What Matters Most

by Longley, Barbara

  Spit it out and get it over with. “My brother is getting married on June second, and I need a date. Free food, open bar … it’ll be fun.”

  “Just a minute.” He snorted. “I’ll have to ask my wife.”

  Aw, shit. “When did you get married?” Jo could hear him walking, and then a door opening.

  “Around the same time I sold the Charger. Hey, hon?” he called. “An old friend wants to know if I can be her date for a wedding. You all right with that?”

  The woman’s irate voice came through loud and clear over Jo’s phone.

  “Sorry.” Gary chuckled. “That’s a no. Want me to ask around, see if any of my buddies are willing?”

  “No, but thanks.” Oh, God, the humiliation, the face burn. At least she hadn’t attempted this in person. “Congrats on getting married. Best wishes to you both.” She said goodbye and ended the call before he could respond.

  “Argh.” She flopped back on her couch and covered her heated face with both hands. Did she dare go through that again? Maybe going stag wouldn’t be so awful. Sighing, she checked her watch. She’d promised Grandma Maggie she’d arrive early to help with tonight’s dinner preparations. How early was too early? She needed a hug.

  Jo pushed herself off the couch and slipped her feet into her favorite shoes. She grabbed her purse, a light jacket and headed for the home that had been her refuge after she’d lost the two most important people in her universe. One of the things she loved about her condo was how close she lived to her grandparents. It only took her about seven minutes to get to them should they need her. More to the point, should she need them. Josey parked her truck in front of their grand, old, two-story house.

  Both her grandparents were in their seventies, and they didn’t need four bedrooms and two stories for just the two of them. Any day now they’d announce they were ready to sell, and she’d be faced with another upset.

  “Lord, I hate change,” she grumbled under her breath. She made her way along the sidewalk to the front door. Her aversion to change had started with the loss of her mom and dad. The day her grandparents moved her and her two brothers into their home came back to her in a rush. She’d been nearly numb with confusion and grief as her entire world crashed down around her.

  Jo used her key to unlock the door and crossed the threshold. The yummy smells of Grandma Maggie’s cooking hit her full force, and her mouth watered. “Hello!” she called.

  “Josey!” Gram appeared in the archway between the kitchen and the dining room and charged toward her. “We’ve missed you,” she said, enveloping her in a hug.

  “Missed you too,” she mumbled. Her eyes misted as she leaned into her gram’s embrace, exactly what she needed. She let go first, stepped back and studied the beloved matriarch of their large clan. She and her grandmother were about the same height. Gram wore her white hair in a neat twist at the back of her head. Her blue eyes sparkled, and the laugh lines around her eyes creased. “You look a decade younger, Gram. Traveling must agree with you.”

  “Oh, it does,” Gram said on a happy sigh. “We had such a lovely time, and we made new friends. I can’t wait to show you pictures. Your grandfather and I are already planning our next trip.”

  “Where to this time?” Josey followed her into the kitchen.

  “We’re thinking about taking a cruise to see the Fjords of Norway, or perhaps we’ll tour Bavaria. I hear the Alps are lovely.”

  “Both choices sound amazing.” She surveyed the familiar kitchen and the table where her grandmother had insisted she, Sam and Wyatt sit and do their homework while dinner was being cooked. Nothing had changed in this room at least. “So, what can I do to help with dinner?”

  “If you’d take care of the dishes and tidying up the kitchen, I’d appreciate it, and then you can set the dining room table.”

  “Smells amazing in here. What are we having?” Jo walked toward the sink.

  “Rack of lamb with rosemary and garlic, mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. I’m trying to replicate a meal we had while we were in Italy.”

  “I sure do miss your home-cooked lunches at work.” She peered out the window overlooking the backyard and the spare garage her grandfather had converted into a shop. “Where’s Gramps?”

  “I sent him to the liquor store for wine and beer.”

  “Ah.” Jo began to rinse and load dishes into the dishwasher, happy to have Grandma Maggie all to herself. Gram hummed while she sliced a crusty baguette, and the tension Jo had been holding began to melt away.

