First Class Rescue (First Class Novels) (11 page)

Katy had been correct. Matt had been able to pull Ben from
the dark cloud he was under and he was all but a different person at dinner. As
Beth looked around at all the Lathem men, she could see the striking family
resemblance. Tim, now sitting next to Matt, looked so much like his brother she
was amazed she hadn’t realized it before he’d told her which family he’d
belonged to. They were all exceptionally good looking men, but more
importantly, they all had good hearts.

Ella interrupted her train of thought by demanding that she
sit next to Ray. Janie tried to dissuade her from uprooting bodies in the
middle of dinner, but Ray, obviously a doting and patient caregiver to the
child, was all too happy to move by his favorite newly-turned four year old.

“We are raising a monster,” Janie sighed, shaking her head.
“She can’t always get her way or else we’ll have a holy terror on our hands in
a few years.”

“Yep,” Ella repeated, “a holy terror.”

Everyone laughed.

*****

“But I want to sleep with you,” Tim whined as he tried to
get into Beth’s bedroom.

She giggled and held the door open only a few inches.
“Timothy Ward Lathem, you know your mother would disapprove.”

“Oh don’t talk like her. You’re killing me here! All we have
to do is sleep. I need you in my arms.”

Beth laughed at her guy trying to sneak into her room, but
she agreed with his desire. She found it difficult to sleep when he was at
work. She didn’t like being in the bed alone and Cleo wasn’t allowed on the
bed.  Everyone had gone to bed, except for Adam and Shelby. They’d gone for a
walk along the beach. The temptation was strong but she stood firm. “No! I’ll
see you in the morning.” She kissed him on the tip of his nose and closed the
door.

“Bloody hell!” she heard him muttering down the hall.

Beth giggled as she climbed into bed. As she stared up at
the ceiling, the light ocean breeze coming through the open window above her
head, she acknowledged, for the thousandth time, how blessed she felt. For the
first time in a very long while she was happy.

Hearing voices outside, she peeked over the window sill to
see two people walking towards the house. She thought they were holding hands
but as they got closer she recognized Adam and Shelby and their hands were not
touching.

Hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, lemonade, and apple pie.

“I do not think you can get any more American than this,”
Beth chuckled as she served herself dinner on the fourth of July.

“Oh dear,” Maureen frowned. “I didn’t even think to ask if
there were certain foods you wanted to have today.”

Beth grinned. “I love all of this,” she said as she surveyed
the buffet set before her. “I may sound English but I love American food. This
is perfect. ”

And it was. They sat outside at tables, on blankets, and
Paul was even sitting on an overturned garbage can because Isabelle, his niece,
wanted his chair. They laughed and reminisced about holidays gone by, with
Peter embarrassing each of his sons one by one.

“He really did!” he was saying. “No backpack for Matt for
second grade. He wanted a briefcase!”

Andrew laughed the loudest. It was definitely the wrong
thing to do.

“You think that’s funny?” Peter asked his son. “Let’s not
forget that you wanted to be a cheerleader for Halloween! For three years in a
row!”

Everyone roared with laughter over that. Beth looked a bit
concerned. Rory came to her rescue.

“Peter says that making fun of Andrew and me and our gay
lifestyle is no different from him making fun of, say, Tim for rescuing a cat from
a telephone pole,” he said, defending his father-in-law.

“Is rescuing a cat from a telephone pole funny?” Beth asked.

“Have you ever seen a dead cat on a telephone pole?” Peter
asked.

Beth shook her head.

“Have you ever seen a cat skeleton up in a tree?” he asked.

“No.” she said. She was slightly confused.

“That’s because cats can get down from trees and telephone
poles on their own. But no! Tim goes out in the middle of the night, positions
his truck and ladder and climbs up to the top of the pole to rescue a cat that
some woman had called 911 to report. But what happens when he gets to the top?”

Beth shrugged her shoulders. She had absolutely no idea.

“The cat ran down the pole,” Peter laughed. “So there’s Tim
on the ladder and there’s no cat to rescue.”

Several of the family had heard the story before but still
thought it was very amusing.

“First of all,” Tim rebutted, “it was a traffic light pole,
and the cat had jumped onto the steel bar from the balcony of the apartment
building. The woman called because she was afraid the cat would fall off the
pole into the traffic on the street below.”

