A Baby in the Bargain (8 page)

“Until very recently, all we knew was that we have factories and warehouses in Lakeview that were built there in the fifties.”

Gideon’s eyebrows arched and he shook his head. “You’re kidding?”

“I’m not. Business and family were always completely separate for H.J., for my grandfather and my father and my uncle, too. My generation has taken over and we’re committed to doing things fairly, doing things the right way. But as far as what went on in the building of Camden Inc.? We didn’t know anything about that. Not even my grandmother knew anything about it.”

“Until recently...” Gideon repeated her earlier words.

Jani merely shrugged; she couldn’t go into the discovery of H.J.’s journals and all they’d revealed.

Gideon cocked his head. “So you really were removed from—”

“Everything to do with the business until I was grown up and by then what was done was—”

“History to you.”

“But what was just history to me had a wide ripple effect for you.”

“Which is why I get to pin the blame on you, to hold you responsible. But when I do, you can’t look so shocked—let’s make that a ground rule,” he joked, laughing again.

He’d joked. He’d laughed. Gideon Thatcher had a sense of humor. A sense of humor that Jani appreciated. And reveled in when it caused the transformation of his oh-so-handsome face, when levity drew creases at the corners of those green eyes, and his chiseled features grew all the more striking...

“I’m sorry for being shocked,” Jani joked in return. “Next time I’ll try to be callous and tough and—”

“And you’ll say ‘Ah, suck it up, Thatcher’ so I can sling some more mud your way with a clean conscience rather than feel guilty for laying it all on you?”

“I don’t know about being callous enough to tell you to suck it up—you had to sleep on your grandmother’s couch for ten years,” Jani said. Then, in all seriousness, she added, “But I really am sorry for what your family went through because of what H.J. did.”

Gideon was looking intently at her, into her eyes, and maybe something he saw there convinced him of her sincerity because he merely nodded, accepting her apology.

“And someday you’ll tell me your side of it,” he reminded, for once not defensively, actually sounding as if he might be opening the door to her. Just a crack.

“Someday...” Jani said with less conviction than usual. What she had to say in H.J.’s defense now seemed more feeble than it had to her before.

And then, as they stood there peering at one another, something seemed to change between them. Jani wasn’t sure what it was, but she felt some of the tension that had always been around them fall away. Suddenly it was as if they were just two people standing beside her car after spending the evening together.

He smiled again. The smile was more open than she’d seen from him before and laced with a hint of mischief. “But if you really are sorry, I’ll tell you one thing you can do for Lakeview—”

“Besides the community center?” Jani asked.

“If you seriously want to make up for what went on way back when, you can help me man one of the flea market booths tomorrow. There’s a fund-raising bazaar in the park around Shones Lake. I’m signed on for the library booth to sell old books. All the money goes into the city coffers for the redevelopment. Or is that more down and dirty than you’re willing to go?”

He was challenging her again but there was a hint of playfulness to it tonight.

“Believe me, I’m feeling so guilty that I’d agree to build the booths with my own two hands, and then buy all the books myself.”

“Guilt—I can work with that,” he said as if she were giving him ideas. “Does that mean I can count on you?”

“Just tell me when to be wherever I need to be.”

“We’re taking up a big section of the park—you won’t be able to miss us. I’ll be in the booth closest to the library—less distance to haul books. The bazaar and flea market opens at nine. Set up’s at eight. Dress for work. Don’t wear heels.”

They both glanced down at her shoes and when they looked back up at each other he seemed to be just a little nearer.

“I do have conservative shoes,” she assured him.

“You’ll be on your feet all day, so wear them.”

“Yes, sir!” she said with mock obedience that made him smile again.

Oh, but she loved to see that smile...

She realized then that regardless of the intense emotions that had been raised by Gideon’s revelations about his family history, she’d still had a good time with him.

And maybe he hadn’t had such a bad time with her, because he was studying her with a new, softer expression that told her the tension between them really was gone. At least for the moment.

Then, Gideon leaned forward and kissed her, shocking her even more than anything she’d learned tonight.

The lightest press of his lips to hers and it was over before she could even tilt her head up. But still, it was a kiss. On the lips.

He drew away as if it had taken him by surprise, too.

After a moment of that surprise flitting across his expression, he acted as if it hadn’t happened.

Maybe because he wished it hadn’t?

