Chapter 9
”Who”s that?”
Donner eyes the photo on May-Ellen”s mantle with suspicion, pointing at the baby in a very young Hurricane”s arms.
”That”s Raine when he was just a baby,” Cane”s mother patiently explains.
”How could Raine be a baby in my picture? He”s a grown up already.”
The four-year-old Cane in the picture really is a dead-ringer for Donner.
”That”s not a picture of you, baby,” I tell him. ”That”s Hurricane when he was same age you are now.”
Donner looks between May and I with skepticism etched so deeply on his little face, I can almost see the beginnings of his father”s trademark scowl setting in.
It”s clear that he”s trying to decide if May and I are messing with him.
It”s been a week since I drove up to Moonshine Ridge in search of the man I thought had abandoned me and our unborn son over five years ago.
A week of comparing notes and discovering the lengths some people went to to tear us apart in hopes it would convince Cane to stay in a contract so they could line their pockets, regardless of what was best for their client.
A week of making love after Donner has fallen asleep, only to have to slip out of Cane”s arms and go back to the guest room before Donner wakes up.
Don gives the photo another thoughtful glare before taking off-- no doubt in search of Cane.
The past week has also cemented a bond between Cane and our son that developed unexpectedly fast. They”re practically inseparable now.
Tonight, we”re enjoying dinner at May-Ellen”s home in the family”s woodland estate after spending most of our week holding off gathering with the entire family until we were sure they understood that Donner doesn”t understand that they”re family yet.
It was only a matter of time till we had to give in though.
Grandmothers are a force to be reckoned with and Cane”s mother and his grandmother, Mable, set the bar for insistent.
Mable eyes me through a pair of red glasses that make her eyes look comically large through the lenses.
”I need you two to get to work on the next kid asap,” she says in a not-exactly whisper as she leans close to me, ”That McAllister bitch is way ahead of me with the great grand-babies and I need to catch up.”
My understanding is that she”s in her eighties, but I”d have probably guessed ten years younger if I didn”t know better. She can”t be much taller than five feet, with a slight build that has a softly feminine figure showing under the blouse and long skirt she”s wearing...with a pair of boots that look suspiciously like well-worn Doc Martens.
It”s the bright pink lipstick that makes it hard not to stare when she talks.
Mable sips from a glass and waits not entirely patiently for me to respond.
I glance around nervously, hoping that April or Zephyr might rescue me the way they”ve been doing most of the evening whenever they see Mable managing to get me cornered.
Seeing the way my eyes keep wandering to where I can see Cane and Donner deep in conversation on a bench in the back yard, Mable smiles. Her expression goes soft as she slips her arm around me.
”You know, he never told us what really made him give up playing professionally. We all thought he came back to the Ridge to help us out when Hayle left.”
There”s an edge to Mable”s voice that I can”t quite decipher when she mentions Cane”s older brother.
She takes a drink of whatever she has in her glass before continuing.
”I haven”t seen him laugh like that since before we lost his father.”
Through the window, we watch Cane throw his head back and laugh. He looks young again, carefree, and so much like the man I met in that parking lot carnival so long ago. It”s hard to think that the Cane I fell for is the same man that his family worries so much about, the one who”s been carrying the weight of so much guilt over so many things that aren”t his fault.
”I”m so glad you came looking for him, June. He needs you and that boy more than you will probably ever understand.”
Mable gives me a slight squeeze before dropping her arm, giving her beverage a deeply contemplative stare, and heading off without another word.
* * *
Hurricane
Donner”s been tellingme about the pictures in Mom”s living room that look like him. He thinks it”s pretty cool that I looked so much like him when I was his age-- but he”s also having a hard time believing I was ever his age.
If he wasn”t keeping me in tears from laughing so hard at his impression of Gran, I”d probably be feeling pretty emotional about him not understanding the family resemblance just yet.
Junie and I agreed though, we”re going to try not to dump too much on him all at once. We”ll answer any questions honestly and we won”t keep any secrets from him-- we just figure he”s got enough big changes to adjust to, we can hold off on filling in so many details at once.
”So are you going to be my dad now, Hurricane?”
Donner swings his feet back and forth nervously over the edge of the bench we”re sitting on. His eyes are focused on something in the distance, possibly the soft glow of light coming from my sister”s place.
Under different circumstances, I”d probably ask him how he feels about it, but being Don”s father is a done deal, whether he likes it or not. Why that is, is something June and I will find a way to explain to him over time as he”s ready to understand it.
”Yes, I am.” I answer him honestly in the new dad voice I recently discovered I have. ”You cool with that?”
I admit, the kid had me nervous for a second. When Donner looks up at me, he”s nothing but one big smile.
”Yeah! That”d be awesome! Can I call you ”Dad” too?”
Behind us, the sound of Junie”s gasp interrupts our man-to-man conversation.
When we turn to look her way, she”s standing by the back door with her hand over her mouth and I know she”s been there long enough to hear the best parts.
”Can I?” Donner looks up at me and whispers urgently, obviously eager for my answer.
He gets an enthusiastic nod. I don”t trust my voice.
”Mom!” It”s easy to tell why he wanted my answer so quickly. He jumps off the bench and runs to Junie, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her back to me.
I”m glad to see it doesn”t take much effort.
”Hurricane”s going to be my dad, is that okay?”
The sound of June”s laugh makes me want to pull her into my lap and kiss her in the ticklish spot behind her ear so I can hear it again.
”I heard,” she says, ”and yes, it”s okay. I”m glad you”re happy about that.”
”Are you going to get married now?”
Donner is suddenly very serious, glancing from his mother to me and back again.
”I like that idea a lot, but it”s up to your mom,” I answer Don, but my eyes are on June.
”Is that an official proposal?” She asks, laughter underlying the sarcasm in her voice.
”It”s an official unofficial proposal.” I reach for her hand and draw her closer.
I have every intention of asking her properly, with a ring to slide onto her finger when she tells me yes, but for now it seems like the right place to start.
”Then I guess my official unofficial answer is yes.”
It”s hard not to kiss her but even with all this talk, I”m not sure if Donner is ready to see that yet.
* * *
It”s latewhen we get back to my place and even though I”m keeping my urge to kiss Junie under control, I haven”t been able to let go of her since she said she”d marry me.
Donner lets me give him a hug before Junie puts him to bed, but only a few minutes after they disappear into the guest bedroom, I hear what sounds like an argument. Then Junie is being pushed out of the room, with what looks like her pajamas in her hands.
”No, you have to go sleep with Hurricane now,” Donner is saying insistently as he shoves his mother toward my end of the house. ”Mommies and daddies have to share a room, it”s the rules.”
Junie lets herself be pushed closer to me, hiding her face from Donner so he doesn”t see the grin she”s giving me.
I do my best to do the same.
”He”s right, Junie-bee, the rules say mommies and daddies have to share a room.” I try to make it sound as apologetic as possible.
”Will you be okay sleeping alone?” I ask Donner, who seems satisfied that we”re accepting the downside of the mom and dad rules.
”Uh huh,” he assures me, ”I had my own room at our old house.”
Donner goes back to his room and Junie looks at me and mouths the words ”our old house” at me. Obviously, he”s also expecting the new arrangement to mean that he and June will be staying.
This is going to be so much easier than I thought.
”You heard him,” I say, pulling Junie through the door of our bedroom, ”it”s the rules.”