Chapter Seventeen
When Alison awoke that morning she had a moment of panic. There were a cast of thousands coming over and if the weather was bad she didn't know exactly where she could put them all. Luckily, the sun was shining brightly, the weather extremely warm for this early in May. Everything was going to be fine, but she was still worried. Rafe caught her downstairs in the kitchen pacing nervously.
"Angel. Relax. It's a party for eight year olds." He said as he grabbed her around the waist to hold her still. He kissed the back of her neck.
"We need to have a talk about your family." She said with a sigh.
"What?"
"Lucy's crazy - Rafe. This was supposed to be a little group of girls having cupcakes and sipping hot cocoa. Now not only is it a party for them, she has it being followed by a barbecue for them and their parents. How did this happen?" She looked at him, helpless.
She knew why it happened. That was just Lucy. "Shh. It'll be fine." He said as he pulled her close.
She laughed as she buried her head in his shoulder. "Easy for you to say. All you have to do is burn hot dogs and hamburgers later."
"Excuse me?" He said, hurt. "I don't burn things."
She pulled back and stared at him laughing.
"Oh. OK. Let's just say you make everything extremely well done."
"That's for health reasons." He said with a smile.
"Yeah. Right." She laughed harder.
"Feel better?" He asked as he gave her a kiss.
She kept her eyes closed and tried to pull him back to her. "Mmmm. Yes. Much."
"Glad to hear it." He heard a car pull up and kissed her again. "Just remember. You knew what my family was like before you got involved with me."
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The doorbell rang. The house was in complete chaos. Rafe pulled the door open, smiling when he saw who was on the other side.
"Hey Chloe. You're early." He said with a grin. Now, finally aware of the situation he added. "You just missed Grant. I sent him out to the store but he should be back in a second. Come on in."
Chloe knew Grant had just left. She had been trying to get up the courage to go to the door when she saw him leave. She was so relieved. Still, she wanted to be gone before he got back. "Hi Mr. Kovich. Thank you for inviting me but I actually can't stay. I just wanted to drop this off for Becky."
Rafe looked at the huge box Chloe held in her arms. "Here. Let me help you with that."
"Thanks." She said, still nervous just being there.
"It looks like some gift. What is it?" Rafe asked.
She was actually pretty proud it. She really wished she could see Grant's face when he saw it. Chloe had spent hours. She made it all herself. "You can peek." She said with a nervous grin. "Just don't let Becky see."
Rafe put the box down and carefully opened the lid. "Chloe." He said his voice full of awe. "This is amazing."
She blushed a little. "My mom told me to apologize. She'll be bouncing off the walls for days."
Chloe had completely constructed the Candyland board with actual candy, including the game pieces. It looked too good to be true. Becky was going to be beside herself. It wasn't exactly what she and Grant had planned. She thought it was much better.
"Well." She said softly. "I've got to go. I'm going to work at the gym so my mom and dad can come by later."
"Don't be silly. We can close the gym, Chloe." Rafe insisted. "You should be here too. Give this to Becky yourself."
She shook her head at him, desperately afraid that she wouldn't get out of here in time. "No. That's OK. I don't mind."
Chloe kept her hand on the door, pausing and turning back for just a second. "Mr. Kovich? Could you tell please tell Grant I said hi?" Tears filled her eyes and her voice shook. "And wish Becky a very happy birthday."
"Chloe…" This wasn't good. Rafe could see something was terribly wrong. He didn't know what to do. Where the hell was Alison? What could have happened between the two of them? "Honey. Just wait a minute. You can tell him yourself."
"That's OK. I'm sorry. I have to go. Thanks." She said softly as she slipped out the door. Her face full of tears, she ran to the car and drove away quickly.
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The tea party was a huge success and the girls looked so adorable. Becky most of all. She wore a pale pink dress trimmed in lace and her fancy party shoes. Kate had done her hair in a bunch of soft curls, threaded with satin ribbons. She looked so cute, though by this time of the day, some of her curls had slipped from the pins now. Kate even let her put a little of her lip gloss on. Luckily her father failed to notice.
Now, the second phase of the party began. The younger kids were taking turns on the swing or chasing each other around the yard. The older ones sat huddled in a corner, chatting. Their parents kept an eye on both, chatting and laughing themselves.
Grant loved his little sister but he wanted to be anyplace else but here. That actually wasn't true. He wanted to be anywhere with Chloe.
His dad told him how she stopped by. He didn't pry but Grant knew his dad was trying to get him to tell him what was going on. The problem was, Grant didn't really know himself. He couldn't remember how he'd fallen in love with her. He couldn't envision how he could ever get himself to stop feeling the way he did.
