The Gift of Love (Finding Love Book 9)

by Delaney Cameron

  Stratton sighed soundlessly as he handed the waiter a credit card. It was looking more and more as if he wasn’t going to be able to keep his promise to Sullivan.

  * * * * *

  Leah glanced sideways at Stratton as they walked out of the restaurant. He’d gone ominously silent after paying the bill. She reviewed their conversation in her head and could find nothing to explain this sudden change of mood.

  When he opened her door, she caught the same despair lurking in his eyes that she’d noticed before. Their relationship wasn’t such that she could ask him about it. The only thing she could do was try to take his mind off whatever it was.

  “Thank you for dinner,” she said when he slid into his side of the truck. “I have to agree with you about it being the best Mexican restaurant in town.”

  The way he jerked slightly told her how far away his thoughts had been. “My pleasure,” he murmured.

  “I was thinking about tomorrow. How about I give you a call when I’m leaving the baby shower?”

  He looked up from buckling his seatbelt. “That would be great. I’ll wait to tell Denver about meeting Aristotle until in the morning otherwise he won’t sleep a wink tonight. It’s hard enough getting him to settle down. We usually take turns reading before he goes to bed. What started out as thirty minutes has slowly increased to over an hour.”

  “I’m something of a bookworm myself. When I was younger, I used to sneak a flashlight in my room so I could read long after I should have been asleep. What are you guys reading?”

  Stratton started the truck and navigated his way through the still crowded parking lot to the road. “The Hobbit. I’m not much of a recreational reader or a movie goer, so I’d never heard of it. Jade enjoys teasing me about it.”

  “I bet so. Not knowing about The Hobbit is as close to living under a rock as it gets. What do you like to do in your spare time?”

  “Up until a few months ago, I was teaching some martial arts classes. Lately, it’s just been the occasional round of golf.”

  “Golf seems to be very popular here. There must be at least seven courses in town.”

  He sent her a wide grin. “It’s actually more like eighteen.”

  “Eighteen? Wow! Have you played on all of them?”

  “Just about.”

  “What is it with doctors and golf?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ve been playing since I was in middle school.”

  “And the martial arts?”

  “One of my father’s early investments was in a karate business. He signed me and my brother up for classes. We couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. Sullivan and I got to practice all those cool moves on each other, which we loved. It also had the added advantage of wearing us out which made everyone else in the house happy.”

  “Looking back, I wonder how my mom kept her sanity with five kids running around all day. There was never a quiet moment.”

  “Did growing up in a large family make you want that for yourself?”

  “I’m not sure I could handle five kids. Three is more doable, but even that’s beginning to look like a pipe dream.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’ll soon be thirty.”

  “The thirties aren’t so bad. I’ve been there for nearly five years.”

  She waved a dismissing hand. “It’s not the same for men. You don’t have to worry about ticking biological clocks and things like that.”

  “You’ve got me there.”

  A few minutes later, they were facing each other outside her front door. To escape the sudden tension in the air, Leah turned her attention to her purse, taking much longer than strictly necessary to find her keys.

  “We should exchange numbers for tomorrow,” he suggested.

  After they did so, she said, “I’m glad you remembered.”

  He smiled oddly. “I wouldn’t forget something as important as that.”

  While she was wondering about the smile and the words, he leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek. It had been the quickest of gestures and yet heat shimmered over her skin. Geez, Louise! What was going on with her?

  “Goodnight, Leah.”

  Hoping he couldn’t read her mind, she echoed his goodnight and then stood frozen in place as he walked away. When his truck disappeared from view, she slowly unlocked the door and went inside.

  Chapter Five

  Stratton waited until after breakfast to give Denver the news. As expected, he was over the moon at the prospect of seeing Aristotle. He wasn’t the only one interested in this unexpected turn of events. Not long after Joel and Denver left the house to walk down to the creek meandering through Stratton’s five-acre property, Jade cornered Stratton in the laundry room.

