurant.”

  Jo took her tray of cookies to the oven, put them in, and set the timer. Stepping around one of the cooks, she returned to her worktable. Despite the flour on the tabletop, he had laid his plans down, pointing things out to her mother.

  Ignoring her mom’s oohs and aaahs, Jo went about her business. She wasn’t going to look. Why bother? Until she got her financing lined up, it didn’t matter.

  On her third pass by them, her mother said, “Come look, honey. This is just perfect!”

  “Busy.” With her arms full of empty trays, she tried to slip past Chad, but his hand reached out and caught the back of her apron. Giving him the stink eye over her shoulder, she said, “Seriously. I’m busy.”

  “I’ll leave the plans, and you can look at them later.” He released her, then turned to her mom. “Helen, since Jo’s so busy, would you like to see a picture of my son?”

  Jo nearly dropped the trays in her hands. “You have a son?” She’d cut Shelby off yesterday. Was that the big thing she wanted to tell her?

  He dug his phone out of his jeans and showed her mom. “His name’s Ryan. I didn’t know I had a son until a few months ago, so we’re still . . . adjusting.”

  “He’s just a doll, Chad.” Her mother breathed out a long sigh. She really wanted grandkids and wasn’t shy about saying so.

  Jo leaned over her mom’s shoulder. The kid was blond, cute, about five, and had a missing tooth. “One-night stands, a girl in every town. Nice, Chad.”

  “It wasn’t a one-night stand, smart mouth. My ex-wife failed to mention she was pregnant before she ran off with my lawyer. She told him it was his baby. They lasted for a while until he moved on. Now she found a new rich guy who doesn’t like kids, so she decided it was my turn to be the full-time parent.”

  Her mother said, “She just dropped Ryan on your doorstep? What kind of a mother does that?”

  “My ex was a gold digger, sweet as pie until after the honeymoon. Suddenly, our house wasn’t big enough, we didn’t have enough help, and she needed a damned Bentley. Being a mother isn’t high on her priority list.”

  He’d been married for, like, six months. They’d been touted as the all-American couple on the Internet, until they weren’t anymore. Jo said, “She clearly wasn’t the right woman for you. You’ll find another, I’m sure.”

  He stared into her eyes and whispered, “I found the right one once, but evidentially, she’s not big on forgiveness.”

  She stared right back. “Someone has to show a little remorse and that they’ve changed.” He’d never admitted to her that he’d flown back to San Diego on the plane with his team instead of coming straight to the hospital in Denver to see Bryce before he died. How could she easily forgive him for that?

  Her mother looked between the two of them and winced. “I think that’s my cue to leave. Play nice, you two.”

  Chad lifted a hand. “Bye, Helen. Good to see you again.”

  He probably didn’t even think about Bryce anymore. Just thought she was mad at him because he falsely accused her of something she’d never do. And for putting his career ahead of everyone he supposedly loved. “Sad tale about your ex. But you had your chance with a woman who actually loved you, and you blew it.”

  Jo turned and made herself walk calmly to her office and shut the door nice and soft.

  Yes!

  She’d always wanted to say that to him.

  Chad slumped onto a stool.

  She was right. He’d blown it big-time with her. He got that.

  But his mistake with Bryce was his greatest regret and something he’d never spoken of. To anyone. He’d never forgive himself for the choice he made. He’d been told his son was small but doing well. He’d gone back to San Diego to clear his schedule so he could spend a little more time with Bryce. No one expected what happened, but knowing that didn’t ease his guilt.

  It was another reason he hoped Jo would work with him. To give them a reason to spend time together. Maybe heal together. She wasn’t budging, though.

  He had one last idea up his sleeve. Slowly leaning on his cane, he got up and head
ed toward the dining room. Poking the swinging door open, he scanned the tables, finally spotting Shelby working on her laptop. He pulled out a chair and sat across from her. “How much for your shares in the café?”

  “My shares?” Shelby stopped typing and blinked at him. “You want to buy me out?”

  “Yes. Then I’d be a partner and could just invest in my own company.”

  “But I only own forty percent. Jo has the majority vote for any decision, so it wouldn’t do you any good. Besides, she’d kill me. Forget it.”

  “I’m running out of time.” He ran a hand down his face. “And patience. Please tell me what to do.”

  Shelby grinned. “Has she seen the plans yet?”

  “She won’t even look at them. I’m still worried she’ll wonder how I had all the specs. I can’t tell her I own the company she’s been writing rent checks to all this time. Maybe it’s best she doesn’t look.”

  “Jo will look eventually, just out of sheer curiosity. And once she sees her dream restaurant, with the new oven we desperately need drawn in, she’ll be so excited, she won’t have time to wonder how you had the specs. She’ll just cave.” Shelby patted his hand. “Go back there and tell Jo why you need her to be the one to rehab you. Dig deep, Tarzan. Tell her what makes her so special over the rest. You need to make it easier for her to swallow her pride and take you up on your offer once she sees those plans.”

  He was the one swallowing his pride, but didn’t bother to mention it. “Okay. But be ready to call 9-1-1 in case she uses one of those knives on me.”

  “Got my cell right here.” Shelby smiled and went back to work on her laptop.

  Chad made his way toward the swinging doors again, cursing the pain in his knee. He’d go home and ice it right after he took care of Jo and her bad attitude.

  He headed for Jo’s office. She was going to listen to him even if he had to hold her down and duct tape her mouth, dammit!

  No. He needed to check the attitude. Go in all businesslike.

  Tapping a knuckle on her office door, he stuck his head inside. “Can I speak with you, please?”