Dinner First, Me Later?

by Candy Halliday

  It also didn’t matter that Alicia had called and left several messages on his cell phone asking him to call her. Did she honestly think he was that stupid? That he’d call so she could lecture him about Danielle again, and give him another two-bit “Dr. Phil” psychoanalysis about why he was really allowing Danielle to go back to LA.

  Screw that!

  Danielle could stay in LA—her choice.

  Alicia could stay through with him—her choice.

  And he, by God, would stay at the farm and sulk for as long as it took to get over missing both of them so badly there were moments when he couldn’t even breathe!

  Jake got up from the rocking chair and began pacing back and forth on the cabin’s front porch, his mind going right back to Buddy’s “taking one for the team” comment. Maybe he had always put everyone else’s needs before his own. He wasn’t going to deny it.

  He’d taken one for the team as a kid, accepting that his mother didn’t have what it took to settle down and take care of him. He’d taken one for the team after Carla’s attempted suicide and dropped his custody suit for both her and Danielle’s sake. He’d ruined his own baseball career rather than risk the Cubs losing the division series. Even now, he was accepting the fact that Danielle and Alicia had made their own choices, regardless of what he wanted.

  Jake stopped pacing. You idiot! he thought.

  He’d convinced himself over the last few months that he was a changed man. Yet, what had he done? The second things had become difficult he’d slipped right back into his old Jake habit of accepting whatever came his way instead of standing up and fighting for what he wanted. Jake was so shaken by the truth that he had to lower himself slowly back down onto the rocking chair again. But he didn’t stay there for long.

  New Jake was back!

  Chapter 33

  Dani had just reached for her toothbrush early Friday morning when her grandmother’s angry voice filtered up the stairs. Dani groaned, trying to imagine what the new maid or poor Raoul had done now. She had the toothbrush in her mouth when she heard Raoul shout back.

  Dani dropped the brush and spit out the paste.

  Raoul shouting back at Natta was something she didn’t intend to miss. She’d been waiting for Raoul to stand up to Natta her entire life! Still in her pajamas, Dani had just made it to the bottom of the stairs when she realized the male voice she recognized wasn’t Raoul’s.

  Jake!

  Dani hurried down the hallway to the dining room, but she was smart enough to stop at the dining-room door. She peeked around the doorjamb.

  Jake’s back was to her, but she could see her grandmother clearly. The verbal exchange going on between them was so heated, Dani feared Natta’s green Swedish facial mask would melt right off her face. And knowing how mortified Natta had to be over Jake catching her in that facial mask almost made Dani laugh out loud. No one ever saw Ranatta Harper unless she was model-runway perfect.

  “You have one second before I call the police!” Ranatta shouted.

  “Call the police,” Jake shouted back. “My temporary custody doesn’t run out until December. I’m taking Danielle back to Chicago, Ranatta, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  Ranatta drew her hand back and took a swing at Jake.

  Jake caught her wrist midair. “That worked the day I came to take Carla and Danielle back home to Chicago,” Jake told her. “It won’t work this time, Ranatta.”

  Dani felt as if Natta had slapped her!

  “You came to get me and Carla?” Dani shrieked and stormed into the room.

  Jake whirled around to face her.

  Ranatta shouted, “Go to your room this instant, Danielle!”

  “No!” Dani said, stamping her foot. She glared at her grandmother and said, “You told me Jake laughed when Carla left with me, Natta. You told me he never wanted me at all, that it was only his guilty conscience that made him call on Sundays and come to see me twice a year. How could you lie to me about that?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ranatta insisted.

  “Answer me, Natta!” Dani yelled. “How could you lie to me about that?”

  “We’ll discuss this later, Danielle,” Ranatta said through clenched teeth. “Now, go to your room! Jake was just leaving.”

  “I’m not leaving without Danielle,” Jake said, staring straight at Dani when he said it.

  Dani stared him down. “And if I don’t want to go back to Chicago with you?”

  “You’re going anyway,” Jake said.

  Dani grinned and ran from the room.

