Enright Family Collection (129 page)

He recalled the look of total joy on Ally’s face when she had announced excitedly that she had a
cousin.
Just like all her friends.

“Now that tall, dark-haired woman who looks so much like Laura—surely you noticed the resemblance—is my sister, Zoey. She’s a sales host on a TV shopping channel. The tall man with the dark hair speaking with August is Ben Pierce. He used to race cars. Grand Prix. He and Nicky were best friends as children. Now he and Zoey are engaged.”

“Well, now, it sounds like you’re just one big happy family.”

“We
are
one big happy family, Matt, and whether you like it or not, you’re a part of it,” she told him gently, touching his arm with her right hand. When he did not pull away, she sought his hand, and slowly began to entwine her fingers with his. “As much as August Devlin and Corri and India ... as much as any one of us.”

She waited for his protest, and when it didn’t come, she continued. “Matt, I know this has not been easy for you. I know how close you and Laura have always been. No one wants to come between you.
We’re not trying to take her away. Look, I know that accepting major changes in your family is a very difficult thing.”

“And what might you know about that?”

She took a deep breath and told him something she had shared only with Zoey.

“I know how I felt when I found out about Laura. I felt ... betrayed, that my mother had kept this secret from us all these years. Realizing that her secret had been the cause of our father abandoning us so long ago. That I had a sister I had never met, had never even heard about. It was so hard, meeting Laura that first time—sisters meeting as adults—and trying to get to know her. To find out what she was like, what kind of person she was. I was so afraid to meet her, that first time ...”

“Laura is a wonderful person. I’ve always been proud to be her brother.” Matt rose to Laura’s defense.

“Yes, she is a wonderful person, and you’ve every reason to be proud of her. I can honestly say that knowing her has enriched my life greatly. I adore her. But if I’d held onto my fear, my prejudices, I’d never have discovered how wonderful she is. Look at all I would have missed, if I hadn’t given her a chance.”

He continued to stare out the window. Nick was carrying Corri on his shoulders, and Ben was chasing two golden puppies across the lawn.

Finally, smiling reluctantly, he told her, “You’re not very subtle, you know.”

“It was the best I could do in a pinch.” Georgia watched his face hopefully. “Please give us a chance, Matt. For Laura’s sake. And for Ally’s.”

And for your own.

And for mine.

“Maybe you won’t like us. Maybe you will. But you’ll never know if you don’t at least try to get to know us. We’re really a very nice family. Laura is very much a part of it, now and always. So in a way, you are too.”

He wished he could tell her that it wasn’t her, it wasn’t her brother or her sister or even her mother that he thought he wouldn’t like. Watching them from the window, the easy way they interacted, with lots of laughter, he was starting to think he probably would like them. But at some point during the hours he’d spent at Riverview over the past week he’d lost all hope that his mother would ever regain any semblance of the woman that she had been, and he mourned her. How could he embrace this new family of Laura’s and still be true to the family they had once had, especially now, when their mother was slipping away from them forever?

Then, as if reading his mind, Georgia said softly, “It’s not a choice, you know. Not either, or. It’s
both.
Laura knows that. I wish you did, too.”

She stood on her tip toes to kiss the side of his cheek, then dropped his hand, turned and left quietly. He could hear the padding of the soft leather soles of her ballet shoes as they raced down the steps. The barn door swung shut with a bang, and he watched her walk across the drive.

By her walk the true goddess was revealed.

Her candor had stunned him, and it took him a moment to recover from her words as well as from the lingering wisp of her perfume, the softness of her
lips on his skin, the gentleness of the touch of her hand, all of which had set his senses on edge. He’d had no defenses against her rationale or the emotions she had stirred up in him.

It isn’t either, or ...

Knowing that he’d been bested on all fronts, Matt sighed.

Who was he to refuse the wishes of a goddess whose touch was both light and searing, who smelled of honeysuckle and was wise enough to temper his inner chaos with her tender logic? Maybe for today, he could put it all aside—his confusion, his uncertainty, his fears for Laura as well as for himself—for Ally’s sake, for Laura’s.

