by Lori Ryan
There was a long pause. “Could I think about it?” she asked.
“Yes, of course, you think about it. Becca will call you tonight. I know she misses you both. Maybe we can arrange something then.”
“Thank you, Jake,” she said softly, “for everything.”
“Of course,” he said.
“I know we haven’t really talked about this a lot, but I want you to know how sorry I am about all of this. I know you had plans for your life that didn’t include a child.”
“Things turn out best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out,” he said.
“That’s a very smart way of looking at it.”
“It’s what my mom used to tell us when things didn’t go the way we wanted or when we didn’t get our way.”
“She’s a smart woman,” Phoebe laughed.
“Yeah she is.” Jake hadn’t realized how fortunate he was to be raised by two great parents until he’d been pushed into parenthood. Suddenly the idea of raising Becca on his own, without the support of his mother and brothers, hit him like a ton of bricks.
“And, listen, Phoebe, I might not have been expecting a surprise like Becca, but I wouldn’t trade this for the world right now. I’m …” he stopped looking for words. “I don’t regret any of this.”
It was lame. It wasn’t half of what he wanted to say, but it would have to do for now.
His other line buzzed. He pulled back the phone and saw it was Todd. Great.
“Sorry Phoebe, I need to take this call. I’ll talk to you tonight, okay?”
“Yes dear, that’s fine. I’ll talk to you and Becca soon. Goodbye.”
“Bye,” he said, hoping she and Steven would take a few days to come to Colorado and catch their breath.
“Hello?” Todd’s voice rang through the line.
Damn, he’d accepted the call by accident. “Hey, Todd.”
“Dude, where the hell have you been?”
“I’ve been trying to spend time with my daughter and family, learning how to be a parent.”
“Whatever. Look, we’ve got a serious problem here and I need you back. Soon.”
“What now?” Jake rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned against the wall.
“Cassie’s not the only one threatening me.”
“What the hell do you mean, Todd?”
“I didn’t want to tell you this but…”
“What?” He said before he could stop himself. “No. You know what? Never mind. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
“But Jake you’ve got to do something about these women.”
“Women?” Jake practically shouted. “Todd, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I know, I know. It looks bad now.”
“Dude, it looks bad always. Especially if you want to run for U.S. Senate.”
“Shit,” Todd groaned.
“This isn’t what I signed up for when I joined your campaign.”
“What?”
“Helping you cover up scandals and affairs. This isn’t what I want to be doing with my life, Todd.”
“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I really am. I’m going to clean up my act. My brother-in-law is sitting on some serious cash and I think he’ll help us out.”
Jake let his head fall forward as he tried to get a grip on the rage Todd’s words brought on. When he spoke, the words came through gritted teeth. “Tell me you don’t mean your wife’s brother.”
“No, no, Jay—my sister’s husband. He’s an investment real estate banker and is looking to get into the political arena.”
“And you think paying off your mistresses will hit the mark for him?” Jake rolled his eyes. “Look. Don’t do anything. Don’t talk to your brother-in-law. For God’s sake stop talking to these women. I’ll call Carlos and have him work with Cassie and whoever else you’ve been screwing behind your wife’s back. He’s your attorney, maybe he can find some legal leg for us to stand on. I don’t want you dealing with any of this, and I don’t want you trying to pay anyone off.”
“You’re coming to the fund raiser on the sixteenth, right?”
“I hope so.”
“What the hell do you mean, you hope so?” Todd said.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on here with our town, with my family, with Becca.”
“What the hell could possibly be wrong in that podunk town? The one stop light in the middle of the town burn out?” Todd laughed at his lame attempt at a joke, but Jake didn’t see the humor.
When Jake didn’t answer, Todd plowed on. “Look man, I need you here not playing house with your family.”
Of course, Todd would feel that way. Family obviously meant nothing to him.
“Yeah, well if this gets leaked,” Jake said, “you won’t need a fund raiser. There’ll be no campaign to fund.”
“Ah, hell,” Todd brushed off Jake’s concern with a laugh, “look at JFK and Bill Clinton. They’re legends, man, and they—”
Jake’s voice went low and quiet. “Todd, you need to shut up before I quit this campaign. There is no way I’m backing a man who openly screws around with no regard for his wife or his constituents.”
“Jeez, touchy much?”
Jake clenched his hand into a fist, grinding his teeth together as he fought to get himself under control. He’d always known Todd had a wild side, but he never knew he’d act out on purpose despite the repercussions.
“I have to go,” Jake said, hitting the end button, squeezing his phone tight and cursing under his breath.
“The guy’s a douche, man,” Emmett said behind him.
Jake turned and stared at his brother.
Emmett nodded to Jake’s phone. “Your senator. You forget, I lived in California. I voted in California.”
“I didn’t forget,” Jake said. Although he and his brother had lived in the same state for years, they didn’t get to see much of each other thanks to hectic lives. “But Todd wasn’t your senator.”
“No,” Emmett said, “but he was part of the state legislature. I followed his career since you worked for him. And I know how he’s evolved. It’s not pretty.”
Jake stared down at his feet, shaking his head. “No, it’s not.”
