Macy's Parade (The Morrison Family Book 6)

by D. R. Grady

  “How’d you get here, pumpkin?” Nick asked her.

  “I ran, Daddy.”

  “Right. I think you’ll be able to walk, since you could run,” Nick said. He was good at this daddy business. Macy sent a private smile to him, which he returned. He still looked pale, but she imagined her coloring wasn’t rosy, either.

  “We’ll take care of things around here,” Lily said as she glanced around the room. Brandt and Bryce had both crept closer to her and she placed a calming arm around both.

  Savannah stood next to Tia, who also had positioned a hand on the teenager’s shoulder.

  Macy saw Bryan, Josh, and Al, their dad, all exchange looks before the men excused themselves. She frowned at their leaving, but by then she had to find shoes for herself and Nick.

  He carried Starla to the van, and she crawled in to sit beside the little girl. Starla’s cries had declined to an occasional sniff and sob, but she was far from over her scare. And Macy was afraid her foot would need stitches. At best it needed to be thoroughly cleaned, which they didn’t have the tools to do. Macy slid her hand into Starla’s who clung.

  As Nick started the engine, Macy noticed movement near the lake. She saw the outline of three men against the sun. One of them held a huge tool box, while the other two bent and appeared to be looking for something. Frowning, Macy tried to figure out what they were about. Then it hit her.

  Al, Josh, and Bryan were looking for the nail Starla had caught her foot on. They intended to fix the dock so no more injuries resulted. Love and warmth suffused her in an avalanche as she thought about them quietly going about the business of making the camp safe for the kids.

  Knowing Starla would be able to play on the dock without fear of injury helped. If she protested about being hurt, Macy could counter that her granddad and uncles fixed the dock for her. To which point Macy imagined Starla would hunt down the three men to inquire what tools they had used.

  “You okay, Starla?” Nick asked from the front seat. He was driving too fast, but Macy certainly had no intention of asking him to slow down.

  “Yes,” she said through a sniffled sob. Her lower lip trembled and Macy thought she was trying to be brave.

  “I won’t get a cin’mon roll,” she told Macy solemnly.

  This was news to Macy. “Why not?”

  “Brandt really likes cin’mon rolls. He’ll eat them all.”

  “Sweetheart, if Rob doesn’t save us some, I’ll just make some more, okay?” Macy smoothed the curls from Starla’s face. Her tears clung to the strands. Macy took Starla’s worry over whether she’d get a cinnamon roll as a good sign. That meant she wasn’t thinking of her injured foot now.

  Nick stopped the van in front of the emergency room, and Macy crawled out, scooped up Starla and made for the entrance. She spoke with a nurse at the front desk and explained what had happened. Nick joined them as soon as he parked the van and answered most of the insurance questions.

  He also took Starla from her, for which she was grateful. Starla’s full weight grew heavy after a time. Nick was more capable of holding her. Macy took to filling out the endless forms, with Nick directing her as necessary. She hoped they weren’t in for a long wait, but was heartened that they nearly had the room to themselves.

  Hopefully that meant the visit would be short.

  “My cousin, Janine, is an emergency room doctor,” Nick said.

  “Have I met her?”

  “No. But you’ll want to. Her niece’s name is Macy, too.”

  She stared at him, “Really, you have a relative named Macy?”

  “Yep. She has blonde curly hair, too.”

  “She’s not even two yet, Macy,” Starla informed her and Macy noticed her thumb had crept its way into her mouth. She’d never seen Starla suck her thumb.

  She darted a look at Nick, who also noticed the location of Starla’s thumb. “I thought you stopped sucking your thumb, Starla,” he said, and at his prompting, she tugged her thumb free.

  “I did. Sucking thumbs is for babies,” she announced so matter-of-factly Macy thought she hadn’t noticed what she was doing.

  A nurse called her name and with Nick still carrying Starla, they followed her through a series of halls to an examination room. Macy smiled when she saw the doctor. He wore a pair of dark glasses with the nose and mustache attached. His bright flower dotted tie wasn’t one you’d find in any fine store, in fact, she guessed he had purchased it from the same novelty company he obtained the glasses from.

