by Loree Lough
With the house finished, Holly headed outside, where she weeded the flower beds—or what would have been flower beds, if Parker had planted things that bloomed. Three flats of easy-care plantings, purchased from the nearest nursery, brightened the walk and the foundation. Six hanging baskets, each glowing with bright blooms, hung from spinning hooks above the white picket porch rail. She dragged a few of the deck chairs around front and found that, with a coat of white paint, they looked very warm and welcoming, positioned on either side of the door that way. Then she unfurled Old Glory from where it had stood in a corner in the foyer and displayed it from the flag holder attached to a support post.
One more day and he’d be home. And one look at his handsome face would tell her if he understood she’d only tried to make the place warm and welcoming for Ben.
It was twilight when she locked up and started for the cottage. “Please God,” she whispered, standing at the end of his walk, “let him like it.”
It would cut her to the quick to have him think of her as some pushy, aggressive woman who was trying to invade his house, when all she really wanted was to capture his heart.
* * * * *
The moment he walked through the door, Holly could see the changes in him. As he introduced Ben to Hank, she remembered that first phone call from Germany, when he’d described the myriad questions and the stacks of papers he’d signed before taking custody of Ben. “What, they think he’s a spy?” she’d joked. The moment of eerie silence told her what he couldn’t: the authorities weren’t taking any chances, even with a boy that young. She’d expected such worrisome things to have taken their toll, so her heart swelled with relief when, despite faint dark circles—evidence of the long flight and jet lag—his tense “looking into the sun” expression had been replaced by a calm, self-possessed smile. He stood taller too, as if he’d left the burdens of a lifetime on the other side of the Atlantic.
As for Ben, Holly had prepared herself to greet a shy, hollow-cheeked waif who’d cling fiercely to his new father. So it caught her completely off guard when he grinned the instant they made eye contact and then raced across the room to hug her with an intensity that belied his size. “How happy am I,” he said, “to meet the beautiful Holly at last.”
A sob choked off her voice. Just as well, Holly thought, since she wouldn’t have known how to respond to his sweet greeting anyway. Over his head, her gaze met Parker’s, and it surprised her to see tears in his eyes too. When he crossed the room to join them, she cringed inwardly, half expecting that all those hours in a cramped airline seat would exaggerate his limp. Instead, it was barely noticeable, and as he slid an arm around her shoulders, she said a silent prayer of thanks.
Parker ruffled Ben’s thick, dark hair. “So, you gonna stand there all day, hugging the beautiful Holly, or would you like to see the rest of your home?”
“Oh, yes, it would be a delight to see it all.” Halfway up the stairs, he stopped. “You will come too, yes?”
“Absolutely,” Parker answered in her stead. And when she caught up to them, he mouthed, “Which room?”
“Up front,” she said, her heart hammering—because in moments, she’d see for herself whether Ben thought she had a lick of interior-design talent.
Grinning, Parker announced, “First stop, Ben Brant’s bedroom.”
His big inky-brown eyes widened as they darted from the hanging planes to the bedside lamps and the toys and games lining the shelves. “I will sleep well here,” he said, nodding.
As they moved from room to room, he asked questions about the furnishings and the people pictured in the framed photographs, about the purpose of each kitchen appliance, and why there were so many buttons on the TV’s remote control. He gasped at the sight of Parker’s extensive collection of DVDs, CDs, and books, and gasped again when Holly opened the refrigerator to fix them a light snack. “I hope you drew a map,” he said once she joined them at the table.
Sadly, she knew exactly what he’d meant. “Half the fun of a new place is getting lost in it,” she said, winking as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “Tomorrow, when you wake up, you can pretend you’re an explorer!”
“And if I do get lost,” he said, grinning, “I will call out in a very loud voice, ‘Dad, where am I?’ ”
While Ben aimed a few more questions at Parker about the microwave and the coffeemaker, Holly tried to memorize his charming accent. With television, school, everyday conversation…in very little time, he’d no longer over-pronounce every vowel, wouldn’t accent every T or enunciate every syllable. The change would ensure his quick adjustment to the town where Southern hospitality echoed in every word that drawled from the mouths of the locals, but Holly missed his unique phraseology even before it was gone.
Now, with a full belly and the excitement of travel and seeing his new home behind him, Ben yawned and rubbed sleepy eyes. “Guess I’d better tuck him in,” Parker said as they headed for the stairs.
“Good idea,” she agreed.
“I hope you can stay, but if you have to go before I get back, I’ll call you first thing in the morning.”
“Yes,” Ben said around a yawn, “unless I want to smell like the camels, I will need a change of clothing, and as my dad has said many times, we are in serious need of the woman’s touch.”
His invitation touched Holly. Laughing, she said, “I’ll clean up in here. You guys just take your time.”
An hour later, she quietly let herself out and locked the door behind her, and an hour after that, she was almost asleep when her cell phone rang.
“How will I ever thank you?”
Parker…
“I can’t believe how much you accomplished in just ten days.”
“I enjoyed it.” Every minute of it.
