by Jamie Pope
They watched their mothers walk off and Hallie looked up at Derek, an unspoken question passing between them.
“She’s planning an all-out attack to get you to move back here for good. There will be lots of guilt. Some crying and probably a few threats thrown in there.”
She nodded. “I expected as much.”
“The worst part is that she’s going to try to get you and Brent back together.”
Hallie rested her head on Derek’s arm. “Please tell me you tried to talk her out of it?”
“You know I still think we should string that punk up by his toes. Of course I’ve tried to talk her out of it and I will run interference when I can, but I can’t stop her all the time.”
“I know. I can handle it. Getting back with Brent is the last thing I want right now.”
Chapter 12
A week later Asa departed from the ferry that brought him from Miami to Hideaway Island. He saw his brother-in-law and sister waiting for him at the end of the long ramp and while he was really happy to see them and be out of the freezing cold city, he knew he was missing Hallie. He respected her wishes and hadn’t called her. He thought she might be trying to break things off and if that was the case, he wouldn’t try to convince someone who didn’t want to be with him to stay, but that wasn’t the case with her. She wanted to be with him. He felt it with every glance and every kiss. He felt it in his bones. She was scared they were falling in love too fast. And she might have a point.
That was the only reason he respected her wishes. But she had called him the night she’d landed. And she texted him every evening. They had been apart for just about a week and he wondered if this little experiment was having the desired effect.
He didn’t just miss the physical side of their relationship, he missed hearing her voice and sharing meals together, he missed hearing about her day. He missed coming home to her. She wasn’t a fling. He loved her. But he wouldn’t tell her that. Not when he was so unsure of how things would end up. Her ex wanted her back, and even though she told Asa she wasn’t in love with him, a shared history could be too strong a bond to break.
“Asa!” His sister extended her arms. She was in one of those long, flowy, brightly colored dresses that she lived in. Her cheeks were round, maybe a little fuller than the last time he had seen her.
“Hey, twin.” He gave her a tight hug. “When were you going to tell me that you were pregnant?”
“What?” she and her husband Carlos said at the same moment.
“How are you, Carlos?” He nodded at her brother-in-law briefly before he looked back to Virginia. “What are you, about nine weeks?”
“How do you know?” Virginia ran her hand over her stomach. “Am I showing?” she whipped around to look at her husband. “You told me I wasn’t showing!”
“You’re not!”
“A medical professional knows these things.”
“That’s crap and you know it.”
“I honestly don’t know how I knew. I just knew the moment I hugged you.”
“You two have some kind of freaky twin thing going on.” Carlos shook his head. “I’m surprised that you don’t cry when she’s in pain.”
“Of course I don’t cry when she’s in pain. We’re not identical,” Asa said. “You’re not having twins, right?”
“No! I’m not sure I could handle that right now. We’re going to announce it at our big Christmas party.”
“So you were going to make me wait and find out with the rest of the world? I’ve been with you since the moment you were born. We shared a womb and a crib for the better part of a year. I know you better than anyone else on the planet and could argue that you should have told me the moment you found out.”
“I’m her husband,” Carlos protested. “She wasn’t going to tell you before she told me.”
“Husbands are replaceable, man. Twin brothers are forever.”
Virginia looked at Carlos and shrugged. “I think Asa gets to find out first the next time we get pregnant. It’s only fair.”
“Are you serious?”
“Nah.” Asa slapped Carlos on the back. “We’re busting your chops, but you shouldn’t keep things from me.”
“I won’t.” Virginia nodded. “I’m actually glad you know. I’m having a hard enough time keeping the secret from Mom. She’s been walking around the house commenting on which rooms would make a good nursery.”
“You think she knows?”
“No. She told Carlos that he was getting older and that it was time he stopped messing around and made them grandparents.”
“She’s doesn’t tiptoe around things, does she?”
“No.” Virginia looped her arm through his. “We’re going to show you to your place and then take you to lunch. I think you’ll like staying there. We might stay with you, just to get away from all the fuss at our house.”
* * *
“I thought elderly people were supposed to be forgetful and not as quick as they were in their younger days,” Hallie said to her eighty-two-year-old grandmother as she sat across from her at the kitchen table. “I think you’ve gotten a little quicker in your old age. In fact I think you’ve become a card shark. How have you beat me five times in a row?”
“It’s very simple, dear. I’m a genius and you aren’t yet.”
“Nanny!”
“What? I said you aren’t a genius yet. It’ll come to you.”
Hallie laughed. “I’ve missed you, Nanny.”
Nanny reached across the table and took her hand. “I’ve missed you, too. I’m glad you’re home. This place hasn’t been the same without you.”
“I’m sure it’s not so different.”
“It is. You know I’m getting older. I don’t have so many years left.”
“Did my mother put you up to guilting me?” Hallie raised a brow at the elderly woman who didn’t look more than sixty. “Your mother lived to be one hundred and six. Her mother lived to ninety-nine. You work out every day and you’re in better shape than I am. Don’t play the limited-time-left card with me.”
