Surely Jake could put a stop to it. The woman was extorting money from Eli. And if she tried anything at all with the photographs, well surely that was a crime.
She punched the dough back down.
“It’s bread dough, Aunt Becca, not whoever’s face you’re thinking about.”
She stopped, curling her hands in the dough, and slowly let her shoulders relax.
“Have I been that bad?”
“Yes. I know I’m just sixteen, but I can listen and keep my mouth shut.”
Becca sighed. “I really appreciate it, but it’s not my problem to share.”
“Did Uncle Caleb do something again, you know, to you and Eli?”
Becca cast her nephew a surprised glance. The kid was growing up, after all. “No. It’s all right, really Jared. I appreciate your concern, and I’m sorry for being so out of sorts this morning.”
He grinned. “That’s okay. Getting up this early sure isn’t easy, but I’m learning a lot, so even if you are grumpy now and then it’s still fine with me.”
Becca laughed. “You’re gonna make some girl a great husband someday.”
Jared made a face. “I’m in no hurry.”
“Good, because you can bet the way this family is, we’ll be all up in your business when you bring a girl home.”
They both returned to work, preparing for the day ahead.
Business was really picking up. Not only did they get plenty of folks stopping by early for something to put on the breakfast table, there was also plenty of post church traffic. Becca was just flipping the open sign to closed when Eli appeared in the doorway, Bash bouncing at his side.
Her eyes roved over his face, looking for and finding signs of stress. Weariness and worry were there in the crease between his brows and the lines bracketing his wide mouth. Becca opened the door to them.
“Hi, Becca! Daddy said he was going to ask you to come with us to Gwam and Gwampa’s house. We can cook out on the gwill, and they have a pool too.”
“Bash,” Eli growled.
Becca took his hand. “I’d love to, but don’t you think we should let your daddy ask me first?”
Bash’s wide blue eyes shifted up to his dad. “Sowwy, Daddy.”
“Sorry,” Eli corrected. He switched his gaze to Becca who was still staring at him. “I would really like you to join Bash and me at my parents’ home for dinner this evening. They have a pool, if you want to bring a bathing suit with you.”
Becca smiled, hoping to relieve some of the exhaustion she saw in his face. “I’d love to. When do we go?”
“If we go now, we could enjoy the afternoon around the pool.”
* * * *
Eli was nervous. He could admit that to himself as they arrived outside his parents’ sizeable brick home on the edge of town. They had a spacious lot shaded with trees that ranged from oak to hemlock. His mother’s flower gardens were the toast of Mountain Meadow and Castle County, something she’d always taken pride in. Eli swallowed. What he must talk to them about would shake their comfortable existence. Just thinking about it made his gut ache.
He startled slightly when Becca touched his sleeve. He glanced at her and turned his palm over, relishing the comfort when she placed her fine-boned hand in his. While Bash chattered away in the backseat about playing in the pool, Becca gently squeezed. It was almost as good as feeling her whole body wrapped around him. How did she always know what he needed?
“Are you going to talk to them about...?”
“Yes.” He swallowed uncomfortably. “I’ll need to tell them everything.”
Another squeeze. “It’s okay.”
He shook his head. It was an invasion of their privacy, and it must be embarrassing for her to have the intimate details of their relationship.... Damn, he couldn’t even finish that thought. “I’m so sorry about this, Becca.”
“No reason to apologize. It’s not your fault.”
He nodded, not sure he believed that. After all, it was his ex-wife putting them into such an untenable position. Turning the wheel, he pulled Becca’s SUV into the empty space next to his father’s Cadillac. As soon as Eli switched off the car, Bash was unbuckling the belt of his booster seat and popping open the door.
“I’m gonna find Gwa-gram,” he called over his shoulder and was off like a shot.
Eli turned to Becca and ran the back of his fingers along her cheek. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
She smiled, and he felt as if he could drown in the depths of her green eyes. “Do you want me to ride herd on Bash while you talk to your folks?”
“That’s not why I brought you. I really want them to get to know you better. It’s part of that whole package. You know, the Eli and Becca package, where people look at us and see a couple.”
Becca laughed. “Check Facebook. I think a lot of people already do. Still, I don’t think you’ll want Bash to overhear.”
“We’ll work it out.”
Before they got out of the car, he had to taste her just one more time. Leaning over the console, he meant to just brush her mouth with his, but suddenly found the kiss deepening. She was impossible to resist. Her hand twined into his hair and held him even as he cupped her face and teased her lips with his tongue.
“Hrmph.”
They broke apart, as guilty as two teenagers. Eli met his father’s arched brow and knowing smirk. Greg Mercer leaned down to peer inside at Becca.
“Good afternoon, Becca. Glad you could join us. Is my son planning on bringing you inside or keeping you in a hot car?”
“Dad...” Eli protested but knew he was outnumbered when both his dad and Becca laughed.
“We were just finishing a conversation,” she told the older man.
“So I see. Your mother’s in the kitchen, Eli. I’ll walk Becca in.”
