“Of course I believe it. But you’re tough. You can keep them at bay.”
Seth and Roger hadn’t exactly hit it off when they first met. Libby had wanted her best friend to get along with her future husband, but a nice lunch at a restaurant on the Sound had turned into an awkward hour of finding out the only thing the men had in common was her. Seth never spoke badly about Roger, but he’d never asked for a second lunch, either. “Did you call for a valid reason?”
“Yes, and I’m sorry to make your life more complicated, but since you specialize in repurposing places, I need to run something past you.”
She put her elbows on the desk and rested her chin on her clasped hands. “Okay. Go for it.”
Seth spoke quickly and succinctly, laying out a plan he wanted to put into action as soon as possible. She began to understand why he’d called her and just how his request was going to complicate her life even more than he knew. He finally finished, “That’s it. I need to know if you’ll come on board through your firm?”
Libby sat back in the chair as she considered how to do what he needed and still plan her wedding, which was set for March. She knew redesigning the ranch where Seth had grown up and making a summer camp for foster kids on it was doable. But the job was way out of Seattle, in northern Wyoming, and it would be a long-term commitment for her and the firm.
“Come on,” Seth finally said impatiently. “Tell me you can do it.”
She turned her diamond engagement ring around and around on her finger, then nodded. “I love the whole idea. I think it’s incredible.” Libby knew Seth adored the ranch he’d lived on with Sarge and the whole area around Eclipse, Wyoming. “To give kids time out of impossible situations, to get them temporarily away from their lives that are pretty ripped up, is a wonderful gift…but it’s a lot to take on.”
“I know,” he confessed. “Just tell me it’s doable.”
“Of course it is.”
Seth let out a long sigh. “Thank goodness. I got to thinking I was crazy or close to it.”
“Far from it,” she said. “I get why you want to do it.” She got it because she’d been in foster care, too. She and Seth had a lot of common ground. They’d first connected when her firm had sent her as a representative to a charity event in the city and they’d been seated at the same table. They’d bonded over their pasts after he’d mentioned he’d been in the foster care system. A cup of coffee later that evening had stretched to hours of conversation.
“The financing’s going to be in place through a private foundation I’m in the process of setting up, so the funds will be available by the new year,” Seth said.
“You understand it can’t happen overnight? You’re talking repurposing existing outbuildings and laying out the camping areas, and that’s not to mention the safety codes and requirements for minors. Just because Sarge and Maggie had the group home there doesn’t mean it’s a slam dunk. This is totally different. I’d say you’re looking at two years to completion.”
“Okay, it’s up to you to figure out how to do it faster.”
She almost rolled her eyes at the simplicity of his statement. “You want super speed, and my client wants me to design, to use his words, ‘a sublime spa and gym experience’ in a building that doesn’t have any space for it. My mind is going numb.”
He chuckled. “Sorry. I’m anxious to get this off the ground. What building are you working on?”
“We’re doing a loft split in the old Swanson building.”
“I know that place. It’s been empty for ages.”
“Well, no more. But there isn’t any room for what Swanson’s son wants without giving up one of the units. He won’t do that, because of the loss of future revenue.”
“The roof.”
“What?”
“Do it on the roof. That place used to have a helipad. When we moved in here, I could see the helicopters coming and going. That was seven years ago, so it has to be structurally sound or require very few updates for load and stress and whatever else you have to do for code. But it could be doable.”
She grinned at him. “And here I thought your genius was limited to computers. That’s perfect. Thanks.”
“What about the ranch? You will do it, won’t you?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. Count me in.”
“Then let’s get on it right now. The ranch is empty, so there wouldn’t be any distractions.”
“Isn’t Sarge there?”
He frowned and raked his fingers through his unruly hair. “No, he’s in the hospital in Casper. He fell and broke his leg. The ranch has been downsizing since Maggie died, but now it’s shut down until I can figure things out.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. He’s going back there to live?”
Seth leaned closer to the screen. “Yes, I hope he will. That’s why I wanted you to start with a design on the main floor of the ranch house for a suite where he can live and be safe, with a live-in caregiver factored in.” He hesitated. “There’s something else that makes timing important. Sarge was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a year ago and never told us.”
“Oh, Seth, that’s awful.”
He brushed that aside. “He doesn’t have unlimited time to understand what we’re doing for him. He and Maggie wanted to transition from the group home to the summer camp as they got older, but now she’s gone, and he just let it all go.”
She hurt for Seth. Ben and Jake, who Seth had once described as his foster brothers, and Sarge, who he loved like a father, were the only family he’d ever known.
“If you can pull this off, I think Sarge would have a reason to be engaged in things there, and that might be good for him.” He paused. “Since the ranch is empty and Roger’s going to be home for Christmas, maybe you and him could go up there and get a break from his parents. You could look over the main house to get an idea of the layout and begin putting the plans together for Sarge’s space. And you and Roger would have some time together without his family.”
She smiled at him. “Are you trying to bribe me?”
“If it’s working, I am.”
