1105 Yakima Street (25 page)

“Okay, let’s go.” Cliff said, coat on and car keys in hand.

Grace stood there, immobilized.

He waited at the door. “You coming?”

“Yes.” She forced herself to take one step and then another. Each step required effort and determination. The carrier was still on the floor. She’d have to reach down and pick it up… .

“Are you coming or not?” Cliff asked.

“I said I was.” Bending down, looking at Beau, with his dark eyes focused directly on her, she tried to reassure him and herself that this was for the best. “Katie and Drake are going to love you so much.”

Unblinking, Beau stared up at her.

“Grace.” Cliff’s voice was gentle. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

She started to assure him it was and then realized she couldn’t. “No,” she whispered. “This isn’t what I want at all.” Just saying the words seemed to free her. “I do love Beau.”

“I know. You couldn’t help yourself any more than I could.” Cliff came over and put his arms around her, hugging her. “Does that mean we can keep him?”

“He isn’t Buttercup.”

“No, he’s not. He’s Beau. Our Beau.”

“Our Beau,” she agreed. She knelt down, opening the zipper to his carrier.

Beau leaped right into her arms.

“I
don’t know about this,” Lori told Linc as she set a tray of decorated sugar cookies on the coffee table. She rubbed her hands nervously together.

Linc had his own reservations, but was unwilling to say so. “It’ll be fine,” he said confidently. “Don’t worry.”

Lori looked unconvinced. “If this is a disaster, then…”

“I’ll accept full responsibility.”

“No, you won’t,” she said, coming to stand at his side. “I went along with this idea of yours. So if everything goes down in flames, I’m going down with you.”

His wife didn’t seem to hold out much hope. Linc, on the other hand, believed there was at least a chance this would all work out.

“Dad might not even come,” Lori said, which was one objection she’d raised when Linc had first suggested setting up a meeting between her parents. Kate didn’t know her husband would be there, otherwise she’d never have agreed to visit.

“He’ll be here.”

“But you only talked to him that once. You said it hadn’t gone well.”

“Your father and I still have some ground to cover,
but one thing came through loud and clear. He loves your mother.”

“But Mom’s already filed for divorce.”

“I’m fairly sure your father’s heard about that.” Linc’s biggest concern was that Kate would be upset with Lori. Still, they’d deal with that if they had to.

“Is the coffee ready?” Lori asked, glancing into the kitchen.

“It’s finished brewing.” So far they hadn’t done much entertaining, not counting Mary Jo, Mack and Noelle. They were family, though… . Well, so were Kate and Leonard, but that was different. They were
estranged
family, which made everything a lot more tense.

Lori had cleaned the duplex until Linc thought she’d scrub the paint off the walls. The kitchen floor shone so brightly he could almost see his reflection, and the furniture had been polished until it gleamed. They’d put up their small Christmas tree the day before and Lori had spent hours decorating it. She’d done a lovely job, too. Linc had tried to help but Lori wanted to do it her way and he was just as glad to let her.

At precisely two o’clock the doorbell chimed. Lori jumped as though it had caught her completely off guard. She grabbed Linc’s forearm. “You answer that, okay?”

He kissed her cheek. “Relax,” he whispered.

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered back.

Linc went to the door. Leonard stood on the other side, a frown darkening his face. “What’s all this about?”

Linc didn’t reply as he opened the screen door. “I see you’re right on time.”

“I didn’t get where I am in the world by showing up late.”

“Hi, Daddy.” Lori stood in the middle of the room, clenching her hands. “Welcome to our home.”

Leonard looked around and whether he approved or disapproved he didn’t say.

“Would you care to have a seat?” Linc asked.

“No. You said Kate would be here.”

“She will be…” Lori told him. “Unless she recognizes your car and decides to leave.”

Bellamy’s gaze shot directly to Linc. “She doesn’t know I’m coming?”

Linc shook his head. “We figured it would be best not to tell her.”

Leonard walked over to the window and gazed out. “She had divorce papers served to me on Friday.”

“I know,” Lori said.

“She refuses to talk to me and then she has the gall to send a clerk from some Seattle law office to serve me with papers.”

“Aren’t you grateful for the chance to talk to Mom?”

“Damn straight I am. I’ll give her a piece of my mind. We’ve been married all these years and she can’t talk to me? Her own husband?”

“Daddy,” Lori interjected sweetly. “I don’t think it’ll do much good to yell at Mom.”

“I’m not yelling,” he shouted.

Lori winced and Linc moved to her side. He’d learned a valuable lesson about his father-in-law this past week. Bellamy barked loudly but rarely bit. However, when he did bite, he bit hard. Linc had the teeth marks to prove it.

