by Caroline Lee
They were taunting her.
“Well?” She glared at them. “Get on with it!”
Dusty shrugged. “I don't know what you're talking about.” He looked over at Heather. “Do you know what she's talking about?”
Heather, her hands still behind her back, shrugged innocently. “I can't imagine.”
Katie put her hands on her hips and frowned even more fiercely. “Let me see your hands.”
Heather, maintaining the world's sweetest expression, pulled her hands out from behind her back and displayed them, palms up, as if being asked if she washed them properly or something.
Empty. Huh.
Katie switched her glare to Dusty, who pulled his hands out and showed they were empty without even having to be asked. Alyssa, standing beside her twin with her five-year-old next to her, showed her hands without prompting as well.
About this time, Dad rolled his eyes and stepped back towards the cabinets, probably to get a knife to cut the cake. Mom started snickering, and Katie turned her glare on her mother.
“Well? Let's have it.”
Mom smirked and turned to Andrew, Katie's oldest brother. “You heard her. Let her have it!”
Incredulously, Katie turned to stare at Andrew. Andrew? Her oldest brother was really nice, but she wouldn’t have guessed he’d be the one to launch the ambush as part of Mom's shenanigans. Of course, now that Rachel was part of his life, he’d loosened up a lot. Andrew not only came to their immediate family functions, as he always did, but he’d been to more than a few of the extended Quinn family events, which he hadn't for quite some time. It was almost certainly due to the pretty Indian woman beside him, who was laughing at her fiance's dilemma.
Katie really liked this soon-to-be sister-in-law of hers. Rachel and Andrew were planning a simple May wedding, and Katie was excited to not only be a bridesmaid, but also to help with the favors. In fact, she had designed a brand-new soap scent just for the wedding, and it was going to be exclusive to the guests’ gifts.
Maybe Rachel’s influence was more than even Katie had imagined, if Andrew was now taking part in Mom’s silly traditions. So Katie just stood there, hands on her hips, frowning at her brother. Waiting.
Slowly, Andrew nodded, with all the seriousness and intensity of a battle-hardened commander. The frown on his face would do a war movie actor proud. “You think she's ready for it?”
Mom snickered again. “No one's ever ready for it.”
Katie rolled her eyes. “For gosh sakes, we do it every birthday party! Just do it so we can eat some cake!”
His expression stoic, Andrew shrugged. “It's no fun if she's expecting it.” His hands were still behind his back.
Katie stomped her foot. “Stop talking about me like I'm not standing right here. Just get on with it!”
Another nod. His voice bland, Andrew repeated, “Just get on with it.”
It must’ve been the code word, because with some kind of Ninja-Warrior scream, Rachel whipped her hands out from behind her back, a can of Silly String in each. Before Katie had time to react, Rachel had depressed both triggers, and one strand of purple and one strand of yellow shot towards Katie's face.
Katie screamed and flailed, even though she’d been expecting the attack. But she hadn't expected more than one attack! Two more yells, as Sean and Sophie each let loose on her with a blue and pink can, respectively.
Katie screamed again, waving her arms back and forth futilely in an attempt to protect her face and hair. The kids! She hadn't expected it from the kids! Every birthday, the honoree got hit with Silly String, but never from the same source. Who decided to let Sean and Sophie in on it?
As the cans ran out, Katie could hear her mother outright guffawing, and realized she hadn't even needed to ask the question. Of course.
Mom!
And that's when sweet little Jeremiah, who didn't speak much, and was always so serious, walked up to her, whipped his hand out from behind his back, and let loose a green stream of Silly String right at her face.
She whipped her head back and forth to avoid the attack, tripped, and ended up on her backside on the kitchen linoleum. The rest of her family was bent double with laughter, and even little Jerm had a twinkle in his ice-blue eyes.
“Et tu, Brute?” Katie gasped from her place on the floor.
Jerm nodded somberly. “Happy birthday, Aunt Katie.”
