by Lori Leger
“Yeah, they should be getting here any minute. All except for Chad, he’s got a flight. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can, because the noise factor is about to multiply tenfold. Where are Carrie and Sam today?”
“At her mom’s in Gardiner-they were leaving this morning to go to an early mass with her,” Giselle told him.
Jackson grinned. “I bet Ms. Elaine is spoiling Sam rotten. Next week I’ll get to hear Carrie fuss about how Sam ate it up, too.”
Red laughed as the doorbell rang. He went to answer it, expecting to see one of the twenty or so of his family members scheduled to show. His breath left him as he opened the door to see Tiffany standing there, dressed in what was a far cry from scrubs. Her short black skirt made from some kind of suede material hugged her slim hips, and he prayed she’d leave its matching jacket draped over her arm. It’d be a damn shame if she covered up any part of that red, form-fitting sweater. The only problem he had with her ensemble were the black leather boots on her feet. In his opinion, they covered far too much of her shapely legs. But, damn if she didn’t look hot, anyway.
Her silky, blonde hair was down, and cut in a new style that he liked, a lot. Red’s breath caught in his throat briefly before he spoke. “Happy Thanksgiving, Tif—Dr. LeBlanc.” He reached out to take a large casserole dish from her hands before she had the chance to run. “Come on inside. Giselle and Jackson are in the kitchen.”
<>
“Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. McAllister,” she said, stepping inside. She supposed she should be surprised to see Red here, but she wasn’t. Nor was she surprised by the fact that she still found him extremely attractive. If she was to be honest with herself, she’d hoped to see him here. Then again, she was lousy at being honest with herself. She tried to look casual as she studied the way he carried himself—the way he wore his black jeans, boots, and a long sleeved striped shirt, but his rugged good looks, along with his beautiful blue eyes still commanded her attention. He didn’t have the pretty boy good looks that Tanner did, but he was far more appealing to her in other ways, unfortunately.
<>
Red peered through the glass lid of the casserole dish then turned to her. “Is this banana pudding?”
She nodded. “Yeah, Jackson said something about a large crowd so I made a double batch.”
“My favorite,” he said, leading her into the kitchen.
“Hey Tiff, Happy Thanksgiving,” Giselle gushed, as she and Jackson both hugged her. “I’m glad you could make it. Ooh, what is that?” she asked looking at the dish.
Red grinned. “Banana pudding, and just because you’re eating for two doesn’t mean you can hog it all.”
Giselle pushed him playfully. “Hey big boy, I’m eating for three, and I can’t believe you’d deprive your Godchildren of their mother’s favorite dessert.”
Tiffany set her purse on the barstool. “Eating for three?”
“Yep, look here.” Jackson whipped out the snapshot again.
“Look at that!” she cried. “You two sure work fast.” Tiffany began searching the room. “Where are Bill and Gwen?”
“They should be getting here soon. They live just outside of Kenton now, you know,” Giselle told her.
“No, I didn’t. So, who lives here?” she asked.
Red cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I do. I bought the place from Bill and moved in two weeks ago.”
Tiffany’s gaze travelled from Red, to Jackson, then back to Red. “I see.” She opened her purse, got her keys, and walked back toward the door.
Jackson attempted to explain. “Come on, Doc—It wasn’t like that, I swear.” He quieted suddenly, as Red fired a stony glare at him before following Tiffany out of the kitchen.
He caught up with her at the front entrance and followed her outside. Closing the door behind them, he placed a gentle, though restraining hand on her arm.
“Look, Doc, I didn’t know he’d invited you until five minutes ago, but we can be adults about this, can’t we?”
Tiffany turned on him. “You’re kidding, right? I’d never hear the end of it if Tanner found out I spent Thanksgiving at your house. You broke his ‘precious’ nose! You have no idea what I’ve had to put up with since then.”
Red grunted in disgust. “I guess he wasn’t too happy that I ruined his perfectly aristocratic profile. He’s a jerk, and he had it coming.” The narrow eyed glare she fixed on Red had all six foot four inches of him taking a step back—just in case she decided to take a swing at him.