He emptied the remains of his glass into the sink, then went off to find Ally’s gift.

Later, Matt reflected, joining the lively group outside had been so much easier than he had anticipated. Georgia had been right, the Enright’s
were
a nice family. There had been more than enough warmth and laughter and good cheer to go around. And, he admitted, it had fed his own family pride to show off Pumpkin Hill to people who admired and appreciated it.

“Georgey, you’re the luckiest person in the world,” Zoey had sighed with contentment as she stretched her legs out on the grass, an enormous wedge of birthday cake tipping perilously close to the edge of a paper plate. “It is so beautiful here. Look at all those daffodils and all those tulips! Gorgeous!”

“It’s just heaven early in the morning,” Georgia told her, “when the sun first comes up and it’s so
quiet, you just can’t imagine. And then the birds start singing ...”

“We’ll have to come back and spend a weekend,” Nick sunk to the ground between his sisters. “After the baby has been born.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see this baby, Nicky.”

“Neither can any of the rest of us, Zoey.” Delia beamed. “After all, this will be our first baby. I am so sorry that I missed Corrie and Ally’s babyhoods. I’m really looking forward to the whole experience.”

“We’ll see how much she appreciates the ‘experience’ the first time we drop the baby off for a long weekend,” India winked at her husband.

“I will be more than happy to baby-sit. Anytime.” Delia laughed. “August and I will be watching every move this child makes, won’t we, August?”

“Absolutely
every
move,” August nodded vigorously. “Do feel free to plan a long trip. The baby will be in excellent hands.”

They were easy with each other, as those who know each other well, who understand each other’s body language, tend to be. In spite of himself, Matt found that he envied the closeness of the group. In truth, he had to admit that they had all made an effort to include him in conversations, and had all applauded him heartily when he had defeated Ben, the odds-on favorite in the pie eating contest that Ally had insisted on. Having recently read a story set in the early part of the century, Ally had become fascinated by the descriptions of the games the children had played, and so, along with the pie eating contest, had set her heart on sack races and an egg
toss, in addition to the traditional Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

When the games had concluded and the candles on the cake had been lit and blown out to a spirited chorus of the birthday song, some of the young guests had departed and the sun had begun to dip lower behind the trees. For the first time, Laura’s entire family—except for Charity—sat together on the grass, savoring the remaining hours of what had been a very pleasant afternoon.

“You know, Pumpkin Hill reminds me a little bit of Mother’s place when we were little.” Nick said.

“It does,” Georgia nodded. “It even has a pond like the one we had.”

“Ben, remember when you used to teach me how to catch frogs?” Zoey leaned back against him lazily, her eyes closed, a slight smile on her lips.

Before he could answer, Ally jumped up and cried, “Aunt Zoey, you know how to catch frogs?”

“Are you kidding?” Her eyes still closed, the smile slid across Zoey’s face into a grin as she held up her hands and said, “These hands are feared by frogs from here to Pennsylvania.”

“Would you show us how?” Ally jumped up and down. “Me and Corri and Samantha and Carly? Now?”

“Sweetest, the first thing you have to do, if you want to catch frogs, is to be very, very quiet.”

“We can be quiet.” Ally whispered.

“And you have to be barefooted.”

Four little girls hit the ground and started to take off their shoes and socks.

“Zoey, they’re going to be covered with mud.” Delia pointed out.

Zoey sat up and shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun and asked, “Is there a hose?”

“Right on the side of the house.” Georgia pointed to it.

“Then it’s a-hunting we will go.” She kicked off her sandals and stood up. “Now, let’s get in a nice, straight line. We need to creep up on the frogs, remember.”

Zoey made the motion of zipping her lips.

The girls nodded wordlessly, zipping their lips as Zoey had done.

She motioned for them to follow behind her, and the train of frog hunters headed for the pond with exaggerated stealth.

Ben and Nick exchanged a look of pure mischief.

“So, Ben,” Nick asked, “how long you suppose it’s been since you gave my sister a good pond-dunk?”

Ben pretended to ponder the question before responding. “Has to have been at least seventeen, eighteen years ...”

“My, my,” Nick grinned, “has it been that long?”

