“Before I forget, my parents invited us to dinner on Saturday. It’s my mom’s birthday and the family’s getting together at her favorite restaurant.”
“This I have no problem doing,” he said. “Your parents seem to like me.”
“The Ransoms are going to love you as much as I do,” Coco declared. “You’ll see.”
He gave a short laugh before saying, “I love your optimism.”
Coco wrapped her arms around him. “It’s going to be fine, Ransom. I can’t really explain how I know, but I just do. This is going to work out the way you’ve always dreamed it would.”
“It makes me happy knowing that I have you in my corner.”
“Ransom, I will always be here for you. I really care about you.”
Her words brought a tiny smile to his lips.
Coco prayed that she wasn’t giving Ransom false hope. That would only make the situation worse.
She hadn’t talked to Elle or Kaitlin since the whole “outside brother” revelation. Mostly because she was afraid of what they might say. She knew they needed time to process the information, just like Ransom did.
Please let this work out for all of them. Ransom yearns for a relationship with his brothers and sisters. Please give that to him. Please.
She glanced over at him.
Ransom appeared to be engaged in the movie playing on the huge TV screen, but Coco knew better. His mind was on Elle, Kaitlin and the others.
“Do you want to talk about them?” Coco asked. She reached into the tote and pulled out a photo album. “These are pictures that I have of the whole family. There’s even some of your dad. This album’s for you. I made copies of photos from my other albums.”
“I’d like that,” Ransom said, looking at her. “Coco, I feel like you’re the other part of my soul. Especially since you always seem to know exactly what I need.”
She smiled. “I’m your woman. It’s my job to anticipate your needs.”
Taking her hand in his, Ransom said, “I don’t know how my life would be without you. I really love you, Coco.”
“Ready?”
He nodded.
“You have ten siblings. I don’t know if you knew that already.”
“I knew it was a lot. I was thinking five or six.
Ten?”
She nodded. “You might want to get a pen and paper to write down their names.”
Ransom opened a drawer and pulled out a pad and pen. “Ten living?”
Coco laughed. “Yeah, they’re all alive.”
“That’s a lot of children.”
“You make eleven.”
Stunned, he shook his head.
Coco opened the photo album. “This is your father.”
“I have a copy of that picture,” Ransom told her. “My mother had it, and she gave it to me when I was around ten. I wanted to know about my dad.”
“This is a photo of the entire family. This was taken when they were much younger, though. I think it was the last picture of them together. He died not too long afterward.”
“This is his wife? She’s beautiful.”
“Aunt Amanda is so sweet, Ransom. She and Uncle Prescott were my other parents. He was a good man.”
“That’s what I’ve always heard about him…Okay, so give me their names,” Ransom said.
“This is Prescott Jr., then you have Garret over here,” Coco said as she pointed to the photo. “This is Laine and this is Ray.”
“He’s the U.S. Marshal.”
Coco nodded. “This is Ivy. Next to her are Kaitlin and Jillian. This is Nyle. Beside him is Allura. You met Elle. Her name is Rhyan Elle, but she just likes to be called Elle.”
“Wow,” Ransom murmured, looking at all their faces. “It’s a little weird. These are my brothers and sisters.”
Coco wrapped her arm around him. “You really should meet them.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready to do that, sweetheart.”
“I won’t push,” she told him, holding up her hands.
“Are they all married?” Ransom inquired.
“Ivy is divorced. The others are still married. Garret’s wife, Daisi, has breast cancer. Her percentages are good from what I’ve heard. They caught it in time.”
“They all look so happy.”
“They are,” Coco said. “They’re a strong Christian family, and like you, they try to live their lives according to the Bible.”
“I hope that they can survive this,” he whispered.
“I’m sure they will,” she said. Deep down, Coco shared that same hope. The Ransoms were at their strongest when they were united as a family.
Chapter 13
Ransom turned left on Wilshire Boulevard. He and Coco were on their way to her parents’ house. They were all going to a restaurant to celebrate Eleanora Stanley’s birthday.
“I think your father must have figured it out when we first met,” he said as he drove. “I remember he had a strange response to seeing me, but I had no idea why.”
“He and Uncle Prescott were close. Dad wasn’t surprised when I came to him with my suspicions. He told me then that Uncle Prescott had confided in him. He knew your mother’s name, so when he met you all the pieces just fell into place.”
Ransom gave her a sidelong glance. “Your dad knew all along, but he didn’t say anything?”
“He felt the past should stay in the past. But if the truth came out, he wanted it to happen on its own—which it basically did.”
They pulled into the driveway behind Michael’s car.
As soon as they walked into the house, Coco’s father asked to speak with Ransom alone.
“I’ll be out here,” she assured him.
The two men went into her dad’s office.
Daniel sat down behind his desk, while Ransom sat in one of the visitor chairs.
“The reason I asked to speak with you is because Coco told me that the others know about you. I was the one who told my daughter that it was best to keep what she knew to herself.”
“I understand that, sir.”
