Finding Love in Payton (15 page)

GGHey, Stratton, Joanne," Jeremy said as his sister
and brother-in-law entered the kitchen. "Now, why am
I not surprised y'all are joining us for dinner?"

Joanne raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, since the
whole family is here."

"Did you really think anyone was going to skip this
dinner?" Stratton asked with a half-smirk. "No way
was anyone going to pass up the opportunity to watch
your parents grill you and Dinah. Joanne canceled her
plans to go to the movies to be here."

"I'm honored," Jeremy said, glancing at his sister
with more than a little bit of wariness. "You're not
going to do anything weird, are you?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

"I like Dinah," she said then bent over and kissed
his forehead. "I like my little brother, too. Don't
worry."

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what? Kiss your head? I've been doing
that since you were a baby."

"Don't call me little brother. I'm taller than you."

"Jeremy-" she began, then grunted as her husband
stepped on her toe.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, Jo. I sure didn't mean to interrupt." He grabbed her arm. "Let's go look in the
kitchen to make sure everything is okay," Stratton
said, deftly moving Joanne out of the living room.

Missy glanced up at Jeremy with a smile. "Everything's going to be just fine, you know."

Drawn closer by her comforting voice and sweet
disposition, Jeremy sat down on the couch next to her.
"I just don't want Dinah to get overwhelmed by everyone. You know how they can be."

"I know how fun and caring your family can be.
Let Dinah handle it. She'll do just fine."

"You mean because she's older?"

Missy shook her head in exasperation. "No, I mean
because she's great with people." Just as his parents
and Kevin walked out of the kitchen she whispered,
"Worrying about what makes you two different is going to tear you up inside. Just concentrate on how
you're alike."

The doorbell rang before he had a chance to think
of a suitable reply.

"I'll get it," Jim called out. "Can't wait to get my
hands on Bryan."

He opened the door, and with a booming `hello', he
picked up a bewildered Bryan and ushered Dinah into
the living room. "Look who's here," Jim announced
to the room unnecessarily. "Bryan."

"And Dinah," Jeremy said with a smile as he took
the plate of cookies she'd brought with her.

Everyone crowded around both Dinah and Bryan,
oohing and ahhing over Bryan's shiny new tiny tooth.
"How are you?" he asked her once they got a break.

"Just fine."

"I was worried, after today, you might not come."

"I've been planning on it all day long."

"You'll get her later, dear," Daphne told her son as
she grasped Dinah's arm. "Right now I'm taking Dinah into the kitchen. We need to catch up."

He wasn't aware they'd ever said more than the
barest greetings in passing. But as he watched her go,
he couldn't help but feel proud of how great she
looked, and at how naturally she fit in.

A brief knock rang out before the front door opened
again, this time bringing in Mary Beth, Cameron, and
Maggie.

Jeremy shook his head. Could his parents ever have
just one or two of their children over at a time? Could any of his siblings ever pass up a chance to be part of
the mass confusion? He pretty much doubted it.

"How're you doing?" Cameron asked after everyone got settled.

"Okay, I guess. Mom has Dinah cornered in the
kitchen."

"Dinah has Bryan on her side. Trust me, Dinah will
be able to do no wrong."

Jeremy chuckled at that. Slowly, as usual, everyone
staffed their favorite stations, and dinner was prepared.
Jim, Stratton, and Kevin manned the grill and talked
baseball; Mary Beth and Missy set the table and organized the buffet. Dinah paired with Daphne and
made the salad and rolls, and Jeremy, Cameron, and
Joanne watched the two kids.

Finally everything was ready. And, in time honored
tradition, Jim put their guest at the front of the line.
"Dinah, lead us on through," he boomed, like they
were marching into battle.

Jeremy bit back a smile as Dinah gave him a little
salute before picking up a paper plate. He'd watched
her often during the first half hour she'd been there,
and it looked as if she was doing just fine. More than
once she and his mom had been in deep conversation,
or she'd been laughing with his dad.

He went through the line himself, grabbed a cheeseburger and some coleslaw for himself, then took a seat
next to Dinah. Bryan was happily gnawing on a cold carrot, having eaten some baby food while the burgers
were still cooking.

"What do you think?" he asked as soon as they were
both settled.

"I'm having a great time."

Great sounded a little excessive. "Really? No one's
driving you crazy?"

Her dimple popped. "Just you."

His plate almost slipped off his lap. "Why do you
say that?"

"I've hardly seen you."

Once again he felt a twinge of satisfaction. "I'll stay
by your side from now on."

Her brown eyes danced.

"Tell us about Beagle's Books, Dinah," his mom
said from across the table.

"All right." Within minutes, everyone was in discussion again, this time about running a business,
books in general, and finding good help. This led to a
brief analysis of types of pets, and finally to raising
children.

"I don't know how you've done it," Mary Beth said
frankly. "Cam and I have each other and both our
families, and we still get overwhelmed."

Dinah shrugged. "I got lucky. Bryan's a pretty easy
guy. He sleeps well, and is a great fan of Tupperware."

Mary Beth grinned. "That helps, but I think you
have more to do with his happy, easy going demeanor
than you're letting on. Are you really organized?"

