by Jenna Brooks
“I will. Won’t be easy, though. I’d like her to know that I know.” About that, he was telling the truth.
“Understandable. But keep in mind, once that kid makes it out of her, you have pretty much nothing but rights.”
Nothing but rights. Jack resisted an impulse to grab the receptionist and kiss her as he made his way out of the suite of offices. He’d had no idea that the baby he so desperately didn’t want would be the key to a lifetime of power over Samantha. This, he decided, was one of the best days he’d had in a very long time; certainly, the best day he’d had since she landed in the middle of his life. And now, with nothing but rights–and choices–he was going to take his time deciding his next step.
chapter 16
JO MOANED, STILL mostly asleep as she reached over Daisy, fumbling on the night table for her cell phone. She squinted, reading the time: almost midnight. And the call was restricted again.
She decided to take the call, if for no other reason than to tweak Jack. She had no doubt that it was him. She also had no proof.
She rolled her eyes as she listened to the raspy breathing; then, something faint in the background caught her attention: a crowing rooster. She thought of the clock in Jack’s kitchen–a strange, hokey little country-style clock, with a rooster that sounded off one time for each hour of the day. She counted to twelve, then said, “Look, stupid–if you want to harass me, at least turn off the sound on that clock in your kitchen.”
The line went dead immediately, and Jo smiled. “Jackass,” she mumbled.
She was fully awake now, though, and her mind wandered to the leftover strawberry shortcake in the refrigerator. The temperature outside had dropped, so she wrapped herself in her blanket, then closed the bedroom window before she left the room.
The light was on in Max’s room, and she paused at the door; but as Max often slept with the light on, she decided against knocking. In the darkened kitchen, she kicked one of the metal stools at the counter.
“Well, if she’s awake, that’ll bring her out.” Reaching for the light over the sink, she quickly muffled a shriek before she recognized Max on the deck, just outside the sliding door.
Max turned to look, startled as well. “Hey. Thought you were asleep,” she called through the door. “Come have a cigarette with me.”
Jo sat at the patio table with her, grabbing the pack. “What are you doing up?”
“Ty came in to my room about a half-hour ago, wanted his mom and dad.”
“They aren’t home yet?”
“Nope. Hopefully, they’re halfway to Vegas right now.”
“Think she’ll give in?”
Max shrugged. “I would. I was thinking, if I could find a guy with even a few of Dave’s attributes…”
“Not to mention, one who looks like him…”
“That too,” she grinned, “I’d be married, like, yesterday. Hey,” she stood and pushed the chair in, “let’s go have more dessert and play some music.”
“Keep it down, though. Tyler went back to sleep?”
“Pretty quick. He was worn out, all that swimming and everything.”
“He had fun tonight. It was nice, having him around.”
“Yeah,” Max stretched, grimacing, “but the kid killed my back. Must’ve let him dive off of my shoulders twenty times.”
Jo turned toward the deck door. “Did I just hear them come in?”
They met Dave and Sam coming into the kitchen, both of them beaming. Sam walked straight over to give Max a hug, then reached out to pull Jo in. “I need attendants,” she said.
“Yes!” Max squealed, pulling away and reaching for Dave, who was watching them affectionately. He opened his arms, laughing as she rocked him back and forth.
Jo put her finger to her lips. “Tyler,” she reminded her.
“Yeah, well, he should wake up and be here for this anyway.”
“Maxine…” She sighed. “Whatever. Come here, David.” They stood smiling at each other for a moment before he embraced her. “Good job,” she whispered.
He sighed, relieved. “Let’s get this done quick.”
“Absolutely.” She pulled away, searching through the kitchen drawer for something to write on. “Give me your pen.”
Sam and Max were sitting at the counter. “What’re you doing?” Max asked.
“Planning. There’s going to be a wedding, after all.” She looked up at Sam. “I’m hoping you want to have it here, on the lake?”
Max caught Dave’s expression, seeing something that told her to join them in persuading her. “Ooh, Sammy,” she said, “that would be so romantic.”
