A Better Man

by Candis Terry

  “Your little girl deserves a break.”

  Ryan nodded. “I figured once everything settled down a little I’d take her somewhere like Disneyland to take her mind off things. In the meantime . . .” He tossed a thin newspaper on the table. “Looks like you made a visit to Talk of the Town.”

  Only after Lucy had already taken a stand.

  Jordan lifted the paper and read the headline story that was a retraction and apology. “Yeah.” He chuckled. “I threatened to sue her nasty ass.”

  Ethan cocked his head and looked over Jordan’s shoulder at the paper. “Looks like she took you seriously. That paper doesn’t have a Sunday edition.”

  “Told her she wouldn’t have any edition unless she apologized. We all have enough to worry about without some mean old biddy trying to stir up a hornet’s nest.”

  “Who’s stirring up trouble?” Parker came into the room looking like he might be dealing with a hangover as he reached up into the cupboard and grabbed a coffee mug.

  “Jordy single-­handedly took down the wicked witch at Talk of the Town,” Ethan drawled while he perused the selection of donuts.

  “Not single-­handedly,” Jordan said. “Lucy got there before me and took her down a couple of notches before I even got warmed up.”

  “My kind of woman,” Declan said.

  “Not your kind of woman,” Jordan shot back. “My kind.”

  His brothers raised their eyebrows because even though back in the day they’d often been in competition, he’d never before claimed a woman.

  “Duly noted,” Dec said, selecting a regular glazed donut from the box. “Hands off the schoolteacher.”

  “Hey,” Ethan complained. “That’s the donut I was going to take.”

  Parker scoffed. “You’ve been in this family for thirty-­one years and you still haven’t learned to act fast when there’s food around?”

  Jordan chuckled. He’d missed the banter with his brothers. When they’d been younger they’d all tried to prove who was bigger and badder by basically beating the crap out of each other. One or the other had often sported a black eye or a busted lip. Their mother had always shaken her head in disgust and complained about too much testosterone in the house. Now, Jordan realized, he was grateful to have his brothers. And he was grateful to have the chance to get to know them again.

  “So . . . a schoolteacher, huh? Never figured you for the type. Unless she’s like one of those you see in Playboy.” Parker sipped his coffee and grinned. “Is she?”

  In Jordan’s opinion, despite her choice of plain outerwear, naked Lucy far surpassed anyone in the pages of Playboy. “Doesn’t matter. She’s hands off to you.”

  Aunt Pippy bounced into the room like a ball of energy in a retro bell-­bottom jumpsuit made of a blue, green, and yellow paisley print. Once again, plastic fruit dangled from her ears.

  “As soon as Nicki comes down we can get started,” Ryan said.

  “I’m here.” Nicole came into the room wearing her grumpy baby dragon face. Jordan handed her a cup of black coffee.

  “Eeew.” She handed it back. “I only drink caramel macchiatos from Starbucks.”

  “Starving musicians can’t afford caramel macchiatos from Starbucks.” Jordan leaned in and grinned.

  Nicole grinned back. “They do if their big brother is a superstar hockey player.”

  That got a laugh out of him. “Good one, sis.” He grabbed her in a one-­armed side hug.

  “Everyone take a seat,” Ryan said.

  Wood chairs scraped against the tile floor as everyone chose a place to land.

  Ryan sat at the head of the table. “Sorry about the short notice,” Ryan said, folding his hands together on the tabletop. “I wanted to discuss your ideas for improving the business and give you some updates before we all started going in different directions.”

  Parker leaned his forearms on the table. “I’m still all in for a trattoria.”

  “I like the idea of renovating the event center and creating a wine club,” Ethan added.

  “I took a look around the property and there’s no identity. No theme,” Jordan said. “Some of the buildings look Old West and others look European. We need to figure out what we want it to be and stay the course.”

  “We also might consider hiring an in-­house event coordinator,” Declan suggested. “Someone who is really enthusiastic about what they do and will keep the place booked year round.”

  “Great idea,” Parker said.

  “I also think we should put in a stage over by the grassy knoll with priority seating for concerts which can be obtained by joining the wine club,” Jordan added. “There’s plenty of room to add a picnic market for folks to purchase everything they need right here instead of dragging it all in with them. There’s also room to add another couple of cottages by the creek for guests. A spa isn’t out of the question either. I agree we need to turn this place into a destination instead of just a vineyard. No other winery in the area has that much going on. They might copy us, but at least we’d be able to build the clientele first.”

  “Great ideas,” Ryan said. “As soon as we get the report from the financial investigator we can figure out the priorities and costs so we can come up with a budget.”

  “Ryan and I think the man we hired is getting close to an answer,” Declan added.

  “Oh my.” Aunt Pippy made a big show of looking at the gigantic watch on her wrist. “I’ve lost track of time. I was supposed to be at . . . church . . . yeah . . . church. Ten minutes ago.” She pushed back her chair and headed toward the door mumbling, “Hope Reverend Collins didn’t start without me.”

  “Since when does she go to church?” Parker wanted to know.

