“Bless you,” Jor-El called for what must have been the nineteenth time.
“Thanks,” Tracen mumbled again, pulling his T-shirt up over his face to wipe his forehead. Yeesh, he smelled like a locker room.
On rubbery legs, he led Jor-El through the dining room, grabbed sunglasses from his office, and claimed a table on the patio so Gigi wouldn’t scold him about his hygiene scaring off her customers. He could shower after he fed the kid.
Tracen tossed a menu across the picnic table. “What do you want, buddy?”
Jor-El’s eyes lit up the way they had when Emily invited him to lunch on the first day he met her. The thought drew Tracen’s gaze down to the river. The filming continued, but he couldn’t see the actress he was looking for. Where was she?
“I’ll have the Belgian waffle. With a side of sausage. And maybe scrambled eggs. I wonder when the next Wonder Woman movie will come out.”
Tracen frowned and scanned the menu prices, totaling up Jorel’s breakfast before the boy’s last sentence penetrated his mind. He looked up. “A sequel to Wonder Woman?”
“Yeah. I read about it online yesterday. Though I know they haven’t started filming yet because Emily is still up here. But I hope it doesn’t take too long.”
“Wonder Woman II?” Tracen repeated. Emily hadn’t mentioned it. “There must be a different actress playing the part.” That’s the only thing that made sense. “Emily is planning to move back to Idaho and become a P.E. teacher.”
“Emily Van Arsdale is going to teach a gym class?” Jor-El asked in disbelief, but he didn’t wait for an answer. “That’s so cool. Maybe she could be my teacher and actually give me a passing grade.”
Tracen held back a chuckle. He wondered what the phys. ed. teacher would think of Jor-El’s moves on a unicycle. The kid had coordination, even if he couldn’t climb a rope to the ceiling. “We will see.”
Jor-El leaned forward. “What do you mean we? Is Emily moving here to be with you?”
Oops. Tracen had enough trouble not getting his own hopes up. He didn’t need to have to reel Jor-El in, as well. “No. She misses her mom.”
Jor-El nodded thoughtfully. “That’s right. I forgot she’s from around here. But I think she likes you too.”
Huh. “What would give you that idea?” Tracen lifted his menu so the kid couldn’t read his expression — his eagerness to hear Jorel’s answer.
“Oh…” Jor-El paused dramatically, as if telling a secret. “I talked to her last night on the phone. She laughed a lot when I told her about the time you promised your grandma that if she went rafting with you, she would stay dry.”
Not his most impressive moment. Tracen dropped his menu and finished the story for Jor-El. “But then I stayed so close to the bank that when we rounded a bend, an overgrown bush knocked Grandma backwards out of the raft, and all I could see were her feet sticking up out of the water.”
“And she got pneumonia.”
“You didn’t tell Emily that part, did you?”
“I had to. She asked. See, I told you she likes you.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Hopefully the kid also shared the part about how his grandmother laughed at the circumstances and how she begged to go rafting every time she’d visited since.
Gigi appeared then, so Tracen and Jor-El could order. As Gigi’s stick figure strode away in her nursing shoes, Tracen let his gaze wander toward the river. He could see Emily now, but he wished he couldn’t. Jack had her pressed against a tree. The actor’s head dipped down until there was no space between the two of them. The contents of Tracen’s stomach curdled.
“She’s acting, isn’t she?” Jor-El’s voice turned whiney.
Tracen grunted and turned away. Why did he sit on the patio again? “Kissing scene.”
“Have you kissed her yet?”
Tracen’s spine stiffened, and he tried to remain nonchalant. Maybe the kid wasn’t as innocent as he’d thought. He feigned ignorance. “What?”
Jor-El’s eyes bored into him. “Maybe if you kiss her, then she won’t leave. She’ll let another actress play in Wonder Woman II, like you said.”
Tracen chuckled. “That would be some kiss, kid. But don’t worry. She never really wanted to be an actress anyway.”
Jor-El’s shoulders relaxed as he slouched into his seat. “That’s good. Because famous people don’t usually stay here for long.”
