A Decent Proposal

by Teresa Southwick

  Burke confidently and competently drove the car around the lake. From here it wasn’t far to her brother’s house. “This is a really beautiful area.”

  “I love it.” The words were simple but incredibly heartfelt. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

  She looked at the water, where late-afternoon sun turned it a brilliant blue. Closer to the shoreline, shadows from the mountains and trees crept slowly toward the middle of the lake. “My brother Alex builds custom homes around here. He built Ben and Cam’s and his own. Ellie, his wife, is an architect and drew up the plans.”

  “I’ll have to talk to him about that.”

  “What? Are you thinking of moving here?” That surprised her for a lot of reasons.

  “When the resort is booming, this area is going to be exclusive. Location, location. A second home would be a good investment.”

  For a moment she’d thought it might be personal, but not so much. He was a businessman, after all, and they had an agreement. There was nothing personal about that. Right now all she could worry about was getting through this family dinner unscathed.

  Burke made a right turn into the driveway of Ben and Cam’s home. He pulled to a stop beside her father’s truck. Alex’s car was there, too, which meant they were the last to arrive. Syd looked at the house and the bright lights coming from inside. There was a three-car garage and the front yard had an expanse of velvety green grass encircled by manicured bushes and flowers. They got out of the car and walked to the imposing double-door entry, where she pushed the doorbell.

  “Here goes nothing,” she muttered before the door was opened.

  Camille Halliday McKnight stood there with her warm welcoming smile. “Hi, you two. Glad you could join us, Burke. Come in.”

  “I’m grateful for the invitation. For a nomad like me restaurant food can get old.”

  “Syd...” Her sister-in-law’s voice had a chiding note in it. “Shame on you for not having him over to dinner at your house.”

  They hadn’t even been here a minute and she was busted already. If they were really dating she would have cooked for him. Cam’s remark caught her completely off guard and she couldn’t think of anything to say.

  “She’s mentioned it.” Burke to the rescue with a loose interpretation of their understanding. “But I’ve been busy and we’ve been taking things slow. Didn’t want to go public with this too soon.”

  “Like father, like daughter,” Cam said, closing the door behind them. “I was completely surprised to find out your dad and the mayor had been secretly dating for a while.”

  “Go figure,” Syd said. “We McKnights are an unconventional bunch.”

  “Come and meet everyone,” Cam invited.

  She led them through the large, two-story entry with an overhead chandelier, then into the spacious family room with connecting kitchen. Loretta was setting the table and Alex’s wife was stirring something on the stove.

  She waved and said, “I’m Ellie. Nice to meet you, Burke.”

  “Likewise,” he said.

  Her eighteen-month-old daughter, Leah, was sitting on the family room floor with her nearly two-year-old cousin, Amanda. The two little girls were surrounded by toys.

  Alex and Ben stood with their father by the river-rock fireplace and all three turned to look at Sydney and Burke. She knew it wasn’t possible but felt as if fraud was tattooed across her forehead. Never let them see you sweat, she thought, then slid her hand into Burke’s and plastered a big smile on her face as they joined the group.

  “Alex, Ben, this is Burke Holden.” She watched as her brothers shook his hand, polite but suspicious.

  “So you’re going out with my baby sister,” Alex said. He hadn’t lost the oldest-brother protective streak he’d honed as the oldest boy looking out for his younger siblings.

  “Yes.” This time Burke didn’t say “that’s the rumor” because they really had gone out.

  Syd knew her brother badly wanted to ask what his intentions were, but to his credit he held back.

  Ben held out his hand. “I hear you’re building a big resort.”

  “It’s going to be a very successful endeavor for my company, but for Blackwater Lake, too. I was just saying to Syd that property values are going to go through the roof.” He looked at Alex. “Your development here on the lake is going to be the place to live.”

  “We just hope it doesn’t grow so fast that ancillary services can’t keep up,” Ben said. “Medical care for example.”

  “I’ve talked to the mayor about that and a hospital is going to be in the short-term plans. A small regional airport is going in simultaneously with the building near the ski resort.”

  “You’ve thought of everything,” her dad said.

  “Probably not, but the team and I are doing our best on this project. We don’t want to mess it up.”

  “And we’d prefer that you don’t,” Alex said. “This is our home.”

  Syd listened and could read between the lines of what was being said. Watching their faces, she tried to see them objectively. Her brothers were about the same height as their father, a little over six feet, and both had brown eyes. Alex’s hair was dark, almost black, while Ben’s had highlights from the sun making it lighter. That was ironic since he was a doctor—an orthopedic specialist—and spent most of his time indoors. As a building contractor, Alex was outside most of the time.

  “How do you like Blackwater Lake?” he asked.

  “It’s what I would call idyllic,” Burke answered. “My cousin and partner, Sloan, is the one who brought the area to my attention a few years ago and we both agree on the potential.”

  Just then Syd felt a small hand on her leg and looked down to see blonde, blue-eyed Amanda smiling up at her. She babbled something that sounded a lot like “auntie.”

