“Honey, sometimes you have to follow your heart. You’ll do the same thing one day.”
Brandi shook her head. “What if your heart goes in two different directions?”
Gram chuckled. “You always did ask the hardest questions.” She stood. “I think you’ll have to figure that one out for yourself.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“You’ll do fine.” Gram enfolded her in her arms. “I’m proud of the woman you’ve grown into, Brandi.”
The older woman slipped out the door, leaving a trail of honeysuckle in her wake. Brandi wondered how long it would be before the house in California lost that precious scent.
❧
“Son, come in.” Jake’s dad opened the door and ushered his son inside. “Everything all right?”
Jake nodded and accepted his dad’s proffered hand. As always it progressed into a hug. “Yeah, sorry. I should have called. I was just hoping to talk to you for a little bit.”
“Elaine! Come see who’s here!” His dad ushered Jake into the living room.
“How’s your shoulder?”
“It’s better.”
“I’m glad.”
Jake wondered what his dad would think if he couldn’t go back to baseball. It would no doubt be a disappointment.
“Jeb, did you call me?” Jake’s mom stepped into the room, and her face split into a big grin. “Jake! Where did you come from?” She ran to hug him.
He kept his arm around her shoulder and turned back to his dad. “You’re the luckiest man I know. She gets younger-looking every day.”
“You’ve been kissing the blarney stone again, I see,” his mom chided.
His ears burned. Did kissing a Delaney girl count? He was pretty sure she was of Irish descent.
“Cat got your tongue?” she asked, with a rueful grin.
“Nope. I stand by what I said. No blarney involved.”
“Oh, honey, you’re so sweet.” She stretched to kiss him on the cheek. “Come on in and sit down.”
She motioned him to the chair next to his dad’s then perched on the couch. “Is everything okay?”
“I’ve already grilled him,” his dad said.
“Oh? Are we having him for supper?”
Jake’s dad gave his mom a hard look. “Very funny, Elaine.”
She turned to Jake with a grin. “He thinks he’s the only one with a sense of humor.” She stood and patted his arm. “I’m going to let y’all talk while I go whip us up something to eat. You’ll stay for supper, won’t you?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
She hurried to the kitchen.
“She’s really excited you’re here. We don’t see you often enough, Jake.”
“I know. It’s hard for me to get away between training and speaking at schools. I’ll definitely be at Holt’s for Thanksgiving.” He considered telling his mom and dad about Brandi, but he didn’t want to jump the gun. Anything could happen between now and then.
“Holt said you’d know for sure in late December whether you’d be signing a new contract with the Cardinals.”
“Yep.” Jake instinctively massaged his shoulder. “I’m doing a lot better though, so I have a good feeling about my chances.”
“That’s what you want then?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
His dad pinned him with a look that had always made him confess that, yes, he had done whatever it was in question. “You think so?”
Jake nodded. “If they offer me a new contract, I’ll sign.”
His dad looked as if he wanted to say more, but he just nodded. “I’ll be cheering for you whatever you decide.”
Sixteen
“We could have all fit into Jake’s truck, you know.” Valerie balanced Brandi’s pecan pies on her lap and nodded toward the crew-cab truck leading the way. “And the toolbox had room for all the food.”
“I know, but Jake has Michael and Melissa with him and their skateboards and bicycles.” She rolled her eyes. “Which I still can’t believe they talked him into taking. Anyway, I prefer to have my own car.” Valerie’s argument was old hat, since Jake had come into the kitchen that morning saying the same thing.
Brandi didn’t know how to explain that when she was going to meet a huge group of strangers she preferred to have her car in case she needed to make a quick getaway. So she’d just shrugged then. She did it again now.
“You really need to work on your control issues, sis.” Valerie gave her a cheeky grin. “You have a good thing going with Jake. Don’t blow it.”
“When are you hanging out your shingle, Dr. Valerie? Or are you just going to start with your own call-in radio show?”
“Very funny. Did you know people use sarcastic humor to deflect attention from their problems?”
