Beyond the Orange Moon (Mathews Family Book 2) (15 page)

“That’s a great idea!” Dylan smiled and looked over at Jackson, who was still destroying the living room.
 

“Another thing to plan,” Charlie said, and sighed.
 

Just then, the garage door opened and closed. The loud clunking and laughing was a signal that the rest of the Mathews were now present.
 

Dylan raced to Brandon, Hugh, and Jonah. She jumped on top of all three as they happily held her for a big group hug, which warmed Charlie’s heart and made him love his family that much more. She was their most valued member and she still managed to melt their hearts, just as she had when she was a little girl.
 

Ben walked over to greet them all. “I’m not hugging you idiots like that.”

“Hey!” Hugh said, beaming. He placed his palm flat on Ben’s shoulder. “How’s it going, man?”

“Not as good as you, I hear. Do cabana boys still have to know how to make those little drink umbrellas?” Ben teased, and then laughed when Hugh turned to hit Jonah.
 

“And don’t forget cleaning out the pool,” Brandon added with a grin.
 

Charlie watched his mother lean back in her chair and take in the scene before her.
Linda had her family back under one roof—with the exception of his father and Meredith, of course. And, although it was only for two days, he knew without even having to ask that she was on her own little cloud of happiness.
 

* * *

“What’s on today’s menu?” Lydia asked as she eyed Lucy’s latest creation. She leaned over the plate of cupcakes and inhaled. “Is that apple and … wait … and bacon?”
 

Lucy grinned as she handed one over to Lydia. “Yep.”
 

“No, thanks.” Lydia grimaced and leaned away from the cupcake.
 

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Just try it.”

Even she had to admit that when the thought had come to her, she’d had the same reaction that now openly graced Lydia’s face. However, she played around with it anyway, as her Nana had always suggested, and out came a little miracle.

She found that her strangest cupcake creations were usually the result of heartache and deep thinking. Which, of course, came in the form of Charlie Mathews and his “let’s be friends” idea. Although she knew it was better this way, her heart and mind were in a constant battle and she just couldn’t shake the feeling that they wouldn’t be high-fiving each other anytime soon.

Luckily for her, that helped create the unique cupcake Lydia was about to eat.
 

She watched as Lydia prepared to take a careful bite. She sniffed the buttercream frosting first, and pulled back. “What’s that?” Lydia asked.
 

“Mesquite flour,” Lucy said, and gestured for Lydia to go on.
 

Looking like a child who was trying vegetables to appease her mother, Lydia took a little lick of the frosting first and lifted her eyebrows when the taste set in. She continued on to the cake part and bit into it with her front teeth. First it was a little nibble, but when her taste buds were alerted, she dove right in.
 

Lucy smiled, quite satisfied with her cousin’s reaction. “There’s cheddar cheese in it, too,” she divulged.
 

Lydia took another bite and inhaled through her nose. “Is that apple cider?”

Lucy nodded and put her hands on her hips. “Good, huh?”

“Yum,” Lydia said while she chewed. “Let’s put these out today.”

“Put them
out
?” Lucy asked, petrified. “Out, like, as in for sale?”

Lydia nodded and popped the last bite into her mouth. She licked her fingers and sighed as the last of the cupcake went down. “Make a little sign to put over the plate. What do you think: $3.99 each?”

Lucy’s heart began to thump as if she were running a marathon. “I wasn’t planning on that,” she said, stunned. “I just make them for fun, not to sell, Lydia.”

“I’ll give you the money for them, dummy,” Lydia said, clearly confused. “I’m not trying to make money. I just want to help you out.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Lucy said, frowning. “I just … I don’t know.”

“What’s the problem, Lucy?” Lydia snapped. “Stop being so freaked out by everything and just go with it.”

“I’m not freaked out by everything,” Lucy said, her voice barely a whisper. Lydia had never snapped at her like that.
 

“Look, my darling cousin, you witnessed something horrible and all kinds of tragic.” Lydia blew out a breath and compassion washed over her face. “I’m sorry that happened to you. And I’m even sorrier that you fell for the guy who went with that disaster. But it’s time to get your life moving, not just past that whole ordeal, but away from nursing and all of it. It’s time to take charge of your life and make things happen.”

“I didn’t
fall
for him.” She had heard everything else, but for some reason, that seemed important to clear up. It was a lie, but she still needed to defend it.
 

“Oh, yeah, you did. And I can’t really say that I blame you, honey. I know I was pretty drunk myself that night, but from what I saw, I think most women would—I’m sure many have.”
 

“It’s not about how he looks, Lydia.” Lucy stopped herself before she dug even more of her confusion up to the surface and put it out there in plain sight. His looks weren’t what drew her to him, although they were definitely a bonus. It was his tenderness combined with this manly exterior that really made him sexy. And then there was the way they seemed to connect with each encounter. She had never felt that with anyone. He made her feel beautiful with his every action and word, and he wasn’t even trying. No one had ever made her feel so linked to them just by wiping frosting from her face. She was well aware of how ridiculous that made her, but she couldn’t help it.
 

Lydia walked over and picked up the plate of cupcakes. She carried them over to the counter and set them down on top of the glass case of baked goods. “Let’s just see what happens today, okay?”

Lucy looked at the cupcakes and her chest tightened. It was one thing to make a batch of cupcakes and give them to her friend and cousin, but it was a completely different thing to hand them over to strangers. What if they hated them?
 

Where would she go from there?
 

As silly as it sounded, cupcakes were the lifeline that held her in place each time she saw the tunnel closing. They were the only tangible thing she could claim at the moment. She hung on to them and hoped that someday she would have something to feel proud of.
 

“Okay,” she said quietly, and stared at the plate.
 

