If We Dare to Dream (21 page)

With deft hands, she cut the remaining strawberries in a bowl resting in the deep stainless sink. Andrew watched her work, remembering back in time when he would watch Grandma bake. When he was a kid, he used to help her, but all that ended when he reached his teens. After that, it was embarrassing to be seen in the kitchen. And after his job in the bakery in prison, if he never baked again he would be a happy man.

However, he enjoyed the homey scene playing out in front of him. Isabel had completed the cutting and was arranging the strawberries on the fruit tray, and beyond the sliding glass doors male laughter and the shrieking of children reached his ears. Though he had not been prepared for this, he was almost glad he was experiencing it now. The anxiety in his chest had eased, being replaced with excitement at seeing Jamie again.

Isabel had turned again and returned with another bowl. She spooned in more fruit dip in the center compartment of the tray, smoothing the sides where the boys had dug a hole in the side of the small mountain of white leaving a hole like a volcano crater.

“Perfect,” she said with a nod.

Andrew’s stomach growled in response.

“Take the tray outside.”

Her voice brooked no argument, so Andrew did as he was asked, following behind the petite woman obediently.

She slid the door open and breezed outside, standing aside and closing the door behind Andrew as he exited behind her. He stood awkwardly on the tiled patio, wondering what would happen next as he glanced at the scene before him. He counted four children, the three boys he had noticed in the kitchen and the young girl. She was lounging on a plush patio chaise next to a blonde, her headphones attached to an iPod resting on the table next to the chair.

The blonde next to the girl was obviously the mother of the two tow-headed boys that had been with the dark skinned one in the kitchen sneaking strawberries and dip. She was older, with a plump face and body, but her manner was cheerful, exhibited by the playful slap she sent at the man on the other side of her. Yet another dark-haired man lounged in the hot summer sun, this one not quite as old as Ford, but still most likely a family member. Before he could stop himself, Andrew asked.

“How many brothers are there?”

Isabel laughed again. “There are four and Jamie. She’s the youngest. Ford is the oldest. Grady…” She pointed to the man lounging in the chair next to the blonde. “Is next. Then Hayden, who is most likely hiding behind the waterfall planning his next attack. Ian’s next and then Jamie. You’ve met Ian too, I think?”

Andrew’s eyes scanned the large waterfall, where a grotto was hidden behind the water cascading down the rock face. A slide went off to the left, and to the right the negative edge seemed to make the water appear to drain off into the desert beyond. The back yard was as beautiful as the front, classy yet functional. He felt completely out of his league.

“He was at the courthouse?” Andrew asked distractedly.

“Yes, exactly. He just got here and had gone in to change the last I saw. I don’t know where Jamie disappeared to.” Her gaze scanned the pool. “Ah, I see her. She’s about to trample Hayden. Stealth attack.”

Andrew’s eyes went immediately to the pool while Isabel continued speaking.

“You should see when the rest of the family gets together. The Evans’ clan is pretty large, and the boys like to hang out with their cousins. There’s Chuck and Zach, and Jamie keeps in touch with Bri. She has a twin brother. Gosh, I could go on forever. Basically it gets pretty wild around here sometimes.”

She chuckled as she took the tray from Andrew’s hands. Still not sure what to do and feeling very awkward, Andrew continued to stand in the shade. A winding steel staircase led to an upper balcony over his head, and he saw two pairs of legs begin their descent. That must be Ford and Ian, he thought as he wiped his damp hands on his cargo shorts.

“Ah, here comes Ford. I’ll tell him you’re here.”

Isabel set the tray on a long outdoor dining table already made up with eight place settings. The outdoor dinnerware bore Southwestern patterns, and the red, gold and brown matched the surroundings nicely. He remained next to the table as Isabel went to the base of the stairs.

“Our guest has arrived.”

“Excellent!”

Ford hurried down the remaining stairs and greeted Andrew with a wide smile. Hand extended, Ford approached and grasped Andrew’s in a firm shake. “It’s pretty hot today. Can I get you a beer, water, soda? We have just about everything in that fridge there.”

He indicated to a built in refrigerator in the pedestal with the grill. Andrew shrugged. “Water would be great. Thanks.”

“Sure.”

While Ford went to the fridge, Ian held out his hand. “Nice to see you again.”

Andrew again shook, remembering that this tall, clean cut brother was the cop. Initially he was not sure how he felt about that, but Ian quickly set him at ease.

“Mistakes do sometimes happen, man, but I hope you’ll accept my apology on behalf of all law enforcement officials out there. What happened was wrong, and all of Arizona feels pretty terrible about it.”

Andrew nodded. “Thank you. I’ve heard a lot of apologies these last few weeks.”

“You deserve a lifetime more.”

Ford returned with bottled water and handed it to him while Ian stepped away and removed his t-shirt, tossing it onto an open chair. “Hey, Andrew’s here,” he said to the other lounging adults.

 The two adults instantly rose from their chairs and joined him in the shade, but the teenage girl’s foot just continued to tap to the unheard music. Returning his attention to the new family members, he immediately noticed the same friendly smiles greeting him. Though he did his best to reciprocate, his mistrust remained high since he still had not determined why this close-knit family was being so accepting.

“Grady, Torie, this is Andrew Sheehan. Andrew, this is my brother, Grady, and his wife, Torie,” Ian announced.

Andrew greeted the smiling pair and listened politely as they also extended their congratulations and sympathies, but his attention had returned to the pool where he heard a muffled cry followed by a hearty swear. It had come from behind the waterfall.

“Damn, brat, that was pretty low.”

He heard her laughter first, and then a dark head emerged from the waterfall.

“Hey, Jame!” Ian called. “Come out here.”

