Reunion Pass: An Eternity Springs novel (4 page)

“Veal spiedini.” Ali Timberlake lifted her hand to touch his cheek, studying him intently with her blue-eyed gaze. “I fed you lasagna last week. And sent you away with leftovers.”

“I polished those off for breakfast on New Year’s. Veal spiedini is awesome, though.”

His father scowled at him. “Hey. Your mother didn’t plan for an extra mouth to feed tonight. Don’t think you’re getting any of my share.”

“Have you used the electric broom Dad gave you for Christmas, yet, Mom?”

“Smart-ass.” Mac dipped a spoon in Ali’s sauce and tasted it. “That’s spectacular, Alison. You’ve tweaked the spices again, haven’t you? And I don’t know why I’m catching so much grief over the broom. You said you wanted one.”

“You’re right. I did. I know I’ll enjoy it, too. Now, talk to us, Chase. I can see that something’s wrong. Why the surprise visit?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Everything is great, actually. Just a change in plans.”

His parents shared a look, then his father asked in a casual tone, “Wedding related?”

“Yes.” He met his mother’s gaze, gave her a crooked, bashful grin, and dropped his bombshell. “We need to postpone it.”

For a full half a minute, the only sound to be heard was the sizzle in his mother’s frying pan. Then Ali asked, “Postpone? You’re not canceling?”

Chase heard the hopeful note in her voice and tried not to feel annoyed. He knew his family thought he was making a mistake with Lana, but they didn’t know the real woman beneath the public façade. In time, they’d come to see her for the wonderful woman she was. Different from Mom—about a hundred eighty degrees different—but wonderful.

“No, we’re not canceling. Just pushing back the date.”

“And you just made this decision now?” his father asked.

“This date has been on the calendar for months,” Ali pointed out. “The invitations have already gone out.”

Chase’s gaze slid away from his mother’s. She’d done a ton of work to pull the wedding together, all at Lana’s request. The reality was that his bride would have been just as happy to elope to Las Vegas. She’d agreed to an Eternity Springs wedding for his sake. Since his mother was a pro when it came to social arrangements, turning arrangements over to her had seemed like the perfect solution. Now, Chase couldn’t help but feel guilty.

“I’m really sorry, Mom. You’ve put a ton of work into the wedding, and I feel like a schlub. The timing is unfortunate…” he began.

Mac Timberlake snorted softly.

“… but something has come up at work. It’s big, something Thrillseekers, Inc., has been working on for a long time.”

“Work? This is work related? Not relationship related?” His mother folded her arms, and her voice climbed an octave. “You’re canceling the wedding because of a cable TV show?”

“That cable TV show is my job, Mother,” Chase fired back. “It pays my bills. Very nicely, I might add.”

Mac warned, “Watch it there, boyo. Respect your mother.”

“Sorry.” Chase dragged his fingers through his hair. As a rule, he didn’t care what other people thought about his job, but his parents weren’t just other people.

And they were going to hate what he had to tell them.

So man up, Timberlake. Spit it out.
Chase cleared his throat. “The government of Chizickstan has agreed to issue visas to Thrillseekers, Inc. We’ll film three episodes of the show there, and then…” He drew a deep breath and spoke the sentence he still didn’t believe was coming true. “Tibet. The monks of Kambantota Monastery have given us permission to film a white-water trip through Hidden River Gorge.”

His mother, of course, focused on the part he’d known she’d hate the most. “Chizickstan?” Ali threw a worried glance toward his dad. “A ‘stan’ country?”

“Where is that?” Mac asked.

“It shares a border with Afghanistan.”

Ali’s complexion went pale and her voice trembled as she asked, “You’re going to Afghanistan?”

“No, Mom. I’m going to Chizickstan. Two completely different countries.”

“But both war zones,” his father fired back.

“No. The part of Chizickstan we’re visiting isn’t a war zone.”

“But it
is
tribal territory.”

Chase nodded, conceding the point.

Mac asked, “How long will you be gone?”

“A couple months there. A couple months in Tibet.”

“If you ever get to Tibet,” Ali said, her tone bitter.

Mac touched the small of his wife’s back, offering silent support. Chase hated seeing his mother so shaken, and he was almost relieved when color flooded back into her face even though he knew from experience that her temper was about to blow.

