“Well bless you, Mrs. Thomas. I wouldn’t mind some lunch, if that’s what we’ll be havin'.” She takes a seat and Nola gets her a glass of lemonade and a sandwich on a plate.
“Please, call me Nola. We’re practically the same age. I’m hoping we can be friends. We’ll be in the house a lot together.”
Mrs. Hughes smiles. “I would love that. And please, call me Brighty.”
Jonny, Sean and Deklan take the suitcases upstairs, then come down and all sit at the table. Deklan tells Mrs. Hughes, “We’ve put your luggage in the rooms furthest from the nursery. It’s got a private bathroom and little sitting room. If you prefer another room just let us know.”
She shrugs. “Wherever you’d have me stay is perfectly fine.”
I ask her, “Do you mind working for us, Mrs. Hughes? I don’t know what you did before.”
She dabs her mouth daintily with a napkin before replying, “I’ve worked at all manner of things in my life, Mrs. Ali. I’ve done housekeeping in bed and breakfasts, cooked for restaurants, secretarial work for doctors. When me husband died a few years back, I finally went to school and got my certificate to be a dietitian. I’ve been doing that, but there isn’t much demand without moving to the big cities.”
I look wide-eyed at Deklan, then slap my hand down on the table loudly. “Deklan! She’s a dietitian! This is fabulous! And please, call me Ali.”
Deklan chuckles at my excitement then tells her, “Mrs. Hughes, we need to give you a raise. I don’t know if the boys told you, but we have a fantastic farmer’s market outside of the gate. I hope you like it here.”
Mrs. Hughes laughs excitedly. “It keeps getting better. I hope you’ll let me cook for you. I so enjoy cooking and haven’t gotten to do a lot these days, working so much. You’ve a beautiful kitchen too.”
“Please, cook anything you like, whenever you want. We are in the process of getting a car for you to drive when you get your license. Until then, one of us can take you.” Deklan replies.
Jonny looks to his mom. “I told you, Mum. These folks are the best, best employers we’ve ever had that’s for certain.”
“Oh, I feel so badly for the O’Brien’s, but I’m glad you landed on your feet,” she says to the boys. Sean smiles. “Always do, mum.”
After lunch, Nola and I take Darcy and Mrs. Hughes on a tour of the house, then to her room. I make sure she knows she doesn’t have set hours and can go see her son whenever she wants. I leave Nola and Mrs. Hughes to get her unpacked. Darcy comes downstairs with me just as the gate dings, signaling someone at the gate who doesn’t have an opener.
I go to the little screen on the counter to see who it is. I’m still getting used to all the sounds going on and what they mean. Looking up at the camera is my not so favorite person, Brittany. Since the camera is mounted to the gate it looks down on her. I can clearly see the amount of cleavage she’s showing and bare legs. Ugh. I tap the touch screen to open the gate and tell Deklan, who is cleaning up the kitchen. “She’s here.”
He straightens from loading the dishwasher. “Great, she must have gotten the phones.”
Brittany enters the house, without knocking. I don’t know whether to be put off by this, because we clearly know she’s there. But still. Darcy is watching me and I try to seem impartial.
Brittany comes in clacking on four inch heels with a tiny tight yellow skirt and button-down blouse. She seems to have forgotten some buttons though. She’s all smiles and holds out two bags. “Dek, I got everything you requested. Paul got the LLC through and transferred money.”
Deklan takes the bag, and she bends to offer her face. He obligingly kisses her cheek, then turns his back to her as he opens the bags on the counter. “Sounds great, thanks for getting them Britt.” Freaking Britt? Still?
Next she turns to me and looks me over. “Wow. You’re huge, Ali!”
I give a tight smile and she adds, “I mean, you’ve gotten bigger since I saw you last.”
I tell her, “Baby’s growing.”
She nods slightly then sticks her hand out to Darcy. “We haven’t met. I’m Brittany, Deklan’s assistant.”
Darcy shakes her hand and says, “I’m Darcy, Ali’s assistant.”
Brittany claps her hands once and exclaims, “Oh, this is perfect! I’m sure we’ll be working together all the time. I can show you anything you need to know.”
