With This Cake: A Meet Me At The Altar Novel

by Samantha Chase

  Their chef, Mrs. Foster, gently cleared her throat. “Mr. Travis and Miss Charlene left, Mr. Brody. So did Miss Leanna.”

  “What?” he roared and watched as everyone flinched. There wasn’t time for this; he needed to get back into the office to be with his father. He’d call Leanna once everything got settled.

  Before he knew it, the paramedics had his father on a stretcher and were wheeling him out to the ambulance. His mother was crying and begging to ride with them, but Brody knew she’d only be in the way.

  “Mom,” he said gently. “We’ll ride together in my car. We’ll be right behind them. He’s going to be okay.”

  And hoped he wasn’t lying to her.

  The entire ride to the hospital had him on edge. He talked to his mother the entire time and listened as she cited all the ways his father didn’t take care of himself. And while he knew it was true, it didn’t seem possible that the man had any weakness.

  “Just last week he was complaining about how tired he was,” she was saying. “We all thought it was prolonged jetlag. What if something was wrong all this time? I begged him to go see his doctor, but he refused to listen. And now look where he is!” She broke down crying again and Brody prayed they’d have some answers soon.

  He dropped his mother off at the doors to the ER and then went to park. Pulling out his phone, he decided to quickly call Leanna and make sure she was okay.

  It went directly to voicemail.

  “Leanna, it’s me,” he said wearily as he rose from the car. “I’m not quite sure what happened, but I came out and you were gone. There’s been a bit of a situation and I’m at the hospital with my father and not sure when I’ll be able to talk. I’ll try to call you later tonight. I hope you’re okay.” He paused and was about to say goodbye when the message cut off.

  It was for the better because he was already at the emergency room entrance and knew he had to shut off his phone. But before walking in, he sent a text to both his brothers letting them know what was happening.

  When he stepped inside, he found his mother at the front desk and decided to simply mute his phone instead of shutting it off in case Daren or Travis responded to him.

  There were forms to fill out and questions to answer and then they were told to have a seat and someone would be out to talk to them soon. Brody led his mother to a seat in the corner of the waiting area and asked if she wanted anything to drink. Rather than answer, she patted the seat beside him. He sat and she immediately reached for his hand.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “What happened today.”

  “I’m the one who should apologize,” he admitted. “I got him all worked up because I just couldn’t let anything go.”

  “No, you were right. He was hell-bent on poking at everyone and I knew as soon as I looked at you that you were upset and I should have said something then. He just kept going on and on, but it was the first time he seemed so…mean about it.”

  “Yeah, well…”

  “Then you went into the study with him and I was left in the dining room to try to make excuses, but…all hell broke loose out there too.”

  His neck practically snapped as he turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, my goodness…Charlene was livid. She was snapping at Travis and when he tried to calm her down, she attacked poor Leanna!”

  He saw red and remembered the look on Leanna’s face when he went to get her before lunch and how she mentioned Charlene getting under her skin.

  “What did she say?” he asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

  “It was awful, Brody. Simply awful. She ranted on about how the two of you were faking the relationship to steal the spotlight from her wedding. Then she started spouting some sort of ‘I told you so’ about your promotion. It was all very confusing.” She let out a weary sigh. “Travis was trying to calm Charlene down and I was trying to calm Leanna down, the servants were clearing the lunch dishes and…next thing I knew, everyone was leaving.”

  “Leanna came with me, Mom. Did she actually leave with Travis and Charlene?”

  “No. They left first. I went to the kitchen to get us something to drink and when I came back, she was gone.” Resting her head in her hands, she let out another long breath. “I went to go look for her and all I saw was a car pulling away from the front of the house. Then you called out for Travis and…I’m so sorry.”

  Swallowing hard, he reached over and wrapped his arm around her and hugged her close. “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault.”

  “I hate to think of how upset Leanna is,” she said, sniffling.

  Placing a kiss on her forehead, he said, “Me too.”

  Actually, it killed him.

  They sat in silence for several minutes before either of them spoke. “Do you think someone will come out and talk to us soon?” she asked.

  “I hope so. But I can go up to the desk and ask if you’d like.”

  “No, I don’t want to bother anyone. I’m sure someone will come out when they have something to tell us. I just hate not knowing. And if I know your father, he’s arguing with everything they’re trying to do.”

  Brody couldn’t help but chuckle because it was true.

  His phone vibrated in his pocket and he hoped it was Lea, but when he looked at the screen, he saw it was Daren. Carefully, he sat up straighter so he could text with him and after several messages back and forth, it was decided that no one needed to come until they talked to the doctors and knew what was going on.

  Once he got done talking to Daren–who, in turn, was going to reach out to Travis–Brody decided to text Leanna…just in case she opted to ignore his voicemail.

  Brody: Hey. I am so sorry about what happened earlier. I had no idea things were going to get so out of hand. And I’m really sorry that Charlene upset you. We definitely need to talk.

