Dad for Charlie & the Sergeant's Temptation & the Alaskan Catch & New Year's Wedding (9781488015687)

by Stewart, Anna J. ; Sasson, Sophia; Carpenter, Beth; Jensen, Muriel

“Mmm,” he said, his mouth still full.

  “Glad you like it.”

  Later, on his way out to the bachelor dinner, he spotted Cassie’s face in the crowd and held up his phone. That had become code for “call me if you want me to pick up something.” He was a little relieved to be able to close the door behind him and join his friends at the Bay Bistro.

  * * *

  THE GUYS WERE in a mood very similar to that of the women. Though their laughter was deeper and louder, and they didn’t smell half as good, they seemed to be exceptionally lighthearted. As befitted a wedding, he supposed, but it seemed odd to him that Ben was so relaxed.

  Jack was absurdly happy lately, and Gary had a wry wit and a ready smile. He’d known Ben to be solid but sometimes moody and it was mind-blowing to see this transformation. Oliver, who’d also been invited, watched the action with a smile on his face. He caught Grady’s eye and toasted him with his coffee cup. “Most fun surveillance I’ve ever been on. If you discount getting beaten up and rolled down a hill.”

  Grady laughed. “They’re a good group. A little overcome by love at the moment. And they’re fiercely protective of one another.”

  Oliver’s expression sobered as he watched. “Yeah. I’d like to be overcome by love.”

  “No girlfriend?” Grady asked.

  “No. Had to take a year off law school to be able to pay my tuition. Not a good situation for the woman who was dating me for my money-earning potential.”

  “Doesn’t the fact that you stopped to earn money to keep going prove you have money-earning potential?”

  “No, it proves I don’t have enough in reserve to keep going. So she’s hitched her wagon to a medical student from Montauk.”

  Grady could imagine Cassie’s reaction if something like that had happened to a man she loved. She’d be all over it, trying to make it better. “Depends on the woman,” he said. “So, you’re looking to make extra money?”

  “Yes,” Oliver said eagerly. “Why?”

  “I have a car at the airport in Reno, Nevada, that I’m having trouble finding time to retrieve.”

  Oliver nodded. “Left it as collateral for a loan?”

  “No!” Grady explained about having promised to deliver his mother and her sister for a casino vacation then agreeing to join Ben in Texas and flying out from Reno.

  “Weird logistics,” Oliver noted.

  “Story of my life. If I send you on a bus, would you drive the car back for me? After the holiday.”

  “Sure.”

  “When are you going home?”

  “Not sure. It’s beautiful here. And I don’t want to just leave your grandmother. She’s my mom’s best friend. I’ll hang around, see what she decides to do.”

  “You can help Ben and me move furniture into our new office while you’re waiting, if you’d like. And we might have some other jobs for you. Nothing glamorous but they’ll all pay.”

  “I’m not a glamorous kind of guy.”

  “Yeah. Me, either.”

  Aware of a sudden nudge at his ribs, Grady turned to his other side and looked into Soren’s confused expression. “What’s the matter with everyone?” the boy asked. “Is this really love stuff?”

  “I’m afraid it is. And it’s going to last for a while. Maybe even get worse. The best thing to do is get into it with them. Have you ever heard the expression ‘if you can’t beat them, join them?’”

  Soren shook his head, but gave the words some thought. “Isn’t that like being a traitor? Like changing sides?”

  “Not in this case. There’s really no bad side to love. You can stay away from all the fun they’re having because they look kind of silly, but you’d have a better time if you got into the fun.”

  “Are you going to be our uncle? Mine and Rosie’s?”

  “Sure, like one of your uncles you aren’t really related to but who are good friends of the family.”

  “No, I mean a real uncle. ’Cause Cassie is our aunt.”

  “Right. But I’m not married to Cassie.”

  Soren frowned. “She lives with you.”

  “Because she’s visiting and needs a place to stay.”