  The cloth around his stethoscope was green with yellow and blue polka dots and his manner was as engaging as his attire. He was young, and enthusiastic, and she was pretty sure Starla had just experienced her very first crush.

  The doctor, Dr. Matteo, made as much of a production out of tickling Starla’s foot as he did about fixing it, which put all of them at ease. Macy was confident they’d come to the right place.

  “I guess we’ll have to clean this here foot, then,” he said in an impressive Humphrey Bogart. Starla giggled, even though Macy doubted she recognized the voice. The lines around Nick’s mouth eased, and Macy took in her first complete lungful of air.

  “What happened anyway?”

  “A nail on the dock,” Starla said, all of her emotions evident in the storminess of her eyes.

  “Ah, they’ll get you every time,” Dr. Matteo said, still doing Humphrey Bogart.

  “Your Granddad and uncles were on the dock looking for the nail that bit you when we left,” Macy told Starla.

  Dr. Matteo shook his head and the fake mustache quivered. “Gotta watch out for biting nails. They’re serious, you know,” he told Starla and wiggled his brows. This produced another giggle from Starla. Macy had to admit he had a very expressive face, despite the glasses, nose, and mustache.

  Starla tilted her head at Macy. “Did they have a hammer?”

  “They had a huge tool box,” Macy said.

  Nick straightened in his chair. “Was it yellow?”

  Both father and daughter stared at her like she had all the answers. Macy blinked at their intense gazes.

  “Yes. It was large, yellow, and looked heavy.”

  Starla and Nick turned to each other. “They’re using Granddad’s tool box,” she stated and pouted.

  “It’s okay, honey. I’ll convince him we need to check out the dock again.”

  “Can I hammer a nail?”

  “No,” Dr. Matteo intoned. “You might hit your toe and have to come see me again,” and he pulled at the flower attached to his lab coat. It made a funny noise as he brought the ring to the tip of Starla’s nose.

  This delighted Starla, and he kept up a running chatter, all the while, Macy noticed, quickly and efficiently cleaning and probing the deep wound on the bottom of Starla’s foot.

  “Now, I have to do a little sewing,” he informed Starla. “Do you believe I can sew?”

  “Do you use a sewing machine?” she asked and cocked her head.

  He made a production out of his shudder. “Of course not,” he leaned forward and whispered in confidential tones, “they don’t let me use power tools.”

  Starla pouted. “My daddy won’t let me, either.”

  Doctor and patient turned reproving eyes on Nick. Who took the censure well. “I wouldn’t trust either of you with power tools, sorry.”

  Dr. Matteo and Starla exchanged looks of camaraderie and Macy thought she could probably learn something from this doctor’s bedside manner. He explained to Starla what he was going to do and gave her a squishy, wiggly ball to hold. Another excellent ploy, because the ball proved to have a mind of its own, and it appeared to take most of Starla’s concentration to keep it in her hand.

  She barely noticed the needle he used to numb her foot. He had her sewn up in a few short minutes, with no tears, but lots of laughter.

  “You’re gifted,” she told him sincerely.

  She received a genuine smile. “I’m lucky,” he refuted. “I love my job.”

  “
It shows. Thank you,” she answered.

  “Thank you. Watch your daughter’s foot for signs of infection, but I think I got all the baddies that could cause problems. She just had a tetanus booster?”

  “Yes,” Nick confirmed.

  “Here’s a run of antibiotics if she needs it.” He handed over the prescription as he teased Starla for another moment before bustling down the hall to take care of another child she could hear crying.

  “He was an excellent doctor,” Nick said as he carried Starla through the halls to the exit.

  “I told him that.”

  “Did he agree?”

  “He just said he loves his job. Said he was lucky.”

  “That much is obvious. Starla didn’t even cry when he stitched up her foot.”

  “No, he established trust before he did anything painful.”

  “I’m relieved that’s over, anyway.” Nick squeezed Starla a little and tears pricked at the back of Macy’s eyes. This man loved his daughter. She knew that, but the little signs of evidence pierced her through to her soul. This man was for real. Like the doctor they’d just seen.