  “Hi, baby girl.” Syd bent and picked up the toddler. “You’re getting so big and even more beautiful than last week when I saw you.”

  Cam, sporting oven mitts, was looking on from the kitchen.

  “You’re just prejudiced, Auntie Syd.”

  “Definitely. And proud of it.” She looked down when another little hand patted her leg. With dark hair and eyes, Leah favored her daddy, Alex. “Hi, munchkin. You’re so big, too. And even more beautiful than when I saw you last week.” She looked at Ellie, the child’s mother, and said, “Gotta keep it even.”

  “Good for you, Auntie Syd.” Ellie smiled fondly.

  It was obvious the toddler wanted to be held, too, but Syd had her hands full. “I can’t pick you up, sweetie.”

  As if Leah understood, she turned and slapped the closest leg, which happened to be Burke’s. When your world perspective came from such a low center of gravity, probably all males in jeans looked like your daddy.

  This could go one of two ways. Either the little one would get loud in her demands, or lose interest and move on. Neither of those things happened. It never occurred to Syd that Burke would voluntarily pick up Leah, but pick her up he did.

  “Hey, little bit. How’s life treating you?”

  The little girl’s smile showed off the fact that she was intrigued by the handsome stranger as so many women often were.

  “I’ll take her,” Alex offered.

  “That’s okay.” Burke studied the child in his strong arms. “She’s a cutie. In about fifteen years both of your dads are going to have their hands full.”

  “Don’t remind us.” The look on Ben’s face said he was rejecting that idea with every fiber of his being. “Dad’s been doing a good job of rubbing that in since Amanda and Leah were born.”

  “I’ve been offering to pay for my granddaughters’ room and board until age thirty-five at that convent in the Himalayas.” Tom grinned at his sons. “God knows I wish I’d done that for your sister.�
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  “You know I’m standing here, right?” Syd said.

  “I do. And this isn’t anything I haven’t said to your face,” her father replied.

  “Okay, then.” She snuggled the little girl in her arms more securely and kissed the chubby cheek. “Men can be so annoying.”

  “You know we’re all standing here, right?” Burke said, one eyebrow lifted.

  “Yes, but in case anyone missed it, I’d be happy to say it louder,” she offered.

  “We got the message.” Alex seemed unfazed. “And just so you know, there’s not a zinger you can come up with that would keep me from protecting my little girl as long as I live. Or any other important woman in my life for that matter.” He slid an unmistakably protective look at her and Burke seemed to get the message.

  “Well said.” Burke nodded slightly, letting the other man know he understood.

  The little girl he was holding patted his cheek to get his attention, then pointed to the pile of toys in the center of the room. At the same time, Amanda was squirming to get down, so Syd complied and set her on the rug, where she looked up then at the playthings and grunted.

  “Offhand I’d say we’re being drafted for duty,” Burke commented.

  “I wasn’t sure you were picking up the signals.” She shrugged. “You don’t have to. I can handle this.”

  When he put Leah down, she grabbed his hand and leaned her tiny body in the direction she wanted to go. His smile was full of boyish charm guaranteed to melt female hearts from coast to coast and Syd was no exception.

  “This little girl is not going to take no for an answer,” he said. “Let’s do this.”

  “Okay,” Syd said to Cam, Ellie and Loretta, who were busy with dinner prep. “We would help you guys in the kitchen but these girls are determined to play.”

  “Trust me,” Ben said behind her. “If you play with them, that is helping in the kitchen.”

  “Good. Works for me.”

  She and Burke sat on the beige rug near the toys and let the toddlers hand them dolls, plastic cell phones and a scaled-down pink play stroller. Her nieces were chattering in a language no one could understand with the possible exception of their moms. She watched Burke, trying to decide if he was really this good-natured or just a gifted actor who would really rather take a sharp stick in the eye than play with girl toys.

  The thing was, she didn’t think he was that talented a performer and got the feeling he really liked kids. This high-powered, focused, übersuccessful CEO was a sucker for children.

  Color her surprised.

  About fifteen minutes later Cam and Ellie directed their husbands to take the babies upstairs for a diaper change, adding that dinner would be ready in about thirty minutes. The dads grabbed up their daughters and disappeared as ordered. Syd enjoyed seeing her big strong brothers tamed. It was a sign that they were happy to be settled down with two exceptional women who loved them.

  Still in troop-commander mode, Cam told Syd that she should give Burke a tour of the backyard. A look in her sister-in-law’s eyes said she was being given a break and should take advantage.

  Syd nodded then said to Burke, “Want to see the backyard?”

  “Sure.”

  Her dad grinned at Loretta. “Since diaper duty has already been assigned, I’ll help you with whatever you’re doing.”

  The mayor smiled back. “That means looking over my shoulder and critiquing.”

  “Maybe.” The twinkle in Tom McKnight’s eyes was good to see.

  Syd wondered why she hadn’t noticed that before her father’s secret relationship had been outed. For better or worse, now that she had noticed, she would do everything in her power to keep that happy look right where it was.

