A One-of-a-Kind Family

by Holly Jacobs

  “I’m sorry you couldn’t join us.” Anna’s expression didn’t quite match her words. Though her look was quickly replaced by an all-business one that Liam recognized because he’d used it himself with difficult customers.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here today,” she said with what sounded like forced enthusiasm. “Maybe we can talk for a few minutes?”

  “Come in.” He led her into the living room and gestured to one of the chairs. He took the other one opposite her.

  “You have a beautiful home,” she said conversationally. “And that porch. I really love the porch. It makes the house seem so friendly and approachable.”

  “This is my parents’ house. I grew up here and moved back in after they passed away. I thought the continuity was important for Colm, given the circumstances.”

  “I’m sorry. Mrs. Taylor said that’s when she started helping you out. I’m glad you had some support. But still, I’m sorry for your loss.”

  He didn’t say anything to that, because Liam didn’t know what to do with sympathy. He remembered standing at the funeral home while a long line of his parents’ friends filed by expressing their own sorrow and empathizing with his. He’d nodded woodenly, and tried not to envy Colm’s ability to hug everyone.

  Needing to change the subject, he said, “So, about my brother?”

  “I’d like to spend some time with Colm. A couple of hours a few times a week. Mrs. Taylor seemed to think you’d be okay with that.”

  Liam couldn’t help but smile. “That was a polite way of saying that Aunt Betty threatened to kick my butt if I didn’t let you work with him.”

  Anna laughed and the movement sent her myriad of curls bouncing every which way, just like when they’d met. Again, Liam wanted to reach out and touch them. They were like a living entity, moving as she spoke. But being attracted to Anna was the last thing he needed, so he kept his hands at his sides.

  She was still chuckling as she said, “Yes, I believe there was some promise on her part of using threats if necessary. I’d really like it not to be necessary, Mr. Franklin. I think I have something to offer your brother. I think Colm can do a lot more than you believe.”

  “I won’t see him upset or hurt. I don’t want him pushed into doing things he’s not comfortable with. I’ve worked very hard to keep a routine for him since my parents died.” Liam felt a lump in his throat at the thought of their passing. There was a sense of finality—the knowledge that his father would never realize that Liam’s tinkering with computers was indeed turning into a successful business.

  His parents had been in their forties when they’d had him and Colm, and his father had some very old-world attitudes about what constituted real work. He’d looked at Liam’s start-up company as an unnecessary risk. He pointed out that Liam could make more money and have more security working for an already established company. But Liam liked working for himself. He liked the autonomy. And his decision to start his own company had paid off. Liam desperately wished his father could know.

  “Mr. Franklin, was Colm upset yesterday after he served us our snack and then cleaned up?”

  “No,” he admitted. His brother had been excited when Liam had come home last night, telling him that he could make his own snacks now. Someone didn’t have to do it for him. “No, he wasn’t upset at all.”

  “Great. Then if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep going—see what else Colm can do for himself. I’ll be by mornings for now, but that’s subject to change. And I’ll look for someone who can stay with him when you have to travel.”

  “What do you think Colm needs to be doing for himself, Ms. Chapel?” He bristled at the implication that somehow his parents hadn’t helped Colm enough—his mother had devoted her life to his brother. He was about to say as much to Ms. Chapel but she started talking, and as at their first meeting, he realized that when Ms. Chapel started talking, it was like a speeding freight train. Unstoppable.

  “Listen, Mr. Franklin, Colm is a wonderful, well-adjusted man. And I know that’s because of what your family gave him—a stable, loving home. But…” She paused.

  “But,” she started again, “everyone needs new challenges. I think I can give that to Colm. Challenge him. Help him grow.”

  “And I can’t?” he asked.

  “You can—and I’m hoping you’ll help.”

  “And what about additional help?”

  “Let me know the dates that Mrs. Taylor can’t cover for you and I’ll organize someone.”

  It rankled, asking this woman for help. A very big part of Liam wanted to tell her never mind, he’d arrange it on his own. He wanted to assure her that he and Colm were fine as is. But even as he thought the words, he realized it was a lie. He did need help.

