Logan chuckled, and said, "Okay, baby. I'll be there."
"'Kay. See you in a few days. I'll text you the details once I know them." Hitching my bag onto my shoulder, I left the hotel room for a long walk in the snow. The fresh air would help clear my head, and keeping my hands busy would help me analyze. Screw it, I'll text Annie.
Me: Need Powwow @ bakery ASAP
Knowing Annie, she'd be in a book coma. We both lived and breathed this bakery. We made sacrifices, meaning we rarely went out partying. Sometimes we actually made it out and see a movie. Normally, I chose sleep over partying.
Annie: I'll call Randy for a ride give me 30.
Quickly I type back.
Me: Bring Kahlua.
There was no way I could drink anymore, but I wanted to experiment with a recipe. Everything we served at the bakery was great, but I loved taking a great recipe and making it over the top phenomenal. It was a mood and ego booster, and I could use both of those right about now.
Chapter Three
A time to give Thanks
Standing in the kitchen of my childhood home, I unloaded pies, all eight of them. I’d managed to lug all of them in by myself in one trip. I'd barely shrugged out of my coat before my mother, Cindy, had already chastised me for being late yet didn't bother to offer her help with moving or unloading pies.
"What'd ya bring?" my cousin, Tyler, asked. Tyler was sixteen, and in that tall, lanky, awkward stage boys go through. He usually stuck close during family functions, somehow knowing I would need the extra support. Plus, I brought pie.
I know, I know. You can't pick your family. Not all of my family was a royal pain in the ass, just mainly my mom. She didn't have a problem cutting me down in front of people either.
"Two pumpkins, two pecans, cherry, lemon meringue, coconut cream, and an experimental bacon apple brie pie." From all the cars in the driveway and people littering the living room, it also looked like I didn't bring enough pie. My mom didn't give me a head count to go by so I had to wing it.
"Bacon in a pie?" Tyler questioned.
I smiled. "Why not?" I had free guinea pigs—some of whom I didn't even like—so if my experiment was a total flop I didn't really care.
"Logan and Nathan are here. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?" Tyler asked.
"Nathan's here? I didn't think he'd be able to make it." Last time I saw Nathan was eighteen months ago. He visited me in Boston, only a weekend visit at that. I had a cheese eatin' grin on my face thinking Logan must have talked him into showing. If Logan had sweet talked Nathan into showing, automatic brownie points for him.
"He's out back drinking with Logan. Dr. Reynolds is wanting to bring in another vet ..." Tyler trailed off just letting that tidbit of gossip hang there.
Dr. Reynolds was a great guy. He and his wife ran the clinic, but they were in their mid-fifties. Maybe Nathan would consider moving back home to take over the clinic. I needed to talk him into it.
"Really? Let me get a beer, and we'll track them down. You can tell him." Having Nathan home would be an added buffer. Pulling a beer out of the fridge, I followed Tyler as he led the way outside. In general, I missed my brother. I had two girlfriends in town, but every now and then I just wanted to watch football or something that didn't revolve around the drama of a small town. My mom caused her share of drama.
Tyler pulled open the door to the screened in porch and I walked through to see Nathan and Logan laughing.
"Hey guys!" I shouted as Nathan stood and I went to him and gave him a hug. The guys exchanged a macho chin lift.
"CiCi," he mumbled against my temple as he kissed it. "Damn, Ty. What'd you do grow a foot?"
"Ty has some insider information ..." I trail off, nudging Tyler to share.
"Doc Reynolds is wanting to retire in a few years, and he wants to hire a few more vets to lessen his workload," Tyler said, sitting down in a rocking chair.
"When are you moving home?" I asked with my arm still around his waist.
"You promise you're not hightailing it off to the west coast or some other place if I move home?"
"I'm establishing a business here. Why would I move?" The door creaked open and my lovely mother poked her head in. Four sets of eyes turned to look at her.
"Since Cecile finally decided to show up, we'll be eating in ten minutes. Honey, couldn't you have worn something that's in this season." I rolled my eyes, as she commented.
