Hometown Girl: The Chesapeake Diaries

by Mariah Stewart

  “Cam. I asked you a question.”

  “What? Oh. Right. Yeah, business is going fine,” he told her.

  “That wasn’t the question.”

  “Oh. What was it?”

  Brooke laughed and repeated it for him.

  “Oh, yeah. I’m having some materials delivered on Monday so we’re all ready to go first thing Tuesday morning.”

  “Great. I’m anxious to move in.”

  “Must be tough living at home after living on your own.”

  “It hasn’t been too bad. We all have our own agendas and try not to get in each other’s way. Clay has been great, but Mom will be moved out by Thanksgiving and I’m hoping to follow her in the not-too-distant future.” She poked him in the chest. “That depends on you, though, so keep to the schedule.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Brooke couldn’t help but notice that his eyes drifted back toward the bar again.

  “I’m going to excuse myself and go say hello to the guest of honor,” she told him.

  Curtis Enright sat in a club chair that was festooned in balloons. Jesse had tied so many onto the back of the chair that they almost formed a solid barricade behind his grandfather. Well, she had told him to tie a bunch of them on.

  “Hello, Mr. Enright,” she greeted him.

  “There’s the girl who made all this possible.” He reached out and took her hands in his.

  She bent down and kissed his cheek. “Are you having a happy day, Mr. Enright?”

  “One of the happiest days I can remember,” he replied. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you did to make this happen. Jesse tells me you pretty much played field general in getting this off the ground.”

  “I’ve had a little more experience giving parties than Jesse has. He just needed a little direction.”

  “That’s not how I heard it, but thank you for your part in making this such a fine evening, Brooke.” He patted her hand, then looking beyond her, froze. Brooke didn’t need to turn around to know what was going on.

  “Pop, you have some visitors.” Jesse placed a hand on the back of Brooke’s neck.

  “I see that I do.” Curtis stood unsteadily, and Nick reached out a hand to help him up. Curtis attempted to clear his throat but failed. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and he struggled for words that did not readily come.

  “How are you, Pop?” Nick asked.

  Curtis tried again to clear his throat. Finally, he said, “I’m overcome. I’m simply overcome …”

  “Take a deep breath,” Jesse told him, then teased, “It isn’t like you to be at a loss for words.”

  “It’s a first.” Curtis looked from one to the other of his grandchildren from whom he’d been estranged for so long. “It’s good to see you again. It’s good to see you all.”

  Brooke backed away to give Curtis a few minutes with his grandchildren. She mingled with the crowd and stopped to talk with friends, but every once in a while she glanced back at the small group. How strange to have a brother or a sister you never met before, she thought. How strange to have to meet your siblings for the first time as adults—and to have a grandparent you barely remembered and didn’t know.

  All appeared to be going well, though, she thought, observing occasional laughter from the Enrights, a sure sign that if anyone had any hidden resentment, they weren’t likely to air it right then and there, for which she was grateful. She hadn’t wanted anything to mar the gift that Jesse was offering his grandfather, and was happy to see that so far, nothing had.

  By ten o’clock, dinner had been served and the dessert table had been wheeled out. Brooke’s cupcakes were a clear hit, and the leftovers were boxed up to go home with Curtis, who only halfheartedly protested. By eleven, the party had officially come to a conclusion, and there was a long line of well-wishers bidding good night to the host and the birthday boy.

  “Pop invited us back to the house,” Jesse told Brooke as the last guests were drifting out. “Nick, Georgia, Zoey, Sophie, me. Want to come?”

  Brooke debated with herself, then said, “No, I think I’ll pass. I think this is a night for you and your siblings to get acquainted.” When Jesse started to protest, she added, “You don’t know how this will go. At some point, there may be some discussion that isn’t meant for anyone but family. I think I should bow out.”

  “Tomorrow, then?” He nuzzled the side of her face. “I’ve been looking forward to getting you alone tonight. Want to go back to my house and wait for me there?”

