Chapter One
“Mom? Are you nearly finished?”
Missy smiled and shut down her computer. “I am; come on in, sunbeam.”
Scot rolled his eyes at her as he came into her office and plonked himself down on the easy chair that faced out to the lake. “Don’t you think that, by fifteen, you could maybe drop the baby names?”
Missy laughed. “Maybe, but you’re not fifteen yet.”
“I’m not far off.”
“I know.” Although she knew it, she still couldn’t quite believe that fifteen years had gone by since she’d held him in her arms for the first time.
“So, any chance of dropping the baby names?”
She smiled. “I’ll try. I’ve been doing better, and I never use them when anyone else is around, do I?”
“No. I guess I should be grateful for that, at least.”
She laughed. “I guess you should, because you know, even if I stop using the names, you’ll always be my baby.”
He shook his head at her with rueful smile. “I know, I know. And no matter how big I get, you can still stand on a chair to tell me who’s boss.”
She laughed. “I can and I will.” He was already a good few inches taller than she was. “What did you want, anyway?”
He shrugged and stared out the window at the lake.
“Well, if you’re not going to tell me, I can’t help you.”
He met her gaze for a moment, then stared back at the lake before he spoke. “Jarret said the best man at a wedding has to stand up in front of everyone at the reception and give a speech.”
Missy’s heart melted for him. “Yes, but we already figured out how to handle that, didn’t we? Uncle Jack is going to do the speech, so you don’t have to. I think Dan feels a bit bad about not asking him to be his best man. This way we don’t leave him out—and you don’t have to worry about that part.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “Mom, I’m not a little kid anymore. I know you’re trying to make it easy on me, but I’m not really the best man if I don’t do the speech, am I?”
Missy wrinkled her nose at him. She and Dan had thought that letting Jack make the speech was a win-win. Scot struggled to talk to anyone other than her and Dan most of the time. Standing up to speak in front of a room full of people would be a huge ordeal for him—or so they’d thought. “So, what are you saying, son?”
“That I think I should do it.”
“Do you want to?”
She watched him mull it over. His answer told her just how fast he was growing up. “It isn’t always about want, is it? I think I should; I think it’s important.”
She nodded, even as she swallowed the lump in her throat. He was right, he wasn’t a little kid anymore. He was becoming a young man; a young man she was very proud of.
“If that’s how you feel, then you should.”
He nodded. “Thanks, Mom.” He stared out at the lake again. Missy waited, knowing there was more to come. “What about Uncle Jack, though? I don’t want to leave him out.”
She smiled. “Let’s talk to Dan when he gets back, shall we? Maybe you can both make a speech?”
“Okay. He should be home by five. We’ll talk to him then.”
Missy smiled. She didn’t know what time Dan was due home. She loved that he and Scot kept in touch as much as they did. That they had their own relationship that had continued to grow after they’d all moved into this house together.
~ ~ ~
Dan smiled as he pulled into the driveway. He was so glad to be home. He cut the ignition on his Jeep and sat there a moment. Home. It was such a wonderful place, such a wonderful feeling. This time last year he’d never have believed that he’d be living the life he was now. Home was in this great house, right on the water in Summer Lake. Home was here because Missy and Scot were here. His beautiful little lady and his son. He loved them both so much. A year ago, he wasn’t sure he was even capable of love. He’d thought it was a strange emotion—one that defied the logic and reason by which he navigated through life. Now he knew that it did defy logic and reason, but he also knew that he was as susceptible to it as anyone. Perhaps even more so, since it seemed that the love he felt for Missy grew exponentially with each day that passed. Scot had become his son in all but genetics and he couldn’t be happier. In a week’s time, they would enter into a commitment he had also believed was illogical—marriage. Now it made all the sense in the world. He couldn’t wait to marry her.
“Hey, Dad!”
Scot’s voice brought him back from his musings and reminded him that he was still sitting outside in his Jeep. He climbed out and ran up the steps to the front door where Scot greeted him with a hug.
“Hey, champ. How’s it going?”
Scot grinned up at him. “It’s going great. I need to show you those files later. I found the bug and I think I fixed it.”
Dan smiled. “You only think so? You didn’t test it?”
“Of course I did, but I know I won’t have thought of everything.” He grinned. “At least not all the weird scenarios you’ll come up with.”
Dan laughed. “I have taught you well, Grasshopper.”
“Yeah, you have. Come on in, though. Mom and I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Dan followed him through to the big kitchen. Missy was sitting on a stool at the island, but slid down when they came in.
“Hey, beautiful.” He closed his arms around her and she put her hands up on his shoulders as she pecked his lips.
“Hi. I missed you.”
He held her closer. “I missed you, too, but I’m glad I went. It was fascinating to meet some of Ryan’s team.” He smiled down at her. “And I won’t get chance to go again for at least a month now.”
