Late Arrivals (Special Delivery Book 4)

by J. A. Armstrong

  Dani was different than Brooke in that way. Brooke continually marveled at Dani’s ease with academics. At ten, Dani was far ahead of the academic curve. In fact, Brooke often wondered if the fourth grader needed to be placed a few paces ahead. Dani was already reading on a high school level, and Brooke was continually amazed at how quickly Dani completed her homework, whether it entailed math problems or an essay. Brooke smiled broadly when Dani caught sight of her and waved. In many ways, Dani reminded Brooke of Tess.

  Tess’s father had told Brooke that Tess had been the same way as Dani was now. Tess had been an excellent student who had thrived in school. Not everything had come naturally to Tess; Chris Sinclair had told Brooke. Tess had struggled with math a bit. But, Tess’s father told Brooke that Tess would not quit. She would puzzle over a problem for hours until she was able to solve it, once she had solved one, the rest began to come more quickly.

  Tess had tried her hand at music in the fourth grade as well. Tess’s mother had chosen the flute for Tess. Tess had loathed the thing. But, Chris Sinclair had told Brooke that Tess had actually been quite good. She had worked hard. That was Tess. She never quit on something until she felt she had mastered it. Dani was the same way. At times, Brooke wasn’t sure what came naturally to Dani and what Dani simply had managed to work through. Dani viewed anything that presented some difficulty for her as a challenge, not an obstacle. She was not built to quit. She would work through a problem until she mastered it, just like her mother.

  Dani skipped through the door and up to Brooke.

  “Good lesson?” Brooke asked.

  “Yep,” Dani told Brooke.

  “She’s really picked it up,” a man’s voice said as Dani’s teacher, Ted stepped through the door. “Dani tells me you've helped a lot.”

  Brooke shrugged. “I’m not as good as I was years ago,” Brooke said.

  “What?” Dani’s eyes grew wide. “You’re like a rock star!” Dani praised Brooke.

  Ted laughed. “Rockstar, huh?”

  Brooke rolled her eyes. “She exaggerates—a lot.”

  “I do not,” Dani said flatly. She turned to her teacher. “Don’t listen to her,” Dani waved off Brooke. “She’s like uber awesome. I’ll have to practice for like my entire life to be as good.”

  “See?” Brooke said lightly. “Tall tales,” she said.

  Dani shook her head and looked up at Brooke. “Grandpa says false modesty is not becoming.”

  Brooke pursed her lips at her daughter. “It’s not false if it’s true,” she said. “You are biased, kiddo. Now, come on or we’ll be late for dinner—again,” Brooke gently pushed Dani forward. “Thanks, Ted,” Brooke extended her hand to Dani’s teacher.

  “No problem. Hey, Brooke?” Ted began.

  “Yeah?” Brooke asked. She watched as Dani inspected a drum set in the distance.

  “I was sort of wondering something,” Ted said.

  “What?” Brooke asked.

  “Well, you know the kids do this concert in June.”

  “Yeah? You need some help or something?” Brooke wondered.

  “Not exactly, I just was thinking maybe you and Dani could do something together,” Ted offered his suggestion. Brooke’s confusion was evident. “I mean play something together,” he clarified his meaning.

  “Play something together?” Brooke remained unclear.

  Ted laughed. “Yeah, Brooke. Like on the drums? Like a duo, you know? Maybe in a band setting. She’s pretty good. She keeps talking about when you two play together. I just think…”

  Brooke was both stunned and a bit uneasy. “I don’t know, Ted. Playing in the basement of the house and playing on a stage are not the same thing.”

  “I thought you played in a band?”

  Brooke laughed. Geez, Dani, do you tell him everything?

  “I did. Once upon a time, a long time ago,” Brooke admitted. “When I say a long time ago, I mean about twenty years ago,” she explained. “In high school.”

  “Yeah, well. You never forget,” Ted told her. “It would mean a lot to her, I think,” Ted gestured toward Dani.

  Brooke sighed. It would. Brooke knew it would. She also knew someone else that would be more than a little excited to see such a display unfold—Tess. “I’ll think about it,” Brooke promised. She turned back to Ted. “And, it depends on what you come up with.”

