After a time, Alex pushed a rolling chair at him that he dropped into, and laid his head on the high-backed seat, gripping the armrest till he was white knuckled. “She fucking makes me crazy—and don’t you dare laugh. Can’t decide whether to stick my foot out and trip her so she falls flat on her face or offer her a hand to step over imaginary puddles.”
“Relax,” he heard Alex chuckle. “Don’t overthink it, man. Take it from one who knows.”
“Fuck you, Alex. I’m too old for this kind of shit.”
A bark of laughter rattled off the tech cave walls. “Well, it’s about damn time.”
“What in the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Calder grumbled, fixing his nephew with a dark scowl.
“Means you’re never too old for a woman to get under your skin. You could do worse—and in fact, you have. I’d say you finally met your match, Unc. I told you—Stephanie isn’t quite what she seems on the outside. Lady is smart as a whip, has a mean mouth when necessary, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. From my viewpoint—she deserves a guy who would appreciate who she is, where she comes from, and what she has to offer. I think you could be that guy. If you play your cards right, that is.”
“Well, you’re wrong about one thing. She most certainly doesn’t like me, so stop pushing, Alex.”
The younger man stood, pulled his phone from the pocket of his jeans, and glanced at the screen for a second. “Meghan says the movie will be over in about forty minutes. I suggest you put on some shining armor and get your aging ass back to the cabin. Offer to see Tori and her mother home. And stop fooling yourself, Calder. If it seems like she’s not interested, it’s because you’re freaking her out. I’ve known the woman for years and never have in all that time seen her at a loss for words in any situation.”
Humph. “Really?”
“Yeah, dude. Really. Don’t be an ass. She’s a handful, I’ll grant you that, but some simpering pushover wouldn’t hold your attention for more than a roll in the sack followed by a hasty walk of shame. She’s good people, so stop trying to be a hard-ass and follow your instincts—or your hormones. Whichever works.”
“THANKS, BRODY,” LACEY GUSHED AS he came toward her with Dylan cuddled on his shoulder. “Was he a good little boy for you?”
“Yeah, damn him,” he drawled with a grin. “Slept like a champ until ten minutes ago. Here I thought we’d have a boys’ night—maybe drink a few beers, watch some porn, swap some inappropriate stories, but all he did was snore and pee his pants. Just like his daddy.”
Lacey threw back her head and laughed. “You will not be subjecting my sweet baby son to any porn!” she shrieked with glee.
“Well, better keep him away from the barn then, lady. Especially when there’s a session going on,” he smirked. “Those spooks from the CIA that were here last month had some of the raunchiest smut I’ve ever seen. And they drink like fucking Russians with a vodka surplus.”
“Oh, my God,” she groaned. “I give up. Porn. Language. Alcohol.”
Lacey’s faux outrage got everyone laughing and brought baby Dylan’s head up in search of his mama when he heard her voice. Brody planted a kiss on the baby’s cheek and then gently handed him over to his mom, saying, “Babysitter duties complete so I’m outta here!”
Cradling her son with an expression of pure, unadulterated joy on her face, she sighed as he squirmed in her embrace. When he settled and smiled at her, Lacey beamed with happiness and blew Brody an air kiss as he quickly made for the door.
Meghan hung over her shoulder and marveled at the cuteness that was baby Dylan. “He looks so much like his daddy when he smiles like that,” she gushed.
For Lacey, there was no greater compliment. For it was a well-known fact that until she came into Cameron’s life, he rarely smiled and certainly never laughed. What a lifetime ago those days were when she’d been homeless and desperate and he’d been a brooding loner with a dangerous attitude. They’d rescued each other in every way that mattered and now, here they were, a year later—married, blissfully in love, and over the moon with happiness. Dylan’s birth had cemented the family they each longed for.
As always, the women slowly gravitated in the baby’s direction, each wanting a chance to kiss, hug, and cuddle her sweet little boy. Eventually, she walked him to Tori, who was still settled comfortably on a recliner with her feet up, and lowered him into her eagerly waiting arms.
“You’re a natural, honey,” Lacey murmured as she watched her sister-in-law snuggle with her beloved son.
