Teresa Hill (13 page)

I
t was a month later that Luke caught them.

He’d rushed out the door, Dani five seconds ahead of him, to go off to spend the day with his grandparents, who’d been late picking him up, and seen Samantha arriving.

They’d played it off as casually as they could. Dani had been disappointed that she had to leave when Samantha had come over to play, and Luke had just looked at them funny and frowned.

But off they’d both gone, and the minute the door closed behind them, Joe grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her for a long, long time, and then pulled his mouth off hers long enough to say, “Ready to go shopping?”

“For what?”

“I want you to have my ring. You can put it on a chain around your neck if you want. I’d like that, if it can’t be on your finger yet.”

“Joe—”

“It’s what you want, right?”

“Yes,” she said. “I want your ring.”

He kissed her again, long and hard. He couldn’t get enough of kissing her, and he was tired of having to sneak around to do it. He wanted to hold her in his arms every night. He wanted a life with her.

“And you want to marry me?” he asked, because it felt too fragile sometimes, too fast, and he needed to hear her say it. “Yes.”

“And live with me and my children?”

“Yes.”

“And have babies with me?”

“Yes,” she said.

“You’re gonna have a baby?”

Joe whirled around and found his son standing in the open doorway. He hadn’t even heard Luke come in.

Samantha looked stricken and Luke looked edgy, as if he was looking at some disaster in his own living room.

“No. We’re not having a baby,” Joe said, easing himself away from Samantha and toward his son.

“That’s what you said,” Luke argued.

“No. We were talking about someday. That someday maybe the two of us would have a baby together.”

“And get married?” he asked.

Joe stifled a groan. Luke had heard that, too?

“We’ve talked about that,” he said as carefully as he could manage. “About someday. That maybe the two of us would be married.”

“What about me and Dani?”

“You’d be with us,” Joe said. “We’d all be together. We’d be a family.”

“You said no,” Luke argued. “I thought about that. About her being my new mommy, and you said no.”

“I said it was too soon for you to be counting on that, Luke. That we were just getting to know each other, and it was too soon.”

“And now it’s not?”

“Now we’re thinking about it,” Joe said. “How would you feel about it?”

“I dunno,” Luke said.

“Well, you can think about it for a while,” Joe said. “Nothing’s going to happen right away.”

“We’d all have to want this,” Samantha said. “You and Dani, too. You don’t have to worry that you don’t have any say in this, because you do.”

“Like us voting? Just like I said?” Luke guessed.

“Yes, kind of like that,” Joe agreed.

“It would take all of us to make a family,” Samantha said. “If that’s what we all wanted.”

“I dunno,” Luke said again, looking a bit uneasy and scared now.

“Well, like I said, you can think about it for a while and let us know how you feel,” Joe suggested.

“Okay.” Luke looked down at the floor, at his scuffed sneakers that had both laces undone and the jacket he’d dropped on the floor. “I forgot my baseball.”

Joe saw it on the table in the corner. He picked it up and tossed it easily to his son, who caught it and then stared back at them, his eyes too big for his face and his lower lip trembling.

“Come here, Luke.” Joe got down on the floor and held out his arms to his son. Luke came to him and clung. “There’s nothing to be scared about, okay? I told you, nothing’s going to change right away. Nothing’s going to happen unless we all want it.”

“Okay.”

“I love you,” Joe said.

“I love you, too, Daddy.”

“Do you want to go with your grandparents, or do you want to stay here with us today?”

Luke hesitated, obviously still thinking they were up to something and that this was indeed a very big deal. Still, Elena’s parents spoiled him rotten.

“We’re goin’ to the ball game,” he said. “Grandpa said he thinks I can catch a foul ball this time. We got seats on the end where they hit all those.”

Joe nodded. “Whatever you want.”

“We’ll probably get ice cream. They have the best ice cream there.” He turned to Samantha. “It comes in a hat. Like a baseball cap, only littler and something that ice cream won’t drip through. And it’s upside down, like a bowl.”

“Oh,” Samantha said.

“I got a bunch of ’em. I’m collectin’ ’em.”