Darcy looks at me and raises one eyebrow. I shake my head slightly, but Brittany misses the exchange, having turned back to Deklan. She leans over the counter and points to the phones. She’s blatantly showing her goods, but my man doesn’t seem to notice. He’s programming numbers in the phones.
When he finishes, he hands over an iPhone box to Darcy, along with an iPad. “These are yours. I put in all of the numbers from my contact list, you’ll want to do the same with Ali’s phone. If we need you to get in touch with anyone, you shouldn’t have any problem reaching them.”
“Ali, if you tell me where your phone is, I’ll grab it so I can have everything in order.” Darcy offers.
Brittany says she can get it, but I push out of my chair and concentrate on not waddling to the entry where my purse is.
I come back with it to Deklan talking to Brittany about his photo shoot coming up. I leave them to that and show Darcy how to bump the phones together to get the contact list to sync. I look up when Brittany says loudly, “Oh, Dek. I need to make reservations for your birthday! Where do you want it this year?” My eyes are zoned into where she’s grabbing his forearm with her red dagger claws.
Deklan tells her, “I’m having a get together here. Darcy is going to take care of things. You should have off for a few days unless something comes up.”
I see her hand tighten on his arm before she replies, “Sounds great. When do I need to be here? I should help set up. Do you want me to get a chef for the night?”
Deklan flashes his eyes to me and then tells her, “It’s just going to be a quiet barbeque. Nothing big, you don’t need to make the drive.”
Her face ticks like she wants to say something, but she changes it. “Okay, Dek. Whatever you want. I’ll have to give you your present later.” She smiles and flicks her hair.
Deklan stands from leaning on the counter and throws the bags in the trash, effectively dislodging her hand. “Great. Drive safe back, okay? And let me know when I need to meet with New York about the line.”
When she leaves, Deklan gives me a kiss and goes out to the barn to do horse things. Darcy sits down next to me at the kitchen table flipping her phone around. She looks like she wants to say something, but hasn’t.
“What? You can tell me,” I ask her.
She takes a deep breath and looks out the windows toward the backyard. “It’s not the words, it’s her tone. She says the right things but… I don’t know maybe it’s just me.”
Holding up a hand I tell her, “Trust me, it’s not just you. And I’m glad you saw it, too. I was thinking it was all in my head.”
She raises her eyebrows. “What? That she doesn’t like you and wants your husband? Definitely not you.”
I take a deep breath and tell her, “You don’t have to work with her. Just text her when you need something and come to me with questions. She might try to get information from you, so watch out for that. She’s been his assistant for a couple years now, but you work for me. Don’t let her boss you around, at all. Tell me if you have any problems with her.”
Darcy agrees and heads to the butler’s pantry to set up her Apple account so she can get business apps on her new products.
The next day, Reed calls me to tell me he’s settled into the house and is coming for dinner. Mrs. Hughes has been working nonstop. She took the day before to get settled, and I made dinner. After yoga, which is getting increasingly harder to do, Deklan and I come in the kitchen to coffee already made and poured. We even have waffles waiting for us. Nola and Mrs. Hughes seem to get along great, which I’m thankful for.
When breakfast is
done, Mrs. Hughes gets started on laundry, then vacuuming. I feel like a fat cat sitting around doing nothing, so I go to the nursery and clip tags off of clothes to be washed and open packages. George lays at my feet and keeps me company. The dog never leaves my side anymore. Deklan finds me hours later with piles of trash around me. He goes down to the kitchen to get garbage bags and comes back with Mrs. Hughes trailing behind him.
She takes the clothes down to be washed with the special unscented baby detergent and comes back to get the bottles to sterilize in the kitchen. Deklan sets up swings, pack and plays and car seats, then takes them to their designated places.
I try to pack my overnight bag that’s supposed to be in the car soon. Darcy shows up after lunch, and I have her set up the car seat bases in the cars that need them. Darcy asks where my diaper bag is and that reminds me I don't have one yet.
Teagan is kicking the crap out of my ribs, so I set the laptop up in the living room and lounge on the chaise to give her room while I search. Mrs. Hughes brings me a glass of water and cut up fruit to munch on. Seriously, I am so glad to have her.