  He hit send and waited a minute and then realized he probably should clarify some things.

  Brody: In case you didn’t listen to my voicemail, I’m at the hospital with my father. We think he had a heart attack. We’re waiting to hear from the doctors but who knows how long it will be. Please text me back and let me know that you’re okay. Please.

  Brody: And please disregard everything your cousin said. All of it. I promise you she has everything wrong. Hope we can talk later.

  Then, with nothing else to do, he slid his phone back into his pocket and tried to get comfortable. His mother’s head rested on his shoulder and he did his best to think positively about all of it.

  But unfortunately, he knew he was in for a long wait.

  Chapter 16

  It doesn’t matter if you win or lose; it’s how you bake the cake.

  Her phone pinged with an incoming text and she ignored it.

  Sitting at her desk, Leanna kept her focus on the estimate she was typing up for a wedding cake that would feed 250 people.

  Then the phone pinged again.

  “Oh, for the love of it, Leanna!” Josie cried. “Can you please respond to his texts?”

  Waving her off, she finished typing her estimate, attached it to an email and hit send before responding. “You don’t even know who it is, Jos. For all you know, my mother is texting me.”

  “Your mother never texts,” Josie reasoned, “because she thinks it’s uncivilized and still mourns the death of the rotary phone. Plus, whoever it is–and I think we both know that it’s Brody–has been consistently texting you every five minutes for the last thirty minutes! Can you please just cut the guy some slack and answer him? How long are you planning on punishing him?”

  Actually, Leanna read every text Brody sent and responded to most.

  After she left his parents’ home that Sunday, she ignored everything–both calls and texts. But Monday morning her curiosity had gotten the better of her and then she felt awful for being spiteful.

  So she’d responded with a text of her own telling him she was
fine and wishing his father a full recovery. But other than texts, they hadn’t spoken since he excused himself from the table after that god-awful lunch.

  Which was two weeks ago.

  It was totally unlike her to be this way, but she was in self-preservation mode. As much as her heart told her to believe Brody and not her cousin, she was having a hard time with it. Each of their stories sounded believable and the only way she was able to try to come to grips with everything was to stay away.

  And it was killing her.

  His father had a heart attack and had to undergo a triple bypass. Things had been a little touch and go, but now he seemed to be doing better. Brody was dividing his time between being with his mother, taking her back and forth to the hospital, and trying to handle things at the office. She understood it and even felt bad for everything he was going through, but for as much as he kept saying how they needed to talk, he also wasn’t offering to come and actually talk to her.

  With a sigh, she picked up her phone and saw the text was indeed from him.

  Brody: Dad is coming home today. Mom’s thrilled. We’re all exhausted. Thank you for sending her cupcakes. They made her day.

  There had been about a half a dozen texts before that one–several of them were simply pictures of his mom with the box of cupcakes Lea sent over for her–the others were simply asking how she was.

  Which had been their standard line of communication: he’d ask how she was, she’d ask how he was, he’d say they needed to talk and then…they wouldn’t.

  For almost two weeks, Leanna held herself together.

  Work had been more than a little crazy and she loved having little to no time to obsess about the demise of their relationship. And even though he had told her in those first few texts how wrong her cousin had been, their current situation said otherwise.

  “So? Was it him?” Josie asked.

  “Um…yes. He was thanking me for the cupcakes I sent over for his mother,” she said quietly.

  “That was very nice of you. So was sending food over the day his father had surgery. Sometimes you’re too good for your own good.”

  Shrugging, she replied, “I know. But his mother was always nice to me and I felt like I should do something.”

  “I don’t know why. His father was awful to you and it’s been two weeks and Brody’s made no attempt to see you or talk to you other than by text. If you ask me, it’s cowardly and wrong.”

  It was the same thing she’d been telling herself, but it didn’t do anything to put her mind or emotions at ease. Eventually, they were going to have to see each other–if for no other reason than because she still had some of her things at his home that she’d like to have back. Several times she thought of asking for them but she knew he had far too many other things that he was trying to deal with. Why add one more?

  There wasn’t anything she really had to say to him that she wanted to say in a text so she simply put the phone down and went back to her work.

  Only to realize she was done.

  Drat.

  “How about some lunch?” Josie asked. “Skye should be on her way here. Why don’t we call her and ask her to pick up something and we’ll eat together? Maybe we can even set up a table in the tasting room rather than eating at our desks or in the conference room. What do you say?”

  “That actually sounds fantastic. You want to call her or should I?”

  “I’ll do it.” They discussed food options and then Josie grabbed her phone and walked out of the room. “Hey, Skye! Big favor to ask…”

  Smiling, Leanna busied herself by looking over her calendar. This week was finally quiet. The only events they were handling were small and all of her cake orders were being picked up. She let out a long breath and wondered what she was going to do with all her free time.

  Josie breezed back into the room. “We’re all set! Come on. Let’s go set a nice table for ourselves!”