“Really? Is that why you do it? Maybe we should talk further about what makes you tick.” Brandi looked at her watch. “But, oops. Speaking of tick, our time is up for this week.” She raised an eyebrow at her sister, silently telling her not to dish it out if she couldn’t take it.
Valerie held up her hands then quickly grabbed the bobbling pecan pies on her lap. “Okay, okay, I give up.”
“You let those pies fall, and I’ll show you ‘give up.’ ” Brandi’s grin belied the gruff words.
“I wouldn’t dream of dropping these. I’m too impressed you actually baked them from scratch. Not that I think I’m the one you were trying to impress.”
Brandi blinked against a sudden flash of insight. If she didn’t live so far away, she and Valerie could be close friends. Their sense of humor was actually very similar.
“Hey, where’s your comeback?” Valerie asked.
“I was just letting you bask in your wittiness.”
Jake put on his blinker, so Brandi followed his truck down a partially wooded lane. Up ahead she could see a huge two-story white house with a green tin roof. It looked elegantly old-fashioned and yet meticulously cared for.
“Wow!” Valerie breathed.
Brandi was nodding her head in agreement, until she caught the direction of Valerie’s gaze. A well-muscled teen with dark hair was throwing a football to a group of younger boys scattered out over the rolling hills of green grass that surrounded the house.
“Yep. And the house is pretty impressive, too,” Brandi muttered.
Once they were closer to the house and out of eye-range of the junior Ricky Martin, Valerie grinned at Brandi. “Guess what, sis? It’s time to play Meet the Parents.”
Jake parked the truck and motioned to Brandi to pull in beside him. When she rolled to a stop, he came to open her door. “Is it okay if the kids go on and play and I help you carry the food in?”
Brandi nodded.
“Valerie?” Jake leaned in the car. “Do you want to take Michael and Melissa and introduce them to the other kids?”
“Um. . .sure.” Valerie’s saucy demeanor disappeared. She looked as nervous as Brandi felt.
Brandi turned to take the pecan pies. “Val, it’ll be fine. Just be yourself.”
Valerie nodded and climbed out of the car. Michael and Melissa joined her, and the three youngest Delaneys went to meet the McFaddens. Brandi watched them go with trepidation. Now she had to face the rest of the clan alone. No sooner had the thought formed than Jake took one of the pies in his left hand and clasped her free hand with his right.
“We’ll come back and get the rest of the food after we say hello.” He didn’t loosen his grip on her as they walked up to the enormous porch. She glanced at their entangled hands. Was he being nice? Or was he afraid that if he let her go she’d kick off her shoes and run for the hills?
“This is the house I grew up in.”
“Really? I love it!” She could picture Jake as a child playing hide-and-seek with his brothers here. The thought made her smile. “Where do your parents live now?”
“Lakehaven. We’ve always had a vacation house there, but they moved into it permanently a couple of years ago, and Holt and
Megan bought this place.”
Brandi thought of Gram’s house. Her house now. Did Holt treasure living in the house he’d grown up in as much as she did?
“But Holt’s going to sell it after the first of the year. They want a smaller place closer to Mom and Dad and Megan’s folks.”
Brandi cringed. What about all the memories?
The question quickly fled from her mind as they stepped onto the porch. Her stomach clenched. “What if they don’t like me?” she whispered to Jake as they approached the door.
“We don’t deal in impossibilities. They’ll love you.”
The front door opened before Brandi could change her mind and hightail it out of there.
“Jake! It’s so good to see you.” A petite woman with fine blond hair clasped Jake in a one-armed hug. She smiled at Brandi. “I’m Megan, Holt’s wife. You must be Brandi.”
“Nice to meet you,” Brandi murmured and returned Megan’s warm handclasp. “I know you said not to bring anything, but I made a couple of pecan pies and a few other things. I hope that was okay.” Jake had told her that, in spite of Megan’s polite refusal, food was always welcome at a McFadden family gathering. She hoped he was right.