  “She doesn’t,” Ryan answered. “Mom always said she was afraid the roof would cave in on her for all the things she did during the ‘Make Love, Not War’ era.”

  “Then what the hell was that all about?” Jordan asked. “Come to think of it, whenever we talk about the missing money she finds a reason to leave. She’s starting to look suspicious.”

  “Dude, she still dresses like it’s the 1960s,” Ethan piped in. “Maybe she’s just getting old and senile.”

  “You’re around her the most, Ryan. You have any idea what’s going on?”

  “I try not to delve too deep into Aunt Pippy’s mind. I’m afraid I’ll tap into a bad acid trip.”

  “This is bullshit.” Jordan stood and shoved his chair away with the backs of his knees. He caught Aunt Pippy before she reached the stairs.

  “Hold on there, turbo,” he said. “You’re holding out on us.”

  “Don’t know what you’re talking about.” Aunt Pippy placed her hand on the stair rail but Jordan caught her by the back of her jumpsuit before she could escape.

  “I think you do. Because if you were going to church you’d be heading out the front door, not sneaking up to your room,” he said, taking her by the elbow and leading her right back to the kitchen. “So how about we all sit down at the table and you can enlighten us.”

  Panic widened her eyes. “I don’t have anything to say.”

  “Don’t make us get the interrogation light and smoke cigars in your face till you break,” Parker joked, even though it was no joking matter.

  “Have a seat.” Jordan pulled out the chair she’d been sitting in.

  Pippy looked at the chair, then at all of them. “He had to do it,” she announced, then burst into tears.

  Jordan’s heart sank. What the hell was going on?

  Ryan’s brows pulled together tight. “He who?”

  “Not sure I even want to hear this,” Nicole said.

  “But we’re going to.” Jordan handed his aunt a napkin to wipe her tears. “Aren’t we, Aunt Pippy?”

  “I can’t tell you who,” she said between sniffs. “I’ll be betraying h
im.”

  “I don’t care if you’re talking about the president of the United States,” Ryan said. “This family’s future depends on your answer. So yes, you will tell.”

  Fingers curled over the backrest, she stared at the chair they expected her to sit in. Finally she looked up. “Your father took the money. I can’t tell you why. Don’t ask. I can’t betray him any further. He was a good man but he wasn’t perfect. And neither was your mother. God rest their souls.”

  She heaved a huge sigh. “And now I will be going to church so God doesn’t strike me dead for my disloyalty.”

  As their aunt escaped the room without giving them further details, they all sat there stunned, staring at the half-­empty box of donuts like it held the answers they sought.

  “Oh my God.” Nicole started to cry. “It’s starting to make sense now.”

  “What is?” Ryan asked.

  Nicki tossed Jordan a panicked look and he knew he had to step in.

  “Nicki told me something that I haven’t been able to share with any of you yet,” Jordan said, his heart breaking for his sister. Because no matter what she said, the truth was none of them knew much more now than they did when they’d first entered the room.

  Declan slid his hand over the back of her chair. “What’s up, buttercup?”

  “Seems there’s some confusion about a conversation she had with Dad before he and Mom left for Hawaii. And that’s why she’s been so . . . touchy.”

  Expression apologetic, Ryan looked at Nicole. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’ve felt something was out of place but I never knew what or why. And I never asked. I guess I just got too wrapped up in my own problems.”

  “Me too.” Ethan nodded. “I should have paid more attention.”

  The more they discussed, the more Nicole slunk down into her seat with tears streaming down her face.

  “But how does Dad pilfering money have anything to do with Nicki?” Declan asked.

  No sense tiptoeing around the subject. This had to come out. Not just to help Nicki, but to try and put to rest one more mystery.

  “Nicki doesn’t seem to think she’s our real sister,” Jordan said.

  “What?” Every confused head, including Ryan’s, turned toward her.

  Ethan stood up and faced Jordan like he was looking for a fight. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “I didn’t say that,” Jordan said to make it clear in case his brother started throwing punches. “She did. Dad admitted to her that something in his past had affected him in a negative way where she was concerned. He said he didn’t blame her. But he did tell her that he didn’t know if he could ever move past it to be the kind of father she wanted.”

  Nicki broke down in tears again. The poor thing was surrounded by five men who were reduced to pansy asses at the sight of a woman’s tears. Even their own sister’s. Then as if a glass wall shattered, they were all up and hugging her.

  “There’s no way you’re not our sister,” Ryan said. “You look just like us.”

  “That’s what I told her,” Jordan added.

  “We love you, Nicki.” Ethan squeezed her tight and Parker pushed him out of the way.

  “Best little sister ever,” Declan added.

  “That would be totally crazy,” Parker said. “But even if it were true, you’re still our sister no matter what.”

  Riley heard the commotion and shuffled into the kitchen. As soon as she saw her aunt crying and all her uncles hugging her, Riley started crying too. Ryan opened his arm and his little girl dove right into the mix.

  “We’re a family.” Emotion clogged Ryan’s throat. “And we always will be.”