He told her how Ben sat up in bed, pointing out all the little touches of welcome she’d given his room, before dropping off to sleep. She heard the weary edge in his voice, and although Holly needed to hear about their last day in Germany and the flight home, Parker needed his rest more. “I hate to be a party pooper,” she said, faking a yawn, “but all your excitement has completely worn me out!”
“Yeah, I’m bushed too.”
“Should I come over there in the morning to fix breakfast? Or would you two rather come here?”
“Here. Definitely. But let me call you when we’re up and at ’em. I’m hoping Ben sleeps in a little.”
“I’m hoping you sleep in a little.”
“Yeah. That’d be nice.”
“Sweet dreams, Parker.”
“That’s a given. Especially now.”
Then he said good night, promised to call her in the morning, and hung up, leaving Holly to wonder if that last comment meant what she hoped it did.
* * * * *
It took each of them two trips to get everything from Parker’s truck to Ben’s room, and as he and Holly worked side by side, putting it all away, Ben gathered his school supplies and slid them into his new backpack, chattering about what his first day at school might be like. And then, suddenly, the prattle stopped.
Ben had fallen asleep on his bed.
“Poor kid,” Holly said. “I can’t even imagine what’s going on in that adorable head of his.”
Parker closed the closet door and walked out of the room, signaling Holly to follow. “I can’t imagine what’s going on in your head,” he said in the kitchen. “You shopped and painted and baked casseroles and cleaned this place from stem to stern. What would possess you to—?”
“Oh, there wasn’t all that much to clean, really. I think your drill sergeant would be proud. Although…”
Parker sipped the lemonade she’d made yesterday. “Go ahead. Let me have it. I was a soldier. I can take it.”
“Was?” She waved the retort away. “I thought it was just the marines who said ‘Once a soldier, always a soldier.’ ”
“But you found an area of the house that wasn’t shipshape.”
Nodding, she said, �
��Tried to bounce a quarter off your bed.” She shrugged and added, “Thud.”
“Well, there you have it,” he said, laughing, “proof that I’m not—”
The phone rang, interrupting him. “—perfect,” he finished, grabbing the handset. It was Maude’s doctor, giving him a heads-up that she’d be released in a week. Sooner, if she passed her stair-climbing test tomorrow. No time like the present, Parker thought. He’d been wondering when it was safe to tell her that he’d met his dad…and his dad’s family. That he’d gone to Germany and brought back the little Afghan boy he’d told her so much about.
“I see no reason why she can’t handle all of that,” the doctor said. “Her heart’s in better shape now than it was ten years ago. If you want to err on the side of caution, tell her things on a need-to-know basis, a little at a time, and see how she reacts. But I’m confident she’ll handle things well, at least physically.”
“Will she need an in-home nurse?”
“A housekeeper, maybe, to help with the laundry, vacuuming, floor scrubbing—but she’s actually better off getting back into her old routine as quickly as possible. She’ll even be able to drive short distances, since she spent the first weeks of her recovery in the rehab center. Getting out and on her own will do wonders for her spirit. ”
“What do you mean?”
“Depression is fairly common after heart surgery, and your mother has exhibited a few of the symptoms: lack of appetite, insomnia, very little interest in what’s going on around her… . All perfectly normal, and in ninety-nine out of a hundred cases, it corrects itself once a person is home and surrounded by friends and family.”
Unfortunately, I’m all Maude’s got.
Parker thanked Dr. Williams then hung up and relayed the information to Holly.
“I’m right there if she needs anything,” Holly assured him, “so you can focus on getting Ben settled in and adjusted to his new life.”
She was here at least through August. But would she stay…if he asked her to? Parker’s heart ached, just considering the possibility that she might not. “I know that, and I appreciate it.”
Hours later, after she’d gone to the cottage with her typical “I need to make sure everything will be just so, when Maude gets home” statement, Parker checked his e-mail. It seemed rather anticlimactic, now that he had Ben with him and the adoption was final. But there were bound to be a pileup of turtle and lighthouse project messages that had gone unanswered while he was in Germany. So while Ben napped, Parker scrolled through the posts, deleting spam, replying, and saving those requiring research or additional information.
And then he spied one from a sender whose screen name he didn’t recognize, and it said Holly in the subject line. The cursor hovered over the tiny cartoon envelope before he clicked the mouse and opened the file. Instantly, he knew who the sender had been. Sometime during the night Ben had awoken and decided that, rather than wake Parker, he’d fire up the laptop Holly had installed on his desk…and set himself up with an e-mail account. “IMProud-2BBrant” hadn’t made a single typo or spelling error when he wrote:
“To the beautiful and kind doctor Holly, I ask you to consider marriage to my father. He needs a wife and I would appreciate a mother, and from this arrangement you would get two strong men to take care of you. I can see that my father cares for you, and I am fond of you as well. I hope you will consent.” And it was signed, “Respectfully, Behnam H. Brant, aka Ben.”
Chuckling, Parker read the P.S.: “The H is for Hakim, but in my heart, it stands for Happy.”