I finally find one that’s black leather and seems to have enough pockets for my daunting checklist. Darcy sets up the breathing monitor while Deklan installs the baby monitor. Things are finally coming together. I ask Mrs. Hughes to bring the clothes to me to fold, so I can set out the sheets, blankets and clothes that don’t need to go in drawers or on hangers.
At five o’clock the gate beeps and I wait excitedly for Reed to pull up. I wait in the driveway, I’m so excited. He gets out of his SUV and exclaims, “Holy Christ, child. You’re blown up like a balloon!” Then he throws his arms around me and squeezes tight.
I hug him back, breathing in the scents of peppermint and latex. Even though he hasn’t been tattooing for a while, it seems to have seeped into his pores after so many years.
“Oh, Reed. I’m so glad you’re here!” We walk in the house and I introduce him to Mrs. Hughes and Darcy. “Got yourself a nice place here, Ali girl,” he says.
I smile. “Thanks Reed! Mrs. Hughes is making us dinner. She just got in yesterday. How is the condo? Will it work for you?”
“I love the condo, sweetheart. Thank you for renting it to me. I went to the beach this mornin' and can’t wait for Deklan to teach me how to surf. We don’t have waves like that on the East Coast.” We all laugh and I give him a tour of the house.
I take him to the stables where Deklan is in a round pen with Frank, the little Fell pony, and Jonny and Sean are teaching him how to do the liberty signals.
Reed rests his arms on the rails and breathes. “Well, would you look at that.”
Frank is trotting around the pen as Deklan holds his hands out to his sides in the middle. Even though his mane is bound, Frank’s shiny white and grey spotted coat with white feathers and tail are beautiful. Sean and Jonny shake hands and exchange introductions, then Deklan puts his hands to his side, causing Frank to line up with his shoulder. Both horse and man walk over to Reed.
Deklan shakes his hand. “Reed! Welcome to Feathers and Leather!”
Reed laughs his gravely, husky laugh and says, “I love it!”
Deklan climbs the fence and puts his arm around my shoulder. “So Reed, you ready to be a grandpa?” I ask him.
He nods and his cheeks turn a posy pink. “I couldn’t be more excited, Ali girl. I’m so glad I got here in time.”
For dinner, Mrs. Hughes serves us stout-braised lamb shanks. They are lamb fillets with the big bone sticking out, seasoned with thyme, beef broth, Guinness beer and some veggies. Amazing! Darcy took Mrs. Hughes to the farmer’s market, and she also came back with a pie for dessert.
Deklan tells her, “I love you, Mrs. Hughes. This is delicious. Anytime you feel like cooking, anything you want, please use our kitchen.”
Mrs. Hughes’ cheeks flush and she says, “I’ll plan on making the meals unless you tell me otherwise, how is that? Otherwise I won’t have enough to do around the house to fill days.”
I ask her, “Do you have a system for the house?” It is huge, I definitely didn’t want to be dusting every day, that’s for sure. I can’t imagine she would want to clean the whole thing every day.
She nods. “It’s fairly simple. Just a basic routine. Sunday linens, Monday dusting, Toilet Tuesdays so that’s the bathroom days, and so on. Common areas get done every day like the vacuuming, the living room, washing clothes, and kitchen upkeep.”
I cringe. “It still sounds like a lot. Let me know if you need help.” “Thank you, darling. It’s not all that much. The house is spotless, anyway. I imagine it’ll be a different story once there are a few babes runnin' round.”
Reed changes the subject. “Ali, I’m going to start working your shifts for you, so you can go on maternity leave. I cannot imagine you sitting in a stool for six hours with that stomach you’re sportin'.”
I give him a droll look as Deklan laugh/coughs into his napkin. “Thanks a lot, Pop. It’s not comfortable, but I’ve managed.”
Deklan reaches for my hand. “He wasn’t being offensive, and you know it, baby.” He explains to Reed, “She’s a little sensitive about that right now. She’s really uncomfortable.”
Mrs. Hughes asks, “How much longer do you have, Ali?”
“Eight and a half weeks until my due date. I’m thinking of jumping down the stairs soon, though. I can’t imagine getting any bigger.”
