“How could he be that if I managed to get rid of him?” He ceased glaring at the driver who was trying to overtake him to take a moment to wink at her. “She doesn’t want to admit I did her a favor.”
“Oh that’s what you were doing…I’ll be sure to tell her that the next time she visits and drinks a bottle too many of Chianti!”
“You do that. And next time, tell her to bring her own wine.”
She chuckled, rolling her eyes at his antics before looking around the housing district where Josh’s parents lived.
Luke and Lexi were in the backseat, discussing that morning’s chapter of Harry Potter. The pair of them had always been close, but with the visits to his parents’ farm and the daily reading sessions, they were closer than ever. It came as a relief to her that he had someone to buddy down with. She kind of wished it was her, but she’d gone way past that point. She wanted him sane, and if Lexi grounded him, then that was freakin’ fantastic.
The tires squealed as Josh moved around a tight bend in the fairway that led to his parents’ home in the suburbs. She was always grateful the four of them lived off a dirt track, on a plot of land surrounded by trees and forests, when she came to Laurie and Dave’s home. The neat-as-pin yards, the hedges pruned to within an inch of their lives, the cars perfectly polished and shining in the sun…the sheer regimental nature of life in a highly residential area was cloying for her.
It should have appealed to Josh who certainly appreciated order, but he liked his privacy too much. If it meant living twenty minutes away from the nearest state road, it was worth it. For all of them.
Kids had congregated out on the streets and were playing ball at one end, while others were on their bikes, racing up and down like maniacs as they enjoyed the unseasonably warm temperatures. It was hard to believe Christmas was approaching, but this year, they were blessed, and Gia wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She half wished Lexi was the sort to go out and play, to enjoy the last hours of freedom on a sweaty Sunday afternoon before Monday hit and school started up again for the week.
As one kid went down, his bike skidding, bloodying up his leg with a nasty gash, she recalculated that wish. Not that the kid minded apparently. He was up again, racing down the lane almost as though nothing had happened.
When Josh pulled to a halt, she looked back at Lexi, who wore a pretty frilly dress and lacy ankle socks with brown leather Mary Janes. She was getting better with the dirt thing, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. And truth be told, Gia liked her little fairy intact. No grazes or broken arms to worry about from roughhousing it. She had enough on her plate with the homeschooling without having to fret about Lexi climbing trees or being knocked over in a game of tag.
“You ready for the chaos of the Henderson house?” she teased when said fairy stopped chattering about what kind of wand she’d want from Ollivanders of Diagon Alley and pinkened when she saw her mother’s attention was on her.
At the question, though, Lexi grinned and nodded. She loved it there. Laurie and Dave spoiled her something rotten, mostly because she was the only girl of the bunch but also because she was the best behaved of all their five grandkids.
Not that Gia was biased or anything.
Amused at herself, she climbed out of the SUV and then opened the door for Lexi, who immediately hopped out. Luke was slower, and his pace was still strained as he rounded the car and hobbled onto the sidewalk. Physiotherapy was helping him get around easier, but his impatience wasn’t. Josh locked up, frown still puckering his brow as he approached the drive overloaded with his siblings’ cars.
“Why do we always end up on the road?”
At his complaint, Gia huffed. “Because we’re always late?”
Josh looked at his watch. “We’re right on time.”
“Yeah, but they’re earlier than us.” She put her hands on her hips. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out, love!”
He grabbed her to him, holding her close before letting his palm slide down to cup her ass. He gave it a cheeky squeeze and growled in her ear, “I’ll show you where I’m a genius later.”
She laughed, surprised at the move, especially as it was in front of Lexi. Only, when she turned around after having her butt caressed in public, Gia saw Luke had taken their daughter up to the house. On top of that, Josh hadn’t been touchy-feely for what felt like a lifetime. It was good to see him loosen up a little, better still to feel it.
