Small Packages (Special Delivery Book 2)

by J. A. Armstrong

  Tess laughed and shook her head at Brooke. “Oh no, if I am going to survive a weekend with my mother, you are definitely sleeping naked,” Tess said.

  Brooke smirked. “What do you need help with?” she asked Tess as she took a bite of her pizza.

  “Nothing. I think I have us all packed. You just need to make sure I didn’t forget anything you want,” Tess said. “Jay will pick up Murphy in the morning.”

  Brooke watched as Tess looked down at the table and picked at the piece of pizza on her plate. There was no doubt that Tess was stressed over their trip. Brooke was nervous, but she had no intention of letting Tess see that. “Hey,” she said. Tess looked over at her. “Nothing to worry about,” Brooke said. “Everyone loves me!” she declared playfully.

  Tess laughed. “Unless they make you angry,” she replied. “Eat your pizza, Dr. Banner,” she ordered Brooke.

  Tess was grateful for Brooke. She was grateful for Brooke’s love, but also for the levity Brooke brought when Tess needed it most. Tess’s thoughts retreated to the memory of the first night Brooke had slept in this house. Superheroes were a theme in the Sinclair home. Both Davey and Dani loved superheroes and comic books. Brooke had found herself holding a Hulk toothbrush during her first sleepover. Over time, Tess found that her choice of toothbrushes for Brooke was more than appropriate, given Brooke’s affinity for all things green.

  Tess could have sworn that Brooke had an obsession with the color green. It extended from mint chocolate chip ice cream to what Tess called nuclear Gatorade. Hence, Brooke became Dr. David Banner, the alter ego of the Incredible Hulk. Brooke discovered Tess’s mild fascination with Wonder Woman that same first night. The first evidence arrived in the form of Tess’s night attire, a long nightshirt with the Wonder Woman logo. Of course, there was also the Wonder Woman sweatshirt, and the Wonder Woman watch that Tess had tried to hide for weeks. Tess became Diana Prince to Brooke’s David Banner. The affectionate names were one of the little yet unique things that made Brooke and Tess—Brooke and Tess.

  Tess looked across the table at Brooke. “What?” Brooke asked, a piece of cheese dripping from her lip as she spoke.

  Tess took a deep breath and smiled. Sometimes the simplest things Brooke did could take Tess’s breath away. She hoped that would never change. “Nothing. I love you, Brooke.”

  “It’s only pizza,” Brooke replied.

  “No, it really isn’t.”

  Chapter Two

  Brooke sat beside a large in-ground pool with Tess’s father, Chris. Davey and Dani had persisted for hours with requests to go swimming. Tess had retreated inside with her mother to help with dinner, leaving Brooke in charge of two overly excited children. Brooke sensed that Tess was anxious about her mother’s potential questions and opinions, and she suspected that Mrs. Sinclair wanted time alone with her daughter. Brooke also thought that just maybe, Tess’s father wanted to get to know her without Tess or his wife present. Whatever the actual reasons, Brooke was grateful. Chris Sinclair was down to earth and easy to talk to. Brooke had noticed immediately how much Tess resembled her father, just as the twins resembled Tess. In some small way, that put Brooke at ease.

  “Brooke!” Dani called over. Brooke turned her attention to the pool. It had taken Dani the usual half an hour to get herself fully immersed in the water. Now that she was, she seemed to be determined to show Brooke everything she did. First, it was a cannonball. Next, it was how far she could swim under the water. Now, it appeared Dani was about to tackle the diving board. “Watch!” Dani yelled excitedly.

  Brooke smiled broadly. “I’m watching,” she promised. In less than an instant, Dani had made her jumping dive. She surfaced quickly and Brooke immediately praised her. “Nice form, Dani,” Brooke said. Dani beamed and ran to follow her brother to the diving board again.

  “They certainly have a lot of energy,” Tess’s father laughed. “I told Mary, I think the only reason my grandkids even want to visit is that pool.”

  Brooke laughed. “I know what you mean. At first, I thought they only kept me around for Murphy,” Brooked said. “My dog,” she explained. Chris chuckled. “Then they met my best friend Rachel or more accurately—her pool. Then I knew I was in for sure,” Brooke said.

