Chapter 23
Benjamin darted another glance at Summer, who sat in the passenger seat, chewing her lip and twining her fingers together.
He wanted to reach across the seat and grab her hand or . . . or something to mark this new phase of their relationship.
He nearly snorted out loud. New phase. They had just gotten married.
He still wasn’t sure it had sunk in. Or maybe it had, given the joyful-nervous-surreal-terrified acceleration of his blood through his veins.
He was a husband now. And Summer was his wife.
He tried to picture introducing her that way: This is my wife, Summer.
The words sounded foreign. And yet . . . They sounded rather nice too.
Or they would if she looked more pleased about the situation.
He’d thought, when he’d kissed her in the courthouse, that maybe things were going to be easy. Maybe they were going to walk out of there and suddenly everything would fall into place, and they would be a genuine married couple.
But judging from the silent car ride—and he was as much to blame for that as she was—that wasn’t going to happen.
Oh Lord, tell me I didn’t just make the biggest mistake of my life, Benjamin prayed.
Then he forced himself to open his mouth. “Hey.” He kept his volume low so he wouldn’t wake Max, who had fallen asleep in the back seat, but Summer jumped as if his voice were a crack of thunder. “We should probably tell our families.”
“Probably.” Summer’s voice was strained, her expression tense.
“Do you want to tell your Mama first or my family?”
“Your family,” Summer answered without hesitation.
Benjamin’s stomach sloshed with sudden nerves, but he nodded and pulled off onto a side road to send a quick text to the family chat, asking everyone to meet at Dad’s after dinner.
The second half of the drive was quieter than the first, if that was possible.
When they got to River Falls, Benjamin hesitated. Which house should they go to, TJ’s or his? He glanced at Summer, but she was staring out the window, lost to her own thoughts.
He turned toward TJ’s house. All of Max’s and Summer’s things were there, so they’d all stay there for now, until they had it ready to sell. He could stop at his house—their house—to get some clothes on the way home from Dad’s later.
When he turned into the driveway at TJ’s house, Summer looked at him in surprise, as if not sure how they’d gotten there. Silently, she got out of the car.
They both leaned into the back seat at the same time from opposite sides, and Benjamin smiled at her. Her responding smile was small, but it was enough to ease Benjamin’s fears just a little.
Together, they unbuckled Max, who cracked his eyes open sleepily as Benjamin carried him to the house.
He settled the boy on the couch, then looked around, suddenly at a loss.
“Now what?” Summer echoed his thoughts.
Benjamin exhaled. “I have no idea.”
“At least that makes two of us.”
Benjamin laughed, wishing suddenly that they could have a honeymoon and everything that a wedding usually included.
And then he had an idea. “I’m going to make a cake,” he announced.
Summer blinked at him. “A cake?”
“A wedding cake,” Benjamin specified. “To celebrate.”
And, he thought but didn’t say aloud, to butter up his family.
“Boy oh boy! Look at all the cars!” Max’s enthusiasm only made Summer’s heart slam harder against her throat as Benjamin steered her car into his dad’s driveway.
“One. Two. Three. Four. Five,” Max counted. “Plus us. That makes six.”
“Good job, Maxerooni.” Benjamin’s voice vibrated with a tension Summer had never heard from him before. He was nervous—and that only made her more nervous.
What had they done? What would his family say? Would they hate her? Would they disown him?
Question after question whipped through her head.
“Is that the river back there?” Max asked as Benjamin parked behind a black SUV and turned off the engine.
Summer peered out the windshield, but it wasn’t the soft pink reflection of the setting sun on the river behind the house that caught her eye. It was the house itself. It wasn’t large or grand, but something about it, situated in the middle of the big, green lawn, with cheerful flowers lining the walk to the front door, made it feel just right. Like a home.
Like the kind of place she had never belonged.
“Ready?”
She could feel Benjamin’s eyes on her, but she couldn’t look at him. She shook her head.
“I’m ready,” Max called eagerly. “Can we go swimming in the river?”
“Not today. But we’ll come here lots,” Benjamin promised. “And we can swim and fish and skip rocks.”
