"It's a puppy!"
Both excited and trepidatious, Sophie took the card Steve had retrieved from the box. "Oh, you're sweet, aren't you,"
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she cooed, as much for the audience as the tiny puppy. "He looks like a dachshund. Who, I wonder, could have sent this?"
She pulled the card out of its envelope and read it out loud.
"'He won't get much bigger, but at least he won't get smaller.
I suggest you call him Babe.' He added a winking smiley face after that. Yes, I say he. It's signed, 'your favorite listener, Parker.'"
She bundled up the box and stroked the puppy, who'd promptly jumped into her lap and fallen asleep. "Babe's a ridiculous name for a puppy." She remembered that Parker's sister's dog was Moose. "I think I'll call him Hippo. Rant or Rave? Tell me what you think."
She abandoned format for the rest of that show. There were an equal number of callers on both sides of the fence, both regarding Hippo's name and what she should do next about Parker. By the end of the show, though, consensus seemed to be that she should give him a chance.
"Sorry, folks, but you've got to remember. I have no idea who this guy is." Well, maybe she didn't. "He's going to have to contact me. We'll see what happens next."
"Speak of the devil," Melina said from the producer's booth. "Guess who's on the phone."
Sophie shook her head. "Too bad, we'll have to leave you all with that cliffhanger. Time's up!" She did her end-of-show spiel, Melina cued the jingle, and Sophie was off the air.
On cue, Hippo bounced off her lap onto the floor and attacked the buckle on her shoe.
"He's still holding."
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Sophie looked up at Melina, then at the star of their evening show, who had just walked in the door. "Can I take it at my desk?" she asked her producer. She nodded.
Sophie gathered her papers and the dog, dumped them all in the box, and rushed out the door and across the main room to her oh-so-private cubicle. Melina had transferred the call to an interior line, and Sophie paused before snatching it up.
"Hello?" Perfect, she thought, just the right blend of disinterest and anticipation.
"So you named the poor dog Hippo."
As usual, his voice glided across her nerve endings and she shivered.
"It fits him."
"Sure it does." His next words were less playful, more uncertain. "Do you like him?"
Sophie eyed the little fluff-ball, who was trying his best to chew up her topics for the day—things she could use to jump-start any lags or encourage callers when they had nothing real to say. The dog lifted his head and looked at her so adoringly she couldn't resist.
"Yes, Parker. I love him. Aside from the fact that I have to now spend a fortune on food and supplies—a fortune I can ill afford on my reduced salary—aside from that, he's perfect."
"So are you."
That surprised her so much she snorted a laugh. "How the hell do you know? I'm just a voice on the radio."
"And a picture in the newspaper."
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"A blurry, tiny photo from page 13." The local business journal had done a story on the station's recent fiasco with the DJ-for-a-Day promotion and had mentioned her as potential salvage.
"A beautiful blurry, tiny photo," Parker corrected. Sophie could hear his smile and wished she could picture it. Biff Cornwall grinning at her flashed into her head.
"Do I know you, Parker?" she asked. He didn't answer right away.
"No, Sophie, you don't know me at all. But I'd like you to."
It was a comment that could have brought to mind stalkers and obsession, but instead of frightening Sophie, it thrilled her.
That by itself was scary.
* * * *
Sophie had stamped out her ennui well enough that by the time her mother called six weeks after her radio debut and begged her to come home for a weekend, she didn't argue.
But she did insist on staying at Kira and Jake's. She was satisfied with the new direction of her life, but her mother would not be. She was more eager than ever to settle her daughters, especially after she herself had un settled the year before.
"So, is Mom still in the business of creating uproars?"
Sophie asked Kira Friday night when they'd relaxed in the living room after putting the baby to bed.
Kira adjusted the baby monitor on the end table to a low hiss. "You could say that. Brianna would definitely say that."
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"Oh, Lord, I'm in for it," Sophie groaned. She leaned her head back on the couch where she'd flopped. "Can't you tell her to leave me alone?"
Kira shrugged. "I can't tell her anything. Her latest interest is kickboxing. She ended up in the clinic last week with a bruised hip after her side kick went too high."
"Is she all right? How come no one called me?"
"She's fine, and no one called you because you've been pretty removed from your family lately."
The reprimand was gentle, but Sophie felt it harshly. She picked at a snag in her cotton pants where Hippo had caught his toenail. "I've felt that way, until lately. Then I was busy."
"You've always been busy. But last year you could barely stay away from Brook Hollow."
Last year Kira and Jake had married after twenty-eight years of friendship and a gargantuan battle to salvage that and make it more. Last year her parents had blown up—not apart, just up—and her mother was acting completely out of character. It had been interesting then.
Lately it had just been painful.
Not so much tonight, though. Helping Kira put Joey to bed, Sophie had half expected to feel the same dissatisfaction, loneliness, and jealousy that had kept her away over the last few months. She had, but not strongly. Now it was more vague and indirect.