  “Wyatt tells me you’re bringing a date to the wedding,” Gram said. “You’re seeing someone? I hope it’s serious. Your grandfather and I would love to see you settled and happy.”

  And, just like that all the tension returned, tightening the muscles between her shoulder blades. “Nope. When I got the invitation, I was dating someone. Now I’m not.” She tucked her lower lip between her teeth and braced herself.

  “I see. Well, don’t worry. You’ll—”

  “Please don’t say it. I’m begging you.”

  Gram frowned at her, the serrated knife in her hand stilled above the bread. “Don’t say what?”

  “Please don’t tell me I’ll find someone, or I’ll be next. Right now, I don’t think I can take hearing that from you.” She let loose a mirthless laugh. “You have no idea what I did this afternoon in an effort to scrounge a date for Wyatt and Kayla’s wedding.”

  Gram’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”

  “Never mind. It’s not important.” Josey waved a coffee mug in the air. “I’ll go stag to their wedding.”

  “Hmm.” Now her grandmother’s eyes narrowed. “Have you thought about trying to meet someone on the line? I hear that’s how things are done these days.”

  “On the line? Do you mean online, Gram? Internet dating?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “No thanks. I’ve decided I’m better off on my own. I’m not looking.”

  “Seems to me, it’s when we’re not looking that we get hit the hardest. Works for love and fender benders.”

  Jo laughed. “You equate love with minor car accidents?”

  Gram smiled that whimsical smile she always had when remembering the past. “Falling in love can be like being hit by something, and it’ll knock you right off your feet and spin your life around one hundred and eighty degrees. I wasn’t looking when I met your grandfather.”

  “No?” Jo loved this the most. Hearing Gram’s stories always grounded her and brought a smile to her face.

  “Nope. I had big plans. I was going to go to college and become a journalist or an editor for one of those magazines for women.”

  “Really? I never knew that. Why didn’t you go to college then?”

  “Oh, I did for a year, but then I got hit while I wasn’t looking.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that, everything changed.”

  “I hate change,” Jo groused for the second time in an hour.

  “May as well make your peace with it because change is the only thing you can count on in life.” She glanced at Jo, her eyes lit with sympathy. “So, you go to Wyatt’s wedding on your own. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “I’ll be subjected to a lot of well-meaning comments like the one you were about to make before I stopped you,” she huffed. “I’ll be forced to dance with the littlest cousins, while they stand on my feet, because I’ll be the only one dateless in the land of coupledom.”

  “Make them take off their shoes first.”

  Random thoughts were so like Grandma Maggie. Jo laughed. “Huh?”

  “The little kids you’ll be dancing with who will stand on your feet. Make them take off their shoes, and you’ll be fine,” Gram teased.

  “I can always count on you for sage advice.”

  “Is that my favorite granddaughter I hear?” Grandpa Joe strode into the room, two brown paper sacks in his arms.

  Jo put the last dirty plate in the dishwasher and got it started before crossing
the room. “I missed you, Gramps. Welcome home.”

  He set the bags on the kitchen table, and then he pulled her in for a bear hug. “Missed you too, Josey girl. We had a great time, but it’s good to be home.”

  Grandpa Joe stood well over six feet, and Jo always felt tiny in his arms … tiny and safe. Again her eyes went teary. Must be hormonal fluctuations or something ridiculous like … all the damned changes afflicting her. She sniffed. “I’d better get the table set. Everyone is going to be here soon.” She wiped down the kitchen counter and then headed for the drawer to gather utensils. “I’m glad it’s just us tonight and not all the uncles, aunts and cousins.”

  “We are too. Sometimes it’s best to take Haneys in small doses.” Grandpa Joe kissed Gram on the cheek and put his arms around her. “Sure smells good in here, sweetheart.”

  Jo left them in the kitchen, their affectionate display too much to bear while feeling so emotionally wobbly herself. She needed a distraction, something to occupy her off-work time. Dammit, she’d borrow a sander and start refinishing her floors this week. She’d been putting it off because the process would disrupt her life. Right now, the disruption of a new project might be the best thing for her.

  “We’re here early.” Sam’s voice boomed from the foyer.

