Somebody's Baby (10 page)

Yet.

Yet?
Adam had never had a genuine “lightbulb” moment—where his dim view of the world suddenly became bright and clear as daylight in an instant—until now. Now standing in this building where he had literally grown up, where he had played with his brothers as a child and fought with them as a young adult, and torn away from them as a determined business man with his own ideas, Adam understood.

He owed it to Nathan to give him not just a name but a place in this family. Nathan deserved his part of the legacy that was the Burdett family and the Carolina Crumble Pattie Factory. The good, the bad…and the delicious.

He chuckled to himself at that.

“What?” Burke demanded, probably feeling defensive over the idea that Adam might be laughing at him.

Adam shook his head. “Nothing. You just opened my eyes a little bit, big brother.” Adam slapped a hand on Burke’s broad shoulder, and slapped it hard. He cared for the big lug but he hadn’t turned to emotional mush. “I realize I have a lot more to accomplish while I’m in town than I had originally planned on.”

“Then get out of here and get to it.” He brushed Adam’s hand off, but he did it with respect in his eyes.

That was new, Adam noted. He decided to test the depths of that respect. “I will. But I have to finish the job I came here to do.”

Adam held his hand out to indicate Dora should accompany him down the hallway. “Ms. Hoag?”

“Hold it.” Burke put his hand on Dora’s arm. “You sold your shares in this place eighteen months ago. It’s not yours to show to anyone.”

“You plan to call security for your own brother?” Dora asked. She sounded more curious than concerned.

“No, ma’am.”

Adam tucked his thumb into the waistband of his favorite pair of broken-in black jeans. He stood his ground.

“I don’t need to call security to deal with my brother. I
am
the security that deals with him.” Burke managed somehow to take up the whole breadth and height of the section of narrow hallway where he stood. “He’d do well to remember that.”

“You haven’t bested me since we got into it right after I graduated high school. And may I remind you, you always had a few years and five inches, and—” Adam stopped to look his brother over, taking a moment to show he’d noticed the way age had thickened the older man’s midsection. He’d not gotten fat, by any means, but he wasn’t the lean kid he’d once been. “And a few pounds on me.”

“Not to mention a lot more smart.” Burke tapped his finger to his temple and grinned.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have enough sense to offer to spend my evening with this lovely lady, showing her around the place and to tell you to get your tail out of here and go see how you can be of help to your son and Josie instead of hanging around where you don’t belong like some—”

“Watch it,” Adam warned.

“Stray dog,” Burke concluded. “Be a man, Adam.”

The knot in Adam’s gut rivaled his fist for size and tension. If his boss hadn’t been standing there calmly watching his every reaction, Adam might just have decked his brother then.

He eyed the bigger, beefier man head to toe and corrected himself. He’d have taken a swing at him. Made contact, even, then probably gotten the fire whipped out of him. Two years ago, even a week ago, Adam would have thought it would have been worth the pain and humiliation of defeat just to show his brother, or anyone, that he would back down to no one. Now?

Now Adam held his hand out to the man, not clenched in a fist but open and in a show of deference and gratitude. “I think I’ll just do that. In fact, why don’t we both be men and conduct ourselves and our business with one another the best way we know how. As Christians.”

Burke eyed the hand. He scratched his chin. Clearly he knew that if he took Adam’s hand now he was not just making an overture of reconciliation, he was pledging to act according to the principles they had both learned from their mother about morality, forgiveness and trust, among other things.

He hesitated, looked at Dora Hoag, who was studying him not unlike the way a scientist eyes a test subject, then he exhaled loud and gruff.

“Yeah.” He grabbed Adam’s hand and clamped down hard. “Okay.”

“You all right with this, Ms. Hoag?” Adam asked.

“He’s your brother. You tell me. Will I be all right?”

Adam chuckled. “If you can stand him, you’ll be fine.”

Dora Hoag
had
come to see the facilities. Adam knew she would reveal nothing about their business plans to Burke. Likewise, Burke would not tell Dora any secrets that might throw the deal in either direction. It would, in fact, be either a quiet tour or one that veered off into more personal territory. Who knew where that might lead? Maybe a year from now Adam would be in Mt. Knott running the plant and Burke would be traveling the country in charge of acquisitions.

Besides, Burke would be within his rights to throw them both off the premises. Leaving her here with his brother actually seemed the best solution.

“If you hurry you can get to Josie before she closes up.” Burke reached into his jeans pocket and pulled a folded piece of yellow legal paper out. “Give this to Josie. It’s more budget, cost-per-guest type of thing, than a menu. All I care about is, is there is enough food out here by noon Saturday to feed every hungry mouth that shows up. I’ll leave the actual food part up to her.”

