Falling For A Stranger

by Barbara Freethy

  He admired his sister's efforts. Nicole was a warrior mom when it came to her son. There was no therapy too complicated to try, no doctor's office too far away to travel to, but her efforts had not paid off. And Nicole's intense devotion to her son's recovery was affecting her marriage. Nicole and her husband, Ryan, had separated a few months earlier. Drew hoped that the break wouldn't turn into a break-up. Nicole and Ryan were good together, and they just needed to find a way back to each other.

  Not that he knew anything about marriage or even serious relationships. He'd always preferred his single life. He couldn't remember the last time he'd dated a woman for more than three months. He'd certainly never met anyone who'd made him think about happily ever after, except maybe Ria, but that was probably because happily-ever-after was an impossibility.

  He rolled down his window, letting the cool breeze drift through the window. The weather had certainly changed in a hurry. But that was typical of San Francisco. It could be foggy and cold in one part of the city, warm and sunny in another. He was happy to see the sun. He was off until Monday, and he wanted to enjoy the weekend.

  A lot of other people seemed to have the same idea; there was quite a bit of city traffic. But eventually he made it to St. Francis Wood, an upscale neighborhood of large houses with front lawns and backyards, a sight that was rare in a city where many buildings shared common walls.

  As he pulled up in front of the two-story house where he'd grown up, he felt his tension immediately ease. This house had always been his safe haven. It was where his father, Jack Callaway, had brought him and his three brothers after his mom died, after Jack found love again with Lynda Kane, a divorcee with two daughters of her own.

  Lynda had inherited the house from her grandparents, and she and Jack had decided it was the perfect place to merge their two families. They'd solidified the merge by adding a set of twins to the family. For a while, it was a his, hers and ours kind of situation, but eventually they all became Callaways.

  With eight kids, the house had always felt crowded, especially to Drew. He was the third oldest boy, but the fourth oldest in the family, putting him right in the middle of a lineup of siblings with big personalities. His oldest brother, Burke, was the perfect one, the born athlete, scholar and leader. Then came Aiden, the reckless rebel, Nicole, the warrior mom, then himself. Emma was next in line; she was a feisty fire investigator, then Sean, who'd broken the family tradition of serve and protect by following his dream of becoming a singer/songwriter. After Sean were the twins, Shayla, a super smart medical student, and Colton a rookie firefighter.

  He loved his siblings and his parents, but he liked them better in small doses. Unfortunately, today's party would be huge. Not only would the immediate family be present, but also cousins, aunts and uncles, and probably a few neighbors. At least there would be plenty of food, he thought with a smile. He was starving.

  As he got out of the car and walked down the driveway, he let the feeling of being home wash over him like a warm breeze. He'd carried the picture of this house in his mind throughout his years in the Navy, and all the time he'd spent on the other side of the world. There was something very comforting about walking through the side door and into the warm and cozy country kitchen. His parents had remodeled about ten years ago, but the big oak table where he'd done his homework was still the centerpiece of the room.

  Today there were several kids crowded around that table as two of his sisters, Nicole and Shayla, painted colorful animals on the kids' faces. Two other moms hovered nearby, sipping coffee and chatting about their lives while their kids were being entertained.

  Nicole's long, blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and there were shadows under her blue eyes that no amount of make-up could hide. She wore jeans and a tank top that accentuated her thin figure. She'd lost weight since Ryan had moved out. Drew frowned at that thought. Maybe he needed to give Nicole a little more support.

  Nicole gave him a happy smile when she saw him. "Drew, I'm so glad you came. I know this isn't your thing, but I'm glad you're here."

  "No problem. Hey, Shay." He turned towards his youngest sister. Shayla was one of the twins and had a mix of Callaway and Kane in her features. She had the Callaway blue eyes and the golden blond hair of the Kanes.

  "Hi Drew," she said, as she painstakingly outlined a butterfly on the cheek of a little girl.

  "How's medical school going?"

