by Natalie Ann
He laughed. “Good to know.”
He walked out of his parents’ house knowing that was the first his father had made any attempt at cracking a joke. Sure, he knew his father was seriously going to curse and swear, but maybe he’d finally start to follow orders more.
Or one could only hope.
But now he had the next few days to himself. His schedule was set for work and he had no problem working the night before his father’s treatment next Sunday if he ended up getting it. He’d get plenty enough sleep before he had to bring him and luckily he was off on Monday. However, he was working Tuesday and had to see if he could switch the schedule.
He pulled onto the grounds and parked by his apartment on the side of the clubhouse. He knew his sister was probably at the resort, and his mother could be anywhere while she wore multiple hats, but he’d check the resort first.
When he walked into the lobby, he turned to go to the back where the offices were and heard his mother’s voice and stopped in the open doorway. She was in the middle of the meeting and he hated that he didn’t text her first.
She looked up and stopped, her shoulders dropping, then said, “Excuse me for a few minutes.” He moved to her office and she followed. “What happened?”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have called first. I wasn’t even thinking. Just told Dad I would talk to you. His blood count was too low for treatment.”
He filled her in on the rest of what had been said. “So he’s home throwing a fit?”
“He said he was going to and it was best if I left. He’s entitled to it. Maybe now he won’t push himself even though this still might have happened.”
“Which means he will do it again,” his mother said.
Her eyes were filling with tears and he didn’t want that. “I don’t think so. You know he listens to you. He said he’d stay home today. He might be blowing up people’s phones and asking for a new laptop to chat with employees, but I’d like to think he’s at least going to cut back for a few days and hope Thursday his blood work is good enough.”
“Will you be able to take him next week? I know your schedule is probably set and not easily adjusted.”
“I can take him, but I’m scheduled on Tuesday. As we know that is normally the worst of his days, but I’ll check to see if I can swap with someone. I’m sure they would be willing.”
“I’ll take the day off and stay with him,” his mother said.
“Talk about a fight waiting to happen. It’s best if I do it. Even though we’ve got better meds that he has agreed to take, we still won’t know how he’s going to be and he’ll hate for you to witness it. You know that.”
“You’re putting your entire life on hold, Justin. I should be stepping up more.”
“I’m hardly putting my life on hold. Maybe it’s a detour, but I’m not bothered by it and you shouldn’t be either. You’re stepping up enough. So much that I’m starting to worry about you burning out. Ashley already looks like she is running on fumes too.”
His mother laughed. “You’d know about running on fumes. You’ve done it most of your life.”
“Which means I can handle it.”
“And your sister and I can too. Work is taking our mind off of things.”
He knew that. “As long as you are both taking care of yourselves.”
“We are. How about I cook us a nice dinner as a family one night. Maybe tomorrow since you are off? You could bring Taryn over.”
“I like how you slipped that in there. Yes to dinner if you want. No to Taryn. For a lot of reasons.”
There was no way he was letting Taryn see how his relationship was with his father. Not only that, just because he went to a party yesterday with her friends and family, it wasn’t the same as a dinner with his family only.
“What are you afraid of?” his mother asked.
“Nothing. I think a family dinner is pushing it for two people who said we aren’t planning anything long term. If you want to have a dinner tomorrow, then clear it with Dad first. I can bite my tongue for a night if he can.”
“You’re a pro at it,” his mother said, giving him a kiss. “Give your father time, he’ll come around.”
“He’s had plenty of time. The ball is in his court and has been for years. But you don’t need to play referee.”
“It’s what I do best,” his mother said. “I love you both and would like to have my old family back at some point.”
“We can’t always get what we want.”
25
The Sweetest Thing
Two weeks later, Justin was waiting for Taryn in the parking lot. She’d texted she was on the way home and stopping at the store to get the makings for dinner and something new she wanted to bake tomorrow.
“Waiting for my sister?”
He turned to see Kennedy standing in the doorway to the spa. She’d obviously seen him get out of his vehicle.
“Yeah. She’s on the way.”
“I can let you in if you want to wait for her upstairs. It’s warm out here. Or you can wait in the spa.”
He had no desire to go in the spa, but then thought, wouldn’t it be nice to get something for Taryn for all the sweets she was giving him?
“Actually. Can I get Taryn a gift certificate or something here? I’ll get one for my mother and sister too. If anyone could use a little pampering it’s them.”
“Isn’t that the sweetest thing,” Kennedy said. “Come on in. I can take care of that.”
“What does Taryn like?”
“This time of year, she likes pedicures,” Kennedy said.
“Then I’ll take a gift certificate for that and then two for a ninety-minute massage for my mother and sister.”
“Lucky girls in your life,” Kennedy said as she rang up the order, scanned the cards to activate them and put them in an envelope. “If they decide they’d rather have another service than a massage, just have them say that when they make the appointment. The value is good for anything. I’m flexible.”