“Are you still playing that old fiddle? You hit him for something that happened fifteen years ago! Come on, Red, how old are you?”
‘Red’ instead of ‘Mr. McAllister’—that’s progress, anyway. “Haven’t we already exhausted this discussion, Doc?”
She spun haughtily away from him.
Undaunted, Red followed, pulling her to a halt by the arm. “Look, you can leave after I’ve had my say, but you need to know what kind of asshole you’re engaged to,” he sneered.
“I know everything there is to know about Tanner. He’s not perfect, but at least he’s not a Neanderthal like you. He doesn’t believe in using his fists to settle ancient arguments.”
Red watched Tiffany jerk her arm free and disappear around the corner of the house. He followed, and unexpectedly plowed into her backside. She stood, as frozen in place as Lot’s wife as she stared at the dozen or so men, women, and children of clan McAllister blocking her escape route to her car.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!” he groaned, realizing, as she already had, that his family had heard every word of their argument. His eyes flew to Tiffany’s crimson flushed face as she turned to face him rather than the curious hoard of onlookers. He placed his hands protectively on her shoulders. “Aw, Doc,” he murmured, feeling the mortification roll off of her rigid body in waves.
Red sent tight-jawed glances at the various members of his family. “Y’all go on into the house, please. Giselle and Jackson are in there already.” He released a loud sigh as his mother reached up to pat his cheek. “Hi Mom,” he said, as she gave him an encouraging wink before she led the rest into his home.
Annie paused next to him just long enough to punch Red in the shoulder. “Good job, big brother.”
He winced as someone else snickered before agreeing about the Neanderthal crack.
He watched as Tiffany kept her gaze riveted to her boots, understandably too embarrassed to move. When the last McAllister finally meandered past and disappeared into the house, she covered her eyes with one hand.
“Oh…my…God. Could I possibly be any more humiliated than I am at this moment?” An amused snort from Red had her pivoting to face him. “This is not funny,” she spoke, her voice sounding clipped with annoyance.
“Doc, I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but one day you’ll look back on this and laugh.”
She shook her head vehemently. “Not in this lifetime.” She picked nervously at her jacket.
“Look, if you want to know what the old argument between me and Tanner was about, I’ll tell you.”
She raised large, liquid, brown eyes to his, and nodded. “I think I have a right to know.”
Red took a deep breath. “He and Chloe, Jackson’s ex, got me banned from the wedding. I was supposed to be his best man, but she got Tanner to substitute.”
“What did you do to make her want you out?”
“She threw herself at me and I turned her down. She and Tanner became close after that. Would you care to guess why?”
“If you’re trying to tell me he slept with Chloe before the wedding, that’s ancient history. She’s dead, and Jackson’s remarried already.”
Red took a deep breath. “Are you aware that he had sex with her before the wedding, during the reception, or so I’ve been told, and long after they were married?” He shook his head as she closed her eyes and nodded, telling him she’d long-suffered through her fiancés indiscretions. “Unbelievable—you knew and still kept him around,�
�� he said, not quite able to hide his disgust.
Tiffany’s eyes narrowed angrily before she turned to her car. “I sure as hell don’t have to stand here so you can judge and insult me.”
Red reached out and grabbed hold of her arm, bringing her to a jerking halt. When she turned, her right hand clenched like she was ready to swing at him, he grabbed that hand too. “Stop it!” he said, determined to make her understand.
“Let me go, McAllister, or you’ll be damned sorry!” she said.
“I will—I am,” he said as he let her go and raised both hands. “But I’m asking you to listen.” When she lowered her hands, looking like she’d listen, he continued. “I didn’t want to tell you this at the wedding because I didn’t want you to be humiliated in front of everyone, but in light of the situation...I guess it’s pointless to keep it from you now. Did your fiancé tell you he made a pass at Annie in the stables?”