Eli scowled, knowing he’d been dismissed. But if the object was for his parents to get to know Becca better, then it was all good. He spared them one glance over his shoulder as he strode toward the house. His father had tucked Becca’s arm into the bend of his elbow. She was almost the same height as his dad. When he saw her smile and laugh at something his dad said, Eli turned and walked on. Becca could hold her own.
The kitchen was cool in comparison to outside. As always, the house looked like the showplace it was, the inside just as unique and orderly as his mother’s gardens outside.
“Mom.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. In her early fifties, Jane Mercer was a number of years younger than her husband and still had a fit, trim figure. She kept her blond hair in a short cap of curls. Eli was sure she must do something to hide the gray, but he certainly would never be the one to ask her.
“Hi, sweetheart. Bash said you brought Becca.”
“Yeah, she’s walking in with Dad.”
“Ah.”
He lifted a brow. “Is that a good ah or a bad ah?”
She smiled. “Oh good, without a doubt. If Greg didn’t like her, he wouldn’t have taken the time to walk her in on his own.”
Eli glanced around, saw that Bash was playing with his cars on the back deck and told his mom, “Something’s come up that I need to talk to you and Dad about today while we’re here.”
His mother tilted her head. “Does it involve Becca?”
He recognized the tone. Mother looking to pair off her son. “Not in the way you’re probably thinking, and initially, it didn’t concern her at all. It does now.”
Her smile faded. “That sounds ominous.”
“Ominous? I hope not, but it is serious.”
His mother put her hands on the counter and smiled. “Then let’s get it out of the way right off the bat. I’ve always found it’s better to face problems head on and deal with them immediately.”
His dad and Becca walked in at that moment. She was laughing at something the older man had said.
“Greg, dear,” his mother said, “Eli says there’s something he needs to discuss with us.”
Her tone was enough after s
o many years of marriage for Greg to know this would not be a casual conversation. Becca, too, stopped smiling.
“Would you like me to go outside and watch Bash while you talk?” she asked Eli.
“No, baby. Since this now involves you as well, I’d like you to be here if you don’t mind.”
“All right.”
“I’ll give Bash a drink and a snack and let him know we’re having a discussion,” his mother offered. “We can move into the den where we’ll still be able to keep an eye on him around the pool.”
Eli nodded. His stomach tightened as he struggled with how to begin. He hated having to even mention Heather. His thoughts spun, increasing his uneasiness until he felt Becca’s fingers twine with his. The strength of her hand, the pressure of her fingers, calmed his nerves.
God in heaven, why couldn’t he have stuck around and waited for her to begin with?
Greg stood in the doorway to the den. “Come on in Becca, Son.”
Eli slipped his hand from Becca’s to place it at the small of her back as he guided her into the room. When she headed for the couch, he mentally sighed with relief. He needed her next to him. The whole issue of his marriage to Heather had been a sticking point with his parents. He’d married her while he wasn’t speaking to them, and now with hindsight, he could see that part of his motivation had been as a slap in the face to them. Heather’s history of brushes with the law and her wild lifestyle would never have met with their approval.
“Whenever you’re ready, Eli,” his mother said quietly. She and his father sat in the two chairs angled so they had a view of both the fireplace and the widescreen TV. They were a unit, just as they always had been. Eli could appreciate that now that he was older.
“I’m not real sure where to begin. I guess I should start with why I finally chose to come back here. There was more to it than wanting to come home.” Eli cleared his throat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and staring down at his clasped hands. “I was also trying to get Bash—and me—far away from Heather’s orbit.”
His mother shifted, a slight frown on her brow. “You wanted to get Bash away from his mother?”
Eli looked at his mom, saw the shock that statement gave her. “Heather’s...not anything like what you’re accustomed to, Mom. She would go months without paying any attention to Bash, and then suddenly—whenever she needed money—she would show up wanting to take him for a few days. At first, I tried to work out some joint custody, but I arrived at her place to pick him up one time and discovered her passed out with her latest boyfriend about to hit him...well, it was the last straw. I pursued and won sole custody.”
“So the problem’s solved then, right?” his mother asked.
Eli felt Becca’s hand touch his shoulder. “Not exactly. Even after I got custody, it didn’t stop her from coming around again when she needed money. The implication was always there that if I didn’t give over, she would tie us up in court again suing for custody. It was just easier to pay her off and shut her up. But she kept on. I finally decided the best thing to do was to make a clean break of things, come back here, and start over.
“I wanted Bash to have a chance at a normal life, to be able to meet his grandparents, and not worry when his mother might pop into his life again.”
“Good heavens, Eli,” his mother whispered. “Are you telling us that Bash is afraid of her?”
Eli swallowed. “Yes. That’s harsh, but it’s the truth. She’s never been much of a mother to him. It was only when it suited her and never based on what he might need.” He glanced at Becca and held her gaze. “Becca’s given him more of herself in just a few days.”
She blushed. He smiled.
“It sounds like everything should be okay,” his father said. “So what’s wrong?”
Eli checked to make sure Bash was still playing with his cars right outside the door before he continued. “I thought I’d slipped Heather’s reach. That I’d finally gotten far enough away she wouldn’t find us. Then I got a letter from her. The gist of it was she felt a motherly need to have Bash visit, but could probably be persuaded to forget about it if I would send her some money since she was a little strapped for cash.”
