The Switch (23 page)

Soft music floated around Tia and Danny as they ate their meal at the restaurant. When he pulled her onto the small dance floor, Tia smiled, her head resting on Danny’s chest, loving the feel of being in his arms as the romantic music circled around them. Her hand flexed in his and she tucked it between them. “This was a very good idea,” she said.

“I’m glad you approve. When we popped by your grandma’s the other day, she badgered me about taking you dancing. I should have thought of it myself.” The music changed and the beat picked up. He released her waist and lifted their clasped hands, spinning her out, then tugging her back.

Tia laughed and returned to his arms smoothly. “Why didn’t I know you could dance?”

“It’s nothing special. Don’t ask me to waltz. Did I mention that you look beautiful tonight?”

“You did. Three times.” Not that she was complaining—she’d never had a night when she felt so feminine, so appreciated. If she’d ever felt like this with Lee, she’d forgotten. She pushed that thought out of her mind. Comparing the two men was unproductive and unnecessary. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He whirled them around the edges of the dance floor and pulled her near again. “You know, I was worried that you’d break up with me after my little incident at work.”

She supposed she’d given him reason to think that. She bolstered her courage, she’d been holding things back from him—holding herself back, and the time for that was over. “James didn’t tell me what happened, just that you were hurt. It scared me, but thinking you could have been seriously injured had the opposite effect.”

“Oh?”

Her face grew hot, but she met his eyes, determined to tell him how she felt. He’d said it ages ago, and she had been putting off reciprocating. “I kept thinking that I could lose you. I couldn’t stand the thought of it.” She lifted her hand from his shoulder and touched his cheek. Keeping his gaze. “I love you, Danny. I can’t imagine living without you.”

Danny stopped in the middle of the dance floor. He tipped her head up, a finger on her chin, and kissed her, his lips soft on hers, lingering as they stood still while others circled around them. “I love you, too.”

Tia felt her blush deepen as another couple whirled past. She couldn’t talk, her throat was thick from emotion and her eyes were nearly brimming with tears.

“I had this whole thing planned, but I can’t imagine anytime better than this.” One hand dipped into his pocket as he took her waist with his other hand, and moved them back into rhythm with the other dancers.

“Oh?” Her chest seemed to fill with excitement, love, and happiness. It amazed her that it didn’t simply explode.

She felt something slide onto the ring finger of her left hand. Her breath caught and she looked at it in amazement. A diamond winked back at her even in the low lights.

“Marry me, Tia?”

Her chest clenched, but she had to ask, because it was never far from her thoughts. “You know I could turn into a demented vegetable in twenty years. Doesn’t that bother you?”

“Bother me, yes. Change things, not at all. I’ll take what I can get. Your first marriage should’ve taught you that life’s too short. We need to enjoy it while we can, and I intend to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter the outcome.” His lips brushed along her ear, his voice low, throaty, sent chills down her spine.

She bit her lip, torn between melting at his sweet, sweet words, and wanting to bring up one more point. The last point won. It had been weighing heavy on her mind since she met Lisa. “I don’t know if I want any more children. If I might pass on the disease to them, I mean. It’s bad enough that the girls might already be doomed to it.” Her breath hitched as he pulled back and looked her in the eye.

They continued swaying, but his face became still as he studied her. “I won’t pretend I like that idea. I want more children—your children, Tia. But as soon as the ink is dry on the marriage certificate my insurance will pay for you to have that test done to see if you inherited the disease. If you want. No need to worry about it before then, don’t you think?”

His words should have brought her comfort, but she saw the disappointment in his eyes. “So you won’t mind?”

He paused, but when he began to speak, she could tell he meant it. “I love you. If we need to adopt, we will. If we only have Tristi and Samantha, that’s the way it’ll be. Regardless, I know I want to be with
you
. So will you marry me?”

There was no hesitation this time. She pulled him close. “Yes.”

A smile broke over his face. “Good.”

They sealed it with a kiss.

Tia tucked the phone in the crook of her neck and continued folding clothes. “So I was thinking, what if we all met each other’s family at once? I’ve mentioned a few things about your mom to my dad, and I know he’d like to meet her.”

“It might make things easier,” Lisa conceded. “I’d want you there when I met your family anyway, and vice versa. I haven’t told my mom about the switch again. It’ll just upset her all over again, and she may not remember later anyway.”

