Family Matters (DiCarlo Brides book 4) (The DiCarlo Brides)

by Tullis, Heather

  Rosemary blinked away the memory and the tears that welled in her eyes. It had been almost a decade, but the memory of that day was so strong, she could feel the pain still clawing inside her. Only now it was joined by the pain of losing the best parents she or Cleo could ever have.

  She sighed, then turned back toward the exit, brushed the handle of something with her leg and heard a creaking sound. She looked up in time to see the shelf of camping equipment wobble, then break, dumping the contents, which poured down on her. She stopped the camp stove before it knocked her against the car, but it slid down and bruised her leg. The tent tumbled after it, beaning her on the shoulder as the Dutch ovens clattered to the ground and the big blue-enameled coffee pot hit her in the face. Several other items banged against her on their way to the cement floor and she thought for a second that the whole wall might collapse on her.

  The crashes continued for a moment and then settled as almost everything along that wall ended up piled on the ground around her. When it all came to rest except for the clanging sound of a can rolling across the cement, she realized that she’d been holding her breath. Her heart raced and her hands shook. Her cheekbone hurt, and she would probably have bruises on her arms and legs.

  She wondered why Don had piled everything up like that—he had a little girl, why hadn’t he made sure it was secure? The thought of Cleo getting caught in the fallout sickened her—she might have been killed. Rosemary looked at the gear filling the floor on either side of her and rested her head back on the top of the car. This wasn’t going to be fun to wade through, but she had to get out of this mess. She’d have to come back and sort through all of it later.

  Maybe in June.

  After stepping on, over and between equipment, she finally made it out. She checked her watch again and saw that it was after lunch and she ought to go start the process of checking Cleo out of school. It broke her heart to have to tear the little girl away from her friends, but it couldn’t be helped.

  Rosemary grabbed her court documents, granting temporary guardianship, her ID and information for the school where Cleo would be attending, and headed for her rental car.

  Rosemary checked Cleo out of school and they ran some of the dozens of errands that had to be handled before they left for Colorado. Her phone rang as she walked through the door, exhausted and achy from the earlier accident. She recognized the number on the caller ID as belonging to Juniper Ridge, but in her muddled state, wasn’t sure to whom it belonged. She answered it, thinking that if it was one of her staff and it wasn’t a true emergency, heads were going to roll. “This is Rosemary.”

  “Hey, are you at home?” The voice was Harrison’s.

  “Yes. Are you still in town? I thought you’d be gone by now.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be gone, or if she just didn’t care.

  “I leave in the morning, but for tonight I thought I could take you two out for dinner, maybe we could catch a show. I’m sure you could both use a change of scene.”

  “Harrison, that’s sweet of you, really. But we don’t want to go out tonight.” She didn’t want to see anyone today—especially him. Though she’d used cover-up on her cheek, it was swollen and turning purple. And she really needed to veg for a while

  “Yes we do!” Cleo said, scrambling over to her. “We want to go out tonight. Really. I want a shake.”

  The doorbell rang and Rosemary touched her forehead, wondering if her headache was going to get better or worse.

  Cleo whooped, running to the door. She stopped and asked who it was, but opened the door almost immediately, revealing Harrison on the other side, still holding his phone to his ear.

  Rosemary slumped a little—now he was here, Cleo wouldn’t back off and let her stay home for a quiet evening. She ended the call and stuck her phone back in her pocket. “Really, Harrison, tonight is not the night to go out.”

  His brow furrowed as he drew closer. He hunched down so their faces were on the same level. “What happened? You have a bruise.” His fingers ghosted just above it, tickling the fine hairs on her skin.

  “I have several bruises,” she said, not wanting to explain. “There was a little accident in the garage today. Nothing serious.” She was not going to mention how very serious it could have been, not now. Not in front of Cleo. Besides, if she said anything about that to Harrison, he’d tell Sage, who would tell the others, and then she’d be smothered with concern.

  “And that would be why you don’t want to go do something tonight. I was really thinking maybe we could head out to Chuck E Cheese.” He turned to Cleo, who jumped up and down.

