Angel's Peak (Virgin River #10)(97)

Aiden’s face was getting red. “So, you’re going to sell your condo, give away your furniture and go traveling? And if it doesn’t work out?”

“I suppose I’ll have to say, sorry, it didn’t work out. And then I’ll find an apartment or small house near one of you boys. I’m trying to stay flexible. I’ve gotten a little tired of being such a stick-in-the-mud.”

“I see. You’re going to spend your life savings on plane tickets? Hotel rooms?”

“No, Aiden,” she said with a laugh. “George is buying a nice, new RV. He’s been looking around, sending me pictures of the various models. He’s bringing brochures to Virgin River. These new RVs? They’re every bit as big and modern as the condo I’m living in!”

“Mother! Have you lost your mind?”

“Well, actually, once I started thinking about this adventure, I decided I’d lost my mind by closing myself off so much. I’ve just been marking time for the past twelve years. I stay very busy, you know, but there hasn’t been much excitement in my life. I haven’t really looked forward to much. You boys are wonderful about visiting when you can, but it hasn’t exactly escaped my notice that you each have a three-day limit. I haven’t been as excited as this in years!”

“I don’t know what to say, Mother. This is sudden, it’s a little crazy, and—”

She looked at her watch. “We have four hours for you to get right with the idea. I’m not the only one who will have six months to find out everything about George I want to know—so do you and your brothers. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to answer any of your questions.”

“Great.” Aiden sulked.

“There’s a reason I wanted to talk to you first, Aiden. You’ve always been the voice of reason in our family. I think you get that from my father—he was like that. So, we’re about to have one of the best holidays ever! Our first with Rosie, a new baby coming in the summer, Luke married, Sean engaged, all my boys together. I’m not going to have that ruined with a lot of high drama from a bunch of overprotective pups who can’t be bothered to spend more than a long weekend with me, anyway. I’m ready for some company! I’m ready for some fun! Get to know George to your heart’s content, ask anything you like, but I’m hoping you can keep your brothers from going off the deep end.” She reached over and touched his shoulder as he drove. “I’m counting on you, Aiden.”

He grumbled something. And grumbled and grumbled.

“What’s that, sweetheart?” she asked.

“I said, you’ve gone from the nun wannabe prude who wouldn’t have a date in twelve years to a crazy woman who plans to take off in a Winnebago with an old man none of us knows and live in sin, and all he has to recommend him is that he’s the friend of some Presbyterian minister! And you expect me to sell this idea to my brothers?”

She couldn’t help it, she burst into laughter. “Nun wannabe prude? I guess I’ll have to live with that, though it sounds pathetic. And George isn’t just a friend of a minister, Aiden. As it turns out, he’s an ordained minister, as well. Presbyterian.”

Aiden checked his rearview mirror, turned on his signal and pulled onto the freeway’s shoulder. He put the car in Park and turned toward Maureen. He looked at her for a long moment. And then he said, “Who are you and what have you done with my mother?”

Sean arrived at Franci’s house on December 23 at about ten in the evening. He had called at four, said he was finishing up his out-processing at Beale Air Force Base and would be on his way as soon as possible. The front door was unlocked when he arrived and he walked in, tossing his packed duffel on the floor just inside the door.

In seconds, she was in his arms. “Are you okay?” she asked him.

“I’m okay,” he said. “I got everything done. I don’t have to go back to Beale at all. On January 15 I leave for Iraq out of San Francisco. But we’re so lucky, Fran—a six-month deployment, then a year at Air Command and Staff College. It could’ve sucked way worse than this. Have you told anyone?”

She shook her head.

“Not even Rosie?”

“We should do that together.”

Sean got his orders a week ago and the first person he told was Franci. He would go to Iraq to fly a U-2 on a UN peacekeeping surveillance mission. He’d relieve one of the aircraft commanders who had been there since July. Then, his alternate position for the Air Force Air Command and Staff College had been upgraded and he’d have a year in residence in Alabama—a very hard slot to get. All things considered, it was a gift. He could’ve been sent to Iraq for a year; he could’ve lost that ACSC slot altogether. He almost felt as if he was stealing.

“The movers came, put everything from my house in storage,” Sean said. “The Realtor has instructions to try to sell it, and if after ninety days passes with no sale, the property management division of her company will rent it. There’s nothing for you to do. Except, have you thought about—”

“Yes,” she said, nodding. “Let’s get married before you go.”

“I don’t want it to be sad,” he said. “It’s not sad—it’ll be the happiest day of my life. But if you don’t have time to plan a pretty wedding…”