Tis the Season

by Jill Sanders

  “Sounds like your business is booming,” her father said proudly.

  “It is.” She smiled up at him. “Even if it’s just for the Jordan family.”

  “Clan,” he joked. “We call it a clan.”

  Blake nodded. “The Jordan clan.” She smiled up at him.

  “I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m starving.” He motioned towards the door.

  It was strange, seeing the difference in Blake’s mother as she walked into the Golden Oar. It was as if she were walking onto a stage under a spotlight instead of walking into a family eatery.

  Sure, several people stopped and watched her be seated, but for the most part, the people in Pride weren’t the awestruck kind. Carrie walked over to their table to take their order and proved his point when she spent more time chatting with Blake about design ideas than being impressed that a supermodel was sitting at her table.

  The evening took a spiral downward when their order was delivered. He could tell instantly that Vaya was not impressed with her fresh salad or the wine choices. Even though she didn’t say anything out loud, it was the looks and the little noises she made.

  Her attitude didn’t upset Matt for himself but because of what it did to Blake. He felt the tension almost radiating from her. He reached under the table and took her hand, and even there he could feel her stress.

  “Relax,” he whispered to her as their dessert was being delivered.

  She took a deep breath and nodded.

  When his uncle Iian walked out of the back kitchen, he waved towards him.

  “This is my uncle, Iian Jordan. He owns this place. He lost his hearing when he was younger but can read lips,” he said as his uncle made his way across the room.

  “Iian Jordan?” Blake’s mother seemed to perk up.

  When his uncle stopped at his table and signed to Matt, he ran through quick introductions.

  “I’ve heard all about you and your lovely wife, Allison. I actually have several pieces of hers in my loft. I noticed a few in Matthew’s house as well that I’m totally jealous of,” Vaya said, making sure she spoke slowly and clearly.

  “Thank you,” Iian answered. “Your daughter has a talent for showcasing my wife’s works. Did you enjoy your meal?”

  “Oh,” Vaya beamed, “It was the best meal I’ve had all year.”

  Matt glanced over at Blake, who quickly rolled her eyes at him. He held in a chuckle.

  “I’d love for a chance to get to meet your wife…” Vaya added.

  “She’ll be there Christmas Eve at Matt’s place,” Iian said smoothly. “The entire Jordan clan will be. It was nice meeting you.” He nodded to the table before making his way to the next table.

  “I’m very impressed. I suppose I hadn’t put two and two together that your aunt was Allison Jordan. Even after seeing several of her pieces in your home.” Vaya sighed. “I should have; it’s probably jet lag.”

  He thought about the short flight from LA to Portland and bit his tongue.

  “You’re probably tired,” he suggested. “We’ll head over to my parents’ B and B.” He stood up and helped Blake on with her coat.

  It was a short drive to his parents’ bed and breakfast. He parked the truck at the end of the pathway that led to the individual cabins.

  “My uncle started the bed and breakfast business, but before it opened, he died in a car crash. When my mother moved out here from Boston, she fell in love with my father and took over,” he explained as he unloaded Vaya’s luggage. “If you want, breakfast is served at the house.” He nodded to his childhood home. “Seven till nine every day. It’s brought over from either Sara’s Nook, the bakery in town, or from the Oar.” He motioned towards the lit pathway. “Hershel, your cabin is here.” He nodded to the cabin with the blue door. “I’ve arranged for the kitchens to be stocked for the week, but if you need anything, just dial the number listed.”

  The cabin was decorated in blue Christmas lights for the holidays. His mother always went out of her way on the cabin decorations.

  “Night, Daddy.” He stood back and watched Blake and her father hug.

  “Vaya, your cabin is the largest and the closest to the water.” He nodded down the pathway again. “During the day you have the best views.” He shifted so that Vaya could walk beside him. “My mother outdid herself with filling your cabin.” He sighed. “I’m afraid she was a little mesmerized at having you stay here.”

