The Next Little Thing (Jackson Falls #4) (9 page)

"Are you okay with all of this?" he said.  "With
Emma?"

She shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

He lifted his arm and looped it around her shoulders. "It'll
change things for all of us.  But you do realize that this makes no difference
in the way Casey and I feel about you?  We love you.  You're an essential part
of our family."

She gave it some thought.  "I know."

"Promise me something.  Promise that if you do have any
problem with this, if you ever feel like we're neglecting you in favor of Emma,
you'll come to us and tell us how you feel."

"Have I ever failed to tell you how I feel?"

"Good point."

"So…how much more of this shindig do we have to suffer
through before they all go home?"

"I set a two-hour time limit, and made sure that everybody
understood I was serious. Except my parents.  Casey won't let me throw them
out.  She's decided they have special privileges."  He checked his watch. 
"Another half-hour, give or take, and the rest of them should be
gone."

Paige sighed. Then, to his surprise, she leaned her head against
his shoulder.  Touched by her unexpected show of affection, he slouched onto
his tailbone and tilted his head against hers.

"I can probably survive another half-hour," she said.

And together, they waited it out.

Casey

They were finally gone, all of them but Mary and Patrick.

It had been a wonderful couple of hours, filled with warmth, love,
laughter, and a few tears, but Casey had to admit that the gathering had badly
depleted her waning resources.  She sat in her chair, feet tucked beneath her,
hands clutching the cup of Earl Grey her mother-in-law had brought her along
with a grilled cheese sandwich.  Mary had cut the crusts off the bread, just
the way Casey liked them. Considering the size of the MacKenzie clan, she
marveled at how well Rob's mother remembered everyone's little quirks.  Mary
was a godsend.  Right now, she was rocking a sleeping Emma. While Casey was
immensely grateful for the reprieve, her stomach was grateful for the sandwich.

Patrick had gone outside a while ago to check out the property,
and this was the first time she'd had a moment alone with her mother-in-law.
Mary MacKenzie, with her maternal warmth and wisdom, was the closest thing she
had to a mother.  Casey had lost her own mother when she was fifteen, and after
she married Danny, Mary had opened her arms to both of them, treating them like
her own children. Sometimes she thought Rob took his mother for granted.  But
then, he'd never been faced with that kind of loss.  Casey knew how fragile
life could be; she'd certainly endured enough loss in her life.  She adored
Mary MacKenzie, and the feeling was mutual. When she married Rob two years ago,
it had been a wonderful bonus, her longtime dear friend becoming her
mother-in-law. Mary had always been family, but now it was official. "You
will stay the night, won't you?" she said.

"I'm not sure how that hard-headed son of mine will feel
about that.  It seems he's got himself in some kind of snit. What's that all
about?"

Casey took a sip of Earl Grey.  "So I'm not imagining it?  I
honestly have no idea.  He hasn't said a word to me about it, but something's
up with him." She idly rubbed her thumb back and forth over the violets
that circled the rim of her teacup. "Please don't let that stop you. I
want you here. If the guest room bed isn't set up yet, Rob and Patrick can put
it together in five minutes."

She had no clue where her husband had disappeared to.  Generally
the life of the party, he'd been unnaturally subdued all afternoon.  At various
points during the gathering, she'd caught every one of his sisters looking at
him speculatively. But as far as she could tell, nobody had said anything. He'd
spent most of the time hovering over her and Emma like a mother bird with a
nest of babies. Until finally, when she couldn't take it any longer, she'd sent
him out to look for Paige.  Whether or not he found her was anyone's guess, since
he hadn't come back.

"Is everything all right between the two of you?" Mary
said.

"As far as I know, it is. But it's not like him to be this
quiet."

"Well, you know him.  Whatever it is, he'll stew over it
until it boils over, and then he'll spill his guts.  He was that way when he
was eight, and he's still that way, thirty years later."

It was a pretty accurate description of her husband.  Still, in
her post-partum state, with hormones zinging right and left, she couldn't help
her rampant paranoia.  He'd been himself right up until Emma was born, and then
the aliens had moved in and taken over his body.  Since she couldn't imagine it
was Emma who'd offended him, it had to be her. If it was her, didn't she have a
right to know why? Of course, Mary was right.  Rob would brood over whatever
was eating at him, build up a head of steam, and then it would erupt in one of
his epic meltdowns.