  She looked up and made a face at him. "Exhausting. I keep telling myself one day it will all be worth it. That day seems a long way off."

  "It will get here. You're such a brain. You've already cut out at least a year of school." Shayla had a tremendously high IQ and had graduated from college at sixteen. At twenty-four, she was finishing up her third year of medical school.

  "I'm surrounded by smart people now, not like when I was growing up," she added with a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

  He grinned. "Very funny."

  He glanced around the kitchen as Shayla's attention was drawn back to the little girl in front of her. "Where's the birthday boy?" he asked Nicole.

  "He's probably in the attic. He ran up there when the doorbell rang. Emma went to get him, but that was a long time ago."

  "I'll see if I can help get him back to the party."

  "It's fine. I don't need to force anything. I'm going to celebrate for Brandon," she said with determination in her eyes. "I know some people think I'm crazy for having the party, but I just couldn't let his birthday go by without doing anything. Even if he doesn't know, I know."

  "I get it, Nicole. No judgment."

  "Thank you."

  "Where do the presents go?"

  "Dining room. There's tons of food. Hope you're hungry."

  "Always."

  He walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room. He dropped off his present on a side table and then checked out the buffet, which had everything from cinnamon rolls, to salads and sandwiches. His father's parents, otherwise known as Grandpa Patrick and Grandma Eleanor, were standing by the dining room table. Patrick had the same ruddy Irish complexion and piercing blue eyes as his father, Jack, and Eleanor had white hair and pretty blue eyes that had become more confused as her Alzheimer's got worse.

  Drew was happy to see his grandmother at the party. His grandfather had been talking about putting Eleanor in an assisted living facility the last few months, but after his father, Jack, had put up a fight, Patrick had agreed to wait a while.

  "Hi Grandma," he said, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

  She jumped back, alarm spreading through her features. "Who are you?"

  His gut clenched at the confusion in her eyes. "I'm Drew, your grandson."

  "Drew," she echoed. She looked at her husband for reassurance.

  Patrick put a hand on her arm. "It's all right, Ellie. You know Drew. He flies helicopters."

  "Oh, I always wanted to fly in a helicopter." The tension in her face eased slightly. "We should do that Patrick."

  "We should," Patrick agreed. "But why don't we eat first?"

  She glanced down at the salad on her plate. "I don’t like tomatoes. Why did you give me tomatoes?"

  "You don't have to eat them," Patrick said.

  As Drew watched his grandfather deal patiently with his grandmother, he felt both admiration and sadness. Patrick had always been a no-nonsense, rough-edged man who never felt the need to explain or apologize, but with Eleanor he was softer, kinder. She made him more human. Drew didn’t know what his grandfather was going to do without her.

  As his grandparents made their way into the living room where the rest of the party was gathered, Drew helped himself to a sandwich and devoured it while he spooned some salad onto a plate. He was halfway through the salad when Aiden and Sara arrived. Aiden was dressed in his usual jeans and a t-shirt while Sara wore black cropped pants and floral top.

  Sara was an attractive brunette, who had grown up next door to the Callaways. After returning home last year, she a
nd Aiden had reconnected and fallen in love. They'd announced their engagement right before Thanksgiving and now they were in the midst of wedding planning mania along with his sister Emma, and her fiancé, Max, who had also recently gotten engaged.

  Sara and Emma had been childhood friends, so they were both thrilled at the idea of a double wedding. Drew thought that sounded like double the trouble. He had no idea how his brother, Aiden, was managing to keep his cool through all the bridal talk.

  "Hi Drew," Sara said.

  "Sara." He gave her a hug while he juggled his plate in his hand. "You're looking beautiful today."

  Her cheeks turned pink, and her brown eyes sparkled at the compliment. Sara had always been on the shy and quieter side, and he'd barely noticed her growing up, but she'd certainly come into her own.

  "Thanks. Have you seen Emma?"

  "I heard she's in the attic with Brandon."

