Close to Home

by Raney, Deborah;

  “Oh no! They’re double-teaming you!” Bree didn’t even try to conceal her laughter.

  “Chase?” Landyn yelled up the stairway where her husband had his art studio.

  “What, babe?” He appeared at the top of the stairs, barefoot, in jeans and T-shirt. “Oh, hey, Bree. How’s it going?”

  “Going good. You?”

  “Can’t complain. Unless my wife is going to ask me to babysit. Then I might complain a little.”

  She laughed.

  Landyn did too, but quickly turned serious. “Would you mind taking them, babe? So we can talk? Just for a little while.”

  He grinned. “Sure. I needed a break anyway.” He trotted down the stairs and went to open the back kitchen door. “Who wants to go play outside?”

  The twins squirmed off Bree’s lap in unison and scrambled for the door.

  “They need shoes!” Landyn scooped one pair off the floor and rummaged in a toy basket for a second pair.

  When the back door finally closed, Landyn slumped into an overstuffed chair across from Bree. “Thank you for coming to rescue me, sis.”

  Bree laughed. “Hey, least I could do. Seriously though, I’m so sorry to bother you guys on a Sunday afternoon. I know Sundays are already crazy days for you.”

  “Stop.” Landyn gave her a spontaneous hug. “You could never be a bother. And don’t tell Mom and Dad, but we skipped church this morning. As if you couldn’t tell by my hair!” She ran a hand through her wild mass of blonde curls. “We just needed a breather.”

  “Hey, your secret is safe with me. I don’t blame you.” She wasn’t sure if Landyn was teasing or if Grant and Audrey really did monitor their kids’ church attendance. Maybe that explained why Chase and Landyn had started going to the early service and the Pennington and Brooks families attended a different church altogether. Bree usually sat with Tim’s parents and CeeCee in church, but they’d never said anything to her when she occasionally missed a week.

  “You want something to drink?” Landyn scooped a handful of toys off the sofa beside Bree. “Is everything okay?”

  “Nothing to drink, thanks. And yes, I’m fine. I just . . . I really need somebody to bounce something off of.”

  “Bounce away. I feel like I’ve barely gotten to talk to you lately with the girls being at this crazy stage. And the cottage going up—It’s been a little wild.” Landyn pulled her legs under her and curled up in the corner of the chair.

  “I promise I won’t stay long, but I just wanted to . . .” She sighed. “I feel like I’m in high school again, but I need someone to talk to.”

  Concern crossed Landyn’s tanned face and she twisted a blonde curl around one finger. “What’s going on? Is this about that guy of yours? Aaron?”

  “I guess you could say that. Him and . . . another guy.”

  “Whoa! What’s going on?”

  She grabbed a throw pillow and hugged it close, giving Tim’s sister the rundown of everything that had happened and of her growing feelings for Drew. “I don’t know what I was smoking to ever think an office romance wouldn’t end in disaster. But if I ever broke things off with Aaron, work could get extremely uncomfortable.”

  Landyn sighed. “Yes, I guess it could. But you have to do what’s right for you, Bree. Even if it makes things a little uncomfortable. You sure can’t stay with a guy just because it would be uncomfortable to break up.”

  “No, of course not.” Bree realized how silly that must have sounded. “I’m just thinking out loud. And I do like Aaron. I really thought he might be—” She sighed.

  “Have you talked to Corinne or Danae about this?”

  She shook her head. “Corinne’s so busy—not that you aren’t,” she added quickly. “And I didn’t want to say anything to Danae because . . . well, it’d kind of be a conflict of interests for her, with Dallas and all.”

  “I can see that. Does Drew know you have feelings for him?”

  “No! And please don’t say anything. Shoot, I don’t even know what I feel. I thought he was just a friend, and then things got . . . complicated. I’m so confused! It took me so long to even decide I was interested in dating again, and look where it gets me!”

  Landyn laughed, not unkindly. “It’s not exactly the worst problem in the world to have, Bree. Two hot guys fighting over you? Come on.”

