“Auntie Mack!” Lucas shouted. A hush fell over the gathering.
Lucas saw he had Mack’s attention across the garden. “I need help. I can’t find my weenie!” he shouted.
“Hell,” Mack whispered under her breath, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“I’m coming, Lucas,” she shouted back as she pulled away from Dean, ignoring Cynthia and her mother, who’d turned their back on them.
“Mack, I’ll come with you. Sounds like a guy thing.” Dean followed her, trying not to laugh.
Usually, Lucas never wore anything tucked into his jeans, in order to make it easier for him to go to the bathroom. When she’d gotten him dressed, she’d forgotten, and she’d put a shirt on him then tucked it into his jeans and made him wear a belt. She’d wanted him to look smart.
They finally reached Lucas and each took hold of one of his hands to lead him back to the bathroom. Once there, both Dean and Lucas stood their ground and refused to let her inside, making her wait outside by the door.
Mack giggled once they had both disappeared.
“Hey, what’s so funny?”
“Oh, Thomas. Lucas and his mouth again.” Thomas raised an eyebrow in question. “He just came out into the garden and shouted to me across the lawn ‘I can’t find my weenie.’”
Thomas was silent for a moment, and then he roared with laughter, which caused a few people to turn in their direction.
Lucas walked out of the bathroom and looked back and forth between the two of them. “What’s so funny?”
“Um, Thomas just told me a grown-up joke!” Mack replied quickly.
Dean lifted his hand to caress the side of Mack’s face. “It’s the first time you’ve laughed today. Let’s go home. We can eat on the way back.”
“Yeah! Does that mean I don’t have to tuck my shirt in anymore?”
She didn’t know whether to leave or stay. “Thomas, would you mind taking Lucas over to get a drink for a minute, please?”
Thomas and Lucas headed over to the refreshments as she turned to Dean. “These are your family and friends, and I don’t want you rushing away because I’m uncomfortable. If this is going to work between us, then I have to get used to them.”
“Babe, the only family here right now are my folks and none of these people are my friends. Hell, my sister isn’t even here. I know most of them, yes, but my friends help me relax, and I’m not relaxed here. All this isn’t me. I’m more comfortable shooting pool or in a cottage in Cape Elizabeth with the woman I’m in love with.”
He lifted his hands to Mack’s face and used his thumbs to wipe her tears away. “Come on, we’re leaving. I’ll talk to my grandfather and arrange a time to visit them.” He smiled. “I’ll tell him I want to bring someone special to meet him and my grandmother, which will guarantee they won’t go anywhere else.”
“Let me just wash my face in here.” Mack dragged Dean into the bathroom with her.
She walked over to the sink and washed her tears away, then used the towel Dean passed to her to dry her face. She opened her purse and applied some more mascara and lipstick while Dean lounged against the door with his ankles crossed.
He suddenly realized Mack was up to something and straightened slightly. She sauntered toward him, her lithe movements reminding him of a cat stalking her prey.
Standing in front of him, she moved in very close. She placed her hands on his chest, and moved them upwards in a caress, “So you love me, huh?” she asked huskily, taking his face between her hands, bringing his head down to hers.
First, she nibbled on his bottom lip, and then moved up to the top one. She continued her assault on his senses and used her tongue to trace the seam of his lips. He opened his mouth and she sealed hers to his in an explosive kiss. Dean was lost. He took over the kiss and lifted her up toward him. He then turned around to pin her to the door with his hips.
Mack wrapped her legs around his waist. He deepened the kiss even more, only to be abruptly brought back down to earth with someone banging on the door.
Breathing heavily, he rested his head against the door, his mouth attached to Mack’s neck, which made her shiver. “Yeah?”
“Are you about done in there?”
“No!” he whispered into Mack’s neck.
“Give me five,” Dean shouted to his father on the other side of the door.
“Okay, son, take your time. Tell Mack that Thomas and Lucas are sitting in the car.”
