* * *
When Tyler invited him to lunch, Channing knew his big brother had more on his mind than impending fatherhood. His brother had been spending a lot of time at their family company, learning the ropes of its daily operations when he wasn’t training for a race. Tyler was a natural at building things, and it looked like he’d be taking over Blake Construction when the time was right. That was supposed to be a goal for the future once he’d finished racing, but now with the baby coming he figured his brother was ramping up his plans for the career transition.
But if Tyler didn’t hurry up and order, Channing might give in to his urge to strangle his brother. He gripped his fork, fighting back the temptation to rip the menu out of Tyler’s hands and order for him. Channing had already downed a big breakfast, but he was famished again. So his patience was at an all time low.
“Are you going to order sometime today?” he asked through clenched teeth and an entirely fake smile.
“What’s your rush? I know you don’t have any meetings this afternoon. I checked with Anna Beth.” Tyler smirked and waved the waiter over.
“I’m just being a good brother,” Channing countered. “I want to get some food into your system before you faint again.”
“Ha ha. Can’t a man faint once in his life? I had a really good reason.”
“I suppose.” Channing grinned and sipped his scotch.
The waiter approached, ready to take their order. Tyler took a look at the menu again. “I’ll have the Delmonico steak medium rare with the vegetable medley, baked potato, and a side salad with the house dressing. And another round of scotches when you get a chance.” Tyler stuck out his tongue at him.
Channing nodded in agreement to his brother’s selection. “I’ll have the same.”
“Yes, sir.” The waiter took the menus and headed toward the kitchen.
“I see your nerves haven’t hampered your appetite.”
Tyler grinned. “Not at all. If anything, I’m eating more. The other night I made a foot- long turkey and cheese with all the trimmings. Then I ordered a pepperoni and sausage pizza.”
“You are begging for indigestion. How was the doctor’s visit?”
“Michelle and the baby are healthy.”
“Is she having morning sickness?”
“Yes, but it usually calms down by the mid-morning. She eats toast until it subsides.” Tyler pulled up an app on his phone and showed it to him. “This little app helps me track the stages of pregnancy. Michelle is right on time.”
“That’s cool. They’ve really eliminated a lot of guess work about pregnancy.” He gave him back his phone.
“Of course Seth and J.J. bragged they didn’t have to download an app to keep track of their wives’ pregnancies. But I also reminded them they didn’t believe in the technology because they were closer to daddy’s age than ours.” Tyler flashed a cheesy grin.
“Tate had an app,” Channing said, cocking his head and thinking back. “He didn’t tell Isabelle about it. She said he worried too much. I think fussing over her took his mind off Joe. He dreaded thinking any part of his biological father would impact his new family life.”
“Tate is proof you aren’t bound by your genetic makeup. He’s a great father.”
“Just like you will be.” Channing nodded as the waiter brought over their second round of drinks, salads, and a loaf of hot pumpernickel bread. “Everything sounds like it’s going well. What else is on your mind?”
The expression on Tyler’s face changed to a more serious one. “I don’t think I’m grown- up enough to have a kid.”
“You’re married and obviously know the mechanics of sex, hence Michelle’s bun in the oven. You sound like a grown-up to me.”
“You know what I mean. A grown-up.” Tyler exaggerated the words and sipped on his drink. “The kids all come to you if they want advice on doing the right thing. They come to me to see where to draw the line to avoid punishment when they’re up to no good.”
“You and Michelle are the fun, adventurous aunt and uncle. Cassie and I are more authoritarian in our approach to relating with them.”
“See. That’s my point exactly. How am I supposed to teach my kid to be a good person? For all I know I could have some delinquency gene in me. I don’t want to pass on being the black sheep to another generation. Do you know how many times I’ve gotten you in trouble when we were young after mama and daddy asked me to keep you out of trouble?”
“Thirty-six,” Channing said at once.
“Thirty-six times? Really?” Tyler rubbed his chin. “I thought the number would be higher.”
“I can’t include the times I was in full view of right and wrong and went along with you anyway. That wouldn’t be fair.”
“Thank goodness you turned out OK. I’m surprised they trusted me with looking after you in the first place.”
“It’s a trickled effect. J.J., Seth, and Tate were all in charge of us until we were old enough to go off on our own. Mama and daddy knew you’d look after me. Do you know how many times I wish I had your courage and impetuousness?”
“You mean immaturity and recklessness?”
“I won’t have anybody bad-mouthing you, even if it is you. Cut out this foolishness, Ty. I’d have thought by now you knew you were ready for this. Cool, crazy Uncle Tyler has been in daddy-to-be training since the day Jake was born. We learned how to take care of him because we wanted Seth and Morgan to trust us with him, but we were also preparing for the future. You helped raise me too.”
“It’s not like I changed your diaper or anything.”
“But they tell me you did yell for mama to change me after I’d chase you through the house with a smelly diaper. And there was the time you stopped me from sticking that fork into the electric socket.”
Tyler chuckled. “It’s amazing you lasted this long.”
