The Loner's Thanksgiving Wish
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“It’s a lot of bother when you’re on your own.” Mei shouldered out of her crimson down jacket as she stepped into the marble-floored entryway and tossed it onto the fanciful Victorian settee she’d loved as a child. She took off her shoes, and followed her mother down the central hall leading past the formal living room, parlor and dining room to the spacious kitchen. “I—oh, wow.” Nothing seemed familiar as she stepped into the room and surveyed the rich, dark cherry cabinets and granite countertops. French doors now opened up to a snow-covered patio and, beyond, a charming, snowy view of Silver Creek.
“When did you do all of this?”
“After your grandfather’s funeral in July.” Lisette shrugged. “Some of my investments have been doing quite well, so I thought I’d do a few upgrades.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Do you mind what I’ve done?” Lisette’s expression turned pensive. “I’ve kept the rest of the house the same since your father died.”
Remembering how distant and sad Lisette had been since Dad’s car accident, Mei smiled. “You deserve a home that makes you happy, Mom.”
“I don’t suppose Lucas will care either way.” Lisette’s voice still held a hint of bitterness at the mention of her son’s name, even after all this time.
Mei was already a college sophomore when Lucas hit his high school senior year, so she hadn’t been around for the rebellious phase that had put him and their parents at constant odds. As far as she knew, he hadn’t been home since their father’s funeral.
Lisette started a pot of hot water and set a basket of assorted teas on the counter. “Did you have car trouble?”
“No. I stopped to walk on one of the trails and came upon an accident. I lent a helping hand and it took longer than expected. So … what did Arabella make us?” Mei added with a bright smile, hoping to shift the topic away from a side of the family her mother had detested for years.
Lisette studied her closely. “What happened? Anyone we know?”
Mei held back a sigh. “Jasmine Turner. And … um, her fiancé, Cade.”
“Cade. Cade Clayton?” Lisette’s nostrils flared. “I heard about their so-called engagement over the summer and couldn’t believe such foolishness.”
Mei just shook her head slightly, knowing it would do no good to argue.
“Couldn’t Arabella go to the hospital and deal with them?”
“She left for Denver, remember?”
Lisette snorted. “If you ask me, your cousin needs a tighter rein on that girl.”
Mei closed her eyes briefly, wishing she hadn’t mentioned the accident up on the trail. When would she ever learn? She should’ve known it would set her mother off. “Jasmine is of legal age and Arabella has no say, really. It’s not like she’s her mom.”
“Well, Jasmine ought to respect the woman who took her in and kept a roof over her head these past few years. And of all people—letting her marry a son of Charley Clayton is just unbelievable.”
“I—” Mei faltered to a stop, unable to find any words to defend her infamous uncle Charley. He was widely known as a lazy, disagreeable man who had claimed to have “back injuries” for years to collect disability. If he’d ever had a long-term job, no one in town could remember it.
“Your great-uncle Samuel spawned a family of troublemakers, and his son Charley is one of the worst.”
Apparently the animosity between the two sides of the family hadn’t changed in all the years Mei had been away. “Cade and his half brother Jack aren’t anything like the others. Jack isn’t even a blood relation to the Claytons.”
“Blood relation or not, those boys are associated with Samuel’s side of the family.” Lisette’s voice turned to ice. “Jack was one of the boys who tried to ruin your brother’s reputation in high school, remember? Imagine, him daring to say Lucas got some lowlife girl pregnant.”
“I always figured Vincent was behind the rumors.”
“You can be very sure it wasn’t just him who spread those lies.” Lisette’s mouth twisted with distaste. “I shudder when I remember that you had a crush on Jack in high school. Of course, you were young and very foolish back then.”
Mei flinched. “You need to let go of the past, Mom. Whatever anyone did or didn’t do, it was a long time ago. High school–aged kids sometimes do stupid and thoughtless things.”
“Young or old, that family is wicked, from Samuel on down.” Lisette gave an unladylike snort. “Cade’s ridiculous wedding to that girl is just another case in point. Poor judgment, impetuous behavior. It just doesn’t end.”
“Jasmine says Arabella, Brooke and Vivienne were against it at first, but now they’ve come around and plan to help out with the wedding.”
