Oh, yeah. The man knew what really constituted foreplay.
One night after dinner, after Dylan had gone to his room to study for a test, Liddy and Tuck had moved out to the deck. Bundled together in blankets against the chill, they cuddled on a single lounge and watched the stars blink overhead. Liddy sighed and said, “I keep forgetting—I want you and your family to have Thanksgiving dinner here with me and my family.” She paused. “Do you think your dad could make the trip?”
“He’d never survive the crossing from the island, and that’s assuming we could get him into the boat without him having a heart attack.”
“In that case, we’ll send dinner back to him and his nurse.”
“That’s very thoughtful, Liddy. Thank you.”
“So you’ll come and bring Linc and the kids?”
“You sure you’re ready for all of us?”
“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re talking to the woman who figured out how to keep a herd of four-, five-, and six-year-olds sitting quietly for an hour on Saturday mornings.”
Tuck nodded. “True.”
“So?” Liddy prodded him.
“On one condition.”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What?”
“That you spend Christmas—including Christmas Eve—with us.”
“On the island?”
“No. In the warehouse where I keep my trucks.” He laughed. “Of course on the island.”
She wiggled around to face him. “I’d love to spend Christmas with you. I may have to bring Dylan with me, though.”
“Dylan’s welcome, along with anyone else you’d like to bring.” He raised an eyebrow. “Except maybe Jim.”
Liddy laughed. “I think Jim has something of his own going on. I heard he was seen out to dinner twice last week with Jeannie Brightcliffe.”
“Jeannie Brightcliffe the babe . . . I mean, the head teller at the bank?”
Liddy rolled her eyes. “Yes, that Jeannie Brightcliffe.”
“Isn’t she a little young for Jim?”
Liddy held up her hands. “None of my business.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “Thanksgiving is going to be so much fun. I invited everyone I love. Maggie and her kids and her grandkids and Emma and Chris and Dylan. And you all, of course.”
“Linc tells me Chris and Maggie’s Natalie are an item.”
“Indeed they are. Emma says it’s the real thing. And speaking of Maggie’s daughters, I’ve noticed your son hanging around my shop frequently and escorting one of my employees to lunch. I’m wondering if there isn’t a bit of a real thing developing there as well.”
“I sure hope so. Grace is a doll. Linc’s been carrying a heavy load, and it looks like Grace is starting to carry a bit of that for him. You know, she takes the kids to dinner once or twice every week so Linc can have time to get his paperwork done, now that he’s writing songs again with Chris.”
“I heard about that. What an amazing opportunity for him.”
“It is, but I doubt he’d have taken it if not for Grace. He said she’s the one who talked him into working with Chris on some of those songs they wrote back in the day.” He shook his head. “And to think, back then, I thought it was just a couple of boys playing rock star out in my barn or in the Deans’ garage. I had no idea how far Chris was going to take it. Linc gave all that up to help run the business, and now he has Brenda’s kids on top of everything else. But Grace is helping him keep everything in balance. He couldn’t do it without her, and I couldn’t be happier.”
“So he’s in a happy place, and he has a shot to do something he loves. Everyone doesn’t get that second chance, you know?”
“I do. I might have to bring that bottle of Pappy’s with me to Thanksgiving dinner. It’ll be good to have a little time to catch up with Brett. We’ve both been so busy doing our own thing over these past few years, we haven’t had much time to sit down and talk.”
“Well, on Thanksgiving, you’ll have all afternoon to sit out here and talk about old times.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “I’m not so interested in looking back these days. I’m more interested in looking forward.”
“You sound like a man with a plan.”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I am. I’m thinking we should take this relationship to the next level.”
Liddy sat up. “What does that mean, exactly?”
“It means we should be thinking about our future together and what that’s going to look like. You know, at our age, you can’t be dragging your feet, because you never know . . .”
“Speak for yourself, bucko. I’m in my prime.” She poked him in the chest. “Think you can keep up?”
“Or I’ll die trying.” He pulled her closer. “Seriously, do you think you could live off the mainland?”
“Maybe someday. I like the island. It might be a challenge for me to get to work some days, but I’d give it a go. Maybe not right now, though. I’m just starting to feel unfettered, you know? I’ve laid my daughter to rest for real now, and I’ve worked things out with Jim, more or less. I don’t love him, and that makes me a little sad, I’m not going to lie. But I feel at peace about our divorce. I love having my own business. I love my shop and the energy I get from it.”
She studied his face, loving what she saw there. “I just want you to understand. I care very much about you, but right now, I need my time.”
“Take all the time you need. We’ll do this any way you want, as long as in the end I can put a ring on your finger.”
“I don’t need a ring. I don’t know that I’ll ever want one again, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you.”
Tuck grinned wickedly. “We can be Wyndham Beach’s biggest scandal.” He lowered his voice to whisper in her ear. “Did you hear about Liddy Bryant and Tuck Shelby? Shacking up on that island for days! Unmarried and practically living together! And at their age!”
Liddy laughed. “I would dearly love to be the town’s biggest scandal for once in my life. It could be a lot of fun.”
“However you want to play it, it’s okay with me as long as we’re together. It’s your call, Liddy. All the way.”
Beginning one full week out from Thanksgiving, Liddy began her preparations. She opened the dining room table and put in the two leaves that would extend it to seat twelve adults, and she set up an auxiliary table for the six children: Maggie’s grandkids—Daisy plus Joe’s two, Jamey and Lulu—and Tuck’s three. She hand-washed all the china and her mother’s crystal one night, finishing a little after ten thirty.
Three nights before the holiday, Liddy ironed the delicate linen napkins she’d found in one of Ruth’s boxes, and hand-washed the only lace cloth that would fit the table once the leaves were added. Two nights before, she washed the crystal goblets that had been a wedding present to her parents. The night before, she set the table with her prized dishes—her grandmother’s bone china with tiny yellow flowers painted around the border, edged in platinum. Maggie had loaned her six less fragile plates painted with pumpkins for the kids, so she set the children’s table with those. The last thing she did before she went to bed was to pack up Jim’s grandmother’s china. Dylan carried it upstairs to the guest room, where Liddy was stockpiling other things Jim or someone in his family should have. Maybe someday he’d marry a woman who had children, and he’d have someone to pass those things on to.