Nola reaches across the table to pat my hand. “Every mother feels that way, Ali. Literally, all of us. But it won’t last forever, I promise.”
I try to take a deep breath and can’t, so I smile weakly and don’t believe her.
Chapter 41
The following day is a flurry of activities. Deklan and Mrs. Hughes go to the farmer’s market to get meat and whatnot for the barbeque. Darcy helps me load my overnight bag into my car for the hospital, then we go over everything to make sure it’s all done. Breast pumps have to be assembled and closets have to be organized by size.
Mrs. Hughes asks if she can bake the cake, and since I was going to do it, I tell her she can. Anything she makes is going to be better than mine. I was just going to get something in a box, anyway. I text everyone to make sure I know how many people are showing up, then make a playlist for the night.
I turn on the outside ice maker and pull some of the chilled, insulated servers from the freezer and start making dips, macaroni salad, pasta salad and potato salad. The servers have gel inside the bowl, so everything will stay cold in the heat. It’s one of the things Dean and Pinterest opened my eyes to, and Deklan is all about convenience. While I’m in the middle of cooking, Deklan and Mrs. Hughes come back with a ton of food.
There are beef ribs, Angus burgers, free range chickens, homemade brats, handmade buns for everything, fruits for the margarita maker, corn on the cob, and various veggies. Deklan gets out his Food Saver and various tools to marinate the meat instantly, then makes the burger patties to chill for later.
After washing his hands, he comes up to me. “How are you doing, baby?” he asks, rubbing my tummy.
I nod. “Good, there’s a ton of food here.”
He smiles. ”There are going to be a lot of guys here, so we need lots of food, and a big cake. I’m going to grill some pizzas, too. Mrs. Hughes is going to make the dough after the cake is done, and I’ll add the ingredients. This is going to be awesome.”
I hug him and have to angle the front half of my body toward him while my stomach keeps our lower halves separated.
“I have to go get the balloons. I’ll take George with me.” I give him a kiss and slap my leg for George.
At the flower shop, I find party bow ties for dogs, so I pick a neon green one for George and yellow butterfly for Tess. After stuffing a hundred black and chrome balloons into my car, I stop by the gate to make sure people with invitations will be able to get in without trouble. We had to have them coded with special ink that can be seen under a black light. I’m thankful for the s
ecurity, but it’s a pain too.
I set up some of the balloons outside our house gate, then take the rest to decorate around the huge glass orbs by the front door. I tie some on the fence posts and the rest in the backyard. The ceiling fans are going and it’s hot, even though it’s headed toward evening. I chose a royal blue and white skinny chevron strapless maxi dress that stops above the knee for this reason.
Deklan has the grill started, and Darcy is starting the Tahiti Margaritaville maker. I cannot wait until I have this baby, if only for that. It makes three pitchers of frozen drinks at the same time, and is set up by the grill and outdoor bar. Under the sink there’s a waist high ice maker that Darcy is using to fill the Margarita maker. I ask her, “How old are you, Darcy?”
She smiles wide. “Twenty-one two months ago!”
I hold out a hand for her to high five, then we hear hooves. Nola, who had been bringing plates out to the buffet, turns to the sound. As does Mrs. Hughes, who had just stepped outside with bowls of salad from the fridge.
Deklan turns from the grill holding tongs, and Darcy turns as well with an ice scoop.
We see the horses’ unbound hair flying behind them, running in their herd, led by Sonny the stallion. Sean and Jonny come from the pasture gate and smile wide. Sean holds out his arms wide. “We thought we’d show your friends why you chose to live way out here from the big city. One look at the beasties and they’ll understand.”
Mrs. Hughes sets down her bowls and puts a hand to her chest still watching the pasture. “They’re majestic, is what they are.”
We hear car doors slam and faces coming around the house. Stacie waves off to the pasture. “Bobby jumped out of the car before it stopped and made a beeline to them. I don’t know if you’re getting him back before the light fades.”
We all laugh, and I give her a hug. “Damn girl, I swear you get bigger every time I see you,” she jokes then leans down to kiss my stomach. She heads over to the bar and tells Darcy to “hit me.” I think Darcy is getting the kick out of being the bartender.
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