Texas Lullaby (Texas Montgomery Mavericks Book 7) (10 page)

“I know. It’s not that I don’t trust you with them, because I do. But I worry about the girls’ reaction to me leaving them here. They still have some separation anxiety and they may be too fragile emotionally.” She sighed. “I just don’t know what to do.”

“Do you want me to go with you to Wichita? I could keep them in a hotel while you take care of what you need to. That way, you can come and go as you need without feeling guilty or rushing to get home.”

Lydia’s eyes teared up. “That is so sweet of you. I don’t know what to say.”

“Make it easy. Say yes and tell me when we leave.”

Lydia hugged the older woman. “Thank you. I’ll talk to Jason and call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Of course. I’m not going anywhere.”

For the rest of the week, Lydia made plans to be gone to Wichita for a few days. She didn’t know how long it would take to deal with everything. Jackie dropped by every day for a couple of hours and Lydia took advantage of the babysitting to run errands or do grocery shopping to help the girls adjust to her being gone. Initially, the girls cried when she left, and the sound pierced her soul like a dagger. It took every ounce of her strength to walk away. She wasn’t gone long the first time, a little longer the second, and by the time she’d come in and out for the fifth time, the girls had calmed down and didn’t pay as much attention to her leaving.

On Sunday, they left for Wichita. Lane had decided he wanted to come along, so he and Jackie followed in their SUV with Levi in the back seat. Jason and Lydia took the two girls with them in his SUV.

On their first day there, Jason and Lydia met with Sam Wood, her sister and brother-in-law’s probate lawyer. He gave her house keys and a safety deposit box key along with the necessary paperwork to allow her to open it.

They pulled into the drive at the large, two-story colonial house. Lydia sat unable to make herself move. After she did this, her sister would really be gone. Rationally, she knew Meredith was gone, but since they’d lived apart for years, she had been able to ignore reality. Once the house was sold, the cars gone and whatever was in the lockbox removed, all traces of her sister’s former life would be erased from this world.

This was much harder than she had anticipated.

Meredith and Jim had been gone for almost six weeks and, even though the children were a daily reminder of that fact, her emotional mind did not want to accept that she would never see her baby sister again.

Through a watery perspective, she studied the freshly mowed yard, the spring growth of new leaves on the trees, the flowers that were blooming in the bed that lined the walk to the front door. Meredith had always had a green thumb. She could throw a peach pit in the yard and the next year have a tree growing.

“The house looks good,” she said, stalling for time to collect herself. “You had someone mow the yard.” It wasn’t a question. She was sure Jason had taken care of things she’d never thought of, such as keeping the house looking presentable.

“It’s a nice neighborhood. I didn’t want things to get overgrown.”

“I wouldn’t have thought of the grass needing to be mowed.” She finally turned to look at him. “You have done so much for the children and me, probably more than I even know. Thank you.” She leaned over and kissed him. A flutter tickled her gut. Like it always did when she tasted him, her heart flipped over like a fish.

When this trip was over, she had to find a way to let him go. He needed to find his happily-ever-after with a woman who shared his vision for life, and that woman could no longer be her, not with three children. He’d done the honorable thing by standing by her, but he had to be looking for a way out before he got too enmeshed in a lifestyle he never wanted.

“I haven’t done that much. Wood did an outstanding job representing your sister and Jim. They chose well when they chose him. Ready?” He nodded toward the house.

She sighed. “If I have to.”

When they unlocked the door and stepped in, Lydia was overcome by the scent of her sister. Maybe it was her perfume still lingering in the air. Or maybe it was the laundry soap she used and the smell had infiltrated the air ducts. Or, knowing her sister, there were probably automatic air fresheners that continued to scent the air. Whatever it was, the aroma stopped Lydia just inside the door.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Give me a minute.”

He returned her nod and walked on into the house. Jason was her tower of strength, constantly there for her. She could never repay his kindness, nor his helpfulness. With great sadness, she became even more positive that letting him find happiness with another woman would be the best thing she could do for him.