  They stopped at the nurse’s station before leaving.

  “Ah, she saw Dr. Matteo,” the nurse said and grinned.

  “He was wonderful,” Macy enthused.

  She laughed. “Yes, he is. We all adore him here, and we have to work with him every day.”

  “He kept her laughing the entire time.”

  The nurse nodded. “That’s him. He’s still a kid himself, so he relates well.” Then she gave a great belly laugh that made those in the waiting room smile.

  “This seems like a very nice hospital,” Macy said.

  “We try.”

  “Thank you.” Nick’s tone was heartfelt.

  “We’re here if you need us.” She glanced at Starla. “Although I suggest you try to avoid us for the remainder of the weekend.”

  “We plan to do that,” Nick agreed.

  ***

  Nick watched as Tia talked to Rob. He couldn’t see Rob’s face, but he saw Tia looked relaxed and comfortable. Somehow he received the impression Rob was neither of those things. Maybe he’d better ask someone who knew about such matters.

  He spotted Macy across the room and strode over to ask what she thought. It looked like she kept tabs on the scene. That was fortunate.

  “What do you think?” he asked as he propped a hip on the desk behind her.

  “About?”

  “Rob and Tia?” Nick used his head to indicate the pair across the room.

  Macy didn’t glance that way. Instead she stared at the ceiling. “I’ve been watching them.”

  He raised a brow. “And?”

  “Rob is uncomfortable, which I’d expect,” she said and sucked her cheeks in.

  “I wondered if he was.” Her observation matched his. “What about Tia?”

  “Tia isn’t awed by his intelligence, which is a plus.”

  “Okay.” He made a gesture for her to continue.

  “Tia doesn’t appear the type that would intimidate easily.”

  “But?”

  “She does seem like the type of woman a man would find intimidating.”

  Okay, that was new information. “How is that?” Nick frowned at her. He didn’t think he agreed with her on this one.

  “Tia’s beautiful, intelligent, kind, and she comes from a good family. I think most men would find her intimidating. I know that combination will cowl Rob.”

  “You don’t think she and Rob would make a good pair?” How had he gotten sucked into this conversation again? Oh yeah, that’s right, he’d been stupid enough to start it. Nick desperately tried to come up with some means to end it.

  “No. I don’t think Rob would have any idea how to fulfill Tia’s needs, and Tia wouldn’t know how to fulfill Rob’s. They’re on totally separate planes.”

  “I can buy that.” Nick knew he shouldn’t, but he asked anyway. “What type of man do you think would fulfill Tia?”

  Macy cocked her head like she did when she thought something through. “Dr. Matteo.”

  “Good call.”

  “Yeah, I thought so.”

  Nick glanced at her, suspicion uppermost in his mind. “You’re not thinking of setting them up are you?”

  Macy’s eyes widened with innocence. Mmhmm. She was definitely up to no good. “Macy,” he said in cautionary tones.

  “He’s dating a fellow doctor,” she said and her lips curled down. He’d seen a similar pout on Starla’s lips. “My source says they all love her, and that they make a great pair.”

  “Foiled, were you?” Nick realized he was enjoying himself.

  “I hate when that happens,” she exclaimed in a burst of frustration.

  “Of course you do,” he consoled. “Anyway, we have a cousin named Leo de Vosse who is not only a pediatrician, but he’s also a lot like Dr. Matteo. Leo and Tia are really good buddies and she thinks of him as another brother so Tia probably wouldn’t be attracted to Dr. Matteo.” He shrugged as he thought about patting Macy on the head, but thought that might push his luck. What he’d really like to do is kiss her senseless, but that was especially out since the entire downstairs of his house was crowded with family.

  “Is Leo here?”

  Nick glanced around the room. “Yeah, he’s in the corner over there.” He pointed to the appropriate corner.

  Macy’s eyes widened. “You didn’t say he was gorgeous.”

