Chapter Ten

You won’t be disappointed,” Grace assured the general manager of the Pines the next morning, barely able to contain her excitement. The Pines was a ritzy resort in Aspen. “Yes, we’ll see you then. And thank you, thank you very much.” Grace stood in the bakery’s kitchen staring at the phone after she’d said good-bye. She couldn’t believe it. If her sugar plum cake got the thumbs-up at the tasting, the Pines was placing a standing weekly order. A huge standing weekly order. She dialed Madison, but her call went to voice mail. It wasn’t the type of news Grace wanted to leave in a message, and she decided to tell her that night at the barbeque.

When Jack wasn’t around.

Because the thing was, no matter how amazing last night had been, and it had been off-the-charts amazing, Grace didn’t fool herself that they had an easy road ahead of them. Jack would need time to adjust to being home, to civilian life, whether he’d admit it or not. And they hadn’t even talked about the bakery yet. It was the IED—improvised explosive device—buried under the rug. Sooner or later, they’d have to.

Grace was hoping for later. She needed time to convince Jack that the bakery would provide a good living for them. If—when, she corrected herself—they got the contract with the Pines, she’d have the proof she needed to make her case. Because while Grace had enjoyed working for her father, it wasn’t a job she would’ve chosen for herself. Her parents had done the choosing, and Grace didn’t have the heart, or the spine, to say no. She’d always loved to bake, but until Jack’s grandmother had left them the bakery, Grace had thought of it as a hobby. And now that she had a job she was passionate about, she couldn’t see herself doing anything else.

The next hurdle would be to prove to Jack that Christmas was the perfect place to raise their son. Since Jack’s experience in the small town had been less than idyllic, living here might prove to be the toughest sell of all. His memories of growing up in the apartment above the bakery weren’t happy ones.

It was the reason Grace had renovated while he was MIA. She’d put half of what she’d saved from her years of working for her father into making the apartment a home, the other half on updating the bakery.

What she needed, she decided, were reinforcements to get him on board. At the moment, for obvious reasons, approaching Jill and Sawyer was out. The timer on the oven went off, and Grace transferred the cooled carrot-and-pineapple cupcakes onto the stainless steel prep top. As she spooned the cream cheese icing into the pastry bag, she came up with the perfect person to help her with Jack.

Nell McBride.

Madison had hated small towns as much as Jack, and thanks to Nell, look how that had turned out. Admittedly Gage had more to do with changing Madison’s mind, but Nell was the one who’d set everything in motion. Enlisting Madison and Gage wouldn’t be a bad idea. Given how set against Christmas her husband was, Grace needed all the help she could get.

Between the four of them, they were sure to come up with a plan to get him on board. Grace’s good mood from earlier returned, then she looked up from piping the icing onto the cupcakes to see her sister-in-law push through the swinging doors.

“Good morning, Jill,” Grace said with a hesitant smile, unsure what to expect from her sister-in-law.

“Yeah, morning.” Jill focused on the cupcake in Grace’s hand. “Thought you should know, Stu turned himself in this morning.”

“Is he all right?”

Her sister-in-law gave her head a disgusted shake. “I don’t get you. The guy wrecked the apartment, and you’re worried about him. You’re such a doormat.”

Grace wrestled with her temper. Once she had it under control, she said, “He’s had a lot to deal with, Jill. While he was fighting in Iraq for his country, his wife was living in their home with another man. He lost custody of his children.” Grace stiffened as soon as the words came out of her mouth. She’d just handed Jill the ammunition she needed.

Jill slowly nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. My bad. Amazing isn’t it, how our soldiers are treated? What kind of woman asks their husband for a divorce while they’re deployed, or for that matter, before sending them off to war? Gotta be hard for a soldier to concentrate on his job when he’s dealing with something like that, don’t you think?”

She didn’t need Jill to point that out to her. The guilt had nearly driven Grace crazy. Her fingers clenched reflexively, the cupcake crumbling in her hand. “I tried to call him. You don’t know—” She stopped herself from saying anything more. She hadn’t told Jill how bad it was then. She didn’t need to tell her now.

