Waking Up in Charleston (19 page)

Mary Louise couldn’t believe it was that easy. “Would you maybe teach me how to run a business? I mean, I know I’d have a lot to learn about all the things you sell in your shop, but after that?”

Maggie grinned at her. “I think we have a budding entrepreneur here,” she said with approval. “Sweetie, I will teach you everything I know.”

“Careful, Maggie,” Dinah teased. “She could wind up being your strongest competitor one day.”

“Oh, no,” Mary Louise assured her. “If I ever had my own business, it wouldn’t be a gallery. It would be a yarn shop, you know, where women would come and take knitting classes and sit around and talk the way we’re doing now.”

Amanda regarded her with surprise. “You knit?”

Mary Louise nodded. “My grandma taught me before she died. I’m making some things for the baby right now.” She glanced around and realized they were all looking at her with real interest. “Would you like to see the blanket I’m knitting?” she asked shyly. “It’s in Dinah’s car. I work on it when things are slow at the Stop and Shop.”

“Absolutely,” Amanda said.

“You stay put,” Dinah told her. “I’ll get it. Is it in that tote bag you had with you when I picked you up from work?”

Mary Louise nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” Dinah said.

While she was gone, Mary Louise turned to Amanda. “Do you think I could have some more soda?”

“Water,” Amanda said. “You need to cut back on the soda.”

“Sure. Water’s good,” Mary Louise said, amazed that she felt protected when these women pressed her to do something. If her mother pressed, she felt smothered.

“And while we’re waiting for Dinah, I’ll get the dessert,” Maggie said. “Nadine baked brownies and I brought ice cream.” She grinned. “I assume everyone here wants both.”

Mary Louise listened to the chorus of enthusiastic responses and shook her head. “How do you all eat like this and stay so thin?”

“Trust me, we do not eat like this all the time,” Nadine assured her.

“We reserve it for girls’ night,” Amanda said. “Which is probably why we’ve only had two girls’ nights so far. Otherwise we’d all be big as blimps.”

“Oh, that’s why you came up with all those excuses,” Maggie taunted. “To protect your waistline for Caleb.”

Amanda ignored her. She handed a tall glass of ice water to Mary Louise, then started scooping ice cream onto the brownies Maggie had been setting into bowls. The desserts were ready when Dinah returned. She had this weird expression on her face as she handed the tote bag to Mary Louise.

“You okay?” Maggie asked.

Dinah nodded, then gave Mary Louise an apologetic look. “I peeked.”

“That’s okay,” Mary Louise said at once, though she felt vaguely embarrassed. “It’s not like I’m an expert or anything. I’d need to take some classes if I ever opened a shop.”

“Stop it,” Dinah said. “The blanket is beautiful, Mary Louise. Show them. And then promise you’ll knit one for me. I want one exactly like it for my baby.”

Mary Louise regarded her with uncertainty. “You mean it? You really like it?”

“Come on. Show us,” Amanda pleaded.

Mary Louise pulled the nearly completed blanket from the bag. She’d chosen a pale green yarn and added
white trim. It was the softest yarn she’d been able to find and it felt kind of like she imagined a cloud would feel, just barely there and gentle against a baby’s skin. The pattern wasn’t all that complicated, but she’d added a little row of fluffy yellow ducks around the border that she thought made it different.

“Oh, my,” Amanda whispered, her eyes wide as she held it almost reverently against her cheek. “It’s lovely, Mary Louise. It’s absolutely charming.”

“The ducks are just precious,” Nadine said.

“When you’re finished, would you let me show it to my boss?” Amanda asked. “She’s been talking about adding a baby boutique to the store. I’ll bet she would take as many of these as you could make.” She grinned. “And charge an arm and a leg for them, too.”

Mary Louise was overwhelmed. “You really think it’s special?”

“I think you have a gift for design,” Maggie confirmed. “And remember one thing if you sell any of these to Amanda’s boss. She only gets an exclusive for, say, the next year. After that, we’re going to see what we can do about opening your own shop.”

“Absolutely,” Dinah said. “I’ll invest.”

“You’ll have to get in line behind me,” Maggie countered.

Mary Louise clutched the baby blanket to her chest and blinked back more tears. For the second time since her dream of marrying Danny had gone up in smoke, she felt a sense of her own self-worth coming back. She realized she might be able to make a real future for herself and her baby all on her own. It was amazing how good that made her feel.

