Ask Anyone

by Sherryl Woods

  Besides, she had a project to oversee, and she didn’t intend to mess it up. Too much was at stake: not only her professional reputation, but Bobby’s faith in her. She was not going to disappoint him. The boardwalk in Trinity Harbor was going to be as quaint and charming as the town itself, a peaceful refuge from the stresses of the big city. No one understood those stresses better than she did. In fact, just the thought of having to go back to Baltimore someday was enough to make her jittery.

  Proving herself to Bobby was one thing. There was also her father to consider. She didn’t intend to do anything to confirm his disparaging remarks about her inexperience. If she had to take a crash course in construction and hammer home every single nail herself, this project was going to come in on time and under budget. She intended to put her brothers to shame on that score. By Memorial Day next spring when it was unveiled right on schedule, the Trinity Harbor boardwalk was going to be the talk of the travel industry in the entire region, and she was finally going to have her father’s respect. If she didn’t, she was prepared to walk away from the relationship and stand on her own two feet.

  Never in her entire life had Jenna been so determined. Okay, maybe when she’d set out to marry Nick, but she wasn’t going to linger on that mistake. There was no comparison. She might not have understood much about men back then, but she did understand the development business…at least in theory. As a practical matter, she was going to be testing herself, but she could do it. She had to.

  “You look grim,” Daisy noted, slipping into the booth opposite her at Earlene’s the following Monday morning. “What’s up?”

  “Not grim, determined,” Jenna corrected after a weekend of making charts and timetables and enough lists to choke any compulsive overachiever on earth. “I’m going to build this boardwalk project without one single hitch. Not one.”

  Daisy laughed. “Now there’s a surefire way to tempt fate. Mistakes happen. Delays are just part of the real world.”

  “Not mine,” Jenna insisted.

  Daisy’s laughter faded. “Has Bobby been putting too much pressure on you?”

  Now it was Jenna’s turn to chuckle. “Hardly. He’s not even speaking to me.”

  “Why on earth not?” Daisy asked, bristling with obvious indignation on Jenna’s behalf. “What’s wrong with my brother, anyway?”

  Jenna really wanted to confide in Daisy, but she hesitated. For one thing, Daisy was Bobby’s sister. Blood would win out every time…except, maybe, in her family. For another thing, Jenna simply wasn’t used to discussing her personal life with anyone. Heck, she wasn’t even used to having a personal life.

  “He’s been busy,” Jenna said, defending him half-heartedly.

  “Like that has anything to do with anything,” Daisy scoffed. “Bobby makes time for what he wants to make time for.”

  “Which should tell you something,” Jenna said. “I’m obviously not a priority. And the truth of the matter is, I don’t have time for anything personal right now, either. I can’t afford to be distracted. He’s demonstrated a tremendous amount of faith in me by giving me this contract. I can’t let him down. And mixing business with pleasure is probably a really lousy idea.”

  Wasn’t that a conversation they’d had in detail on his front lawn right after he’d kissed her senseless? Even though she didn’t like it, it had been her idea as much as his. It was probably better this way. She could focus all her energy on the work that had to be done. Being around Bobby muddled her thinking.

  “Since you’re staying here to do this job, I assume Darcy will be going to school here,” Daisy said, wisely letting the matter of Jenna’s relationship with Bobby drop for the moment. “Have you enrolled her yet?”

  “I’m going by to do that today, right after I interview contractors.”

  “Okay, but a word of warning,” Daisy said. “Remember that this is Trinity Harbor, not Baltimore. Things tend to move at a more leisurely pace. Stop by the bookstore and ask Gail Thorensen about that. It took her forever to get everything finished the way she wanted it. Of course, if you’ve met Gail, you know she was born in a rush, but the bottom line is, don’t expect too much, too soon. The work will be excellent, but it might not happen on your timetable.”

  Jenna nodded, but dismissed the advice. She didn’t have time to waste, not in completing the boardwalk project. Because until then, she wouldn’t have a minute to spare for her other project—getting herself into Bobby’s bed and, even more important, into his heart.

