by Rachel Hanna
Family Ties
Rachel Hanna
Contents
Foreword
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Foreword
Thank you for picking up FIREFLIES & FAMILY TIES!
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Chapter 1
Janine stood in the middle of the open space, only the sound of William’s expensive dress shoes tapping the hardwood floors as the sound echoed all around them.
“It’s so big,” she said, looking at the wall of mirrors in front of her.
William walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “And you’re going to fill all of this space easily,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Think of all the classes you can have here.”
“Are you sure I’m not moving too fast? I mean, this place has monthly rent I’ll need to pay, and honestly I’ve never been that good at accounting. How will I keep up with all the numbers?”
Janine had spent most of her adult life traveling the globe, teaching yoga and meditation at different retreats. This was the first time she would be the one in charge, and ultimately, the one responsible. Failure was a very big possibility in her mind, and the thought terrified her.
William turned her around and looked at her. “You’re a rockstar, honey. You need room to grow. Look at all the people you’ve already helped in the last few weeks. Yoga is your gift.”
“I wish I had as much confidence in myself as you do,” she said, grinning as she looked up at him.
Their relationship had blossomed a lot faster than she had anticipated. William, often an outsider himself, had just “gotten” her. They had an ease with each other, and it was something she hadn’t experienced with anyone else.
“Well, I do have confidence in you. And I’ll help you however I need to. This is your dream, Janine. I think the universe is giving you a sign.”
She scrunched her nose at him. “Don’t you use the universe against me. You know I fall for anything I think is universe related.”
“My woo woo girlfriend,” he said, rolling his eyes and laughing.
“Girlfriend?” They hadn’t made anything official, at least not out loud. He froze for a moment. Slowly, a slight smile spread across his face.
“Did I misread our… situation?”
“No, of course not,” she said, smiling as she closed the distance between them and put her hands on his chest. “I’ve just never heard you refer to me that way before.”
He slid his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “My girlfriend is so cute.”
“My boyfriend is equally adorable,” she said, touching her nose to his.
“My sister is grossing me out,” Julie said from the doorway. Janine and William broke apart, each of their faces turning red.
“What are you doing here?” Janine asked, nervously laughing.
“You invited me to see the place, remember? Or are the endorphins affecting your memory?”
William and Janine laughed. “Sorry. We were just…”
“Sis, it’s okay. I’m happy for both of you,” Julie said, rubbing Janine’s arm. “As for this place… I love it!”
“You do?”
“It’s absolutely perfect for you. And right on the square? These kinds of properties never come up for rent. And for the price? You have to do this!”
“Thank you,” William said under his breath.
“I think it’s one of those signs from the universe you like so much.”
Janine chuckled. “Somebody else said the same thing.”
“Well?” William said, his eyes wide as he waited for her answer.
“I’m going to do it!” Janine squealed as she jumped up and down with excitement. “And I’m completely freaked out!”
Meg stared at herself in the mirror, something she did several times a day. It was getting harder and harder to keep her secret from her mother, sister and aunt. Twice, she’d caught her aunt Janine staring at her, as if she was trying to figure out what was different.
Always petite, Meg had been able to hide her growing belly for the past few weeks since arriving at her mother’s new house on Seagrove Island. But she couldn’t do that forever. A baby was growing inside of her, and each day her midsection expanded a little more.
She turned to see another angle, hoping the oversized sweatshirt she was wearing would keep her secret for another day. In all honesty, she didn’t know why she was still keeping it a secret anyway. She’d have to tell her mother at some point, but the thought of disappointing her was too much to handle in her fragile emotional state.
What would her mother think of her? Nineteen and pregnant. Unmarried. No boyfriend. Left college. Ugh, this wasn’t what she had planned when she left for Europe all those months ago.
Today was an important day. Although she had seen a doctor a few times in France, she was eager to see a new OBGYN. Making sure her baby was healthy was the most important thing right now. Even though she hadn’t made any decisions about whether she was keeping the baby or pursuing adoption, she wanted to give it the best shot at a healthy start in life.
Almost five months along, she was hoping to learn the sex today. She touched up her minimal makeup - she’d never been into that kind of stuff, preferring a much simpler look - and walked out the front door. The car she’d called hadn’t pulled up yet, so she sat down on the top step and stared out into the front yard. Never in a million years would she have expected her mother to settle in a place like this.
The house was cute enough, but the marshland could be a bit scary. At any moment, she expected an alligator to saunter up and have her for lunch. But, it was peaceful here, and it was one of the better places she could think of to hide out from life’s twists and turns.
“Going somewhere?”
She turned, startled, and saw Janine sitting at the end of the porch, her bare feet gently guiding the wooden porch swing back and forth.
