The Baby Bargain (Men of Maine Series Book 3) Read online

  THE BABY BARGAIN

  Book Three

  MEN OF MAINE

  Series

  Diana Tobin

  The Baby Bargain

  Copyright© 2017 Diana Tobin

  Cover Design Livia Reasoner

  Fire Star Press

  www.firestarpress.com

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  DEDICATION

  For Bonnie, my not quite from the cradle but close enough, life-long friend. A thank you doesn’t begin to cover your brainstorming, edits, research, and encouragement. You’re the best friend anyone could possibly wish for. This book wouldn’t be possible without you!

  Also, in memory of Bonnie’s beloved Lew. You had a good one for 34 years, but you deserve the Best!

  A special thank you to Bill and Joann, for obvious reasons.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Two weddings in the same family in the same month was too much.

  Lynn would never tell her mother or sister how she felt. She’d been happy to learn her only sister had found a man to love, one she wanted to build a life with, one who loved her back. Even though it was her second marriage. From what Lynn had been told, Michaela’s first marriage was more about convenience than love.

  How anyone could see marriage as convenient was beyond Lynn’s thinking these days. Not to mention her sister’s marriage had made Micki an instant mother. After being married for barely a year, Michaela had become a widow with two stepdaughters to raise alone. Lynn’s new brother-in-law, Ethan Reigh, not only took on a wife but a family.

  Granted, her nieces were great. More like having younger sisters and Lynn no longer felt like the family’s baby.

  She hadn’t been babied for a long time.

  In a few days, her mother was marrying for the second time. Another family trait? Nettie Baxter had been single for nearly fifteen years and was ready to take the plunge, again. According to Wilbur Owens, her soon-to-be stepfather, he’d been in love with Nettie since high school. It had taken over thirty years and a failed marriage for each before becoming a couple.

  Weird.

  She couldn’t stop from wondering how life would’ve turned out if Nettie had married Wil all those years ago instead of Ted Baxter. Of course, thinking along those lines didn’t solve anything, and Lynn had plenty to worry about.

  Like where would she live? How would she earn a living? Would she ever be out of debt? Most of all, how to tell her family what a failure she’d become?

  Rolling out cookie dough, Lynn decided to put off the telling for as long as possible.

  “When did you become such an expert at making cookies?” Nettie asked. “These are perfect, and such a clever idea for thank you gifts.”

  Lynn picked up the wedding cake-shaped cookie cutter and smiled at her mother. “I’m glad you like them. I have little glassine bags we can put them in, but we need something special to seal them.” She cut out the cookies, moved them to the lined baking sheet, then rolled more dough. “We could attach a card of some sort to thank the guests for attending.”

  “Love it! I’m going to call Gusta Webster. She likes to scrapbook. I bet she’ll have an idea.” Nettie pulled out her phone. “You met Gusta at Micki’s wedding. Remember?”

  “She’s the one who’d just had a baby, right? Plus, that darling little Noah who wanted to marry Micki.”

  “Yes. Her husband, Web, was Ethan’s best man. Hi, Gusta,” she said into the phone. “We need to pick your brain.” Nettie watched Lynn work as she explained what they wanted. When she ended the call she said, “Gusta will come over in an hour, provided the kids co-operate. She’s going to bring a few things and we can brainstorm.” Lynn had two trays filled with perfectly shaped cookies, and placed them in the oven. “How long have you been making cookies like this?”

  Shrugging, Lynn placed the chilled dough on the floured surface and began rolling it into an even smoothness. “I discovered baking relaxed me after all the studying. People in the dorms began asking for them and I started charging. Relaxing is one thing, but ingredients can get expensive.”

  Nettie picked up a lightly golden cookie. “I sure didn’t teach you this,” she said with a hint of awe.

  “Yes, you did, Mom. You taught me to make muffins for the shop, showed me how to make soups and stews. I learned a lot from you.”

  “Thank you, honey.” Nettie placed an arm around Lynn’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. “I think all I taught my kids is how to work hard. I don’t know how you can take so much time off from your job, but I’m glad you’re here. This,” she waved a hand to indicate the racks of cooling cookies, “is amazing. We’re going to be sorry to see you leave.”

  Lynn cleared her throat. “I need to talk to you about that. I’ve been thinking I’d—uh…like to stay.”

  “You don’t have to return to Philadelphia?”

  She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time to admit she had nothing to return to. “I’d like to get to know my sister and her family. Not to mention my new dad.” She grinned at Nettie.

  Nettie brushed at some flour on the work table. “You haven’t said how you feel about Wil and me getting married.”