Caleb knew the instant he spotted Max making his way into the restaurant that he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by insisting that Amanda let Jimmy and Larry come along with him this evening. She was going to blow a gasket when she found out that the boys had met their grandfather when she wasn’t there to supervise. She’d already postponed two meetings between them, making excuses about work pressures during the holidays. Caleb thought she was just terrified that once Max had met her children, there would be no turning back.

Cord spotted Max at the same time Caleb did. “Oh, boy,” he muttered. “Is this going to be as bad as I think it is?”

Josh, who’d never met Max, looked bewildered. “What’s the problem?”

“Could you take Jimmy and Larry for a walk?” Caleb asked Josh urgently. “Now!”

Josh didn’t hesitate. “Hey, kids, let’s go outside, okay?”

Jimmy stared at him curiously. “How come?”

Cord ruffled his hair. “Because if we get some exercise, we’ll have more room for dessert. I’m thinking hot fudge sundaes. How does that sound?”

“Totally awesome,” Jimmy said.

Larry, however, said nothing. His gaze seemed to be riveted on Max, who was making a beeline in their direction. “Who’s he?” he asked Caleb.

Caleb forced a smile. “I’ll tell you when you get back, okay? Just go with Josh.”

Jimmy bounded out of his seat, but Larry was slower. He seemed to sense that the excitement was going to be right here.

“Larry, go with Josh,” Caleb said firmly, then turned to face Max, who was standing by silently, his avid gaze locked on the boys.

Cord stood up and nudged Larry along, then cast a sympathetic look at Caleb.

“They’re Amanda’s sons,” Max said with certainty after the boys were gone. He regarded Caleb with a hurt expression. “Why did you send them away?”

“Because it’s not up to me to introduce you to them,” Caleb said. “Amanda would be furious if I took that decision out of her hands.”

“It’s not as if you arranged it,” Max scoffed. “What do you think I’m going to do—scare the two of them?”

“No, of course not,” Caleb said. “It’s just awkward.”

“And you don’t think it was awkward shooing them out of here as if I were the devil incarnate?” Max asked. “I imagine they’re pestering Cord and that other fellow with questions right now.”

Caleb sighed. “Yes, I suspect they are.”

“Think they’ll rat you out?” Max asked.

“No, I think they’ll be very discreet,” Caleb said. “Unlike you, they seem to know what’s at stake.”

Max’s gaze narrowed. “Which is?”

“Your relationship with your daughter,” Caleb responded at once. “And mine.”

Max sat down suddenly as if his legs would no longer hold him. “You think she wouldn’t forgive you?”

“Or you,” Caleb said. “Max, we have to tread lightly with Amanda. This truce between you is still a fragile thing. If you upset her, it could go up in smoke.”

Max looked genuinely bewildered. “But I thought
we’d made progress. She stayed there a couple of weeks back and played poker with the two of us.”

“She’s mellowed, no question about it,” Caleb agreed. “But these are her babies, Max. You said some awful things about them once. She’s going to have to decide when you get to see them. She’s just trying to protect them.”

“I never said a thing to their faces,” Max blustered indignantly, but it was evident from the regret in his eyes that his tone was mostly for show. He knew how badly he’d behaved.

“I would never deliberately set out to hurt a child, especially not my own grandchild,” he added for good measure.

“But you did hurt them, at least indirectly,” Caleb admonished him. “When you cut their mother out of your life, then turned their father away, you made sure that they wouldn’t have a grandfather in their lives. You robbed them of that. I think that’s more important than ever, now that they’ve lost their dad.”

“Is that what you’re worried about, or are you upset because I didn’t hand Amanda the money to dig herself out of the hole that O’Leary scoundrel put her in?”

“It’s not about the money, Max. That’s the least of it,” Caleb said. “All I care about are people.”

Max rubbed a hand across his eyes. “Okay, I get it. I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I know that. I’m trying to fix things.”

“By coming here tonight?”

“I told you it was an accident,” Max said, but without real vehemence.

“Then George didn’t happen to mention anything
about this boys’ night out when he stopped by to see you?” Caleb asked mildly.

Max looked startled. “You know about George being at the house?”

Caleb smiled. “He said that’s why he couldn’t join us, because he was coming to see you. I imagine he told you exactly where we’d be and that we’d have those boys with us.”

“You’re too damn smart for your own good,” Max grumbled.

“And you’re not half as clever as you think you are,” Caleb retorted. “Why don’t you go home before you stir up a ruckus in here, Max? Amanda will bring the boys to see you soon.”

“You sure about that?”

“Didn’t she promise she would?”