  Bobby found out what job Lonnie was working, drove to the site at the end of the day and waited beside his truck. When Ann-Marie’s husband walked out of the house he was wiring and spotted Bobby, his usual sour demeanor worsened visibly. It was hard to believe that at one time he’d been a carefree kid with all the potential in the world. No one had been more surprised than Bobby when Lonnie had given up a basketball scholarship to college and stayed home to apprentice as an electrician. Apparently he’d done it to be close to Ann-Marie—too close, as it had turned out. Bobby tried to work up some sympathy for him, but under the circumstances he couldn’t.

  “I have nothing to say to you,” Lonnie said, brushing past him to yank open the truck door.

  Bobby latched onto his arm and hauled him around to face him. Even though Lonnie was taller and bulkier, Bobby had always been quicker and stronger.

  “Then you can listen,” he told his onetime best friend. “I know about J.C. I’m sorry you got caught in the middle, but that’s in the past. We need to figure out what to do about the situation now.”

  “The situation, as you describe it, wouldn’t exist if Ann-Marie didn’t baby that boy the way she does.”

  “Maybe she’s trying to make up for the fact that you ignore him,” Bobby said bluntly. “Everybody in town has seen the way you treat him, even if none of them understand why.”

  Lonnie frowned. “So you intend to spread the word that you’re a proud papa? I should have known you’d eventually turn up to claim what’s yours. Why didn’t you do it years ago, and save us all this misery?”

  “If I’d known, I would have, but that’s water under the bridge. I want to help now.”

  “By tossing more money my way to keep me quiet?” Lonnie inquired, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

  “No, by providing some guidance to J.C. before he gets into even worse trouble than he’s already in—unless, of course, you’re prepared to knock that chip off your shoulder and do the job yourself.”

  Lonnie shrugged. “Kids fight. It’s not a big deal.”

  “Maybe—and I do mean maybe—it’s not a big deal when kids pick on other kids their own size. But he beat up on a little girl and left her with a broken arm. If you can’t see the problem with that, then there’s something wrong with you. You’re not the Lonnie Gates I used to know.”

  “No, I’m not,” Lonnie said flatly. “That Lonnie died when I realized my wife was still in love with her ex-fiancé and had given birth to his baby.”

  The statement and the obvious pain behind it rocked Bobby back on his heels. “I’m sorry,” he said, and actually meant it.

  “Yeah, well, we get what we ask for, don’t we? That’s what happens when you marry your best friend’s girl.”

  “Lonnie, I really am sorry, but none of that is important now. Can’t we work together to help J.C.?”

  “You help him. I want no part of him. He’s a constant reminder of everything that’s gone wrong in my life,” he said bitterly. “I lost my best friend and my wife over that kid.”

  “You can’t seriously blame him for that,” Bobby said.

  “It may not be right, but I do,” Lonnie said. “I can’t change how I feel. He’ll be better off with you as a role model. In fact, he’d be better off living under your roof, if that’s the way you want to go.”

  “Ann-Marie will never agree to that,” Bobby said.

  “She will if I have anything to say about it,” Lonnie said grimly. “It’s the only way to save
our pitiful excuse for a marriage.”

  This time when he brushed past Bobby to climb into his truck, Bobby let him go. Ten minutes later he was on Ann-Marie’s doorstep. There was no sign of Lonnie.

  “Well, well, what brings you by?” Ann-Marie asked, her expression coy.

  Bobby frowned at her. “What do you think? I’m here to see my son.”

  She looked as surprised as if she’d forgotten all about his relationship with J.C. “I thought we were going to talk and work that out.”

  “I’ve spoken to Lonnie. He and I have come to terms. And I’m sure you won’t stand in my way,” he said, staring her down until she blinked and backed away.

  “Come in,” she said flatly. “We’re telling him together, okay? I’m not leaving it to you, so you can bad-mouth me to my own boy.”

  “I would never do that,” Bobby told her. “But before you get him, there’s one more thing. Lonnie thinks that for the sake of your marriage, J.C. ought to live with me, at least for a while. How do you feel about that?”

