The Manning Sisters

by Debbie Macomber

  “No. I’ve got everything under control here.”

  Russ contradicted her under his breath, but Christy chose to ignore her brother-in-law’s comment. She was relieved when the two men vacated the kitchen.

  With Mandy’s assistance, dinner was ready fifteen minutes later. Mandy called everyone, and they gathered around the dining room table. Russ escorted his wife, his eyes tender as he seated her.

  Taylor, wearing a loose pale blue dress that complemented her eye color, looked wonderful. Every woman should look so good three days after giving birth, Christy mused.

  “Oh, Christy…Mandy,” Taylor said, studying the table. “This is fantastic. You must’ve spent the whole day cooking—and in this heat!”

  “It wasn’t a problem,” Christy said automatically.

  “Yes, it was,” Mandy countered smoothly. “It took all afternoon, but we had so much fun it was worth it. Your sister’s great!”

  “I think so, too, but you shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.” Taylor gestured at the three different kinds of salads, the platter of fried chicken and two separate desserts.

  “But we did,” Mandy said, reaching for the potato salad, “so you might as well enjoy it.”

  Christy shared a secret smile with her older sister. She admired Mandy for her openness and her honesty. Had she answered, she would’ve quickly allowed Taylor and the others to believe she’d managed to whip up a three-course meal in a matter of minutes without the slightest trouble.

  Eric stirred just as they were finishing dinner, and Taylor immediately started to rise. Russ put his hand on her arm, stopping her.

  “Let me?” He made it a question.

  “He probably needs his diaper changed,” Taylor warned.

  “So? I can do it. Just how difficult can changing a diaper be?”

  Christy and Taylor exchanged a meaningful glance. When she pulled her gaze away from her sister, Christy’s eyes sought out Cody. The sheriff gave her a look of exaggerated shock.

  “Did I hear correctly?” he teased. “Did Russ Palmer volunteer to change a diaper?”

  “Apparently so,” Taylor said, pretending to be as awed as Cody.

  “All right, you guys, cut it out,” Russ warned, shouting from the master bedroom.

  “I don’t know if I can let a moment like this pass without witnessing it myself. Does anyone have a camera?”

  “You’re not taking any damn picture,” Russ roared, his voice booming through the house. His words were quickly followed by the squalling cry of an infant. A fraction of a second later Russ shouted for Taylor.

  Christy tossed her napkin aside and left the table with her sister, wondering if she could help. Mandy was the only one content to let the others deal with the baby while she finished her meal.

  The three of them crowded around the bassinet where Russ struggled with the diaper and pins. He was grumbling, and his face was creased with a deep frown as if he were performing major surgery.

  “I marry the most modern woman in the world. She won’t let me open a car door for her, insists on paying for her own dinner when we go out on a date, but will she use disposable diapers? Oh, no, she’s got to torment me with cloth ones.”

  “They’re better for the environment,” Taylor said, gently pushing her husband aside. She dealt efficiently with the diaper-changing, completely unfazed by the task.

  “That’s all there is to it?” Cody asked, making fun of his friend’s inability to handle such an uncomplicated situation.

  “If you think it’s so easy, you try it.”

  “I will, but probably not for several years.” Cody looked at Christy, and the mental image of Cody holding a baby in his arms, their baby, filled her mind. She looked away, not wanting anyone to witness the emotion she was feeling.

  Russ watched as Taylor lifted the dirty diaper from the bassinet. “What are you going to do with that…thing?” He wrinkled his nose as he asked the question.

  “I’m putting it in the diaper pail in the bathroom.”

  “You’re not keeping those smelly diapers in there, are you?” he said as he followed Taylor down the hallway. Christy could hear him listing his objections.

  Once more Christy and Cody were left alone, this time with Eric. The infant lay on his back, squinting his blue eyes as he gazed up at them. His mouth made small sucking motions.

