Anna's Courage (Rose Island Book 1) (13 page)

Vicki, who seldom ate carbs despite owning the bakery, buttered another one of her mother’s delicious homemade buttermilk rolls. “Nick brought Gabby into the bakery the other day. I took a break and had a cup of coffee with him.”

“Oh? What’d you talk about?” I tried to keep the unexpected twinge of jealousy out of my voice. Vicki was hands down the cutest Morgan sister with her petite figure, short blond hair, and naturally red lips. Men found her adorable, but her unrealistic high standards kept her from finding Mr. Right.

“Nick said you and Travis are going to Six Flags with him on Saturday,” Vicki said.

Travis pumped his fist in the air. “It’s going to be awesome. Nick has special military tickets, so we get in free and can eat all the hot dogs we want.”

“Sounds like fun,” Bianca said.

Travis continued talking about
The Great Nick Peterson.
Walter seemed intrigued, but Luella appeared uncomfortable with the conversation, so I attempted to change directions by asking about the Dallas Cowboys. I didn’t know much about football, but as I’d anticipated, Matt and Drew took over the conversation, discussing the quarterback’s latest injury.

Travis, however, wouldn’t be distracted. He launched into a detailed story about all the stray dogs in Afghanistan and how that influenced Nick to buy the entire litter of puppies.

Luella cleared her throat. “And he gave you one without your mother’s permission? That seems very irresponsible.”

Travis threw his head back and laughed. “Mom was angry at first, but she loves Yoda now. Don’t you, Mom?”

“He’s growing on me,” I conceded. “But if I had my choice—”

A thick tension filled the room. Luella never enjoyed hearing about my dates, but Nick in particular seemed to really bother her. Perhaps it was the military connection or the fact that Travis was so infatuated with him. Whatever the reason, I desperately wanted to distract Travis and restore peace to the holiday.

Luella rapped her fingernails on the tablecloth. “Anna, I can’t believe you
let
that man buy your son a dog without your permission.”

I was trying to be sensitive to my mother-in-law’s pain, but I couldn’t ignore the unfair condemnation in her voice. “Even though I never would’ve bought the dog myself, I’m happy Travis has him. He’s always wanted a dog, and it’s pretty cute seeing Yoda and Felix sleeping together.”

“Speaking of cute . . .” Bianca began.

I glared at my sister-in-law. I didn’t need Bianca joining Travis in singing Nick’s praises. Especially not in front of Luella. Pushing away from the table, I stood. “Who wants more pecan pie? Vicki? Walter?”

Vicki placed a hand on her non-existent belly. “I’ve eaten way too much already. I’m going to have to spend the next week doing a juice fast and double workouts to take off all this extra weight.”

“You aren’t allowed to talk about weight during a holiday meal,” Bianca spat. “Especially before it’s over. That’s a major violation of Miss Manners.”

I agreed. “For your punishment, I’m going to bring you a huge piece of pie with whipped cream and make you eat the whole thing.”

“No,” Vicki insisted, horrified.

We all laughed, but out of the blue, Jillian’s youngest son Drew brought the conversation back to Nick by asking if he was my boyfriend.

“No,” I said firmly. I stole a quick glance at my mother-in-law’s stricken face. “I’m going to make some more coffee. Can I bring you another cup, Mom?”

Luella looked down at her empty mug. “No, thank you. I think I’ll step outside for a breath of fresh air.”

“Are you okay, honey?” Walter asked, placing a concerned hand on his wife’s shoulder.

She gave a weak smile. “Yes, darling. I’m fine. I just have a little headache.”

“My mom gets headaches,” Travis said knowingly. “Nick says the best thing to prevent a headache is exercise. He runs three to five miles every day, and last year, he did an Ironman. That’s a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and then a whole marathon.”

“
Travis
,” I called sharply.

“What?”

“Come help me in the kitchen.” I gave my best do-as-I-say look, and miraculously, it worked because he joined me without arguing. As we entered the kitchen, his little hand slid into my elbow. “Mom, do you think I could run an Ironman one day?”

