Somebody's Baby (17 page)

Adam touched Josie’s arm, pride and happiness shining from deep within his eyes. “Josie, I…You…Thank you. Not just for what you did for my son but what you’ve done for me. The things you’ve made me realize, the way you’ve helped me look at my world…I…”

Josie held her breath.

“My brain tells me it’s too soon to say this, but it’s really how I feel.” Adam moved close to her and took one of her hands in both of his. “I love you, Josie.”

“Wooo-hooo!” Jed led the cheer that went up through the crowd, when they all began to laugh afterward, even Ophelia joined in.

“Now, you say it back to him, Sweetie Pie,” Warren prodded in a teasingly loud whisper.

Josie wanted to say it, but her voice failed her, so she mouthed it instead.
I love you, too.

Another whoop.

Adam broke into laughter and pulled her into his arms, kissing her temple, her cheek, then lightly, her lips.

The crowd showed their approval with applause this time.

Adam kissed her again, this time on the forehead; then he kissed Nathan on the head, as well, before he took a deep breath and looked at Ophelia. His expression changed to guarded kindness. “I have something more to ask you, Ophelia.”

Ophelia dropped her gaze downward. She spoke softly, guessing, “Why didn’t I tell you about Nathan sooner?”

“No.” He shook his head and stepped away from Josie to face Ophelia fully, sincerely, humbly. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“What?”

He reached out and took her by the hand. “I’m asking for your forgiveness.”

Josie’s heart swelled.

“But…but why?” Ophelia looked past the man and found Josie and Nathan.

“Because it’s what families do,” Josie explained, choking back a sob. “It’s what happens when the lost lamb returns to the fold. We try to make things so they don’t stray again. God loves us and forgives us and so we—we do the same for others.”

Ophelia’s face went blank, no doubt as she tried to process it all.

Josie marveled that she, herself, did not burst into tears.
A family.
An unconventional one, to be sure, but if Ophelia forgave Adam and was open to talking to the two of them, a family they would be.

Adam cleared his throat, which by his standards was probably close to a total emotional breakdown, she suspected.

“Oh, forgive him already! I couldn’t stand it if you didn’t.” Jed scrunched up his whole face, trying to look annoyed, but was unable to hide his emotional investment in it all.

Warren pulled out the red hankie and blew his nose, good and noisy.

Josie laughed. She couldn’t help herself. Adam loved her! He’d made amends with his family. Nathan was going to be hers legally. Ophelia had returned and was open to trying a new way of life.

Sure, the Crumble might still close. Her business might fall as a result. She and Adam might not work out or have a long-term relationship beyond their connection to Nathan, but Josie had the thing she had longed for all her life….

“What do you have to be so happy about?” Ophelia asked.

Josie threw her arms around her sister and gave her a hug, with Nathan still in her arms. “Because I have family. And for the first time I can recall I feel like nothing is going to take that away from me.”

B
y the first week of November all the leaves had changed to brilliant orange, yellow and red. Some had begun to fall, making a trip down a winding mountain road feel like a trip through a confetti-strewn parade route.

Why not? Josie felt she had so much to celebrate.

She strolled to the front door of the Home Cookin’ Kitchen, then turned to look at the prayer list on the wall.

Among the requests for health and job security now read the words Josie never thought she’d see:

“Pray for the Burdett family as they make their big decision.” Warren had been the first to sign that one. Jed next. Then Josie. The list grew and grew and even included Elvie Maloney and Micah Applebee, only two of the most high-profile of the Burdetts’ detractors.

Adam had come last night with his camera phone and taken a photo of the wall scrawled floor to ceiling with names.

“I want to carry this into the meeting,” he had told Josie with a kiss to her cheek.

Josie had returned it with a kiss to his lips. She thought that was a completely acceptable way to send her sweetie off to the meeting that would determine the fate of the family business. Global had done something called a “due diligence.” Conner complained they’d come in and pulled records and files and snooped around everything except their medicine cabinets. Today they would present their offer to the board. Adam was just sitting in as a guest and advisor, but with so much at stake they were all anxious.

The sky had gotten overcast throughout the morning. It threatened to drizzle any minute now. The wind kicked up, and Josie watched a few leaves tumble down from the nearest tree.

Bingo beeped, and she went out to meet him, shivering as she did.

“Sorry, Sweetie Pie, bills mostly but there is one here from your sister.”

“Thanks, Bingo.”

“Hope it’s good news.”

“Me, too.” Josie would save that letter for later. Ophelia had had a setback, but after spending a lot of time with Carol and Cody Burdett, had gone into a residential Christian rehab program.

She thumbed through the rest of the envelopes.

Bingo peered over her shoulder, probably hoping she would read her sister’s letter and share all the news.

“Nothing new on the adoption,” he told her. “Not that I read your mail, you know, but I got to—”

“I know, read the outsides to know what to deliver.” Josie laughed, thanked him and hurried back inside to get out of the autumn chill.

The lack of information did not worry her. The adoption process was well underway and Adam…

Josie looked at the phone and held her breath. This had been one of the longest mornings of her life. The coffee commuters had already come and gone, and she’d even had time to clear away their mess and count up the proceeds. For once the amount not only covered her costs, it gave her enough left over to buy herself a cup of coffee—and not one of her own, the fancy kind in a city coffee shop.

