Truly Sweet

by Candis Terry

  “I don’t really have a place in my life for a kid. Or a steady girlfriend.” Doug glanced at Annie, then shrugged. “Sorry. I just need a place to crash.”

  A cry burst from Annie’s lips that came out like a maniacal laugh. “It’s always about you, isn’t it, Doug? You need a place to crash. You need some cash. You need some space so you can create. You need a new surround-sound for the TV you charged in my name without my permission. Well guess what, Doug, it’s not about you anymore. How dare you show up at my door after walking out on me and my baby?”

  “Darlin’?” Jake curled his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Take a breath. I’ve got this.”

  Jake stepped out onto the porch, and Doug took another step back. “Got a question for you.” Jake crossed his arms across his chest and spread his feet just enough to make him look a little more like the Marine he used to be.

  “Sure, man.”

  “Are you high?”

  Doug shrugged. “Smoked a doobie a couple hours ago, but it’s probably worn off by now. So can we crash here? We won’t smoke anything in the house if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Jake looked over his shoulder and tossed Annie a were you seriously with this guy? look. She shrugged. Because, yeah, this wasn’t her first moment in recognizing she’d hooked up with a total loser.

  “Smoking isn’t my concern,” Jake said. “I just want to know if you’re of a clear mind when I ask if you’re willing to sign away your rights to Max.”

  “Max?”

  “You don’t even know his name?” Jake’s favorite four-letter word leaped from his mouth. “And do not shrug, or I might have to hurt you.”

  “Don’t know his name.”

  “I never contacted him after Max was born,” Annie rushed to explain.

  “Doesn’t matter. The asshole should have made yours and Max’s well-being his first concern.”

  “Hey, dude. No need for name-calling.”

  Annie almost laughed at the total panic on Doug’s face.

  “Okay. Then how about this, dude.” Jake’s shoulders came up, and he stood even taller, looked even more threatening. “You’ve made your intent pretty clear. And the way I see it? No one like you deserves to be called a father. Especially not when we’re talking about a special little boy like Max. So, if Annie decides she wants to legally cut you out of his life, I want you to tell her right now that you won’t object. That you’ll quietly sign the papers and go away.”

  “What’s in it for you?” Doug asked.

  “Nice to see you finally show some interest, my friend. But it’s too little, too late. What’s in it for me is that I love Annie. She’s an amazing woman and an incredible mother. And I love that little boy in there too. They’re my family now.”

  Annie gasped, and pride blossomed in her heart. She’d never had anyone take a stand for her before. Other than Abby, she’d never known anyone to completely have her back and be ready to go to war in her honor. Jake had staked his claim. He loved her and her son, and he wasn’t afraid to let the world know. He’d protect her no matter what. He’d be her soft place to land, but he’d also step up and take down anyone who tried to hurt her or Max.

  If she thought she’d been crazy in love with Jake before, there were no words to describe the absolute love and devotion that spun through her heart now.

  “Wow, dude,” Doug exclaimed. “That’s a little caveman.”

  “It’s better than being a selfish, ignorant prick.”

  Once again, Doug shrugged, and Annie could tell Jake had to hold himself back from picking the weasel up by those skinny shoulders and tossing him on his ass.

  “It’s cool, man.” Doug looked at Annie completely emotionless. “Whatever. Send the papers. I’ll sign.”

  Jake looked at Annie, reached out, and took her hand. He gave her a reassuring squeeze then stepped back to the doorway to be by her side. Concern darkened his eyes. “You okay?”

  She nodded. “As long as I’ve got you, I’m perfect.”

  “You’ve got me. Forever.” He grinned, then he turned back toward Doug. “It will be good to know someone as self-centered as you won’t be able to change his mind someday and try to come back and screw up a kid’s life. Annie and Max deserve better.”

  “If you say so.” Doug gave a whatever toss of his dirty hair.

  For Max’s sake, it hurt Annie to know this person really had no emotion at all. None.