  “Running into Leah at Lake Oconee and then at Cecil’s wedding might be coincidence, but taking her to dinner last night and seeing her again today is something else.”

  He closed the door of the dryer and pressed the start button. “I agree, but it’s not what you think.”

  “What I think might surprise you. Denver showed me his birthday list, too.”

  Her discernment of his motives didn’t entirely surprise him. Underneath all the playfulness his sister possessed a healthy dose of realism. “Am I crazy for even considering something like this?”

  “Of course it’s crazy, but I’d do the same thing if our positions were reversed.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s a lot to ask of someone.”

  “Not if you ask the right person.”

  “Even then there’s no guarantee.”

  “When you believe in something, you’re a hard person to refuse. You get that quality from Dad. He could sell an air conditioner to an Eskimo. When are you going to talk to Leah?”

  “After I see how today goes.”

  Tears formed in Jade’s eyes. “She’ll love Denver. Everyone does.”

  “Which is both an advantage and a liability. It’s not easy going into something knowing there’s no happy ending waiting on the other side.”

  Jade bit her lip. “You’ve got the medical community’s pessimistic habit of thinking they have all the answers. Miraculous and unexplainable things still happen.”

  He walked over and put his arm around her shoulders. “I know that, but I’m a ‘hope for the best, prepare for the worst’ type of person. You can thank Dad for that, too.”

  The sound of rapid footsteps coming in their direction stopped this conversation. A few seconds later, Denver’s head appeared in the doorway followed by his wet, mud-splattered t-shirt, jeans, and rubber boots.

  “Daddy, I caught a crawdad. He’s in a bucket on the porch. Uncle Joel said I could keep him as a pet if it’s all right with you. I named him Long John Silver.”

  Stratton glanced at Jade who was having her own difficulties keeping a straight face. “What do you think, Aunt Jade? Would studying a live crawfish make a good science project?”

  “Definitely.”

  Obeying the increasing pressure of the small hand tugging on his arm, Stratton followed Denver through the back door and dutifully glanced into the steel bucket. “Long John Silver has some impressive looking pinchers.”

  “Yeah, he tried to pinch me, but I was wearing this,” Denver explained, pulling a work glove out of his back pocket.

  Stratton looked over at Joel. “One would almost think you’ve done this before.”

  His brother-in-law laughed. “At least a hundred times. My uncle owned a fish camp along the Pascagoula River in Mississippi. I spent every summer there until I was in high school. We were on the water from sunrise to midnight.”

  “That explains why you joined the Coast Guard, but not why you married a woman who’s terrified of any body of water more than a few feet deep.”

  Jade slid her arm through Joel’s. “That’s the power of true love, Stratton. It surmounts every obstacle.”

  “I’ll believe that when I see you on a boat.”

  She ig
nored this, turning to look at Joel. “Do we still have that aquarium you kept your clown fish in? It would be perfect for Long John Silver.”

  “You know me. I never get rid of anything. It’s out in the garage in one of those boxes.”

  “I’ll help you look for it,” she offered.

  Stratton put his hand on Denver’s shoulder. “While they’re searching for Long John’s new home, you and I need to start the process of getting cleaned up. You can’t meet Miss Leah and Aristotle looking like this.”

  Denver needed no further prodding. He plopped down on the porch floor and went to work pulling off his boots. “Daddy, will you take a picture of Long John Silver? I want to show Miss Leah my new pet.”

  Stratton hid a smile as he reached for his phone. “Let’s hope she doesn’t faint from sheer excitement.”

  * * * * *

  Leah blew out her breath in frustration as another balloon managed to find its way into the front seat of her car. Just like the previous two, it gravitated to the windshield with a determination not to be denied. It would have been smarter to put them in the trunk, but that’s where she’d loaded the stroller and car seat the rehab group had chipped in to buy for Ashley.