It was so innocuous, Katie began to giggle, and was soon laughing along with the rest of her family. Of course, when Dusty leaned down to help her up and began pulling the Silly String out of her brown hair, it didn't stop Katie from punching him in the arm.
“Ow!” he exclaimed. “What was that for?”
“For tricking me!” Katie glared at all her siblings. “The anticipation was way worse than the execution.”
Clutching onto Andrew’s arm, probably because she seemed near breathless from laughter, Rachel shook her head. “I don't know! You should have seen your face when you realized where the attack was coming from!”
“Oh yes, ha-ha. You just wait until it's your turn, missy.” Katie then pointed a finger at her mother. “And I'm going to come up with something really devious for you.”
Mom was still chuckling as she headed to get the plates. “Oh, I don't know,” she called over her shoulder. “You're going to have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on me.”
Katie sighed, knowing her mom was right. When it came to practical jokes, silly traditions, and making the family feel loved, Mom couldn't be beat.
“Come on,” Heather said as she wrapped one arm around Katie’s shoulders. “Let's go get you cleaned up, so we can eat some of this cake!”
Later, Katie sat at the counter in one of the old-fashioned bar stools and enjoyed a second piece of her mom's carrot cake. Mom might be a stinker, but she sure did make amazing carrot cake. Katie was certain the secret ingredient of pineapple juice was the reason she couldn't lose those last fifteen pounds.
Not that I've ever bothered trying too hard.
At the sink, her sisters teased back and forth. Alyssa was rinsing, while Heather loaded the dishwasher. Dusty was leaning on the counter, scrolling through his phone, and occasionally offering unhelpful advice to everyone else who was attempting to tidy up. The rule was the birthday boy or girl didn't have to clean up, but…
“Why don't you do something useful?” Alyssa asked Dusty in exasperation.
“Like what?” her twin asked with a grin.
“I don't know! Go clean the windows or something. With your tongue.”
Dusty groaned. “That is disgusting.”
“So are you,” Alyssa quipped as she threw a dish towel at her brother's head.
Dusty just ducked and whistled nonchalantly as he made a show out of scrolling through his phone. “I don't think— Oh, not another one!”
The changing of the subject had all three of his sisters turning towards him.
“What?” Katie asked with her mouth full.
Dusty scowled as he punched the phone's screen with one finger. “Nothing,” he muttered. “Just another scammer.” He waved the phone around. “Like, come on! A Nigerian prince really wants to give me half of his nation's GDP? And all I have to give him is my bank account and Social Security information. Ha!”
Over by the sink, Alyssa laughed. “You know, I looked it up once. Nigeria is worth something like four hundred billion dollars these days.”
Heather made a show of rolling her eyes and scoffing. “Please, like two-hundred billion is even worth getting out of bed for.”
Katie pointed her fork at her older sister. “Like you're one to talk?”
Heather flipped her hair over her shoulder, and it made Katie happy to see her sister—who’d been through so much in life—so happy. Heather grinned as she said, “I don't know what you're talking about.”
Humming skeptically, Katie leaned forward and rested her weight on her elbows. She propped her chin in her hand all nonchalantl
y, and turned to Dusty. “Dustin dear, how many small-town librarians fall in love with ultra-hot super-mega movie stars?”
Dusty tapped his lips thoughtfully. “Gosh, I can only think of one.”
“Ultra-hot super-mega?” Heather teased. “Have you been hanging out with Sophie?”
“Are you saying I sound like a teenage girl?” Katie shot back. Before she gave her sister time to answer, she asked the question they were all thinking. “How are things with Jonathan? How are the kids with him?”
Heather shut the dishwasher and when she turned back toward them, her cheeks were flushed and she had a smile on her lips. “The kids love him, and he loves them. I wasn't totally convinced it was a good idea to introduce my boyfriend to my kids, but with him so involved in the theater production, I didn't really have a choice. But it turned out great, and they're perfect with each other!”
“Mmm-hmmm,” Alyssa teased. “And when is he coming back?”
