Chapter 22
JUST BEFORE LORI’S MOM ANNOUNCED that dinner was ready—she’d ordered Lori and Malcom to sit out on the deck and relax while watching the sunset—Bronson called.
Malcom pushed to his feet and answered. “Bronson,” he said into his phone. “What’s the news?”
“Everything went well,” Bronson said, his voice sounding relieved. “He’s out of surgery, and he’s pretty groggy. The doctor said it was all routine as far as stents go, and he should make a full recovery.”
Malcom felt like a huge boulder had just rolled off his shoulders. “That’s great news.” He leaned against the deck railing and released a long breath. “Can I talk to him yet?”
“Maybe in a couple of hours,” Bronson said. “Are you still coming?”
He glanced over at Lori, who stood as well and walked to the railing. “Yeah. We fly out in the morning.”
“You’re bringing Lori?”
The question sounded like one of curiosity, nothing else. “She’s coming,” Malcom confirmed.
“I think that’s great,” Bronson said, sincerity in his voice.
Their conversation almost felt normal. As if their relationship, and their business, hadn’t imploded only a few weeks ago. Bronson hadn’t brought up Penny, and Malcom was happy not to rehash that disaster again.
“Dad will be happy to see you,” he continued, “and everyone wants to meet Lori.”
Malcom dragged in a breath. “Yeah . . . Call me or have Mom call me later when I can talk to Dad.”
“Will do.”
He hung up with Bronson and turned to Lori. “My dad’s out of surgery and everything went well.”
“Oh, that’s great news.”
He wiped at his eyes, because apparently his emotions had caught up with him.
Lori wrapped her arms around his waist, and he pulled her close.
“I’m so happy he’s okay,” she murmured. “It will be good for you to see him in person.”
He rested his chin atop her head and closed his eyes. Somehow the universe knew that he needed this woman. “If you want to stay here with your parents, I’d understand.”
She only nestled closer. “My parents are great and all, but I’m still coming with you.” She drew away slightly and raised her chin to look up at him. “If you’re okay with that still?”
He smiled. His first smile in hours. “I’m okay with it. Because, you know, you’re my girlfriend.”
She smiled at that, and it was a beautiful one. He leaned down and kissed her.
“I hate to interrupt.” Her mom’s singsong voice came from somewhere by the sliding doors to the deck. “Dinner’s ready.”
Lori drew back. “Thanks, Mom.” She kept her eyes on Malcom. “Ready for the best meal of your life?”
“Ready.”
Lori gave a soft laugh, and they entered the house hand in hand.
She was completely right, of course. Her parents were excellent cooks, and they parried off each other, listing what they’d cooked and baked. There was certainly enough food for several more dinner guests.
“We’ve invited the neighbors over for tomorrow,” Mrs. Harding said. “I didn’t feel like I should switch them to today, considering what’s happening with Malcom’s family. We’ll just reheat what we need to tomorrow and have giant dinners two nights in a row.”
Mr. Harding chuckled. He was a wiry guy with an impressive combover. “There’s always a silver lining in every problem in life. But we’re sure glad your dad’s surgery went well.”
“Thank you,” Malcom said. “I’m very relieved. It will make traveling less stressful too.”
“Of course.” Mr. Harding picked up his water glass. “Lori sent us pictures and kept us updated on the renovation work you’re doing at our house. It’s all very impressive, so thank you.”
Malcom shrugged as he took another helping of mashed potatoes. He couldn’t seem to get enough of them. “I appreciate the place to stay. With the building project back on the docket, it’s nice to have somewhere else to go home to that’s not the same place I’m working at.”
“That would be difficult,” Mrs. Harding mused. Then she turned her attention to Lori and started asking about the shop.
Her questions were certainly persistent, and she seemed interested in every little detail. But Malcom decided he liked Lori’s parents. They were comfortable together, and they seemed genuinely affectionate toward each other, giving one another the respect and space to talk. They teased each other and laughed together. It was interesting to watch a couple who’d been married for decades. He wondered what it would be like to be around his newly-reunited parents.
There was a time when they’d hardly speak to each other, but over the years, they seemed to have created a peace treaty and were at least civil. But now . . . had stranger things ever happened in any other family?
Malcom and Lori insisted they were on cleanup duty, although her parents still stuck around and helped. Malcom only excused himself when his mom called.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re coming,” she said through the phone. “We can finally be a family again. I don’t like you and Bronson fighting.”
Malcom was trying to catch up to her change of topic from his dad’s life-threatening condition when she said, “Oh, and Bronson told me you’re bringing a woman. I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. Who is this person?”
“Mom,” he said. “How’s Dad?”
“He’s sleeping, again.” She sighed. “I don’t know why he had to do this right before Thanksgiving. The hospital cafeteria isn’t all that good, and all the food I bought for dinner is sitting at home.”
Malcom would have laughed if they weren’t talking about his dad’s emergency surgery. “Well, there’s always next Thanksgiving to make a turkey. Maybe a neighbor will take it off your hands.”
“Turkey?” his mom said. “I didn’t buy a turkey to bake. I ordered a to-go turkey dinner that was delivered to our house. All we have to do is warm it up. I was really looking forward to trying it out.”
Malcom really had no response to that. Maybe worrying over an uneaten dinner was his mom’s coping mechanism for extreme stress? “I’m sure the hospital will serve a special Thanksgiving meal. Otherwise, it will be great to see you and Dad.”
“Yes, yes,” his mom said. “What time do you arrive?”
Malcom gave her the time.
“We’ll see you then. I just hope this Lori woman is worth it. I don’t understand why you and Penny didn’t work out. I had a wonderful talk with her about an hour ago.”
His mom had talked to Penny ? Why ?
