“Jeez, you sound like Miranda! I happen to like Shirley Bliss.”
“And you tried to charm her the way you did with practically every woman you’ve met, whether you were married or not.” That last remark was meant to remind him that he hadn’t been a good husband. He’d cheated on his wife repeatedly, and Olivia didn’t care what his excuses were.
“You could’ve gone all day without saying that,” Will snapped. “Okay, so I wasn’t the world’s best husband. I admit it. But my ego just took a major hit, and if I want to whine a bit I should be able to.”
“Okay, fine. Be a little boy for a couple of minutes and then get over it.”
He stood and walked over to the cabinet. “How about a glass of wine? I could use a drink.”
“Sure. Shall we invite Miranda to join us?” The gallery was closed by now and she was probably waiting.
Will shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Don’t sound so enthusiastic.”
“We don’t get along all that well,” he muttered as he took down a bottle of red wine and three glasses. “She’s a know-it-all, not to mention contradictory.”
“Then why do you keep her on?” Olivia asked, finding his attitude amusing. Her brother’s relationship with his assistant fascinated her. They bickered and argued and she couldn’t remember a time that Will had anything good to say about Miranda. And yet he continued to employ her.
“I tried to fire her.”
“Tried?” Olivia raised one eyebrow.
“Yeah. I was completely overwhelmed without her. Two or three days later, I asked her to reconsider and return to work. I could’ve hired someone else, but that would mean training that person, which is a lot of time and trouble.”
“Miranda came back, though.”
He grinned. “She seemed almost glad of it, too. The truth is, I don’t really like her. Miranda’s far too bossy. God save me from bossy women.”
“Really?”
“Well, not all bossy women,” he returned, and broke into a lazy smile. “Not you, my darling sister.”
Olivia shook her head and started toward the door. “Before I ask Miranda to join us, are we in agreement that Mom and Ben can’t go back to the house?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll talk to them together about moving into an assisted-living complex as soon as possible,” she said, summing up their discussion.
Will exhaled loudly. “Together? Can’t you tell them and I’ll back you up?” He grinned. “I was hoping we could do this good-cop/bad-cop style and I’d be the good cop.”
“No, we’ll present a united front and go from there. Okay?”
“Okay, Madame Judge.”
Olivia ignored that and opened the door. “Miranda, would you like to have a glass of wine with us? We’re celebrating Shirley and Larry’s engagement.”
Will, who was pouring the wine, nearly toppled a glass. He caught it just in time to prevent it from tumbling onto the beige carpet.
Miranda came into the room. “You’re happy about Shirley’s news?” she pressed, looking at Will.
Olivia could see that the other woman wasn’t easily fooled.
“I can boast that I was the one who introduced them,” Will muttered as he passed around the glasses.
“It wasn’t going to work out for you, you know.”
“Why is it,” Will asked sharply, “that everyone enjoys telling me that? You think I haven’t figured it out by now? But if Larry hadn’t come into the picture, I believe she would’ve ended up with me.”
Miranda exchanged a glance with Olivia that said Will was delusional. Olivia recognized, even if her brother didn’t, that he’d never had a chance with Shirley, whether he chose to accept that or not.
“You don’t believe me?”
“Will, it isn’t that. Let’s enjoy our wine and drop the whole Shirley issue, shall we?” Olivia suggested.
It looked for a moment as if he wasn’t willing to let it go. “Fine. Whatever.”
Miranda raised the wineglass to her lips but not before Olivia noticed that she was humming a song from the 1960s. If memory served her right, the first line was “Goin’ to the chapel and we’re gonna get married.” She burst out laughing.
“What?” Will demanded.
“Nothing,” Olivia said, making an effort to keep her composure. She liked Miranda. In fact, Olivia could see that Will’s assistant was exactly the woman to rein in her brother’s ego and keep him in line.
Poor Will. He didn’t have a clue.