  “So . . . can we crash here or what?” he asked.

  “Darlin’?” Jake turned to Annie. “What are your thoughts on this? It’s your call.”

  “You want a place to crash?” She speared Doug with a glare, released the leftover anger and hurt she’d held inside for almost two years, then she completely washed him from her heart. “Sorry. Not here. Not now. Not ever.” She took extreme pleasure in closing the door in his face.

  “Someday, he’ll regret his stupidity,” Jake said, while Annie clicked the dead bolt in place.

  “It’s probably going to take a couple of decades or more. But I can live with that because I’m not going to sit around and wait. I’ve got better things to do.”

  Jake caught the huge grin on her face just before she pushed him up against the door.

  “Darlin’, what are you doing?”

  She responded by kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Not that he minded. When they came up for air, she touched his face with gentle fingers.

  “We’re your family now?”

  “Yeah, Annie. You are. I hope you want that too.”

  “More than anything.” Next thing he knew, her hands were unbuckling his belt, and her grin had turned seductive temptress. “You are so getting laid. Right. Now.”

  It was his turn to grin. “So you’re saying I handled that okay?”

  “Like a man who truly cares.” She hummed her approval. “And now it’s my turn to handle you.”

  At the slide of his zipper, Jake reaped the rewards of loving an incredibly sexy woman who didn’t seem to mind if he occasionally went a little alpha crazy. Or got a little possessive. After all, he was a man who was just learning how to let all the love he had inside finally break free.

  And it felt damned good.

  Chapter 17

  A month had passed since Doug’s surprise visit, and life had definitely taken a turn for the better. Now that Jared and Eli were both to receive the appropriate honors, Jake felt he could finally breathe.

  When everyone hadn’t been sitting at the old kitchen table helping put together their mother and Martin’s wedding, they’d been gathered together working on the nonprofit to memorialize Jared and Eli, and to benefit Elijah. They’d come up with an idea for a fund-raiser that held a lot of appeal for the community of Sweet and the surrounding towns. A spectacular affair they’d created to allow adults to be kids for a night was being planned for their first event. Not surprisingly, all his sisters-in-law had a lot of experience with fund-raisers, so Jake had welcomed them on board as chairpersons alongside Annie to organize the event.

  He’d completed the pergola over the creek but hadn’t yet shown it to anyone. The pool would come last, but the backyard was taking shape with the new stone flooring, patio roof, and landscaping he’d put in place. Still, there was a lot of work to be done.

  Even so, his mother had decided to have a Thanksgiving-themed wedding in the barn, with decorations of straw bales and pumpkins. She’d also decided to keep it a semiprivate affair, with only family and close friends in attendance. For a woman who provided the town with a big summer blowout barbecue, her choice was a bit surprising. That she’d chosen to be married on the property she and their father had built together was just as unexpected. Until she explained that it was her way of letting go of the past.

  Letting go of the past and grabbing onto the future was a concept J
ake was learning to embrace. Baby steps, Annie had told him, were better than no steps at all. Today he planned to kick off his training wheels and take one of the biggest steps of his life. Yes, it was his mother’s wedding day. But it was also Thanksgiving, and Jake was so damn thankful for all he’d been given, he wanted to celebrate in a big way.

  With the entire family inside his house waiting for the minister and getting ready for the nuptials, the sound level was close to deafening. Jake looked around at the hustle and bustle and grinned. The family had grown by leaps and bounds with the arrival of Jackson and Abby’s baby girl Lily just two weeks ago. Jake chuckled as he watched his brother hold his new daughter as if he might break her. Reno, now an expert at handling Adeline, who was a little over four months old, was trying to give suggestions. It seemed odd seeing the two brothers who had a strong, tough side, be so gentle with their offspring.

  While Annie helped in the kitchen with the reception dinner, Jake volunteered to be in charge of keeping an eye on Max, who seemed to have learned how to run in recent days. Either that, or Jake had just grown slow.