She laughed as she felt things fall into place. She was starting a new family, her family, and she wanted it to be perfect, especially for the holidays this year. The Christmas she was eight years old, she’d finally found her own family when she’d been adopted. It had been the best Christmas of her life. She wanted the same thing, another “best Christmas” in her life when she and Roger became a family. “Consider me bribed,” she said.
He was grinning now. “Thank you so much.”
If Sarge only knew what Seth was doing for him, for a week or a day or just for a moment, she would do whatever she could to make it happen. “My pleasure.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll let Ben know.”
“What about Jake?” she asked.
“He’s been out of touch for a few months. He’s probably in a high-security situation, but he’ll call.” She and Seth finished discussing details—Libby would head up to the ranch next week and stay there until after New Year’s to enjoy the holidays and get some groundwork done. With their plan set, her friend signed off just as she received a text from Roger.
Sorry, another opportunity came up west of here. I have to nail it down and set the crew up. Not sure how long it will take but will call as soon as it’s set. Love you.
Libby was stunned. She had not seen that coming, not after Roger had promised he’d be here in two days. This year was going to be their first Christmas of their new life together. Roger hadn’t made it home last year. She bit her bottom lip to stop the silly tears building behind her eyes. She sat staring at her reflection in the blank monitor and could see the defeat written all over her face. It hurt, but she pushed it away. Roger was good at what he did, and she trusted that he’d make sure to be back before Christmas. There was time, and meanwhile,
she could go to the ranch and take care of the preliminaries before he got there.
Right then an email notification popped up on the screen, and she recognized the sender. She’d seen it so often since the engagement: Roger’s mother. She ignored it, putting off reading it until she got home. Instead, she wrote an email to Roger. She laid out everything she’d just discussed with Seth and asked him to please call her as soon as possible so they could plan the holidays. With that settled in her mind, she felt a bit better. She’d get as much work out of the way as she could before he showed up, and then her time would be all his.
“Merry Christmas,” she whispered to herself.
* * *
JAKE LAY COMPLETELY still as he slowly drifted out of another night of broken dreams and broken sleep. The noise in his ears, a combination of muffled whining and ringing overlaid by a blanket of numbing pressure, had been a constant in his life since he’d regained consciousness after the explosion almost three months ago. At first, the sum total of the other pains in his body had made it almost possible to ignore the damage to his ears.
But as he recovered, it had become obvious that most of the body pain would fade away. The damage to his ears was a different story. He accepted the fact that he’d have to wait longer to see if he could win his battle to get his hearing back and be able to fly again.
Now, he woke to the noise every morning, and he dealt with it every day. The only time he could hear was in his dreams, and some of that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. The damage robbed him of any ability to actually hear beyond the persistent noise that blotted out any and all outer sounds.
He opened his eyes slowly to thin morning light streaming into his room on the top floor of a sprawling Malibu beach house. He had his privacy thanks to Victor Madison, so he could keep healing after leaving the private hospital Madison had also paid for, without anyone knowing what had happened to him. It was nice, but he ignored the view of the ocean through the glass doors. He’d learned the hard way not to move too quickly after he’d fallen facedown at the hospital one day, when vertigo had hit with a vengeance. Now he carefully moved to sit up on the side of the bed.
He was staring down at the black marble floor of the bedroom when he sensed he wasn’t alone. “You’re early this morning,” Jake said without looking behind him. He had no idea if Cal Harris said anything before he came around to stand between him and the view.
Cal was a solidly built man with a shaved head who had traded the uniform he’d worn as a physical therapist at the private hospital for high-end casual clothes. He was Jake’s personal support system, having agreed to accompany him to Madison’s Malibu house to see him through the obstacles of being deaf…for now. Cal held a red-and-white Christmas stocking in his hand. “Did you sleep?” he read on the man’s lips.
He’d been losing the sleep battle for too long. “Some.”
Cal was a blessing in a lot of ways, and Jake knew he’d been lucky to become friends with him while recovering. As the son of a deaf mother, Cal had realized that Jake had a natural ability for lip-reading and had worked with him on it. “Read my lips,” he said with a smile. “I know you can do it.”
“Just tell me why you’re smiling.”
“First of all, your back’s looking good.”
Jake doubted that. His back had taken the brunt of the impact from the explosion. The burns and lacerations from flying shrapnel had left an ugly pattern where they’d struck him. “Sure,” he said with undisguised sarcasm. “My back makes a pretty impressive connect-the-scars game.”
“I’ve heard that some women think scars are sexy.”
“The same way some women think a broken nose, a collapsed lung, a broken collarbone and a dislocated shoulder are sexy.”
Cal shook his head. “Yeah, women love that.”
Jake didn’t laugh at the man’s sarcastic humor. “I need a shower.”
“You need a haircut and shave, too. Hippies aren’t in style anymore. But before you head to the shower, I’ve got some good news and an early Christmas present.”
Jake exhaled. “Give me the good news and forget the present.”
“Simon Fox is back to work, and the lowdown is, his wife still thinks he’s hot.”
Jake was relieved to hear that. “I’m glad Simon’s okay.”
Cal held out the stocking. “This is for you.”
Jake took it and felt its weight, then tipped it upside down over the bed. A cell phone just like the one he’d had before it was destroyed in the explosion slid out. He looked at Cal. “What’s this?”