Luke was stiff after the long drive and Lexi was dancing around his feet like a demented puppy, her skirt flying up as she hopped from side to side, eager to see her grandparents. Gia chuckled at the pair of them. Josh, spying her amusement, peered over in the direction she was looking. “I’m glad they’re close,” he murmured, suddenly somber as he squinted at the sunlight. “I think she’s helping him get through this.”
“I think a lot of things are helping him get through this. The appeal, the therapy…”
“I know what isn’t,” Josh remarked, his tone growing grim.
“What?”
“The thought of you going away.” He sighed. “He won’t forgive me for that, you know. We’ll be old and gray together, and he’ll still begrudge me.”
She shrugged. “He loves me.”
“I love you too.” He reached for her hand. “No less than he does, sweetheart. But he needs me right now. He needs me to protect him. I’d do the same for you. In a heartbeat. I swear it.”
Her top lip quirked up as she looked into his earnest face. Lifting a hand, she cupped his cheek. “I know.”
“I’ll miss you too. I wish you didn’t have to go.”
“I know,” she repeated.
“Stop saying that. Stop being so understanding. I wish you’d rail at me, throw a few punches.”
“Would that make you feel less guilty?”
“Maybe.” He pouted a little. “Won’t you miss us?”
“Did you have to ask me that? Seriously?” she asked, astounded. “Of course I will. Hell, I don’t want to go. But I understand. Needs must, and all that.”
He grabbed her hand and pressed her knuckles to his lips. “Once we get this all sorted out, things can go back to normal.”
“God forbid,” she teased and found she was able to smile at him over this. At least, she could at the moment. When she had to leave in a few days’ time, it might be a whole different kettle of fish.
“We could all do with a dose of normalcy. Now and again.” He huffed. “Come on, love. Let’s get this damn dinner over with.”
“Well, that’s nice,” she chided.
He grimaced, then rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I purposely booked today off. I wanted to spend it with you, Luke, and Lexi. Instead, I’m here, about to listen to some of my sisters’ bullshit gossip. Something they have to share with us all, apparently. I’m not in the mood, but I know Mom only disturbs me with this shit if she thinks it’s important enough to call us all over.”
As he talked, he grabbed hold of her hand and walked her up the garden path. The door was open and inside, chaos was reigning. The house was small as after the kids had left, Laurie and Dave had downsized and invested in a new home and the aforementioned deathtrap RV, which they used to travel around the southern half of the country, dropping in on each of their children when the fancy took them.
People poured out of all the rooms. Kids cried and laughed, sisters bitched together, brothers-in-law groused. At the center of it all was Dave. He was sitting on his recliner like it was a throne, watching the madness ensue while a replay of a game was on the TV. Lexi was already on his knee, cuddled into him as she talked a mile a minute about something or other, and Dave, with one eye on the game, was managing to keep up with her as he discussed the match with Luke, who’d taken a seat at his father-in-law’s side.
Laurie would be in the kitchen with Loretta, the only one of her daughters able to boil water without destroying the stove.
“I’ll go and help your mother,” she
told Josh, speaking up over the noise of close to twenty people.
“Throwing me to the lions, are you?” he asked mournfully. “I knew you’d get me back.”
She grinned. “My punishments are always fair.”
With a wink and a kiss to his cheek, she fluttered off, leaving him in the hallway where one of his brothers-in-law, Jamie, flagged him down. Considering Jamie was a car salesman, one who loved his job, Josh was in for an enthralling session about the latest luxury saloon on his books.
Amused by the notion, she smiled and waved her way through the family. Kissing some, squeezing the hands of others, and all before she made it to the kitchen. The instant she crossed the threshold, Laurie crossed herself—she did that a lot. “Thank you, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. What did I do to deserve four daughters, not a single one of them able to boil pasta!” She nearly crashed into Gia as she embraced her and anointed her cheeks with two boisterous kisses. “Where’s my angel?” she asked, peering around Gia in search of Lexi.
“On Dave’s knee, of course,” she replied, hugging Laurie back.
“He steals her,” came the indignant answer. “She should be in here with me, learning how to cook conchiglie al forno properly. Instead, he’s making her watch that damn fool game.”
“I can teach her that, don’t worry.”
