Chapter Fifteen
Holding the ice cold water glass with his recovering hand, Ethan willed his three middle fingers to feel something. Allison hadn't said anything, but he was sure she knew. With every touch and poke, he ignored the electricity zinging up his arm. She was his daughter's aunt. The sister of the woman who'd given life to his baby. He was not supposed to be attracted to her.
Only her pointed questions about his hand had squelched the feelings pinging around inside him like a cool bucket of ice water. The hand specialist had done well. He had full use of all his fingers. Even in his drug induced haze those first days in the hospital, he'd seen the concern in the man's eyes as he'd examined the sutured flesh followed by the relief as Ethan moved each finger one by one.
With every bandage change since Ethan's arrival home, Brooks had shown his pleasure with Ethan's dexterity. Not until Brooks explained the risks of nerve damage with his type of wound did Ethan understand the original concern in his doctor's eyes. Now he felt a new concern. A numbness in his fingertips that didn't want to clear up.
"This was delicious." Allison pointed at the green bean casserole with her fork before setting it down beside the knife on her empty plate. "Seriously amazing. I normally don't care for green beans."
"Thank you," Aunt Eileen beamed. "It was definitely a group effort."
"I'll say," Meg agreed. "I'm not usually allowed to help in the kitchen. Of course the fact that I'm not the best cook might have something to do with that."
"Nope," Toni shook her head, "I'm not usually allowed to help either."
"And she can cook," Brooks waved a thumb at his wife, then leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose, making her smile.
"Just goes to show," Finn looked to his aunt, "it takes an entire family to do what you do every Sunday. But," he raised a single finger, "the next time a vacation opportunity comes along with the social club you have no excuse to refuse. It may take an army of Farradays to pull it off, but we won't starve."
Aunt Eileen shrugged off the comment and Ethan noticed his father eyeing his aunt, not with the usual appreciation that he showed to the woman who had come in and saved his family, but intently, as though he were searching for the first parts of a thousand-piece puzzle.
Either unaware, or perhaps merely ignoring the way her brother-in-law studied her, Aunt Eileen pushed away from the table. "If we want the dessert Toni brought, we'd better get the table cleared off."
"What dessert might that be?" Adam stood and picked up his plate and the bowl of mashed potatoes.
"German chocolate cake." Toni smiled.
"Oh," Meg groaned. "I can feel my waist expanding already."
Aunt Eileen reached for the breadbasket only to have DJ sidle up beside her. "I'll take that. Cook shouldn't clean up."
"I'll take yours," Allison stood and reached for Ethan's dish.
"No, no." Aunt Eileen shook her head. "Guests don't clear either."
DJ, who'd sat beside her, smiled and took the dish from her hand. "Aunt Eileen is right. House rules."
"So," Aunt Eileen leaned forward, "do you know any more about how long you'll be staying?"
Allison cast a quick peek at the baby now in her father's arms. "No, I don't."
"Well." Clasping her hands together almost in prayer, Aunt Eileen smiled. "If the goal is to spend time with your niece then I think you should come stay with us."
Allison's eyes bugged open wide and Ethan was pretty sure his had just done the same. Only DJ and Becky were close enough to have heard and even they did a double take.
"Oh, that's very generous of you, but—"
"Nothing generous about it at all. We have plenty of room and with this brood one more mouth to feed is nothing."
"Well, thank you, but—"
"Besides, if we put you into the room across the hall from Ethan we can move Brittany downstairs with her father."
"Oh, yes, but—"
"Ethan still can't do late night feedings with those crutches."
"No, I can see where he couldn't."
Aunt Eileen stood. “Frankly, I could use a good night's sleep, and you wouldn't mind helping out with that would you?"
"Uhm, if I were here of course not, but—"
"Good, then it's settled." With a nod Aunt Eileen stepped away from the table and called to the kitchen. "Sean, you or one of the boys will need to bring the baby carriage downstairs."
