by Vivian Arend
“I made a list of the shops I want to check, and most of them are at the mall. You drop me off, and we’ll arrange a place to meet in a few hours.”
Clay glanced at her in confusion. “Why would I do that? I’m going to be with you.”
“Right.” She stared out the window at the passing fields, amusement in her voice.
“I’m serious. I said I was taking you shopping—of course I’m staying with you.”
It was her turn to look confused as she lifted big green eyes to meet his, a shadow of sorrow slipping in like it always did when she mentioned her husband. “Cameron hated shopping with a passion. He always had his own list of things to do.”
Clay shrugged, gently turning the conversation to another good memory best he could. “I know. He used to complain about it sometimes, but in a nice way. About how his girl needed her frills and things.”
Her laugh was shaky, but she was smiling again. “Yeah, he did get a kick out of some of the stuff I spent time on, so seriously, I don’t expect you to waste your morning babysitting me.”
For once she wasn’t listening. “Maggie. Unless you don’t want me along for some reason, my morning’s entertainment is shopping with you.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup.”
She leaned against the seat looking at him as if he’d sprouted green fur. “That’s not very guy-like.”
Clay hit the turn indicator to change lanes then set the cruise control for the rest of their travel time on the highway. “After Mom died, I was in charge of a lot of things, including making sure everybody had decent clothes to wear. The guys were easy, although Troy bitched a lot about getting hand-me-downs, but Katy?” He shook his head at the memory. “It’s as if she knew I couldn’t say no to her, not with her being the only girl after four boys. She was the one who got new-to-us stuff, although a lot of it came from the thrift shop. But even then she would make it into an event, and I’d end up hauling her and Janey out shopping on a Saturday for a couple of hours.”
“Oh lord, really?” She squeezed his fingers where they were linked with hers. “I was around for a year after you lost your mom. You guys seemed to take things in stride for the most part. I mean, I knew you were sad, but you were always at school, and Katy especially seemed okay.”
“We all watched out for her. And my brothers stepped up, for the most part. He won’t admit it, but Len did all the laundry for years, and Mitch more than pulled his weight in the shop. Troy—well, Troy was Troy.”
“And you went shopping with the girls.”
He nodded. “I couldn’t drop them off because they were just kids, but also because Katy demanded she show me everything she tried on so I could pronounce it ‘princess worthy’ or not.”
Maggie relaxed against him, a true smile flitting across her lips. “Fine. Since you’ve been well trained, I have no objections to you joining me. My list is short and simple, so if you need to pick anything up, we’ll have time for you as well.”
As they wandered through the mall together, Clay wondered at her definition of short and simple. They walked in and out of every store in the mall, and the collection of bags he carried grew steadily.
Only she was having so much fun he didn’t have the heart to tease. Instead he smiled and nodded as she grabbed things off the rack and disappeared to try them on.
The first time she stepped out of the change room and waved at him he’d hurried across the store to fix what was wrong.
She’d pulled on a flirty sundress with butterflies flitting across the hemline.
Clay dragged his gaze off her legs and forced himself to focus on her face. “What’s up?”
Maggie twirled, that damn skirt rising even higher to taunt him. When they both landed back in place, she was smiling hard. “Is it princess worthy?”
A laugh escaped as he pulled her against his body and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Nope. There’s nothing little girl about you, and I like that just fine.”
They tucked the bags in the truck before enjoying a late lunch then hitting the highway home. By the time they reached the outskirts of Rocky Mountain House, dinner hour was close.
“Is there time to change?” Maggie asked.
Clay glanced at his watch. “Barely. I’ll drop you off, run home, and come back to get you.”
She made a rude noise. “Why don’t you wear the new things you bought? You can change at my place.”
Tempting, but…
“That would only make us later,” he admitted.
Fire flashed in her eyes, and the responding ache in his body made it even more difficult to stick to his plans. And when he picked her up and she was wearing that damn sundress, the only thing that kept him heading the right direction was the fact his family knew how to find him.
Not showing up for his dad’s birthday party? They’d never live it down.
The instant they stopped in front of the house, Katy peeked her head out the front door and shouted at them. “Anna goes on shift in half an hour, so we’re doing the cake and presents first. Get your butts in here.”
They walked into a room full of pent-up energy. The girls had hung streamers from the ceiling to the lights, and he supposed it was supposed to look festive. It looked more like a spider web, but Clay held his tongue and headed to where his dad sat in the seat of honour, his grandson on his lap. “What’s this nonsense about you getting older?”
“Older, but not wiser,” Keith teased back, his smile falling on Maggie. “Hello, Margaret. Good to see you.”
“You too, Mr. Thompson. Happy birthday.” She stepped forward to offer him the card and cookies she’d bought that afternoon. “I hope there’s a wonderful year ahead for you.”
Keith stood and gave her a hug, then pointed at the chair next to him. “Sit down and you can take over this young man for me.”
Maggie accepted Tanner and sat on the edge of the loveseat, smiling at Katy as she brought in plates and forks, dodging around her brothers. “If he fusses, don’t take it personally,” Katy warned, “He’s teething and a grumpy butt because of it.”