The front door opened and, shadowed by his sixteen-year-old
daughter, the husband in question came into the house. "Speak of the
devil," his mother muttered.

He raised his eyebrows.  "What?"

"Nothing.  Your wife's been looking for you, that's
all."

His gaze swung in Casey's direction, and she saw concern in those
green eyes.  "Babe?  Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine.  Where were you?"

"I took a little drive, and then I sat on the porch swing
with Paige.  The crowd was starting to get to me.  I'm not in a very sociable
mood today.  I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize.  Paige, come here and sit with
me.  I've spent the last two hours wondering where you were."

"I think Dad's mood is contagious."  Paige crossed the
room and perched on the arm of her chair.  "I snuck out before you got
here.  I couldn't deal with all those people.  Not two days in a row."

She carefully studied her stepdaughter's face.  "And that's
all there is to it?"

"Yesterday was a zoo." Paige kept her face deliberately
blank.  "I had to get away from the crowd.  That's all."

And Mikey
, Casey thought. 
Especially Mikey
. 
Precisely what had happened between her stepdaughter and her favorite nephew
was none of her business, but it had blasted a hole in Paige's heart, and
they'd spent the last six months avoiding each other.  She suspected that his
presence here today had been the primary contributing factor in Paige's
disappearance.  Love, especially at such a young age, could be so painful. She
suspected her stepdaughter had jumped into love too quickly, and with her whole
heart.  Young girls had a way of doing that.  It was what she'd done with Danny;
she'd married him three days after they met. Looking back, it was hard to
believe she'd been so young.  And so naïve.

But that was then, and this was now.  "So," she said,
"I hear you organized this whole move. All by yourself."

Her stepdaughter shrugged.  "No big deal.  Trish helped me
yesterday. Everybody helped."

"But you're the one who planned it and put it all
together."

"I just thought it would be easier for you.  You know, not
having to deal with a new baby and moving, all at the same time."

Mary said, "That was thoughtful of you, Paige.  You have a
big heart, like your father."

Paige squirmed uncomfortably on the chair arm.  She wasn't used to
effusive praise, and she didn't know how to deal with it. 

"I didn't mean to put you on the spot," Casey said. 
"I just wanted you to know I appreciate what you did.  All the effort that
went into it. And I wanted to tell you how proud I am to be able to call you my
stepdaughter."  She set down her teacup and opened her arms. "Come
give me a hug."

Paige flushed bright red, but her hug was warm and sincere.  And
Casey, still loaded with pregnancy hormones, felt her eyes begin to water.

"I have to go," Paige said. "Leroy's been shut in
his crate for hours.  I need to walk him."

Paige's little mixed-breed dog had quickly established his place
in the family. "Of course," she said.  "You should let him loose
when you come back.  There's no need for him to be cooped up, now that
everyone's gone."

Paige scooted up the stairs to her room.  "She's a good
girl," Mary observed.  "A little prickly on the outside, but a heart
as big as all outdoors on the inside."

"It was rough at first," she said. "But we always
had faith in her.  I think that made all the difference."

Rob kicked off his shoes and crossed the room.  Kneeling in front
of his wife, he touched her cheek and said, "You look wiped out."

"I'm tired," she said.  "I'll be fine.  You know
me.  Tough as an old mule."

"You just gave birth.  You need some down time.  It was
probably a bad idea, this whole get-together.  It was too much for you."

"Don't be ridiculous.  I was thrilled to see everyone."

"So was I.  But not at your expense.  Come on.  I'm taking
you upstairs so you can nap for a while."

"I'll sleep tonight.  I'm visiting with your mother right
now."

"She'll still be here when you wake up."  He stood, bent
over her, and with no effort at all, scooped her up into his arms as though she
weighed nothing.

Her mouth fell open. "What the hell do you think you're you
doing, MacKenzie?"

"I told you.  I'm taking you upstairs for a nap."

"But, the baby—"

"My mother will watch the baby.  She's not exactly clueless
when it comes to kids. She raised nine of ‘em."

"Put me down, for God's sake.  I'm capable of walking.  I
gave birth, I'm not an invalid."

"Complaints, complaints. Ma, I'll be back down in a few
minutes."

"Take your time," his mother said.  "Emma and I are
just fine."