  Unable to resist, Christy reached into the bassinet and lifted Eric out. He gurgled contentedly in her arms as she sat on the end of the bed. Cody stood next to her, studying the newborn. He lovingly smoothed his large hand along the side of the baby’s head. Eric’s tiny hand closed around Cody’s index finger.

  “Look,” Cody said excitedly, as if Eric had broken an Olympic record. “I think he recognizes us.”

  “And well he should! We’re his godparents,” Christy reminded him. She turned to smile at Cody and once more found herself lost in his eyes.

  In that brief moment Christy saw a reflection of everything she was feeling. Until now, whenever they looked at each other, their eyes brimmed with questions and doubts.

  But this time was different. Christy saw in Cody an understanding. They’d each lost the need for answers or explanations.

  “How long will you be in Cougar Point?” Cody asked.

  “My vacation is two weeks.”

  Both seemed to calculate the number of days remaining before she’d need to go home.

  Cody’s expression told her he wanted to spend every available moment he could with her. It was what Christy wanted, too, more than she’d wanted anything in her life.

  “I’m working day shift tomorrow,” he told her softly, his look tender. “What about dinner?”

  “I’d like that.” Which was definitely an understatement.

  The air between them seemed to spark with sensuality. Cody leaned toward her, and Christy knew beyond a doubt that he intended to kiss her. He hesitated a fraction of an inch from her mouth before regretfully backing away.

  “I’d bet my last dollar if I kissed you, Russ would interrupt us.”

  “He probably would. He seems to have an incredible sense of timing, doesn’t he?”

  As soon as she spoke, her brother-in-law stuck his head in the doorway. “What’s taking you two so long? Mandy’s got the coffee poured.”

  “See what I mean?” Cody whispered.

  Christy nodded and stood, placing Eric over her shoulder and rubbing his back. He was so tiny, so perfect, and her heart swelled anew with love for him.

  Taylor and Russ were sitting in the living room when Cody and Christy appeared. Their looks were openly curious—as if they were waiting for the couple to make an announcement.

  Christy didn’t think it would do much good to try to disguise what was going on between her and Cody. Her sister knew her far too well, and clearly Russ was equally familiar with Cody.

  Christy handed the baby over to Taylor, dropping a kiss on his forehead as she did. By tacit agreement, she and Cody sat at opposite sides of the room. Being close to each other only intensified the attraction, and no doubt the curiosity.

  “So,” Russ said, glancing from Cody to Christy, sporting a wide grin.

  “Russ,” Taylor warned in a low whisper.

  “What?”

  “Do you have to be so obvious?”

  Russ blinked, apparently at a loss to understand his wife’s censure. “I didn’t say anything, but if I did venture to mention the obvious, I’d say something along the lines of how happy I am that my best friend and your sister have apparently hit it off so well.”

  “To tell you the truth, I couldn’t be more pleased myself,” Taylor added, smiling.

  Cody crossed his legs and picked up his coffee. “I’m glad to hear Christy and I have made you two so happy.”

  Russ chuckled at that, amusement glistening in his eyes. “Do you remember that time in the sixth grade?” Russ asked.

  “I’m not likely to forget it.”

  “What are you two mumbling
about now?” Taylor demanded.

  “We were eleven.”

  “You were eleven,” Cody corrected. “I was ten.”

  “Right,” Russ agreed. “We’d been good friends for several years and had started to notice some of our other buddies turning traitor.”

  “Turning traitor?” Christy repeated.

  “Liking girls.”

  Since Christy was the youngest of the five Manning children, she couldn’t recall her brothers sharing similar feelings. “What did you two do?” she asked.

  “The only thing we could,” Russ explained, grinning again. “We were losing our best friends left and right, so Cody and I made a pact and became blood brothers. We made a solemn vow never to associate with any of the guys who’d turned traitor and liked girls.”

  “Especially pretty ones with dark hair and bright blue eyes,” Cody remarked, looking at Christy, who possessed both. His mouth quivered, and she realized he was only a breath away from laughing outright.