  It took her less than an hour to pack what she needed, but Dani did take time out to write Ranatta a note. If she knew her grandmother as well as she thought she did, she knew Ranatta wouldn’t be around to tell her good-bye. The note was short, but it said everything Dani wanted Ranatta to know: I still love you, Natta, but I want to go home with Jake. It’s where I belong.

  When Dani made it back downstairs with her bags and Kiwi, she found Ranatta’s new maid waiting for her in the foyer, just as she’d expected. “Mrs. Harper . . .”

  Dani cut the woman off when she handed over the note. “Just make sure my grandmother gets this,” Dani told the maid and headed for the door.

  Jake was propped against the rental car when Dani came bouncing out of the house, Kiwi tucked under her left arm, her suitcase in her right hand. Before she could make it down the front stairs of Ranatta’s Mediterranean-style mansion, Kiwi wiggled out of her arms and headed straight for him.

  Jake picked the dog up, trying to keep Kiwi’s tongue out of his face. He was also pretending that he didn’t know Ranatta was standing at an upstairs window watching. She’d stomped out of the dining room the second Danielle left to go pack her things. It had been the maid who had come back minutes later and asked him to wait outside for Danielle, stating Mrs. Harper had gone to her room to lie down. Jake had understood it was Ranatta’s way of saying she wouldn’t be around when they left.

  Probably the best thing for all of us, Jake decided when Danielle reached the car with a big smile on her face. She bent down and peered into the front seat of the car for a second.

  “Is something wrong?” Jake asked, taking her suitcase when she handed it over.

  “I thought Alicia might have come with you,” Dani said.

  “Afraid not,” Jake told her and handed Kiwi back to her.

  The Alicia situation was one he hadn’t thought through yet. He’d had a court order giving him custody of Danielle for six months. Too bad he didn’t have a court order where Alicia was concerned.

  Jake tossed Danielle’s suitcase into the trunk of the car. Seconds later, they were driving away. She kept looking back at the house as they started down the long driveway. Jake looked over at her in time to see Danielle wave.

  “Did Ranatta wave back?” Jake asked, praying Ranatta had at least given Danielle that much.

  “In her heart she did,” Dani said matter-of-factly and turned back around in her seat.

  Jake reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’re pretty perceptive. Did you know that?”

  “I’m glad you realize that,” she said with a grin. “What’s up with you and Alicia?”

  Jake frowned. “Nothing. That’s the problem.”

  “What do you mean nothing?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Jake said.

  “Too bad,” she said right back. “I do want to talk about it.”

  “Alicia dumped me, okay?” Jake said, staring straight ahead.

  “And?” Danielle demanded.

  “There is no and,” Jake said. “She dumped me. It’s over between us.”

  “I dumped you, too,” Danielle pointed out. “But you came after me.”

  “It’s different with Alicia,” Jake argued.

  “Jake!” Danielle scolded. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  Jake shrugged. “I’ve been staying at the farm since the night you left, okay? I haven’t e
ven seen Alicia since that night.”

  “You haven’t even called her?” Danielle wailed.

  “No,” Jake said. “She left a few messages on my cell phone, but I never called her back. And after I had my attorney call her and tell her to put the house up for sale, she hasn’t called again.”

  “You put our house up for sale?” Danielle wailed even louder.

  “But I haven’t sold it,” Jake said. “Not yet,” he added. He looked back over at her. “I was thinking you might want to live at the farm instead of in Woodberry Park.”

  Danielle rolled her eyes. “You mean live at the farm so you can continue to avoid Alicia,” she accused.

  Jake frowned again.

  She shook her head. “It’s going to take a grand gesture to get you out of this mess.”

  Jake looked over at her again. “What did you say?”

  She looked over at him. “A grand gesture. I learned about it in drama class last year. It’s an elaborate gesture you make when you’re trying to impress someone.”

  “Like making Alicia a pan of my Chicken à la Hurl, you mean?” Jake teased.

  “Now I see why you decided to model underwear,” Danielle said. “It’s the only way you could get anyone to go out with you.”

  Jake reached over and tickled her.

  Danielle giggled, and pushed his hand away.

