The Friends We Keep (Mischief Bay) (32 page)

He drew back enough to kiss her. “It’s okay, Tango Girl. You were worth waiting for.”

* * *

“I know there’s someone else.”

Hayley stared at her husband. He was pale as he stood in the kitchen, looking at her. His shoulders were slumped and his mouth a straight line, laced with pain.

“I’ve tried to ignore it,” he continued. “But you’ve been taking long lunches every day and disappearing in the evening. You’re not even trying to hide it.”

“How did you know about the long lunches?” A ridiculous question, but the first one that came to mind.

“I stopped by to see you and Steven told me.”

Betrayed by her boss, she thought, knowing that under any other circumstances, the situation would be funny.

“There’s no one else, Rob. Not in the way you mean.”

He didn’t look convinced. “I love you, Hayley. I thought we’d gotten through everything. I know you still hurt and that the pain of what’s been lost will never go away, but I had hoped we were making progress.”

“We are.” She moved closer to him. “Rob, I love you so much. You are the only man I’ve ever loved and that hasn’t changed. I swear.”

He didn’t look convinced. “Then what have you been doing?”

“Going to the hospital.”

He went white. “You’re sick?”

“No. I’m fine. I’m sorry. I should have said that differently. There is nothing wrong with me.”

He took a breath. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“There’s a boy. His name is Noah. He’s eleven. He never knew his dad and his mom died in a car accident three years ago. He didn’t have other family, so he was put into foster care. What do you know about lymphoma?”

An hour later Rob was looking more relaxed. The color returned to his face as he continued to ask questions.

“What about a baby?”

“I talked to a couple of people,” she admitted. “Went to some support group meetings. You’ve talked about older kids, but I could never understand why we’d want that.” She sighed. “The truth is the waiting lists for an infant are really long. We’d be starting at the bottom. It can cost so much money and there’s no guarantee. That frustrated me. I want us to have a family. I know you want to be a dad, and you’d be a good one. I want to be a mom. But until I met Noah, I couldn’t figure out how that would happen.”

Rob smiled at her. “Why him?”

“I don’t know. I saw the light on in his room and walked in. We started talking. I like him. He’s an old soul. He’s been through a lot. He’s sweet and strong and still a kid. He needs us, Rob. From what I’ve read online we’d have to get approved to be foster parents. Once we have that, we can bring him here and see how it goes. If we’re all on board with it, then the next step is to adopt him.”

She clasped her hands together. “I know I’m just about four hundred steps ahead of where we really are, but I can’t help it. What do you think? Would you at least meet him?”

Rob looked at her for a long time, then smiled. “Can we go now?”

* * *

It was nearly seven when they arrived at the hospital. Families filled most of the rooms on the pediatric floor. Conversation and laughter spilled out into the hall. There were a few cries, but most of the conversations seemed happy.

Hayley led the way from the elevator. At the entrance to Noah’s room, she paused. Nerves danced in her stomach. Not because she was worried. While so many things could go wrong, she knew in her heart they wouldn’t. Instead, the flutters were more about anticipation. Because she could feel this was the very beginning of a wonderful journey they were all going to take together.

She took Rob’s hand in hers and led him inside. Noah looked up from his book and smiled.

“Hi, Hayley.”

“Hi, yourself. Noah, this is my husband, Rob. Rob, please meet Noah.”

“Nice to meet you, Noah.”

The two males shook hands. Hayley dragged over chairs.

“You’re looking better,” she said, noting the slight color in his cheeks. “Today was a good day?”

“It was. I didn’t throw up once.”

Rob looked startled. “You need to raise your standards.”

Noah leaned back his bald head and laughed. “You’re right. Not throwing up is a pretty sad benchmark.”

“It could be worse,” Rob pointed out. “Like not finding rat turds in your food.”

Noah grinned. “Or cockroaches in your bed.”

“Or—”

“So...” Hayley said, interrupting him. “Maybe we could talk about something else.”

“Girls,” Rob said, his voice affectionate. “They can be delicate.”

