Animal Prints: Sweet Small Town Contemporary Romance (Michigan Moonlight Book 1)

by May Williams

  “I figure they’ll give up eventually.”

  “Or change their tactics. That’s what we have to watch out for. They’re going to look for some angle to get at us.”

  “Nothing to worry about. The deed is clear, taxes are up to date, I have the appropriate permits for my animals. There’s nothing.” She assured her brother. “We’ve checked and double checked. They’ll give up and go away by fall. They have to.”

  “I wasn’t thinking of that kind of tactic. They might try something more personal.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like the feel of this.”

  “Stop worrying.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “I better get a shower and change. I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  “Forever in the barns.”

  “Shut up. I’ll meet you down here in a half-hour.”

  “Is your man coming here? Should I get on my game face?”

  “No, he’s going straight to Lexy’s.” Hopefully, he could hold up under the scrutiny of her entire family at once.

  “I think we’re late,” Adrien commented when they reached Lexy’s house from the trail through the woods. “Mom and Dad are already here. Is the black car Ian’s?” Adrien gestured to the cars parked behind the house. Colette nodded. “Who owns the other one?”

  “That’s Gracie’s car.”

  “Gracie Sinclair?” Adrien’s voice squeaked a little. “What’s she doing here?”

  Colette shrugged. “She works for Lexy and her son is the same age as Jamie. I don’t know. Could be a lot of reasons.” Colette peeked at her brother’s face. He looked bewildered and a bit uncomfortable. No surprise. Adrien had been interested in Gracie for years, probably since high school, but their lives took radically different turns. Now, she was a hard-working single mom and he was a dedicated researcher and academic.

  “Wonder if she’s staying for dinner?” He tugged at the collar of his polo shirt.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I just didn’t expect to see her here. That’s all.” He caught the expression on his sister’s face. “Don’t give me that look,” he warned. Before she could retort, Gracie, her son, and Lexy came out the door nearest the driveway. “Damn,” Adrien mumbled under his breath.

  “Are you sure you won’t stay? There’s plenty of food and you know everyone,” Lexy said to Gracie, following her out to the car.

  “Thanks, but we have a date for pizza tonight.” She opened the door for her son to climb into the car. “And thanks for keeping Brett for the afternoon. I’m not sure what I would have done with him.”

  “My pleasure. It kept Jamie entertained, which is never easy.” Lexy spotted Colette and Adrien on the edge of the driveway. “Adrien, when’d you get here?” Lexy hurried over to hug him. “Maybe you two can help me convince Gracie and her son to stay.” Lexy took Adrien’s hand and dragged him to where Gracie stood with the car door open. “Adrien, you know Gracie, of course.”

  “Sure, it’s nice to see you again, Gracie.” A flush of color tinged his tanned skin.

  “Hi, Adrien, I didn’t realize you were home this weekend.” Gracie’s dark curls bobbed forward when she talked and she had to push them off her forehead.

  “Taking a break from the lab for a day.” He didn’t stutter, but Colette thought her smooth-talking brother sounded pretty befuddled at the moment. Lexy shot her a look behind Adrien’s back.

  “Nice to see you all.” Gracie smiled at the three siblings. “Lexy, I’ll be in early tomorrow to finish the icing on those cookies.” Gracie slid onto her seat and started the car. With a wave, she was backing out of the driveway.

  “You could have tried a little harder to convince her to stay,” Lexy commented as soon as Gracie rolled up her window. “You two have been tap-dancing around each other for years.” She poked Adrien in the chest with her finger. “You better hope she’s still available when you move back here full-time next year.”

  “Sorry I’m not impulsive like you two. Collie’s thrown herself at a man she’s known for a few weeks and,” he kissed his oldest sister’s forehead, “looks damn happy about it. And although I was young, I remember your romance with Nate moving at the speed of light.”

  “True, but when you know it’s right, you know. I think Collie’s figured that out. Maybe you and Gracie will work it out someday. Come on, I left Dad talking to Ian. I hope your man can hold up two ends of a conversation.”