Tracen wanted to argue, but all he could do was offer a smile — a sad smile. Unfortunately, the kid wasn’t talking about Serena. He was talking about his dad.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“THEY’RE HERE,” TRACEN CALLED, LOOKING OUT the bay window.
The gravel crunching under tires could barely be heard over Toto’s barking. Then another noise joined the symphony. Emily’s phone. She pulled the device from her purse in surprise. She so rarely had the phone charged and with her that she wasn’t used to the old-fashioned ring.
Tracen planted a kiss on her forehead, and all sounds faded away. “Go ahead and answer it. Then tell whoever is calling that you’re spending time with family, and you won’t be available for the rest of the day.”
Emily enjoyed the warmth that spread through her. He was so sweet. Giving, yet protective at the same time. And she liked the sound of the word family. It made her feel like she’d come home.
For privacy, Emily stepped up into the kitchen of the manufactured home from the cozy addition Tracen had built on — she didn’t want to seem rude and full of herself the first time she met Tracen’s brothers. He had four of them. Growing up in the Lake household must have been a blast.
Emily slid her finger across the touchscreen to hear the abrupt sound of Bruce’s curt greeting, then his bossy babbling. The man obviously hated holidays, as they kept him from his work.
“Okay, Bruce, okay, okay.”
The back door slammed, and a variety of male voices drew her attention away. “Bruce, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
Bruce kept talking.
“Okay,” she said again. Yes, she would be ready to shoot on time. It wasn’t like she was always late. Well, maybe she had been since she got to Sun Valley. A small smile played on her lips. Filming seemed so unimportant when Tracen was around.
“All right, Bruce. I’ll be there. Now go try to enjoy Independence Day. I’m turning off my phone.” Whew. She held the power button down and listened to see if Tracen had mentioned her yet.
“So,” an unfamiliar voice spoke up, “you’re really helping coordinate the rafting scenes for the movie being filmed here?” The tone sounded a little cocky. She wondered how the guy’s attitude would change when she walked into the room.
“Yeah.” Emily pictured Tracen leaning against the fireplace mantel with arms crossed. She took a step toward the family room. A lower voice broke in. “Is that actress Emily Van Arsdale in it?”
That actress? Emily paused and waited for Tracen’s response.
“Yeah,” was all he said, though she could almost hear his smile. “Have you met her?” A younger voice now.
Emily covered her mouth to hold back a laugh. What would Tracen’s brothers think if they knew that actress was listening to their conversation?
Tracen repeated his standard answer. “Yeah.” Was he waiting for her to make an entrance?
“No way.” That must have been the young brother again.
A commanding voice now. “What’s she like in real person?”
“She’s adorable.”
Ahh. Tracen couldn’t have given a better answer. Later she’d thank him properly for such a compliment. She snuck toward the doorway. Tracen’s eyes caught hers, and he gave a barely discernible nod. Two of his brothers sat in her line of sight, but they had their backs toward her.
The cocky voice again. “Can you introduce us?”
A snicker came from the other side of the room. “You’re engaged, dude.”
The younger-sounding voice spoke again. “I’d like to meet her.”
Tracen’s head
tilted toward the ceiling, as if he didn’t want his brothers to see his expression. He looked at the brother with a buzz cut. “Sam, I’m so happy to have you back on American soil safe and sound that I would do anything for you.”
Sam’s spine shot up straighter. “You mean you’d introduce me to Emily Van Arsdale? You can do that?”
The other brothers chuckled. One tossed a throw pillow at Tracen.
Tracen smiled at the floor now, scratching the back of his neck. He looked up and shook his head. Then he gazed at Emily, eyes twinkling. He tilted his head in invitation. That was her cue.
Emily stepped forward, her flip-flops squishing against the laminate hardwood flooring. The faces that swiveled to look at her could have come right out of a comic strip — eyes popping out, chins to the floor, cheeks bright red. She made her way to Tracen and slipped her arm through his. “Welcome home, Sam.”
Sam laughed in disbelief. He threw the baseball cap he was holding into the air. “No way.”