“Not my version,” came the stout retort. She eyed Gia up and down a second. “You look thin. You’ve not been eating enough?”
“It’s been tough at home,” Gia confessed, grabbing one of the aprons that always hung at the back of the kitchen door and heading straight into the melee of the small but neat kitchen. A scrubbed-down oak table sat at one wall, currently loaded down with bakeware, the counters were white marble, pots and pans were bubbling away on the eight-burner stove, and the matching oak cupboards were in a disarray. Some half-open, others wide, few were shut. The sink was piled high with dishes, which Loretta was trying to tame.
Before Gia was handed a knife and a tray of salad veggies to cut, she popped over to Loretta and kissed her cheek. “She’s on the rampage,” came the warning.
“When isn’t she?” Gia teased before she started dicing and slicing.
Laurie stirred her famous red sauce, then waggled the wooden spoon at Gia. “You need to eat more.”
“I’ve lost a couple of pounds,” Gia complained. “It’s not like I didn’t need to lose them.”
“Pooh,” Laurie retorted. “You were perfect as you were. Now, you’re scrawny.” She peered deep into Gia’s eyes a second, then tilted her head. She looked around the room a second, looking for only God only knew what, then pressed her free hand to Gia’s belly. “You’re with child.”
Gia shook her head. “Don’t be silly.”
“I’m not. A mother always knows.”
“I’m not your daughter.”
Laurie sniffed. “You might as well be.” She whispered, “Get one of those tests done, sweetheart. I’m telling you. It’s in your eyes.”
Gia would have brushed it off if not for the seriousness of Laurie’s tone and the fact her mother-in-law had known before anyone else had that she was carrying Lexi. Astonished by the notion she might be pregnant when the idea had never occurred to her, her voice was shaky when she replied, “I will. I promise.”
“Bad timing, huh? Babies always are. What’s going on with Luke? He driving you both mad yet?”
She blinked, then grinned, wryly. “A little. Josh is as bad. He’s on the warpath.”
“Never could see the people he loved getting hurt. One thing I did right with that boy.”
“I’d say you did a lot right.”
Laurie smirked. “I know, but it ain’t right to brag.”
Gia laughed. “You’re a pain in my behind, Laurel Henderson.”
“I’m a pain in someone’s butt.” Laurie chucked her under the chin. “Congratulations, sweetie. I know Luke’s wanted to be a daddy for a long time. Not that Lexi isn’t his, but men like those boys, they need to spread their seed.”
Gia wrinkled her nose. “That’s disgusting, Laurie.”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. Think of all those genes gone to waste, though.”
“Okay, you’re right. I can’t. How do you know it’s not Josh’s?”
“Because I highly doubt you’d let it be,” came the knowing retort.
She flushed. “Well, one from each would be perfect, you know?”
“And I’m not complaining. Try for another girl, though, eh? Boys, boys everywhere! I see boys!”
“Like you don’t love them to death,” she teased.
“Ach, they’re the pains in my behind.”
“They keep you young.”
“They turn me gray.”
Considering her mother-in-law made Sophia Loren look dowdy, she discounted that for the attention-seeking missile it was. “What’s going on, Laurie?” Gia asked, changing the subject. “Why are we here?”
“You been in the lounge yet?”
“Nope. I peeked in, that’s all. Saw Lexi was okay, and that Luke was watching the game with them both.”
“There’s another visitor.”
“Don’t gossip, Ma,” Loretta hollered from behind a wash of steam. Hot water cascaded from the faucet as she spoke.
“I’m not, I’m not!” Laurie immediately denied, then in a hushed voice, murmured, “Elin has only gone and done what you, Luke, and Josh have.”
“What’s that?” Gia asked, perplexed.
“Got another one.”
“Another what? Baby on the way?”
“Nope. Dave’s beside himself. Thinks something’s in the water.”
“What something?” she barked. “Explain.”
“Well, Elin and Jason have a new addition. Sarah.”
“Sarah?”
Laurie grunted. “Sarah.”