She tried to pass it off with a flip answer. "You guys don't need my help taming your lives anymore."
"Mom isn't tame."
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"Mom is beyond help. Besides, she's having fun." Their mother had dedicated her life to her husband and daughters until it became too stifling for her. Since a solo vacation last spring, she'd been cleaning out her life—which included closets, the attic, and her activities. She stopped just short of mania, in Kira's opinion. But Sophie figured she was just figuring herself out.
She sat up to sip from her glass of wine. "So what's she doing to Brie?"
"Remember the six boxes of your stuff I grumbled about having to bring to you?"
Sophie nodded. That was during their mother's cleaning out phase.
"Brie had sixteen. She's still trying to figure out what to do with everything. Mom won't let her throw any of it away.
Becoming a grandmother has made her ruthlessly sentimental."
The front door opened and Jake walked in. He smiled at Sophie but went straight to his wife, bending over her chair to give her a thoroughly tender kiss. A kiss that said not only how glad he was to be home, but how much he cherished the woman he'd dreamed of for years.
The vague ache Sophie had noticed earlier bloomed to sudden intensity in her chest. For a second she thought it was a heart attack. But heart attacks didn't cause a lump in the throat. The envy was back, less angry but more wistful.
She wanted what they had.
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Suddenly, unexpectedly, the image of Biff Cornwall flashed in front of her. His mouth moved, and Parker's voice came out. "Will you have dinner with me?"
What was wrong with her? Why was she shoving Biff Cornwall away? So he was a playboy. That had never bothered her before. She'd dated plenty of men who weren't se
rious about anything, never mind settling down, even since she decided that was what she wanted. She'd never been afraid of any of them.
Now she was. Why? Did she think she could get serious about him, then get hurt when he acted like she knew he would?
Could she get serious about a guy named Biff?
She could if his name was really Parker. If there was more to the man than money and fun. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to ask her to dinner again. She'd have to make the next move.
She watched Kira and Jake murmur to each other as if no one else was alive, much less in the room with them. She hadn't met anyone else with the potential for that kind of focus. Biff/Parker might not have it. If not, so be it.
It would be fun to find out.
* * * *
Parker wondered what had ever possessed him to bring Vanessa Whitehead to a family function. He spent the entire dinner at the French restaurant avoiding her wandering hands and promising glances.
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One look at his father gave him the answer. Biff Senior was holding court at the head of the private room, thanking everyone for helping him celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of his main company. Parker had no respect for the man and spent his life trying not to be like him.
But he still sought his approval. Coming alone to a pseudo-family, mainly business function would bring disappointment.
Bringing a woman like Vanessa brought approval.
"How much longer do we have to stay?" Vanessa's hot breath burned his ear. He cringed. It was time to pass her off.
"Chipper!" Parker motioned to one of his cousins, a young realtor working for Biff Senior. The boy was hungry, and his success showed how much. He knew the value of an ambitious woman.
"Chipper, I'd like you to meet my friend, Vanessa. Vanessa Whitehead, Chipper Cornwall. Chip, Vanessa has some property in Falmouth she wants to sell. I have something to discuss with my father. I'll just be a minute."
Another successful save, he thought as he strolled away while the two fell into an intense conversation about square footage and location. He didn't go to his father but instead sat next to his stepmother at her table.
"Not having too good a time tonight, huh?" He slid his hand over hers and felt the iciness of her skin ebb. The younger woman's wounded gaze didn't leave her husband where he flirted with the wife of one of his executives. Parker blocked the anger that threatened to well.
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"Oh, I'm having a lovely time," Fawn protested mildly.
Despite her age, she'd been well trained in society manners.
Parker only saw the hurt because he recognized it.
"Do you and Dad have plans for the holiday?"
"We're going to the Cape house, of course. You're expected for the picnic."
"Fawn, a picnic has hot dogs with potato chips and shorts with sandals. You guys have a social. Or a lawn party. Fancy dresses and fancy food. Not my idea of fun."
Her gaze turned beseeching when she finally focused on him. "Oh, Parker, please come. Your father is such a bear when one of you doesn't do as he hopes. I just want us to be happy."
Parker looked at his father, who had the audacity to wink at his wife while his hand rested on the other woman's bare shoulder. Parker would bet a million the man would be in bed with her before a week passed. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Fawn's hand press against her stomach. He hoped to God she had indigestion.
The world did not need another person for Biff Cornwall to hurt.
* * * *
"So, Sophie, tell us about the show."
Elyse Macgregor ended a half-hour monologue about her kickboxing class, her continuing e-mail relationship with travel companions from her trip the spring before, her upcoming travel plans—this time, praise God, with her husband—and the new dog she wanted to get now that Cody, 60
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Kira's eleven-year-old golden retriever, was living with Kira where she belonged. The Supermother had shed her cape and was delighted with herself.
Dessert, however, was apparently Family Time. Sophie was gratified that her mother reverted to her usual self and actually focused on her daughter when she made the inquiry.
