by Marika Ray
“What’s got that dreamy look on your face, sis?” Esme was back by my side, clipboard in hand, crossing off items.
I blinked and started straightening the twenty dolls lined up on the table to have something to do with my hands. No way would I be answering that question. “You don’t think the doll game is creepy? I mean, look at these things.”
Esme glanced up at the dolls and shrugged, already back to her damn checklist. “Too late to change the game now. Just be glad they aren’t Chucky dolls. Let’s put the raffle gift in the center of the table for maximum effect. We want people donating all kinds of diapers for that sucker.”
I shifted some things on the table and prayed the time would fly by quickly. Trying to set up a party under Esme’s commands was trying at best. The girl was type A to a fault.
“Ooh.”
I glanced over at her to see her lifting the bottle of champagne out of the basket. “Who donated this pretty thing?”
I willed my cheeks to stay calm. Blushing in front of Esme would be like waving a red flag in front of a bull. And I’d had enough encounters with bulls recently. “Uh, Wyatt, I think.”
Esme raised an eyebrow with a look in her eyes that made me want to revert to being a little girl and pulling her hair. “Your new partner? Interesting. I may have to introduce myself. A man who buys excellent champagne is worth knowing. If you know what I mean.”
She marched off to check on Izzy and the food situation. I watched her go while glaring at the back of her head. Oh, I knew exactly what she meant and that would happen over my dead body. Esme, the business shark, frequently set her sights on men. The outcome was decided before the guy even knew what was happening. She’d draw them in, have her fun, and then spit them out.
“Hey, darlin’.” Dad came up behind me and kissed the top of my head. “You look beautiful as ever.”
I turned to see him in a button-down shirt—not a uniform, surprisingly—and a pair of perfectly creased black slacks. His hair was combed nicely and his mustache even looked like it had some wax giving it a debonaire shape. Mom had clearly gotten ahold of him with some new style for the party. Amelia had insisted the baby shower be for couples, as she didn’t want to do anything without Titus by her side. It was both admirable and sickening.
“Hey, Dad,” I murmured, giving him a hug and breathing in the familiar scent that said home. “Try not to look stunned at me in a dress, huh?”
He chuckled. “Guess we both got gussied up by the ladies in our lives.”
I loved that he and I had this connection. Yeah, I was a girl, but he treated me as if I was his buddy. Like it was him and me against the other girls, which included Mom.
I smoothed my hands down the light blue dress, feeling a tad uncomfortable with all the breeze on my legs. The skirt flowed around me nicely when I moved, and even though it hit just above my knees, I still felt self-conscious in it. While the little cap sleeves were feminine and gorgeous, and the girls had urged me to buy it, it just didn’t feel like me. Izzy had curled my hair too, pinning back a section when I’d complained that it was in my face and threatened to just put it in a bun.
“I’m heeeere!” Vee called from the front door, busting in like the party was for her. My littlest sister was not known for her promptness. She got away with murder as the baby in the family.
“You’re late,” Esme called out from the kitchen.
Mom came down the stairs and oohed and aahed over the decorations before coming over to give me a quick hug. “Jim, help me with the gift in the garage. You look too pretty, Oakley, to help.” She beamed like that was a compliment. I guess getting me into a dress was a good thing in her mind.
Vee came over and threw her arms around my waist, lifting me up with a squeal. I rolled my eyes, but let her be an excited weirdo. My sister was taller than me, but at twenty-one, she was more limbs than muscles. Didn’t stop her from trying to pick up her big sister every chance she got.
“I can’t believe one of us is pregnant! And it’s a good thing!” She set me down, giggling. “I always thought one of you would be pregnant in high school.”
“Vee!” I admonished her. That was a horrible thing to think about your sisters.
“What?” Her eyes danced with humor and youth. Being twelve years her senior made me feel ancient. “You know that had to have been Mom and Dad’s worst fear with five girls. Why do you think Dad always answered the door in full uniform when we had dates? Nothing like a shiny badge and holstered gun staring at you to keep things zipped up, you know?”