  His mother rushed by with curlers in her hair and her dress half-zipped, followed closely by Arlene Potter, who held a can of hair spray in her hand, and Gladys Lewis, who held a tube of red lipstick while tugging at the waistband of her orthopedic stockings through the bright orange muumuu she’d chosen for the festivities.

  Nearby, Martin, his mother’s fiancé, straightened his tie and tried not to look nervous as hell. Jake couldn’t blame him. The man had led a quiet life until he’d gotten tangled up with the Wilders. And since the poor man had escaped bodily harm when the brothers discovered he was seeing their mom on the sly a couple years ago, Jake figured they should all go easy on him today.

  “Chaos.” Jesse chuckled, watching his wife Allison trying to zip up the wedding gown on a moving target.

  “Status quo.” Jake laughed. “So when are you and Allie adding to the Wilder brood?”

  “We were going to wait.”

  “Were?”

  “Yep.” Jesse nodded. “Past tense.”

  “So that means . . .”

  “We’ll probably make an announcement tonight after the wedding.”

  “Allie’s pregnant?”

  “Three months.”

  “Unplanned?”

  Jesse grinned. “Not really. At least not with all the practicing we’ve been doing.”

  “Congratulations.” Jake extended his hand, and they shook.

  “So when are you going to make an honest woman out of Annie?”

  “Truthfully?” Jake said, as she came into the room, hands full of autumn-colored cloth napkins, and he couldn’t stop the jolt of happiness that shot through his heart. The yellow dress she wore was perfect. Formfitting yet still soft and flirty. He couldn’t wait to take it off her. “I can’t believe she’d want to be stuck with me for the rest of her life.”

  “Bullshit.” Jesse grinned again, something he did frequently these days. “She’s crazy about you.”

  “Hard to know why.”

  “Well, maybe she’s just crazy.”

  “She’d have to be to put up with me.”

  “You know what they say, real love is when you know the worst thing about someone, and it doesn’t matter.”

  “Yeah, well, she’s sure had to wade through a lot of worst.”

  “Doesn’t look like she’s running off.”

  “Nope. I’m pretty damned lucky.”

  Jesse patted him on the back. “That you are, little brother.”

  Jake glanced into the kitchen, where Annie stood next to Fiona, Jackson’s ex, putting the finishing touches on the wedding cake. Fireman Mike, Fiona’s new husband, held up Izzy so she could help. The entire family was here.

  Everyone except his father and his brother.

  Not for the first time that day did Jake feel a pang of sadness in his heart. Of course, if his dad were alive, there’d be no reason for his mom to be putting on a wedding dress.

  His dad and brother had loved when the entire family got together. They’d be even more thrilled with all the girls now in the family. And they’d love little Max.

  Jake caught sight of the toddler heading toward the front door and ran to scoop him up before he escaped the next time someone came into the house. He made a big deal of catching Max and lifting him into the air, and was rewarded with the little guy’s giggles. Just as he settled Max on his hip, someone knocked on the door. Jake opened it to find a blond-haired man standing there wearing a nice suit and a wary expression as he glanced over Jake’s shoulder to all the activity in the house.

  “I hope I’m in the right place,” he said. “I’m looking for Jana Wilder.”

  “You the minister?” Jake asked.

  “No. I’m . . . uh . . . a friend. Hopefully.”

  “And your name is?”

  “Peter Castlewood.” He offered his hand and Jake shook it. When Max stuck his chubby little hand out too, the man named Peter smiled and shook it also.

  “I think all the guests are supposed to meet in the barn for the ceremony.”

  Peter looked at him like he didn’t understand.

  “Aren’t you here for the wedding?”

  “I apologize.” He stepped back. “It looks like I’ve come at a bad time.”

  Jesse joined them at the door. “How can we help you?”

  The man was taking another step backward, and Jake’s curiosity grew.

  “I just wanted to say hello to Mrs. Wilder.”

  “Well, you’ve got about another thirty minutes to do that.”