They spent the first hour roaming the house, looking in closets and drawers, setting aside items they believed would be important to the children. Although the will stipulated that Lydia could take anything from the house she wanted, there wasn’t anything here she needed now. Down the road, she would need bigger beds for the girls, but she elected to focus on the here and now.

At noon, they took a lunch break and headed back to the hotel. The children were at the kiddie pool with Jackie. Levi and Lane had stayed in the room. Both guys were asleep when Lydia opened the door, Lane on the bed snoring and Levi in his Pack ’n Play. She quietly shut the door and went back to the pool.

“Both of them are dead to the world,” she reported to Jackie.

“Yeah, I was a little suspicious when Lane said that he and Levi were going to watch
Days of Our Lives
.”

Lydia laughed. “Yeah, I can’t see Lane getting involved with the daily soaps.”

The girls were splashing and generally having a good time in the pool, so when she left, they waved and went back to playing.

Before heading back to the house, Lydia and Jason stopped at the bank. The paperwork was in order for Lydia to access the safety deposit box as well as all the accounts, but jumping through the bank’s hoops took some time.

Once they had access to the box and Lydia opened it, she found an envelope addressed to her lying on top. She picked it up, recognizing her sister’s handwriting. She wanted to hear from Meredith one last time, and yet, she didn’t because it would be the last time. She opened the envelope slowly, bracing herself for whatever was inside.

Dear Lydia,

It’s possible that you will never read this, and if so, yay. I made it to old age, which means you’re still older than me.

Lydia paused to cry and chuckle at her baby sister’s joke. No matter how old Meredith got, Lydia would always be older. Because Meredith had stopped aging.

“You okay?” Jason asked. He handed her a fresh handkerchief for her tears.

“Thanks. I’m okay. My damn sister is making me cry.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug. “Damn her,” he joked.

“I know.”

She wiped her tears and continued reading.

If you are reading this, then I am so sorry. It means I’m gone and you have my children to raise. Know that I have given you my life’s prize. Nothing I ever did could surpass them. I know you’re probably freaked out right now, and probably doubting that you can take over for me, but there is no one I’d trust more. By now, you know we picked an alternative option if for some reason you can’t, or won’t, take Ellery, Annie and Levi, but I only did that at the insistence of our lawyer. Sam is one of the good guys, Lydia, like your Jason. You can trust Sam with anything.

Jim has given me some nice jewelry over the years we’ve been together. Some of it too nice, if you know what I mean. Most of it will be here in the box or at home in the safe in Jim’s office.

Lydia looked at Jason. “Did we find a safe at the house this morning? I don’t remember one.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t. Maybe their lawyer knows.”

If you’ve been in the house and not found the safe, you’re probably wondering where it is. Go to Jim’s office. Look in the closet. On the floor to the left side. You’ll see a box of Jim’s business files. Take those out. There is a release button for the door to the safe. It’s on the right side in the corner near the floor. Push it, and a door will open. The safe is installed in the concrete under that floor. The combination is 12-20-74-84. No one, not even our lawyer, knows about the safe. There some cash in there. Take it. Heck, take everything out of there. And don’t argue with me about this.

I’d like you to keep my jewelry for the kids, particularly the pieces Jim gave me when each of them were born. Diamond earrings and a diamond bracelet when Ellery and Annie were born and a platinum and canary-yellow diamond ring when Levi arrived. As far as the rest of my stuff, make good use of it. Wear it. In fact, when you marry Jason, wear my earrings for good luck. Of course, since you’re reading this, maybe my luck wasn’t all that good. (Laugh. That was a joke.) I was lucky in love. Jim is my soul mate and know that he was everything to me.

Lydia paused to wipe a few tears.

The letter went on to tell her that the cars were hers to do with as she liked, but could she please save the Thunderbird for Levi? She smiled. She’d been right on that one.