Fourteen
Mary Jo McAfee set the large pumpkin on the kitchen counter and found a felt pen in the junk drawer. Since this was Noelle’s first Halloween, she was determined to make it special. She already had her daughter’s costume picked out. Noelle would be dressed as a ballerina, complete with pink tutu and tights.
Never mind that her baby hadn’t yet taken her first step. Noelle was close, so close, but still clung to the coffee table, bending her chubby legs, longing to explore her world and at the same time hesitant to leave the security of something to hold on to.
Mary Jo knew everything would change once Noelle decided she could walk. As it was, her daughter was a champion crawler. The nine-month-old loved to travel on all fours, putting anything and everything in her mouth as she progressed from one side of the room to the other. Mary Jo had to be constantly vigilant.
The front door opened and Mack walked in. Mary Jo smiled and held her arms open to him for a hug and kiss. They’d only been married for two months and still felt the sheer wonder of the intimacy they shared.
As soon as she saw him, Noelle raised her arms, seeking his attention.
“Come to Daddy,” Mack urged, getting down on his knees a couple of feet from the coffee table.
Mary Jo held her breath and waited. Noelle glanced at her mother and then at Mack.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Mack urged, stretching out his arms.
Noelle took one fledgling step and then another before plopping down on the floor. She let out a wail, more in surprise than pain. Mack scooped her up and swung her around, holding her high above his head.
“That’s my girl!”
“She did it! She did it!” Excited, Mary Jo started waving her arms. Noelle was a week and a half from being ten months old and had taken her first step. “That’s early for her to be walking.”
“Way to go,” Mack said as he spread kisses over Noelle’s face. Then balancing her on his hip, he turned back to Mary Jo. “Hey—you got a pumpkin!”
“I picked it up on my way home. I thought we’d carve it—actually, I’ll leave the carving to you. I’ll draw what I want and the rest will be in your capable hands.”
“And what do I get out of this?” Mack teased.
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll come up with some way of rewarding you.”
Mack wore a silly grin. “I’m sure you will, too.” Sitting, he bounced Noelle on his knee while Mary Jo continued to draw eyes, a nose and a gap-toothed mouth on the pumpkin. After a few minutes, Noelle squirmed, wanting to be put down. Mack set her on the floor and she immediately took off crawling toward her favorite spot in the house, next to the coffee table. She pulled herself up to a standing position, then twisted around to check on her audience.
“I talked to your brother this afternoon,” Mack said conversationally. “We grabbed a coffee after work.”
“Oh?” Mary Jo was concerned about Linc. Nothing seemed to be going right for him and Lori. The business was close to failing and he was at odds with his in-laws. The last she’d heard, Lori had disowned her entire family. She wasn’t speaking to either her mother or her father.
“Did you know they’re looking for a new apartment?”
“No.” Mary Jo dropped her pen. She would’ve thought Linc might mention it to her, but he tended to be private, to keep his problems to himself.
It made sense that her brother and Lori would need a new place. The Bellamys owned the apartment building where they currentl
y lived, and neither Linc nor Lori wanted to be indebted to them. Still, Mary Jo knew that Linc didn’t approve of Lori’s cutting off her family. He’d tried to talk to her, but Lori was adamant—she wanted nothing more to do with them. Because Linc and Mary Jo had lost their own parents, they had a different view; Mary Jo suspected that Lori wouldn’t appreciate how important family was until she was without either parent and there was no opportunity left to reconcile.
“I put out the word to the fire crew and Linc picked up some business this week.”
“Great!” She leaned down and kissed him again, letting her mouth linger on his.
“I…I could,” Mack said, clearing his throat before he continued, “try to send more business his way.”
Laughing softly, Mary Jo patted his back. “You do that.”
“Will I get more kisses like that one?”
“Probably.”
Mack brightened. “My dad’s helping, too.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he’s good friends with the sheriff.”
Mary Jo remembered that about Troy Davis and her father-in-law.
“Well, Dad was talking to Sheriff Davis and suggested he might have the city ask your brother to bid on a contract to service police vehicles.”
