“This sounds great.” She kissed him.
“But?”
“I think there’s another couple who could use this trip more than we can.” She bit her lip.
“You want to set up Kyle and Gwen.” He smiled at her.
Her eyes widened. “You knew?”
“Sweetie. They both get a glazed-over look in their eyes when they talk about each other. I think that’s why Gwen didn’t go away with Roger, by the way.”
“When did you see her?”
“I went by her house to see if she knew where you were.”
“She came by my place and just as much as admitted she had real feelings for Kyle. I mean real emotions, not the typical superficial lust like most of my friends had for him over the years. I can’t believe I’ve been so blind to their attraction.” She shook her head.
“We’ll here’s your chance to set them on the right path.”
“It worked for Jared and Autumn. I really think if my wayward brother and one of my best friends could just come together and air out their feelings, they’d realize what I’d been oblivious to for years. That they were meant to be together.”
“OK. Let’s play matchmaker. But I still want to take a vacation with you.”
“Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed him again. “We talked about Lake Tahoe before.”
He trailed his fingers from behind her ear to her collarbone. “Sounds very romantic. Maybe we can get a rustic cabin that comes with a bear skin rug.”
“Hey, if it’s a rustic cabin you want, we could always go to my family’s cabin in Kentucky.”
“Your family cabin in the Kentucky Mountains? Isn’t that how horror movies usually start?”
“Ha. Ha. I’ll have you know Kentucky has some of the most beautiful landscapes. It has sprawling hills, clear skies, and the people are in a class by themselves. We used to run around my Grammie’s farm barefoot.”
“Well, there is something that did come out of Kentucky that I love.”
“Oh yeah?” She grinned.
He thought for a moment. “Bourbon. And I’ve always wanted to go to the Kentucky Derby.”
“Such a tourist.” She rolled her eyes.
“Not anymore. I have a local girl to show me around.”
“And we can visit the cabin. Grammie said there’s been a lot of improvements the last few years. It even has indoor plumbing now.” She giggled.
“We’ll save the family cabin for a really special occasion, but we’ll do Valentine’s Day in Lake Tahoe.” He grinned. “I have more gifts for you, but right now I want to make love to you again before we leave for the party.”
“We don’t have time.”
“Bite your tongue.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Back to those ground rules.”
“OK. Shoot.” She grabbed a hair tie off the nightstand and put her hair up in a messy bun.
“We should always have sex in the morning.”
“Uh huh.” She squinted at him. “I have a few of my own.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Want to discuss it while we’re taking a shower?”
“Hell yeah! And I want to add that to do the ground rules. We always shower together.”
“Well, I want a picture of you and Mr. Whiskers to put on my desk at work.”
He stopped in his tracks. “He’ll never let me get near him.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” She laughed and pulled him into the bathroom.
* * *
Corbett had to admit he was pretty nervous when Anna Beth started a video conference with her family in Kentucky before he and Anna Beth left for the Blakes’ holiday celebration. After they finished fussing about her not coming to Kentucky after she’d shredded her passport and couldn’t go to Costa Rica, they turned their glares to Corbett.
She’d already warned him about their strong personalities, but they were still pretty intimidating on the screen. He must have apologized twenty times for bailing on Thanksgiving dinner. From the looks on the men’s faces, he had his work cut out for him.
“Corbett, we’ll get together when I get back into town,” Kyle said while cracking his knuckles.
“I look forward to it. I’ll take you for beers at the Bright Star. It’s a watering hole I frequent when I visit Texas.”
Kyle clenched his jaw. “It’s a date.”
Kyle and the cousins may not have warmed to him, but he was a hit with her mom and Grammie. They agreed to give him the benefit of the doubt as long as she was happy. The final test would be Mr. Granger, who’d caught a cold and was sleeping.
