Just Beginning: A Prequel to Just Destiny Read online

  “If that’s what it takes. You’ve always been impulsive, and it usually gets you into trouble.” She faced Jenny. “Have you really thought everything through? Marriage is a huge commitment.”

  Her father thrust his hands deep in his pockets and raised a dark eyebrow at Gabe. “What about children? You’d be in your sixties when your children graduate college.”

  “We’re not going to have any,” Jenny blurted out.

  Gabe stiffened at her side.

  They’d never talked about children, but Jenny didn’t want to admit they’d overlooked this important issue, confirming Mom’s belief that they were rushing things. Besides marriage, step parenting and jump-starting her career would fill her life; Jenny couldn’t imagine children on top of that.

  “I have a daughter and son from my first marriage,” Gabe admitted. “If Jenny doesn't want children, that's fine with me. Even if we change our minds, we’ll figure it out; just like you did when Michael came along. Mr. Campbell, I love your daughter and will do my best to make her happy.”

  Jenny took Gabe’s arm and snuggled close, needing his warmth and strength against her father’s concern and her mother’s doubts.

  Dad stared at them ten long seconds before smiling broadly. “It seems the feeling’s reciprocated.” Her father held out his hand. “But I’d have a hard time with ‘Dad’, call me Mike. Welcome to the family.”

  Her mother’s lips tightened to a thin line as she stared hard at her husband, sending him a silent, disapproving message.

  “Let it go, Mary.” He smiled at Jenny. “Look how happy she is.”

  Mom stared at them one long, considering minute. Concern flickered across her face. “It’s just so sudden. I’m worried you haven’t had enough time to really get to know each other. Marriage is hard and you have to have a solid foundation to weather the challenges all married couples face—the irritating habits, career stress, disagreements over raising children.” She glanced at Michael. “Unplanned pregnancies, money problems... Speaking of money, does Gabe know about your debt, Jennifer?”

  With a sinking stomach, Jenny couldn’t prevent a peek at her father. How’d she find out? Dad promised not to tell Mom about the loan. Jenny couldn’t bear disappointing her mother again, but when Dad offered the short-term loan, she hadn’t been able to turn it down either. Attempting to salvage Jenny’s pride, Dad suggested they keep it between the two of them.

  Her father frowned at her mother. “What’re you talking about, Mary?”

  “I’m talking about your little loan and how Jenny can’t pay her bills.” She frowned, hurt and betrayal stamped all over her stubborn Irish face.

  Damn. Jenny shook her head. This was exactly what she hadn’t wanted. She should have told Mom about the loan. Now not only was Mom disappointed that Jenny’d failed again, but she felt excluded and hurt, thinking they were hiding things from her—which they were.

  “So Jenny had a little cash flow problem this month. It’s no big deal.”

  “And the month before that, and the four months before that?” Her mother raised her eyebrows.

  It’d been a long time since Jenny’d been at the center of a parental argument, and the guilt and the sick feeling in her stomach didn’t feel any better now than it had then. Worse, Gabe and Michael were witnessing it, and she didn’t know how to stop it.

  Jenny bent her head, unable to look at Gabe. She wished for a magic mirror to step into another world—any other world would make more sense than this and be far less embarrassing. She was afraid to even think of what Gabe was making of all this.

  “I know about Jenny’s financial situation, and we’ll be taking care of it right away,” Gabe said. “So there’s no problem.”

  Jenny turned astonished eyes to Gabe, who squeezed her shoulder a little harder than reassurance warranted. When she began to protest, the pressure on her shoulder increased until she closed her lips.

  “See, Mary.” Her father beamed. “Everything’s taken care of.”

  Indecision replaced the hurt in her mother’s eyes. Jenny silently prayed Mom would take the opportunity to let the past rest, but her optimism died when her mother turned steady eyes to her. Her freckles stood out in her pale face with the weight of her decision. “I hope you’ll be very happy together.”

  Jenny deflated; not exactly the endorsement she’d been hoping for, but she’d take it.