She nodded. “That sounds nice, Luke.”

“Do you like baseball?”

“I used to play with my cousins in their backyard when I was little.”

“You did?” He looked skeptical.

“Yes.”

“I bet you throw like a girl. Dani throws like a girl.”

Samantha smiled and said, “I bet I can strike you out.”

“Maybe we’ll all play a game when your grandparents bring you and Dani home,” Joe suggested. “Okay.”

And with that, Luke turned and left.

“Oh, no.” Samantha said, sitting down on the sofa and looking up at Joe.

“It’s all right,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder and finding that she was trembling. He leaned in closer until she rested against his side, her head pressed against him. “Luke was bound to find out sooner or later.”

“Not now. Not like this.”

“It’s not a disaster, Samantha. Don’t make it out to be. He knew months ago where we were headed. He knew as soon as I did, and I don’t think this is going to cause any major trauma for him. This is his life getting back to normal and him getting what he needs, which is a mother. You’re going to be a wonderful mother to him. I know that, and I think deep down, he recognized it right away, too.”

“I don’t know if he’s ready for that,” Samantha said.

“For his life to get back to normal? For someone else to love him? I think that’s what he needs. I think he needs you every bit as much as I do.”

“I hope so,” she said. “I just…”

“You worry too much,” Joe said. “Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll see.”

It wasn’t exactly fine. Not even twenty minutes later he got a frantic call from his motherin-law, who was on her cell phone hiding out from the kids. His father-in-law was watching Luke and Dani at the moment.

“You’re getting married?” she asked, and he couldn’t tell if it was shock or sadness coloring her voice.

Joe sighed and held on more tightly to Samantha, who was sitting beside him, still worrying. “Yes, Samantha’s agreed to marry me.”

“Do you think that’s wise? You’ve only known this woman for a few months, Joe, and Elena…well…”

“You don’t think she’s going to come strolling through the door one day and want me and the kids back, do you? You don’t think the kids and I could just forget all about the past year and half and take her back?”

“I…” Oh, it was sadness. That was what he was hearing. “I suppose maybe I did. I keep thinking that surely she’ll come to her senses one day, that she couldn’t possibly abandon her children forever, but…”

“Maybe she will one day. But I won’t forget, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive her. I’m moving on with my life. The kids and I are moving on together. I hope you can accept that.”

“I… Oh, I want you all to be happy. I do. The kids mean the world to me, and you’re a wonderful father to them. I’m so glad they have you. That through this whole thing, you’ve been amazing. And if you think this is wise…you and this other woman—”

“Samantha,” he said. “Her name is Samantha, and she’s wonderful. She’s kind and generous and beautiful and she’s incredible with the kids.”

Katherine took a long slow breath. “Still, it’s all happened so fast.”

“Maybe. But it feels right. For both of us. Katherine, you’ve got to know I don’t ever want my kids to go through anything again like they went through when Elena left. You have to know I’ll take care not to see them hurt that way again.”

“Yes. I know you will. Just…”

“It’s not like we’re going to run off this weekend and get married. It’s nothing like that. We just decided for ourselves a few weeks ago, and we didn’t plan on telling the kids so soon, but Luke walked in and caught us talking about buying an engagement ring.”

“And having babies together.”

“Which I sincerely hope we do. Someday. But not now. Not until Luke and Dani are both ready to accept something like that.”

“All right. I’m sorry. I don’t have any right to question you about your personal life.”

“You’re my children’s grandmother. You’ll always be a part of our lives. Nothing’s going to change that, Katherine.”

“Thank you. I needed to hear that today.”

“And I think you and Tom should get to know Samantha. We’re all going to be a family.”

“Of course. Perhaps all four of you could come to dinner next weekend. We’ll have steaks on the grill, and the kids can play in the backyard.”

“Great,” he agreed. “You’re going to love her. Now, how’s Luke? Upset?”

“More uneasy, I’d say.”

“I’ll take good care of him,” Joe promised. “I know.”

He said goodbye and hung up the phone. He was sitting in the corner of the sofa, and Samantha was pressed against his side, her arms around him, her head against his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

“That wasn’t so bad,” he said.