“Mom doesn’t like it when you yell.”

“Apparently your mother finds more than the tone of my voice objectionable,” Leonard said, lowering his voice.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Linc asked.

“You don’t have anything stronger?”

“No, Daddy, we don’t, especially this early in the afternoon.”

“Then I’ll take the coffee.” He sat down on the sofa and let his hands fall between his parted knees. “When should we expect your mother?” He glanced at his watch as he asked.

“Any minute,” Linc said from the kitchen. Ever the optimist he poured four cups. No sooner had he finished than the doorbell rang again.

Lori answered it this time. Linc remained in the kitchen and watched as Bellamy got to his feet.

Kate stepped inside, stopping abruptly when she saw her husband. “I didn’t realize there’d be other guests,” she said coldly. She stiffened as if to prepare for a confrontation. “I wondered if that was your car out there, but I didn’t think it could be. I can’t believe my own daughter would set me up like this.”

Lori looked anxious but Leonard ignored the comment. “Hello, Kate.”

Linc sighed with relief. At least Leonard wasn’t yelling.

She gave a curt nod. “Lenny.”

Linc suspected Kate was the only woman in the world who could address Bellamy as “Lenny.” He carried the coffee into the living room and handed Leonard and Kate each a mug before returning for the other two. Both declined cream or sugar.

Earlier he’d brought two kitchen chairs into the small living room so there’d be four places to sit. Linc and Lori sat down on the chairs, leaving Kate and Leonard no choice but to take the sofa. They sat as far away from each other as possible.

“Would anyone like a cookie?” Lori asked, hopping to her feet a moment later and picking up the plate.

Kate shook her head.

“None for me.” Leonard held up his hand, palm out.

Lori sat down as though disappointed. She turned to Linc, her eyes pleading with him to say or do something to ease the tension in the room.

“I’d like to propose a toast,” Linc said.

The two older people regarded him skeptically.

“To marriage.” Linc didn’t wait for anyone to chime in, but raised the mug to his lips.

They each took a small sip. Linc noticed that Kate clung tightly to the mug handle and focused all her attention on her coffee. Leonard, on the other hand, kept staring at his wife as if he couldn’t stop himself.

“I didn’t know if you were aware of the fact that I went to see Leonard this week,” Linc said to his mother-in-law.

“No,” Kate told him. “Lori didn’t say anything about it.”

“I would have, Mom, but anytime I mentioned Dad you said you didn’t want to hear his name again.”

“I didn’t and I don’t,” she snapped.

Rather than allow the two women to get sidetracked, Linc continued. “We had a nice, long chat. Isn’t that right, Leonard?”

“We, uh, did,” Bellamy said.

“What I found interesting was the story of your courtship.” Linc paused and waited for some reaction. “Kate had talked about a few things, but Leonard filled in the blanks.”

“That was a long time ago,” Kate said, then added pointedly, “When I was young and foolish and didn’t know any better.”

“We were both young and foolish.” Leonard took another sip of coffee and set the mug aside.

For just an instant, Linc feared the other man was
about to walk out. Fortunately, though, Leonard sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“That conversation made me understand why Leonard and I started off on the wrong foot.” Linc reached between the two chairs to link hands with Lori. “Leonard worked hard to prove himself to your family, didn’t he, Kate?”

“He did,” she agreed begrudgingly.

“How many years did it take?”

“A few… I’ve forgotten now.”

Linc would bet that Kate knew, right down to the day.

“Five,” Bellamy supplied. “Five long years.”

“Lori and I didn’t wait,” Linc said. “We each saw what we wanted and went for it. That was a mistake, and one I’ve regretted ever since.”

“You regret marrying me?” Lori asked, wide-eyed with shock.

Linc squeezed her hand. “Not for one second.”

“Give yourself time,” her mother interjected. “The regrets will come.”

“Kate,” Leonard said in a sharp voice. “Can’t you see how much in love these two are? Don’t disillusion them.”

“What I regret, Lori,” Linc said to clarify his statement, “is that I didn’t go to your parents and give them an opportunity to meet me first.”

“I didn’t want you to meet them,” Lori insisted.

“I know,” Linc said, “but I shouldn’t have listened. I should’ve followed my instincts.”

“You didn’t want him to meet us?” Kate asked, staring at her daughter, her expression aghast.

“No, I didn’t,” Lori said again. “I was afraid you’d tell me what bad judgment I’d shown with Geoff and that you couldn’t trust me to find a good man and…and I didn’t want you to try to talk me out of marrying Linc.”