I closed my eyes and wondered how in the world I was going to stop this obsession with Nick. And not just for Travis, but for myself as well.

Why did the man have to sweep in and take over our life? Perhaps if I’d never kissed him, I wouldn’t be so preoccupied with him.

“Mom?” Travis’s voice brought me back to reality.

“What?”

He pushed up his glasses and squinted at me. “Are you okay? Your face is all red and sweaty, and you have the crazy look in your eyes.”

“I’m fine,” I said, embarrassed.

“Good, ’cause I want to tell you about the Thanksgiving Nick spent in Qatar.”

A
fter the dishes
were washed and everyone had settled in to nap or watch the football game, I made two cups of tea and went searching for my mother-in-law. I found her sitting in the office looking through an old photo album. “I brought you a cup of tea, Mom.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” Luella said.

“I know, but I wanted to.” I handed her the mug and sat beside her on the couch. “I’m sorry Travis upset you by talking about Nick.”

She took a sip of tea and placed it on the sofa table. “You have a new man in your life, and while I know it’s only natural, I am surprised. You haven’t been interested in anyone since . . .” Her voice faltered as she had difficulty speaking her son’s name.

I gently touched her arm. “I’m not interested in Nick as anything more than friendship. Travis has a little hero worship thing going on, but Nick and I are just friends. I’ve been helping him with his nieces. That’s all.”

Sadness washed over Luella. “Those poor girls. To lose both their mother and father at the same time. How are they managing?”

“I think they’re doing okay, considering the circumstances.”

She nodded. “Children are resilient like that.”

“I know,” I agreed, remembering I’d said the same thing to Nick regarding his concerns about Hailey and Gabby living with the Kempners.

Luella returned her attention to the photo album on her lap and pointed to a wedding picture of Marcus and me standing on the church steps. “You two were so young.”

I gave a sad smile. Marcus had worn a simple black suit, and I’d borrowed a dress that successfully hid my pregnancy.

It had rained during the ceremony, and thunder had shaken the church as we said our vows. I could’ve interpreted the storm as an omen, given what happened to Marcus, but I never regretted marrying him. I’d loved him completely and only wished we’d had more time together.

Running a finger over the wedding photo, I sighed. “He was sure good-looking, wasn’t he?”

Tears sprang to her eyes. “He was beautiful, and I think about him every day.”

“So do I,” I admitted.

That seemed to make her happy, but I wondered what would happen if there ever came a time when I didn’t constantly think about Marcus.

And more than that, what would happen if I managed to push my husband far enough aside that I created room for someone else?

*

Saturday morning, I
tried on several different outfits for the trip to Six Flags. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I just wanted to be comfortable. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself as the pile of discarded clothes in the corner of my closet grew. Finally, I settled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.

At seven forty-five, Nick pulled into the driveway. “Thanks for inviting us,” I said, feeling nervous as Travis and I climbed into the Tahoe.

Nick flashed a confident grin. “We’re glad you could come.”

The baby gurgled from her car seat, and I turned around to say hello. “Did you go see Gina and your grandpa up in Dallas? Did they feed you Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie?”

Gabby laughed and kicked her legs, but Nick gave a derisive grunt.

“Thanksgiving was awful,” Hailey explained from the back seat.

“Really? What happened?”

“Nothing unusual,” Nick said with great sarcasm. “Just your typical, dysfunctional Peterson holiday.”

I turned to study him. He wore sunglasses, a baseball cap, T-shirt, jeans, and worn leather loafers. I hadn’t seen him in several days, but he was even more handsome than I remembered.

From the back seat, Hailey enthusiastically elaborated on the disastrous holiday. “Grandpa’s fiancée got the stomach flu, so we didn’t get to meet her. Then the puppies ate Grandpa’s couch! There was so much stuffing on the living room floor, it looked like snow.”