  She shook her head, no. “You’ll be thinking that I’m waiting and maybe leave before you should. I’ll see you tomorrow. We can catch up then.”

  “All right.” He kissed her. “Thanks.”

  She nodded and watched him help his grandfather down the steps.

  “Brooke’s not coming?” she heard Curtis ask.

  “She’s tired,” Jesse explained. “She baked up a storm this week …”

  “So, you need a lift?” Clay handed her coat to her.

  “I do, thanks. Just give me a minute to gather all my trays and things.”

  “I’ll help.”

  They set about packing up her cupcake stands and cake stands and Clay took everything down to the car.

  “Where’s the van?” she asked.

  “After I dropped you off earlier, I drove it home and picked up my car.” Clay grinned. “Say whatever you want, but that thing is no chick magnet.”

  “And when it was rusty and mottled white it was?”

  “A guy could hope.”

  “Where’s Jason?” She looked around as they headed out.

  “He’s downstairs at the bar. I told him I’d drive you home and then come back.”

  They went out through the back way and packed everything into the trunk of Clay’s car. On the way home, he asked, “Not that it’s any of my business, but why aren’t you off with Jesse tonight? You two having a disagreement?”

  “Not at all. His grandfather invited all of the grandkids over to his place after the party, and yes, I was invited to go.”

  “So why didn’t you? Is the bloom off the rose? He getting too interested and you’re shutting him out?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m reminding you of the conversation we had some weeks ago about how you don’t give guys a chance, and how you dump anyone who shows any real interest in you.”

  “For your information, I’m not dumping Jesse. I just felt that since Curtis hadn’t seen three of his grandchildren in many years, it was a time and place for just them. They’re Jesse’s half siblings from a marriage his dad had before he married Jess’s mother. Neither he nor Sophie had ever met them before, though they knew they were out there somewhere. I’d have felt like an intruder. People might be wanting to say some things that should be said among family members only. I didn’t feel I should go.”

  “That was nice of you, but you still—”

  “And as for Jesse …” She hesitated.

  “Yes, go on. As for Jesse …?”

  “The bloom is definitely not off the rose, and that’s all I’m saying about that.” She looked out the window as they pulled up the long lane leading to the farmhouse. “You were right about something, back then. When we talked. You said I only went out with guys who asked me so that I could say that I went, but that I didn’t give anyone a chance. You were right, of course. I didn’t want anyone to care. I didn’t want to care about anyone, ever again.”

  “And …”

  “It isn’t an and,” she said, “it’s a but. As in, but Jesse somehow got around me. Before I knew it, I was asking him out. Funny, isn’t it?”

  “Funny,” Clay agreed.

  She remembered a comment she’d made to Jesse. “You and he didn’t have some kind of bet going, did you?”

  “What kind of a bet would I have where my sister is concerned?” He turned off the car. “What kind of a guy do you think I am?”

  “Well, you have become friends …” />
  “He’s a nice guy. But no, I swear there was no bet. But I am curious. It looks like the two of you are … well, getting involved. Are you?”

  “You could say that.”

  “You care about him?”

  “More than I ever thought I’d care about anyone again.”

  “What happened to the girl who didn’t want to fall in love ever again because she couldn’t face the possibility of losing someone again?”

  “I never thought I’d meet someone who’d be worth the risk.”

  “And you think Jesse is?”

  She nodded. “There’s no question in my mind that he’s worth it. But I don’t remember saying I was falling in love with him.”

  “Are you?” Clay asked, his hand on the car door.

  Brooke shook her head. “I don’t know …”

  She was still asking herself the same question the next morning, when she rang Jesse’s doorbell, and again later after they’d made love. She was still wondering when they sat across from each other at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and rehashing the events of the night before.

  “Your granddad was really happy to see everyone, wasn’t he?” she asked. “Especially his other grandchildren.”