With Mr. Whiskers squared away with food and a new toy, they were off to John Jacob and Teri-Lyn’s for a day of celebration. There were plenty of cars in the driveway as he pulled up. More cars than there were last night. He’d heard someone mention that T.K. and Logan might be stopping by, but one of the cars looked like his brother Bo’s. He cut the engine and rounded the car to open the door for Anna Beth. He could’ve sworn that was Wyatt’s Jeep.
“Merry Christmas!” Wyatt and Avery said as they came running out of the house.
“Wy! Avery! What are you doing here?” Corbett hugged the couple. “Did something happen in Philly?”
“Yeah. I realized my big brother needed me here. The Reeds understood and gave us their blessing to come back to Texas.”
As if seeing his baby brother break his plans to spend the holiday with him wasn’t wonderful enough, Bo came out a few seconds later with Summer.
“We thought you two would never get here.” Bo and Summer joined in on the hugging.
“Are you guys serious? You shouldn’t have done this.”
“Summer and I agreed this was where we belonged. And I hear congratulations are in order. Anna Beth made an honest man out of you.” Bo gave her a good squeeze too. “Mom can’t wait to talk to both of you. She’s inside with my dad.”
“Fantastic,” Corbett and Anna Beth said in unison.
“Since we’re all here, did you bring mom’s present?” Corbett asked.
Bo nodded. “As a matter of fact I did.”
Like he expected, his mom high-tailed it in their direction when they entered the house and started exchanging hugs and kisses with the rest of the family.
“Merry Christmas, you two. I heard I missed quite the declaration of love last night.”
“It wasn’t that dramatic, Mom. We talked outside in the gazebo.”
Bonnie beamed. “Still, I can’t believe I missed it. Anna Beth, I’d love to have lunch with you one day next month to get acquainted.”
Teri-Lyn approached. “Bonnie, can you help me in the kitchen?”
“Oh, sure Teri,” she replied.
They both mouthed “thank you” to Teri-Lyn as she hauled Bonnie away.
Anna Beth squeezed his hand. “Did I ever tell you there’s something about your mom that makes me jittery?”
“I’ll run interference. Right now, I think someone else would like to talk to you.” Corbett motioned to J.J.
“You don’t mind?”
“I have it on good authority that you’ll like this news.”
“What do you know?”
“I know a lot of things. But I am sure this is something that will make you very happy.”
“Whatever it is, it could never make me as happy as being with you.” She kissed him.
Anna Beth walked toward J.J., who was helping Mackenzie fasten the buckle on her shoe. She looked adorable in a red jumper. Once he was done, the little girl gave him a peck on the cheek and sprinted off in the direction of the other kids.
“Merry Christmas, Anna Beth.” J.J. gave her a bear hug.
“Merry Christmas, J.J.” She squeezed the big lug back. There was nothing like a hug from the man who’d been her boss for years and was now a friend. She took comfort in knowing he genuinely cared for her.
“I apologize for calling you so much while you were on vacation, but the matter was of the utmost import
ance.”
“I want to apologize too. I suspected you wanted to tell me something and I dodged you like a bad date. You have to know it killed me to do that. I never not answer your call.”
He smiled. “That’s one of the things I’ve always liked about you. The dedication you’ve exhibited since you began as my assistant has been astounding. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“But we’re soon going to find out, right?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “I’ve never, in all my years at the helm of this company, been as conflicted as I’ve been about this decision. Which got me to thinking that I’ve been depending on you so much over the years and that it hasn’t been fair. I hope I’ve never intruded on your life in any way and if I have, I am sincerely sorry for that.”
She smiled. “You never imposed on me. I’ve learned so much being part of your support staff and I feel like part of the family.”
“That’s because you are and have been for some time now.”
“Thank you.”
“Anna Beth, the company’s growing again, and I’d like you to be part of it. Tyler wants to start a chain of upscale hotels. He gave me and Bo a solid business proposal, and I think it has the potential to be a big asset to Blake Enterprises. But it needs a loving touch out of the gate, and we need sharp, dedicated people like you to be on the ground floor. Tyler’s got a lot to learn, but Bo and I will be mentoring him. He wants to run Blake Construction someday. You would be the other asset in place to ensure its success. It would be a tremendous opportunity for both of you. It would also take up most of your time, so you wouldn’t be able to admin for us anymore. And frankly, I think it’s time I repaid you for all you’ve done for the company.”