“So none of your cousins are thinking straight, either.” Lisette offered a thin smile. “That’s one wedding I’ll be sure to miss.”
Probably a good thing, for all concerned.
His coat clipped in his usual fluffy puppy cut, Albert looked harmless, but he automatically bared his teeth when Mei inadvertently got a little too close. She darted back a step.
“Silly puppy,” Lisette crooned, giving the grumpy little furball an affectionate hug. “Albert doesn’t like company.”
“Or family members.” After attacking Grandpa George’s ankle during an Easter dinner, Albert had been dubbed “The Grandpa Bitin’ Dog.” With good reason. “Has he bitten anyone lately?”
“Only my last cleaning woman,” Lisette said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “And Albert was right about her because she certainly wasn’t very dedicated. She quit that very day.”
Mei smothered a laugh at her umbrage. “You’re just lucky the woman didn’t sue.”
“She’s lucky that I gave her a good reference.” Lisette ruffled her companion’s soft ears. “You’re welcome to your old room upstairs, or you could use one of the cottages. Aspen has already been winterized for the season, but Silver Bells has a better furnace.”
Mei’s heart lifted at the offer. “A cottage would be wonderful, Mom.”
The pretty little rental cottages were set in a stand of pines at the far end of the property along Silver Creek, barely visible from the main house. They’d been part of the quaint resort run by the previous owners, though the other cottages had been torn down long ago.
“You can have it for the year you’ll be here, if you like.”
Mei’s reason for coming early was to be supportive during her brother’s troubles, and being close by without sharing the same roof would be perfect. “I’ll be happy to pay the full lease.”
“I can’t take your money, dear,” Lisette protested. “You’re my daughter.”
“But you’ll be losing income from tourist rentals.”
Lisette fluttered her fingertips. “I hardly depend on that, as you must know. It’s mostly just a bit of a hobby for me.”
“At least let me pay half then.”
“Even that’s too much.” She frowned. “Do you even have a job? There aren’t many opportunities around here.”
“I called the principal here before I left San Francisco. I’ll be substitute teaching at the high school.”
“Really.” Lisette gave her a long, assessing look. “I can’t imagine that pays well.”
Mei sighed. Both of her parents had pushed so hard, wanting her to try for medical or dental school or even law school. That she’d followed her heart into teaching had been just one more disappointment for them … one more failed expectation. “I’ll be fine, really.”
“Okay, if you must—a hundred dollars a month. I’ll start a little savings account with it, and you can have it all back later.”
From the glint in her eye Mei knew it would do no good to argue, even though the cottages rented for more than that for a single night. “Deal. That’s awesome, Mom.”
“Stay here tonight, and tomorrow you can move into the cottage. One of your cousins called this morning and said she’d stop by to help you settle in.”
Surprised and touched, Mei cocked her head. “Vivienne?”
“I think so.” Lisette put Albert on a chair and withdrew containers marked Fresh Fruit Salad and Chicken Salad with Grapes and Pecans from the refrigerator, put them on the counter and opened a bakery box of fragrant croissants.
In a few minutes they were seated at opposite ends of the long oak table in the dining room, with the aroma of peach tea wafting in the air.
Mei glanced around at the ornate oak buffet, the lighted glass china hutch filled with fine crystal, the sparkling chandelier. Soft classical music provided a quiet backdrop, just as it had a lifetime ago, when she and Lucas had sat across from each other and their parents had taken the opposite ends of the table.
It had been a time to discuss the day’s activities. Report cards. Test grades. Lucas had excelled at everything. He was their parents’ biological child, born two years after Mei’s adoption as an infant, and he’d been the golden child, the unexpected gift from above. The perfect one.
Intelligent and charming, he’d always been able to talk himself out of trouble. Even during his wild and rebellious phase, he’d been the one who fit in this world.
She might have been far more jealous, as a child longing for acceptance, had he not been so kind to her.
And now, after delaying the moment as long as she could, she had to deliver bad news about Lucas to her already fragile mother. Mei’s stomach wrenched, her first bite of Arabella’s wonderful chicken salad turning to sawdust in her mouth.
Lisette’s fork clattered against her plate, her eyes fixed on Mei’s face. “I have the most dreadful feeling that you’re going to tell me something I don’t want to hear.”