  “He is not gorgeous. He’s just Leo.” Nick peered at his cousin but didn’t see anything attractive in the man’s typical Morrison looks. He turned back to Macy with a scowl.

  She wisely changed the subject. “Do you usually host these evening family events?”

  He decided to watch her for signs she was ogling his cousin but glanced around the room and thought about her question. “Yeah, I guess we do. We have the biggest space for it, so I guess we usually do.”

  “Your folk’s cabin is smaller than this?”

  “Yep.”

  “I see,” she said, but he thought she didn’t.

  “This is the newest cabin. Everyone else’s was built a long time ago, so none of them are open like this one. Some of them might be as big, but they have several rooms downstairs.”

  “I see, so you win by design.” Macy sent him a sage look.

  “Of course. I usually do,” he responded, tongue in cheek.

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible.”

  “I know.” He didn’t sound sorry, even to his own ears. Ah, well, that’s the way life went sometimes.

  “Does Bryan have a girlfriend? I don’t remember being introduced to her.”

  “He does. She’s a real estate agent, so she might have a showing this weekend.”

  “Oh, having to work on a holiday weekend. That stinks.”

  “It happens, especially in her line of work. Hey, Bryan,” Nick called across the way.

  Bryan, whose conversation partner wandered away from him, looked up and started across the room toward them. He had to sidestep several kids who had decided to play hopscotch in the middle of the thoroughfare.

  “What do you want?” Bryan asked. He sipped from the cup he held in his hand.

  “Where’s Becca?”

  “She had to work this weekend. Big open house today,” he said and took another sip.

  “It wouldn’t be fun to have to work over a holiday weekend,” Macy decided.

  Bryan twirled the contents of his cup. “Lots of people have off, so it’s a big time for agents like her.”

  “I guess that makes sense. Business is better when people are off work.”

  “Yeah, that’s what she’s found. I think she minds not being here, though.”

  “Think she’ll get up here at all?”

  Bryan shook his head. “It’s doubtful. I think she has open houses today and tomorrow.”

  “And we’ll be leaving on Monday.”

  “She likes to sleep on Mondays.�
� Bryan grimaced.

  “Her schedule makes it hard for the two of you to see each other,” Macy observed.

  “It can be hard. But we somehow make it work.”

  “Your hours as a lawyer would be nearly opposite hers,” Macy said.

  Bryan frowned. “Yeah, they are. But she’s usually free for lunch, so we try to eat together as often as possible.”

  “Well that’s good, then.”

  “We do what we can.”

  Nick tuned the conversation out to locate his children. Starla, acting much like a queen, paid court from the sofa. She had pillows piled around her, and had even changed into her nicest outfit she confided to him when he carried her downstairs.

  She’d be fine where she was. Savannah sat in a corner and chatted with three other girls, all cousins, about her own age. Bryce had confiscated a chair near the stairs and his eyes moved quickly across the pages of the book he read. He’d be enthralled for hours. Nick noticed the cover looked like all the others he read.

  He glanced around the room, frowning when he didn’t immediately locate Brandt. A flash of silver caught his eye and he turned in time to see his younger son engaged in all out battle with several of his cousins. The boys all wore helmets, carried swords and shields and appeared to be having a great time.

  All of them seemed to know what he was doing with his weapon. Nick thought that was a good thing. He watched the battle, and noticed Brandt more than held his own. It was good to know his son could defend himself if need be. Macy’s idea of signing him up for fencing classes was a good one.

  When he glanced around the room again, Nick noticed Tia and Rob drift away from each other. Rob got yanked into a conversation with several of Nick’s techno geek cousins. Macy’s brother stopped glancing longingly at the stack of books next to Bryce.

  Tia disappeared into the crowd, and Nick noticed she made a beeline for Leo. He checked on Macy and saw she was still in conversation with Bryan. The kids circling Starla joined the hopscotch game so Nick meandered to the couch where she sat. He saw his dad converge from the other side. “Granddad, can I use a hammer from your toolbox?” Starla started wheedling before his dad even sat down.

  “If she gets to use one, so do I,” Nick stated as he sat on the other side of her.