A Home for Adam

by Gina Ferris Wilkins

  “She’s going to want to eat soon,” Jenny warned Adam.

  He shrugged. “Maybe she’ll wait until you’ve had time to have a cup of tea.”

  His grandmother laughed. “Babies aren’t known for being patient when it comes to feeding time. Jenny, dear, would you mind if I hold her for a moment until Cody gets back in? I have to confess, my hands have been itching to get ahold of her ever since I saw her.”

  Jenny couldn’t help smiling at the older woman’s avid enthusiasm. “Of course I don’t mind.”

  She handed her daughter over confidently. Jenny thought she had never met anyone who looked like a more natural grandmother than Frances Carson.

  Adam poured Jenny a cup of tea. “Cream or sugar?” he asked.

  She accepted the steaming cup gratefully. “No, thank you. This smells heavenly.”

  “You have to try some of these cookies,” he insisted, piling several on a dessert plate. “They’re great.”

  She thought of the pounds she still had to lose, then looked again at those homemade cookies. Oh, well, she thought, tossing caution to the wind. She could always start dieting tomorrow. “Thank you,” she said again as Adam set the plate close at hand on a small cherry-wood occasional table that was almost covered with knickknacks.

  Cody came back in with the infant seat. “Brr,” he said dramatically. “It’s as cold as a witch’s—er—refrigerator out there. Where do you want this?”

  Adam reached for the vinyl-and-molded-plastic seat. “Here, I’ll take it. Help yourself to tea and cookies.”

  “I’ll do that.” Cody promptly grabbed a generous handful of cookies, making Jenny glance enviously at his slender waistline. He couldn’t eat like this often, she mused, or he’d never stay so slim.

  Adam took the baby from his reluctant grandmother and laid her in the seat. They all held their breaths when Melissa promptly squirmed, screwed up her face and looked all set to cry. They exhaled in unison when she yawned, closed her eyes and fell into a light sleep.

  “What can I say,” Adam bragged. “I have the magic touch.”

  Cody sighed gustily and rolled his eyes. “I’ve heard that before,” he muttered.

  His cousin, as usual, ignored him.

  Adam made a production of serving tea and cookies to his grandmother. “Is there anything else you need?” he asked her.

  “Yes,” she said promptly, her eyes twinkling up at him. “A kiss from my oldest grandson.”

  He grinned, leaned over and planted a surprisingly tender kiss on her soft, lined cheek. The look that passed between them was so warm, so loving that Jenny had to look away, a hard lump forming in her throat.

  It had been years—if ever—since she’d had that strong sense of family closeness. She could hardly remember her own grandparents.

  She realized then that she’d just fallen in love.

  She assured herself hastily that her affection was directed toward sweet Frances Carson—and not her complex, unpredictable grandson.

  * * *

  Adam finished his own tea quickly, then announced that he had to make some telephone calls. “I have a friend who’s a pediatrician in Hot Springs,” he explained to Jenny. “I’m sure he’d be glad to look Melissa over first thing in the morning. I’ll also make arrangements about having your car towed and evaluated for damage.”

  “I can do that,” she argued hurriedly. “There’s no need for you to—”

  He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I’ll take care of it. Is there anyone else you want me to call?”

  “No, I—”

  “Fine.” He’d already turned away. “Guess I’ll call the office while I’m at it, make sure nothing’s come up there.”

  “You’d better call your mother,” his grandmother said with a touch of sympathy in her expression. “She’s been having fits to talk to you for the past few days. She’s handled the bad weather just fine, but it gripes her no end that you haven’t been around to cater to her.”

  “I’ll call her,” Adam said without noticeable enthusiasm.

  Jenny was getting a pretty clear mental image of Adam’s mother, and it wasn’t a particularly comfortable one. How would his mother feel if Jenny accepted Adam’s generous job offer? Would she disapprove of her son hiring an unmarried young mother? Would she suspect things that simply weren’t true?

  Cody was watching Jenny as Adam left the room. “You’ll get used to that if you’re around him much longer,” he said.

  She didn’t quite understand. “Get used to what?”