  The color drained from her face. “You’re taking him away from me?”

  “No. But it might be a good idea for him to spend some time with me. You’ve had him for ten years. I’ve never spent ten minutes with him.”

  Her expression turned resigned. “When?”

  “Not today. He needs to get used to the idea that I’m his father, but soon—say in a few weeks?”

  “Can we see how it goes?”

  Bobby nodded. “Fair enough.”

  “I’ll get him,” she said, and went upstairs.

  When she returned a few minutes later, J.C. trailed along behind, his expression sullen. When he spotted Bobby, alarm flared in his eyes.

  “What do you want?” he demanded. “I didn’t do nothing. I been locked in my room for days now.”

  “J. C. Gates, you have not,” Ann-Marie protested. “But you have been grounded. Staying in your room has been your choice.”

  He shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “Have a seat,” Bobby suggested. “Your mother and I want to talk to you.”

  J.C. regarded his mother uncertainly, looking as if he might refuse; but when no one spoke to challenge him, he finally sat.

  “Ann-Marie, you want to start?” Bobby asked.

  She regarded him gratefully, then swallowed hard and faced her son. “J.C., this isn’t easy. I owe you an apology.”

  Surprise flared in the boy’s eyes. “An apology? Why?”

  “Because there’s something I kept from you, something you had a right to know. I just never knew how to tell you,” she said, glancing at Bobby.

  Bobby nodded encouragingly.

  “Your father,” she began, her voice dropping. “Well, he’s—”

  “A mean son of a gun. Is that what you’re trying to say?” he asked bitterly, then dared a look at Bobby as if expecting his disapproval.

  “No,” Ann-Marie said emphatically, then sighed. “Lonnie…” Again, her voice trailed off.

  “Lonnie isn’t your biological father,” Bobby said quietly, as the boy’s mouth dropped open. “I am.”

  “You?” J.C.’s voice squeaked. “I don’t get it.”

  Bobby glanced at Ann-Marie for permission to continue with the explanation. She nodded.

  “A long time ago your mom and I were in love. Then she fell in love with Lonnie and we split up. What we didn’t know was that she was already pregnant with you.”

  J.C. absorbed this news with a bemused expression. “Is that why Lonnie treats me the way he does, because I’m not his kid?”

  “Someday you’ll understand,” Bobby told him. “That’s a tough thing for a man to handle. He’s done the best he could. I’ll always be grateful to him for looking out for you.”

  J.C. snorted. “As if…”

  Bobby regarded him sternly. “The point is, I know now that you’re my son, and I want to get to know you, to spend time with you.”

  “Forget it,” J.C. said, jumping up. “Lonnie might not be my real dad and he might be mean, but he’s been here from the beginning. Where the hell were you?”

  “I didn’t know,” Bobby said evenly.

  “Well, who cares? You should have known. I know where babies come from, I’m not a little kid. If I’m ten and I know, you should have known.”

  “Yes, I should have,” Bobby agreed, willing to accept his share of the blame, even if it was Ann-Marie who’d kept the secret from him. “But we can’t change the past.”

  “I don’t want you for a dad!” J.C. shouted at him. “I don’t even need a dad.”

  He took off for the stairs, but Bobby was faster. He caught J.C. before he hit the first step. Slowly, he turned his son around to face him.

  “Every boy needs a father,” he said, looking straight into his son’s eyes. “I know I’m late stepping up to the plate, but I swear to you that I will make it up to you, if you’ll just give me half a chance.”

  Tears welled up in J.C.’s eyes, but he didn’t relent. “No. I don’t need you.”

  Bobby felt the pain behind his son’s words and fought off the sting of tears behind his eyes. “Maybe,” he said quietly, “I need you.”

  Then he released him. As J.C. fled up the stairs, Bobby called after him, “I’ll be back, J.C. No matter how long it takes, I’ll keep coming back.”

  Something told him, though, it was going to be an uphill battle to get through the rock-solid defenses the boy had built to protect himself from hurt.