  “I want to go there, Rosemary! Please say we can go. Please?” She clasped her hands together and fluttered her big eyes and hopeful grin.

  Rosemary sighed. There was no way she could turn Cleo down when she looked like that—not without a good reason. “I have the funniest feeling I’m going to lose, even if I argue.”

  “Yay!” Cleo wrapped her arms around Rosemary’s neck, yanking her to the side and making her head pound a little more.

  “I need some pain medication first. Give me a minute.” Rosemary moved to stand, and Harrison held out a hand to help her up.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” His eyes seemed to peer right through her.

  “Really. I have a little headache. Nothing serious. Just give me a second. And I ought to change my blouse.” It was still covered in dust and debris from the accident. “Go get your shoes,” she told Cleo.

  Before she knew it, they were pulling in front of Chuck E Cheese. “How did I not realize how far we drove?” Rosemary asked, looking over at Harrison. They had talked about things to do in DC all the way to Virginia, and Cleo had sung them belated Christmas carols from her school program.

  “I don’t know. I don’t recall Scotty beaming us across the distance,” he teased.

  Rosemary smiled despite herself.

  They ordered a big pizza with almost everything on it—just like Cleo liked—and they competed in games, tried to bonk weasel heads and fill water balloons first. Rosemary found Harrison was surprisingly competitive, which she met head-on. “Come on, you think you can take me?” she asked as they stood in front of Spy Hunter, an old arcade game she played often as a kid.

  “You better believe it. I was the pro at this game when I was her age,” he gestured to Cleo.

  “That game is so lame, it’s not even cool like the Wii or anything,” Cleo announced. “You had stupid games when you were kids.”

  “Oh, we did, did we?” Rosemary asked as she grabbed her daughter and tickled her. Cleo shrieked with laughter and Rosemary tipped her unbruised cheek onto the little girl’s head, so happy in that single moment. “I was the world champion of this game—I bet I can beat Harrison’s score. Don’t you think so?”

  Cleo looked around Rosemary’s shoulder to studying Harrison. “He looks pretty tough.”

  “Tougher than me? No way. You know I’m tougher than anyone.”

  “Hey, you talk big,” Harrison said. “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

  She laughed despite herself. “Loser pays for the winner’s next game?”

  “You’re on.”

  She didn’t even feel bad when she had to ante up the quarters for the next round.

  “There’s a lot of snow here.” Cleo said as they wound around the mountain roads near Rosemary’s house two days later. It was a relief to be reaching home as Rosemary was exhausted from the crazy week. Her aches and pains were getting better, but she had to use serious stage makeup to cover the bruise on her cheek.

  “Yep. The skiers like it that way. Snow keeps them from hitting bushes and rocks.”

  “I want to learn to ski. And to snowboard. And to drive a snowmobile. Does anyone you know snowshoe?” Cleo asked.

  “Fine to the skiing and snowboarding, the snowmobile is out of luck for a few more years—though maybe we can find someone to take you for a ride—and I’m sure someone around here snowshoes, but I
don’t know who.” She made a mental note to ask the resort concierge. If anyone in the area took people out, they would probably know.

  “This road is really windy.”

  “Are you getting sick?” Rosemary wondered if she had anything the girl could puke into. She didn’t think Cleo had been prone to car sickness in the past.

  “No. It’s just really windy. And the trees are tall. There are a lot of them. Are they like this everywhere?” She stared out the window, watching the world flash past her.

  “Pretty much.” Rosemary nearly sighed in relief that the barrage of questions was at an end. She pulled up to her house and clicked the garage remote.

  Cleo’s eyes widened. “Cool. This is where you live? It’s so huge.”

  “Yep. It had to fit six of us, so there’s lots of space. Try to keep out of other people’s rooms unless they invite you in, okay?”

  “I’m not stupid. I know how to respect other people’s space.” Cleo sent her a dirty glare.

  Cleo was growing uncharacteristically snippy, but though Rosemary’s own temper was being tested by it, she understood the fear of the unknown. Cleo would be living with two total strangers in a new town and making new friends. They had been traveling all day and spent the previous day packing up the things Cleo felt she couldn’t live without.