Dora looked at him as if that had told her something significant about the man.

“What can I say?” Burke shifted his shoulders and settled his thumbs in his belt loops in an “aw shucks” manner that belied the hardened business acumen lurking beneath the surface. “I’m a number cruncher not a chef.”

“Don’t buy that act,” Adam told Dora with a smile.

She shook her head. “Don’t you worry about me.”

Adam laughed, quietly. “Yeah, he may be Top Dawg around here but I’ve seen you in action, Ms. Hoag. You are the Alpha Shark in a sea full of circling man-eaters.”

For half an instant it dawned on Adam that Ms. Hoag, not the savvy businesswoman, but the just plain old smitten woman, might not have wanted that kind of image put before Burke.

But she laughed, gave Burke a look that promised Adam meant every word then turned to the younger brother and looked him in the eye for the first time maybe ever. She said, “I will see you at the barbecue, Burdett. And I can make you this promise. I’ll give you my recommendation there, before I turn it official.”

It was a courtesy Adam had not earned by rank or familiarity, so he appreciated it all the more. Despite her claims of it not being personal, she was granting him the chance to know what she would say, what Global would most likely do, before anyone else knew.

Once that would have made him so proud, given him a sense of power over his family. Now it felt like a heavy burden to bear. Not because anything had changed about his father or his family or how they felt toward him. He was still the outsider. The one who no longer had a stake in their livelihood and who had never had a place in their hearts, the stray.

But Adam had changed, just a little.

He
wasn’t
a stray.

He was a father now, and he had to start acting like it, starting with going to Josie and supporting her in doing what she thought was right for herself, the people she cared about and her son. Even if what she thought was right meant catering to and collaborating with his family.

J
osie stood back from the blackboard wall. She pulled the scrunchie from her ponytail and sighed in relief as the curls fell around her shoulders and the tightness eased from her scalp. She replayed her earlier phone conversation with Burke Burdett.

She had to whip up every last ounce of courage to make the call, partly because she knew Adam hadn’t wanted her to do it. But mostly because, of all the Burdett brothers, whose reputations were considerable in this town, Burke was the most…the biggest…the…well, he didn’t just
like
the nickname Top Dawg, the man
lived
it. He had to take the lead in every situation, every conversation and he had to come out on top of every transaction, deal or exchange. What chance did a girl like Josie stand with a man like that?

Pretty good, it turned out, once he’d learned that Adam had offered her money to not take the job. She hadn’t meant to tell him that. It had just slipped out. But after it had, the man had gone to great lengths to accommodate her.

She would have liked to tell him she had never known that kind of rivalry for a sibling who, while you worked and followed the narrow path, chased after their own interests and still ended up your parent’s darling while you went unnoticed. But she understood the feeling exactly and he knew it.

That fact had gone far to forming an unspoken bond between them. Burke wanted to get every last detail of this party right, and when she thought of Adam with that polished and poised businesswoman, she wanted that, too. It might be a party to commemorate Adam’s return, but it was going to give Josie and Burke each a chance to shine. Whatever good it would do them.

So Burke had been particularly open to her suggestions when she explained her plan to use her suppliers for the food and sundries and enlist the help of the locals to get the “fixin’s” to the tables.

Burke had told her he didn’t care how she did it. As their official caterer she just needed to get it done right. Still, she felt bad about not cooking everything herself. However, given the short notice and the number of pies they would need to feed the crowd, it was the only realistic solution. Besides, Josie loved the idea of the community showing the Burdetts just what they could do when they all pulled together.

“This just might work.” She studied the complex maze of columns, lines and arrows charting out how to supply enough food for the celebration.

“Oh, good. You’re not closed yet.” Adam came striding in with such confidence that she knew he couldn’t have imagined for one second that he’d find that door locked.

“Just sorting out some details before…” Somehow admitting where she was headed after closing felt like a bit of a betrayal. Only, Josie couldn’t say exactly who it was she thought she’d be letting down—Adam or Burke. Or herself. “Give me your honest opinion.”

“Always.”

“Do you think potato salad is a salad or a side?”

“What?”

Josie rolled her eyes at her own feeble attempt at diversion. She’d never been any good at anything that required her to be socially adept or coy. That was Ophelia’s area of expertise. Josie had admired that about her sister, except for how her sister sometimes used it to take advantage of others.

She looked at the square-shouldered man who had obviously found much to appreciate about Ophelia, as well.