“I still can’t believe you gave him Draegyn’s middle name,” Tori said with a wistful smile. “It meant so much to him, you know.”
Stephanie crouched down next to her daughter and put her head upon Tori’s shoulder where she watched Dylan with keen interest. Meghan rubbed a hand up and down Lacey’s back while Carmen, Ria, and Betty stood in a tight semi-circle and looked on lovingly. These wonderful people meant so much to her. Family Justice. There was absolutely nothing about the moment that wasn’t memorable and touching.
She told Tori, “Cameron loves Drae. Like more than a brother so it made sense to choose Henry as Dylan’s middle name.”
Meghan hugged her tight before she reached out and squeezed Tori’s shoulder. “You’ve made the Major so happy. All of you,” she added looking around at every woman present.
With that, Lacey picked up one of the remote controls and punched a few buttons, accessing the music library on the entertainment system. When “We Are Family” starting playing, everyone got into the spirit and began singing and dancing. Even Stephanie got into it adding her special flair of pageant presence as she broke out some disco moves that did Sister Sledge proud.
Next thing she knew, two hilariously off-key baritone voices sounded from the back of the room where Alex and Calder had appeared—doing a spastic send up of their musical gyrations. They were so funny that tears of laughter brimmed in her eyes—watching the two burly men shimmy and shake as they mocked the disco theme song was funnier than anything The Birdcage could have choreographed. Why in the hell wasn’t anyone recording this classic moment with their phone? Sheesh.
When the song ended, everyone was laughing. Even Dylan was smiling from his place in Tori’s arms.
Alex went to her with a goofy grin and swooped the baby up proclaiming, “The boy needs some manly influences, too, ladies! Got ‘Beer Drinkers and Hellraisers’ by ZZ Top in your library? I’m sure Cam would prefer that to some swishy disco dancing bullshit.”
“Settle down, Thunder Foot,” Meghan drawled. “You’ll get your chance to corrupt Dylan Henry with your rock 'n' roll influences and questionable taste in whiskey when he’s older.”
“Glenfiddich,” Alex barked.
“Jameson,” Meghan countered with a snicker. “Glenfiddich is for pussies.”
Lacey hung her head and giggled. Pretending to be outraged, she put her hands over Dylan’s ears. “Oh, my God, you guys! Language.”
“Don’t listen to her, my boy,” Alex chuckled. “If you ever say gosh darn it, your father will vapor lock.”
“That sure is one adorable baby, Lacey,” Calder interjected with smiling appreciation. “May I hold him?”
Alex looked to her for approval, which she easily gave, beaming with pride when Calder held her son in his big arms and gave her a wide grin. “I like the Phoenix Suns sox by the way. Nice touch.”
“What can I say?” she quipped. “Cameron would watch basketball twenty-four seven if I let him. He’s already planning on taking Dylan to a game as soon as he’s old enough.”
To say she was surprised when this recent addition to Family Justice lowered his head, inhaled deeply, then looked at her with unabashed delight and said, “I love the smell of babies,” was an understatement. She was flabbergasted. It took a big man to admit to such a private delight. Her assessment of Alex’s uncle climbed a dozen notches in that instant.
“Do you have any children, Calder?” she asked.
He shru
gged and gave Dylan a sweet kiss on the forehead before handing the baby off to her. “Nah,” he answered with a poignant look of regret on his face as he gazed at her son. “I wasn’t that lucky.”
From the corner of her eye, she spied Tori reaching out and taking her mom’s hand. She noticed that Stephanie caught Calder’s gaze for just a second before she glanced away and leaned down to help ease Tori from the recliner.
“C’mon, shugah dahlin’, let’s get you up. Alex, can you help?”
Calder all but leaped across the room to lend a hand after a quick elbow in the ribs from his nephew, which no one but Lacey happened to see. It was all she could do not to laugh. Matchmaking indeed, she thought.
“Here, let me help you,” Calder mumbled as he put an arm securely around Tori’s bumped out waist. “Wanna walk around a bit, Victoria?” he asked. “Get the blood flowing after sitting so long.”
“Ooooh, good idea,” Meghan chimed in with all the aplomb of a seasoned Phys Ed teacher.
