by Layne, Sandi
“Should just go along with it,” the bespectacled woman advised with a nod. She leaned forward a little and peered at Mac’s bare throat. “Not like you’re wearing something right now, are ya?”
“Okay,” Mac said on a sigh, putting down her bag. “And thank you.”
The saleslady stepped back and let Derek look over the small white boxes with the necklaces. Some of them had phrases or emblems on them and there, finally, he found what he wanted. After blowing out a quiet breath, he pointed to it. “That one.”
Mac’s cheeks flared pink as the woman moved to take care of the business end of the deal, leaving Derek to show Mac the necklace itself. “Peace, Love, and Rock and Roll,” he quoted, reading the small metal bits on the necklace. Happy birthday, Mira-Mira.”
“Peace, love, and rock and roll,” she echoed on a whisper, turning so he could put the chain on and fasten it. “Jewelry so soon?” she asked as she turned around once more, stroking the chain with her agile fingers. Her tone had been teasing, but he was watching her eyes, to make sure his present was truly welcomed. Her eyes were that strange combination of wary and hopeful that he’d seen once or twice before.
Encouraged, he ran the pad of his finger along the bits of words on metal. “You bought me boots, after all. Clothes are kinda personal.”
“So’s this,” she murmured.
“You all right?” He caught her hand in his as the older woman returned with his receipt.
Mac nodded and squeezed his fingers. “I am. Thank you.”
* * *
The walk back to Mac’s place took them over an hour, as the walks were crowded, and they decided to pick up something to eat at an organic restaurant/market. Derek kept staring at the necklace he’d bought for her and more than once, she had teased, “Honey, my eyes are up here.”
The first time it happened, he felt himself blush. But after that, he playfully wriggled his brows at her, and she blushed. Which was perfect.
Once they got back to her place, she blew out a breath and started shifting her bag from one hand to another. “Don’t get me wrong,” she began as she got the door to her building open, “but I’m thinking that next time? We take the boots home first and then go jewelry shopping.”
He laughed a little, but he realized, later, that that was when it hit him.
Home. Boots first, then jewelry shopping.
They planned a family dinner together before the CMA Fest and he watched her face the whole time. So intently he’d been caught at it, but he had only kissed her quickly to forestall any questions. The strategy had paid off because she quit commenting on it. He could see this happening, the two of them. See this happening again and again and again. With smiles and laughter and the affectionate give and take as they planned and talked menus and so on.
She walked him to the door after a light supper and, arms around his waist, she stared into his eyes. He welcomed the focused attention and words . . . very specific words . . . danced on the tip of his tongue. He kept them to himself just a bit longer, choosing instead to offer her a smile and ask, “What?”
“That’s kind of what I wanted to ask you. You’ve been all . . . intense, today. Everything okay?”
He had to play it off; she was an essential member of an up and coming band and she might meet all kinds of men and really, they hadn’t been together long at all. He felt off his usual path as he reflected on all that he felt for her, wanted with her, suddenly. “Everything’s fine. More than. I’ve just had a great day with you, is all. And I . . . I appreciate it.”
“Ah, thanks,” she said, but he could see in her hazel eyes that she felt much the same.
Was it enough? He didn’t know, but he did have an idea of how to proceed next. He’d always been a planner. “Seriously. And hey, boots, too!”
“And a new necklace!” She leaned in and rested her forehead against his shoulder. “Thank you. That was seriously perfect. I’ll wear it at concerts.”
He drew in a long breath. “Can I ask you to wear it all the time?” His voice sounded stuck and he wondered if she noticed.
She paused and he was sure she had. “Of course.” Then, all at once, she pushed back a little, smiling and looking as if she were the original cat that got the original canary. “Does that mean you’ll wear boots all the time?”
“No!” The protest had been instinctive, but sincere. “I am not usually a boot guy, I told you.”
“Well, then, I’ll just have to see if I can find something that’ll work.”
“I guess you will.”
He kissed her then, wrapping his arms tightly around her and feeling her melt into him without a moment’s hesitation. His heart drummed, but he wasn’t in the least discomfited.
