Alisha looked back and forth between Spencer and Delinda. “Are you okay, Spencer?”
You know, my brother chose well. Alisha always felt like a sister, and now she’ll be one. “I am. We’re talking things out.”
“I’m glad,” Alisha said.
“And it’s going well?” Brett’s eyebrows rose to his hairline.
Nicolette and Rachelle burst into the room. Nicolette rushed to Spencer’s side. “Are you okay, Spencer?”
“I’m fine,” Spencer assured her, not completely flattered to see how women seemed more worried about him than the old lady sitting across from him.
Nicolette sat down on the chair beside him. “Jordan said he’s never seen you so angry.”
I’m going to have to speak to Jordan about loose lips. “It’s all good.”
Nicolette glared at Delinda. “Is she making you say that? Does she have Hailey locked in the basement or something?”
Rachelle touched her sister’s shoulder. “So dramatic. Of course she doesn’t. Right, Brett?”
Delinda placed a hand on her chest. “First of all, I’m offended that you’d think me capable of such a thing. Second, if I did have someone locked up somewhere, I wouldn’t require Brett’s permission to do it.”
Brett raised a hand. “She’s joking. Delinda, you know they don’t get your sense of humor.”
For the first time in his life Spencer felt like he was on the right side of that inside comment. He winked at Delinda. “It wouldn’t be the basement. It would be the dungeon. She has to have one. And it wouldn’t be Hailey. We never see Delinda with a man. Maybe that’s where she keeps them.”
Delinda’s cheeks turned red. “I do not have one of those lewd rooms.”
Spencer couldn’t resist. “I wasn’t even thinking that, but now we all know what you’ve been reading.”
Delinda was spared from responding by the arrival of Stephanie and Dereck.
“Don’t tell me,” Spencer said, “Jordan called you.”
His mother avoided looking at Dereck. “Actually, Rachelle told me you were here.”
“Brett called me,” Dereck said gruffly.
The idea of his family gathering to save him from Delinda, or vice versa, was suddenly pathetically amusing. “We’re fine. We’re just talking.”
“You are?” Stephanie asked.
Dereck said, “That’s—”
“Unexpected,” Stephanie supplied the word for him.
“Yes,” Dereck said. “Wonderfully unexpected.”
Brett walked over to stand beside where Spencer was seated. “So everything is fine?”
“Not everything,” Spencer said grudgingly.
Delinda pinched an inch of air. “I might have meddled in Spencer’s private life a little bit.”
“Might have?” Spencer frowned. “Hailey lives with you.”
“Technically, she lives in my guesthouse.”
“What did you do, Mom?” Dereck asked as he took a seat next to her.
Delinda pointed at Spencer. “She’s just as upset with him as she is with me.”
Brett and Alisha stepped closer. Brett asked her, “What did you do?”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, do we have to rehash everything I did wrong, or could we focus on what I’ve done right? Spencer and Hailey were back together before he started yelling at me in front of her.”
The anger that would normally have surfaced in response to Delinda’s deflection didn’t. She was childlike in some ways, but not malicious. And unfortunately, she had a point. “She’s right. I handled the situation poorly.”
Alisha looked around. “Where is Hailey? Is she okay?”
“She’s back at the guesthouse,” Spencer said.
Brett asked, “Then why are you still here?”
“It’s complicated,” Spencer said, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
Dereck surprised everyone by sitting down across from Spencer and leaning forward, elbows on knees. “Do you love her, Spencer?”
“I do.” It was surreal to be discussing anything of significance with the man he’d once thought was his father.
“Then get your ass over there,” Brett said.
Dereck shook his head. “No, you’re right; it’s not that easy. You need to know that you can make her happy. Sometimes loving a woman means knowing when to let her go.”
Stephanie crossed the room and sat beside her ex-husband. “And moving on the best you can.”
Dereck took her hand in his and gave it a visible squeeze. “And all you can do is hope you made the right choice.”
The mood of the group was quickly taking a downward turn. Alisha dipped under Brett’s arm to hug Spencer. “You are what she needs. I grew up with you. You have a good heart beneath all that anger. Hailey’s been through a rough time. She needs a rock, and you can be that for her. She’s going to want someone who can love her niece as much as she does. You would do that. You know what that looks like. Mark loved all of us that way. He didn’t need a label or a blood test. He was simply there for us, helping us with our homework, making us laugh when we were sad, cheering us on even when we struck out. You could be that to Skye.” She looked over at Dereck and Stephanie, then placed her hand on her small baby bump. “I’m not wasting another moment on the past. From now on, all of my energy is going into making the future everything I know it can be. Ask yourself what kind of life you want—then go out and make it happen.”
Brett kissed Alisha on the temple and hugged her to his side. “What she said.”
Spencer surged to his feet. “You’re right. I know how to do this.”
“You do,” Alisha said with a proud smile.
Spencer stopped in front of Brett. “Is there still an opening for a groomsman in your wedding party?”
“There is,” Brett said before smiling down at Alisha. “I told you I could talk him into attending our wedding.”
“You? I had nothing to do with it?” Alisha swatted his arm playfully.
Spencer watched the two of them and found himself smiling along. Alisha brought out a warmer side of Brett that Spencer hadn’t realized was there. She’d become a bridge between him and his family.
“Alisha,” Spencer said.
“Yes?” she responded, reluctantly pulling her attention away from Brett.
“Thank you. For everything. For saying you’d marry me. For being smart enough not to. For trying to make things better for me by speaking to Delinda. It didn’t work out the way any of us had planned, but I believe it worked out the way it was supposed to. I’ve always considered you a sister. I’m glad my brother is making it legal.”
Alisha wiped the corners of her eyes. “Thank you, Spencer.”
He noticed Delinda watching them. Her face was set in an expression he’d once read as displeasure, but he was beginning to think it was all bravado. “Could we speak privately?”
“Of course.”
Brett raised a hand toward the door. “Let’s give them a moment.”
“The garden is beautiful this time of year,” Stephanie added.
Dereck fell into step with her as they walked out of the solarium. Nicolette and Rachelle left with more reluctance, but followed the rest of them out.
When they were alone, Spencer went to sit beside Delinda. “Why did you bring Hailey here?”