Chapter 21
LORI STOOD AT THE KITCHEN window, which gave her a view of the building lot. Three days ago, the work had resumed. After what seemed like a series of miracles, and brilliant planning by Malcom—plus an approved construction loan—the condo project was back on schedule. It was a little strange with the trailer gone from the lot, but it also signaled that life was moving forward.
The tea kettle whistled, and she moved to the stove and turned off the heat. Then she poured hot water into two mugs she’d set aside for hot chocolate. As she stirred scoops of the mix into the mugs, her thoughts shifted to Penny. The charges against her had been dismissed because there hadn’t been enough proof that she’d stolen the laptop. Besides, her name was on the company board, so her entering the trailer wasn’t considered trespassing, especially since Malcom had moved his stuff out. Regardless of the disappointment that Penny would get away with everything, Lori hoped she had learned her lesson and would stay away from Malcom from now on.
Tiger meowed and trotted to the door at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Malcom knocked, then opened the door. She’d left it unlocked for him. Without turning she could smell the food he’d brought.
“Breakfast?” he asked, his voice a nice low morning rumble.
She smiled, but didn’t turn from stirring the hot chocolate. Seconds later, he’d crossed the room and wrapped his arms about her waist. She leaned her back against his chest, and he kissed her neck, then rested his chin on her shoulder.
“Hot chocolate?” he murmured.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Are you packed?”
She turned in his arms. “I am. Did you bring a book?”
“For what?” he teased.
They’d already discussed this more than once. “I’m canceling your ticket if you didn’t bring a book.”
He drew her closer, and she breathed in his clean shower scent. “They don’t let other passengers cancel each other’s tickets.”
She scrunched up her nose. “There’s a first time for everything.”
He chuckled. Then he moved a hand to cradle her face. “I brought a book, and I know you’re going to love it.”
“Is it from my list?” She’d told him in order to take a real vacation, he needed to relax and read a book. So they’d decided—well, she’d decided, and he’d agreed—that they’d pick out a book for each other and bring it. They’d reveal their book gifts on the plane. She wasn’t taking any chances, though, and gave him her wish list.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Malcom said.
Lori frowned. “That doesn’t sound promising. I vote that if I don’t like the book you got me, then we’re going to switch.”
“You mean you haven’t already read the book you bought me?”
She bit her lip. “I have, but . . .”
Malcom pressed a kiss at the edge of her mouth, his gaze full of amusement. “You’d rather reread a book than trust my judgment?”
She hooked her hands behind his neck and rose up on her toes to kiss him. She wondered if there was anything better than kissing this man in the morning. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
The sound of a construction truck rumbled on the other side of the window. “They’re starting early,” she said. “Are you sure you can leave everything? You just got everything back on track.”
“Thanksgiving only comes once a year,” Malcom said. “Besides, some of my employees want the extra hours. Otherwise, I’d shut down for the entire holiday.”
“You’re a good boss,” she said, just as Tiger rubbed against their legs, giving a pitiful meow. One that said he’d been neglected far too long.
Malcom released her and bent to pick up the kitten. “The question is: Can you leave this little guy for so long?”
Lori took Tiger in her arms and kissed the top of his furry head. “Marci will take good care of him, and she promised to send me pictures every day.”
Malcom shook his head, looking amused again. “As long as you’re not video chatting with a cat.”
Lori shrugged. “That might happen.”
“Are you serious?”
She turned Tiger toward him. “Just look at this cute face. You have to admit, you’re going to miss him too.”
“Maybe a little, but I really don’t need photos from Marci or any video chats.”
Lori just smiled. “All right. You do you.” She set Tiger down and moved to the table. “What did you bring me?”
“Bagels—hope that’s not boring.”
“Food is never boring.”
As they sat to eat, Lori pushed back the nerves that kept trying to rise. She was excited that Malcom was coming with her to Florida for Thanksgiving. To meet her parents. Yeah, it was definitely a first for her—bringing home a man, so to speak. Though everything was going well with him, better than she had expected or could have ever dreamed, she kept waiting for something to turn her off. Or for him to lose interest. But neither had happened.
Brandy had scolded her last night in a phone call when Lori had admitted to her maudlin thoughts. “Good things can happen to you, Lori. Enjoy the moments. Enjoy the process of falling in love.”
Lori wasn’t falling in love, no. She was just becoming comfortable, and maybe even confident, when she was around this man. Waking up each morning, and wondering if Malcom would ghost her, and she’d never see him again . . . that hadn’t happened yet. And having him in her kitchen this morning felt completely natural. Like they’d been together forever.
