“She probably won’t mind that you’re looking out for him, but you may have a problem with your brother. He’s a SEAL, Kathleen.”
“He can fight terrorists, blow up a building, and shoot a gun, but none of that makes him an expert when it comes to women. I just want to be sure he isn’t being latched onto by someone out to take advantage of him.”
Cal bit back another warning. The two of them would have to work it out. He wasn’t getting in the middle. But he’d like to be a fly on the wall to find out how they worked it out. Kathleen’s family’s dynamic was so different from his own.
“I’ve noticed Dad’s a little easier to get along with since you arrived.”
“He’s just on his best behavior right now. He’s been trying to bribe me to get you to stay.”
“Bribe you how?”
“I showed him the plans I’ve drawn for a house I really like, and he’s been hinting around about how much cheaper it would be to build here than in California. How much cheaper the property values are, things like that.”
Cal smiled. “Wily old bastard, isn’t he? He’s wooing you with promises of a house because he knew I was going to pop the question. I told him as much when I first got here. He’s hoping you’ll influence me. I don’t get why he’s so wary of talking to me man-to-man.”
“He painted himself into a corner before with you, Cal, and if it’s possible, I think it’s twice as hard for him to say he’s sorry as it is for any of my brothers. Which is saying something.”
“He hasn’t bitched at mom or Doug as much lately, though.”
“It’s only been a couple of days, and he’s slept quite a bit of those.” She chuckled. “Teasing aside, it may not last once he feels better.”
“I’m hoping mom will bring him by once a day and just let him look things over so he’ll feel he’s still involved.”
“Would you be satisfied with that?” she asked.
He grimaced and shook his head. “No. Actually, hell no.”
Kathleen chuckled. “I think he needs a completely different outlet until he’s well enough to go back.”
“Such as?”
“Your mom.”
Cal glanced at her.
“She’s beautiful, Cal. And sweet. Neglected. She’s been just another part of the machinery to get things done. And she deserves more. Your dad needs to wake up.”
He could feel his mouth hanging open and shut it. “I’m their son, Kathleen. Not a marriage counselor. What do you expect me to do?”
“Just point out the obvious to them both when you see an opportunity. Make comments about how young your mom looks, and compliment her when she looks pretty. Make him see what he has right in front of him. He’s built his whole life around building houses instead of doing his part to maintain his marriage.”
Cal shook his head. Wow. Kathleen had walked into the house five days before and seen everything he had and then some. “If I ever fall into that hole, smack me upside the head.”
“You won’t. You’re different from your father, Cal, but just in case, I’ll remind you of this conversation.” She reached for his hand and held it against her cheek. The ring he’d given her flashed in the early morning light.
He was a lucky man. But he had to make a decision. It wasn’t fair to either of them to be apart and held in limbo because of this situation. It wasn’t fair to Kathleen to have to relocate, either. She’d have more career opportunities in California than in San Antonio.
“You’re still working on your AXP. How much more do you have to do?”
“Another two years at least. I did quite a bit during my master’s, working for a firm. And during summers. Competitions and things like that, construction work, mostly during the summers. I have to have a licensed architect as a mentor during the process, and I’ve had to change mentors a couple of times. Then once I’ve completed the work and uploaded my final portfolio entries, I have to take the Architectural Registration Exam. Once that’s behind me, I’ll be licensed to practice in any state in the US and in Canada.”
Jesus, he hadn’t realized it would be such a big deal for her to move. He should have. She had to report hours every week, do paperwork, submit her work. She stayed right on top of it. Yet she was willing to risk all her hard work to be with him.
*
Kathleen wasn’t surprised Cal was weighing the options before making a decision. But he thought to ask about her internship program, and even remembered the name of it, which gave her confidence that he was thinking way beyond a knee-jerk reaction.
Doug met them at the door when they came in.
“Everything okay?” Cal asked.
“Yeah. I just came by for a piece of pie before going back to the site.” He looked from Cal to Kathleen, then back again. When neither one of them said anything he said, “Well?”
Cal grinned. “She said yes.”
Doug’s smile was genuine. “Congratulations.” He hugged his brother then turned to Kathleen. “I know you probably think I’m an asshole, but I’m awfully glad you’re marrying my brother.”
Kathleen smiled and accepted his hug. “Thanks. I have a few assholes in my family, too, but you’re young, so you still have time to grow out of it.”
Doug laughed. “I’ll work on it. Where’s the ring?”
Kathleen thrust out her hand. He whistled. “Very nice, and it suits you, Kathleen. Cal has good taste…and better credit than I do.”
“I paid cash for it, little brother. I am frugal. I know how to save money. I am a squirrel harboring nuts for the winter.”
“You are full of shit, too. Mom and Dad are in the den. She laid down the law this morning over something Dad said, and he’s toeing the line…for the time being. Things are a little strained. I have to go. Are we having a celebratory dinner tonight since Kathleen’s leaving in the morning?”
“Yes,” Cal replied. “I thought I’d get mom to fix her garlic mashed potatoes and I’ll grill some steaks.”
“Maybe our announcement will put them both in a better humor,” Kathleen suggested.
