The Champagne Sisterhood

by Chris Keniston

  “There, there.” He straightened and patted her back in the same circular motions he’d been using since the day she was born.

  Erin and Kat came rushing into the room, Kevin and Brad were two short steps behind them.

  “Did she drop her again?” Kevin asked.

  “No.” Mark really wished his brother hadn’t said that.

  “Well, what happened? She was perfectly fine in the kitchen with Mom.”

  The momentary rush of tears down Marcia’s pudgy cheeks had stopped, but Mark could see a swell of tears pooling in Anna’s eyes. “It’s not a big deal. It’s been a long day for her too. A short nap is all she needs.”

  Shaking her head, Anna pushed to her feet and walked past Mark, keeping her distance. “I can’t do this,” she said so softly he almost didn’t hear her. “I just can’t.”

  Standing dumbstruck, Mark watched as she walked out of the room. Now what?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  What was it that had every protective instinct Mark had on high alert? His mother had raised him to be a gentleman. That included changing flat tires, lifting heavy boxes, and rearranging furniture for damsels in distress. Sacrificing anything and everything wasn’t part of the job description, and yet, that’s exactly what he was willing to do for a woman he’d basically known only four days.

  Anna had gone straight to her room and hadn’t even come down to say goodbye to his family. He’d tucked Marcia into bed with Kat and Erin at his side. At least the tired little girl hadn’t fussed when they sat close. Maybe that was a good thing. Now the three friends were upstairs and he desperately wanted to make sure for himself that Anna was all right.

  Pouring himself a scotch, he shook his head. Things weren’t supposed to work out this way. Barb’s friends would occasionally swoop into town, a gaggle of giggling women out to relive old times. His and Tom’s only participation was to smile and wave as they ran off to relive their own misspent youth. When the whirlwind reunions were over, Tom and Barb would return to their routine of perfect parents to the happy little girl upstairs, and he would come over once in a while delighted in his role as Uncle Mark. On occasion he might be included in a family outing to the beach or park.

  The plan was to lay back and support his friend, cheering Marcia on at soccer games, buying chocolate bars and wrapping paper for school fundraisers, and supplying the ammo for the shotgun when she started dating. Then one day, he’d sit as a guest on the bride’s side of the church and prepare to play Uncle Mark all over again for Tom and Barb’s grandchildren.

  He swallowed the amber liquid and let its warmth sooth his battered nerves. Worrying about securing Marcia’s future was not supposed to be his responsibility. Neither was protecting Anna Bartiglioni. But as sure as he stood in this room, he knew he would do both.

  “This certainly is a bit of a prickly pear.” Erin sat beside her two friends and grabbed a nearby pillow.

  “Prickly pear?” Rolling her eyes, Kat shook her head.

  “I know I promised Babs,” Anna said, “but Marcia is never going to let me take care of her. What the hell am I going to do?”

  “We.” Kat leaned back against the padded headboard. “What are we going to do?”

  “Maybe I have the answer.” Tugging at the fringe of the bright blue throw pillow, Erin patted it dismissively, then tossed it aside and looked up at her friends. “I can’t stay much longer. I’m out of sick days and need to get back to work. I know Gran is old, but she’s still good with babies. I’m sure if I take Marcia home with me, Gran would wanna help.”

  “I suppose I could make bringing her home with me work too.” Kat sat a little straighter. “I’m not always traveling, and when I am, there’s no real reason I can’t take Marcia with me. I mean, real parents travel with kids all the time. We could probably do a joint custody thing. You know, like divorced parents.”

  Anna picked at the pillow Erin had discarded. “I’m not sure Babs meant for us to be passing Marcia around like a turkey pan.”

  Erin’s brow crinkled in confusion. “Turkey pan?”

  “You know.” Anna made an impatient gesture with her hand. “Like in my family. Whoevers turn it is to cook Thanksgiving dinner has to borrow Gram’s good turkey pan.”

  “Oh, I see.” Erin gave a brief nod. “I think.”

  “Glad one of us does.” Kat pushed off the bed and walked over to the dresser, picking up the photo of the four friends Anna had brought from her office. “She’s really gone.”