  “Brooke!” Davey called out. “Grandpa!”

  “We see you,” Chris called back.

  Brooke took a sip from her beer and shook her head. “All I know is, I better find a house with a pool,” she laughed.

  “Are you and Tess looking to move?” Tess’s father asked curiously.

  Brooke let out a small sigh unintentionally. “I’ve been looking for a few months to find something and sell my condo. It’s slow going,” she said noncommittally.

  Tess’s father nodded and turned his attention back to the pool where Davey and Dani were splashing each other playfully. Davey started pushing his sister a bit harder. Chris was about to call over to them when Brooke put the escalating altercation to a stop.

  “Take it easy, D.,” Brooke called over firmly.

  “She started it!” Davey argued back.

  “I don’t care who started it,” Brooke replied. Both Davey and Dani stopped and looked in Brooke’s direction. “We’ve been through this. Playing is fine. Splashing is fine. Water is still something you two need to respect. Calm down before someone gets hurt.”

  “We’re just messing around,” Davey groaned.

  Brooke’s look of stern warning sent Davey’s eyes downward. “Calm down or you’ll both be out of the pool. Understood?” Brooke asked.

  “Understood,” Dani answered.

  “D.?” Brooke called over.

  “Yeah,” he agreed reluctantly.

  Brooke sighed and shook her head. “Sometimes,” she mumbled.

  Tess’s father snickered. “They do have their moments,” he commented.

  “Yeah. Sometimes they are the best of friends, sometimes….Sometimes, you would think they were mortal enemies,” she chuckled.

  “They remind me of Tess and David,” Chris replied with a solemn smile. Brooke turned her attention to him immediately. Tess spoke of her older brother often. It was evident to Brooke that even after many years, Tess missed him profoundly. Chris let out a small sigh, but his smile remained bright. “She told you about him, I assume.”

  “Yeah. She’s told me about all of you,” Brooke said honestly. “She talks about David quite often actually.”

  “Mm. That doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “Most people thought they were twins,” he laughed. “David was a full head taller than Tess and two and half years older,” he continued. “But, they were so in sync sometimes it was almost unsettling. And, they were the spitting image of each other. When they fought? It was hell. They did some of the craziest things,” he said. “Oh…I swear I thought Mary was going to kill them both a few times,” he chuckled as the memories of his children flooded his mind.

  Brooke smiled. She’d seen Tess on the verge of making the most wanted list a handful of times. Davey and Dani could try the patience of a saint every now and again. The twins were always concocting some scheme. Occasionally, it was directed at scaring or startling their mother. Other times, it was a plot to catch Brooke off guard. In most cases, the twins simply found inventive ways to play. A few weeks earlier, they had come up with the brilliant notion to build a bike ramp in the backyard.

  Brooke had been working on a school project with Davey to create a nesting box for squirrels. She had purchased some long cedar plank board. One large piece was left in the backyard. Davey and Dani somehow thought that using firewood to prop up the cedar board would make the perfect bike ramp. Brooke had to admit that the idea was creative. She had not told Tess, but she was actually impressed with the fact that the pair had taken a great deal of time in planning their creation. It might have worked if the board had been secured somehow. Unfortunately, a long board on a pile of carefully stacked logs did not make for a sturdy ramp. Their daredevil antics ended abruptly when Davey’
s bike met the wobbly structure with just enough speed to send it careening to the side, and Davey soaring over his handlebars in midair. Fortunately, the twins had been smart enough to set up their Evil Knievel creation on the grass. The worst of the casualties turned out to be Davey’s brand new pair of jeans. The once blue jeans had become a holey, psychedelic, streaked mess of green, brown, yellow, and a tinge of red from a scraped knee.

  Dani had flown into the house as soon as Davey had hit the ground screaming that her brother was hurt. Tess and Brooke both took off in a sprint. Tess’s initial reaction was panic when she saw Davey on the ground in a heap. That changed dramatically when he turned out to be fine and the twin’s invention became apparent. Panic had quickly turned to livid. Brooke thought it was funny that once Tess had realized Davey was safe, she seemed ready to kill him herself. She snickered as she pictured both faces at that moment.