Tiffany turned an astonished gaze toward him as he recounted the story, and then lowered her head as though she were somehow to blame.
“No,” she whispered, “he didn’t tell me.” Her eyes closed as she shook her head. “It’s no wonder you hit him.”
“That was the last straw. It was time he paid.” He watched her scuff her boots on the brick walk as she crossed her arms tightly across her chest.
“He’s threatening to sue, you know,” she said.
“Let him try. I’ve got a good lawyer and a sister who’ll testify that he attacked her. Besides, it didn’t stop him from performing any surgeries.”
She sent him a curious look. “How do you know?”
“I did my homework. The proof is in my lawyer’s office. I’m a businessman, and know how to protect my ass…sets.”
She lifted a brow in his direction. “I’m impressed, I guess.” A ringtone of Linda Rondstadt singing You’re no Good cut through the following moment of awkwardness.
Red grinned as Tanner’s name flashed on her screen. “Well, speak of the devil,” he said, as she answered.
“Hey, Tanner.”
“Where the hell are you, Tiffy? I called the condo and you didn’t answer. Did you get called to the hospital?”
“I told you several times that Jackson invited me to the ranch for Thanksgiving Dinner.”
“Oh, did you?”
“Yes, I did,” she said blandly. “How are your folks?”
“My parents are wonderful, and they send their love.”
“Give them mine, too. I need to go.”
“Alright, but don’t eat too much. You know you have a tendency to overeat around the holidays. You’re getting older and it gets harder to keep off those unwanted pounds.”
Tiffany clenched her jaw. “You and I need to talk when you get back, Tanner,” she said, giving the button a hard press to end the call.
“Tiffy?” Red grimaced, having heard every word of their phone call. He lifted one shoulder carelessly at her glare. “I can’t help it if I have excellent hearing, and I can’t believe you let him call you that.”
“I hate it,” she growled. “And he knows I hate it.” She sighed and rolled her neck as if to release tension. “I have to go. Just keep the dessert.”
“Don’t go, Doc. Melissa and Bailey will be here soon. They’d be thrilled to see you.”
“Red, there’s no way in hell I can face everyone again.” She pointed toward his front door. “Do they all know what Tanner tried with Annie?”
“My parents do. I don’t know about the rest.” He watched her working through her emotions, willing her to stay. Finally, she shook her head.
“I have to go,” she said, her voice clipped, determined, as she turned and walked toward her car.
When he started to follow, she paused and lifted a hand to stop him. “Go, tend to your guests, Red. I’m fine, really.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry it turned out this way, Doc.” Resigned for the moment, but not totally defeated, he walked inside, bypassed his family, and entered his office, closing the door behind him. He watched her from his window, which had a straight shot of the parking area. He watched her sitting there in her car. She rested her elbow on her door while making a call from her mobile phone. “Who are you calling, Doc? Tanner? A co-worker?” he said, his voice a low murmur in his ears. “Who’s that call about, huh?” Damn, but he’d like to hear both sides of that conversation. He watched her end the call and hit her fist on the steering wheel. Red felt a slow stretch of the smile on his face. “Tanner...definitely Tanner. Come on, Doc, you know that son of a bitch isn’t worth wasting a day off.”
His heart pounded as he watched her get out of her car and stand there, as if trying to build up her nerve. Her first determined steps back to his front door had him pumping his fists victoriously. He spun around to rush back to the front door, stopping at the kitchen just long enough to issue a desperate plea to his family.
“I’m begging y’all…Please keep all comments to yourselves.” He continued to the front entrance, taking a moment to wipe his slightly dampened palms on the front of his jeans. He opened the door and stepped out as Tiffany’s booted foot hit the porch. “Want to tell me about it?” he asked.
Her mouth twisted in a tortured smile. “I checked in with his parents. He called them last night to say he couldn’t make it.”
He released one long sigh, silently applauding Tanner for being such a world class fool, before stepping aside.
“Come on in, Doc. Forget about him for one day. I guarantee you’ll have some fun.”