“Thanks,” he said, taking them from her.
“So you and Taryn...how’s that going?”
Great, he was going to get it again.
Here he was thankful in the past two weeks they’d gotten through his father’s treatment without the booster shot and even the family dinner.
It was nice to all be together and he could see the joy it brought his mother for that meal. Even if his father and he barely said a word to each other.
Again, things he was used to. If that was his father’s way of trying, it was better than arguing.
“It’s going the same as it had been,” he said, grinning.
Yep, it’d been a month now since the first time they’d had sex and the condom broke and Taryn hadn’t said one word about it. Tonight he was going to ask her point blank.
He figured if it was an issue she would have told him by now, but for his peace of mind, he’d like to put it behind him too.
“You’re a tough one to get a feel on. I know Trevor tried.”
“So your family talks about me?”
She laughed. “Not in a bad way. Logan has told me to mind my own business. I’m trying. It’s hard when it’s my baby sister.”
“I’ve got one of those too, but I’ve got no problem letting her live her life.”
Then he wondered if it was easier since he wasn’t around much anyway. And seeing as Ashley worked all the time, she didn’t have much availability to even date.
He’d like to think he wouldn’t be this nosy though. Nope, his mother would be and that would be enough for Ashley.
“Yeah, I like you. There’s Taryn.”
He turned his head to see Taryn’s SUV pulling into the parking lot. “Thanks,” he said, holding up the envelopes.
“No. Thank you.”
“Hey,” Taryn said, getting out of her vehicle, then going to the back to open the hatch. “What were you doing in the spa? Don’t tell me Kennedy was grilling you now too.”
“She could have let you upstairs to wait,” Taryn said, frowning.
“And she offered, but I said it’d be nice to get my mother and sister a little treat. They are busting their butts holding down the fort.”
“Aren’t you just a sweet son and brother,” she said.
When they were in her apartment, he put the bags down. “I got one for you too. Kennedy said you like pedicures this time of year.”
“What?” she asked. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“I don’t need to do a lot of things, but you work a lot and you are always feeding me sweets. I should get a gym membership while I’m here, but I consider all the golf I’m doing as enough exercise at the moment.”
When he wasn’t with his father or working, Taryn was at work or busy and it’s not like he had much he could do. He’d given up asking if there was anything at the course or resort they wanted from him even though he’d worked there plenty as a teen.
Instead he’d go play golf for hours.
Did he miss being able to do this? Yeah. He actually did.
For him, golf was enjoyment. Not a job or career he wanted.
No one could seem to understand that though.
He felt like he had a greater calling in life. Most parents would be thrilled with his choice of careers.
Not his father.
“Whatever you do works for you,” she said emptying the last bag.
“What are you making?” There were mangoes and what looked to be macadamia nuts along with eggs, sugar and flour. She went through a lot of it, he was sure.
“Something different. It’s summer and I like lighter flavors. It’s going to be a vanilla cupcake with a mango curd and a macadamia crumble sprinkled on the buttercream frosting.”
“That sounds great. Who is getting them?”
“They are going downstairs tomorrow. I’ve got that wedding this Friday night and there are three tiers of flavors. The bottom one is vanilla with the mango curd so I want to test the flavors. Normally brides pick and taste what they want, but this was last minute and the bride is a little demanding.”
“Is this the wedding at the resort?” he asked. His mother was complaining about bridezilla at dinner last week and had said the cake designer had been fired and the bride was in tears when she realized she couldn’t find someone else last minute and Ashley recommended Taryn.
“It is. She wants some odd flavors, but since the tiers are separated and wrapped with fondant it shouldn’t be an issue. Not sure why the last woman wasn’t willing to meet the requests.”
“So what other flavors are you making?” he asked. He had to work on Friday so he wouldn’t get to see what she had finished and found he enjoyed looking at her creations. He even checked her site or social media out daily to see what new photos had been posted.
“Red velvet with cream cheese frosting and a black forest cherry on top with fudge frosting.”
“Those don’t sound like they go well together,” he said.
“Not if mixed. But how they serve them is their problem. I just need to make the cakes and assemble it. As for the design, they want something very minimalistic. Just a bunch of sugar flowers cascading down one side in pinks and purples. She’d seen another cake I made and picked that design. This is an easy job for me.”
If she said so. He found the whole process a lot of work, but he wasn’t one that cooked much, let alone baked.
“We know what you are doing on Friday while I’m working.”
“Yep. I’ll have all the cakes baked the night before along with the fillings. I’ll just need to assemble it and frost on Friday, then decorate and deliver. I’m getting out of work early for it.”
