Debbie Macomber: Cedar Cove Collection (Books 7-12)

“How’s it going?” Teri asked as she set the groceries on the counter.

Johnny answered with a good-natured shrug. “Haven’t got a clue. Ask Bobby.”

“Hi, sweetheart,” she said, moving to her husband’s side of the table. Slipping her arms around his neck, she kissed his cheek.

Bobby’s hand squeezed hers and he looked across at Johnny. “Always protect your queen,” he advised her brother, who nodded patiently.

“Can you stay for dinner?” she asked Johnny. A visit from him, especially on a weekday, was a pleasant surprise. Teri was proud of Johnny, but she also felt protective of him. That was only natural, she supposed, because she’d practically raised him herself. Her family—like Bobby, was unconventional—but in a completely different way. At last count, her mother had been married six times. Or was it seven? Teri had lost count.

Her sister was more like her mother than Teri had ever been, but at least Christie was smart enough not to marry the losers who walked in and out of her life. Not that Teri was exempt from some of life’s painful lessons herself. Particularly those that fell into the category of men-who-use-and-abuse.

Teri still had a hard time believing Bobby Polgar could love her. She worked in a hair and nail salon and considered herself the farthest thing from an intellectual. Bobby always said she had a real-world intelligence, practical and intuitive rather than cerebral, like his. She loved him for saying that and was even starting to believe it. In fact, she loved everything about him. The happiness she felt was still new to her and it actually frightened her a little.

She had reasons to be concerned, real-world reasons, she thought wryly, although she made light of them. Recently two men had approached her, bodyguard-types who looked like they belonged in an episode of The Sopranos. They had gangster written all over them. They hadn’t really done anything, though, other than scare her for a few minutes.

Teri wasn’t sure what that was all about. Apparently these goons had been sent as a warning to Bobby. The message seemed to be that their boss, whoever he was, could get to her at any time. Fat chance of that! Teri was street-smart and she’d learned how to take care of herself, although she had to admit those two had given her pause.

If Bobby knew who was responsible for the threat against her, he wasn’t saying. But she’d noticed that her husband hadn’t played in a single tournament since she’d been approached by those men.

“I gotta get back,” Johnny said in answer to her question about dinner.

“Just stay for another couple of hours,” she wheedled. “I’m making my special macaroni-and-cheese casserole.” That would entice her brother like nothing else. It was his favorite dish.

“Checkmate,” Bobby said triumphantly, apparently unaware of the conversation around him.

“Is there a way out of this?” Johnny asked, returning his attention to the chessboard.

Bobby shook his head. “Nope. You’re in the Black Hole.”

“The what?” Teri and Johnny said simultaneously.

“The Black Hole,” Bobby told them. “Once a player finds him or herself in this set of circumstances, it’s impossible to win.”

Johnny shrugged. “Then there’s nothing left to do but concede.” He laid down his king and sighed. “Really, there was never any doubt as to the outcome of this game.”

“You play well for a beginner,” Bobby told him.

Teri ruffled her younger brother’s hair, despite knowing how much he hated it. “Consider that a compliment.”

Johnny smiled. “I will.” He pushed back his chair and looked at Teri. “Ter, don’t you think it’s time you introduced Bobby to Mom and Christie?”

Bobby turned from Johnny to Teri and innocently said, “I would like to meet your family.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” She immediately busied herself unpacking the groceries. She set the cottage cheese—an essential ingredient in her macaroni recipe—on the counter, along with a box of Velveeta cheese.

“Mom asked me about you and Bobby,” her brother informed her.

“Is she still with Donald?” This was the latest husband. Teri had purposely avoided any discussion of her family with Bobby. They hadn’t been married long and she hated to disillusion him so soon. Once he met the family, he might well have serious doubts about her, and the truth was, she wouldn’t blame him.

“Things are shaky.” Johnny glanced over at Bobby. “Donald has sort of a drinking problem.”

“Donald!” Teri cried. “What about Mom?”

“She’s cutting back.” Johnny had always been quick to defend their mother.

Donald had showed promise in the beginning. Apparently he and her mother had met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Unfortunately, they’d quickly gone from supporting each other in sobriety to becoming drinking buddies. Neither of them could hold a job for long. How they survived financially, Teri didn’t know. She had no intention of assisting them the way she did Johnny. It went without saying that any money she gave them would immediately go toward another bottle of booze or another night at their local bar.

Crossing her arms, Teri leaned against the kitchen counter. “Mom’s cutting back? Yeah, right.”

“Even so, you should have Christie over to meet Bobby.” He turned toward him. “Christie’s our sister.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you have a sister?” Bobby asked. He seemed perplexed that Teri had never mentioned Christie. He knew about her, of course, because he’d had Teri’s background checked—a fact he’d revealed in his usual dispassionate way.

She had her reasons for not mentioning her younger sister and Johnny knew it. She pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t talk to me about Christie, okay?”

“What is it with you and her?” Johnny grumbled.

“You’re too young to understand all the details,” she said, brushing aside his question. She and Christie were, for all intents and purposes, estranged, although Teri maintained a superficial civility on public occasions.

“Come on, Ter, you and Bobby are married. He should meet the family.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You don’t want me to meet your family?” Bobby gazed up at her with a hurt expression. He didn’t realize that this conversation had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her mother and sister.

“Yes, I do … someday.” She gently patted Bobby’s arm. “I thought we’d get settled in the house before I invited them.”

“We are settled.” Bobby gestured around him at the gleaming appliances and polished oak floors.

“Not that settled. We’ll have them over in a while.” She was thinking four or five years—longer if she could get away with it.

“Mom and Christie would really like to meet Bobby,” Johnny said again.

Now Teri understood why her younger brother had shown up at the house unannounced. He’d been sent as an emissary by their mother and Christie. His mission was to pave the way for an introduction to the rich and famous Bobby Polgar, who’d been foolish enough to marry her.

“They’ll have to meet him sooner or later,” Johnny said with perfect logic. “You can’t avoid it forever, you know.”

“I know.” Teri released a slow sigh.

“Might as well be now.”

Teri could see that she wasn’t going to escape the dreaded family gathering, so she’d simply take Johnny’s advice. “Okay, okay, I’ll have everyone over for dinner.”

“Great.” Johnny gave her a wide grin.

“I’ll regret it afterward,” she muttered under her breath.

“Why?” Bobby asked, obviously still perplexed by her reaction.