Meet the Blakes (6 page)

“I’m sure you have better things to do besides make me coffee. J.J. tells me you gave him a great quality control presentation. He was very impressed. Sounds like you won’t be the assistant up here too much longer.” John Jacob chuckled at the look on her face—a mixture of excitement and terror. Anna Beth was a dedicated employee and still a little in love with J.J.

“That would be great, but I—”

“I’m sure you and J.J. will come up with a way for you to expand your professional horizons without abandoning your post.”

“Yes, you’re right.” She let out a deep exhale. “Multitasking is our motto around here.”

“Absolutely. Where’s my brood?”

“They’re all in Jared’s new office.”

“Thanks.” He followed the pop of the champagne cork and the raised voices down the corridor. It was always easy to find his boys. Jared’s office had been redesigned and had a free-flowing, creative feel to it. There were three draft tables set up and a few models of future products on tables. “I see I’m just in time.”

“Daddy, I didn’t know you were coming today.” Channing smiled and handed him a champagne glass.

“I didn’t want to miss Jared’s big day. I think we’re damn lucky to have such an innovative architect working with us.”

“Thank you, Mr. Blake. This office is incredible.” Jared shook his hand.

“Jared, I’ve told you many times before to call me John Jacob. We’re family. And anyone who can watch my grandsons for a weekend and live to talk about it deserves to call me by my first name.” He laughed. “Glad to have you on board.”

Jared nodded. “I love this office. It’s a great home away from home. The natural lighting will go a long way for me. I may be able to get some things done while I’m in town.”

“You’re down here for a celebration. Work can wait.”

“I promised Mrs. Blake—Teri-Lyn—that I wouldn’t work while all the fun was going on. But I am getting together with Bo for dinner at his place to brainstorm some ideas about the house he wants to build on the ranch.”

“So you’ll be going to his condo?” John Jacob suppressed a grin. Maybe there was some real mojo in Teri-Lyn’s wishes. She and Sydney intensely worked on the reception seating chart assignment and the events schedule, conspiring for Jared and Autumn, the twin sister of Bo’s girlfriend, to meet.

Bo smiled. “Yes. Summer and I invited him to dinner.”

“Bo’s a good cook. You’re in for a treat,” Channing agreed.

“I don’t want to brag, but I haven’t had the most appearances on Michelle’s cooking show for nothing,” Bo replied.

“How about that? Maybe Autumn can join you and make it a double date.” J.J. snickered.

“Who’s Autumn?” Jared asked.

“Autumn is Bo’s girlfriend’s sister.”

“Oh,” Jared replied.

“And she’s an identical twin,” J.J. added.

“Oh.” Jared repeated, this time with a knowing smile.

John Jacob looked at his youngest son, C.J. “I thought you and Cassidy were taking time off before the wedding?”

“We are, but one of Cassidy’s clients called in a panic last night about the custody battle she’s in with her ex-husband. Cassidy’s downstairs in her office meeting with her.”

“Those custody cases can get crazy. She has security in her suite, right?”

“Regency is there round the clock. Although when I suggested it, I got ripped a new one about being overprotective. When Sam said the same thing, it was suddenly a good idea.” He huffed.

“That, son, is called being married to an independent woman.” John Jacob squeezed his shoulder. “Well, I’m going to my office. Anna Beth has a snack waiting for me. Jared, welcome to the family business.”

He bid the boys good-bye and made his way to his office. Everything was essentially the same as when he’d retired, with the exception of a few new pictures of the grandkids scattered about. The latest operations report was in his in basket, and a breakdown of the company meeting plans was there too. He knew with certainty that he could come in any given day and get caught up at a moment’s notice even without J.J. and Bo’s help. C.J. was getting pretty savvy too. He’d been impressed with his son’s developing business insight.

He took a seat behind the desk and nibbled on the muffin Anna Beth had left for him. He’d made so many deals in that office, put in so many late nights, but in the end he’d kept his promise to Teri-Lyn about retiring at a respectable age. They traveled and spent time together enjoying what they’d created together, and he counted his blessings every day for having such an understanding woman. And for every opportunity that had crossed his desk. But the best deal he ever closed was when Teri-Lyn dropped by for lunch one day.

