Sea Breeze 01 - Breathe

Mary shook her head.
    “No, Mr. Greg needs you outside more than I need you in here. He’s battling his arthritis today. He won’t admit it, but I can see it on his face. Go help him.”
    I nodded. I would need to go change into my shorts. I looked back at Jax to say good-bye before I left.
    He smiled at me. “I have a song I’m working on, and sitting out at the gazebo today sounds like the perfect place to be creative. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
    Knowing Jax would be outside with me today made the day seem much brighter. I walked over to Mr. Greg, who was kneeling in the herb garden, mumbling to himself.
    “Morning, Mr. Greg. Why don’t you get off those knees and let me do this?”
    He frowned at me. “I have a bone to pick with you, young lady. Ain’t no girl your age supposed to be gallivanting across town in the middle of the night. You should’ve called me.”
    My insides grew warm and toasty. I really had made a new family here. “I know, Mr. Greg, and I’m sorry. I’m just used to taking care of things on my own, and I didn’t think about the fact that I have people who care enough to help me.”
    He stood up slowly, and I fought the urge to give him my arm. I knew his pride wouldn’t take my offer very well.
    “Just so you understand you’ve got people to help you now. Lord knows the Stone boy would’ve come running if you’d called him. I ain’t never seen such a lovesick puppy in all my life.”
    I blushed. “I wouldn’t call him lovesick.”
    Mr. Greg raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” he said, and shook his head. “Well now, I guess we got work to talk about, now, don’t we? Go ahead and weed this here garden, but be careful of the herbs. Once you’re done, go ahead and pull some rosemary and dill weed for Ms. Mary. She needs some for the kitchen. I’m going to go rake the sand and get it smooth around the bridge.”
    I nodded, kneeled, and started weeding. Herb garden weeding was never easy, because so many herbs resembled weeds. It wasn’t something I could do mindlessly, so I focused on my job.
    The sound of a guitar broke my concentration, and I glanced up to see Jax sitting in the gazebo, strumming away and watching me. I grinned and waved, then turned back to my weeds. It proved hard to think about what I needed to be doing when his voice floated across the yard. I stopped several times to listen to his words, but I didn’t dare look at him. His music soon became sporadic, and I turned to see him writing on a piece of paper and working diligently over his guitar. His frown and concentration made it hard not to stare. I knew if he caught me, it might mess up his process. Other times, I caught him watching me, and he would wink, and I, in turn, would blush. However, the heat of the day made my cheeks pink, which thankfully helped hide it.
    After I’d finished weeding and had taken Ms. Mary the rosemary and dill weed, I was given the job of picking up any debris that might have blown in overnight. I’d just finished carrying a handful of twigs over to Mr. Greg’s wheelbarrow when Jason came out. He went over to Jax, and I went back to picking up debris. Jax got up and followed Jason inside. I tried not to wonder about where the brothers were going, and I focused on my job.
    Marcus came out to get me for lunch, and I went inside to eat with him, Ms. Mary, and Fran. Everyone seemed quiet, so I didn’t talk much either. Fran mentioned she needed to write up a list of cleaning supplies to be picked up from the store, and Marcus made us all laugh with stories about the new guy at the front gate. Ms. Mary seemed nervous about something, and Fran wouldn’t meet my eyes. Only Marcus seemed his normal self. After we ate, I started cleaning and preparing the fresh fruit Ms. Mary had bought from the farmers’ market.
    I tried to stay focused on my job, and at dinnertime, when Jax still hadn’t returned to the gazebo, I agreed to a chess match with Mr. Greg. I’d put him off several times the past week because Jax had always been waiting on me. Although I seemed to be getting better, and had even won a few matches recently, today Mr. Greg won because my mind stayed on Jax. I let the old man gloat, and I smiled at his teasing, then went inside to the kitchen.
    Marcus stood over by the table with a tray of food. He smiled at me. “Hey, you. Who won the chess game? I saw you two hard at it when I came in.”
    I smiled and shrugged. “He did. I was off my game