  Jordan had intended to tell them all about his decision for his future, but family came first. They all had enough on their plates to have to worry whether he planned to continue playing hockey or not.

  Jordan jammed a hand through his hair as he drove back to his parents’ house after a quick trip into town later that day.

  Holy shit.

  Their father had stolen money from his own business.

  But why?

  What could cause a man to basically steal from himself or the welfare of his own family? Why would he risk endangering the business he’d worked so hard to make prosperous?

  No doubt there was more to the story and more they needed to find out. Which was just one more reason Jordan came back to the house to explain the decision about his future to Nicole.

  When he climbed the stairs to her room, he smiled when he heard the melodic chords from her guitar and the sweet sound of her voice. She had talent, and he’d support her whether she wanted to spread her wings and fly or devote the next four years to a college education. Whatever made her happy.

  Especially after Aunt Pippy’s bombshell had them all guessing.

  He knocked, and the music stopped while she told him to come in.

  “Hi.” Like a Gypsy girl, she sat on her bed in a colorful skirt, T-­shirt, and scarf wrapped around her head. All that was missing were dangling gold earrings and bracelets.

  “Hey.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I wanted to come tell you that I’m going to finish out the season.”

  “I’m so glad.” She hugged his neck when he sat beside her. “I’d never want you to quit on my behalf.”

  “If and when I do leave the game, I want you to know it will be the right thing to do for me. Not because I feel forced into it. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  “And I want you to know that no matter where I am, I’m never too busy for you.”

  “Unless you’re punching the Rock in the nose, right?” She grinned.

  “Even then.” He kissed her forehead. “I love you, Nicki. And as sorry as I am that I haven’t been there for you in the past, I’m glad I’m here now.”

  “Me too.”

  “But . . .” He reached down and picked up the box he’d carried into the room. “Just in case you miss me too much, I brought you this to keep you company.”

  “What is it?”

  The excitement in her eyes squeezed his heart in a good way.

  “Open it and find out.”

  She pulled up the cardboard flaps and a smoky gray kitten jumped out and into her arms. A squeal of delight filled her room as she nuzzled the kitten. “He’s mine?”

  “He’s all yours. I have all his accessories—­including an auto cleaning cat box—­down in the car.”

  She snuggled the kitten and smiled. “I’m going to name him something that reminds me of you.”

  He laughed. “Like what?”

  She rubbed noses with the kitten. “Fezzik.”

  “Like from The Princess Bride?” He figured he’d get extra good brother points for even knowing that. “Why?”

  “Because Fezzik is a gentle giant. And that’s how I see you.”

  When his baby sister hugged his neck and cried tears of joy, Jordan knew that whether he ever won the Stanley Cup or not, home was where his heart belonged.

  And nothing could ever be better.

  Sunday afternoon Lucy sat at her kitchen table preparing her lesson for the following day and fanning the fumes from Ziggy’s particularly raunchy toot.

  “Good Lord, dog. What is it you eat that makes you stink so bad?”

  Ziggy looked up with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his tail wagging the stench. When the doorbell rang he scrambled to his paws and headed for the door. Lucy wasn’t particularly surprised to see Jordan standing on her front porch. And, as always, he looked good enough to eat.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Of course.” She stepped back but he caught her up in his arms and planted a kiss on her mouth that immediately kicked into high gear. Before she could say, “Let’s go upstairs,” he broke the kiss and held her face between his hands.
/>
  “I’m heading to the airport right now.”

  Her heart raced. “You’re going to Dallas?”

  He nodded. “I wanted to come say good-­bye and . . .”

  Relief danced through her veins. Then her heart went all jittery. Did he mean good-­bye good-­bye?

  “And?”

  “And I know I didn’t say anything last night when you told me you were falling in love with me. I’m sure that stung. But I’ve never said that to a woman before.”

  “I understand.” Being in love by yourself sucked. But she’d had a talk with herself when all this began and she guessed she never really expected him to fall in love with her.

  “I don’t think you do.” His thumbs gently stroked the high bones of her cheeks. “There’s been so much going on that the thoughts all started scrambling in my head. All my life I’ve taken. I’ve never given. I wasn’t even sure I knew how.”

  “I do understand, Jordan. You have a lot going on. One person can only handle so much and—­”

  “I love you, Lucy.”

  “What?”

  “I love you.” The smile he gave her washed over her like a fountain of sparkling happiness. “I not only know I can give, I want to give. I have no doubt whatsoever.”

  “I love you too,” she said. “And I’m not just falling, I’m totally in.”

  “Then promise you’ll wait for me until I get back.”

  “Where would I go?”

  “Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  With another bone-­melting kiss he got in the SUV and drove away. Lucy waved until the taillights disappeared. Then she closed the door, sank to the floor, and cried tears of joy.

  Ziggy crawled into her lap and spoiled the moment by doing what he did best.

  On Monday morning Lucy drove toward school with nerves coiled up like rattlesnakes in her stomach. She didn’t know what to expect when she walked into the building. Gossip about educators didn’t set well with the school administrators. They might view her as a bad influence for the students.