Rosewood Lane (Cedar Cove #2)(90)

James slid his arm around his wife’s waist and introduced her. Selina’s dark eyes gleamed with happiness as she hugged Charlotte and then each family member in turn.

Seth and Justine appeared as the excited greetings wound down.

“Look at you, big sister,” James said, patting Justine’s stomach. “Almost a mom.”

“I’ve got months to go,” she complained.

“Oh, then you’re just fat.”

“Be careful what you say,” Seth advised under his breath. The two men exchanged a brief hug.

“Welcome to the family,” James said to Seth.

“Thanks.”

By the time Olivia shepherded everyone into the house, she felt weak with joy. It was so rare to have the entire family together. “Where’s Marge?” she asked her ex-husband. When they’d made plans for this reunion, Olivia had included his second wife.

“Marge couldn’t make it,” Stan said, sounding genuinely regretful. “She sends her apologies.”

“Please tell her she’s welcome anytime.”

“I will,” Stan promised. Olivia noticed, however, that he hadn’t asked about Jack. She put the observation away, to be examined later.

While Olivia and Charlotte started setting the table for dinner, Stan held Isadora. The baby nestled in his embrace and almost immediately went back to sleep. Olivia smiled to find her ex-husband sitting in her rocking chair with their granddaughter in his arms, He looked so natural and relaxed. The last time she’d seen him like that had been when James was an infant and the twins were five…. Olivia blinked away the nostalgic tears those memories brought. She hurried back to the kitchen.

“Tell me everything,” she instructed her son as Selina and Justine took over the task of getting food onto the dining-room table. “Is the Navy bringing you home? I’d love it if you were stationed here in Bremerton.”

“Sorry, Mom, but it looks like I’ve got another two-year stint in San Diego.”

It was hard to disguise her disappointment, but Olivia tried. “I’m grateful Selina’s family is there.”

“My parents love James,” her daughter-in-law told her.

“But it wasn’t that way in the beginning,” James said, patting his wife on the behind as she walked past with a large green salad.

“With good reason,” Olivia chastised. “You got their daughter pregnant.” Only a month before Isadora was born had Olivia learned that James and Selina were married. She was disappointed that both her children had decided to marry without either parent present. First James, and then a few months later, Justine had eloped to Reno with Seth. Still, she believed the children had chosen their mates well, which was a source of great pleasure to her and Stan. Pleasure and relief.

Soon the family gathered around the table. Olivia and Charlotte had been cooking and baking for days, making certain that James had the opportunity to enjoy all his favorite dishes. There were stuffed green peppers and Caesar salad with homemade croutons, plus seafood spaghetti. James took two helpings of each.

“Save room for dessert,” Charlotte warned.

“Grandma, did you bake me a coconut cake?” James looked like a little boy again, excited about his favorite dessert.

“I did,” Charlotte assured him. “Just for you.”

“This is the cake James talks about?” Selina asked. “The one he told me takes three days to make? Would you be willing to share the recipe?” The shy question was directed at Charlotte.

“First you start with a fresh coconut.”

At Selina’s astonished eyes, Olivia leaned close to her daughter-in-law and whispered, “There are shortcuts.”

“But I don’t take them,” Charlotte told her. “Not for James, at any rate.”

“He’s spoiled,” his wife insisted, her eyes dancing with laughter. “I can’t help spoiling him, too. He’s just so cute.”

That remark evoked a round of good-natured teasing about how cute James was.

After dinner, they sat around the table, drinking coffee, reminiscing about the old days, laughing, sharing stories. A little while later, Selina left to put the baby to bed.

Olivia showed her up to James’s old room and Stan followed with the luggage.

Starting down the stairs, Stan put his hand on her shoulder and stopped Olivia. She found him studying the pictures that lined the staircase wall. Although they’d divorced many years ago, she kept their wedding photo there. Not for sentimental reasons, but because she felt it was important for their children.

Stan’s gaze rested on Jordan’s school photograph, taken the year he drowned. “I sometimes wonder…”

He didn’t finish, but it wasn’t necessary; Olivia had often entertained these same thoughts herself. She wondered what their lives would’ve been like if it had rained that day or if Jordan had decided to ride his bicycle instead of going to the lake with his friends.

“Mom,” James called from the living room. “Grandma’s doing the dishes.”

“I’d like to see her try,” Stan muttered, leaping down the remaining stairs. “Charlotte, sit down this instant! I’m washing the dishes.”

“You?” Apparently Marge had him better-trained than Olivia ever did.