Tempting Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fic!

Chapter Thirty-Six

Two boxes of books completely emptied, Trixie pushed it aside and reached for another box. When she opened it she saw that it held a bunch of Lexie's stuffed animals. Her eyes traveled to the doorway as they had done periodically over the last hour. She had heard Jim moving around in the hallway or walking up and down the stairs but she hadn't seen him in awhile. She lifted an eyebrow. "He's probably avoiding me," she muttered lowly. Not that she could blame him. He probably thought that she was still furious with him. How was he to know that she had already made peace with his decision?

However, she wasn't sure if she was ready to let him off the hook yet. Part of her would like to see him squirm a bit before letting him know she was content with moving in. Maybe content was the wrong word. Happy, delighted, excited, delirious, could all easily have taken its place. She jolted when she felt her cell phone vibrate. Glad for the distraction, she reached into her back pocket. She flicked it open and answered, "Hello?"

"Hi, Trixie, it's your mom," her mother replied cheerfully.

She felt a tug of guilt as she wondered how long she had been gone on her errand. There wasn't a clock in the room so she couldn't even hazzard a guess. "Hi, Moms," she said, too brightly. "Time seems to have gotten away from me. I'm sorry about that. I'm up here at Ten Acres. Is everything okay with Lexie?"

"Lexie's fine, Trixie. Don't worry about her," Helen answered. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something was off with her daughter. Her mother's intuition had never steered her wrong before. "I don't mean to check up on you. I wanted to ask if you were coming home for dinner."

If her mom was asking about dinner, then it was later than she had originally thought. "Oh, dinner, right," she mumbled back absently.

"We're having BLT's tonight. It was your dad's request." Moms wanted to know what had put that absent tone to her daughter's voice but she respected her too much to force her into sharing. She decided with a frown that she would have to wait until Trixie volunteered to tell her.

Suddenly Trixie perked up. She glanced towards the door where she could hear Jim walking down the hall. Although she didn't have it in her to be as devious as Jim had been, she thought maybe, just maybe, she could even the score a little with him. "Why don't you bring dinner up to Ten Acres?" she invited warmly, a coy smile flirting across her lips. "Bring Lexie, Bobby, and Dad, too. We can have a picnic dinner up here."

"All right, dear. I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Although Bobby won't be able to come. He's over at the Lynch's." Now Helen was really curious. Trixie was wanting to have her father up at Ten Acres? "Is there anything we should know about before we arrive?"

Trixie swiftly decided it would be best for her parents if they were prepared. She opened the next box of toys and took out a smiling giraffe. "You should probably know that there are a lot more things here in the house. It's packed full with furniture and boxes now."

Bright, bright red flag. "Why is that?" Helen braced herself. She could feel it coming. She carefully put down the sharp knife she was using to slice the tomatoes, afraid she would slice her finger instead. Then she waited with baited breath for Trixie to continue.

Trixie gave her mother a moment to prepare herself before she explained, "It seems that Jim took it upon himself to move mine and Lexie's things here from Connecticut, without asking me. They came today. I'm in Lexie's room right now, putting away some of her books and toys." Trixie winced when she heard her mother's shocked gasp on the other end. "And he expects us to move in," she added in a small voice.

"Ahh...yes. It is...no, I mean,...oh...well, I am glad to know that ahead of time." She was so rarely flustered. Oh, my. Oh, no. Oh, goodness. What would Peter think? What would he do? she thought wildly. She watched him through the window where he was having the time of his life playing with Lexie, Sadie and Reddy. He looked relaxed and happy while he threw balls for the dogs to fetch. He had become much calmer about the whole situation throughout the past week, too. He didn't even mutter incoherently anymore when Jim's name was brought up. All that progress down the drain. She closed her eyes, imagining his reaction.

"We'll see you soon, then!" Trixie hung up the phone and gave a triumphant smile to the door. Maybe it was petty, maybe it was a little mean, but she wasn't going to warn Jim that her family was coming over for dinner. He would have the pleasure of finding it out for himself. She wondered what he would do when he saw her father. She found herself whistling a merry tune as she started to put familiar toys back on the shelves.

Fifteen minutes later, Helen turned Trixie's car onto the driveway to Ten Acres. The picnic basket was filled to overflowing and was packed in the back. Lexie was happily chattering away in the middle of the car, blissfully unaware of the tension coming from her grandfather. And Peter was a fuming black thundercloud ready to strike. He hadn't said one word to her since she had told him the news. She slid a glance his way and sighed. She rather pitied Jim Frayne. "We're here!" she announced as brightly as she could for Lexie's sake.

"I can't wait to see Mommy and Daddy," Lexie said as she was unstrapped from her carseat. She bounced to the ground in anticipation.

Peter was feeling a different type of anticipation. He opened the back of the car and took out the food. It felt more like a last supper than a happy family get-together. "I'll see that this gets put in the kitchen," he grimly offered.