“I’m lost. Explain.”
The older woman crossed herself. “One in the family was one thing, but two? I can see why Dave’s starting to wonder if the water’s dodgy. They’re a…what do you call it? Like you three.”
Gia blinked. “A menage?” A squeak escaped her. “Elin?”
Laurie nodded quickly. “I know.”
“She’s bi?” Gia whispered.
“Apparently so. Either that or Jason is one lucky man.”
“If Loretta, Dave, and you know, then why the emergency lunch?”
“So Josh can find out in safety.”
“What do you mean?”
She snorted. “Elin’s his baby sister. The baby. How do you think he’s going to feel when he finds this out? Jason is going to be lucky if his nose is still stuck on his body.”
“Why?”
“It can’t possibly be that they’re in love, cara mia. They can’t possibly be like you three. Oh no, it will be Jason who can’t keep it in his pants.” She crossed herself again. “God help me if they spill my sauce on the carpet.”
Gia was about to chuckle at Laurie’s melodrama when a roar sounded from the other room. To the sound of that explosion of fury, Laurie wailed, “Who the hell let the cat out of the bag?” and immediately took off for the living room, leaving Gia blinking at the notion the most staid and serious of her husbands was in a fistfight of all things.
Maybe they did need a dose of normal after all.
Huh.
Chapter Ten
A few days later
“I don’t understand, Mommy, why can’t I go with you?”
Lexi’s innocent question only added to the nausea swimming through Gia’s gut. They’d put off telling her for as long as they could but today was the day… Maybe it was a testament to how well they’d raised her that she hadn’t burst into childish hysterics at the notion of her mother going somewhere without her. As it was, there was a befuddled air about her. She simply couldn’t understand why she couldn’t go with her mommy.
In truth, Gia was relieved. Had Lexi made a fuss, she didn’t know if she’d have had the strength to leave her little
girl behind when she went on her unwanted road trip. As it was, she could handle perplexity because it spoke of Lexi’s self-assurance and certainty of her place in the world.
That boosted her. It really did.
It meant that when she doubted herself, wondered if she was doing the right thing by homeschooling Lexi, or by letting her keep to herself, or allowing the little girl to explore her love of books rather than play, Gia was a good mother. She had proof of that now.
“Because it’s a place only mommies can go, Lexi.”
That earned her a suspicious frown. “There are places where mommies go that kids can’t? What kind of place is that?” She pursed her lips. “I don’t like the sound of it. Are you sure it’s safe?”
The question made Gia blink and her mouth work, but Josh snickered. He would. It was said in a tone of voice that echoed him. “It’s an unusual one, short stuff. It’s called a retreat, and I’m sure Mommy will be fine without you to hold her hand,” he piped in from the other side of the breakfast counter.
Luke, for once, was fiddling around at the stove, snacking as he cooked, and Josh had already eaten the eggs she’d prepared him twenty minutes ago.
Lexi’s granola sat untouched, but at Josh’s answer, she took her spoon and shoveled a load of nutty oats into her mouth. Gia wasn’t reassured. That simply meant she was percolating. Eating did that for Lexi. Each chew was a process, a chance for her to formulate her next question.
“I still don’t think I like the sound of this place,” she eventually said, the serious words sounding horribly amusing coming out of such a young mouth.
Hard-pressed not to grin at Josh, she bit back a smile and murmured gently, “No, but then, you don’t have to, Lexi. It’s for me to enjoy.”
“Don’t you enjoy being with me?”
“Of course, I do, love. But it’s been so crazy with your new routine and everything that a little break will do me good.”
“A change is as good as a rest. That’s what Grandma Lou always says, isn’t it, Lexi?” Luke remarked as he bit into a banana.
Ever since Josh had filed his final report a week ago and the appeal process was due to start in a few days’ time—had in fact been fast-forwarded thanks to General Jarvis’s interference—he’d started eating again. If anything, he was eating more than enough. That was all the proof she needed that she was doing the right thing by slinking off. Even if it hurt like hell to have to leave.
The Power of Love Page 15