His first instinct was to delete it. He put the message into his Drafts folder instead. Obviously he needed to have a talk with the boy even more than he needed a wife. After powering down the computer, he headed outside to get a better look at all the gardening Holly had done in his absence. When he’d left for Germany, the place had been reasonably orderly and organized, but she’d put her shine on everything. “From the mouths of babes,” he muttered, his hands pocketed as he admired the homey touches she’d given the front porch.
Ben had thanked him for teaching him to speak English, for training that helped him survive the war-torn Afghan streets. But in this case, the boy had taught Parker a valuable lesson: because overthinking things often muddied the waters, it was sometimes better to speak from the heart.
And he’d do just that…all in good time.
Another wise saying came to mind as he returned to the kitchen: “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” He’d be wise to heed it, because the list of things he needed to tell the people he loved was growing longer by the minute.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Holly carried an empty box into the rehab center, thinking it might make things easier for Parker to get his mom home tomorrow if the cards, flowers, and plants were already packed up and gone. She’d just rounded the corner to Maude’s room when Hank’s angry voice stopped her.
“I’ve spent nearly six years walking on eggshells,” he said, “and I can’t do it a day longer. You need to make up your mind, Maudie, whether or not you want me in your life.”
Holly held her breath. Tell him you love him, Maude, before you lose him forever!
“Seems I have a whole lot to be sorry for.” Maude sighed. “Remember that old song…“You Always Hurt the One You Love”? Well, it seems that I’ve hurt a lot of people.”
“Maybe that’s because you have hurt a lot of people.”
After a moment of silence, Maude said, “I’m sorry, Henry.”
“Didn’t come here for an apology. I just need to know where I stand.”
She sighed again. “I can’t believe what a mess I’ve made of my life.”
“And Parker’s. And Daniel’s. And mine too, to some degree. But self-pity is what got you into this mess in the first place. I hate to be so hard on you, but it needs to be said.”
“I won’t argue with you.”
“See? You’re doing it again,” he said roughly. Hank groaned. “You’re a strong, capable woman, and that’s just one of the reasons I love you, the way I’ve loved you almost from the day we met. You built up that B & B business single-handedly, and it kept the wolf from the door for you and your son. You’re the last person who should need to resort to self-pity.”
“But you know the truth about me, Henry. You’ve always known the truth.”
“Is that it? Is that why you refuse to believe that I love you?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Holly heard a quiet rustling and suspected that it was Hank taking Maude in his arms.
“You’ve doubted yourself for so long, I guess it’s only natural that you doubt me.”
“It isn’t your fault, Henry, that I built my life on a foundation of lies.”
“Not your whole life, only the ‘you were young and stupid’ part.”
Holly heard Maude’s one-of-a-kind chuckle. “I guess God knew what He was doing, putting a hitch in this old ticker. It was scary, but if the heart attack hadn’t happened, I don’t know if I ever would have worked up the courage to tell Parker the truth.”
“You know what your biggest problem is?”
Holly heard the smile in Maude’s voice. “No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“You bet I am. You’re stubborn. And pigheaded. Obstinate and inflexible.”
“Please don’t make me sorry I gave you that thesaurus for your birthday last year… .”
Laughing, Hank said, “Don’t interrupt me when I’m on a roll, woman! What I’m trying to say is, you’re a good woman, and if you hadn’t been all those things, you would have ’fessed up decades ago. But knowing you, you told yourself to wait for the right time, a better time, and kept telling yourself that so often and for so long that eventually you told yourself that time would never come.”
“It’s true. All of it. I don’t deserve a good man like you, loving me, but it seems you do, and—”
“There’s no
seems about it.”
Another sigh, and then, “I love you too. And I always have.”
“Then you’ll marry me?”
“Goodness, Henry, I—I… When?”
“Neither of us is getting any younger, Maudie.”
“That’s true too. But I have a big mess to clean up, still, with Parker. Will you give me some time to make things right with him?”
“I’ve waited this long. Guess I can wait a little longer.”
Holly heard rustling again, and then Hank said, “Well, I’d better get a move-on. I’m supposed to meet Parker on the dock.”
“Good, he’s sticking to his charter-boat routine. At least that didn’t change after I upended his life.”
Would Hank tell Maude that Parker and Ben were meeting Dan and his sons for an afternoon sail on the Sea Stallion?
“I think I’m gonna beg off. I have a little shopping to do.”
For an engagement ring? Holly wondered. And then she realized that any minute now, Hank would step into the hall. What would he think when he saw her standing there outside Maude’s door? That you’re an eavesdropper, that’s what!
She hurried toward the elevators, intent on going back down to the lobby until Hank left. As it was, he got the impression that she’d just arrived on Maude’s floor. He gave her a sideways hug and then relieved her of the box. “If you brought this to pack up all Maudie’s cares and woes, you can leave it for the maintenance crew.”
It took some doing, but Holly managed to pretend she hadn’t heard most, if not all, of their conversation. “Oh?”
He tossed the carton aside and gave her a big bear hug. “I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.”
“That’s wonderful, Hank, for both of you!”
He held her at arm’s length. “I’m headed into town for a ring,” he said as the elevator doors opened, “before she has a chance to change her mind.” He stepped into the car and thumbed the Down button. “But don’t you let on, you hear? Not even to Parker.”