  So, as much as he hated to say it, he agreed. “Fine.”

  At that moment, Anna Chapel smiled.

  Other than her wild hair, he’d thought there was nothing especially remarkable about her. Which is why he couldn’t quite figure out why she seemed beautiful. Each of her features was decidedly average, but put together, they made Anna striking.

  And that particular revelation made Liam feel even more uncomfortable than before.

  “Thanks, Mr. Franklin. Do you mind if I go find Colm now?”

  “No, make yourself at home, Ms. Chapel.” The words sounded polite enough, but Liam knew that his tone must have been less than inviting, because the woman frowned, then sighed.

  “I will, Mr. Franklin. I will.”

  TWO HOURS LATER, Anna said, “Okay, Colm that’s it for today. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

  “I’ll be ready for you, Anna. All by myself. ’Cause I can do it, just like I can make snacks. Ya think I can do other things, Anna?”

  “I think you can do lots of things, Colm.”

  Today they’d concentrated on the basics. Colm had been completely sheltered by his family. Someone laid out his clothes. Someone made his bed. Someone prepared his breakfast then did his dishes.

  Colm Franklin was able to do all those jobs himself, and the more time she spent with him, the more she was convinced that Colm could do many others as well.

  “Come on, Anna, I’ll take you to the door,” Colm said. “’Cause that’s what a gentleman does. Mommy told me. You be nice to the ladies, Colm. And I was. I always opened the door for her, and I pushed in her chair at the table, too.”

  “That was sweet. Though I can push in my own chair.”

  “I think she coulda, too.” He laughed. “My mommy was a funny woman, but she was nice and smiled a lot. Like you do, Anna. And tomorrow you’ll be back, right?”

  The compliment touched her. “Thank you, Colm. That was sweet. And yes, I’ll be back tomorrow. I won’t be able to come every day, but I’ll try to be here a lot of days, okay?”

  “And you’ll teach me stuff?” he asked again.

  “Yes, I’ll teach you as much as you want me to.”

  He frowned a little. “What if I goof up?”

  “Remember what I said yesterday?”

  He nodded vigorously. “If you spill the milk, you’ll wipe it up. If you drop the cookies, you pick them up. If you make a mess, clean it up,” he parroted.

  “That’s right. Everyone makes a mess sometimes.”

  “But not Liam—he’s smart.”

  “Even Liam. Even me. Even Aunt Betty.”

  Colm laughed as if she had to be teasing him. “Nuh-uh.”

  “Everyone, Colm. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has accidents and makes a mess. All you can do is do your best to clean it up and fix it afterwards.”

  “But I make lots of mistakes.”

  “Hey, it might take you a little longer to learn something, but you learn it. We’ll keep going over it until you know it.”

  “Even if it takes a lot of times?” he asked.

  “Even if.”

  “And you won’t get mad?” he checked.

  “Not even a little.”

  Quickly, he engulfed her in
his arms. “I love you, Anna.”

  She hugged him back.

  “So, how did it go?” Liam asked, approaching them.

  Colm let go of Anna, turned around and immediately hugged his brother. “It was good, Liam. Anna’s teachin’ me to do stuff for myself, but it don’t matter if I make mistakes, ’cause she says we’ll clean it up, right, Anna?”

  She wasn’t sure why, but watching Colm hug Liam and prickly Liam return the hug, Anna had a Hallmark-commercial reaction. A warm, mushy, on-the-verge-of-tears sort of feeling. She kept it at bay, sure that Liam would disapprove. “Right, Colm, we’ll clean it up.”

  Liam clapped his brother on his shoulder. “So, bud, you’ll have to show me what you learned today after Anna leaves.”

  “It’s better stuff than I learned in school. See ya tomorrow, Anna.” Colm waved then ran up the stairs.

  Liam watched Colm disappear, then turned to Anna and asked, “What do you suppose he’s up to?”

  “If I were going to guess, he’s making his bed, again. He mentioned he was going to like going to bed tonight because he’d have made the bed himself. And if his enjoyment goes up incrementally each time he makes it, he’s going to officially have the best night’s sleep ever.”

