Come Home with Me

by Susan Fox

  “Cake it is.” Relieved that her daughter hadn’t kicked up a fuss, Miranda helped her off the chair and picked up the book as Iris put the others back on the shelf.

  She owed Luke a birthday cake, Miranda thought as they all walked over to the sales desk. If they kept seeing each other.

  He had upped the ante when he’d asked her out for dinner. He’d suggested they find sitters for their kids and go to C-Shell, a seafood restaurant on the harbor. It was moderately expensive and reputed to be excellent, and she’d never eaten there.

  If she went out with him, it would be a date. She would be dating Luke Chandler.

  She retrieved her umbrella at the door and unfurled it as she and her daughter went outside. Iris Yakimura thought she was brave. Iris thought she went after what she wanted.

  The question was, did she want Luke? And, if so, was he a Prince Charming or a frog?

  No, not a frog, she was sure of that. And if he did prove to be a Prince Charming, was there any possible way that she was good enough for him?

  It was a relief to go into Blowing Bubbles, settle Ariana in the play enclosure with a few toys, and get into the familiar routine. Kara wasn’t working today, and Miranda still got a thrill out of being trusted to run this wonderful store.

  A quarter hour after opening, the doorbell jingled, announcing the first customer of the day. Miranda went to greet a petite, attractive woman about her own age, who was putting a dripping umbrella into the basket by the door. She was clad in a puffy purple jacket and jeans, and her black hair was cut in a pixie style that suited her delicate Chinese features. Beside her stood a cute little girl, a bit smaller than Ariana. She looked like a miniature version of her mom, with the same haircut and a similar jacket.

  The pair had been in once before when she’d been working, and she thought she remembered their names. “Glory McKenna?” she ventured. “And Gala?”

  “Right you are,” the woman said with a smile, pulling off her gloves. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring and Miranda wondered if she was a single mom, too.

  “It’s my day off,” Glory said, “it’s foul weather, and we need a new toy or game to play with. Okay if I put Gala in the playpen while I browse?”

  “Of course.” Miranda squatted down and said to the little girl, “Hi, Gala. I’m Miranda.”

  The child turned away and buried her face against her mom’s pant leg. But a moment later, she peeped at Miranda.

  “You look like you’re close to my daughter’s age,” Miranda said.

  “She’s two and a half,” Glory said.

  “Just a little younger than Ariana,” Miranda said to the child. “The two of you can have some fun together.” Straightening, she said to Glory, “Fingers crossed. I warn you, Ariana’s prone to tantrums.”

  “So’s Gala,” the other woman said cheerfully. “Let’s hope they don’t set each other off.” She led her daughter over to the play enclosure and unlatched the gate. “Hi, Ariana,” she said to Miranda’s child, who was watching closely.

  Miranda joined them and said, “Sweetie, this is Gala and she’s going to hang out with you for a while.”

  Glory nudged her daughter so that she took a couple of steps into the pen. There were a few stuffed animals lying around and Gala glanced at them and then at Ariana, frowning.

  Ariana stared at her a moment, and then held up her cloth doll. “I has fairy!”

  It was more of a boast than an offer to share. Fortunately, Gala didn’t reach for the doll. Instead, she picked up a stuffed puppy. “I has doggy!”

  A minute later, the two of them were settled on the mat floor, playing separately with the fairy and the dog, chattering happily though maybe not to each other.

  “That went well,” Miranda said. “Now, Glory, let’s see what we can find to give you two a fun day inside.”

  As they considered options, she asked her customer, “Where do you work?” By now, she’d been into most of Blue Moon Harbor’s businesses and hadn’t seen the brunette with her pixie haircut at any of them.

  “Arbutus Lodge, the seniors’ residential facility.”

  “Really? My brother’s fiancée, Eden Blaine, works there.”

  “Eden? So you’re Aaron’s sister?” She cocked her head. “Were we in school together? Aaron and I were in the same class, but I don’t remember you.”

  “I was two grades back. I don’t remember you either.”

  “I had really long hair then, and Coke-bottle glasses. Hurray for laser eye surgery.”

