Hometown Holiday Reunion (11 page)

Bekah grinned back, and there was something in her expression that caught Erin's attention. A gleam in Bekah's eyes that said she had a secret and wasn't opposed to sharing it. Suddenly it hit her, and Erin gasped. “No.”

“Yes,” Bekah responded, giggling a bit. “We found out today, and the doctor said to keep it to ourselves for a while. But I'm so jazzed, I just had to tell someone.”

Erin was pretty jazzed herself, and she circled around the breakfast bar to embrace her. “Does Mom know?”

Bekah nodded. “But that's it. Please don't tell anyone.”

“Never. And I promise to act surprised when you and Drew make your big announcement.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” Erin said humbly. “I know that's not easy for you.”

“I'm getting better at it, thanks to your family and everyone in there.” Bekah nodded toward the raucous crowd milling around the farmhouse's large first floor. “This time last year, I was living in a closet-sized room over a twenty-four-hour Thai restaurant, and now I have a wonderful life with Drew and more to come. What a difference a few months make.”

“I know what you mean. Last year, I'd just broken off the worst relationship ever and had the wild idea to start my own business. When I took on Parker in the middle of all that, it seemed even crazier, but it's turned out to be the best decision I could've made.”

“It makes you think, doesn't it? I mean, what would've happened if you'd gone left instead of right? You'd end up in a whole other place, and everything would be different, especially for Parker.” Looking over, she added a warm smile. “You saved that sweet little boy from a very uncertain future, Erin. You gave him a safe, stable home and this big family to love him. You couldn't have given him a better gift if you'd tried.”

“You're sounding like a mom already,” Erin teased with a fond smile. “But thanks for saying it, anyway. It's nice to hear.”

“Anytime you need some perspective, ask me. I've been through the ringer, and I thank God every day for sending me here. I don't know what would've happened to me otherwise.”

It wasn't like Bekah to be so forthcoming about herself, and Erin suspected that Drew's steady, constant love had a lot to do with her newest sister-in-law opening up to her this way. Bekah picked up a large basket of rolls and carried it into the dining room, leaving Erin alone for the first time all day. The bit of solitude gave her time to reflect on the year that had gone by and the one that had just begun.

While she pondered everything that had changed for her recently, she was surprised to discover that Cam headed the list. Not as her landlord, but as an unexpected friend and champion, supporting her in her new venture and the unpleasant task of somehow coming to terms with Lynn Smith.

Unappealing as it was, Erin realized that once she cleared that hurdle, the path to adopting Parker should be easier to navigate. She still had dozens of legal hoops to go through, and she suspected that by the time she was finished, she'd feel like a trained dolphin being put through its paces.

But a forever home with her was what Parker prayed for every night before she tucked him into bed. And no matter what it took, she'd do everything in her power to make sure his prayer was answered.

* * *

The following morning, Cam tried to sleep in the way his aunt had ordered him to. But after staring at the ceiling for a while, he got bored listening to the cornball morning show on his old clock radio and got ready to face what promised to be another long, tiring day. Oddly enough, he thought while he finished shaving, he didn't feel as dragged out as he had the morning before.

Apparently, the Kinley farm hadn't lost any of its charm for him. Since he was a kid, whenever he'd gone there, he'd come back feeling a lot better about whatever had been bothering him when he'd arrived. And since he'd reluctantly become the man of his family when he was only twelve, there had always been plenty going on for him to be upset about.

Determined not to let his mood take such a gloomy turn, he shook off the pessimism that had become a part of his daily routine lately and forced himself to focus on the good things that had been happening. Aunt Connie being here was a big plus, especially since her visit seemed to be making Mom feel better than all the medicine in the world. Thanks to the upgrades he'd made, the Oaks Café was holding its own in a tough economy. And the building that had been nothing more than an aggravating cash drain was finally generating some much-needed income.

When he considered all that, he could almost stand to think about the impending meeting with his father.

The face staring back at him darkened with an expression that would've made anyone hesitant about approaching him. Shaking his head, Cam wiped the steamy mirror and turned off the bathroom light. While he'd love to put this off until his father got tired of waiting and went back to Michigan, he knew it was best to quit stalling and get it over with. Mom wanted to see her husband, and while the idea twisted Cam's gut into knots, he didn't have the heart to deny her something that seemed to be so important to her.

The house was still quiet, so he sneaked out the front door to his car, opening and closing his driver's door as softly as he could. Holding to his decision to get the unpleasant task over with, he dialed the number on the business card and waited. He half expected to be shuffled to voice mail, but his father answered on the second ring.

“This is David Stewart,” he said in a brisk, businesslike tone.

“It's Cam. If you still want to meet, today's good for me.”

“How about lunch here in Rockville?” his father suggested without hesitation. “My treat.”

Cam had anticipated that the man would insist on meeting in Oaks Crossing, and he had to admit that he appreciated the suggestion to connect on more neutral ground. “Fine. I'll be at the Farmer's Grill at noon.”

“So will I. And Cam?”

“Yeah?”

There was a slight pause before he went on. “I know this can't be easy for you, and I'm grateful to you for giving me another chance.”

“I'm giving you the chance to buy me lunch and talk. If I don't like what you have to say, I'm outta there.”

“Fair enough. I'll see you at noon.”

Already stretched beyond his limited patience, Cam hung up without saying anything more. All the way to the restaurant, he questioned the wisdom of agreeing to see someone who got his hackles up just by breathing the same air. But it was done now, and he had no choice but to see it through. Part of him was confident that his father hadn't changed a bit, and this encounter would turn out to be a pointless waste of time.

Another part, the one that was still a heartbroken boy watching out the window for his dad to come home, hoped that, somehow, things would end differently than they had back then.