Meg put her hand to her chest. “Good Lord, Aunt Janine! You just about gave me a heart attack!”
Janine smiled. “Sorry. I am known for my ninja-like qualities.”
“Why are you lurking over there? I thought you had to sign some papers for your new yoga studio today?”
“That’s later this afternoon. And you didn’t answer my question, young lady,” she said as she walked over and sat down next to her niece. Meg pressed her forehead to her knees, something that was getting harder to do by the day.
“Just going into town for some supplies.” Lying had never been her forte, which was why she was keeping her head down and her eyes away from Janine’s.
“Do you think I just fell off the turnip truck?”
Meg looked at her. “What do you mean?”
“I know you’re pregnant, sweetie.”
Meg’s stomach churned, and she couldn’t distinguish whether it was nerves or her lingering morning sickness. “What?”
“You can be honest with me, hon. I promise.”
Meg sucked in a long, deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Who else knows?”
“No one. At least, I don’t think so. Your mother’s been so busy these days with work and Colleen coming home that I don’t think she’s noticed… yet. But, she will, Meg. Why are you keeping this a secret?”
A stray tear ran down
Meg’s face. Keeping the secret had worn her down in ways she couldn’t describe, and now that someone else knew, she felt a bit of the weight release from her shoulders.
“I don’t want to disappoint my mother,” she squeaked out, tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. Janine put her arm around Meg’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“Now, you stop saying things like that! Your mother is proud of you and always will be.”
“I’m nineteen, pregnant and a college dropout. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to share all of that with her friends.”
Janine chuckled. “Well, I don’t think those were high on her list of hopes and dreams for you, no.”
“Thanks a lot,” Meg said, sitting back up and putting her forehead onto her knees again.
“Sweetie, your mother adores you. And while this is a bump in the road, she’ll be there for you no matter what. She will love you and that little bundle of joy. She’s going to be so excited to be a grandma…”
“Stop. Please.” Meg held up her hand as if she couldn’t take hearing another word.
“What?”
Meg looked at her. “I don’t know if I’m keeping the baby.”
Janine stared at her like she didn’t understand English. “Oh, Meg, you can’t…”
“Please don’t say anything. This is already hard enough. I just can’t take much more.”
Janine hugged her again. “I’m sorry. I know this must be so much stress on you, sweetie. But, I want you to know I’m here for you. No matter what. And I want to take you to your appointment.”
“How did you know about my appointment?”
“I should’ve been an FBI agent,” Janine said with a laugh. “Plus, the walls in this place are incredibly thin. I heard you confirm your appointment on the phone yesterday.”
“I never expected my life to end up like this,” Meg lamented, putting her face in her hands.
Janine rubbed her shoulder. “This isn’t the end of the world, Meg. Things like this happen. Life throws us curveballs.”
“This is a baby, Aunt Janine. A human life. So much responsibility. I mean, last year I was picking out my prom dress and now I’m going to get an ultrasound of a small human being growing inside of my body!” She stood up and started pacing back and forth on the porch. “How am I going to tell Mom about this?”
Janine stood and stopped Meg from walking, putting her hands on Meg’s shoulders. “You’re not alone. You know that, right?”
Meg nodded slightly, her eyes puffy and red. “I know.”
“Now, let’s take things one step at a time and go to your appointment first. Then we can talk about what the doctor says. Okay?”
“Okay,” Meg said, letting out a deep breath she’d been holding. “Where’s the car I called anyway?”
Janine chuckled. “I may have cancelled it.”
Colleen stared out of her office window. Readjusting to life after a breakup hadn’t been easy, and doing it in a small town had been just as jarring. Not that she didn’t love her new island oasis; she just didn’t know how to keep herself busy.
Life in California had been much more of a frantic pace. The law firm where she’d worked had cases stacked a mile high, and she was able to immerse herself in facts and figures when her heart was hurting. Truth be told, she’d known Peter wasn’t the man she’d dreamed about since she was a little girl. All those times she and Meg had donned white pillow cases on their heads and marched around their bedroom, dreaming of Prince Charming coming to whisk them away in a magic carriage.
Peter hadn’t been Prince Charming.
Still, she was finding life lonely. She loved being near her family again, but not having someone to hold her tight after a hard day at work was tougher than she had anticipated. Working with domestic violence cases all day was draining. She’d already seen things she couldn’t get out of her mind, and she wanted to help every single person - women and children, mostly. Although she was only pushing paperwork around and not actually representing anyone, she felt responsible for them all. She wanted to make a difference more than anything in the world.
Meeting Peter had stolen that from her. He was back in California, probably dating another unsuspecting woman with low self-esteem. For now, she was going to work on herself. On her career. No more men, at least not for a few years. That was what she told herself even as she avoided eye contact with a man she’d just met in town. He walked past her window, which faced the sidewalk leading to the square, and waved.
