Chapter Eight

 

She followed her dog outside and into Brett’s backyard so he could have one last potty break. As soon as Brett finished his phone call, they were heading over to the town common for the block party. Before leaving Kristen’s house, she’d considered leaving Bo there again for the night. Brett convinced her otherwise by pointing out it would be an extra stop she’d have to make at some point tomorrow. Bella had been disappointed but his argument made sense.

Jen sat in the only chair outside and waited as Bo took his time sniffing every blade of grass and leaf in the yard. From her seat, she could just make out the music being played at the party. When they’d driven by the area earlier, she’d seen workers setting up the inflatable bouncy houses, and she’d spotted the grills already there. North Salem might be a small town, but it looked like they went all out on their community events. She could understand why Brett had picked this town when he moved back to New England.

The door behind her opened, the sound catching Bo’s attention. The dog paused in his investigation and looked to see who had joined them. When he saw it was only Brett, he went back to his sniffing again, only pausing long enough to lift his leg on every other spot.

“Sorry,” Brett said, his hand coming down on her bare shoulder. “Carl wanted to fill me in on the newest polling results.”

Political polls were not always 100 percent accurate, but they often proved true. “And how do things look?”

“They have me ahead of Ted Smith,” he said, sounding neither disappointed nor thrilled by the news.

“Heck, even if I didn’t know you, I’d vote for you over him. I remember hearing about all the affairs he had when he was lieutenant governor and getting a divorce. There were stories about questionable business deals too.”

“His personal life aside, he’s got the political experience I don’t.”

Political experience wasn’t the only thing to consider, in her opinion. “Experience or not, he’s still a scumbag. I don’t know why anyone would vote for him.”

Brett laughed. “Don’t disagree with you there. The polls also have Gina Hammond and Vince Reed tied for their party’s nomination.”

Gina Hammond, the name sounded familiar. Jen searched her brain for it. “Hammond, isn’t she from Vermont? I thought she ran for a Senate seat from there in a recent election.”

“Was from Vermont. She lives in Cambridge now. I guess she thought she might have a better chance of winning in Massachusetts.”

“Well that’s sleazy. Moving from one state to another just to run for a political office.”

Finished with his business, Bo joined them on the patio. Crouching down, Brett scratched the dog behind the ears. “Isn’t that what I did?”

Open mouth, insert foot. “It’s not the same. You didn’t run for a Senate seat in Virginia and then move here after you lost so you could run again. She did.”

Brett shrugged. “What Gina did is all part of the game, whether we like it or not.” He stood up and held out his hand. “All set to head over?”

They crossed Brett’s street and cut through the church parking to the horseshoe-shaped road that encircled the town common. People of all ages moved about the area and various scents filled the air. From here she could see the bouncy houses rocking as children jumped inside and a line of several others stood waiting their turn. A DJ was set up on the bandstand, cranking out hits. At the moment, he was playing a popular top forty hit she’d heard on the radio earlier in the week while getting a coffee. The one he’d played before though had been an oldie popular when her parents had been teens.

“This is quite the event,” she said as they walked across the grass with no particular destination in mind. “I can’t believe they throw something like this once a month all summer.”

“Sean told me the town is big into community togetherness.”

When you thought about all the terrible events happening in the world, she didn’t think a little community spirit was a bad thing. “Maybe more places should try it.”

“Maybe.” He stopped walking and looked around. “Where to first? I know the dance floor is out.”

She’d learned at an early age she had two left feet. Except under very specific circumstances like her parents’ anniversary party when she danced with her dad and her sister’s wedding when she’d danced with her brother, she stayed far away from dance floors. She’d been happy when Brett told her he never willingly ventured onto them either. Tonight though she’d be willing to make a trip on to it for a slow dance or two with Brett.

“Let’s just walk around,” she answered.

They gave the dance floor a wide berth and headed toward the picnic tables. “Is that a dunk tank over there?” She pointed toward an object near the center of the green. She’d only ever seen them in movies.

“Affirmative,” Brett answered. “I wonder what kind of bet he lost to find himself in there.”

