Balancing Act, page 26
The little girl scampered to do so, and in another ten minutes, all the good-byes had been said, and Willow’s mother and aunt departed. “They didn’t really want supper,” Willow explained as she waved them off. “They just wanted to see your house.”
“No problem. So, will you spring the four-legged surprise on them tonight?”
“You know, I think I’ll save that for tomorrow. We’ve had plenty of excitement today already.”
After dinner, Noah said his good nights and retreated to his workshop. He played with Marigold and the puppies, grateful that Drew’s window faced opposite his puppy play yard. He went to bed that night and went to sleep more at peace with himself than he’d been since his brother died.
He didn’t see the Eldridges the following morning, as they went their separate ways early. He spent the better part of the day with Gage fishing his favorite stretches of water on the Triple T. Late that afternoon, he sat at his workbench building a couple of dollhouses for a fire station in western Wyoming when he heard Willow’s car drive up.
The knock on his door came less than five minutes later.
“Mr. Noah. Mr. Noah. Are you home? I love my new bedroom. I looked at the moon through the telescope, and it was huge. Mama says you have a surprise for Emma and me. Something we are really going to love! Mr. Noah!”
As expected, the puppies were a hit, although AJ was a bit timid around them. The debate over what to name the dogs dragged on for the better part of a week. Drew finally decided on Thor while Emma went with Anna from The Avengers and Frozen, respectively.
By the end of April, Noah thought he might need to rename his cabin from the Hideaway to the Come-on-Inn. It seemed as if people were coming and going all the time. Willow’s sister visited for a few nights as she returned from a European trip and prepared to leave again to visit Peru. Willow’s newlywed brother and his wife visited, and then the single brother did, too. Noah didn’t know whether they’d come to give him the evil eye or check up on Willow now that she had AJ around or, more likely, both, but it kept things lively. Genevieve stopped by frequently as the opening of The Emily theater approached. Helen dropped by almost as often for a campaign coffee klatch.
And they always brought their new pups to visit. Drew had somehow managed to talk his grandmother and great-aunt into each adopting a puppy. Upon learning that Noah was down to one, Gage had decided his Sadie needed a companion, so he took the remaining pup to the Triple T Ranch.
Most evenings, Willow joined Noah for a nightcap on the porch swing, and they shared the events of their days. They hadn’t slept together since that first night. Still, the twenty minutes or so of porch time together each evening was almost as intimate. Some days Willow’s attitude remained positive. Others, acting as a single mother of three wore her down.
AJ had been with the Eldridges just shy of six weeks the night Willow joined him on the porch carrying not her usual glass of wine but a pitcher of martinis. “That bad?” Noah asked.
“Tom had another stroke. They don’t think he’s going to make it.”
“Well, crap.” The kids’ grandfather had been doing better. The grandmother had been making noise about bringing AJ back to Texas. “I’m sorry, honey.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, Noah. It’s hard taking care of three children all by myself. Yes, I have Little Ducklings, and Mom helps despite her big talk about not babysitting, but it’s still all on me. Plus, the kids will bond with him if he stays here much longer. Drew already thinks that sharing a name gives them a special link.”
“And you? Have you fallen for him?”
She sighed and sipped her drink. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? He’s a sweet little guy. He truly is. It’s not his fault that his daddy was a jerk. Like the saying goes, it’s complicated.”
He put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her close, and pressed a kiss against her hair. “Anything I can do to help?”
“You’re doing it. You’ve done so much for us, Noah. Every day. I wish there was something we could do to help you in return.”
“You have. You do. You brought sunshine back into my life.”
She took hold of his hand and squeezed it. “That’s Emma. She’s Suzy Sunshine.”
It’s all of you.
“Which reminds me. Have you started that dollhouse for your niece yet?”
“Willow…” She’d been pressing him about this for a couple of weeks now. Willow thought he needed to pay a visit to Daniel’s family. Noah stepped away from her and gave her a gentle, playful swat on the rear. “Don’t push.”
“Not pushing. Just asking.” She returned his swat while giving a cheeky grin.