  “That steamroller technique of his. Adam tends to decide what’s best, and then he takes care of it without bothering to consult anyone else involved.”

  “Adam means well,” Granny Fran defended instantly. “He’s just—er—”

  “Dictatorial.” Cody supplied a word.

  “Overly zealous.” Granny Fran corrected him.

  “Arrogant,” Cody added.

  “Self-confident,” his grandmother returned.

  “Granny’s pet,” Cody muttered with an exaggerated scowl.

  Granny Fran laughed softly. “Nonsense. I love each of my grandchildren the same, and you know it, you rascal.”

  Cody chuckled and leaned over to kiss her with a noisy smack. “Love you, too, Gran. Got anything else to eat around here?”

  Jenny was glad that the baby woke then, demanding to be fed. It was a nice reminder to her that she was no longer alone.

  She had her own family now, even if that family consisted only of herself and one tiny, hungry baby girl.

  * * *

  Adam completed his calls and assured everyone that all arrangements had been made. He didn’t give Jenny a chance to ask what, exactly, he’d arranged on her behalf.

  “I’d better be going,” Cody said with a yawn and a stretch. “It’s getting dark out.”

  “You aren’t planning to make that long drive home tonight, are you?” Granny Fran demanded. “It’s almost completely dark now, and those highways are still very slick. You should stay right here tonight.”

  “She’s right,” Adam said. “It would take you at least three hours to get back to Percy tonight—if you make it at all. You’d be safer staying here.

  “Besides,” he added with a wry grin. “I need your wheels tomorrow. Granny Fran doesn’t have a car, remember? And mine is still snowed in at the cabin.”

  Cody sighed and shook his head. “Your true motivation reveals itself. If you’d only taken my advice and bought a sensible, practical vehicle like mine instead of that sexy foreign number you just had to have....”

  “What can I say? I’m so well suited to sexy cars,” Adam quipped smugly.

  Cody groaned.

  Jenny thought in bemusement that there seemed to be a lot of affection between the cousins, even if it was tinged with exasperation. On both sides.

  “That’s settled then,” Granny Fran said with relief. “Cody, you’ll spend the night here. You and Adam can use the twin beds in the back bedroom, the same ones you’ve always used. Jenny, the front guest room will do for you and Melissa. That’s where Rachel and Celia always stayed when my grandchildren slept over.”

  “I hope I’m not causing you any inconvenience,” Jenny said politely.

  Granny Fran shook her gray head. “Not a bit. I love having company. I’d better get dinner started. Cody will be hungry again soon—and he’s almost as impatient as your daughter when he wants to be fed,” she added with a mischievous smile.

  “I resent that,” Cody said lazily.

  “I’m sure Cody’s more impatient than Melissa,” Adam contributed, tongue in cheek.

  Chuckling, Granny Fran headed for the kitchen.

  “You’ve made her week,” Cody told Jenny. “Granny Fran’s never happier than when she has someone to cook for and fuss over.”

  “Does she live here alone?”

  Cody nodded. “My sister Rachel and I live in Percy—that’s a couple of hours north of here. Our kid sister Celia rec
ently moved to New Mexico with her new husband. My parents—Dad’s Granny Fran’s son—live in St. Louis. Adam and his mother, Aunt Arlene, both live in Little Rock, which is about an hour’s drive away from here.”

  “I’ve tried to get Gran to move closer to me where I can keep an eye on her,” Adam said with a slight frown. “I’ve even offered to build her a guest house next to mine. She won’t even discuss it.”

  Jenny could tell he was quite disgruntled by his grandmother’s refusal to fall in compliantly with his suggestions.

  “She’s lived in Malvern almost all her life,” Cody said pointedly. “Raised her kids here. Her church is here, and her friends. She’s happy here.”

  “Still, it would be better if she were closer to me,” Adam complained.

  “Better for whom?” Jenny couldn’t resist asking. “Your grandmother—or yourself?”

  Adam turned his frown toward her. Cody gave her a look of approval.

  Jenny quickly busied herself folding a baby blanket.

