Max poked around his house and wondered what would happen when KC and Ryan moved in. He definitely anticipated that time, but he hated that KC was going overseas to Kuwait. Even the thrill of helping with Ryan diminished when he thought of the danger she faced. And knowing KC she would face it fearlessly and head-on too. Any flipping out would happen before she left and then when she returned home. To him, hopefully.
Should he tell her how he felt about her before she left in case something happened, or risk never telling her? Or by telling her, would that make her question whether he was a good candidate for keeping Ryan while she was gone? He didn’t doubt that, but what if she did? It was always a possibility. Would telling her make KC think of him while she was gone? Or would it completely ruin their relationship?
A friendship he valued because they could tell each other practically everything. She was his best friend. This was unusual for him, since KC was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen and he generally had no idea what to do with beautiful women.
KC possessed tawny, wavy blonde hair and a sweet, beautiful face, all of which were especially attractive to him. A heady combination of an all American girl gorgeousness paired with the pretty girl-next-door comfort. Her eyes were a unique shade of green-blue. Almost aqua in color. They were amazing, eyes he could get lost in. He had noticed her immediately upon meeting. Max was pretty certain he bought her dad’s company solely because of her, not because the business had been a no-brainer.
Which it wasn’t. He had managed to salvage Gilmore Products, but her dad hadn’t made things easy for him. Max learned over the year they worked together that KC had actually pulled the company out of the nosedive the medical manufacturer and supplier had been headed for. KC was the one who had made the company attractive enough to buy. But her dad hadn’t been interested in allowing her to buy him out.
She kept the thirty-five percentage of shares her grandmother left her, and Max bought her father’s sixty-five percentage of shares, not realizing that she desperately wanted them. Yet she was never snippy or nasty to him. Instead, they uneasily felt their way around the other and eventually decided they enjoyed working together.
Together, they made decisions neither would have wanted to make alone, and had formed a united front. Now, she concentrated on the research and development of their products, while he focused on the business aspect. They shared the manufacturing responsibilities and helped the other out when warranted. He and KC had formed an amazing team in the past year.
Now he couldn’t imagine not seeing her every day. How would he work through his days, without the motivation of seeing her to roll him out of bed? Without warming himself in her smile? Without cheering from her laughter? Who would he pick on?
With no answers, Max turned away from the picture he stopped in front of. A photo of the two of them dancing at the Christmas party, laughing and having a great time. He had the picture blown up and framed and it now hung in his study. In the place of prominence above the mantle.
Max left the room and hopefully his thoughts behind, closing the door after him. Too frustrated with what the future held to dwell on the depressing subject. He couldn’t imagine eight months or longer without KC.
The very thought made him nauseous.
*****
When the doorbell rang at ten to six the next morning, KC still hadn’t managed to coax Ryan out of bed. She was semi-dressed in her top, but still wore her pajama bottoms. Glancing down at herself, she figured Max’s family wouldn’t care, if they even noticed. At this point, sweet-talking her son out of bed and to the breakfast table were the most important items on her agenda.
She whisked open the door and stared at the feminine assembly on the other side. Five women stood there, and all looked prepared to do battle. Wearing scarves on their heads, wielding brooms, mops, boxes, newspaper, bubble wrap, tape, and large marking pens, they appeared a force to be reckoned with.
“Hello, love,” Max’s mom said, as she stepped inside and kissed KC on the cheek.
The other women trailed after her, jabbering and clucking excitedly as they looked over her place. One of the aunts plunked down a bag so redolent of wonderful smells, KC’s stomach rumbled in interest.
“Good morning, ladies,” she answered, slightly bemused. “I made coffee.” She hoped that didn’t sound as inane as she thought.
“Oh, wonderful.” Tessa, one of Max’s many aunts rubbed her hands. KC silently pulled down more mugs and the ladies helped themselves. Tessa opened the bag and tugged out a lemon cake, and cinnamon rolls. Another bag, one KC hadn’t even noticed, revealed a wide assortment of cookies. A dazzling selection spread out in glory, right in front of her. This fare might entice Ryan out of bed, so long as she could stop drooling long enough to coax him.
“This is wonderful.” She breathed in again and decided to alter her agenda.
“Well, we figure if we’re going to work hard today, we should eat well too,” another of the aunts, she thought it was Lily, said and they all laughed.
Ryan wandered to the kitchen doorway, his blanket trailing behind him. Spuds bounced around his ankles.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said, smiling at him.