I had on my favorite Lucky brand jeans with a dark boucle cowlneck sweater from Victoria's Secret. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my outfit, even if it was last season.
Once she closed the door I said, "She told me two o'clock. I'm nowhere near late!" See? Drama! None of us made a move to go inside just yet.
"I love both of you, but she's exactly why you would move," Nathan said, moving away to lean against the wall.
Too true.
"If you move home, she'll have the prodigal son to bug, and leave me the hell alone." I smiled. It was a nice theory, but it wouldn't last long. She'd leave me alone until she needed a cake or pastries for a party. Nathan pulled away from me, running his hand through his hair, sighing.
"All right. I'll talk to Doc. But if I move back and you get a wild hair to move to San Francisco or some shit like that I'll be pissed."
"If I did move, it'd be Vegas not San Fran, but I promise. I won't move. I might go to extremes to be disowned or change my name." I smiled, taking a swig of beer. It was Big Sky Powder Hound. Quality of beer definitely, which was likely due to Nathan's presence.
"Since Cindy's still on your ass. Wanna go get drunk?" Logan asked. He noticed my mom's never-ending nagging. Getting drunk like I didn't have a care in the world sounded awesome, but I was an adult with responsibilities. Of course getting drunk with Logan would probably end up with me naked in his bed, not that it would be a bad thing.
I wasn't ready for that step yet. I needed a major shopping trip to stock up my panty drawer first. I wasn't a girl who had to have flowers or jewelry, but part of me wanted to be wooed.
"I can't. I have to get back tonight, we're opening early for Black Friday. This," I shook my beer can before continuing, "will be my only beer tonight." It took me a few days to recover from my champagne hangover, add in exhaustion from work. I'd barely had enough time to eat the past few days.
"You usin' work for an early exit?" Tyler asked.
Busted. So, busted. If I chugged my beer now, I'd be partially buzzed during dinner and sober by dessert allowing for a quick exit.
"Damn skippy."
"A drunk and belligerent CiCi will be more entertaining," Tyler said then disappeared into the house. Nathan followed Tyler into the house leaving Logan alone with me. Logan pulled me into his side, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"I'm not sure how you talked Nathan into showing up, but I appreciate it. I asked him a few weeks ago and he said no."
He nodded. "You're welcome. I just told him you invited me, and it'd be nice to see him since it's been a while. We're gonna talk about last weekend."
My eyes instantly find his. "I was busy this week. I wasn't trying to avoid you, but it is a little awkward." For the sake of self-preservation I downed a quarter of my beer. If I actually remembered festivities with Logan it would be a little easier in this situation.
He remembered everything. All I remembered was waking up next to him with awesome abs and eventually pissing him off. I was at a disadvantage by being so trashed at the reception. Logan held the upper hand, and I felt more than conflicted about him having it.
"I know. I stopped by the bakery yesterday. Annie showed me where you were, and you were passed out in the office."
Craptastic. Damn, Annie. That was not my finest moment and that particular day I looked like hell in a hand basket. Logan chuckled, while I tipped my head back and groaned.
"It was cute, but back to the point. Dinner next Thursday."
"Why Thursday?" Such a weird day to ask to go out. I
worked every day except Sundays. Even some Sundays I would go in and do prep.
"Opens up the possibility of a long weekend," he said, grinning. He smiled that smile a lot before his parents died.
That grin meant trouble, but I felt a lower heat surge so I smiled back. It had been a personal choice to be absent from his life for the past five years. I missed many things about Logan, but mostly his smile.
And his laugh.
His laugh, was also nice.
Dipping his head, I knew he was going to kiss me. Kissing at a family function, at least with a family like mine, I was not ready to make that announcement. We had a lot of ground to cover. I didn't need to panic about what kind of statement, kissing Logan Adams on Thanksgiving, would make. Deciding to play it cool and knowing my mom would pop her head out at any moment to call us inside. I transitioned to a safer topic.
"We need to go inside," I said, my voice low.
