Home for Love (An Adult Contemporary Romance) (16 page)

“Thanks Alice,” Bree leaned over and
squeezed her friends’ hand, no longer thinking of them as old high school
friends, their bond had been reestablished. “I’d love to do Janet’s party, but
I’ll let her choose her own theme – within your budget range of course. I’ll
call you after I finish the proposal and arrange to come over and chat with
you.”

“Sure,” Alice nodded, “and bring Amber
along. Janet’s a bit younger, but she doesn’t seem to think so, so I’m sure
they’ll be able to entertain each other.”

After breakfast and helping her gran
clean the house the next morning, Bree sat down at the dining room table with a
heap of material and all manner of crafty items – from fabric glue to glitter
and beads, and a feather. She’d gone to the local craft and fabric store and
had dipped into her savings, the previous afternoon to purchase it all. She’d
worked on instinct, pulling from her dreams and her past experience and
trusting that it would work out. The only guidelines she’d followed had been to
ensure that she had enough pastel colors for girls, and bold colors for boys.

She’d also raided the attic and pulled
out the décor items she’d used for the parties she’d organized before for the
Devil’s Peak Cares Association. As her gran was chairperson and said that none
of it had been used since Bree last arranged a party for them, she didn’t see
any reason why Bree couldn’t take it. Bree had felt obligated to the DPC
nonetheless and had agreed to organize two parties a year for the DPC in lieu
of payment.

Amber had slept over at Todd’s the night
before, so Bree used the quiet time to work. Cutting out material to the
patterns, her mind buzzed with the possibilities each piece of fabric, and each
tube of beads held.

“You look busy,” Todd interrupted her,
startling her.

“Hi,” Bree looked up at him then got up
and held her arms out to hug Amber.

“Good morning, honey,” she kissed the
top of Amber’s head. “Did you have a good time?”

“Uh-huh,” Amber replied. “We watched
movies and dad taught me how to play cards so I can beat you on game night.”

“I don’t know about that,” Bree said
seriously, “I’m a mean hand at cards.”

“Me too,” Amber said, challengingly.

“I’m sure you are, honey,” Bree laughed
and pinched Amber’s cheek. “Now go greet Grandpa and Grandma.”

“Okay, I’m going to tell them that I’m
going to beat them at cards,” Amber replied, running off in excitement.

“What’s all this?” asked Todd. “Are you
redecorating?”

“Actually, I’m thinking of moving out of
the farmhouse,” Bree said deadpan, “and moving in with you.”

“Huh?” Todd asked, doing a double-take.
He cleared his throat and responded, “You caught me off guard – sorry. You’re
welcome to move in with me. I have three bedrooms and have been thinking of
taking Amber to Fairbanks – with you of course,” he quickly added,” to get
stuff to do up her room. Looks like you’ve got the girly stuff covered.”

“I’m joking, Todd,” Bree burst into
laughter.

“What?” asked Todd, puzzled.

“I’m pulling your leg,” Bree stated
while thinking that she’d love to pull all his legs. “But, your response was
sweet, thank you. And, I’d be happy to go with you and Amber to Fairbanks to
find ‘girly stuff’ to decorate her room with.”

“Jeesh, Bree,” Todd swallowed, “since,
you got your hair done, you’ve become feisty.”

“I know,” Bree’s lips curved wickedly,
slanting her blue ones up at him coyly. “Do you like it?”

Todd stared at the siren before him and
recognized that the lust that shot straight through him did so a lot faster
than usual. Fumbling around mentally for the right response, he forced a smile
back at her, then thought stuff it. He took a risk and startled her in turn by
planting a hot, fast kiss on her cherry reds. “Sure I like it,” he grinned at
her. “Confidence is a huge turn on.”

He made a hasty retreat. Thinking that
the quicker he got out of there, the less tempted he’d be to throw her amongst
the glitter and feathers on the table and show her how much he liked it., “I’ve
got to head back into town. I’ll go say bye to Amber. See you tomorrow night at
gym?”

“Sure,” Bree croaked back, her hands
flapping as she wove to his back. What was that?!

xxx

“We’ve brought dessert, kids, and extra
hands,” Shelly announced as she entered the dining room followed by Kristine,
Alice, Megan, and Kelly and a brood of children.