“I haven’t really had time. Gage has me working as if I have a real job, and your aunt talked me up to the volunteer fire department chief here. They asked me to do a fire flow demonstration this weekend.”
“You spend your time on the porch swing with me.”
“Not complaining about it,” he declared. “At all.”
“Speaking of Aunt Helen, has she pestered you yet to sign up for a Christmas-in-July vendor booth?”
“No. Why would I need a vendor booth at the Lake in the Clouds Christmas market?”
“To take orders for your Victorian dollhouses.”
“What?”
“Beware. Since Auntie is the chairwoman of this year’s event, she wants it to be the best ever. She’s looking at it as a campaign event.”
Noah laughed. “She’s relentless, isn’t she?”
Willow shrugged. “You could make a house for your niece and use it as a sample at the market to take orders. It might be a nice little business for you. You could sell them on eBay, too.”
Helen isn’t the only relentless woman in that family, Noah thought. “Just what I need—another job. It’s not enough that I’m whatever I am for Throckmorton Enterprises. Now I’ll be an eBay entrepreneur and a fire—” He broke off abruptly.
“And a firefighter. Are you going back to work, Noah?” Then, after a pause, she added, “Back to Denver?”
“I can’t fight a fire,” he stated flatly.
“You wouldn’t pass the physical?”
Mentally, he wasn’t fit. He could no sooner go into a burning building than he could fly. He polished off his whiskey, then held his empty glass out to her. “Are you going to share those martinis or what?”
Willow arched a brow in surprise. She knew from past conversations that he ordinarily didn’t drink gin. “Of course.”
Determined to keep the conversation pointed in a new direction, he asked, “So, are you all ready for the theateropening gala?”
“I think so. Mom is so excited. Nervous but excited.” Concern dimmed her glow a bit as she asked, “How about Gage? Is he feeling all right? Is he going to be okay to come to the party?”
“Yes. He’s doing fine. This was a wake-up call for him. He may gripe and grouch, but he’s taking his doctor’s orders seriously. He’s working to unload stress from his life. Apparently, that’s been a real issue with him—he’s still running all the family businesses himself.”
“Yes. Zach told me that’s the main reason why he wanted to start his own business. He wanted to make his own decisions. His father wouldn’t turn loose of anything.”
“Well, he’s turning loose now. Though I don’t know why he’s doing so with me. I’m not family, but he’s asking me to help him make decisions that will affect his family. It’s damned hard. I’m not a lawyer.”
“But you’re honest, and he trusts you. He has lawyers on retainer who can do the legal work. Let me share a little insight there. As someone who watched a family business tear a family apart, I think Gage is being pretty smart. If my grandfather had turned over management of his business concerns to his heirs instead of trying to control them from the grave, my family would have avoided a lot of grief.”
“I hope you’re right.”
They sat without speaking for a few minutes, and Noah thought Willow might have relaxed a bit. Her next words proved him wrong. “I have something I need to talk to you about. I’ve been putting it off.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not bad. At least, I hope it’s not bad. It’s about the house.”
“Oh, Willow. Don’t worry. Whatever the kids broke can be fixed.”
“No. No. It’s not that. Well, it’s sort of that. Drew did make a hole in the drywall in his room, but it was a small baseball-shaped hole, and I patched it. It’s about our finding a permanent place to live.”
Noah’s stomach sank. “Oh.”
“The last thing I want to do is abuse your hospitality and stay too long. The problem I’m having is that nothing suitable has come onto the market. My real estate agent tells me I’m looking for a unicorn.”
Good.
“However, she got a call today about a piece of land. It’s actually a pretty wonderful piece of land. Not far from here. We could build a house that suits us, but that takes time. Probably more time than you figured when you offered us your house.”
“Now, Willow.”
“Wait. I don’t want you to say anything tonight, okay? I want you to take some time and think this over. Please. It’s imperative to me that you are comfortable with this situation. We could always move somewhere else until our house is ready. But it’s not simply the construction time. If you’d feel crowded… if it would be weird… I won’t do it.”
