Given (Give &Take) (17 page)

“Merrick Junior,” she said, “you look so much like your
father.” She covered her mouth, letting out a delighted laugh. “I shouldn’t be surprised.” She reached back for Nadia’s hand. “Your sister looks just like a Rocha, too. Neither one of you look anything like me.”

Keeping Nadia’s hand, she led her daughter forward. As Gina neared MJ, he took a couple steps forward, his hands tucked in his pockets. Nadia reached out and gave MJ a one-armed hug. He pulled a hand free and patted her back. “Good to see you,” he muttered.

“I never thought I’d get to meet you,” Gina said. She reached out to touch his cheek, but he flinched and she put her hand down.

Merrick stepped forward, getting MJ’s attention, and nodded for him to greet his mother without the hesitation.

MJ didn’t budge.

“Son,” Merrick said, “could I speak to you for a minute in the living room?” He strode over to where MJ, Nadia, and Gina—his family—stood and waited for MJ to follow him into the living room.

I’d never felt so out of place in my life. Maddie took my hand and squeezed. “Come on in the kitchen. I’ve got some drinks and appetizers set out.”

Gina and Nadia stood, whispering, outside the French doors. “Are you two coming?” Maddie asked.

“I think we’ll stay here and wait for the men to come back out,” Gina said.

The men. Like they were hers. One was
mine
and the other had wanted nothing to do with her so far. I didn’t
know if I should stay and wait, too, or if I was a fifth wheel on their family reunion. Either way, my sense of fight or flight was leading me away to the kitchen. I needed to pick my battles and this wasn’t one I wanted a part in.

Joan stood at the stove stirring gravy. “Isn’t this a little domestic for you?” I asked, standing beside her.

She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore jeans and a simple blouse. “Don’t even get me started. Somehow I can’t tell Mads no.”

It seemed that
Mads
was a good influence on Joan.

Maddie laughed. “Don’t let her fool you. She loves this stuff. She even made a cake.”

“I heard you made dessert,” I said, winking at Beck. “Somebody couldn’t wait to tell us.”

“It was a warning,” he said, popping a cracker in his mouth.

Joan gave him a playful dirty look. “Where’s Merrick and his brood?” she asked, rolling her eyes in sympathy.

“Well…” I began, but Maddie was eager to answer.

“MJ wants nothing to do with Gina,” she said. “He and Merrick got in an argument about it on the phone yesterday evening. Merrick thinks he should at least meet her and insisted on bringing her today.”

“Wow,” I said. “I didn’t know.”

Maddie lifted a big pile of china plates from one of the cupboards. “MJ said he’d rather think of the woman he thought was dead as his mother than the one who was alive and never tried to contact him.”

“Can’t blame him,” Beck said.

Mr. Simcoe poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the big farmhouse-style table. “Trouble comes and trouble goes,” he said, blowing the steam before taking a sip.

“You keep saying that,” Maddie said, “but it hasn’t left yet, just brought in backup.” She tugged a drawer open and started taking out forks. “I swear if that chick thinks she’s turning this place into a golf course, she’s got another thing coming.”

“MJ won’t let that happen,” Joan said, turning off the burner and moving the pan of gravy to a potholder on the counter. “Merrick can tell him how great it would be until he’s blue in the face. You know he doesn’t want that.” She picked up a dish towel and wiped her hands. “Hell, Rachael had a conniption when I wanted to have a tag sale to get rid of all the old crap in the outbuildings.” She grinned at me with her tongue between her teeth and flicked my hip with the end of the towel.

“Hey!” I laughed and grabbed it from her. “The history of this place can’t be destroyed. It’s sacred.” Ingrid had passed away here. This had been her husband’s family home. Their children ran around in these rooms and out on the lawns when they visited their grandparents. Over my dead body was anyone going to hack away at the ground with a golf club.

“Merrick starts talking golf course for real,” Joan continued, “and his woman’s going to murder him in his sleep.”

Beck tossed an olive up and caught it in his mouth. “Merrick needs to get his head out of his ass and—”

“And what?” Merrick said, striding into the kitchen.

“And get in here and eat,” Beck said, recovering as best as he could. “I’m starving.”

Nadia and Gina followed him in. Gina was patting underneath her eyes with a tissue.

“Where’s MJ?” Maddie asked.

“He’s uh…” Merrick’s lips tightened and he shook his head.

“I’ll be right back.” Maddie dashed out of the room.

Merrick and I stared at each other. This was going poorly. He’d misjudged MJ. Another one he couldn’t make happy. He let a fist fall to the counter in defeat.

“Well, sit down,” Joan said, shooing everyone to the table. “We have food getting cold. Beck, get that heavy-ass ham out of the oven, would you please?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, popping another olive into his mouth.