Delighted by the company, Bree hugged
each of them and made a point of kneeling down to hug and welcome each child.
“Let me get Amber and my grandparents. They’ll be thrilled to see you.” Bree
looked at the mess on the dining room table. “I was going to ask you to have a
seat, but it’s a bit of a mess.”

“Don’t you worry about that,” Kristine
waved Bree’s sheepishly delivered apology away. “We didn’t come to only
socialize. We came to work.”

“And who might this be?” Daniel’s voice
boomed with pleasure as he entered the room, Amber shyly walking behind him. “I
see we have some helpers, Amber. I think that the garden fairy heard us and
sent them. What do you think?”

Amber just stared wide-eyed, more at
home with unfamiliar adults than children. “What’s the garden fairy?” one of
the little girls asked.

“Why, you don’t know what a garden fairy
is?” Daniel smiled down at the girl.

The children stared in fascination at
the jovial, larger than life man and slowly shook their heads. Bree smiled
broadly, she remembered that feeling when she was a child – her granddad had
the ability to hook any child and fill their imaginations with tales from his
Irish homeland. “Well, we better acquaint you then. Now, if you come with me,
I’ll show you the plants and vegetables that the garden fairy helps me grow.
When Amber’s grandma brings us cookies and juice, we can put little bits of it
in the fairy garden Amber and I made for her. Then, if she feels like it –
because the little people can be fickle – she might just show herself.”

“What are little people,” one of the
boys asked as they tagged behind like children of the Pied Piper.

“I swear,” Kristine declared, “if I
could find what it is that your granddad has, Bree, and bottle it up, I could
make billions!”

Bree laughed and looked around at her
friends; ready to socialize and help her. An enormous feeling of belonging
filled the part of her heart that could neither be filled by a man or by family
and only by loving friends. And so, the loneliness, she realized, was on its
way out the door. Instinctively reaching for her lips, she earnestly wished
that the last part of her heart, the part that ached during intimate moments
such as when she went to bed, woke up in the morning, or just wanted to cuddle,
would be filled too.

xxx

A month later, Bree felt like her life
was starting to get back on track. She’d seen Doctor Roz a few times and found
that the therapy sessions were emotionally exhausting. But a few days after
each session, when she’d had time to process what had been discussed, she felt
better, as though she was making progress in healing. She had also been on the
medication long enough that it had begun to take effect. At first she’d felt
like she was cheating on her vow to get herself out of it, but chatting with
Doctor Roz had helped her see that as a normal reaction and to see that the act
of taking the medication was still her choice and by doing so, she was still in
control of her journey.

All the positive steps she’d taken to
improve her overall well-being were paying off too – in more ways than one.
Improving her eating habits and the regular exercise with Shelly and Todd
improved her energy levels and made her feel good about her body. It was still
hard not to feel like she wanted to jump Todd’s bones, but the more time she
spent with him, without a variety of issues hanging over their heads, the more
she felt as though she was getting to know him all over again. It was
fascinating to observe how much both of them remained the same and how the
seven years that they’d been apart had also changed them.

 Not only was she happier, but the other
occupants of the Ramsay household were too. Her grandparents no longer slid
worried looks her way. Amber was no longer concerned about her mother’s health
– something that Bree had confirmed after a long, honest chat with her
daughter. The overall mood at the farmhouse had improved so much that it was a
jovial place that called to you. Her friends and their kids had also been
around again, having been more fascinated than expected, by Daniel’s tales of
fancy and skills with little ones and all things green.

All of this ran through Bree’s mind as
she sat on The Lodge’s verandah sipping tea and enjoying the sight of her
efforts. The gigantic plastic jungle gym was completely installed and next to
it, under an especially erected marquis, were rows of charmingly bedecked
children-sized tables and chairs, ready for the birthday princess.