Mei had practiced this conversation a dozen times on her way to Colorado. But now the words flew from her thoughts and left her fumbling for a gentle way to deliver the message. “It’s about Lucas,” she began, moving to the chair next to her mother’s.
All color drained from Lisette’s face. “Is he …”
“He’s missing.” Mei took her mother’s shaking hands in her own. “But knowing Lucas, he’s probably just fine.”
“Missing?” Lisette echoed faintly, her eyes locked on Mei’s. “That can’t be. He called and said he was on some sort of mission in Florida so he wouldn’t be able to keep in touch. That’s probably it. He’s involved with some kind of church and … he’s just away.”
Mei took a long, steadying breath. “Not a church mission, Mom. Apparently a friend betrayed some drug dealers, so they kidnapped his little boy … trying to force the man’s cooperation. Luke is trying to help.”
Her eyes filled with pain, Lisette clenched her hands in her lap. “I don’t understand. Lucas can’t be involved in some drug crowd.”
“He’s not, Mom. But apparently he rescued the child and then disappeared into the Everglades. The police have no idea where Lucas is, and even a private investigator hasn’t had any luck. Maybe he’s afraid the local cops are dirty and doesn’t know who to trust.”
Lisette’s eyes welled with sudden tears. “Why doesn’t he just come home?”
“I don’t know. I just know that people are looking for him.”
Lisette closed her eyes and folded her hands, her lips moving in silent prayer.
An uncomfortable feeling crawled through Mei. Though often cool and distant, Mom was still a believer, whereas a childhood of weekly church attendance hadn’t instilled strong faith in Mei’s heart.
The pastor had often referred to God as Father and referred to God’s followers as His children. But with her demanding earthly father and the brusque, dismissive attitude of her grandfather, those images couldn’t have been less comforting.
Fathers were loving and kind and patient? Not in her world.
Chapter Four
Jack winced at the sight of his brother as he walked into Cade’s hospital room the next day. “Hey, there, buddy. You look like you were in quite a fight.”
“With a mountain,” Cade grumbled, shifting his weight. He bit back a moan at the painful effort. “But I should be outta here, not laying around like some pansy.”
Against the white sheets and blankets, propped up with a pile of pillows, the bruises and scrapes on Cade’s face and arms were vivid reminders of how close he’d come to being more seriously injured.
“How’s that hard head of yours?” Jack asked.
Cade rolled his eyes. “This is a waste of time. The nurses say they’re watching me for concussion symptoms. I could do that just fine at home. If I could find my clothes and my boots, I’d leave.”
“The doc says you have quite a concussion, bro. That’s nothing to fool around with. Yesterday you weren’t sure what day it was or where you were.” Jack pulled up a chair and straddled it. “And you can’t walk on that ankle for a few days, so you can hardly be working cattle out at the Circle C.”
“Cody needs every ranch hand he’s got. And I need the money. The wedding—”
“I’m sure he won’t let you back on a horse or a four-wheeler until you’re safe. Liability issues.” Jack tipped his head toward the doorway. “Though I expect you’ll be out of here and back in the saddle before you know it.”
Cade mumbled something and pulled the covers up to his chin at the sound of feminine voices coming down the hall.
“See,” Jack teased, angling a glance at the cartoons playing on the TV mounted on the wall. “If you checked yourself out, you’d miss out on all this fine educational TV and all the pretty nurses.”
The voices drifted past.
“Does Dad know I’m in here? Not that it matters.”
He’d known Cade would ask, with his usual bravado firmly in place, because the subject was still touchy after all these years. But there was no way Jack could make things right. Even a brother as loyal as Jack couldn’t replace a father who might not bother to check in on his son.
“You signed the privacy release forms when you were seen in the E.R. The social worker said she called both him and Mom when you were admitted.”
Cade closed his eyes briefly. “Neither one has called. Not that it’s a big surprise. Have you heard from Mom much since she got married again?”
“Just a brief email or two. She said she hated this town and wished she’d left it long ago for the brighter lights of Denver. Of course, when marriage number three ends, she probably won’t like Denver, either.”
“I sent her a message a while back, telling her about my upcoming wedding to Jasmine, and she never even replied.” Cade was now mature in many ways, but the hint of hurt in his voice over his thoughtless parents was unmistakable.