  “Oh, isn’t this sweet,” she said when the red cabin came into view.

  “The view is something else.” Blake smiled. “Not as good as Matt’s place, but you are right here on the beach instead of looking down at it.”

  Matt walked over and opened the cabin. “The keys are there.” He nodded to the table. “I’ll go set these down in the main bedroom.” He disappeared into the master suite.

  When he came back out, Blake was holding a bottle of champagne that had been sitting in a fruit basket on the table.

  “We can stay for a glass,” Blake was saying.

  “That would be wonderful.” Vaya was sitting on the edge of the sofa. “This sure is a quaint place your parents have here.”

  Even though her words were kind, Matt could hear the mocking tone underneath them.

  “Thank you.” He smiled and mentally blew off the sarcasm. “It was a joy being raised around so many visitors. Of course, I traveled a lot with my father as a child when he ran Jordan Shipping.” He took the bottle from Blake and opened it, then poured three glasses and moved over to sit next to Blake.

  “You mentioned sisters?” Vaya asked. She sipped the champagne and smiled. “My favorite.” She raised her glass and glanced over at the bottle.

  “Yes, I have two. My sister Sara just had twins last week, a boy, Ethan, and a girl, Ellie.” His smile started from his heart and spread when he remembered the feeling of holding each of them in his arms.

  “How wonderful. And your other sister?”

  “She’s in Portland. She’ll be home late tomorrow.” He couldn’t wait to see the entire family together again.

  “What does she do?” she asked.

  “Suzie is going to school right now for business,” he answered. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if she decided not to finish and does something different.”

  “Like?” Blake asked.

  He turned slightly towards her. “Remember when we talked about my family singing?” She nodded. “Suzie’s the talent in the Jordan clan. Her voice is…” He tried to think of the right word. “It’s almost magically hypnotic.”

  Blake smiled. “Maybe we can convince her to sing a few carols for the family gathering.”

  “That’s a great idea.” He nodded. “I’ll text her and tell her to have a few ready for us. She’s always loved to perform.”

  “Well, now that I’m fully relaxed, I think I’m going to call it a night.” Vaya stood and set her glass down on the table.

  Matt and Blake stood as well.

  “I figured we’d do a little shopping tomorrow,” Blake added. “Head into Edgeview, hit the sushi place you like so much. Li’s been asking after you.”

  Matt watched her mother’s cheeks flush. “Well, that sounds wonderful. What about your father?”

  “I’ve got plans with him. My father and I were going to take our boat out tomorrow. Blake mentioned he enjoys fishing. I thought we’d show him what we catch around here.”

  Vaya nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She walked over and air-kissed Blake then did the same to him. “I enjoyed meeting your family.”

  As they walked back to his truck in silence, he held Blake’s hand in his. He helped her into the truck.

  When he started the truck, she sighed.

  “I’m sorry about my mother.”

  He reached over and took her hand. “You’ve no need to apologize.” He took her hand up to his lips.

  “I do.” She groaned. “She’s… difficult.”

  He chuckled. “We all have one in the family
.”

  “Oh?” she asked as they turned onto the main road. “Who’s yours?”

  He chuckled. “I am, or so my family tells me.”

  That had her laughing. “You can’t be serious.”

  He shrugged. “It was Suzie for a while, but when she moved to Portland for school, they switched it to me.” He smiled as he hit the long drive up to the house.

  “The place does look amazing.” She sighed as the house came into view.

  “All thanks to you.” He parked and unfastened her seatbelt then pulled her over into his lap. She easily straddled his legs.

  “Oh?” Her fingers went into his hair and held on.

  “Have I told you how amazing you are today?” he asked. She smiled.

  “Not yet.” She leaned down and kissed him. His hands moved until he was gripping her hips.

  “You have too many clothes on.” He sighed.

  “It’s too cold out here to take any off,” she said against his skin. “Take me inside and make me feel even more wonderful.”

  He carried her inside, her legs wrapped around his hips. They made it as far as the laundry room where he peeled off her clothes and took her quickly against the door.