Heather’s smile turned dreamy. “The week after next. And he's staying through Mother's Day!”
“And when do we get to hear more wedding bells?”
Before Heather could answer Alyssa’s question, Dusty slapped the counter and stood up straight. “Weeeeeelp, that's it for me. Once we start talking about marriage, I'm out of here.” He waved to his sisters as he beat a hasty retreat towards the living room, where their parents—and Rachel and Andrew—were hanging out with the kids.
Chuckling, Katie shook her head and took pity on Heather. “You know, Nigerian princes are so old-school these days. Apparently, the scammers have moved on.”
“Oh yeah?”
Alyssa opened the drawer to get out a clean fork, then leaned across the counter to snag a piece of Katie's cake. Katie pushed the plate forward, happy to share.
She thought about the email she’d deleted right before she'd arrived at her parents’ house earlier that day. “Yep, I've gotten three of them so far. It must be targeted to single women; maybe they got my email address off that dating site Andrew talked me into joining.” She shrugged. “But it's some guy claiming to be a billionaire who wants to marry me.”
Heather chuckled. “That's even more far-fetched than an ultra-super mega-hot whatever-you-said movie star.”
“Yeah, and it really irritates me that they think I'm so gullible. Like I'm going to believe some guy is going to offer me $100,000 just to marry him?”
“Maybe he needs a green card or something.” Heather was already moving towards the door, clearly intent on checking on the kids.
Katie shrugged. “Nah, it's just a scam. I'll bet he was waiting for me to reply, then he was going to tell me to send him my address and credit card statement and blood type or something.”
“Blood type?” Alyssa asked, just as Heather slipped out of the kitchen. “What would he do with that?”
“I don't know! What do scammers do with any of their information? Maybe he would use that information to become me to take on my identity!”
Alyssa smiled slightly and reached for another piece of cake. “I don't think there's anybody bubbly enough in the world to be you. At least, none that your fans wouldn’t suspect.”
Hmm. Good point.
Katie not only made soap, but she made weekly how-to videos and posted them on YouTube. Most of her videos focused on a particular aspect of soap design and execution, but sometimes the batch she was working on for the video messed up, and she used that as a teaching experience. She had an entire audience, of not only professional soap-makers, but amateur ones as well, and regular people who just found the process artsy and relaxing. If some Nigerian prince scam did try to take over her identity, YouTube would notice.
Probably.
“You know, I wouldn't mind an extra $100,000,” Alyssa said thoughtfully. “Even if it did mean marrying some stranger.”
Katie started to agree, but then got a good look at her sister's face. The last five years since Alyssa had given up her dreams in order to be a single mother to Jeremiah, hadn't been easy. But Katie had always admired how Alyssa faced each new challenge with courage and determination. Her little sister brought that same determination with her when she worked with laboring mothers as Quinn Valley's only doula. After all, she'd had Jeremiah at home in the water, with only their cousin, Robyn, the midwife, present. She’d then faced raising a toddler, working, and dealing with all of Jerm’s behavioral problems, with only minimal help from her family, who would have loved to do more, but had respected Alyssa's wishes. Alyssa might be tiny, but she was strong.
And right now, there was a sadness in her expression Katie hadn't seen before.
Katie nudged the plate closer to her sister. “Hey, what’s up?”
Alyssa sighed, toying with her fork and not looking Katie in the eye. “It’s no big deal. I was just thinking about money lately.”
Katie’s younger sister had been living on her own when she’d gotten pregnant, but had moved in with their parents after Jerm’s birth. Mom had practically insisted, and Katie knew her parents had been a big help—financially and emotionally—in raising Jerm. Katie and Dusty also took turns babysitting and just hanging out with the little guy, especially in between stints at various preschools when Jerm’s inability to manage his anger kept getting him kicked out. Alyssa worked hard, but taking care of Jerm was a full-time job, and besides her LaLeche League consultant hours at Robyn’s office, her hours were very irregular.
It made sense she was worried about money. But why now?