Without another word, the two men immediately began taking off their shoes and socks and set off toward the pond.

“If you go around from behind the barn,” Matt called to them, “she won’t hear you coming.”

Both men grinned.

“We owe you one, Matt.” Ben called over his shoulder as they set off for the barn.

“They were full of mischief as boys, and they’re still full of it,” Delia shook her head. “As bad now as
they were when they were twelve and thirteen. Poor Zoey ...”

India laughed. “I’m willing to bet that ‘poor Zoey’ can take care of herself. I’d go with them, but it’s hard to creep up on someone when you’re almost seven months pregnant and rolling like a bowling ball.”

“You hardly look like a bowling ball. I never looked as good as you do when I was pregnant with Ally.” Laura sat down on a nearby chair, balancing a plate of grilled vegetables on her knee. “And before I forget, Georgia, I want you to feel free to plant up that flower garden, and the vegetable garden behind the barn.”

“I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. I’ve thought of it. Being a vegetarian, I like the idea of growing my own food.”

“What would you grow?”

“Oh, maybe some green beans, squash, peppers, eggplant, and of course, tomatoes. Cantaloupes. Strawberries.”

“You know, there are apple and peach trees right along the fence, there.” Matt ventured to join the conversation.

“I noticed. I’m looking forward to summer here in a very big way.”

Matt had a sudden vision of a tanned Georgia in shorts and a tank top, her long blond hair pulled atop her head in an untidy ponytail, sitting on the top rail of the fence biting into a fresh peach, the juice sliding down her chin and onto her throat, and he almost choked. He tried to blink the vision away, but it was mighty slow to leave.

“Well, if you’re going to plant, you need to decide
soon exactly what and where. The ground will need to be turned over, though, so let me know if I can help. That’s a lot of work.” Matt offered, wondering if it would help if he tried to make the vision wear one of those long things people used to wear over their clothes in the rain. What were those things called? A poncho ...?

“I’m not afraid of a little hard work.” She told him. “And I love working outside. I spend a lot of time out here. Just me and my little piggy.”

She scratched a weary Spam on the snout. The pig had had an active day, avoiding the pups, running from the children, and hiding from Artie. It was enough to wear out any girl.

“Maybe you could plant some extras for the inn,” Laura suggested hopefully. “Like Aunt Hope used to do.”

“Lee hinted the other day that I should grow herbs for his restaurant,” Georgia said offhandedly.

“Lee was here?” Delia asked. “How is he?”

“He’s fine.” Georgia told her, and appeared to be about to say something else on the subject when India told her, “I think your phone is ringing.”

Georgia excused herself and raced toward the steps.

Delia had not been blind to the fact that Matt’s eyes had followed her, and that those same eyes had narrowed and clouded at the mention of Lee’s name.

Oh, my, here’s an unexpected twist,
Delia mused.

“Who is Lee?” Laura was asking.

“Lee Banyon is Georgia’s best friend from Baltimore,” Delia told her, turning her head slightly to ensure that Matt heard every word. “He took her
under his wing when she first joined the Baltimore troupe, and more recently, he helped her to leave it.”

“Oh, he’s a dancer?” Laura noted.

“A former dancer. Lee had been quite well known and highly regarded. He has performed with several troupes over the years.” Delia settled back, knowing that Matt was listening. “He quit a few years back when David died.”

“Who’s David?” Laura asked.

“Oh, sorry.” Delia smiled apologetically. “David was Lee’s companion. They’d been together forever.”

“You mean Lee is ...” Matt noted, the light beginning to dawn.

“Yes,” Georgia told him as she rejoined them and sat back down. “Lee is gay.”

“Lee is gay,” he repeated flatly.

“Yes. Does that bother you?” Her eyes narrowed as readied herself to defend her friend.

“No, it doesn’t bother me at all.” He cleared his throat to mask the relief that washed over him at that moment.

“I was just about to say that when David died, Lee quit the troupe and took over David’s restaurant.”

“How is the restaurant doing?” India asked.

“It’s doing very well. Of course, Lee thinks of David every time he walks through the door. And so do I, quite frankly.”