Bree’s proposal and demonstration to
Jack had gone well. Though, Bree smiled to herself, she wasn’t sure if Jack had
listened to her very much, as he’d been fixated on the lovely Shelly. Shelly,
being used to the appraisal that men gave her, had ruthlessly ignored the
come-ons and puppy dog eyes that Jack had thrown her way. Either way, Bree had
come out of the meeting with Jack agreeing to The Lodge providing Bree with
exclusive rights to plan children’s parties that were held there. It was a
win-win situation really, regardless of whether or not Shelly’s presence had
clinched the deal. Jack could see the potential of offering a party service to
longer staying guests or the odd families who brought their children on
vacation for their birthday. More importantly, it would draw the local crowd to
The Lodge during low tourism periods.

Thanks to Bree’s impromptu inspection of
the conference and wedding hall, there was also ample space to host adults and
children for indoor parties during winter. The kids might not have access to
the jungle gym outside then, but Bree had a couple of ideas up her sleeve.

Bree grinned as she continued to slowly
savor her tea, recollecting the various experiments she was subjecting the
Ramsay household and all its guests to. Oh, there’d been the expected
cake-testing and requests for honest opinions of certain décor items, and with
the boys and men at her disposal, they had proven invaluable in providing her
with insight into what little boys would like for their birthday parties.

But, the most fun was had when, with the
help of Amber’s enthusiastic manipulations, she’d gotten Todd and her
grandfather dressed up in a variety of home-sewn costumes. Not only were the
men’s personalities a poor fit for the costumes, but the costumes themselves
were poorly constructed. But, Bree had persisted in her endeavors until Todd,
the dear man, had walked into the farmhouse one day and unceremoniously dumped
a couple of bags full of costumes, which he had rescued from a second-hand
store in Fairbanks. The costumes were not in the best shape, but with the help
of her gran, the DPC (on the promise of loaning it to them when they needed it
and she wasn’t using it) and her friends, they’d managed to get them into
use-worthy shape.

For this party, Bree’s second
coordinated event, the theme was fairy princesses and the décor glittered and
sparkled accordingly in various shades of pink and lavender. Heading towards
her was the oldest fairy that would attend the party.

“Are you all set?” Bree asked Samantha,
the high school student with a love for children and a bigger love for saving
money for the prom. Samantha had stood out when Bree cast her eyes around for a
child-minder amongst the teenagers in the DPC’s youth programs. She was Bree’s
all-round helper and during the parties, the entertainer in whatever forms the
theme required. For the first party, Samantha had donned a pirate costume
without batting an eyelid and today, she looked splendid in a flowing
fairy-costume with jewelry, make-up, and wings to match.

“Yes,” replied Samantha. “I’ve got the
list of games we agreed on and have practiced them all. Now, I’m just waiting
for the guests. I’m ready.”

“You’ll be great and fun will be had by
all,” Bree encouraged.

“They’re so adorable, that I’ll
definitely have fun,” Samantha gushed.

“I’ll be in tomorrow to pick up the
tables and décor,” Bree reminded her. “I’ve already checked with the kitchen
and they’re good to go. Jack’s dedicated two waiters to serving drinks to the
adults and laying out the food. Housekeeping will also pack up the party stuff
and will store it until I come and pick it up. So, all you’ll have to do is
keep the kids busy.”

“Should I help you with the cakes,
quickly?” Samantha asked.

“Already sorted,” replied Bree. “You
can’t see them because they’re covered with a net. When the waiters bring the
food out, they’ll remove that too.”

With everything in hand, Bree left The
Lodge to pick Amber up from Todd’s. The best thing about her new venture was
that she got to do the planning and didn’t have to stay for the hours it took
to have a child’s party. The fun had always been in the planning and
preparation for her and with the set up that Jack had, she fortunately didn’t
need to see the execution to the end. That’s why she’d been more than happy to
agree to a forty - sixty split with him; it was a forty percent that she didn’t
have and she earned it doing something she enjoyed. What’s more, involving
Amber in the preparations had also given them hours of fun together.

Bree arrived at Todd’s house, ready to
pick up Amber and head on home to put her feet up while having a long, hot soak
in the bath. She rapped on the door and got no reply. Leaning her ear against
the door, she noted the silence, which was unusual for any environment that was
occupied when Amber was awake. She looked at the driveway again and noted that
Todd’s truck was parked there. Going around the back, she was met with no sight
or sound of life.