Clay let the sounds of his family drift past as he held out his present to his father. “You’re so damn hard to buy for.”
“Ha. You got me the same thing as last year, didn’t you?” Keith tugged the bag from his fingers and peeked inside. “Good to know some things never change.”
“Dad,” Katy scolded. “Wait for everyone to get here before you start opening stuff.”
“It’s a subscription to a car magazine, Katy. Your brother’s bought me one since he was ten years old.”
Still, he put aside the bag obediently and waited for the big moment. Clay made his way across to sit next to Maggie, giving Tanner a poke in the tummy and making faces at him until his nephew offered a gap-toothed grin.
“Happy birthday to you…”
Everyone in the room picked up the refrain as Janey carried in an oversized birthday cake and settled it in front of Keith. The singing was out of tune, but enthusiastic, and the cheering when Keith blew out the candles echoed off the walls of the small house.
Presents and cake and the babble from the gathering wrapped around Clay like a familiar blanket. He leaned back and eased his arm around Maggie as he watched his family. Troy and Mitch pretended to wrestle for the last of the icing roses on the top of the cake, and Maggie whispered in his ear, “Isn’t Troy seeing someone? I thought she might be here today.”
Clay pulled back in surprise. He answered softly as well, his lips brushing a lock of hair that had escaped her ponytail. “As far as I know Troy’s fancy-free and happily playing the field.”
She looked so confused for a moment it was utterly adorable, and he couldn’t resist kissing her briefly.
Her cheeks flushed but she smiled then leaned around him to answer the shouted query to her name from across the room. Clay watched her join in the conversation, her body warm against his, and let his gaze drift over the room.
It stu
ttered to a stop on his father who was no longer smiling or teasing anyone. His face had gone completely white, and he was staring at the wall as if he’d seen a ghost.
God, was he having a heart attack?
Before Clay could check to be sure he was okay, Keith stood and marched across the room, offering a farewell hug to Anna before she pulled on her RCMP coat over her uniform. Then he vanished into the bathroom.
Clay was ready to pound down the door and ask some awkward questions, only dinner was announced and his dad reappeared in time to gather at the table.
Conversation was quick and steady as usual, except for Keith being more reserved.
Katy noticed it too. “You okay, Dad?”
He nodded. “Just tired.
“That’s what happens when you get old,” Troy said around a mouthful of pie. “—hey, watch it.”
Mitch had smacked him across the back of the head. “Oops, I meant ‘pass the whipped cream’.”
“You know what? I’m going to go home early and get some rest. You kids carry-on without me.” Keith tilted his head toward the apartment he lived in over the shop. “Help me take my presents back to my place,” he snapped at Clay.
Clay wasn’t sure why he was being ordered around in that tone, or why his dad needed help with a handful of trinkets, but he pulled on his shoes and dutifully followed his silent father across the yard and up the stairs to his apartment.
They were all the way into the living room before Keith spoke, refusing to meet his gaze. “I don’t think it’s right.”
For a moment Clay couldn’t think what the heck his dad was talking about, and even once it clicked he was confused. “You mean me and Maggie?”
His father glanced up quickly, then away, but not before Clay had seen the disdain in his expression. “Her husband’s barely gone, and she’s already going out on the town with another man?” Keith shook his head. “I’m not one who likes to judge, but I’m damned disappointed. In both of you.”
Sudden shocking pain gripped Clay, like icy fingers clutched around his heart. Of all the things he’d never expected to hear from his father… “I thought you knew. We’ve been seeing each other for weeks. It’s not—”
“First I’ve seen of it. You’re a grown man, Clay, and you make your own decisions, but I think you moved too fast. It’s like spitting on your friend’s grave.” Keith walked to the far side of the room, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’d be involved in something so dishonouring to a good man’s memory.”
A blast of heat finally loosened his tongue, yet it was respect for the past that kept Clay from lashing out at his father. Respect for the pain Keith had gone through losing his wife, and how much it had impacted him for so many years.
That’s why instead of telling his dad to take a flying leap, Clay spoke softly, hoping to find a small point of reason they could connect on. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t worked through his own guilt regarding this. “Cameron was a good man, Dad. A great husband to Maggie and a great friend to me, but us being together is in no way dishonouring to him.”
“That’s not how I see it.” Keith waved a hand at his son, twisting toward the back of the room. “God, I can’t even look at you right now. You need to think long and hard about what you’re doing, and when you come to your senses, then we can talk.”
An ultimatum? Fuck that. Clay couldn’t help snapping back. “Or what? What if we don’t come to our senses?”
Keith cleared his throat, one hand on the doorframe to his bedroom. His back to Clay. “If that’s your decision, then so be it. I have to work with you, but nothing more. Don’t you come around to any family gathering with her, or bring her by here. I don’t want to see the two of you together.”
For fucks sake. “Really, Dad? You’re that set against us just because—”
Keith Thompson shut the door firmly, cutting off the conversation.