“Sure.” She wanted to make some changes, and supporting Tyler while he launched a new business venture for the company would be exciting. “I promise to be the best executive assistant to Tyler.”
“Executive assistant?” J.J. furrowed his eyebrows. “No. I’m offering you the position of vice president of operations.”
“What?” She blinked.
“Yes. I can do my job on automatic pilot thanks to you and your knowledge of business. You have tons of experience and a degree in business management for heaven’s sake. You’ve long ago proven I was wasting your talents.”
“I’ve enjoyed my job and working with you. It has some really great perks.” She held up her wrist to show off the Rolex watch they’d gotten her for her anniversary with the company. “But the best perk of all has been watching you grow into the incredible businessman you are today. It seems like just yesterday Mr. Blake had turned over the company to you and I was assigned to you.”
“You deserve the best.” He winked. “I do hope you’ll say yes.”
“Oh! Yes!” She threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome!” He laughed. “Tyler is going to be elated. I just need your help in finding a replacement for your position.”
“How about we get a two-to-three-person team? The executive offices are expanding, and I’d been thinking it would be good to have a satellite person who could work in tandem with the Tomcats staff. Seth would have double coverage that linked directly to Blake Enterprises, and we could coordinate the day-to-day operations at the stadium more closely.”
“That’s a fabulous idea.”
“I promise I will get competent people with potential.”
“I know you will. I hope you don’t mind, but due to our mentoring Tyler and the fact that he’s already situated on the executive floor with us, we were thinking you’d have an office a few doors down from him.”
“It would be more convenient.” She bit back a smile. “Of course we’ll still see each other in the executive break room, staff meetings, passing each other in the hallway.”
“Sam said it would take the sting out of losing my work wife. And, if I may make a bold prediction, we’ll be seeing more of each other at family functions.” He looked in Corbett’s direction. “He’s crazy about you.”
“The feeling is mutual.” She could feel her cheeks burning.
“He’s a good guy, and I’m not saying that because he’s family.”
“I know you wouldn’t hold back your opinion. You’ve always looked out for me.”
“It may sound corny, but I love you like a sister.”
“I feel the same way.” She lunged at him and clamped him in a hug. “Thank you.”
He laughed. “You don’t have to keep thanking me.”
“I mean thank you for something else,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “Thank you for restoring my faith that there were still good men out there in the world. Handsome, kind, considerate, and funny. I held out until I found someone who was perfect for me. I found Corbett because of you.”
“You know, you’re going to be part of the team-building process. We’re going to need smart, efficient talent on staff. I hear Corbett has one hell of a financial mind, like his brother. Bo’s been trying to get Corbett to work with us for a while,” J.J. grinned. “Perhaps you could make Corbett an offer he can’t refuse.”
Anna Beth’s eyes lit up. Maybe she’d wrangle him into coming to work with her as a part of their ground rules…
* * *
Corbett knew by the blissful look on Anna Beth’s face that she’d accepted J.J.’s offer. It took all his self-control not to blurt out that he knew the details of the promotion and what it would mean for her. J.J. filled him in on it when they were helping out at the Winterbournes’ ranch. She was coming into her own in a big way and she deserved it. He was so proud of her.
Now it was time to do some growing of his own. He hadn’t taken the news well that his mom wanted to sell the family homestead, and he had to make it right. It was a time of celebration. His parents’ marriage didn’t last, but they were now happy with great people who loved them. The picture his father had sent of him soaking in a hot spring while donning his cowboy hat and with his arm draped around Glynis warmed his heart. Glynis was good for him. Just like Bo Sr. was good for his mom.
