Love in San Francisco ; Unconditionally

by Shirley Hailstock

  She hugged her tightly and looked her in the eyes. “Desiree said to tell you you’ve got this!”

  “Of course I’ve got this,” Lauren said as she released Meghan and lay back on the pillows in the hospital bed. “I just don’t want to be alone when I give birth, that’s all. The pain’s worse than I imagined. Don’t let anyone tell you giving birth is a breeze. But I’ll do whatever it takes to deliver a healthy child. He’s who I care about. I love this boy so much. I can’t begin to describe how much of my heart he’s already claimed, and I don’t even have him in my arms yet.”

  Meghan smiled down at her. “Oh, I think I can imagine how much.”

  Lauren grabbed her hand, moaned loudly and started squeezing so hard the pain almost brought Meghan to her knees. “Another contraction?” Meghan croaked.

  “Uh-huh,” Lauren said and groaned as the pain sharpened. “Only two minutes apart now. This boy is coming soon.”

  The fetal monitor began beeping like crazy. A nurse swiftly came into the room, smiling. “Let’s get this show on the road!” she said cheerfully.

  She was followed by three more hospital personnel, one of them Lauren’s obstetrician, an African American woman in her midforties.

  Meghan glanced at the stitched name on the doctor’s white coat: Dr. Gladys Tulloch. Dr. Tulloch started giving orders and the nurses around her sprang into action, positioning Lauren in the bed so she could begin pushing, configuring the bed to support her body more efficiently. Then she looked at Meghan. “Your sister, I presume,” she said to Lauren. “Is she staying for the big event?”

  Lauren looked at Meghan with pleading eyes. “Yes, I’m staying,” Meghan told Dr. Tulloch.

  “And would somebody please go tell my husband it’s time?” Lauren asked.

  One of the hospital’s personnel exited the room to do so.

  “All right, Lauren,” Dr. Tulloch said. “It’s okay to push now, but concentrate for me. Push, but try not to strain. Slowly and gently.”

  Lauren closed her eyes and grasped Meghan’s hand tightly.

  A couple of minutes later, Colton returned and Meghan handed Lauren off to him and stepped aside. She stood in the back of the room, making sure Lauren could see her there, knowing her presence was a comfort to Lauren. Then she watched the miracle of birth. Up close and personal. And when her nephew came into the world, screaming his lungs out, she cried with relief and happiness.

  Lauren came through like a trouper, and the baby was a bruiser at nearly nine pounds. Colton was crying, too, as the doctor handed the baby to him after she’d cut the umbilical cord and wrapped him in his swaddling clothes. Lauren, understandably exhausted, fell back on the pillow, laughing softly with tears streaming down her face. “Bring him to me, babe. Let me look at him.”

  Colton lifted the baby close and Lauren peered into his face. The baby’s eyes were still closed and he seemed to be trying to suck on his balled-up fist. “He’s got your healthy appetite,” Lauren joked. “He’s already looking for something to eat.”

  Meghan moved closer. Her nephew had a headful of black curls and was possibly the most beautiful baby she’d ever seen. She smiled. Wasn’t that how everyone felt about babies? They were all beautiful.

  She took her cell phone out and asked the new parents’ permission to take a few photos. Permission granted, she took several of the proud parents with Colton, Jr. between them.

  She sent the photos to all of her sisters, her parents, grandparents, godmother and a few other relatives on her contact list. Before she’d even walked back down the hall to the waiting room, she’d gotten a message from Petra in Central Africa: Our first nephew!!! He’s so handsome. Give my love to the new parents. I wish I could be there.

  The next few weeks, the family was obsessed with the arrival of Colton, Jr., or CJ, as everyone was calling him. Meghan visited as often as she could to lend a hand with whatever Lauren and Colton needed. They were both taking time off from work, though, so little was needed except for the occasional babysitting to give both of them a chance to get out of the house for an hour or two.

  Shaw closed for the winter holidays in early December, and classes weren’t set to resume until the beginning of January, so Meghan had time on her hands. She and Leo met once a week for playdates for Chauncey and Malcolm, and while the dogs raced about the park, content to be together, they chatted about anything and everything.