  The last baby shower she attended had been for her sister. Based on the pictures April posted nearly every day on Facebook, Leah’s nephews Micah and Keaton were growing in leaps and bounds. She hadn’t been to Columbus since Christmas, something her mother reminded her of when they talked on the phone earlier in the day. She’d have to plan a trip home in the next few weeks.

  The sight of a dark blue Mercedes taking up two spaces in front of Lydia’s condo wiped the smile from Leah’s face. Lydia was too nice for the likes of Roland Carter, a medical equipment sales rep who erroneously thought he was God’s gift to women. Back in the fall, he hounded (there was really no other word for it) Leah for weeks to go out with him. Having got rid of him at last, she wasn’t thrilled about running into him now.

  Maybe the car belonged to someone else. That proved to be wishful thinking. She was almost to the front door when it opened, and Roland strolled out.

  “Is that Leah Langston hiding behind those balloons?”

  She forced a smile to her face. “How are things with you, Roland?”

  “Doing great. I’m well on my way to becoming Simmon’s salesman of the year.”

  “Congratulations,” she said, trying to inch around him and at the same time keep her swarm of balloons from floating away.

  “I should probably congratulate you, too.”

  “For what?” Leah was sorry she asked when she caught the gleam of amusement in his eyes.

  “For snagging the elusive Dr. Levy. Now I know why you wouldn’t give me the time of day. You prefer to move in more exalted circles.”

  He must have seen her with Stratton at El Toro’s last night. There was little hope of him keeping such a juicy piece of gossip to himself. The news would be all over the clinic by Monday. Poor Stratton. She hoped he was ready for the storm about to erupt over their heads. As for the man in front of her, she wasn’t going to give him any more ammunition. Taking a page out of her mother’s playbook, she ignored his remark and changed the subject. “Aren’t you sticking around for the baby shower?”

  He laughed. “I’ll pass. The Braves are playing the Cardinals at four, and I’ve got eighty-five-inches of high definition TV to watch it on.”

  How could Lydia stand spending time with this train wreck? He did nothing but brag on himself. “Enjoy the game,” she said, moving past him.

  “Thanks. When you see Dr. Levy, tell him ‘hello’ for me.”

  Leah felt a ridiculous urge to kick Roland in the shins like she used to do to Lance when they were growing up. If she hadn’t been holding twenty balloons she might have actually done it. “Goodbye, Roland.”

  “Until Monday, Leah,” he countered. “I’ll be there bright and early to meet with Dr. Gorman.”

  His annoying laughter followed her to the door. During the few seconds it took Lydia to answer the doorbell, Leah figured out who (or what) Roland reminded her of. His personality was on par with Kaa, the unlikeable python in The Jungle Book.

  “That’s a lot of balloons,” was Lydia’s greeting.

  “Tell me about it,” Leah replied as she worked her way through the door. She didn’t miss her friend’s anxious glance in the direction of the parking lot. The irony of their mutual desire to keep their weekend activities under wraps might have been funny under different circumstances. “Next time I think we should go with flowers. They’re easier to transport. These things have a mind of their own.”

  Still looking uncomfortable, Lydia closed the door and led the way to the dining room. Lavender and mint green garland decorated with cut-out baby bottles, rattles and miniature hearts hung from the ceiling. A cake shaped like a stack of baby building blocks sat in the center of the table surrounded by tiered trays holding an assortment of pastel petit fours.

  “Wow,” Leah said, her steps slowing. “Your mom did a great job. That cake looks like something you’d see on one of those Food Network baking challenges.”

  “My dad is trying to talk her into competing in a national bake-off in Nashville. He’s not having much luck so far. Mom doesn’t like the idea of working in any kitchen but her own.”

  “That’s understandable. There are so many variables you can’t control, and on top of that, you’ve got a live audience, cameras and a time limit. Since I’m hopeless at anything remotely artistic, I’ll leave the arranging of these balloons to you while I tackle the rest of the stuff in my car.”

  When Leah rejoined Lydia in the kitchen, the latter was working on party favors for the guests. Arranged in a neat row across the width of the bar were individually wrapped soaps, miniature mason jars filled with body scrub, tiny bottles of nail polish, and clear plastic bags of caramel popcorn.

