“Here is pretty great,” I said, looking around the room. I leaned toward him, anxious to carry on the conversation. “So, what’s wrong with you, then? What skeletons are in your closet?”
He took another drink with raised eyebrows. “Nothing, I hope. I just…you know, haven’t met the right woman. I’ve had a few serious relationships, but nothing ever…” He clicked his tongue. “Nothing ever stuck. What about you? Why did your engagement end?”
I took a drink, clearing my head as I prepared to answer. Whatever I said, it couldn’t be the truth. “I…you know, we just wanted different things. With Rynlee especially. I wanted to settle down and build a life here, but he was still chasing dreams that he’d long since outgrown.” I froze. “Not that I think there’s an age limit on dreams, of course there’s not. But…I had the shop, which I know it’s not that big of a deal, but it was all I’ve ever wanted. To be my own boss.” I smiled. “Co-boss. To make the decisions. It was my dream, and I had that. He always felt like he needed to have a dream, any dream, to compete. He wanted to be in music, to produce or play in a band, but he had, this is going to sound terrible, but he had no drive. He didn’t want to work for any of it. He’d get so frustrated with me, because my dream had come easy—his words, not mine. Why did I get to live my dream when he couldn’t? So, eventually, I just realized what he needed and it wasn’t me. Or us. He left seven months ago, and we haven’t heard from him since.”
I traced my finger across the lip of my glass, staring at my reflection in the crimson of my wine.
“I’m so sorry, Loren,” he said, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Oh,” I looked up, waving off his concerns, “no, don’t be. I mean, yeah, it sucked at the time, but I’m fine. Honestly. Rynlee is all that I care about, and I have the shop to provide for us financially and keep me busy, so it’s all good. I just…you know, I don’t want to scare you off, but I’ve promised myself that the next time I get serious with someone, it has to stick. I can’t risk her getting hurt again.”
He pressed his lips together. “Or yourself getting hurt again?”
I gave a stiff nod, looking away. “Rynlee’s the most important part of it, but yes. I’d rather not get hurt if I can avoid it. Meredith says I tend to…fall fast.”
“It must get lonely,” he said. “Parenting alone. I have such respect for single parents.”
“Well, we all get lonely sometimes,” I said. I desperately wanted to change the subject. “I’m sure you understand that.”
“I do, more than you know.” It was refreshing how honest he was with me. There was no attempt to hide himself from me or pretend to be stronger or cooler than he was like so many people try to do. “So, Meredith, your cousin and business partner. You must be pretty close.”
I paused, wondering how to explain our relationship. “We…are.”
“You hesitated.” He cocked his head to the side, an amused grin spreading to his lips.
“We’re close,” I insisted, “it’s just…complicated.”
“Complicated how?”
“Well, Meredith is quite a bit older than me, but she’s the only family I have left. We grew up with her kind of playing my older sister, and eventually falling into a sort of motherly role, I guess. Her daughter’s just a few years younger than me, but I always had more in common with Meredith than Dora.”
“Her daughter?”
“Mhm.” I took a sip of my moscato before continuing. “Yeah, Dora turned eighteen two years ago, and when she did…Meredith kind of, I don’t know, she…had an early mid-life crisis, I guess.”
“What she bought a Harley, hit the road?”
“No, but she probably dated a Harley or two and hit the road.” He laughed at my joke, which sent warmth through my body, settling in my stomach. “Her ex, Dora’s father, ran off before Dora was born, and Meredith kind of swore off men while she raised her daughter. She was really hurt by it all. But when Dora moved away to college, Meredith, it was almost like she went back to who she was before Dora was born. She started dating men, she’d disappear for days and weeks at a time, go to other cities. She even left the country once with a man. She’s…God love her, she’s the closest family I have and I consider her one of my best friends, but sometimes it feels like I’m the parent in our relationship.”
“That must get hard, running a business together.”