“Good Lord, son,” Greg exclaimed. “She’s blackmailing you?”
Eli stared at his dad. “I would pay any price to keep her away from Bash.” He turned his gaze out to the shaded deck where his son was lining up his cars by make and color. “But now it seems even the money isn’t enough.”
Becca reached for his hand, twining her fingers with his.
“What do you mean, honey?” his mother asked. “Is she asking for more?”
He shook his head. “No. She’s been here.”
“Mountain Meadow?” his father queried.
Becca squeezed Eli’s hand and spoke up. “She was in my store yesterday. I had no idea who she was. She stayed for a while, looked around, finally bought a coffee, a croissant, and some bread. She asked about the business and that was it.”
“I thought I caught sight of her driving a car around the square,” Eli added, “but I blew it off because the woman I noticed was a blonde and Heather’s got brown hair.”
“So how can you be sure it was her?” her mother asked.
“Caleb saw her last night too. At the lounge at the hotel by the interstate. He bumped into her and she dropped some pictures. She was really pissed.” Eli felt Becca’s fingers tighten encouragingly on his. “When he bent to help her, he saw they were pictures of me with Becca.”
His mother blinked. “So she’s been following you? Did she get pictures of you around the businesses or at the park?”
Eli cleared his throat, glanced at Becca, and waited until she gave him a nod of encouragement.
“Uh. No. Becca...see Becca and I have, well we’re involved with each other. I know it’s fast, but not really. We’ve known each other for years, and...”
His father’s face looked just a little ruddy. “And the pictures she has are not you and Becca in the park.”
“No.”
“We thought we were private,” Becca put in softly. “Neither one of us...”
His mother, bless her, stepped in. “Of course not. No one would imagine someone spying on them. You must go to the police. Have you talked to Jake yet?”
“That’s who we’re going to next. I wanted y’all to know about it because I just can’t predict what Heather might do. If she spreads those pictures around...well, it could have an impact on our businesses.”
“You need to short circuit that.” His mother smiled at both of them as if it was obvious to her and infinitely easy.
“How do you suggest they do that, Jane?” his dad asked.
His mother regarded them with raised brows. “How serious is this relationship?”
Eli’s gut twisted. He cared about Becca a lot, but nobody—including Becca—had asked him to put it into words. When he glanced at her now, the flush was back on her beautiful cheekbones, and a trace of vulnerability lurked in the depths of her sea green eyes. He thought about all the years that he’d had a crush on her when they were kids. How embarrassed he’d been when her brothers called him on it, or worse yet caught him mooning around for her.
He remembered seeing her when she first came back, seeing her as she teased him with dessert in her restaurant, seeing her as she slept so trustingly against him.
“It’s serious.”
Becca smiled slowly, as easy and warm as the sun rising on a summer morning.
“Then get engaged.”
His mother’s words threw cold water over them both. Smiles froze. Eyes blinked.
“What?”
They both said it at the same time. Eli wasn’t sure, but he’d almost swear his father had said it too.
“You heard me. Get engaged. Even if you break it off later, for now it would go a long way toward taking the wind right out of her sails. Even here, folks will give an engaged couple a whole lot of leeway.”
Greg Mercer’s face cleared. “Your mother’s right.”
Eli looked everywhere but at Becca. He was afraid to. He was afraid to see rejection there. The silence lengthened. At last he stole a glance at her and saw she was blushing. He cleared his throat.
His dad stood up. “Why don’t your mother and I join Bash out on the deck and give you two some privacy to discuss this?”
Eli shifted. “Thanks.”
When the sliding door snicked shut behind them, Eli wrapped Becca’s hand in both of his and cleared his throat again. “Becca?”
“You don’t have to do this, Eli.”
He turned her chin with his fingers. “I know what I want, but I won’t do this just for show Becca. I can’t. I have to think of Bash.”
She pulled her hand from his. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t want anything serious.” She was inching away from him as if to get up.
“Becky.” At the sound of her nickname, she stopped. Eli sucked in a shaky breath and forged ahead. “I want it to be real. I don’t want to pretend. This is coming out all wrong, not like I wanted. You should have flowers and candlelight, a fancy meal...not my parents stepping out of the room so I can propose because it would help defuse some of the damage Heather could do...” He raked his hand over the top of his head. “Would you? Will you...marry me?”
She finally looked at him. She had tears in her eyes. God, she was going to say no. “Is this for real?”
He relaxed. “Yes. The timing sucks, and I’m sorry for that but not sorry I’m asking you. Becky, I’ve dreamed about you since you started high school. If your brothers hadn’t warned me off in no uncertain terms, I might have gotten to this sooner. But I would have gotten to it. We’re good together...you, me...and Bash. He loves you as much as I do. Say yes.”
Chapter 12
Eli was asking her to marry him. It wasn’t a dream or a sham. He’d made it more than plain he was serious. Becca swallowed. She’d dreamed about him all through her teenage years, finally given up on him as just an unfulfilled crush and moved on. But since coming back, since hooking up with him, she’d dared to dream again.
The Secret Ingredient (A Place to Call Home Book 2) Page 16