Jill flattened her palms on the counter. “What I know is that if you ever hurt him again, I’ll tell him, Grace. I’ll tell him everything.” Her lip curled. “No wonder he didn’t remember you.”

Grace jerked as if Jill had slapped her. Closing her eyes in an effort to fight back tears, she turned to put the cupcake in the garbage. “He remembers me now,” she said quietly.

“Whatever. I’m warning you, if you—”

“How’s my two favorite girls?” Jack said as he entered the kitchen through the screen door with little Jack in his arms. He looked from Jill to Grace. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Grace forced a smile. “Just busy. So many customers, so little time.” She held up a cupcake and mentally rolled her eyes. Brilliant, Grace, now you’ve handed Jack the ammunition he needs.

His gaze roamed her face as he came to stand beside her. He leaned in, smelling like fresh air and sunshine, and kissed her temple before returning his narrow-eyed attention on his sister. “Everything good?”

“Peachy,” Jill said, chucking little Jack under the chin. “How’s my buddy today?”

“Cake. Me want cake.”

Before Grace could tell him it was too close to lunch, his father handed him a cupcake.

Jill smirked.

Don’t you have somewhere you need to be? Grace wanted to ask Jill, but didn’t, because that would be rude. And Grace had been brought up to be polite, even when she wanted to shove the cupcake she was holding in her sister-in-law’s face.

“Got something for you, big brother.” Jill beamed at Jack, tossing him a set of keys.

He looked from the keys to his sister. “What’s this?”

“Your new wheels. Happy birthday times two. Same goes for Christmas.” Jill gave him a watery smile.

Jack looked shocked. So was Grace. And even though Jill was being horrible to her, Grace was moved by her love for her brother. Jill would do anything for Jack. Including, it seemed, working overtime to pay for the vehicle.

“Shortstop, you didn’t have to do this. I can’t—”

“No, don’t argue. It’s a gift, you can’t refuse. Besides, Earl gave me a great deal. You being a hero and all.” She grinned then added, “And you need wheels. Grace sold your truck to buy a delivery van.”

Wow, nice, thanks so much for throwing me under the bus on that one, Jill.

Because she shared Jill’s SUV, Grace hadn’t needed a vehicle, but she should’ve realized Jack would. He’d loved that old truck, or so Jill had told her when Grace decided to sell it. But even her sister-in-law had agreed, that as business expanded, Grace needed a delivery van.

“Is that right?” Jack said, giving Grace an inscrutable look.

“Jack, I—” she began to explain.

Jill cut her off. “Come and check it out.” She tugged on his arm. “It’s black and badass. You’re going to love it.”

“Okay if I leave little Jack with you?” he asked as he handed Grace their son.

“Of course.” Not really—she had a couple dozen more cupcakes to ice. But how could she say no after she’d sold off his precious truck? Her husband laughed at something Jill said as the two of them left the kitchen.

Grace forced a smile and pulled out the stool. “Did you have fun with Daddy?”

“No da. Jack.”

“Jack’s your daddy, baby. You call him Da.”

His mouth set in a mulish line. “No. No like Jack.”

Grace sighed. She’d already dealt with one angry Flaherty and wasn’t up to going a round with another one. She placed little Jack on the stool and handed him an iced cupcake and a bottle of sprinkles. The way her day was going, he’d probably dump… He threw the bottle on the floor, and it shattered. “Me eat cake,” he said right before he smushed the cupcake in his mouth.

She picked up one for herself.

*     *     *

Gage’s wife handed Jack two cold beers and distractedly waved him off to join her husband on the deck. As soon as they’d arrived, Madison had dragged them into the kitchen, and her stepdaughters Annie and Lily absconded with their son. Jack had waited for him to morph from giggling toddler to screaming terror. He hadn’t.

Scooping up a spoonful of red jiggly stuff from a crystal bowl, Madison shoved the spoon at Grace. “It tastes like crap. What did I do wrong?”

Ah, so this was the reason for the frantic phone call asking them to come early for the barbeque. His wife took a tentative taste, and her eyes widened. She looked around the room as if searching for somewhere to spit, then grimaced and swallowed.