  “For your information,” Jake told her, “I know what a grand gesture is, and I think your grand gesture idea is perfect.” He dug his cell phone out of his pocket. “But for the grand gesture I have in mind, I’m going to need some help.”

  “Who are you calling?”

  “First, I’m going to call my agent,” Jake said. “Then I need to get in touch with Tish, Jen, and Zada.”

  “The Housewives Fantasy Club?”

  Jake’s head jerked in her direction. “What do you know about the Housewives Fantasy Club?”

  “Katie told me that’s what Alicia and her friends call themselves,” Danielle said innocently. “What should I know about the Housewives Fantasy Club?”

  “Nothing,” Jake said. “And keep it that way.”

  “And what about me?” Danielle asked, frowning. “The grand gesture was my idea. Don’t I get to help?”

  “How well did you do in that drama class last year?” Jake asked her.

  “I got the lead role in the play,” Danielle said proudly.

  “Good,” Jake said. “It’s going to take some spectacular acting on your part for what I have in mind.”

  Chapter 34

  It was three o’clock Saturday afternoon when Alicia turned into her driveway. With Jake and Dani gone, she’d been spending more and more time at the office, even working on Saturdays. It was the only way she knew to lessen the pain of their absence in her life.

  But life did go on, Alicia reminded herself sadly, and as proof of that the FOR SALE sign she’d brought with her to put in Jake’s front yard was in the trunk of her car. Sticking that sign into the ground, however, was going to require a few glasses of wine before she had the courage to do it. Alicia decided she would see if Zada, Tish, and Jen would help her find that courage while she drank those glasses of wine later in the evening.

  Her only hope was that the house would sell quickly. Maybe after the new owners made the house their own, she wouldn’t feel the knife slice through her heart every time she drove up Owls Roost Road.

  Alicia got out of the car, closed the door, and started out of the garage. She stopped dead still when Kiwi appeared from nowhere and ran in her direction. Kiwi jumped so high, Alicia threw her purse down and caught him.

  Before she could get Kiwi and his tongue out of her face, Dani rounded the corner. Within seconds, they were hugging each other, both crying, and Kiwi was licking the tears from their faces as fast as he could lick.

  “Jake isn’t home,” Dani said when their happy reunion was over. “Do you know where he is?”

  Alicia felt another slice through her heart. “I’m sorry, Dani, but I don’t know where Jake is,” she admitted. When Dani looked confused, Alicia said, “I haven’t seen Jake since the night you left.”

  Minutes later, they were seated at the patio table by the pool, Kiwi on her lap, and Dani looking grief-stricken after Alicia informed her about Jake’s plans to sell the house.

  “Can I use your cell phone to call Jake?” Dani asked.

  “Of course,” Alicia said and pulled her cell phone out of her purse.

  “Jake,” Dani said. “This is Dani. Call me back.”

  Alicia grimaced. “I just thought of something, Dani. When Jake sees my number, I doubt he’ll call back.”

  “Then I’ll call his agent,” Dani said. “He’ll know where Jake is.”

  Dani walked to the far side of the pool as she talked into the phone. A few seconds later, she closed the phone and ran back to where Alicia was sitting, an anxious look on her face. “Hurry, Alicia,” she urged. “You have to take me to Wrigley Field. Jake’s throwing out the first ball of the last Cubs’ game of the season. If we don’t hurry, I’ll miss him completely.”

  Alicia started to argue, but Dani seemed so desperate to find Jake, she hurried to her back patio door, punched in the numbers to unlock the door, and placed Kiwi safely inside. By the time she made it back to the garage, Dani was already sitting in the front passenger seat of her Mercedes.

  “Mr. Vance is going to meet us at the front entrance,” Dani said as Alicia backed down the driveway. “He said he would arrange for someone to park your car and he’ll take us straight into the stadium. We’ll have front row seats right behind home plate.”

  Alicia glanced at Dani, a little doubtful. “And you’re sure Mr. Vance can arrange for all of that by the time we get to Wrigley Field?”

  Dani shrugged. “That’s what he said.”