“I’m busted.” Nanny grinned. “But I do miss you and I do want great-grandbabies. You and Derek need to get to it.”
“But there are more cousins.”
“They aren’t ready yet. You two are the eldest. Time to get your lives going.”
“But...”
“No buts.” Nanny stood up and crossed the table to pinch her cheek. “Do what Nanny says and the world will be a better place.”
Hallie shook her head and watched as her grandmother left the room. She always got the last word. Hallie knew it would be foolish to say anything else.
Her mother walked into the kitchen, stopping to kiss her forehead before she went to the refrigerator. “I’m going to make some sandwiches from the leftover roast chicken from last night. Can I make you one?”
“Oh, no thank you. I’m going out with Derek. It was the only free day he had. Between his furniture business and being mayor, he has no free time at all.”
“And no time for a girlfriend. I tell him every night when he shows up for dinner.”
“I can’t believe he still comes over every night for dinner.”
“Of course he does. I’m a way better cook than his mother and everyone knows it. Plus Nanny lives here, too, and Derek would rather have great food in a beautiful warm home with people he loves, than eat takeout alone. Plus, it gives me someone else to mother. It’s a win-win.”
“Speaking of mothering, you’ve been outdoing yourself since I’ve been here. You’ve cooked gourmet-quality meals twice a day. You’ve made my bed while I was still practically in it and you anticipate my every want and need before I even know I want or need it. I appreciate you, Mom, but you don’t have to do so much. I’m happy to
be here.”
“Are you?” She walked away from the refrigerator and took the seat besides Hallie. “I feel like there is something off with you. You seem a little sad.”
“Do I?” She was having so much fun being home with her family. Being back here soothed a raw part of her soul, but she still felt a little empty. Not speaking to Asa hadn’t helped her clear her mind at all.
Maybe it was because she texted him every night. But she knew that wasn’t it. Not seeing him or hearing his voice wasn’t slowing down her feelings. Being back home didn’t magically make her forget about him. She really missed him so much it hurt.
“Is it because of Brent? Does being back home remind you of all the good times you had here?”
“Um, no. I’m fine, Mom.”
“You’re not. Have you seen Brent? I was sure he would have stopped by. He asked about you a hundred times since you left. Must be out of town. He spends a lot of time at his Miami office. He has a sixty-seven-million-dollar listing. He showed me pictures of it on the internet, and I nearly passed out in my chair. I thought Carlos Bradley had a nice house, but there is a museum in that house. They could charge admission.”
“It can’t be as nice as Daddy’s work.”
“No.” Her mother sobered and smiled softly. “Your father would have hated it, thought it was disgustingly garish with no charm. He would have said ‘Nobody needs to live in a house that damn big. It’s wasteful. Money and class are two things that don’t necessarily go together,’” she imitated her late husband’s voice. “That man of mine.”
“I miss Daddy,” Hallie whispered, feeling the pain sneak up on her. He had passed away last year just before the holidays and they’d had a very low-key Christmas without him. It wasn’t Brent that was making her feel funky, and she knew it had to be more than Asa. She was missing her father who had loved this holiday so much.
“Oh, honey. That’s it, isn’t it? You miss your father. It’s hard being in this house without him.”
She nodded. She could almost hear his footsteps, almost see him at his desk drinking coffee.
“I thought I would go nearly insane those first few months. I tried not to let it show, but I almost couldn’t take being here, but memories of your father are here and I want to be here with them.”
“He would hate it if you lived in a house he hadn’t built.”
“There’s one for sale in town. They are charging a fortune for it, too. Your father would have hated that.”
“Yes, but he was the legendary Hal Roberts. People will pay to live in one of his masterpieces.”
“He would never call them masterpieces. He would just say he was having fun. That’s why I loved the man. My family didn’t understand why I fell in love with a man over twenty years older than me, but I couldn’t help myself. He was so dashing and brilliant and funny. He used to make me laugh until my cheeks and sides hurt. He made me feel so alive. Luckily they came around when they saw how happy he made me.”
“I had the oldest dad in school, which some people thought might be a bad thing, but I knew I had the best dad.”
“And to think we almost didn’t get together.”
“You didn’t? I didn’t know that.”
“Your father thought I was too young for him. He thought people would think he was a dirty old man and he kept pushing me away. But we were equals. He treated me as his equal and he sought out my advice and he needed me just as much as I needed him. I knew I wasn’t going to find that love in another twenty-two-year-old so I went after your father and I didn’t stop until he admitted that he was meant for me and I was meant for him.”
“That’s so sweet. You were like his little stalker.”
She laughed. “It’s true. But if you really want something out of life, you have to go and get it.”
Derek walked through the kitchen door then, her handsome cousin smiling down at both of them. “My favorite women.” He kissed Clara’s forehead. “I’m stealing your daughter for the day.”