  “She looks like she’s your wife.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She looks at you like Corie—my mom, looks at my dad. You know, Ben.”

  “Well…we’re pretty good friends.”

  Soren nodded. “Corie says that friends make the best husbands and wives. She picked up our suits today. We have to wear a tie.” His expression suggested he wasn’t happy about that.

  “Weddings are fancy. You’re supposed to look nice.”

  “I don’t like fancy.”

  “I hear you.”

  “Can I have a sip of your coffee?”

  “Uh…” Grady looked up to consult Ben, but he was busy laughing with Jack over something.

  “He usually lets me have a sip, but he doesn’t put anything in it. I think I’d like it better with cream.”

  Grady passed him the cup. “Try it. If you don’t like it, we can put some sugar in it.”

  Soren grinned at him. “Thanks. You’d make a good uncle.”

  “Thank you.”

  He turned to ask someone to pass the sugar, but stopped when he saw Jack jump to his feet, looking happy but emotional. Jack sidled out from behind the table and went to intercept Don Chapman, who’d been delivered to the Bistro by his mother and Helen. The women quickly left.

  “Jack!” Don said, coming toward him. “My God! I’d say it can’t have been that long ago, but…” He opened his arms to Jack and they held each other for a long moment, Don as emotional as Jack. They finally pulled apart and Jack called Ben to him.

  It occurred to Grady for the first time that Jack and Donald had been part of the same family before tragedy befell the Mannings.

  “This is my brother, Ben. Remember him? He was my best friend all those years ago.”

  Don embraced Ben, also. “I do. I remember having to stop the two of you from driving off in my car when you were about eight years old.”

  “We had places to go,” Ben explained. “And if we walked, you’d make us take Corie with us to keep her out of trouble.”

  Jack slapped his shoulder. “When you were with Mom was the best time of our lives to that point. Come and sit down. We’ll get you something to eat.”

  The party went on with a lot of reminiscences Grady hadn’t heard before. He guessed even Ben hadn’t heard some of them, because he was particularly attentive.

  When Ben sat again, Soren leaned toward him and Grady heard him ask in a soft voice, “Was that man your dad?”

  “No, he was Uncle Jack’s dad for a little while. I was Uncle Jack’s friend before I became his brother, so we used to hang out together.”

  “You can do that?” Soren asked, eyes wide. “Make a friend your brother?”

  “Sometimes. It happened for us like it did for you and Rosie. My parents adopted Uncle Jack when he was little because his mom went away and his dad had died. So he became part of my family and that made us brothers. Like you and Rosie became part of Corie’s and my family, and that made you brother and sister.”

  Soren puzzled over that and then smiled. “Corie is always saying things are complicated in our family.”

  Ben squeezed the boy to him. “And that’s the truth.”

  * * *

  CASSIE MEASURED A yard-long length of natural raffia Sarah had picked up, Eleanor cut it at the end of the yardstick and Corie looped it into three and handed it to Sarah. Sarah in turn tucked in a silk Gerbera daisy and tied it with a strip of raffia, leaving enough length to attach it to the back of one of the white wooden chairs they’d rented.

  The women stood back to admire their work.<
br />
  “What do you think?” Cassie asked.

  “I like it.” Between Corie’s feet was a basket of silk daisies Denise had special-ordered. “Now we have only forty-nine chairs to go.”

  “Shall we just make them,” Eleanor asked, “and attach them tomorrow so they don’t get scrunched in the meantime?” The chairs had been folded and stashed in the kitchen.

  Sarah nodded, studying the ornament closely. “That’s the plan. You’re sure it shouldn’t be fussier?”

  “I like the simplicity,” Corie said, folding her arms. “It’s perfect.”

  Eleanor put an arm around each of her granddaughters. “You’re such a good team. You should all find a way to work together.”

  “Funny you should say that.” Corie, the basket now over her arm, picked up one of the flowers and twirled it between her thumb and forefinger. “Last night, when I had rampant insomnia, I had an idea.”