“The truth always has a way of coming out,” Daniel Sr. said. “Your father was my best friend. He loved God, he loved life and he loved his family. Ransom, he would have loved you, too. I want you to know that.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Outside of Amanda, I probably knew him best, so if there is anything you want to know about your father, just come to me.”
“Thank you.”
Daniel rose to his full height. “Let’s not keep our ladies waiting, shall we?”
While they were waiting for her mother to come downstairs, Coco pulled her father into another room. They left Ransom and Michael discussing plans to attend the Super Bowl game in January.
“He does have a lot of the Ransom features,” her father whispered. “Lord, have mercy. I wish Prescott were here to meet his son.”
Coco agreed. “Kaitlin and Elle want him to come out to Riverside tomorrow to meet everyone, but he doesn’t want to go.”
“Really? I thought he wanted to meet his family.”
“He does, but he’s afraid of rejection.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, saying, “Daddy, I really hope that they can accept him. Ransom wants this so much. It really bothers him that he didn’t get a chance to have a relationship with his dad.”
“How is Amanda handling all this?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure Elle and Kaitlin told her about him, but I haven’t heard from them since.”
“I think that he should go out there.”
Coco released a soft sigh. “Daddy, I feel that he should go, too, but then it really doesn’t matter what I think. This is totally Ransom’s decision.”
Her father placed an arm around her shoulder. “Give him time, honey.”
“I’m trying not to be so pushy.”
Daniel Sr. gazed at her, studying her expression. “You seem to care a great deal for this man.”
Coco smiled
. “I do. Daddy, I’m crazy about him.”
“I haven’t seen you look this happy in a long time, sweetheart.”
“That’s because I haven’t been,” she admitted. “Not like this. Ransom’s a good man and I’m glad we found each other.”
“Hey, you two plan on joining us for dinner?” Michael asked from the doorway. “People are loading into the car already.”
“We’re coming.”
Coco walked out with her brother.
“Sis, I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before, but Ransom does look a lot like Laine,” Michael said.
“I missed it initially myself,” she answered. “It wasn’t until we were looking at some old photos that the resemblance hit me.”
“You two seem pretty tight these days.”
“We are. I really care for him. A lot.”
Michael grinned. “Why don’t you call it what it really is?” he asked. “You’re in love with the guy.”
Coco glanced over her shoulder. “Where is Ransom?”
“He’s outside already with Daniel. They were talking about the Lakers.”
“Daniel’s favorite topic,” she responded with a laugh. “If they played year-round, that would make my big brother the happiest man in the world.”
Michael agreed. “I think he’s trying to relive his basketball days through Kobe.”
“Daniel was a great basketball player,” Coco said. “If he hadn’t blown that left knee out, he might still be playing.”
“Well, he had three good years with the Lakers,” Michael replied.
Coco rushed over to where Ransom and her brother were talking. “It’s time to get going,” she said. “We need to head to the restaurant if we want to keep our reserved table.”
Ransom wrapped an arm around her. “I’m ready, beautiful. Just waiting on you.”
Cinnamon ran over to where they were standing. “Can I ride with you, Auntie Coco?”
She glanced up at Ransom, who nodded.
“You sure can, sweetie. Hop in.”
“She’s adorable,” he commented.
“That’s my baby,” Coco responded as she opened the door for her niece and helped her inside the SUV.
Ransom opened the passenger’s-side door for Coco, then walked around and got in on the driver’s side. They followed her brother’s Mercedes to the expressway.
“Mr. Ransom, are you my auntie’s boyfriend?” Without giving him a chance to respond, she said, “Mommy says that you are. I think that’s nice. Auntie’s very pretty and she’ll be your best girl. I’m my daddy’s best girl.”
He glanced over at Coco. “You are my best girl.”
She was trying hard not to laugh out loud.
“Ooh, Auntie, did you hear him? You are his best girl.”
Satisfied, Cinnamon turned her attention to the window. She hummed softly to the music playing on the radio as she enjoyed the scenery.
Fifteen minutes later, they were in the parking lot of the restaurant.
They were seated in a private dining room a few minutes after their arrival. Ransom sat beside Coco.
Her father had preselected a menu of wood-grilled salmon, mixed vegetables, rice pilaf and an assortment of rolls.
Coco and her brothers took turns giving tribute to their mother.
“Mama, happy birthday,” Coco began. “I want you to know that you are my best friend and I appreciate you so much. I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
Michael was next. “Mama, you know that I love you and I hope that one day God will bless me with a wife who possesses the same qualities you have. You’ve set a great example for Coco to follow—for all of us to follow, really. I pray God will allow you to see many more birthdays.”
Eleanora smiled. “Thank you, Michael. I love you, too.”
Daniel cleared his throat. “Mom, you have been a wonderful role model, as Michael just said. I hope that you are as proud of us as we are of you. I don’t think Dad could’ve asked for a better wife and partner. Our company is a success because of your business acumen, and all of us thank you—and Dad, too—for entrusting us with Stanley Chocolates. I hope that you and Dad will enjoy life and not worry about the business. We won’t let you down. Happy birthday and know that I love you.”
