Hometown Girl: The Chesapeake Diaries

by Mariah Stewart

  “Pop likes variety,” Brooke muttered to herself as she looked over the final list on Thursday morning. Jesse’s final count for the party was over one hundred guests. He still hadn’t heard from his half siblings, but she didn’t see any sign that he was any more worried about that than he had been the week before.

  “If they come, they come,” he’d told her when he called to give her what he thought might be the final head count. “And maybe if not this time, maybe some other time they’ll want to get in touch. This time isn’t about me. It’s about our grandfather, and they’ll either show up to honor him or they won’t.”

  Brooke figured a guest list that size was good for two cupcakes per person, but she was throwing in an extra few dozen just in case. She would hate for the desserts to run out, although there would be ice cream, she reminded herself. In addition to the cupcakes, she planned to make her usual chocolate-covered strawberries and truffles. Some of the cupcakes would be on tall cake stands, some on wire cupcake displays, some on shorter cake plates, others on round or rectangular silver trays. Besides the strawberries and handmade truffles, she’d add some sugared fruit to decorate the trays. She worked all day Thursday and all day Friday and both nights as well, and took off only for Logan’s Saturday-morning soccer game.

  “How’s it look?” Jesse asked her after the game.

  “It’s all coming together.” She nodded.

  “Want me to come over and help you transport the cupcakes?”

  “My mom’s going to be driving her own car, and Clay will probably bring his, too, so they can take some of the boxes. I think we’ll be okay. Let me worry about the cupcakes. You have other things to do,” she reminded him. “Olivia promised to have the flowers there by five. And don’t forget about the balloons. They’ll be ready for you to pick up anytime after two on Saturday afternoon.”

  “Remind me again what I’m doing with the balloons?”

  “You’re going to be tying them to the sandbags that will be in the room when you get there. When I placed the order, I told them to make sure that the strings attached to the balloons were really long. You want them to sort of float above the crowd. And you’re going to save a bunch of them to tie onto the back of your grandfather’s chair.”

  “Okay. Right. Float above the crowd. Tie to the back of a chair. Got it.” He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and took off for the parking lot.

  Brooke couldn’t help but smile. She knew that Jesse was so into this party because he wanted everything to be just right for his grandfather. Especially since Violet had mentioned that Curtis hadn’t really celebrated a birthday since his wife died. Rose had always made a big fuss over every family milestone, Violet had noted, but after she passed away, no one had stepped forward to pick up that torch.

  “Nice of your boyfriend to invite me to his party.” Jason sauntered over from the bench where he’d been helping Logan unknot the laces of his soccer shoes.

  “Yeah, well, he’s a pretty nice guy,” Brooke replied.

  “Everyone seems to think so.”

  “Everyone is right.” Brooke picked up her bag where she’d tossed it onto the ground when Logan had made a run toward the goal.

  “I’m sorry,” she heard Jason say.

  “Excuse me?” She turned around.

  “I said, I’m sorry. For being such a jerk where”—Jason nodded in Jesse’s direction—“he’s concerned. I know I said it before, but it bears repeating. I was out of line.”

  “Thanks, Jason. I appreciate that.”

  “Besides, it’s none of my business what you do with your life.” He cleared his throat. “That is, you do have a life. You ought to be living it. With someone.” He took a deep breath. “Maybe even him.”

  “I very much appreciate that. Let me tell you this about Jesse so you can maybe understand one of the reasons I think he’s so special.” She swung the bag over her shoulder and lowered her sunglasses onto her face. “He’s the only guy I’ve gone out with since Eric died who seemed to understand that I’ll always carry something of Eric inside me—and he doesn’t feel threatened by it.”

  Jason nodded. “Like I said, I heard he was a nice guy.”

  “Hey, Uncle Jason!” Logan called. “We’re going to Scoop! Come on!”

  “Be right there, buddy.” Jason took a few steps, then stopped and said, “I hope you don’t mind that I’m still around. Logan’s all the family I have now, and I want to get to know him a little more before I take off.”