  “So we can see. No need to shout.” Jo grinned at the couple before going to the sideboard for placemats. Her brother was maybe an inch shorter that Grandpa Joe. While she and Wyatt had thick, straight hair, her older brother’s was an unruly mess of blond curls. He and Wyatt had both inherited the Haney men’s good looks.

  “Oh, my goodness, look at you, Haley. You positively glow!” Grandma Maggie put her hands over her heart.

  “Do you think so?” Haley rubbed her belly. “That’s what Sam says too, but I just don’t see it.”

  “Yep. You do.” Jo glanced at her sister-in-law, the petite and adorable brunette who had stolen her brother’s heart. She did glow, and her baby bump was clearly visible now. Sam and Haley joined her grandparents in the kitchen, and Jo listened to the happy chatter, followed by a squeal of delight when Sam told Gram and Gramps he and Haley were having a boy. Smiling, Jo set the placemats around the table and folded the cloth napkins. Haley joined her.

  “So, how’s it going?” Haley asked, picking up the silverware and following Jo around the table.

  “Fine. You?”

  “Good. I’m over the morning sickness but not the having to pee all the time part.” Haley straightened a butter knife. “Will stopped by my office today. He asked me for your phone number, but I would never give anyone your number without checking with you first.”

  “Oh?” Heat rushed to her face. She still hadn’t decided if she wanted to risk spending more time with him. “Did he say why?”

  “Something about a legal issue you and he talked about?” Haley glanced at her. “He’s gathered the paperwork for you, and he’d like to go over everything in person in case you have any questions.”

  “That was nice of him.” Had he gathered what she needed out of generosity, or did he have an ulterior motive? Her heart flipped. Could he have meant it when he’d said he wanted to see her again? “Go ahead and give him my number.”

  “So, what’s the issue?”

  “I want the name of our family business to change.”

  “Why, and to what?”

  Jo summarized the issue, and the resistance she’d faced, and then noise from the front door announced Wyatt, Kayla and Brady had arrived.

  “Have you talked to your brothers about the name change?” Haley asked.

  “Of course. Their eyes glaze over the same way Uncle Dan and Uncle Jack’s do.”

  “You have my support, not that it’s worth anything,” Haley said. “I’ll talk Sam around to seeing things your way.”

  “Aunty Jo, Aunty Haley, you know what?” Brady burst into the dining room, followed by Kayla and Wyatt.

  Anyone not knowing their history would think Brady was Wyatt’s son. All three were blond. Kayla was tall, maybe five feet eight or nine, and Wyatt, like gramps and Sam, also exceeded six feet. The three of them fit well together. “What, Superkid?” Jo tousled the little boy’s thick mop and grinned at her brother and Kayla.

  “When my mommy and Wyatt get married, I’ll have two great-grandpas, one great-grandma, two regular grandpas and two regular grandmas.” He held his small fingers, counting off the bounty the marriage would bring him. “One, two, three, four, five, six, SEVEN!” He shouted and hopped in place.

  Haley grinned. “Have you counted all the uncles, aunts and cousins you’re going to gain too?”

  Brady’s eyes widened. “No. Will you help me, Aunty Haley? Will your baby be my cousin or my uncle?”

  “Wyatt must have told you Sam and Haley are having a boy,” Jo said.

  Brady nodded and peered at Haley. “He says you ought to name him Henry.”

  “Did he?”

  Wyatt sauntered into the dining room, carrying a pie. “Of course. What else? Henry Haney, Haley Haney, and someday if you have a girl, you can name her Honey Haney.”

  “Sam,” Haley called into the kitchen. “Come do something about your idiot brother. In my condition, I cannot be held responsible for my actions.”

  Jo laughed, and things once again felt right in her world. Fifth wheel or not, she had her family, and she loved them fiercely. Her thoughts strayed to Will. How would he deal with the Haney family en masse? She shook her head. More than likely she’d never find out.

