1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [47]
“What?” Will demanded.
“Nothing,” Olivia said, making an effort to keep her composure. She liked Miranda. In fact, Olivia could see that Will’s assistant was exactly the woman to rein in her brother’s ego and keep him in line.
Poor Will. He didn’t have a clue.
Fourteen
Mary Jo McAfee set the large pumpkin on the kitchen counter and found a felt pen in the junk drawer. Since this was Noelle’s first Halloween, she was determined to make it special. She already had her daughter’s costume picked out. Noelle would be dressed as a ballerina, complete with pink tutu and tights.
Never mind that her baby hadn’t yet taken her first step. Noelle was close, so close, but still clung to the coffee table, bending her chubby legs, longing to explore her world and at the same time hesitant to leave the security of something to hold on to.
Mary Jo knew everything would change once Noelle decided she could walk. As it was, her daughter was a champion crawler. The nine-month-old loved to travel on all fours, putting anything and everything in her mouth as she progressed from one side of the room to the other. Mary Jo had to be constantly vigilant.
The front door opened and Mack walked in. Mary Jo smiled and held her arms open to him for a hug and kiss. They’d only been married for two months and still felt the sheer wonder of the intimacy they shared.
As soon as she saw him, Noelle raised her arms, seeking his attention.
“Come to Daddy,” Mack urged, getting down on his knees a couple of feet from the coffee table.
Mary Jo held her breath and waited. Noelle glanced at her mother and then at Mack.
“Come on, sweetheart,” Mack urged, stretching out his arms.
Noelle took one fledgling step and then another before plopping down on the floor. She let out a wail, more in surprise than pain. Mack scooped her up and swung her around, holding her high above his head.
“That’s my girl!”
“She did it! She did it!” Excited, Mary Jo started waving her arms. Noelle was a week and a half from being ten months old and had taken her first step. “That’s early for her to be walking.”
“Way to go,” Mack said as he spread kisses over Noelle’s face. Then balancing her on his hip, he turned back to Mary Jo. “Hey—you got a pumpkin!”
“I picked it up on my way home. I thought we’d carve it—actually, I’ll leave the carving to you. I’ll draw what I want and the rest will be in your capable hands.”
“And what do I get out of this?” Mack teased.
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll come up with some way of rewarding you.”
Mack wore a silly grin. “I’m sure you will, too.” Sitting, he bounced Noelle on his knee while Mary Jo continued to draw eyes, a nose and a gap-toothed mouth on the pumpkin. After a few minutes, Noelle squirmed, wanting to be put down. Mack set her on the floor and she immediately took off crawling toward her favorite spot in the house, next to the coffee table. She pulled herself up to a standing position, then twisted around to check on her audience.
“I talked to your brother this afternoon,” Mack said conversationally. “We grabbed a coffee after work.”
“Oh?” Mary Jo was concerned about Linc. Nothing seemed to be going right for him and Lori. The business was close to failing and he was at odds with his in-laws. The last she’d heard, Lori had disowned her entire family. She wasn’t speaking to either her mother or her father.
“Did you know they’re looking for a new apartment?”
“No.” Mary Jo dropped her pen. She would’ve thought Linc might mention it to her, but he tended to be private, to keep his problems to himself.
It made sense that her brother and Lori would need a new place. The Bellamys owned the apartment building where they currently lived, and neither Linc nor Lori wanted to be indebted to them. Still, Mary Jo knew that Linc didn’t approve of Lori’s cutting off her family. He’d tried to talk to her, but Lori was adamant—she wanted nothing more to do with them. Because Linc and Mary Jo had lost their own parents, they had a different view; Mary