Madison leaned on the island. “Can you fix it?”

“Umm, what is it?” Grace asked, casting a wary glance at the bowl.

“Don’t worry, Madison, she can fix anything.” Jack kissed his wife, who said for his ears alone, “Not this.”

As he walked through the dining room on his way to the deck, he heard Grace say, “Of course I can. It’s not that bad.” He grinned. Grace never could hurt anyone’s feelings.

Opening the patio door, he walked onto the deck.

Gage looked up from brushing down the grill on the mother of all barbeques. “Either you guys are early or my watch stopped.”

Madison must’ve kept her emergency call on the down-low. “Early. Grace thought Madison could use a hand.”

Gage snorted. “Or ten. Thanks,” he said, accepting the beer. He clinked the bottle against Jack’s and slanted him a look. “How you doing?”

Jack leaned against the cedar rail. “Great. Memory’s back.” And after last night, he finally felt like he had his wife back, too. Nothing like a few hours of mind-blowing sex to resolve the worries and doubts. He smiled, remembering how good it felt just to hold her in his arms again, to wake up with her this morning.

“So I heard. Grace looks happy.” Gage nodded to where Grace was laughing with Madison as they set the table in the dining room.

“Yeah, she does,” he agreed.

She hadn’t looked quite so happy when she’d come in from work an hour ago. At first he thought it was because she felt bad about selling his truck and had reassured her as long as she hadn’t sold his Harley, he was good. When that hadn’t helped, he figured whatever he’d walked in on at the bakery earlier had been responsible for her mood. No doubt his sister had been giving her a hard time.

Jill had surprised him with the truck before he could call her on it. He still couldn’t get over what she’d done for him. She was the best… best sister, that is. Her sister-in-law and friend skills needed some work. Since she was coming tonight, he planned on getting her alone for a few minutes to put an end to her blaming Grace for everything.

He drew his gaze from his wife. “Congratulations, by the way. Madison’s great. Lily and Annie seem happy with their new stepmother.” Seeing Madison’s success in winning over Gage’s daughters, Jack thought about asking her for some pointers.

“Thanks.” Gage smiled. “Even the ex loves her. But between you and me, I’m kinda hoping we have a boy next. I could use some backup and a little less estrogen in the house.”

“Feel free to borrow little Jack anytime.” Jack winced. Good thing Grace wasn’t around. “Forget I said that.” He took a long pull on his beer.

“You’ve only been back a couple of days. Give him time. Remember, he’s had all of his mother’s attention for over a year, and now you’re horning in on his territory. He’s a cute kid. He’ll get used to having you around.”

“Yeah, a cute terror. I don’t know how Grace does it. I turned my back for two minutes today, and he colored on the walls in the kitchen.” It was embarrassing. He was a soldier, for chrissakes. He’d shot down planes, taken out the enemy, led his crew safely through the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan, and he couldn’t handle a two-year-old.

Gage must have seen the frustration on his face and clapped him on the shoulder. “Being a parent isn’t easy. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve been through a lot.” Gage held up a hand when Jack opened his mouth to deny it. “Don’t bother. Two brothers who were in the military, remember? They say hey, by the way. They’re glad you made it back. Said to give them a call if you need to talk.”

“Tell them thanks. How are they doing?”

“Don’t see much of them. Chance hasn’t been home since Kate died. Easton made it back in April for my wedding, though.”

“I didn’t get to talk to Chance at Kate’s funeral. Must’ve about killed him to lose her.” Jack couldn’t imagine what he’d do if anything happened to Grace. Kate had been Chance’s childhood sweetheart. They’d been married for two years when her car went off the road in a blizzard. She’d been six months pregnant at the time.

“For a while there, it was like he had a death wish. Can’t say I blame him. I don’t know how you go on after that.” Gage’s gaze went to his wife, who ushered Sawyer, Dr. McBride, and an attractive redhead into the living room, and he took a deep pull on his beer.

Jack figured a change of subject was in order. “Who’s the girl with your dad?” he asked, while he kept an eye on Sawyer and Grace.