Why was he so handsome? But not just regular handsome. He was Southern hunk movie-star handsome. His walk was easy, not cocky. His smile was like a lazy Sunday afternoon in a hammock. Tall, dark and handsome had nothing on this guy.
“Wow, who was that?” Candace asked from behind her. Candace was a new temp who was helping to organize files for a huge case the firm was taking on.
Colleen looked up and chuckled. “I know, right? He’s pretty… well, he’s actually pretty. Like, I’m jealous he’s prettier than me.”
Candace laughed. “He’s gorgeous, like some kind of live model for a marble sculpture. Do you know him?”
“Not really. I met him when I was in line to get coffee the other day. His name is Tucker.”
“Yum. Tucker. That fits perfectly. I just want to pinch his cheeks, and I’m not even talking about the ones on his face.”
Colleen swept her hand up and smacked Candace’s arm. “Get back to work. You’re drooling on my shoulder.”
Candace laughed as she walked back to her desk. Colleen checked to make sure she wasn’t looking and then leaned toward her window to get one final look at Tucker as he walked down the sidewalk.
Dawson reached high above the window and screwed the rod into place. He stepped off the ladder and sucked in a deep breath.
“I thought I was in good shape,” he said, laughing.
“You’re in much better shape than I am. Why do men age so well, and women have to worry about things sagging and drooping?” Julie said.
He walked toward her, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “You, my dear, are certainly not sagging or drooping. You’re stunningly smart and beautiful, a deadly combination.”
Her insides melted. What had she done to deserve a man like this? On his best days, Michael had never said anything close to that. The best he’d done was “I’ll still love you even if you get fat one day”. And then when she’d had trouble losing weight after Meg was born, he’d given her a gift card to a nutritionist for Christmas.
After planting another memorable kiss on her lips, Dawson stepped back and looked around the room. “I think Granny would love it.”
“You do? I hope so. I’m no interior decorator but I tried to find pieces that would work with the time period.”
For the last couple of weeks, Dawson and Julie had been redecorating the living room of his house. Dark and dusty, it needed an update, but they both wanted to keep it in line with the time period.
“I couldn’t have done this without you,” he said, putting his arm around her as they looked around the room together. “My Granny would’ve loved you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. Granny was a good judge of character. You couldn’t get anything past her. She was only four-foot-ten, but she stood twenty feet tall when she walked in a room. Grandpa was six-foot-five and terrified of her.”
Julie laughed. “I wish I had gotten to meet her.”
“Me too.”
“So, I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”
“Okay. What’s up?”
“My high school reunion is Saturday night. I was wondering if you’d like to be my date?”
Julie grinned. “Really? You want to take me… the older woman?”
“You’re three years older than me,” he said with a laugh.
“But won’t that ruin your rep?”
He slid his arms around her waist. “And what rep is that?”
“I bet you were every girl’s dream da
te in high school.”
“Not even close. I was a tall, dorky mess. I was always surprised that Tania even paid attention to me.”
Julie smiled. “I’m sure she felt blessed to have a man like you, Dawson.”
“Well, I hope she felt that way,” he said, pulling back a bit.
“Who else did you date in high school?”
“Tania and I didn’t meet until senior year. Before that, I was pretty much a free agent. I did have a crush though.”
“Oh yeah?” she said, poking him in the side.
“Every guy in school was in love with this girl named Tiffany.”
“I’m convinced that every Tiffany is popular, has a platinum blonde ponytail and is head cheerleader.”
Dawson smiled. “You hit the nail on the head. And every guy walked around our high school with their tongues hanging out. But, Tiffany would have none of it. She finally ended up with the captain of the football team, Blaine.”
“Tiffany and Blaine? Sounds like something out of a bad eighties movie.”
Dawson nodded. “It was. They were Ken and Barbie. I think they got married right out of high school. Last I heard, Blaine was running an insurance agency out of Austin, Texas.”
“And Tiffany?”
“I have no idea. Probably getting spray tans and doing aerobics somewhere.”
“Maybe she’ll be at the reunion,” Julie said, playfully.
“Doubtful, but I’ll only have eyes for you so I won’t notice.”
He pulled her into a warm embrace, kissing the top of her head, and Julie decided time could stand still forever and she’d be just fine.
Chapter 2
Meg couldn’t remember a time she’d felt more nervous. As she sat there in her little paper gown, which was covering less of her these days, she dangled her legs over the edge of the table. Doctor Hodges was supposed to be the best of the best. All of her online research had shown him to be reputable, so driving over to Charleston hadn’t been too much to ask.
