“I think it’s because he takes chances with life-threatening tumors. Rodney can’t shut up about him. Which reminds me, I need to phone him and tell him not to pick me up in the morning.”
“Jake’s taking you?” Jane asked.
“Yes, I don’t know with what.”
“Probably Frank’s car.”
Holly reached for her phone and dialed Rod’s number.
“You’re back. How was it?”
“Wonderful, just wonderful. You’re talking to an engaged woman now.”
There was a long beat of silence, and Holly pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen to make sure the call hadn’t been disconnected.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Not at all. It’s a long story, but I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”
“Do you even know this guy?” Rod asked, his tone filled with disbelief.
She giggled. “Yes, I do.”
“Well, then I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Oh, I know,” Holly said slyly.
“You sound different.”
“It’s because I’m happy. Listen, you don’t have to pick me up tomorrow. Someone will be dropping me and Jamie off.”
“The mysterious fiancé’s here?”
“Yes, Rod, he is really serious about this.”
“It’s not Steve, is it? Holly, please don’t tell me it’s Steve.”
She sighed. “I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Rodney muttered, his tone one of disappointment.
Holly groaned. “He’s going to kill me for lying to him.”
“He’ll get over it once he realizes Steve is Jake. He idolizes the man.”
“I know, that’s exactly why he’s going to be pissed off.”
“He’ll get over it,” Jane said.
“I hope so,” Holly muttered, getting up. She went to the bathroom and took a shower, standing under the warm water to ease her aching muscles.
Back in bed, she set her alarm for early the next day, then smiled when she saw a text message from Jake.
“I can’t wait to share a home with you. This is hard.”
* * *
“Seriously, we’ve been doing this for four years, Jake.”
* * *
“Yeah, I know, but knowing the truth…it’s hard.”
* * *
“Goodnight. Love you.”
* * *
“Night, future Dr. Peters.”
She sent a smiley face and turned her head to find her mother staring at her.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Holly scolded.
“I’m so happy your what if exists.”
“Me, too.” Holly crawled under the covers. She couldn’t wait to see Jake in the morning.
He pitched up early just as Holly was getting Jamie ready for school, and ended up joining them for breakfast. Holly kissed Jamie on the head, and Jake on the neck softly.
“Morning to you, too.” He grabbed her and pulled her face to his, planting a kiss on her lips.
Sitting across from Jake with her bowl of cereal, she asked, “What’s on the agenda for you today?”
“House and job hunting, and getting a car. Frank is not impressed that I dropped him off this morning.”
Holly chewed her cereal, then swallowed. “Could you do me a favor?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t get a Bimmer,” she said with a grin.
He almost choked on his cereal as that request made him laugh. “Fine, I won’t.”
“What is a Bimmer?” Jamie asked with a frown.
“A type of car Mommy hates,” Holly said.
“And Daddy loves,” Jake added with a wry smile.
Jamie giggled.
With breakfast over, Holly took Jamie off to the bathroom to brush her teeth, and then the three of them walked out to Frank’s car.
Jake pulled up in front of Jamie’s school, and both he and Holly walked Jamie to class, both kissing her goodbye as she danced off to join her friends.
Holly was acutely aware of all the mothers—and some of the fathers—staring at Jake as they passed by them. Even the teacher was at a loss for words when she set eyes on Jake.
“Holly, sorry, but could I have a word with you about Jamie?” the teacher asked when she finally found her voice again.
Jake turned to look at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, hiiii. And you are?” She grinned.
“Really?” Holly said, disgust lacing her tone.
“I’m Jake, Jamie’s father.” He held out his hand and the teacher shook it enthusiastically.
“Let’s go outside, please.”
“Look, I’m not going to put her on any medication just so she pays more attention. We’ve gone over this already,” Holly insisted before the teacher could say anything.
Jake started to laugh. “Sorry, but my daughter does not have ADHD.”
“I beg to differ,” the teacher countered, clearly affronted that anyone would think she was in the wrong.
“I’m a neurologist, I’d know if she was.”
The teacher’s eyes widened. “You’re a doctor?”
“I am.”
“Well, if she doesn’t have ADHD, what’s wrong with her?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just very smart, and because of that, she’s going to challenge you. She’s not emotionally strong for a higher grade as yet, so I suggest stimulating her in her own age group. I’ll bring a few things over that’ll keep her busy.”
“Let’s do that and see how it goes.” Despite her words, the teacher looked somewhat dumbfounded but walked back into class, anyway.
Jake had a smirk on his face.
“Do you really think it’s that?” Holly asked, nervously chewing on her bottom lip.
“Yes, we had the same problems as kids. How long has this been going on?”
“Quite a while.” Holly sighed. She should’ve known.
He pulled her closer. “It’s not the end of the world, you know. If you want, we can look at other schools that deal with this sort of thing.”