  They hadn’t had any physical contact since Meghan had kissed his cheek, and even though she knew from the lingering looks he gave her that he wanted more, she was not going to go there. He had to be the one to initiate the next move. She didn’t know what was preventing him from making that move, but she knew it was something deeply personal. She’d probably read too much Jane Austen, about social rules and people who dared not cross them, but she also felt that there was something to those stories. Like the notion of waiting for true love and not rushing into a relationship.

  Sure, Leo hadn’t pulled her into his arms and ravished her, and something told her that was as it should be. Whatever happened between them had to take its natural course. So she was content with being his friend and occasionally catching him watching her with longing evident in his gaze. That look made her skin tingle. It gave her hope, too. One of these days, she was sure, he was going to act on those sensual thoughts and she would reap the rewards for being so patient.

  * * *

  The weekend of Mina and Jake’s wedding arrived. Leo went to Florida and picked up his parents and his grandparents because, although they dearly wanted to be at the ceremony, his grandparents had never been on a plane in their lives and they weren’t going to start flying in their nineties.

  They stayed with Leo for a couple of days, and then they all piled into Leo’s SUV the day before the wedding and he drove them to the Great Smoky Mountains and the town of Cherokee, where the wedding would be held at the lodge Mina’s grandfather had owned for years but which Mina now managed. Her grandfather had retired after remarrying in his eighties.

  The lodge was a magnificent three-story pinewood building with guest rooms on every level, and the property was dotted by cabins on the perimeter. Benjamin Beck, the girls’ grandfather, had combined two cultures when he’d designed it: his, African American, and his first wife’s, Native American. The two-story entrance had a huge door with a totem pole on either side. The intricately carved double wooden door had images of deer, bears, foxes and elk, all taken from Native American lore. Inside, the spacious lobby was decorated with both African and Native American art. The highly polished dark hardwood floors shone, and the sofas and chairs were done in light earth tones with Native American print throw rugs and African sculptures in wood and stone on pedestals at strategic places in the big room.

  Leo got a kick out of seeing his grandma Etta Mae craning her neck to take in all the sights, her eyes stretched wide behind her thick glasses. “This is like something out of a fairy tale,” she said softly, sounding awestruck.

  The five of them walked up to the registration desk in the lobby and were warmly greeted by the young woman behind it. “Good afternoon, welcome to Beck’s Wilderness Lodge. How can I help you?”

  Leo didn’t get the chance to reply because Mina came rushing toward them, a huge grin on her pretty face. Her glorious natural hair was in braids that were parted in the middle, beautifully framing her features. “Leo,” she cried. “You’re here!”

  Leo wasn’t surprised that Jake wasn’t with her. Jake had told him he had some business in Atlanta, but would return later that afternoon.

  Leo moved forward and hugged her, after which he moved aside. Mina hugged each of his parents and grandparents in turn. But she held on to his mother a little longer, saying apologetically, “Thank you for traveling so far to be here. The day wouldn’t have been complete without you.”

  Leo stood back and watched her interact with his family. He
could see by the expressions on his folks’ faces that they were utterly charmed by Mina. And he was proud and happy for his brother to be marrying such a sincerely kind woman. Of course, that brought thoughts of Meghan to the forefront. He was looking forward to seeing her today.

  In the last few weeks, they’d been able to forge a friendship. He was enjoying her company. He believed she was enjoying his, too. Now, if he could put aside his fear of rejection, maybe they could take their friendship to the next level. His folks had asked a lot of questions about her on the drive up here. Obviously his father had been talking about his predicament with the rest of the family since Leo’s visit on Thanksgiving. He just hoped his father would be able to contain his joy when he finally introduced him to Meghan and wouldn’t say something that would make her wonder just how much he’d told his father about her.

  In retrospect, it had been presumptuous of him to dream of a real relationship with Meghan Gaines so soon after meeting her.

  What if his assumption that she was attracted to him was wrong? He would look like a lovesick fool.

  “Let me show you to your rooms,” Mina said excitedly. Leo stopped daydreaming about Meghan and followed her sister to a couple of suites on the ground floor. He suspected she’d thoughtfully given them downstairs rooms because of his grandparents’ advanced age.