He had some planning to do.
INTERLUDE XI
Mac & Cecilia
Mac: So, he bought me a necklace.
C.C.: This is a good sign.
Mac: It’s got the L-word on it.
C.C.: Liposuction? Lilacs? Literacy?
Mac: . . .
C.C.: :-D So is this a problem? You did call him family, sorta.
Mac: Micah did. Sorta.
C.C.: Mac, that has to count for something. I know how tight you and Micah are.
Mac: Yeah
C.C.: AND you mentioned a wedding!
Mac: True. But no ring on my finger.
C.C.: Do you want one?
Mac: Pleading the Fifth!
* * *
Derek & Micah
Derek: Hey, you up? Sorry, your sister and I usually start a text thing like that, and I think it applies to you, too.
[time passes]
Micah: Up now.
Derek: Not bad. Only a 2-hour lag. Got time for coffee or, what, lunch I guess it is? In the next day or so?
Micah: Um, yeah. Something tells me not to tell Bambi, though.
Derek: Well, I’m thinking of a surprise sometime during the big Fest thing.
Micah: Excellent! Coffee in an hour? The Lipbalm Lawyers left to do another road trip. She’ll be back Saturday night or something.
Derek: Yeah, she sent me a pic from the bus. I can bring coffee. Frappuccino?
Micah: LOL Oh, right. Yeah. With an extra shot of espresso. How about in an hour and a half?
Derek: I’ll be there
* * *
Micah & Andrew
Micah: Andy! You and Lynda coming to the CMA Fest?
Andrew: Got tickets for the night Carrie Underwood is performing, yeah.
Micah: Mac is gonna be on the Chevy stage with her band on Saturday. I’ll email you the specifics. You really oughta be there.
Andrew: Why?
Micah: Trust me. Your old roomie is planning a surprise for our sister.
Andrew: What?
Micah: We just had coffee. I think, ahem, I’m standing in for Dad.
Andrew: No. Way.
Micah: Way.
Andrew: But he was MY best man! lol
Micah: And she’s MY twin
Andrew: You have a point.
Micah: I know.
Andrew: I think I’m gonna give the guy a call!
12
“I think it’s good,” Mac declared, nodding at the dining area under the gazebo she and Derek had set up on the patio in his backyard. Yellow and white checkered tablecloths draped two rectangular tables. Eco-friendly, palm leaf dinner plates she’d found online—disposable was good, as far as she was concerned—and blue napkins. She even had small bud vases with a variety of tea roses scattered here and there, alternating with citronella candles. The afternoon sun bore down on the yard, but they were in the shade under a navy-blue canopy and Derek had a box fan ready to go should it become necessary. She took a deep breath and added, “I can smell the smoker.” It was the Sunday before the CMA Fest; she and the band had arrived back around one that morning from a short road trip that encompassed two performances. “You did a great job, you know,” she informed her boyfriend, resting her heavy head against his
chest as she leaned back into him.
He wrapped his arms gently around her. “Thanks. I’m glad you decided on doing this outdoors. Keeps folks involved and entertaining themselves.”
“Remember Andy’s wedding? They had the lawn games and all. Where are yours, hmm?”
“Hey, I’ve got music, so we can dance.”
Energy sizzled under her skin as she turned in his arms and slid her hands up to tangle in his hair. “We haven’t danced since Andy’s wedding.” She started humming the chorus to Came to Nashville that Taylor had written. Derek, with a smile, gathered her into a secure dancer’s embrace before leading her around the perimeter of the patio.
She sighed and closed her eyes, trusting him to maneuver them both without incident. “This is nice.”
“It is, isn’t it?” After a few more steps, he asked, “Have you talked to your brothers since you got back? To make sure they’re coming?”
She had to stop humming. “No, but I sent them texts. Mom and Dad are coming, though. Your folks?” After another bar, she quit trying to make dance music and settled for just letting Derek lead her as he would.