  Tears instantly burned at the back of Anna’s eyes. “Yeah, she really is.”

  “I know Babs seemed to single you out.” Erin faced Anna. “But you and I are the ones with the most stable income. Granted yours is considerably higher than mine, but so’s the cost of living in New York City.”

  “Money isn’t the point.” Anna continued to pluck at the fringe. “The problem isn’t which one of us wants her or can take care of her. Babs knew that. The problem is that little Miss Preston doesn’t seem to want any of us.”

  “She let Kat and me sit right up close to her chair tonight while Mark told her a bedtime story.” Erin tucked her legs beneath her.

  “Really?” Hope surged in Anna’s heart. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Until now none of them could get within five feet of her without Marcia scowling or pitching a fit.

  “Who is this?” Kat held a photo out to Erin.

  “That’s Tom. Gee he was cute. Looks to be in high school, maybe sixteen or so. You think?” She handed the photo to Anna.

  “Yeah.” Anna nodded. “But who’s the little kid next to him?”

  “That’s what I was wondering.” Kat reached for the photo again. “Seems too young to be Mark, but the kid looks enough like Tom to be his younger twin.”

  “Tom’s an only child. I wish he had a brother then we might not be in this mess.” Anna set the pillow aside and rubbed her eyes. “Actually...” She hesitated, glancing from Erin to Kat. “Mark is really the only brother Tom has ever known.”

  Kat put the photo back on the dresser, her eyes lit with interest. “And Marcia does like him. You said it yourself, she thinks Mark hung the moon for her.”

  “He is her godfather,” Erin added.

  “California’s her home.” Anna scooted to the edge of the bed.

  “Single fathers aren’t so unusual nowadays.”

  “We’d all be available to help.” Anna patted Erin’s hand. “You think you could come spend summers, maybe a school break or two here?”

  “Of course, and she could come visit me.”

  Kat sat on Anna’s other side. “And I can write from here as easily as I can from Miami.”

  “Then I’m the only holdback.” Anna pushed to her feet. In two short strides she was at the dresser. “And I’m the one who’s her godmother.”

  “We can make it work if Mark is willing.” Erin moved to stand by her friend.

  “If we’re all going to make it work, then we’ll all have to make some changes. Especially me.” Anna’s grip on the photo of the four friends tightened. “Harrison doesn’t want anything to do with her.”

  “Oh, Anna.” Kat made it to Anna’s side in a single wide step.

  “He’s been blindsided,” Erin said. “You know how men hate sudden change. Once he cozies up to the idea, everything will be fine.”

  Erin’s sweet comforting tone made Anna think of all things southern. Or maybe it was all things Irish.

  Taking the steps two at a time, Mark rushed upstairs and down the hall. He was certain this was exactly what they all needed.

  The door was slightly ajar. Tapping lightly, he pushed it open further. “Are men allowed?”

  “Speak of the devil.” Kat flashed her teeth in almost a cartoonish grin.

  “Not sure I like the way that sounds.” At least he hadn’t found them all sobbing on each other’s shoulders. Maybe Anna’s little outburst wasn’t as serious as he thought.

  “What brings you up here to brave the den of
lions?” Kat asked.

  “Lionesses,” Erin corrected.

  “School teachers.” Kat heaved a dismissive sigh. “Seriously, what’s on your mind?”

  He noticed Anna stood silently across the room. “I was thinking about all the things Tom and Barb used to do as a family and thought it would be a really great idea to get away from here for a little while.”

  “What did you have in mind?” The pain in Anna’s tone made him pause. What had they been talking about? Was there more to the sadness in her eyes than the loss of an old friend?”

  “Mark?” Erin called.

  “Oh, I think we should walk away from reality tomorrow and spend the day at the beach.”

  “I love the beach.” Erin rubbed her hands together gleefully.

  “No.” Kat shook her head. “You love the ocean. Anyone who spends the afternoon continuously brushing sand away doesn’t love the beach, but I’ll agree you love the ocean.”

  “Whatever.” Erin waved Kat’s comment off. “I think it’s a great idea. We could all use a break. Got any particular place in mind?”