  Her companions waited.

  “What if…” she began cautiously, “we all went into business together?” She touched Sarah’s arm. “Well, you can’t, of course. You’re busy doing important things. But we could commandeer Jack to work with us when he’s between restorations.”

  “To do weddings?” Sarah asked doubtfully.

  Corie laughed. “No. Designing clothes. Showing clothes. Selling clothes. I have a few pieces made and ideas for a complete line. Cassie knows the skinny on how designers present their work, what’s required to mount a show and approach retailers. Grandma ran a store and knows how to sell. Every good designer also has a shop. Jack can do anything—back us up at presentations, schmooze prospective buyers…”

  Eleanor’s face lit up and she pressed her hands together. “We can do that!”

  “I know you’ll still be working,” Corie said to Cassie, “but you’ll be coming back from time to time, and when you return for good, we could have a line ready to go. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re brilliant.” Cassie wrapped her arms around her tiny sister and reached out for their grandmother. Sarah closed in to join the hug.

  Loud conversation and laughter announced the arrival of the men.

  “I’m making more coffee!” Grady shouted from the kitchen.

  “Good,” Sarah shouted back. “We need some! We’ve been working while you guys were partying.”

  Jack appeared shortly with two coffee mugs in each hand. “Here you go,” he said. “You’re all working so hard…” He stopped at their obvious emotion. “What’s going on?”

  Sarah took two mugs from him and passed one to Eleanor. He distributed the other two.

  “You’re going into business with your sisters and your grandmother,” Sarah told him.

  He looked surprised but didn’t object. “Oh, good. Tell me we’re buying a gym or a bike shop.”

  “It’s women’s clothing.” Corie laughed, tucked her arm in his, and explained what each of the women would be doing.

  “Great.” He pretended to worry. “I’m the silent partner, right?”

  “Of course not, sweetheart.” Sarah kissed his cheek. “It’s impossible for you to be silent. You’re the big brother who makes it all work. Security, companionship, encouragement. And you could restore some pretty little building for them to work in. Something with retail space on the bottom floor.”

  He nodded, pleased. “I can do that.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  IT WAS AFTER eleven o’clock by the time the chairs were finished and the chandeliers had been set up in two neat rows to test the spacing. A friend of Grady’s from the station had connected the hanging chandelier from the loft overhead. It was the only one that couldn’t be battery powered. Pizza had been consumed and dozens of topics had been discussed over wine, coffee and chai while everyone worked. They now all stood around, eager to see the fruits of their labors.

  The entire family had been there to help—Helen and Gary, Jack and Sarah, Corie and Ben and the kids, Grady’s mother, Cassie’s father, Eileen and Oliver, and Cassie and Grady.

  Cassie set the scene. “Corie will come down the stairs and walk up the aisle we’ve created with the chandeliers, then stop right here under the hanging chandelier, where Father Eisley and Ben and all the attendants will be waiting.”

  She went to a sort of worktable that separated the great room from the smaller space under the loft. “There’ll be flowers here and the wedding cake.” She walked around the room and pointed to several small tables, one in a conversation area near the fireplace, one that held a lamp and one near the stairs that at the moment held mail and a potted Christmas cactus. “There’ll be bouquets on all these flat surfaces and flowers strung and added to the sparkle tulle. Now, if someone will turn off the lights, I’ll turn on the chandeliers and make sure it all comes together.”

  Grady moved to flip the switch and she went from chandelier to chandelier to turn them on.

  A collective gasp went up from the family and then applause. Even she was impressed by the absolute gorgeousness of all the beautifully placed lights in the darkness. It was like a path made of star clusters fallen to earth.

  Playfully, she took her bows. Corie came to hug her and Ben to wrap his arms around both of them.

  “I can’t believe how hard you worked for us,” Corie said, her dark eyes brimming.

  “It’s been my pleasure,” Cassie said sincerely. “How cool that I got to do this for you after all the years of separation.”