Mack began to unwrap her legs from around Dean’s waist, embarrassed that James had caught them very nearly going at it.
Dean laughed, placing a tender kiss on her nose. He edged Mack away from him, helped to straighten her clothes, and then opened the door.
He took Mack’s hand and walked her over to say goodbye to his parents before he practically dragged her to the car, laughing.
“I’m sorry about my mother.”
She frowned and looked across at Dean. “Why are you laughing?”
“My father was embarrassed at catching us in the bathroom together. He doesn’t embarrass easily so I can’t help but find it funny.” Dean helped Mack into the car.
“Auntie Mack, why did you pull Dean into the bathroom with you?” Lucas asked from the backseat.
“You saw that, huh?” Mack asked, glancing at Dean.
“Oh, yes. We saw that,” Thomas replied.
Chapter 29
They made a quick exit from Dean’s parents’ house, forgetting the scanner and his laptop in their rush, and headed back up the coast. Dean pulled off the interstate into the McDonald’s in Biddeford at Lucas’s request, of course.
“What’s your pleasure, Lucas?” Dean pulled into a free parking space and turned to him.
“Mmm, can I please have chicken nuggets, fries, and a chocolate shake?”
“You certainly can, Lucas. Mack, Thomas, do you both want something from here?”
“I think I’ll have the same as Lucas, please.” Mack did the high five with Lucas.
Dean turned to look at Thomas. “Now you’re not going to let me down, are you, Thomas?”
Mack rolled her eyes. “Men!”
He rubbed his stomach. “No, I’m not. I’ll have a burger, fries, and Coke, please. This is my first trip to a McDonald’s, you know.”
“Wow! You’ve never been to a McDonald’s before? But what do you eat if you don’t go to McDonald’s?” Lucas asked, totally amazed.
“Real food.”
Dean laughed at Lucas’s expression. “Okay, you guys, want to eat here or drive a bit further to Fortune’s Rock where we can see the ocean? Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a parking place.”
All three replied, “The ocean.”
Dean grabbed the blanket from the trunk of the car, and then headed over to the beach with a rather excited Lucas in tow.
Mack removed her sandals, before she took hold of Dean’s hand as they carried on walking to find a perfect spot on the beach to watch the ocean, and some yachts that were further out at sea.
With the blanket placed on the sand, they all sat down and ate their McDonald’s food. Mack had no idea she was so hungry until she started to eat. She watched Thomas, who consumed his meal nearly as fast as Lucas did.
“Well, Thomas, what did you think of your first McDonald’s burger?”
“I enjoyed it, thank you, Dean. Not as good as the burgers I make, but good enough.” He ended on a burp that sent Lucas into a fit of giggles.
“Auntie Mack, please, can I go and play in the waves?”
“Give me a couple of minutes, okay? Then I’ll take you.”
Thomas stood and looked back and forth between Mack and Dean. “I’ll take you, buddy. I could do with some exercise after eating all that.”
“Are you sure, Thomas?” Mack motioned for Lucas to come and stand in front of her.
“Of course I am.”
“Let me roll your trouser legs up, okay. Don’t get your jeans wet as you have nothing to change into.”
“I won’t.”
“Are you going to roll my trouser legs up, too?” Thomas gave her a cheeky grin.
Not being one to back down from a challenge, she grinned, “Come here then.”
After rolling both sets of trousers up, Mack lay between Dean’s legs, resting against his chest.
“You smell delicious, Mack.” Dean started to caress her arms. “So soft.”
“Mmm.”
She moved in closer to Dean and could feel what she did to him. Loving his reaction, she wriggled slightly, and then laughed when she heard him groan.
“You’re playing with fire, you know that?” He put his arms around her waist and pulled her in tight. “You feel so right, Mack, in my arms and in my life.”
“That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
With one of her arms wrapped around Dean’s waist, she snuggled in tight and started to drift off to sleep. She was snuggled against the man she loved and the world was right at this moment.