“But, Mack, he has an auto body shop.”
“He can manage oil changes, can’t he?”
“I’m sure he can.”
“And routine maintenance?”
Mary Jo shrugged. “I assume he could.”
“Work is work, and your brother is hungry.”
Mary Jo was well aware of how hungry her brother was.
“Speaking of hungry, when’s dinner?” Mack glanced around the kitchen.
Mary Jo had started on the pumpkin as soon as she got home and hadn’t really thought about dinner. “Ah, any chance I could talk you into going out tonight?”
Mack cocked his head. “I could be persuaded,” he said, winking at her.
“Very funny,” she muttered. “Can we afford to take Linc and Lori? After all, this is a celebration.”
“A celebration?”
“Noelle just took her first step.”
“Oh, right. Where do you want to go?”
Knowing their own budget was tight, Mary Jo said, “The Pancake Palace. I love their spaghetti and meatballs, and Thursday night is all-you-can-eat spaghetti.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“I’ll call Linc and Lori and see if they can join us,” Mary Jo said. “Besides, I have an idea.”
“I bet you’re thinking the same thing I am.”
Half an hour later, when Mack had carved the pumpkin and Mary Jo had fed and changed Noelle, it was time to meet her brother and his wife. They took her car for the short drive down to Harbor Street and the Pancake Palace.
Linc and Lori were waiting for them outside the restaurant, apparently deep in conversation.
“How are you guys?” Mary Jo asked after they’d left the car and unfastened Noelle from her seat.
“Oh, good,” Lori said. “Everything’s fine.”
Mary Jo noticed that her brother didn’t echo his wife’s sentiment. Lori took Linc’s hand, and she was sure that whatever they were discussing concerned their troubles with her family.
They entered the restaurant and were quickly seated, despite the number of families availing themselves of the pasta specials. She recognized Pastor Dave Flemming and his wife, who waved cheerfully. Once the hostess had obtained a high chair for Noelle, Mary Jo gave her daughter a cracker while everyone else looked over the menu. She’d already made her decision—the spaghetti and meatball dinner.
“By the way,” Mack said, hidden behind the menu. “This is our treat.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Linc insisted.
“True,” Mack said mildly, “but we’re celebrating the fact that Noelle took her first step.”
“That’s early, isn’t it?” Lori’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Yes, but she’s been ready for weeks now,” Mary Jo explained. “Only, she was afraid to let go. It took her daddy to get her to leave her comfort zone.” Mary Jo knew how hard it was for her staunchly proud brother to allow them to pay for his and Lori’s dinner.
Linc lowered his menu. “You’ve done so much already,” he said, sounding almost humble.
This was Linc? Mary Jo looked up. She wanted to ask her big brother if he was okay. Humility was so unlike him.
“What did I do?” Mack asked as he reached for his water glass.
“This is the best week we’ve had since I opened the shop and practically everyone’s made a point of mentioning your name.”
“Mine?” Mack feigned astonishment. “All I said was that you do quality work at competitive prices.”
“Sheriff Davis stopped by to talk to Linc, too,” Lori added. She slipped her arm through Linc’s and pressed her head against his shoulder.
Mack raised both hands as though to avert their thanks. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“No, but your father did. I appreciate everything you’ve done. If anyone’s paying for dinner, it’ll be Lori and me.”
Mary Jo released a pent-up sigh. That sounded much more like her take-charge brother.
“We’ll settle up later,” Mack said. “Come on. Let’s order.”
After they’d finished their meals, they chatted over coffee and dessert. Noelle had eaten at home but Mary Jo spooned some plain spaghetti, cut up and sprinkled with cheese, into her mouth. Soon after, Noelle fell asleep. Mack cradled his daughter in his arms; every now and then he’d bend his head and press his lips against her soft curls.