  After he’d gotten his folks settled in their rooms, he went for a walk to stretch his legs after the long trip and to phone the kennel that was boarding Malcolm for the weekend.

  The temperature was in the low thirties, but the day was bright and clear, and the lodge was surrounded by beautiful pine trees, which gave the air a sharp, aromatic smell. He breathed deeply as he walked.

  The kennel staff member told him Malcolm was well, if a little quiet, which was not unexpected as far as Leo was concerned. He thanked her and hung up.

  Glancing in the direction of the lodge, which was about fifty yards away by now, he spied Meghan walking toward him with Chauncey on a leash. It occurred to him that he could have brought Malcolm if only he’d had the presence of mind to ask if pets were allowed on the premises.

  She spotted him and waved, then they began walking swiftly toward each other. When they met up, Leo bent and gave Meghan a hug. “Hi, how are you two? Did you have a nice trip up?”

  Meghan squeezed him tight before letting go. “We’re doing just great. And the trip was interesting. My parents, Desiree, Lauren, Colton and the baby rode together in the general’s Hummer. With Chauncey in the back in her carrier. And with Momma worrying that maybe the baby shouldn’t be in a car breathing dog-infested air. Oh, I swear, that woman is going to make me crazy before it’s over.”

  Leo laughed, “Sounds like she’s got some serious issues with pets. What happened? Was she bitten by a dog when she was a little girl or something?”

  “I don’t know,” Meghan said, laughing, too. “But I’m going to get to the root of the problem.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “How was your trip? Mina told me you went to Florida to pick up your folks. How are they enjoying North Carolina so far?”

  “They love it,” Leo told her. “You should have seen my grandma’s face when she walked into the lobby. She said it looked like something out of a fairy tale.”

  “Aw, she’s sweet,” Meghan cried, beaming. “So, when do I get to meet them? Tonight at the dinner they’re having for us at the lodge, or tomorrow at the reception?”

  “Why not right now?” Leo asked, his light brown eyes taking in the way her full lips curved when she grinned like that.

  Meghan smiled even wider when she caught him looking at her mouth. “I’d love to.”

  His parents and grandparents were relaxing in one of the suites when he and Meghan got back to the lodge. The room was large, with two king-size beds and a sitting area with two sofas facing each other, a coffee table between them. There was a football game on the big-screen TV, and his father and grandfather were sipping beers while his mother and grandmother were enjoying glasses of white wine.

  * * *

  Meghan’s first impression of them was that they certainly knew how to enjoy themselves. And her second thought was that Leo looked just like his parents. He had his mother’s eyes and his father’s build and facial construction. Now she knew how he would look when he was older. He’d still be a handsome man.

  Meghan was hugged by everyone, including Leo’s grandfather, who normally didn’t hug anyone. Leander muted the TV so they could sit down and chat awhile.

  Meghan sat on one of the sofas beside Etta Mae, and Chauncey sat at her feet and laid her head on her paws. Katherine smiled at the pooch. “She’s beautiful. What do you call her?”

  “Chauncey,” Meghan said with a warm smile.

  “She’s so well-mannered,” Katherine said. “Did you train her yourself?”

  “We’re both works in progress,” Meghan said jokingly.

  Katherine chuckled. “Isn’t that the truth? Sometimes pets teach their owners more than their owners teach them!”

  Meghan was inundated with questions about herself, and although she was glad Leo’s family was showing an interest and were such nice people, it did make her wonder exactly what Leo had told them about her.

  By the time she got up to leave, she’d decided that maybe Leo had talked her up just a little to his loved ones. That meant maybe, just maybe, Leo Wolfe was softening.

  Chapter 7

  “Oh, my God, did Jake shave his head, grow a beard and start dressing like he just stepped off the pages of GQ?” Desiree exclaimed rather loudly.

  Meghan, who was sitting at a table with her family in the dining room of the lodge that night for dinner, didn’t even need to glance up to figure out her sister was referring to Leo, who happened to be entering the dining room with his parents and grandparents.