Thomas splashed in the chilly surf with Lucas and realized it was a lot of fun. Fun, something Thomas had only started having again since he’d met Mack, Lucas, and Dean. When he was a boy, he used to spend all his free time at either the beach or fishing with Levi and Walt. What fun they used to have.
Thomas spotted some small pebbles as he looked down at the water around his ankles. He bent down to pick them up.
“What have you found?” Lucas questioned.
“Just some small pebbles. When I was a kid, Levi, Walt, and I used to spend a lot of time skipping pebbles across the water.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll show you.” Thomas stood to the side, moved his arm back, and then brought his arm and whole body forward as he released the pebble. They watched it bounce a few times across the water before it sank beneath the blue depths. He glanced at Lucas and started to laugh. He was just standing there with his mouth wide open. “I take it you liked that then?”
“Wow! Yeah! Will you teach me?”
“I will, but it takes a lot of practice so don’t be too disappointed if you don’t get the hang of it today, okay?”
“I won’t.”
After about half an hour of practice, Lucas finally managed to get the stone to bounce twice before sinking, much to his delight and Thomas’s relief. He had visions of still being there at midnight with one very determined young man.
Chapter 30
Yesterday had been a tiring day, and Mack had been as tired as Lucas by the time they arrived home. Strangely, she hadn’t been ensconced in Rose Cottage all that long, but she was already calling it home.
Thomas had gone back to his cottage, and Dean had carried Lucas up to bed.
Dean and Mack showered together, before heading to bed, where Dean made love to her before they both fell asleep, entwined together and exhausted.
In the morning, Dean had gone home to shower and change, saying he would be back shortly. So, as she was standing in the kitchen waiting for him, she heard rustling at the back door. Mack turned in time to watch Thomas walk in with another bunch of flowers.
“For a beautiful woman!” Thomas held out a lovely bunch of carnations he’d brought for her.
She took the flowers from him. “They’re lovely. You’re already in my heart, you know, and I’ll still feed you, even if you run out of flowers.”
He winked at Mack. “I’ll never run out of flowers for you!”
“Are you trying to pinch my woman again?” Dean asked as he entered the kitchen, going straight over to Mack laughing. He planted a very possessive kiss to her lips, then asked, “Where’s Lucas?”
“Living room.”
Dean disappeared into the living room, no doubt to play on the Wii with Lucas for a short while to let Mack finish breakfast.
She started to stack the pancakes, letting Thomas sit and get lost in his own thoughts.
“After breakfast, Mack, do you think, Dean would look after Lucas for a time so we can talk? I need to tell you what happened that night.”
Thomas had taken Mack by surprise. She’d hoped that Thomas would talk to her about the night Rose died, but she wasn’t expecting him to do that today. It hadn’t even entered her head this morning.
“I’m sure he would. Thank you, Thomas.”
With a nod of his head, he took his seat at the kitchen table.
She shouted for Dean and Lucas to come for breakfast. After everyone had washed up, they sat down to eat the feast she’d made.
“Dean, would you mind keeping Lucas occupied this morning, maybe on the Wii while I go out for a short while with Thomas? That’s if you don’t have anything planned?”
Dean grinned across to Lucas. “I was only planning on hanging around here today anyway so that’s fine.”
“Thanks.”
“Dean.”
“Yes, Lucas.” Dean wondered what was on his young mind.
“Are you going to marry Auntie Mack? Because that will make you my uncle.”
Dean didn’t really know how to answer. “Would it bother you if I did?”
“No. I like you and wouldn’t mind having an uncle. Thomas has already said he will be my other granddad.”
He laughed. “It doesn’t always work like that Lucas, but I’ll tell you a secret.” Lucas moved closer to Dean as he whispered into Lucas’s ear. “I love your Auntie Mack, and I hope to be around her a very, very long time. Will that do for now?”
“Yes. Just as long as you remember it’s my birthday soon, and there’s a new Mario Brothers game coming out, so if you are my uncle, you have to buy me a present.”