<>
Tiffany adjusted her purse strap higher on her shoulder. “I could use some fun, Red.” She walked inside the door he held open for her. The noise coming from the large home had increased dramatically with his family’s arrival. She counted at least seven children scattered around Red’s den, varying in ages from mid-teens to one adorable toddler with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. The chubby baby boy waddled closer and raised his arms to her.
“How precious!” she said, picking him up.
Red chuckled. “That’s Conner, and he’s never met a stranger. He’s my sister, Kathleen’s boy.”
Tiffany settled the child on her hip and couldn’t help but stroke his silken curls. Conner gave her a cheesy grin then turned to face his uncle.
“Unca Wed!” Conner cried, as he reached for Red.
“Hey buddy, how’s it going?” Red asked as he held his nephew. The toddler grinned and patted Red’s cheeks as they butted foreheads.
Tiffany watched the exchange, somewhat surprised to discover his ease with children. What else about this man would surprise her?
He cocked his head toward the kitchen. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the family you haven’t met yet.”
Tiffany already knew Annie and his parents, but it took several minutes to go through the rest of his family.
“You were Jackson’s surgeon, weren’t you?” a tall, red-haired beauty asked her. “I’m Rebecca. Annie told me what a great job you did on his leg. It’s very impressive that there were no complications, considering the seriousness of his injuries.”
“That’s just diligence after the surgery. I try to do as much of that myself, as I can. Our nurses are excellent, but so overworked and understaffed they just can’t catch everything,” Tiffany explained.
“Your work is highly respected in this area.”
“Well thanks, I try. Where do you practice? I remember Red telling me that his sisters were all in the medical profession.”
“I’m a pediatric nurse at St. Gabriel’s in Lafayette,” Rebecca answered. Understaffing is one reason I switched to Pediatrics a year ago. I get to spend a lot more one on one time with my patients. Annie said you make a real effort to get to know yours.”
Tiffany smiled. “Sometimes I get to know them so well I’m asked to be a witness for their wedding.”
“That’s right. Both she and Red witnessed,” Giselle said.
Tiffany turned as Conner squealed in delight when his uncl
e threw him up in the air and caught him. “So, who does this adorable child belong to?”
“That would be me and his daddy here,” said a tiny, younger version of her mother with strawberry blonde hair. “I’m Kathleen, and that young man is the older brother to his baby sister,” she said, patting her large belly. “She’s due to make an appearance before Christmas, if I make it that far.” When she propped her feet up onto her husband’s knees, he removed her shoes and began to massage her feet tenderly. “Thanks, Babe,” she groaned. “That feels so good.”
Tiffany watched the tender exchange, wondering what it must be like to be a part of this family. They didn’t seem ashamed to show affection for one another in front of others. This family actually cared for each other and she knew it all started with the parents. She glanced up and caught a look from Red’s mother, who smiled warmly at her. She smiled shyly back at Vivienne, feeling her face heat with a blush.
Red must have witnessed their silent exchange, because he released the wriggling toddler to step in front of Tiffany, blocking his family’s view of her. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
She nodded, twisting her mouth in a crooked smile. “I’ll live. You have a great family Red.” She looked over at Vivienne and Pete McAllister. “They look like they’re still in love.” She said, as Pete and Vivienne McAllister shared a kiss.
After casting a glance at his parents he turned to her. “They are, and we’re lucky as hell, but look at Annie. She can’t stand it.” He pointed out his sister who was rolling her eyes at the sight of the older couple smooching. “Hey Annie!” he called out to his sister. When she turned to meet his gaze, he jerked his head in the direction of their parents as he grinned, nodding gleefully.
“You’re...an...aaassss,” Annie mouthed to her big brother before turning her back on him.
Red laughed. “The last of eight children and she can’t accept that they ‘did it’—it’s unbelievable.” He turned to face Tiffany as she laughed out loud. “You have a great laugh, Doc. It’s too bad it took so long to hear it.” He gave her a sad smile before excusing himself to answer the door again.