Meredith had a mink coat that she wanted Lydia to give to her best friend as long as Lydia didn’t want it. Lydia didn’t and would make sure the lawyer was aware of the gift. There were a couple of other items, such as Jim’s golf clubs, that her sister had requested be given to certain people, again provided Lydia didn’t have a use for them. All the items were things Lydia had no problem giving away.

In closing, know that I loved you so much. Growing up, I wanted to be just like you. As a big sister, you set the bar high. Take care of my babies as I know you will. I hope you’ll tell them about us. Make sure Mom and Dad know that I loved them too.

Don’t be sad that I’m gone. I had a wonderful life, no matter how long or short it was.

Raising kids is expensive, but I’m pretty sure Jim and I have set aside enough for their colleges. There are two large life-insurance policies. Make those bastards pay out! They will try to find a reason not to, but I trust between our lawyer and your Jason, you’ll get the money. Those policies are in this box also.

I love you, sis. Thank you for loving me and my kids.

Meredith.

“Damn her,” Lydia muttered. “I was through crying.”

Jason put his arm around her. “Is there anything in the letter I need to know?”

She handed the sheet of paper to him. “Yeah. Take a look while I get the things from here into the tote bag.”

She found everything Meredith had described, plus about ten thousand dollars in cash.

After they finished with the box, she closed the checking and money market accounts and sent the money to a special account that Jason had set up.

By the time they pulled back into the hotel lot, it was close to eight p.m. She was emotionally drained and physically exhausted. Jason hadn’t complained about anything she’d asked him to do today, but his face was drawn and the creases around his eyes appeared more pronounced, so she assumed he was as exhausted as she.

The girls were tucked in bed and fast asleep. Levi and Lane were watching some drama cop show, Levi with a bottle and Lane with a beer. Jason went over to speak with his father.

Lydia chuckled and pointed toward Lane and Levi. “Good thing they didn’t get their bottles mixed up,” she told Jackie, who snorted a laugh.

“I’m pretty sure Lane would have noticed after the first few sips.”

“How’s the teeth cutting coming along?”

“He was a little cranky earlier, but the cold washcloth helped. Have you and Jason had dinner?”

Lydia shook her head. “We were gone today longer than I thought we’d be, so I felt like I needed to get back.”

“Everything’s fine here. You should eat,” Jackie said. “You look a little pale.”

“I probably do. I knew handling all the estate details would be draining, and it was, but I’m more exhausted than I expected.”

“Go get a nice dinner and then get some sleep.” Jackie tilted her head toward the open adjoining door. “I’ll keep an eye on the girls. They’ll be fine. I can’t get Levi out of Lane’s arms, so I’m not too concerned about him.”

Lydia smiled. “They do seem taken with each other. Maybe Jason and I can just do room service. I’m too tired to go anywhere.”

“Use his room,” Jackie suggested. “It’ll be quieter.”

Lydia suspected this was another effort on Jason’s mother’s part to throw them together and give them private time. It wasn’t that she didn’t want time alone with him. She loved spending time with Jason. However, she knew she had to learn how to live without him.

“Ready for dinner?” she asked Jason.

“More than. My stomach is resting on my spine.”

Lydia rolled her eyes with a chuckle. “Exaggerate much, Counselor?”

“Never.”

“Since the twins are asleep in
my
room, what would you say to ordering room service in
your
room?”

Something hot flashed through his eyes and a smile made its way onto his lips. “That sounds like a winning plan.”

The hotel had been very accommodating giving them three rooms that adjoined. She closed the door that connected her room to his and leaned against it.

“So…what are you hungry for?” Lydia asked with a slight lift of an eyebrow.

Chapter Nine

Jason studied Lydia standing there against the door, one leg bent, her hand trapped behind her ass on the door.

“Darlin’, nothing looks better to me right now than you.”

She smiled and a zing of lust rattled through him.

“I meant food.”

He shook his head. “No, you didn’t. You knew exactly what you were asking.”