  Burke stood and held out his hand to help her up. When she was on her feet, he didn’t let go. Between the warm, cozy feeling of her fingers in his and the adorable image of him playing with the girls, Sydney wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to be alone with him. But it wasn’t about her or what she wanted, so she led him to the French doors that would take them outside.

  Strategically placed lights illuminated the brick patio and outside furniture. There was a pool and spa in the center of the yard and a gazebo in the far corner that overlooked the lake below in the distance. Like the front, there was an abundance of grass and shrubs. This place was like something out of a fairy tale, Syd thought.

  “This is Ben’s backyard,” she announced.

  “I would never have guessed.” Burke looked around. “It’s beautifully done.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.” She removed her hand from his and folded her arms over her chest. “So, we got over that hurdle. First meeting of the whole family.”

  “They all seem very nice.”

  “Even though my brother Alex subtly threatened you?” she asked.

  “I respect his instinct to look after the people he cares about.”

  “You know he really won’t beat you up when our quote-unquote romance goes south, right?”

  “If he decided to, I think I could hold my own. I actually envy him,” Burke said. “Both of your brothers.”

  “Why?”

  “They’ve got it all. The things money can’t buy, I mean.”

  In the lengthening shadows of dusk it was difficult to read the emotion on his face, but she got the distinct impression that there was regret in his voice. It occurred to her that she didn’t know a lot about him. She hadn’t asked too many questions, feeling that it wasn’t right to pry, what with him doing her such a huge favor. But now she was curious.

  He hadn’t responded when she’d wondered out loud if his son’s mother would object to Liam spending time here in Blackwater Lake. So all she really knew was that he was amicably divorced and the custody agreement had been harmonious as well. He’d asked about her past and she’d said you show me yours and I’ll show you mine. But he’d only agreed that she would need to know as it pertained to their agreement.

  Now, for some reason, she needed to know. “So, I have some questions.”

  Chapter Six

  “You mentioned your cousin. Are you an only child?” Syd asked.

  “Yes. Sloan is like the brother I never had. We’re pretty close.”

  “And you have a son.” Syd felt like an attorney interrogating a witness, but the questions kept popping into her mind.

  “He’s the best thing I ever did.” But again there was regret in his voice.

  “Tell me about his mother,” she said.

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Good question.” She shrugged. “Do you get along? Is she a good mom?”

  “No.”

  There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his tone. “But you said the divorce and custody negotiations were amicable.”

  “Because when I asked for sole custody she didn’t argue. She didn’t want him. She’d lost both of her parents a while ago and the echo of divorce and custody negotiations had barely died away when she moved to Paris.”

  “But she’s been back to see her son.”

  “No.”

  Sydney was shocked speechless. You heard about this sort of thing in news stories, movies and books, but she’d never known of anyone in real life experiencing it.

  When she could speak, she asked, “Who looks out for him?”

  “The housekeeper. She’s been with me since before he was born. I tease about getting custody of her in the divorce.” He smiled. “She loves Liam like her own.”

  “So there was no one to object if you’d brought Liam to Blackwater Lake for the summer.”

  “No. But all his friends are there in Chicago. His activities. His schedule and routine. I finally decided that stability for him was the most important thing.”

  “More
than having his dad?” She frowned, puzzled. “The details could be worked out and it would be an adjustment for him, but I would think that having him close by would be good for you both. You could take an afternoon off. Have lunch together. Work at home when he’s asleep. Where there’s a will...”

  Frowning, he looked down at her. “You feel strongly about this.”

  She nodded. “My dad was a single father and ran a business. He raised my brothers and me. Granted, Blackwater Lake is a place where folks pitch in to help their own, but Dad was there at night. To read me bedtime stories and tuck me in. He checked out my homework and my boyfriends. He was there.”

  “You don’t hold back, do you?”

  “There’s very little point in that.” She shrugged. “I call ’em as I see ’em.”

  “I can’t decide if you’re being supportive or trying to make me feel guilty.”

  “I get the feeling that you don’t need any help with a guilt complex, Burke.”

  “You’re right. I decided a long time ago that feeling responsible for the bad stuff is a natural by-product of being a divorced father. That’s how I make peace with it.”

  “I can’t believe his mother didn’t want him.”

  He shook his head. “To her he was a mistake and she always treated him that way. It’s a sad reality that as bad a father as I am, I’m better than his mother.”

  “I just can’t wrap my mind around doing something like that,” she said.

  “Because you obviously like children. You’re good with them.”

  “I just give them whatever they want.” She laughed. “It’s what an aunt does.”

  “Clearly those little girls adore you.”

  “Because I never say no unless it’s something that will hurt them.”

  “I remember those days with Liam.” His voice was filled with wistfulness and regret. “It was simpler then.”

  There was such sadness and self-reproach in the words that she felt an overwhelming urge to put her arms around him, comfort him. The next best thing was to change the mood. “Tell me about him,” she suggested.