“Karen. She’s a nurse at the hospital.”

“Huh, I always thought your dad would end up with Mrs. O’Connor.”

“So did we. It looked promising at Christmas, but then… nothing. She’s been on the campaign trail with Ethan. Both of them say hi. Eth’s going to give you a call. He should be back in town in the next couple of weeks.”

“Senator O’Connor.” Jack smiled. “Has a nice ring to it.”

“Yeah.” Gage rolled his eyes. “He won’t be able to get his fat head through the door if he wins.”

Jack laughed. Gage and Ethan were best friends, as close as Jack had once been with Sawyer, who walked onto the deck with Gage’s dad. Dr. McBride handed Gage a platter of steaks. “Your wife says to get cooking.”

“How quickly she forgets she was in charge of the dinner tonight.”

“Sorry, son, she’s not allowed to lift a finger in the kitchen. Doctor’s orders.”

“Doctor’s orders my ass. She put you up to that. My wife’s got you wrapped around her little finger.” Gage waggled his beer bottle at Jack. “You don’t know how lucky you are. Your wife’s an amazing cook. Mine can’t boil water without burning it.”

No one had to tell Jack how lucky he was. But before he had a chance to agree, Madison popped her head out the door. “I heard that, McBride. You have some serious kissing up to do if you want to get lucky tonight.”

Jack wasn’t sure, but Gage appeared to be blushing. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Honey, we have company.”

“They’re not company, they’re family.” She let out a gusty sigh. “Oh Lord, here comes Nell.” The door closed.

Gage shook his head, and the rest of them laughed. Dr. McBride turned to Jack and gave him a once-over. “You look good, son. But if you have any problems, you don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

“That includes hangnails, Jack. He gets real concerned about hangnails. They might get infected, you know,” Gage said with a straight face as he put the steaks on the grill.

“My son, the comedian.” Dr. McBride patted Jack’s shoulder. “I’m glad you’re home. That wife of yours had me worried. She’s lost too much weight. You make her eat, you hear?”

“I’ll do my best, sir.”

Flames shot up from the barbeque, and Dr. McBride moved to his son’s side to offer his advice. While they good-naturedly argued, Sawyer said to Jack, “I hear you got your memory back.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Glad to hear it. It was hard on Grace when she found out you didn’t remember her and little Jack.”

“Wasn’t exactly easy on me, either. But it wasn’t like I lost it on purpose.”

“Yeah, guess so.” Sawyer leaned against the rail and took a swig of his beer. Jack followed the direction of his gaze. Sawyer watched Grace through the window. “Gage’s dad is right, you know. She’s had a tough time.”

“I’m aware of that, Sawyer. And I’m going to take care of her.”

“Make sure you do.”

Jack’s fingers tightened around the neck of the bottle. Sawyer seemed to be confused as to whose wife she was. Just as Jack was about to set him straight, Sawyer said, “I had an interesting conversation with Brandi last night.”

Don’t react, Flaherty. “Is that right?”

“Yeah, she’s got this idea in her head that the woman you rescued has a thing for you. I checked her out. Gorgeous, stacked, and brunette. Exactly the type you used to go for, flyboy.”

“Used to being the operative phrase.” Dickhead. “I’m married.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t remember you were. At least that’s what you said.”

“You got something you want to say, say it.”

Sawyer straightened and got into Jack’s space. “You hurt Grace, and I’ll tear you apart.”

Jack pushed him. “Back off, Anderson.”

“Okay, you two, knock it off,” Gage said, flattening a palm on each of their chests. “You’re not in high school anymore. Jack, you were always good in the kitchen, go help my wife. And Sawyer, I think it’s time you and I had ourselves a chat.”

*     *     *

“Umm, Jack, don’t you want to sit with everyone else?” Grace asked, gesturing to where Gage and his dad were setting up a bunch of lawn chairs. Ten minutes ago, they’d piled into their vehicles to make it in time for the fireworks display at the park. Jack had laid their blanket behind a cluster of evergreens.