Ethan managed to snap his mouth shut. Allison on the other hand, stared at him with her mouth still open, her objections unspoken and futile.
Hurricane Eileen had struck.
***
The room across the hall from where Ethan slept was barely large enough for a full bed with a small nightstand on either side. If she'd eaten any more dessert Allison would have to walk sideways to climb into bed.
Between supper and dessert, voices lowered, the Farraday patriarch and his sister-in-law had shared words in the kitchen, but whether it was about Allison staying or the weather, she didn't have a clue. The chocolate cake was served, conversation carried on around her, and Allison couldn't figure out how she'd so easily let herself get roped into a situation that could not end well. Nor for the life of her could she figure a polite way out of it either.
With everyone clearing the table and moving about with miscellaneous chores, Aunt Eileen had shown Allison the extra room and left her standing in the hall to get clean towels.
"You don't have to go through with this." Ethan had come up behind her.
Still stunned at the turn of events, Allison was at a loss for words.
"Are you okay? I just heard what happened?" Meg squeezed past Ethan and came up to Allison. "She did the same thing to me when I first arrived. There really is no point in fighting it. That woman is the personification of a force to be reckoned with."
"Hey man." Finn stopped in the doorway beside his brother and gently slapped his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I thought we'd talked her out of it. I can give it another shot if you want."
Ethan looked to Allison. The decision was hers, she wasn't sure how she knew that's what his eyes said, but she was sure of the message. "I don't know what to say."
"It's that damn dog." Finn shook his head.
"Our dog?" Meg asked.
Ethan's brow scrunched in confusion. "When did you get a dog?"
"She doesn't mean her dog," Finn chimed in, "she means the dog that has been popping up—"
"And disappearing," Meg added.
"And disappearing," Finn agreed, "for her and Adam, Brooks and Toni, Connor and Catherine, DJ and Becky—"
"I think I see a pattern here," Allison mumbled.
Ethan rubbed two fingers against his temple.
"Yeah," Finn nodded at his brother. "I know."
Meg waved a hand from Ethan to Allison. "I don't see what our dog has to do with them."
"We were introduced the first time by a dog," Allison said in a near whisper.
"In California," Ethan added.
Meg lifted her hands to her waist. "Well then, that can't be our dog."
DJ appeared behind Ethan and Finn. "Are we having a party and not inviting the rest of the family?"
"We're discussing the dog." Meg said. "The dog."
"In California," Ethan enunciated carefully.
"And Tuckers Bluff," DJ added.
Meg and Finn turned to DJ in surprise and DJ spread his arms wide apart, palms up. "Hey, it's not my fault Cupid decided to show up at the café while Papa and Auntie ate lunch at separate tables."
"That dog?" Another piece of the puzzle fell into place for Allison. "The one watching us from the curb?"
DJ nodded, Finn smiled, Meg shook her head, and Ethan sighed.
"If it's not this," Allison looked to Ethan, "it's going to be something else, isn't it?"
All four Farraday heads nodded.
"Well," she pushed her sleeves up her arms and lifted her chin, "which one of you is going with me to town to get my things as your aunt sugges
ted?"
"You're staying?" Ethan's voice almost cracked with surprise.
"The way I see it, there's only one way to convince your aunt that mutt in San Diego—or the parking lot—isn't playing Cupid. We've got to prove her wrong."
"I'd better go," Finn volunteered. "Gimpy here won't be much help with the luggage or the driving."
Ethan shot his brother a say-that-again-in-a-month glare. Finn merely shrugged a lazy shoulder and flashed a sly grin in response. Allison had the feeling that despite being the youngest son, Finn ruled the roost more often than not. She also hoped that when all was said and done, agreeing to this scheme didn't make her crazier than Aunt Eileen.