“Dude, you’re better than that.”
He glanced up, surprised to see the stern look on his brother’s face.
“Better than what?”
“Better than trying to hide scandals for a man whose platform has done a one-eighty since he’s taken office. That was never you. You fought for the good guy, not the cheating douchebag guy.”
Emmett was right but what could he do now?
Quit.
His brother stepped closer. “I’m sorry man, I don’t mean to rag on you, but you look like hell. You have for a while now. The passion you used to have is gone. I’d hate to see this guy extinguish your fire for good because he’s too busy chasing tail and filling up his own ego on power and greed. And trust me, Jake, when this hits the fan, and it will, he’ll throw your ass under the bus so fast you won’t have a chance in hell of ever working in politics again.”
Jake scrubbed a hand down his face. He hadn’t even considered that option. Talk about short-sighted. With all he had going on right now, Jake had been letting this whole situation get away from him.
“Just ask yourself this man,” Emmett said. “If Becca was working for such a scumbag, what would you tell her to do?”
Jake hesitated, even though he knew the answer.
“What if it was Becca this asshole was taking advantage of,” he asked, “the woman he was screwing behind his wife’s back?”
Jake had always heard of seeing red, but until this very moment, he didn’t know it was possible.
“Exactly,” Emmett said, squeezing Jake’s shoulder. “I think you know the answer.”
Jake thought he might throw up. That, or his head might explode. Maybe both.
“Jakey,” Becca’s small voice called from down the hall.
He turned and stared at his little girl who was holding Devlin’s hand.
Becca wore hot pink jeans, sparkly tennis shoes with frilly socks and a T-shirt that said “Good Lookin’ Kid.”
He walked toward her and squatted down. “I like your shirt, toad toes.”
She laughed. “Aunt Devlin gave it to me.” She glanced up at her aunt and Jake followed her gaze.
Devlin was Max’s fiancée, and gorgeous, with long black hair and caramel-colored eyes…and a belly that looked like she was hiding a watermelon under her shirt.
“Don’t say it.” She held up a finger.
“What?” Jake smiled.
“I know I’m big. Your daughter has already told me.”
Jake turned and stared at Becca.
“Don’t you dare scold her,” Devlin said. “I am big. Huge.”
“But you have a litter in there,” Becca said.
Emmett snorted.
“What?” Becca stared at all three of them. “That’s what you said, Aunt Devlin.”
Devlin pushed back Becca’s hair and smiled down at her as only a mother could. “I did, sweet baby, I did.”
“Guess what, Jakey?” Becca bounced on the balls of her feet and he noticed she was carrying a bag filled with yellow tissue paper.
“What’s that?”
“Aunt Devlin said I can be in her wedding. I can carry the flowers.”
Jake looked up at Devlin in surprise. “You guys are getting married soon?”
Devlin shrugged.
“I told her that Uncle Max said they are bastard babies, but it’s okay because I’m a bastard baby too, and that’s not mean. Right?”
Jake watched helplessly as Devlin’s eyes filled with tears.
He stood. “Devlin, I’m so sorry, he didn’t mean it.”
She waved him away and wiped at her eyes. “No, don’t. It’s okay. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and it’s really just been my own insecurities about marriage and motherhood. And I’m a whale so waddling down the aisle doesn’t sound appealing.”
“I could pull you,” Becca said, “in a wagon. I have one at home. Maybe I could bring it back. Could I, Jakey?”
Jake smiled wide at the thought that Becca had found roots here in his hometown and wanted to return. It didn’t hurt that he was also picturing Becca trying to pull her new Aunt Devlin down the aisle of the church in a little red wagon.
“Sure we can, sweetheart.” He scooped her up and held her tight. Yeah, if anyone like Todd Douglas ever took advantage of his little girl there would be hell to pay. “Thanks for watching her today, Devlin.”
“Of course. We were actually coming over to see if Max wanted to go to lunch. I still planned on watching Becca the rest of the day if you need to get things done.”
Jake thought about the things on his mind, the issues threatening Todd’s campaign, and all the information he needed to gather before tomorrow’s town council meeting. “Yeah, that would be great, if you don’t mind.” He turned to Becca. “Is that okay?”
She nodded. “I love Auntie Devlin. She said I can call her auntie instead of aunt if I want so I don’t get her confused with any bugs.”
Devlin laughed. Jake noticed how tired she looked and wondered if it was wrong to allow his future sister-in-law to take on more than she could right now, carrying twins. She’d only been cleared to be out of her bed again recently.
Again, Devlin waved him off. “Max is going to be with us the rest of the day. He’ll chase Becca while I put my feet up.”
Becca gave Devlin’s belly a big pat at that news. “We’ll get you off your feet, babies.” Becca smiled wide. “Uncle Max is almost finished with his tree house. He said I can make a tent inside and bring my pillows and sleeping bag when he’s finished.”
“That sounds amazing,” Jake said, because honestly, escaping to a tree in the woods did sound amazing.
“Oh,” Becca exclaimed, “and we got you a new shirt, too.” She held the bag open and he dug inside. “It matches mine.” She pointed to her shirt. “Good lookin’ kid,” she said, reading the words aloud.