“Boy oh boy!” Max’s shout nearly rocked the car, and Summer’s chest loosened a little, thinking of Max having that kind of life.
Benjamin opened his door, and Summer followed suit.
“I’ll grab Max if you want to carry the cake,” Benjamin offered.
Summer nodded and retrieved the delicacy Benjamin had somehow managed to conjure into existence this afternoon. She’d watched him for a little while, fascinated by the ease and certainty with which he combined ingredients. But she’d made her escape when he offered to teach her how to pipe on the scalloped edges of the frosting using an improvised piping bag.
That would have required them to get too close. Maybe even to touch.
And that, in turn, would have led her to want this marriage to be real. It would have led her to want him to want her as his wife. And that, she knew from painful experience, was the surest way to heartache.
She carried the cake around the car, meeting Benjamin on the other side. He had boosted Max onto his shoulders, and the giggling boy called, “Giddy-up, dino.”
“Roar,” Benjamin offered.
And then they were walking toward the house side by side.
She wanted to ask Benjamin what they were going to say, how she should act, if they could maybe just turn around and go home without telling anyone.
But the front door opened, and his brother Joseph stepped out. Of all of Benjamin’s siblings, he was probably the one she knew best, since he was the closest in age to Benjamin, although she was pretty sure there was still a five- or six-year age gap between them.
“It’s about—” Joseph started, but then his eyes landed on Summer and widened. She wondered if Benjamin had already said something to his family in his text. But Joseph said, “Is that a cake?”
A relieved giggle slipped between her lips, and Benjamin grinned from her to his brother. “As a matter of fact, it is.”
“Good. Mrs. Kerigan’s dog needed emergency surgery this afternoon—managed to eat five golf balls.” He shook his head. “I didn’t even have time to eat dinner before Ava whisked me over here.” He jogged down the steps past them, calling over his shoulder, “I have to grab the diaper bag from the car. Don’t start eating that without me.”
“No promises,” Benjamin called back, his voice close to normal. “Come on.” He swung Max down from his shoulders, taking the boy’s hand in one of his and resting the other lightly on Summer’s back. A thrill traveled up her spine, but she ignored it. He was only trying to make their marriage look genuine for the sake of his family.
When they reached the top of the porch steps, he let his hand fall, exhaled quickly, sent her a weak smile, and opened the door.
A tumult of conversation and laughter filtered out into the night, and Summer hesitated. Benjamin nodded her through, but Max scrambled past her.
“Well, who do we have here?” a voice she recognized as Pastor Calvano’s asked warmly.
Summer made herself step through behind her nephew. The living room was crowded with men and women and babies, all of them turning their eyes toward the newcomers. Their smiles were warm and inviting, but still Summer would have turned and fled if it weren’t for Benjamin’s solid presence behind her.
“It’s me, Max,” Max said cheerfully. “I love your house. Benji said we can swim and fish and skip rocks in your river.”
“Well, it’s not my river.” Pastor Calvano smiled at Max, but Summer caught the questioning look he directed at Benjamin, who seemed to shift uncomfortably. “But you sure are welcome to come and do all of those things anytime.”
Benjamin cleared his throat. “I think you all know Summer. TJ’s sister.”
There were sympathetic nods and murmurs and hellos, but all Summer could do in response was stand there, clutching the cake.
“But she may not know who we all are.” A dark-haired woman smiled at Summer. “There are a lot of us. I’m Ireland. Asher’s wife.” She laid a hand comfortably on the knee of the man sitting with his arm around her.
Summer smiled weakly. She knew Asher was the park ranger who had put together the search for TJ.
“And that’s our daughter, Caroline.” Ireland pointed to an infant who was snuggled on Zeb’s lap, chewing on a board book. Zeb nodded to her, and Summer nodded back. She still needed to thank him for the night he had come over and walked her through the next steps after TJ’s death.
The door behind them opened, and Benjamin gently nudged her forward to make room.
“Oh good, you didn’t eat it yet,” Joseph said as he came in. “What are we waiting for?”