What he meant was, I'll find Jim and corner him in the kitchen, preferably with a few sharp instruments around, Helen thought with a wry grin. It looked like it was shaping up to be quite an evening. She held on to Lexie's hand as they walked to the front porch, Peter two steps behind them and looking more menacing with each passing step.

The front door was opened slightly. Lexie sprinted through it and came to a grinding halt, excited by what she saw. She jumped up and down and pirouetted like the tiny dancer she was. She turned to her grandparents and pointed at all the furniture and boxes in the room. "Look! Daddy's fin'lly got furn'ture!" Then she saw her father coming down the stairs and she launched herself at him.

"Lexie." Jim's arms came around her easily. He buried his face in her curls, listening to her laughter, and stole a quick glance at the foreboding man who had yet to enter the house.

Helen was proud of the way Jim hid his surprise at their arrival. Having Lexie in his arms certainly helped. "Hi, Jim," she greeted him wanly. She spread her arms and informed him, "Trixie invited all of us over for dinner. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." He knew he deserved it but he hadn't thought she'd play this dirty. He could hear her coming down the stairs behind him. The large, satisfied smile on her face said it all. "I think we're even," he whispered to her.

"Not quite yet." Trixie's smile only got bigger. She took Lexie's hand and invited her blithely, "Let's take Grandmoms up to your new room. You are going to love it, Lex! We'll let Daddy and Grandpa set dinner up for us." Laughing blue eyes slid towards his suddenly pained green ones as she led them up the stairs, leaving Jim alone with her father.

No buffer. Jim felt the loss immediately. His steps were slower as he came fully into the room. It didn't look like Peter Belden was going to give an inch. He seemed perfectly content to stand on the threshold and stare at him like he was something slimy and disgusting that preferred to live under a rock. The silence stretched on as loud chortles of glee could be heard coming from upstairs. "I guess Lexie likes her room," Jim said with a small grin.

Nothing. Peter didn't even allow a ghost of a smile. In fact, his eyes seemed to get harder.

Jim bit back a swear. This was going to be about as fun as a root canal. Another long stretch of silence and then he sighed. "I guess we'd better go to the kitchen."

Peter finally moved into the room. He approached the younger man. Much like his daughter had done earlier, he forcefully shoved the picnic basket into his hands. He felt a spear of satisfaction when Jim had to take a few steps backwards. "Lead on," he ordered.

It figured that the first words he spoke were an order. Jim obeyed without question. He had to keep from looking over his shoulder as he lead the way to the kitchen. He almost expected Peter Belden to attack him. He would have to be an idiot to not feel the waves of tension and disapproval coming from the man. Oh, yes, he thought grimly. Trixie had certainly evened the score very effectively. Jim dropped the picnic basket on the kitchen table and pointed towards the pantry. "There are paper plates inside. The dishes haven't been unpacked yet."

With that simple statement he opened the floodgates. Peter didn't make a move to open the pantry. Instead, he leaned against it, arms crossed, and raised an eyebrow. "I think what you meant to say is Trixie's dishes haven't been unpacked yet," he corrected firmly.

He cursed the flush that stole across his cheeks but stood his ground. He had known facing Trixie's father would be difficult. Deciding not to go on the defensive which was clearly what Peter expected him to do, he settled with, "We'll unpack them soon." Needing something to keep his nervous hands busy, he started opening the picnic basket and taking out the food.

Peter had to congratulate Jim for not squirming. "All right. I see the only way I am going to get any satisfaction from you is by being direct." He ran his fingers along the counter and kept Jim within his sights. "I suppose I can expect that same from you?"

Jim refused to feel insulted against the veiled threat to his honor. He supposed that Peter had every right to his question. "Of course." He stopped taking food out of the basket and brought himself up to his full height. "You can ask me anything you want and I promise to give you a truthful answer."

"We'll start easy." Peter was starting to enjoy himself. Finally, he was able to interrogate the man without any of the other Belden females around. Helen and Trixie had been most aggravating. By some unspoken truce they had never allowed the two of them to be in the same room unattended. "What are your intentions towards my daughter?"

"I'm going to marry her." His tone was sincere, firm, and wouldn't allow any argument. He had no doubt about it. Trixie would be his wife, the sooner, the better, as far as he was concerned

Peter considered the answer, as well as the force behind it, and continued his line of questioning as if he was interviewing a potential employee for the bank. He asked in clipped, business-like tones that were designed to make the recipient nervous, "You say you want to marry my princess. Tell me why."

"That should be very obvious," Jim answered back. He refused to let the older man see that he was uncomfortable and thought about Trixie upstairs, who was probably laughing her head off at him. The damn thing was he couldn't get back at her for this.

Peter wondered what he meant by that. He speculated seriously,"You have a daughter together. That's a good reason to want to marry Trixie." Peter narrowed his gaze, studied him closely. While marrying for Lexie was certainly a good reason, it wasn't the reason he wanted to hear. He wanted more for his daughter than just family or obligation. He wanted it all.