Since he had no control over either outcome, Cam settled for dropping by the café to make sure breakfast was running smoothly. The dining room was humming with the usual early morning activity, and he stopped to chat with several customers on his way into the kitchen. Braced for another catastrophe, he was relieved to find that the crew seemed to be busy but managing well.

As if that weren't enough, Kyle grinned at him from the open grill. “Walk-in cooler's running like a champ. We just finished putting away the food delivery about ten minutes ago.”

“You're kidding me.” When the kid shook his head, Cam couldn't deny being pleased. “That's great. I guess you don't need me, then.”

“Not till three. The new meat guy's making his rounds and is coming by to meet you.”

“Schmooze me, you mean. Since it's a new year, I imagine he'll be bringing us some good stuff.”

“You wouldn't want to share with your employees, would you?” he asked, flipping a series of pancakes in a practiced motion.

“A definite possibility,” Cam replied, feeling generous. “We'll see what he's got, then go from there.”

“Sounds good. Will you be next door again today?”

“Mostly.” He tucked several fresh Danish into a white takeout bag imprinted with the Oaks Café logo and filled two to-go cups with coffee. Taking them in one hand, he opened the side door with the other. “Call my cell if you need me.”

“Will do.”

Kyle stacked the pancakes on a plate and dinged the pick-up bell with his spatula. As he left the bustling kitchen, Cam recalled doing that himself about a million times. No better way to learn the family business, Granddad had insisted, than from the ground up.

More than once, Cam had wished that the old man was still around to see what he'd accomplished in the past few months. Although he wasn't one to dwell on images of the hereafter, he liked to picture his grandfather in heaven, smiling with pride. Right before telling him to quit mooning around and get back to work.

In front of the soon-to-be pet store, Cam was fishing out his keys when the door swung open. Clearly dressed for hard labor, Erin gave him a curious look. “Is something funny?”

“No. Why?”

“You were grinning just now.”

“Just remembering someone.”

“Oh.” Stepping back, she let him walk through. “Anyone I know?”

He knew that fake-careless tone well, and he couldn't keep back a chuckle. “Not a girl, if that's what you're after.”

“I'm not after anything,” she informed him airily. “Just making conversation.”

“Uh-huh. So where's my apprentice?”

“Dead asleep upstairs. While we have some time, I was thinking you and I could block out those designs we settled on last night and make a list of what we need.”

“Funny,” he said, showing her the bag he'd brought with him. “I was thinking we'd start with breakfast.”

“I already ate.”

Her clipped tone alerted him to some kind of trouble in Erin-land, and in light of their conversation the night before, he was instantly concerned. When she didn't offer any kind of explanation, he decided she didn't feel like sharing whatever it was. He thought he'd done a pretty fair job as a sounding board, so her reluctance to confide in him now bothered him. Then again, despite having grown up with his mother and younger sister, women were notoriously difficult for him to understand. If anyone doubted that for even a second, they could ask his ex-wife.

Hoping to draw her out with some well-placed sarcasm, he said, “Then I guess that leaves more for me.”

He set her coffee on the work bench and strolled down to the other end. Pulling up one of the stools, he made a decent show of ignoring her. The trouble with that was, he couldn't quite keep his eyes off her.

The skinny tomboy he'd spent his teenage years harassing had matured into a more feminine version of her brothers, slender but strong. Her light brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail that fell down her back in waves that made him think of honey. While she sipped her coffee and flipped through their rough sketches making notes, he couldn't help noticing the snap of intelligence in her eyes.

Unfortunately, there was a hint of desperation there, too, as if she was forcing herself to concentrate on something besides whatever was bothering her. Cam could relate to that, and after several minutes, he decided he couldn't just sit there and watch her struggle without at least trying to help her.

“Erin.”

She didn't even glance his way. “What?”

“Look at me.”

“Why?”

The woman would try the patience of a man far more tolerant than he. Rather than repeat himself and have her continue to give him the cold shoulder, he got up and walked down to stand in front of her. When that didn't work, he went down on his knee in the sawdust and looked up at her. “Tell me what's wrong.”

The eyes that met his flooded with a disturbing combination of anger and fear, but she quickly masked it with the flinty look he'd gotten from her more times than he cared to recall. “Haven't you got enough problems of your own?”

“I think I can manage one more.” The urge to take her in his arms and comfort her was almost overwhelming. To avoid the temptation, he pulled away to a more respectable distance. Sitting on the floor, he stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. “Try me.”

“I talked to Parker's social worker, Alice, this morning. She said the agency is concerned about me losing my job.”

“The judge retired. That's not the same as getting fired. And you've got that severance he paid you.”

“It's not a steady income, and she said that while she knows I have plenty of support here, my current situation doesn't look good on paper. If she can't convince the committee otherwise, they can actually declare me a bad risk and put him back into the foster system.”

Her miserable tone said more than any words possibly could. Fortunately for Cam, she wasn't the weepy type. He wasn't sure he could keep it together if this intelligent, strong-willed woman started to cry. “So, you need a job until the store opens.”

“Yes, but it has to be something that won't interfere with getting this place ready. Not to mention, with Christmas over, things here in Oaks Crossing will be slowing way down. Local businesses aren't exactly hiring right now.”

“I don't know about that,” he commented, letting out a grin. “You still remember how to wait tables?”

She stared at him as if he'd sprouted another head. “What?”

“One of our servers is a college girl headed back to school at the end of January, so I could use some breakfast help at the Oaks. Y'know, a country girl who doesn't mind getting up early and charming our customers into buying an extra order of bacon.”

“You'd hire me?”

Her astonishment caught him off guard, and he frowned. “Any reason I shouldn't?”

“Well, not really. Except that we don't like each other.”