“But the fact is,” Peter interrupted, “the cat was able to
get down just fine without your help.”

“He just needed a little prompting -- some encouragement,”
Tim grinned. “I think I still rescued it.”

“Of course you did Tim,” Maureen agreed.

“So you rescue dogs
and
cats?” Beth smiled.

“Yep,” he said with pride. “And beautiful English women.”

*****

The sun had set and the sky grew dark. It was time for the
fireworks. Matt had purchased a truckload of fireworks and had hired a
pyrotechnics company to facilitate the show. They had been setting up on the
other side of the house for the last two days, and Matt promised a spectacle to
rival the Macy’s New York City display.

Gregory, Isabella, and Christopher had been put to bed. The
two toddlers were worn out after the day of playing in the sand and the surf. Blankets
and chairs were taken around to the sand dunes to view the colorful show in
comfort. Beth and Tim held Cleo by a leash close to them. They knew she
wouldn’t wait patiently in the house for them, but they didn’t want her to bolt
at the noise.

Matt gave the signal and the first explosion happened high
above them in the sky. Ella shrieked with glee and Beth couldn’t help but smile
as burst after burst turned the blackness above them into a kaleidoscope of
erupting color. Cleo settled into the blanket between Tim and Beth, each of
them stroking her and calming her with their soothing voices.

After several minutes, and everyone’s attention was high
above them, Tim leaned into Beth’s ear and whispered, “Marry me.” When she
didn’t respond, he thought she hadn’t heard him, so he said it again, a tad
louder. “Marry me. Please?”

Her heard turned slowly and a smile spread across her face,
her eyes sparkling in the dazzling light overheard. “Who knew you were such a
romantic?” she grinned.

“Who knew that rescuing a German Shepherd named Cleo would
lead me to the woman of my dreams?” he said and rubbed the dog’s back. “Is that
a yes?”

“That’s a yes,” she grinned and kissed him soundly.

The clapping started as the show came to an end. Matt’s
promise had been fulfilled.

“Oh, please!” Ben cried. “You two knock it off.”

All eyes swung to Tim and Beth who sheepishly pulled away from
each other.

“We can’t knock it off,” grinned Tim. “We’re celebrating!”

“So am I, but you don’t see me making out do you?”

“Really?” Tim asked. “You’re getting married too?”

It was the screaming of the women that scared Cleo more than
the fireworks.

Eventually everyone had left the beach. Mark and Katy took
Cleo with them into the house leaving Tim and Beth alone.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier,” Beth grinned.

“I’m glad.” He kissed her again. “But there’s something I
wanted to talk to you about.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“I would like meet your family and let them get to know me a
bit before we make our engagement public. Of course, mom is probably on the
phone right now sharing our news,” he chuckled.

“Well, once Emma knows you’re a Lathem, she’ll convince them
you’re good enough for me,” she sighed.

“I doubt I’ll ever be good enough for you,” Tim admitted.
“But I’m going to bloody well try.”

Beth giggled. “I love that you swear in English now.”

“I can do a whole lot more in English. Take off your clothes
and I’ll show you.”

*****

Three weeks later, Beth and Tim dropped Cleo off at his
parents’ house and they boarded an airplane bound for Gatwick International
Airport. Beth had telephoned her mother to say they were coming and received a
lukewarm response.

“Twice in one year?” she’d asked. Beth didn’t elaborate,
just gave her the time of their arrival. She said
someone
would be there
to pick them up.

“I’ve been thinking,” Beth said as the Captain announced
their decent into greater London. “I don’t want it to be too hard on you, but I
don’t want my parents to like you just because you’re the brother of one of the
richest men in New York. I want them to know you like I do and respect you for
who you are.”

“What are you saying?”

“I don’t want to tell them your name…well, your last name.
Not straightaway anyway.”

“Okay. You know your parents better than I. I don’t want
there to be any deception, but I don’t really care whether they know I’m a
Lathem or not.”

“I know. Just don’t expect them rolling out a red carpet for
you.”

And Beth was right. Her brother Rupert was the
someone
sent to fetch them. He was polite but stiff. He gave Tim the once over and then
nodded hello to his sister. He was obviously unimpressed.

Emma on the other hand, much to Tim’s surprise, ran from the
house as they pulled into the driveway and hugged them both with what Tim
thought appeared to be sincere joy at seeing them. It caught him off guard, but
he admitted to himself it was a pleasant surprise.