“Yeah, it would…Really, Jo? Would that be okay? It’s a lot of work.”
“Why? How many people are we talking about?”
Dave took the chair beside Sam. “We decided to keep it small. Just all of us here, my family, Will…”
“And my mom,” Sam added, and Jo looked up sharply.
“Your mom?” Max asked. “You sure?”
Sam nodded.
Dave seemed resigned to it. “She’s not budging on that,” he said, putting his arm around her.
“Okay.” It was decided, and Jo could see that arguing wouldn’t change it. “So, what day is going to be your anniversary?”
Sam looked surprised by the thought, then smiled dreamily. “Anniversary.” She leaned her head on Dave’s shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head. “Next Friday. The twenty-fifth. Can we pull something together by then?”
Jo’s expression said, Are you kidding? “Of course. I’ll divvy up the list, and we’ll each take part of it. How much time can you take from work, Dave?”
“I’ll go in Monday and Tuesday–I think Wednesday, at least half a day–get everything set up to take some time off.” He pulled back to look at Sam, still on his shoulder. “I’m probably able to swing only a few days, babe.”
“A few days? That’s wonderful. I thought we’d go straight from the ceremony back to Boston.”
“Guess we don’t get to keep you for the summer after all.” Max rested her chin in her hands, pouting. “Gonna miss you, Bim.”
“I’ll be back. I’ll bring Ty up here a few times.”
“I hope so.”
Jo was still writing. “Better get the license, guys. No waiting period in New Hampshire, right?” She looked up at Dave, and he shook his head.
“We can get it when I come up on Wednesday.”
Jo handed him a list. “Here’s your stuff.”
Max got up, coming around the counter to look over Jo’s shoulder. “Where’s your list?”
“I’m supervising. See?” She scrawled something on a scrap of paper, holding it up. It said Boss.
“Bimbo.”
Jo grinned at her. “Don’t be bitter, dear.”
“Cute. What am I doing?”
“At the moment, getting something to toast the future Mr. and Mrs. Delaney.” She smiled at them, sliding a list to Sam.
“We took care of that. Wait a minute.” Dave reached down to his side, lifting a bag from the floor. “We stopped on the way home. Got champagne glasses?”
“Oooh,” Max purred, hopping up onto the counter. “He thinks of everything.”
“It was Sammy’s idea.”
He prepared the champagne, and as he poured, asked, “Jo, do you want to do the honors?”
“Sure.” As she considered it for a moment, Max leaned forward, hoping she was up to the task of giving optimistic, happy wishes.
Jo could think of only one thing that would come from her heart. She lifted her glass. “If there’s anything going on in the world that is completely right, and meant to be, it’s this moment right here.” Her smile, Max noted, was real. “You two remind me that there is such a thing as happily-ever-after, and that’s my prayer for you. God bless.”
As the flutes touched all around, Max found herself hoping that Jo believed what she had just said.
Jo padded into the kitchen the nex
t morning to find Dave and Tyler having cereal and toast at the counter. She exaggerated a loud yawn, then planted a kiss on top of Tyler’s head.
“G’ morning, Aunt Josie.”
“Morning, baby.”
Dave poured coffee for her. “Here.”
“You’re an angel. Thanks.” She took a piece of toast from his plate. “Sleep well?”
Tyler nodded as Dave said, “Yeah, actually, I did. Listen, I’m going to head back to Boston today, get some paperwork done, pick up a few new files I need to look over. Ty wants to stay here, but Sammy’s coming with me.”
Jo shrugged. “Leave him here. Max and I are discussing how to hang on to him forever.” She sat beside him, looking at him archly. “What say you, young Tyler? Can we keep you?”
“Sure. Dad doesn’t give me much for allowance.” He grinned at his father.
Surprised, they burst into laughter. “See?” Jo said. “We love this kid. He knows how to roll.”
“Yeah, well, he’s mine.” Dave plopped Tyler’s Red Sox cap onto his head. “You done, Ty?”