Their father was the last to speak. “Honey, happy birthday. You know that I adore you. You took my heart captive the first time I saw you, sitting in my father’s office. You were all snazzy in that navy blue dress with the gold buttons going down the front. As soon as you left, I went in and demanded that he hire you.”
Daniel Sr. reached over and took his wife’s hand. “He did, and I think that was the first time he ever listened to me. You were his secretary for, what, six months? And then he promoted you to the sales division. You were our first female sales rep and in your first year doubled our numbers.”
Coco loved hearing about how her parents got together. “Mama, why did you refuse to go out with Daddy for so long?”
“I didn’t want to mix business with pleasure. My parents had always told me that, so it wasn’t until I realized I was in love with him that I turned in my resignation.”
Her husband nodded. “That’s when I proposed to her. We were engaged for almost a year. She didn’t return to the company until after we were married. My father told her that it was the only way he would give his blessing over our marriage.”
“He said that sales went down after I left,” Eleanora said. “I still don’t believe that was true.”
“It was,” Daniel Sr. insisted. “There were clients who only wanted to deal with you, sweetheart. You had that kind of effect on people. You still do. Ransom, she’s the one we call in for our more difficult customers.”
Coco nodded. “Mama was the one who fully supported my vision for the chocolate bar. The others…they came around, but she was with me from day one.”
“I haven’t known you that long, Mrs. Stanley,” Ransom began. “But I can feel how much you are loved by everyone here. The more I hear, the more I think I’m falling for you myself.” Everyone laughed.
“Seriously, I wish you a very happy birthday and many more.”
“Look at our children,” Daniel Sr. told his wife. “We have been blessed beyond measure.”
Eleanora agreed. “I can still remember when you were all my little babies. Time has just flown by.”
“We can always have more,” Daniel Sr. said.
“More what?” Eleanora asked, while everyone at the table cracked up with laughter.
“I love you enough to have more children.”
“Please have a baby,” Cinnamon begged. “I want a little girl to play with.”
Eleanora slapped her husband on the arm. “Now look what you started.” To her granddaughter, Eleanora said, “Honey, I can’t have any more babies.”
“Are you sure there are no more babies inside you?” Cinnamon asked. “There might still be one left. Go to the doctor and let him take a look. I bet he’d find another baby.”
“Yeah, Mama,” Coco said, grinning from ear to ear. “There might be another one. I wouldn’t mind a little brother or sister.”
“The next baby coming into this family will be from you or Michael,” Eleanora replied.
“Your parents are pretty cool,” Ransom said when they left the restaurant.
“They are,” Coco declared. “We enjoy spending time together as a family like this.”
“That’s great,” Ransom told her. “I can see why your family and my dad’s got along so well.”
“Have you changed your mind about tomorrow?” she asked.
He gave her a sidelong glance. “You really think I should go out there?”
She nodded. “I’m sure you’re sick of discussing it, but Ransom, I really think that you have to go. You need this.”
He reached over and took her hand. “I’m going, but I have no real expectations. That way I won’t leave disappointed.”
“I think th
at’s the best approach,” Coco said.
“You’re still driving to Riverside with me, right?”
“Of course,” she replied. “I wouldn’t leave you to deal with this alone.”
“Coco, I really feel like a lucky man to have someone like you in my life. I just wanted you to know that.”
“I feel the same way about you, Ransom.”
He followed Coco into her house thirty minutes later. “I’m picking the movie tonight,” he told her. “No more romantic comedies.”
“See, I was going to pick an action adventure tonight,” Coco said. “What do you have in mind?”
“Are we having chocolate or caramel popcorn?” he asked.
“Neither,” Coco responded. “Just old-fashioned buttered popcorn.”
“Great.” Ransom walked over to her DVD library to find a movie. He scanned through her collection until he found something.
He pulled it from the shelf and headed to the sofa, stopping briefly to look at the family photo on the fireplace mantel. They really were a beautiful family.
Just like the Ransoms.
He wasn’t sure if he could truly become a part of that family. Maybe it was just too much to hope for. Ransom swallowed the negative thoughts. Whether they accepted him or not, he was still a member of the family. He was still a Ransom.
Coco walked into the room carrying a bowl of hot buttery popcorn. “Ready?” she asked.
He nodded, then slipped in the movie.
“What did you pick out?” Coco sat down beside him on the red leather sofa.
Ransom held up the DVD jacket. “This one. I haven’t seen it, but heard that it was a great film.”
“Oh, I like that one,” she said. “Good choice.”
Ransom wrapped an arm around Coco as they watched the movie. She felt good in his arms, he thought silently. They were a perfect fit.
She fell asleep pressed against him.
Ransom kissed her on the forehead, then leaned his head back against the cushions. He closed his eyes.
“Wha…” Coco murmured sleepily. “What time is it?”
Ransom woke up with a start when he felt her move. He glanced down at his watch. “It’s four o’clock. I’d better get going.”
“You don’t have to leave,” she protested. “Honey, we can control ourselves. We have so far.”
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