Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2)

by Adrienne Frances

  Dylan pulled back and wiped away a few tears that had begun to flow. “Okay, okay. I still have a benefit to run and I don’t want to do it with ruined makeup.”

  “You’re such a girl,” Charlie teased. “When did that happen?”

  Dylan rolled her eyes and looked up at the sky. “I don’t know. I think it’s Ben. He makes me feel pretty.”

  Linda approached and wrapped her arm around Charlie’s middle. “Isn’t it beautiful, Charlie? Jack, do you see Mommy?”

  As Jackson giggled in his arms, Charlie sighed as he took in his mother’s loving expression. He really was fortunate. He’d been too busy looking at what he didn’t have to take note of what was right in front of him.

  “I have to tell you both something,” Linda said with a sigh. “I know this is a silly place to do it, but I just have to get this out.”

  Charlie and Dylan snuck a look at one another and then focused back on their mother.

  “After your father passed away, Mike did step in and was a big help. I guess he filled a void with you kids. But, he was starting to fill a void for me, too.” She closed her eyes and took in a deep, shaky breath. “After a few years, he admitted that he wanted more. He said he was in love with me. I just couldn’t do it, though. I felt like I was betraying your father. I accused Mike of trying to move in on his dead friend’s life. I said horrible things to him that made him leave and never come back.”

  “Wow, Mom,” Dylan said, and covered her mouth.

  Linda looked up to meet Charlie’s eyes. “Do you believe that your father is always with you?”

  “Yes,” Charlie answered. He didn’t even have to think about it; he just knew.

  “So, then you also believe that Meredith is, too?” she asked.

  Charlie nodded.

  Linda sighed. “Lately, I’ve been wondering if maybe the ones we lose are the ones who send others our way to help us go on.”

  “I like that idea, Mom,” Dylan said, and placed her hand on Linda’s shoulder. “If Dad were ever going to send you someone, I think it would be Mike.”

  “I don’t think Mike agrees anymore,” Linda said with a chuckle.

  “Oh, I think you’re wrong about that,” Charlie corrected.

  Dylan wrapped her mother up in a hug and kissed her cheek. “Thank you for telling us. It’s up to you what happens next, though, Mom.”

  “When did my children become adults?” Linda asked, and wiped away a tear.

  Dylan smiled as she pulled away and looked at her mother. “I hate to ruin this moment, but I have to check in with the other artists and I think I saw my old instructor, Scarlet, walking around.”

  Charlie put his arm around his mother and leaned down to kiss her on the head. They watched Dylan hurry toward Brandon, Jonah, and Hugh. She stopped and pretended to punch Hugh in the arm before continuing into the crowd.

  “It’s a good day, huh?” Brandon asked as they got closer. He put his arm around his mother and smiled. “Everything turned out really well. I’m glad I made it in for this.”

  “She did good,” Charlie said, and took a drink from his bottled water.

  “I’m not surprised,” Jonah said of his twin. “She knows how to make shit happen.”

  Hugh jumped out of the way as a group of children ran past him, almost knocking the plate out of his hands. “Whoa!” he exclaimed as he fixed the cupcake on his plate. “This was one of the last strawberry cheesecake cupcakes, dammit! I would’ve been pissed off if they made me drop it.”

  The group fell silent and watched as Hugh took a large bite.

  “What?” he asked around a mouthful. “I’m not allowed to eat the cupcakes?”

  Brandon gave Hugh a slap on the head. “You’re an idiot.”

  Charlie looked on as his younger brother inhaled the rest of the cupcake. He shook his head when Hugh offered him the last bite, and then glared at Jonah when he laughed. It was just another way for them to tell him—without telling him—that they liked Lucy and wanted her back.

  Only it wasn’t that simple for him. He missed her, yes—God, did he miss her—but he couldn’t trust her.

  “Okay, my darling boys, let’s go look at some art,” Linda said, amused. She turned to take Jackson from Charlie’s arms. “Jack, let’s go get your face painted. Grandma wants to see how cute you’d be if you were a tiger.”

  Jackson growled at the word tiger, since he’d been learning his animal sounds, and then cracked up at himself.