He didn’t even seem to notice. “Yep. Sorry I don’t have any siblings to balance the numbers.”
She chuckled. “Have you missed having some?”
He slowed his steps a bit and eventually came to a stop. She was pleased when he didn’t let her go, though, as he spoke. “I think I missed the idea of them, you know? Andy and I used to talk about it, some, in the dorm. How he had been an only child for a few years, and he could still remember it, but how it was different when he got not one but two siblings.” With a wry smile, he added, “I don’t think he was expecting two of you.”
“No, I think the folks decided not to say anything about there being two until we showed up and were both coming home.” Mac frowned thoughtfully. “Mom was worried, you know, that we might not both make it. We were fine,” she assured him to answer his sudden, concerned frown. “But she worried anyway. So,” she pressed, moving her hands up so that she could play with the deep red strands of hair that were reaching the top of his white shirt collar. “So, you liked being an only?”
“I did, yeah, in a lot of ways. Lots of time with the folks. Didn’t have to share, you know? And my parents always say I probably got a bit spoiled.” She chuckled and kissed his jaw before he continued. “They said that they never had to worry they would have to duplicate anything, so they kind of went a little crazy.”
“Well, they did a good job with you.”
She felt her skin heat as he studied her face. “Yours did a good job with you, too. All three of you.” He looked away and cleared his throat. “What about you? Ever think of kids?”
That hit her in the chest with surprising energy and she had to blow out a breath before she dropped her head to rest it against his chest again. “Well, honestly? The most I’ve thought about them before, was when Micah and I were all irked that we had to study what our parents wanted and where our parents wanted, you know? I told myself then that I’d never do that to any child of mine.” He made a soft, assenting sound and she turned her head to watch as a cloud made a huge, slow-moving shadow over the backyard.
“So, what do you think about them? Children, I mean.”
“They’re cute,” she said, thinking of the kids that had been at The Place. “If you’re asking me if I want them? Yes, someday. You know I adore Madison, Katie Lyn’s daughter. She’s great. And I’ve met Jake’s little girl, too. He named her Emmylou.” She shifted to retrieve her phone to show him a picture of the little, blue-eyed girl.
He dropped a kiss on her head, and she felt his heart start hammering under her cheek and it made her unaccountably nervous. “She’s a cutie, for sure. I think I’d want to have more than one, if I get to have a family,” he said slowly. “Twins.”
She had to laugh at that as she drew lightly away from him. “Twins. Right. Well, I loved being Micah’s twin, truly. Though we drove Andy and our parents crazy.”
“Well, yeah. You were, as I’ve heard, a double-handful.”
“It’s a gift!”
His doorbell rang at that moment and Derek caught her by the hand to pull her inside. “C’mon. Looks like our first guests have arrived!”
Our first guests. Kids. Mac pursed her lips in silent shock as they moved quickly through the house to the front door. Derek Blakemore is . . . serious, here, isn’t he? Then, she smiled. Well, so am I.
Derek kept her hand in his as he greeted the first arrivals to their get-together. “Mom, Dad! C’mon in!”
Blake and LeeAnn Blakemore were about the age of Mac’s own parents, and their smiles were wreathed with expectation as they both looked pointedly at her. Mac waited. Derek tucked her under his arm and smiled into her eyes. “This is Mac Cunningham.”
“Oh, Mac. I’ve got the Lipstick Outlaws’ album!” LeeAnn Blakemore—a tall woman, at least two inches taller than her husband—gushed immediately, taking Mac’s hand between both her own. “I’m so happy to meet you. This is Blake.”
Derek’s dad offered her a rueful smile that was exactly like his son’s. He also gave Derek the red hair, she imagined, though Blake’s hair was going white at the temples. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Cunningham,” he said. “I don’t have your album, but I do like the boots you wear in the music videos.”
Mac laughed; she couldn’t help it. “Thank you. Both of you. So good to meet you. We were just talking about you, not five minutes ago.”
“All lies,” LeeAnn trilled with a wave of her hand as she stepped away to give Mac her space back.
