“We’ll definitely pick up this conversation later.” Then he turned to the older couple walking in their direction.
“Mom! Dad! Over here.” He waved his arm to attract their attention.
Alana, who’d been hovering off to the side watching them, huffed out a breath and scurried in the opposite direction, her short dress riding up as she trotted away.
“Well, what got her so excited? Not that I’m not happy she’s finally gone,” Ridley said.
He reflexively pulled her against his side again. Not that he wanted to fool his parents. His mother had eyes like a hawk and fooling her was something he hadn’t attempted since he was a teenager. No, he realized he wanted Ridley to meet his parents just because he liked her.
“She never got along with my mother. She’s probably afraid to face her. My mom is a bit intimidating sometimes.”
Before she could answer, his parents approached. His father immediately pulled him into a hearty hug. “There’s my boy!”
Jackson laughed and hugged him back, his father’s joy contagious. Mark Alexander had a way of making every gathering a party and treated everyone he met like family.
Between volunteer work mentoring at their church and taking on more summer workers than he needed just so the local boys could have productive work, he was always helping others in some way. When Jackson was younger, it was hard for him to understand why his father gave so much of his time and energy to others. In some cases, he’d felt like people took advantage of his father’s welcoming nature.
Now that he was older and hopefully wiser, he saw his father’s actions for what they truly were.
Kindness.
He hugged his mother and gently kissed her cheek, then stood still so she could fuss over him as she liked to do. After several exclamations over how thin he was and how he needed to take better care of himself, he was finally able to get a word in edgewise.
“Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet Ridley Wells. Ridley is my neighbor and lives the next street over. Ridley, these are my parents, Mark and Julia Alexander.”
Ridley glanced up at him and smiled softly, looking relieved when he didn’t mention anything about the accident. He hated that she still seemed ashamed about it. His parents wouldn’t fault her for her circumstances. If anything, his mother would probably bundle her up and coo over her just like she did her own children.
“Hello, Ridley. I’m so glad you decided to join us today.” His mother hugged her briefly and she shook hands with his father.
“Jackson was really nice to invite me. I just wish I’d had time to prepare something.”
His mother’s eyes lit up. “That’s all right, honey. Do you like potato salad? Mine is on the end of the buffet in the red-and-white bowl.”
“I’ll be sure to try it. My potato salad was never anything special, but I make really good seafood salad. It’s one of my sister’s favorites.”
Jackson was amazed. The one time he’d introduced Alana to his parents, they’d spent the entire evening making awkward conversation. Ridley, however, seemed to have no problem chatting with them. When he tuned back into the conversation, his father was trying to convince her to make him a shrimp salad.
“Dad! She’s not here to work. You’re going to scare her away.”
His father winked at him and nodded in Ridley’s direction. Jackson shook his head slowly, hoping his father understood that they were just friends. The idea of being just friends with a beautiful woman was foreign to his dad—well, to pretty much every guy he knew. But after the way they’d connected last night, they definitely weren’t strangers, yet they weren’t going to be lovers, either. He owed her better than that.
“Oh, honey. What happened to you?”
When Ridley went rigid at his side, he knew his mother had caught sight of the bruises she’d tried to cover with her long-sleeved shirt.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was in an a…accident,” she stammered.
“That looks really bad!” Julia held Ridley’s wrist and pulled her sleeve back to examine the marks on her wrist.
“Mom, don’t—” He shook his head at her.
Julia’s eyes went wide and then she looked back at Ridley, who pulled the sleeves of her shirt all the way down. Then she gave him a short nod as if to say “We’ll talk about this later.” Jackson had no doubt his mother would want the whole story as soon as she could get him alone.
“Well, I hope we’ll be seeing more of you. Such a pretty girl!” She pulled Ridley into a tight hug, rocking her back and forth. When she finally released her, she smoothed a gentle hand over her hair.
Ridley blushed. “Thank you.”
“Well, excuse us, kids, but it’s time for me to say hello to the rest of the family.” Julia turned to Jackson. “Oh, and I found a nanny for you, Jackson. Remember Miss Bessie from church?”
“Miss Bessie? She used to baby-sit me . And I’m pretty sure she was really old even then.”
His mother narrowed her eyes.
“Not that it matters,” he added quickly. “Thank you for the recommendation, Mom.”
“Of course. I want my babies to be well taken care of. Speaking of which, I got new bunk beds for the boys. Why don’t you drop them off on Sunday so they can spend a few days with me? I’m due for some grandma time with my little rascals.” She glanced at Ridley with a sly smile. “You can bring Ridley with you. We’d love to see you for Sunday dinner.”
Jackson smiled knowingly. “Right. Thanks, Mom. I’ll take you up on that.” He bent over so his mother could kiss his cheek again before his parents crossed to the table where Elliott stood, bobbing his head to the music.
“Your mom is something else. Was I imagining that or is she matchmaking?” Ridley asked.
“It means she liked you. She’s probably hoping I use the kid-free time to wine and dine you.” He winked at her.