Tracen slid a solid arm around Emily’s waist, his smile just as warm as his touch. He pulled his gaze away from hers to address his brothers. “I told you I’d introduce you to Emily, but keep in mind that she’s taken.”
“What?”
“You’re kidding.”
“You mean by you?”
Sam leaned forward in his seat, face aglow. “Emily Van Arsdale. Holy buckets. Please tell me you’re not dating my dopey brother. You could do so much better.”
Tracen kicked the hat back at him. “Thanks a lot, bro.”
Emily squinted as she thought over their short relationship. “Actually…” The room quieted. “I don’t think we are dating. You’ve never asked me out, Tracen.”
Tracen turned to face her, playing along. “I haven’t?”
“No. Howie invited me to go waterskiing. And then I had to bribe you to get you to go to Boise with me. That’s not really dating.” Though the thrill from her non-dates had all exceeded any date she’d ever been on.
“Ooh,” the cocky brother taunted Tracen. Now Emily could see he had messy hair and a bright blue dress shirt with an expensive-looking striped tie.
“That’s not very romantic, Trace,” the oldest brother reprimanded, reigning from a recliner in the corner. His coloring and gruffness reminded her of Kiefer Sutherland.
“Ask her out, Tracen.” The second brother in line was the smallest and the sweetest.
Sam piped up, sporting a wicked grin. “Or don’t. Then I’d still have a chance.”
Emily laughed at all their support. What had she been worried about? Tracen’s brothers were the kind of family she’d always imagined.
“So, Em?” Tracen shrugged. “Would you want to go on a date this weekend? Maybe fishing? And then a rodeo? What do you think?”
The guy in the tie grunted with disapproval. Emily bet he’d worked a little harder when winning the heart of his fiancée. That was one of the things she loved about her relationship with Tracen. It wasn’t work.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She beamed.
Tracen made the introductions then. His oldest brother Dave ran a Christian retreat center on the coast with his wife and three kids. The next brother, Matt, the sweet one, worked as a private pilot for a wealthy businessman in Portland, Oregon. He’d flown all the brothers to Sun Valley, landing on Redfish Lake in his boss’s new pontoon plane. Josh, the slick sibling, was two years younger than Tracen and worked as a sales director in Chicago. Then there was Sam, who was the youngest, the tallest, and now the buffest from his training duties with the military.
Emily shook hands all around. Sam took advantage of being last. He twirled her close and dipped her. “If I’d have known I was going to get this kind of greeting when I returned to the States, I would have come back sooner.”
“You’re cute, Sam, but I think you’re too tall for me.”
Tracen laughed louder than the rest. He pulled Emily to her feet and out of Sam’s grip. His eyes twinkled, telling her he was thinking the same thing she was. They’d come a long way since he’d claimed she was too short for him — though she still didn’t know what had caused him to avoid her in the first place. He’d practically run away the time she traced the scar on his ribs. And she hadn’t even meant anything by it — just wanted to remember his name.
“Wait a minute.” She stood up straighter, her back to Tracen, though she couldn’t possibly forget he was there with the way his fingertips ran up and down her arms. She pointed from brother to brother as she recited their names. “Dave. Matt. Josh. Sam.” She spun to face the guy she was now dating. “Tracen.”
Tracen looked over her head at his brothers to explain her actions. “She’s usually bad at names.”
“Only names that are hard to remember,” she retorted. “Like yours. Only yours.” The Sesame Street song “One of These Things Is not Like the Others” played through her head. “Where did you get your name?”
Dave piped up. “His name was supposed to be Pete.”
Emily’s face split into a smile. “Pete?” He was no Pete.
Josh joined in. “But see, if he’d been a girl, Mom and Dad were going to name him Tracy.”
Emily’s smile grew wider. She didn’t know if she could trust Josh, but that would be pretty funny if he spoke the truth. “Seriously?”
Tracen gave a weak nod.
Matt finished the story. “Mom got tired of waiting for a daughter, so when Dad left the room she wrote Tracen on his birth certificate.”