They watched as the man sitting inside dropped down into the water and a cheer went up from the people standing around the tank. When the man came back up, he pushed his hair out of his eyes and climbed back up on the bench.

“It could be some type of fund-raiser.” The school district in her town was always doing various fund-raisers.

Together they managed a few more steps before two young girls zipped in front of them, forcing them to either stop or crash into the energetic youngsters.

“Grace and Brianna, you both need to be more careful,” an older woman called, following behind the girls.

The girls stopped and looked around. When one of the girls spotted Brett, she smiled and waved at him. “Brett, guess what?” She skipped over to them, her pigtails swinging back and forth. “Jessie had the babies. I’m a big sister.”

This must be his neighbor’s daughter.

The girl who’d spoken pointed at her companion. “This is my cousin Brianna.”

“And I’m their grandmother.” The older woman joined them. “Rose Ellsbury,” she said, extending her hand first toward Jen. “But please call me Rose. You must be my son and daughter-in-law’s new neighbors. I saw the lights on in the house when I drove by.”

“Can we go, Grammy? Brianna and I want to get a donut before they’re all gone.”

“Yes, of course, give me one second,” Rose said, looking at her two granddaughters and using a voice similar to the one Mom used when talking to Bella. “Welcome to town. I think you’ll both love living here.”

Rose and the girls walked away before either Brett or Jen could correct her. “Friendly little girl,” Jen said as she watched Grace and her cousin half skip and half run toward the tables filled with food.

 

He’d visited a lot of places in his life, but he’d never seen anything quite like the events taking place around him. And although not something he’d want to attend every month, he could see himself making it to one next year. Brett waved back at Grace, who was now standing in line at a bounce house. Since first coming up to him and Jen, she’d passed by him twice and each time she’d waved in his direction.

“I think she likes you,” Jen said.

“What?”

“Grace, your neighbor. I think she has a crush on you.” She leaned into his side and whispered in his ear, “She’s got good taste.”

Brett looked at the girl standing in line with her cousin and then over at Jen. “She’s what, seven, maybe eight years old? She’s just friendly.” Girls that young didn’t have crushes.

Jen made a tsking sound. “You’ve got a lot to learn. I had my first crush in second grade. His name was Mr. Fellows, and he was my gym teacher. I was devastated when he married one of the third grade teachers at the end of the school year.”

He tried to picture a seven-year-old Jen crying over her gym teacher. But he just couldn’t do it. “If you say so.”

Brett carried their drinks and looked around for a place to sit. The number of people on the common had doubled since they’d arrived. Rather than find an empty table, he spotted his friend Sean O’Brien. Some kind of strange contraption with tiny legs sticking out of it was attached to his chest. His wife sat next to him.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Brett said, before walking toward Sean’s table.

Sean and his wife were in the middle of a conversation, but when Brett stopped alongside the table they turned their attention toward him.

“Mia, Sean,” Brett said, greeting the couple.

“Hey, glad to see you made it tonight,” Sean said. “Have a seat.”

“We had no other plans, so we decided to come over,” Brett answered before looking at Jen. “Jen, this is Sean O’Brien and his wife, Mia.”

Sean’s wife needed no formal introduction. The woman had started starring in television shows and movies as a kid. Since meeting Sean though she’d taken a break from Hollywood and gone back to finish the college degree she’d started several years ago. He looked at the happy couple and tilted his head in Jen’s direction. “I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Jen.”

The three of them exchanged greetings before Sean spoke again. “Jake’s here tonight. He and Charlie came up for Ma’s birthday. He’s over getting some food.”

“Sean’s sister is married to my cousin,” Brett explained to Jen. “Charlie’s not here?”

The infant attached to his friend made a noise and a tiny pink-covered foot moved. Immediately Sean started to unbuckle the contraption holding his daughter in place. “She went to visit her friend at the hospital. Jessie had her babies late last night.” Sean handed the little bundle to his wife and then he removed the carrier. “Jessie and Mack live next to you.”