They had driven on the gravel driveway up to the front door.
The house was grand, in the shape of a ‘U’ and three stories high. It was built
of stone and appeared to have stood for centuries, weathered and wise.
Surrounding the house, at least what Tim could see, were fields and fields of
green on rolling gentle hills. Trees were scattered along fences and borders
and it was something out of a painting.
Mom would love it here.
The
skies were blue with billowy white clouds scattered overhead. It was warm, but
nothing like the sweltering heat and humidity they’d left behind in New York.

They were shown into the drawing room and offered tea, to
which they accepted. Just as Tim brought the putrid liquid to his lips, he’d
never liked the stuff - he was a coffee drinker and always would be, Mr. and
Mrs. Collins appeared. Saved, he put the cup back onto the saucer placed them
both on the side table and stood to meet his future in-laws.

Like Rupert, they were polite but stiff. Mrs. Collins sat on
the edge of the chair and sipped the tea Emma had poured and after what seemed
like an eternity, she spoke to her daughter.

“What brings you home Beth?”

“I wanted you to meet Tim. He is very important to me and I
thought that you would like to get to know him.”

“This is the fireman?”

“He is a fire
fighter
with the FDNY. He rescued Cleo.
I believe Emma filled you in on that.”

“Yes. Yes she did,” nodded Mr. Collins. “So tell me Tim, do
you plan on being a fire
fighter
for long?”

Tim chuckled under his breath. “Yes I do. It’s the career I
have chosen and I love it. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.”

“Well, I’m sure you are tired after the long flight. I’ll
have Mary show you to your rooms.” Mrs. Collins stood so Tim jumped up as well.

“Well it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your kind
hospitality,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with just the tiniest hint of
a smile.

*****

Mary showed Tim to his room. It was in the wing of guest
rooms on the second floor. Beth’s room was on the third floor on the opposite
side of the house. Apparently, they were not to mingle after dark. Tim tried
not to smirk. Their mothers should get along famously.

Mary left them alone in his suite. For Tim, it was like
stepping back in time. The floors were wooden and probably had hundreds of
stories to tell about the many guests that had stayed in the room. The walls
were papered in a deep red with gold fleur de lis. The draperies, framing the
massive window that looked below to the courtyard in the inner part of the ‘U’,
were heavy velvet in the same deep red and the massive four poster bed was made
of dark wood, matching the floor. The bedding was ivory and plush, and there
were two wingback chairs in the corner. Chest of drawers and tables were
scattered around the walls all in the same dark wood as the bed. A fireplace on
the same wall as the door finished the décor.

On the opposite wall of the bed, there was a door that led
into his en suite bathroom. It had been modernized with indoor plumbing, but
there wasn’t a shower, just a massive claw foot tub under another huge window,
with a shower hose attached to the faucet.

In some ways, Tim thought he’d stepped back in time a couple
of hundred years and it only enriched the experience of being in England for
the first time. Beth spoke of her home with fondness and a hint of sadness. She
obviously missed it and after being there for only an hour Tim could understand
why.

He’d been born in Manhattan and had lived there all his
life. He’d traveled extensively in the United States and loved the diversity of
the people and the culture, as well as the landscape, but even with its
billions of yards of concrete, the millions of people, the sweltering heat and
the bitter cold winters, he loved New York and would always call it home. And
Surrey, England couldn’t have been more different.

They were both extremely tired. Neither of them had slept on
the plane, so he and Beth snuggled together on the massive bed and closed their
eyes for just a minute or two. When Tim opened his eyes, he discovered they’d
fallen asleep and had taken a two-hour nap. He felt refreshed enough to slip
gently from Beth’s arm and tiptoe across the room and sneak out without waking
her. If he was going to get to know the family, there was no time like the
present.

Mary was the first person he saw as he ventured downstairs.
He guessed her to be in her fifties or so and was a rather plump woman but very
friendly and was eager to answer any questions he might have. After inquiring
as to the whereabouts of the family, Mary informed him that Mr. Collins and Rupert
were out in one of the fields looking at a piece of machinery and Mrs. Collins
was in her private study dealing with her correspondence. Emma was in the
family room. She pointed him in the right direction.

He was adamant that no matter how Beth’s family treated him,
he was determined to enjoy the trip. After all, he had Beth for his companion.
How bad could it be?