“Maybe,” she said and tilted her head to one side. Then her posture changed and she stood straight. “Probably not a good idea. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She strode across the room, picked up the in-room menu and began flipping through the pages. “What sounds good? Steak? Burger? Club sandwich?” She glanced up and their gazes locked.

“What’s going on, Lydia?”

“I don’t know what you mean?”

“Yeah, you do. Ever since you got Meredith’s children, you’ve kept me at arm’s length…well, except for one night. I’ve been there for you every step of the way. I haven’t asked you to choose between me and the children. So what’s wrong?”

She sighed and sat on the foot of his bed. “We’re both tired tonight. I know I am. I’m physically and emotionally beyond exhausted. Let’s not have a serious talk tonight. It won’t go well.”

Shoving his fists on his hips, he asked, “What does that mean? ‘It won’t go well’?”

Dropping flat on her back, she stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know. I really don’t. My plate is full, overflowing. I feel like someone’s handed me chainsaws and expects me to juggle them even though I don’t know the first thing about juggling or chainsaws. For tonight, can we just eat and worry about
tomorrow
tomorrow?”

Unease gnawed at him. She was slipping away. He could feel her growing more distant each day. If he pushed her, fought for her, he was sure what her reaction would be. She would drop him from her juggling act, as she envisioned her life. Dealing with a pushy boyfriend could be easily solved by erasing that stressor from her life. That’s not what he wanted, so he’d back off. She’d come back to him when things settled down.

“You’re right,” he said, dropping on his back beside her on the bed. “It was a long day. I’m tired and a little punchy.”

She rolled to her side and grinned. “You? Punchy? No, surely not?”

She poked his ribs. He caught her finger in his hand and rolled on top of her. “I’ll give you punchy,” he joked and began to tickle her. She laughed and pushed at his shoulders, trying to get away, but he was too heavy, too strong for her to throw off.

Remembering his vow to ease up on the pressure to get their relationship back on track, he rolled off her and sat up with a sigh. “Okay, let’s eat. Did they have prime rib on that menu?”

They stayed two more days in Wichita filling Jason’s SUV with the children’s toys and clothes. The valuable jewelry was packed away to be put into a lockbox until the kids came of age. Everything else would be sold at an estate auction, one she didn’t have to attend, something she was thankful for. Anything not sold would be donated to the local charity run by Meredith and Jim’s church. A realtor was lined up to list the house once it was empty. The agent assured them it would sell quickly and at a desirable price high enough to pay off the outstanding mortgage.

Claims were filed against the life-insurance policies, but that was a waiting game. Jason and Lydia agreed that the company would not be happy about paying off two million-dollar policies. He promised to stay on top of it.

Meredith’s SUV turned out to be a new, fully loaded Cadillac Escalade. Lydia had liked her small sedan when she’d purchased it three years ago. However, she needed something larger for her family. She decided the Escalade would come home with her.

Jim’s restored Thunderbird was stunning. When Lydia told Jason how many hours of labor had gone into the car, he had to admit it showed. While the car could make the drive back to Texas, he convinced Lydia to let him pull it on a trailer back to Whispering Springs. Where the car would be stored was a problem that would have to be resolved later.

Their now three-car caravan started home on Thursday morning. The three children rode with her in the Escalade. After spending so much time with her over the past week, Jason’s car felt empty and was way too quiet.

At the end of a long drive, Lane and Jackie left the caravan and turned toward their ranch with a toot of their horn and a wave.

Lydia pulled into her drive, the huge SUV taking up every inch of parking space. Jason parked across the street, jumped out and hurried over to meet her. In front of her house sat Cash’s old truck.

She exited the SUV with a nod toward the trucks. “I see Cash has gotten started.”

“I called him when we were about thirty minutes out to give him a heads up. I figure that’s the only reason you had an open driveway.”

“Thanks. Let’s get everybody out and see what’s happening. I’ll take care of the girls if you’ll get Levi. I don’t want them getting into nails or whatever might be lying around.”