  Her father put an encouraging arm around her. “I’ve got a bottle of Moet & Chandon chilling for a special occasion, and I think this definitely qualifies.”

  Jenny summoned a smile and returned her father’s hug.

  Dad poured champagne for the adults and ginger ale for Michael. He proposed a simple, eloquent toast and they clicked glasses, yet her mother didn’t smile once. She brought the crystal flute to her lips but barely sipped the sparkling wine.

  Turning to her fiancé, Jenny smiled and finished her champagne in two quick swallows. “Thanks for the champagne, but we’ve really gotta run. Gabe’s got to get back to the hospital, and I’ve got to work.”

  Jenny and Gabe left her parents’ house and drove down the street. Making a left, Gabe pulled the car over as soon as they were out of sight of the house. Throwing the gear into park, he faced her. “When were you going to tell me?”

  Chapter 6

  Jenny didn’t even pretend to misunderstand. Gabe had a right to be angry. She watched a man on a tractor whirl around a front yard while another gardener pulled weed from the lush flowerbeds. “I wasn’t.”

  “What do you mean, you weren’t?” he nearly shouted. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice when you got kicked out of your apartment? Or was your dad going to subsidize you forever?”

  “No.” She gave him a sharp look. “I was going to get—” She slapped a hand to her mouth, then groaned. “I was going to get a second job, but now I’ve missed the interview. Crap.”

  “Well, excuse me, for proposing.”

  “You knew I didn’t have much time,” she grumbled.

  His mouth dropped open. “It was your idea to run over and tell your folks.”

  “Well, you got me all excited about a new house and new life. There was so much to think about, to plan.”

  “I would’ve waited if I’d known how it would turn out.” He slammed the gear into drive and hit the accelerator with enough force to press her into the upholstery, yet not hard enough to burn rubber.

  Jenny gripped her seat, afraid to look at him; she’d never seen Gabe angry before. They flew under an arguably red light, missing the turn to her street.

  “Where’re we going?” She peeked at him, discouraged by his frown and clenched jaw.

  “My place.”

  “What for?”

  “To get my checkbook. Then we’re going to your bank, so you can make a deposit. Tomorrow you can cut your father a check and pay him back, so we can start free and clear.”

  Tears flooded her eyes. After that nasty little surprise, Gabe was going to pay her debt and forget about it. “No, we’re not.”

  “Yes. We are.”

  She could imagine what Mom would have to say about that. “I can’t take your money.”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “I won’t take your money.” Jenny took a tissue from her purse and dabbed at her eyes. “Besides... I owe, a bit more than that. Don’t worry,” she hurried to reassure. “I’m going to get a job waitressing and pay it all off before we’re married.”

  “Pay all what off?” His foot eased off the accelerator.

  “We’re going to start our new life free and clear. A clean slate.”

  “Jenny?” The quiet, biting word came out as a warning.

  She shifted in her seat. “I’ve run up a little bit of a balance on my credit cards, too, but—”

  “How much?” The car slowed beneath the posted forty-five mile an hour speed limit, forcing traffic to pull out around them to pass. The drivers cast them curious looks.

  She struggled not to wince—
or lie. “Which card?”

  Gabe swerved to the side of the road. The car behind them laid on the horn, long and loud. He shoved the gear into park, punched on the hazard warning lights, and turned toward her. “How many credit cards do you have?”

  “Including Target, Macy’s, and Nordstrom’s? Or just, VISA and MasterCard?”

  Gabe cursed under his breath.

  “Look, it’s okay. I’m going to take care of it.”

  “How much do you owe on your credit cards, Jenny?”

  “You’re not listening. I’m going to get a job waitressing—”

  “How much?”

  “I’ll even take in another roommate to speed it up if I need to. Please don’t worry about this. We’re not getting married until I’m debt-free.”

  “I don’t want to wait years.”

  “Funny.” She frowned at him. “It’s not that much.”

  Gabe glowered at the street before turning back to her. “Look, I respect that you want to deal with this yourself, but there’s no need. Let me help.”