“You’re taking over,” Holly muttered in frustration.
“She’s my daughter, too, Holly. I only want the best for her.”
Holly rubbed a hand over her face as she got back into the car. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to look.”
He drove her to the university, parking the car in front of the entrance. He leaned over and kissed her heatedly, sending tingles down her spine. She laughed against his lips and pushed him away.
“Jake, I have to go, I’m going to be late,” she said a breathlessly, but his hand still clasped the back of her neck.
He moaned. “Well, if you have to. What time do you knock off?”
“At two.”
“And Jamie?”
“She usually comes out at one-thirty, but she’s in aftercare. We pick her up later.”
“I’ll get her at one-thirty.”
Holly kissed him one last time and then got out.
Jake waited until she was inside the building before driving off.
She barely made the class, running to take a seat next to Rod.
“Let me see,” he demanded as soon as she sat down.
Frowning, she asked, “See what?”
“The ring,” he said, rolling his eyes, as if it should have been obvious.
“I’m not wearing it yet, because of things that happened this weekend, but I do have one and a gorgeous one at that.”
“Holly.” Rod gave her the eye.
“Later,” she whispered as the lecture began.
When they had a break between classes, Holly knew that that was the only time she would be able to tell Rod the whole story, which she did. She told him that she was engaged to ‘Steve’, as well as what had happened over the weekend; that his mother was behind everything, how he’d searched for her, every little sordid detail.
“And you believe it
?”
“He quit his life in Boston and came here, even though he hates Seattle. You didn’t see him when he discovered the truth. He was broken.”
“Okay, you clearly believe it was a misunderstanding. How did he handle it when he heard about Romy?”
“Not well.” Tears pricked at her eyes. “He’s still not doing so well with that. It’s actually a mess, Rod.”
“I can imagine. When do I get to meet this guy?”
She pressed her lips until they formed a thin line. This was another confession she had to make.
He raised an eyebrow. “What now?”
“I lied about something else. You’re not going to like it.”
“What did you lie about, Holly?”
“His name.”
Rod stared at her quizzically. “Holly, who is he?”
“I think you know, Rod. You always said I seemed to be avoiding that family.”
He shook his head. “If you say Jake Peters, I’ll kill you.”
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“Damn it, Holly. I idolized the guy.”
“No reason why you still shouldn’t, Rod.”
“You know how I felt about Jamie’s father.”
“Which is why I lied, Rod, okay? It wasn’t his fault.”
He shook his head. “I need time. This is too much to take in.” He got up with his tray of food and went to sit at another table.
Holly watched him. She wanted to go after him, but knew she had to give him space. He’d forgive her. He had to.
Her hopes were a tad dashed when he avoided talking to her for the rest of the day, but she handled it. It was a big lie, after all, even though her heart had been in the right place when she told him.
“I take it you don’t need a lift? Is the Brain God picking you up?”
At least he was talking to her now. “He is. I told you he is taking this seriously, Rod. And when you’re up for it, he really wants to meet you.”
“Meet me?”
She didn’t miss the flicker of excitement in his eyes. “You were there for me when he wasn’t. Of course he wants to meet you. Then you’ll get to see he’s not an asshole.”
Rod nodded thoughtfully. “Just give me a few days…I need to mull this over.”
“Okay,” she said, then looked down at her watch. She packed her books away and rushed to the entrance. She couldn’t see Frank’s Mercedes anywhere, but a honk came from a black SUV without number plates. She walked toward it and then the door opened. “This is nice.”
“Does that mean you like it?”
“Very family-like, very posh.”
“Then get your ass in the car.”
With a grin, she got in and closed the door. Then she turned to him, leaned over, grabbed his head and kissed him fiercely.
“Hell, I missed these types of hellos.”
Holly giggled. “Was Kate too stingy with her kisses?”
“No, I was. She wasn’t you.”
She kissed him again. “Nice comeback.”
“It’s not a comeback, it’s the truth.”
“Mommy!” Jamie jumped up out of the backseat, startling Holly. She raised her eyebrows at Jake, then kissed him again.
Jake grinned.
“How was school, baby?” Holly asked Jamie, once she’d settled her back into her seat.
“Better. Miss Lorraine was nice to me.”
“I bet she was,” Holly said, giving Jake a wry look.
He shook his head as he drove out of the parking space. “You up to looking at a couple of properties?”
“Really? Already?” she asked, surprised.
“I don’t waste time, Holly.”
No, he definitely didn’t. “How’d the job hunting go?”
“I have an interview with Seattle Memorial’s board tomorrow. So, let’s hope all goes well.”
She squeezed his thigh. “You’ll get it. I know you will.”
“See, our last name has its perks,” Jake said with a laugh.
They looked at four houses that afternoon.
One of the houses was bigger and more beautiful than all the others, but every house they looked at was a winner.
It was hard to choose.