Still, she’d started this, so she had to stumble through it.

“Um, you know, potato salad?” She pantomimed eating as if she thought the man spoke another language, or perhaps had once been seen using globs of potatoes and mayonnaise as a hat and needed to know she meant the
other
kind of potato salad. “Would you classify it as a salad or a side dish?”

“Why would I want to do either?”

“Well,
you
wouldn’t but
I
have to.” She stepped back and showed him the convoluted columns on the wall. “See, I’ve just about worked this all out.” She waved her hand like a game-show model. “But there is sort of a…hiccup in the division of salads-versus-side-dishes. We’re heavily weighted toward side dishes.”

He squinted at the board and made a noncommittal, “Hmmm.”

“It’s probably fine. I think we’ll have enough food if everyone brings what they are assigned.”

“Looks like you’ve got it all figured out.” He turned toward the wall.

She stared at the squiggles and notations, waiting for him to say something about it all. To point out that if she had been ethical enough not to take money from him for something she didn’t deserve, she shouldn’t take it from his family for the same reason. She wasn’t doing the majority of the cooking, after all.

Maybe he’d find some other fault with her decision.

Or maybe he didn’t care at all, especially since he had a real lady friend in town.

The longer they went without speaking, the more the situation, or the nonsituation, built up in her mind. If she let it go on much longer who knew what wild story she would concoct? A potato-salad conspiracy? Bank loans being called in before the barbecue check arrived? Adam choosing the woman in a silver sedan to step in as Nathan’s stepmother?

“I had to do it, Adam.” The words rushed out. “It was just good business. The way things are in Mt. Knott, turning down this amount of business just wouldn’t be smart.”

He looked at her at last, a twinkle in his eyes. “Well, no one ever accused me of being smart,”

“Don’t feel bad. Some folks have to be content to be just another pretty face,” she teased him right back. As soon as the words left her mouth she felt the heat rise in her face like some silly schoolgirl. Socially adept as Ophelia, she was not. “Uh, you’d better go. I have to lock up and see if I can get someone to watch Nathan before I go out to discuss all this with your brother.”

“All this?” He held his hand out. “Salads and hiccups and all?”

“Uh-huh.”

“As has been pointed out not that long ago, I am not the smart one ’round these parts, but wouldn’t it have been smoother to have him come here and see this for himself?”

She gave a shrug. “He’s the boss.”

Adam’s mouth tightened. “Fair enough,” he relented. “But right now your boss is busy with my boss.”

“Your…does she happen to be a very well-put-together lady?”

“Well, I’ve never checked her for patches or busted seams—”

“I’m glad to hear that!” Josie slapped her hand over her mouth before her ineptitude got her into further trouble.

Adam grinned. “But, yes, Ms. Hoag comes off as very well pulled together.”

“Comes off as? Meaning looks can be deceiving?”

“Lots of things can be deceiving,” he said enigmatically. “But this ‘look’ is on the up and up.”

Josie nodded. “So, what does that mean for me?”

She forced herself not to put her hand over her mouth again. She was asking what Adam’s boss being with
her
boss meant for her, not what Ms. Hoag’s “look” and association with Adam meant to her. If he didn’t gather that then…then maybe she’d have some of her most burning questions answered.

“It means I get to bring you this.” He held out a piece of folded paper. “It’s the budget for the party that Burke worked up on your preliminary information.”

“Oh?” She took the paper and unfolded it slowly.

“If it’s not right, if you need more money or autonomy, leave it to me. I’ll fix it. I’ll make sure my family does right by you, Josie.”

But who will make sure
you
do right by me?
Never a slow learner, Josie had managed to keep that remark entirely to herself. Still, she did wonder…

“What do you think?”

“Think?” She had kept the remark silent, right?

“About Burke’s figures.”

“Oh.” She took a minute to read over the paper. Burke had been quite generous with her, but not so much that she would have felt compelled to argue the money. “I think I can work with this.”

“Really? And get it all done by Saturday at noon?”

“I’m closing down after the coffee rush tomorrow, and I’m going to make pies into the wee hours of the night.”

“You poor kid.”

“No! I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to it. The chance to do what I love and the one thing I know I am good at.”

“One thing? No way.” He moved closer to her. So close he could brush the freshly undone curls off one shoulder as he said with quiet intensity, “Josie you’re great at so many things…”

“How would you know?”

“I just do. You’re a good mom, I know that and…”

“And that’s enough for now.” She held up her hand and retreated from him. “It really means a lot to hear you say that, though.”