It took half a dozen deep breaths for Clay to regain his control. He stood there in the middle of the dark room, fists clenched, driven to rush forward and have this out with the foolish old man. Staying put because it was his father being an asshole, and the man had been forced to the edge of hell and come back broken.
Clay hated what he’d heard from his father’s lips, but he knew when the festering pain had been planted. Even thirty years later Keith Thompson was as in love with his wife as the day he proposed, and having her torn away twelve years ago had changed him.
Changed them all—Clay down to Katy.
This wasn’t the end of the discussion, not by a long shot, but for today he would let it ride.
He took the stairs slowly, pulling himself together before walking back in the door at Gage and Katy’s. And if his smile was a little brittle around the edges, no one seemed to notice.
Chapter Fourteen
Something was wrong.
The evening had started wonderfully, and she’d enjoyed being around the family. The Thompson clan had always been entertaining, ever since she’d walked back into their presence last summer, but now that she’d gotten to know them as individuals, it was even better.
But tonight wasn’t like other nights.
Too many things were slightly off. Like how Clay didn’t think Troy was seeing anyone, but his brother’s gaze kept darting around the room as if he was missing someone. Plus, Troy kept checking his phone for messages, and he’d briefly lit up when one came through.
Then storm clouds had rolled over his expression only a moment later.
After dinner Gage had disappeared to convince a cranky Tanner to sleep, and Katy immediately curled up on the couch, leaning back and listening to the conversation without adding much to it, which was not like her. Not the Katy Maggie knew.
But it was Clay who had done the most complete one-hundred-eighty-degrees turn between dinner and returning from his father’s place. He was tense, and his laughter seemed forced. He didn’t say anything to his family, so she held her questions until they were back in his truck and headed home.
“Is your dad okay?” The only thing she could think that would affect him this hard was worry.
His grip on the steering wheel tightened. “He’s fine. Like he said, he’s tired.”
Maggie curled her fingers around Clay’s biceps and leaned her head against his shoulder, breathing out slowly. “He’s lucky he’s got such a wonderful family who cares about him.”
If anything Clay stiffened more, but he didn’t answer her.
Now she knew something was up. Clay always stood up for his family. Always had something good to say about them, even if it was in an “I’m going to kill them for this” kind of way.
They sat in silence for another moment before she tried again. “If something is wrong, let me know. I’m there for you if you need someone to talk to.” She squeezed his arm and allowed a soft chuckle to escape. “Its only fair—you listen to me all the time. I owe you one, or a hundred.”
Clay pressed his lips to the top of her head like a silent benediction. “Thank you, but it’s nothing. I guess it was a longer day than I thought. I’m out of practice shopping with the ladies.”
A yawn escaped her. “You and me both.”
He was still tense. Whatever had upset him, he wasn’t willing to share and she wasn’t going to push. Not yet. They had a ways to go in this relationship, figuring out what came next. Even though she craved the intimacy of sharing concerns, she hoped in time it would come.
“Thank you for the wonderful day,” Maggie said softly as he pulled into her driveway.
“No problem. I enjoyed it too.”
He walked her to the door and stood at her side as she worked the deadbolt. “Did you want to come in?” she asked.
Clay hesitated, and the brief pause became longer and longer until the silence was nearly painful before he spoke. “I need to go home tonight.”
The unspoken words I have a lot on my mind drifted between them. So Maggie kissed him good night, a nearly chaste caress, then stepped in
to her house, and closed and locked the door behind her.
She watched him plod back to the truck, hands jammed into his pockets, his head bent forward, shoulders curled as if he were in pain. She wanted to run outside and wrap herself around him. Demand that he let her in and tell her what was wrong.
What she did instead was wait until he backed out of the driveway and his truck disappeared down the road. As she stood there, deafening silence snuck out from the darkest corners and crumpled her defenses. Maggie gritted her teeth as she wandered through the house and turned on music, filling the rooms with white noise because she couldn’t bear how very alone she felt.
After that night at the Thompson birthday party, though, Clay rallied. He never spoke about what had gone wrong, and she didn’t poke, and slowly they moved on. Whatever it was that had bothered him didn’t intrude very often, and having his very keen attention firmly on her the rest of the time definitely gave her a warm glow inside.
So much had changed in such a short time—that seemed to be the theme of her life this past year. May was nearly over, and Maggie faced most days with a fair bit of optimism.
The weather warmed enough construction progressed quickly at the Habitat site, and after work she took trips to watch as the row of four single-story attached houses began to grow in place like some kind of wood-and-mortar flowers.
She stayed out of the construction team’s way best she could, using her rake and trowel to break up the soil and prepare it for when she could begin landscaping.
Working on the project gave her a chance to mindlessly use her hands while pondering what to do next in her life. Not just with her job, but things like home renovations, and if she should upgrade her car, and all the decisions she had to make on her own. After doing everything with another person for so long, it was strange to be in complete control. She was sure she was going to screw up royally at least a few times.
Her phone rang, and she paused to answer it. “Hey, you.”