Megan took both pies and breathed in deeply. “Mmm. . . pecan. My favorite.”
“Mine, too.” A red-haired woman had appeared behind Megan and deftly snagged a pie from her hand. She grinned at Brandi and extended her empty hand. “I’m Jessa.”
“I’m Brandi.” They shook hands, and Jessa looped her arm with Brandi’s.
“I’m so glad you came. Let’s go get acquainted.”
Megan latched onto her other arm, and Jake excused himself to go get the rest of the food from the truck. What had that death grip on her hand out on the sidewalk been about? He’d given up easily enough when faced with two of his sisters-in-law.
For the next hour she tried desperately to match names with faces. Jessa was so much like Brandi’s friend Elizabeth that it was easy to feel she knew her. But the others blended together no matter how hard she tried to keep them separate.
“I know exactly how you feel.”
She turned to see a smiling woman with long brunette hair. The fireman and the florist. No, that was Clint and Jessa. This was Cade’s wife. The boys’ ranch. “Annalisa, right?”
“Yes. You should have seen me the first time I met Cade’s whole family.” Her smile sparkled in her eyes, and Brandi liked her immediately. “There weren’t any sisters-in-law, but with all the other relatives to remember I was a nervous wreck. It took me forever to get everyone straight. You’re way ahead of me.”
Brandi smiled. “Not really. I’m just playing word association games and winging it.”
Annalisa held up her hand and laughed. “I don’t even want to know what you’re associating me with.” She motioned toward the desserts that dotted the counter. “Can you help me with these? Megan has a special table set up for them out on the porch.”
“Sure.” Brandi grabbed a big flat tray that had apparently been laid out for that purpose and filled it with pies and cakes.
“And don’t worry about the names. A year from now you’ll wonder how you ever thought they were confusing.”
Warmth rushed to Brandi’s face. “I—”
Annalisa waved her hand in a don’t-worry-about-it motion. “I know. You think you won’t be around in a year.” The brunette seemed to read her mind. “We all thought the same thing when we first met the family. But you just wait and see.”
Brandi swallowed her protest. This sweet, funny woman didn’t need to hear it. She’d see for herself at the next gathering when Brandi was absent. The thought cast a shadow over the sunny day.
❧
Third down, ten yards to go. The kids huddled around Jake and Holt, listening for the coming play. Jake grinned when Melissa sent a furtive glance toward Cade and Clint’s team. “Psst, Melissa. Pay attention to our plan. Don’t worry about them.”
She turned back to him. “Okay, but they’ve got Juan and Valerie. It’s a wonder we’ve even managed a tie. We mostly have little kids.”
Protests broke out among the teenage boys, and Jake raised the football over his head. “Listen up!”
When he had their attention, Jake looked over at the other team as if seeing them for the first time in spite of the fact that the game was almost over. “They do have bigger players, don’t they, Holt?”
Holt nodded.
“But we’ve got”—Jake lowered his voice to a whisper, and all the kids leaned in automatically—“a secret weapon.”
“What is it?” they chorused.
“Shh!” Holt put his finger to his lips. Jake almost laughed aloud as his brother gave him a puzzled look over the heads of the kids. “Tell them what our secret weapon is, Jake.”
“Sarah.” Jake whispered her name.
Sarah’s blue eyes widened as everyone looked at her. “Me?”
“Yes, you. The key to winning a tag football game is to have an element of surprise. You’re ours. Remember the other day when we were playing with the tennis ball?”
The eight-year-old nodded, her brow puckered.
“You caught it every time.”
“Uncle Jake, that was a tennis ball.” She leaned forward and looked up into his eyes. “This is a football.”
“You can do it. Just pretend it’s small and round.” He turned to the others. “Nobody will be expecting me to pass to Sarah, so here’s what I want y’all to do. . . .” He spelled out the plan so everyone knew where to go.
“Ready?”