***
His aunt was totally out of her damn mind. For the two hours that Finn and Allison were gone to town and back, Ethan and his dad had done their best to convince Aunt Eileen to keep Brittany upstairs with her, but she'd have none of it. Not even when Ethan had shared the fear he might wake up with one of his nightmares and disturb, or heaven forbid, hurt Brittany, did his aunt acquiesce. Instead, she'd merely pointed out that every night since his arrival at the ranch he'd slept till morning like the proverbial baby. Now every time Brittany let out the slightest peep, he'd stick out his hand and rock the baby carriage.
The clock on his nightstand blinked 2:30 a.m. He and his daughter had gone to bed at about the same time and Ethan didn't think he'd gotten a lick of sleep waiting for her to wake up. Another fifteen minutes went by and another peep and another rock-a-bye-baby. Another fifteen minutes and another repeat. By 3:15 Brittany was awake and very vocal.
"There, there, sweetie." He spun around and sat on the edge of the bed. His hand on her tummy seemed to sooth her some.
"I'll get the bottle."
By the time he'd turned to the voice, Allison was gone. Using the nightstand for leverage, he shoved to his feet and, balancing on one foot, peered into the buggy. "Bet you're surprised to see me, aren't you?"
Instead of the usual bright grin, Brittany offered her father a curious stare.
At least changing diapers had become less of a challenge without the massive bandage. Able to grab hold of her legs with his recovering hand, his good hand had the fine motor skills to peel off the old diaper and hold on to the fresh one.
"How's it going?" Allison appeared at his side.
"All dry and ready for her snack." Ethan handed Brittany over to her aunt.
Despite the late hour, Allison smiled sweetly down at the baby in her arm. "Just remember when you're all grown up, snacking in the middle of the night is a terrible idea."
Brittany didn't have a smile for her aunt either. The poor kid seemed to be thoroughly confused by the change in nighttime shift. At least she wasn't squalling for his aunt. When Allison teased her lips with the tip of the bottle, Brittany caught on to the new plan and her cheeks pumped with gusto, her gaze never leaving Allison's face.
"Now I understand that mother rock." Her hips swaying from side to side, Allison shifted her attention from the baby to Ethan before looking around the room.
"Why don't you have a—" For as long as he could remember there had always been a chair in the corner of this room. More than once he'd tossed his clothes onto the checkered easy chair. Now it was gone. His aunt. He held back a sigh. "There's a rocker in the den if you want to sit down with her."
Allison shook her head, but after another minute or so, she glanced downward at his bed. "Do you mind?"
"No. Of course not."
Stepping aside, she sat on the very edge, her back to him. She continued to sway in place and in no time the bottle was empty and Allison was back on her feet, pacing with Brittany. "She's a really good eater."
He nodded and his daughter let out a belch to echo her agreement. A few more sways and the baby was sound asleep once again. He continued to watch as Allison made her way around to the other side of the buggy and gently lowered his daughter onto the mattress.
Allison straightened. "That went well."
Ethan nodded. Better than he'd expected. "We'd should get some sleep before the six o'clock feeding."
"Night."
"Goodnight." Ethan did a quick survey of his daughter before sliding under the covers. Tomorrow he was going to have a long talk with his aunt.
Chapter Sixteen
Another poker chip landed in the pile. So excited by the turn of events, Eileen called for a weekend game at the café.
"I can't believe you pulled it off." Ruth Ann showed her hand. "A pair of ladies over tens."
"It was actually much easier than I'd thought." Eileen tossed her cards to Sally May. "Turns out Meg is way better at mashing potatoes than she lets on, Adam and Brooks will stay in any room their wives are in, and somehow keeping Allison and Ethan alone in the big room just came together."
Sally May shuffled the cards. "And no one said anything when you cleaned up the storage room?"
"No. That was a brilliant suggestion." Eileen cut the deck. "Thankfully that old full bed was already against the wall so I didn't have to get help lugging a bed down from upstairs. Only took a couple of hours after the men went to bed to move half the boxes up to the attic and toss stuff we had no business storing into the trash. Then took another hour in the morning to clean and straighten up and no one noticed. Element of surprise with the room all ready for guests was on my side."