  Alicia glanced over at Dani again. “Don’t be upset with me, Dani, but once we find Mr. Vance, I think you should go to find Jake alone. He’s made it obvious that he has nothing to say to me.”

  “No!” Dani shrieked. “You have to go with me, Alicia. Please. What if Jennifer DiCarlo is there. I’d die!”

  Alicia’s head jerked back in Dani’s direction. “Jennifer DiCarlo?”

  “Yes,” Dani said, looking as if she were going to cry. “I came back from LA to keep Jake from marrying that witch.”

  Jake is marrying Jennifer DiCarlo?

  Alicia almost ran off the road.

  Alicia gripped the steering wheel when she asked, “Has Jake told you he was marrying Jennifer DiCarlo?”

  “No,” Dani said, “but haven’t you seen the new issue of People magazine? Everyone’s already calling them a couple. Jake will be a pushover for a woman like her.”

  Alicia let out a huge sigh of relief. “Dani, honey, you can’t believe everything you read in those magazines,” Alicia told her.

  “I don’t care!” Dani wailed. “I will not have Jennifer DiCarlo for a stepmother.” She reached over and placed her hand on top of Alicia’s. “You’re the only mother I’ll ever want, Alicia. And I mean that. You’re the only real mother I’ve ever had.”

  Alicia was too touched to speak.

  She didn’t mention not going into the stadium with Dani again, and she was amazed when Jake’s agent was waiting for them in front of the stadium exactly as Dani said. But Alicia couldn’t keep a melancholy feeling from settling over her as the three of them walked up the ramp and into the stadium.

  Wrigley Field had been the place where she’d seen Jake in person for the first time. The thought crossed her mind that maybe it was only fitting that Wrigley Field would be the place where she also saw Jake for the last time.

  Dumbfounded, however, was the only word to describe how Alicia felt when she found her friends sitting in the second row section as Mr. Vance escorted her and Dani down to their front row seats behind home plate. It looked like a Woodberry Park reunion. Tish and Joe were there with the twins. Jen, Charlie, and Sonya. Zada, Rick, and baby Lizzie.<
br />
  “What are all of you doing here?” Alicia demanded.

  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” Tish said. “It’s family night, remember?” She smiled over at Buddy Vance, who had just taken a seat beside her. “Jake asked Buddy to get us tickets for the last game of the season.”

  “Oh,” Alicia said, deciding that explained why Mr. Vance had no trouble getting her and Dani seats.

  “These are our seats right here,” Dani said, pulling Alicia down onto the seat beside her in the front row.

  Wait a minute! Alicia thought. No one had said a word about Dani being with her. She turned to tell Tish exactly that, but Jake’s name came over the loudspeaker and Dani pulled her to her feet again.

  The crowd went wild when Jake walked out onto the field. Dani was cheering louder than anyone around them, jumping up and down, her arms held high above her head. The crowd began to settle down as Jake walked up onto the pitcher’s mound. He turned toward the catcher, ball in hand.

  But the catcher turned around, looking behind home plate. He looked directly at Alicia and pointed to the message board out beyond center field. “Jake has a message for you,” he called out to her.

  Alicia and thirty thousand other pairs of eyes in the stadium looked at the board when the message came up.

  ALICIA . . . WILL . . . YOU . . . MARRY . . . ME?

  The crowd went wild.

  The cheering grew even louder when Jake tossed the ball to the catcher and headed straight for Alicia in the stands.

  Alicia whirled around and almost fainted.

  Now, Alfie and Gwen had joined the group!

  “Oh, my God!” Alicia gasped. “All of you are in on this!”

  Tish leaned forward and whispered, “Jake went to LA to get Dani, Alicia. Give the guy a break and let him do the same for you.”

  “Say yes,” Dani started chanting and the entire stadium joined in.

  “SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!”

  It wasn’t until Jake finally reached where she was standing that you could have heard a pin drop at Wrigley Field. Jake took a ring box from his shirt pocket and dropped down on one knee. “Make my fantasy come true,” he said with more love in his eyes than Alicia ever hoped to see. “Say you’ll marry me.”