“Your annual cousin day.” She nodded. “Bring me back a slice of key lime pie and stop at the grocery store on your way back and bring me two dozen eggs.”
“Two dozen eggs?” Hallie shook her head. “We have a bunch in the refrigerator.”
“You silly girl, it’s Christmas time. We are baking cookies tomorrow. Some for us and the rest for the senior citizen home.”
“Of course.” Hallie laughed. “That should be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
* * *
Carlos and Virginia had rented Asa a cottage walking distance from the beach. He liked it, liked that he could see the ocean in the distance, but it didn’t feel like Christmas there like it had in New York City. There hadn’t been a single decoration in the house. If this were any other year he wouldn’t have even noticed. He normally never decorated his apartment for Christmas, but he and Hallie had done so this year. Every night she plugged in the tree; she had even brought twinkling lights for the window. He would forever associate Christmas with Hallie, and the fact that it looked and felt like summer in his temporary island home just reminded him that he was going to spend the holiday without her.
“What’s the matter, Asa?” Virginia asked as they walked into the elegant but understated waterfront restaurant.
“Nothing. I’m just tired.”
“Did you work last night?”
“I was supposed to work a three-eleven, but I got off late. There was a bad car accident in Midtown and the rescue unit got called in.”
“Do I want to hear how that story ends?”
“No.”
The hostess recognized Carlos right away and seated them at a table that overlooked the marina in the quieter part of the restaurant. There were a few perks to having a brother-in-law that was a baseball legend.
“I’m not sure I could handle your job. You deal with tragedy every single day.”
“It’s not all bad.” No, not all bad, but it had been getting harder and harder to do. The crazy hours, the physical toll on his body. It was becoming incredibly difficult to shake off what he was seeing as time passed. He rarely saw people at their best, more often seeing the humanity at their worst moments.
“Do you think you’ll stay with this job until retirement?” Carlos asked him.
If anyone had asked him that last year his answer would have been a resounding yes, but as the days went by...he wasn’t so sure that he would.
His sister was pregnant and that brought the idea of having a family to the forefront of his mind. He worked crazy shifts. He didn’t want to miss his kid’s games or parent-teacher conferences because he was stuck at work.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly.
“You have options.”
“Finish my internship and residency? I want to work less hours, not more.”
Carlos nodded. “I know. My little brother, Elias, is busting his butt to finish his surgical residency. We rarely see him, but that’s not what I was talking about.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked him.
“Yeah,” Virginia said. “What are you talking about?”
A woman walking by caught Asa’s attention. She was wearing a sweet pink-and-white sundress, her hair in short curls.
It was impossible for her to be here. It probably wasn’t Hallie, just some woman who resembled her, his missing her causing his mind to go crazy. But he reached out anyway, and grabbed the woman’s wrist. He was unable to stop himself. It was the way she held herself, the way her hips swayed. It was the dress she wore. The flowers looked like cherry blossoms and he would know it anywhere because that was what she’d worn when he had first laid eyes on her the day he moved in.
He pulled her into his lap. Her eyes went wide and she smiled beautifully at him as recognition dawned on her.
<
br /> “Asa.”
He wasn’t sure who moved first but they were kissing each other. Her hands on his face. His arms wrapped tightly around her.
How could she be there, right on the day he had been thinking about her the most?
“I’m so glad you don’t listen,” she said when she broke the kiss, but her lips didn’t go far. She kissed him all over his cheeks.
“I listened to you. I’m not here to see you.” He closed his eyes and let himself be kissed. If it were any other woman he would have hated this treatment, but he liked it with her. This was what he had been missing all week, “I told you your idea was dumb.”
She smacked his shoulder. “Now is not the time to tell me ‘I told you so.’ What do you mean you’re not here to see me?”
“This is where my sister and her husband live.”
“Hi!” Virginia said, and Asa remembered that they weren’t alone. The whole world kind of melted away when they were together, but they were in the middle of a restaurant on the busiest part of the island.
Hallie’s head snapped up. “You’re Carlos Bradley’s wife.”
“Well, I’d like to think I’m more than that, but it’s true. I am married to the hottie.”
“Hello.” Carlos waved. Both he and Virginia were grinning.
“Oh, boy. I think this is one of those moments when you want to curl up in a ball and die.”
* * *
“I take it you know this guy?” She heard Derek’s voice but was afraid to look up at him. She didn’t want to look at anyone except Asa. She couldn’t believe that she was meeting Asa’s sister this way. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed Asa’s twin and her legendary baseball player husband sitting there. “I saw him pull you into his lap and was about to kill him.”
“Is this your ex?” Asa’s jaw clenched. He was primed for a fight and Hallie thought he looked sexy and terrifying at the same time.
“Of course not. This is my cousin.”
“Oh, what’s up, man? I’m Asa.” Asa extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Hallie loves you. She talks about you all the time.”