  "I'll go find her, so you two can talk," Sara said, giving Aiden a pointed look. She grabbed two cookies on her way by the table.

  Drew turned to Aiden, seeing an excited gleam in his older brother's eyes. "What do we need to talk about?"

  "The Eleanor," Aiden replied.

  "Grandpa's boat?"

  "Yes. He's going to sell it, and I think we should buy it."

  "Are you serious?" he asked in surprise. "I haven't sailed in years. Have you?"

  "No, but I used to love it. Burke and I were in a sailboat racing class in high school. We came in second in one of the regattas."

  "Maybe you should ask Burke."

  "Ask me what?" Burke inquired, as he came through the kitchen door into the dining room.

  Burke was the tallest of the three of them, with brown hair that was almost black and light blue eyes. He wore gray pants and a cream-colored button down shirt under a black jacket.

  "Good timing," Aiden said. "I was just telling Drew that we should buy Grandpa's boat. Grandpa hates the idea of selling the Eleanor, but he needs the cash. He really wants someone in the family to buy it. And I told him I'd see if I could round up some partners."

  "I can't believe he's selling the boat," Burke murmured.

  "He said there won't be any more trips on the water with Grandma, and he doesn't want to sail without her. Too many memories."

  "That sucks," Drew said, saddened by the whole situation.

  "We can make a bad situation better if we buy the boat for the next generation of Callaways," Aiden said. "He'll give us a good deal."

  "It's still going to be expensive," Burke said. "Have you considered the monthly expenses, any repairs the boat might need? I don't think they've sailed it the last few years. Where is it anyway?"

  "It's in the marina by the Bayview Yacht Club."

  "I'm surprised it's in the water. He must pay to rent the slip."

  "He said he's been letting friends use it," Aiden explained. "And as for the rest of your questions, we can figure out the answers as we go along."

  Drew smiled at Aiden's comment, which perfectly illustrated the differences between his two brothers. Burke liked to plan, to weigh pros and cons, then make a decision. Aiden liked to jump first and think about whether jumping was a good idea later. They'd always been opposites, and Drew had often ended up being their mediator.

  "You should have done a little homework before you came to us," Burke told Aiden.

  "I just came up with the idea. Give me a break."

  "Why doesn't Dad buy the boat?" Drew asked.

  Aiden shrugged. "Lynda gets seasick, so it doesn't really work for them, but it could work for us. Burke, don't you remember that summer we raced in high school? It was a blast. There are a bunch of regattas coming up this spring. We could be racing by May. Wouldn't you like to breathe some fresh sea air for a change?"

  "How do you have money to buy a boat?" Burke asked. "Isn't every spare dime going to your wedding?"

  "Sara's dad is taking care of the wedding expenses. He's compensating for being a lousy father for most of her life," Aiden replied. "And I have enough cash saved to invest in this boat, if we go three ways."

  "You do?" Burke asked, a skeptical note in his voice. "Last I looked you didn't have a job."

  "I've been working for Uncle Kevin doing construction," Aiden replied, irritation in his eyes.

  "And that's what you're going to do now? That's going to be your career? You're a firefighter, Aiden. If you don't want to be a smokejumper anymore, you can work here in the city."

  "I don't know if I want to fight any kind of fire anymore," Aiden replied. "But let's put my career choices aside for the moment. I have the money. I think you both do as well."

  "What about the rest of the family?" Drew asked. "Maybe someone else wants to go in—Sean, Emma."

  "I think it would be simpler to keep it to the three of us. Of course, everyone else can be considered at a later date, and we'll share the boat. But it would be a nightmare to try to work with too many people on this."

  "Now that I agree with," Burke said.

  "Good. All I'm asking you to do today is take a look at the boat. I thought we could drive down to the marina after the party and check it out."

  Burke sent him an enquiring look. "What do you think, Drew?"

  "I'm not that into boats," he said.

  "You're into anything that goes fast," Aiden reminded him.