Channing shot him a dirty look. “My point is, you’ve taken great care of the little ones in the family and you help Wyatt and Avery too. He said you made him feel a hundred percent better about not having all the answers and that you encouraged him to keep looking until he found his bliss.”
“Bliss?” Tyler gave him a sour-lemon look like it sounded too new age for his tastes.
“Sense of self.” Channing rolled his eyes. “The point is, you got through to him, and now he’s on his way to discovering what he’s good at in his own time, and he’s making the journey with Avery. One could say you were the catalyst for young love to bloom.”
“I guess so.”
The waiter came with the rest of their order, so Channing waited until the places were set down to continue. “And if you’re going to quit racing, give it some thought and let your team know as soon as possible so they’ll know their options.” Channing cut into his steak.
“How do you know I’ve been thinking about that?”
“You offered to sit in on an executive staff meeting yesterday, and I saw you, dare I say it, sit in that big leather chair behind your desk for the first time this morning. Granted, you jumped up like it was going to bite you in the ass, but you sat in it for a few minutes.”
“I forget how well you know me.” Tyler looked at him for a moment before he smeared butter on a slice of the bread.
“Have you made up your mind?”
“Michelle and I talked about chasing our dreams until we started a family. Racing isn’t the safest sport on the planet.”
“Hey, plenty of wacky things could happen to you sitting behind that desk too.”
“I’m serious.”
“Me too. We’ve had this talk before, and I think it’s admirable you’re making changes to focus on the baby. You should. But you can’t push yourself into working in an office before you’re ready.”
“You don’t want me around the office?”
“I love having you there, but your spirit is too big for being in confined spaces too long. You still have that nomad energy daddy used to have before he settled down. Maybe you can
find a compromise.”
Tyler nodded thoughtfully. “We’ve talked about making some changes. I don’t want her zipping around like she does now. The doctor says she needs plenty of rest and taking catnaps on the couch in her office at the bookstore isn’t exactly comfortable. So we each agreed to compile a list of modifications we need to make to our busy lifestyles and we’re going to make some firm decisions.”
“That sounds pretty mature to me.” Channing smiled.
They continued to talk as they ate their meal. An hour later they were headed back to the office, but Tyler couldn’t resist getting a double scoop from the cream parlor they passed. Once they had their gigantic cones in their hands, they continued their trek back to Blake Enterprises.
“Is it safe to say I talked you down?” Channing licked on his chocolate chip cone.
“Yeah.” Tyler nibbled on his cone, preferring to start from the bottom. “I just needed one of your patented pep talks.”
“Good. Now we can focus on Jared’s bachelor party. Autumn says she doesn’t want anything wilder than one of Mackenzie’s tea parties.”
“Aww, man.” Tyler snorted. “Well, it’s not like he was a wild man anyway. You, Jared, and Bo managed to square-up Las Vegas that time you thought you were cutting loose.”
“Hey, I narrowly escaped a PR nightmare with a reality star.”
Tyler stopped and looked at him for a moment. “I take it you still haven’t had the talk with Cassie? You would have brought it up by now.”
“No, I thought I’d wait until we come back from visiting her family in Ohio.”
With his ice cream-free hand, Tyler grabbed Channing’s phone out of his jacket pocket and started surfing.
“What are you doing?”
“I am adding this app to your phone.” Tyler proceeded to press repeatedly on the screen.
“It’s still early days, Ty.”
“This app has a preparing-for-baby feature; I just logged in today’s date and time.”
Channing watched as Tyler stuffed his cell phone back into his pocket and continued down the street. It was funny how they communicated with each other. He always bombarded Tyler with plenty of facts while Tyler took a more interactive approach. He felt good about their conversation over lunch, but he still wished the baby app was counting down to a child with Cassidy.
* * *
Cassidy wasn’t sure what she was going to tell Channing about her after-work errand, but she had to come up with something quick. It was after five, and he’d be down in a few minutes to collect her for their drive home. Today was one of their carpool days, so it wasn’t as if she could tell him what she was about to do after the fact. He’d lectured her before about getting too involved with clients. She got it. He worried about her, but she felt like it was her duty to do what she could for those in need.
She kissed him when he walked into her office. “Hey, babe. How was your day?”
“Pretty good. I had lunch with Tyler.”
“That’s always a fun experience. Is he bouncing off the walls?”
“A little, but I calmed him down.” He stretched. “I had a heavy steak lunch, do you mind if we have chicken or fish tonight?”
“Sure.” She began packing her bag. “I’m in the mood for some halibut. I got some from the market the other day.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“I have to make a stop.” She put her bag in the chair and walked over to him. “Anna Beth came to me today and told me about a friend of a friend who might be in trouble with child protective services. I told her I would drop by the coffeehouse where she works to have a brief consult with her.”
“Cassie.” Channing sank down on the edge of her desk. “Why is child services involved?”
“Anna Beth’s details are scarce but she’s an ex-addict and—” Cassidy paused as his deep sigh resonated the room. “They may think she’s unfit. And I know what you’re going to say. I get too involved and this may take away from my other active cases.”
“Is she dangerous?”
“My gut feeling tells me she’s probably more of a danger to herself if anything.”
