Renovations (By Design Book 6)

by J. A. Armstrong

  “Nothing she could say would change what she did.”

  “No, it wouldn’t. You’ve never made a mistake?” Candace challenged.

  “I’ve never cheated on anyone. I’d never do that to my family.”

  Candace nodded. “Perhaps not. You do realize that putting Melanie off is also hurtful?”

  “Not the same. I don’t want to hurt her.”

  “You don’t want to get hurt,” Candace corrected Michelle. She saw Michelle bristle and stood her ground. “Love doesn’t come with guarantees, Shell. I’m sorry that you got hurt. I don’t regret my time with Jessica. I don’t think she regrets that either. Don’t be so quick to write people off because they disappoint you. And, don’t be so certain that everyone will disappoint you just because one person does. You’re going to have a very lonely road if you do.”

  “You think I should marry Melanie, buy the house, settle down,” Michelle surmised.

  “I think you should ask yourself why it is you are so afraid to do that. And, why you are hiding in this office so much. Everyone has people walk away, Shell. Maybe you should spend a little more time counting your blessings for how many have stayed. And, for the record? You are the one who closed Jessica out completely. She just respected that.”

  “I’m sure she never gave it another thought.”

  Candace shook her head. She kissed Michelle on the cheek. “If I know her, she thinks about it all the time,” she told Michelle. “There is room to love more than one person, Shell. You didn’t betray your father by loving Jessica and you won’t betray me or Jameson by admitting that you miss her.”

  “I don’t.”

  Candace nodded. “Think about it,” she said. She patted Michelle’s knee and stood. “Now, I have a meeting in twenty minutes that I need to get ready for.”

  “Mom?”

  “Yeah?”

  “How can you just be okay with her after everything?”

  “Time is a great teacher, Shell. I’ve had a little more time than you,” she answered. “Time also passes quickly. Don’t waste the chances while you still have them.”

  Chapter Six

  Jameson walked into her mother’s kitchen, took off her jacket and flopped into a chair. “How was Spence?”

  Jameson’s father had picked Spencer up early that morning to bring him to Ithaca for the night. Jameson had some things she wanted to look in on at her office and some inquiries she needed to make. Spencer loved visiting with Jameson’s parents—Gam and Gamps he called them.

  “I think your father wore him out,” Maureen Reid said. “He’s napping. No offense, J.D., but you look like you should join him. Long drive wore you out?” she asked.

  “Long day wore me out,” Jameson replied.

  “Everything okay at the firm?” Maureen asked her daughter.

  “Better than okay, actually. Jonah and Melanie are like steamrollers,” she said proudly. “Those two have more ideas than Einstein, I swear.”

  “You must be pretty impressed to want to make them partners,” Maureen said.

  Jameson laughed. “Jonah already called?” she guessed. “He called you and not Candace,” she kept laughing.

  “I’m sure he figures his mother already knows.”

  “Yeah, she knows I was planning to ask him,” Jameson said. “So? Was he excited or confused?”

  “I’d say a little of both,” Maureen replied. “He doesn’t want you to feel obligated. Neither does Mel from what he said.”

  “Obligated? Hell, he runs that place better than I ever did,” Jameson said honestly.

  “J.D. just out of curiosity, why ask them now?”

  Jameson shrugged. “Is that your question or is it his, because I thought I had made that clear to them both.”

  “Maybe it is a bit of both,” Maureen admitted.

  “Mom, there’s a lot of reasons. Why not now?’

  “Okay, but that’s not what I asked. You want to do other things?”

  Jameson nodded. “Actually, yes, I do.”

  “And?”

  “Look, Candace has to travel more now than ever before. We’ve learned to be apart, you know? Hell, when she was in the Senate, we spent almost every week apart.”

  “So, what’s different now?” Maureen wanted to know.

  “A lot of things. We have Spencer more. I have Spencer more. He misses her, you know? I miss her.”