"Surprise is one word for it," Dorothy said.
Sally May dealt out the first round of cards. "Bet ambush was more like it."
Eileen had to laugh with her friends of so many years. They knew her too well. It had been rather like a military maneuver. "Having Allison staying in the same house was one thing, but across the hall by themselves should work like a charm. This morning, I pretended to sleep in, but sneaked by the kitchen a minute to eavesdrop on the morning feeding."
"And?" Dorothy asked.
"Simple talk. Pass me this, hand me that. Do you want to feed her this time? Teamwork has begun. It was as if they'd been working together for way more than one night."
"I suppose," Ruth Ann held her hand out waiting for the next card, "I may have been overly skeptical. But I seriously couldn't see Sean going along with this idea of throwing these two together."
"Why not?" Eileen picked up her last card. "It's in everyone's best interest for Ethan and Allison to make nice and not fight over Brittany. Even if Allison doesn't have a legal leg to stand on, her and Ethan on opposite sides of a tug of war won't be good for the baby."
"Has she said that's what she wants?" Dorothy asked.
"No. But why else would she be here?"
"True." Dorothy fanned out her cards. "On both counts."
"And that's exactly why last night in the kitchen Sean had to finally agree with me." Eileen smiled at her cards. Three queens. "Sometimes difficult situations take extreme measures."
"Okay," Ruth Ann pulled out two cards from her hand and set them face down beside her. "so you've conned the unsuspecting woman into your lair. You've maneuvered the two targets into close quarters. What's next on the plan, oh mastermind?"
"Simple." Eileen tossed two chips into the pot and smiled at her friends. "I think I feel a bad case of the flu coming on."
***
"Yes, Mark, I understand." Phone in her hand, Allison paced on the Farraday back porch as she spoke to her boss. "I don't know how much longer I'll be." What she had hoped to find out here in Texas was a frazzled single man anxious to get back to his job and happy to turn over a baby to her aunt.
"All right." Mark sighed. "I know you've been questioning the direction your career has taken, but that's not what this is about. Are you going to tell me what's really going on?"
"It's complicated."
"Only if you make it so. When you flew out of here like an avenging angel, the only thing you cared about was that your niece was well taken care of."
"I know. And that's still true." She hadn't dared tell her boss that she'd been planning to become a single aunt and debate with him
the problems that came with that and being a surgeon at a busy metropolitan hospital.
"Is she well cared for?"
"Yes."
"Wanting for anything?"
Allison sighed. "No."
"But you're still there?"
"Yes. It's—"
"Complicated. Yeah, I got that. Look, you don't need me to tell you how long and hard you worked to be one of the most respected physicians in the state of California."
"Only California?" She smiled.
"My point, Dr. Monroe, is I'll tell the board whatever you want me to, but make sure you know what you really want and don't throw away everything you've worked for out of guilt over your sister."
"Thank you Dr. Freud."
Mark chuckled, his voice lowered an octave. "We're all worried about you." He paused. "I'm worried about you."
Allison stopped walking and looked to the expanse of land nestled under a clear blue sky as far as her eyes could see. "I'll let you know when I'll be coming home."
"All right. And Allison…"
"Yes?"
"Be careful." The call disconnected before she could respond. How did he always know when she was in over her head? Weren't women supposed to be the one with stellar intuition?
The screen door squeaked and Ethan stepped onto the porch. "Once again mistress Brittany is sleeping soundly. I'd offer you something cool to drink, but…" Leaning on the crutches he moved his hands to point to the metallic appendages.
"You're getting pretty tired of them, aren't you?" She slipped her phone into her pocket and leaned back on the railing.
"Oh yeah. I was tired of this leg the moment the meds wore off." He crossed the width of the porch and placing the crutches to one side, settled onto the railing a few feet beside her. "If it weren't for Brittany, I'd be as antsy as a caged lion."
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