“We’re doing introductions,” a red-haired woman holding a baby boy answered. “I’m Ava, Joseph’s wife.” She stood and passed the baby to her husband. “And this little guy is Noah.”
“I’m going to go change him. No cake without me,” Joseph warned again.
As he disappeared with the baby, another woman spoke up. “I’m Lydia.”
Summer nodded. It would be hard not to know who Lydia St. Peter was. Her music was everywhere. “And this is my husband Liam. Our daughter Mia babysat Max a few weeks ago.”
“Max said Mia was his favorite babysitter ever.” It was the first time Summer had spoken since arriving, and her voice came out rather croaky, but no one seemed to mind. Benjamin shot her an approving look.
“She was,” Max confirmed. “I hope she can babysit again. It’s way better than going to Grandma’s.”
Summer felt her face fire red. She only left Max with Mama on rare occasions, and only for a few minutes at a time in an emergency. Still, after Mama’s stunt at the funeral, she could only imagine what this family would think about her letting him have any contact with his grandmother at all.
But Lydia only smiled at Max. “I’m sure she’d love that.”
“And we’re Simeon and Abigail,” a woman on the couch said, nodding to the man next to her, who held a baby girl against his shoulder and rubbed her back gently. “And our daughter Genevieve. You won’t believe this, but I was actually going to get your number from Benjamin so I could call you tonight.”
Summer stared at her blankly. “Why?”
After the word came out, she realized it probably sounded rude, but before she could fix it, Abigail was gushing, “I work part time at the Book Den downtown.” Summer nodded. She had seen Abigail there when she’d brought Max in for story time. And she’d also seen the table promoting Abigail’s forthcoming book, Memories of the Heart, which she had preordered a copy of.
“Anyway,” Abigail went on, “one of the girls who was working there for the summer is leaving for college this weekend, and she kind of forgot to tell us until today. Our owner, Ruth, was about to put an ad up for the job, but I told her I already had the perfect candidate.”
Summer nodded. That was nice. But what did it have to do with her?
“She means you,” Benjamin prompted with a low chuckle.
“Me?” Summer stared. How had Benjamin’s sister-in-law even known she needed a job?
“Yes,” Abigail went on, her cheeks glowing. “The hours are totally flexible, and the store isn’t open nights, so you’ll be able to be home for Max. And the pay is decent. Anyway, Ruth says the job is yours if you want it.”
“I— Well—” Amazement swallowed Summer’s words.
“You don’t have to decide right now,” Abigail offered. “I know it’s probably not exactly what you were looking for. But I just thought I’d mention it.”
“No. I mean, yes. I’ll take it.” She wasn’t in any position to turn down a job offer.
“Great.” Abigail smiled as if they were old friends. “Come by the store sometime, and I’ll introduce you to Ruth, and you two can work everything out. You’re going to love her.”
“Love who?” Joseph strode back into the room, flying his little boy in front of him like an airplane.
“Ruth,” Abigail answered.
“She’s a character.” Joseph grinned. “Her cats have her wrapped around their tails. Now, are we going to eat that cake or what?”
Benjamin nodded and sent Summer a look that she was pretty sure was supposed to be reassuring but that instead set every nerve in her body on edge.
He took the cake from her hands, and she felt suddenly as if she’d lost a shield.
He started toward a hallway that led off of the living room, and Summer followed him, barely hearing as Max chatted with one of Benjamin’s siblings as they all followed.
Too soon, they reached a cheerful kitchen with a large island and an even larger dining table. Benjamin set the cake on the counter and pulled off the cover.
“Wow, Benjamin,” Ava gasped. “That’s beautiful. Did you make it?”
“What’s the occasion?” a male voice questioned, but Summer couldn’t place which of the brothers said it.
“Who cares? Let’s eat it.” Joseph strode forward eagerly.
“Actually.” Benjamin held up a hand, and Joseph’s eager expression fell. “There’s something I—we—have to tell you first.”
He moved closer to Summer but didn’t touch her. “We— Uh—” He cleared his throat. Then he turned and looked at Summer, as if she was the one he was telling. “We got married today.”