He only nodded, his hand still in the air at shoulder level for a moment before he let it fall to his side.

“That’s one reason I’m so excited about tomorrow.” She took a chatty tone, hoping to take control of things again. She walked briskly toward the front door, hoping Adam would follow and be on his way. “I get to do the work I love, knowing it will be enjoyed by the people I love, plus I get to have Nathan nearby all day.”

He did follow, a bit too closely.

When she turned around, she found herself just inches away from the man. “What…could be…better?”

“What indeed?”

“What indeed?” she murmured. Then, coming to her senses before she gave in to the deep, soothing masculinity of his voice, she gave the door a push and cool air rushed in around them. “I know. It sounds completely corny to a man like you.”

“A man like me?”

“A man of the world.”

“Harsh words.”

“Harsh? That you’re educated, well-spoken, well traveled, experienced and sophisticated?”

“That I am ‘of the world’ when
you
so clearly need a man willing to come out of the world and separate himself from its ways.”

She smiled slightly to hear him paraphrase the Biblical admonition that Christians should be apart from the world. “I was thinking more that you’re worldly and I’m…Mt. Knotty.”

“You’re the last person I’d consider naughty,” he teased. “In fact, I’d vote you Most Likely to be Nice.”

“Knottish, then.” She gave him a good-humored scowl.

“Knottish or not at all, I’m in the very same boat as you there.” He put his hand on the door and raised his face to the summer breeze. “I grew up right here in Carolina countryside. Except for this last year and a half in Atlanta I haven’t lived anywhere else. I spent my holidays here, my summer vacations and made this my home after college.”

“I guess I never thought of that.” Josie stared out into the fading light of evening. “I always pictured the Burdetts as having a different kind of lifestyle than the rest of us.”

“We did. Still do, I suspect.” His arm still braced to prop the door open, he narrowed his eyes at the blackboard wall. “Where the rest of you got to clock out and leave the factory behind you, we all carried the responsibilities with us all the time. As a kid I used to ride my bike straight to the Crumble, did my homework in my dad’s office, then went home with my mom for dinner then back to help my dad lock up.”

“Oh, Adam, that is so sad.”

“Sad? How so?”

“Sort of missed out on your childhood, didn’t you?”

“And your childhood, Josie?”

She shook her head. “I sort of missed out on my childhood, too. Though I don’t know that Ophelia would say she missed out on hers.”

“Personally, I think she may still be living hers.”

“Adam!” Josie had thought the exact same thing, but it was the age-old conundrum about brothers and sisters. You can say whatever you feel about them, but just let someone else try it and suddenly you’ll defend your loved one. “Ophelia must have matured some. Otherwise why would she have signed the papers allowing me to adopt Nathan and finally shared the information about his father?”

“About
me,
” he corrected.

She pressed her lips together.

He bowed his head for a moment, then looked again out into the serene small-town setting.

Josie put her back against the other side of the door frame and crossed her ankles. “At least when you were doing all those things, you were doing them here, in a safe home, a nice town and with your family. I was dropped off in Mt. Knott and only saw my mother now and then, and Ophelia almost never.”

“I guess I do have
that
to be thankful for.”

Ophelia wasn’t the only one showing more maturity, Josie thought. Two days ago Adam would have used that opportunity to lambaste his family or make a joke about their rocky relationships.

“It’s not that bad, now that I have—” her gaze met his “—now that I have Nathan. And I hope that Ophelia will come around in time. I wrote her a nice long thank-you letter when she signed those papers and told her she was welcome to visit us anytime.”

“And you think she will take you up on that?” His eyes grew dark. His back went straight.

Josie wasn’t sure if it was hope or horror in his voice.

“She’s my sister, Adam. I can’t forget that.”

“Neither can I,” he said softly. “You may think of me as a man of the world, but I’m just as humbled and confused by all of this as you are, Josie.”

“So if we’re not worldly what does that make us?” she asked.

“A couple of Mt. Knott-heads?” Laughter mingled with the more somber emotions in his expression.

“A couple of workaholics.” She checked her watch. They’d both put in more than a full day’s duty and it wasn’t even dark yet. Realizing he wasn’t going to take the hint and walk out, Josie headed inside. Full day’s work or not, she still had to close down.

“So what do we do about that?” he asked.

“Do?” She flipped the lock shut and turned the Open sign to the Sorry, We’re Closed side. “About what?”

“About all work and no play making us dull folks.”

She headed for the cash register, wondering if she could just pull the drawer, lock it in the vault and count the money in the morning. “I don’t think anyone has ever described you as dull, Adam Burdett.”