Dinah shrugged. "I suppose." Her face became
more serious. "I'm not going to lie to you. There's
been more than one day when I've felt like throwing
up my hands in frustration. Or just wishing I could go
take a one hour nap. It's not easy."

Bryan crawled over to Jeremy and held his hands
up. Jeremy reached down and pulled him into his lap,
feeling almost every eye on him.

"Well, now you've got Jeremy," Daphne announced, with a proud maternal smile.

Jeremy felt like sliding right down into the down of
the couch. But Dinah only looked amused. "Now, I
do, thank goodness," she said.

Like magic, the band of tension around his lungs
evaporated. With a few words, Dinah had just cemented their relationship. Now he had to figure out
what to do next.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" he asked her.
"I'm sure everyone could watch Bryan for a bit, if he
doesn't mind."

Dinah glanced at her son. He'd just crawled to
Daphne and was currently fascinated with Daphne's
necklace, with its wide array of brightly painted enamel charms hanging from it. "I think Bryan will be
just fine ... if you think you can handle him, Mrs.
Reese."

"It's Daphne, and I know I can," she said. "You
two go, now. We'll just get ready for dessert while
you're gone."

That seemed to be all he needed to hear. Like a shot,
Jeremy was standing, reaching for her hand, and with
a small wave, led her out of the crowded room.

As soon as they stood outside on the front stoop,
he let out a relieved sigh. "You okay?"

She wondered what he was referring to.... the
huge meal, the experience of being on a date with a
half-dozen chaperones, or her feelings after the questioning. But no matter what the reference, her answer
was the same. "I am."

He took her hand, led her down the street. "I can
honestly tell you that I didn't think this gathering
would be quite so big, though I'm not sure why I
thought that."

"I don't mind. I'm close to my brothers, too. I just
don't get to see them very often. And your parents
remind me a lot of mine." She gazed at him, willing
him to understand how she was feeling. "It really is
nice to be around other families that get along so
well."

"I suppose."

As they walked a little farther, he pointed out some
of the history of different houses, then they fell silent,
merely enjoying each other's company. "How are
those costumes coming along?"

"Fine. They're almost done. I'm having a good time
sewing them."

"I don't know how you even have time to sew
them."

"It's been almost two months since Joanne first approached me. I've scheduled them in."

He rolled his eyes. "Every time I see you, you've
got a schedule for the day."

"Some would say you're not that different."

He laughed. "I guess not."

He thought of a thousand things they could talk
about: the club, a meeting he'd had at the high school
about schedules and Special Ed students. The new
book he was reading. The house on Maple that he
couldn't stop driving by. But none of that seemed very
interesting at all. Not compared to what was at the
forefront of his mind. "I want to kiss you again," he
blurted, then cursed himself for stating it so clumsily.

Her dimple appeared. "I was hoping you would."

He leaned forward, smelled her fresh, clean scent.
Liked the way her breath hitched, like this time alone
meant just as much to her as to him. "Really?"

"Positively."

Finally their lips met. "I'm glad you came over,
Dinah," he said, wrapping his arms around her and
holding her close.

She smiled brightly. "I am, too. Jeremy?"

"Yeah?"

"Just kiss me, would you?"

He touched his lips to hers, not even needing to hear
her ask again. Ali, she was so sweet.

Time was running out. Three weeks had gone by,
school was going to be starting soon, and Jeremy knew
he had to make a decision about the house soon. Marianne McKinley called yesterday with news that
there'd been quite a few other showings during the
last week, and one couple seemed pretty serious. Jeremy couldn't explain exactly why, but he wanted to
live in that house on Maple, and he wanted to live
there sooner than later.

It struck him as strange and foreign, this sudden
need to have things immediately. He'd always been
the kind of person to bide his time, to wait for the
right moment. He'd rarely been impulsive, rarely done
things when he wasn't absolutely certain the time was
right. His impatient needs were driving him crazy.

Once more, he studied the paperwork in front of
him, the neatly organized bank statements, financial
records; the copy of his new school contract. How was
he going to make everything work out? He wanted that
house, but, if he was honest with himself, he also really wanted a home for himself and Dinah. Not her
house; Neil and she had bought that together. It was
part of her history, not theirs. And he was enough of
a man to realize that he would have a hard time moving his things into another man's closet. Even under
the circumstances, such as they were.

He leaned back against his chair. Who was he fooling, anyway? Dinah would probably laugh if he asked
her to marry him. And be appalled if he said that his
dream was to move her and Bryan out of their snug
little house into a sprawling old place in need of
months, not weeks of work.

As he processed what he'd just thought, his
thoughts caught him off guard. When had that happened? When had he decided that he wanted to marry
her? All along, his conscious told him. From the moment he'd spied Dinah hand Bryan a camel cookie,
he'd fallen hard for her.

It had just taken almost three months for the rest of
him to catch up to his heart.

Luckily the phone rang and got him out of his
mood. "Hello?"

"Jeremy? Oh, thank goodness," Dinah exclaimed. "I
need your help."

"What's wrong?" Her voice was panicked, sounding
as if she was on the verge of tears. "Honey, what's
happened?"