Now, each cupcake had transitioned from her greatest creation to something she criticized as amateurish. All of a sudden, the frosting looked rippled and the cakes looked crooked. The tiny cinnamon chips shaped like apples that she had put on top of them didn’t look like apples anymore.
 

Now they were ugly cupcakes.
 

“Stop doubting yourself,” Lydia said, sensing her self-loathing. She put a card that read “Apple Bacon Cheddar Cupcakes with Mesquite Buttercream ~ $3.99” into a silver price stand, and smiled at Lucy. “See? Beautiful.”

“Sure,” Lucy murmured, and looked out the window just in time to see something that was even more beautiful: Charlie, walking up the sidewalk outside … carrying a toddler.
 

Lydia’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of Charlie, who looked absolutely gorgeous with his messy hair, aviator sunglasses, a tight black T-shirt, and jeans that were hanging just right. And when her eyes shifted to his small son resting in his big arms, Lydia let out a sound that could only be described as a moan.
 

“Oh my God. My ovaries are on fire,” Lydia said, and grasped Lucy’s shoulders.
 

Lucy closed her eyes and laughed at Lydia’s reaction, which wasn’t surprising, but still hilarious. When she opened her eyes again, Charlie was closer to the door. He stopped and said something to his son, then he opened his mouth so the boy could plop whatever he was eating inside. Charlie smiled and chewed before giving his son a kiss on his temple.
 

Lucy looked down at the sweat marks her palms had left on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron. She felt her stomach tie into a knot when she realized that Charlie Mathews was a perfect human being. There was simply nothing bad about him.
 

“Hello,” he said, his smile glorious.
 

Lucy threw out an easy wave of the hand. “Hi,” she said, and fixed a pile of napkins by the register that didn’t need fixing at all.

“Hi,” Lydia said in an unusually high voice.
 

“Lydia’s Delights,” Charlie said, his expression knowing.
 

“Standing upright and not passed out on your couch,” Lydia said, her face red.

“I didn’t even notice,” he teased. “My brothers have a way of making people do that, so don’t feel bad.”

“No walk of shame here,” Lydia said with a shake of the head. “I can’t say the same for Grace.”

Charlie nodded and stifled a smirk. His gaze shifted to Lucy, who swore her heart could be seen beating through her shirt. “Hi,” he finally said. “While we plan my son’s birthday party, my sister wanted to check out your coffee and scones for a benefit she’s throwing.”

Lucy looked behind him and then back to his face, an action he understood. “She’s real; I promise. She’ll be here soon.”

“I see. So, introduce me to your friend,” Lucy said, and smiled at the little boy who was the mini version of his daddy. “We’ve never been formally introduced.”

“This,” Charlie said as he flipped his son around, “is Jackson Mathews.”
 

Lucy stared into his familiar green eyes and lost her breath. Face-to-face with him, she felt her heart crack as the memory of the first time she held him so protectively in her arms came rushing back to her. As she stared at this perfect little boy, it took all her strength to hold back the tears.
 

“Nice to officially meet you, Jackson,” she cooed.
 

Jackson didn’t smile, but he slowly raised his hand and offered his snack to Lucy.
 

“For me? Thank you,” Lucy said, and accepted the cookie from his gooey hands.
 

Charlie scrunched his nose. “Seriously, you don’t have to eat that,” he said with a laugh. “He’s licked his hands fifty times in the last two minutes. I don’t know what’s on that cookie.”

Lucy brought the cookie to her lips and pretended to place it in her mouth. “Mmmmm,” she said, and discretely slipped it into her apron.
 

“Mmmmmm,” Jackson repeated, and then flashed a toothy grin.
 

“Smooth,” Charlie said, and chuckled.
 

“Bee!” Jackson said, and laughed hysterically.
 

“Bee!” Lucy said back, and then raised an eyebrow at Charlie.
 

Charlie shrugged. “We don’t really know who or what bee is, but we just go with it.”

“Well, Jackson certainly knows what it is,” Lucy said in her best baby talk. “Don’t you, Jackson?” She nodded, laughing when Jackson mimicked her.
 

“Charlie, do you need a high chair?” Lydia asked as she dragged one out from behind the counter.
 

“Actually, I do,” Charlie said. “My sister is meeting us here so we can plan Jack’s birthday party and rummage through your baked goods.”
 

“Jonah’s twin, right?” Lucy asked.
 

“Yeah,” Charlie answered. “Good job. No one can ever figure out my family.”

“That’s all I know,” Lucy admitted. “It sounded familiar, so I jumped on it.”

“It’s easy.” Charlie walked over to the table where Lydia was setting up the high chair. “Brandon, me, Hugh, then the twins, Jonah and Dylan.”
 

“Got it,” Lucy said as she followed him absentmindedly. “You’ll have to remind me tomorrow.” She wasn’t sure what made her say that; she probably wouldn’t see him tomorrow.
 

“Do you want anything while you wait?” Lydia asked, which made Lucy give her a funny look.
 

“I’d love a coffee, if you don’t mind.” He frowned and looked out the window. “My sister should be here soon. She had to drop her fiancé off at the airport.”
 

“Lucy’s on her break, so I’ll grab that for you.” Lydia headed behind the counter to grab his coffee. “Lucy, do you want anything?”

I have a break?
Lucy shook her head.

Charlie slid Jackson into the high chair and placed a plastic cup and more snacks on the table before taking a seat next to his son. He looked up at Lucy, who was just standing there, and said, “You’re on break? Have a seat.”

Without thought, Lucy did as she was told.
 
She smiled at Jackson and then Charlie, but felt a chill shoot up her spine when she thought about Grace’s words during their argument:
you don’t need to be that woman’s replacement.