“So. Tomorrow at the park. Bright and early. If you dare,” he said as he pushed away from her car and headed for his.

“Thanks for dinner,” Jani belatedly called after him.

“Thanks for the hot chocolate,” he called back as if not to be outdone, the sexy swagger of his walk making Jani slow to unlock her car door and get behind the wheel.

As she drove home, she still felt ashamed of the pain her family had caused his.

But somehow her thoughts began to turn more to the man who had risen from the ashes of his own family, and that caused her to think less and less about long ago and more about the recent past.

About that kiss.

Gideon Thatcher had
kissed
her....

And even though it hadn’t really been anything, it still felt like something to her.

Something she wanted to try again...

Chapter Six

“W
hoa! Buddy! That couldn’t have felt good!”

Jani had glanced up from putting money in the library booth’s cash box just in time to see a little boy fall flat on his face directly in front of their tented area, provoking Gideon’s comment. He rushed out of the booth and went to the child.

It was Thorpe Armbruster, the four-year-old son of Lakeview councilwoman Amanda Armbruster, who was manning the Lakeview flea market’s popcorn booth.

They couldn’t have asked for a nicer January day for the flea market—it was sunny and fifty-two degrees—and Thorpe had spent most of the day visiting many of the booths under the watchful eye of his mother. But he seemed to have developed a particular fondness for Gideon because his trips since lunchtime had been to the book booth alone.

“I wuz bringin’ you popcorn...” the little boy lamented, working to fight tears as Gideon helped him get on his feet. “I spilled it.”

“That’s okay. The birds and squirrels will take care of the popcorn.”

After giving the child a quick once-over Gideon called to the councilwoman, “He’s all right.” Then, to distract Thorpe, Gideon said, “I knew someone who needed a particular book read to her every night before bed and sometimes when she didn’t feel good or got hurt like you just did. Want to see it, or do you want to get back to your mom?”

“Wanna see it,” the child said, still blinking back tears.

“It’s about a bunch of bears—I think you’ll like it.”

The bear book...

Jani had arrived at the flea market at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Gideon was just getting out of his car when she’d pulled into the lot and had not disguised his shock that she’d come to pitch in.

The booths—some of them small, others larger and shaded by tent canopies—had already been set up when they’d arrived, but Jani had helped Gideon tote boxes of books from the library and they’d been working together ever since.

She’d seen him stall over the bear picture book when they’d unpacked it and thought maybe it was a book he’d remembered from his childhood. But apparently that wasn’t the case, and now Jani’s curiosity was sparked.

“Here it is,” he said when he’d located it on the table that held books for kids.

Jani watched as he got the little boy interested in the book. It was only a matter of minutes before the blond child with the thick glasses seemed to have forgotten all about his fall, and Jani catalogued the technique for use when she had a child of her own to deal with.

But by then taking note of how Gideon dealt with kids was something she’d been doing for a while. In fact she’d found reason to do it each time Thorpe visited the book booth and Gideon had had any exchange with him.

The man was a natural with children, which surprised Jani as much as her early arrival had surprised him. He didn’t go overboard with Thorpe. He never talked down to the four-year-old. He didn’t try to be cool or cutesy or silly with him, he just treated him like anyone else, patiently answering his questions and listening to what Thorpe had to say. And all as calmly as if he were an old hand at it.

“Can I have this book?” Thorpe asked.

“If it’s all right with your mom. Why don’t you show it to her, tell her it’s my treat. But don’t run.”

Thorpe took the book and walked with purpose to the popcorn booth.

After listening to her son for a moment, the councilwoman waved her approval and Gideon took his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans to put a dollar in the cash box.

“Please don’t tell me that whoever it was you read that book to every night before bed was your last girlfriend,” Jani teased him, fishing for information in the process.

As the day had progressed they’d both relaxed more than they had at any other time they’d been together. She’d come to see that Gideon Thatcher actually had a fun—and funny—side. A side that was a little ornery and mischievous and far more lighthearted than she would ever have imagined. A side that had allowed for joking and teasing. And maybe just a little flirting, too.

It had made the time go faster—and far more pleasantly—for Jani, even though she did keep telling herself that flirting was probably not a good idea.

Despite the fact that her comment just now had clearly been a joke, Gideon’s smile in response wasn’t as open or relaxed as what she’d come to expect from him today. Instead it was bittersweet, and Jani knew instantly that she’d somehow struck a nerve again.