When Elliott saw their mother, he immediately cut the music and handed her a microphone.
“When she said she needed to say hi to the rest of the family I didn’t think she meant a speech.” Ridley turned to him with wide eyes.
“Welcome to life with the Alexanders.”
Chapter Nine
“Hello, family! thank you for coming to the annual Alexander Memorial Day barbecue!”
Ridley felt like she was in a sitcom as she watched Mrs. Alexander tap her microphone a few times before beaming her bright smile at the guests assembled.
Her blood pressure was still high from almost kissing Jackson. As embarrassing as it had been, she was glad Matt had come to warn them. They’d been right outside where anyone could see them. What if his parents had walked up while they were tonguing each other down?
“We used to meet at the family home, the Alexander-Bennett Co-op, affectionately known around our parts as the ‘ABC Farm.’ A few years ago I asked Jackson to start hosting, mainly so he couldn’t avoid us.”
There was a resounding cheer from the crowd before Elliott held up a hand to quiet them. Ridley glanced around. It was an eclectic group of people, some older, some younger and every shade of skin possible.
“I see a few new faces this year, which really warms my heart. Our party always includes family and friends because in the Alexander family, if we love you, then you’re one of us. My sons have friends who have been hanging around since college and just because I didn’t birth you doesn’t mean you aren’t mine.” She waved to Trent, Matt, and Mara, who were standing near the front.
“Now, many of you know the story of how the Alexander family barbecue started, but for those who don’t, I’ll share it again. It was, oh, a million years ago,” she said, eliciting a soft titter from the crowd, “that I met a handsome young man named Mark Alexander.” She looked over at her husband, who stood with his arm around Bennett’s shoulders.
“We lived on neighboring farms our entire lives and I even played with his younger sister, Maria. But since he was a little older than I was, I never really took notice of him until
the summer my parents took me to the Alexanders’ farm for a party. When Maria introduced me to her older brother, who was home after recently graduating from college, well… Let’s just say my teenage heart went pitter-pat.”
Ridley leaned back against Jackson’s chest, completely wrapped up in the story. She could just see the scene his mother described—a young woman meeting the love of her life for the first time on a hot summer day.
“I thought he was quite handsome and sophisticated. That didn’t last long, however, because he said something stupid, as young men often do, and we hated each other for the rest of the summer!”
Ridley laughed along with everyone else as Mark held up his hands, then bowed theatrically.
Jackson pulled her closer to whisper in her ear. “He always acts embarrassed, but secretly I think he loves it when she tells this story.”
“I bet he does.” Ridley sighed. “It’s obvious how much they love each other. I’ve only just met them and I can feel it.” They turned their attention back up front as Julia cleared her throat.
“Anyway, after many failed attempts on Mark’s part to get back into my good graces, tragedy struck. My dear parents died in a car crash, leaving me as the sole owner of the Bennett farm.”
She stopped and looked up, one hand over her heart. Silence descended over the group, everyone equally affected by the grief in Julia’s voice. When she looked back at the crowd, tears shimmered in her eyes.
“I was so lost, but faith is what carried me through. That and the gracious love of the Alexander family. Mark, especially, was by my side through that heartbreaking time and taught me that family is about so much more than a blood bond. Family is about the heart.”
Ridley sighed as Julia blew a kiss to her husband. She wiped her eyes quickly, embarrassed to be so moved by the story. It was exactly the kind of thing she’d always hoped to find with someone. A genuine love, deep and true, that could carry you through the tragedies and the joys of life.
She’d started to believe it didn’t exist.
“Ever since then, we’ve continued the tradition and hosted our own summer party as a reminder to cherish the ones you love and the time you have together. This year coming up will be our thirtieth wedding anniversary.”
She stopped as everyone broke into applause. Ridley clapped along with everyone else. She couldn’t even imagine spending thirty years with someone. They’d been together longer than she’d been alive.
“And the most important thing I’ve learned from these thirty years is to take each day as it comes and cherish it.”
“I asked her that one day,” Jackson whispered in her ear.
“What? You asked her about being married?”
“No, I asked her how she knew my dad was the one. She’s always said you’re with the right person when no matter how bad things get, you’d still rather be with them than anywhere else. She always says that no matter how long she and my dad are together, she still wants more time with him. She wants one more day. Every day.”
His arm tightened around her waist and Ridley stopped breathing. For a long moment they stood staring at each other until his mother’s voice came over the sound system again, breaking the spell.
Ridley whipped back around and faced front. Jackson’s arm squeezed her tightly before he let her go. She moved away slightly, ignoring the rapid beating of her heart.
“Enjoy the rest of the party, everyone, and make sure you take a plate home. Don’t you leave us with all this food! On second thought, leave some of those ribs for Jackson—he’s getting too skinny.” On that note, Mrs. Alexander pushed the microphone back to Elliott and bustled over to the picnic tables.
Jackson groaned. “Oh, the joys of having a big family.”
“It’s nice! She’s worried about her baby boy.”
“Do I look like a baby to you?”
She giggled when he flexed his muscles. “Okay, okay. You are definitely not a baby.”