  “And which of you broke this sacred vow first?”

  “Cody did,” Russ said.

  “Russ,” Cody responded, the two speaking almost simultaneously.

  “Boys, please,” Taylor said in what Christy was sure was her best schoolteacher voice.

  “Cody gave Mary Lu Hawkins a valentine that year,” Russ reminded him.

  “My mother forced me to do it,” Cody insisted. “I never liked Mary Lu Hawkins, and you know it.”

  “That’s not what I heard.”

  Listening to Cody and Russ was like being present at an exchange between her own brothers. A strong sense of family was an integral part of who she was. She loved their frequent get-togethers and had missed Taylor dreadfully over the past year.

  “Is it always like this between these two?” Christy asked her sister.

  “Sometimes worse,” Taylor answered.

  “Russ was the ultimate traitor,” Cody said, setting his coffee mug aside. “He married a dark-haired, blue-eyed woman, and worse, I wasn’t even invited to the wedding.”

  “No one was,” Mandy inserted as she came in from the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron skirt. “Not even me. Russ’s very own sister.”

  “I swear you’re never going to forgive me for that, are you?” Russ grumbled. “Just wait till you fall in love, little sister, then you might be more understanding.”

  Mandy straightened her spine and threw back her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed as she glared across the room at her brother. She reminded Christy so much of her older sister confronting their father that she nearly laughed out loud.

  “It may come as a shock to you, big brother, but I’ve been in love several times.” Mandy evidently considered herself a woman of the world.

  Russ didn’t hide his opinions on that issue. He rolled his eyes.

  “Russ,” Taylor said softly.

  “Now what did I do?” he asked. At the rate he was going, his foot would remain permanently in his mouth. “All right, all right, I—we made a mistake by not including you in the wedding ceremony. There. Are you satisfied?”

  “No. I want you to admit that I’m old enough to be in love.”

  “Mandy!”

  “Admit it.” It was clear that brother and sister were often at odds, yet Christy sensed the deep and abiding love they shared.

  “Don’t look at me, Russ Palmer,” Taylor said bluntly. “You got yourself into this.”

  “I suppose that at fifteen a mature teenage girl may have experienced her first taste of love.”

  “May have?” Mandy repeated. “That’s not good enough.”

  “Hey, the girl wants blood,” Cody murmured.

  “She’s likely to get it, too,” Taylor said, apparently for Christy’s benefit.

  “All right, I’ll admit it. There! Now are you satisfied?”

  Mandy smiled graciously and nodded. “Thank you, brother dearest.”

  “You’re welcome, sister sweetest.” He turned his attention away from Mandy. “Listen,” Russ said, looking at Cody and Christy and then back at his friend. “If you two ever get married, whether it’s to each other or anyone else, take my advice and don’t elope.”

  “If Mandy was upset about not being at the wedding, that was nothing compared to how strongly Mom and Dad felt about it,” Taylor said. “Dad seemed to feel I’d cheated him out of an important part of fatherhood by not letting him escort me down the aisle.”

  From somewhere deep inside, Christy forced a smile. This talk about weddings was making her decidedly uncomfortable. What her sister said was true enough; her parents had been bitterly disappointed not to hold a large wedding for their oldest daughter. It was one of the reasons they were so pleased when Christy announced that she and James would be getting married. Almost immediately they’d started talking about the church ceremony, with a reception and dance to follow.

  “I think it’s time for us to go, don’t you?” Cody said to Christy, unfolding his long legs and standing. He walked across the room in three strides. “See you later, Taylor, Eric. Oh, and you, too.” He nodded at Russ with a grin. “Thanks for dinner, everyone.”

  “Where are you two headed?” Russ wanted to know, making no effort to disguise his interest.

  “Out.” Cody turned to Christy, and his smile was like the warm fingers of sunlight in winter. They’d known each other such a short while, and it seemed inconceivable that she could feel like this. But she did. The feelings she and Cody shared were too complex to put into words.

