Little Tuck barrels around the corner, a smile stretching across his face. He stops and frowns as soon as he sees me.
“This is Miss Isabella.” Tucker speaks in a stern voice.
“Isa,” I correct him. “Nice to meet you, L.T.” I force myself not to gush at how much he resembles his father. Less is more. “Call me Isa. You too, Leeland.” None of this Miss Isabella nonsense. Truth be told, seeing these boys with Tucker, I want more than anything in the world for them to call me Mom. I can’t rush this, though. I can’t rush any of this. “Is there anything to eat around here?” My hands are still clutching Tucker’s bicep. The words I’m saying are bold, but inside I dread sitting down with Jessamine and his mom.
“We’re starving.” This from L.T. along with a scowl in my direction. “We don’t ever eat this late. We been waiting for you.”
Okaaay.
“Mind yourself, L.T.” Tucker sends a warning look in his older son’s direction. This is a side of him I’ve never seen before. I could have guessed he wouldn’t spoil his sons. After the stern look, he ruffles L.T.’s hair.
L.T. is six years old. He would have been three when his mom passed away. I wonder how much he remembers. And who has he looked to as a maternal figure since? Tuck’s mom? Jessamine?
God, I hope not Cassidy… but foreboding settles over me. I can’t help wondering if she hasn’t stepped into that position.
“Cassidy said we could eat when you got home. But you’ve been home a long time already,” L.T. accuses Tuck.
Cassidy said…
“Well, we’re gonna eat now.” Tucker walks me through an arched opening I hadn’t noticed before. Heck, I barely noticed the kitchen in my excitement to climb into a hot shower. We enter a room that’s sole purpose is to provide a place for an incredibly long wooden table. The polish has been worn off the hardwood floors, and a few horseshoes hang along the walls. A window makes up most of the opposite end.
The kitchen and great room’s ceilings are vaulted, but this dining room feels cozier. Especially when it’s packed with the entire James clan. Colt, Jessamine, and another Tucker lookalike, whom I believe to be the youngest, Levi.
All of them with dark hair. Green eyes.
The head of the table is empty, Maggie, Tucker’s mother sits on one side and on the other… Cassidy. She looks perfectly comfortable, receiving smiles and comments from Tucker’s mother and Jessamine. A chill takes hold of me for a moment.
Tucker lowers Leeland to the floor and then the boys scamper onto two seats near Levi. If I don’t do something, a confrontation is sure to ensue.
Only two empty seats remain. One by the boys and the lone seat at the head.
I know the moment Tucker realizes what’s happened. He jerks his head up at me and there goes that jaw. I don’t want a confrontation tonight. Not when his boys have barely met me.
I shake my head just enough so he can read my mind. I glance toward Leland and wink. I’m totally all right with this. I am. I can do this.
For now.
I want to spend time getting to know L.T. and Leeland. Of all Tucker’s family, these two are the most important for me to win over. I take the seat between L.T. and Levi and carefully place the napkin on my lap. I feel several sets of eyes land on me.
When I sneak a sideways glance toward the other end of the table I sense Cassidy’s triumph.
But I’ve already won.
“Shall we say grace?” Katherine, Tucker’s grandmother quiets the motley crew.
“Isabelle,” Maggie urges. “As our guest, would you do the honors?”
I can tell she thinks she’s putting me on the spot. This is some sort of test.
Only she doesn’t know me. She doesn’t know anything about me. “I’d love to.”
Everybody goes to fold their hands in front of themselves, but I purposely take L.T. and Levi’s hands in mine. “Shall we join hands?” In that moment, I feel Tucker’s gaze.
After a second of awkward confusion, the family members hesitantly take one another’s hands. “Heavenly Father,” I begin. “Thank you for the bounty of this meal, for the love of family, for keeping Tucker and Levi and Colt safe today while they were out in the bad weather. And thank you, Lord,” I add, “for the warm welcome I’ve received. I ask you to bless this meal and bless all our endeavors. Amen.”
After a brief pause. Tucker meets my eyes. I feel his approval. Not that I need it, but I revel in it. I hadn’t expected this feeling of him and me as a team. Before today, in St. Thomas, we’d been a couple. But going forward, we’re going to be parents. A family. “Amen,” he says. And the others follow.
And then I notice that Cassidy doesn’t release Tucker’s hand until he has to reach for his cutlery. She wants him.