“Oh, I hope not,” Mac countered. “He was telling me what a wonderful childhood he had.”
Blake nodded and dragged a hand through his hair. “He was a good boy.”
“Dad!” Derek protested, his tone laughing. “Come on, you guys. Come on through to the patio. I’ve got steaks marinating.”
The men went through, and Mac was left to walk out with LeeAnn. “So, Derek hasn’t told me what occupies your time, ma’am,” Mac began tentatively. “I’ve heard about his work with his dad and at The Place, of course, but he hasn’t told me what you do, yet.” She opened the sliding glass door and gestured for the older woman to step outside first.
“Oh, I’m retired, hon. I used to be a teacher. I volunteer at TriStar Centennial as a rocker.”
“A what?” Mac was trying to picture LeeAnn Blakemore as musician and it wasn’t quite working.
Laughing, LeeAnn made a cradle of her arms as she paced around one of the tables, eyeing the candles and flowers. “A baby rocker. In the nursery. Since,” she went on, sighing dramatically and gesturing toward Derek, “we don’t have any grandchildren, I make do with borrowing babies and rocking them at the hospital.”
Warmth bloomed in her chest and Mac grinned. “That is the sweetest thing, ma’am.”
The doorbell rang again and Derek, who had been at the grill with his dad, half-jogged to her side. “I’ll get it. You can do all the hostess-y stuff, right?”
“Absolutely.”
Within the next fifteen minutes, the patio was filled with people. Mac greeted her parents and Derek gave them a quick tour of his house. Andy and Lynda showed up, needed no tour, and joined her and the Blakemores on the patio. Micah and Bethany arrived on their heels, as if they’d coordinated an entrance.
“Bambi!”
“Ugh!” she shouted back at him, though she crossed the patio and tugged him to the cooler where the sodas were. “What is up with Andrew, Micah? He’s been looking, I don’t know, all expectant.” An idea fired in her brain and she abandoned her twin and jogged between the tables to her big brother. “Andrew!”
His eyes were bright as he turned toward her, balancing a soda in one hand and a plate of potato chips in the other. “What, Mira?”
Without asking, she took the soda bottle and plate from him, transferring them to the nearest table, before tugging him down by his collar so that his ear was ne
xt to her mouth. “Is Lynda pregnant?”
“What? No!” Andrew jerked out of her hold, a frown furrowing his forehead. “Who told you that?”
A silence fell over the area just as her parents and Derek emerged from the house. Everyone froze, as if they were playing the Mannequin Game that had been briefly viral a year or so before. “No one,” she told her brother. “You were just looking all, well, smug and pleased about something so I just thought—”
“Hey, hon! What did you ask him?” Derek wrapped her up next to him and kissed her hair. She was wearing it down, that day. More like her Performance style than her usual Don’t Bother Me arrangement.
Sound picked up all around them and Mac tried to slide out from Derek’s arms. She had to clear things up with Andrew. “I just asked him if, you know, his family was growing. He was looking like he had good news and that made sense to me.” Sighing, she moved to meet everyone’s eyes. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to freak everyone out.”
“You’ve always been impetuous,” her mother declared, pulling out a folding chair and lowering herself gracefully onto it, apparently ignoring the second roaring silence that occupied every square inch of the outdoor dining area.
“See, that should have been my middle name! Then I would have been Mic!”
“That would work,” Derek said on a laugh, seamlessly helping her out and earning her undying devotion. “You and your twin could have both been Mike!”
Mac nodded and grinned up at her boyfriend. “Which would have been way better than Bambi!”
Eventually, the atmosphere eased up enough for the meat to be cooked properly by Derek and all the other guys who felt they had to go proclaim their membership in Clan Testosterone or something. Mac enjoyed the time to visit with the other women over glasses of soda, water, or sweet tea. “Sorry,” she first said to her sister-in-law. “Didn’t mean to throw your husband off so much.”
Lynda pressed her lips together in a closed-mouth smile before tucking one blond lock of hair behind her ear. “Oh, do that anytime. It’s so fun!”