“Tell me about it.” Noah looked at Hayley. “Minerva said if I felt up to it, I could go down to the cafeteria for ice cream. Want to take me?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’m in charge of the wheelchair,” Rob announced. “And we’re going fast.”

Noah pushed the button to call the nurse. When she came with the wheelchair, Rob lifted the boy onto the seat while Hayley made sure his IV line didn’t tangle. They made their way to the elevators. While they waited, Rob smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up.

Deep inside, she felt yet another piece of her heart heal. There would never be a baby of her own to hold. But there would be a family. Love and joy weren’t dependent on DNA. They were a gift. One for which she would be grateful every day of her life.

Epilogue

The Friday before Christmas was warm and sunny. It might be snowing across much of the country but on the Southern California coast, there was never going to be a white Christmas, and that was how the natives liked it.

Gabby looked at the green shiny bow Kenzie had tied around Boomer’s neck and gave it about five seconds before the dog figured out a way to remove it. Jasmine, sensing trouble, and impending company, had hidden under the bed in the master.

“Hurry up,” Andrew called. “I need pictures of my girls.”

The twins were dressed in plaid dresses for the party. Makayla wore a plain black dress that did its best to conceal her condition. But she was far enough along to make that an impossible job. To celebrate the season, she had on a little crown of red-and-green glitter with ribbons that trailed down her back.

Gabby wore a festive lightweight sweater over black ankle pants. She’d managed to lose the rest of the weight she wanted. Helping Makayla eat right had been a big part of it, as were the twice-weekly killer classes she took with Nicole.

Andrew took several pictures, then released them as the doorbell rang. The Masons were the first to arrive. Jill and Carson hugged everyone. The young couple from Maine had been even better in person than they’d been in their paperwork. The first meeting, in October, had gone so well, there had been two more. They’d wanted to spend time with Makayla at the holidays and had flown out three days ago. They were heading home to Maine in the morning. Jill would return the week of Makayla’s due date and stay until baby Michael was born.

Makayla hadn’t wavered in her desire to give up her baby. In fact meeting the Masons had seemed to cement her decision. She was doing well with her studies and looking at different colleges. What could have been a disaster for all of them had turned out to be the oddest blessing ever.

Andrew got everyone drinks while Gabby took a very sad Boomer to the master. The dog was given a new rawhide bone to ease his loneliness. She returned downstairs to find that Hayley, Rob and Noah had arrived.

“You look great,” she told the boy. He ran his hand over the inch of new hair that had grown in.

“I’m thinking I’ll be getting a call from a modeling agency any day now. Because I’m so handsome.”

Gabby laughed and hugged him. “I’m sure you will. But you’ll have to tell them no. There’s no way Hayley and Rob would let you out of their sight.”

Noah looked at his foster parents. “Yeah. Isn’t that the best?”

Gabby pointed Noah toward the far end of the room where Makayla sat with the twins, Jill and Carson. Noah picked up a soda on his way over. Hayley linked arms with Gabby.

“Doesn’t he look good? His last checkup was perfect.”

“He’s doing great. You all look so happy.”

“We are,” Hayley told her. “The adoption is moving forward. It’s going to take close to a year, but that’s okay. He’s with us until it’s final.” She beamed. “Then we’re stuck with him forever.”

“That is so wonderful.”

“It’s not what I expected, and that’s okay. It’s so much better.”

Andrew let in more guests. Pam arrived, along with Shannon and Adam. Nicole, Jairus and Tyler were right behind them.

Gabby dragged Hayley over to greet them. “Did you do it?” she demanded.

Nicole held up her left hand. Nestled against the diamond solitaire was a slim, platinum band. Gabby shrieked.

“You did it! You eloped!”

“Last weekend,” Nicole admitted. “We took Tyler and ran off to Lake Tahoe. It was wonderful.”

Gabby wanted to hear all about it, but this wasn’t the time. Still, she hugged her friend, then Jairus and finally Tyler.

She crouched down in front of the boy. “Does this mean Brad is your brother?”