As if on cue, her phone started to buzz with incoming texts.
“Your friends all worked up?” Malcom said with a half smile.
Lori smirked and reached for her phone. “Looks like it.”
The group text was buzzing with everyone chatting about their Thanksgiving plans. Julie said she was going to have to take anti-anxiety meds to survive the weekend with her in-laws. Everly and Brandy would be doing a big shindig at their mom’s, and Everly’s in-laws were coming into town for that.
Stephenie and Cal would be serving the dinner at the senior center, dragging her grandpa with them.
Lori, you’re going to have the best time in Florida, Brandy wrote. With that hunk of a man charming your parents’ socks off.
Lori sent a laughing emoji.
I hope Malcom’s not too sad about the issues with his family, Everly chimed in.
That sobered Lori, and she wrote, It will be a new experience for him, that’s for sure.
“You’ve gone through like ten different facial expressions in two minutes,” Malcom said. “Must be some intense stuff.”
Lori looked at him and found his gaze on hers. She set her phone down. “Everyone’s excited about our trip—maybe even jealous.”
Malcom chuckled. “They’re jealous of us flying on the busiest traveling day of the year?”
She smirked. “Everly also said she hopes you’re doing okay—you know, with the turmoil of your family and you not having Thanksgiving with them.”
His brows shot up. “She said that?”
“Basically.”
Malcom didn’t speak for a moment. “Is that what you think?”
“Maybe?” Lori shrugged. “You haven’t said anything to me, but I do wonder if flying to Florida and being around another person’s family will be hard.”
“I don’t think I’ve had a normal or traditional Thanksgiving since I was a kid,” Malcom said. “If it was ever normal back then. I remember one year my mom ordered Chinese food. She didn’t want to cook, and the Chinese restaurant always stayed open on holidays.”
She stared at him. “That sounds pretty cool, actually.”
Malcom leaned back in his chair. “Another year, my mom was sick, so I opened a can of SpaghettiOs.”
Lori blinked. “You didn’t have neighbors, or an uncle or aunt to feed you?”
He shook his head. “The first year I lived with my dad and Bronson, my stepmom invited everyone in her family over. Her brother started talking about politics, which ended up in a shouting match with their other brother.”
“Wow.” She cracked a smile. “I promise not to talk politics this weekend.”
Malcom shifted forward and leaned his elbows on the table. “Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be, Lori. I’m not going to worry about what my family might or might not be doing. Believe me, there is no traditional Thanksgiving dinner that I’m pining for. For me, it’s about what I’m grateful for in my life, and not the meal or house the meal is in.”
Lori exhaled. “You’re kind of a poet, Malcom. I mean, if you ever change your mind about building stuff—”
He pushed up from the table and grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. She laughed as he wrapped her into a bear hug.
“Take it back, or I’ll keep you trapped like this forever.”
She laughed against his neck. “Okay, I take it back. But you can keep me trapped if you want.”
The tight hug turned into something that was more of a caress, until Lori said, “We really should leave. I can’t wait to see which book you’re giving me.”
Malcom groaned and released her. “You’re such a taskmaster.”
Maybe she was, but she also liked to be at the airport in plenty of time. And he was right, it was a crazy day to travel, but by some small miracle, their plane left on time. Once they were in the air, Lori pulled out the wrapped book she’d carried in her purse.
Malcom took his out of the front pocket of the seat, where he’d stored it. “Ready?” he asked with a sly smile.
“Ready.”
They swapped wrapped books and opened them at the same time.
Lori laughed as she read the title. “ The Man Who Died Twice .”
Malcom held up his book. “ The Thursday Murder Club .”
They were both by the same author, and the same series.
“Are you happy?” he asked, after she stopped laughing. “Or is it corny?”
“It’s perfect,” she said. “I read the first book, of course, and this book was on my list. You’re a smart man.” She leaned over and kissed him. The whole plane could know how smart he was.
Malcom grinned. “I think you kissing me on a plane is definitely a girlfriend move.”
She slipped her hand into his.
He leaned close to her ear. “And if I thought giving you a book was the way to your heart, I would have done it weeks ago.”
She turned her head for another kiss. Yeah, they were going to be that couple. “Okay, now be quiet and start reading,” she whispered. “We’re on vacation.”
“I hope we can do more than read,” he murmured, then opened to the first page of his book.