  “You’ve been so generous,” Ben praised. “We’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

  Eleanor came to join them. “Can a grandmother get in on this?” she asked. “I can’t believe that I found all of you at such a wonderful time. I’m so happy to be part of this.”

  Grady turned on the television. “Okay, everyone, gather ’round, I’m going to pour champagne—and apple juice for the kids. It’s almost time for the countdown. Since this new year is so…significant to all of us.”

  Ben indicated Soren and Rosie, fast asleep on the sofa. “I think you can save the apple juice.”

  Ben and Jack lifted the still-sleeping children so they could sit tightly on the couch, cradling them in one arm, and accepted a glass of champagne with the other hand.

  “Anyone making resolutions?” Helen asked. Gary sat on the arm of the chair she occupied. “Or is it bad luck to talk about them?”

  Ben sent her a teasing smile. “I think that’s birthday wishes, Mom. Are you going to lose twenty pounds again this year?”

  She shrugged in mild embarrassment. “I doubt it, though that is my resolution.”

  “I’m resolved to be patient,” Ben said. His gravity startled everyone. “What?” he asked, surprised by their surprise. He looked down at Soren, fast asleep in his arms. “Kids need that, and I’m already reminding myself that my children are people in their own right and not a smaller version of me.”

  Diane, now comfortable in this group, said, “That’s very true.” Then she admitted candidly, “I’m resolved to do a little less meddling.” There was laughter and she said quickly, “Just a little less. Or Grady wouldn’t recognize me.”

  “I almost don’t recognize you these days, anyway,” Grady said. “With your new clothes and your new ’do, you should be walking the runways with Cassie.”

  She blushed when everyone concurred.

  Ben pinned Grady. “What’s your resolution? I mean, your whole life had been turned upside down for Corie and me, you must be promising yourself that you’ll never go through anything like this again. Or have you enjoyed the chaos? Sometimes when you can’t control anything else, your brain and your heart put your thoughts and feelings in order instead.”

  Grady pretended surprise at the accuracy of Ben’s observation. He didn’t want anyone to know he was right on. “Wow. You’re some kind of Bob D
ylan, all of a sudden.”

  Ben ran a hand over his eyes, taking the teasing with good grace. “I know. I’m exhausted. I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

  “Look, look!” Eleanor pointed to the television with her champagne glass. “Only two more minutes before the ball falls.”

  Cassie topped up champagne glasses and everyone stood, leaving the sleeping children on the sofa, and gathered in a semicircle around the television. They counted down from ten as the ball fell, toasted each other and the new year, then embraced, making sure no one was missed.

  Grady took Cassie from Sarah and hugged her. Then, looking into her eyes, he leaned in to kiss her. She met him halfway, her hands on either side of his face.

  “I’m learning to deal with the chaos,” he said quietly.

  “Good. I think I’m learning to deal with you,” she returned softly. Then her grandmother stepped between them and he turned to have the wind squeezed out of him by his mother.

  “I’m so glad you talked me into getting something to wear to the wedding,” she said. “I love these people.”

  * * *

  JACK WRAPPED HIS arms around Cassie. His eyes were full of things he didn’t seem to be able to say. Everyone was collecting coats and preparing to leave. “I love you, too, Jack,” she said, kissing his cheek. “Thank you for working so hard to find Corie and me.”

  “I couldn’t imagine a lifetime without the two of you. Good night, Cassie.”

  “Good night.”

  Grady stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder as they listened to the laughter, quieter now that the hour was late, and watched everyone climb into their cars.

  Don carried a giant salad bowl Diane had brought and placed it in the back seat of her car. They stopped to chat.

  “There definitely is something there,” Grady said under his voice.

  “I think you’re right.”

  “Tidy for us.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  Sarah called out as Jack drove slowly away, “You two do look good together! Good night.”

  There was honking and waving, and Don came back to the house.