  After they all walked away, Charlie turned to face the painting. As he took in Meredith’s beauty once more, he felt a ripple of appreciation run through him. He’d been blessed to love and be loved by one of the most selfless souls the world would ever know. He missed her each and every day, but she was gone. He could always feel her presence, of course, and that was something he knew was real. She loved them too much to ever completely leave. It was a feeling that calmed him more and more each time he thought about it.

  It was a feeling that represented his acceptance and healing.

  “I really miss her,” he heard next to him.

  “Me too,” he said to Chloe. “Every day.”

  “Charlie, I know I haven’t said this to you, especially when I should have, but thank you for loving my sister,” she said, her voice hoarse. “You really made her feel like she was the only woman in the world.”

  Charlie turned and looked down at Chloe. “Sometimes I don’t think I loved her enough.”

  Chloe wiped a tear away and laughed. “God, Charlie. You couldn’t be more wrong. She adored you. You made her feel beautiful and so loved.”

  He closed his eyes as they welled with tears. “Thank you,” he practically whispered.

  She shrugged and smiled through her grief. “I wish I’d said that to you before. I think we all grieve a little differently, but you were her husband and I should’ve been a lot more understanding.”

  “She was your sister, Chloe,” Charlie replied. He turned his head to catch another glimpse of his family walking away. Brandon had put Jackson up on his shoulders and Linda had her arms around Jonah and Hugh. It was a sight that hit him right in the heart. “Believe me, I know how special that is.”

  Chloe nodded and looked down. “So, is Lucy here today? I was a bit harsh with her at Jack’s birthday party. I feel like I should apologize. I guess I just wasn’t used to seeing people going through my sister’s things. It all just kind of hit me and I acted like a real big … well, I think ‘bitch’ is an accurate word.”

  Charlie laughed and took a drink of his water. “She’s not here,” he said and left it at that.

  “Oh. Maybe next time.” She frowned. “Mom says you seem to really love her.”

  Ignoring that comment, he asked, “How is your mom?”

  “Better. She’s seeing a therapist,” Chloe answered. “She even got my dad to go with her a few times. I don’t think you can fix asshole, though, so I’m not sure why she even bothers with him.”

  Charlie grinned at that. “Miracles do happen,” he teased.

  “I think we have a better chance at going to the moon,” she joked back.

  “Are you coming to the wedding next week?” he asked when his laughing had stopped.

  Chloe flashed him a peculiar look. “Dylan didn’t tell you? I’m standing in Meredith’s spot. She called and asked me if I would a few weeks ago.”

  Shocked, he snapped his head back. “That’s perfect. Your sister would’ve loved that.”

  “She would have, yes.” Chloe gave him a warm smile. “So, let’s go look at the art. Jonah told me that there’s a guy who makes flower sculptures out of car parts.”

  Charlie linked an arm with hers. “Oh boy,” he said, sarcastically. “Just what I always wanted to see.”

  “And then, after that, you can have your face painted with Jack,” she added with a giggle.

  “Is that what dads are supposed to do?”

  “Uh-huh. How about this,” Chloe began as they headed toward th
e art vendors, “each time you have to ask yourself that, just think about what Meredith would make you do if she was here.”

  Charlie thought about that for a minute. “I guess you’re going to get your face painted like a tiger then?”

  “Me?” she squealed.

  Charlie bobbed his head up and down. “Absolutely. Meredith would make us all get our faces painted just like Jack’s, so that means her little sister needs to step up to the plate.”

  “Damn you, Charlie Mathews,” Chloe said, and shook her head.

  As they got to the tables, the music stopped and Dylan stood up on a makeshift stage. She shielded her eyes from the sun and smiled at the crowd.

  “Hey, everyone,” she said into the microphone. “I won’t take much of your time. I just wanted to say thank you for coming out and raising money for such a great cause. Each and every one of these children will always hold a piece of Meredith in their hearts. I really believe that she lives on through them.” Dylan stopped talking and cleared her throat when she appeared to be struggling. She placed her hand on a small boy’s shoulder and continued on, her voice trembling. “Meredith loved these children so much. She just wanted them to have every opportunity. As much as I miss her, I’m really thankful that I got to call her my sister-in-law and that I can honor her today.”