The knock on the door brought him out of his lusty daydream.

“Daddy? Did you want to go over anything?” J.J. walked over to the desk.

“What?”

“I thought maybe you wanted an update on things.”

“No. I’m not the boss anymore.”

“OK. So what had you so deep in thought?”

“I was thinking about the time your mom and I had…an important meeting in this room.” He grinned when J.J. gave him a puzzled look. “I remember the first time your mom brought you here for a visit. You were obsessed with trains back then. You had on the cutest little blue dungarees, a plaid shirt, and a train conductor hat. You must have crawled the entire length of the corridor out there. Now Jack’s whizzing around, instead. He’s following in your footsteps.”

“Perhaps. I followed in yours.”

John Jacob stood. “I’ve got to get back to the ranch. Your mama wants to have a petting zoo for the kids, and I think I should be there to oversee things before we end up reenacting Noah’s ark in the kitchen. I’ll see you at home.”

* * *

Teri-Lyn was happy that everything was running smoothly, so she thought she’d take the afternoon and tend to her garden. She was hosting a party tonight for the Reeds and Patton and his wife Nina, who were excited about participating in the activities that would happening around the ranch. She’d get to catch up on family gossip with Sydney and get to spend some time with Avery and Gabby.

She loved having girls around the house. They shopped and talked about the colleges she was considering. Teri Lyn did her best not to lay it on too thick when she suggested Avery consider a school in Texas. It was always best to let kids think things were their own idea.

Everything was going well so far with the wedding plans. Except for Cassidy’s quirky family. After finally getting through to Cassidy’s mother, Hyacinth, Teri Lyn still couldn’t convince her to stay at the ranch.

Cassie came out of the house with two mugs in her hand. “Teri-Lyn. I made you some of that herbal tea you like.”

“Thanks, Cassie. I swear this helps me sleep better at night.” She took a sip. “Did you talk to your mom?”

“I did. Looks like they won’t be able to make it here until two days before the ceremony.”

“That’s a shame. I was looking forward to getting acquainted with your family before the wedding.” It would have been nice for the woman to be excited about her daughter’s big day.

“Mom has always been very attentive with my brothers and sisters. I was kidding myself to think she’d drop everything and get on the wedding band wagon.” Cassidy took a seat on the nearby bench.

Cassidy’s reluctance to share her cancer diagnosis with her family last year was making more and more sense as time went on. After Cassidy’s last family reunion, Channing had described the event as hectic, and that he’d barely had a chance to talk to her parents. He’d said Cassidy got drowned out by her other siblings. Teri Lyn wanted her future daughter-in-law to know she’d still have a great day, regardless of who helped her plan it.

“Well, your mom’s a busy woman. And not everyone loves to plan big events.” She reached out and gave Cassidy a quick hug. “I think we made some really good progress on our own.”

“I have you to thank for that.” Cassidy hugged her back. “Those lilacs are absolutely beautiful. Do you use special mulch for them?”

“No.” Teri-Lyn smiled. “I planted those in memory of Tate’s birth mother, Lila. Would you believe they move even if there’s no wind blowing when Matt’s out here playing?”

“I would believe it. One day, while I was getting a chemo treatment, I fell asleep and had a dream about my aunt Stacey, who’d died a few years ago. She told me everything would be OK and covered me with the blanket she crocheted for me, which I’d brought along in my tote bag. When I woke up I thanked the nurse who was monitoring me for the blanket, and she said she didn’t do it. I knew my aunt was there watching over me.”

“It’s nice knowing someone is looking out for you.”

“Like you’ve been doing for me since I came into your life?” Cassidy smiled at her, then looked around. “I hope my garden looks this great some day. I was thinking of planting some zucchini and squash. If Channing sees it growing in the back yard, maybe he’d be willing to eat it.”

“I’ve always had trouble getting the boys to eat what they call ‘fancy vegetables.’ They get that from their dad. If it’s not a pea or a carrot, it’s exotic.” She shook her head.

“Well, you’ve done some beautiful work in your garden. I can’t wait until we start on mine.” She took a careful sip of her hot tea. “That may be the only thing growing.”

It was still early in her recovery, but the possibility of infertility loomed over Cassidy all the time.