“It does,” I agreed, drawing up one corner of my lips. “But, it’s not so bad. When she’s there, Meredith’s great. She has all these new ideas for the shop. She designs these purses that we sell, and she decided we should start making some desserts, which have done really well. She wants to start making clothes next. So, I can’t complain. Her creativity is what kept our little florist shop from caving in before it began. When she’s with me, she’s great. She helps with Rynlee and the store. But…when she meets a guy, a guy she likes, it’s…game over, sometimes.” I pause, recalling the last time she’d disappeared. She called me from Miami to tell me she was going to live on a commune for a few months with a man named Dominic. I shook the memory away. “But, she’s family. And I love her. What can you do?” I chuckled under my breath, wanting to change the subject. I felt guilty for talking bad about her. “So, the bar? That’s pretty cool, huh?” I leaned forward. It was nice how easily we were sliding into our conversation without any of it feeling forced.
He blew air from his lips in a quiet laugh. “Yeah, it’s…well, it was my shop, as you said. My dream. I bought it about three years ago, and I’ve really tried to turn it around. You should’ve seen the shape it was in when I bought it.”
“It really is beautiful. Did you do all the woodwork yourself?”
“I wanted it to look really rustic,” he said with a nod. “So, I took a few courses. I figured it was cheaper than hiring out for it.”
It hadn’t escaped my attention that he’d mentioned achieving his dream shortly after I told him Travis and I hadn’t worked out because he hadn’t achieved his and it made him resent me. I wondered if it was to show me that he was exactly what I was looking for. My cheeks warmed from the thought.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, leaning forward even more. He reached his hand toward mine, our skin brushing on top of the white table cloth. It was incredible how intimate our conversation felt despite the many people around us.
“Just that…you know, it’s great how hard you’ve worked to have your dream. And you got it.”
His eyes danced between mine before he answered, his expression warming as his finger ran across my palm. “Yeah, well, one small part of it, anyway.”
Chapter Four
Loren
The doorbell rang, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Running a quick hand over my dress one last time and checking my reflection above the mantel, I ran into the foyer.
It had been eight days since I’d seen him last, on our seventh date, and it was enough to kill me. In the two months since I’d met Jack, it was incredible how close we’d grown. That night was important because it was the first time we’d have dinner together in my house. I’d made it clear from the beginning that I had to protect Rynlee above all else, and while Meredith was keeping her for me again that night, bringing someone else into our home felt like a huge step.
“Wow, you look incredible,” he said, staring me up and down with obvious approval. I grinned, taking his hand and stepping toward the door to meet his lips.
Our kiss was like electricity, pulsing through me and making itself known at the far corners of my skin. When we pulled away, my smile was enough to make my cheeks ache. “You’re not so bad yourself,” I joked. “Come in.” I stepped back, allowing him inside. “Excuse the mess.” Like I haven’t just spent hours scrubbing every baseboard.
“Mess?” he asked, looking up at the ceiling and around the room in awe. “This place is…wow.” A hand went to his mouth and he sucked in a breath. “This is really something, Loren. I mean, I know I saw some of it the night of o
ur first date, but your home really is beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said softly. “Like I told you, it was a family home. My parents’, my parents’ parents, their parents’ parents, you know. I got it strictly because I was born.”
“You’re big on earning things yourself,” he said. A true observation.
I nodded.
“Well, either way, you’ve kept it up so well. It’s amazing, truly.” He stepped forward, his attention no longer on the house. “Does that mean your parents are…gone? I know you mentioned your mother passing, but your father…he’s gone, too?”
I nodded, the question catching me off guard. There was a raw spot in the pit of my stomach that ached every time I thought of them. Despite the fact that my mom had been gone nearly five years and my dad a decade more, it was still so hard for me to talk about them. “For a while now.”
“I’m sorry,” he said, and I knew he meant it. His hand found my waist and he squeezed gently, his touch warming the ice that I’d allowed to enter my body.