Mary Jo loved watching Mack with Noelle. He was her father in every way that mattered, every way except the biological. How fortunate she was to have met and married such a decent, honorable man, especially after falling for a jerk like David Rhodes. Thanks to Noelle’s grandfather, Ben Rhodes, David was completely out of their lives. She’d never learned precisely what agreement Ben had struck with David, but whatever he’d said or done convinced David to sign the paperwork allowing Mack to legally adopt Noelle. They’d already started the legal procedure.
“I’m going to miss living in Cedar Cove,” Lori murmured.
“You’re leaving?”
“Looks like it,” Linc said without elaborating.
Mary Jo made eye contact with Mack.
“We can’t seem to find a place that—” Lori began.
Linc put a restraining hand on her arm.
“Linc,” Mary Jo said. “Tell us what’s going on.”
Her brother remained stubbornly quiet.
“Listen, you two, we’re family,” Mack told them. “As soon as I heard that you and Lori were looking for a new apartment, I told Mary Jo. We’ve come up with an idea we wanted to present to you.”
Linc and Lori exchanged a puzzled glance.
“Before you say anything,” Linc said, holding up his hand. “Lori and I have decided to move back to Seattle. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on to the business. I’ve had one good week—thanks to you, Mack—but there’s no guarantee it’ll continue… .”
“Why go all the way to Seattle?” Mary Jo asked. “The commute will take hours out of your day.”
“We were going to move in with Mel and—”
“No way!” Mary Jo couldn’t see that happening in a million years. It was a setup for disaster. Her two brothers, both younger than Linc, were terrible slobs, and Lori would be miserable.
“Mary Jo and I would like to offer a solution,” Mack said.
Mary Jo smiled. “We’d like to rent you the other half of the duplex.”
Linc stared at them, while Lori’s eyes widened.
“But…I thought you’d rented it out?” Linc said after a moment.
“We had a couple who was interested, but it fell through,” Mary Jo explained. “They decided to stay in Seattle.”
“So, the other half of the duplex is still vaca
nt?”
Mack nodded. “It sure is—vacant and available.”
“You could move in anytime,” Mary Jo said. “Really. We mean it. We want you to.”
Linc slowly shook his head. “I’m honored that you’d offer, but we can’t accept.” His jaw had that stubborn set Mary Jo knew so well.
“We can’t?” Lori looked as if she was about to break into tears.
“We can’t,” he repeated emphatically. “We’d be trading one charity situation for another.”
“Now just a minute,” Mack said, raising his voice. “I didn’t say we wouldn’t be charging rent.”
Mary Jo placed her hand on her husband’s thigh. Mack had to know that Linc and Lori could barely make it without paying rent.
“I’ll charge you the same as I did Mary Jo,” Mack said. Beneath the table he put his hand over hers.
“How much?” Linc asked.
Mack named the figure he’d first charged Mary Jo, which was a greatly reduced rate. When she’d learned what he’d done, she’d been outraged; it’d been a source of major conflict. Mary Jo was more like her older brother than she’d realized. She hoped he wouldn’t object to paying less than market value.
“That’s the same amount Mack charged you?” Linc asked, eyeing her closely.
“It is.”
“That’s incredibly reasonable,” Lori told her husband.
“You’re sure about this, Mack?” Linc seemed unconvinced.
“Positive.”
“We could stay in town, Linc,” Lori said, squeezing his arm. “I wouldn’t have to quit my job and you’d be able to put all your energy into the business.”
“What do you say?” Mack asked.
Linc smiled and thrust his hand across the table. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Fifteen
Rachel unlocked the door to the house she shared with Nate Olsen in Bremerton, not far from the naval shipyard. She shed her jacket, set down her purse on the hall table and walked into the living room.
Ever since she’d moved away from Bruce and Jolene, her stress was much lower. Her blood pressure was back in the normal range, she’d started to gain weight and her iron levels had improved. At her routine appointment, she’d heard that Bruce had phoned the doctor’s office to check on her and the baby. Their privacy policy wouldn’t allow them to divulge any information about her, but they did tell Rachel he’d called. Knowing he was concerned buoyed her spirits.