Lori was surprised that he actually did start reading, and as he turned pages, her mind was wandering more and more. Butterflies milled around in her stomach as she thought about how this was actually happening. Malcom was going to meet her parents. Maybe it wasn’t all that momentous to other people, but for her, it was definitely huge.
She flipped back a couple of pages and started reading from the beginning. She didn’t want to miss a single red herring.
“Are we racing?” Malcom asked.
“No, of course not,” Lori said, but she noticed that every time she turned a page, he turned a page.
By the time they landed in Florida, they were both over one hundred pages into their books.
Lori texted her parents about arriving—they’d insisted on picking them up.
Malcom turned on his phone as they waited for the aisle to clear in front of them. When his brows tugged together, she asked, “What is it?”
“I need to call my mom,” he said. “My dad’s in the hospital.”
“What? What happened?”
He read the text to her. “‘Call me ASAP. Dad’s been taken to the hospital. Something with his heart . ’ She also left a message. And there’s a voicemail from Bronson.”
Lori met his gaze, seeing the worry there. They both knew Bronson reaching out meant this was a pretty big deal.
They hurried off the plane when it was their turn to head down the aisle, and as they walked into the terminal, Malcom phoned his mom. “She didn’t pick up.” He shot her a text, then said, “I’ll try Bronson.”
They paused by a restaurant as he called his brother. Lori could only hear one side of the conversation, but it didn’t sound good.
“Surgery? When?”
She frowned.
“Okay. I just landed in Florida.” He paused. “With Lori.” Another pause. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He clicked off with his brother.
Before he could say anything, Lori asked, “Do you want me to come with you?”
He held her gaze for a moment, and she could see the warring thoughts in his eyes. “I can’t ask you to skip Thanksgiving with your parents.”
Lori reached for his hand. “There will be other Thanksgivings. Plus, you said you’ve never had a normal one anyway, so why start this year?”
One edge of his mouth lifted, but she could see the worry etched in his expression. “I don’t really want to be around my family, but now . . .” He swallowed.
“You don’t have to explain,” Lori said. “They’re still your family.”
He nodded. “My dad has two blocked arteries and they’re putting in stents.” He exhaled. “Dad’s young enough that he shouldn’t have any trouble during surgery or recovery.”
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go to the airline counter and see which flights are available. Then we can figure out things from there.”
“Okay,” he said.
As they walked, Lori sent a quick text to her mom, telling her to stay on standby. That they were off the plane, but Malcom had received bad news about his family. A series of questions came in from her, but Lori said she’d explain later.
While waiting in line, Malcom finally got ahold of his mom. “I’m going to try to head there today, so it will probably be tonight. What time is the surgery scheduled for?” When he hung up, he told Lori, “He’s going into surgery soon, so by the time I get there, he’ll be out.”
“It sounds like they’re on top of this,” Lori said. She finally replied to her mom’s texts, telling her the updates and the name of the hospital—because her dad was asking—and that she and Malcom were trying to get tickets to Montana.
When it was their turn at the counter, the only flights they could get that afternoon would take them into other airports too late to catch a connecting flight. They’d have to stay overnight in another city.
“What about flights tomorrow morning?” Malcom asked the service rep. Then he glanced over at Lori. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“I’m okay.”
So it was arranged that they’d fly out Thanksgiving morning instead.
Lori sent a text to her mom with the latest update. By the time they headed out of the airport, her parents were waiting, and her mom had a plan.
“We’re so sorry to hear about your dad,” she said, pulling Malcom into a tight hug.
Lori was surprised by the move, and he probably was too.
“I looked up the hospital he’s in, and he’s in good hands there,” her dad said, giving Malcom a firm handshake and a pat on the back.
“We’ve got all the fixings for dinner already,” her mom chimed in, “so we’re going to push up the timeline and have dinner tonight. Then we’ll get you back to the airport in the morning for your flight.”
Lori’s eyes filled with tears.
“You’re so generous,” Malcom said. “I’m sorry about all of this trouble. I didn’t mean to show up and throw a wrench into all the plans.”
“Nonsense,” her mom said. “You’re not to blame for anything, and we’re just happy to meet someone who’s so important to Lori.”
Lori might have been a bit embarrassed with her mom saying such things under normal circumstances, but these weren’t normal circumstances.
After their carry-ons were loaded into the trunk of her parents’ car, she and Malcom climbed into the back seat. Malcom reached for her hand and squeezed. “Thank you,” he mouthed.
She could still see the apprehension in his eyes, but he seemed more relaxed now that they had a plan in place. And all they could do was wait for news on the outcome of his dad’s surgery.