She smiled back. “Well, you could if you want to, but I might get lonely on our honeymoon by myself.”
He laughed. Missy was perhaps even more excited about the honeymoon they had planned than about the wedding itself. They were going to tour Europe. Their itinerary spoke of just how different they were. Missy’s highlight was four days in Ireland, where she hoped to learn more about her heritage. Dan’s own highlight was a couple of days in Switzerland—to visit CERN! He had to admit he was excited to visit the Large Hadron Collider.
“You know there’s no way that would happen,” he replied. “Scot said you wanted to talk to me about something?”
She nodded and looked at Scot.
“How do you think Uncle Jack would feel if I wanted to make the best man’s speech?” he asked.
Dan rubbed his hand over his cheek. “Do you want to?”
Scot nodded. “I think I should.”
“Then you should.”
“What about Uncle Jack? I don’t want to take everything away from him.”
Dan nodded slowly. Neither did he, but shocked as he was that Scot wanted to make the speech, there was no way he’d tell him no.
“I said maybe they could both do one,” suggested Missy.
He nodded. That could work. It would also take some pressure off Scot. “That’d be great.” He looked at the kid. “Perhaps you could work on your speeches together?”
Scot thought about it. “I’d like that. You don’t think he’d mind?”
“I don’t think he’d mind at all.” In fact, he was pretty sure that Jack would be thrilled at the idea. Scot was going to stay with Jack and Emma while he and Missy went on their honeymoon. Emma was one of his favorite people in the whole world. It might be good for him to have some time bonding with Jack, too, before he spent a couple of weeks with them. “Do you want to call him?”
Scot looked uncomfortable. He was getting better about being around people, but he still avoided talking on the phone whenever he could.
“How about we invite them over for dinner?” asked Missy. “I’d love to spend some time with them before the wedding, and next week is going to be crazy.”
Dan grinned, then looked at Scot. “I’d love to have them over; what do you think, champ?”
“Yeah, that’d be great.” He smiled. “As long as you’ll come look over those files with me before they get here?”
Missy laughed. “Go on then. You two go do your thing. I’ll give them a call.”
~ ~ ~
Emma didn’t even make it through the front door before she wrapped Missy in a big hug.
“Hey, Miss. I’m soo excited! This time next week, we’ll be in Vegas. And a week from tomorrow you’ll officially be my sister-in-law, the other Mrs. Benson.”
Missy laughed. “Hey, Mouse. Come on in. Why do I have the feeling that at some point we’re going to have some crazy mix-up over both being Mrs. Benson?”
Jack laughed as he followed them inside. “Because knowing the two of you, and given the fact that we live in such a small town, it’s pretty much bound to happen, isn’t it?” He gave her a hug, too.
“You and Dan never get mixed up though, do you?” she asked. “And you’ve both been Mr. Benson your whole lives.”
Dan came running down the stairs to join them. Scot was close on his heels. “I’m going to be Mr. Benson, too, after next week,” he said.
Jack smiled at him. “Well, you and Dan might get into a mix-up, considering you’re both geniuses, but I think I’m safe.”
Missy was surprised that Scot went straight to the point. “What about which Mr. Benson is going to be the best man, at this Mr. Benson’s wedding?” he asked.
Jack smiled. “Well, there’s no room for confusion there. That would be you—Mr. Scot Benson.”
Missy knew the look on her son’s face. He was worried. “And you don’t mind?” he asked.
Jack put a hand on his shoulder. “Mind? I think it’s awesome. Don’t get me wrong, if Dan had asked anyone else in the world to be his best man, I would have been pissed.”
“Jack!” Emma slapped his arm.
Missy bit back a smile as Jack winked at Scot and continued. “In front of the ladies I might have been upset, but between you and me…” He shot a grin at Emma. “I would have been pissed.”
Scot laughed.
“But to be perfectly honest, I’m glad it’s you and not me.” He looked at Dan. “Pete was my best man, and that was partly because I know your dad hates to have to stand up and speak.”
Missy caught Dan’s eye. She’d thought it was strange when Jack hadn’t asked him, but he’d explained later that Jack knew him too well. They’d talked about it and Dan had been relieved to let Pete have the honor.
“I hate it too,” said Scot. “But I think I need to do it.”
Jack gave him a puzzled look. “You do?”
He nodded solemnly.
“Then you should. I’ll be glad to help if you want me.”
“Thanks. I think we should both do one, but I’d like it if you’d help with mine.”
“Tell you what,” Jack offered, “why don’t we work on them together?”
Missy was relieved to see Scot smile. “Thanks, Uncle Jack. That’d be awesome.”
After they’d eaten, they took their drinks outside to sit on the patio overlooking the lake. Scot disappeared to his room, eager to work on the suggestions Dan had made to him earlier as to how he could fix his bug. Missy smiled to herself. Although the two of them tried and tried to explain their work, computers and programming languages were all gobbledygook to her. Every time they talked about fixing bugs she wanted to hand them a flyswatter.