“Tell you what,” Calder suggested. “Me and your mom will walk you out to the driveway and get you into her cart.” Looking to Alex and Meghan, he said, “We’ll all follow you down to your house. That way Alex and I can make sure you and Stephanie are tucked in tight for the night. Sound good?”
Pretty much everyone in the room nodded with approval.
“I’ll take the puppy outside and tire her out for you while Alex and Calder get you situated,” Meghan said.
Lacey watched Tori chew on the inside of her mouth and knew she was trying damn hard not to laugh. Alex and Meghan weren’t exactly being obvious, but it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to see that they were doing everything they could to encourage Calder’s involvement with Tori’s mom.
She couldn’t wait to share this interlude with Cameron when he called. She was sure he’d get a good laugh out of the entire situation.
AN HOUR LATER, AFTER GETTING back to the St. John house, taking care of the dog, and getting Tori into the master suite so she could curl up in bed and wait for Draegyn to call, Stephanie was wrapped so tight with nervous energy she felt like exploding. It had been a long, busy day.
Alex had performed his Big Daddy duties with calm precision; even making sure Tori had the phone within easy reach and a fresh carafe of cool water on the bedside table. Calder, on the other hand, was practically manic, asking every two minutes if Tori was alright while prowling back and forth, helping rearrange the pillows on the bed, opening the armoire for the TV and clicking through the hundreds of channels until he found a home improvement show that her daughter professed to like. Through all of this, they never made eye contact.
It had been left to Stephanie to help her daughter get ready for bed, standing guard outside the en suite door in case she needed help. She lended a hand while Tori undressed and donned a voluminous cotton nightie that looked like a costume from a Jane Austen movie. And all the while, her daughter had babbled on and on about Calder and how sweet he’d been with baby Dylan. What a shame it was that he didn’t have kids of his own, she said, comparing him non-stop to Alex. It was all like fingernails on a damn chalkboard for Stephanie.
Eventually Tori got settled and shooed everyone from the house following a round of hugs and kisses. She promised to let Stephanie know if she needed anything, so they left her alone to wait for Drae’s call and headed downstairs.
“Can I get anyone anything?” she babbled. “Coffee? Tea? Something harder?”
Alex let out a booming laugh when she said, something harder, and slung his arm possessively around Meghan’s neck. “I’d enjoy something harder but since my fiancée declared me a pussy not too long ago due to my whiskey preference, maybe it’s best I decline.”
“Thanks, Stephanie,” Meghan added with a quick laugh. “But I think the Major and I will take this disagreement someplace private where I can drink his ass under the table and prove my point.”
Alex leered at his sassy redhead as he smacked her playfully on the butt. Turning a mischievous expression on Stephanie he said, “I’d forgotten until the other night when you downed a mouthful of Maker’s Mark that you prefer the Southern delight! Did you know that Calder also has a love-hate thing going on with bourbon? Dirty Bird, isn’t that right, Unc?”
“What?” Calder muttered.
Unless she were mistaken, he’d just gotten caught totally distracted. She wondered what in the hell he’d been thinking.
“Wild Turkey,” Alex prompted with raised eyebrows and a smirk. “That’s your drink, isn’t it?”
“Oh, um…yeah. Bourbon. Neat. No bullshit.”
Fuck. My. Life. Unless she was missing the obvious hint, Alex and Meghan were setting them up to share a drink. Clearing her throat, she slapped a brittle smile on her face and politely invited Calder to hang out and have a bourbon with her to the beaming approval of the meddling Major. They were trapped. Something reflected in the the look of shock mixed with reluctance on Calder’s face.
“Oh, uh sure,” he finally choked out while jamming his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “Yeah. A bourbon would be good.”
He sounded so not thrilled. Right then, Stephanie wanted to throttle Alex, but what in the hell could she do? Especially when the all too cheerful couple quickly said their good-byes, taking Raven with them, leaving her and a very uncomfortable looking Calder Dane standing by the front door with expressions that bordered on murderous.
If she didn’t want a drink to calm her frazzled nerves, she might have kicked her reluctant guest to the curb. But instead, she stalked off toward the impressive bar at the rear of the family room aware that Calder was following several steps behind.