“Yup.”
“Okay, go get dressed. And don’t wake your mom.”
When he was gone, Dave sat across from Jo, refilling her cup before he poured coffee for himself. “You awake enough to talk about a few things?”
She nodded.
“On the way back up here, we’re stopping to see Liz. Sammy’s going to come clean about everything.”
“Except the baby, of course.”
“Of course.”
“So what’s the issue?”
“Well, other than the fact that I don’t trust Liz to keep the wedding to herself…”
Jo nodded her agreement. “Nothing you can do about that.”
“I know. But the other thing is, Sammy wants to talk to her by herself.”
Jo was shaking her head before he finished the sentence. “No, no, no. You present as a united front, right from the start.”
“That’s what I was thinking. I get the feeling Sammy’s swinging too far in the other direction, trying to be independent–which I understand, but…”
“Some things, you need to do together.”
“Exactly.”
“Just let her do the talking. But be there.”
“That’s a good compromise.”
Jo patted his hand. “She’s trying awfully hard. Has to be tough to keep up with her, though.”
“Nah.” He sighed, seeing from her expression that he was caught. “Okay, sure–my head starts spinning at times. But with Sammy, that’s part of the package.”
“She’s the best, you know. Go try to find someone better.”
“Yeah, no kidding. I keep thinking how different everything was, just a few weeks ago. I’d check in on Ty at night, and just stand there for a minute, hating myself for letting his mother walk away like she did. I was just hopeless.”
“Tell me the truth–what did you think when she told you she never married Car-boy?”
“You know, it’s odd…I was more thrilled than I was surprised. There was always something strange there, between the two of them. I mean, I didn’t know, but it also didn’t shock me when I found out.”
“That’s almost a sad commentary, when you think about it.”
“You’re right.”
Maxine wandered in then, her hair falling into her half-closed eyes. “Coffee,” she muttered, sliding into the seat beside Jo, laying her head on the counter.
“Good morning,” Dave said, reaching for a cup for her.
Jo shook her head. “Don’t bother until she has at least one coffee in her.”
He slid a cup of coffee across the counter, then leaned over to plant a kiss on Max’s cheek. “I’m hitting the shower,” he said to Jo.
Max mumbled something that sounded like, “Thanks for the coffee.”
“What’d she say?”
“Just say ‘you’re welcome.’” Jo bent close to her. “Right, Bim?”
“Mmm.” Then, a minute later, “’Bye, Dave.”
“He’s gone. Come on, drink some coffee.” She pushed the cup against Max’s hand. “We have to get to Rochester, order some flowers, remember?”
Max opened her eyes. “Wedding.”
“Yup. Six days. Now guzzle the coffee and let’s get going.”
“Okay.” She raised her head. “Sammy owes us, you know.”
They got back to the house just before three, already worn out by Tyler’s seemingly boundless energy. Other than a second breakfast of pancakes at Marcia’s, he talked them into stopping at the Rochester bookstore–where Jo bought him four packs of Red Sox baseball cards–and then root beer floats at the candy shop.
“Aunt Maxine,” he said as they pulled up, “can I give Daisy her treat?”
She pulled it from her pocket. “Here ya go, kid.”
He leaped from the car the second it stopped moving, running full-tilt for the house, holding it in front of him and shouting, “Daizer! Come ‘n’ get it girl! Yo, dawg!”
They sat for a minute, staring straight ahead. “How tired are you?” Jo asked.
“Too beat to think of a smartass answer.”
“Yeah.”
“Better start dinner.”
“Yeah.” They sat for another minute, then Jo opened the door. “Okay, come on.”
Tyler ate two servings of macaroni and beef, then asked for a hot dog, then strawberries and whipped cream. “Holy cow, kid, does Dad ever feed you?” Max asked as he scraped the last of the whipped cream from the bowl.