  Ted’s eyes sparkled. He liked Brooke. “I’ll run a couple of ideas by you next week.”

  Brooke nodded. “You do that,” she said before making her way to Dani.

  “What was Ted talking to you about?” Dani wondered as they made their way to the door.

  “Just telling me how much progress you’ve made,” Brooke said. Dani beamed, and Brooke found herself smiling again. Give it up, Brooke, you know you’ll do anything for one of those Sinclair smiles.

  ***

  Brooke put her arms around Tess’s waist while Tess tried to load the dishwasher.

  “Want to tell me what you don’t want to tell me?” Brooke asked.

  Tess sighed and then laughed. She was an open book when it came to Brooke. She gave up her task and turned in Brooke’s arms. “Davey,” she said.

  Brooke smiled and brushed an errant strand of hair from Tess’s eyes. “It can’t be that bad,” Brooke said.

  Tess collapsed her head onto Brooke’s shoulder and let Brooke hold her for a moment. It wasn’t that bad. It was somewhat typical ten-year-old behavior. That didn’t change the fact that Davey’s decision to partake in what Tess considered bullying had upset her. She had some idea about what was driving it, but she would never condone what he had done. In Tess’s mind, teasing with words was just as mean-spirited as pushing someone down physically. She sighed again.

  “I don’t know how to reach him sometimes,” Tess confessed.

  Brooke kissed Tess on the head and let her lips linger. “He’s a ten-year-old boy, honey.”

  Tess pulled back and looked at Brooke helplessly. “He’s got detention this week.”

  “For?” Brooke wanted to know.

  “For lack of a better description? Acting like a bully,” Tess answered.

  Brooke nodded her understanding. She didn’t need the details. And, she suspected that Tess wanted Davey to share the events of the day with Brooke himself. Brooke smiled reassuringly at her wife. “It’s a phase, Tess. I’ll talk to him.”

  “Brooke…I just…I can’t tolerate the lying,” she said honestly. “I asked him about his day—he lied. He lied to his teacher. I just…”

  Brooke smiled. “I’ll talk to him,” she promised.

  Tess fell back into Brooke’s embrace. “You sure you want to have more?” Tess asked jokingly. She felt Brooke tense against her and mentally slapped herself. Tess pulled back, and immediately the couple’s roles reversed. Tess became the comforter in chief. “Stop,” Tess told Brooke. “It will work out, love.”

  Brooke closed her eyes. She desperately wanted to believe that she and Tess would be able to grow their family. Her miscarriage had been an enormous emotional disappointment for them both—most of all for Brooke. Dani and Davey would be turning ten in less than a month. That meant there would be almost an eleven-year difference in age between the twins and their new sibling. That worried Brooke more than she had often shared. She had been surprised when Tess had suggested that Brooke serve as the biological parent. After being pregnant for even a short time, being a mother had become incredibly important to Brooke, something Tess completely understood.

  “Brooke,” Tess coaxed Brooke to look at her. “I think Rach is right, and we’ll see that all is well. But, even if it isn’t this time, we will get there. It will happen when it is meant to.”

  “Yeah, our kids could be in college by then.”

  Tess smirked and lifted her eyebrow. “Well, look at it this way, it’d give us more time to save up for the next batch,” she teased.

  Brooke’s gaze narrowed playfully. It still amazed Brooke the ability Tess had t
o pull her from a bad mood with just a glance or a simple statement. “Batch? What do I look like? A sheet of Christmas cookies?” she asked Tess. Tess shrugged. Brooke laughed. “Really?” she asked. Tess shrugged again. “I’m not the resident baker,” Brooke reminded Tess lightly.

  Tess smiled lovingly at Brooke. Brooke’s teasing held an underlying insecurity that Tess recognized immediately. She lifted her hand to Brooke’s cheek. “I will be happy to be the baker whenever needed,” she assured Brooke.

  Brooke closed her eyes again and pulled Tess to her. “I don’t want to disappoint you,” she whispered.

  “You couldn’t if you tried,” Tess said honestly. She let Brooke hold her. “Brooke, you are a terrific mom already.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “I do,” Tess said assuredly. She pulled back to look at Brooke. “Our kids love you,” she said. Brooke smiled. “And, they are—our kids. Just ask them,” Tess told Brooke.