  “I think I know what you mean,” Brooke said to Tess’s father.

  “I’ll bet you do,” he laughed. “They really are so much like Tess and David,” he said again. Brooke nodded. Tess’s father sighed. “I wished for a long time that she and Gary would become that close. They are, in their own way, but never like it was with Tess and David,” he said.

  Brooke nodded. Gary was Tess’s younger brother and the only member of the Sinclair clan that Brooke had already met. Brooke loved Gary. He had visited for a week in August and he and Brooke had immediately clicked. Gary was two years younger than Tess. He had studied aeronautical engineering. Brooke wasn’t sure exactly what his work entailed, but she did know that he traveled frequently. He and Brooke had been to many of the same places. That gave them a foundation for discussion.

  Tess had joked that Gary might just be the brother Brooke never had. The two had spent hours talking about seemingly everything. Gary was a bit of an adventurer. Like Brooke, he was an experienced diver, had taken up rock climbing, loved to hike and kayak, and seemed to be fascinated by nearly everything. Gary had planned on joining his sister and Brooke for this trip. His work commitments had conflicted. He had called Tess to apologize the previous week. Brooke could tell that Tess was disappointed. Truth be told, so was Brooke. Brooke’s solution was to call Gary later that evening and start plotting to have him spend Christmas at Tess’s.

  “Gary’s great,” Brooke said sincerely.

  Chris beamed. “He’s a good kid,” he said. “He was always the quiet one,” he laughed. “It surprised me when he went off to college and decided he wanted to fly airplanes, go bungee jumping, climb mountains,” Chris laughed. “It was like he bottled up all his dreams and as soon as he left home, the cork popped.”

  Brooke was about to comment when she heard Davey scream. “Brooke!”

  ***

  “So?” Mary Sinclair attempted to begin a conversation with her daughter.

  Tess was standing at the kitchen counter chopping some vegetables for dinner. She forced a small smile to make its way to her lips and looked at her mother. “So?” Tess repeated the leading question.

  “Oh, come on, Tess. What is going on with you and that doctor?”

  “That doctor has a name, Mom. In case you forgot, it’s Brooke. And, what do you mean exactly?”

  “You know perfectly well what I mean,” Mary replied curtly.

  Tess sighed heavily. “She’s my partner, Mom. You already know that.”

  “Don’t partners, as you put it—don’t they usually live together?” her mother asked in a tone that Tess found almost accusatory.

  Tess set down the knife in her hands and folded her arms across her chest. “Why don’t we just cut to the chase,” Tess suggested evenly. “You have something you want to say—say it.”

  “All I am suggesting is that you need to be cautious,” Mary said defensively. “Honestly, Tess, you have two children to consider. If this woman wanted to make a commitment to you, I should think you would know that by now.”

  “Mom, I am going to say this once, and I want you to listen to me. Brooke is not Jackie. Brooke is not Daniel. Brooke is Brooke. Your idea of commitment might not be the same as other people’s.”

  Mary practically snorted. “Idea of commitment? Tess, either someone is committed to you or they are not. There isn’t any idea about it.”

  Tess’s frustration was growing. “I am not worried about Brooke and me, Mom. Not even a little bit.”

  “So?”

  “Get to your point,” Tess demanded.

  “Do you see this woman raising your children?”

  Tess pressed down her anger. She rolled her tongue over her lips in an attempt to stifle a heated response to the question. Tess’s mother had never approved of her “lifestyle” as she called it.

  “This lifestyle that you insist…”

  There it was, the dreaded word that served as Tess’s undoing. “My life, Mom, has never been about style,” she quipped angrily. “It’s been about providing what Davey and Dani need. It’s been about work. It’s been about responsibility. Style is not a word I would use to describe my life. Do you see these clothes?”

  Mary was neither amused nor did Tess’s remark do anything to dissuade her mother’s lecture or inquiry. “You know what I mean. You can’t casually bring people into those children’s lives.”

  “That’s enough,” Tess put her foot down. “There is nothing casual, as you put it about my relationship with Brooke.”

  “More than six months, I should think…”

  “Maybe you should stop thinking,” Tess suggested.

  “I am thinking of you and the kids!”