  “I don’t want your money. I love you, but this is something I need to do.” She smiled. “You won’t have to wait years. I promise.”

  “It’s only money.”

  “To you. To me it’s respect.”

  Gabe opened his mouth to protest, but Jenny rubbed a comforting hand up and down his arm. “Thank you for understanding.”

  He turned off the hazards and put the car into gear. “I don’t like it.”

  “That’s okay.” You don’t have to like it. As long as you respect me and allow me to pay my own debt.

  Gabe checked the traffic in his mirrors, then made a U-turn and headed back to her townhouse.

  Jenny blew out a satisfied breath. They’d had their first fight, and it’d been okay. Gabe still loved her. She smiled to herself. Everything was going to work out.

  * * *

  Thump. Thump. Thump, thump, thump. Errrr—aaaaa—ck. The nail gun rapid-fired to the accompaniment of a screeching saw. Boom. Jenny winced and ducked as a stack of planks dropped directly above her head. Time to go.

  Jenny grabbed her coffee mug, gathered up her laptop and wedding bible, and moved out to the flagstaff patio. She cranked open the hunter green umbrella and settled down at the old iron and glass patio set that’d come with the house. Looking out over the lazily rippling lake, Jenny sipped her coffee and appreciated the cool morning breeze, knowing it wouldn’t last. In a few hours the oppressive summer heat and humidity would drive her into air conditioning. But for now, she’d enjoy working outside.

  Jenny rolled spongy orange earplugs, wedged them in her ears, and lifted the lid on her laptop. They’d had a seven-thirty meeting at the new house with the landscaper to finalize the yard work to start next week. After that, she’d have no safe haven on site to work.

  With machinery digging in the yard throwing dirt everywhere and carpenters and drywallers dusting up the house, Jenny’d have no clean, relatively quiet space to work, but as long as they kept making progress at this rate, she didn’t mind.

  Things were coming along nicely. In a couple of weeks, they’d added a third garage, her study over it, and a glass-enclosed porch off the dining room. The electrician would complete rewiring this week, and the plumber should finish up next week. The kitchen and bathrooms would be attacked next, ripping out all the outdated appliances, cupboards, and cabinets, replacing them with designer cherry cabinets and pink-flecked, black granite surfaces.

  All the bathrooms would have new flooring, wood cabinets, and lovely designer touches like vessel and copper sinks, bronze faucets, and a steam shower for Gabe to help him relax after a rough day on his feet.

  After the birch hardwood floors were sanded and refinished, the whole house would be treated to a fresh coat of paint. Then they’d be done, hopefully by Christmas. Then they’d be comfortably settled for their February wedding.

  Jenny opened the guest list spreadsheet. They’d whittled it down to a hundred fifty people, but something still nagged at her. Chin propped on her folded hands, she stared harder at the list. Jenny’d always dreamt about a small, intimate wedding, fifty people max. Nothing elaborate, just elegant. A hundred fifty wasn’t exactly small, but Gabe requested so little, she couldn’t complain when his list included forty colleagues.

  She opened her wedding bible. The summer she’d been thirteen, Jenny and her best friend, Jackie, had driven her mom crazy. Too young to get real jobs and too old for camps, the girls had been bored out of their minds. To keep the boy-crazed girls out of trouble, Mom took them to Jo-Ann’s craft store and bought them each scrapbooks, the beginning of her wedding bible.

  Through the years, Jenny’d cut out pictures and added to it. Then along came Pinterest with millions more ideas, and the bible had been relegated to her closet, but she still referred to it for an idea or two.

  Jenny frowned at the colorful wedding collage. Maybe it was the orchids. She liked the way they looked, but they were kind of stinky. Perhaps... She flipped to the flower pages. Maybe something like tulips would be more suitable? Then again, tulips might not be available in February. Shoot.

  Her mother was supposed to be here, giving her opinion. Planning Jenny’s wedding was supposed to be their girl bonding time. Never in a million years had Jenny ever imagined her mother wouldn’t be excited and involved in her wedding, but she wouldn’t force it on her.

