Building a Family

by Lyn Cote

  Pete walked into the room and waves hit him, rolled over him, one after the other. Not waves of water but sound waves. Though the noise wasn’t at a dangerous level, instinctively he put his hands over his ears. Ahead of him, Mike stood beside a jazzed-up car. He wore protective earphones.

  Hands still over his ears, Pete walked toward his brother. The closer he came to the car, the more the air around him vibrated. His work jeans started moving as if a deranged wind were blowing against his legs. Mike must be out of his cotton-picking mind. Pete nudged Mike with his elbow.

  Mike swung around, and then he tapped the window. The sound waves stopped. Danny Miller, with his long, white-blond hair pulled back into a low ponytail, opened the car door; he, too, wore sound protection earphones.

  “Hey, Pete,” Mike said with a big grin and a smear of motor oil on his chin. “How’d you like that sound?”

  Pete lowered his hands. “Are you out of your mind?” he asked, half joking, half serious.

  “We got a real chance to win the db Drag Racing World Championship,” Danny spoke up. “These new speakers are amazing. They can handle 162 decibels. We’re entering the Super Street category.”

  “I repeat—are you two out of your minds?” Pete grinned, shaking his head at them.

  “You college guys just don’t get the seduction of sound—” Mike began.

  From the front of the garage, a voice called out, “Hi! Where is everybody?”

  The voice belonged to Eleanor. Remembering the near-kiss, Pete’s face blazed. Unable to stop his reaction, he turned away from Mike to hide it. And even though he wanted to run the other way, he hurried to open the door. “Hi, we’re in here.”

  She smiled and headed toward him. “You said you were going to be here and I wanted—”

  “Hey!” Mike shouldered past Pete. “Glad to see you, Eleanor. Sorry I couldn’t come and volunteer today. I’ll try to come next Saturday afternoon.”

  Pete fell behind her, trying to cool his jets. He didn’t want Eleanor here. He didn’t want to see her now so soon after… The phantom touch of her lips on his rippled through him.

  Eleanor offered Mike her hand. “I understand. I really have to juggle the hours at my practice during these Habitat projects.”

  Mike wiped his hand on a rag from his pocket and then shook hers. “Have you ever seen my place up close?”

  “No, I always have my service done at the dealer. But you have an excellent reputation for good service.”

  “Nice to hear. Nice to hear.” Mike beamed at her.

  Was his brother trying to start something with Eleanor? Heat exploded inside Pete’s gut. “Did I forget something at the site, Eleanor?” He shouldered past Mike to stand in front of Eleanor.

  “No, no.” She gazed at him, blushing slightly.

  And he knew why. She must be remembering their almost-kiss just like he was. He wrapped his self-control even more tightly around himself. “Then?”

  “I thought of a few places where you might hold your parents’ party,” she said.

  Mike thumped Pete on the back. “I thought this was supposed to be all hush-hush.”

  “Oh, don’t be upset with Pete,” Eleanor hurried to say. “I kind of wheedled it out of him.”

  Pete did not recall any wheedling, but he let this pass. His emotions still wouldn’t settle down. He forced himself to speak calmly. “You thought of someplace that could hold us?”

  “Well, it’s out of the way from here, but I thought of that big resort hotel in the Lakeland area. They let people hold weddings on their grounds. It’s a bit of a drive, but the setting is lovely—on a lake in the forest, with a rustic but stately, whole-log-construction lodge in the background.” She shrugged as if asking for opinions.

  “Wow, that would be great,” Mike said.

  “Really cool,” Danny Miller, standing just behind Mike, said.

  “Oh, hello, Danny,” Eleanor said, waving.

  Pete fumed. Danny looked just as infatuated with Eleanor as Mike. Pete claimed Eleanor’s arm. “Let’s go into Mike’s office and find the resort’s phone number.”

  “Hey, Ms. Washburn,” Danny said. “Want to see something cool?”

  Mike chuckled. “Don’t you mean hear something cool?”

  Pete’s irritation burned brighter. Mike’s fascination with ear-shattering sound embarrassed Pete. But what could he say?