  That was true. He did like speed. "Does this boat go fast?"

  "It will when we fix her up and get some new sails," Aiden said. "Look, there will always be reasons why we shouldn't do this, but the bottom line is that this is a great opportunity and something we can do together as brothers. How long has it been since we did anything together?"

  "Probably at least ten years," Drew said. "Maybe longer." In fact, he couldn't remember the last time the three of them had teamed up to do anything.

  "There you go," Aiden said.

  "Maybe," Burke said with a nod. "I'll consider it after I see the boat."

  "I will, too," Drew agreed.

  "Great. This is going to be great," Aiden said, with a light in his eyes.

  "We'll see," Burke said. "It's easy to think something will be good before you know all the facts."

  "I'm optimistic," Aiden said.

  "Or crazy," Burke suggested. "I'm going to see who else is here."

  As Burke wandered into the living room, Drew said, "Is Sara really okay with you buying a boat, Aiden?"

  "Sure, why wouldn't she be?"

  "Time away from her."

  "Sara can go on the boat, too. And she's not a clingy person. She's independent. She has her own life. One of the things I love about her."

  "You got lucky when you met up with her again."

  Aiden grinned. "I did." He grabbed a plate and perused the buffet table. "So what's good?"

  "Everything," Drew said, reaching for another sandwich.

  * * *

  "Aiden wants to buy a boat?" Emma asked in surprise as Sara sat down on the carpet next to her. Across from them, Brandon was busy building some sort of fort with a huge bucket of blocks. He hadn't even looked up when Sara joined them. Nor had he done much to acknowledge Emma's presence in the attic playroom, but at least he wasn't playing alone.

  "Yes," Sara said, drawing Emma's attention back to her. "It's your grandfather's boat."

  "The Eleanor?" she asked with a frown. "He loves that boat. He used to take us out on it all the time when we were little."

  "He doesn't think he'll have time to use it now that your grandmother's health is so fragile. Aiden is determined to keep the boat in the family. He's trying to talk Drew into going in on it with him."

  "How do you feel about it?" Emma asked, seeing an odd look in Sara's eyes. Her friend seemed distracted. "Is everything okay with you two?" As the words left her mouth, she couldn't believe she was even asking the question, because Sara had been in love with Aiden since she was fifteen years old, and she'd been over the moon since Aiden had fallen in love with her last year.

  "We'r
e good," Sara said, her tone not at all convincing.

  "Sara, come on. I know you. We've been best friends since we were kids, and we're soon to be sister-in-laws. What's going on?"

  Sara stared back at her for a long moment, indecision in her brown eyes, then said, "I'm late."

  Two words that every woman feared having to stay. Emma blew out a breath. "You're pregnant?"

  "I don't know. Maybe. I shouldn’t be. We've been careful. I mean, as careful as anyone can be with Aiden."

  Emma put up her hand. "Please, I do not want to hear about your sex life with my brother."

  "Sorry."

  "How late?"

  "Four days."

  "That's not that long," Emma said slowly.

  "It is considering I'm never late."

  "You need to take a test."

  "If I'm pregnant, it's going to mess up everything," Sara said. "Look how long it took us to set the date, to find a church and a reception venue that we both liked. And what about the dress I just spent several thousand dollars on? August is five months away. If I'm pregnant, I'll be too fat to wear it by then."

  "So you'll get another dress. Or you can get married earlier."

  "We wanted to do it together, Em."

  Emma smiled. "I would love to get married on the same day as my best friend and my brother, but not if it doesn't work for you." She paused, seeing the tension in Sara's eyes and wondering if there was more going on. "It's not just the fact that you might not fit into your wedding dress, is it?"

  Sara sighed. "There are a lot of reasons why this is a bad time for me to be pregnant. Aiden is still trying to figure out his career. He's been doing construction, but I don't know if that's what he wants to do long term, and he doesn't either. I've just started a new job. So asking for maternity leave will be tricky."