Her favorite had to be the last one. For all its spaciousness, it felt cozy. Its garden was magnificent—a sprawling lawn, colorful flowers, and large trees that provided shade in all the right spots.
It was the only one without a swimming pool, but Seattle wasn’t warm enough to warrant a pool. The summers sometimes ran hot, but mostly it was mild, and the winters were too cold.
“You liked that place, didn’t you?” Jake asked as they drove back to her apartment.
“How can you tell?”
“I just can. You asked more questions, you seemed at ease there. You also weren’t hyperventilating.”
She smiled. “Yes, out of all the grand places, that one felt like it could be a home.”
Jake drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Then that’ll be our home.”
“Just like that?” Holly looked at him, mouth agape.
“Just like that, Bee-Puke.”
She continued to stare at him, as if she were in a daze.
“Holly, come stay with me and Frank tonight.”
“And leave my mother alone? I can’t, Jake. She gets paranoid when she sleeps alone.”
“How do you know?”
“Because there have been times when I didn’t spend the night at home.” When she saw the irritated expression on his face, she continued, “I have friends, Jake, and occasionally we went away to relax when the stress of school became too much. They’re all younger than me, but they all love Jamie to pieces.”
“I’d like to meet them sometime,” Jake said.
“I’m sure they’d like to meet you, too. By the way, they think you’re butt ugly.”
“I wonder why they think that.”
She laughed.
They pulled up in front of her apartment, and Holly grabbed her bag and got out, while Jake helped Jamie out of the car.
“How was the house hunting?” her mother asked.
Holly flashed her a smile. “We found the perfect one. Can you believe it?”
“An upper class home fit for my princess?” Jane teased.
“It’s perfect. Less posh than the others we looked at, but it’s still stunning,” Holly gushed.
“It doesn’t have a pool, though,” Jake complained.
“Oh, what will we do without one?” Holly mocked.
“I’ll just build one.”
“And tear up that backyard. No way in hell, mister.”
Jake scoffed.
“It’s Seattle, Jake.”
“It still gets warm here, and when I’m hot, I need to cool down. Ever heard of solar heating?”
Holly wanted to say something about him always being hot, but she kept her mouth shut. Instead, she went to her room and kicked off her shoes, listening intently to Jake speaking to her mother.
“Pack your bags, please.”
Holly turned and walked to the door so she could peek her head around it.
“To go where?” Jane asked.
“To Frank’s. I need my family there.”
“And leave all this?” Jane gestured at the apartment.
“You’re going to leave it, anyway, Jane. Do you seriously think Holly is going to leave without you?”
“So, we’re all going to be roomies?”
Jake shrugged. “Until Frank decides to man up and pop the question.”
“We are way too old for that,” Jane said on a laugh.
“Nonsense. Frank needs to know what marriage feels like.”
Jane threw her head back and laughed. “Fine, I’ll pack my bags.”
That evening, they went to dinner, then made their way to Frank’s house. Frank seemed to love having a house full of people, and Holly admired his home. Jane was already so comfortable in it.
Jake put Jamie in the bath and w
atched a cartoon with her before bed, while Holly read up on her study notes.
“You ready for tomorrow’s interview?” Holly asked Jake when he’d tucked Jamie into bed.
“I was born ready,” he answered.
“I wish Holly would realize she was born ready for this test,” Jane said as she came up behind Holly. “Baby, you’ve got this.”
“It’s just some last minute revision, Mom.”
“I’ll quiz her tonight,” Jake said, which elicited a laugh from Holly at the memory that flitted through her mind of her quizzing him for one of his tests.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she replied, a huge smirk on her face as she returned to her studying.
Later in the evening, Frank and Jane bid them goodnight.
Holly looked up from her textbook. “Please…don’t be too loud. I have a test tomorrow,” Holly said, grinning.
“Oh, shush,” Jane reprimanded her, a blush creeping up her neck.
Frank chuckled and winked at Holly.
Their door closed in the distance, and the minute they were gone, Jake came over to where she was sitting and started to close one textbook after the other.
“What are you doing?” Holly asked in exasperation.
“We’ll revise our way,” he whispered seductively in her ear.
“I’m going to fail this test.”
“You won’t.” He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, then walked them to the room downstairs. There, he threw her onto the bed, where she bounced a few times from the impact. Then he pulled a chair up close to the bed and opened the textbook he’d grabbed.
“For every right answer, I take something off, and for every wrong answer, you take something off.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Holly threw a pillow at him. “I think I can work with that. Ask away.”
He asked the first question, which required a long answer, and she recited it exactly like Dr. Somers had showed her to do in that situation.
“Fuck,” Jake muttered, taking off his jacket.”
Holly laughed.
He asked the next question.
She got that one right, too.
Off came his belt.
On the third question, she erred—kept mixing the question up with another one—and with a smile, she took off her sweater.
Luck Page 13