Page 78 of Ambush

The soft expression on her face melted his heart. “Wish you were going with us.”

“What? And give up sticky fingers all over my face after making caramel corn and playing Candy Land? My evening will be much more fun than yours. You’ll have to listen to old people reliving their glory days of the eighties. If you see any of the ladies with bodacious big hair, I want pictures.”

His mom’s heels clicked on the hardwood flooring in the hallway. “I heard that. I’ll have you know in my heyday at seventeen, my hair could have made the best mop you’ve ever used on the floor.”

“That’s just sad, Mom. Your heyday was at age seventeen?”

“Your dad fell for it. How do you think I got pregnant so young?”

She’d never hidden the mistakes she made as a teenager, and her honesty had helped him avoid a lot of missteps. He wished he remembered his dad, but all he had were pictures and a few old-time movies of his impossibly young father chasing Blakeas a one-year-old around the yard. He hadn’t run off when he discovered Mom was pregnant but had immediately married her and loved her until his tragic death at nineteen.

Blake winked at Paradise and stepped back to extend his arm to his mother. “Your carriage awaits, my lady. Or maybe it’s a dirty van.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I hope you cleaned out the pizza boxes.”

“I’ll have you know, once Nora was done with it, that van has never been so clean. Well, except for fingerprint dust.” He’d spent an hour cleaning the cleanup. His truck was even cleaner, but he didn’t want his mom to have to hoist herself in a snug skirt and heels into his pickup.

They were still smiling fifteen minutes later when they entered the gymnasium at the high school. It had been decked out in gold and white. A giant dance ball spun near the ceiling, and Blake spotted several photo-op areas set up with memorabilia from high school as well as one with giant balloons attached to the wall. Whitney Houston crooned “I Will Always Love You” from the speakers, and several couples swayed to the music along one side of the gym.

His mother elbowed him. “Wipe that incredulous smirk off your face. At your thirtieth class reunion you’ll embarrass your kids too.”

He grinned. “I have to say you’re prettier than anyone here, Mom. That red dress will wow them.” Before she could respond, he spotted Frank Ellis walking their way. “Get ready, here he comes,” he whispered.

His mother’s smile widened as though he’d said the funniest thing, and she threw back her head in a laugh that rang out through the room. He’d never heard her laugh like that—was that her high school persona she’d just slipped into?

Frank, looking smart in khaki slacks and a navy blazer, headed for them like an ant zeroing in on cherry pie. “Jenna Mitchell, I was hoping you’d be here.” His thick blond hair fell onto his forehead, and he pushed it off to take in her appearance. “As beautiful as ever.”

She turned wide eyes his way. “Frank! How are you?”

Her delight appeared genuine, and she hugged Frank’s stocky frame. Blake noticed how reluctant the man seemed to drop his arms after the hug. Where was his wife?

His mom tucked her hand into the crook of Frank’s elbow and steered him toward the refreshment table. “I’m sorry to hear about your divorce, Frank. You doing okay?”

Frank shrugged. “A little poorer and wiser is all. She was having an affair with the tennis pro. That sounds like something you’d hear onThe Real Housewives, not at our country club. I gave her the house because I didn’t want my girls to suffer for her behavior. It’s life, I guess. I wanted the old Steerforth place, you know, but the divorce hit at the wrong time and I lost it. I’m glad you got it though. I’m sure it’s a great distraction now as you’re grieving.”

That explained a lot. Blake hovered near his mom in case she got into trouble, but she seemed a pro at handling this guy. He’d never seen this side of her.

Frank grabbed drinks for them and handed one to Blake as well. “You’re a good son, Blake. The whole countryside knows you came running to help your mom and brothers. Jenna deserves it too. She’s the finest woman I’ve ever met.” His eyes glistened and went a little red. “It was my loss in high school, but she took one look at your dad when he moved to town, and it was all over between us.”

Blake noticed his mom’s cheeks go pink and her expression soften. Did she still have a tender spot for Frank? Until tonightBlake hadn’t been around the developer much. He’d only heard stories, but Frank was different from what he expected from the scuttlebutt. He seemed to have a soft, kind center—at least where Mom was concerned.

“We’ve had some trouble, Frank. You’re the kind of businessman who hears everything. Do you know why someone might be trying to force us to sell?”

He frowned. “I’ve tried to squelch rumors when I’ve heard them. I thought it was simple bad luck that the activists targeted you. You think it was a deliberate attempt to shut you down?”

Mom sipped her sweet tea. “There’s been a target on our backs for months, starting with Hank’s death. We don’t think it was an accident.”

Frank’s scowl deepened. “That’s terrible, Jenna. If there’s anything I can do to stop it, I will. And to put your mind at ease, my failure to buy the property ended up being for my own good. My daughter is engaged to the son of a big farmer on the other side of town. Ryan’s dad was wanting to quit the business and retire. Ryan is going to go into business with me, and I’ll have more work developing that land than I know what to do with. God works in mysterious ways, doesn’t he?”

Blake’s mother nodded, and Blake watched them wander off, still chatting. While he could be mistaken, Blake didn’t think Frank had anything to do with what was going on. His gaze stayed fixed on his mother, who seemed to be having a wonderful time with Ellis. Blake wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

***

After the boys’ baths, Paradise was as wet as they were, and she slipped on athletic shorts and a tee after she cleaned up the floorin the bathroom. Even her hair was damp and stood out around her head in a frizzy halo. She smoothed a little argan oil on it and went to tell the kids a story.

While Blake was allowed to read a story, she always had to make one up. Levi in particular liked her to make up stories about things they’d seen or done that day, and she always had to include Twilight Sparkle in the story. When he flushed and grinned every time he talked about the little pony, she thought it was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.

Tonight’s story was about how superhero Levi and his sidekick Isaac had to rescue Twilight Sparkle from an evil dragon who’d penned her up in the jaguar habitat, and big brother Blake had to rescue all of them in the end.

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