She had counted that twice, then taken some fresh pies out of the oven and served them to the regulars, who gobbled them up, each making comments about her secret ingredient. They’d noticed it this time because Josie had been leaving it out. Or experimenting with different things trying to come up with a substitute. But today, with the Crumble on the line, it only seemed right she’d make her pies with the Carolina Crumble Pattie mixed into the top crust.

Adam should have called with some news by now.

“You ever tell anyone that secret?” Jed poked the last bite of his pie into his mouth.

“What secret?” Warren scraped up the last of the cherry filling on his plate with the side of his fork. “Only secret she’s keeping is when she’s going to wise up, toss over that Burdett and run off and marry me.”

“You old fool. Who in their right mind would toss over a strapping young fellow with a great big inheritance burning a hole in his pocket, just waiting to get reinvested right here in Mt. Knott, for a broken-down ol’ pie hog like you?” Jed laughed.

“He really going to invest in Mt. Knott no matter which way the vote goes at the Crumble, Miss Josie?” Warren wiped his mouth then took a sip of coffee.

“That’s what he says,” she confirmed.

“Good for him.”

“Good for us,” Jed threw in. “’Cuz if the Crumble goes…”

If the Crumble went—meaning the Burdetts sold out and Global shut them down and restricted them using the recipe ever again—then it didn’t matter how much money Adam invested in the town, Josie’s pies would never be the same. And she couldn’t help wondering what would become of other parts of her life?

R-rr-rr-ring!

Josie jumped.

“That might be the call.” Warren slapped his hand on the counter.

“You think so, Captain Obvious?” Jed nudged him with his elbow.

“Hello?” Josie held her breath, expecting to hear Adam on the other end. “Oh,” was all she could muster when she heard the voice of the paper-goods rep on the other end, wanting to know if she needed to place an order. “Nope. Sorry, I still have a bit left over from the barbecue.”

“Not him?” Jed asked.

“Now who’s Captain Obvious?” Warren wanted to know, before he added to cheer Josie up, “Won’t be long now.”

“Can’t draw it out forever,” Jed agreed.

“How long can it take to plan out the future of one family and a whole townful of fine folks?”

“Adam!” It was as if a light had been flicked on and her whole day had turned bright just to see him standing there. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. “What do you know? What did they decide? What happened? Tell me the good news first, okay, sweetie?”

“Yeah, sweetie, tell us the good news first,” Jed and Warren chimed in unison.

“The good news?” Adam’s dark eyes sparkled. He touched Josie’s hair, stroked his thumb along her jaw, then placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Well, I was going to save this for a more-private time, but if you want the good news first…”

“Hurry up!” she demanded, knowing he was toying with her.

“Okay.” He nodded then dropped to one knee before her.

“What?” She looked down at him, confused and more than a little excited. “What are you—”

“Shhh. You asked me to tell you the good news first, right?”

“Right.”

“The good news is that I plan to take care of you and Nathan for the rest of your lives, no matter what happens at the Crumble or with our extended families. And toward that end—” he reached inside his black leather jacket and pulled free a small red velvet box “—Josie Redmond, will you marry me?”

Josie held her breath. She had imagined him coming in here and telling her everything from they had saved the business to telling her he had to ride off on his Harley, never to return. But this?

“M-marry you?”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Jed asked his counter mate.

“Yup. That she is never ever going to wise up and marry me.” Warren sulked, then brightened. “Although, my wife will probably appreciate that news to no end.”

“No, you fool, it means that them Burdetts sold out the Crumble. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t want to propose first, he’d have told her the good news up front.”

Josie put her hand to her throat. “Is that an accurate assessment of things?”

“Has anything those guys come up with ever been accurate?” Adam’s smile grew, slowly at first, then spread wide until he couldn’t contain a roll of joyous laughter. “We did it, Josie.”

“We…did?”

“The family turned down the buyout.”

“Yee-hooo!” Jed hollered.

“Well, I’ll be!” Warren shook his head.

“But why? How? What’s to keep the place from bottoming out and going bankrupt?”

“New blood.”

She winced. “What?”

He took both her hands in his. “We have a third party, new investor. Came in at the eleventh hour with some great ideas for restructuring, starting some new product lines and running the business based on Biblical principles.”

“Biblical?” Josie had heard Adam and the brothers discussing that before. “And this new investor…”

“Wants to partner with the family. One member of the family more than others, I suspect”

She shook her head. Nothing he had said since the proposal had really sunk in. “I don’t…”

“Dora Hoag. My old boss.”

“Oh!” Josie laughed at last.

“
That
made sense to you?”

“Love always makes sense to me.” She put her arms around his neck.

“Then you are a wiser person than I am, Josie, because love has had me baffled until I met you.”

She went up on tiptoe and kissed him.

“Does that mean she’s accepting his proposal?” Jed asked.

“Yep. Get out your Sunday best, you old fool, looks like you and me are going to be flower girls.”

And they were.

Not flower girls, but they did have the responsibility of bringing Nathan down the aisle and holding him there to bear witness to the marriage of his parents.

Everyone they loved was there, Ophelia, Conner, Burke, Jason, Cody and Carol. And Bingo. And even Dora came.

And when the minister pronounced them man and wife, Nathan wasn’t afraid to put in his two cents. “Dada! Mama! Ya-ya-ya!”

ISBN: 978-1-4268-0604-9

SOMEBODY’S BABY

Copyright © 2007 by Luanne Jones

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