  “So, you want to travel with her more, is that what you are saying?”

  “I’d like to have that option, I guess,” Jameson said. “And, honestly? I like getting my hands dirty. You know that.”

  Maureen grinned. “You don’t say.”

  “You know what I mean. I love design, but I love getting my hands on the project more. Jonah and Mel, they love the design part. That’s what the firm needs—that energy. It’s not like I am signing everything over. I’ve crossed my T’s and dotted my I’s legally. I’m not stupid.”

  “No one thinks you’re stupid, J.D.”

  “I know. I just don’t know why this is such a huge shock to everyone.”

  “Maybe because it came out of the blue.”

  “No, it didn’t. I’ve been thinking about how and who I should transfer more authority to for two years.”

  Maureen nodded. “But, you never shared that with anyone until now. Can’t you see how Jonah might think you feel you have to do this?”

  “Not really, no. It’s not an obligation. Candace said something similar. It’s a sound decision and frankly, I think it’s perfect timing.”

  “Oh?”

  Jameson looked across the table at her mother. “I just think I might need more free time soon.”

  “Is something wrong?” Maureen’s concern began to grow. “Candace is okay? You’re okay….You’re not…Or Marianne…”

  “What? Oh, God…You think someone is sick?” Jameson chuckled. “Nothing like that.”

  “Is it about Spencer?”

  “Partly,” Jameson said. “But, he won’t be with us forever. We both know that.”

  Maureen heard the distinct tinge of sadness in Jameson’s voice. “He may not be living with you forever, J.D., but nothing is going to change how much he needs you.”

  “Yes, it will,” Jameson said. “And, it should. I’m not saying he won’t love us as much. I’m just saying he won’t depend on us as much. That’s how it should be. He has a mom. That’s not really our role.”

  Maureen nodded. “I know how attached you are to him.”

  Jameson shrugged. “I am, but I know what is best for him too.”

  “Why do I sense there is more to this than I am seeing?”

  “Maybe because there is,” Jameson said. She rubbed her forehead as she gathered her thoughts.

  “J.D.?”

  “You know that little boy I told you about on the phone? Cooper?”

  “The little boy Candace met at the shelter?”

  “Yeah,” Jameson confirmed.

  “What about him?”

  Jameson took a nervous breath. “He needs a home.”

  Maureen was puzzled. She studied Jameson for a few moments before she began to understand Jameson’s meaning. “What? You and Candace want to adopt this little boy?”

  “I don’t know what Candace thinks. I haven’t said anything to her. And, I don’t know about adoption. I mean, first we would have to try foster…”

  “Jameson, you cannot try on children like you do jeans to decide if they fit.”

  Jameson’s head snapped up. “You think I don’t know that?” she bit back. “Jesus, Mom. All I was going to say was that we would have to agree to be foster parents first.”

  Maureen sighed. “That is a big commitment, J.D.”

  “Yeah, well….”

  “Why this little boy?”

  “I’m not sure I know how to answer that. I just think we are supposed to.”

  “J.D….”

  “Mom, please don’t ask me to explain it. Okay? You didn’t see Candace with him.
You didn’t see her all weekend pacing. She never paces like that. Something about Cooper…She’s drawn to him, and when she walked in that room Saturday? God, his face lit up.”

  “So, you want to do this for Candace or for Cooper? What about you, J.D.?”

  “What makes you think I don’t want to do it?”

  “You never wanted kids.”

  “Things change,” Jameson said flatly.

  “Do they?”

  “Yeah, they do,” Jameson replied curtly.

  “And, what if Candace doesn’t feel the same way?”

  Jameson had considered that. In fact, she expected that Candace would initially be resistant to the idea. But, she knew her wife. Jameson would never seek to explain to anyone else how she knew, she just knew. She’d seen the interactions between Cooper and Candace. It wasn’t contrived. It wasn’t something born of guilt or fear. It was a connection that Jameson understood intrinsically. While different, it reminded her of the way she felt the first time she sat in Senator Candace Fletcher’s kitchen. Some people were meant to find each other. In Cooper’s case, Jameson felt certain that Candace was meant to find Cooper every bit as much as the little boy was meant to find Candace.

