Page 133 of Heartbeat

He hugged his mother again, smiling. “What have you been saying about me?”

“The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” Shirley said.

And laughter filled the house.

They spent the rest of the day together, but from time to time, Amalie would make herself scarce just to let them be. Brothers with each other. Brothers with their mother. Mother with her sons.

It wasn’t until supper that B.J. shared another secret. Something he’d been working on for some time.

“I’ve taken a job as the head pastry chef in a five-star hotel restaurant, and I’ll be leaving New York City.”

Shirley clapped her hands in pure delight. “Oh, son! I am so proud of you. You’ve worked hard to get to this. So where are you going, and when do you begin?”

He glanced up, anxious to gauge their first reactions.

“To the kitchens of the Serenity Inn here in Jubilee. I start in two months.”

The cries of delight were music to his ears.

Sean shook his head. “I’m so happy for you, little brother, but I never thought you’d come back.”

“I didn’t think I would either until you nearly got yourself killed, and I found out you loved a woman enough to die for her, and I was missing out on everything family, and you guys are worth more than all the money and prestige the world could offer. This new job is perfect. I still get to do my thing and get paid a great salary to do it. I’m not meant for a solo life. I want what you and Amalie have. What Aaron and Dani have. Not sure about Wiley’s choices, but I miss him, too.”

“None of us are sure about Wiley’s choices, but so far he’s kept himself out of hot water,” Sean said.

B.J. glanced at Shirley. “And I don’t want Mom to get older without me.”

He had them all blinking back tears, and Shirley wouldn’t have it.

“You can’t bake a cake big enough to stop me from aging, but youcanmake my life sweeter with your presence. And I’m selfish enough to say it. I’m glad you’re coming home!”

Sean glanced at Amalie, then leaned back in his chair. “So, in two months, you’ll be looking for a place to live, and in about the same length of time, Amalie will be moving up here.”

B.J.’s eyebrows rose. “Are you leasing?”

“Yes. I signed a two-year lease. I didn’t know my world would turn upside down within a month of moving in.”

“What happened?” B.J. asked.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh lord, that’s a whole other story and Sean can fill you in with all the uglies. However…while you’re here, have Sean bring you down to check out the house. He has a key. If you want to do a sublet, I’d be happy to do that. I was going to just sell all my stuff. I don’t need to bring anything here. But if you want to lease the house, then I’ll leave it all furnished for you, too. None of it is personal to me.”

“If it’s larger than three hundred and twenty-five square feet, I want it.”

Shirley frowned. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“It’s the size of the apartment I’ve been living in for the past two and a half years,” B.J. said.

Shirley reeled. “Oh my lord! I didn’t know. My bedroom is larger than that.”

“I know. You also do not want to know what rent goes for something like that. New York City isn’t all flash and glamour, but it’s a great place to be. However, I’m at the‘been there, done that’stage. I just want to come home. I need to live close to the job and was planning to look for a place in Jubilee anyway. But it appears my newsister has just solved that problem for me.” He winked at Amalie.

“Anything for family,” Amalie said, then eyed him closer. “However, unless you plan to sleep with your legs hanging off the end of my bed, you’re probably going to have to get a different one.”

“The continuing story of our lives,” B.J. said. “That, I can do. One last thing. Keep the news to yourselves for now. Ray Caldwell, my new boss, wants to make a big announcement upon my arrival, and I don’t want to spoil whatever PR he’s planning for the hotel.”

Sean shrugged. “We’re good at keeping secrets in this family, remember?” Amalie let the comment roll over her head. She had secrets of her own she would probably never share. In her world, it was how people stayed safe and sane.

When B.J. walked into church on Easter Sunday, the congregation was still arriving, gathering in little clumps to visit and sharing family news before the service began. Both of his other brothers were already there, and when they saw him walk in with their mom and Sean and Amalie, they both came running. Then all the hugging and laughing and back thumping began, and the first words out of Aaron’s mouth were, “You grew!”

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