  As Dylan’s words hit him, Charlie looked down at the ground and took in a deep breath.

  “Anyway, there’s food and entertainment. Buy some art and just enjoy the day!” Dylan smiled as everyone clapped.

  Dylan slid off the stage and into Ben’s waiting arms. Ben swung her around and rubbed his nose to hers. He wiped a tear from her cheek and then whispered something that made her blush.

  Normally, when he witnessed love like that, it made him miss Meredith. In this moment, however, it only made him smile. Everyone should be loved like that at least once in their life. He knew for sure he’d had it once, but he was also pretty certain that he’d had it again with Lucy.

  Only, this time, he wasn’t sure if he could get it back.

  Chapter Eighteen

  A week later, Lucy and Lydia drove out to the Mathews’ home with an SUV full of cupcakes. It was the largest order Lucy had ever made. She’d put her Nana’s best recipes forward with her own twists here and there: toffee crunch, tiramisu, Nutella with cream cheese frosting for Ben who loved Nutella, carrot, Waldorf Salad, cappuccino, and double fudge chocolate with chocolate frosting.

  She was as nervous as could be and it wasn’t because of the cupcakes. She knew those would be a hit. It was the other big moment that had her nearly jumping out of her skin: she was going to see Charlie.

  “I’m freaking out every time you take a turn,” Lydia said, and peeked in the back to make sure the cupcakes were all upright. “I think my heart is going to explode.”

  “They’re strapped down, Lydia,” Lucy reminded her. “We’re almost there.”

  “By the way, you look really pretty,” Lydia said. “I love that dress on you.”

  “Thanks.” Lucy looked down at the light pink, strapless dress she had on. She would be lying if she said it wasn’t for Charlie. It wasn’t that she was under some idiotic notion that he would see her in pink and scoop her up in his arms, but it was a nice fantasy.

  They pulled into Linda Mathews’ subdivision and Lucy turned into her cul-de-sac. She pulled into the driveway with all the other delivery trucks bringing flowers, linens, tables and chairs.

  “It’s a madhouse in there,” Lydia said as she looked at the house.

  Lucy chuckled. “Dylan must be so annoyed.”

  She hadn’t known Dylan for very long, but this wedding was not her thing. That was obvious from the moment she’d met her. She imagined Dylan in a room somewhere trying to coax Ben into an escape at that very moment.

  Lucy ran up to the door and stepped right in, since it was wide open. She looked through the sea of people setting up, and craned her neck when she thought she saw Brandon.

  “Brandon!” she called, standing on her tiptoes.

  Brandon raised his chin and gave her a pleasant smile. “Need help?” he asked over the crowd.

  “Yes, please!”

  “Let me grab my brothers and we’ll be right out!”

  Lucy nodded and headed back outside. She couldn’t help but wonder which brothers he meant.

  Back at the SUV, she pulled out the brand new cupcake stands they had purchased for all of their events, and carried them inside, leaving Lydia to deal with ordering the Mathews men around.

  Inside, she slid to the back where she thought she heard Linda’s voice. She walked toward it, but ducked when a man turned the corner with a table on his shoulder.

  “Sorry, miss,” the man said, and stepped outside.

  Lucy exhaled and caught sight of Linda by the pool. She had curlers in her hair and was directing people to arrange the pink and yellow flowers. The minute her eyes connected with Lucy’s, her shoulders fell and a smile crept along her lips.

  “Backyard wedding, right? Never again,” she said, and looked at the cupcake stands in Lucy’s hands. “I read about you in The Magic Spoon.”

  Lucy nodded and shrugged tightly. “It’s been a crazy week. We haven’t even started the expansion and already we are slammed with orders. I can’t keep up.”

  “That’s fantastic, honey. You deserve this kind of success.” Linda looked out over the pool. “No, no! No tulle! My daughter will have a heart attack if she sees that!” She gave Lucy an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I have to make sure they don’t do anything that will make Dylan run for her life. You can put the stands in the kitchen.”