  “Hi, Grandpa,” Darcy said excitedly.

  Jenna’s head shot up from the mountain of paperwork in front of her. She’d gotten architectural drawings for the shops and Victorian bed and breakfast in record time. Bids for the work had come in the day before, and she was sorting through them now. She gestured frantically to Darcy to let her know that she did not want to talk to her father.

  “Mom’s not here,” Darcy told him without missing a beat. “She’s working. She works all the time.”

  Whatever her grandfather said made Darcy frown. “No, she does not leave me by myself for hours on end. Besides, this is Trinity Harbor. It would be okay if she did.”

  Jenna tensed when she realized what her father was doing. It almost sounded as if he was trying to find some excuse to suggest she was being a poor mother, so he could snatch Darcy back to live with him in Baltimore. Given the amount of time and attention he’d paid to her there, the prospect was ludicrous. Fortunately, from listening to Darcy’s end of the conversation, Jenna was confident that her daughter could field this problem on her own. Darcy had none of the nagging self-esteem issues with her grandfather that Jenna had had with him when she was Darcy’s age. Darcy said whatever was on her mind. And Jenna was just starting to take a page out of her book.

  “No, Grandpa,” Darcy said with exaggerated patience. “I like it here. I’m going to stay. I don’t want to go to school in Baltimore. Besides, you’re never home anyway, so it wouldn’t be any different than Mom working here. Besides, if I want to see her, I can ride my bike to wherever she is.”

  Jenna grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.

  “Bobby’s really cool, too,” Darcy added with enthusiasm. “He’s been teaching me to cook. I can make all sorts of stuff. He says my crab cakes are better than his.”

  That was news to Jenna. She regarded her daughter with amazement. She knew that Darcy had been dropping by the marina every day to see Maggie, but she’d had no idea that she was spending time with Bobby as well. When Darcy hung up, Jenna regarded her curiously.

  “What’s this about cooking lessons with Bobby?”

  Darcy shrugged. “It’s just something we do. One day when I was there with Maggie, his sous-chef didn’t show up, so he showed me how to do what needed to be done. Mostly it was cutting stuff up that first time. He didn’t let me cook. But the next time he taught me a whole recipe. He says I’m a natural, ’cause I’m not scared of improvising. I couldn’t find any tomato sauce one day and I grabbed a thing of tomato past
e and asked if that would work. Bobby said it was a great idea. The sauce we were making turned out really, really good. We had compliments.”

  Jenna chuckled. “You did, did you?”

  “Well, I wasn’t there, but Bobby told me the next day.”

  “Are you over there every day? I thought you were at Daisy’s with Tommy. That’s where I’ve been taking you.”

  “Sometimes Tommy wants to do stuff I don’t care about, so I ask Daisy if it’s okay for me to ride my bike to the marina. Sometimes she drives me over.”

  In other words, Jenna thought, sneaky Daisy was doing her bit to create a bond between Bobby and Jenna’s daughter.

  “Maybe I’d better talk to Bobby about all these visits. I don’t want you to wear out your welcome,” Jenna said.

  “I’m not. He says I’m the best help he has, and the cheapest. He pays me in ice cream.”

  Visions of that report getting to some labor advocacy group chilled Jenna to the bone. “Don’t repeat that,” she warned Darcy. “It could get Bobby—and me, for that matter—into trouble if someone took it seriously.”

  Darcy regarded her with confusion. “Why? Because he’s not giving me money?”

  “And because you’re too young to be working at all. I’ll talk it over with Bobby. We’ll figure something out.”

  “You won’t stop me from going, will you?”

  “Not if you’re not getting in his way,” Jenna promised.

  Confident that she would find Bobby in the restaurant kitchen just before opening, Jenna marched in later that afternoon and found him bent over a pot of seafood chowder. He glanced up when he saw her, picked up a spoon and dipped up a sample.

  “Taste this,” he requested. “It needs something, and I can’t figure out what.”

  “Hey, I’m not the budding chef in the family,” she said, but she tasted the chowder anyway. “Maybe a dash of dill?”