  Ian’s cold beer was rapidly warming in his sweaty palm. He saw Colette arrive, but she hadn’t made it onto the back deck where he stood with her father. Their intermittent conversation ranged from sports to current events, but wasn’t successful at more than a few volleys of equally few words. While Ian tried to come up with another topic, Jack pinned him with the same blue-eyed stare as Colette.

  “Before anyone else comes out, I’ve got to ask you a question,” Jack said.

  Shit, Ian thought, he’s going to ask me my intentions toward his daughter. What the hell do I say? “I saw you going into Stokley’s Real Estate Office a few days ago. Since Rick Stokley is a good friend of mine, I asked him what you wanted.” Jack took a drink from his beer. “I know that’s nosy as hell and you’ve got every right to be pissed, but I won’t see Collie hurt again.”

  “What did Stokley tell you?” Ian glanced at Colette, who stood with her brother and sister. In a few minutes, she’d be over here. If this was going to be ugly, he didn’t want her involved.

  “Said you were looking at lakeshore property, big chunks of land. You planning to stick around here?”

  “I like it here,” Ian stated what was true.

  “Rick said some of the properties had high price tags, even in the millions. Where’s a guy like you get that sort of money?”

  Double Shit. He didn’t want to lie to Colette’s dad, but he also couldn’t tell him the whole truth. Sure as hell couldn’t mention that he was searching for property for his father, the owner of Northfield. He’d be off this deck with a boot up his butt in record time. Stalling was his best bet. “I’m looking into property for someone else. You’re right, I couldn’t afford that.” Everything he said was true. Misleading, but true.

  “What do the two of you look so serious about?” Colette took Ian’s hand in hers and stood beside him. “Dad, did you see who I brought with me?” An overly tall, dark-haired man came forward and gave his father a hug. “Adrien, I want you to meet Ian. Ian, this is my brother.” At six foot, Ian usually looked other men in the eye, but he had to tip his head back to see Adrien’s face.

  “Nice to meet you,” Ian said easily and Adrien nodded in response. The other man had an intelligent, no-nonsense way about him.

  Colette bopped her head toward Jack and shot her brother a look, Adrien wrapped an arm around his father’s shoulders. “We better find Mom. She’ll be mad if she’s the last one to greet me.”

  “Did you survive?” Colette quizzed him when they were alone.

  “Yeah. It was fine.”

  “Liar. It’s hard as hell to talk to dad unless it’s about animals.”

  “We managed, but I’m glad to see you.” He took a look around to make sure they were alone before kissing her. “I missed you today.”

  “It’s only been a few hours.”

  “Don’t care. I still missed you.” To prove his point, he backed her against the railing and kissed her again.

  She gave him a little shove. “We should go in so they don’t have time to gossip about us.”

  “That’ll ruin all their fun.” When she raised an eyebrow at him, he said, “lead the way. I get a little lost in Lexy’s house. I’m always going in a different door than I came out.”

  “I’ll take you in through the entry way. If you see the house from there, it makes more sense.” They stepped off the deck to circle the house on the outside until they reached a heavy oak exterior door. “This is how you’re supposed to view the house.” Colette opened the door to the foyer
, which sat several steps above the main room. From the vantage point, the entire downstairs was visible and Ian could see how one space flowed into the next.

  “Now I get it. It’s a remarkable design. Who did it?”

  “Lexy.” He cocked his head to the side at her answer. “No, really. She has amazing vision.”

  “It seems so,” Ian agreed, as his attention was drawn to a collection of portraits hanging on the foyer wall. “Family?”

  “My grandparents on their wedding day.” Colette pointed to a photograph of a man in a WWII uniform and a woman in a 1940s-style dress. The smiling woman looked remarkably like Colette. “Mom and Dad’s wedding picture. Don’t you love Mom’s giant hat? She insists they were in style at the time.” She moved down the wall to a picture of five army guys with their arms around each other. “This is my favorite. My grandfather’s the one in the middle. It was taken in France sometime in late 1944.”

  Ian leaned close to study the photograph.

  No way in hell.