  Lucy laughed to herself while she watched Linda run to the tulle and begin to remove it from the cement wall. She headed back into the madhouse and performed the same circus act as before, dodging tables and people to get into the kitchen.

  “Beeeeeeeee!” she heard, accompanied by little footsteps.

  She looked down and almost burst into tears at the sight of Jackson running toward her. He was dressed in a little tuxedo and his hair had been gelled up in the front. She dropped the cake stands and opened her arms for him to jump in.

  “Look at you!” she said, and nuzzled his face. When he put his head on her shoulder, the soft hairs on the back of his neck touched her cheek; it was a feeling she’d missed so much in the past few weeks that she didn’t want to ever put him down again. “Hi, baby,” she said gently. “I miss you so much, Jack.”

  “Bee,” he whispered, and patted her back.

  His entire body relaxed in her embrace. It felt like home, until the realization hit her that it wasn’t home to her anymore. That she had no right to this little boy whom she loved with everything in her.

  A tear escaped from her eye and fell onto his shoulder. Attempting to regain her composure, Lucy blew out a breath and pulled back to look at his happy face.

  “You, sir, look perfect. Did you get a new suit?”

  “Mon-key,” he said, pointing to himself and laughing.

  Lucy giggled and shook her head. “Who told you that you look like a monkey in that?”

  “Da-yee,” he said with a toothy grin.

  Lucy pretended to scoff. “Your daddy is so silly.”

  Jackson shook his head and giggled.

  “Cupcake, where do you want these?” Wearing tan linen pants and a thin, white, collared shirt, Jonah had three boxes in his arms as he made his way toward her.

  “Jonah, every time I see you lately you seem to be carrying cupcakes. Are you sure you don’t want me to just hire you?”

  “Ha.”

  “Just put them here,” Lucy said, pointing to a decorated table along a wall. “This looks cupcake-worthy.”

  Brandon and Hugh trailed in behind Jonah with boxes piled in their arms, and followed their brother’s lead, setting them on the tables.

  “Thanks, guys,” Lucy said, and nuzzled Jack’s face again. “There should be two more, though.”

 
“Right here,” she heard someone murmur behind her.

  A chill ripped up her spine and Lucy’s entire body went numb as she latched onto Jackson. She turned her head and locked eyes with Charlie.

  “Hi,” she said softly.

  There he was. As if the universe wanted to give her another kick in the gut, he was also dressed to kill in tan linen pants and a white collared shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, exposing the muscles that used to hold him above her. He was tall, tan, devilishly handsome, and his green gaze seemed to penetrate her.

  One of the Mathews men cleared his throat, and all of them disappeared.

  Charlie set the two boxes down and faced her with a tight jaw. His pained eyes took in her pink dress and roamed down her legs before finding their way back up to her eyes.

  “I, uh, can take it from here, and then I’ll be on my way,” she said as happily as she could manage.

  “I’ll get him.” Charlie held out his arms and frowned when Jackson turned back into Lucy. “Lucy has to work, Jack.”

  Lucy ran a hand through Jackson’s soft hair and tried to ignore the stinging in her chest. “You know what,” she said around the lump in her throat, “I can set these up with one hand. Lydia’s here to help, too.”

  Charlie closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He ran a hand through his hair. “Are you sure?”

  “Mm-hmm,” she answered, and tried to suppress the tears she knew were coming. “It’s fine. See?” She bent down to pick up a cupcake stand and set it up with one hand.

  “All right.” Charlie looked around the room. “It looks like everything is pretty much set up here. I have to help with whatever my mom needs. I’ll be back to grab him, though, because we’re going to start soon.”

  “Sure,” Lucy said, and opened up a box to examine the cupcakes inside.

  “Jeez,” Lydia said, breathless. “The flower guy almost hit my car while he was backing out. I had to scream like a crazy woman to make him stop.”

  “Can you grab those other stands?” Lucy asked over Jackson’s shoulder.

  Lydia gave a warm smile as she took in the sight of Jackson in Lucy’s arms. “Somebody missed you, huh?”