  “No, he isn’t your only family,” Brooke corrected. “He may be your only blood relative, but you have me, and my mom and Clay. We’re still your family, Jace. You might want to think about that when you’re deciding what to do and where to go. You don’t have to be a lone wolf, pal. You do have family here.”

  “Thanks, Brooke. That means a lot to me. I haven’t decided yet where I’ll go. I do want to stay in landscaping, but—”

  “Uncle Jason! They’re leaving without us!” Logan was starting to panic at the thought of being left behind.

  To Jason, Brooke said, “Better catch up.” To Logan, she called, “Have fun, guys,” and waved. She wanted to blow a kiss, but had been chastised before for such public displays of motherly affection, especially where one of her son’s athletic teams was concerned.

  Brooke turned up the collar of her jacket against the brisk November breeze and hurried to her car. She had a lot of cupcakes to frost and decorate between now and six o’clock when she’d promised Jesse she’d be at Lola’s to help with any last minute details. It was important to him, and so, she realized, it was important to her.

  By four thirty, the cupcakes were all frosted and decorated with chopped nuts, coconut, sparkly colored sugar, tiny fondant apples, or cornucopias from which spilled tinier pieces of fruit. Brooke took a shower, which revived her, and slipped into a dress she hadn’t remembered she had but was just right for a party such as this one—a dark red sheath with long sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. She paused at her jewelry box before deciding on dangling silver earrings and a ruby ring that had been her grandmother’s that she wore on her right ring finger. She’d eyed a string of pearls that Eric had given her on their first anniversary, but put them back into their box, not sure she’d ever wear them again. Maybe she’d keep them to pass on to Logan’s bride someday.

  Brooke pulled her hair back into a low ponytail and went into the bathroom to put on makeup. She usually didn’t wear all that much, but tonight was special and she wanted to wow everyone as much as possible. Jesse’s family would be there—his sister Sophie had planned to arrive that afternoon—and she wanted to look her best. She grabbed shoes out of the closet and slid into them as she hurried down the stairs. At Clay’s suggestion and with his help, they loaded the cupcakes into the cupcake van and he drove it to Lola’s back door. They carried boxes up the stairs, where they were unpacked and the cupcakes put on display before Clay returned to the farm to change and pick up Jason. Brooke fussed a bit with their presentation as the first guests started to arrive, Jesse and a pretty dark-haired young woman being the first to be led up the stairs by the hostess, whom Brooke was introduced to as Lola’s grandniece, also named Lola.

  “Olivia’s flowers are gorgeous, and you did a fantastic job with the balloons, Jess,” Brooke told him.

  “It didn’t look quite this good when I finished, but my sister was on hand to straighten it all out,” he confided. “Come meet Sophie …”

  Jesse took Brooke by the hand and introduced her to the pretty girl with the sharply angled dark hair.

  “I’ve heard so much about you,” Sophie told Brooke. “I could have picked you out in a crowd anywhere, I think. Jesse described you perfectly.”

  “Oh?” Brooke raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jesse.

  “It was all good,” he assured her.

  “Absolutely all good.” Sophie nodded. “Now, Jess tells me you’re a phenomenal baker and a single mother and you’re finishing up your bachelor’s. T
ell me how you balance everything because I swear, I have trouble looking after myself some weeks when my job gets crazy …”

  Brooke and Sophie chatted until guests began to fill the room and Brooke found herself stopping every second sentence to introduce Sophie to another arrival.

  “We’ll finish our conversation later,” Brooke promised Sophie. “I want to hear what it’s like to be a criminal prosecutor …”

  At six thirty, Jesse left to pick up Curtis, who had been led to believe he was having a nice quiet dinner with his grandson again this weekend.

  By six forty-five, all the guests who’d accepted Jesse’s invitation had filed into the room at the top of the stairs—all except for Jesse and Sophie’s three half siblings. It was almost time for Curtis to arrive. Brooke noticed that Sophie couldn’t stop checking her watch for the time.

  “It’s only about a minute past the last time you looked,” she whispered in Sophie’s ear. “Don’t worry. Jesse will get him here on time. Besides, everyone’s here, so you don’t have to be concerned that your grandfather will run into anyone downstairs and have the surprise ruined.”

