"Aaron Hotchner, you have no idea how good it is to see you!" Lisette, Jeremiah's petite, blond haired wife, greeted him with an enthusiastic hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You have no idea how much you were missed!"
"I know how much I missed you and your family," Hotch told her as he bent down to return the hug and kiss. It was Sunday and Hotch was making good on his promise to bring his family to lunch at Jeremiah's house.
"And you must be Lynn," Lisette turned to greet the young woman. "You have no idea how much I have been wanting to meet you."
"You're so young!" she exclaimed as she gave Lynn a hug and then stepped back to survey her. "How old are you?"
"I know – It's none of my business," she quickly added, holding up her hands in a defensive position. "But Aaron has always been such a lady killer I had to ask. It's nice to know that some things never change."
"And Jack," the woman moved on to the next person standing on her front steps. "It has been too long since you've been for a visit. What grade are you in now – Ninth?"
"Eighth," Jack corrected her. "And it's good to see you too, Aunt Lisette."
"And finally we have – Jacob is it?" Lisette bent down to greet the toddler.
"Yes, Ma'am, I'm Jacob," the child told her. "And I am very happy to be here."
"And we're happy you are here – All of you." Jeremiah had appeared in the doorway behind his wife. "What is everybody doing standing out here on the front steps? Come in – Come in!" He held the door open and stood back so everyone could walk into the foyer.
"Sorry it took me a couple of minutes to get here," he apologized. "I was out in back with the fire. I'm going to be cooking our lunch today."
"Still cooking out?" Hotch asked. "Isn't it a little late in the season to be grilling?"
"You have got to see my new set-up!" Jeremiah enthused. "When we remodeled the patio this past spring I had a year-round kitchen put in. It is great!"
"Jack, the boys are upstairs playing video games or something," Lisette interrupted. "Why don't you go up and join them?"
"Thanks, Aunt Lisette," Jack replied as he quickly headed towards the staircase.
"And, Lynn, why don't you join me and my daughter, Mia, in the kitchen," Lisette continued. "We can visit while I finish with the side dishes and wait for the master griller to finish up with his grilling." She flashed a smile at her husband.
"And, as for you, young Jacob," Jeremiah addressed the toddler. "Why don't you come out back with us menfolk? I dug out some of my kids' old yard toys. Maybe you can find something you want to play with."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"So, I understand you've spent your entire life on Hutchens Island," Lisette was talking with Lynn, who was perched on a stool at the kitchen island watching her prepare the vegetables. "You've never been anywhere else?"
"No," Lynn replied. "I was born on the island and, until now, I've never been off it."
"That has got to be scary," Mia, who was a teen-aged, dark haired version of her mother, observed. "I know I would be terrified."
"It is," Lynn agreed. "Everything is so different here. There are so many choices."
"What about your family?" Lisette asked. "Did they originally come from the island too? Are they still there?"
"My mother came to the island at a very young age," Lynn explained. "She died in an accident in the orchards when I was studying at the sixth level. I do have a brother, but he works at Farm #1."
"So, how did you end up marrying Uncle Aaron?" Mia asked curiously.
"I would like to know that, too," her mother added. "There were several women hanging around just waiting to grab him after Hailey died, but he was never particularly interested in any of them. How did you get his attention?"
"You do know about Hailey, don't you?" she asked as an afterthought.
"Aaron's first wife?" Lynn replied. "Yes. He told me she was killed by some really bad man who was looking to hurt him and settled for hurting her instead."
"Good," Lisette gave a sigh of relief. "Knowing Aaron, I should have known he had been completely honest with you, but I had to ask to avoid any embarrassing situations later on."
"Anyway, how did you end up married to him?" Mia pursued the topic.
"I asked him," Lynn replied simply. "He hesitated at first, and then agreed to try a courtship period. And then we ended up getting married."
"That sounds pretty straight forward to me," Lisette observed. "But wasn't there anyone else who was interested in him?"
"Of course there was," Lynn replied. "But I asked first."
"She who hesitates is lost," Lisette observed with a smile.
"Now," she put some tomatoes, along with a knife and a cutting board, on the counter in front of Lynn. "Why don't you dice the tomatoes for the salad? And, Mia, you can toss the rest of the ingredients together."
"I'm not sure I know how," Lynn admitted shamefacedly. "I really don't know anything about salads and cooking and such."
"Then let me show you," Mia offered cheerfully. "I'll get the rest of the ingredients and we can do this together."
"You don't know how to cook?" Lisette asked quietly.
"No," Lynn admitted. "The kitchen staff always handled that. I never got involved with it."
She hesitated for a moment before adding, "Jessica seemed to think that somehow that means that there is something wrong with me."
"BAH-H-H-H to Jessica!" Mia spit out as she walked over with a package of shredded lettuce and an assortment of other vegetables.
"Mia – That's not nice!" her mother warned. "Although, you are right," she added as an afterthought.
"Forget about Jessica," she advised Lynn. "That woman has been hanging around for years trying to become a Hotchner. She's just jealous because you accomplished what she couldn't."
"Become a Hotchner?" Lynn questioned confused.
"The Hotchner family is an FFV, First Family of Virginia," Mia explained as she got out a big salad bowl. "Some people think that is a big deal."
"To some people it does mean something," her mother pointed out.
"Yeah – Spoken by someone who is a Hochner twice-over," Mia told her.
"Jeremiah and I are distant cousins," Lisette explained to Lynn. "As if that counts for anything. You are what this family needs, some new blood."
"Even if I can't cook?" Lynn questioned.
"Don't worry about that," Lisette replied. "If you want, I can teach you how to cook. It's no big deal and we can start right now."
"You would do that?" Lynn asked. "For me?"
"Of course," Lisette smiled at her. "You're family now and that's what family does – We help each other."
"Now, while I get some ingredients together why don't you tell me about your baby? When is it due?"
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"I'm sorry we can't stay longer," Hotch apologized to Jeremiah and his family as they stood in the front doorway. "But we are meeting Morgan to look at a house that he thinks would be right for us."
"Derek Morgan is a real estate agent now?" Jeremiah smiled. "That man does seem to have his finger in a lot of pies."
"He's not an agent," Hotch clarified. "A contact from his restoration business suggested that he might be interested in this house. However, it turns out that the house is a little too modern for what he specializes in but he thought it might be right for us."
"He does seem to know what will work," Jeremiah said thoughtfully. "I have handled the legal work for a few of his acquisitions and I have been very impressed with his abilities."
"Well I, for one, hope it works out," Lisette spoke up. "You need to get settled somewhere in time to get things set up for the baby." She smiled protectively at Lynn.
"And, you need a kitchen of your own where I can give you some proper cooking lessons," she added.
"That is my plan," Hotch assured her.