The door to the garage opened, and Dad came through, bent over and grunting. Vee and I looked at each other and then darted over to help lift whatever was underneath all that ridiculous stork wrapping paper. Mom huffed from the other side, her face an unhealthy shade of red.
“What is this thing?” I asked as we inched our way into the living room.
“Must be made of lead,” Vee grumbled.
We finally got it down to the ground, all of us breathing hard. A car door slamming out front had us all jumping up again. It was time. Guests were arriving. Vee squealed and ran to get the door. Esme clapped her hands and finally put down the damn clipboard.
“Places, everyone!” Esme barked while Izzy ran out of the kitchen with one more dish.
“She knows this isn’t a play, right?” Dad whispered loudly next to me.
I snorted and Mom shushed him.
Lucy and Bain Sutter came in first, followed by Lenora and Jayden Sutter. Charlie and Finnie were the next car to arrive, though Finnie was on call, so she said she might have to leave early. Those two had never married, but a piece of paper wouldn’t have made them any closer. Next up was Rip and Hazel Bennett.
Us girls ran around putting purses and sweaters away, grabbing drinks and getting everyone settled. The doorbell rang, and I rushed over to grab it, thinking it would be Amelia and Titus. Everyone turned their attention to the door, thinking the same thing.
I swung the door open, an enormous smile on my face, to find Wyatt standing there in dark jeans, a button-down white shirt rolled up over his forearms, and a bouquet of pink and blue flowers in his hands. My heart stopped and all the blood rushed to my head.
“Wyatt?” I asked, stunned.
He grinned and winced at the same time. “Hi. I heard there’s a baby shower today?”
“Hey, glad you could make it, Wyatt.” Bain came up behind me and did that same weird handshake thing he’d done that day with the bull fiasco.
I looked between the two men, my brain slow to pick up that Bain must have invited Wyatt.
“Wyatt?” Esme’s voice joined us at the door. She legit pushed me out of the way to get in front of the man. “Come on in. I’m Esme, by the way. So glad you could make it.”
When Wyatt passed me into the house, he gave me a quick wink that had my cheeks heating. That little bitch of a sister acted like she’d invited him, when it had actually been Bain. And all of them should have let me do the inviting, considering he was my partner. Sometimes I hated having four nosy sisters and all their friends.
I swung the door shut and tried to control my breathing before anyone noticed how flustered I’d become. Izzy came over and leaned into my side.
“Are you two a couple?” she whispered behind her hand.
My eyes felt like they were going to bug right out of my head. “No. Why would you think that?”
She shrugged. “Well, it is a couples baby shower. Thought maybe he was the other half of your couple.”
I shook my head so hard I felt a headache coming on. “Absolutely not. We work together.”
Izzy shot me a look. “Then you better stop staring at his ass.”
“Hey, why does Esme get first dibs?” Vee whined as she breezed past us into the living room where Esme had Wyatt by the arm, introducing him around.
I rolled my eyes and prayed for patience. The door blew open behind me and had Izzy and me jumping. Amelia stood there with her arms out wide,
her little baby bump on full display in a tight maternity dress with ruching down the side.
“The baby mama has arrived!” she shouted, Titus right behind her with a shit-eating grin.
The guests erupted into another round of hugs and squeals and claps on the back for the guys. We eventually all got seated, and I found myself right next to Wyatt, both of us perched on dining room chairs dragged into the living room that were more for show than comfort.
While Esme announced the first game and Izzy handed out the creepy dolls, Wyatt leaned over.
“You look gorgeous in that dress, Captain,” he whispered and then took a doll from Izzy’s outstretched hand.
My cheeks flared with heat again. I should grab a cold drink to press against my skin. As much as I’d like to say the compliment didn’t mean much, I sat up straighter, feeling like the dress was the best outfit choice I’d ever made. I felt feminine. And pretty.
And why the fuck did I even care?
Good Lord. One compliment from a hot guy and suddenly I was preening like Vee in front of a single man of eligible age—which in her mind was anyone under seventy and above eighteen.