“A cell phone, duh, and I did a bit of digging and put your most important numbers in the contacts.”
“Appreciated,” Jake said, but didn’t pick it up.
Cal looked slightly deflated by Jake’s response. “I thought you’d be anxious to make use of it. Sarge’s number is in there, along with Seth’s and Ben’s—also Madison’s direct line and my cell.”
Jake was anxious to connect with all the family he’d ever had, more than Cal could know, but he couldn’t. “You know I can’t contact anyone.” He raked his hair straight back from his face as Cal stared at him. “I can’t do it, Cal.”
“Listen to me,” the man said.
“Can’t do that, but I’ll watch.”
This time Cal gave Jake a “get over yourself” look as he said, “Hey, you know this ear damage could be temporary—you could heal up from it. We know there’s a 25 percent chance you’ll heal naturally, and that window could be bigger than we’re aware of. So quit feeling sorry for yourself.”
The chance of natural healing was all Jake held on to. Without that, he’d lose everything he’d made of his life. If he had surgery, he’d have to inform any prospective client, and they wouldn’t hire him as a test pilot. It was why he’d elected not to operate right away. If he could heal on his own, he’d be able to go back to work and no one would be the wiser. The odds of healing naturally without intervention were low, but he’d wait to do anything else until he knew one way or the other where his luck landed. “Yeah, okay,” he murmured.
“You need to get back to living. You need to contact Ben or Seth or Sarge.”
Jake exhaled heavily. “I signed the mother of all nondisclosure agreements. I did it willingly because I like what I do and want to keep doing it. But I can’t tell anyone about what happened from the moment I was under contract to Madison, until, well, forever.”
Cal shook his head. “It’s a tough agreement, but those guys are your family. They can’t be off-limits.”
“They are, and so is the doctor who delivered me, if there was one.”
“Madison told me you’re free to go where you want, do what you want. Just keep quiet about what happened out in Arizona. I mean, I don’t even know what happened, but he seems to think if it gets out, he’s going to take a hit to his business image. But I’m here to help you if you need it, or even go with you, if you want me to.”
Of course Jake was free to do what he wanted, but the agreement was clear. “If I violate that agreement, Cal, I’ll lose all the money I’ve been paid for a contract that I’ll never finish, along with the total medical care I’m receiving, and the nice package Madison gave me. But the biggie is, if it gets out that I have ear damage, everything’s over for me, and I’m in the dust heap. It’s a lose-lose, forever kind of thing. I can’t take that chance.”
“Jake, this is your life, like it or not, but you need to live it, not endure it.”
“It is what it is,” Jake whispered to himself as he looked down at his hands pressed to his knees. A tap on the top of his head got him to look up. “I can’t lie to Sarge, for heaven’s sake, or to Seth or Ben. I won’t. It’s easier to be here without them knowing anything until I know how this all falls out. I’ll gradually see if I can contact them in the future.”
“You’ve got temporary ear trouble
s, and you’re working on it. You don’t have to say much more than that. You’d lose everything. I get that, and I’d say you have more at stake than Madison. That’s your incentive to not mess up.”
It did come down to his own risk, and he missed Ben and Seth and Sarge. He really missed them, and he actually started to think about what he might be able to do to keep his word to Madison and still see the only family he’d ever had. “Maybe it could work,” Jake conceded as he closed his eyes for a moment. There was a glimmer of hope, if he played it right. He wouldn’t be looking for sympathy, but he needed the contact. He felt a heaviness in him tentatively ease. Cal tapped his head again. “Stop doing that,” Jake said as he looked up.
“Okay but do whatever you have to do so you can connect with your family.”
Jake couldn’t fly, either as pilot or passenger for now, and anyone he wanted to see wasn’t local. He’d thought about texting people before but had passed on it. Maybe now was the time to take that step. He exhaled, picked up the phone and pressed the power button. Images of music notes flowed across the screen, then icons appeared. He hit the one for contacts and touched the message icon for Seth’s cell.
Quickly, he thumbed in: Hey, how’re you doing? Been a long time, and life gets busy. Let me know what’s going on with you and the others. He sent it, then looked up at Cal. “Done.”
Cal seemed pleased. “I have it set to vibrate when it’s receiving. Calls are a steady vibration. Messages are a double beat,” he said.
As if the man’s words caused it, the phone started to vibrate steadily in Jake’s hand. He checked and turned the screen toward Cal. “This was your big idea. Seth’s calling.”
Cal took the phone just as it stilled. “You want me to call back and take a message or just ignore?”
Before Jake could answer, Cal frowned and looked down at the phone then back at Jake. “Voice mail,” he said. “Want me to check it?”
“Please.”
He watched Cal listening to the message for what seemed like forever. When Cal put the phone down by Jake, he looked grim. “Okay, not good news, but you need to know.” Cal told him about an accident, and about Sarge in the hospital in Casper with a broken leg. He’d been asking for Jake, and Jake felt as if someone had punched him in his gut. Cal added something about doing restructuring at the ranch, setting up some kind of camp for kids, but all Jake could think of was Sarge.
Harlequin Heartwarming December 2020 Box Set Page 48