Brayden, Melissa: How Sweet It Is

*

Gibson’s Steak House was the most expensive restaurant in town, and it was bustling with Tuscanas and their closest friends by the time Molly arrived. She was pulled immediately into one big bear hug after another, an Italian family imperative.

Cassie’s older brother, Michael, swooped in, took her coat, and placed a big, sloppy kiss on her cheek. “Molly’s here; the party can begin,” he called over his shoulder to the room at large.

She smiled happily at her brother-in-law and held up the brown paper sack. “Chocolate chip cookies for the kiddos. I promised and I always make good.”

“Nicely done.” He dipped his face deep into the bag and inhaled. “Wow. Are you sure we have to let the kids in on this little deal?”

She popped him playfully on the shoulder. “Mikey, don’t you dare play cookie monster. Come by the shop tomorrow and I’ll hook you up. Those are for the munchkins, who I have to kiss at least a million times right this very minute. Directions, please?”

“About fifty feet in. Kids’ table is on the left.”

“On it.”

Molly said a few passing hellos as she made her way to the kids’ table where she found her six-year-old nephew, Zachary, and her four-year-old niece, Risa, coloring before dinner was served. “There are my two favorite small people.” She ruffled Zach’s hair and received an adorable smile in response. Risa, however, bounded from her seat and leapt easily into Molly’s arms. She had a special bond with the little girl, who now clung to her gleefully. “What’s up, little Risa? How was your week? You married yet?”

Risa giggled. “No, silly. Zach and me got to help Grandpa at the clinic and he let us pretend to be the doctor. I was the best one. Oh, and Aunt Jordan is here.”

“She is?”

Risa nodded and pointed across the room. Molly followed her gaze and paused. There was Jordan, speaking quietly in the corner with one of her elderly aunts.

Except it wasn’t Jordan, not exactly.

This Jordan was…different. Not at all the kid Molly projected in her mind whenever she thought of her. She was so grown up. It was startling.

In reality, she knew that time had passed and Jordan was no longer a wayward teenager. Hell, she’d seen her several times throughout her college days, but the young woman before her now was so much more than all of that. Somewhere along the way, Jordan had gone from attractive to absolutely stunning. Her long dark hair was pinned back on one side, keeping her bangs from falling into her face. She wore faded designer jeans and a V-neck dark green T-shirt that somehow made her look cooler than all of them.

As Molly absorbed the confident carriage, the easy smile, the finesse with which Jordan moved and spoke, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud of Cassie’s little sister. It was then that Jordan lifted her eyes and smiled at her.

And there she was, the Jordan she knew.

Molly gently lowered Risa to the ground and closed the distance between them, grinning and pulling Jordan easily into a hug. “Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence at long last.”

“You know me, Mol, always forgetting the time.”

As Jordan released her, their eyes met and something moved between them. An understanding. An acknowledgement of the difficult years that had passed since they’d last joked in this way. Jordan’s smile faltered briefly, her eyes brushing the ground before she raised them back to Molly’s soberly. “I should have called you more. Or been here. Something.”

Molly squeezed her hand. “It’s okay, Jordy.” And it was. The accident had changed life as they knew it, and everyone had reacted in different ways. “You’re here now and sure to unleash all sorts of trouble on the unsuspecting citizens of our small town.”

Jordan narrowed her gaze. “Who told you?”

“We’ve met, remember?” That earned a grin. This was more like it. They’d all spent too much time being sad. “Hope you brought your appetite. Your parents ordered the menu eighteen times over.”

“My kind of meal.”

They settled down to dinner. The seventeen adults present were seated at a long table and the children at their own circular table off to the side, allowing their parents easy access. It was whenever they all got together like this that Cassie’s absence was noticed the most. Almost like a gaping hole that no one quite mentioned anymore, but everyone still felt. Molly offered up a silent smile to let Cassie know she was remembered and missed on the day of her sister’s homecoming. She found if she made Cassie a part of her everyday life, it made her feel somehow closer.

Molly was ushered to a chair next to Mikey’s wife, Teresa, and across from Jordan. The early stages of the meal involved lots of questions about Jordan’s job as a producer in the film industry. She seemed to field the inquiries as matter-of-factly as possible, but didn’t give an abundance of information.

To accompany the prime rib, the family style platters of green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and seasoned squash were flowing freely down the table now. Mikey loaded his plate. “So do you have a lot of famous friends now?”

“A few,” Jordan answered. “The films I work on are not exactly blockbusters, but we do have some notable names on occasion. I worked with Jenna McGovern recently and she was nominated for a Golden Globe for our film. She’s pretty great and we’re still in touch.”

Teresa grinned. “Ohhh, I love her. It all sounds so exciting.”

Her mother-in-law took a sip of wine. “It does, but there are plenty of exciting careers that are a bit more stable. And allow you to stay in one place. Like at home. I wish you’d give that some thought, Jordan.” And here we go . While the heads of the Tuscana family were warm people, they certainly came with a lot of opinions. Molly knew Amalia’s thoughts on Jordan living apart from the rest of the family. She also made no secret that she didn’t love her chosen career path. If it were up to her, all her children would have followed in her footsteps and gone into medicine. Mikey had done just that and now had his own practice, while also working two days a week alongside his parents at their clinic. Cassie had come close and studied medical management. But Jordan had showed little interest, and that had disappointed her parents outright.

“It would be nice to live in town,” Jordan conceded cautiously. “But it’s just not as easy with my line of work. In fact, it’s near impossible.”

“We could always use your help at the clinic,” her father-in-law, Joseph, pointed out. “You could look into medical school. We’d be willing to support you financially in the meantime. You’ve had your fun. Maybe it’s time to settle down, get serious. You’re so smart, Jordana. Don’t you think you’ve wasted enough time as it is?”

Molly resisted the urge to roll her eyes, though it was hard. They’d put the same kind of pressure on Cassie, who, in contrast to Jordan, would have done anything to please her parents. She’d earned her business degree, settled in town, and took over the managing of Applewood Primary Care. Under her watchful eye, her parents’ clinic had grown to an overwhelming success, drawing tons of patients from neighboring towns.

But Jordan was different, and there was nothing wrong with that. It was just a shame the rest of the family didn’t seem to agree.

“I don’t think that’s the direction I’m heading, Dad. But I appreciate the offer. I honestly do.” Her gaze fell to her plate.

“Where’s Jordan heading?” Great-aunt Irene asked in a loud voice. “I don’t understand.” This was not unusual.

Jordan looked up. “I think I’m trying to sort that all out. Can I get back to you?” And then she offered Aunt Irene a genuine smile, making Molly root for her all the more. In that moment, she decided to jump in, see if she could get everyone back on track.