  “Anywhere down the coast.”

  “Would Carmel be too far? I love Carmel.” Kat elbowed Anna, pointing at her with her thumb. “She does too.”

  Anna glanced up. “Babs loved Carmel.”

  “Then it’s settled. After breakfast, we’ll pack up Tom’s car and head down.” As much as he wanted to stay and find out more of what was going on, he nodded good night and closed the door.

  “This was a fabulous idea.” Kat lifted her face to the sun.

  Erin tied her floppy hat under her chin. “This is what Dallas is missing.”

  “You’ve got cowboys with cute buns. That makes up for being landlocked.” Kat kicked at the sand with her toe. “Florida is loaded with sandy beaches. I’d rather have the cowboys.”

  “You would.” Erin slathered another layer of SPF 60 sunscreen on her arms.

  “I don’t see why you need all that sunscreen. You’re sitting under the umbrella.”

  “If you’d ever cooked so badly that even the crease in your cleavage hurt- you’d sit under the umbrella too.” Erin looked over in time to catch Mark pause from where he played with Marcia, his eyebrow hiked up near his hairline. Her pale skin flushed instantly pink. It was one thing for her to tease with Kat about cute cowboys. It was something entirely different to talk about her sunburned breasts in front of a man.

  Anna had watched each person’s beach rituals with interest. It honestly surprised her that Mark had thought to pack an umbrella in the trunk for Erin. Harrison was one of the most detail oriented men she’d ever known, but she was certain even something as obvious as Erin’s porcelain white Irish skin wouldn’t have made him think to bring an umbrella. Or maybe Harrison simply wasn’t as detail oriented when it came to the comfort of others.

  They settled not far from the water’s edge. Kat and Erin laid the blanket out on the soft pearly white sand, Mark set two chairs a few feet away on the cooler moist sand dampened by the departed tide. Marcia sat contentedly in a pool of muddy water he had dug for her, playing with a bright orange bucket and lime green shovel. She’d carefully dip the spade into the dripping sand, lift it up and turn it into the bucket, completely unconcerned that most of the sand slid off the shovel long before it made its way to the colorful container. The child was clearly on a mission. “She really loves the beach.”

  “She’s a lot like her mother in that way.” Mark scooted back and landed in the chair beside Anna. “I bet if you inched your chair a little closer she won’t notice.”

  “Nah, she’s happy. Why rock the boat?”

  “Until recently I don’t think I’d ever seen her not really happy. But I think she’s truly in her element at the beach.”

  Neither said much. Like the old married people Anna used to joke about when she and her friends would hang out at the beach, they sat there like bumps on a log, content to watch their goddaughter have all the fun.

  Tiring from her task, Marcia let the bright shovel fall by the wayside and lifted her hands, palm up.

  “Clean up time.” Mark jumped up, covered the distance between him and the baby in one long step and gathered her into his arms. “Shall we go in the water?”

  Marcia giggled, then kicked her feet at his stomach as though she were astride a horse, letting her mount know she was ready to move. It made Anna smile. If that little girl was so much like her mom in other ways, why didn’t she like her mom’s best friends?

  “Care to join us?”

  “Nah, you go on. I’ll watch.” Besides, Anna thought, the view’s better from here anyhow. Where the hell did that come from? After all just because she was on the verge of getting married didn’t mean she couldn’t notice another man’s good looks. Right? Right.

  And Mark Lambert was definitely worth looking at. The muscles in his tanned broad shoulders flexed as he shifted Marcia to his other arm. Slowly, Anna’s gaze followed a lazy path down to his narrow waist, then further down to his tight rounded rear end. He really did have a great ass. Made her wonder if he worked out. A man didn’t get toned muscles like that sitting behind a drafting table.

  “Not bad, huh?” Kat came over to sit next to Anna.

  “What?”

  “Don’t what me. It’s fun to look. Isn’t it?”

  “Maybe.” Anna pushed her sunglasses up higher on her nose.

  “He’s nice too.”

  If ever there was a time to keep quiet. It was now. Anna didn’t even dare nod.