Sympathy welled inside Tia. “It must be so hard for you, watching her.”

“It is.” Lisa paused. “I hope this doesn’t sound insensitive.”

“Go ahead.” Tia stacked the last of Tristi’s T-shirts on her pile of clothes and stood to carry the pile to the girls’ room.

Another moment passed. “It’s still hard seeing my mom like this, seeing the slow deterioration, but am I awful if I admit that it’s easier now, knowing I’m not going to be in her place in thirty years? I mean, I feel like I’m saying that at your expense, like I’m pointing my finger and saying ha, ha, it’s not my problem anymore, but that’s really not what I mean.”

Tia felt the worry curl in her stomach. It was always there now, the fear and uncertainty. “I know it’s not. You should be relieved, though I’m warning you that my grandma is always making comments about how insane my mother’s family is, so hey, if that’s inheritable, you could be in for a bit of dementia anyway.” She kept her voice light, even as she had to beat back the fear that always attacked when she thought of Rose’s disease.

“That was totally insensitive of me. I am sorry,” Lisa said.

“Don’t worry about it. Actually, Danny has excellent insurance, and
they’ll pay for a DNA test
to see if I’ll develop Huntington’s disease. We have to wait until after the wedding to add me to his insurance, but at least I’ll know in a few months.” She had waffled on this issue before deciding to do the test. What would it be like to know for sure that she had the disease? Could she face it? Knowing that she might develop it was bad enough. The relief of finding out that she
wouldn’t
though, was worth it. She tucked the clothes into the dresser, separating each kind into their own stacks.

“I’m glad you’ll find out for sure. I’m sorry about everything.”

Tia wiped at the tear that escaped and worked to keep her voice even. “Don’t worry about it. It’s better to be prepared than to have it be a surprise. So, back to getting our families together. What day would be best for you?”

“With everyone’s jobs, a Saturday or Sunday would be best. What do you think, the seventeenth?”

“Danny works that day, and I’d really like him to be there. Could we do it the next week?” Tia double-checked the calendar on the wall where he’d posted his schedule, at Samantha’s request. Samantha was completely stoked about getting Danny as her dad.

“That should work. I’ll spring Mom for the day. Are you sure having everyone meet at once is a good idea? What about Ron and Mona together at the same time?”

Tia laughed. “There is that, but if the weather’s good we can meet at the park and they’ll have a little space between them. “

“The park sounds great. Lunch time?”

They agreed on a tentative time and location between their two towns.

* * *

They were lucky, Tia thought as she got out of the car, and thanked Danny for opening the door for her. The temperature was comfortable, there was only a light breeze, and the playground was empty. They let the kids out of the back seat and directed them toward the playground equipment. “At least the weather’s nice.” She was anxious about the many ways the afternoon could go wrong and had to focus on the positives.

“Of course it is—I put in a request.” Danny slid his arms around her waist and kissed her nose.

“Well, if you put in the request, obviously the weather is bound to be perfect.” She hooked her hands around his neck, then tipped her left hand so the diamond in the ring caught the light and sparkled back at her. It still made her grin.

“Are you admiring my ability to pick out jewelry?” he asked.

“Yes. I still think Laura must have helped you choose the ring. How else could you have done so well?” It was an ongoing joke, though she believed he’d done the shopping solo. Either way, she couldn’t complain.

“Laura helped me plan my big proposal moment—the one that didn’t happen because you changed my plans.” His grin said he didn’t mind.

“Sure, blame me for your inability to wait. It
must
be my fault.”

“I will.” His face grew closer and she lifted her mouth for a kiss.

Before their lips met, however, the sound of tires on gravel and Wes’s voice calling out to them, broke things up. “Gross! Can’t you two get married already so you can start fighting like normal adults?”

The engine turned off and Tia peeked around Danny’s shoulders to see Wes getting out from behind the wheel and Mona emerging on the other side. Wes still had a twisted view of marriage, a relic of his parents’ breakup, and the unfortunate demise of his own brief foray into wedlock.

“You two are so cute together,” Mona called.

Tia sighed and pulled out of Danny’s embrace, but took his hand. She looked over and saw Samantha helping Tristi up the stairs on the playground so they could go down the little plastic slide. Nerves ran through her as she thought of what was still to come that afternoon. Would things go smoothly or would it be a complete disaster?