Merrick grabbed the stack of plates while I gathered knives and spoons from the drawer to set the table with the forks Maddie had put out. Mr. Simcoe sat at one end and we left a place for MJ on the other. Merrick sat to one side of MJ’s spot and Maddie would be across from him. I went to sit beside Merrick, but Nadia slid in that chair.

Joan looked at me and opened her eyes wide as if to tell me to do something. I didn’t know what to do other than dump Nadia out of the chair. Joan set some napkins on the table. “Oh, Nadia, honey,” she said, “you’re sitting in Rachael’s spot. You’re over here.” She patted the seat beside Mr. Simcoe.

“I’m sorry,” Nadia said, sounding stunned. “I didn’t realize there was assigned seating.” She started to move, but Merrick grabbed her wrist.

“There isn’t,” he said. “You’re fine. I’m sure Rachael won’t mind if you sit beside me.”

And there it was. He’d chosen her over me. I had a vision of every single gathering we’d have being like this one. Me shunned to the end of the table, the other side of the room, somewhere out of eyesight and arm’s reach of Merrick, while his real family was at his side.

I looked at Mr. Simcoe. Did he think we could make it over this mountain now? He cleared his throat. “Merrick, if I may, I’d love to sit next to your beautiful daughter. I haven’t had the chance to spend much time talking to her.”

He was being kind, but it made me feel pathetic that he had to look out for me. Merrick should want to sit next to me. My eyes started to water and I blinked furiously. Mr. Simcoe took my hand. “There’s this tree outside, near the back of the property. You’ll love it. I’ll show it to you
after
dinner.”

Yes, I could hold the tears at bay until after dinner.

Joan shot me a fierce look, urging me to stand my ground.

“Do you mind sitting by Mr. Simcoe?” Merrick asked Nadia.

She shook her head. “Of course not.”

Once we were all finally seated, Maddie and MJ came into the room hand in hand. They took their seats and we
picked up our forks, but before we started eating, MJ stood up again.

“I’d like to say something,” he said. “I don’t know how to feel about this yet.” He nodded to his mother. “But you’re all welcome here and I’m happy to be sharing my table with all of you. This wasn’t a picture that ever entered my mind—my family around the dinner table—but here we are.” He picked up his glass, and the rest of us did the same. “To family and friends,” he said.

And we drank.

Which was I—family or friend? Or would I end up being neither?

D
inner was awkward as hell. I didn’t know what Rachael was thinking. When I said we should postpone the wedding, I thought she was going to take her ring off and throw it at me. Thank God I grabbed her hand before she had the chance. I wanted her to tell me I was being crazy, that of course we would get married. To tell me I was being stupid. But I guess the whole reason for proposing that we put it off was because I knew she wasn’t ready.

Hell, I’d known that before I proposed.

I should’ve waited until the dust settled to see if she was still standing beside me, or if I’d lost her in the fallout of this ugly explosion that took over my world.

Now MJ was equally cold toward me. Losing one of them would destroy me. I didn’t know what would happen if I lost them both.

Jesus, I just wanted everyone at this table to get along. Why was that too much to ask? My kids, the mother of my kids, my best friend, my fiancée, my someday daughter-in-law and her father, my assistant, hell, my life mentor. And
Joan. All of them were important to me. Why were they looking at me like I was the biggest asshole they’d ever seen? Well, except Nadia and Gina, who both seemed to be convinced that I was the force that made the earth turn. But I knew that was based on the hopes of gaining financially on Gina’s part, and who knew what Nadia’s true motivation was. I might never know. I didn’t really care. She was my daughter and that was all that mattered.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Rachael asked.

My plate was practically full. “Not really.” She pushed food around her own plate. “Aren’t you?”

She shook her head. “No appetite.”

I rested my hand on her thigh under the table. Did she think she was losing me? Shit. She had to think that. But was I losing her?

Our relationship was never this hard, and when it was just the two of us, it was easy. Even living on an island didn’t isolate us from the real world. If I could put up fences and a dome, live sealed off from everyone else with just Rachael, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

No. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t now that I had MJ and Nadia.

That was the problem. That would always be the problem. Thinking like this was circular—it always ended up in the same place, right where I started with no answers.

“MJ,” Gina said, “your sister told me you’re going to school?”

MJ took a deep drink of water. “Yes. I’ll finish after this semester.”

“And then what?”

Like she didn’t know Enzo’s plan. “Then I…” MJ looked at me. “I don’t know,” he said. I didn’t know if he’d changed his mind about trying his hand at running Rocha Enterprises for Enzo with me as his mentor to show the old man up, or if he wasn’t sure he should confide that information to her.