Grabbing the bottle of Maker’s Mark from the drink tray, she slammed it on the polished wood of the bar then opened the liquor cabinet and searched for a bottle of Wild Turkey. The half-full bottle told her that either Draegyn liked bourbon or this wasn’t the first time Calder had imbibed at the St. John’s.
“This is a beautiful bar,” her guest murmured as he took a seat. “Draegyn really outdid himself.”
Pouring a couple of fingers of the fragrant beverage into a glass, she pushed it toward him then did the same for herself. Raising her glass in a toast she quipped, “Here’s to living single and drinking double.”
Stephanie was just nervous and put off enough to want to slug the entire glass down in one shot, but managed to reel herself in. She took a deep breath, silently remembering that a good bourbon was worth sipping and savoring no matter how hard one’s chains got rattled.
Looking around at the magnificent wood bar and cabinetry that bore all the hallmarks of a St. John original, she asked, “How long have you known my son-in-law?”
Calder relaxed against the seat back of the bar chair and regarded her in much the same way that Alex would have. He was deciding how much to share, gathering bits and pieces of random information.
“Well, let’s see,” he offered quietly. “Seems like forever. Long before they started the agency.”
“Really?” That came as news to Stephanie.
He was fiddling with the glass where it sat on the bar, turning it with his long fingers and staring into the amber-colored liquid.
“Yep. They used to come hang with me when they got military leave.” Calder shrugged like it was no big deal, but what he said next reminded Stephanie how complicated Draegyn’s life used to be. “Drae didn’t exactly have family so Alex always seemed to have the man in tow—one way or the other.”
Hmmmm. Poor Draegyn. He had so much, but at the same time, so little. Stephanie recalled how she’d researched the St. John’s on the Internet after Victoria turned up married to the family. What a sorry bunch of pretentious assholes they were. Drae’s father came off like a preening douchebag while the mother, holy cow. The stick up her butt and the way she seemed interested only in her own social status had infuriated Stephanie. It must have been really tough on Draegyn when he was with the Special Forces. Without the comfort of involved par
ents, he, of course, gravitated toward Alex.
“When you say hung out with you, what does that actually mean? Where do you live, Calder?”
She watched as he picked up his glass and rocked it until the liquid released some of its fragrance, lifted it to his nose for a quick savor, and then sipped. When his tongue swiped along his lips afterward, she almost groaned.
“At the time, I was based in southern California. Santa Barbara to be exact.” Making a wry face, he pointed at himself and comically drawled, “Surfer dude,” as he rolled his eyes. “Beach living was my thing for longer than I can remember.”
“You say that as if it’s in the past tense.”
He nodded, acknowledging her comment. “Actually, you’re correct. Back during the time when the guys were in the service, I preferred the ocean to pretty much anything else. For them, coming out of the hot, dry shithole they were in overseas, they naturally gravitated to the beach. Fresh air, blue skies, waves. Oh yeah and hot girls in tiny bathing suits,” he snickered. “Was happy to provide a change of scenery for them.”
“But…?”
He chuckled and rolled a shoulder. “Everything gets old after a while. Right about the time Alex almost got his ass blown to kingdom come, I got sucked into other things. NASA, for one. They wanted to pick my brain for Space Station stuff so basically I started bouncing back and forth between Houston and the Flight Center in Maryland. Eventually putting down roots in Colorado, of all places. Something about living on a mountaintop where I wouldn’t have to put up with other people’s bullshit if I didn’t want to appealed to me.”
Colorado? Fuck. Really? How damn small could the world actually be? “Is that where you live now? Colorado?” It had taken all her strength to sound impassive, but just the mention of the Centennial State made her insides tighten.
“Aspen.”
He was watching her. Closely. Keeping a tsunami of memories from taking her under wasn’t being helped by the alcohol she’d drunk. Sure, Aspen was a far cry from where she’d grown up—a different world altogether but she’d done everything in her power when she was younger to distance herself from the hard-scrabble life she’d endured living with her grandparents in Durango.
Always (Family Justice Book 1) Page 17
