Treading Water: Coming Home Part 42

"That'd be me." Maggie stepped forward to shake his hand. "Great to finally meet you."

"You, too."

"I owe you a long-overdue thank-you," she said.

Reid looked down at Kate, who seemed equally baffled. "Whatever for?"

"I understand you flew my sister home to Rhode Island after I fell off the ladder."

"Oh, that. Well, it was no problem."

"I was really happy to have her there."

"We're really happy to have you here," Reid said.

Maggie smiled at him, and he relaxed a bit when it became clear that she had no beef with him marrying her sister.

Ashton came in with Jill, who introduced him to Maggie. Reid noticed his son's face was flushed with color that couldn't be completely attributed to the cold. He had a dazzled, stunned look about him whenever he glanced at Jill, which was often. To see his son truly in love for the first time was an amazing thing.

"Since you two have officially crashed our party," Jill said dryly, "what can I get you to drink?"

"Beer works," Ashton said. "For both of us."

Jill rolled her eyes at him and got the beers.

Ashton leaned on the center island, making himself right at home with the chips and dip. "So, ladies, what'd we miss?"

Chapter 17.

The all-out invasion occurred at high noon the next day, when three limos started down the lane to the house.

Kate had been vibrating with excitement since she woke up at five and bounded out of bed to greet the day on which her family would finally arrive. She'd wanted to go to the airport to meet them, but Reid had convinced her to spend the morning at home to get through the hours of nausea she battled each day.

Since the nausea had been particularly intense today, she was grateful for his foresight. How in the world was she going to keep the secret about her pregnancy if she turned green at exactly the same time every day?

As the limos got closer to the house, she decided she'd worry about that tomorrow.

"Ready?" she asked Reid, who'd been quieter than usual all morning. He had to be nervous about her family arriving, knowing some of them were less than pleased about him and the wedding.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"In case I forget to tell you later, I love you for a million reasons, but I especially love you for welcoming my family into our home for the holiday and our wedding. I love you for building that amazing Bunkhouse practically overnight, and I love you for going to see my dad when you knew you wouldn't be welcome."

"That's a whole lotta love, darlin'," he said with a warm smile.

"I want you to remember how much I love you no matter what happens in the next few days."

"I will."

"Promise?"

Nodding, he planted a lingering kiss on her lips.

It was the last moment of peace or quiet as people poured out of the limos. Kate stayed close to Reid, introducing him to everyone and not giving anyone a chance to say or do anything untoward. She noticed her dad and Uncle Jamie went out of their way to say as little as possible to Reid, even though both of them shook his hand-somewhat begrudgingly, it seemed to Kate.

Her mom, Andi, Aunt Frannie and all her grandparents-real and adopted, in the case of the Booths-hugged and kissed Kate and Reid, which she appreciated. The six kids-the Harrington and Booth twins along with the O'Malley boys-were running and screaming in the yard after being cooped up all morning on the plane.

Kate spent the next hour getting everyone settled. Her dad's family, his parents and the Booths-senior and junior-took possession of the Bunkhouse, while her mom's family and her grandma Anna settled in Kate's house. Maggie had decided to stay at Jill's where it was "safe."

"Everything is beautiful, honey," Kate's mom, Clare, said of the Christmas decorations Kate had labored over the last few weeks.

"I'm so glad you think so." Kate hugged her mother again. "I can't believe you're all here and that we actually pulled this off."

"I know. It's amazing. I remember the first Christmas after Dad and I got divorced, and I hoped that someday we might have a Christmas just like this one, all of us together with the people we love most."

Kate blamed pregnancy for putting her every emotion on full alert. She blinked back tears. "That's what I wanted, too. I wanted it so badly. It's been such a long time since I was able to be with you all for Christmas."

Clare embraced her daughter. "We've missed you, honey."

"Hey, Clare, do you remember where I put my phone charger?" Aidan asked as he came in, stopping short when he saw them hugging. "Oh, sorry." He started to back out of the room.

"No," Kate said, holding out a hand to him. "Don't go."

He came in to take her hand, and they added him to their hug.

"I'm so happy to see you," she said to her stepfather. "Thanks for coming."

Aidan planted a kiss on Kate's forehead. "Our pleasure, honey."

"Have you had a chance to talk to Dad at all?" Kate asked her mom. "About the wedding?"

Aidan and Clare exchanged glances that set Kate's nerves on edge.

"Some," Clare said. "He's doing the best he can."

"He's here," Aidan added. "That's something."

"Yes," Kate said softly. It was something, but it was nowhere near enough.

"I know for certain that he wants you to be happy," Clare said. "That's all we've ever wanted for you."

"I'm so happy. I've never been happier."

"Let him see that for a few days," Aidan said. "He'll come around."

"What about Jamie?" Kate asked.

"He'll follow your dad's lead," Clare said. "You know how they roll."

Kate laughed, because she did in fact know how they rolled-as a unit. They always had, and they always would.

"It means a lot to me that you guys support us," Kate said.