  Bree waved her off. “Well, nobody is fighting over me, but I know, I know . . . First world problem. But it’s no fun either. I wish somebody would just tell me what to do. I feel like I’ve alienated both of them. And it serves me right. But the trouble is, I like both of them.” She punched the down-filled pillow, leaving a deep dent in it.

  “Well, we can be pretty certain God only wants you to be with one of those guys, so now we just pray that He shows you which one is God’s perfect choice for you.”

  “Or maybe God doesn’t want me with either of them. Maybe there’s a reason I haven’t dated all these years. Haven’t felt like I should.”

  Landyn was silent for a minute too long.

  “It seems like there’s something you’re not saying . . . ,” Bree started. “Please be honest with me. I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want your honest advice. You don’t think I should be dating?”

  “Oh no, it’s not that. Not at all. I want you to have someone, Bree. You have your whole life ahead of you. I want you to have a husband again, have a family. We all do. It’s just that . . . it’s really hard to think about you with anyone besides Tim.”

  Tears sprang to Bree’s eyes. “I know. I almost feel like I’m cheating on Tim and—”

  “I didn’t mean that, sis.” Landyn looked horrified. “Tim would want you to go on with your life. You know he would! It’s just that—” She swallowed hard. “I can barely imagine our family without you.”

  Landyn jumped up from the chair and returned with a tissue box. She held it out and Bree took one.

  While they both dabbed their eyes and blew their noses, Chase came in with a toddler in each arm. He looked from his wife to Bree and back. “Who died?”

  “Chase!” Landyn flung a throw pillow at him and a look of apology at Bree. “We’re fine. Just give us a few minutes, please.”

  “Okay.” He hiked the girls up in his arms and started up the stairs with them.

  Landyn settled into her chair again, looking daggers after her husband. “Sorry about that.”

  Bree laughed. “It’s okay. It kind of puts things in perspective, you know?”

  Chase turned, looking more confused than ever. “What do you mean.”

  “Well, nobody died, right?”

  “Good point.” He shrugged as if he still didn’t get it at all, and disappeared into his studio, the twins chattering like squirrels in his arms.

  Bree and Landyn dissolved in giggles.

  * * *

  When she drove away, half an hour later, Bree didn’t have any answers, but she somehow felt worlds better—

  Until Landyn’s words came back to taunt her as she was falling asleep that night. The air was humid so she tossed the blanket off and stared at the ceiling fan whirling overhead.

  I can barely imagine our family without you. Landyn had said.

  Did that mean Tim’s sister expected her to bow out of the Whitman family once she found another man? She wasn’t sure. But at the very least, it meant Landyn expected that it would just naturally happen as she got involved in her man’s life.

  Was that why she felt so drawn to Drew Brooks? Even it if was subconsciously?

  She sat up in bed, startled by the thought. Because if she ended up marrying Drew, it would be the most natural thing in the world to stay connected to the Whitman family. Dallas and Drew had no other close family, and already Drew had spent holidays with the Whitmans, or if not with the whole family, with Dallas and Danae.

  If she and Drew ended up together, Drew would have all the more reason to spend time with the Whitmans. And that was a good thing. For him and for her. But was that a reason t
o marry someone? To choose one good man over another because of his family?

  That put Aaron at a distinct disadvantage since she’d never even met his family. But that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that Aaron wanted her—expected her—to “break up” with Tim’s family. As if keeping a relationship with them would somehow be disloyal to Aaron.

  But Aaron wasn’t the only one who seemed to have that expectation. Landyn had said as much earlier today. And CeeCee had implied it.

  It had been so easy with Tim. There’d never been anyone else who even came close. Once she’d fallen in love with Timothy Whitman, she’d only had eyes for him. Only had a heart for him. Why was it so hard this time around. Was God trying to tell her something?

  But what?

  “What, Lord,” she whispered. “I need to know. I don’t want to make a mistake. Not after Tim.”