  Miranda shrugged, still not remembering. She didn’t want to admit to being Goth girl, but in this tiny community someone was bound to mention it to Glory, so she bit the bullet. “I was the one with dyed black hair, Goth clothing, and lots of piercings.”

  Glory tilted her head. “Seriously? That’s so not you.”

  “Thank you for that. I guess it was back then, though.”

  “Teens go through phases, right?”

  Happy that the other woman had dismissed Miranda’s questionable past so easily, she agreed, “That’s for sure. So, anyhow, you know Eden?”

  “Of course. She’s new, but she seems terrific.”

  “She is. And she loves her job. How about you? Do you enjoy working with seniors?”

  “I do. I’m very close to my grandparents.”

  “Must be nice,” Miranda said dryly.

  Glory either ignored or saw beneath her flippancy, giving a gentle smile and continuing. “My parents adopted me from a Chinese orphanage after I was abandoned as a newborn. They and both sets of their parents made me feel so wanted and loved.” Another smile. “I had been given a Chinese name and Glory is one of the translations for it. My adoptive family chose it because they said they gloried in being lucky enough to find me.”

  “Wow.” It was awful that Glory’s birth parents had abandoned her, but how nice to have parents and grandparents who loved you and enjoyed being with you.

  “I try to forget I wasn’t born in Canada, and usually succeed. Listening to my grandparents’ stories makes me feel like my roots are here.” She shrugged. “Anyhow, my relationship with my grandparents gave me the idea of working with seniors. I’m not a nurse or anything, but I handle the reception desk and I spend a lot of time talking to the residents. They’re such amazing people, with so much experience and such interesting opinions.”

  Though Miranda hadn’t had the same kind of grandparents as Glory, the other woman’s comment did resonate. “That reminds me of our neighbor in Vancouver. She babysat Ariana, and we’d often share a cup of chai and talk. She’d come from India as a teenager, in an arranged marriage to a man she’d never met. Can you imagine all the things she went through? But they ended up loving each other and raising four kids, though sadly he died a few years ago. She’s very close to her kids and grandkids, though.” Miranda kept in touch with Mrs. Sharma, the two of them exchanging news and photos of the children in their lives.

  “Grandchildren who love her stories, I hope.” Glory glanced over at the play enclosure. “The kids still seem happy but I’d better not push my luck. I think I’ll go with Monster Bowling. Glory and I can both work out our frustrations.”

  “Great.” Miranda wondered if that was just a figure of speech, or if this petite woman had frustrations of her own. As she rang up the purchase, Miranda remembered something. “By the way, Dreamspinner has a sale on kids’ books. You might want to check them out.”

  “Thanks for the tip, Miranda. I’ll do that. While Gala’s still in a non-tantrum mood.”

  The two moms walked over to the play enclosure, where now the fairy doll was riding the stuffed puppy, with noisy encouragement from both children. “The girls get along well,” Miranda commented.

  “Gala goes to daycare on the days that her dad and I are both working, but I’ve never seen her hit it off so well with another child.”

  So the lack of a ring didn’t mean there wasn’t a man in the picture. Lucky Glory, to be parenting with a partner. />
  “Hey,” Glory said, “why don’t the two of you come over for a playdate? Just us girls.”

  “Oh, that’s really nice of you, but I’m . . .” Wait. Yes, she was busy with her studies, but it would be good for Ariana to have a playmate. And nice for Miranda, too, to have some girlfriend-type company. Even though Eden and her younger sister, Kelsey, were great, they weren’t exactly girlfriends.

  “I make amazing biscotti,” Glory said. “We can indulge and get to know each other while the little ones do their thing.”

  “That sounds tempting,” Miranda admitted. “Yes, let’s do it.”

  “Perfect. The next time we both have a day off.”

  After Glory and Gala left the store, Miranda went over to pick up her daughter. “You know what this means, sweetie? It seems we’re actually kind of starting to build a life here. I was so sure we’d go back to Vancouver, but now . . .” She held her daughter up in front of her so she could peer into her cute little face. Putting on a serious tone, she asked, “What’s your considered opinion on the merits of Blue Moon Harbor versus Vancouver?”