“I met them right after the storm. I saw the balloons outside their house this morning.” Brett checked the area. Jake knew a lot more people in the political world than he did. Perhaps he’d heard of Phillip Young. The guy’s name had been bugging him ever since his campaign manager told him his opponent had hired him. So far, he hadn’t been able to place it, and he’d forgotten to ask his dad.

“And I ran into Grace tonight. She sounded happy when she told me she’s a big sister,” he said as he continued scouting out the area.

Finally he saw Jake walking back toward their table with his son on his shoulders and an older woman walking alongside him. The woman had to be their nana’s age and her mouth was going a mile a minute. Jake nodded and smiled as he listened.

“Have you met Mrs. Mitchell yet?” Mia asked as she repositioned her daughter against her shoulder.

Since Mia was looking in Jake’s direction as well, Brett guessed the woman walking with his cousin was Mrs. Mitchell. “No.”

“Looks like you’re about to,” Sean said moments before the older woman and Jake stopped at their table.

“I was going to call and see if you were around tonight,” Jake said as he removed Garret from his shoulders and set him down on the bench. “Mrs. Mitchell, this is my cousin, Brett.”

The older woman smiled warmly. “I saw your picture in the paper this week.” Mrs. Mitchell walked closer and extended her hand toward Brett. “We’re neighbors. I live on the other side of Jessie and Mack. If you ever need anything at all, please stop by. We take care of each other in this town.” She patted his shoulder. “And just so you know, you have my vote in November. Ted Smith doesn’t belong in any office.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate it,” Brett said.

Mrs. Mitchell touched his forearm. “None of that ma’am nonsense. Makes me feel old.”

Brett heard Jake cough, and he wondered if it was his cousin’s attempt to cover up a laugh. Mrs. Mitchell’s comment was ridiculous after all, considering the woman had to be well over eighty years old.

“Call me Mrs. Mitchell like everyone else,” she said.

“Will do.”

After the older woman left, Jake took the empty seat between his son and Brett. “That woman knows everyone’s business,” Jake said.

“She always has,” Sean said as he pulled a baby bottle out of the bag next to him.

“I think she’s sweet,” Mia said.

“Hey, I never said she wasn’t. I like Mrs. Mitchell.” Sean measured out baby formula before adding it to the water in the bottle. “But somehow she manages to keep tabs on everything going on in town. And she never forgets anything.”

“Unlike some people at this table.” Jake elbowed him hard in the side.

Brett immediately returned the gesture. “Jen, I hate to do this to you, especially when you’ll have to meet more of my family tomorrow, but this annoying creature is my cousin Jake.” As expected, the comment earned him another swift elbow to the side.

Jake leaned forward so he could see Jen. “I believe he meant to say amazing. My cousin’s command of the English language has always been lacking. It’s a bit embarrassing, really.”

The corners of Jen’s mouth twitched, and he waited for a smile to form. “Sorry, but I have to disagree. We’ve exchanged plenty of messages and they’ve all been well written. If Brett said annoying, it’s what he meant.” The smile she was trying to hold back finally took over.

Jake nodded. “You’re going to get along well with my wife. For some reason, she never agrees with me either.”

“That’s because my sister is smart,” Sean said as he stood. “I’ll be right back.”

“How old is she?” Jen asked, ignoring all the men at the table.

“Almost two months. Natalie was born in June.”

While Mia and Jen discussed the baby, Brett turned his attention to his cousin, who at the moment was breaking a donut up into much smaller pieces for his son.

“Do you know a Phillip Young?” Brett asked.

Jake’s hands stopped, and he looked over at him. “Why?” he asked, his tone suspicious. “He’s not working on your campaign is he? Because if he is, get rid of him now.”

“No. I hired Carl Filmore. But Young is running things for Ted Smith. His name sounds familiar. I thought you might know him.”

Jake slid the paper plate toward Garrett before answering. “Sara dated him. They were together during part of Dad’s campaign.” His cousin no longer sounded suspicious. Instead he sounded pissed off. “Phillip is a slimy SOB. He plays dirty.”

If his cousin Sara had dated the man, it explained why the name sounded familiar.