  She was grateful that the other fifty or so diners, some of whom she knew, and all of whom were dressed in varying degrees of semicasual attire, were carrying on lively conversations around them, so Leo probably hadn’t heard Desiree’s comment.

  He did look in their direction, though, saw her and smiled at her. She smiled back, then he and his party followed the hostess to their table on the other side of the room.

  Her group consisted of her parents, her grandfather and step-grandmother, and Desiree, Marjorie and Marjorie’s husband, Professor Rudolf Langdon. Lauren and Colton had opted to dine in their cabin, where they were watching over Colton, Jr.

  Marjorie had been looking down at her cell phone when Leo and his party entered the dining room, but she raised her gaze to see what the commotion was about and exclaimed, “What is Leo Wolfe doing here?”

  Then Virginia cried, “That’s Dr. Wolfe?”

  Alphonse asked, “Who the hell is Dr. Wolfe?” and after he’d put on his glasses and looked in Leo’s direction, he followed with, “Somebody tell me what’s going on here. That man looks exactly like Jake!”

  “Well, not exactly,” Meghan said with a grin. “Jake’s nose was broken once and he doesn’t shave his head. Plus, there’s the matter of a scar on Leo’s face that he got when he fell out of a tree as a boy.”

  Desiree looked at Meghan askance, admiration visible in her sable-colored eyes. “Baby’s got secrets. Come on, girl, spill!”

  So Meghan told her family that Leo was Jake’s twin brother and he was living in Durham and, of course—she glanced at Auntie Marjie—working at Duke. However, she neglected to tell them she was falling in love with him.

  Shortly afterward, Mina and Jake came into the dining room holding hands and looking like two people very much in love, to Meghan’s satisfaction. Jake gave an impromptu speech as they stood in front of their guests. “Welcome! This is an intimate group of our closest and dearest family and friends. Mina and I are simple people who didn’t want our wedding day to be a big production, but a meaningful, memorable day filled with love
, and that’s why you all are here. You are the people we love.”

  “That’s right,” Mina said. “And tonight is not for giving toasts or anything like that. We’ll do that tomorrow at the reception. Tonight is for you to chill out from your trip, and some of you have come a long way to get here! Dinner’s buffet-style. Help yourselves to the food and drinks, and also introduce yourselves to the other people in the room while you’re at it. By tomorrow, I want all of you to be, if not friends, acquaintances. Most of you already know each other, anyway. But if you don’t know someone, then walk up and introduce yourself! And when you go back to your rooms or cabins, make sure you get your rest, because tomorrow, we party!”

  Cheers went up and guests rose from their seats and started forming lines at the buffet tables, the sound of their happy chatter filling the room.

  Mina and Jake walked over to Meghan’s table, and Jake was bombarded with questions about his brother. “Why didn’t you tell us your brother was moving to North Carolina?” Virginia asked, standing for full effect, though she was barely five feet tall.

  Jake went over to her and playfully pulled her to his side. “Leo wanted to get used to his new job first and then start socializing. Plus, Mina and I wanted it to be a pleasant surprise. Now, aren’t you pleasantly surprised?”

  He kissed her cheek. Virginia, much shorter than he was, smiled up at him. “I’ll let it slide this time. But only because you’re so charming.”

  Everyone around the table laughed good-naturedly.

  “Why don’t we go over and say hi before everyone starts chowing down?” Mina suggested.

  They got up and made their way across the room to Leo’s table.

  Meghan was surprised by how quickly like souls paired up in conversation. Her father and grandfather and Leo’s father hit it off immediately. Her mother and step-grandmother and Leo’s mother were soon laughing at something or other. Marjorie and Rudolf wanted to know all about growing citrus from Grandpa Ellis, who hadn’t gotten out of his seat, so they pulled up a couple of chairs to sit with him. Meghan couldn’t hear what exactly any of them were saying because she and Miss Etta Mae were at the buffet table discussing the merits of boneless chicken versus chicken with the bone in. Miss Etta Mae preferred the bone in because she liked to suck all the juices off them after the meat had been devoured. Meghan fell in love with her sassy attitude.