Just as Cade’s twelve-year-old son, Tim, hiked the ball, Brandi walked up to the sideline with Jake’s sisters-in-law. Jake glanced toward her and felt the ball hit him in the chest. Instinctively he grabbed it, but his eyes were still on Brandi.
Since the other team was watching Jake’s eyes, their gazes all pivoted toward Brandi, too. Recovering his senses he tossed the ball to where Sarah stood near the opposite sideline. He held his breath as the ball fell into her arms and she clutched it to her. The little girl froze for a split second, as if she couldn’t believe she’d really caught the ball, then ran for the water-hose goal line. The other team scrambled after her, but she crossed the line into the end zone before they got close.
“Touchdown! We won!” Everyone from both teams ran to hug Sarah and pat her on the back.
“Way to fake them out, Jake,” Holt called above the din.
Jake nodded. Brandi looked up from where she and his sisters-in-law and his mom were talking. She winked. He suddenly realized the truth. Everyone else may have thought Jake staring at her when he caught the hike was part of his strategy, but she knew he’d truly been distracted by her presence.
“Good game.” Cade clapped him on his good shoulder and followed his gaze to the group of women. “You’ve got it pretty bad, little bro. I’ve never seen anyone take your attention from a ball game.”
Jake grinned. So he hadn’t fooled everyone else after all. “Yeah, I can’t believe I did that. I thought she was in the kitchen, and then she walked by. . . .”
“Can’t think of anything but her, right?”
Jake shook his head. “It’s not really that I can’t think of anything but her, but she’s there in everything I think about. Does that make sense?”
Cade nodded. “Perfectly. I was the same way with Annalisa.” He grinned and looked at his wife a few yards away. “Still am, if you want to know the truth.”
“But you and Annalisa—that was meant to be. Brandi and I are polar opposites. You two are like two peas in a pod.”
Cade snorted. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t always that way.”
“Heads up!” The football landed on the ground between Jake and Cade.
Holt ran over to pick it up. “Sorry, guys. That was Clint’s fault.”
“Mighty nice of you to let me take the blame,” Clint drawled. He walked up to his brothers. “I told him to go out for a pass. But I forgot he can’t jump. So I tak
e the blame for that.”
“I can jump—” Holt started then shook his head and looked at Jake. “Hey, did your shoulder do okay in the game awhile ago?”
Jake gently took his shoulder through a range of motion. “Yeah, it did. No pain at all.”
“That’s great!” Clint patted him on the back. “I can’t wait to see that no-hitter I know you’re going to pitch next season.”
“Thanks.” Jake grinned at the thought. “Me, too.”
“So, Jake,” Holt said, winking at the others, “since your shoulder’s better, I guess you’ll be able to help us move by spring.”
“There’s a thing called spring training, you know. I’ll be busy.” He looked up at the big house and thought of the loads of furniture to be moved. “Very busy.” He caught Brandi’s gaze across the grass and winked. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought she blushed. “I have to talk to Brandi.” He walked away leaving his brothers arguing about who would help Holt move.
“Hey.”
A bright smile lit her face. “Nice play.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She wrinkled her nose. “All I did was walk by.”
“And all I did was look.” He took her hand. “But together we make a great team.”
Seventeen
“Brandi!” Elizabeth motioned from the little table in the corner.
“Hi—sorry I’m late.”
“I called the cops thirty seconds ago,” Elizabeth said with a quick glance at her watch. “You’re a minute and a half late. You need to lighten up a little.”
Brandi laughed. “And you’ve changed. How did you beat me here? I seem to recall having to rush you in between every class to keep you from being tardy.”
Elizabeth grinned ruefully. “Steve’s working at home today, and he pushed me out the door so I’d be on time.”
Both women looked up as the waitress approached their table. “Do you both want the buffet?”
They nodded.
“Drinks?”
“Sweet tea,” Elizabeth said.
“I’ll have the same.” Brandi sank back in her chair. “I’m glad you asked me to lunch, Elizabeth. Do we have an agenda? Or are we just catching up?”
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