  “I’m sorry I interrupted. I’ll come back another time.”

  Jesse looked at Jake and shrugged. Then enlightenment dawned and Jake grabbed Jesse’s arm. “Holy shit.”

  The man was halfway down the steps.

  “Hold up.” Holding Max, he stepped out onto the veranda, dragging Jesse with him. “How do you know our mother?”

  “I don’t actually. Except for what I’ve been told.”

  “You’re him.”

  Perplexed, Jesse asked, “Him?”

  “Him.”

  Jesse’s eyes widened and his head whipped around to where the man stood on the bottom step, looking like he was about to make a run for it. “You were Jared’s partner.”

  The man’s chest lifted on a sigh. “Yes.”

  “Oh my God.”

  Both Jake and Jesse pulled him into an embrace that included a lot of backslapping and laughter. Max squealed like it was Christmas morning. Before the poor guy could think they were all crazy and try to escape, they pulled him into the house and shouted for their mother. She came running from the bedroom, with half her hair down and half still in curlers. Her dress was still halfway unzipped, and she was trailed by an entourage of ladies in orange muumuus.

  “What in blazes is going on?” Her wedding-day nerves were showing in the tension at the corners of her eyes.

  The rest of the family gathered, also waiting to see what the commotion was all about. Max continued to squeal happily in Jake’s arms.

  “This is Peter Castlewood,” Jake said.

  “Jared’s Peter Castlewood,” Jesse announced.

  A collective sigh floated about the room, and their mother’s eyes instantly began to water. In an instant, Martin was at her side, holding her hand, and bringing her forward.

  Both her smile and her hand trembled as she lifted it to Peter’s cheek. “Sugarplum, we’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

  Jake glanced across the room to where Annie stood with her hand to her mouth and tears in her eyes. The emotional impact of meeting the love of their brother’s life grabbed Jake by the heart. Life was precious. And short. And you had to make the most of it before it slipped away.

  He never expected Ann
ie to be anything more than a pain in his backside and someone to argue with. But she’d become so much more.

  She’d become everything.

  He kissed the top of Max’s little head as joy rippled through him and his mother embraced Peter Castlewood.

  “Welcome to the family, sugarplum. Welcome to the family.”

  Peter looked relieved, and maybe a little teary.

  As Peter returned the embrace Jake noticed something in the man’s eyes that formed a lump in his throat. Peter seemed truly happy to be there, to be accepted by the family who were now all pushing their way forward to meet and welcome him. But for all that mattered, the man Peter had loved was not there. Would never be there. And that made Jake’s heart hurt in too many ways to count.

  Yes, life was way too short.

  And Jake had no intention of living another day without making the most of it.

  Their mother had finally gotten the curlers out of her hair and her dress zipped up in time to say her I do’s. The wedding went off without a hitch and was made even more special with the arrival of Jared’s partner, who seemed to fit in with their loud and rowdy family just fine. The man had a ready smile and quick wit. Jake could understand how his brother would find Peter Castlewood special. Then again, in Jake’s mind, Jared had been the special one. And in his mind, he could also see his big brother and his dad, watching over the festivities and nodding their approval.

  In general, weddings were happy affairs. Oh sure, there was always someone who tipped the champagne bottle a little too hard. And someone who thought the dance floor was a great place to show off their dirty dancing skills. And someone who bowled everyone else down to get at the bridal bouquet or the garter. All things considered, Jake never expected for BFFs Gladys Lewis in her orthopedic shoes and Arlene Potter in her matching orange muumuu to fight over the bridal bouquet and end up on the ground wrestling like Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

  He did expect eighty-year-old playboy Chester Banks to tip back an adequate amount of George Dickel, but he didn’t expect the bowlegged old cowboy to monopolize Jake’s time with his woman. From Jake’s count, Chester and his giant schnozzola were on dance number three with Annie. Ironically the tune was “Drunk on You,” and Jake didn’t like the idea of anybody else being drunk on Annie except him.