“Mom.” He put his arms around her and swept her up in the air. “I can’t believe you changed your plans, but I’m awfully glad to see you. I hope I didn’t ruin your vacation with Bo. Sr.”
“No. He said wouldn’t be able to have a good time if he knew I was worried about you. But between you and me, Bo’s just a homebody. He agreed to go somewhere because I wanted to. He’s content staying on the ranch.”
He smiled. “I never would have guessed.”
“I am so happy your mood has improved.” She patted his cheek. “I knew you’d patch things up with Anna Beth. She’s quite a catch. She’s beautiful, successful, and she’s a sweet, caring person. I know she’ll take good care of your heart.”
“It feels like I hadn’t been living before I met her.”
“Sounds like you finally know what love is.”
“Yes, and it’s helped me understand you and Bo. I think it’s great that you two are going to live together and continue the romance you started years ago.”
“We haven’t restarted our old romance.” Bonnie gave him a quizzical look.
“I don’t understand.”
“The old Bonnie and Bo would have eventually killed each other if they’d stayed together. We were both high-strung, stubborn people who had something to prove. When I left, I knew it was what was best for your brother. I was licking my wounds for being a failure as a mother and a wife and moved to New Mexico. Then I met your father, who was a handsome former bad boy. We built a life together and had two beautiful kids. Buck and I weren’t meant to be forever, but we were meant to be. I learned how to love without being destructive, and he learned how to be a family man and a law-abiding citizen. Because frankly, when we met, he was headed to hell with gasoline drawers on.”
He shook his head. “There’s so much I don’t know about the two of you.”
“The most important thing to know is that we love you.” S
he giggled. “Your dad found his soul mate. He looks at and talks about Glynis in a way he never did with me. I’m happy for him. He always understood my feelings for Bo and he never held it against me.”
“I just want you to know I support you selling the house. Maybe it’s time to let it go. I guess my sentimentality toward it evoked that reaction.”
“It’s just a place with four walls. Home is wherever my boys are.” She hugged him tight. “I know change can be hard. We were very happy there for a long time.”
“Yes, we were.”
“You may be faced with the same dilemma sooner rather than later. You may live in Albuquerque—” Bonnie pointed to Anna Beth. “But your heart’s in Texas.”
Corbett signaled for Bo and Wyatt to come over and join them.
Bo nodded at him. “Corbett, you do the honors.”
“This is something from the three of us.”
Bonnie teared up when she opened the box and saw the diamond pendant birthstone necklace. “It’s beautiful. You shouldn’t have. I love you three so much.”
“We love you too Mom.”
They came in close and she gave them mom kisses. Corbett looked up and saw Bo Sr. smiling from across the room. He’d been so reluctant to let Bo Sr. into his life. But now he relied on his gentle wisdom and guidance. He knew the man would take good care of his mother, and he looked forward to spending more time with him.
* * *
Anna Beth scooted out of the way so Gabe and Owen could go by on their motorized contraptions to catch up with Mackenzie on her new bike. It was hard to keep up with who got what, but everyone was happy. There was wrapping paper and gift boxes strewn about the living room. The adults didn’t fair too bad either. New moms Michelle and Cassidy received special jewelry trinkets from Tyler and Channing. Seth was really excited about the book of sexy coupons he’d gotten from Morgan. Tate was all smiles because Isabelle said she’d consider trying for another child. He was really hoping for a girl. Bo had planned an exotic vacation for him and Summer after Jared and Autumn married. Avery was happy with the earrings Wyatt had gotten her, and Bonnie was telling everyone about her remodeling plans for Bo Sr.’s cabin when she moved in. J.J. surprised Sam with a luxury yacht equipped with a helipad. He aptly named it Bad Ass Princess. John Jacob and Teri-Lyn’s present was to the entire Blake family and their friends; they’d arranged to rent out Disney World for a day. It would be their first group vacation for the entire family with all of the kids.
Begin Again (The Blake Boys Book 18) Page 12