He beamed. “Uh-huh. I’m lucky.”

“Good news?” Andrew asked.

Nicole showed him the ring.

“Congratulations.” He hugged her and shook Jairus’s hand. “A little bird told me it was a possibility, so we have some champagne ready. Let me get it out and then you two can make the announcement.”

When the glasses had been filled, everyone gathered around. Gabby looked at her friends and family and knew this was a year she would never forget. They’d all been through so much. Tragedy had turned to joy and what had once seemed broken had been made whole.

She raised her drink to the happy couple and let her gaze shift to her husband. Andrew tipped his glass toward her and winked. The twins gathered close, as did Makayla. Her family, she thought with gratitude. Three beautiful daughters, a circle of friends and a promising future. For all of them. Honestly, it didn’t get any better than that.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from
DAUGHTERS OF THE BRIDE
by Susan Mallery.

THE
FRIENDS
WE
KEEP

Susan Mallery

Reader’s Guide

Questions for Discussion

Please note: these questions contain spoilers. You should wait to read them until after you’ve finished the book.

Visit
www.MischiefBay.com
for a printable PDF you can hand out at your book club meeting.

1. The Friends We Keep
   has three intertwining story lines—one each for Gabby, Nicole and Hayley. What are the common themes that tie together these three plots?
   
2. What does the title mean to you?
   
3. How did the events of the story change Gabby, Hayley and Nicole? What lessons did they learn? Do any of those lessons make you think differently about something that’s happening in your own life?
   
4. Susan Mallery is noted for her keen insight into our inner lives, and her ability to elicit deep emotions from her readers. Which scenes were the most emotional for you? Which parts made you laugh?
   
5. Susan makes a promise to her readers that they can relax into the reading experience knowing that the characters will pull through, even after facing the hardest of circumstances. Did you find the ending satisfying for each character?
   
6. Which of the three stories was your favorite, and why? Which of the three women is most like you? Did your opinion of any of the characters (including secondary characters) change as you read the book?
   
7. Did you feel that Gabby was being selfish by refusing to raise Makayla’s baby as her own? What would you have done in her situation? Have you or has anyone close to you had a baby at such a young age?
   
8. Did Hayley’s husband do the right thing when he left her? Why or why not? What else could he have done to get through to her?
   
9. Did you expect Hayley to adopt Makayla’s baby? Do you think that ending would have been better or worse than what happened in the book? Explain.
   
10. What did you think of Jairus? Why do you think Nicole was so reluctant to meet him, and then to go out with him? Go around the room and state whether you read the start of Nicole’s journey in
    The Girls of Mischief Bay
    . Does the perception of those who read that book differ from that of those who did not?
    

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Book Club Menu Suggestion

Chicken Enchilada Casserole
from
Supper’s in the Bag

15-ounce can of tomato sauce

10.5-ounce can of cream of chicken soup

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

15-ounce can of black beans, partially mashed

6 cups cooked chicken, shredded (1 rotisserie chicken works nicely)

1⁄2 cup sour cream

1⁄2 cup frozen corn

2 cups shredded cheddar-jack cheese, divided

12 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch slices, divided

2 cups baby spinach leaves

Sour cream, green
onions, and tomatoes
for garnish (optional)

1. Mix tomato sauce, cream of chicken soup, chili powder and garlic salt. Set sauce aside.
   
2. Mix beans, chicken, sour cream, corn and 1 cup cheese. Set filling aside.
   
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 13 x 9–inch pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Spread about 3/4 cup of sauce into the prepared pan. Layer half of the corn tortilla strips on top of the sauce, partially overlapping. Put the filling on top of the tortillas, and the baby spinach on top of that. Spread another 3/4 cup of sauce over the spinach leaves. Cover with the rest of the tortilla strips. Top with all of the remaining sauce.
   
4. Cover with foil and bake for half an hour. Top with remaining cheese and bake for another 5-10 minutes, uncovered, until cheese has melted and started to brown, and mixture is bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with a dollop of sour cream, green onions and tomatoes.