  Her daughter considered her with apparent seriousness and then broke into a smile. “Luke!”

  Miranda laughed softly. “Yes, that’s an excellent point. Okay, I’m going to call and say I’ll go out for dinner with him. It’ll give me a chance to wear one of my Vancouver outfits that’s been sitting in the closet gathering dust.”

  Chapter Nine

  Luke’s “Hi” died in his throat when Miranda opened the door of her log cabin at SkySong. After swallowing hard, he managed to croak, “You look amazing.”

  Her wavy blond hair was up in a fancy hairdo with a few loose, curly tendrils. It drew attention to her face, and she was wearing more makeup than usual. Not the exaggerated stuff she’d worn as a teen, but the kind Candace had favored, that made her eyes look even larger and brighter, and called attention to her high cheekbones and full lips. Silver and abalone earrings dangled from delicate earlobes.

  As if that weren’t enough, she wore a scoop-necked, long-sleeved top that hugged her slim curves. The fabric was silky and the blue-green colors rippled and shifted like the ocean. With it she wore a black skirt that ended well above her knees, revealing amazing legs in sheer black hose and pretty feet in strappy, high-heeled shoes.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed. “I didn’t realize . . . I mean, I knew you were attractive, but wow.”

  She was grinning, seeming to take pleasure in his stunned reaction. “You clean up okay yourself, Dr. Chandler.”

  You rarely saw a suit on Destiny, not even at weddings or funerals, and he saw no reason to own one. Tonight he’d gone with tailored black wool pants, a green cotton shirt—sage green, his mom had said when he’d opened it at Christmas—and the green-and-gold striped tie she’d paired it with. “You can thank my mom. She’s the only one in the family”—at least now that Candace was gone—“who gives a damn about clothes.”

  “Not Candace’s mother? Candace was always so well dressed.”

  “In reaction to her mom, who lives in denim and flannel.”

  “I guess if you’re that rich, you can do whatever you like.”

  “Ready to go? Is Ariana in good hands?”

  “I hope so. Eden’s sister is looking after her.” Miranda took a black leather coat from a hook by the door. “She’s been going ‘please, please, please let me babysit’ for months, but I’ve almost never gone out.”

  He took the coat and held it so she could slide her arms into it.

  That lily of the valley scent drifted toward him and he leaned closer, inhaling and enjoying.

  Miranda hooked the strap of her purse over her shoulder and called, “Bye, bye.”

  “Bye! Have fun!” came a light feminine voice.

  “I’m fighting the urge to issue the reminders again,” Miranda admitted as she closed the door behind them.

  “To call you if she has any concerns?” He tucked her hand through his arm because SkySong, a rural retreat by the ocean, had limited lighting and the sun, such as it had been on this early March day, had already set. Or maybe just because he wanted to be closer to her.

  “And to remember that Di and Seal are close by.” She sighed. “I’d have had Aaron and Eden babysit, but they’re off at Jillian’s wedding. You know her, right?”

  “Sure. She’s another island native.” Jillian was a pilot and flew for Aaron part-time.

  She nodded. “It’s a small ceremony, just their families and Aaron and Eden. Jillian says she’s eternally grateful to Aaron because he introduced her to flying.”

  “It’s her passion?” he asked as he opened the passenger door of his SUV and helped her up. The vehicle wasn’t built for a woman in high heels, though it was perfect for his needs: comfortable seating for him and the boys, plus a large back area for the family pets, his vet equipment, and any smallish animals he needed to transport. He could also tow a horse trailer.

  She waited while he went around and climbed in the driver’s side. “Seems so. Just like with Aaron, who in turn was inspired by Lionel.”

  “And I wouldn’t be a vet if it weren’t for Viola.” He turned on the engine and adjusted the heater. “It’s great to have that kind of inspiration and mentorship.” He guessed that Miranda’d never had a person like that, so he didn’t ask. Instead, as he carefully drove the unlit road through the SkySong property, he said, “Is working with little kids your passion?”

