A Christmas Dinner on Marshall Street (The Hills of Burlington Book 5) Page 5

  “No reason not to,” Cade agreed. But he was also trying to get a better fix on the group of people gathered on the large front porch of the Marshall Street house. They were still too far down the block to get a good enough look no matter how much he squinted his eyes…but he had a feeling. As they got closer that feeling proved right when he saw the familiar car parked in front of the house. “Fran…”

  “I see,” she said. And she did. She’d felt the change in his demeanor and only then had looked closer herself to where his attention was focused on. “I don’t see Blair.”

  Cade heard her worry. He let out a long sigh. Told her the only thing he knew that would hopefully cast aside her worry for their youngest child. Unfortunately it was also most likely the truth. “He’s probably plugged into his computer, Frannie.” Her silence told him everything. And for as much as he was happy to see his other four children, pleased they would do this which he knew had little to do with him and everything to do with their mother, there was also a small and unexpected flicker of resentment for their intrusion. He wasn’t going to deny it to himself. A quick glance at the expression on his wife’s face told him he wasn’t going to share it either. But as they crossed the street, as the kids turned and saw their approach, any little doubt about their most recent purchase was cast aside. It could very well come in handy during this visit.

  “I have a hard time believing all four of you drove up with Morgan. You look too good for that,” Cade said. And he meant every word. Even as adults the four of them, hell, all five of the kids were as different as could be. They might not fight or argue heatedly but the bickering never seemed to end. Hadn’t since almost the day each had been born into their lives.

  “That’s because we didn’t, Daddy.” Sara made the first move to amble down the steps in her slow fashion to give her mother a hug first then moved to do the same with her father. “Morgan headed out first which is best since he’s the oldest and did his part by getting a decent hotel suite.”

  Cade squeezed his wife’s hand in a silent request to stop her automatic offer to stay with them. “What about the rest of you?” he asked as he met and assessed his oldest son’s expression. It wasn’t hard to read if you knew the man well enough. Which he did as few others were allowed. Morgan might feel responsible for his younger siblings but he wasn’t fond of funding them. Cade understood that and had a thought of how it could be alleviated…if they were willing. He looked at the two youngest of their brood…at least the two youngest present. Lucas and Leila were their adventurers. They were also most often the cause of their many sleepless nights.

  “I drove up on my own but Sara and Leila came up together,” Lucas said from where he still stood on the porch. “We met up at the hotel room Morgan checked into.” He hadn’t been certain this was a good idea. When his mother caught his eye he knew his worry had been for nothing. “Hey, Mom. Get yourself in any trouble yet?” he asked as he met her halfway on the steps and absorbed her strong hug. “Missed you,” he said softly for just the two of them. He wanted to add that his younger brother was a slug but decided she probably already knew that and he would just be adding more pain to what Blair had done. “Where were you guys? We’ve been hanging out here for a while.”

  “Yeah,” Leila said and she bounced off the porch and squeezed both her parents in her exuberant way. “Your Aunt Charlie fed us and took us around.” She smiled up at her parents, her eyes lit up with quiet amusement. “I think she wants to paint Sara,” she said in an almost conspiratorial way that she knew would irritate her sister to no end. “And Sara’s having a hard time getting out of it.”

  “Join the crowd, sweetie.” Cade gave his oldest daughter a knowing look. “I can tell you from first hand experience, it’s hard to do.”

  “I saw,” Sara said dryly. And she had. The painting of her father, even incomplete, was a work of art. Even Morgan had been silently awed by it and that said a lot since she knew that rarely happened.

  “So, Dad,” Morgan spoke for the first time. He’d noticed the shared look between his parents when Lucas had asked where they’d been. It had been…interesting. “Where have you guys been?”

  Cade gave his oldest son a telling look. “Actually where we’ve been might resolve your hotel room issue,” he said slowly with a quick look at Fran. Her quick nod and smile told him she was on the same track as he was. It still amazed him how often that was the way of it just as was their ability to literally know what the other was thinking without a word being spoken.

  “How so?” Morgan asked. For the first time his interest was truly piqued. He loved his brother and sisters but didn’t particularly care to spend the next several days in close quarters with them. The money wasn’t an issue, not like his parents might believe. But then they weren’t privy to his finances. But he knew after more than twelve hours of having his siblings in the same room or even one nearby would slowly drive him to drink.

  “We just bought a small house,” Fran said. The smile on her face sent opposing messages to her children. Leila was the first to voice the initial question on all their minds.

  “You’re moving up here?”

  “No,” Cade said as he moved forward and took Frannie with him. He sat on the porch swing that the girls had vacated and pulled his wife down next to him. “We’ve talked for a long time about getting a small place so we’d have somewhere to go and get away from the southern heat.”

  “I thought that was going to be some cabin in the woods?” Lucas asked.

  “Near some lake,” Leila said, adding what she remembered of the talks her father had just admitted to. She’d heard them many times over the years but had never thought it was more than that. Just talk.

  “Well, there are lakes around here,” Cade said easily. He wasn’t at all surprised the kids first thought was that they might be moving away permanently. They’d always been close. Maybe closer than he’d realized.