Max nodded grudgingly. “She said it would be before Christmas, though, and that didn’t happen.”

“Well, I know the one sure way to guarantee that she won’t keep her word would be for you to force the issue right now,” Caleb said confidently.

Max frowned, but he stood up. “Okay, you win,” he said, his expression sad. “Least I got a glimpse of them. They’re Maxwells through and through, aren’t they?”

Caleb couldn’t deny him that. “They have your stubbornness, too,” he said. “And trust me when I tell you that is not a compliment.”

“Watch your tongue, boy.” He gave Caleb’s shoulder a squeeze. “I suppose you think I ought to thank you for keeping me from stirring up trouble.”

“I’d appreciate it, but I don’t expect it,” Caleb retorted.

“In that case, I thank you,” Max said, a twinkle in his eye. “See, even an old man like me is capable of a few surprises.”

Filled with relief, Caleb watched him go. Now all he had to do was keep Larry and Jimmy from asking a thousand unanswerable questions, then reporting back to their mother.

A
manda took her exhausted sons upstairs and tucked them in without the usual nighttime rituals, then went back down to find Caleb standing at the kitchen window, his expression pensive as he stared out into the darkness.

“Is everything okay?” she asked. “I hope the boys weren’t too much trouble.”

“Your sons couldn’t possibly be too much trouble,” he said. “There’s nothing I’d rather do than spend time with them.”

“Are we talking about the same boys? Eight and nine, about so tall?” She held up her hand, palm down. “I seem to recall an adventure with a nail gun while we were building this house and another surprise excursion up to the roof.”

Caleb’s lips curved slightly. “Typical boys, that’s all.”

Shaking her head at his nonchalance, Amanda said, “You might not find it so charming if they were yours. My heart still starts pounding when I think about it. Took ten years off my life.”

“I imagine they’ll do worse before they’re grown,” he said.

She regarded him with alarm. “Please don’t say things like that.”

This time he gave her a full-fledged smile, the kind of smile that made her tingle with the suggestion that they were somehow in this together.

“Prepare yourself, Amanda. Just wait till they hit their teens. Get all the sleep you can now, because during those years it’ll be in short supply. Wait till they’re out on their first dates, or out beyond curfew with the car.”

“Now, aren’t you the cheery soul?” she said, then studied him. “How do you know so much about teenaged boys?”

“For starters, I was one. For another, I spend a lot of time with the youth group at church. It’s about time we got you started with that, too. I’m thinking sometime in the next few weeks. I didn’t press before the holidays, but things shouldn’t be so rushed now. Once you’ve spent some time with these kids—and let me add that these are all
good
kids—you’ll see what I mean. It might prepare you.”

“Prepare me?”

“For a few years from now when Larry and Jimmy hit their teens,” he said. “Isn’t that what we were talking about?”

Surprised by the edge in his voice, she studied him intently. “What put you into this odd mood, Caleb?”

He avoided her gaze, then sighed. “I’m trying to decide whether or not to tell you something.”

Amanda was surprised by the cautious note in his voice, to say nothing of the fact that he hadn’t yet learned that keeping secrets from her was a sure way to
provoke her. “Evasions, Caleb? I thought you’d learned that lesson.”

“I’m afraid I’m still tempted to try it when it comes to anything related to your father,” he replied. “That topic usually gets you pretty stirred up.”

Her heart flipped over in her chest. “Is he worse?”

He immediately looked apologetic. “Oh, no, nothing like that. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She was startled by the depth of her relief. Apparently she’d made more progress in forgiving Max than she’d realized, or maybe the concern was simply instinctive, ingrained by all those years when she had cared. “What about him, then?”

“We ran into him tonight,” he said, studying her closely.

Amanda went perfectly still. “You ran into Max? While the boys were there?”

He nodded.

“Did you plan it?” she asked, ice in her voice. “Did you decide I wasn’t moving fast enough to suit you?”

Caleb shook his head. “No, I didn’t plan it, Amanda,” he said, looking hurt by the accusation. “It just happened. And I did the best damage control I could. Josh and Cord got the boys out of the restaurant and I talked to your father and asked him to leave.”

“And did he leave?”

Caleb nodded. “Reluctantly, yes. They barely crossed paths.” Then he added with some urgency, “He’s dying to meet them, Amanda. Surely you can understand that. You even promised him you’d take them out there over the holidays.”

“I was busy, dammit!”

“I know that,” he soothed, “but you know that Max isn’t a patient man.”