“Okay, so if you see someone put their doll down, you can steal it from them. Doll napping is legal, Daddy.” Esme winked at Dad who just lifted a bushy eyebrow like this was all beneath him.
Let’s be honest. It was.
“Whoever has the most dolls at the end of the party wins a surprise,” Esme finished with an enthusiastic eye waggle.
“I’m just going to put my doll down right now.” Wyatt whispered out of the side of his mouth. I struggled to keep in a laugh. “Thing creeps me out.”
“That’s what I said!” I whispered back.
“Shht,” Esme admonished me with a crazy look in her eye. She turned a beaming smile to the rest of the group. “Okay, so on to the icebreaker. We have a clipboard for each couple.” Again, Izzy handed Wyatt a clipboard. She skipped right over me to hand Dad a clipboard. “On it are twenty things either Titus or Amelia has said over the years. It’s up to us to guess which one said it. Whoever has the most right answers wins another surprise. We have ten minutes to complete the paper. Ready, set, go!”
I looked over at Wyatt, who tilted his head. “I guess that makes us a couple?”
I inhaled nice and slow, telling my heart to just slow down already. Despite the words, Wyatt and I were not now, nor ever would we be, a couple. Despite how nice that sounded. Or how my entire set of inner organs just melted to a mushy oatmeal consistency over the idea.
Leaning over, we got to work on the list with Wyatt being almost zero help since he just moved here and didn’t know either Amelia or Titus. It was fun to see him laugh over the things my sister had said over the years. We got the thing filled out with a minute to spare, having as much fun as we did putting the decorations together two days ago. This friendship thing was really working out with Wyatt. My cheeks—and if I was fully honest with myself, my heart and libido—hadn’t gotten the memo about just friends, but I was sure they’d fall in line at some point.
“What is this huge thing?” Amelia’s voice broke into the conversation Wyatt and I were having in quiet tones.
I looked over to see her and Titus standing on either side of the heavy object we’d helped move inside from the garage.
“Well, open it and see, sweetheart,” Mom said, already tearing up again. She’d been alternately crying and smiling throughout the entire shower.
“Wait! It’s not time for presents yet.” Esme hopped out of her chair.
Mom quickly snagged her hand and tugged her back. “Let’s go off script just this once, okay?”
Esme paused, but sat down, graciously giving the floor to the mom-to-be.
Amelia grabbed one end of wrapping paper, and Titus grabbed the other. On a head nod, they both ripped it apart, revealing a crib. The spindles of wood looked antique, but it was whitewashed to look brand new. It had obviously been well taken care of over the years.
Amelia’s hand flew to her mouth on a cry. “Is this what I think it is?”
And that’s when the tears hit the back of my eyes too. That wasn’t just any old crib from Walmart. That was the original crib that all five of us Waldo sisters had slept in when we were born. Mom had done a masterful job of repainting it to look chic.
I looked over at Esme with burning eyes to see her biting her lip. Izzy wasn’t doing much better with both hands on her cheeks and a rapid eye blink. As if we’d planned it, we all stood and moved to the middle of the room for a sister group hug, a not-so-silent sob coming from all of us.
It just hadn’t hit me until that moment. My little sister would soon have a teeny tiny baby who would sleep in our old crib. A baby who’d call me Auntie. A baby who’d be so spoiled by all of us that poor Titus would have his hands full. My sister, the one closest in age to me, was having a baby of her own. That kind of joy couldn’t be contained, it had to overflow as tears.
It wasn’t long before Mom joined the huddle, weeping openly and unashamedly. We wrapped our arms around her as best we could while wiping our tears.
“Wow. The estrogen in here is overwhelming,” Bain said dryly.
Lucy smacked him in the arm before blowing her nose and taking a picture of us in a messy huddle, flash and all.
“Okay, now crowd around the crib and I’ll get your picture with it,” Lucy directed us.