As if on cue, or somehow she managed to read my mind, my mom swung open the patio door, curtly asking, "Are you two coming inside so we can get started or not?"
Logan tore his eyes away from mine to stare my mom down. He did not look happy. My mother was beautiful, but for the most part her beauty was only on the outside. She had her kind and loving moments, but those were rare. Pretty much like finding a Megalodon shark tooth.
"Start without us. We'll be in, in a few minutes, Cindy." God, this man oozed confidence, and he kept his voice smooth, but firm. He didn't care what she wanted, and he was the kind of guy that did what he wanted. And, he wanted to talk to me, alone.
Her mouth was gaping. I'm not sure if it was from Logan's terse tone or from the way he was holding me. I liked, no loved, having her off kilter. Having her off balance meant she'd slow down on the badgering. Quickly, she closed the door and left us alone again. Although, with us standing in front of a window, I doubted we were actually alone. I faced Logan my eyes meeting his.
"You know we're being watched now right?" His stare moved down to my lips.
"She's always watching you, looking for an opening to nag you."
Strange. I had never noticed her watching me.
I guess I should explain a little bit more about my mom. When I was young I modeled. Nathan did too. Mom used her connections to promote us, plus she sometimes scored gigs because companies wanted the 'family' look.
At first, being a baby, I was too young to care. Ages three through five, I didn't mind it so much, I found 'dress up' fun and interesting. Once I started school, I didn't like it much since I had to leave my friends behind, and Mom didn't care about keeping me up to date with my homework. She was too self-absorbed to do that.
Once my mom started viewing me as competition, I severely loathed it. It made her bitter, making me feel uneasy. I wanted my mom to love me, not make me feel bad for her insecurities (of course I didn't realize that was her issue until I was older). At age seven, I put my foot down, quite physically. I proved my point by running the three miles to Logan's house.
Yes, running on foot, I bawled the whole way there. Nathan was there for a sleepover. I hid behind Nathan as he stuck up for me, Logan held my hand, during the long but intense discussion. After the drama and mayhem, Logan's mom insisted I stay, and my mom left to catch her plane. Magically, on my eighth birthday, I got a horse. I think that was my dad's way of apologizing. Mom never apologized, her bitterness grew, and the nagging began.
"Did you talk to Nathan?" I asked, breaking eye contact, but I felt his eyes burning into me.
"Not yet. I will though. Tonight or tomorrow." Having Nathan's approval would mean the world. I didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't approve.
Logan pushed away from the wall and took my hand in his leading us inside.
Everything was set up buffet style so people were lined up filling their plates and making their way to the various tables. Tyler made eye contact, smiling at me and I realized Logan was still holding my hand.
Pulling my hand away, I finished my beer. We'd managed to fill our plates without receiving more smirks from relatives. I spotted an empty seat next to Nathan and I took it. Aunt Cathy was my mom's sister and also Tyler and Jenna's mom. Jenna was younger than me by a year or two, and not married. And apparently pregnant from the ongoing discussion.
"I wanted to let you know, I'll be dropping by soon, to see about you making a cake for Jenna's shower," Aunt Cathy mentioned.
"I'd be happy to make something for her shower. Give me a call before you stop by to make sure I'm there."
"Thank you, honey. I'll do that," Aunt Cathy said. She was smiling a genuine smile.
Cathy was happy to be beating my mom at something, since she'd be the first to have a grandbaby. It was always a competition at least between Cathy and my mom. In Cathy's defense, my mom brought out the inner-bitch in most people. Aunt Cathy was a cool chick, but the ugliness would rear its head soon. Plus, according to mom, Cathy was still jealous over mom's modeling career.
"Mine will be married first. Of course Cecile has to find someone to date which is next to impossible with her slaving away in that bakery all day."
I stopped smiling. In that split second, my back straightened, shoulders squared, ready to go into battle.
That was slap one to Aunt Cathy, who immediately wiped the smile from her face. The nastiness had started earlier than I’d expected.
One slap to me. Looking down to my plate, I bit my lip reminding myself to be nice.