“I’m not sure what’s worse—a mom who’s too busy to be bothered or a dad who’s angry about who I’m marrying and wants me to call it off. He doesn’t care about me being happy.”
“Maybe he’s worried about you.”
“Are you kidding? It’s all about that same old stupid feud, and you know it as well as I do.” Cade scowled. “If Jasmine wasn’t living with one of George Clayton’s granddaughters, I’ll bet Dad wouldn’t say a word. He just flat doesn’t care about either of us.”
“I think he does in his own way. But it’s his loss if he doesn’t make an effort. You’re a good kid, and you deserve much better.”
Cade rolled his eyes. “At least Jasmine thinks so.”
“And you have me—world’s best brother, right?” Jack teased.
Cade barked out a laugh, then moaned and folded his arms over his belly. “Don’t make me laugh, man. These muscles hurt.”
The fact that Charley was such a lackadaisical father to Cade, his own flesh and blood, never failed to set Jack’s temper on edge.
He’d only been a temporary stepson from long ago, barely a blip on the man’s radar, and Jack had never been close to Charley. As a kid without a father figure in his life, he’d started out hoping Charley would be that man for him, but Charley hadn’t treated his mother well and had barely given Jack the time of day.
For Cade’s sake, Jack had always tried to keep his low opinion of Charley to himself. Was hunger for family one of the reasons Cade had chosen to get married so young?
Heavy footsteps clomped down the hall and pulled to a stop outside Cade’s room. At his brother’s startled expression, Jack turned toward the door.
Charley and Uncle Pauley walked into the room. Short and burly, with thick necks, heavy jowls and small, piercing eyes set deep in their florid faces, no one could mistake them for anything but brothers. But while Pauley held the part-time, unpaid position as town mayor, Charley laid no claim to a job of any sort and was entirely too proud of how he managed to remain on disability for no good reason.
“So, I hear you’re taking it easy here,” Charley boomed, nodding at Cade. He and Pauley settled their bulky frames into the two chairs in the room. “Pauley and me were just over at the Cowboy Café for some pie, and thought we’d check in on you.”
“Since everyone’s talking about the accident, we thought we’d better get the news firsthand,” Pauley added, his chest expanding with pride. “I need to know what’s going on in this town.”
No surprise, there. Pauley did almost nothing in his role as mayor, but he was definitely one for gossip, and he gladly shared it with his kin. When Samuel’s side of the family somehow managed to campaign him into office last year, they’d supplied themselves with a pipeline of information.
“I heard Mei Clayton was there on the trail.” Disappointment flickered to life in Charley’s beady eyes. “I didn’t know she’d come back to town.”
Jack reined in a surge of irritation. “She was the first one on the scene. She made a dangerous hundred-foot descent to get to Cade and Jasmine, and she provided initial first aid.”
“That’s a shame. Oh, not about you gettin’ rescued and all, boy.” He waved a hand dismissively. “But it’s real disappointing that she actually showed her face in town again. We hoped she mighta stayed in China, or wherever it is she moved to.”
“With George’s other grandchildren showing up right along, we were counting on her to skip out.” Pauley frowned, pursing his full lips. “Of course, there’s that fool brother of hers. I hear he’s got himself lost in some Florida swamp, so maybe he’ll be the one to break ole George’s will.”
“I don’t think you two ought to be planning on any windfall just yet.” Cade pulled himself up in bed. “George’s grandchildren are going to earn that inheritance because Arabella and all of the other cousins are planning to meet every stipulation of that will.”
Pauley chortled. “So they say. But things happen.”
Jack had heard rumors about a few of those “things” over the past few months—events that might have been designed to drive some of the cousins away from town before they fulfilled their required time here. He suspected none of them had been accidental.
“Just so you know, fellas, Mei is here to stay,” Jack said. “I’ll take great exception to anyone who tries to cause trouble for her. And—” he leveled a look at each of them in turn “—I’ll know who to come after.”
“I have no idea what you mean, boy.” Charley swiveled in his seat to look up at Jack, the veiled mockery in his voice coming across crystal clear. “Cause trouble? We only hope those spoiled, self-serving cousins slip up because they don’t deserve to have that inheritance given to them on a silver platter. By all rights, at least half of George’s wealth should have belonged to Samuel and to us.”