  With one eyebrow raised, Eleanor looked to each one of them in turn. “Okay, I’ll bite. What do you want me to hear?”

  “After my experience,” Pete said sourly, “I think Mike means feel rather than hear.”

  “Now you’ve got me going.” Eleanor chuckled. “Show me.”

  Danny and Mike shepherded her to the rear of the room. Pete trailed after them, listening to Danny and Mike explain that they were going to Canada soon to compete in the db Drag Racing World Championship in car speakers. Then, with ear protection on, Danny climbed into the car, slammed the door. Mike handed both Pete and Eleanor earphones. And then it began.

  Eleanor’s eyes opened wide. She turned to Pete and mouthed, “Goodness.” She pointed down to her flared jeans. They were vibrating, just as his slacks were.

  Mike rapped on the window. The sound waves ceased. He tore off his earphones. “What do you think about that?”

  Eleanor lifted off her own. “Amazing. I could feel the sound waves. Is it safe?”

  “If we protect our ears,” Mike said.

  Danny climbed out of the car. “Isn’t it crazy?”

  Eleanor laughed. “I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks, you two. I won’t forget that very soon.” She turned to leave, then halted. “Oh, Danny, you’re not supposed to leave the county till—”

  “It’s not till late August,” Danny said. “I’m hoping all my problems will be done by then.”

  “Okay.” Eleanor headed to the door. “Which way is the office?”

  Pete hurried after her. “I’ll show you. Then Mike and Danny can go on with their testing.”

  Inside the neat but oil-tainted office, Pete pulled out the well-thumbed phone book. With Eleanor at his elbow inspecting a poster for synthetic motor oil, he called the number. He couldn’t believe how smoothly the conversation went. When he hung up, he couldn’t stop himself. He pulled Eleanor close for a quick hug.

  He forced himself to release her. “Thank you!”

  “Did they have room for you?” she asked.

  “The weekend before the date. They had a wedding cancel. We’ll have a tent and tables and chairs. And it’s reasonable, too.” He nearly hugged her again. But restrained himself.

  Then Pete realized that Mike had entered during Pete’s hug. Mike stared at him, freezing the spark in the pit of Pete’s stomach. Whoa.

  “Does all this hugging mean that Eleanor’s idea panned out?” Mike asked gruffly.

  “Yeah,” Pete replied. “They have an opening on the Saturday before our parents’ anniversary date. But we need to get on it right away.”

  “Well, it’s Friday night,” Mike said. “How about I take you up there for Fish Fry, Eleanor? And we’ll look it over and see what we think. I don’t like taking something sight unseen.”

  Pete pressed his lips together to hold back an objection to this plan. Of course, even a classy resort would observe the Wisconsin restaurant tradition of every Friday being Fish Fry night.

  “Well—” Eleanor began.

  The phone shrilled.

  Mike picked up. “Mike’s Garage and Tow.” He made a face as he jotted something down. He hung up. “I’ll have to bow out, Eleanor. A good customer’s car has stalled, and I need to head over there and see what’s wrong.”

  “That’s okay,” Pete said. “I’ll drive Eleanor up, and I’ll take some photos of the place and get the scoop. How about that, Eleanor? Free for Fish Fry tonight?”

  She glanced back and forth between them and then said, “Why not? I didn’t have any plans.” She looked down at her clothing. “The only
thing is I don’t want to eat there. I’m a little too dusty for that resort restaurant.” She brushed a bit of sawdust from her sleeve.

  “No problem. I know a great little out-of-the-way place. We’ll stop at the resort and then head over there.”

  As he left the office, Mike shut the door a bit harder than needed.

  Pete ignored him. “Let’s take my truck.” He knew he shouldn’t have invited Eleanor; he knew he was playing with proverbial fire; but most of all he knew he couldn’t stop himself.

  After they left Eleanor’s car in her garage, the drive to the resort proved to be a silent one. The almost-kiss at the Habitat site inhibited Eleanor. No man had kissed her for over two years. Probably that explained why it had affected her so. But could she break the awkward silence here and now? She didn’t relish a whole evening of this. And how to let Pete know she wasn’t mad at him for kissing her, but that she and Pete could only be friends?