Weird? “What am I missing here?”
“It’s that twenty acres of land across the highway. We wouldn’t share a fence or a road like you do with the Triple T, but it’s still close. Since you and I are… um… um…” She made a circular motion with her hand and sipped her martini.
“Since we’re um, um,” he repeated with a grin. “You want to define that for me, Ms. Eldridge?”
“Well, that’s part of the problem. I’m not exactly sure what we are. We’re friends, but are we more than friends?”
“I think so. Don’t you?”
“I do, but the label is fuzzy. I know the l-word isn’t appropriate.”
“I don’t know about that,” he ventured. “I am your landlord.”
She slapped his arm. “Ha ha.”
“Do we need a label?”
“I think we need something, Noah. Especially if you’re thinking about going back to Denver. It’s a little like the situation with AJ. Those three children and I will become a family if we act like one for too long. If you and I sit on the swing and act like lovers each night… um…”
“I think technically we’re already lovers.”
“But we’re not in love. I think I could fall for you, Noah. I could fall hard, and if a serious relationship is off the table for you, I think I would want to know that. Not tonight, but probably sometime soon. By the end of the summer, maybe. Unless you already know it’s off the table tonight, and if so, go ahead and tell me. It won’t kill me, but I would like your input before I make a decision on the property.”
“Fair enough. I’ll think about the land, and nothing is off the table tonight. Okay?”
“Okay.” She smiled at him. “Good. I’m glad.” She drew a deep breath, then exhaled with a sigh. “In that case, I have one more question.”
Noah couldn’t help but groan. Willow laughed. “No, you’ll like this one. At least I hope you’ll like this one. One of the moms I’ve gotten to know at daycare has invited Drew and Emma to spend the night with her kids the night of The Emily gala. Since my kids will be at the Wheeler’s house, would you like to come back to my place for an after-party?”
The “hell yes” on his tongue froze. “What about AJ?”
“He’s an excellent sleeper. Noise doesn’t bother him. He rarely wakes in the middle of the night, and if he does, he’s in a very sturdy crib. He can’t climb out.”
Noah held up his glass in a toast. “Here’s to excellent carpenters.”
Willow clinked his glass with hers. “Here’s to a man of many skills. I can’t wait to see what surprise you have for me next.”
“I’m a man full of plans, Goldilocks. A man full of plans.”
Chapter Fifteen
THE EMILY THEATER OPENED with a film noir gala that kicked off with a showing of The Maltese Falcon. Guests wore evening attire, a relatively rare event in Lake in the Clouds, with most women choosing styles that fit the theme. “Face it,” Genevieve observed as she, Helen, and Willow watched the arriving guests from the third-floor office. “Nineteen forties fashion was simply the best. Classic and flattering.”
“Well, ladies.” Helen made a game show hostess sweeping gesture. “All I know is that we look gorgeous.”
Genevieve and Helen both wore long gowns, Genevieve in gold and Helen in red. Willow had settled on a cocktail dress in basic black with a fitted bodice and pencil skirt that hit just below her knee. She wore her hair up and a vintage pearl choker.
“Well, you and I aren’t too bad for a pair of old broads,” Genevieve said to her sister. “On the other hand, Willow could be a star of one of the movies we’re showing tonight.”
“Because I look dead?” Willow asked.
“You know that’s not what I meant. Glamorous. Lana Turner glamorous. Noah is going to swallow his tongue when he gets a look at you.”
“Might be lots of tongue swallowing going on tonight,” Helen commented. “Once Gage gets a look at you, Vivie.”
“Stop that!”
Helen laughed, then continued. “Our favorite grumpy firefighter just arrived. He’s wearing a suit. You know, it occurs to me that the next time we need to get involved in a fundraiser, we could do one of those calendars with sexy men. Think of our pool. Noah. Zach. Even Gage. No reason not to represent the sexy seniors. Or how about one of those bachelor auctions. Why—”
“Auntie!” Willow interrupted, laughing. “Stop. Just stop. I’m going downstairs now to meet my date.” She picked up her evening bag from the desk, then stopped in front of her mother. “Mom, congratulations. You’ve done a fabulous job. I’m so proud of and happy for you.”