  Son of a bitch.

  He blinked then refocused on the picture. That couldn’t be his own father standing there with an arm around Colette’s grandfather.

  Ian gulped down a breath before asking, “do you know who any of the other guys in the picture are?”

  She shrugged. “Dad might. I’ve heard some of the names, but I don’t remember them. It’s unlikely that any of them are alive anymore.”

  “Yeah. I suppose you’re right. It was a long time ago.”

  But one of the old guys was still around, that was for sure. What kind of game was his father playing? Did he know this land belonged to an old army buddy or was it one hell of a coincidence? Knowing the manipulative ways of his father, he doubted it was a coincidence. Was he the kind of man who would throw an old war-mate under the bus? He found that hard to believe, even for his father. But, until he knew the answer, he wasn’t saying anything to Colette or her family.

  “I’ve always thought it strange that they looked so happy during a war.”

  “You find happiness where you can,” Ian murmured, gazing at the smiling faces.

  “I guess it doesn’t seem strange to you, to be able to,” she said, sadness tingeing her voice.

  Ian shook his head, overlooking her tone for the moment. “Do you think Lexy would let me take that image and scan it? I’m always interested in wartime photos.” His dad was going to get one hell of an email.

  “I have a copy of it at the farm. You’re welcome to take it to scan. I’ve been meaning to get it re-framed, so it’s down right now.”

  “I’ll frame it for you, just tell me what you want.”

  “You probably have a better eye for that than I do. Surprise me,” she said over the rising voices from the kitchen and dining area. “You ready to face them all at once?”

  He flashed her a quick grin. ”If I’m with you.”

  She kissed him on the cheek. “You do know how to sweet talk. That works well on Mom and Lexy. Nate already likes you. The kids like everyone. That just leaves Adrien and my Dad.”

  “Those are the two I’m worried about.” He pulled her close, nestling his face in her shiny hair.

  “Hey, you two. Everyone has to work or dinner will never make it to the table,” Lexy called. “Collie, you’re on salads. Ian, what’s your specialty?”

  “Opening and serving wine, setting the table, being obsequious, and clearing dishes.”

  “What?” Lexy was surprised into silence.

  “He worked as a waiter in a French restaurant,” Colette explained.

  “A long time ago,” Ian added.

  “Perfect. Wine, dishes, and silverware are over there.” Lexy pointed to a sideboard. “Melissa will help with the table. Collie, I want you to make that salad dressing you made last time.” She steered Colette toward the island in the kitchen. “Dinner in ten minutes,” She called to the room.

  A chorus of “yes, ma’am’s” responded as everyone dove into the assigned tasks. According to Ian’s watch, it was exactly ten minutes later when they all gathered at the extended dining room table for the salad course. He draped a towel over his arm and served wine to the adults and grape juice to the children.

  When he took his seat, Colette squeezed his hand under the table and gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. Shit. This must be what it’s like to have a big, warm family. He and his brother tried to create a sense of family in the past few years, sharing holidays when he was on leave. But it wasn’t the same, especially now without his mother. There was always a black cloud that hung over everything. But this…this did not. And he almost didn’t know what to make of it.

  He was in love with her, with this, with all of them. He forced a smile to his face when Colette’s mother, so unlike her daughter in looks, welcomed him with a toast.

  His emotions warred inside him. He’d be tossed out the door if they knew who his father was but being here was amazing. He wanted to stay.

  “Are you okay?” Colette whispered in his ear.

  “Fine.” He gripped her hand more tightly.

  At first, he watched the interaction around the table. Some conversations were between two people, usually not sitting next to each other, while other conversations involved everyone including the children. It was chaos, but he found himself joining in and enjoying it. It was a little like a mess hall. Occasionally, Jack’s sharp eyes landed on him, but it didn’t dim his enthusiasm.

  “Adrien, tell us about your research. Collie said you got renewed for another year,” Lexy’s voice cut across the din when the main course was almost gone.

  “Lex, I’m studying the effects of invasive species on brown trout. It’s not fantastic dinner conversation. I’m more interested in Collie’s fundraiser.”