"Why I was married and pregnant with Nathan at Cecile's age. There seems to be this whole trend now where women prefer to work instead of finding a man and making a family."
Damn. Why can't I catch a break with this shit?
The rest of the slaps were directed at me. My career. My preference to not be in a relationship at the present time. Heaven forbid I wanted some sort of job skill to fall back on, in case something bad happened. Like if I ended up divorced, widowed, or a single parent. Or I could stay single and buy tons of shoes.
I started to power eat. I'd regret that later but the sooner this plate was clean, the sooner I could leave. Ty or Nathan could bring me the pie plates later.
Hell, I could buy new pie plates!
Nathan's body went rigid, and somehow Logan materialized next to me handing me an open Big Sky Moose Drool. I stared at the can. I wasn't willing to be trapped at my parents’ house because I was too tipsy to drive home. Decent beer or not, being stranded here was not going to happen.
Leaning in he whispered, "I'll drive you home later."
Upon hearing the good news that I wouldn't have to crash at my parents I continued on to drink half the beer.
"Jesus. This isn't the 1800's, Mom, there's something called feminism. CiCi is following her dreams just like I am. We're both devoted to our careers, and it'd be nice if you'd support us even if you don't agree with the path we're on. And you can always volunteer your time at a women's shelter, or with foster kids, or the animal shelter, or a soup kitchen ..." Nathan trailed off then shoved a fork full of potatoes in his mouth.
Smiling down at my plate, I pushed some food around to avoid eye contact. My brother was never afraid to voice his opinion, which put him in the 'badass' category in my book. My mom rarely attacked Nathan's life choices. If she did, he'd tell her 'No', and she'd leave him alone. No nagging for Nathan. If I said 'No' and walked away, I got bombarded with texts, phone calls, and sometimes surprise visits.
"That isn't the same," my mother complained.
Her voice held that high and mighty tone, as usual. She might as well have said, "I don't want someone else's kid who they threw away."
"Nathan and I can start calling you 'Grandma' now if you're in such a hurry to be one," I said, grinning at my smartass comment.
Nathan and Tyler laughed. Logan gripped my thigh under the table. Probably hoping I'd tone it down a bit. I didn't see that happening.
I'd slaved making pies for this event and I didn't even get a "Hi, how are you", or a "Do yo
u need help with the pies?", or even a "Thank-you for making the pies" from my mom, just nagging commentary as usual.
"Cecile, don't take that tone with me. I carried you for nine months, brought you into this world, I deserve respect."
Whatever.
Translation, you gave me stretch marks which limited my career options, therefore I'm going to make your life a living hell for ruining my career.
I was done, so, so done.
"I'm tired of being bullied by you. Every decision I've ever made has been wrong. Even simple things like clothing choices are 'wrong'." Tossing my napkin on the table I stood up pushing my chair back. "My career is mine, along with my ovaries, which aren't drying up in my 'old' age. It's my life to live not yours. Until you can treat me respectfully like I deserve, don't bother contacting me. FYI, if I ever have a kid, you won't be allowed near it until you change. Nathan or Tyler can return the pie plates to me. Happy Thanksgiving, Cooke Family!" Turning around, I walked away.
I was determined not to cry. Granted it would be pissed off crying, but still not acceptable if she saw it. Crying would commence at home with a bottle of wine, not here where I'd show weakness. I'd just pulled on my coat when Logan snatched my purse from me, digging out my keys.
"What're you doing?"
Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he pulled me into him, kissing my temple.
"Driving you home, like I promised," he answered.
I felt a wide range of emotions at the present moment, but my anger melted away. Maybe not fully melted away, but Logan was with me and that was all that mattered.
With Logan by my side, we made our way outside. His arm stayed around me until he tucked me safely into my car.
I needed to start a holiday vacation fund. At least then I could sun myself on a tropical beach and avoid my family. Nathan could handle the mayhem of the holidays, and I wouldn't slave away making pies that I wouldn't get to eat.
Logan and Cecile Page 4