  As far as either of the twins were concerned, Brooke was as much their mother as Tess. That fact still was difficult for Brooke to accept at times. She loved Dani and Davey—so much so that it occasionally threw her off balance emotionally. It was in many ways, the love she felt for the twins that made Brooke desire to have children with Tess so deeply. She wasn’t sure if Tess knew exactly how much it meant to her. The truth was, one day Brooke hoped that maybe Tess would have another baby herself. She had never shared that thought with Tess. Brooke wasn’t certain why she hadn’t. Right now, Brooke was sure that they both were praying Brooke’s positive pregnancy tests meant they were headed for a healthy pregnancy, and that this time there would be a new addition to their family.

  Tess read Brooke’s emotions and thoughts. She’d learned when to push gently with Brooke and when to let Brooke open up in her own time. Tess leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Brooke’s lips. “We’ll get there, love,” she promised. “Now, go talk to Davey so I can finish up here.”

  “Done with me, huh?” Brooke teased.

  “Hardly,” Tess flirted.

  Brooke laughed. “Should I don my battle gear?”

  Tess rolled her eyes. “I think you have the upper hand,” she told Brooke.

  “Aren’t you supposed to give me a kiss for luck?”

  Tess grinned and shook her head. “You know, for a great, green mutant monster you certainly are a wimp,” she teased her wife. Brooke’s jaw flew open. “Close your mouth, Dr. Banner,” Tess said. She kissed Brooke lovingly. “Better?” she asked.

  Brooke sighed. “Mmm. How about the lasso of truth? Can I borrow that?” Brooke asked.

  Tess started laughing. She often thought that if anyone heard the banter that she and Brooke engaged in, they both might find themselves committed. Since the first night Brooke had spent at Tess’s home, Tess had teased Brooke about being The Incredible Hulk. Over time, Tess came to think that nickname had been well-placed. Brooke loved green—green sweaters, green Gatorade, green ice cream, green pasta—green. Tess’s choice of night attire the first night Brooke had stayed over had led Brooke to dub her wife Wonder Woman. Tess snickered thinking that in thirty more years they would make for quite the pair of sagging superheroes.

  “Why is that funny?” Brooke asked. “That lasso might come in handy,” she said seriously.

  “Just remind him not to make you angry,” Tess offered.

  “Yeah, he wouldn’t like me when I am angry,” Brooke replied.

  Tess kissed Brooke on the cheek one last time. “Good luck, Dr. Banner.”

  “Gee, thanks, Diana,” Brooke said as she headed off toward Davey’s room.

  Tess watched Brooke leave and took a deep breath. Two more weeks would need to pass before Rachel would deliver them a conclusive result. Tess hadn’t shared with Brooke how many nights she had been awake thinking about what might come to pass. Brooke had tried to be strong after the miscarriage, employing medical understanding and common sense to the reality. Tess knew that had all been a front, much of it for Tess’s benefit. Both Brooke and Tess had been ecstatic when they had learned of Brooke’s pregnancy. They had not yet told the twins about Brooke’s pregnancy when the miscarriage had happened. Brooke had been down for two full days afterward, and Tess had finally sat the twins down and explained what had happened. She hoped that the news would be good when they sat down with Rachel next. Tess also knew that rather than elation, good news would be met with relief, followed by a moniker of anxiety—at least, until they had passed the first trimester.

  Oh, Brooke. It’s never easy with kids. Tess smiled as she mused silently. But, it is always worth it in the end. It just takes surviving the potholes, at least, that’s what your mom always says. Tess turned back to the dishes in the sink. “If we make it to the twins’ birthday, we can make it through anything,” Tess said as she closed the dishwasher. She chuckled. That is the truth.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “D?” Brooke stepped into the doorway of Davey’s room. Davey looked up from his desk and looked back down. Brooke made her way inside. “Can we talk?” she asked him. Davey nodded. “Want to tell me what happened?” she asked. Davey shrugged. “Aww, that’s not going to cut it, D. What happened?”

  Davey huffed. “I got detention.”

  “For?”

  “Pushing Tara down outside at recess.”