“Let’s hope,” Cal said. “Later,” he pointed at his bother. He laced his fingers with hers and drew her through the living room to the den. Sondra stood at the window looking out at the pool, but she glanced over her shoulder at them when they entered the room. Jameson’s attention flicked from her to them, his expression sullen.
Sondra attempted to pull herself together, but her lips had an unhappy tightness. She forced a smile. “You’re back early. How did you like the river walk, Kathleen?”
“It was lovely. And the Alamo was much smaller than I expected, but it’s a beautiful place. Surprisingly peaceful.”
“Where did you eat supper last night? I hope Cal took you somewhere nice.”
Cal answered, “We ate supper at the Citrus, then took a walk and sat on a bench under one of the trees next to the water. I asked Kathleen to marry me. She said yes. We’re engaged.”
Sondra strode across the distance to hug Kathleen first, then Cal. “I’m so glad. He’s been carrying around the ring, but wouldn’t let me see it.”
Kathleen interpreted it as an invitation to share and extended her hand. But the other woman’s misery dimmed the moment. Sondra’s eyes turned bright with tears. “Cal, this is gorgeous. I’d never have thought of rubies in an engagement ring.”
“Kathleen looks good in red, and I decided she deserves something non-traditional.” His hand on her shoulder squeezed gently.
“It’s perfect.”
“Let me see, Kathleen,” Jameson said.
She walked across to where he sat in his recliner. He didn’t attempt to take her hand, but studied the ring thoroughly. “It’s very nice.” His chest rose as he sighed. “When Sondra and I got married we had no money. Couldn’t afford anything but a tiny diamond you needed a magnifying glass to see. She wore it so long the band wore through in the back.” He fell silent for a moment. “I bought her a new one a couple of years ago, a littl
e fancier, a little bigger.”
“It isn’t so much the ring as the meaning behind it,” said Kathleen. “The love it’s given with. The sacrifice it took for you to buy that tiny diamond, and the meaning behind it, probably meant more to her than anything else in the world.”
“It did,” Sondra spoke up, and for a moment Jameson and she connected with a glance. He looked away first.
“We need to do something to celebrate. Maybe a bottle of champagne at dinner. I’ll fix something special.”
“Doug and I can grill steaks outside, and you can fix your garlic mashed potatoes and rolls, Mom.”
“That sounds easy and perfect,” Kathleen agreed. “If you’ll make the grocery list, I’ll run and get whatever we need.”
Sondra gave her waist a squeeze. “You’re too easy to please, Kathleen.”
“I suppose I’ll get a boiled potato with no butter or salt,” Jameson complained.
“I’ll fix you one of my famous feta salads with a grilled chicken breast, and you can have a glass of red wine with us instead of champagne,” Kathleen suggested. “I’ll eat chicken, too. I splurged last night. Or we can have turkey burgers.”
Jameson turned a scowl in her direction. “You do realize you’re talking to a Texan about eating hamburger made with turkey instead of beef?”
“You realize you’re talking to a woman who’s fought middle age spread since before her twenty-fifth birthday? You’re not getting any sympathy from me.”
Jameson laughed. “Okay. I’ll settle for the chicken breast. Buy one that’s Texan-sized.”
Kathleen gave his arm a squeeze.
“You and mom go ahead and make the list.” Cal said. “I have to go by a couple of the sites and check some things, and I need to speak to Dad for a minute.”
Taking his father on now might not be a good idea. But there was little she could do. She left the room with Sondra, but concern dogged her steps.
*
Cal pulled one of the chairs closer to Jameson’s and took a seat. “We need to talk, Dad.”
“It’s about the business, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s about Mom.”
“Stay out of our business, Cal.”
“I don’t know what was said, and I don’t care. You’re going to keep it up until you find yourself sitting here alone. She could walk away now and take half of everything you have and start a new life with someone else. She’s young enough, and pretty, and deserves better than a broken-down construction worker with a sour attitude. You said you dealt with things and moved on because that was life. Well, I have to tell you, you’re not dealing, and you’re not moving on. You’re clinging to what used to be, and you need to look forward to what you can have now.”
“What—” Jameson cut off what he started to say.
When had his father ever put his mother first? Kathleen was right. His mom was there to make the machine run smoother. Nothing more than a cog in the wheel, in his dad’s mind.
“Kathleen has offered to relocate here so I can continue helping run things. She loves me enough to do that, even though it will disrupt some things for her. Some very important things.”
He resented the hope he read in his father’s face, because he didn’t have a clue how little the business meant to him in comparison to Kathleen. So he added, “You do realize she has put a lot of effort into her education to do what she does.”
“Yeah. I can tell she’s put in some time.”
“She has to finish an internship, which requires quite a bit of paperwork, documenting her hours and submission of her work, before she takes an exam to be licensed. She has two more years and she’ll be finished. I don’t want to screw it up for her. It’s too important.”
“She doesn’t know you’re telling me this, does she?”
“No. She’s all about family. And she’d put my needs ahead of hers. This family’s needs ahead of hers.” Just like his mother had, and where had it gotten her? The more he thought about it the angrier he got. “Kathleen’s offered to do it. Even if it screws things up for her. But I’m not going to let her.”