“I read the bear book over and over again to my daughter,” he said stiffly.

Jani very nearly dropped the notebook where she’d just entered the title of the bear book and the amount Gideon had paid for it.

His
daughter?

“You said you were divorced. I didn’t realize you had kids,” Jani said without any levity at all.

“I don’t,” he answered in a clipped tone that left her more curious than she had been before.

“You read the bear book to your daughter, but you don’t have kids...” Jani said, trying to figure out the riddle of that.

But he acted as if he hadn’t heard her and instead went to straighten the table of books farthest away from her.

Oh, this can’t be good,
Jani thought.

But before she knew how—or if—she should pursue the subject, she thought she heard her grandmother’s voice in the distance, saying, “There she is! Over at that one.”

Turning away from the sight of Gideon’s broad back in the thick gray wool sweater he was wearing with jeans, Jani looked out into the crowd of shoppers milling around the booths. She sincerely hoped her ears had been deceiving her, but they hadn’t. GiGi was indeed making her way in Jani’s direction.

She’d spoken to her grandmother after leaving Gideon the night before and told GiGi all she’d learned about the Thatchers. She’d also told her grandmother that she had agreed to work the flea market today. The elderly woman had given no clue that she might show up.

But there she was suddenly, accompanied by the man who had become her constant companion since the two high school sweethearts had reconnected in October.

“Hi, honey!” her grandmother greeted her when the two older people arrived at the book booth.

At seventy-five years old, they were still both in robustly good health, despite carrying a few more pounds than they should have been on their short frames. GiGi’s blue eyes still sparkled with vigor, and she looked sporty with her salt-and-pepper hair curled around her face. And Jonah’s shock of thick white hair and ruddy cheeks gave him the overall appearance of a spry, beardless Santa.

“GiGi,” Jani said. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

She also didn’t know how her grandmother being there would go over with Gideon. Especially since his darker side had made a reappearance.

Plus there was the noteworthy fact that in all the introductions he’d made today, he’d never once used Jani’s last name. No one was aware that she was a Camden, and Jani knew that was how he wanted it. That he didn’t want his name connected in any way with the Camden name, particularly in Lakeview.

Jani had merely accepted that. But now here GiGi was, and Jani wondered if she would open a can of worms.

“Jonah and I spent the day together and now we’re going back to Arden to have dinner at his house with Cade and Nati. Since we were driving right by here on the way, I asked him to stop,” GiGi explained.

Cade had met his fiancée, Nati, on his mission to make amends for past Camden misdeeds. It’s what had brought GiGi back together with Jonah Morrison, who was Nati’s grandfather. Now GiGi was spending more time in Arden, a suburb west of both Denver and Lakeview where Jonah lived.

“Hello! You must be Gideon Thatcher. I’m Jani’s grandmother,” GiGi called, looking beyond Jani to Gideon, who had not rushed to join them.

Jani was glad her grandmother hadn’t uttered their last name but there was still a moment of extreme tension for her when she wasn’t sure what was going to happen, when she worried what Gideon’s reaction might be, when she just hoped he didn’t mistreat her grandmother because if he did, there would be no turning back as far as Jani was concerned.

But after that moment of tension, Gideon joined them.

“Hi,” he said, still sounding stiff but courteous nonetheless.

“This is my friend Jonah Morrison.” GiGi went on with the introductions since Jani was too nervous to make them herself. “Jonah, this is Gideon Thatcher. And you can call me GiGi, Mr. Thatcher—everyone does.”

“Gideon,” Gideon said perfunctorily, shaking Jonah’s hand.

“My granddaughter speaks well of you, Gideon,” GiGi said then.

“Really...” One of Gideon’s eyebrows arched dubiously as he angled a glance at Jani.

“Well, you know, maybe not so much at first,” GiGi admitted with a laugh, causing Jani to grimace at the revelation. “I understand the start was a little rocky. But that doesn’t mean things have to stay that way, does it, Jonah?” She nudged her companion with an elbow and sent him a sly glance.

“Nope. Sometimes the best things are at the end of rocky roads,” Jonah said with a clearly lascivious wink.

Jani caught Gideon’s eye, made a face and shook her head helplessly.

Something about her discomfort seemed to amuse him because he cracked the barest of smiles before GiGi drew his attention again.