Casey said, "If you drop me going up those stairs, Flash, I
swear to God I'll—"

"Better hold on tight, then."

She wound her arms more tightly around his neck, just in case. 
"This is ridiculous," she said weakly, as he started up the oak
staircase.

"Humor me, Fiore.  I never got to carry you over the
threshold.  Let me have my moment of glory."

She held on for dear life as he climbed the stairs with steadfast
determination. Resting her head against his shoulder, she breathed in his
scent, that wonderful scent that belonged to no other man on the planet.  She
closed her eyes and said, "Are you still in love with me?"

"What kind of batshit crazy question is that?  Have they been
spiking your orange juice at the hospital?"

"It's not crazy. The way you've been acting—"

"Hush your mouth, woman, or I'll take you over my knee and
spank you."

She narrowed her eyes.  "I'm not a little girl," she
said.

"No."  He nudged open the bedroom door with his knee,
crossed the room, and gently lowered her to the bed.  Shadows from the maple
tree outside the window danced in delightful patterns across the wall.
"You're definitely not a little girl."

"So why are you treating me like one?"

He pulled off her left shoe, then her right, and dropped them in
an untidy pile on the floor.  "When you argue with me," he said,
draping a blanket over her, "I have to straighten you out. It's my duty as
your husband."

She opened her mouth to straighten him out, but realized she was
too tired to argue. Her eyelids fluttered closed and, fighting sleep, she
forced them back open. Looking into his eyes, she said, "I love you. With
all my heart."

He brought two fingertips to his lips, kissed them, then pressed
them to her lips.  "Sleep," he said.

"If the baby gets hungry—"

"I'll wake you.  The baby's fine."

"Lie down with me? Just for a little bit?"

Those green eyes of his softened.  He dropped one bony hip to the
mattress, scrabbled over to where she lay, and drew her into his arms. His
breath warm against her neck, he whispered, "Sleep."

And she slept.

* * *

When she awoke, she was alone. Shadows still danced on the wall,
but their placement told her that a couple of hours had passed.  Rob had stayed
with her until she fell asleep, but at some point, he'd left.  The smell of
something wonderful cooking wended its way up the stairs, and she said a silent
prayer of thanks for Mary MacKenzie.

Rob and his dad were in the living room, watching the evening
news.  She bypassed them, detouring through the dining room to the kitchen. When
she tiptoed into the room, Mary lit up. "I was just about to send Paige up
to wake you," she said.  "Dinner'll be ready in a few minutes.  I
just changed the baby.  I thought you'd want to feed her first."

Mary had whipped up quite a meal—roast chicken with mashed
potatoes and homemade gravy, fresh carrots, yeast rolls.  Simple, old-fashioned
home cooking that made Casey's mouth water.  But when Emma had been fed and the
rest of the family was finally at the table, she found it difficult to eat. Rob
was a dark, silent presence, speaking only when asked a question.  Even then,
his answers were curt and brief. The vibrations he was broadcasting were odd,
dark. His mood colored the entire meal, and as his silence built, so did her
panic, until her stomach felt bloated and hard and miserable. She picked at her
food, the déjà vu so strong she could almost taste it.  This was too
reminiscent of the time, early in their marriage, when Danny had gone silent,
suddenly and without explanation.  He, too, had still held her in his arms
while she slept.  But during their waking hours, he'd hidden behind an
invisible wall so solid she'd been unable to scale it. She'd been so young
then, just twenty-two years old. Young and naïve and desperately in love, too
afraid to confront her husband for fear of what she might learn. Instead, she
had stewed and fretted for months. And when the truth finally came out, when
she finally discovered the reason for his silence—that he'd cheated on her—it
had nearly destroyed their marriage.

Not that Rob would cheat on her, not in a million years. He wasn't
Danny.  But this was frightening nevertheless, because Rob never kept anything
from her.  They shared their feelings with nauseating regularity.  Although
that wasn't precisely true, now that she thought about it.  Her husband labored
under the misconception that, lacking the facial features and the body of a
god, he was somehow inferior to her first husband.  He'd spent the first
sixteen months of their marriage believing, despite evidence to the contrary,
that Danny still took first place in her heart and that he came in a poor
second.  He hadn't told her this because he was terrified he'd lose her if he
gave voice to his inner fears.  It had taken a massive blow-up, after he
reached boiling point, before they'd succeeded in resolving that little issue.