  Brooke waited silently for her son to continue. Davey would not meet her eyes. She waited, and she waited. “D.? Why did you push Tara?”

  “I didn’t,” he said. “I just said that I did.”

  “Why would you say that you did something if you didn’t do it?” Brooke asked. Her voice held no accusation, only genuine curiosity.

  “I dunno.”

  “Mmm. I find that hard to believe,” Brooke said.

  Davey looked at Brooke. “Doesn’t matter. I was behind her too. Why should we both get in trouble?”

  “Who is ‘we both’?” Brooke inquired.

  “Me and Brian,” he answered.

  Aw, Brian Greer, of course.

  “She said I did it. I just nodded when Mrs. Knowles asked,” Davey explained.

  “So…Brian pushed Tara?” Brooke asked. Davey nodded. “Why?” she wanted to know. Davey shrugged. “Not good enough, D.,” Brooke told him. “Come on, why did Brian push Tara?”

  “She was walking away from us.”

  “So?” Brooke questioned.

  Davey groaned. He was positive that Brooke was not going to like the story, and he did not want to tell it to her.

  “David,” Brooke called for his attention.

  Davey lifted his head slowly with eyes the size of saucers. Brooke seldom referred to him as David. When she needed his attention sometimes she would call him Davey. Most of the time, Brooke called him D. It had been her nickname for him from the second time he had met Brooke. It was their special thing, and Davey reveled in that. Hearing the stern tone in Brooke’s voice as she spoke his full name made Davey’s stomach turn violently.

  “I’m waiting,” Brooke said calmly. “Tara was walking away from you. Is that a crime? Did she say something to you first?” Brooke asked. Davey shook his head. “Okay, so Brian just walked up and pushed Tara for no reason.”

  Davey sighed. “We were…”

  “You were what?” Brooke asked more pointedly. She had already surmised the truth. She wanted to hear Davey admit it.

  “We were calling her Tacky Tara.”

  Brooke nodded. “And?” she urged him, suspecting there was more.

  “Brian was just calling her names.”

  “Brian was calling her names?” Brooke challenged Davey knowingly.

  “I was too,” he admitted.

  Brooke took a deep breath. “Why would you do that?”

  “I dunno.”

  “Not good enough,” Brooke repeated.

  Davey looked at Brooke and raised his voice in anger. “’Cause! Brian is my friend. I need to have my friends!”

  Brooke was taken back several paces at Davey’s
tone. She took a breath to suppress her desire to answer curtly. “You need friends who treat other people badly?” she asked. “Friends who let you take the blame for something they did? That doesn’t sound like a very good friend to me.”

  “Well, he is! Everyone likes him, and he likes me.”

  “Does he?”

  “Yes!”

  Brooke shook her head. “I’m surprised at you, D.,” she said honestly.

  “Why?” he asked harshly.

  “I remember a couple of years ago when you were pretty upset about someone calling you names,” she reminded him. Davey groaned softly and looked at his hands to avoid Brooke’s gaze.

  Brooke regarded Davey silently and thoughtfully for a moment. This was not the first time that Davey had begun to act outwardly for attention. That was exactly what Brooke suspected was happening now. What Brooke was not certain of was what might be weighing on Davey’s mind so much that he would gravitate to a kid like Brian Green. Brian Greer had a reputation among the parents in Davey’s baseball league that Brooke was well aware of. And, Dani had made more than a few statements about the boy over the past couple of years. Brooke momentarily wondered if Davey was going along with his friend to avoid being a target himself. That didn’t seem likely to Brooke. While Davey was tremendously sensitive at home, Brooke was positive he did not display that side of his personality as readily at school. Davey might not have been a perfect student, the largest kid in the class or even the most popular. He had grown into himself a bit over the last year in more ways than one. He was bright, funny, and Davey was quite athletic. It didn’t seem to Brooke that Davey would be a likely target for bullies now.

  Brooke sighed inwardly, wondering what Davey was not saying. She understood that with her son, what he didn’t say out loud usually told her everything.

  “D.?” Brooke began more gently. Davey looked back at her. “What’s going on? It’s not like you to pick on someone, well, maybe your sister but…”