  When they caught their breath, he carried her down the long hallway and set her gently on the bed. Butters tried to jump up between them, but Blake pushed him away, laughing.

  “He needs a friend,” Matt said absently, then he crawled into the bed next to Blake and slowly made love to her. Then they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  The ringing of his cell phone woke him early the next morning. Rubbing his hands across his face, he glanced around and was jolted to see Emogene standing by the side of his bed.

  “Have you found her?” The question floated in the morning air.

  “Jesus.” He took a few deep breaths. “Yes, she’s alive,” he answered. It was the first time they’d seen either of them since seeing Anna Beth. “She loves you,” he said, unsure if the woman floating before him understood since she still looked sad as she disappeared.

  “Hello?” He answered the phone.

  “Hey, are you up and ready? Hershel and I have already had breakfast.”

  The fishing trip. Matt groaned and glanced over at Blake’s sleeping figure. What he wanted was to spend the day in bed with her, pleasing her all day long. Instead, he was about to spend a very cold day on the water with his father, her father, and a bunch of fish.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there in about fifteen.” He sat up and quietly dressed for the day. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on Blake’s lips, then tucked the note he’d written her on the pillow beside her.

  When he parked at the docks, he grabbed the bag of donuts he’d gotten from Sara’s Nook as he had driven through town. The hot coffee was half finished already, and he was thinking he should have packed a thermos instead.

  When he stepped onto his boat and his father held up a thermos, he promised himself that the next time he saw his mother, he’d give her a big hug and a kiss.

  “Mom sent this along.” His father wiggled it in the air.

  “I love that woman.” He smiled and shook Hershel’s hand. “Morning.”

  “Morning.” He nodded. “Your father was telling me about the kinds of fish you catch around here.” The man smiled over at his dad. “We’ve even got a friendly wager going.”

  Matt groaned. “Never bet against a Jordan,” he warned. “Even I won’t bet against this guy.” He pointed his thumb towards his father.

  “Iian and Aaron decided to come along.” His father nodded towards the docks.

  “Great.” Matt waved at his uncles. “Now the entire family can beat you,” he said to Hershel. The man laughed and slapped him on the back.

  “You don’t know us Riccis. We’ve never been beaten.” He smiled and shook the other men’s hands after he was introduced to Aaron.

  Six hours later, the boat made its way back into Pride’s docks. Matt’s body was cold, but he felt warm on the inside after the amazing day the men had had on the water.

  “I can honestly say, this day will go down in history.” Matt smiled at Hershel. “I’ve never seen a haul like this before.” He nodded to the live well that held Hershel’s catch.

  “You’ll have to come out on the water with my family next time you’re in Italy.” He slapped his back. “My brothers and I spend more hours on the water than on land.”

  “Well, how about we all head back to the main house and grill your catch up for dinner,” Matt’s father broke in.

  “Sounds good.” He pulled out his phone. “I’m just going to see where Blake is.”

  He stepped aside as his uncles finished cleaning the boat and transferring everyone’s catch into coolers.

  “Hi,” she answered on the third ring.

  “Hi.” He glanced down at his watch. “How about dinner at my folks’ place? Your dad caught enough fish to feed my entire family.” He chuckled.

  “Um…” He could hear the stress in her voice. “Sure, let me ask my mother.” He listened as she held her hand over the phone and asked her mother. Before she spoke again, she took a deep breath. “I’ll be there. Mom wants to go back to the cabin and rest.”

  “Okay.” He moved farther away. “I know you can’t talk now, but is everything alright?”

  “Yes.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll see you there.”

  He worried about her as he waited for her to arrive at his parents’ place. More introductions were made for Blake’s father. When Suzie walked in the door, the sound level became almost deafening as his family celebrated the last of the clan’s arrival for the holidays.

  Matt walked out on the front porch and called Blake again.

  “Hi.” She sighed. “We’re almost there.”