  “Thoughtful. Bringing an umbrella for Erin.”

  Okay, how much trouble could she get into agreeing to that? It was thoughtful. She nodded.

  “Look at them.”

  What did Kat think she’d been doing? After he’d carefully washed all the sand from Marcia’s hands and legs, Mark would raise her high up in the air and bring her down fast, dipping her feet in the water, stopping short when the water reached her knees.

  “Why do you suppose he stops at her knees?” Kat’s gaze was still fixed on man and baby.

  “Has it been that long since you tried to swim in the Pacific?” Anna refused to believe Kat’s memory was that bad.

  “What?”

  “What? That water is like ice. I’d be screaming loud enough to be heard in New York if it were my toes he were dipping.”

  “If it were your toes he was dipping, you’d be screaming all right,” Kat said with a twinkle in her eye.

  “Really. You know, sometimes you’re as bad as a man, one track mind.”

  Kat shrugged a shoulder. “Could be worse things to be thinking about. Oh, here they come.”

  Anna held out a towel. “You’d better dry her off good so she doesn’t catch a chill, and you’ll need to put this on her again.” She handed him the sunscreen.

  A grin as wide as the bay spread across his face.

  “What?” Anna asked.

  “Nothing. I’m going to sit on the blanket by Erin for a bit. See if I can get Marcia to take a nap.”

  “Make sure she’s in the shade,” Anna called to his back.

  “When did you become a mother hen?”

  Anna would have thought she’d sprouted a third boob the way Kat was staring at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “First, you tell him not to let her catch a chill, then you remind him about reapplying sunscreen, and now you tell him about the shade. Like he was really going to set her out to bake in the afternoon sun.”

  “Oh, well...”

  “Yeah. Well.” Kat lifted her hand over her eyes and glanced back at Erin and Mark. “Looks like it’s working. I think I’m going to go for a stroll up the street. Do a little shopping. You game?”

  “You and Erin go ahead. I’m not in a shopping mood.”

  “Anna Bartiglioni not in the mood for shopping?” Her hand on her heart and her eyes open wide, Kat’s voice dripped with melodrama.

  “Very funny. I want to enjoy the beach. I can shop back home a
ny time. The beach is a treat.”

  “Okay. We won’t be long.”

  Once Kat and Erin were hiking their way up the main street of Old Carmel, Anna slipped her book into her bag and moved onto the blanket by Mark and the baby.

  “She was out like a light the second I set her down.”

  “The sun and ocean will do that to you.” Pulling off her t-shirt she reached around Mark for the bottle of sunscreen.

  When her side brushed against him, she momentarily froze. The man was solid as granite. An overwhelming urge to run her fingers through the dark thatch of hair across his chest sprang out of nowhere. Even more alarming was how much she wanted to trail those same fingers down the path of hair that tapered off at the edge of his swimsuit. What was the matter with her?

  Shifting to put a little more distance between them, Anna spread the creamy liquid down her arms, across her chest, and along the back of her neck.

  “Here, let me.” He wrapped his fingers around the bottle.

  “Oh, uh, I can manage.”

  “Even with your skin, if you miss a spot you’ll fry.”

  She didn’t have much choice. Before she could respond he’d taken possession of the bottle and shifted behind her. Tensing, she waited for the cool squirt of lotion to hit her back.

  It never came. Only the warmth of his long fingers touched her skin. With a gentleness she hadn’t expected from someone so muscular, he rubbed soothing circles between her shoulder blades. By the time his hands spread down her back and wrapped around her waist, every nerve in her body had come alive. She would gladly stay right here for the rest of her life.

  She’d thought he was finished when she heard the squirting sound of more lotion spewing from the bottle. “Oh,” she moaned as his thumbs descended in lazy swirls on her knotted shoulders.

  “Am I hurting you?” He stopped.

  “Are you kidding? You should get paid for doing this.”

  On the few occasions she’d dared ask Harrison to rub lotion on her, he’d squirt the chilling liquid directly on her back, slide his hands quickly up and down then left and right as though making the sign of the cross, pat her twice and say, ‘there you go’. If it took thirty seconds, that was a lot.