  “Where did you find all these cute things?”

  “Most of it came from Party City. The rest I ordered online.”

  Leah reached for one of the empty gift bags and a sheet of lavender tissue paper. “How many of these do we need to make?”

  “At last count, we had twenty-eight RSVP’s. We’ll do at least five more in case someone changes their mind and decides to come.”

  “Do the hostesses get one?”

  Lydia laughed. “More like two or three. I always buy too much.”

  “I’m the same way when I have people over for dinner. I have this fear of running out of food. My mother, on the other hand, can prepare a meal for any number of people, and it’s always the right amount.”

  “Maybe by the time we’re our mothers’ ages, we’ll be able to do that, too.” There was a few seconds of silence, and then Lydia said, “You must be wondering why Roland was here.”

  Leah’s curiosity about Roland’s place in Lydia’s life had been completely overshadowed by the knowledge that she could do nothing to stop him from putting his own interpretation on what he’d seen at El Toro’s. “Just a little,” she compromised.

  “A little? After what you and I have said about him in the past? I don’t believe it.”

  “Okay, I was more than a little surprised to see him.”

  “I was more than a little surprised that I agreed to go out with him. I know he comes across as pushy and overbearing, but when it’s just me and him, he’s not like that at all.”

  “So you’re saying Roland improves upon acquaintance?” Leah asked, thinking how closely Lydia’s experience mirrored her own with Stratton. (Of course it went without saying that Stratton had never been as annoying as Roland.)

  “As unbelievable as it sounds, he does.”

  “Did you consider the possibility that being with you is what brings out this softer, gentler side?”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “It makes perfect sense to me. I look forward to getting to know the ‘new and improved’ Roland.”

  Lydia sent her a teasing glance. “Don�
��t try too hard. I can’t compete with you.”

  Leah grabbed a bowl of confetti and held it up as if she was going to throw it. “Not another word, or you’ll be getting a very colorful and hard-to-cleanup shower.”

  “Okay, I’ll stop. After we finish these, we’ve got punch to make and games to set up. Speaking of which, did you finish the cards for baby shower bingo?”

  “Sure did. It was very labor intensive, but using Ashley’s answers to those baby questions should make for a fun game.”

  “It’s hard to believe she’s younger than us and already starting her family.”

  “There you go again; bringing up one of those taboo subjects.”

  “Don’t act like the thought hadn’t occurred to you, too.”

  Leah chuckled as she tied up the handle of the gift bag with curly ribbon. “You’re just begging for that confetti.”

  * * * * *

  Stratton was standing outside Denver’s room listening to a one-sided conversation with Long John Silver when he felt his phone vibrate. He hoped the caller was Leah and not his answering service. Denver would be inconsolable if they had to reschedule the rendezvous with Aristotle.

  Stratton was grateful for Leah’s invitation far beyond the reason he gave her. She had unwittingly solved the problem of how he was going to get her and Denver together. As he told Jade, this outing would go a long way toward telling him whether the idea that sounded so plausible in his head had any chance of becoming a reality.

  A quick glance at his phone brought a relieved grin to his face. He walked into his room and closed the door before touching the screen.

  “Hello, party girl.”

  Leah’s slightly husky laughter filled his ear. “I was never one of those. You and Denver can come over whenever you’re ready.”

  “Be prepared for a very excited little boy.”

  “I spent the afternoon with thirty women who never stopped talking from the time they arrived until they left. Denver can’t possibly be that noisy.”

  “You’ll know whether that’s true or not in about twenty minutes.”

  It was hardly more than that before Leah was at the door to let them in, the aroma of freshly baked cookies hanging in the air. She definitely knew the way to a little boy’s heart. Her gorgeous eyes landed first on him and then fell to Denver. There was the merest flicker of her eyelashes as she took in the pale, almost translucent skin pulled tightly over the frail bones.