  “He was delighted. Surprised at first, but totally beside himself.” Jesse leaned back in his chair. “I really didn’t know what to expect from them. What if they were bitter toward Sophie and me for their dad walking out on them?”

  “Were they?”

  Jesse shook his head. “Georgia admitted that for a long time after they heard that Dad remarried, they assumed he’d left them and their mother for our mother. They couldn’t imagine there’d be any other reason a man would leave his family like that. But they said they talked to their mother again after the invitations arrived and she admitted that Dad’s leaving them had nothing to do with my mom. That it was because of something that she’d—their mother—done long before she’d met their father.”

  “That’s intriguing.” Brooke sat up. “Did they say what it was?”

  Jesse shook his head. “Whatever it was, it’s between them and their mother. Who also admitted that she’d been responsible for them not seeing their grandparents. Nick said that her entire attitude has changed now that she’s a grandparent herself, that she’s apologized to all of them. She even wrote a letter to Pop that she had Nick deliver last night.”

  “Did he read it?”

  “He said he’d take a look at it later, that he didn’t want to get distracted from his grandkids. They apologized for just showing up, but by the time they’d all agreed to come, it was too late to RSVP.”

  “So it was a great reunion.”

  “And it’s still going on.” Jesse drained his cup and told her, “Drink up. We’re meeting them for brunch at one at that place on Charles Street that does the great brunches.”

  “Let’s Do Brunch?” she asked.

  “That’s the place. Come on.” He got up, took her by the hand, and pulled her from her chair.

  “I can’t go like this.” Brooke frowned.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m rumpled and I don’t have any makeup on and my hair’s a mess and I didn’t plan on going out, so I didn’t bring any clothes with me.”

  “How long will it take you to go home, change, and whatever other stuff you said?”

  “Maybe thirty minutes.” She calculated. “Includes drive time.”

  “You have plenty of time. I’ll pick you up at twelve forty-five.”

  “I can meet you there. It would save you time.”

  “I’d like us to go together,” he told her. “Last night was a party for everyone. Today is meet-the-family day for you. I want to see what you think of everyone.”

  “All right. I’ll go with you.” She walked into the foyer with him and picked up her bag that she’d dropped to the floor when he’d opened the door a few hours ago. “It should be interesting.”

  And it had been that, Brooke later reflected. Interesting if not a bit overwhelming, with pictures of this child or that new baby being passed around. She lost track of whose baby was whose, who was the mother of Alexa and who was the mother of Summer, whose son was Charlie and whose was Cole. All in all, though, Brooke had had to admit that she was happy to have been included, happy to have met such interesting people. Jesse had been right. They were all very nice and fun and it was gratifying to see Curtis enjoying himself so much.

  It seemed, Brooke thought, that having made the decision to be part of this family again, Jesse’s siblings had gone all out to blend. India, Nick’s wife, was also an assistant district attorney, so she and Sophie had lots to talk about and stories to trade. Matt, Georgia’s husband, shared a love for Sherlock Holmes with Jesse, and Brooke and Zoey bonded over food.

  “Have you ever thought about putting together a cookbook of your cupcakes?” Zoey leaned behind her husband at the table to ask Brooke.

  “No, never,” Brooke replied.

  “You should do that. Really. We have food from everywhere come through the studio,” Zoey said, “but I swear I’ve never tasted cupcakes as good as yours. Maybe you could even make them for us. We sell a lot of food, and—”

  “Whoa.” Brooke laughed. “I’m just getting around to baking for a local caterer. I can’t think of anything beyond filling those orders.”

  “After the holidays, give it some thought.” Zoey took a business card from her bag and wrote on the back. “That’s my cell number and my email address. Call me in January and we’ll talk more.” She turned to Jesse. “Make sure she doesn’t forget, Jesse. This girl could go places with those cupcakes of hers …”

  By the time brunch had ended, everyone had traded email addresses and cell numbers and had promised to be in touch over the holidays.