“It’s not your fault,” I said, taking his hand back in mine. “Would you like a tour before we have dinner?”
* * *
“It’s like…I mean, it’s like a castle,” he said when the tour had ended and we found ourselves back at the dining room table. “How do you not get lost here?”
“Meredith and I grew up playing here,” I said, “so it’s just second nature, I guess. It is huge, though. If it weren’t for the long line of my family having lived here, I’d sell it in a heartbeat.” At over eighty-seven-hundred square feet, my home was, by modern standards, a castle. The red house contained seven bedrooms and five bathrooms, a separate living room and den, expansive foyer, and a formal dining room separate from the oversized kitchen. Each level had enough room to be its own apartment, maybe even two. There were three stories and an attic, a large bay window that went up all three levels, and a giant and inviting, white wraparound porch. The windows had been replaced just last year, but I’d kept the majority of the exterior how it had always been, just a few fixes and updates here and there.
“You can’t do that,” he said, sounding offended. “People would kill for a place like this.”
“I wouldn’t do it. There’s too much of my parents in this house, but sometimes it feels a little like I’m only working to pay an electric bill, especially in the summer with the air conditioning going.”
He nodded. “Yikes, yeah I’d be scared to see what your bills look like in the summer.”
“Thankfully I don’t have a mortgage, because the utilities basically are one,” I said with a grin. “Okay, sit. Let me get dinner on the table.”
“No way,” he said, reaching his hand out to stop me from walking away. “You sit. Let me serve you.” He winked.
“Oooh, okay,” I said in a sing-song voice, sinking into my chair so I could barely see into the kitchen when he went that way. “The casserole’s in the oven, potholders are to your left there.”
He followed instructions, lifting the chicken bake and carrying it carefully across the kitchen and into the dining room. He set it on the table, returning a few moments later with utensils and a bottle of wine to fill our glasses.
“You’re pretty good at that. You’d think you did it for a living or something.”
He rolled his eyes at me playfully. “She’s got jokes, ladies and gentlemen.”
I covered my mouth, laughing until my face burned red as he placed a healthy portion onto my plate. He lifted his glass as he sat, holding it out to me. “Here’s to us,” he said, “and to our future.”
“To our future,” I said, a twinkle in my eye as I began to picture it. Nights in this house with him, raising Rynlee here, maybe other children as well. I could practically see our future selves, dancing around us like ghosts in the house. It was a beautiful vision, and I couldn’t let myself admit how much I hoped it would come true.
Chapter Five
Loren
“You about ready?” I popped my head in Rynlee’s bedroom and gasped. “Ryn, why did you take off your clothes?” My daughter stood, stark naked, in a room covered with toys. “And why did you get all of this out? I told you not to get too much out because Jack will be here soon.”
I glanced at the Apple Watch on my wrist and sighed. He would be knocking on the door at literally any moment. Grabbing her pile of clothes from the floor, I lifted her and carried her to her bed. “Hold still,” I instructed.
“I don’t wanna wear this,” she protested.
“Why not?”
“It’s itchy,” she said, wiggling her arm feverishly.
“It’s not itchy, Ryn, you just wore this the other day.”
“It’s itchy now,” she said. “I wanna wear my princess dress.”
“You can’t wear a costume to dinner,” I said, “but if you’re very good, I’ll let you wear it to bed tonight.”
“No, now!” she screeched, flopping down on her bed and throwing her head back.
“Rynlee, no. We don’t have time for a fit.” I tried to lift her, though she’d let herself become dead weight in my arms, her body like loose spaghetti as she whined through me shoving her arms into the sleeves once again.
“I don’t want to wear this!” she screamed again, jerking out of my grasp.
“Fine!” I groaned, jumping as I heard the doorbell ring. “Okay, fine. You want to wear your princess dress?”
“Yes!” she said happily, clapping her hands in front of her.