From the expectant look on his wife’s face, no wasn’t going to cut it. Didn’t stop him from trying, though. “No one can see us here. We can make out.” And he wouldn’t have to listen to Nell and Madison talk about the bakery ad nauseam.

Grace looked torn. He stretched out on the blanket and gave a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. She laughed. Jack was about to give himself a self-congratulatory pat on the back, when Nell McBride called out, “You two aren’t going to be able to see the fireworks from there. We saved you a spot over here.” She pointed to a patch of grass in front of her chair.

Grace wrinkled her nose. “She’s right, and little Jack will put up a fuss if he can’t see them.”

“I doubt he’d notice. He’s too busy being a dog.” Jack got up and reached for the blanket. He really hated that leash. But at least his son was no longer clamoring for Sawyer’s attention like he had throughout dinner.

Grace looked over to where little Jack crawled on the ground with Lily holding on to the leash. She went to laugh, caught Jack’s expression, and grimaced. Picking up the other end of the blanket, she met him halfway and joined her hands with his. She kissed the underside of his jaw. “Rain check?”

Jack folded the blanket around her, bringing her tight against him. Then he dipped his head and captured her mouth, kissing her like he’d wanted to all night. The best thing about the dinner at Gage’s had been having her at his side.

“Woof. No kiss my mama. Woof.” Jesus, the kid was a bloodhound. Every time Jack went to touch or kiss his mother, he sniffed them out. Jack groaned against his wife’s smiling lips.

As he moved his leg out of biting proximity, Grace crouched beside little Jack, who panted at her feet. She patted his head. “Are you having fun with Lily?”

“Woof.” He nodded and licked Grace’s hand.

Jack opened his mouth to give his opinion about their son pretending to be a dog, when Lily intervened, “Can little Jack have a sleepover tonight?”

“Oh, I don’t know, honey,” Grace began at the same time Jack said, “That’s a great idea.”

Maybe he should’ve curbed his enthusiasm, he thought as he met his wife’s narrow-eyed stare.

His son’s “Me stay Lily” thankfully drew her attention off Jack.

“We’ll see. Let’s go talk to your mom,” Grace said to Lily, setting little Jack on his feet. She headed off in Madison’s direction with the kids. When Jack didn’t follow right away, she glanced over her shoulder. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Yeah,” he said on a defeated sigh, bracing for more not-so-subtle arm twisting from the Sugar Plum Bakery’s defense team. As they maneuvered through the crowd to reach their dinner companions, several people stopped to talk to Jack. He was saying so long to his sixth-grade teacher, who told Jack she’d always thought he’d end up in jail—gotta love small towns—when a lanky guy with overlong reddish-brown hair and wire-framed glasses shuffled closer.

“Hi.” The twentysomething kid cleared his throat and stuck out his hand. “I’m Stu Thomas. You, uh, probably heard of me.”

“Can’t say that I have. Nice to meet you, Stu.” He noticed the boot and rifle tattoo on the kid’s left bicep beneath the pack of Marlboros tucked under the sleeve of his grungy white T-shirt. “You serve in Afghanistan?”

“No, sir, Iraq.” The kid shot a nervous glance over his shoulder. “I, um, just wanted to tell you how much I admire you. And to, uh, apologize. I… I’m the guy who trashed your apartment.” He finished on a rush.

News to him, and unwelcome news at that. Jack crossed his arms, eyes narrowed at the kid. “You wanna explain to me why you did that?” He shifted his gaze to Grace when she came up behind Stu. She touched the guy’s shoulder. The kid practically jumped out of his skin, whipping around to face her.

“Grace.” Stu’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to regain his composure.

Jack pulled Grace to his side. The kid was wired.

Grace gave him a confused look, then returned her attention to Stu. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. How are you doing? I’ve been worried about you.”

What the hell? Angling his head to look at her, Jack raised a brow. “Stu here tells me he trashed our apartment.”

Grace gently squeezed Jack’s forearm. “He hasn’t had an easy time since he got back.”

The kid’s face flushed, and he shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. “I’m going to pay you back, Grace. Honest. As soon as I get a job, I’ll pay you back.”

She searched his face. “What happened?”