He sat at the island while she put the rest of her stuff away. He’d long since given up trying to help or offer. She had her system and it was best he let her go. He was a champion of letting people go when they wanted it.
Or so he thought.
Letting Taryn go in a few months was something he’d been trying not to think of for weeks now.
“So,” he started out saying. “It’s been a month since the condom broke. Am I to assume everything is fine or is there something I need to know?”
“What?” she asked, stopping what she was doing.
“I asked if you could be pregnant.”
“I’m so sorry. I was going to tell you and then it was the day your father had treatment. So last Monday. I knew you were busy with that and caring for him. Tuesdays are always a bad day and then I just forgot.”
She wasn’t about to say how relieved she was. She’d never been regular but not that late either. She wasn’t one to mark a calendar like so many did, just always knowing about when in the month she got her period. When it didn’t come in the beginning of the month like she’d thought it would, there was a little bit of panic, but she waited it out.
The following week, she started to spot, then had a light flow for two days and it was done. Nothing completely abnormal there for her either.
“I assumed if there was a cause for concern you would have told me.”
“I would have,” she said, going into his arms. “But there wasn’t one.”
She wasn’t going to add how stressed she was. And that she didn’t want to pass that stress along to him. He had enough going on in his life.
Thankfully Bruce Cambridge was able to get his fourth treatment, just the one week wait for it. He seemed to be doing better per Justin and following orders more. Not overdoing it either.
The halfway mark, Justin had told her last week.
And that was another thing in Taryn’s mind. That meant in eight weeks or so Justin might start making plans to go home.
He’d told her that his father would need radiation too, but she knew that Bruce could probably drive himself there daily at that point.
There’d be nothing holding Justin in Lake Placid and she had to remind herself that she shouldn’t be making plans or getting attached.
She was fine with not making plans, but she found that getting attached to him was much harder to fight.
She was busy at work. Busy baking for the park and Kennedy’s. Even the orders she’d been getting.
The wedding this weekend was her first big cake since she moved home and she was stunned she’d gotten it as fast as she had. Most people had their cakes finalized months or more in advance. She’d even gotten a few calls to meet with future brides that were having destination weddings at the Collins Lodge next summer and she’d meet with them when they came for a visit to discuss instructions with the venue.
Most things were falling in place the way she would have hoped.
Everything but her personal life.
But that was one thing she’d told herself to give up even trying to get a handle on or even control.
“Now that that is taken care of, why don’t I help you with dinner?” he asked.
“If you don’t mind,” she said. “Why don’t you go light the grill? I’ve got steaks in the butcher paper and one of those flavored rice packets and some asparagus I’ll toss on the grill too. A pretty easy meal.”
“Easy works for me,” he said. “I’d rather spend the time with you.”
“That’s nice. Do you wish we had more time together?” she asked.
“It’s working for me,” he said, walking out to her balcony.
On one hand that was good to hear since she was so busy, but on the other it was just another sign that he was keeping his distance.
She had to put this all out of her mind and enjoy the time they had together.
It’s not like anyone else was knocking down her door to be with her nor was she looking.
She kept telling everyone in her family to mind their own business, that she was happy, and she and Justin knew what they were doing.
But when t
he thought of him being out of her life for good filled her brain, she wondered how much she knew.
“What’s wrong?” Justin asked when he came back in.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head of those thoughts. “Just thinking of the news I got today. Riley and Trevor are having a girl.”
“That’s great,” he said. “How does Trevor feel about that?”
“He’s thrilled,” she said, not sure where he was going with this.
“Doesn’t want a son to take after him?”
“No clue. Trevor isn’t like that. I mean just because he filled my father’s shoes, no one really thought he was going to. When Trevor left to go in the service, we all thought that might have been his career. It’s just things changed with him like it does in life.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Tell me about it.”
“And if Trevor has a son someday, he’d never pressure him to do anything he didn’t want to do.”
“That’s good,” he said. “I made that promise to myself too. I’ve lived it and it sucks never being able to measure up to someone’s expectations.”
They didn’t talk too much about his relationship with his father, but maybe now he wanted to. “Was it just that your father wanted you to take over the resort?”
“That was actually the second thing he had planned. The first was that I’d be a pro golfer.”
“You never said you wanted to be a pro.”
“Because I didn’t. I enjoyed playing. I was good. If I’d said one word that I wanted to do more with it, my father would have found a way to make it happen. And even when I’d told him I was going to college for medicine, there was still hope in his eyes I’d change my mind.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It is what it is.”
“Why did he think you’d change your mind?”
“Because there were colleges scouting me. I could have gotten a few free rides, but they weren’t the schools I wanted. That just caused even more fights. I golfed in college and he was somewhat happy, even if it wasn’t what he thought was good enough. But by my senior year he knew I was serious about my career choices. Golfing in college was for fun. Just like it’d been most of my life.”