He blinked up at the women filling his kitchen, but when he saw Max’s mother, he squealed, “Gwanme!” and launched himself into her arms.
Max’s mom bent down and scooped him up, covering his face with kisses. Ryan laughed in delight, and KC’s confidence level that her son would be in good hands while she was in Kuwait hit the full mark. These women were all mothers and most of them were grandmothers. They were professionals; Ryan would be perfectly safe with this contingent aiding in his care. Once his “Granme” finished with him, she passed him to one of her sisters or sisters-in-law, whom KC couldn’t keep straight.
They passed a happy Ryan around the circle and then one of them put a cinnamon roll in front of him and he tucked into the treat with glee. Someone fetched him a large glass of milk and he swung his legs as he ate and took in the happy chatter around him. He looked cheerful and content and she knew he would be fine.
KC accepted a cinnamon roll and took a sugar cookie with bright yellow frosting and blue stars, relieved with her son’s home situation. Not that she doubted his happiness with Max, but she hadn’t been certain how the rest of his family felt. From what she just witnessed, they considered Ryan a part of the family already. And these ladies came prepared to pack up her apartment for her. With a startling revelation, KC realized they must sort of consider her part of the family, as well.
After they finished the fat fest, Max’s mother, Monica, shooed her in to get ready for work while she took over helping Ryan dress. The other ladies looked everything over and discussed their plan of attack.
“Have you done this before?” KC asked, watching as they wrote down ideas and made suggestions.
“Oh, yes, love. You could say we’re professionals,” Monica assured her as she and Ryan joined them.
“Between us we have about forty children, and that doesn’t include their spouses or extended family, which makes the number closer to what, a hundred, Millie?” Tessa said.
“Probably a hundred and fifty,” Millie corrected.
“We’ve definitely done this before,” Tessa declared and they all grinned.
KC’s lips quirked and she felt a surge of happiness that these women were willing to come help her like this. “Well, thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”
“Thank you,” Monica said. “Max’ll finally have a dining room table.”
“This is good,” Lily said.
“Very good,” Tessa added and they all laughed and sipped their coffee.
When she and Ryan finally left, fifteen minutes later than usual, Ryan had a huge bag of cookies to share with his daycare class, which would make him instantly popular. While she clutched a smaller bag to share with the office.
Which would make her instantly popular. Especially since with her deployment, everyone had already realized their work load was about to increase dramatically. Although it would strain everyone, they took a vote, and in a nearly unanimous agreement, most everyone had voted to take on a few of her responsibilities while she was away.
Those parts that couldn’t be added to someone else’s load would just be put on hold until she returned. Which KC hoped would truly be in eight months.
As she drove, she darted a few looks at Ryan in the back seat, who sang softly to himself.
“Hey, cutie, how are you?” She needed to hear him say he was fine, for some reason.
“I’m good, Mommy,” he said, and rolled his eyes. Which looked funny on a five-year-old.
“Good. Did you like seeing Granme this morning?”
A grin split his already too cute face and he yelled, “Yeah! I liked having hew and Aunt Tessa, and Aunt Millie, and Aunt Lily, and Aunt Heathew thewe.” How did he keep them all straight?
“Did you like breakfast?” Already knowing that answer.
“Can we have cin’mon wolls evewy day, Mom?”
“No, but they are good sometimes, aren’t they?” She laughed. Thinking he might eat them often while living with Max, come to think of it. She better sit Max down and give him a stern talking to on the merits of Ryan’s diet being healthful. Because otherwise it could be anarchy when she returned.
Of course, Max did have lots of nieces and nephews, so he should have a good idea of the affects of too much sugar and caffeine on a child.
“Mom?” Ryan asked from the back seat.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“Why was Granme at ouw house?”
And she swallowed, because then she remembered that they would be moving in with Max all too soon. Why hadn’t their impending move bothered her yesterday? Maybe because today too many things were happening all at once. But Max was her oasis in the midst of a hurricane, one of her best friends, and his mother was at this minute packing up her possessions to move her into his house. This shouldn’t be a problem.
“Mom?” Ryan’s voice held impatience.
“Oh, sorry, Ryan. Granme’s at our house because she’s packing us up so we can move into Uncle Max’s house.”
“You’we moving in with Max and me?” Ryan demanded. They had already talked about this, but repetition seemed to work best with five-year olds.
“Yes. For a little while. Just until I have to leave,” she assured him, realizing she was encroaching on their male time. A female shouldn’t do that, apparently.
“Okay,” he said, and that seemed to appease him.
Grinning at him, she ignored the ache in her heart.