  “Are you coming?” Colette asked, looking up in surprise.

  “I thought I could get away for a night to support my favorite sister.” A cloth napkin flew across the table and whacked Adrien in the forehead.

  “Careful or I won’t send you those care packages anymore.” Lexy threatened him with a fork, before getting a gleam in her eyes. “If you’re coming to the fundraiser, you’ll need a date. Do you have someone to bring?”

  “I don’t need a date for a fundraiser,” Adrien insisted.

  “Of course you do. Let me think. Who do I know?” Lexy tapped her lips and put on a perplexed look. “What about Gracie? The lovely woman you let waltz out of here earlier.”

  Adrien threw the napkin back at Lexy. “Stop being bossy.”

  “I’m your big sister. It’s my job to be bossy. I could take a message from you to Gracie,” she suggested with a wink at Colette.

  “What are we? Junior high students? Just…” Adrien’s face reddened, “just give me her phone number.”

  Lexy jumped out of her chair, ran around the table, and kissed Adrien on the cheek. “Wise choice, little brother. Who wants dessert?” Lexy asked the whole table. Then, her eyes turned on him. “Ian, help me clear the table.”

  “Lexy, he’s your guest,” Jade reminded her.

  “I don’t mind.” Ian stood and gathered the dishes near him to carry them to the kitchen. “But I want you all to pose for pictures after dinner.”

  Even if this didn’t last, he wanted to keep the memory of it.

  Chapter Twelve

  After dropping off Colette and Adrien at the farm on Sunday night, Ian waited until Tuesday to call her. On Mondays, she worked late at the clinic and he was busy doing research. Pulling in some favors from friends still in the army, Ian dug into his father’s wartime records, looking for anything unusual and any connection to a Peterson.

  After hours on the phone and sorting through records sent to him, Ian found nothing of interest except that his father and one Trevor Peterson had been in the same unit. They landed on the beach at Normandy together on D-Day and moved across France during the summer and fall of 1944. No altercations, no marks on his father’s record. Still, it didn’t make any sense. W
hy did his father want the Peterson land so much when there were still Petersons on it? What happened so many years ago? Why were they in that picture together and yet obviously friends?

  All of his research and a call to his brother didn’t answer any of his questions. There was only one way to find out: he had to go to Chicago to see the old man. Ian was headed south to interview some veterans soon—it wouldn’t take him long to skirt around the lower end of Lake Michigan and visit his father. Physically, anyway.. But mentally he definitely had to gear himself up for the visit.

  To take his mind off it, he worked with the images he’d taken of Colette’s family after dinner on Sunday. He printed several, then matted and framed them to hang at the farm. He already had a space in mind in her living room, a blank wall just waiting for color and design. On Tuesday evening when he was satisfied with his work, he called Colette.

  She picked up the phone on the sixth ring, sounding breathless. “Hey, I thought you forgot about me.” He heard the joking tone in her voice.

  “Never.” When he said it, he knew it was true. No matter what happened, he could never forget Colette. Maybe he wouldn’t have to—the trick was to make sure nothing bad happened between them. Maybe the trip to Chicago would solve that problem. If he could convince his father to drop his interest in the Peterson land, she would never need to know his original mission, and he could move on to the new one of loving her. “Can I come by this evening?”

  “Sure. I’m in the barn, but I should be finished here in about an hour.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I took in an abandoned cow and calf today.” A moo sounded in the background. “Do you hear her?”

  “Yeah. Are they in bad shape?”

  “No, the family just couldn’t afford to take care of them anymore. I’ll keep them for a few weeks, make sure they’re healthy, before I find a place for them.”

  “Do they already have names?” He grinned.

  “Yes, but I’m unofficially calling them Titania and Puck while they’re with me. Can’t break tradition.”

  “Maybe you should change the name of your center to Shakespeare’s Refugees.” He closed his eyes and imagined her in her jeans and boots in the evening light of the barn. Her hair would be neatly braided down her back and her face alive with the pleasure of taking care of one of her animals.