He ruffled Lucas’s hair. “I’ll remember that. Now, are you going to let me win this one?”
“No way!”
When they arrived at Thomas’s cottage, Mack looked across at him and noticed he looked really frail, and for maybe the first time, he looked his age.
“Thomas, are you sure you’re okay doing this? You look awfully pale,” she asked, concerned.
“I’m fine, Mack, just trying to collect my thoughts so they don’t come out all jumbled.”
They entered through the porch, and Mack couldn’t help but notice how neat and tidy everywhere was. Nothing like her apartment in Boston.
“Let’s go to the living room, Mack. It’s comfortable in there.”
“Okay, lead the way.”
She took a seat in the living room and looked around, spotting all the photographs on the sideboard. Thomas noticed her looking. “Those are pictures of my wife and various friends over the years.”
She stood and walked over to take a closer look at the photographs of Thomas’s life. She picked up the photograph of Rose and Jacob, which he had already framed and placed in the center of the pictures. There was a wedding photograph, which was obviously Thomas on his wedding day.
He saw the photograph that had grabbed Mack’s interest. “That’s Janet and me on our wedding day in 1958. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Couldn’t believe it when she showed interest in me.” He laughed. “After our first date, we were pretty much inseparable and married three months later.”
“These are amazing, Thomas. Oh, is that you?” Mack picked up a photograph of what looked to be a younger Thomas in uniform.
“That’s me. I joined the army as soon as I was old enough. Against my father’s wishes, I might add. He never spoke to me again after I became a soldier.”
She was angry on Thomas’s behalf. “I wish he was here now so I could give him a piece of my mind.”
“Don’t worry, Mack. It was a hell of a long time ago. In fact, that picture was taken just before I shipped out to Korea in 1953.”
“Wow.”
“Come sit next to me, Mack. Let me tell you a story.”
“I’m all yours, Thomas.”
“It might disappoint you some as my reluctance to talk is more about guilt, than anything else.”
“It’s okay, Thomas. Don’t worry. Just te
ll me what you remember.”
“I remember that last night as though it happened yesterday . . . It was just after ten thirty when I woke up, having heard my bedroom door shut. Turning over, I heard a thump, so I climbed out of my bed and turned on the lamp in my room. I discovered the Our Gang, April 1st edition on the floor. I realized it must have been Rose who had just been in my room.”
He sighed. “I then put the comic back down on my bed and put on my slippers and a sweater before creeping down the stairs. Spotting a light in the kitchen, I slipped inside quietly, just in time to see her going out the door with her purse.”
He took a sip of water. “I knew she was going to meet, Jacob, but I had no idea she had planned to run away with him. At least not then. It must have been about five minutes later, when Richard came banging on the back door. He had seen Rose sneak out and wanted to know where she was going. I told him I had no idea. He frightened me. I ended up blurting out that I thought she’d snuck out to meet Jacob and she would probably take the cliff path toward town.”
Both Mack and Thomas had tears in their eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay to continue?” Mack asked.
“I haven’t spoken about that night before now. I need to tell you.”
“All right, go on.”
“Richard seemed to go wild when I explained. He said ‘I will find her and bring her back where she belongs, and that is as my wife.’ I have never forgotten those words. Richard then took off toward the cliffs and that was the last I saw of him, until he returned just over an hour later, when Mother and Father were home, and told them he saw her go over the cliffs. I remember Richard looking really upset and as he was telling us, he just crumpled, breaking down and sobbing.”
“Oh, Thomas.” She knelt at his feet, taking his hands into hers. “Did you believe Richard when he said she’d ‘fallen’ off the cliff or did you consider Richard might have pushed her off?”
“I don’t know, Mack. That was a possibility, and I guess that night Richard looked wild enough to do anything, but he never, in all the years before that night or following showed any sign of being dangerous. Plus, I think he really did love her. He seemed a gentle kind of guy before then. At least, that’s what I thought.”
Rose and Jacob Page 18