  “And family, we have family here too,” Fran said. “Your Dad found the place,” she said with a smile in his direction. “Actually, maybe it was more that it found him after he’d gotten lost trying to find a grocery store.”

  “Dad, lost?” Sara asked, the disbelief was clear in her voice.

  “That’s pretty much how I felt about it too,” Cade said. “Anyway, we close on it tomorrow.” At the looks of surprise on the surrounding faces he elaborated. “It pays to have family and friends in the business. And apparently there isn’t much business going on around here at the moment so Christmas Eve or not they scheduled us in first thing in the morning to close on it.” He set the swing in motion with the heel of his shoe. “But we’ve already got the keys and I’ve set up the utilities so the house already has power, heat, and water. There’s one bed and as luck would have it the mattress set was delivered a bit ago. There’s also a table with chairs in the kitchen. It’s not much, but we could probably swing some sleeping bags and quilts if you guys want to bunk there.” He had to maintain tight control over his features and the laughter that threatened to escape at the look on his oldest son’s face. It wasn’t just relief. He would bet he was currently engaging in some uncharacteristic wishful thinking.

  “Hey, that would be great.” Leila took hold of the idea and ran with it. She looked over at her sister knowing she would be the hardest sell. “Come on, Sara. It would be an adventure. Like the slumber parties we used to have.”

  Sara let out a quiet sigh. She knew two things for certain. She’d never hear the end of it from her sister in this life or the next if she didn’t go along with this. She also knew that Morgan would pay good money to have his hotel room to himself. With that in mind she turned to the oldest of them. “If I do this, considering the money you’ll save because of it, will you stock the refrigerator and pantry?” A sudden thought came to her and she slit her gaze over towards her parents. When had she seen them look this relaxed was her thought even as she spoke. “I’m assuming there is a refrigerator.”

  “Oh, yes,�
�� Fran said with amusement filling her voice at the scene playing out before her. “It’s probably original to the house and will have to be replaced at some point but for the moment it works fine.”

  “I’d be more than happy to fill the refrigerator and pantry at my expense but I draw the line at shopping for it,” Morgan said, relief in his voice as it began to appear things might be looking up. When his sister held out her hand he pulled out his wallet and retrieved the card she was silently asking for. And told himself it was a small price to pay for the peace and quiet he would get in exchange for what this was going to cost him. He knew Sara’s preferences in food and just about everything else. They weren’t cheap.

  Sara gave her brother a look that told him more was coming. “Do you still have that airbed stuck in the back of your car?” At his nod she gave her younger brother a look. “Leila and I get the bed and you now have Morgan’s airbed. Fair?”

  “More than,” Lucas said easily as he bounded down the rest of the steps. “We need to gather up some quilts and stuff. It doesn’t just get cold up here, it gets really cold.”

  “See you later,” Leila said as she gave both her parents a quick hug before following her brother towards Morgan’s SUV.

  Sara held her mother tightly. Silently dumped more epitaphs on her youngest brother for his stupidity. When she turned to her father she gave him a hug as well and more. “I can’t thank you enough for spurring this fun little adventure I’m now embarking on.”

  Cade pinched her cheek lightly in the way he had since she was a baby. Knew she only tolerated it now as an adult out of the love she rarely spoke of but could always be found in her eyes. “It will be good for you.”

  “It would be better for me to enjoy the amenities of a first class hotel such as Morgan will be.”

  “Yes, but then I wouldn’t,” Morgan said dryly. But because he understood her better than she cared for he walked with her down the sidewalk after a quick nod at his father and the hug he never walked away from his mother without giving her. Before they got to his car he leaned over and whispered what he knew would brighten her coming days. “Feel free to purchase yourself a mobile access card so you can browse the World Wide Web to your heart’s delight.”

  “You know me so well,” Sara said. And as always she wasn’t certain how she felt about that.

  “Takes one to know one,” Morgan said as he closed the car door behind her and walked over to the driver’s side of the car. Once seated and on the verge of starting the engine he asked dryly. “Anyone have the address of this new place Mom and Dad just bought?” It brought him an odd sense of reassurance when all three siblings ducked their heads and began texting. He just shook his head as he pulled away from the curb. And wondered what the hell his youngest brother was doing. More importantly, wondered where he was.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Fran looked over at her aunt who was caught up in a serious conversation with Morgan. She couldn’t think of two people who were less alike and her reasons had little to nothing to do with the vast difference in their ages. Her oldest son was the ultimate personification of seriousness. Her aunt on the other hand, at least as she knew her, had always been filled with fun and ready to take on any dare. She would love to know what they were talking about so intently.

  On the other side of the table her daughters were intent on whatever it was they were discussing with Carrie and Casey. From where she sat she couldn’t tell what the topic was, much as she couldn’t hear what her aunt and Morgan were talking about, but she could tell her children were being more than just polite. They were enjoying themselves.