“Anything in particular?” Katie prompted her sister.
When Alyssa looked up, the look in her eyes was almost…hopeless. Like she wanted something she knew she wasn’t going to get.
“You know the Catholic school? St. Agnes?”
“Didn’t we used to play them in basketball?” All the McIver siblings had gone to Riston High School. “They creamed us.”
Alyssa nodded. “They’re a K-12 program, and they have a really good inclusive program for kids like Jeremiah.”
Katie’s mind jumped ahead. Jerm was due to start kindergarten in the fall, and he’d go to the local Quinn Valley Elementary. The school was great, and Katie even knew a few of the teachers. But if St. Agnes was better-suited for Jerm, or at least more used to dealing with kids with behavioral problems, that would be a much better fit.
“And Catholic schools aren’t cheap, huh?” Katie finished her sister’s thought.
Alyssa nodded glumly, and scooped up another bite. “All private schools are expensive. I know; I’ve looked. This one doesn’t offer scholarships either, and it’s close to ten thousand per year.”
Katie’s brows went up. “Per year?” Holy moly, that was a lot of money. “I see what you mean about wishing that email scam was real.”
“Yeah,” Alyssa whispered, defeated.
There was nothing to do but get out the last piece of cake and share that one too.
During the rest of the afternoon, Katie made a point to try to get her youngest sister to laugh, even though it was her birthday. Sometimes it worked. But Katie was still thinking about Alyssa’s dilemma as she drove home. Her parents had moved a little closer to Quinn Valley and Mom’s family a few years back, and Katie lived in the town proper, in a cute little house, which somehow managed to contain three bedrooms. Well, two bedrooms and a glorified closet really.
As she pulled onto her street, she realized there was a car she didn’t recognize parked in front of her house. And not just any car, but some kind of fancy black sports car. Sleek and elegant. Was one of her neighbors entertaining?
But as she climbed out of her serviceable SUV, a man stepped out of the sports car and moved around to the passenger’s side. She glanced at him as she headed for her front door, her arms full with her purse and a bag holding a few gifts from her family, but when she saw him just standing there, staring, she looked again. What was he doing? He had a bunch of flowers in his hand.
She frowned, which he apparently took as an invitation to move
closer. As he walked towards her front porch, she realized he was wearing a suit. Like, a really nice one, one which fit him well. Really well. She couldn’t help but admire the way it accentuated his shoulders. He was tall and blonde and really good-looking, in a regal, chiseled sort of way.
What in the heck was he doing on her front walkway?
The man clicked to a stop in front of her, the bouquet held in front of him, and a sense of utter surety about him.
“Miss McIver.”
Oh my gosh, he had a voice which matched the rest of him. Low and controlled, and very certain. It made Katie shiver a bit.
Whatever noise she’d made, he must’ve taken as an agreement, because he thrust the flowers—how’d he know peach roses were her favorite?—and smiled.
Wow. Had she thought him good-looking before? When he smiled—showing off those even white teeth and rocking that assured expression—he was even more handsome. And Katie might’ve stood there for hours, just daydreaming about his lips, until he opened his mouth again.
“Happy birthday, Katie. Will you marry me?”
CHAPTER THREE
To give her credit, Katie McIver didn’t scream and try to mace him. Instead, her lovely light-green eyes opened wide, and her breath burst out of her in an incredulous laugh. “What?”
He should’ve known someone like her would react with laughter, and he liked that he’d been able to read her so well from her videos. Seeing her in person, he was pleased. Even though she’d obviously dressed up for her videos, she hadn’t used any silly filters or anything; she was just as pretty in real life.
She was shorter than him, but almost everyone was, and curvy in an alluring way. While Kenneth didn’t have a “type,” he would admit the stick-thin models, who wore his creations during Penny’s shows, were not particularly appealing to him. Katie’s brown hair looked soft and elegant, but…
He tried to peer closer without making it obvious. Were those bits of yellow and blue and purple stuck in it?