“But we surely aren’t going to do anything illegal to get it all back,” Pauley added with a smirk. “No sirree. That uppity side of the family always blames us for anything that goes wrong … but that just shows what kinda fools they are.”
At a soft knock on the door, they all looked toward the door.
Mei, nearly hidden by a giant bouquet of yellow, orange and white flowers of some kind, stepped inside. “Hi, Cade.” She shot a surprised look at the other three men. “I … um … see you have company.”
She dropped her gaze to the flowers as she settled them on a shelf under the window and adjusted the big yellow bow fastened to the vase.
Pauley elbowed his brother. “Maybe we’d better get on our way. I told Vincent I was gonna meet up with him about now.”
Pauley and Charley lumbered to their feet, nodded at Cade and shot a look of pure dislike toward Mei. They left without another word.
“Oh, my,” she murmured as their footsteps receded down the hall. “I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Company’s a good thing,” Jack said, hoping he could make her smile. “Especially when it’s someone who risked her own safety to help my brother.”
“Anyone else would have done the same.”
“By rappelling down a cliff face? I doubt that.”
“I just happened to be at the right place at the right moment, I guess.” She darted a quick, uncertain glance at him, then turned her attention to Cade. “This is all they had in the grocery store floral section, so I hope you like Thanksgiving colors.” She pulled a green Randolph’s Pharmacy bag from her purse. “And here are some magazines.”
Her silky black hair swung forward when she leaned over the bed rail to rest a hand on one of Cade’s, hiding her expression from Jack’s view. “How are you doing, cowboy?”
He blushed. “I surely don’t need to be here. But thanks—that was real nice of you, coming by like this. Jasmine will love the flowers when she comes in.”
“I saw her after church, actually, with Arabella and the triplets. I told her that I’d stop by now, and she’ll be coming after she helps with Sunday dinner.”
“You are coming to the wedding, right?” he asked earnestly. “Jasmine said you hadn’t heard about it ‘til we saw you on the trail yesterday.”
“I guess I’ve been out of the loop. I … don’t make it back here much. My grandfather’s funeral was the last time.”
Digging his elbows into the mattress, Cade hiked himself higher in the bed. “Sorry about your grandpa.”
A shadow crossed her delicate features, though as far as Jack had seen of him, George Clayton Sr. hadn’t been a kindly man. Difficult, controlling and power hungry were the words most of the townsfolk used to describe him.
Mei nodded. “Thanks, Cade.”
“Hi, everyone. Doesn’t he look good? I can’t believe it!” Jasmine flitted through the doorway and hurried to the bed to drop a kiss on Cade’s cheek. “Arabella let me come over right away because I was just too nervous to stay home. Wow—look at those beautiful flowers.”
Cade chuckled, and Jack found himself smiling at the joy she emanated. No matter how foolhardy their marriage plans were, no one could deny that Cade and his young fiancée were hopelessly in love.
Jasmine slid her hand into his. “Did you tell them about our Thanksgiving dinner plans?”
“Uh … not yet.”
Mei tilted her head. “So you’re really going to go through with this?”
“Yep. We started working out the plans last night. Cade and I are putting on a huge Thanksgiving feast this year.”
“She still insists that it’ll be for both sides of the family,” Cade added with a rueful shake of his head. “I’m guessing that it just might be the most memorable holiday ever, if everyone shows up and they all survive.”
“What he means is that it’s high time everyone got together and got along, after all these years of feuding between the two branches of the Clayton family tree.” Jasmine’s mouth formed a firm line. “And for all those who think Cade and I are too immature to get married, putting on this dinner is going to prove to everyone that we are mature, capable adults.”
Mei’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear. Have you discussed this with Arabella?”
“Yes, and last night I called Brooke, Vivienne and Zach, too.”
“And they said …”
Jasmine’s cheeks flushed. “I admit it took some explaining. But honestly, it’s ridiculous to keep up all the hatred—as if the Claytons were the Colorado version of the Hatfields and McCoys, or something.” She took a deep breath. “Since I’ve been living with Arabella, I’m supposedly part of George’s ‘side,’ and Cade is part of Samuel’s. Our marriage is …”
“It’s going to be a bit like the Clayton version of Romeo and Juliet, to add another analogy,” Jack said dryly. “With a much better ending.”