  “No, you aren’t.”

  “Tess, you need…”

  “I need Brooke,” Tess said flatly. She was about to continue her verbal dressing down of her mother when the topic of their discussion burst through the door with a bloody-faced Dani. “What happened?” Tess asked.

  Brooke shook her head and moved to sit Dani in a chair. “It looks worse than it is,” Brooke said calmly.

  Tess nodded and went to grab a washcloth. “Do I want to know?” Tess asked. Brooke accepted the cloth and started cleaning up Dani’s face. Tess looked at her son who was being escorted through the door by her father.

  “Sorry, Dani,” Davey practically whispered. Tess groaned audibly. Before she could ask Davey continued. “I grabbed Dani’s feet. I didn’t know she was that close to the edge, Mom.”

  Tess nodded. Brooke looked up at her with a reassuring smile. Tess took a deep breath.

  “Is Dani okay?” Davey asked as he sheepishly approached his sister.

  Dani was still sniffling, but she spoke up. “I’m okay,” she told her brother.

  Davey looked at Tess with teary eyes. She shook her head and pulled him to her side. “What have we told you about playing in the water?” she asked her son gently.

  “Not to roughhouse,” Davey answered as his tears began to fall.

  Brooke looked at Tess and grimaced slightly. She handed Dani the cold cloth and stood up to face Tess. “She needs a couple of stitches,” Brooke whispered to Tess. Tess nodded her understanding. Brooke bent back down to Dani. “Dani,” she said. “That’s a pretty deep gash. I think we need to have someone look at it.”

  “You’re a doctor,” Dani said.

  Brooke smiled and put her hand on Dani’s knee, sensing her fear. “True, but I don’t have what we need here, sweetheart.”

  Dani looked at Brooke with pleading eyes. “I don’t want to go.”

  Tess squatted down beside Brooke and looked at her daughter. “It’ll be all right, Dani. Trust me,” she promised. Tess wiped away Dani’s tears and kissed her forehead.

  “Mom…”

  Tess smiled. “You know, I had almost the same thing happen to me once, thanks to my brother.”

  “Really?” Dani asked.

  Tess nodded. “Yeah. He pushed me out of a tree,” she chuckled. “After he built me wings. They didn’t work so well,” she confessed the obvious. Brooke snickered.

  “Un
cle Gary pushed you out of a tree?” Dani asked in disbelief.

  “No. My brother David did,” Tess explained.

  “Maybe it’s the name,” Brooke joked.

  Tess winked. “Possibly. Come on,” she nudged her daughter.

  Dani started to panic and grabbed Brooke. “You’re coming, aren’t you?” she asked Brooke.

  Brooke smiled. “Me? Miss a chance to go to the doctor?” she teased Dani. Dani laughed and put her arms around Brooke’s waist.

  “Take my car,” Tess’s father moved past the family, retrieved his keys and handed them to Tess. “Davey can hang out here with the old folks.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Tess said as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

  “Call us,” he said as he led the threesome to the door.

  “We will,” Tess promised as she followed Brooke and Dani through the door.

  “Sorry about this,” Brooke said.

  “Not your fault, honey,” Tess said assuredly. She opened the back door of her father’s car and helped Dani in.

  Brooke sighed as Tess closed Dani’s door. “Not the best way to start the weekend, huh?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Tess said. “Beats cooking with my mother.”

  Brooke cringed. “That bad? I am a doctor, maybe I can help,” she offered.

  Tess kissed Brooke’s cheek. “Mm. Let’s save those doctoring skills for later,” she whispered in Brooke’s ear.

  Brooke felt her heart skip a beat and her face flush. Tess giggled as she made her way into the driver’s seat. Brooke stood still for a moment before opening her car door. If their first few hours in Florida were any indication, the weekend would be anything but boring. Brooke snickered. I hope that ends up being a good thing.

  ***

  Tess closed the bedroom door and leaned against it heavily.

  “You okay?” Brooke asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “That was very convincing,” Brooke teased. Tess shrugged and made her way into Brooke’s arms. Brooke placed a soft kiss on Tess’s head. “Look at it this way, we’ve already been to the hospital. It has to get better,” she said.