  She decided to jump in and start a conversation, hoping it would lead to a point where she could make this all clear to him. “It’s really great that you want to honor your parents.”

  Pete nodded, his eyes on the road.

  “It’s rare nowadays that anybody stays married.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she cringed. Not the right thing to say to a man who had lost his wife.

  “You got that right.”

  She analyzed Pete’s tone. Definitely bitter. Should she change the subject?

  “Sorry. I’m not being very good company,” Pete said, glancing her way.

  “It’s Friday and it’s been a busy week,” she said mildly.

  He almost chuckled. “You’re being kind. But I’m at fault for my own hard feelings. My breakup was messy. And it kind of spills over sometimes onto other things. Other people.”

  Eleanor drew in the warm summer air blowing in the windows. “I’ve not been lucky in love, either. And people are always trying to set me up. They mean well. But…”

  “But no one can choose someone for us,” Pete said, glancing sideways at her.

  “Exactly. Being single in a couples’ world…” She shrugged.

  “Yeah, it’s hard. Two of my brothers are married and happy.”

  “More pressure?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Eleanor eased inside. This conversation had cleared the air some. Being alone was hard, but not as hard as being alone while in a relationship. Neither of her fiancés were interested in her as a person. That had happened to her twice. And it won’t happen a third time. “My Aunt Mavis made a life for herself without being married. And not surprisingly, she usually doesn’t meddle with matchmaking.”

  “Maybe she can have a good influence on my mom.” He grinned teasingly. “My mom’s great, but she wants to see me happily married. However, second marriages are harder to do right than first ones. I can’t take chances with my kids.”

  “I agree completely.” Her attraction to Pete stirred now. Remembering the touch of his lips made her tingle with the memory.

  “You do?”

  “Yes. Pete, I really like Cassie and love being with her, but I’m not trying to use her to get to you.” Eleanor was surprised to hear these words come out. Should she bring up the kiss?

  “Now that’s honesty.”

  They were arriving at the outskirts of Island City. Tall evergreen trees surrounded the lodge which faced the highway. Pete drove in and parked by the imposing entrance.

  Before he got out, he said, “Thanks for saying that. I want you and Cassie to be friends. I just didn’t want her to get hurt, you know, start thinking of some woman as more than a friend. Does that make sense?”

  “Exactly. But I know how much Aunt Mavis added to my life. If Cassie forms a friendship with me, I won’t let her down. Promise.” As she said this, she thought again of her plans to adopt a child. Should she share these with Pete? She pushed this aside—along with the memory of the touch of his lips on hers.

  “Great.” He got out and met her at the front of the truck. Soon the events manager, a young woman in denim and a resort T-shirt, was showing them the grounds and discussing options and costs for Pete’s parents’ anniversary party. Pete clicked several photos with his cell phone.

  Eleanor followed, just listening. The two-story resort restaurant, situated in the rear, overlooked the lake, and its lower level opened onto a terrace where a few tables sat. She heard the laughter and chatter of many voices, cheery sounds. Then she heard, “Eleanor! Eleanor, is that you?”

  She froze where she stood. It couldn’t be.

  “Eleanor!” A tall man turned her, hugged her and then kissed her on the cheek.

  She pulled herself away. “Rick, hi.” She hoped her less-than-welcoming tone would discourage him.

  “Great to see you!” Rick boomed, turning more heads from the terrace and deck above toward them. “I was just thinking about you yesterday!”

  Unfortunately her former fiancé was still as good-looking as ever. However, seeing him stirred nothing but the need to distance herself from him.

  Then to Eleanor’s horror, he picked her up for an extended bear hug.

  “Hi,” Pete said loudly at Eleanor’s side. “I’m Pete. Evidently you know Eleanor.”

  Rick lowered her to the ground. She stumbled, and Pete pulled her to him and put an obviously possessive arm around her. Her senses reeled; her face burned.

  “Oh, hi. I’m Rick. Eleanor and I were involved once. Just saying hi.” Rick’s slight slurring of his words told Eleanor the man had already had one or two too many drinks. Another reason she’d broken off with this “charming” real estate agent.