“That’s funny, Aunt Maxine.” He grinned at her. “Dad says all the time,” he deepened the tone of his voice, mimicking Dave, “‘Wow, Ty-guy, the way you eat, I wonder if people think I never feed you.’” His laugh was a raucous, booming thing, an oddly adult sound for such a little boy, and it was infectious. The three of them were still laughing when Dave and Sam walked into the kitchen.
“Wow. Sounds like a party in here.”
“Mom!” He jumped from his chair, throwing his arms around her waist. “We had the best time today!” He gave his dad a quick hug, and started filling them in on the details.
Seeing the fatigue on the women’s faces, Dave interrupted him. “You know, I’ve been looking forward all day to feeding the seagulls. Let’s take the chips out back, and you can tell me all about it.”
Thank you, Jo mouthed to him, and he winked.
She patted the seat next to her. “Sit down, Sammy. You have dinner yet?”
“We stopped at a place in Portsmouth.”
“Portsmouth? You came up on I-95?” The highway traveled a good distance east of Bedford, where Sam’s mother lived. “Did you go see your mother?”
She shook her head.
Max reached for her cigarettes. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. We got on I-93, and when we got to the border, I said, ‘Let’s go to Portsmouth.’ Dave started to ask why, and I asked him to please just head for Portsmouth, and he did.” She looked confused. “I’m not going to tell her.”
Jo and Max glanced at each other. “Are you sure, honey?” Max asked.
“Yeah. I am.” She stood, looking out the window to the beach, where Dave and Tyler were sitting on the sand. Dave was nodding; Tyler was obviously still filling him in on his day. Watching them, she said, “Don’t get me wrong–I’m not angry at her. I just…” She sighed, and her voice took on a deep, sorrowful tone. “I can’t trust her, and especially not with those two,” she nodded toward the lake. “Remember when I said I felt like an orphan?” She turned to look at them, and they nodded.
“Well, I am. In practice, anyway–Mom isn’t someone I can have in my life as a mother, and I think it’s time that I accept it, hurt over it, and move on.” She was playing with the sapphire pendant she wore. “I can’t risk them. Or the baby, you know? I don’t have that right. I need to choose between them and my mother. At least for now.”
“That’s true,” Max said softly.
�
�Yeah, but it sucks.” She took her seat again.
“Maybe,” Jo said, “it’ll make room for your mother to finally make a few changes in her own life.” She patted her hand. “Whatever else, you’re about to marry Dave. Your mother made the choices that brought her to the place where she won’t be a part of it. You, like you said, just need to move on.”
“I’ll call her after the wedding. But I keep feeling these little twinges of guilt, cutting her out.”
“Don’t hide your joy, okay? This has been a long time coming. Just don’t let it go on too long.”
“Sammy, this is your time now,” Max added.
She thought about it. “I guess. Did you guys order the flowers?”
“Done,” Jo said. “We managed to get a DJ signed up, too. Not many weddings in these parts over Memorial Day.”
“Wow. I thought we’d wind up using your stereo. That’s amazing.”
“Your photographer’s going to have to be the guy from the camera shop in Rochester, though. I made a lot of calls–everyone’s either going on vacation, or they’re booked through June.”
“Hey, I’m not going to complain. You all are putting an entire wedding together, while I sit here and contemplate myself.”
“Max did the food first, by the way. You know how she is about food.”
“Second only to having a groom there,” Max said, and the mood lightened quickly as they discussed the details of the wedding. “The least they’ll do is catering for twelve, though. Hope that’s okay.”
“Tyler can take care of any overage.”
“No kidding.”
“Busy few days coming up,” Sam said. “You guys are the best. Are we wearing you out yet?”
“Tyler is,” Max laughed.
“I know. He’s got a lot of energy.” She held her hand up, turning the ring to the light, enjoying its sparkle. “I can’t wait for Friday.”
“It’ll go by fast,” Jo said.
It did, and it was a bittersweet few days: beyond the happiness of the wedding, there would be the sadness of Sam’s leaving afterward. Jo didn’t mention it, but she found herself hugging Sam several times a day.