  They were both exhausted. Rosemary just hoped the meeting with everyone went smoothly tonight. She had tried to talk Jonquil out of doing a big shindig with the whole family—that was a sure-fire way to overwhelm the kid—but she would not be put off. As usual.

  The garage was full of cars, and there had been a couple of vehicles out front, including Harrison’s, so this would be a big group.

  “Cool, who drives the motorcycle?” Cleo asked when they passed it on the way to the kitchen door.

  “Delphi. No, you may not ride with her. Not until the snow clears up enough the roads are decent anyway, and even then, only if she’s willing. If not her, maybe Jeremy will take you out.” Rosemary wished she’d kept that part to herself, she wasn’t really a big fan of motorcycles, and the thought of her daughter on one was scary.

  “Jeremy?” Cleo had been asking questions, and Rosemary had shown her dozens of photos of everyone, but Jeremy wasn’t a relative, so he probably hadn’t come up in the discussions.

  “He’s the photographer who does most of the weddings and things at the resort. He’s also Vince’s best friend.” Rosemary pushed opened the kitchen door and was faced with a roomful of people, which included Alex. When had he gotten to town? Wow, they really had gotten everyone onboard. “This hoard of people is your new family. Of sorts,” she said when she looked at Harrison.

  “Not to be confused with the sane people who raised you.” She looked at Cleo and said in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone. “You won’t get confused though, because sanity isn’t really in big supply here. Except for Sage, who knows the difference between butter and margarine.”

  Cleo’s brow furrowed. “Um, isn’t one plant fat and the other animal fat?”

  “Yes, that’s true, but it goes so much deeper than that. I have a lot to teach you.” She looked back at the ten pair of eyes. “Let’s start with the smart one.”

  “Wait, wait. Let’s see if I can do it. I’ve been looking at the pictures.” Cleo had gotten her enthusiasm back, though Rosemary didn’t expect it to last for long. She started on the right. “That’s Delphi. She’s the one with the cool motorbike, right?” She looked to Rosemary for confirmation.

  “Sure thing. She’s even more of a bossy pants than I am.”

  “She’s the fifth sister,” Cleo continued from memory. “And next to her is Jonquil. She works with flowers and she’s number six. She’s really athletic and skis.”

  “So right,” Jonquil answered. “Rosemary is a slacker, she doesn’t like to ski—how is it possible that anyone doesn’t like skiing?” Jonquil shook her blond curls. “I’ll take you out sometime if you want. I do lots of fun things because unlike some of my sisters, I’m not married to my job.”

  “Says the woman who wouldn’t go home after breaking her leg,” Cami muttered.

  “Cool!” Cleo said, brightening. “Okay, then you’re Cami and Vince, right? You just got married a few weeks ago. And she bosses around the desk clerks and bell boys and he works in people’s yards.”

  “Yep. He’s the grunt man, and I’m the third most bossypants person here,” Cami said. She looked pleased that Cleo remembered, and not at all irritated by her job description.

  “Wrong. I’m the bossiest of them all. That puts you in fourth place,” Lana said. She was standing slightly in front of Blake in a cute maternity blouse and he had a hand on her hip.

  “Actually,” Rosemary said, “I think Cami’s bossier than I am, so that puts her in third place.”

  “Wrong. You’re firmly right behind Delphi,” Harrison said. “And Lana is only bossiest because she’s, well, the boss. I don’t think she’s naturally that bossy.”

  “And now you’re the one who’s wrong,” Cami said. “Trust me, for the younger sister she’s always been seriously bossy.”

  Cleo giggled at the silliness and moved on. “And Sage is there. She does massages on people’s feet,” she pulled a face at this. “And the big dude behind her is the security guard. You guys were married a couple months ago. You’re a military guy and like to swim. Joel.” Cleo looked at Alex and shook her head. “I don’t know who you are.”

  Rosemary introduced Alex. “But he’s not around much. He’s important though, because he’s going to make sure that you get to stay with me forever. And he’s sort of family through the two redheads.”

  “Good to meet you.” Cleo looked around the room and back at Rosemary. “Can we eat now? I’m starved!”