  Pete offered his hand. “Rick, nice to meet you.”

  “Come on in, and I’ll buy you two a drink.” Rick shook hands and then repeated his invitation with a wave toward the restaurant and bar.

  “Thanks,” Pete said. “But we’ll pass. We have reservations somewhere else.”

  Eleanor could have kissed Pete right then and there.

  “Good. Good.” The collar of Rick’s light yellow sports shirt was open, and he was dressed in his customary crisp khakis. “Glad to see Eleanor’s found someone else. Our breakup was sad. But I couldn’t go through with our engagement when I knew it wasn’t best for both of us.”

  If she hadn’t been struck dumb by the situation, Eleanor would have been glad to set the record straight. I ended our engagement, Rick. You didn’t. But of course everything was always all about you.

  “Nice meeting you.” Pete drew Eleanor away with him. And she was grateful. The embarrassing heat drained from her face, and her breathing returned to normal again. No woman would be embarrassed to be on Pete’s arm.

  Inside a small office, Pete signed a few papers and handed the events manager a check to reserve the date for the party. Then he and Eleanor headed to his truck.

  Soon he was driving them down a county road to the small, out-of-the-way place he’d mention earlier. She wished she could say something, but she couldn’t. Rick had vacated her life completely and had left only a lingering distaste. Why had he come up to her tonight?

  “I missed Fish Fry night when I lived in Las Vegas,” Pete said.

  Recognizing Pete’s gambit to get them back to normal, Eleanor turned to look squarely at him. “Las Vegas?”

  “That’s where I went to school. And got married…and divorced.”

  Was he trying to take the sting out of her meeting Rick? She gave him a half smile for trying. But meeting Rick had underlined and put into bold lettering why she needed to keep her distance from Pete, even now, after their earlier reassuring conversation.

  “I know this is a cliché, but can we just be friends?” Pete glanced her way. “I’m not looking for more than that now.”

  “Yes,” Eleanor interrupted him. “Yes, we can be friends. Romance is just too…chancy. We both have busy lives. And I’m not ready to embark on a new romance right now. Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah, it does,” he agreed
in a wry tone. He left the county road for a narrower road that began to wind around a little, sky-blue lake, sparkling through the trees. “So, tell me about your week. Do you have any interesting cases you can talk about?”

  Thank you, Pete. She drew in a deep breath, leaned back in her seat and began to talk about a client who had jumped bail. She relished his attention and intelligent comments. And didn’t think of kissing him again—okay, only once. This attraction would pass, but their friendship wouldn’t have to—if she stuck to her anti-romance guns.

  Pete turned down one winding road after another through a forest of evergreens. Here and there, the hint of a cabin or cottage or lake could be glimpsed through the trees, but mostly forest surrounded them. Finally they came to the entrance of the small resort, Hidden Lake. He drove into a parking spot.

  She got out of the truck, smiling. The unpretentious resort, a long, low log house, surrounded by small log cabins nestled within the pines, charmed her. Pete put his name in with the hostess and then led Eleanor out to walk near the lake while they waited for a table.

  “Lake’s high,” he said.

  “Lots of snow and then lots of rain,” she replied, admiring his profile.

  He picked up a rock and threw it so it skipped across the top of the water.

  Eleanor sat down on a lakeside bench. “Tell me what you have planned for your parents’ anniversary party.”

  He settled down beside her. “Not much. We were kind of holding off on specific details until we found a place to throw the party.”

  “Hey!” A loud voice boomed behind them. “I thought I’d find you here.”

  Startled, Eleanor turned to see Mike striding toward them. “I thought you had to help that customer.”

  “Yeah, I did that, and then I got a AAA call to tow someone just outside Island City. When I finished, I thought I’d take a chance and see if you two were here. I know this is Pete’s favorite restaurant up here.”

  Eleanor looked at the faces of the two brothers, and they didn’t look happy with each other. But she was relieved. Now this didn’t feel like a date at all, and she could relax. Or could she? Pete’s expression was becoming more and more stormy. Did he see his brother as competition? Why? Hadn’t Pete stated that he wasn’t interested in dating? Men. Who could understand them?