Sure enough, anger flashed in her eyes. She lifted her chin and shot her words like bullets. “I thought the show’s producers said no more filming in areas of political unrest.”

“The shooting in Argentina could just as easily have happened on the streets of Atlanta,” he said defensively.

“At least there are hospitals in Atlanta.”

“A doctor travels with us, Mom. Our mobile medical unit is fully equipped.”

“That will give us so much comfort when you are captured by terrorists.”

“Mom…”

She picked up a wooden spoon and gave her sauce a vicious stir. It tore Chase up to see how he’d upset her. He loved his mother to distraction, and he knew she worried about him. Chase gave his father a pleading glance, but one look at the torque in his father’s chiseled jaw convinced him he’d find no ally in that quarter.

“So this was the reason behind the Aspen trip?” his father asked, having put the clues together.

“Yes. The producer got word on Christmas Day and made the announcement at the New Year’s Eve party.”

Ali looked at her husband. “You shouldn’t have turned down that job you were offered in New York, Mac. If Chase had grown up in New York he wouldn’t love mountain climbing and river riding so much. He’d be gambling with other people’s money on Wall Street instead of gambling with his life in a war zone.”

“Now, Mom—”

“No! Just no! I’ve been supportive of your adventures since you were a little boy, but after Argentina…” She drew a deep breath and exhaled harshly. “You promised me no more politically dicey areas, Michael Chase. You promised me.”

“I know, Mom. And I’m sorry, but this particular project predates my promise.” A note of entreaty entered his voice as he added, “It’s the most famous stretch of white water in the world. It hasn’t been filmed since the sixties. This is the opportunity of a lifetime. It’s my Everest, Mom. It’s the Hidden River Gorge!”

“Go there first then,” she fired back, a sheen of moisture in her eyes. “Go raft your way to Shangri-La. Don’t go to Hellistan.”

Chase closed his eyes. “I can’t, Mom. This is my job.”

The front doorbell rang, and Ali set down her wooden spoon hard before marching out of the kitchen. Chase dragged his fingers through his hair. “That went well.”

“She tries, Chase. I don’t think you can appreciate just how difficult it is to parent a child who walks on the wild side, so to speak.”

“I outgrew childhood a long time ago.”

“And when you’re in your seventies, you will still be your mother’s child, and she will continue to worry about you. No sense fighting it. It’s the price you pay for having such a spectacular mom.”

“I know she’s spectacular. I just wish she’d spread some of the worry wealth around. She doesn’t give Caitlin or Stephen as hard a time as she gives me.”

“Stephen is a corporate lawyer. The most dangerous thing he does is play pickup basketball at the Y on Saturday morning. As far as your sister goes … your mother worries about her plenty. The girl changes boyfriends as often as she changes jobs. However, emotional happiness and physical safety are two different beasts. Every time the phone rings showing a number we don’t recognize, we expect it to be someone calling with horrific news concerning your safety.”

“Dad, that’s—”

“Reality. Look, I’m not trying to bust your balls here. I just want to explain where your mother is coming from. Her emotions are especially volatile these days. This was the first Christmas since her father’s death, you didn’t make it home for Christmas Day, and your wedding is right around the corner. Or at least, it
was
right around the corner.”

“I love my job, Dad. I’m good at it. But I don’t like knowing that I disappoint you and Mom.”

“You don’t disappoint us, Chase. Don’t think that. We’re happy that you’ve found a career that suits your talents and interests and allows you to indulge your wanderlust. Honestly, we are. That said, having a thrill-seeking son with wanderlust is difficult for a parent. We can’t help but wish your path kept you a little closer to home—and out of certain parts of the world.”

“Dad, we hire security. We don’t take stupid chances. The show’s safety record is unparalleled. Remind Mom of that, would you?”

“I will. But you have to do your part, too. You can’t go weeks on end without checking in. When you’re off in some remote corner of the world and weeks pass without a word from you, our imaginations conjure up some unsettling scenarios.”

Rightfully so, Chase thought, recalling a certain gun battle in Argentina.

“You have to check in,” Mac continued. “Often.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Don’t break this promise.”

“I won’t, Dad.”