Jake shook out his T-shirt and laughed when he read the front. “I make good lookin’ kids.” He laughed.
“I hate to admit it, but it’s true,” Max said, coming up beside them and pinching Becca’s nose. He turned to his fiancée and gave Devlin a small kiss on the lips then bent to kiss her belly twice. “Hope you bought one of those for me, babe.”
Devlin snorted. “No, I bought one for me.”
“No doubt, you do.”
“And I want to marry you,” she said, glancing up at Max. “Soon, okay?”
Max stared at Devlin in shock. “Really?”
She nodded. “Really.”
“Uncle Maxi Pad,” Becca called, tugging on his shirt.
“Yes, half pint?” How Max answered that with a straight face, Jake would never know.
“Auntie Devlin said I can throw flowers at you when you get married, too.”
Max lifted her out of Jake’s arms like she was a football, twirling her around in the air.
Becca squealed with delight as Max laughed.
Devlin rubbed her belly.
And Jake’s heart squeezed hard in his chest. He had a lot of decisions to make, and his family wasn’t making the job any easier.
Chapter Eighteen
Lina stood at the counter in Once Upon a Book, staring at the computer screen. Even though she’d been working the evening shift, she’d also been surfing the internet looking for last minute stats and information to help with her presentation at tomorrow’s town hall meeting. It was only meant as an informative meeting for the citizens to gather information but she still felt completely unprepared.
Sometimes, Lina thought she should have let someone else take up this fight. Someone who knew what they were doing, knew how to take on a cause like this and win. So far, her work history included a long list of temp jobs that didn’t prepare her for much.
Even back when she’d been working for her family restaurant, she had been waitressing or working the front hostess stand. She’d never taken on any of the managerial roles. And then she and her mom had started to fight more and more, and she’d stopped working there altogether.
But she’d always had a passion for fairness, and this expansion seemed anything but fair in her mind.
Paula scooted up next to her, bumping her shoulder. “You still working on your research?”
“Yeah. And thanks for letting me use your Wi-Fi.”
“Yours is still down?” Paula asked.
“Our Wi-Fi crashed and I have no idea how to fix it. Computer stuff scares me.”
Paula pointed to her laptop and raised her brow. “Isn’t that a computer?”
“Well, this is easy,” Lina said. “You just open the top and, poof, it works.”
“As long as you have a Wi-Fi connection.” She laughed.
“Yeah, that helps. Dak is the computer guru but he won’t be back until tomorrow.”
“I’d let that hunk of man fix my Wi-Fi anytime.” A devious grin spread across Paula’s face.
If Lina had a dollar for every time Paula lusted after her roommates, she could fund their citizen action group for years. “Gross.” She wrinkled her nose. “He’s like a brother to me.”
“Well not to me.” Paula actually licked her lips.
Lina pushed her away. “Go.”
“Okay, okay.” She reached across the counter and grabbed a lollipop from the jar they kept there for kids, unwrapping it and shoving it in her mouth. “I’ll be in my office if you need me,” she said around the ball of candy. “I’ve got so much paperwork to catch up on I’m about to go crazy.”
“You’re eating the profits.” Lina nodded toward the candy.
Paula pulled it out. “Well, what’s a girl supposed to do with her mouth when her employee keeps her roommates all to herself?”
Lina chucked a pencil at Paula. “You’re depraved. Go.”
<
br /> Paula turned to leave but Lina called out. “Hey, you’re going to be at the meeting tomorrow night, aren’t you? I need as many supporters as I can get.”
“Of course. We’re closing early for it.”
Lina sagged back on the stool with a wide smile. She tried to remind herself she had plenty of people supporting her cause in the small town. Unlike what her mother said, she wasn’t dividing the town. Was she?
She hoped not. Her concern lay in preserving the land and the wildlife of their town, not in splintering its citizens.
Paula stuck the lollipop back in her mouth and waggled her fingers as she walked to the back of the store.
Lina turned back toward her laptop, scribbling notes that she read from highway expansions in other states and what citizen-led coalitions did to stop then.
The bell above the door chimed and Lina looked up, a slow smile spreading across her lips before she could stop herself.
Jake stood just inside the door, glancing around the store expectantly. Was he looking for her?
Stop it, she told herself.
As much as she tried, she couldn’t. The memory of their time at her house had haunted her dreams, keeping her up half the night with a pulsing ache between her legs. It had been way too long since she’d gotten lucky, obviously.
“Hey,” Jake said in that slow, deep voice that had her body vibrating.
“Hey,” she said softly. Oh, God, she sounded like a nervous teen playing hard to get. “Where’s Becca?”
“She’s spending the night with Devlin and Max. She and Max plan to pamper Devlin with ice cream and a pedicure.”
“That sounds like fun.”
He shrugged, running his hands along one of the displays. Was he…nervous?
“So, what are you doing here?” she asked.
He walked closer to her, standing on the other side of the counter. “I was looking for a few books for Becca. Ms. Parker read some at the library the other day that she really liked.”
“Do you have the titles?” she said, moving around the counter. “I could help you look?”