  “I think it might be. I love kids and I’m enjoying the coursework, though some of it’s tough.” Wryly, she added, “I don’t exactly have the best track record when it comes to school. But it helps when I’m interested in what I’m studying.”

  “That’s for sure. But you can work at some daycares without being licensed, so why put yourself through the course?”

  “Because children are important,” she said solemnly. “They’re the most important thing, I think. And they deserve to be properly looked after.”

  “I sure won’t argue with that.” Yeah, she’d be good at her job, and her studies would help her be an even more knowledgeable mom. “I hope it does turn out to be your passion. It’s so much easier to get up on a cold, dark morning when that alarm rings, knowing you’re going to a job you love.”

  “It would be. Waitressing and retail were okay, depending on where I worked, but they sure never made me feel that way.”

  It was nice having her beside him in the big cab as he drove through the night toward the village of Blue Moon Harbor, the radio on low, providing background music. He could get used to this.

  After a minute or two, she said, “You said your in-laws liked it that you were following your passion. They are as well, right?”

  “Yeah. Her with her video games and him with photography.”

  “How about your parents?” Miranda asked. “And your stepdad? You said he made the coffee table in my cabin?”

  “Yes. Forbes is a woodworker and has a real sense of the wood. He does enjoy it but his other passion is music. He’s always played.”

  “He taught Julian? And inspired him?”

  “Guess so. Julian was already really good by the time Forbes and Mom married. As for my own dad, he was a chiropractor and yes, he loved it.” How ironic that his father, who’d happily devoted his life to healing, had been defeated by cancer. “Mom’s always been a teacher—except for a couple of years when she was on leave, when Dad was really sick and then he died and she was so depressed. But yeah, she does enjoy it, so much she may never quit.”

  “What and where does she teach?”

  “You’d have had her in school, for sciences. Sonia Russo.”

  “Oh gosh, Ms. Russo! I’d never have guessed. Your name’s Chandler, and you don’t look much like her.”

  “No, I don’t. She looks like her Italian parents and I take after my Anglo dad.”

  “She didn’t change her name when she married. Nor did your mother-in-law.”

  “Nope.�
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  “I totally agree with them. So does Eden. The notion of a woman taking her spouse’s name is archaic and paternalistic,” she stated firmly. “Unless you do what Di and Seal did when they had their commitment ceremony, and share a new last name.”

  “I’m with you. So was Candace.” He gave a little smile. “Good thing. Annie’d have had a heart attack if her daughter, Candace Yuen-Byrne, became Mrs. Luke Chandler.”

  Miranda snorted, and then said, “To get back to your mom, have you told her you’re seeing me? She’d think you’re crazy.”

  “I told her. And Miranda, you were a kid. A kid who’d had some crappy stuff happen to you. Mom knows that people can change. Look at Julian. He was as messed up as you in high school. And he’s made a success of himself.”

  “I am so not Julian Blake. I’m just a salesclerk single mom who wants to work in a daycare or preschool.”

  He hated the way she put herself down. “Where you’d care for children, which we agree is one of the most important jobs in the world.”

  “Oh.” Her surprised tone suggested she’d never thought of it that way.

  They were driving down Driftwood Road, passing the first village shops. He found a parking spot at the curb and went around to help Miranda out. Remembering the thinness of that leather coat when he’d held it for her, he said, “You going to be warm enough in that?”

  “I’m not wearing fleece out for dinner.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “I’ll be fine. It’s the only nice coat I own. Can you believe it was only forty dollars at a thrift shop, and it had barely been worn?”

  “Well, it looks great. You look great.”

  He reached for her hand as they walked down the sidewalk, and her slim fingers slipped easily between his larger ones. “Downtown” was quiet on this Saturday night, with only Dreamspinner and the half dozen restaurants and pubs open.

  “Have you been to C-Shell before?” he asked.

  “No, but I’ve drooled over the menu. You’ve eaten there, I’m sure.”

  “Candace and I used to come every month or so.” Then, so she wouldn’t think he’d be depressed, remembering dinners with his wife, he added, “Since then, it’s been my go-to place for parental birthdays and anniversaries.”