JT nodded, knowing Stephen had suffered through his own hell.
But now he was back. For the first time by choice, and funny, he hadn’t thought about all the reasons he hated coming home. Hadn’t gotten the usual heart-racing panic. Because for the first time in so many years, his mind was completely full of something else.
Someone else.
Chapter 21
Jake arrived at the cabin at six on the dot to escort them up the hill to Hannah and Stephen’s house. Paige sat on the cabin’s top porch step and watched him park and get out. He’d taken his bag to his parents’ house, and from the looks of it he’d taken a shower. His hair was slightly damp, his face fresh-shaven, and her heart dipped into her stomach like it did every time she saw him.
“Hey, Cotton Candy Girl,” Jake greeted Casey where she was gathering acorns and other assorted nature in front of the porch.
Paige stood as he climbed the steps to greet her and then backed her up, not stopping until they were just inside the open door and out of view. And then without a word he took her mouth with a kiss that stole her breath and left her body weak. Her arms wound around his neck and he kissed her again, and then again. Her eyes fluttered open to find him smiling down at her.
He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. Growled low in his throat. “You can’t look at me like that.”
She could imagine the look he was talking about because she desperately wanted to strip him naked and kiss every inch of him, starting at the bottom and working her way up.
“Mommy! I found something.”
“Okay.” She cleared her throat, finding it hard to speak. “Be right there.”
Jake grinned and smoothed a hand over her hair in a way that always made her gooey inside. “Later.” Then he kissed the top of her head and left her to catch her breath.
Later? Well, that would give her something to think about as she ate dinner across from his family.
“How’s the cabin in the woods?” he asked when she joined them outside a moment later.
“Good,” Casey answered. “Hannah said I could ride horses again tomorrow and I’m going to ride Dusty.”
“Sounds like you’re turning into a real cowgirl. We’ll have to get you some boots.” Jake swept Casey through the air, making her laugh, then put her on his shoulders.
They walked the short distance up the wooded road that was really just a well-worn clearing barely wide enough for a car. “Casey, remember your manners, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I mean it. Don’t stick your fingers in any food and—”
“I know, Mom.”
“She knows, Mom.” Jake bumped her shoulder, mimicking Casey’s exasperated voice. “Trust me, she will be an upstanding citizen compared to this crowd. My brother Andrew, for one, never met a cake he didn’t swipe his fingers through.”
At the thought of the crowd that would be there, Paige glanced down at her sandals. The bottoms were worn and the left strap was hanging by a thread. She pulled at her skirt. It was loose and flowing, but it did fall several inches above her knees. Her shirt was plain white, a dressy T-shirt style. She hadn’t thought to ask what to wear. Too late now.
The family she’d met so far had been nothing but kind and welcoming, but her stomach still hurt a little. Jake had grown up very differently than she had. Two parents and loads of siblings. Several had served in the military, a couple were doctors. She was what some would refer to as trailer trash. Left by a father who’d never paid child support and raised by a mother who’d never seen the benefits of getting a job. Add to that, she’d had a baby barely out of high school. Definitely not stellar-citizen stock.
Jake steadied Casey with one hand and slipped his other arm around Paige’s shoulders, pulling her into his side. “Relax,” he said and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head.
When they topped the small hill and got their first look at Hannah’s house, her nerves that had settled for a moment kicked up again. It reminded her of a ski lodge, not hotel big, but it had all the style. Heavy furniture with deep red cushions sat in groupings along the wraparound porch. The entire structure was wood and large gray stone with columns shaped like the Washington Monument from the roof to the wide steps leading up to the front door. They could already hear the noise of a happy crowd bursting out from inside as they passed a row of parked cars.
Jake lowered Casey onto her feet and, holding both of their hands, led them up the steps and in. “Here we go.”
The kitchen was large, open and airy, and crowded with people.
“See? What’d I tell you?” Jake said to her, then slapped the back of a man who was also getting his hand slapped away from a plate of deviled eggs. “My brother, Andrew. Andrew, Paige. And Casey.”
Casey raised her arms for Jake to pick her up and he did, bringing her eye level with the grown-ups. Her daughter wasn’t shy by any means, but this was a lot of people, and Casey kept one arm tight around Jake’s neck throughout the many introductions. She wasn’t shy, either, but she was glad for his warm hand at her back. It was comforting and at the same time possessive.
“And more brothers: Tony, Patrick, and Matt.”
All three men were tall and dark and handsome, similar to Jake. She felt the slightest hesitation on Jake’s part, but each of the men clasped his hand and pulled him in for a one-arm man hug.
“Where’s my baby brother?” A small woman with dark hair and eyes hugged him enthusiastically and kissed his cheek. She smiled at Casey. “I used to carry him around like a doll. Can you believe that?”
Casey shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise.
Jake’s sister laughed and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m JT’s one and only sister, Lizzie.”
She’d just let go of Lizzie’s hand when Matt caught his arm around a stunning woman. Her sleek, dark hair fell well past her shoulders and she had the most brilliant green eyes Paige had ever seen.
“My wife, Abby.”