Emma looked at her. “So how are you feeling with just a week to go?”
She laughed. “Impatient! I just want to get there and get on with it.”
Dan looked at Jack. “Why is it, it took me months and months to persuade her to do this and ever since she agreed, nothing can happen fast enough? Anyone would think it was a shotgun wedding with the hurry she’s in.”
As Missy laughed, she didn’t miss the look that passed between Emma and Jack. They knew as well as she did that there wasn’t a chance in the world of her being pregnant. She narrowed her eyes at Emma, but her friend just gave her an innocent shrug.
“What are you complaining about?” asked Jack. “You’re in just as much of a hurry yourself.”
Dan’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “I am; I can’t wait. It’s just that Missy here is more interested in the honeymoon!”
She laughed. “I am not! I’m excited about it that’s all.” She looked at Jack. “And for the first time in my life, I’m not worried about going somewhere without Scotty.”
Jack nodded. “He’ll be fine. We’ll have a great time.” He gave her a puzzled look. “Do you really want him to have to make a speech though?”
She shook her head. “He came up with that one all by himself. I’m as surprised as you are, but I guess he’s growing up even faster than I thought.”
Emma nodded. “He really is. I’m so proud of him.”
Dan nodded. “He’s a fine young man.” He looked at Jack. “And you really don’t mind him making the speech?”
“Not at all. I think it’s great. I’ll be happy to help him with it.” He smiled “Can I still at least make a toast though?”
“Of course you can! You can still make a full-blown speech, if you want to.”
“Nah, I don’t need to do that; I just want to make a toast.”
“Well, you can do whatever you want to,” said Missy.
Jack raised his glass. “In that case, I’d like to make a toast now. Here’s to family.”
Missy grinned as she realized that they really were going to be family. She chinked her wine glass against his and Dan’s. As she turned to Emma, it dawned on her that Emma didn’t have wine. She had a glass of water. That was all she’d had all evening. Missy froze with her own glass held up, as her grin grew even bigger. “Mouse?” She raised her eyebrows.
Emma gave her a sheepish grin and touched her glass to Missy’s. “Yep, to family!”
“Oh, my God!!!” Missy leapt up. “That’s amazing! Why didn’t you tell me?”
Dan gave them a puzzled look. “Tell you what? What’s amazing? What am I missing?”
Poor clueless man! Missy turned to him. “She’s pregnant!!”
Dan’s face was a picture. “What? How?”
“If you don’t know how…” laughed Jack.
Dan laughed with him. “Not that! I mean how do you know, Miss? I don’t get it. We’re toasting to family, but I thought that meant all of us becoming family. How did you know it meant them starting a family? Am I really so clueless?”
Missy patted his arm. “No, hon. You’re not. It’s a girl thing. See, Emma’s drinking water instead of wine, and that’s a miracle in itself. She only picked at her dinner—which isn’t like our Mouse.”
Emma stuck her tongue out at her, but didn’t argue.
“Add to that the fact that Jack looks so damned pleased with himself, and it all points to… they’re having a baby.”
Jack nodded. “We don’t want to tell everyone yet.” He took hold of Emma’s hand and she smiled up at him. “It’s still really early. But we’ve told Gramps and my mom, and we wanted to tell you.”
Missy looked at Emma who nodded. “Yes, we’re going to tell Pete and Ben. The four of us may as well be family.”
Missy was glad. She’d considered Emma, Pete, and Ben to be family since they were all eight years old. They’d been the first people she’d told when she found out she was expecting Scot. She was so happy that their lives had drawn them all back to each other—and back to the lake—in the last year.
Dan caught her eye. “How are those two doing? I’ve hardly seen Pete lately, and, when I do, he’s never with Holly. And I think Ben’s avoiding me.”
“Oh, he’d never do that!” cried Emma.
“I don’t know, hon.” Missy shook her head sadly. “I feel as though he’s been avoiding me as well.” She looked around at the three of them. “Ever since I told him I wanted to invite Charlotte to the wedding.”
“Oh,” Emma’s face fell.
Missy shrugged. “I took Megan’s advice and decided I should just go ahead and talk to him about it.”
“What did he say?” asked Emma.
“You know what he’s like. He said it was fine. That he’d be fine. That whatever I want is most important.” She blew out a big sigh. “And I haven’t managed to talk to him for more than two minutes since then. He seems to get incredibly busy the second I stop by or call him. I don’t know what to do. I want Charlotte there, but I don’t want to hurt Ben.”
“I’ll talk to him,” said Emma.
“Thanks.” That was the only cloud hanging over Missy’s head. She and Charlotte had promised each other when they were kids that they would each go to the other’s wedding. Of course, in those days they’d still believed that they’d both live in Summer Lake when they grew up—and they’d also believed that Charlotte would marry Ben.