  Cody rescued her from whatever Adam might have said. “C’mon, cuz, let’s bring in Jenny’s things. I’m sure she’d like to get settled into the guest room for the evening.”

  Jenny was grateful to him for rescuing her from one of Adam’s lectures. She sent him a quick smile, which Cody returned warmly.

  Adam, she noticed, began to frown even more heavily, though he allowed Cody to drag him away.

  * * *

  “She’s lovely,” Granny Fran told Adam much later that evening. Dinner had been eaten, the dishes cleared away. Jenny and the baby had retired to the front guest room for the night; Cody was settled in front of the TV in the den, engrossed in a late-night “Star Trek” rerun.

  Adam sat in the kitchen drinking hot cocoa with his grandmother, enjoying the rare, quiet time with her. He visited her as often as he could, but, with his demanding schedule, it was too infrequently for his satisfaction. Usually he saw his grandmother when the entire family had gathered for an occasion, such as the past Christmas. The family gatherings were always pleasant, but a bit chaotic. There was rarely time to just sit and chat.

  Savoring the peace, and the cocoa, Adam lifted an eyebrow in lazy enquiry in response to his grandmother’s comment. “Who’s lovely? The baby?”

  “Oh, yes, of course. But I was talking about Jenny. What a nice young woman,” Granny Fran said. “So polite. Even after all she’s been through for the past few days, she still wanted to help with the dishes after dinner. She seemed quite distressed when I refused to allow her to do anything to help.”

  “She’s very independent,” Adam explained. “Determined to pull her own weight. I swear, Gran, she’s worse than Rachel when it comes to being stubborn and self-reliant.”

  “In other words, she refused to let you step in and immediately take charge of her life for her,” his grandmother translated indulgently.

  Adam frowned. “I wasn’t trying to do that. It’s just that I could see she needs help and there are several things I can do to help her. She’s had a run of bad luck lately, made a few mistakes, and now she just needs some sensible advice. A little guidance, maybe.”

  “Guidance that you, of course, are eminently suited to offer her.”

  Adam’s frown deepened. “Now you sound like Cody. Am I really so officious?”

  His grandmother gave him a lovingly exasperated smile. “Yes, dear, you are. At times. But those of us who love you know that you always have the best intentions. You only want to help those who are less fortunate than yourself. Just as you are unable to turn your back on your mother, no matter how trying she may be at times.”

  “And should I turn my back?” he demanded. “On Mother—or Jenny and her baby?”

  “Of course not. You simply have to give Jenny the opportunity to decline your assistance, if she chooses. You can’t force your advice on others, Adam, no matter how wise you think it might be.”

  “I don’t claim to be all that wise,” he muttered. “It’s just that I’ve had more experience than Jenny. She’s young, and vulnerable, right now. I can help her.”

  “How?”

  “I’ve offered her a job. As my housekeeper.”

  Frances tilted her head. “Your housekeeper?”

  “Yes. You know Mrs. Handy retired.”

  “Of course. But I thought you’d decided not to replace her. You said you were home so rarely, you really didn’t need a full-time cook and housekeeper.”

  “So I was wrong,” Adam said with a shrug. “Now that I think about it, I do need some help around the place.”

  “And you’ve come to that realization since you met Jenny.”

  He avoided her too-knowing eyes by taking a cautious sip of his hot beverage. “It seemed like a convenient solution for both of us,” he murmured into the mug.

  “Hmm. As I said, Jenny is a lovely woman.”

  Adam set down his mug with a thump, barely avoiding splashing cocoa all over her spotless kitchen table. “I didn’t offer her a job because I was personally interested in her,” he insisted. “Not in the way you’ve implied, anyway. I just want to help her. I have an opening, she needs someplace to go. What could be simpler? Or more straightforward?”

  “So you’re not personally interested in her? You don’t find her attractive?”

  “I didn’t say that,” he hedged, pushing away an all-too-clear image of the way Jenny had looked standing in the kitchen doorway at the cabin, heavy eyed and flushed from sleep. “Jenny is attractive, of course. But I have no intention of anything more than a professional relationship with her. We can be friends, perhaps. But that’s all.”