“All right, I guess I should stop showing off. Come on, I want you to meet some of my cousins. They live over in West Haven.”
***
A few hours later, Jackson was forced to admit there wasn’t anything else he could clean up or move around in the backyard. His parents had taken care of packing up the leftover food and Matt had stayed to help him corral all the recycling and trash containers into the garage.
There was simply nothing left for him to do. Except go in the house and face Ridley.
You’re an ass, you know that?
He cringed. Introducing her to his cousins and then leaving her to fend for herself had seemed like a good idea at the time. She was just so beautiful and fit in far too well with his family and friends. The last thing he wanted was for them to start something they couldn’t finish.
He’d been this close to kissing her in the middle of the yard before his parents had shown up and he had no doubt it would have been as hot as he thought it’d be. But as hot as the fire sparked between them, it would be a temporary thing at best. She deserved better than that.
“I’m going to take off.” Matt appeared at his left elbow holding one of the plastic containers of food that Julia had divvied up for everyone to take home. “Hopefully Mara and Trent will already be asleep by the time I get there.”
Jackson clapped him on the shoulder. “Are you going to be okay? Seriously?”
Matt shrugged. “Yeah. It’s weird. For months all you can think about is coming home but when you get here, you realize everyone else hasn’t been sitting on their hands while you’ve been gone. Things change and you just have to deal with it. I’ll be fine.”
“Getting your own place would help.”
“Funny you should say that. Nick has decided to take care of that for me. He’s taking me out to look for condos this week. You know how he is. According to him, I just need to get laid and not having my own place is blocking my swag.”
“That sounds like something Nick would say.”
They both shook their heads. Jackson had gotten a reputation over the last year as a player, but it was nothing compared to Nick’s. His brother took debauchery to another level and treated it like a career.
“Where’s Ridley?” Matt asked.
Jackson nodded toward the house. “I noticed her go in a while ago. I think the boys wanted to show her some of their games. I should probably go rescue her. I’m sure they’re tired and cranky by now and need to go to bed.”
“Can I tell you something? Without you getting mad?” Matt shuffled his feet.
“We’ve been friends too long for you to hold back on me now.”
Matt stared at him for a moment, then said, “Ridley’s great and I think she’s perfect for you. So get off your ass and do something about it before I do.”
Then he turned and walked off.
“Good night to you too, old friend!” he called out after Matt’s retreating back. The only reply Matt gave was raising his hand and pointing his middle finger to the sky.
Jackson was still smiling when he walked into the house. A light glowed faintly in the kitchen. The rest of the house was dark.
“Ridley?”
The counter was wiped clean and all the party platters had been stacked neatly next to the sink. He walked back out to the family room and up the stairs. Ridley was no doubt exhausted and had probably gone to bed already. Not that he could blame her. He was used to listening to Chris’s chatter but someone who wasn’t would feel like their head was spinning after an hour or so.
“Come on, boys. It’s time for bed.” There was no reply. He hadn’t really been expecting one.
Despite the fact that bedtime came around the same time every night, it was always a fight to get them to brush their teeth, put on their pajamas, and stop asking for water and bathroom breaks. It was usually a good hour before he was able to get them settled down and in the bed. As he approached the boys’ bedroom door, he heard the soft murmur of voices.
He pushed the door open and to his del
ight found both boys clustered around Ridley on floor pillows as she read from one of their favorite books.
“But I was never to see Peter Pan again. Now I tell his story to my children and they will tell it to their children, and so it will go on—for all children grow up. Except one.”
As she finished the last page of the book, she hugged them to her before waving them over to their beds. Jackson watched, astonished, as they scrambled beneath their covers and waited patiently for Ridley to tuck them in.
Who are these angels and what have they done with my real children? Jackson thought.
Normally he would give the boys hugs and kisses good night, but he was afraid to break the spell. He backed out of the room and waited in the hall for Ridley to come out. She appeared a moment later, pulling the door closed behind her.
“Hey. Is everyone gone?”
He nodded and leaned his head back against the wall. The day was starting to catch up with him and he was suddenly exhausted.
“So, did you guys finish cleaning up outside?”
“We did. Matt helped me put everything back. Sorry for just leaving you on your own at the end there.”
“I hardly expected you to stick to me all night. Besides, I got a chance to chat with your brother, Bennett. Did you know he’s been cultivating new strains of disease-resistant crops?”
“No, I had no idea. He’s always so quiet.” His oldest brother was usually reserved around people he’d just met, but it wasn’t hard to believe that he’d opened up to Ridley.
She seemed to have that effect on people.
“He said he’s working on a new corn hybrid right now. I only work with flowers, but it was so interesting to hear about how technology is changing the farming industry.” Ridley tucked her hands in her pockets and leaned against the wall next to him.
“I really appreciate you putting the boys to bed. You didn’t have to do that. I know they’re a handful. Jase is usually up five or six times wanting water or something. Anything to keep him from having to go to bed. Luckily Chris sleeps just like I do—like a corpse.”
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