“Maybe I should rethink that promise,” she retorted coolly. She wasn’t sure if her forgiveness extended to Max’s rejection of her children.

“Please, don’t.”

She watched Caleb suspiciously, certain that he hadn’t told her the whole story. “I know you’re trying hard to make it sound like it, but this wasn’t an accidental encounter, was it? If you didn’t set it up, he did.”

“Yes,” Caleb admitted. “George saw him earlier tonight and mentioned where we’d be and that Larry and Jimmy would be with us. I suppose your father couldn’t resist. I can’t say that I blame him, but I swear I did everything I could to keep them apart. They never even exchanged a word with him, and none of us explained who Max is. Still, I imagine the boys will have a lot of questions in the morning. They certainly had them tonight.”

Her heart started to pound. “What did you tell them?”

“The truth, up to a point. I said he was someone you know and I was sure you’d take them to meet him one day soon, but it was up to you to do that.”

“And of course that only made them more curious,” Amanda concluded wearily, recalling that Larry had already picked up on Max’s existence and had even found out somehow that he was ill. He’d even shared some of what he’d figured out with Susie, more than likely with Jimmy, as well. She wasn’t ready for all the explanations this was going to require. Taking the boys and Susie to see her father would mean the end to the
war of wills between them. It would amount to saying that she’d forgiven him completely and trusted him not to hurt them. Once she’d allowed him into their lives, she couldn’t change her mind.

But even if her own feelings were mellowing, did she trust Max? He’d been her rock for nearly twenty years and he’d almost destroyed her. How could she entrust her children’s fragile young hearts to a man capable of that?

“I hate being in this position,” she said angrily. “I’m not ready for this.”

“Nonetheless, you have to deal with it,” Caleb said, refusing to cut her even an inch of slack. “I’m sorry this happened tonight, but that’s where we are. If you ignore it, I wouldn’t put it past Larry to go looking for his grandfather. I think he suspects that’s who Max is. Jimmy was more oblivious to the undercurrents, but Larry wasn’t. He didn’t want to leave the table when Max arrived.”

She regarded Caleb with dismay, fully aware of her son’s determination and daring. “You don’t think he’d try to find his way out there on his own?” she asked, then shook her head. “Of course he would. Larry’s the one with absolutely no fear.”

“Then you can’t take a chance, Amanda. Take them to see your father, and do it soon,” Caleb pleaded. “That way you control the situation.”

“As if anyone ever controls anything when it comes to Max,” she scoffed, then sighed. “Okay. I’ll take them, but you’re coming with me.”

“Fine.” He met her gaze. “What is it you think my presence will accomplish?”

“You’ll be handy when this meeting blows up in my face. I won’t have to go hunting for you to kill you.”

She wasn’t entirely joking, and based on the expression of alarm in Caleb’s eyes, he knew it.

Max hadn’t suffered many humiliations in his life, but being forced to leave a restaurant without saying so much as a word to his own grandsons was just about at the top of the very short list. He was still stewing about it on Sunday afternoon. Worse, Caleb hadn’t called to say how things had gone when Amanda had found out. Nor had Amanda shown her face.

He should have forced the issue right then and there, he thought, feeling totally out of sorts and out of control. Leaving had been a mistake. Amanda would probably turn this into some sort of big whoop-de-do and use it as an excuse to keep him from those kids forever.

The only reason he hadn’t stayed was out of respect for Caleb. The man had been a good friend, and he’d worked to help Max make peace with Amanda. How could Max have turned his back on that and left Caleb stuck out on some limb all by himself? Max had experienced the full brunt of Amanda’s fury. He couldn’t very well subject his friend to that on his behalf, especially not if what he suspected about their feelings for each other was true.

He supposed the next couple of hours would tell the story. Caleb usually came by in midafternoon. Once he showed up, he’d fill Max in on just how ticked off Amanda was about the other night. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that she knew every detail. Caleb didn’t
have enough sneakiness in him to keep that kind of secret, not after he’d vowed to her that the secrets were over.

Jessie appeared on the porch, that dad-gum pitying look back in her eyes.

“What do you want?” he growled.

“I was just wondering if you’re getting hungry or if you want to wait to eat when Caleb gets here?” she responded, unfazed by his grumpiness.

“Why would I wait on him? Do you think he does me the courtesy of letting me know if he’s coming?”

She grinned at that. “He comes every Sunday, Max. Don’t pretend you’re sitting around on pins and needles waiting for his phone call. The two of you don’t stand on ceremony.”