  His grandmother seemed privately amused. “And why is that?”

  Adam was growing defensive. He wouldn’t have taken questions like this from anyone but Granny Fran. Anyone else—except his favorite cousin Rachel, perhaps—would have already received one of his notoriously curt put-downs. But he had never been able to risk hurting his grandmother.

  He answered reluctantly. “For one thing, she’s too young for me. By twelve years.”

  “I was eleven years younger than your grandfather.”

  Adam eyed her warily. “You aren’t matchmaking again, are you? Trust me, you’re off course this time. I have no intention of getting involved with anyone right now. I don’t have time for a relationship. You know how busy I am with work.”

  “Sweetheart, there’s always time for love,” his grandmother admonished.

  Love? Who said anything about love?

  Gulping silently, Adam held up a hand. “This whole conversation is getting ridiculous,” he said as sternly as he dared. “I’ve offered Jenny a housekeeping position, nothing more. She hasn’t even accepted that.

  “Jenny’s just gotten out of a bad relationship, and she isn’t looking for another right now,” he explained evenly. “She needs a job, a place to stay, a place to raise her baby until she gets back on her feet and decides what to do with her future. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she has those things—but it’s nothing personal,” he insisted. “Anyone would do the same for someone in her situation.”

  “All right, dear, I won’t embarrass you any further. I think it’s wonderful what you’ve done for Jenny, and I’m sure she’s very grateful to you.”

  Somehow, that bothered Adam more than anything she’d said yet. He didn’t like thinking that Jenny’s feelings for him—casual as they might be—were in any way influenced by gratitude.

  “I don’t want her feeling grateful to me,” he grumbled. “It’s a job, that’s all. Not charity.”

  Granny Fran sighed. “You’re being very prickly this evening, Adam. It’s difficult to carry on a conversation with you.”

  “Sorry,” he said. “Maybe we should change the subject.”

  “Perhaps we should. Did I tell you I talked to Rachel this morning? She and Seth seem to be settling in nicely. She’s so happy.”

  Adam glanced at her a bit suspiciously, wondering if there was any d
eeper meaning to her new choice of topics. Deciding he was being paranoid, he relaxed and went along with her. “How are the kids doing?” he asked.

  His grandmother eagerly began to fill him in on all the latest family news. Adam listened with forced attention, still distantly uncomfortable after her artless conversation about Jenny.

  * * *

  Adam drove Jenny and Melissa to the pediatrician’s office in Cody’s Jeep early the next morning, leaving Cody contentedly alone with his grandmother—and her cooking.

  Jenny was a bit nervous about this appointment. She wouldn’t be able to put her mind completely at ease until Melissa had been thoroughly examined and pronounced healthy.

  Adam escorted them into the clinic and gave his name to the receptionist. “I called yesterday,” he added. “Max said he would work us in.”

  The efficient receptionist nodded her head. “Dr. Lawrence told me to expect you. We’ll call you shortly, Dr. Stone, Mrs. Stone.”

  “Oh, I’m not—” Jenny began, but Adam ushered her into the waiting room before she could correct the receptionist’s misconception.

  “Did you tell her we were married?” she snapped when she and Adam had been seated in adjacent chairs, Jenny holding the baby while Adam leafed through a magazine he’d picked up from a low table.

  “Of course not,” he answered absently, seemingly interested in an article about Oprah’s personal life. “But there was no need to argue with her. It’s really none of her business, is it?”

  “No, I suppose not,” Jenny conceded. Still, it bothered her that the woman had assumed she and Adam were married. She couldn’t quite explain why.

  Half an hour passed before Melissa’s name was called. Jenny was surprised when Adam stood at the same time she did. “Are you coming with us?” she asked.

  He nodded, studying her expression. “Do you mind? I thought Max might have some questions about the delivery.”

  “Oh.” That made some sense to her. “Well, you can come with us, then. But Adam?”

  “Mmm?”

  “Let me talk, okay? I am her mother.”

  He seemed surprised by the request. “Of course you are. You don’t really expect me to go in there and take over the examination, do you?”