“Watch yourself around him. There isn’t anything the man won’t do to get the outcome he wants,” Jake said.

He hadn’t met all the men his cousin had dated before getting married, but the man Jake described didn’t sound like someone Sara would’ve ever been attracted to. Or perhaps he didn’t know his family members as well as he thought. “Will do. Thanks for the heads-up.”

The scent of the fresh donuts and fried dough Sean set down reached Brett across the table. Neither of them had eaten before leaving his house. The scent of the grilling meat and various snacks sitting on the table now had his stomach loudly protesting its empty status. “That looks too good to pass up.” He pointed toward the fried dough Sean passed to his wife. “Jen, do you want anything?”

“Maybe one of those donuts. They look amazing.” She didn’t look up from the baby she was holding.

“I’ll be back.”

“Hey what about me?” Jake asked. “Did you ever stop to think I might be hungry?”

“You’ve got two good feet. Use them.”

Jake got up too. “I hope you know what kind of guy you’ve gotten yourself involved with, Jen.” He leaned closer to his son. “Garrett, stay with Uncle Sean. I’m going to get something for myself.”

His cousin might want a snack—Jake had always been able to eat as much as him—but Brett knew it wasn’t his only reason for accompanying him to the food tables. He had questions about Jen, because it was an unspoken rule that no one ever brought casual dates to family-only events like Allison’s engagement party tomorrow.

Jake remained silent until they got several feet from the picnic table. “How long have you known Jen?”

Fair question. He’d attended their cousin Gray’s wedding in June solo. Jake would assume they’d met since his move back to the area.

“Almost two years.” Brett joined the line waiting for homemade donuts and fried dough.

“Then she’s from Virginia? You should’ve brought her around when you came over.”

Since Jake and his wife lived in Virginia, he’d made fairly regular visits to their house while he’d been stationed down there. He’d made all those visits alone.

“No. North Smithfield. She works in Providence, not far from Derek’s office.”

He should give his cousin all the details, but it was more fun letting him try to piece it together and then correcting Jake when he got it wrong. Brett watched Jake as he mulled over the information. He’d never told anyone about the letters he and Jen had exchanged.

Finally, Jake planted his hands on his hips. “I give up. How’d you meet? Is she a friend of Leah’s?”

“No, so far she’s only been unfortunate enough to meet you and Derek.” He loved giving his family a hard time too much to resist.

“If she’s spending time with you, she can’t be too picky.”

Jake, as well as the other male members of their family, always gave as good as he got. Brett couldn’t imagine it any other way.

“During one of my deployments, Jen’s scout troop sent us care packages. I got one with a letter from her. We started writing back and forth. Things progressed from there.” Brett stepped forward as the line moved. “We met face-to-face for the first time a few days after I saw you in Connecticut.”

“And you’re bringing her to the engagement party. We both know what that means.”

Yeah, Jen was important to him. He didn’t need his cousin to point it out to him.

“There’s only one Sherbrooke left now for you-know-who to chase after,” Jake said as they reached the front of the line. “She’ll be doubling up her efforts.”

He hadn’t seen or even thought about Richard Marshall’s daughter in years, yet he knew that was whom his cousin was referring to. For longer than anyone could remember, Richard’s youngest daughter, Tasha, had been trying to bag a male member of the Sherbrooke family. She’d even gone so far as to try to buy his cousin Derek at a bachelor auction the previous year. From what he’d heard, a little deception on his cousin’s part had thwarted her plan.

“She doesn’t stand a chance.”

“You and I know that. I don’t think Tasha does,” Jake answered after giving Mrs. Mitchell his order.

Brett followed and ordered a donut as well as a piece of the fried dough. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had any, and with it in front of him, his sweet tooth made passing on it impossible. After accepting the red-hot treat he moved down the table and poured a generous helping of cinnamon and sugar over it while his cousin waited.

“Do you think your girlfriend is ready to meet everyone tomorrow? Even Sara and Christopher are flying out for the party.”