“I told him he should develop this property into a golf course,” Nadia said, beaming at her mother.

Maddie tapped her fork tines on her plate.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Gina said. “Why have all of this property if you’re not going to do anything with it?”

“I don’t think the kids want to do that,” Mr. Simcoe said, always the voice of reason, even though I was encouraging MJ to do something with the land. The future would look a lot more secure for him and Maddie if he started investing in it.

“The kids?” Gina glanced down at Maddie. “Oh, I didn’t realize the two of you were married.”

“As good as,” MJ said, and left it at that.

Maddie took his hand and then stood up. “Who wants Joan’s delectable chocolate cake?”

Joan nudged Beck with her shoulder. “I do,” he said, raising his hand. “A big piece, too. Huge.”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter. I would’ve never thought in a million years that he’d end up with the Dragon Lady, as he used to call Joan. But they seemed to be pretty well matched.

“Who would’ve thought it, huh?” Rachael whispered to me.

She always knew my mind, my Rachael. “Not me.”

We all ended up with big chunks of cake. I had a feeling Maddie didn’t want any left over. Nadia pushed hers to the side. “I’m on a diet,” she said. The girl never ate.

I picked up a forkful and looked around the table to gauge reactions before I tasted it. Everyone else was doing the same. “Oh, come on!” Joan said. “Do it together. One, two,
three
!”

We all eased our forks into our mouths. I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t the best cake I’d ever eaten, but it wasn’t bad either. “It’s good,” I said.

“Thank you,” Joan said. I hadn’t seen her so proud of herself since the high tower project in Dubai four years ago. Who knew making a cake could give her this much satisfaction?

“Delicious,” Beck said, and gave her a kiss with frosting on his lips.

Everyone laughed. Thank God the two of them were here.

After dessert, Rachael and Joan helped Maddie clear the table. Gina and Nadia didn’t even offer. I wanted to say something, but didn’t know if it was my place. I helped Mr. Simcoe upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms. He was staying for the rest of the week and wanted to take a nap.

“I know you’re in a hard spot, son,” he said, patting the bed beside him for me to sit and talk. “But I also know
you’re a sharp fella. Don’t let your heart and muddled mind overrule what your gut is telling you is right.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, sinking down next to him.

“These women. When the day’s said and done and you’re an old man like me, who will be there with you? That’s all the answer you need.”

Rachael. Rachael would be there. Would Nadia? “How do I know who won’t be there, though, if I don’t give them the chance?”

“It’s not about you giving it. It’s about them proving it. There’s nothing you need to do to make them love and accept you. They either will or they won’t. I know it’s hard with daughters. We want them to think we hung the moon. I can only imagine how you’re feeling having just met your girl, but you don’t owe her anything but your love and that doesn’t mean turning a blind eye to who she really is inside.”

“But what about unconditional love for your kids? You know, accepting them warts and all.” That was what a father was supposed to do, wasn’t it?

“You can still love them and admit to their flaws. My daughter can be a terrible, stubborn beast. She gets that from me. It’s part of who she is. I want to throttle her when she gets into one of her moods, but I still love her. Acceptance doesn’t mean denial.”

“Right. But what now?”

“Confront what needs confronting. I think you’ve been
chewing at the wrong end of this problem.” He cocked a brow. He meant Rachael.

Damn it. “You’re right as always. I can talk to Rachael, so I ended up pinning everything on her, trying to fix it.” I ran a hand over my head. “Shit.”

He patted my back. “She loves you. She understands. She knows you can be a bullheaded moron at times, too.”

“Got that right.” I groaned and stood up. “Thank you. You always know just how to give me the kick in the ass I need.”

“Anytime.”

As I was leaving the room, he called to me. “Hey,” he said, “tell Maddie to save me some of that cake.”

“Not if I eat the last of it first.”

I heard him chuckling as the door clicked shut.

Back home at Turtle Tear, I needed to get Rachael alone to talk, to apologize for being a bullheaded moron as Mr. Simcoe put it.

The cake might have been good, but it sat in our stomachs like rocks. Rachael, Gina, and I collapsed onto the leather sofas in the lounge as soon as we got inside. Nadia, cake-free and happy as a clam, strolled around the room picking up magazines and knickknacks. “I should call Paul,” she said absentmindedly.

“What’s that silver cup on the mantel?” Gina asked. “It’s very old, isn’t it?”

Nadia picked up Ingrid Weston’s cup, the original matron of the hotel, and Rachael was off the couch like lightning. She didn’t tear it out of Nadia’s hands, but I knew she wanted to. The cup was very special to Rachael, who felt a close bond with the dead woman who used to live here.