The others arrived a couple of minutes later, Ron with Glena and Rose with Lisa. They talked for a moment while Danny opened the wheelchair for Rose. Lisa came over to introduce them.

“Mom, this is my friend Danny, and his fiancée, Tia.”

Danny smiled at Lisa. “Good to meet you both.”

Tia chuckled in embarrassment as she realized she should have done introductions already. Lisa hadn’t met anyone else there. “Sorry, I’m falling behind in my duties.” She introduced Tia and Danny.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lisa said. Then to Danny, “It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Same here.”

“My, you’re a tall one, aren’t you?” Rose asked, staring up at Danny. “And handsome, too!”

Danny grinned at her. “I am pretty tall, yes. Do you need some help moving to the wheelchair?”

“Only a steadying hand, if you don’t mind.”

“No problem.” Danny handled it like the pro he was, and in a moment had her seated comfortably in the chair. “Anything else you need or are you good to go?’

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

Rose turned and studied Tia. “Now, you look so familiar, honey. Have we met?”

Her stomach felt like it might revolt, but Tia smiled at the woman who had given birth to her. “Not yet. My name’s Tia. Lisa tells me you like to watch my cooking segment on the noon news.”

“Oh, Tia Riverton! I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you. I love watching you!” Rose took Tia’s hand between hers, warmth and excitement radiating from her face. “You’re such a beautiful girl. You remind me of myself at your age.”

Tia smiled, charmed and relieved, though she still felt nervous and a little uncertain about the afternoon. “Thank you. Would you like to meet the rest of my family?”

“That would be nice. You did bring something delicious for lunch, didn’t you? Where I live, we get lots of mashed potatoes and mushy vegetables.” Rose pulled a face.

“Yes, I have some really yummy choices, nothing mushy in the bunch. Come on.”

She turned and stopped short when she found Glena standing only a few feet behind her. “Grandma, let me introduce you to Lisa and Rose Lowell. Ladies, this is my grandmother, Glena Parry.” Tia hugged her grandma. “How are you doing today?” she asked once pleasantries were exchanged.

“I’m fine, child, but I don’t know why we had to take such a long drive to meet here.” She tugged her shirt, smoothing the wrinkles.

“I wanted to have Lisa meet with us, and she lives in Columbia. This is a nice park, though, isn’t it?” Tia put an arm around Glena’s shoulders and started leading her back to the pavilion where Samantha still hung on Wes, and Tristi played a game of got-your-nose with her grandpa.

“How old are you, dear?” Rose asked Tia as they moved on.

“Twenty-eight,” Tia said.

“Really? Did you know that Lisa is twenty-eight too? She’s my February baby. I hoped to have her on Valentine’s Day, but she insisted on arriving on the seventeenth.”

Glena stopped and turned to look at Tia, then continued around to stare at Rose, and then at Lisa. Her eyes narrowed and she asked in a low, shaky voice. “I thought you gave up on this, Tia.”

Tia pressed her lips together and guided her grandma away from the others, calling out that they should continue to the pavilion without her. “Grandma, I told you I had to have answers.”

“Answers? Why? You have a good family, lovin’ parents. Me! Even a sweet hunk of a man who loves you—why you have to go lookin’ for somethin’ that doesn’t matter?”

“I needed to know.” Tia stared at Glena. “I’m sorry you aren’t happy about it, but that’s the way it is.” She bit her lip. “How did you guess?”

Glena’s face was pale and her lips pressed firmly together as she sent the strangers distrustful looks. “That Lisa looks so much like your mother, and you and that woman . . . What’s she doin’ in a wheelchair, anyway?”

“She has Huntington’s disease. It’s given her dementia, and makes her a little unstable when she walks. Someone has to walk with her, an arm tucked in hers to keep her from stumbling, so Rose requested the chair today.”

Glena’s face blanched. “She’s sick? Could you get it?”

Tia swallowed, then nodded. “It’s genetic. There’s a fifty-percent chance I’ll have it too.” As always, the mention of her possible future made her stomach tighten in a hard ball.

“That can’t be true, if I’d known . . . the mother was healthy, it was supposed to be perfect.” She mumbled this under her breath, rubbed her forehead and turned away. “Wasn’t supposed to be like this.”