“Okay,” I grabbed the princess dress from her dress-up bin and tossed it over her head, pinning the cape and running my hands over the messy hair I’d meticulously combed just half an hour before. “You promise Mommy you’ll be good today, right? Best behavior.”
She growled in response, not giving an answer.
“Ryn?”
“I’m not Rynlee, Mommy. I’m a princess.”
“Okay, well, the princess has to be on her best behavior,” I told her, lifting her onto the bed and setting her down on her feet. “Come on now. We have to go.” The doorbell downstairs sounded again.
“Coming!” I called down the staircase, sure he wouldn’t hear me, anyway. We hurried toward the foyer, and I swung open the door in an instant. “Sorry,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I was upstairs.”
I glanced down at the one-hundred-ten-pound brown ball of fuzz at the end of the leash in Jack’s hand, surprised he’d brought him.
Like they were old friends, Rynlee lunged forward, throwing her arms around his neck and squealing.
“You brought Merlin?”
“I hope that’s okay,” he said, shifting in place awkwardly. “I just thought…we’re meeting each other’s families, right? Merlin’s like my kid.”
“No, of course it’s okay,” I said, stepping back so they could enter. I reached down and patted the dog’s head to show I was sincere. “This is perfect.”
“Are you sure? You look a little upset. I know you two didn’t get off on the best foot, but he’s here to make amends, isn’t that right?” He rubbed the dog’s ears while looking at me hopefully, and I could see how important this was to him.
“I’m positive,” I said, putting on a fake smile I hoped would carry up to my eyes as I thought about the house I’d just scrubbed top to bottom, soon to be covered with dog hair. “Look how happy Rynlee is. This made her night.” I glanced down at my daughter, who did indeed look overjoyed by her new companion. Finally, Jack stepped into the house and unhooked the leash from the dog’s collar.
“Down, Merlin,” he said, snapping his fingers and pointing to the ground. To my surprise, the dog’s knees almost immediately gave way and he slid to the floor. “He’s well behaved most days. I still don’t know what got into him the day we met.”
“No harm done.” I waved my hand casually. “He’s forgiven.” I smiled at the droopy-faced lab. “Now, let’s get dinner started.”
The afternoon started out awkward, all of us bouncing around
each other carefully, trying not to get in anyone’s way, but by the time the spaghetti had been made, the salad tossed, and the pie baked, we’d begun to find our rhythm.
I sat at the head of the table with Rynlee to my left and Jack to my right as he poured our drinks.
“Why are we eating in here?” she asked suspiciously, picking at her food.
“Well, because we have a guest,” I said, clearing my throat.
“We don’t eat in here when Meredith comes over.”
My four-year-old never ceased to amaze me with her quick wit and argumentative nature. “Well, Meredith is family. Jack is our guest.”
He sat down in the chair and leaned forward, looking directly at Rynlee. “Where do you like to eat?”
She smiled, twirling her fork in her food casually. “In the living room so I can watch Frozen.”
He chuckled, glancing sideways at me. “Well, it’s up to your mom, but I’m fine with that if she is.”
I leaned back in my chair with a playful groan. “That’s how it’s going to be, huh? You two are already pitted against me?”
He stood up, taking my laughter as a sign and lifting his plate. “Hey,” he kissed the top of my head as I moved to stand too, “against anyone else in the world, I’ve got your back. But you against her, I think I have to be on the princess’ side.”
She giggled, but looked at me for confirmation. “We can go?”
“Mhm.” I lifted my plate and hers, carrying them across the room and toward the den. “Whatever you two want.”
As we made our way toward the coffee table that Ryn and I used for a dining room table more often than not, Jack scurried past me. He stopped just long enough to whisper “I think I’m nailing it” in my ear before setting his plate next to Rynlee’s. “Now, you’re going to have to tell me all about Frozen,” he said. “I’ve never seen it.”
Her eyes grew wide with surprise. “You’ve never seen Frozen?”
The Mother-in-Law Page 3