  “I’m not worried about Jesse getting Pop here. It’s the others.” Sophie frowned. “The other Enright kids. Jesse insisted on inviting them. I thought it was a bad idea from the get-go but he really wanted them to know it was Pop’s birthday and that they were welcome. Now they’re not going to show and he’s going to be crushed.”

  “Jesse won’t be crushed,” Brooke assured her. “He’ll be disappointed in them, but he won’t be crushed. He knows this isn’t about him. It’s about your grandfather.”

  “He said that?”

  Brooke nodded. “He’ll be okay with whatever happens. I think the only thing he’s worried about where they’re concerned is how your grandfather will react if they do show.”

  “It could get interesting, either way,” Sophie agreed. “I guess we’ll know pretty soon how it’s going to play out.”

  “Shhhh,” someone said. “I think they’re here.”

  The crowd went silent and gathered to the left of the stairs where they wouldn’t be immediately noticed. From the stairwell they could hear the hostess explaining to Curtis why they had to be seated upstairs instead of on the first floor.

  “… decided to open up the second floor for dining because there’s such a beautiful view of the Bay from those big windows,” young Lola was saying.

  “It’s dark out,” Curtis was heard to remind her. “You can’t see a damned thing.”

  Giggles were muffled as the three pairs of footsteps drew near.

  “Well, you can see the lights from the marina,” Lola was saying. “Besides, we have several large parties of diners tonight who reserved almost every table downstairs.”

  “Surprise!” a hundred voices yelled as Curtis appeared at the top of the steps.

  Curtis looked around as if not quite understanding at first that the surprise was for him. When the lights finally went on, he placed a hand over his heart.

  “Oh, my. For me?” He glanced from familiar face to familiar face. “Oh, my, what a surprise. Did you do this, son?” He grabbed Jesse by the arm.

  “With much help from Violet,” Jesse told him. “And Brooke helped to organize things here.”

  “What a wonderful surprise.” Curtis hugged his grandson. “Thank you, Jess. This was very thoughtful of you. Very thoughtful.” He pounded Jesse on the back several times before being engulfed by well-wishers.

  “You pulled it off.” Brooke stepped back from the crowd and elbowed Jesse. “He was really surprised.”

  “I’m not so sure,” Jesse leaned over to confide. “He’s been smiling a lot since I picked him up. Humming and smiling. Not his usual demeanor.”

  “How would he have known?”

  “Someone could have spilled it to him.” Jesse eyed Violet suspiciously. “There’s my number one suspect. There, did you see that? They just winked at each other.”

  “That doesn’t mean a thing.” Brooke waved a dismissive hand. “They could be sharing a joke.”

  “I suppose. And I guess it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that everyone came and he’s happy with the whole thing.”

  “I agree.” Brooke nodded. “Did you see your uncle Mike is here with his wife? Andrea looks pretty good, I think. Better than she did the last time I saw her, anyway.”

  “I’m going to go over and say hello. It’s embarrassing, but I’ve never met her,” Jesse said.

  “Then go. You’ll love her. Everyone loves her. Andrea is one of those peaceful people who seems to bring calm into every room she’s in.”

  “I’ll get Sophie. She’ll want to meet her, too.”

  “She’s being introduced to the MacGregor clan,” Brooke pointed out, “and if the look on her face is any indication, she’s flat-out dazzled at meeting not only Dallas, but Berry as well.”

  “I was flat-out dazzled the first time I met them, too. Dallas is one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, and Berry is a big-screen legend. Her movies are classics.”

  “She was quite the thing in her day,” Brooke agreed. “Jess, didn’t you hire a string quartet for tonight?”

  He looked around the room. “I did, but they’re obviously not here.”

  “You go visit with your guests. I’ll check with Lola and see if she’s heard anything,” she told him.

  “Thanks.” He leaned down and kissed the side of her face. “I could not have done this without you. I will be forever in your debt.”