  Rosemary smiled, relieved that Cleo didn’t seem cowed by all of the new faces. “As soon as you pick out your room. There are plenty of bags out in my car still, guys. If any of you are man enough to help.” She headed for the stairs leading to the open second story. “I’m the only person still sleeping upstairs, the rest have all defected to live with their husbands. They said you can have your pick of the rooms.”

  “All right.” Cleo raced for the stairs and all of the guys headed into the garage.

  Predictably, Cleo picked Lana’s room with the ocean-themed mural and comforter that looked like ocean waves. When they came back downstairs, everyone was getting food or already eating.

  “Young ladies first,” Lana said when Cleo approached. “Go ahead and get into line.”

  Everyone had contributed something from Sage’s humus and organic rice chips, to Jonquil’s chocolate cream cake rolls—a recipe Rosemary had taught her that summer—to a goulash Vince must have made because Cami was hopeless in the kitchen.

  Cleo ate, but didn’t last long after that, worn out from her trip. “It was all really good. Thanks.” She had turned suddenly shy, so Rosemary took her upstairs.

  “Get into your jams while I put some of these clothes away. Tomorrow we’ll take you to the school and get your enrolled.”

  Worry filled Cleo’s eyes. “Do I have to? Already? I’m tired.”

  “That’s why you’re going to bed now.” Rosemary waited while she changed, then sat on the edge of the bed. “Look. I know this is really scary. It’s been rough, and it’s not exactly going to get easy overnight. But all of those people out there care and want to make sure that things are okay for you, and hopefully things will even be good before too long.”

  Cleo played with the stuffed cat she’d had since she was a toddler. “They aren’t my parents.”

  “Nope. No one will ever be Cecilia and Don. They were super special people. But so are you and you’re going to be okay. You know I love you?”

  “Yeah. I do.” Cleo hugged her tight. “I love you too.”

  “All right, get some sleep. I’ll try to keep the riffraff from making too much noise.” She dropped a kiss on Cleo’s head.

  Cleo gigg
led again as she settled under the blankets.

  Rosemary felt incredibly unprepared for what lay ahead. She came back down the stairs to sit with the others.

  “She seems to be doing pretty well,” Joel said when Rosemary sat across from him.

  “Yes, she sure does seem to be.” She wanted to say more, but wasn’t sure how much to say.

  “Do you think she’ll settle in okay?” Sage asked.

  “Who knows?” Rosemary touched the back of her neck, slumping into her seat. “She’s been keeping it together by sheer force of will, but she starts in a new school tomorrow, and everything is different. It could be nightmarishly emotional tomorrow, or we may have a couple weeks of smooth sailing, but eventually that little girl’s pain is going to come out, claws extended.” Rosemary knew all about pain-induced claws. It was a miracle she’d not turned to alcohol or drugs to get through some of the rough times.

  “It doesn’t have to be like that,” Jonquil said.

  “Nope, I could get lucky, but let’s face it, she’s my daughter, so she’s going to wig eventually. Sooner is better than later. She’s lost something massive. You don’t get over that fast.” She stared at the empty fireplace. “Sometimes you never get over it.”

  “So what’ll you do?” Delphi asked, her eyes wary.

  “Just love her to pieces. What else can you do? She’s mine.” She smiled after she said it, pleased to hear the words tripping off her tongue. “And for the first time I actually get to admit that. It doesn’t matter what happens, I’ll just love her and hope for some kind of miracle that I don’t screw up too badly. And if I do screw up, I know you’ll set me straight.” She looked at Delphi.

  “You better believe it,” Delphi said.

  “Are you afraid of messing up?” Lana asked. “I’m terrified of making mistakes.” She touched her growing stomach. “And my baby didn’t just come out of a major trauma.”

  “Everyone messes up.” Rosemary looked at Lana. “You nearly threw away Blake, and he’s made you disgustingly happy. Cami almost kicked Vince to the curb, and Sage and Joel were nearly killed by a stalker for heaven sakes. We’re all damaged—and that’s not counting stuff before we met last spring.”