Both Timberlake men turned toward the kitchen door to see Ali return with their visitor, and Chase’s night went from bad to bad
and
awkward. Pasting on a smile, he lied, “Well, this is a nice surprise. Hello, Lori.”

*   *   *

She almost burst out laughing when Ali told her Chase was in the kitchen. Chase, alone, without his bride-to-be. Had she known that this was what she’d find at the Timberlakes’ home when she accepted Ali’s dinner invitation, she’d have brought a bottle of Scotch instead of a nice Chianti along with the lemon cream pie from Fresh that her mother said Ali particularly enjoyed.

She had exchanged a few words with Chase on a handful of occasions since their nonbreakup—always small talk, always when they both were part of a crowd, always when she’d anticipated his presence at an event and prepared herself to see him. Tonight was different.

Tonight he’d popped up unexpectedly like the clown in a child’s jack-in-the-box. She’d always found that particular toy scary. Pasting on what she hoped was a bright smile rather than a fake one, she said, “Hi, Chase. I thought you went to Vail.”

“No.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Aspen.”

“Ah. That’s right. More TV people in Aspen than in Vail.”

“It’s nice to see you. We didn’t get a chance to speak at the bowl game party the other night.”

No, they hadn’t. She’d worked hard make it so. Not that he’d gone out of his way to try to talk to her, either. In fact, at the time she’d sensed that he worked as hard to avoid her as she had him. “Good parties are like that.”

She handed the bottle of wine to Mac who glanced at the label and said, “Nice. One of our favorites. Shall I open it?”

“Please.” Lori turned to Ali. “Dinner smells delicious. What can I do to help?”

Standing at the stove, Ali glanced over her shoulder.
She looks a little pale,
Lori thought. And her voice trembled slightly when she spoke. “The veal has a couple more minutes to go, but everything else is ready. We’re eating in the family room tonight. I wanted to enjoy the Christmas tree one more time before we take it down. Chase, you need to set a place for yourself.”

“All right.”

Judging by the clipped tone of his words and the misery on Ali’s face and tightness in Mac’s jaw, Lori had walked into a minefield.
Wonderful. Just wonderful. This keeps getting better and better.

Ali’s gaze followed Chase as he left the kitchen, a plate and silverware in hand. The smile she turned toward Lori was genuine, but sad. “Actually, what I’d like most of all is to think about something positive. Why don’t you sit down and talk to me about what has brought you up the mountain to our home on this cold winter night. Your mother said you have a big decision to make?”

“I do. I am considering a number of fabulous offers, and one of them would mean a serious lifestyle change for me—relocating to a big city. Permanently.”

“You ready to become a big-city girl, Lori?” Mac asked.

“I don’t know. I’m still weighing my options. I told Mom I wanted to talk to you about your big-city experience since you still have your place in Denver, but that’s not really why I’m here today. I want to plan a special event, a surprise party, and I’m hoping you’ll help.”

“Of course I’ll help,” Ali said, her expression brightening. Actually, it more than brightened. Lori got the sense that she’d thrown the other woman a lifeline. “I assume this is a surprise party for your folks?”

“Not exactly.” Lori smiled her thanks when Mac set a glass of wine in front of her. “When I graduate in May, it will be due in large part to the efforts of two people—Mom and Nic Callahan. I want to do something special to thank them and recognize them and show them how much I appreciate all they’ve done for me. Nobody plans a party better than you, Ali, but you are also one of the busiest women I’ve ever met. Between the traveling you and Mac do and running the restaurant and all of your volunteer work—I’m sure your calendar stays booked.”

Ali’s gaze drifted toward the family room doorway, and Lori thought she detected a hint of bitterness in her voice when she said, “Oh, you’d be surprised about how dates can open up.”

Then she gave her head a visible shake and continued, “What sort of party are you thinking about and when would you like to have it?”

“I’d like to do a dinner party. My first choice is to have it at your restaurant—you know how much I love the Yellow Kitchen—but I’m afraid I might have waited too late to make my reservation for a Saturday night in May.”

“You want the private dining room?”

“Actually, I’m afraid that wouldn’t be enough room.” Lori smiled bashfully and added, “Once I started my guest list, I quickly realized everyone I want to invite won’t fit in the private dining room. What I’d like to do is give you my budget and guest list and turn all the arrangements over to you. I’ve been saving my pennies.”