He’d expected it to be a smaller affair, considering how last-minute it’d been. If his cousin and her husband who lived in California were attending, it might not be as small as he’d thought. Not that it mattered to him. He wanted Jen to meet everyone who was important to him.

“I think the only ones who won’t be there are Callie and Dylan. They went to visit Dylan’s father in England,” Jake said, confirming Brett’s belief.

“She survived meeting you tonight. If she can do that, she’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“Nice. Real nice. For that I’m going to take you off my Christmas card list.”

“Yeah, but your wife will put me back on, so I’m not worried.”

***

Brett followed Jen inside. They’d spent close to two hours at the block party. He’d even broken one of his personal rules and stepped on the dance floor. When Charlie, his cousin’s wife, finally joined them, she somehow persuaded him to ask Jen to dance. He’d only done it because he expected she’d flat-out tell him no. If he’d asked while the DJ played a popular dance hit, he knew she would’ve too. Instead he’d asked just as the guy put on a slow sappy love ballad, the kind that usually had him changing the station. Jen had considered his question for less than a second before leading him to the temporary dance floor and slipping her arms around him.

He didn’t regret their dance. It had given him a chance to hold her as close as he wanted despite the crowd. Perhaps dancing had some perks he’d overlooked in the past.

After the party, they along with Jake and his wife had gone back to Sean and Mia’s house. He wasn’t sure how long Sean had owned the house, but he knew his friend had spent a lot of time restoring the old Queen Anne-style home to its former beauty.

“When my niece was born, I thought she was big. Your friend’s daughter was like a giant compared to Bella at that age.”

He’d thought Sean’s daughter was tiny. In fact, when Sean’s wife asked if he wanted to hold the baby, he’d declined, afraid he’d somehow hurt something so little. “Natalie is big?” He hadn’t spent much time around infants, but if Jen considered Sean’s daughter big, he didn’t want to see one she considered small.

She headed toward the kitchen and the back door, Bo right at her feet. “Not big as in chubby, but she’s long. When my niece was her age she was about twenty-three inches long, which is on the taller side. Sean and Mia’s daughter was definitely longer than that.” She opened the door and Bo darted outside. “But Sean is tall and Mia is taller than average, so it makes sense.” Jen walked away from the door and back toward the living room. “After being stuck inside for so long, he’ll be out there a while.”

“My sister is going to flip when I tell her I got to meet not only Mia Troy but Prince Charming,” Jen said, using the nickname the media had given his cousin Jake numerous years ago. “She used to have a huge crush on him. She couldn’t see a magazine with his picture on the cover and not buy it.”

Brett sat down next to her and put an arm over her shoulders. “If you ever want to get Jake annoyed, call him that. He hates it. Drives him up the wall.”

“I’m surprised you don’t use it all the time then. The two of you seem to love giving each other a hard time. It reminded me of the time we spent with your other cousin and his wife in Newport.” She rested her hand on his leg. “Do you all act like that with each other?

“More or less,” he answered as he slowly worked her hair free of its braid. “We spent a lot of time together growing up. Sometimes we act more like siblings than cousins.” With her hair free, he ran his fingers through it. “You’ll see what I mean tomorrow.”

When he’d invited her along, he expected a handful of people to be there. Now that he knew better, he figured it was only fair to give her a heads-up. “Jake told me almost everyone will be on hand tomorrow. If you want to wait and meet my family members in smaller batches, I understand. Some might find meeting them all at once overwhelming.”

Jen moved away from him, and her hair slipped from between his fingers. “I’m still up for going.” She shrugged a shoulder. “But if you want to wait, I understand. This engagement party does sound like a major family event.”

He hadn’t intended to make her think he didn’t want her there. Judging by her tone of voice, that was how she’d interpreted it. Time to do some damage control. “I want you there. I only wanted to give you fair warning. Being around my family can be enough to scare a battle-hardened general into retreating. And if you changed your mind about going, I’d skip it too.”

“I never retreat.”

“Neither do I.” Brett pulled her in close and pressed his lips against hers. Jake’s assessment earlier had been spot-on. He’d found the woman meant for him.