  “Good.” She smiled. “I’ll be sure to think of some way for you to repay me.”

  “You could make me your sex slave,” he offered. “It’s probably going to take me years to pay off that debt, but I’m a man who believes in settling his accounts. So what do you say?”

  “I think we can probably work something out.”

  He grinned and went off to get Sophie.

  Brooke found Lola, who was just on her way into the room to let Jesse know that the musicians had called and were stuck in traffic because of an accident on Route 50 but would be here as soon as possible, most likely before dinner was served. Lola suggested they extend the cocktail hour by another thirty minutes to give the quartet time to arrive and set up. Brooke told her that she thought it was a good way to handle the situation but that Lola needed to check with Jesse.

  “Who is that?” Jason appeared at Brooke’s elbow. “The woman you were just talking to. Who is she?”

  “Lola, grandniece of the original Lola who opened this restaurant long before either of us was born,” Brooke told him. “Why?”

  Jason shrugged. “Just wondering.”

  Clay wandered over and handed her a glass of wine. “You look like you could use a little refreshment.”

  “Thanks, but I only drink club soda while I’m working,” she replied.

  “You’re working?” He frowned.

  “Until the desserts are served, I consider myself at work.”

  “I’ll get you a club soda from the bar,” Jason told her. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Thanks, Jace, I appre …” Brooke’s attention was drawn to the top of the stairs, where a small crowd of late arrivals had stopped and appeared to be lost. A petite woman with long blond hair, a dark-eyed woman Brooke recognized from channel-surfing, and a tall dark-haired man who looked an awful lot like Jesse.

  “Excuse me.” Brooke patted her brother on the arm and started toward the stairwell.

  “Who are those people?” Clay asked.

  Brooke turned to him and said, “I believe they’re long-lost relatives.”

  She made her way through the crowd to where the six newcomers stood. The half siblings and their spouses, she assumed.

  “Hi, I’m Brooke,” she greeted them. “I’m a friend of Jesse’s. You are …”

  “Late,” the dark-haired man told her. “We were stuck in traffic.”

  “I heard there was an accident on Route 50,” she replied, and he nod
ded.

  “That was the one.” He extended a hand. “I’m Nick Enright. This is my wife, India … my sister Georgia … her husband, Matt … my sister Zoey … and her husband, Ben.”

  Brooke tried to put the faces with the correct names.

  “It’s nice to meet you all,” she said. “I know Jesse will be so happy to see you.”

  The three Enright siblings exchanged glances.

  “We’re looking forward to meeting him, too,” Zoey said.

  “Why don’t you come in and get something from the bar,” Brooke suggested. “I’ll find Jesse and Sophie and let them know that you’re here. Then I’m sure you’ll want to say hello to your grandfather.”

  Brooke met Jesse halfway across the room.

  “Jess, you have company.”

  “I see. I see that we do. Where’s Sophie?” he said without taking his eyes from his brother and sisters.

  “I’ll find her. Now take a deep breath and go introduce yourself.”

  She watched him make his way through the crowd, his eyes on the bar. Brooke scanned the room for Sophie, and found her talking to Cameron O’Connor.

  “Jesse wants you to meet him at the bar,” Brooke told Sophie. “There are some people he wants you to meet.”

  Sophie turned and glanced over toward the bar, and her mouth dropped slightly. “Is that them?” she asked. “Is that …”

  Brooke nodded. “That’s them. Go say hello.”

  “Holy crap, I never thought for a second that they’d show up,” Sophie muttered.

  “Well, they did.” Brooke laughed. “Go.”

  Sophie excused herself and made a beeline for the bar.

  Cam, being taller than most people, had a clear view of the room. Brooke expected him to ask about the late arrivals. But instead his eyes followed Sophie.

  You and just about every other single guy here. Brooke smiled to herself. She’d be surprised if every single guy there wasn’t watching Sophie’s every move. Cam hadn’t taken his eyes off her.

  “So you think you’ll have enough of a crew to start work on the tenant house this week?” Brooke asked.

  Cam continued to stare at the bar. Brooke waved a hand in front of his face.