Andy Friessen strode into his large mansion, letting the mahogany and glass door slam behind him. The black and white tiles were brightly polished, but he didn’t give it a second glance, nor did he acknowledge the maid currently vacuuming the central stairwell that wound its way up to the second floor.
He had a lot on his mind after watching his cousins, Brad, Jed, and Neil, drive out in two vehicles with Rodney, Becky, and Diana for their appointment with the Seattle neurologist. Andy had taken Danny home here with him.
He paused outside the grand library, where his office was, and listened to Danny’s babble, which was coming from the kitchen. He sidestepped and ran his hand through his cropped hair. He pushed open the kitchen door, and three pairs of eyes faced him. Laura, his slim, blond wife, was holding Danny and wearing white jeans and a peach t-shirt. Aida, the older cook, and Jules, the head housekeeper, were also there.
“Hi. I didn’t know you were home,” Laura said. She took a step toward him and paused.
Andy could sense the distance between them and the awkwardness that lingered here in the kitchen with the staff watching, listening. He knew Laura was still friends with Aida, and Jules, well, she had practically raised Andy.
“Where’s Gabriel?” Andy asked.
“Your foreman is teaching him to ride that new pony you got him.”
She smiled and her face brightened, but there was still awkwardness between them.
Andy reached for Danny. “Come here, you.”
Laura hesitated for a second, but Danny held his arms out to his godfather and eagerly went. He cooed and smiled and patted Andy’s chest.
“Have heard from your cousin?” Laura asked, and Aida and Jules stepped closer, listening to every word he said.
“Let’s go talk in the library.” He said nothing to Aida and Jules, but they took the dismissal well, and Andy pushed open the kitchen door and waited for Laura.
“Jules, can you call me when Gabriel comes in?” Laura asked, as if she expected Jules to say no, as if Jules were still her boss.
Andy realized, as he followed Laura out of the kitchen, that she was still nervous in the house and with the staff. He’d talk to her about that, too.
They stepped into the library, and he glanced around. The maid who had been on the stairs vacuuming was now gone. “Laura, you’re my wife now. You don’t take orders from Jules and Aida, and you may have been friends before, but you can’t be friends with the staff.”
She stopped and faced him with a puzzled look. She glanced toward the window and started to say something, but she didn’t. She let out a sigh, then finally spoke. “Andy, you undermine me with Jules. You ask her to help me with Danny as if I’m an incapable twit, which I’m not. You talk to me sometimes like I’m still a servant who works for you. You married me and sleep with me, but you don’t share your life with me.” She crossed her arms, and he noticed her hand tremble. “And you make me feel sometimes as if I have to answer to her.”
Danny pulled up his knees and started bouncing. Drool was dripping from his mouth, and he started gurgling in baby talk. He rubbed his fingers in his mouth and patted wet hands on Andy’s dark shirt. Andy smiled and rubbed Danny’s bright red hair, stuck when he stared into this baby boy’s brilliant blue eyes, his mother’s eyes. Andy cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. That was never my intention. I just wanted to--”
“Make sure Diana’s baby is looked after by the best.” She cut him off, and she watched him with a hardness he hadn’t seen before in his very young bride. Her hero worship, he realized, had disappeared as of late.
“No, look, you are capable. I just worry sometimes.” Hell, the fact was that Diana and he had a past that he swore would connect them till the day they died, and Diana stirred his interest far more than Laura. But he didn’t want to hurt her. Hell, he barely knew her. But that wasn’t her fault.
“Look, I talked to Neil. They’re on their way back and asked if I’d bring Danny home after dinner.”
Her face softened. “Andy, how is Jed? What’s going on? Did they tell you what the doctor said?”
“No. Neil said we’d talk tonight, that they have some talking to do. I want to be there for my cousin tonight, find out what the doctor said.” What he didn’t say was that he knew Neil and Brad were keeping him at arm’s length. He knew something was going on after that young doctor showed and Jed wasn’t feeling well, and the family gathered and left together, asking him to take Danny, with Neil saying they’d talk later. They would talk later. Hell, he was family. Why were they so determined to keep him at arm’s length? It was as if every time he was with Diana, Brad and Neil stepped in. He wondered for a minute and then felt the sharp stirring of guilt. He cared for Diana, but he cared for Jed, too.
“I want to come with you tonight,” Laura said.
“No, you stay with Gabriel.”
Her face flushed, and she flinched as if he had slapped her. She raised both hands in front of her. “You know, Andy, you’re still pushing me away.” She left, pausing in the hallway to stare at him before heading toward the back door.
“Well, that was just great, Andy,” he muttered. Danny was frowning at him. “Not you, too. Well, don’t you worry. You’re going to see your mommy and daddy real soon. But first, you’re going to help your godfather find some papers in Caroline’s desk. It’s gonna be fun, okay?”
Andy carried Danny to the sunroom, where his mother’s desk was. She had a day timer and papers there, and he planned to go through them and see if he could find anything on the grant mysteriously disappearing—and whether his mother had her hand anywhere in it.