“Hi,” Abby said warmly, giving Paige an unexpected hug. “I’m so glad you came. And who’s this?”
“This is Casey,” Jake said.
“Hi,” Abby greeted her and asked about her trip on the airplane and her horseback ride.
More women she assumed were sisters-in-law greeted Jake, but after each hug his hand came back to her. They moved from the crowded kitchen toward a large, open room with an enormous stone fireplace and a large comfy-looking sectional. Giant exposed beams stretched across the ceiling. It was done mostly in red and brown with splashes of gold in the pillows and decorations. By far the most beautiful home she’d ever been in.
“Mom.”
A short woman with dark hair intercepted them halfway into the room. “Jacob.” She reached for his face and pressed a long kiss to his cheek, then looked at him with emotion-filled eyes. A mother’s love.
A man with thick gray hair and a baby in his arms joined them. “Hi. You must be Paige,” he said. “I’d shake your hand but my arms are full.”
“Your father is a baby hog,” his mom said, smiling at her. “I’m Marge.” She took Paige’s hand between her own. “This is my husband, Joe. And who’s this?”
“This is my daughter, Casey. It’s nice to meet you both.”
“You too. This is Lily,” Marge said, adjusting the elastic sleeve around the infant’s tiny arm. “Andrew’s newest.”
“Uncle J!” A boy and girl ran over, same height, both with light brown hair and striking hazel eyes.
“Hey, Cole Man. Hi, Caroline. These are Matt and Abby’s twins,” he told Paige as he knelt with Casey.
Her daughter hadn’t been around many kids, not because of her leg, more location and time. The trailer park in Texas was mostly older people now, not a lot of playdates going on.
“I’m losing a tooth,” the boy said.
“I already lost one,” Caroline followed, pulling at her gums to show off her empty space.
“Very nice,” Jake said. “This is Casey. She’s about
the same age as you. She’s going into kindergarten. Casey, this is Cole and Caroline.”
Casey laid a hand on Jake’s thigh and edged deeper into the shelter his big body made.
“We already did kindergarten. We’re in first,” Cole said.
“About to be in first,” his sister corrected.
“JT’s our uncle,” Cole announced, staking a claim.
“He’s my best friend,” Casey countered. “We have the same leg.”
She stuck out her pink and white tennis shoe, showing off the new prosthesis below her ruffled knee-length skirt. “Me and Jake and a robot made it and Jake has one too.”
She’d gone with a black and purple socket at the top and a silver pylon with a small, hot-pink ring of titanium where the pylon joined the foot, her own design choice. So far so good. She loved it. Jake had done that, Paige thought, her heart nearly bursting as it had done when he’d given it to Casey. Caroline and Cole stared at the prosthesis Casey so proudly showed off, and Paige held her breath.
“Why do you have it?” Cole asked.
“My other one didn’t grow right, so when I was a baby they cut it off.”
Cole’s eyebrows rose and he looked at Casey, then her leg, his expression clearly that of a six-year-old boy impressed. “Cool.”
Cool obviously trumped blood relation in the eyes of a six-year-old, and Cole was now way more focused on Casey than on Jake.
“Want to play?” Caroline asked her.
“Okay.”
To her amazement, Casey followed Caroline and Cole across the room and around a corner without even looking back.
“Well,” Jake said straightening, a touch of disappointment on his handsome face. “I think I’ve been replaced.”
“Send Paige in here,” Hannah called out to him from the kitchen.
Jake sent her a questioning look.
“I’m good. I’ll go do…girl stuff.” Whatever that was. She passed the line of men walking out, looking like they’d been exiled, and joined the women in the kitchen. They scooted their stools over at the island to make room for her.
“Here, taste this.” Hannah slid over a dish of some hot, cheesy dip, and she grabbed a chip.
“Mmm. That’s delicious.”
“I know, right? Marge brought it.”
“I feel bad I didn’t bring anything,” she said.
“Please. You’re our guest. Thanks for putting up with us. Maybe not what you had in mind when you agreed to go on a trip with JT.”
“What? No. I didn’t have anything in mind. It’s for Casey.”
“Right,” Beth said, and the women exchanged smiles and knowing looks.
A group of kids came through, saving her from more speculation. They gave Paige a job of putting serving spoons in all the side dishes, which made her feel less awkward. She listened to the women talk about recipes and their kids’ eating habits. They seemed like sisters, yet except for Lizzie they’d each married into this family.
Minutes later, Stephen joined them and circled behind Hannah. “Why aren’t you sitting down?”
“Because I feel fine standing?”
He kissed her neck, whispered something against her ear that made her laugh. His free hand came around and caressed her belly, and she angled her head back to smile at him again.
A strange emptiness settled in Paige’s stomach. She didn’t think too much about having more children, but she’d like to. In her ideal life, living in her ideal house with the picket fence, she’d have two, maybe three. She smiled, thinking what a good big sister Casey would make.
Did Jake want that? She froze with the last spoon in her hand. Why did it hinge on Jake?
Chapter 22
Feeding all the kids first was an event and the noise rose to new decibels, but the older kids helped. Soon it was the adults’ turn and Jake stayed right with her, guiding her along the buffet Hannah had set out before them.