  Still, Will’s claim he wanted to give her the forms he’d gathered had to be nothing more than a ruse, like moving his water heater and replacing perfectly good plumbing fixtures. Fine. She’d call his bluff and see how long it took him to flee. As long as she guarded her heart, she might even find the situation amusing. Bonus.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The moment Josey walked through the door at Lucky’s, Will’s entire outlook on life improved. This was the first time he’d seen her in anything but her uniform. Tonight she wore jeans and a lacy blouse beneath a light spring jacket. What was it about his sexy plumber that got to him the way she did? He couldn’t put his finger on why, but the fact that Josey was searching for him just made his day. He raised his hand so she could locate him.

  Heads turned as she passed, and he was the lucky man who got to spend the evening with her. She wore her thick, tawny hair down this evening, and it fell around her shoulders. He longed to run his fingers through all that silky softness. Josey was not what you’d call drop-dead gorgeous, but she had a presence that drew attention. Maybe it was the way she walked, or something about her perfect posture coupled with her innate confidence. As far as he was concerned, Jo was a compact bundle of exactly right.

  He rose from the table and pulled out the chair to his left. “Hey, Jo. It’s good to see you again.” She’d put on a little more makeup tonight. Lip gloss with a red tinge, and eye shadow that made her pretty eyes more noticeable. Had she worn more makeup for him? His heart missed a beat at the thought.

  “Nice to see you too.” She took a seat, draped her purse over the back of her chair and wiggled out of her jacket. “Thanks for putting together the forms for me. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “No problem at all. Shall we order a couple of beers before we go over the paperwork? It’s Wednesday night, and—”

  “And you only drink beer on Fridays and Wednesdays?” She smirked.

  “Very funny. It’s bingo night, starting at seven-thirty.” He held up a couple of bingo sheets. “We can play after we go through the forms.” Will reached into the leather satchel sitting on the floor next to him and pulled out the folder holding his flimsy excuse for seeing her again. “I took the liberty of filling out what I could, and we’ll make a list of information you need to gather for me, so I can complete the paperwork.”

  Their server appeared, this time a man sporting a beard and a dark ponytail. “I’m Jeff, and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you two off with
something from the bar?” His eyes slid a little too appreciatively over Josey.

  Will cleared his throat, caught the guy’s attention and let his scowl do the talking. “What will you have, Jo?”

  “I’ll try a Lucky’s brew.”

  “I’ll have the same,” he said. “We’ll probably order something to eat a little later.”

  Jo waited until the server left, arched a brow and peered at Will. “I thought we were getting together to go over a few forms. Now we’re eating, drinking and playing bingo? Seems like you’ve planned an entire evening. Is this a date, counselor?”

  He’d worry, except her eyes sparkled, and the faintest hint of amusement played across her features. “Not really, but we’re here. Might as well enjoy ourselves, right?” He set the stack of paper between them and grabbed a pen and a legal pad from his briefcase. “Have you made any progress with your uncles?”

  “No. My grandparents just returned from a tour of Italy, and Grandpa Joe has been hanging out at the office. Gramps is disruption enough for my uncles. Plus, I’m back on new construction, and I haven’t really had the chance to chase anybody down.”

  “Call a meeting of the partners and let them know your lawyer will be present.”

  “You’re my lawyer now?” She made a sound halfway between a snort and a laugh.

  “If you want me to be.” He studied her reaction, gratified by her smile.

  “I asked my uncle to call a meeting, but he didn’t respond.”

  “Don’t wait. Set up the meeting yourself and write the agenda.” He tapped the papers. “Let’s get started, so we can get through these, put them away and relax.” Their waiter returned and set their beers on the table, leaving without a word.

  “By the way, you do want me to be there during your meeting, right?” he asked. “I don’t have to say anything if you don’t want me to, but my presence will send the message that you’re serious. Your uncles will see you’ve taken steps to ensure they listen.”

  “Yes. I’d like that,” she said. “Thank you for offering.”

  Her shy smile, and the warmth in her eyes as she regarded him, caused his chest to swell. Score one for the lawyer. Although Jo’s case wasn’t a huge issue, he’d done something good for someone deserving. This was what being a lawyer should always be about. “I’ve been giving your suggestion from a couple of weeks ago some thought.”