The living room looked normal until her gaze hit the plastic sheeting that sealed the kitchen off from the rest of the house.

“Yikes. Cash, you here?”

“Coming,” was the muffled reply.

The girls crowded her, pushing against her legs.

“What’s that?” Ellery asked, pointing to the plastic popping in and out with the change in air pressure.

“We’re getting a new laundry room and that plastic is keeping all the mess in there and not out here.”

“Oh,” Ellery said.

“I’m here,” Cash said, coming through the front door. “I was out back and had to come around the house. Nice new ride.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, girls,” he said, squatting down to their level. “Remember me? Jason’s brother?”

They nodded.

“You have a good trip?”

They nodded again.

“Still a tad bashful,” Lydia said. “Safe to turn them loose to their room?”

“Yep. Just as you left it.”

“I’ll take them,” Jason said. “That’ll give you and Cash time to chat.”

“So, where are we?” Lydia asked after Jason and the kids were gone. “Making progress?”

“Slow, but yes. Come on. Let me show you the new laundry room area.”

The concrete slab for the new laundry slash mud room had been poured and the room was framed in, so Lydia got an idea of how large a room it was going to be…

“It’s going to be huge,” she said.

Cash chuckled. “It’ll look a lot smaller when the washer and dryer get in there.”

“Still, it beats what I have now.”

Cash pointed to a couple of concrete blocks. “Step through the doorway that leads to the backyard and let’s walk around to your new master suite.”

“Oh. Master suite. I like the sound of that.”

Cash had knocked out the end of the hall leading down to the bedrooms where a large closet had been. He’d made a door that would be the entrance to her new room.

“Here’s what I decided. Instead of using more of the backyard, I found that I could go out through the closet and add on to the side of the house and extend into the back. That way, the kids keep most of the yardage for play.”

She nodded. “Sounds reasonable.”

“I built the extension over a crawlspace instead of a slab since it will be easier for all the new plumbing that’ll be required for the master bath.”

Laughing, she said, “Cash. I don’t know anything about slab versus crawlspace, but I trust you. Whatever you think is best probably is.”

She had known Cash for years, had watched him mature from a cocky bull rider, to a broken man on the edge of self-destruction, to a mature man confident in his abilities in construction. His marriage to Paige Ryan had been a weekend surprise to all the guests at the Montgomery family camping week last fall. In the eight months since then, she couldn’t remember a happier Cash.

“How much time are we talking about to get this done?”

“At least another month.”

“But your vacation,” she protested.

He held up his hand. “Don’t even start. My wife promised me a vacation to remember if I did this for you, regardless of how long it took.”

Lydia laughed. “I’ll have to thank Paige.”

“I’ve got to get home. Okay if I go in and say bye to the girls?”

“Of course.”

Later that night, after all the kids were in bed and she and Jason had collapsed on the sofa, he looked at her. “Living in all this construction is going to be noisy and dusty.”

She shrugged. “I know.”

“So while it’s going on, why don’t you and the kids come stay at my place? Just temporarily,” he added.

She gave the idea serious consideration, but given how strongly Jason didn’t want children in his life, she couldn’t make it okay in her mind to dump three small and potentially destructive children in his refurbished Victorian mansion.

“Thank you, I mean that, but I’ll try it here. If it gets to be more than we can take, I’ll think about it.”

“The door’s always open.”

She kissed him. “Thanks.”

* * * * *

For the next couple of weeks, Lydia found activities away from the house to keep the girls busy during the daytime. Swimming lessons at the Y. Beginning ballet classes at the dance academy. Gymnastics at the youth gym. She filled their days with activities. At night, all of them fell into bed in exhausted heaps. But she couldn’t keep out of the house all day and then start cleaning it after everyone was asleep.

By the second week of construction, Cash moved the plastic off the kitchen entrance to cover the new laundry room door. That gave her the ability to cook, but she had to admit the housecleaning was sorely lacking.