“It’s not an excuse, but everything came down on me at once. I kind of lost it.”

“What did Lisa do now?” she asked, explaining to Jack that Lisa was Stu’s ex.

Stu’s mouth flattened. “I got behind on my child support. She won’t let me see the kids until I’m caught up. I had a job lined up, but it fell through.”

The guy looked too young to have kids of his own.

Grace studied Stu for a couple of unwavering seconds, then said, “I need help with deliveries. The job’s yours if you want it. I can’t pay you much, but—”

Stu looked like he didn’t believe her. Jack had a hard time believing her himself. “Really?” the kid asked. “After what I did, you’d do that for me?”

“Yes, you can start tomorrow.”

“You won’t regret it, Grace. And I’ll pay you back, just like I said.”

She smiled and patted his arm. “We’ll talk tomorrow. I’ll see you at nine.”

“I won’t let you down. Thanks, Grace.” He shook her hand, then Jack’s. “It was an honor to meet you, sir.”

“Keep your nose clean, got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Grace said as they walked away. “But he’s going through a tough time and doesn’t have anyone to turn to.”

“He got a raw deal,” Jack agreed after Grace had filled him in on Stu’s story. “And I get why you feel sorry for him and want to help, princess, but there’s something off about the guy. I want you to be careful around him.”

“You sound like Jill. But you out of anyone should understand what he’s going through, Jack. He needs to catch a break, that’s all.”

“We’ll see.”

Grace released a heavy sigh as Jill strode toward them. “What did he want?” his sister asked, eyes focused on Stu’s retreating back.

“To apologize.” Grace cut in before Jack could respond.

Jill snorted. “I don’t trust the guy. I’m going to keep an eye on him,” she said and started after him.

Jack hooked an arm around his wife’s neck. “She’s going to find out, you know,” he said into her ear, gently nipping the lobe.

“Not tonight she won’t, and I’ll be ready for her tomorrow.” She made a face. “Maybe you could keep her busy for the next few days?”

“I’ll see what I can do. It’ll cost you, though.” As he settled them on the blanket, he whispered in her ear what he’d expect in return.

She grinned and opened her mouth to respond, but little Jack plunked himself down on her lap before she could.

“Grace, you should’ve set up a booth and sold your chocolate cupcakes with the caramel centers. You would’ve cleaned up. Have you tasted her chocolate caramel cupcakes, Jack?” Nell asked.

Oh Jesus, here she goes again. He’d hoped she’d given up the ghost. No such luck. Madison leaned forward in her lawn chair. “Nell’s right, they’re incredible. Even better, they don’t just taste delicious, there’s a hundred-percent markup on those babies.”

He shot Grace an are-they-for-real look. She gave him an apologetic shrug before turning to the two women. A silent exchange ensued, complete with eye and hand signals.

Jack didn’t care that the bakery appeared to be running in the black. A solid balance sheet wasn’t going to change his mind about keeping the place. All he’d heard growing up was how much his grandmother hated her life. How Libby and his grandfather hadn’t had one because of the bakery. It’d been a legacy passed on from his grandfather’s mother. More like a noose around her neck, his grandmother used to say.

Grace had always been a neat freak and a bit of a perfectionist, but nowhere near what she was now. He blamed the bakery for that. Stress exacerbated the problem, and there was nothing, as his grandmother proved, more stressful than running a bakery. Sure, his being missing hadn’t helped. But in his gut he knew where the true fault lay, and nothing could convince him otherwise. Now he just had to convince his wife. She’d already ended up in the hospital once because of the bakery, he wasn’t about to let it happen again.

The whir of a rocket stopped his thoughts cold. A steel band tightened around his chest as a flash exploded in the night sky, lighting up the mountains in the distance. The acrid smell of burning rubber filled his nostrils. Grace cast him a sharp glance, then moved, with their son in her arms, between Jack’s legs. He wrapped his arms around the two of them, burying his face in Grace’s hair to breathe in her sweet scent. It’s just fireworks, you idiot. You’re home now.

Maybe not home exactly, not yet. But he was here with his wife and son and that’s all that mattered.