  23

  Audrey looked at her phone, wondering why none of her daughters had replied to her text yet. It was early. Seven a.m. Monday morning, but surely the babies were up by now. And as glued to their phones as those girls always seemed to be, a person wouldn’t think it should take them twenty minutes to answer a simple text.

  It did cross her mind that this might be God’s way of telling her He didn’t approve of her plan. She pushed the thought away, not exactly wanting God’s opinion just now.

  The reservation phone line rang and she answered. Naturally, that insured that her cell phone would start pinging like a pinball machine with message alerts. She silenced her cell phone and confirmed a reservation that had been made months ago—her favorite kind, a large family reunion. They’d booked the whole inn for three days over Labor Day weekend. The family would have stayed Tuesday night, as well, but Audrey had never wavered from her decree that Tuesday nights were reserved for family.

  She’d managed to persuade the family to come in on Thursday night instead, offering a small discount. The woman seemed satisfied with the arrangements they worked out. Audrey smiled. The inn would be full to capacity for four days.

  She hung up and dialed Corinne, who answered on the first ring. “Hey, Mom, sorry I didn’t get right back to you. What’s up?”

  “I’ll make this quick, but I was hoping for a little mother-daughter time. We haven’t done that for a long time.”

  “Sounds like fun. When were you thinking?”

  “Any way we could do it this morning? Just coffee? Nothing fancy.”

  “I think I could make that work. My neighbor owes me some babysitting, but I don’t know if Danae can find a sitter on such short notice. Is everything okay?”

  “Oh . . . fine. We just haven’t gotten together for a while. The inn is going to be swamped over Labor Day so I thought I’d try to put something together while I was thinking about it.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. “If you can get someone to watch the kids, you could all come to the inn. We don’t have guests until later in the day. I don’t have anything fancy in mind, and if you can stay for lunch, I can make a nice salad or something.”

  “Oh, that’d be good,” Corinne said. “I doubt Bree can get off for coffee, but she may be able to for lunch. I can call—”

  “Oh, honey? Um . . . Let’s just keep it to you three girls. You and Danae and Landyn.”

  “Oh. Okay . . .” Corinne sounded taken aback, no doubt wondering why on earth Audrey would leave Bree out.

  Ever since Tim and Bree had married—and especially since they’d lost Tim—Bree had been included—or at least invited—for every gathering of the sisters, every mother-daughter outing, and anything the Whitman family did together. Sometimes it almost seemed to Audrey that Bree was her own daughter. Especially since Bree wasn’t particularly close to her own mother. Audrey had felt a bit guilty at times, worrying that Bree’s mother might be jealous of their relationship.

  “What’s going on, Mom? Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine. I just thought it would be nice for it to be just you three daughters.”

  She felt a little manipulative knowing that they would all be there without fail, probably worried sick that something was wrong.

  Well, in a sense, something was wrong.

  * * *

  “This looks scrumptious, Corinne!” Corinne had called Audrey back, offering to bring a dessert for their “impromptu” coffee. Audrey felt guilty enough about her ruse, but not guilty enough to turn down her oldest daughter’s offer.

  Avoiding the curious stares of her three girls, Audrey took a bite of the cream puff confection with gooey chocolate sauce drizzled in a chevron pattern over the top. “You’ll have to give me the recipe. This would be lovely to serve for tea here at the inn. I’m surprised your grandmother hasn’t made this for her bridge gals. It would be perfect for that.” She was rambling nervously, grasping for a way to get this conversation ignited.

  Corinne waved off the compliment, her brow knit with worry. “Mom? Are you going to tell us what is going on? Is something wrong with Bree?”

  Danae and Landyn leaned forward, their expressions matching their sister’s. The three had driven out to the inn together, and Audrey knew they’d probably done nothing but speculate all the way here. She felt bad about that. And about the rather deceitful way she’d gotten them all here.

  These beautiful daughters of hers made her so proud. And she had to admit, something didn’t feel right without Bree here with them.

  But that was exactly why she’d called this meeting. “Nothing’s wrong with Bree. Nothing at all, but what do you girls know about this Aaron she’s . . . seeing?” She couldn’t bring herself to use the word dating. That sounded far too serious. But she was afraid things were serious.