Maybe someday he could. He couldn't imagine it, but he also couldn't imagine living like this forever.
He wanted to tell her how out of control her gift was. It was better than anything they talked about. Becky was beyond thrilled and couldn't be happier. She thought it was the coolest thing she ever saw. The downside - he knew - was that he'd be playing Candyland till the end of time, or at least for as long as it took her to break down and start to eat the candy.
Most of all, Grant just wanted to be near Chloe. He missed everything about her. The way she smiled at him and how excited she always got about everything. He had finals soon and he was so caught up in her that couldn't concentrate. He spent every minute he wasn't thinking about her wondering how in the world he could find ways to avoid her. The whole thing was exhausting him.
Grant wasn't the only one unhappy. Becky's smile was beginning to fade. She walked over to Kate and crawled into her lap, feeling way less grown up than eight at the moment.
"Hey Angel Face." Kate said with a grin, using her dad's nickname for her. She gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
"What's the matter?" Kate asked, noticing her frown. "It's your birthday. You can't be sad."
"Where is he?" Becky's bottom lip was quivering. "He said he'd come. I wanted him to see my dress. I don't want to change until he sees it."
Kate knew exactly who she meant. She knew it because her own heart was breaking. She hadn't seen Colin since that day on the bench. They'd talked for hours the last few nights but there was something still so far away about him. Maybe he wasn't coming. She began to get angry. She warned him not to do this to Becky. She took a deep breath and hoped what she said was true.
"Sweetie. He'll be here. He promised."
"He's just late?" Becky asked, her voice hopeful.
"Yeah. He's just late." Kate said as she pulled her close. Seemed she and her sister were both desperately in love with the same guy. With their age difference, Kate never dreamed it'd be true.
She smiled as she said. "He'll love your dress."
Suddenly, someone came up behind them. "Sorry." Colin said softly. "I should have called."
"It's OK." Kate said with a sigh, completely relieved. "Look who's here." She nudged Becky.
The little girl's face lit up like a thousand stars. "Hey Band Guy." She giggled.
"Hey gorgeous." Colin gave her a smile. He pulled a small bundle of flowers from behind his back. "Happy Birthday."
"Wow. Flowers." Becky said with a sigh. "Cool. I've got to go show Maggie."
Colin watched her dash off and sighed. "Boy. That was quick." He said with a laugh.
"She'll learn eventually." Kate fidgeted with her skirt as she stood to face him. "Hi." She said with a smile.
She looked incredible was all he could think. Her hair shone bright as the sun and was spilling like silk over her shoulders. In her flowery top and skirt that was just short enough it was clear she was dressed for spring. Even the scent of flowers hung in the air around her.
"Hi." Colin replied staring into her eyes. He leaned close and whispered, "I'm dying to kiss you hello."
"You'd better not. Not if you value your life." She said just as he moved to do just that. Despite her words, she really wanted him to. How did this happen? Days ago she didn't even know him and now, now she couldn't bear to be away from him. .
"What?" He asked, pulling back.
She warned him "My father will kill you. He hasn't even been introduced to you and you already have both his daughters hooked."
He grinned at her. So she was hooked huh? That made two of them. "Both?"
Kate gave him look. "Becky believes the sun rises and sets by you. I think I might have some competition."
"She's something else, but I prefer my women to be of legal age." Colin laughed as he leaned closer.
"Good to know." Kate sighed and even though she wanted him closer, she pushed him gently away.
The newest guest's arrival did not go unnoticed. Rafe watched with definite interest. "Who is that?" He asked Alison.
Alison followed his gaze to the other side of the yard. "Oh. That must be Colin. The guy Kate met on the bus."
"The what?" He asked.
"The bus." Alison sighed. "When she went to see Danny? They sat together on the way home. The twins say he's very nice."
"I don't like him." Rafe said, his voice definite.
Alison rolled her eyes at him. "Rafe, you haven't even met him. Please stop."
He shook his head. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I bet you anything I still won't like him after I meet him."
"Well. Too bad." Alison scolded him as she stood in front of him. She lifted his chin, making him meet her eyes. "Kate likes him and he's a guest. So - please. Behave yourself." She leaned up and kissed him quickly.
Nearby, Lucy's eyes filled with worry as she watched Kevin's face. "Doc?" She grabbed his arm and shook him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Are you OK?"
Finally able to speak Kevin looked into her eyes. "I'm fine."
"You don't look fine." Lucy said. "Your eyes look all googly."
Leave it to Lucy to be able to distract him. "Googly Lucy?" He forced a laugh. "I'm OK."
As much as Kevin wanted to seize this opportunity to talk to Colin, he knew he had to keep quiet. If Rafe found out who had just arrived, all hell would break loose.