I stifled a laugh. “You’re kidding? You didn’t take all three puppies up to Dallas, did you? I thought you were going to board them.”

“No, I brought them with us,” Nick said, adjusting his sunglasses. “And that was mistake number one.”

“What was mistake number two?”

He shook his head. “I’ll spare you the details, but the girls and I ended up spending the night at Motel 6 and eating dinner out of the vending machine.”

“We had cheese crackers for our main course and candy bars for dessert.” Hailey spoke as though the experience hadn’t been unpleasant at all, but rather a great adventure. In fact, for the first time since the accident, she seemed genuinely happy.

“What about the food at your dad’s house?” I asked.

Nick shook his head. “We had reservations for the steakhouse, but my father took a business call from Europe, so we never made it to the restaurant. We tried to reschedule, but they were completely booked. Then the couch incident happened, and everything went downhill from there.”

I frowned. “Your family doesn’t cook for Thanksgiving?”

“No.” Nick gave a sardonic laugh. “My father has never cooked anything more elaborate than cereal. I’m just mastering the art of grilled cheese myself. It wasn’t until college that I learned most people don’t eat cereal for breakfast
and
dinner.”

“Seriously? Is that what you ate growing up?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes we ordered takeout. One of our nannies cooked, but she quit after a few months.”

I had so many wonderful memories of cooking with both my parents and my in-laws, I couldn’t imagine eating Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant. Travis was only ten, but already he could fix a handful of decent meals. Maybe I should offer to teach Nick how to cook. I imagined him wearing an apron around his narrow waist, and his strong forearms flexing as he chopped an onion.

“How was your Thanksgiving?” Nick asked, interrupting my fantasy.

“It was nice.” I thought about the laughs I’d shared with Marcus’s sisters while we peeled sweet potatoes and drank glasses of Chardonnay before dinner. After the game, we’d gone for a long walk, then played a few hands of Hearts.

“You went to your in-laws’ ranch?” he asked.

“We did.”

“And you know what, Nick?” Travis shouted from the back seat. “Grandpa thinks you must be half crazy for buying me a puppy without asking my mom’s permission.”

Nick chuckled. “I’m glad he thinks I’m only
half
crazy.”

“Yeah,” Travis said. “It’s my Aunt Jillian’s boyfriend, Bryan, you have to be worried about. He thinks you’re
certifiable
. Whatever that means.”

Nick burst out laughing, the intoxicating sound rumbling through the car, filling the hollow of my bones. As though reading my thoughts, he smiled at me. “Well, I’m glad the man has such a high opinion of me.”

“I don’t know, Nick,” Travis said. “I think certifiable is a bad thing.”

Nick and I both laughed.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. The kids played car bingo while Nick and I chatted easily about everything from the best Mexican food restaurants to the worst TV shows.

Signs for Six Flags came into view, and both Hailey and Travis shouted joyfully. Gabby joined in the excitement, clapping her hands and blowing bubbles.

Nick parked the car, and we made our way toward the entrance. For late November, the weather was unseasonably warm, so lots of families had turned out to enjoy the beautiful fall day.

“We’re hitting the Texas Giant first,” Nick declared, after we passed through ticketing and security.

The children voiced their approval and set off across the park. Nick led the way, pushing Gabby in the stroller and maneuvering through the crowd at breakneck speed. I had to run in order to keep up with everyone.

At the ride, I placed my hands on the baby stroller. “I’ll wait here with Gabby while you go with Travis and Hailey.”

Nick eyed me suspiciously. “Okay, but I’ll be back, and it will be your turn.”

“We’ll see.” Statistically, I knew roller coasters were relatively safe, but I had no intention of getting on that deathtrap. Although Nick gave me an odd look as if sensing my apprehension, he said nothing as Hailey and Travis dragged him toward the ride.

“It’s just you and me,” I told Gabby, lifting her out of the stroller. Sitting on the bench, we enjoyed the sunshine and engaged in one of my all-time favorite activities—people watching.