“In other words, you didn’t care what we thought,” Leonard said. His arms remained crossed.

“I did but…” Lori didn’t finish.

“None of that’s important now,” Linc continued. “Lori and I are married, and while Leonard and I still have some way to go in building a relationship, I believe we’ve come to terms.”

“Have we, now?” Bellamy arched his brows.

“I believe we have,” Linc returned calmly. “We just got off to a rocky start.”

“You mean you’re willing to forgive and forget everything my husband—my soon-to-be-
ex
-husband—did to sabotage you and your business?” Kate asked aggressively.

Linc met his father-in-law’s look head-on. “I’m willing to forget it because when I stopped to analyze Leonard’s reasoning I could see his point.”

Leonard uncrossed his arms and leaned forward.

“This was a man who loved his daughter enough to put an upstart like me to the test. Hopefully I passed.”

“Frankly, I don’t see why he felt it was necessary to test you at all,” Kate said. “All he had to do was read the investigator’s report to know you’re a good man. But he wouldn’t believe that. Oh, no, he was prepared to risk our relationship with our daughter just to prove he was right. He was absolutely convinced you’d turn out to be underhanded.”

“
What
investigator’s report?” Lori blurted.

Leonard ignored her question. “That was before—”

“Before the two of us talked this week,” Linc finished for him.

Leonard nodded.

“Now, while I was talking to Leonard in his office,
there was something else I learned. Something that struck me as profound.”

Leonard leaned forward again. Kate, too, seemed interested.

“I discovered how much Leonard loves his wife and family. He’s an example of the kind of husband and father I want to be to Lori and our children.” While that was a stretch, it was close enough to the truth. The essential part of his remark was genuine. Leonard might be arrogant and controlling but at heart he wanted the best for his family. His intense desire to protect them sometimes made him oblivious to
their
desires and to their ability to make independent decisions about their own lives.

Kate glanced at her husband and Leonard met her eyes. “It’s true,” he whispered. “I love my wife and my children.” As though he couldn’t stay seated any longer, he jumped to his feet and began to pace. “I suppose that’s why what happened on Friday came as such a shock. I never thought my wife would stop loving me.”

“How can you say that?” Kate retorted. “I’ve loved you all these years, haven’t I?”

“A woman who serves her husband with divorce papers brings that into question.”

“I hope you got the message.”

Leonard turned to face her. “I got it all right, loud and clear. You want to end our marriage and—”

“Mom,” Lori said, cutting off her father. “Do you still love Dad?”

“Of course I do. That’s a ridiculous question.”

“Will you still love me if we’re divorced?” Leonard asked.

“Yes, but I’d learn not to.”

“Which you seem quite willing to do.”

“It’ll be difficult, but I’ll manage.”

“Difficult and completely unnecessary,” Linc inserted. He gestured toward Leonard. “When I went to his office, I found a man who’s lost and broken without his wife.”

Leonard opened his mouth to contradict Linc, but apparently changed his mind.

Kate shook her head. “One thing Lenny’s never been is lost or broken. His pride would carry him for the rest of his life before he’d admit he was wrong.”

“Is that so?” Leonard challenged, glaring at her.

Kate glared right back at him. “Can you admit you made a mistake? And that you regret the way you’ve treated our daughter and her husband?” she demanded.

Leonard looked from his wife to Linc and Lori. “I…might’ve been a bit hasty in judging Linc’s motives for marrying Lori.”

“See what I mean?” Kate muttered. “He’s still not convinced.” She stood and carried her mug into the kitchen. “He hasn’t been able to admit he’s wrong in over thirty years.”

“I…may have jumped to conclusions on occasion,” Leonard said in a loud voice.

“There’s no need to yell, Lenny. My hearing is perfectly good.” She left the kitchen and strode to the front door. “He simply can’t acknowledge when he’s made a mistake.”

Linc frowned at his father-in-law. If Leonard didn’t stop Kate now, there was nothing more Linc could do.

Kate was opening the door when Leonard shouted, “Okay! Okay. Fine, if it’s so important for me to say the words, then I will. I was wrong about Linc and Lori. There. Are you satisfied?”

Kate froze, one foot inside and the other out the door.

“Did you hear me?” Leonard asked.

Slowly she turned toward her husband, her head held high. “Can you apologize?”

Leonard hesitated and his jaw tightened.

“See what I mean?” Kate murmured.

“All right, all right. Linc, I apologize.”

“All is forgotten,” Linc said, and they exchanged a handshake.

“Satisfied
now?
” Leonard asked Kate.

Instead of answering, Kate looked at Lori.