“Anyway, I just wanted to stop and tell you how happy I am that you’ve agreed to let us help to honor Franklin Thatcher,” GiGi confided to Gideon in a lowered voice that couldn’t be heard by anyone else. Jani realized that her grandmother had not lost sight of Gideon’s position in the community and was trying to stay anonymous.

Gideon merely raised his chin in response to what her grandmother had said, and Jani saw a muscle flex in his jaw that let her know he wasn’t entirely happy with her grandmother’s endorsement.

“I asked everyone to look over things today—we got your proposal and the cost estimates from Jani early this morning. We’re all fine with it and I wanted to give you the go-ahead. Do you like pot roast?”

The speed with which GiGi had changed the subject startled both Jani and Gideon.

“Do I like pot roast?” he repeated.

“Pot roast, potatoes, carrots, little pearl onions, gravy, salad—the works.”

“Yes...” Gideon said, obviously confused by the direction this had taken. But Jani was beginning to understand. And worry again.

“I do Sunday dinner every week,” the enthusiastic GiGi announced. “Family. Friends. Family of friends. Friends of friends—it’s a friendly free-for-all and tomorrow we’re having pot roast. Come, I’ll feed you and give you a check so you can put the wheels into motion on this thing.”

“Oh, I don’t—”

“No, no, no, I never take no for an answer to my Sunday dinners. You’ll be Jani’s and my special guest, you’ll come away with a full stomach and a check to make it worth your while.” She pointed an index finger at Jani. “Don’t let him out of it! I’ll see you both tomorrow. Good to meet you, Gideon.” And just like that, she and Jonah left, with Jonah merely waving his goodbye as he went.

“Soo... That’s my grandmother—sometimes she can be a bit of a whirlwind...” Jani said softly as they watched the older couple disappear back into the crowd. “Thanks for being polite to her.” Although GiGi hadn’t given him much of an opportunity to get a word in edgewise.

“Takes-no-prisoners kind of lady,” Gideon observed. But without animosity. Jani was thankful for that.

“She’s a force to be reckoned with. But we all love her dearly and while you might not agree since she’s just steamrolled you, her strong will is generally a good thing.”

His eyebrows arched again and Jani could see he likely didn’t agree.

“Really,” she insisted. “If it hadn’t been for that strong will this family would have fallen apart, and I don’t know what might have happened to us all.”

“Why is that? I haven’t kept up with the latest Camden news, but I thought H.J. was captain of the ship.”

“H.J. was captain of the business ship. But when it comes to the family, GiGi has been at that helm. It was GiGi who even took care of H.J.—he went to live with her and my grandfather when he had his heart attack and decided to retire, when he really wasn’t doing well on his own after my great-grandmother died. And it was GiGi who was home taking care of him because he’d hurt his back when the plane crash took the rest of the family—”

“The plane crash...” The words seemed to spark a memory for Gideon. “I was just a kid but I do remember that there was a plane crash—”

“I’m sure your family was among those who thought it was comeuppance,” Jani said, imagining the Thatchers taking some satisfaction from tragedy befalling the Camdens.

Gideon didn’t deny that. “My family was betting someone had blown the plane up—that’s why I remember it. It seemed like a movie or something bigger than life.”

“There’s always been the suspicion that foul play was involved, yes,” Jani confirmed. “But there wasn’t enough wreckage left to prove it.”

“And who all went down in the crash?”

“Everyone but GiGi, H.J. and the ten of us grandchildren—”

“I didn’t realize... So you were orphaned?” Gideon said with unmasked surprised.

“And GiGi was widowed. My parents, my aunt and uncle, my grandfather were on the plane. It was a family vacation that GiGi and H.J. missed at the last minute because of H.J.’s hurt back.”

Light seemed to dawn in Gideon. “That’s why you said something before about H.J. helping your grandmother raise you all—when you said that I wasn’t actually thinking that she raised you
without
your parents being around. I was just thinking that it was...I don’t know, a family affair to raise the kids, I guess. But you meant it literally—your grandmother and H.J. really did raise you?”

“From the time I was six. The triplets—my cousins—were six, too. We’re the youngest. From there the ages varied up to eleven.”

“She took on ten kids, eleven and under?”

“Yep. With the help of H.J. and Margaret and Louie—Margaret and Louie have worked for GiGi forever, long enough to be part of the family. When the ten of us moved in, it was understood that we answered to Margaret and Louie every bit as much as we answered to GiGi and H.J.”