  They laughed as they worked and she was so thankful that her friends had the ability to do that for her and keep her from going too deep into her own thoughts. Skye showed up twenty minutes later and it felt so good to just sit and talk about something that wasn’t about her.

  “The doctor said the baby is a little bigger than she originally thought, so we might move up the due date!” Skye told them. “And believe me, I am all for it. Any time we can take away from walking around with a beach ball in my belly will be great!”

  “That’s amazing, Skye!” Leanna said, feeling nothing but joy for her friend. “So you’re further along than you thought, which means…”

  “We were pregnant sooner than we thought and honestly, none of that even matters. As long as this baby is healthy, Elliott and I will be thrilled.”

  She was about to comment when Emilie came in. “Um…sorry to interrupt, but there’s someone here to see you, Lea.”

  Her heart stopped because she knew it was Brody. Glancing at her friends, she gave them a curt nod and saw their concern.

  “Do you want one of us to go with you?” Josie asked. “Just for moral support or to kick his ass?”

  That made her chuckle. “I’ll be fine. But don’t go too far. The butt-kicking isn’t off the table yet.”

  “Oh my God, can you please say ass? Just once?”

  Rather than say it, she stood and calmly walked down the hall to their office.

  And froze.

  It wasn’t Brody.

  It was his father.

  “Mr. King?” she said softly as she walked farther into the room. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going home today.”

  He looked a little tired, but other than that he still seemed to command attention.

  Well, this is my turf, buddy…

  “Please, have a seat,” she said as she walked around her desk to do the same. “Is Sylvia with you?”

  He shook his head as he sat. “No. I had my driver come and pick me up after my last round of physical therapy this morning. She’s expecting me, but I told her I had a stop to make.”

  All she could do was nod, but then decided to ask, “How are you feeling?”

  With a shrug, he said, “Tired. Ready to sleep in my own bed and eat something other than hospital food.”

  All very typical answers, she thought as she gave him a small smile. “What can I do for you, Mr. King?”

  His small laugh was soft but there was no mistaking his amusement. “I like a person who believes in getting right to the point.” He straightened slightly before meeting her gaze. “I owe you an apology.”

  Color me surprised…

  “My behavior the day you came for lunch was abhorrent. You got caught up in a situation that had nothing to do with you and for that I am truly sorry,” his words were spoken softly and Leanna could see the remorse in his eyes.

  “I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to say to that,” she admitted.

  “I’ve been a little out of the loop these last few weeks so I have no idea what happened after I went to the hospital, but I do know that my son is miserable. And embarrassed,” he quickly added. “And that’s all my fault.”

  No argument there…

  “It was important for me to talk to you alone and in person so I could truly apologize to you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Brody.” Then he shook his head with a small laugh. “To our whole family, if I’m being honest. You’re like a breath of fresh air and I would hate it if I ruined that–and not just for Brody, but for all of us.”

  She had two choices here. First, she could unleash on him all the frustration she felt. But that didn’t feel right. Or…she could simply listen to him, thank him for coming by, and send him on his way.

  It was a no-brainer.

  She did both.

  “I do appreciate you coming by and apologizing,” she said before letting out a long breath. “But there are some things I need to say.”

  He nodded.

  Here we go…

  “I don’t think you realize
how blessed you are,” she began, her voice was soft but firm. “I can’t speak for Travis or Daren because I don’t know them, but I do know Brody. He is an amazing man who has gone to great lengths to gain your approval. He works until he’s exhausted and gives you one hundred percent of himself. And what do you give him in return? Hoops to jump through. Conditions.” Pausing, she shook her head. “A parent should love their child unconditionally. I’ve seen so many sides to Brody and he’s so hard on himself because he wants your approval and shame on you for making him work so hard for it.”

  He nodded again.

  “All that being said, you’ve raised a remarkable man–one who is worthy of being loved simply because of who he is. Faults and all.”

  His phone rang. “Excuse me for one moment,” he said before answering it. “Hello, my darling.” He paused. “Yes, I promise I’m on my way home. There was a stop I needed to make.” Another pause. “Yes, I do remember what the doctor told me and I promise I’m not doing anything that will cause me stress.” One last pause. “I love you too and I’ll see you soon.” Smiling, he slid his phone back into his pocket. “My apologies again. I normally would have ignored a call during such an important conversation, but that ringtone is only for my Sylvia and I didn’t want her to worry.”

  If it had been anyone else, it would have been enough to make her angry.

  Or, at the very least, less polite than she’d been thus far.

  “I appreciate you coming by,” Leanna said as she stood. “I don’t want to keep you.”

  Slowly, he came to his feet. “You’re not. This was important and I’m glad I had the opportunity to talk to you. There were a few days where I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to do anything anymore, let alone make amends for the things I’ve done wrong.”

  Knowing everything she did about him, she knew how hard it was for him to say such a thing. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Now let’s get you back in the car so you can get home to Sylvia so she can stop worrying.” Walking around her desk, she offered him her arm to help him. When she looked up at him with a smile, she saw tears in his eyes.