Jameson’s features blanked in disappointment, then he frowned, his lips a thin, taut line.
Cal let the silence stretch.
“We all made sacrifices to keep things running, Cal,” Jameson said.
“Mom made more than anyone else. I remember her chauffeuring Doug and me to and from school, ball practices, academic stuff, working in the office, and still having dinner on the table. She’d still be working after you were sacked out here in front of the television. You’ve done the work of two men? Well, she’s done the work of three women.”
He let that sink in.
“Have you ever put her first, Dad? If I asked her, would she be able to think of a single time she could say you did? There’s more to life than this goddamn business. You need to see that for your own sake, and for hers.”
He jerked to his feet and walked away from his father, too frustrated to stay seated.
“Doug’s doing okay, but he can’t handle it all,” Jameson said.
God, he was still fixated on the job. What did it take? “He’s doing better, but he still isn’t you. No one is. You’ve done all the work instead of delegating it to other people, and now you’ve paid a high price for it. You don’t want Doug to pay the same price, do you? Because he’ll try to be you, and he won’t make it.”
He ran a hand back and forth over the top of his head, then forced himself to stop. He would not allow this stress to get to him. “I have a solution I think may work.”
One brow rose in interest. “What is it?”
“You hire Strom Michaels to be job foreman to take my place. He’s worked for you for twenty years, knows the business up one side and down the other, and is good with the men. But he’s getting some age on him. He’s talking retirement in two years.”
Jameson shifted in his recliner. “By then Kathleen will have finished her exams and you could step into his shoes when he retires.” There was a stilted uncertainty in the way he said it. “If you move here, she can open her own architectural practice, or find a job at a big firm. She may even decide to do residential architectural design and throw in with us. She seemed excited about doing some of that.”
Cal remained silent a moment. “Why do you want us to move here, Dad? For the business?”
“It was supposed to be my legacy to the two of you. It was supposed to be the three of us working shoulder to shoulder. And I ruined it.” Jamison looked up and Cal gripped his shoulder in alarm when he saw tears glazing his father’s eyes. Never had he seen his hard-as-nails father cry, but he was close now. Cal’s own emotions ramped up in sympathy.
“I made it harder for you than it should have been.” Jameson’s voice was gruff with emotion. “I didn’t believe in you like I should have.”
He brushed his broad, work-roughened hand over his face to brush away the tears. “I want the opportunity to make it up to you, Cal.”
It was as close to an apology as he was ever going to get. “Don’t waste your energy making anything up to me, Dad. I’m focusing on the future, not the past.”
Jameson tried for a chuckle, but it sounded more like a sob. “Getting engaged will do that to you. Has Kathleen shown you the house?” he asked.
“No.” Cal narrowed his eyes at him. He decided to cut him some slack. “But I heard you’ve been attempting some bribery.”
Jameson grinned, though his eyes were still wet. “Told you about that, did she?”
“Yeah.”
“You better start putting plenty aside for that project. It’s one hell of a house. It would look real sweet on three or four acres somewhere, ten would probably be better, but you don’t want to be chained to the upkeep. And it has a basement, and you can’t have one in California.”
Cal gave up trying to control his smile. Was there anyone as stubborn as Jameson Crowes? He was thrilled to see the light of excitement in his father’s eyes take over
the emotion of a few minutes before. If he was so interested in the project, he needed to see Kathleen’s plans. “How ’bout you keep your eyes peeled for a nice piece of property, and we’ll see about the rest.”
“I can do that. There’s not a damn thing wrong with my eyes.”
“There won’t be anything wrong with the rest of you, either, if you follow doctor’s orders…and you treat Mom right.”
“Seems Kathleen’s been filling her head with ideas.” Jameson folded his arms.
“Kathleen’s ideas are usually beneficial. Why don’t you try doing things Mom’s way for once, and see if you don’t reap some of those benefits in about six or eight weeks?”
He grinned when a blush colored his father’s cheeks.
Kathleen’s words had been so true. “You’ve spent your life building houses. It’s time you tried building something else now.” Why couldn’t he try wooing Mom a little instead of always showing her how big an asshole he could be?
His father’s expression grew obstinate. “You’ve been engaged for ten minutes and it makes you an expert on marriage?”
“I don’t think anyone’s ever an expert on anything. It’s all just trial and error. What are you so afraid of?”
As his father’s silence stretched, Cal said, “I’ve had to start over several times since high school. Construction worker to Marine to amputee and back to construction worker. And next I’ll be a husband, maybe one day a father. You’ve already covered most of that ground. You can be something more too, Dad.”
Jameson looked like he might tear up again. “You trying to build me up? Keep me in the game?”
“Something like that. You still have time. I know something about second chances. You’ve been handed one. What are you going to do with it?”
His dad had clearly had enough, because his skin was a bit gray and his hands shaky. “You need to rest until dinner. I need to check out the sites and make sure the men got their work done.”
Cal made it to the door before his dad said, “Will you ask your mom to come in here for a few minutes?”
“Sure.”
“Maybe we’ll swing over to see you and Kathleen in three or four months, when I have my legs under me again.”
Breaking Out (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 6) Page 36