  Shrugs went around the table.

  “He seems pretty nice, I think,” Landyn said. “Why? Do you know something we don’t know? About him?”

  “I only know I don’t like Bree seeing him.”

  “Mom.” Corinne sounded like a mother chiding her child. “That’s really none of our business.”

  “Danae, is Drew dating anyone? Does he have a girlfriend?”

  “Drew? Dallas’s brother, Drew?”

  Audrey nodded. She’d probably played her hand too soon, but something had to be done.

  “No . . .” Danae said. “He hasn’t dated anyone for a while now. Why?”

  Audrey smiled and rubbed her hands together. “What would you girls think of playing a little matchmaker?”

  Danae tilted her head. “You mean Bree and Drew?”

  “Well, who else?”

  “Mom?” Danae looked truly puzzled. “Why would you do that when you know she’s already seeing someone?”

  “Yeah.” Landyn nodded, sounding hesitant. “It doesn’t feel right ganging up on her.”

  “We wouldn’t be ganging up necessarily. Just . . . nudging things a certain direction.”

  Corinne shook her head. “I don’t know . . .” She looked thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to decide whether to say something. Finally, she sighed. “Mom, just remember how things went when you tried to match up Link and Bree.”

  “Ohhh . . . Yeah, Mom.” Danae winced. “Um, that did not go over so well.”

  The other girls groaned.

  “But, wait a minute,” Corinne said. “You still haven’t said what you have against this Aaron Jakes. He seems like a really nice guy to me. I’m happy for Bree.”

  “But . . . He’s nothing like Tim.” Audrey hadn’t intended to say those words, but there they were.

  “Maybe that’s the point, Mom.” Danae’s voice was shaky.

  Landyn frowned. “I don’t think Drew is that much more like Tim. Do you, Danae? You know him better than any of us.”

  “That’s not what I mean exactly,” Audrey admitted. She may as well lay it all out on the table. “He’s more like Tim in that he fits in here. He’s practically part of the family, being Dallas’s brother and all. I love that guy—Drew, I mean. He’s just really grown on me since he’s been hanging out at the inn, he
lping your dad.”

  “He is a nice guy,” Danae said. “How could he not be with Dallas for a brother.”

  Audrey cleared her throat. They were getting off track. “You girls know don’t you, that if Bree ends up marrying this Aaron character, we’ve as good as lost her.” Her voice betrayed her and she put a hand over her mouth.

  “Oh, Mom.” Corinne reached to pat her shoulder. “I don’t think we’d ever lose Bree.”

  “No. Not like you mean. Not all at once. But gradually we would. You know we would. I don’t know anything about this Aaron, but how long do you think he’s going to put up with Bree being so tied to her ex’s family?”

  “He’s not her ex, Mom!” Landyn protested. “You make it sound like she and Tim were divorced.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way. But to a man, that’s what it will seem like. We’ll be the competition.” She scrambled for a minute, trying to think how to make her daughters understand. “As soon as the babies start coming along, the ties to Aaron’s family—and even Bree’s parents—will be that much stronger. And before you know it, we’ll be lucky to see her at Christmas. No, worse than that. Probably never at Christmas. You all know how hard it is to divide yourselves between two families, let alone three.”

  “Mom, I think you’re jumping the gun.” Landyn leaned forward, sounding so mature for a girl who’d been Audrey’s “baby” only a few short years ago.

  “They just started dating,” Landyn continued. “No one’s talking about marriage. Or babies.”

  “You don’t know that,” Audrey said.

  Landyn gave her a look she couldn’t interpret. Did her daughter know something she didn’t?

  “And if they’re not serious, why on earth would she have brought him on a Tuesday night? To meet the whole family?”

  “I don’t know, but we shouldn’t jump to conclu—”

  “Bree knows how I feel about Tuesday nights being reserved for family.” Audrey knew she must sound like a petulant child, but the thought of losing Bree, losing the only connection they had to Timothy, nearly tore her up.