“Thank you, honey. And thank you for all the work you did for tonight. I’m so glad that Gage suggested we use you as our event planner. You’re really good at this sort of thing, you know.”
“I know.” Smiling happily, Willow gave Genevieve a hug, then exited the office.
Genevieve started to say something to her sister, but Helen held up her hand, motioning her to stay quiet. She walked to the door and cracked it just enough to ensure they weren’t about to be disturbed. Then she turned the lock and said, “The e-mail arrived just as I left home.”
“The DNA test came back?”
“Yes. Just as we expected ever since we saw how closely AJ resembles Emma, the test proves that he is Drew and Emma’s half sibling.”
Genevieve exhaled a long breath. “Okay, then. Well, we had to do that. So, on to step two?”
“Yes, step two. I’ll call the brother in the morning.”
“I don’t know, Helen. I’m having second thoughts. Maybe we should tell Willow.”
“Yes, in step three. We don’t know anything certain yet. We have suspicions. We could be wrong. Just like with DNA, let’s verify. Then in step three, we bring in Willow with facts and actionable information.”
“Okay. You’re right. We keep to the plan.”
“And in the meantime, let’s go downstairs and enjoy the party. It’s your night, Genevieve. The theater is beautiful. You and Gage have done a fabulous job. So go downstairs and accept the adulation you so richly deserve. Maybe flirt a little with that handsome rancher.”
“Oh, Helen.”
“Oh, Helen, what? You’re not dead yet, Gen. Of course, the man just had a heart attack. Maybe you should hold off on that for a while and let him recover. Until your birthday, at least.”
“Don’t mention the b-word,” Genevieve said and led the way downstairs. “And Gage didn’t have a heart attack. It was angina.”
Her eyes twinkling, Helen gave a shrug. “So you have no excuse. Go flirt.”
Genevieve gave her sister a look that equated to flipping the bird without having to use the vulgar gesture. Helen laughed, slipped her arm through Genevieve’s, and the Bennett sisters descended the stairs.
The theater restoration had turned out even better than Genevieve had hoped when she and Gage began the project. While the bones of the old theater had stood firm, time had taken its toll on the interior. Gage had worked with his construction specialist son on the structural renovations. Genevieve had been starting basically from scratch on the interior. She’d spent hours upon hours researching theaters built during the same period as the one in Lake in the Clouds. With a vision in mind, she’d worked with her own professional—Jake’s new wife, Tess—to develop a design she loved.
It turned out splendidly. The murals painted in the theater were re-creations of historic travel postcards advertising some of Colorado’s natural wonders—the Royal Gorge, Pikes Peak, and Garden of the Gods. She’d used forest green velvet for the curtains and the upholstery on the seats, and lots of gold braid and tassels.
The one place the color scheme differed was the founder’s box, which sported a portrait of the theater’s namesake and was done in the late Emily Throckmorton’s favorite color of rose accented with gold.
Tonight, all three of Gage’s children were attending the gala. Gage’s recent health scare had been a wake-up call, not just for him but for his children, too. Life was short. It was a crime to waste a day of it.
Blast it, Helen. You had to bring my birthday up tonight of all nights, didn’t you?
“Genevieve!” called a guest who greeted her as she began to mingle. “The Emily is fabulous. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I can’t believe what you’ve done here,” said another guest. “This was such a great idea. I’ve always loved this old building, but I never would have thought to try to save it.”
Genevieve was talking to one of Lake in the Cloud’s librarians when she felt a touch on her elbow. She glanced up to see Gage. He remained by her side and they worked the room as partners. It was lovely. People said such nice things; the praise was constant and genuine. Genevieve basked in the glow of it and in the approval she saw in Gage’s eyes. All too soon, it was time for the first movie to start. She joined Gage on the stage at his request because he wanted to say a few words.