  “Brooke,” India said as she buttoned up her coat, “Jesse tells me you have an eight-year-old son.”

  “That’s right,” Brooke replied.

  “We have an eight-year-old boy, too. Maybe we can get them together next year. Nick and I would love to have you and Jesse and your son come for a visit. We live on the Delaware Bay and there’s no end to the places they could explore.”

  “Here, too,” Brooke said. “Lots of stuff going on in St. Dennis since the town was ‘discovered.’ ”

  “And you can all stay at my place,” Curtis told them. “Anytime. All of you. The door will always be open.”

  “We all know the way now. It really wasn’t so far.” Georgia stood on her tiptoes to kiss her grandfather’s cheek, and it was obvious that the old man was moved.

  Jesse had offered to drive Curtis home, since he’d arrived with Nick and India. When Jesse pulled up at the sidewalk in front of his grandfather’s home, Curtis said, “Thank you again for everything, son—for the party, for gathering my friends together for me, but most of all for bringing my family back together. That was the greatest gift anyone ever gave me, and I will never be able to thank you enough. I only wish your grandmother had lived to see this day.”

  Jesse got out of the car to walk his grandfather to the door.

  “It’s not necessary,” Curtis protested, but Jesse insisted.

  Brooke sat in the car and watched the two of them—the tall handsome guy with the normally brisk step who’d slowed his pace so that the old white-haired gentleman could keep up—as they made their way up the long brick path, and felt her heart flip in her chest. For someone who’d been certain she’d never fall, she was dangerously close to tumbling headfirst.

  Chapter 20

  JESSE dropped off Brooke so that she could get busy with the orders she had lined up for the following day, then made a detour on his way home to the stone jetty that jutted out into the Bay off Cannonball Island. He walked out onto the rocks and stood watching a sailboat being driven by the wind into a few sharp turns. He’d never sailed, though he’d thought about taking lessons last summer. He’d been tempted, but had decided against it because he figured it would be one more thi
ng he’d be leaving behind if his grandfather decided not to keep him on.

  The thought of having that happen—of having Curtis decide he’d rather close the firm that had represented so many local families for well over a hundred and fifty years than turn it over to Jesse—made Jesse physically ill. The humiliation of having an entire town know that your own flesh and blood thought you were unworthy to carry on the family name would have been too much, and Jesse had promised himself that if that happened, he’d just pack up and leave St. Dennis and forget that the entire place existed. Curtis had given him one year, and he’d taken a one-year lease on the house on Hudson Street.

  But then Jesse met Brooke, and he knew it would take more than professional embarrassment to make him leave and not look back. He’d spoken the truth when he told his grandfather that he didn’t think he’d ever been in love. There had been any number of women he’d liked and whose company he’d enjoyed throughout his life. Some he had definitely been in lust with. But love was something he hadn’t planned on, something he’d wanted none of. To Jesse, love was a stepping-stone that led to a lot of pain. His mother was living proof of that. She’d loved his father a great deal, and look where that had gotten her. The last thing Jesse ever wanted was to do to a woman what his father had done to his mother. Not that Jesse would set out to hurt someone, he’d certainly never plan on it, but how did he know he really wasn’t a chip off the old block?

  But that was before Brooke.

  There was no denying he’d fallen hard and fast for her, and he knew in his heart that he could never be what his father had been. He’d proven professionally that he was a good lawyer, good enough to carry on the family name here in this town where Enright meant so much.

  That was important to him—there was no way around it, living up to Curtis’s high expectations meant the world to Jesse. Knowing that he’d made the grade had lifted an enormous burden from his shoulders.

  Finding the siblings that had been lost to him over the years, finding that they had open hearts and open arms, had lifted an old sorrow from his heart. He’d be forever grateful that they’d taken the chance, and after what had apparently been a long debate, had accepted his invitation.