  Jameson looked directly at her mother. “She’ll say that she doesn’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “I don’t understand. If you think Candace doesn’t…”

  “I didn’t say she doesn’t want Cooper. I said she’ll object to the idea of us doing it.”

  “Then why…”

  “Mom, please. I wish you would just trust me on this. I can’t explain it to you. That’s like trying to explain why Jonah calls you instead of Candace or his dad when he’s upset with me or worried about me. I can’t explain it. Okay?”

  “J.D. this is not something you can just walk back on.”

  “What does that mean? Do I walk back on my commitments often?”

  “That’s not what I am saying and you know it,” Maureen replied.

  “Really? I think that’s exactly what you are saying.”

  “I just am trying to understand where this is all coming from. You have to admit it’s a big change.”

  Jameson shook her head. Her mother’s words stung. “No, it isn’t. I’ve been with Candace for over three years, Mom. I inherited an entire family when we moved in together—when I married her. I never thought that I would get married. I sure as hell never thought I’d be someone’s grandmother—God, before I was forty. So, I guess I can’t really understand why the idea that I might be inclined to want to be someone’s parent is so shocking to you.”

  Maureen was struck by the painful expression on Jameson’s face. “J.D.,” she said compassionately. “I’m not, really. I just want to be sure you know what you are saying.”

  Jameson stood up from the table and shook her head again.

  “Where are you going?” Maureen asked.

  “To get Spencer.”

  “I thought you were staying the night?”

  “I don’t think so,” Jameson said.

  “J.D….”

  Jameson passed her father in the doorway. She nodded and kept moving forward.

  “Is J.D. okay?” he asked his wife.

  Maureen closed her eyes regretfully. “I’m not really sure.”

  ***

  Melanie walked into the condo she shared with Michelle to find Michelle stretched out on the sofa with a glass of wine in her hand.

  “Your home early,” Melanie said.

  “Or your home late,” Michelle replied.

  Melanie threw her jacket over a chair and moved to sit beside her girlfriend. She leaned in and kissed Michelle on the lips. “Pinot?”

  Michelle smiled. “I need some liquid courage.”

  “Courage?” Melanie asked. Michelle nodded. “Oh, no. Did you have to apologize to your mom again?”

  Michelle chuckled. “No. I did that earlier.”

  “What am I missing Melanie asked?”

  “I’ll explain later. Why are you home so late?” Michelle wondered.

  “I went for a drink with Jonah.”

  “Oh? What happened? Jameson ground the two of you or something when she came into the office?” Michelle teased.

  “Nope.”

  “She didn’t fire you? Oh, my, God! Did she fire you?”

  Melanie started laughing. “How much of that bottle did you already drink?” she asked Michelle.

  “Enough. Now, did she?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What do you mean, not exactly? You can’t not exactly fire someone,” Michelle said.

  Melanie couldn’t help but be amused by Michelle. It was clear that Michelle was on the verge of a healthy buzz. “No, I am employed. In fact, it seems your wicked step-mother wants to promote me.”

  “Seriously? To what?”

  “Partner,” Melanie deadpanned.

  “What?”

  “She offered both Jonah and I a partnership in the firm,” Melanie explained.

  “Why?”

  Melanie feigned offense. “Why not?”

  “Oh, come on, you know what I mean.”

  Melanie nodded. “I do. I don’t know, Shell. Jonah and I thought of a million reasons and threw them all away just as fast. I don’t know. I think she wants to spend more time with your mom.”

  “She is so whipped.”

  Melanie laughed. “You’re a little drunk.”

  “Mmm.”

  “So, why are you a little drunk?”