“I told you it was a lot of people,” he whispered into her ear. “And this isn’t even all of them.”
“It’s perfect.” It seemed everyone was talking at once, but no one had trouble hearing the person they were supposed to be listening to. Plates were filled, drinks were poured, and the youngest kids were set up in the kitchen with some older ones to supervise.
They carried their plates from the kitchen and sat around the great room wherever they could find a seat. Kids went in and out, asking for more and relaying minor transgressions. There was no way to tell who belonged to whom, and it didn’t seem to matter.
They ate and talked, and it was so much like a party it was hard to believe it was all family. One big family and then lots of little families inside it. She tried to keep up, just so she could remember who was who, but it was like playing how many triangles do you see inside the big triangle.
Families. Love. Couples.
She shouldn’t have worried about being uncomfortable the way they all worked to include her, to draw her into their circle. They ate, got seconds, and now reclined, letting their food settle while the frozen ice cream dessert softened.
“It’s always about you,” Andrew was saying to Tony.
“As it should be,” Tony said with a laugh. “I’m number one.”
“Which makes you the oldest,” Sarah said. “Might not want to brag about that too much. I think I saw a gray hair.”
“What it makes me is wisest.”
“Not,” said the woman beside him.
“Remember that time at Disney World?” Lizzie chimed in. “When we were all waiting like good little children, and Tony and Matt were off riding rides?”
Paige enjoyed the back-and-forth. She watched the faces, the smiles and loving looks. Especially from Jake’s parents, who seemed amused at their grown children still acting like kids. Even as they cut each other down, you could feel the love.
Matt shrugged. “We lost track of time.”
“Right. And we lost an hour of park time while Mom thought you’d been kidnapped and the park police were called out.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Tony said, looking at her. “We were maybe fifteen minutes late.”
“Ten,” Matt said and laughed at his grumbling siblings, then caught the balled-up napkin his mom threw him.
Paige laughed too, but noticed Jake didn’t. He’d been quiet through all the rehashing of childhood. “Where was Jake?”
“Probably sacked out in his stroller. Or back at the hotel with Grandma,” Lizzie answered.
Right. Because he’d still been in a crib during most of their trips down memory lane. “You should see what Jake’s built in California. He’s a genius, you know.” The chatter quieted, eyes turned her way. “People come from all over the country, the world even. Did he tell you about the patents he’s sold?” she went on, because there were times her mouth just wouldn’t stop. This was one of those times. She took a breath when Jake’s fingers curled warmly around the back of her neck.
“We should plan a trip,” his dad said. “I’d like to see the place.”
Matt nodded, his other brothers and his dad added praise. Their faces were full of love and pride, and she realized too late she didn’t need to champion him. But she wanted to.
“He was always a smart boy, and such a beautiful baby,” his mother said, gazing at him with love.
“Especially in my dance outfits,” Lizzie added. “Really cute.”
He rolled his eyes at his sister. “I was two.”
“You were four,” Lizzie corrected.
Things deteriorated from there and several conversations broke out as they talked over each other. Jake was still quiet, but he smiled. It was the best family gathering she’d ever been to. The only family gathering she’d ever been to. She and her mom didn’t exactly count as a gathering.
Sometimes at Christmas, Jenny would be there with her own mom, maybe her stepdad. There were other people too, but never the same people twice. There were no shared memories except the ones she had with Jenny.
&nbs
p; “God help me.” Jake shook his head at his brothers’ laughter. “It’s not funny. She never dressed you up.”
“Nope.” Tony chuckled and took a sip of his beer. “Just the luck of the sibling order draw.”
“Well, he was a beautiful little boy. That dark hair curling around his ears. Big brown eyes.”
“Mom. You’re not helping.”
“I’ll help. He was gross. Always dipping his pizza in orange juice.”
Paige’s mouth dropped open and she swung her gaze to Jake.
He winked and squeezed her neck.
“Besides, I played with you,” Lizzie said, just as a group of kids came rushing in. “I let you be the dog, didn’t I?”
“You were the dog?” Casey asked, climbing into Jake’s lap and making herself comfortable.
“And painted your nails,” Lizzie added, laughing. “You can’t say I left you out.”
“I painted his nails too!” Casey exclaimed.
Jake shook his head at the relentless heckling that ensued, but then Casey smiled up at him, and the way he smiled back told Paige he’d let her do it again if she asked.
Mary, Caroline, Cole, and Mitchell sidled up to their respective parents, all angelic faces.
“Uh-oh. Looks like a plan has been hatched,” Matt said. “Brace yourself.”
“We want to have a spend-the-night,” Caroline said.
“Hmm.” Stephen grabbed his son in a headlock. “That might be arranged.”
“And Casey wants to stay too,” Cole added.
Still in Jake’s lap, Casey turned to her. “Mommy, you have to see this room. It’s the best room ever!”
“Really?” She didn’t doubt it. Everything about this house and family was the best.
Andrew stood and stretched. “Time to round up my people.”
Planning, negotiating, and reminding people of other plans they had in the morning followed. One had a birthday party, one a Scout outing.
Worth It All Page 17