“It belonged to the original owner of this island and hotel,” she said, hovering.

“Let me see it,” Gina said, reaching out to Nadia to take the cup.

Rachael was itching to take it back. I could sense her anxiety. But it was a silver cup. They weren’t going to steal it or break it. “Why don’t you tell them where we found it,” I suggested to her.

Gina took it and ran her finger over the intricate engravings.

“It was in a trunk with a bunch of other antiques that belonged to Ingrid, the woman who lived here. We found them at the Weston Plantation. That was where her husband’s family lived and where she died.”

“Interesting,” Gina said, barely listening. “What’s this etching on the side?” She lifted it up by the lamp. “Oh my. These names. These are names in my family tree! It says: ‘To Martha Ellen Border from E.M.’ That’s Evan Montgomery, her husband! My great-great-grandfather!”

“What?” Rachael said, her chin dropping in awe.

“We’re related to the family who owned the Weston Plantation?” Nadia said, victory written all over her face.

“Well, who was Martha Ellen to Ingrid?” Gina asked Rachael.

“One of her husband’s cousins.”

“Wow,” Nadia cried, bouncing on her toes, “we’re descendants of the people who lived on the Weston Plantation and Turtle Tear!”

“Through marriage,” Gina said, “yes.”

Rachael was about to have a breakdown. “That is something,” I said, standing and taking the cup from Gina, pretending I wanted to look at it, but really just wanting to place it back on the mantel and get it out of her hands. “If it’s the same Montgomery family. That’s a pretty common name, though.”

“Not many with a Martha Ellen Border in the same family tree, though,” Gina said, triumphant.

“No, I suppose not.” I sat the cup back on the mantel.

“I’m going to go up and read for a while,” Rachael said. “Let this cake digest.” She tried to let out a laugh, but it sounded strangled.

“I’ll be up in a bit,” I said. “Think I’m going to take the Harley for a spin around the island first.”

“Okay.”

It was only six o’clock, but I knew she was going upstairs for the duration of the night. My guests were making her feel like a hostage in her own home.

“You have a Harley?” Gina asked once Rachael was out of the room.

“Just got it,” I said, angling for the door.

“Oh, Dad! Take Mom for a ride,” Nadia gushed. She
grasped Gina’s arm. “You’ll love it. He took me the other day. It was so much fun!”

“I do love motorcycles,” Gina said. “They make you feel so alive.” She stood up and followed me out to the patio, like I’d agreed to take her for a spin around the island. Our last trip hadn’t ended so well.

“I only have one helmet,” I said, doing my best to dissuade her without coming right out and being a jerk about it.

“That’s okay. I trust you.”

Great.

She got in the golf cart and rode with me to the boathouse. I didn’t think her white capri pants or jewel-studded sandals where exactly the right attire for a motorcycle ride, but whatever. I’d just get it over with.

I straddled the bike and helped her on behind me. The engine was loud enough to wake the dead, so thankfully, we wouldn’t have to talk. I headed out toward the gazebo and throttled the engine through the high grass. She held on tight around my waist and let out a “Woohoo!” in my ear.

I wanted to laugh. She was so proper and dressed so expensive all the time, but here was the girl I used to know. The fifteen-year-old was shining through out in the open air on the back of my bike. Maybe I could get somewhere with her once she cracked out of that fake shell.

When the gazebo came in to view, she patted my pack and pointed to it. I stopped and let the engine idle while she looked it over. “I want off!” she yelled.

Of course, why not prolong this? I turned the bike off
and helped her down. She jogged over to the gazebo and up the three steps, turning a circle right in its center. “This is beautiful, Merrick!”

“Beck built it.” I slowly made my way over to the gazebo and leaned against the railing.

“This would be the perfect place for a wedding.”

Weddings were not the topic of choice right now. “We had a fiftieth anniversary vow renewal ceremony for a couple here a few months back. Their whole family came for the weekend. It was really something.”

I picked a long blade of grass and twisted it. She slowly walked over to me and put a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I owe you an apology. I was young and didn’t know what to do. When I was old enough to break free from Enzo…” She took a shaky breath. “Well, you don’t break free of Enzo, do you?”

I swallowed hard. “No. You don’t. I’m sorry, too, Gina. It’s my fault any of this happened. If I would’ve just kept it in my pants—”

“Then we wouldn’t have MJ and Nadia.” She leaned against my shoulder. “And it takes two. In case you forgot, I was the one who initiated it.”

I let out a nervous laugh and stepped away. “Actually, I don’t remember a lot about that encounter. Do you?”

She looked stricken. “Of course I do.”

“Well,” I backtracked, “I mean, I do, just not details. It was a long time ago and I was way too young to be doing it in the first place.”