  “He can make his own bed?”

  She nodded. “He’s a special man, Mr. Franklin. I’ve left you some papers to read through about my teaching strategy for Colm. Goals. The criteria for taking new steps. It’s all there. If you have any concerns, let me know. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

  Liam stood in the doorway and watched Anna Chapel get in her car. For a moment, she stared wistfully at the house, and he wondered what she was thinking. Then she started her tiny gray car and took off down the road.

  Liam paused, letting the knowledge that Colm was upstairs making his bed sink in.

  It sounded like such a simple thing, but it wasn’t simple at all. Now, Liam speculated as to what other kinds of things his brother could do. Things he’d never been given a chance to do because no one had thought he could.

  No one but Anna Chapel.

  ANNA AND COLM fell into an easy routine over the next few weeks as April progressed and spring settled more firmly into place. A couple of hours a day, three or four times a week if she was able, she and Colm practiced tasks together. Only it wasn’t really a job in Anna’s mind, it was a delight. Anna truly enjoyed all her clients, but Colm soon became a very special one. He was always open to trying something new, and found such joy when he’d mastered the skill. This week’s goals involved cooking.

  Since pouring those first glasses of milk, Colm had been building a set of kitchen skills: making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, getting snacks, rinsing dishes. The man who’d never been encouraged to do kitchen work had discovered he loved it. So this week, they were trying actual cooking.

  Colm’s first solo meal was spaghetti. Anna sat on a stool and offered advice and listened as Colm’s excitement bubbled over. “Liam’s gonna be surprised, huh, Anna?”

  “Very surprised.”

  He wiped his hands on the front of the apron he was wearing, then opened a cupboard and took out a large bowl.

  “Liam liked my waffles the other day. But ya don’t really cook those.”

  “Hey, you used a toaster,” Anna reminded him.

  “That’s toastin’, not cookin’.” He shook his head as if he was surprised that Anna didn’t recognize the difference.

  “You’re right, toasting’s not cooking.” She scootched her stool a little closer to the stove.

  “But today, it’s really cookin’ ’cause there’s a flame.”

  The timer rang and Colm clapped his hands. “Are they done?”

  “Let’s see,” Anna said. “Carefully use the spoon and pull one noodle out.” She watched proudly as, with the care of a surgeon operating, Colm lifted a noodle from the pot with painstaking slowness.

  “Now, you have two options for seeing if it’s done. You can taste it, and if it’s not hard, it’s done, or you can throw it on the wall and if it sticks, it’s done.”

  “Throw food at the wall?” Colm’s voice was filled with what might have been shock, but he wore a smile that said the idea was intriguing.

  “I don’t recommend throwing food as part of your regular cooking technique, and you do have to wipe the wall off when you’re done, but if the noodle sticks, you know it’s—” As she squeaked out the word, done, Colm threw the noodle at the wall with such force that Anna worried that it was going to leave a permanent mark.

  “Done!” Colm announced.

  “I see that. Okay, now we need to get the noodles out of the water, so—”

  The sound of the front door being opened and closed could be heard, soon Liam came into the kitchen and his eyes immediately honed in on Colm. “Hey, how are things, bud?”

  “I’m cookin’ dinner tonight. Aunt Betty, she went home early ’cause me and Anna are cookin’, and I threw food on the wall, only it’s okay ’cause I’ll clean it after, but now you gotta go so I can finish. Go. Go.”

  It was a long sentence that Colm somehow managed to get out in one breath.

  “I can take a hint,” Liam said, laughing. The laughter died though as he glanced Anna’s way. He gave a brisk nod of greeting and said, “Call me if you need help, Ms. Chapel.”

  “She won’t,” Colm assured his brother. “Me and Anna are a team, right, Anna?”

  “Right, Colm. We’ve got it under control, Mr. Franklin. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

  Liam started to leave the room, and Anna called out, “Mr. Franklin, do you think that maybe we could drop the formal address and go with Liam and Anna from now on?”

  He turned, frowned, then nodded. “Fine, Anna. Let me know if you need me.” He turned to go.

