“Your father had a delivery,” Lynn said, “but he should be back any minute now. Betsy Woods’s third. You remember; she was your first prom date. I think your father has delivered the babies of every old girlfriend any of you boys ever had.”
“Dad took over the practice from his own father,” Ethan explained. “For a long time Dad was the only doctor around here. He’s got help now, but he still works too hard.”
The discussion reminded her that she needed to find a doctor soon. And it wouldn’t be Jim Bonner.
As if she’d conjured him, he appeared in the archway. He looked rumpled and tired, and Jane saw an expression of concern flicker across Lynn’s features.
As Jim came into the room, his big voice boomed. “How come nobody has a drink?”
“I have a pitcher of margaritas waiting in the kitchen.” Lynn’s forehead smoothed, and she moved toward the door.
“We’ll come with you,” Jim said. “I can’t stand this room, not since you and that fancy decorator ruined it. All this white makes me feel as if I can’t sit down.”
Jane thought the room was lovely and found Jim’s remark uncalled-for. The four of them followed Lynn into the kitchen, whose warm pine and tasteful accessories gave it a cozy country charm. Jane wondered how Cal could stand their own garish house after being raised in such a comfortable place.
Jim shoved a beer at his son, then turned to Jane. “Would you like a margarita?”
“I’d rather have a soft drink.”
“Baptist?”
“Pardon?”
“Are you a teetotaler?”
“No.”
“We have some nice white wine in the house. Amber’s made herself over into something of a wine expert, haven’t you, honey?” His words sounded like those of a proud husband, but their bite told a different story.
“That’s enough, Dad.” Cal’s voice held a touch of steel. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I want it to stop.”
His father straightened, and their eyes clashed. Although Cal’s posture remained relaxed, the hard glint in his eyes warned his father that he’d stepped over the line.
Jim obviously wasn’t used to having anyone challenge his authority, but Cal didn’t show the slightest inclination to back down. She remembered that only yesterday he’d denied that anything was wrong with his parents’ marriage.
Ethan broke in with a request for a beer and a casual remark about a town council meeting. He must be the family peacemaker. Tensions eased, and Lynn asked Jane about her morning with Annie. Jane heard the coolness in her voice and knew she must be wondering why her new daughter-in-law had so much time to spend helping her mother put in a garden but refused to spare a few hours for sightseeing with her.
Jane glanced at Cal. She saw an expression of resignation in his face. He didn’t expect her to keep her word.
She felt a moment of sadness, but it did no good wishing for the impossible when she knew she owed him this. “It’s been a bother, but don’t tell her that. She simply doesn’t understand that every hour she pulls me away from my research is an hour I can never regain.”
There was a moment of strained silence. Jane refused to look at Cal. She didn’t want to see his relief as she embarrassed herself in front of his family. With a sense of dread, she turned the screw. “I know her garden is important to her, but, really, it hardly compares with the work I’m doing. I tried to explain that to her, but she’s so . . . I don’t mean to imply she’s ignorant, but, let’s be frank, her understanding of complex issues is limited.”
“Why the hell does she even want you there?” Jim barked.
Jane pretended not to pick up on his belligerence, which was so like his son’s. “Who can account for the whims of an old lady?”
Cal broke in. “I’ll tell you what I think? Jane’s got a cantankerous nature, just like Annie’s, and I think that’s why Annie loves having her around. The two of them have a lot in common.”
“Lucky us,” Ethan muttered.
Her cheeks burned, and Cal must have sensed that she’d gone as far as she could because he turned the conversation to a discussion of Ethan’s skiing trip. Before long they were all seated at the dinner table.
Jane did her best to look bored while she drank in every detail. She observed the easy affection between the two brothers and the unconditional love Jim and Lynn had for their sons. Despite the problems between her in-laws, she would have given anything to belong to this family instead of the distant father she’d grown up with.
Several times during the meal the conversation turned toward Jim’s work: an interesting case he had, a new medical procedure. Jane found his descriptions too gory for the dinner table, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone else, and she concluded they were all accustomed to it. Cal, in particular, kept pressing his father for details.