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“You call these burgers well done?” Jacques said good naturedly. “They look more like hockey pucks.”
The corners of Ed’s mouth quivered for a second, then he turned his attention back to the grill. “Right. Everyone knows they’re a heck of a lot better than anything you could cook.”
“Yes,” Jacques agreed, “but I don’t work for a restaurant.”
“The burgers are fine,” I said. “Now, will you two please stop your bickering?”
Greg stretched his arm around my shoulders and leaned back in the lawn chair. “They’re officially an old married couple. How long has it been? Five years now? Wait until you get to your twentieth anniversary, right, babe?”
“Hey, I’m just happy that someone else is doing the cooking for a change.”
Greg took a sip from his beer. “Don’t I always handle grill duties around here?”
“Yeah, about twice every summer,” I teased.
The four of us were sitting in my backyard, enjoying a Saturday night barbecue while Grace, the twins, and Bolin played dodgeball nearby. The weather was a perfect 70 degrees. As I watched the sun sinking into the clouds, I knew that there wouldn’t be many more evenings like this before the snow started to fly.
“I’ll tell you what I’m happy about,” Greg said. “That my wife is still in once piece after her latest real estate listing.” He shook his head at me. “Cin, why is it that you always get involved in disaster when you try to list a house?”
“It’s that unique selling technique of hers,” Ed quipped, spatula in hand.
I shot him a teasing grin. “Jacques knows something about that too.”
“Does he ever,” Ed remarked.
Greg reached across the table for the ketchup. “Is Pam out of the hospital yet?”
“Officer Brooks told me that she was released.” I helped myself to a spoonful of potato salad. “She’ll be tried as an accessory to the crime. Max is being held until his trial comes up.”
“Pam relisted the house.” Jacques sipped his Long Island iced tea. “It’s with Trish’s agency. I’m guessing that didn’t endear Tony to his former girlfriend.”
“Former girlfriend? They’re not together anymore?”
Jacques gave me a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding? He was just using her. All Tony wanted was house leads. When he stole one of her listings, she finally got wise to him.”
“Karma has come around,” I laughed.
“Tony has more important problems to worry about,” Jacques remarked. “He could lose his license. The Board of Realtors investigated and discovered that Carmine had worked with Tony on several real estate deals, and they’d failed to disclose their personal relationship. One buyer wanted out of a contract when there was an issue with the roof. Carmine, as their attorney, told them it wasn’t possible. He and Tony are in legal trouble since the buyer wasn’t aware that they were brothers. You were right to suspect them, Cin.”
Greg kissed me on the cheek. “That’s my girl.”
“Speaking of houses,” Jacques winked. “There’s a gorgeous raised ranch over on Redwood Drive that expired last week with Tony’s agency. Rumor has it that the seller wasn’t happy with his sales tactics. How would you feel about a little cold calling?”
Jacques’ question didn’t exactly come as a surprise. I had been certain that he would ask me again to stay on with the agency but was unsure of Greg’s feelings.
“I don’t know.” I glanced sideways at my husband. “Maybe I should wait and give you my answer after I’ve talked to Greg about this further.”
Greg was silent for a few seconds. “Cin, you know that your safety is the most important thing to me. I also know much you enjoyed working in real estate, and how much you missed it, so I’m going to leave the decision up to you. If you want to go back to work for Jacques, I won’t stop you.”
His speech had me close to tears. I squeezed his hand. “That means more to me than you know.”
“So, it’s a yes?” Jacques leaned forward hopefully.
I smiled at my husband. “It’s a yes. But only part-time. I still have a family to take care of.”
“Not to worry.” Ed placed a platter of burgers and hot dogs in the center of the table. “Jacques will make realtors out of all of them yet.”
We laughed as the kids came over to help themselves to the food. The back door slid open, and to my surprise, Darcy walked out. “Guess who’s home?” she called.
“Again?” Seth moaned. “We just saw you last week.”
As happy as I was to see my daughter, I worried something else might have happened. She turned around and spoke to someone. A tall, broad shouldered young man with dirty blond hair followed her, closing the screen door behind him. Greg raised his eyebrows in question at me. I was too stunned to speak.
“Who’s that?” Jacques whispered in my ear.
“It’s Ryan,” I said in a low voice. “Her ex-boyfriend.”