  “When will you be back?” Russ asked his sister-in-law, as if he wasn’t completely convinced his best friend was safe in her company.

  “Who appointed you my guardian angel?” Cody asked sarcastically, his eyebrows raised.

  “I’m only looking out for your best interests,” Russ explained, continuing the game. “Good grief, man, she’s pretty with dark hair and blue eyes. We learned way back in the sixth grade that those are the ones to watch out for. You’ve got to be careful. Look what happened to me!”

  “What did happen to you?” Taylor asked, her brow wrinkling with the question.

  “You should know. Before I realized it, I was saddled with a wife. I don’t mind telling you, Franklin, I’m worried about you.”

  “If I’m responsible for the security of an entire county, you can trust me to take care of myself.”

  “Saddled?” Taylor asked, her voice ominously low. “You found yourself saddled with a wife?”

  Russ instantly looked guilty. “Maybe saddled wasn’t the best word.”

  “Then I suggest you search for another.”

  “Ah…” Russ rubbed his hand across his neck.

  “He’s talking off the top of his head,” Cody said, defending his friend. He turned toward Russ. “If I were you, I’d plead for leniency and remind her how crazy in love you are.”

  “How about I was favored with a wife?” Russ muttered. He seemed quite pleased with his choice of word.

  Taylor glanced at Christy, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth, then shook her head. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

  “Taylor, come on, I’m having a serious discussion with my friend here. All I’m trying to do is impart a few words of wisdom before Cody makes the same…before he ends up…”

  “Ends up what?” Taylor prompted.

  It took Russ a moment to answer. “Blessed?” he offered, confident he’d smoothed things over.

  “Blessed is an acceptable word.”

  “I think we should get out of here while the getting’s good, don’t you?” Cody asked, reaching for Christy’s hand, entwining their fingers.

  “I couldn’t agree with you more.” The solid ground beneath her feet seemed to shift as she realized that once they were alone she’d need to explain about James. Dragging in a steadying breath, she looked at Taylor. “I won’t be gone long.”

  “If I get worried, I’ll call the sheriff,” Taylor teased.

  The phone rang, and Mandy shot out of the livi
ng room.

  Russ escorted Christy and Cody to the back door.

  Mandy appeared, stretching the long telephone cord into the kitchen. She seemed confused as she held out the receiver to Russ. “I think it must be a wrong number. Maybe you should talk to him.”

  “All right.”

  Cody chuckled. “I never thought I’d be grateful for a phone call. I had the impression Russ was going to make us listen to more of his pearls of wisdom.”

  They were all the way down the steps when the back door swung open with enough force to send it crashing shut.

  “Christy.” Russ stood on the top of the steps, hands on his hips, his eyes squinting against the setting sun.

  “Yes?” She turned to face her brother-in-law. The humor in his eyes had been replaced with a fierce anger that transformed his handsome features.

  Cody took a step forward. “What is it?”

  “The phone,” Russ said. “It’s for Christy. Someone named James Wilkens.”

  She gasped softly before she could stop herself.

  “He claims he’s her fiancé.”

  Five

  “Cody, please,” Christy began, her heart in her eyes. “I can explain.”

  “You mean it’s true?” Russ shouted.

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds—if you’d take the time to listen.” Both of her hands gripped Cody’s forearm as she boldly held on to him, not wanting to let him go for fear she’d never see him again.

  “Are you engaged or not?” Cody asked. His dark eyes burned into hers, searing her conscience far more deeply than any words he could’ve spoken.

  “I was going to tell you about James….”

  Cody’s face tensed as though she’d delivered a crippling blow to his abdomen. He lowered his gaze to her hands, which clenched his arm tightly.

  “I see.” The two words were cold, his voice remote.

  She moistened her lips, unsure she could trust her voice. “Please let me explain.”