  “We will, Liam,” she called after him.

  It had been weeks since she’d begun assisting Colm, but Liam still treated her as if she were an enemy…someone to be on his guard around. She didn’t like it, and wasn’t sure what she could do about it. She sighed.

  Colm didn’t notice. He reached for some pot holders and said, “Okay, Anna, let’s get us some spaghetti.”

  She helped Colm with the rest of the meal prep. They’d already made the salad, and after draining the noodles, Colm sliced the bread. Anna talked about safety, warning of the dangers of hot water and sharp knives.

  Colm repeated her rules back to her again and again until they set the food on the table.

  Anna surveyed the result and was pleased. “Everything’s beautiful, Colm. Why don’t you go get Liam.”

  “Liii-ammm,” Colm screamed.

  She stifled a chuckle and used her best teacher voice. “Colm, what are the rules about inside voices?”

  “It’s not polite to yell, so we use a quiet inside voice.”

  “Right. If you go into the living room and get your brother, you don’t have to shout.”

  “Okay.” He headed toward the door, but it opened and Liam was standing there. “Hey, see, Anna, the scream worked.”

  “Yes, but it’s not polite.” She looked at Liam, who was frowning. So, what had she done now? Working with Colm was so satisfying. His brother? Not so much. More like a pain in her proverbial…

  “It looks good, bud,” he said to Colm. His genuine pleasure over his brother’s successes robbed her of her annoyance.

  Anna smiled at Colm. “Well, I’ll leave you two to dinner. Now, Colm, when you’re done, you help with the dishes, too.”

  “And wash the wall,” Colm said.

  “Yes,” she agreed, “and wash the wall. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

  “No, Anna!” Colm yelled, stopping Anna in her tracks.

  “Inside voice,” she reminded him gently. “Is there a problem, Colm?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, you helped make the food, you get to eat it.”

  She glanced at Liam who was actively scowling at the thought. “No, you made the dinner for your brother,
” she tried.

  “And you,” he repeated stubbornly.

  “No, sweetie. My job is helping you learn things, things that will make your life and your family’s life better. Tonight, we cooked, and you need to share that with your family—with your brother.”

  “And you,” he insisted. “You had a snack with me first time I made it.”

  Anna didn’t know how to get around that, so she looked at Liam, silently asking him for some help.

  “Maybe Anna’s got a date,” Liam said.

  Colm chortled. “Nah, she ain’t gotta date.”

  Ouch. She didn’t have a date, but still—ouch.

  “I think I should be insulted,” she said, quietly. And Liam quite unexpectedly laughed. Not a forced laugh either. This was the first real sign that Liam Franklin had a mood other than guarded or grouchy.

  As he chuckled, Anna saw another side of the gruff man. A softer side. A side she’d glimpsed when he hugged Colm in the past, but this time it was directed at her, and it was sweet.

  “If you don’t have a date, Anna,” he said her name as if it was still foreign to his lips, “we’d be happy to have you share Colm’s first official solo meal.”

  Part of Anna wanted to lie and make up some excuse why she needed to leave, but instead, she nodded. “I’d love to. Though you know what this means, Colm? You need to set another place at the table.”

  He broke out in a grin. “Another place for Anna. Got it.”

  He ran across the kitchen, grabbed a plate and started to run back when Anna called out, “Walk, Colm. We don’t want you to fall and get hurt.”

  “Or break the plate. But if I broke it, it’d be okay, ’cause we’d clean it up, right, Anna?”

  He was so attentive, remembering her comments and instructions. “Right, Colm.”

  When he’d set the plate on the table, he ran and got one butter knife and slowly walked toward the table.

  “Uh, why don’t we sit down?” Liam suggested. “It looks as if this may take a while.”

  He pulled out one of the chairs from the small kitchen table.

  Anna was surprised by the act of chivalry. She’d never been a woman who insisted on such things. She was more than capable of pulling out her own chair or opening a door. But she didn’t find having a guy do them offensive, either. She simply hadn’t expected such a gesture from Liam Franklin. Wasn’t she still the enemy?