"I've learned that life can be very unpredictable, and we're far better off when we go with the flow rather than trying to fight our way upstream," Clare said.

Aidan smiled at his wife. "Well said."

"Plus," Clare said with a devious grin for him, "I've learned that being married to someone much younger has its challenges, but they can be overcome with patience. A lot of patience."

"Oh, that's very funny," Aidan said, swatting her on the rear. "Now what the heck did you do with my phone charger?"

Kate had refused to hire any help for the weekend but had yielded to Reid's pleas for caterers for the wedding. With the help of her mom, Andi, Jill, Maggie, Frannie, Grandma Anna, Grandma Madeline, Mary Booth and Frannie's daughter Olivia, they managed to get everyone fed and outside for a huge game of football on the lawn.

Even though she wanted to play, Kate was mindful of the new life growing inside her and wisely decided to hang out with the seniors on the porch who were watching the action on the lawn as it turned from touch to tackle. Her Grandpa John and Neil Booth made a wager they thought no one else noticed, but Kate did and somehow refrained from laughing at their predictable antics.

The game came down to a last-minute touchdown that Ashton completed despite Jill cutting him off at the knees just short of the end zone.

Her face flushed from exertion, Andi jogged over to Kate. "What's up with Jill and Ashton?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because Jill hates football, and that was one h.e.l.l of a tackle."

Kate wilted under Andi's stare. "Um, well. . ." Her relations.h.i.+p with Ashton was, after all, Jill's news to share when she saw fit.

"I knew there was something," Andi said smugly.

"Why don't you ask her?"

"I believe I will." She leaned in closer to Kate. "She's not the only one keeping secrets, is she?"

Kate stared at her beloved stepmother. "What're you, some sort of witch or something?"

"I know my girls. That's all."

Kate smiled at her, a flood of memories a.s.sailing her from the most difficult time in her life after her mother's accident and the long coma that took her away from them for three years. Andi had come along during those years, offering friends.h.i.+p and warmth and support to Clare's daughters that none of them had ever forgotten.

Kate enveloped Andi in a spontaneous hug. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"I wouldn't dream of it, honey. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks. I wish Dad was, too."

"He'll get there. Give him some more time. Be patient with him."

"I will." Kate happened to look up at the football game to see Jamie and Reid having an intense conversation off to the side of the yard. "Excuse me," Kate said to Andi and walked over to the two men. She didn't bother to listen to what was being said. Rather, she took her uncle by the arm. "Take a walk with me."

"I'm not done talking to him," Jamie said.

"Yes, you are." She ventured a glance at Reid and found his face tight with tension that made her ache. Wrapping her hand around Jamie's arm, she led him away from the gathering. They walked toward the stables in silence as Kate thought about what she wanted to say to him. Since the words weren't coming, she took him inside to see the horses and introduced him to Thunder.

"He's a beauty," Jamie said, extending a hand to caress the horse's soft hair.

"Reid gave him to me."

Jamie withdrew his hand.

Kate turned to face the man who'd been her father's best friend since before she was born and her uncle since he married Aunt Frannie eleven years ago. "Do you know what my first memory of you is?"

Jamie jammed his hands in the pockets of his jeans and shook his head. He was tall and blond and handsome-and p.i.s.sed. That last part was patently obvious. Despite his anger, Kate pressed on.

"The time you brought me ice cream after I had my tonsils out. Remember that?"

Jamie looked at her, incredulous. "I can't believe you remember that. You were like two or three."

"I was almost four, but I remember it vividly. I remember that and so many other things-pool parties, holidays, first communions, graduations, vacations, sailing, swimming, your wedding to Frannie, your twins being born, the way you and Frannie propped us up after my mother's accident. You've been a part of my everything, Jamie, and I've been a part of yours."

He stared down at the ground, kicking at the dirt with the toe of a well-worn running shoe.

"I've loved you as much as it's possible to love anyone."

"s.h.i.+t, Kate," he muttered, and she was stunned to see tears pooling in his eyes. "Don't do this to me."

"I know you think he took advantage of me the first time we were together. I need you to hear me-one adult to another-when I tell you that couldn't be further from the truth. Every single thing that happened between us happened because I wanted it. Sometimes I think I wanted it more than he did."

"He should've controlled himself. He was a forty-five-year-old man, Kate. You were just a kid."

"I stopped being a kid the day that car hit my mom right in front of me, and you know it. You were there. You know that's true."

He shrugged and shook his head. "Still..."

"I'm asking you to put aside what happened ten years ago and focus on what's happening right now. I'm about to marry the only man I've ever loved, and I want my Uncle Jamie to be happy for me. I've never asked you for anything, but I'm asking you for that."

"You're asking an awful lot."

"I know." Because he seemed to know she needed it, Thunder nuzzled her neck and let out a gentle nicker. Kate rubbed his nose, grateful for his unwavering love.

After a brief period of silence, Jamie reached out to stroke Thunder's nose. "For the longest time, I was convinced I'd never have kids of my own, but I was okay with that because I had you and your sisters. You were my kids."

"And we always knew that. Always."