  Then she looked over to where her other son was sitting. Because they were almost directly across from her she could hear bits and pieces of the ongoing conversation between Lucas and Carrie’s husband, Court. So far their conversation had been wide ranging going first from Court’s writing of his popular and widely read alternative history books to his work with his family’s contracting company. She knew about her son’s reading preferences but she’d been surprised by the depth of his knowledge when it came to both major and minor renovation terminology. Her experience had been his great lack of knowledge especially whenever she needed his help. Almost as that realization sunk in her son turned and their eyes met. He must have seen the direction of her thoughts because she saw a flash of sheepish embarrassment flush across his face. She just shook her head. Her amusement must have been obvious in her expression because Lucas suddenly sent her a smile that was filled with relief and reminded her very much of the ten-year-old he’d once been. She suspected it also held the promise of not disappearing or playing ignorant the next time she asked for his help.

  “Whatever went on just now, it seems you came out on top,” Mary said softly from where she sat next to her.

  “It looks that way,” Fran said. When she turned her head she wasn’t surprised by the understanding smile on the other woman’s face. “When is your family coming in?” she asked. She’d heard earlier that there’d been a delay in her family’s travel plans but had never heard the cause or the resolution.

  “If they’re not here later tonight they’ll all be piling through my door in the early hours of the morning,” Mary said with a smile on her face. “One of my daughters ended up having to work. I’m not certain what happened because she originally had the time off but I am certain I’ll hear all about it once they arrive.”

  “You’re happy here,” Fran said. It wasn’t a question because there was no need to ask what was so obvious in Mary’s voice and in her expression.

  “I really am, Fran. So much and more than I thought I would be. I’m anxious for Daniel to be able to be here with me but it’s been one thing or another for us to get to that point.” Mary shrugged slightly. “Life happens. I’m just grateful that we’ve been able to deal with all we’ve been handed.”

  Fran thought about her own recent tribulations and they suddenly seemed minor compared to what she knew Mary had been through in the last couple of years. “Have you heard about our recent purchase?” Fran asked knowing the topic was an easy way to change the subject. Mary’s quick glance down the table in Casey and Pete’s direction easily answered the question for her.

  “If you’re taking about your faster than light purchase of the little house on Adams Street,” Mary said with a smile filled with amusement before continuing. “Then yes, I have. I hope you know it sent our Pete over the invisible line in the sand from First-Runner-Up to Salesman-of-the-Year.”

  “I didn’t realize,” Fran said with her own smile in Pete’s direction. “He didn’t say.”

  “Our Pete is many things,” Mary said quietly. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say humble but he certainly doesn’t beat his own drum though at times such as this he has every right to.”

  “He really didn’t push us at all,” Fran said thoughtfully as she thought about the many questions he’d answered for them patiently and without ever giving them the sense he was rushing them. “I never got the sense from him at any time that anything weighed on our decision, whichever way we went with it.”

  “He wouldn’t,” Mary said simply. Then she smiled broadly as she remembered the call she’d gotten from Casey last night with Pete’s news. “That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be doing a celebratory dance once he was out of your sight.” She paused a moment. For as much as they played together as children she was only now beginning to get to know the woman Fran had become. Just as Fran was doing the same with her. But decided her question wasn’t anything she felt Fran would resent. “Pete said the house is a lot like mine.”

  “Oh, yes,” Fran said and knew immediately she wanted Mary to see it for herself even though she knew her children would have their stuff spread all over the place. “I’d love for you to come over and see it sometime in the next couple of days.”

  “I’d like that,” Mary said with absolute sincerity ringing through in her voice. When she spoke again it was the same. “It will be wonderful to have y
ou here, Fran. Even if it’s only for part of the year. I’m really looking forward to it.

  “So am I,” Fran said and there was a part of her that wondered at her own surprise over just how true the words were. “It was Cade’s idea,” she said softly watching for the reaction in the other woman’s eyes. She saw understanding in those eyes…but no surprise.

  “Sometimes they know us better…and sometimes I think from my own experience, see better what we want…and need…than we are able to ourselves.” Mary looked steadily at Fran, almost willing her to understand. “But then I think it also works the other way around as well. Don’t you ever see and understand what Cade wants, maybe so much so that he’s too cautious to reach out for it, and you take it into your own hands because you know for whatever reason he won’t?”

  Fran thought about the time all those years ago when she knew her husband wanted his own practice. To be able to measure himself by his own standards and not those of others. How she’d had to literally scout out the perfect office, lay out their financial status so that he’d grab hold of what he wanted for himself…but simply couldn’t on his own accord. She looked back at Mary, slightly nodded her head. “You’re right. On both counts. I’d just never really thought of it in that way before.”

  “Probably because there was no reason to,” Mary said thoughtfully as she let her gaze wander around the room. The same room her own mother and grandmother had gathered in so many years ago. “I hadn’t really thought about it either until a couple of months ago when Daniel and I made some similar decisions for much the same reasons. They involved one of our sons, but when you come right down to it, our motives were the same as what you and I have done for our husbands and they’ve done for us. Reaching out to do what the other can’t see and maybe can’t do for themselves.” She thought about the needs that had brought her back to Burlington in the first place. She’d known great happiness over the years. How could she not with loving Daniel as she did and having been blessed with her children as she had? But coming here had brought her happiness as well. A happiness that filled in places inside her she’d hadn’t known were empty. Her Daniel had seen that…understood it long before she had.