She was treading water in the deep end, but she nodded at Ian and lithely swam to the edge. Andrew felt his mouth go dry as he watched her reach for the ladder and climb one step at a time. The water poured down her length in rivulets and plastered her long, dark hair to her back as she emerged. Though she was not trying to draw attention, her graceful movements were the most seductive thing he had seen in years, and he forced himself to look away before he embarrassed himself with his body’s reaction. It was the best of intentions, but when she stood on the patio and squeezed out her hair Andrew’s head whipped back around of its own accord.

Oh dear God, he thought in dismay.

She was in a fuscia polka dot bikini.

***

Jamie was still laughing when she emerged from the pool. She squeezed out the excess water from her hair and reached for a towel tossed haphazardly on a chair. After wiping her face, she glanced back at the grotto, where Hayden was emerging holding his nose. She had gotten him good.

“I think you broke it,” he whined.

She laughed again. “I wish.” Wrapping the towel around her waist, she ignored Hayden’s continued whining and walked over to Ian to give him a quick hug. “Hey there. You done working for the day?”

“Hey yourself,” he responded. “Night shift. Just woke up, actually. But look, we have company.”

He stood aside and glanced back under the patio. Grady and Torie were speaking with an exceptionally tall, broad man. Jamie froze. There was only one man she knew that topped her brothers in height. Surprisingly, it was the last man she ever expected to see welcomed in Ford’s home.

“Andrew,” she blurted. “What are you doing here?”

“I haven’t spoken to her all week,” Ford said apologetically. “She didn’t know you were joining us this evening.”

“Joining you?” Andrew asked.

She would have felt a little sympathy for his obvious confusion if he had shown her any interest. After his initial double take when she first approached, she noticed that Andrew had studiously avoided looking at her yet again. With a touch of jealousy, she wondered why he refused to talk to her but seemed fine looking at everyone else. He had done the same thing when they visited him at his grandmother’s house.

“Yeah. We can go talk first, but Isabel set a place for you for dinner.”

Jamie sent a surprised glance at Ford, but Hayden chose that moment to come up behind her and squeeze out a foam pool toy on her head. She jabbed with an elbow and felt satisfaction when it connected with Hayden’s midsection and elicited a pained grunt. She glared at him over her shoulder. “We have company, Hayden. Behave.”

Hayden straightened and looked beyond her, meeting Andrew for the first time. He smiled and reached past her to extend his hand. “Hey, nice to finally meet you.”

Andrew shook yet another hand, and Jamie noticed that he had that same stunned look he had worn when he had been released. The idea of meeting her family for the first time and all at once would scare even the most normal person, let alone a man who had lived primarily with insurgents and convicted felons. Feeling peevish for her initial jealous dismay, she sent him an apologetic smile.

“I’m sorry for appearing rude. Hayden, on the other hand, is always rude.”

Hayden elbowed her. “Don’t believe her. She’s still a brat.”

Andrew looked from her to Hayden several times before focusing solely on Hayden. “A brat, huh?”

Laughing cheerfully, Hayden rubbed his nose mournfully. “You have no idea.”

Andrew’s lips compressed thoughtfully and his gaze swept her from head to toe again before he quickly looked away. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ford spoke up. “Ian’s going to cook tonight, and Jamie brought some really good looking sirloin tips. If you all can leave poor Andrew alone for a bit, I’ll return him to you in a few.”

Jamie again looked curiously at her older brother and Andrew, wondering exactly what they were up to. There had been no discussion with her about Andrew joining them on their Saturday barbecue; in fact, no man she had interacted with had even been invited to one before. Of course, Andrew was not a normal date. She did not even think he liked her.

Naturally, that made her wonder all the more why he was there.

She never had a chance to ask. Ford and Andrew were already disappearing back inside the cool house to discuss whatever it was that had enticed Andrew to come to their party. As soon as the door closed behind them, she turned to Hayden.

“What’s going on?”

His brow rose in surprise. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Ford gave him a job.”

Jamie blinked, stunned. Not only had Ford never approved of anyone she brought home, he certainly had not encouraged anyone to work for him. Even Clay, who was a corporate lawyer, was never utilized for his knowledge at any point. “He did? When was this?”

Hayden shrugged. “Dunno. I just found out today that he was coming over. I guess you mentioned to Ford that you wanted to help him get his feet back on solid ground, and he’s trying to help.”

“No one told me.”

Even she could hear the dismay in her voice, and her mouth clamped shut immediately. Torie stepped forward and placed her arm around Jamie’s shoulders. “Ford’s doing a good thing,” she said. “He’s trying to help you help him get resettled.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Mom,” Ian said playfully. “He’s not up to anything sinister.”

“I wasn’t…” Jamie trailed off as she realized that she was actually thinking the worst.

“Sure you were. You’re in a tiff because you thought Ford was doing something behind your back. He’s not. I talked to him about it last week, and I know he is only trying to help,” Grady said.

“First time ever,” Jamie muttered.

Torie chuckled. “That may be true, but when he offers he does follow through.”

The boys had taken over the pool in the adult’s absence, so Jamie went to the fridge, grabbed a water bottle and sat down at the table to sample the fruit platter Isabel had brought out. Hayden pulled out the chair next to her and grabbed a handful of orange slices, popping several in his mouth and then reaching in for a grape to finger football it into the side of her face. She sent him a withering scowl.

“And how old are you?”

Hayden chuckled, obviously feeling pleased with himself. “Relax, Jamie. You were right about this guy, and Ford agrees with you. You should be glad that he trusts him enough to have him here.”

She harrumphed.

“You don’t need to be upset that you weren’t the one to invite him. You don’t have to control everything.”

“That’s not it at all. I don’t think the guy even likes me. After all, I’m the reason all those years of his life have been wasted.”

Hayden frowned. “I don’t think that’s true. You’re the reason he’s out now. I’m sure that counts for something.”