Part 30 (2/2)

”Congratulations!” Tracy hugged Emily Anne as well as Mel and Connor. To the men she said, ”You're getting a wonderful woman. You best be treating her right!”

”You don't need to worry about that.” Mel grinned.

”We're already counting our blessings and doing our best to treat her like the princess she is,” Connor confirmed.

”Welcome to the community,” Jordan said. He shook hands with the men and then hugged Emily Anne. Peter did the same and then danced back quickly so his son could not grab Emily Anne's hair.

”That's not how you woo the ladies, son.” Jordan laughed as he took Cameron's wandering hand in his own.

”We're going to have to teach this young man some finesse,” Peter said. ”Show him the value of subtlety.”

”I'm going to go right into the back and tell Kelsey,” Tracy said, ”but since it's your night I'll tell you, first. I'm coming back to work in August. Just a couple of days a week for now. The guys are going to juggle baby duties with me.”

Emily Anne knew that Tracy was chomping at the bit to get back into the kitchen here at l.u.s.ty Appet.i.tes. ”It'll be good to have you back. I do believe that your brother-in-law, Henry, may weep tears of joy when he hears the news.”

”No kidding. Do you know he's taken to dropping by a couple of times a week, just on the off chance that I might have been baking? It doesn't matter if those cream puffs came out of the oven the day before, he's like a bloodhound! He knows, and he sniffs them out!”

Emily Anne laughed. ”That man has a sweet tooth of epic proportions,” she said. ”I'll bet Kelsey will be real pleased to have you back. Mich.e.l.le goes on maternity leave in the middle of August. The boss lady said that until I walked in and asked for a job last year, she thought she was never going to find a good waitress to fill Ginny's spot. Now Mich.e.l.le's going to be off.”

”She won't have that problem this time,” Tracy said.

”I know. Ginny is going to come in a couple of days a week, and so is Kelsey's mother-in-law, Bernice.”

”Aunt Bernice said she's missed working and wants to try her hand at waitressing. When Uncle Caleb and Uncle Jonathan met her, she was a sales clerk at Macy's.”

”I didn't know that! I'm really looking forward to working with her.”

One of the things that Emily Anne found both astonis.h.i.+ng and admirable was the work ethic that thrived here in l.u.s.ty. The Benedicts, Kendalls and Jessops were all very wealthy, yet there wasn't a single one of them not gainfully employed.

Mich.e.l.le and Joe Grant arrived, and it warmed Emily Anne's heart, as it always did, to see how protective and caring the man was of his wife. They'd married a few years older than some, but if Emily Anne ever doubted about people being meant for each other, this couple was yet another example of that principle in action.

Mich.e.l.le Parker and Joe Grant had been made for each other.

”I'm so happy for you!” Mich.e.l.le's hug was exuberant and her baby belly made it cus.h.i.+ony. Then baby Grant gave Emily Anne a bit of a kick, and they both laughed.

”Thank you, Mich.e.l.le. I've meant to ask you, do you know what you're having?”

”No.” Mich.e.l.le beamed at her husband. ”We want to be surprised.”

Joe had shaken hands with her men, and then given her a hug. He said, ”We don't care if we have a boy or girl, just as long as mom and baby are healthy.”

Mel's training officer from his days with the Texas Rangers, Caleb Benedict, gave both men a hearty back slap and her an enthusiastic hug. ”You've chosen well,” Caleb said to the men. ”You need to treat her right, or we'll be having a conversation.” His brother, Jonathan, repeated the gestures, but not the words.

Emily Anne had always noticed that of the two, Jonathan tended to keep his words to a minimum.

Mel laughed. ”Yes, sir. You can be sure that we will.”

”Oh you men!” Bernice hugged all three of them. ”It's a family tradition that the husbands-to-be are warned to treat their wives right, or else.”

”Personally, I'm honored to have family traditions-especially this family's traditions-extended to me,” Connor said.

Bernice reached up and cupped his cheek. ”You're a good man, Connor Talbot. I'm so very glad to know you.”

Emily Anne didn't think she'd ever seen her alpha he-man blush before. It was a sight to behold, and it made her feel really good about putting down roots right here in l.u.s.ty.

The James-Wakefields arrived, and Emily Anne was pleased to see the respect and friends.h.i.+p between Julia's husbands, and Connor. All three of them held a baby, and Emily Anne had to admit that while they were all gorgeous, she really couldn't tell them apart.

Julia, it seemed, did not believe in always dressing them in gender-specific colors.

”I have to admit that I never thought, more than a year ago when I caught you tracking the three of us that you'd one day end up living in the same d.a.m.n town.” Dev accompanied his one-armed hug with a mighty back slap.

How do men endure those things?

”Hey, I'm just the proverbial bad penny,” Connor said. Then he slid his glance to her. ”I'd have to say, now that I think of it, that that particular encounter was the benchmark, the moment where I started on the path that brought me toward Mel and Emily Anne. I'm a very lucky, and a very grateful, man.”

”Fate is a funny d.a.m.n thing, isn't it?” Drew said. ”We're all glad you're staying around.”

”Me, too,” Connor said.

Warren and Edward Jessop approached them, both men looking just a bit uncomfortable in the social setting, yet clearly determined to deliver their best wishes.

”I want to say congratulations, but there is some discussion as to whether or not it's acceptable to congratulate the prospective bride,” Edward said.

”Not sure why,” Warren said. ”But what do we know? Also questionable, apparently, is for us to say 'good luck' to any of you.”

”Now that one I do understand, I think,” Edward said. ”As it may imply that the speaker thinks the recipient of that wish is really going to need it. Good luck, that is.”

”Well, I think it's the intention, and the purpose, that count.” Too late Emily Anne realized that she'd echoed words said in a more private setting. She leaned forward and kissed both men's cheeks. ”So thank you for your good wishes, and for coming out to celebrate with us. We're very happy you're here.”

”You're welcome.” They'd both said that at the same time. They seemed a little less awkward shaking hands with her men. Then they moved off, as one, not toward the buffet table, as she would have expected, but toward the back of the room.

The door opened to laughter and even more friends. Chloe Rhodes led the pack, her minor mountains of fiances following, and behind them were Ginny, Adam and Jake Kendall. The Kendall men each held one of their babies.

”I'm really very happy for you, friend,” Chloe said. Her hug was sure and tight, and Emily Anne returned it full measure. A new, special bond had grown between them, after what they'd been through together. They, along with Lucy Carter soon-to-be Owen, had gotten together once since then already, and planned to enjoy girl-time out from time to time in the future.

New friends.h.i.+ps were one of life's greatest treasures, and Emily Anne planned to cherish the treasures she'd been given.

”Huh. Imagine that. Those two don't always come out to these little s.h.i.+ndigs,” Grant said.

Emily Anne followed his line of sight and grinned. He was talking, of course, about his cousins, the paramedics. As she watched, she noticed who they sat close to and began speaking with. Awkwardness seemed to be the mood-for all three of them.

Carol Ashwood looked to be as nervous, and smitten, and trying to hide it, as those two Jessops were.

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