"It's going great." She described Stevie and Melina and told a few stories about calls she'd gotten. Within a few minutes her family was roaring with laughter. Contentedness settled over her. This was what home had been, before it all got tossed upside down and her priorities changed.
Joey started to fuss in his infant seat.
"Let me take him." Sophie jumped up when Kira sighed and reached for her son. "You finish eating."
Kira smiled her thanks. "I don't think I've eaten a full meal since he was born. At least not without getting food all over him and myself."
Sophie lifted the sturdy but still tiny baby and rested him in the crook of her arm. He grinned up at her, then promptly lunged for her plate.
"He can have some of the squash, if you feel like sharing."
Sophie could tell by the look on Jake's face that he was setting her up. She'd show him. She dipped the tip of her spoon into the whipped butternut squash, deftly avoided Joey's flailing fists as he grabbed at the spoon, and slipped it into his mouth without marring a centimeter of his chubby face. She laughed as his eyes widened and he kicked his feet.
"More?" He kicked harder.
"You're good at that, Sophie," her mother commented.
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"It's a gift."
"So when are you going to give little Joey a cousin? He needs someone close to his age."
Sophie concentrated as she fed Joey another spoonful. "I need a guy to have a baby, Mom."
Brianna snorted. "Mom doesn't care about the son-in-law part. She just wants more grandchildren."
Elyse shrugged. "I've already got the best son-in-law I could ever have." She patted Jake's cheek. "Well, Sophie, any prospects?"
Sophie was wiping a drop of squash off the baby's nose and didn't think. "One."
Silence thundered into the room. Sophie looked up. Both parents, both sisters, and her brother-in-law stared at her.
"What, you think it's impossible for me to have a prospect?"
They burst into chatter. "It's your first one!" her mother announced, as if she had gotten an "A" on a math test.
"You don't date prospects," Brianna said. "Only toys."
"Way to go!" was offered by Jake, accompanied by a victory fist and a wink.
"He's a playboy, isn't he? I knew it. I told you so!"
"Kira, stop crowing." Sophie set down the spoon and stood Joey on her lap. "They think your auntie is some kind of spinster," she cooed. "Or a heartbreaker. They can't decide.
They don't understand that I've been looking for a long time.
They don't know how hard it is to find The Man."
"I do," Brie chimed in.
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"And why did I open my big mouth, anyway? Huh, Joey?
Can you tell me that?"
Joey bubbled spit through his little smile, but his gaze was still adoring, so Sophie forgave him when it dripped on her silk pants.
"Tell me all about him," Elyse urged as she began to stack plates in front of her. "I want to know everything."
"I'm not telling you anything, Mom." Sophie transferred Joey back to the crook of her elbow and let him watch Grandma go into her usual cleanup frenzy. "Not that there's anything to tell, anyway."
"Did you meet him at the club?" Kira asked.
"No. I don't think so. I'm not sure."
Jake laughed and stood to carry the tower of scraped plates to the counter. "Were you drugged?"
"I just don't know if he's the same guy."
&nb
sp; "The same guy as who?" Brianna asked, propping her chin in her hand as if the story she was trying not to tell was fascinating.
She sighed. There was no way to avoid it. They'd get it out of her eventually. "There's been a guy calling my radio show.
He has a voice that gives me shivers and a unique method of courting."
"Unique how?" Kira asked.
"Unique as in over the radio. Anyway, he sent me a puppy.
And I never met him, but he might be a guy I know from The Club. Except his name is different."
"Why do you think he's the same guy?" Duncan Macgregor asked.
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Sophie addressed her normally silent father and tried to articulate her suspicions. "Every time Biff—"
"Biff?" Five people roared the name. Five shouts of laughter followed.
"Cut it out," Sophie growled. Joey began to wiggle and fuss, so she handed him to his mother. "You startled the baby. And I didn't name him."
"But you picked him," Brianna pointed out.
"I didn't pick him. Do you want to hear this or not?"
Sorries were murmured all around. Sophie took a deep breath and tried to get it all out at once.
"Every time I hear Biff's voice and can't see him I think it's Parker. Parker is the guy who calls the show. Biff asked me out twice and I turned him down. Parker keeps flirting with me on the air. And he sent me a dachshund after we had a show with a pet theme. His sister has a dachshund named Moose, so I named mine Hippo. My producer has him for the weekend because I didn't want him around the baby; he gets nervous and would probably pee on Mom's floor. I decided it's worth a try to find out if Parker and Biff are the same guy and even if they're not, Biff's starting to interest me, so it can't hurt. One date. If I can arrange it. After I rejected him the second time he said he wouldn't ask again. That's all I'm going to say, so leave me alone."
Everyone waited a beat, then jumped up at virtually the same time.
"Who wants coffee?" her mom called.
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"Jake, I've got something in the shop to show you."
Duncan clapped a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder and they headed for the basement stairs.
"I'm going to nurse the baby." Kira went into the living room, already unbuttoning the flap of her nursing blouse.
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