“So, that’s Mr. Wonderful?” Jacques pressed his glasses up against his nose for a closer look. “Darcy’s got good taste.”
“He doesn’t look like an ex to me,” Greg mumbled as he rose to his feet to hug Darcy. “This is a nice surprise.”
“Everything okay?” I asked, trying not to show concern.
Darcy turned and smile into Ryan’s bright blue eyes. “Everything’s perfect.”
“Darcy!” Grace squealed from across the lawn where she was playing with Rusty and Dobby. She barreled across the lawn as fast as her tiny legs would carry her, the dogs barking at her heels. Darcy lifted her little sister up into the air and spun her around.
“Hey, short stuff!” She hugged Grace against her chest. “Do you remember Ryan?”
“Yep,” Grace said solemnly. “He bought me ice cream.”
Ryan smiled. “Hey, squirt.” He reached down and scratched Rusty behind the ears.
Greg pumped Ryan’s hand. “It’s nice to see you again, son.”
Ryan’s cheeks turned crimson. “It’s nice to see you too, sir.” He turned and nodded politely to me. “And you as well, Mrs. York.”
Jacques tapped his finger against his cheek. “Ahem. Where’s my kiss, beautiful girl?”
Darcy grinned as she leaned over and planted a kiss on his indicated cheek. “Uncle Jacques, Uncle Ed, have you met Ryan?”
“No, but we’ve certainly heard enough about him,” Jacques said slyly.
“Ryan, these are my uncles, Jacques and Ed, and that’s their son Bolin over there with the twins.”
Ryan shook everyone’s hands. “It’s great to meet all of you.”
Greg pulled up some more chairs to the table, and Ryan and Darcy sat down to my right. They were holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. They were back together, but I wanted details.
“Have you two eaten?” Ed wanted to know. “We have plenty of food.”
“I’m fine,” Darcy said, “but Ryan might want something. He didn’t care for the snack selections on the plane.”
I couldn’t stand it any longer. “Darcy, what about school?”
Darcy rolled her eyes at me in dramatic fashion but smiled. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m headed back tomorrow night. Ryan and I wanted to fly up and give you some news in person.”
Greg wiped his mouth with a napkin. “That you’re back together? When did this happen?”
I gave him a subtle nudge in the ribs, but Darcy saw it and laughed. “It’s okay, Mom. Ryan came to see me the other day, and we both realized how much we missed each other.”
“It was all my fault,” Ryan said in a husky voice. “I was worried about going away to medical school next year and not getting to see Darcy anymore. I thought maybe it would be better to make a clean break, but I was wrong. I simply can’t live without her.” He turned to look at Greg and me in earnest. “I love your daughter very much.”
Greg’s smile suddenly faded as a queasy feeling filled my stomach. “That’s—nice,” he said.
“Mom, Dad, you know how much I love Ryan,” Darcy chimed in. “I mean, we dated for three years before we broke up, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”
An awkward silence fell over everyone. I noticed Jacques raise his eyebrows at Ed, whose only response was to add more hamburgers on the grill and take a sip of his beer.
“Is there something you two would like to tell us?” Greg asked in a strained tone.
Darcy held out her left hand. A beautiful one carat solitaire diamond sparkled on her third finger. “We’re engaged to get married!”
We all sat in stunned silence until Greg finally found his voice. “What?”
“What?” Grace mimicked her father.
“Is this for real?” I managed to say.
Darcy’s eyes were shining with excitement as she ran over to hug Greg and then me. “Oh, Mom, I’m so excited. Don’t worry, I still plan to finish college. But I was thinking a summer wedding would be nice, although the Crystal Mansion is probably booked because of racing season, so maybe we could try for early fall? And Ryan has a big family so we’re guessing about three hundred people will be there.”
I continued to sit there in shocked silence as Darcy jumped up and ran over to Grace, then lifted her sister in her arms. “And here’s our flower girl!” she said triumphantly.
Jacques leaned over my shoulder. “Well, darling, it looks like your fate has been decided.”
My head was still spinning from the news. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s quite simple, really,” Jacques smirked. “You’re going to need all the commissions you can get. Have you seen the price of weddings lately?”
I groaned and placed my head in my hands. “Just shoot me now.”
Jacques patted me on the shoulder. “In that case, welcome back to the world of real estate, darling. It’s where you belong.”
THE END