Thanks to Jason’s sister, Lydia found the ideal housekeeper and babysitter for the children, which would allow her to return to work by the end of May. Polly Henry began working for Lydia about halfway through the construction, keeping as much of the sawdust and mess out of Lydia’s house as possible.

Luckily, the girls seemed to like her and she them. Levi was beginning to develop an awareness of strangers and new situations, so it took a little longer to win him over, but Mrs. Henry had the patience to wait him out.

With all the activities, the construction and the continued dealings with Meredith and Jim’s estate, May flew by, and suddenly it was Memorial Day weekend. Whispering Springs loved any holiday, and Memorial Day was an excellent one, judging by the excitement in the city.

On the eve of Memorial Day, the biggest event in the county was the party thrown at Bar M Ranch. Lane and Jackie invited all the surrounding ranchers and most of the town out for a barbeque in the afternoon, followed by an extravagant fireworks show over the lake on the original homestead. Lydia had gone to this party for years as Jason’s date, but taking the girls to see the fireworks gave her a renewed anticipation for the evening.

Memorial Day signaled the end of her sabbatical, and she faced that with mixed emotions. She loved being a doctor, the compilation of years of hard work, and she was proud of her accomplishments. Helping the sick and keeping the healthy from getting sick brought her a lot of satisfaction.

On the other hand, her sister had given her something she’d never thought she would experience…motherhood. Sure, motherhood had its good days and its not-so-good days, but caring for those three precious children had given her pride and satisfaction she’d never experienced from anything in her life thus far.

Sometimes at night, she would stand in the twins’ bedroom and watch them sleep. The love she felt for them was powerful enough to bring her to her knees. She’d experienced love, she knew she had. She loved Jason, but what she felt when she looked at the children defied words.

At close to ten that morning, her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Morning,” Jason said. “How are things at Casa De Destruction?”

She got that familiar tug behind her belly button she always did when she heard his voice. “Messy.”

“I wish you would have taken me up on my offer. The kids and you are still more than welcome at Chez Montgomery.”

She shook her head, not that he could see her reaction. “And I appreciate the offer. I really do, but we’re fine. Mrs. Henry is keeping most of the dirt and disorder under control. Cash and the guys he hired are doing their best to help, so we’re fine. Plus, it gets me out of the house. The girls are loving the new classes. All their energy is burned by the time we get home. Did I tell you that Levi is crawling?”

He laughed. “No. Well, your days of freedom are over.”

“Yeah, like I had any of those days anyway. So that’s another reason it’s probably good we didn’t come to your place. All those beautiful knick-knacks the decorator sat around your place would be at high risk from little hands.”

“Who cares? It’s just stuff.”

“Hold on a second. The timer is going off on the stove.”

She set her cell on the counter and pulled an apple pie and a cherry cobbler from the oven and set them on the back of her stovetop to cool.

“I’m back. My pies are ready for this afternoon.”

“What’d you bake this year? Tell me you made a cherry cobbler.”

“A cherry what?” she teased. “Never heard of it.”

“Not funny,” he said. “I’ve got my mouth all set for your cobbler.”

“Well, I’ll see what I can do.”

He chuckled. “Thought maybe you and the kids would go with me to Mom and Dad’s this afternoon.”

“You don’t have to come get us. Since I got Meredith’s SUV, I have loads of room.”

“Well, how about I ride with you then?”

Her belly tug became a hard jerk. She hadn’t seen him this whole week. He’d been in court representing a client on a complicated mail fraud case while she’d been hauling the children all over town. They’d talked on the phone in the evenings after the twins’ fell asleep, but her brain was pretty much dead by that time, making intelligent, adult conversation difficult.

“Do you want to?”

“Sure. No sense in taking two cars. You know how tight the parking gets. Going together frees up a parking spot for someone else.”

Ah. So he was being considerate more than really wanting to be around her and the children.

“If you want to, then fine. We’d love to have you. Do you need to be there early to help your dad with anything?”