  Michelle took a sip from her wine glass and set it down. “Mom told me I should call Jessica.”

  “Jessica?”

  “Yeah, Stearns.”

  “Her ex?”

  “That would be the one—yes,” Michelle said.

  Melanie watched as Michelle picked up the glass and finished the rest of her wine in one long swallow. “Did you?” Melanie asked.

  “Did I what?”

  “Call her?”

  Michelle nodded. “Yep.”

  “And?”

  Michelle shrugged. “I don’t know. It was weird.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “At first, I just didn’t know what to say. You know? Then…I don’t know, we started talking. She asked about you.”

  “Oh?”

  “Mm-hum. I told her you were a pain in the ass but since I am a bigger pain in the ass, it all worked out.”

  Melanie laughed. “That’s very romantic, babe.”

  Michelle shrugged. “Well, I am—a bigger pain in the ass, I mean.”

  Melanie sighed. “Shell…”

  “No, I am. I know it too. I don’t know why you put up with me sometimes.”

  “I love you.”

  Michelle finally smiled. “I know,” she said.

  “Shell, are we okay?”

  “Well, that depends, I guess.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “On how you feel about letting Jonah and Laura take this place over.”

  “I’m not following,” Melanie said.

  “Well, hell, if you are going to be some hotshot partner in my wicked step-mother’s business and I am going to be a minion in my crazy mother’s administration, we ought to be able to afford a bigger place. One with a yard.”

  Melanie’s jaw fell open. “Shell, I told you we don’t have to…”

  Michelle nodded. “Yeah, I know what you said. I heard you,” she told Melanie. “Look. I’m not sure I’m ready for any backyard weddings yet, but I am ready for the back yard. Maybe that seems backward to you…”

  Melanie smiled. She understood Michelle better than Michelle often gave her credit for. “No more backward than the way you eat your pizza crust first.”

  “I love you, you know?” Michelle changed the tenor of their conversation abruptly.

  “I do know,” Melanie said.

  “I just don’t want to screw that up,” Michelle said.

  “I know that too.”

  “Mel?” Michelle called for Melanie’s
attention. “It doesn’t mean I don’t want to…Get married, I mean. It doesn’t mean I don’t think about it—all of it.”

  “It’s okay, Shell.”

  “Jessica said she still misses us. But, she said it makes her happy to see Mom so happy.”

  “That surprised you?” Melanie guessed.

  “A little. I mean, if she loved my Mom so much why did she put her through all of that?”

  “I don’t know,” Melanie said.

  “Thing is, after I hung up? I started thinking—if Jessica hadn’t done that, you know? Cheated on Mom? Maybe Mom would never have met J.D. And, if Mom hadn’t met J.D., I probably would never have met you. I’ve been so pissed at her and in some weird way I feel like I should be thanking her.”

  Melanie smiled. “It’s an interesting way to look at it.”

  “You think I’m drunk. I’m not drunk, Mel.”

  “I don’t think you’re drunk. Tipsy, maybe,” Melanie said with a wink.

  “So? Miss Big Partner, are we celebrating or what?” Michelle asked.

  “What are we celebrating?” Melanie asked.

  “Our decision to live in sin.”

  Melanie’s laughter filled the room. “Shell, we’ve been living in sin for well over a year.”

  “Yeah, but this time it’ll be official. Buying a house before buying a ring? Good thing I am not the one who runs for office. I’d be tossed out!”

  Melanie leaned in and kissed Michelle soundly. “I’m not a partner yet.”

  “You are going to accept, aren’t you? You’ll hurt J.D. if you don’t.”

  “Yes, I am going to accept. So is Jonah. I just wonder why she seems so eager all of a sudden. I hope nothing is wrong.”

  “Nah,” Michelle dismissed the notion. She was still close to Jameson and even if she sometimes clashed with her mother, Michelle’s relationship with Candace had only strengthened in the last year. “Nah,” she said again.