  “Okay, just checking on you. Drive safe.” He hung up.

  “So…” Suzie stepped out on the porch, the front door shutting behind her as she hugged her arms against herself. She hadn’t put on a jacket and was barefooted.

  “Hey.” He walked over and wrapped his arms around her again. “What’s up shorty?” he joked.

  “Was that Blake?” she asked, burying her face into his chest.

  “Yeah, she’s almost here.”

  “Something wrong?”

  “Her mother isn’t being too… cooperative,” he answered. “It sounds like Blake is having a hard time with the visit.”

  “I’m sorry.” His sister pulled back and looked up at him. “Her father seems to fit right in to the family.”

  “Yeah.” He glanced back at the house. “You’d never know that he’s one of the top mobsters in Italy.”

  “What?” Suzie stood back. “Seriously?”

  He chuckled. “He and his brothers run an island, or so Blake says.”

  “Run as in…” she started. Matt nodded.

  “Yeah, I don’t know how far into it he is, but Blake was kidnapped a few years back. She had to move back here to the States, and she changed her name to her mother’s name at the same time.”

  “Wow.” Suzie shook her head.

  “Are you going to sing for us tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Yes.” She beamed. “I have a few favorites. Plus, since you’re all family, I thought I’d force you to sit through an original song of mine.”

  He smiled and bent down to kiss her on her forehead just as a car pulled into the driveway.

  Turning, he saw his Jeep park at the end of the drive.

  “I’d better go help Vaya take in her packages.”

  “I’ll go with you. I have a way of soothing uncooperative people,” Suzie said.

  “Get some shoes and a coat first.” He nudged her towards the house.

  When he approached the Jeep, he realized that neither Blake nor her mother had gotten out. He heard arguing and questioned if he should approach the Jeep. Then he heard Blake suck in a cry and rushed to her side of the car.

  “Hi,” he said, running his eyes over her. “Is everything okay?”
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  Blake nodded and wiped her eyes. “Yes,” she said softly. Matt’s eyes moved to Vaya, who sat in the passenger seat, her arms crossed over her chest.

  “I was just schooling my daughter on the finer things in life,” Vaya said, before opening the Jeep’s door.

  “Are you okay?” he asked Blake softly.

  “Yes,” she sighed.

  “Matthew, would you be so kind as to help me with all of these packages?” Vaya asked as if she hadn’t just caused her daughter to cry.

  His eyes moved to Blake. She nodded. “I’ll be okay, go.” She leaned her head back.

  He walked around the Jeep and took out more than a dozen small packages, then followed Vaya to the last cabin. They stepped inside, and he set the packages down.

  “I don’t know what you said or did to upset Blake, but I’d ask that you refrain from doing so again while you’re here. It’s the holidays, a time for family and holiday cheer, not life lessons.” He stepped closer, his meaning very clear.

  Vaya’s perfectly manicured eyebrows rose slightly. “She’s my daughter. I have the right to voice my opinions. I think she’s making a mistake, being here, wasting her time on…” She motioned around the room. “All this.” She ended up pointing at him, and his blood boiled.

  “Let’s get one thing straight. You’re a guest of my family here. Your opinions are just that. Your daughter has made her own choices in life. She’s got a successful business and has done an amazing job at it. She has a future in design and, more important, she loves what she does. As for us…” He took another step across the room so that the woman would see his eyes clearly. “I love her. I plan on marrying her someday. She’ll be sheltered by the Jordan name, brought into the fold of my family. You may want to ask yourself if, at that point, she’ll ever want to have anything to do with you again if you keep this up.”

  The woman’s eyes had gone cold and he saw a little of the Hollywood diva behind those eyes, which matched Blake’s so much that it almost made him laugh. Without waiting for a response, he turned and made his way back down the pathway.

  When he approached the Jeep, he smiled when he noticed Suzie talking to Blake. Suzie had her arm around her and was talking softly to her while Blake wiped her eyes with a tissue.