Emily guffawed. Who would do that? She wanted to dig deeper, but Tracen had his head bent low, so she encouraged him the way she had Jor-El. “Well, I like Tracen. It’s a unique name.” She added a little more softly, “And it goes with the scar.”
Tracen’s fingers intertwined with hers, as if he were remembering the first time she’d touched him. “I’m glad you like the name Tracen,” he said, his eyes finding hers. “But I think it’s more important that you like the name Lake.”
The bubble of excitement that rose within made Emily feel lighter than air — like a helium balloon. She did like the name Lake. She tested it out further. Emily Lake. She liked the sound of that too. Was she getting ahead of herself? Moving too fast?
A throat cleared in the silence that surrounded them, reminding Emily that they weren’t alone. “So, Tracen, are you still planning on staying in Sun Valley?”
Tracen’s head jerked up, their connection cut off. The glare he sent his brother Matt made her wonder what else she didn’t know about Tracen Lake. “Of course.” The tension in his voice drained away as he continued, and Emily wondered if it was all in her imagination. “I just got the blueprints for my cabin. I’ll start building it as soon as the filming of Emily’s movie ends. In fact, it’s the work I’ve done in her movie that’s paying for my down payment.”
Emily tilted her head. Tracen was building a cabin? She wanted to ask more, but not in front of his brothers. Not when everybody else already knew what he was talking about.
“Are the blueprints here?” Dave asked. “Can we see them?”
“Yeah.” Tracen pointed toward the kitchen. “They’re on the dining room table. I knew you guys would want to look ’em over. I’ve got a wraparound porch. And dormer windows. The garage will only be attached by a covered walkway.”
The men filed out of the room. Emily trailed after Tracen, but as soon as his brothers were out of sight, he turned back and bent low to kiss her. Contentment hummed through her core. She couldn’t get enough of this man, and apparently he felt the same way. Wrapping both arms behind his neck, she invited him closer, but before his lips reached hers, Josh walked in. Tracen slid away.
“Can I grab something to drink? You got soda in the fridge?”
“Sure. Yeah. Go.” Tracen waved him away.
Josh sent her one of his arrogant smiles before disappearing into the kitchen.
Tracen didn’t seem to mind the fact that they’d almost gotten caught. He locked his arms behind her
waist and drew her to him once again. She loved the fact that as much as Tracen missed his brothers, he still wanted to make time for her.
“You’re building a cabin?” She kept her voice low.
“Yeah.” He brushed her lips with his.
“Right here by the river?”
“Yeah.” His lips pressed against hers longer this time.
Mmm. This was how they should have all their conversations. Josh interrupted again. “Tracen?”
Tracen broke away slowly, not taking his eyes off Emily. “What?” he barked.
“Mom and Dad are here.”
Emily turned to find Mrs. Lake standing at the top of the three wide stairs. She must have come through the front door, though she looked as if she wished she hadn’t.
****
THE RIBS TRACEN HAD ordered from The Point practically fell off the bone. Emily licked the last bit of tangy barbecue sauce from her fingers. Too bad she was too full to eat more. Eating had given her something to do, since it wasn’t like she had anything to contribute to the conversations around her. Unfortunately, the ribs were the best thing about the picnic dinner.
Tracen ran a hand up and down her back, but with the way his mom watched them, she felt stiff and uncomfortable any time he touched her. The woman probably disapproved because of the way she’d found them together. Emily took a deep breath and sighed. So much for a good first impression.
The refreshing breeze blew a few strands of hair across Emily’s face. She tucked it behind her ear and tried to focus on the story Tracen’s dad was telling. He’d become Mrs. Lake’s interpreter. Mrs. Lake had ranted about the humidity in Florida, so Mr. Lake was explaining how they came to move so far away.
He shifted to face Emily from his position beside her on the picnic bench. She had to look up because he was as tall as Tracen. “So every year we would drive a truck full of Christmas trees cross-country to sell them in Florida.”
Finding Love in Sun Valley, Idaho (Resort to Love Book 1) Page 11