“Really?”

“Yes. They’re good people, and they love the kids. They’ll accept this.”

“I hope so. How’s Luke?”

“He’s okay. Just a little uneasy, Katherine said. But that’s to be expected, Samantha. This is a big change in his life, and he’s bound to be uneasy about it at first.”

“He still wants his mother back.”

“Well, he’s not going to get that.”

“We can’t make him see it as an either/or situation. As if he has to choose—”

“There’s nothing to choose between. Elena’s not here.”

“But I don’t want to make him feel he’s being disloyal to his mother by accepting me, by letting me into his life.”

“You won’t.”

“I hope not. I want to do the right thing.”

“You’ll give him exactly the right thing. You’ll love him, and you’ll be someone he can count on. He’ll realize that one day. He’ll come to trust it, and he’ll love you back, and everything will be fine. Believe it, Samantha.”

“Okay.”

“Now, can we get on with our shopping? I want my ring on your finger.”

It was a beautiful ring, a lustrous milky-white pearl surrounded by diamonds, and she loved it. She let Joe put it on her finger, and she didn’t take it off, although she had doubts about wearing it in front of the children and their grandparents the following Saturday when they went to dinner at the grandparents’ house.

“You look beautiful,” Joe said, taking her hands and pulling her to him for a quick kiss the minute she opened her door.

“Hi,” Dani said, leaning around her father to see Samantha for herself.

“Hi,” Samantha said, looking down at the bright shining face beaming up at her.

“Luke said you’re gonna marry us,” Dani said. “All of us.”

“Yes, she is,” Joe said, picking up his daughter and holding her between them. “What do you think of that?”

“Will you braid my hair all the time?” she asked.

“All the time,” Samantha said, tears threatening suddenly.

“Daddy still can’t get it ’zactly right,” Dani confided, whispering in Samantha’s ear.

“I’m sure he’s doing his best,” Samantha said. “We’ll work with him on it.”

Dani nodded, apparently satisfied.

Samantha looked behind them both and saw Luke, standing five feet away and looking very tentative. “Hi.”

“Hi,” he said, glancing at her briefly, then looking away.

She looked at Joe, who shook his head as if he didn’t want her to worry about anything going on with Luke, but she worried a great deal about Luke.

“Ready to go?” Joe asked.

“Yes.” She grabbed her purse, locked her front door and followed him and the kids to her car. They all couldn’t fit in his truck.

They put the kids in the back, and she let Joe drive.

“Nervous?” he asked as he held open the door for her.

“Yes.”

“You don’t need to be. They’re going to love you. Not as much as I do. No one’s ever going to do that. But they’ll love you.”

And then she wanted to cry again, and a part of her was so scared. “Joe—”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” he said.

And it seemed to go just fine. Elena’s parents were extremely polite, with no hesitation welcoming her into their home, and they obviously adored Luke and Dani. Still, it was awkward. How could it not be? Joe used to be married to their daughter. Still, they tried very hard, and it was going well. Samantha kept telling herself that.

They sat on the patio and sipped iced tea, the children running through the backyard and laughing in the late-afternoon sunshine. Elena’s mother seemed interested in dental care for children from low-income families and mentioned that she might be able to get one of the local charitable organizations interested in taking up the cause. Samantha did what she could, but mentioned it took a whole community of professionals, all doing their part, to make a real difference. And Elena’s mother said perhaps they could work together on this, something that pleased Samantha very much. Elena’s father was a retired business executive and confided that his wife could wrangle money out of the most tightfisted corporations in the state. Obviously he was very proud of her.

Dinner was nice. Very informal, served on the patio with ice cream for dessert, and Samantha was starting to relax. Although they obviously had a great deal of money, Joe’s former in-laws were not pretentious at all. They made her feel right at home, and they let the children play the way children should be allowed to play. She liked them very much for that. She’d had an aunt who lived in a house like this, and going there when she was growing up was a nightmare of utterly polite and unchildlike behavior. In other words, it was no fun at all. All those breakable things to worry about, and no raised voices, no running at all. This was much, much better.