"I can't deny that I want us to be a complete family for Lexie or that I want to add more to the family as time goes on. I think Lexie would be a great big sister. But that's not the reason why I want to marry Trixie." Jim could feel sweat breaking out. He wiped his palms on his faded jeans and felt even more uncomfortable. Both he and Trixie had not broached these serious subjects, preferring to keep things easy and comfortable between them. It felt incredibly awkward to be discussing them first with her father. He heaved a sigh and then decided that simplicity was best. "I love her."

Those three little words were what Peter wanted to hear. That was what his daughter deserved. Not ready to let Jim stop wriggling yet, he nodded in approval. "And what about this?" He motioned to the room around them, taking in the neatly stacked boxes. "Why did you decide to move her things without her knowing it? Most sane people ask before tackling a move like this."

Jim looked him straight in the eyes. "Mr. Belden, it is too important. I'm not going to give her a chance to say no. Not now, not when we get engaged again, not when we marry."

She wouldn't, Peter thought,, but then valiantly attempted to put himself in Jim's place. Too much pain and anguish, too much time apart, too much uncertainty. No small wonder Jim and Trixie both hadn't attempted to iron out their relationship status. "She can be stubborn but you know that. She won't make this easy on you."

"I believe she's already evened the score," Jim answered ruefully.

Surprisingly, Peter started to laugh. "She didn't tell you we were invited for dinner, did she?" He laughed again and reached into the pantry, his anger dissipating and his good humor restored. He didn't see Jim visibly relax behind him. After taking out the paper plates and napkins, he placed them on the kitchen table. "I must say that Ten Acres has improved a lot since the last time I visited."

"Honey has been after me for years to furnish it." Jim still kept a wary eye on the older man as he emptied the picnic basket. He set out the containers of bacon, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and rolls on the table. Next came the homemade potato salad and a bag of potato chips, all the fixings for an enjoyable family picnic.

"It's a good thing you didn't. That daughter of mine has always hoarded things. Her closet at home is atrocious. You wouldn't have had any room to move about." He started fixing his sandwich, glancing up to see if Jim had caught the meaning below his statement.

"Yeah, Mr. Belden. You're probably right about that." He was caught off-guard. Was Peter being nice to him? Even more so, did he not object to Trixie moving in with him?

"I know I am." Peter grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "Let's eat in your living room. I didn't get to see too much of the house when I first got here. I had other things on my mind." He winked at Jim. "But somehow I did manage to notice an amazing television on the wall."

Jim hurriedly finished making his plate and met Peter at the door. It felt good to talk comfortably with the older man again. "Dan was here earlier. He fell in love with it. I think he'd move in if we asked him to, Mr. Belden."

"It's Peter, Jim." He smiled warmly at Jim, all doubts gone and anger erased. He didn't have a doubt that Jim would make Trixie a very happy woman soon. She deserved it. Hell, they both deserved all the happiness they could grab."Let's go catch the end of the game. Last I heard the Yankees were up by one."

"Still a Yankees fan?" Jim questioned as they walked back down the hallway.

"Of course." Peter stopped when he saw the women headed their way. "I've never been able to convince Bobby otherwise, though. He still loves the Mets."

With her unending supply of energy, Lexie ran to the men first. She held onto her daddy's legs and looked up at him, love sparkling from her green eyes. "My room is the best, Daddy. It's beautiful. I 'dore it." She pressed a swift kiss to his knee, the tallest part of him that she could reach. "Thank you, Daddy." Jim ran a hand over her curls. Any doubts he had were gone. He knew he had done the right thing.

"It is absolutely precious," Helen added with a whimsical sigh. The room was a true little girl's paradise. She was glad to see that Jim was still alive and breathing and that her husband was his normal, relaxed self again. It looked like Peter had finally settled his issues with Trixie's man. "Lexie is going to love it in here."

Hanging back from the group, Trixie rolled her eyes. She had hoped her father would have made it really uncomfortable on Jim. Now it looked like the two of them were the very best of friends, ready to go out and watch the game together. Jim caught her eye. His satisfied smile told her he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Lexie, you head along with your father. We'll go get our plates and meet you in the living room. We'll see you then," Helen announced. She threaded her arm through Trixie's and brought her daughter along. Someone needed a little tender, loving care. "Don't frown so, dear," she murmured into her ear.

"I didn't want Dad to go easy on him," she grumbled back.

"I doubt he did," Helen answered knowingly. "I know my Peter. He was absolutely furious when I told him what Jim had done. In fact, I can't ever remember seeing him so furious in the entire time I have known him." She stopped in the doorway of the kitchen and lifted Trixie's chin up, much like she had done when Trixie was a little girl. "I have a feeling Jim gave him the right answers." She smiled at the way Trixie's eyes popped open. "He wouldn't be this friendly with Jim if he hadn't."

Trixie watched her mom enter the kitchen. "The right answers?" she wondered aloud. She glanced back down the hallway where she could her father and Jim cheering on the game. Maybe, just maybe...she wouldn't let herself finish the fantasy but she couldn't hide the sudden wayward smile that bloomed beautifully across her face.