  Mom’s enthusiasm for the wedding hadn’t grown any—not even when Gabe insisted on splitting the cost to compensate for his extra guests and Jenny’d mostly repaid her loan.

  Following a strict regimen, Jenny succeeded in paying down the bulk of her debt.

  Savings from adding the second roommate, plus the additional income waitressing weekends provided, and she was on track to be completely debt-free very soon.

  Though her free time, social life, and sleep had been severely compromised, Jenny didn’t mind ’cause she’d remained disciplined. She’d done it. All by herself. As soon as her paycheck cleared, she’d pay off Mom and Dad, and then she’d have a small balance on her VISA for a few more weeks before she’d experience the sweet relief and pride of fiscal freedom.

  All she had to do was dredge up the energy to continuing waitressing until Thanksgiving, and then she’d have enough money saved for Christmas presents and a tidy little bonus to pay for extra wedding goodies.

  Jenny smiled. Life was good. Close to debt-free and closing in on her favorite season. She loved the fall with all its autumn earth colors and coziness. Life seemed to slow a little in Michigan: the kids were back in school, summer vacations were over, and people worked in their yards raking leaves, winterizing their houses, putting snow tires on their cars... Families drew inward concentrating on hunkering down for the winter and preparing for the holidays.

  She looked forward to spending lots of quality time hibernating with her love in their new home, but first, their perfect wedding. Jenny took a fortifying sip of coffee and opened the Google doc spreadsheet. Today she needed to analyze the three photographers’ bids and pick one, proof the invitations, then at three she had an appointment with French’s Flowers in Livonia to finalize the bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces.

  The florist was a long-time friend of her mom’s. Ordinarily they didn’t work in Grosse Pointe, but Judie made an exception for Jenny, and Jenny hoped giving her mom’s friend the business and added exposure would please her.

  Jenny looked out over the water. With or without Mom’s help, she’d have an amazing wedding that would force her mother to see Jenny as a capable, grown woman.

  It’s okay, Mom, I don’t need your help. I can do this.

  Jenny slouched in her chair. Though it’d be a lot more fun with Mom. She wanted her mom to be happy for her, to share in this special time. That’s the way it was supposed to be. She pushed out a deep sigh.

  Suddenly, a big hand stroked her head. Gabe brushed her hair aside and gently pulled a plug from her ear. “Hey, Baby. What’s
wrong?”

  Plucking the other earplug out, Jenny forced a smile and cheerful tone to her voice. “Hey. What’re you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in surgery?”

  “Forgot my phone.” Gabe reached across the table and pocketed his Galaxy. He took a step back and looked at her. “What’s the matter?”

  The temptation to let it all spill out and have a good cry in his arms swamped her, but Jenny refused to burden Gabe with her silly family problems. With the clinic and having to rearrange his schedule to accommodate these frequent builder meetings, and his own wedding to-do list, Gabe had enough stress.

  She smiled broadly. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  “Damn it Jenny, you’re exhausted. Why won’t you let me help?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “At least let me finish paying off your credit card. You’ve made your point: you’re an independent woman. I respect that, but I also respect someone who knows her limits and asks for help when she needs it.”

  “And I will if I need it. But I don’t. I’m fine, and you’ve got to get to work.”

  “Let me hire a wedding planner for you.”

  “I don’t want a wedding planner.” She smiled at Gabe. “I’ve been planning this day since I was a little girl.”

  “I don’t want you stressing over this. You’re spread too thin.”

  Jenny raised an eyebrow. “Have you always been this bossy?”

  “Have you always been this stubborn?

  She nodded. “Pretty much.” Jenny wondered if he bossed Judith around like this, somehow she doubted it. His ex-wife was pretty strong-willed. Ex-wife. Hmm. “Hey, Gabe? What was your first wedding like?”

  “Doesn’t matter. This is your wedding.”

  “And yours.” Suddenly it was important to know what his and Judith’s wedding had been like. “What was it like?”

  Gabe shrugged. “The usual. Tux. Church wedding. Friends. Family. Band.”