“Well, as long as your gut can detect danger. I think we have it all covered,” he quipped.
“I’ll dismiss the snide remark as your evening hunger manifesting in some bratty way.”
“Why are you so sure you can help her?”
“I’m not, but I told Anna Beth I would try. Besides, there’s a child involved. A little boy named Isaiah. I have to try to help him if nothing else. Being put into the foster care system for a second time would be a nightmare on a four year old.”
“Well.” Channing folded his arms over his chest. “I was going to say be careful. You have one of the best BS detectors I’ve ever seen, so you’ll know if she’s telling the truth. If you happen to take her case, I’d like to suggest maybe someone from Regency do a little background for you if it calls for it.”
“Oh.” She touched her stomach. “What have you done with my husband?”
“I know I can be unbearably protective, but I know better than to get in your way when you’re doing your job. And if there’s a kid out there who needs our help, we have to do it.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I knew I married you for a good reason.”
“Good looks and sex appeal.” He kissed her.
“And your heart is even bigger than mine.” She grabbed his hand and led him out of the office. “If we hurry, we can stop by the coffeehouse and still get home to have dinner our usual time.”
“You’re the boss.”
* * *
Cassidy knew Channing didn’t like it, but he remained in the car like she’d asked. The coffeehouse was jam-packed, but Cassidy waded through the crowd, squinting at name tags. She should have known this wouldn’t be a quick in-and-out. She peered out the window at Channing, who was starting to display that look he’d get whenever he was starving. Well, as long as she was here, she could get a snack for the commute home.
Cassidy smiled, thinking of the day they’d run into each other at the coffee shop in Georgetown the weekend of their friends’ engagement party. It seemed like a hundred years ago that they’d reconnected and fell in love. She’d been hoping she’d run into him again, and that day her wish came true. Never did she imagine that she’d find love with the man who’d antagonized her in law school. Who was she kidding? She’d loved every moment she and Channing got into a passionate debate. It made her heart race, and she’d felt alive. Hell, sometimes she picked a fight with Channing to just to make up with him. He was passionate in his debates, and she was equally exuberant, so it made for plenty a steamy night trying to get each other to change their point of view. But alas, neither of them would change their minds, and that was one thing she loved about their relationship. They could unapologetically be who they were without the other person trying to change them, and that’s why they meshed so well.
She’d been in need of that when they’d reconnected. She’d resigned herself to being alone after her cancer diagnosis, but Channing changed all that. He wouldn’t allow her to feel sorry for herself. He coaxed, prodded, and sometimes yelled to remind her that life was worth living. She moved to Texas to be with him because she admired how much he loved his roots. He had a strong connection with his family that she’d never managed to forge with her own family. Although she was trying to mend the strained relationships over the last few years. The Blakes helped her see why it was important have a relationship with her family. Easier said than done, though.
She got in line, and it was moving pretty fast. It was hard to believe this many people were trying to get caffeine this late in the evening. She could understand if they were getting the pastries. The banana nut bread and raspberry scones were delicious. A half dozen of the sugary treats should keep her husband’s appetite at bay until dinner was on the table. A few of those fancy drinks with a bunch of whipped cream couldn’t hurt either. She reached the counter a
nd read the name tag of the barista. It wasn’t the person she was looking for, but maybe she could help.
“Hi, Pam. I’d like a couple of scones, two slices of the banana bread, and two of those delicious-looking brownies.”
“Sure thing. Anything to drink with that?”
Cassidy scanned the menu. “Give me two of the frozen cappuccino drinks.”
“You want whipped cream on those?”
“Why not? It’s not the calories from the cream that I’m worried about.” She laughed.
Pam scrunched her nose. “It’s decadent, but it’s tasty.”
Cassidy looked around the room again. “Do you know if Joy is working today?”
“I haven’t seen her.” The barista frantically put her order together.
She paid for her order and ventured to the back of the store. An employee was setting up the mini-stage for open mic night. She looked around the place twice and she was ready to give up. Perhaps Joy had already left for the day. She waded back through the crowd when out of the corner of her eye, she saw a woman coming from the backroom in a rush. She grabbed a bucket and began bussing tables. She had jet-black hair that she had up in a clip, a nose ring, and wore a dark, cranberry-colored lipstick with nail polish to match. She looked a little disheveled, but for all Cassidy knew that was the style these days. She had a standard-issue work shirt, but Cassidy could see the intricate detail of a tattoo that had vines and thorny roses creeping up from under the collar that spread up to the back of her ear. She took a deep breath and looked at the name tag. It said Joy.
“Hi, Joy, I’m—”
“Get off my back!” Joy slammed down the tub. “I told Bruce and his clerical goons I’d have the back rent by the end of the month.”
“Excuse me?”
Joy furrowed her brows. “You’re not from Tri-County property management?”
“No. My name is Cassidy Blake. I’m—” Cassidy tried to figure out in her head the connection from the unknown people to Anna Beth and settled on “—a friend of a friend who thought you could use the benefit of some legal counsel.”
Leap of Faith (The Blake Boys Book 17) Page 3