She hung up before Malcom could ask her why in the world she would think that he’d ever want to date Penny. What had Bronson been telling his mom? Maybe Malcom didn’t want to know, but it sure chased away any of the progress he’d felt he and Bronson had made in the last several hours.
Malcom pocketed his phone and returned to helping clean up the kitchen. Lori asked him if everything was okay, and he didn’t offer much up. He didn’t want to drag her into his new worries.
Once the kitchen was tidied and the food stored away, they all congregated at the kitchen table again with a bunch of board games. Malcom quickly learned that everyone in the Harding family was very competitive, and he really stood no chance. Luck gave him a couple of wins, but the overall winner was Mrs. Harding, who had no trouble gloating over the fact.
When Lori’s parents finally went to bed, she hugged them both good night. It was kind of sweet.
“Don’t stay up too late,” Mr. Harding said, laying a hand on his shoulder and squeezing quite firmly.
“No, sir, we won’t.”
After her parents headed upstairs for the night, Lori turned to him. “You called my dad sir ?”
“It seemed only fitting when he had my shoulder in a death grip.”
Lori laughed. “He did not.”
“Want to see the bruise?” He tugged at his collar.
“Stop.” She stood from her chair and grabbed his hand to tug him upward. “Come on, let’s watch TV or something on the couch. I’m tired, but not ready to abandon you yet.”
Malcom walked with her willingly into the next room. “What’s the something ?”
A line appeared between her brows.
“You said let’s watch TV or something .”
“We’re in my parents’ house,” she said pointedly.
He sat next to her on the couch. “TV it is.”
Somehow Malcom fell asleep on the couch. When he awakened to a completely dark room with no flickering television light, he had a pillow beneath his head and a blanket draped over him. Courtesy of Lori, he knew. He lay still for a moment, as all of the events of the day before filtered through his mind. He hoped his father was comfortable and sleeping in his hospital room. He hoped his mom was getting rest too. He didn’t know if Bronson had brought Kari with him—he’d never said.
And now Malcom wondered if it was a good idea to bring Lori into the middle of what could be a lot of family drama. Judging by his mother’s words last night, she could very well be the one stirring everything up. But then he wondered if it would hurt Lori’s feelings to uninvite her. The plane ticket was already bought.
He moved off the couch, folded the blanket, and set it on top of the pillow, then went to find his assigned room. As he headed along the hallway, he paused when he saw a light beneath Lori’s bedroom door. Was she sleeping with the light on? Did he know that about her?
Or was she awake? He tapped softly on the door, so if she was asleep, she hopefully wouldn’t wake up.
No one answered, and there was no sound, so he continued on his way. As he reached the end of the hall, he heard a door click open.
Turning, he saw Lori standing there in something that was probably PJs to her, but still looked festive. A T-shirt with purple turkeys printed all over, and matching lounge pants.
“Malcom? Did you finally wake up?”
He smiled and leaned against the wall. “Yeah. Thanks for the pillow. Probably saved my neck.”
“How are you feeling?” Her eyes glimmered with concern in the dim light.
“I’m fine, I think,” he said. “Not exactly looking forward to seeing Bronson . . . later today. But it will be good to visit my dad.”
She nodded and threaded her hands together in front of her.
“So . . .” he started in a hesitant voice. “I didn’t tell you this before because Thanksgiving dinner was great, and I didn’t want to spoil it more than I already have. But my mom has some hangups as to why I’m not dating Penny. I didn’t know until we talked on the phone, and I’m assuming it’s stemming from whatever Bronson is telling her in the hospital. Justifying all of his tax evasion stuff.”
Lori blinked. “You can set your mom straight. She’ll believe you, Malcom. You’re her son.”
He nodded at that. Hopefully Lori was right. “I just don’t know what frame of mind she’ll be in when you meet her. And I don’t know how Bronson will treat you. Kari might be with him too.”
Lori folded her arms. “If you don’t want me to go, I won’t go. You need to do what’s right for you and your family. Not worry about me.”
Malcom’s stomach sank. “That’s not the issue. I just . . .” He crossed to her and ran his hands up her arms, then rested his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want you to feel like they’re picking on you. I really don’t know how they’ll act toward you in person. My mom . . . she doesn’t really have a filter, which is fine when someone I care about isn’t the brunt of her comments. She can say whatever she wants about me, but not you.”
Lori held his gaze. “It’s not right for her to criticize you, either. Maybe I should come if only to defend you.”
He let a small smile escape. “You would fight for my honor?”
“I’d fight to the death,” she teased. Then she inched closer and looped her arms around his neck. “You’re a remarkable man, Malcom. And if anyone is lucky to have you, it’s your mom. And your dad. And Bronson.”
He gave a short nod. “Yeah, can you tell them that?”
“Anytime.” She smiled and pulled him closer to kiss him. “I’ll call them or text them, or fly out to tell them in person. Just give me the word.”
He leaned his forehead against hers. “You’re already helping, Lori. And knowing there are people in Everly Falls who trust me, who have my back, and are willing to invest in my dream—it’s overwhelming to think about. I’m so grateful.”
Lori’s fingers traced along the back of his neck. “I’m grateful to you. All of Everly Falls is grateful.” She kissed him again, lingering longer this time. “Let me know what you want me to do. Whatever you need.”
He bit his lip, then rested his forehead against hers. “I think I need to do this on my own. See my parents and figure out what they are together now. Talk to my brother alone—just the two of us. Figure out what can be salvaged.”
“Okay,” Lori said softly. “Just know that if you need any kneecaps broken, I’m ready.”
He chuckled.
Then he drew her tightly against him, just breathing her in. Not just her scent, but her goodness. He did have to do this on his own, but he wouldn’t really be alone. Not when he had Lori.