“I don’t want to hear talk like that. Your body’s still healing. Besides, I have you in my daily prayers and I always get what I pray for.” Teri-Lyn winked at her.

“We agreed to take some time before we start thinking about parenting options, but that didn’t stop your son from buying fertility books.”

“I have to admit, I’m guilty too. I bought this book Morgan’s friend Nina suggested. She’d been trying to get pregnant for years before she had Gabby. I think you should have a talk with her.”

“Your son loves doing his research. I figured the extensive reading would help him understand if we couldn’t conceive naturally.”

“He’s always been an intensely curious person. You should have seen him when I decided to extend my garden on my own without the help of our landscaper.”

“And now you’re the envy of your gardening club.” Cassidy sipped her tea. What inspired you to take it up?”

“My grandma got tired of seeing me fired up about John Jacob, so she told me to grab a rake and funnel some of that young love energy into something productive. I didn’t want to, but you never say no to your grandma.” She laughed. “It turned into a daily ritual, then we came up with a project to landscape the front of the house. She was right. It did help me take my mind off John Jacob, and it kept me away from Kent Bingham.”

“Who’s Kent Bingham?” Cassidy scrunched her nose.

Teri-Lyn looked over her shoulder toward the house. “Kent was a guy who liked me, but he hated John Jacob even more. Kent was always neat and clean-shaven, not a hair out of place, even when he took his hat off. Grandma didn’t like him. She said he was too well-groomed to be up to any good. Every time he came around, she’d find something new for me to do.”

“Your grandmother was on Team John Jacob and Teri-Lyn.” She giggled.

“She was sweet on John Jacob. She said he had honest eyes and that he looked at me like there was no other woman on earth. Which, in her opinion, was the only criteria for a good man.”

Cassidy laughed. “She was right. He does look at you like he won the lottery. I can only imagine how that courtship went, being the object of a Blake man’s affections. They’re relentless until you see things their way. C.J.’s passionate speech about how happy we could be is what inspired me to move in with him.”

“They are silver-tongued devils, but they mean every word they say,” Teri-Lyn said.

“They do have a way about them. How did John Jacob manage to capture your heart?”

“Oh, that’s a long story.”

Cassidy smiled. “I have the time.”

In the blink of an eye, Teri-Lyn was back at the Bright Star. A fun night out with Bonnie had turned to mush as soon as she walked into the bar and saw that handsome rascal of a cowboy having a drink with his pals Cal and Bo. She made her way around the bar so he would be sure to see her, then sat as far away as she could from him. He approached and offered to buy her drink, but she ignored him. He held court rather loudly, but she refused to be sucked into his charm. He was the life of the party, after all. When she didn’t bite, he flirted with a waitress right in front of her.

Poor Kent had the bad timing of coming into the bar at that moment, so Teri-Lyn went up to him and grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. She was pretty sure he didn’t want to have another bout with John Jacob, so when he approached to cut in, Kent relented. Bo, feeling sorry for the guy, invited him over to the bar for a drink. They were left standing in the middle of the sawdust-riddled floor where she promptly put her hand on her hip and gave John Jacob the evil eye.

“It’s just a dance.” He grinned and held out his hand.

She knew that was a lie. She squinted at him and took a few steps back. “Watch where you put your hands.”

The music the band was playing was lovely; she just wished Lila was there to sing tonight. Her friend had a way of singing those beautiful, heartbreak songs. And that’s what she felt like every time John Jacob left her, like her heart was breaking in two. Why couldn’t he see that she just wanted him? He was a proud man, and he wasn’t going to stop until he accomplished his goal. A character trait that made her love and hate him at the same time.

He raised an eyebrow. “If you insist on dancing like two squirrels fighting for an acorn, I don’t know if I want to dance with you.”

“Who are you kidding? You always want to dance with me.” She closed the space between them and wagged her finger at him.

“That’s my girl.” He tugged on her hand and pulled her close.

“Always so sure of yourself,” Teri-Lyn mumbled.

“I’m not sure about anything except the way I feel about you.” He lifted her chin with a finger and kissed her.

No other man’s lips felt as warm and comforting as his. She put her arms around his waist and leaned into his body, and for a moment it was right between them. Until the next time he left.