“Well, maybe we should,” he grumbled. “Maybe he should wait to be invited.”

Jessie merely rolled her eyes. “Am I putting some lunch on the table for you or not?”

“I’ll wait to eat with Caleb when he shows his face,” he said. “But bring me a sandwich out here so I don’t starve to death in the meantime.”

“Any particular kind of sandwich?”

“You have any of that meat loaf left?” he asked hopefully.

Jessie hesitated. “Uh, no, you finished it.”

Max frowned at her. “Something wrong with me asking about the meat loaf?”

“No, of course not,” she said a little too hurriedly. “Nothing at all.”

Max sighed at her pitiful attempt at evasion. “We haven’t had meat loaf in a while, have we?”

She shook her head. “It’s not surprising you’d think about it. It was always one of your favorites.”

“Next to your fried chicken,” he said. “That’s Caleb’s favorite. I imagine that’s what we’re having for supper, since you have a soft spot for him.”

Her tight expression eased. “Of course, but it’s got nothing to do with Caleb. You know perfectly well that Sunday fried chicken is as much a tradition around here as my sweet potato casserole on Thanksgiving or my black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day.”

Max regarded Jessie with genuine fondness. There’d been a time when they might have been more to each other, but his heart had always belonged to Margaret, even after all the years she’d been gone. “You know how important you are to this family, don’t you? I know I don’t say it half enough, but Amanda and I wouldn’t have made it without you. And I’m not sure I could have carried on when she left, if you hadn’t been around to nag me.”

“Oh, hush that nonsense,” Jessie said, her cheeks turning pink and tears welling up in her eyes. “You’re gonna make me cry, old man.”

“Maybe you ought to sit down here next to me and we could both have ourselves a good cry,” Max suggested. “Seems to me we’re due. Lord knows we shed enough tears the day Amanda left here.”

“Which would never have happened if you hadn’t been your stubborn, contrary self,” she admonished him. “I hope you don’t do anything to ruin this reconciliation.”

“I’m not going to ruin anything,” Max huffed indig
nantly. At least he hoped not. Of course, based on Friday’s incident, there was a good possibility he already had.

Asleep in his rocker on the porch, Max was awakened by the sound of a car winding its way up the driveway. He pulled himself out of a troublesome dream and watched anxiously to see who was coming. He told himself he wasn’t disappointed that it was just Caleb’s familiar sedan.

Only after it had pulled to a stop did he see that there were other occupants in the car. Amanda was sitting stiffly in the front passenger seat and her three children were in the back. Max felt his heart clutch at the wondrous sight. Only Jessie knew how much he’d longed for this day over the years.

All three kids were spilling out of the back seat before Caleb could get out from behind the wheel. Amanda was much slower to exit. In fact, she waited until Caleb circled the car and opened her door. Max didn’t think it had a blessed thing to do with manners. He was pretty sure she’d have stayed put without Caleb standing there waiting for her to move.

He saw her shoot a scowl up at Caleb, reserving another one for Max as she slowly crossed the lawn, the kids running ahead. They hung back when they reached the bottom of the steps till she joined them.

Max clutched the arms of the rocker, willing himself to let Amanda handle this in her own way. If it had been up to him, he’d have scooped every one of those kids into a bear hug by now. All the vicious thoughts he’d
ever had about their daddy faded as he studied those precious faces.

“Hello, Daddy,” she said at last, her voice even shakier than it had been on her first visit.

Max realized she was nervous or angry or both. He nodded at her and waited, but his gaze kept straying to the boys standing on either side of her and to the girl clutching Caleb’s hand. That darling child was the spitting image of Amanda when she’d been that age.

Amanda turned her back on him and hunkered down in front of the children. “This is your grandfather,” she told them, that hitch back in her voice. “He’s been wanting to meet you.” She glanced over her shoulder with a look that warned him not to make a liar out of her.

Max stood up then. “I surely have,” he said, taking a step toward them.

Jimmy’s face lit up in recognition. “I know you. You were the man at the restaurant Friday night. How come Caleb made us leave without talking to you?”

“He was just trying to do the right thing,” Max said. “He knew your mama wanted to be the one to introduce us.”

Susie took a cautious step forward, her sweet little face filled with curiosity. “How come we never knew you before? Did you live far away?”

Max shook his head. “No, I’ve always lived right here.” He faltered after that, unsure of what to say.

“Your granddaddy and I had a big disagreement a long time ago,” Amanda said quietly. “I was very mad at him and we haven’t seen each other since then.”