We all complied, laughing now at all the red-rimmed eyes and ruined mascara. Lucy took pictures, then dragged Dad into them, then just Amelia and Titus. All the while, I flicked glances at Wyatt, wondering if he’d be bored by all of this. Instead of looking for the door, he was eerily silent, watching our every move with a look on his face that made me want to cry for different reasons. Wyatt looked more alone than a woman nursing a scotch at the bar by herself.
“Now you and Amelia,” I suggested, taking the phone from Lucy and motioning for her, Finnie, and Lenora to get together with Amelia. “Say Hell Raisers!”
They shouted it, as I knew they would, right as I clicked the shutter.
“Time for cake!” shouted Esme, and we all ran to the kitchen, elbowing each other out of the way like we were kids again.
Fuck, I loved my sisters.
11
Wyatt
* * *
“You say you like it black, but I wonder if you’ve tried a hint of cream and a dash of sugar. It’s like dessert in liquid form.”
I handed the steaming Styrofoam cup to Oakley as she marched out the door of the station. She glanced over at it, lifting her nose in the air at the fussiness of it, but grabbed the cup out of my hands. She didn’t even break stride when she took a sip. I slid into the passenger side of the cruiser and wouldn’t have known if she liked the coffee I brought her if I hadn’t been studying her so intently these past few weeks. When she sipped the straight black coffee I’d brought her after asking about her preferred order, she’d take a tiny sip and set it down. She’d continue like that until she’d consumed half the cup. The rest would grow cold and she’d throw it out at our lunch break. With today’s liquid dessert coffee, she didn’t stop until she’d drained the whole cup.
Mental note: Oakley liked her coffee sweet, despite what she said. I wondered what else she liked despite what she said. Namely, the purple vibrator came to mind. She’d said she liked to ride solo, and yet I thought she might protest a bit too much to be truthful. These were things I’d have to ponder late at night when I had the luxury of letting my brain go there.
The rest of our shift went smoothly, she and I working together like a well-oiled machine. Ever since our friendship truce the weekend of the baby shower, I’d dialed back the teasing, and she’d thawed a bit of the icy exterior. We’d become true work partners. Everything at work was going exactly as I’d hoped when I’d set out on this path a few years back.
“Good night, Lieutenant,” Oakley called out, heading for her Grom.
I got in my truck and started it up, runni
ng a hand over my unshaved jaw while I waited for her to put her helmet on and head home. This had become my habit. I’d bring her little things like coffee and croissants to see that flash of a smile on her face. Then I’d strictly be her partner all day long and follow her home at night. If I couldn’t flirt with her, then I’d be the best damn friend she’d ever had.
She bent down low over the handlebars and hit the curves a bit too fast, if you asked me. I stayed far enough behind not to piss her off, but close enough to make sure no one missed her tiny bike on the road. By the time I pulled into my driveway, she was off the bike and heading into her house. She paused at the door and raised a hand to wave goodbye without looking back.
Well, shit. Guess she knew I was following her home every day. I shrugged and got out of the truck, heading into my dark house. Too bad. If she was going to ride that ridiculously unsafe motorcycle, somebody had to watch out for her safety.
Something strange and debilitating had hit me at the baby shower, turning me into a man I didn’t recognize. I’d watched her family interact like I was observing some unknown species at the zoo. They talked, they teased, they laughed, they cried, and they loved fiercely. The love was practically palpable. And so was the ache that had hit my chest and hadn’t let up since.
The way they interacted was so foreign to me I finally realized several days later that I was mourning a life I never had. A family dynamic I never experienced. My father had been so busy building his empire, he’d been as elusive as Santa Claus. Mom wasn’t much better with her charity functions and women’s luncheons. My sister and I got along fine, but she’d stayed a part of the social life I’d had before, existing on a superficial level that just wasn’t enough for me anymore. When Dad died suddenly two years back, we’d all just fallen apart in our grief, no closer than we’d been when he was alive. I had a feeling that Oakley’s family would have banded together over their shared pain.
Even worse than the pang of sadness was the fierce knowledge that I ached right down to my bones for what Oakley had. I was jealous, plain and simple. I wanted that for myself. I wanted to build a family like that, but had no idea where to start.