  Lynn set aside the rolling pin and made patterns in the flour with the cake shaped cutter. “I was pretty young when Dad left, but I don’t remember ever seeing you as happy with him as you are with Wil. You two border on disgusting, acting like teenagers. Thinking we don’t see you sneaking kisses.” She tilted her head, studying her mother. “I can’t decide who is more disgustingly lovey-dovey; you and Wil, or Micki and Ethan.” Her grin took any sting out of her words.

  “What about your special someone?”

  Lynn sighed and began cutting cookies. “Turned out he wasn’t so special.” Turned out, she was dumber than a rock. “We aren’t going to discuss it now,” she said, seeing Nettie was about to question her. “This week is all about you and Wil and getting everything ready for you to become Mrs. Owens. Are you changing your name?”

  “Definitely.” The oven timer went off and Nettie volunteered to remove the cookies from the oven. “Will you stay here with Wil and me?”

  Lynn hesitated. Unless she found a way to earn some money, she couldn’t afford to live anywhere else. “I hate to move in with newlyweds. What’s Wil going to do with his house? Maybe I could stay there and look after things for him?”

  “He’s got renters lined up for first of the month. He spends most of his time here when he’s not in his own store. We’ve been storing his things in the barn until we decide what we want to merge. Wil figured he’d rent his house for a year or so, then decide if he wants to keep doing that, or sell it.” Nettie set the hot cookie tray aside and slid the next batch into the oven. “If we’d known you planned on staying in Webster you could’ve rented it.”

  “Well, uh, I can’t afford much until I get a job or something.”

  “That settles it, then. You’ll stay with us.” Nettie glanced at her daughter. “You can have Micki’s room upstairs. I gave Dani and Charley your old room and I want to leave it for them. You know, in case they want to spend the night with us sometime.”

  “Thank you, Mom. I’ll try not to intrude. You and Wil won’t know I’m here,” she promised.

  “We’re glad to have you.”

  Lynn didn’t call her mother on the
lie. Surely, the newlyweds would like time to themselves, even after their short honeymoon. “What are you going to do about the coffee shop while you’re gone?”

  This time, Nettie heaved a deep sigh. “I wanted to close down like Wil’s doing with his store, but Dani and Micki insist they can keep it running.” She shook her head. “It’s too much. Micki has her salon to run and Dani has finals coming up. We can survive with no income for a week.”

  “Why don’t you let me take care of the shop while you’re gone? It hasn’t been that long since I worked there. Micki and Dani will be around if I need help, and it will give Dani plenty of time to study.”

  “You wouldn’t mind?” Nettie studied her. “Ethan can help, too. Other than getting the house built, he’s not too busy right now.”

  “The hockey coach is also a barista?”

  “He sort of learned by default.” Nettie grinned. “Since he was renting the room upstairs he couldn’t help being put to work.”

  Lynn stared at her mother. “There’s a room above the shop?”

  “It’s not much. I used it for storage mostly, but put a cot up there.” Nettie squared her shoulders. “There were a few times I’d work late, and knowing I had to be back early the next morning, I’d just sleep up there. It wasn’t like there was a need to come home.”

  “Oh, Mama.”

  She raised a hand, palm out. “Don’t go feeling sorry for me, that’s not how I meant it. There were times it made more sense to spend the night in that little room than drive home for just a few hours, especially when the weather was bad. After Gusta spent a few nights there, I decided to make it more comfortable and put in a double bed and a few other things.” She shrugged her shoulders. “When Ethan came to town, he needed a place to stay until he found a house to rent, so I rented the room to him.” A grin spread across her face. “Has your sister told you how she and Ethan first met?” When Lynn shook her head, she continued. “I’ll let one of them tell you the story. Trust me, it’s a good one.”

  Nettie’s delight was contagious and Lynn’s lips curved up. “Wait till I see my sister again. So, uh…could I rent that room? That way, I could open the shop for you and you wouldn’t have to go in so early.”

  Her mother began fidgeting with the pot holders and moving trays around. “I don’t think it’s quite up to your standards.”

  Lynn had to blink back the sting in her eyes. “Mom, I’d like to think I’m not that bitchy little girl anymore.”

  Nettie sucked in a breath. “You’re not—”

  Wrapping her arms around her mother, she spoke clearly. “Yes, I was. I hope I’ve grown up. I need to make amends with all of you. Give me a chance. Please.”

  Hugging Lynn tightly, Nettie said, “Of course. If you want that little room for your own, it’s yours. Rent free.”

  “Then I work the shop for free.”

  “No, that’s not fair. I pay Dani.”

  “Then deduct the rent from my pay. Same as you charged Ethan.”

  “Fine,” Nettie conceded. What she wouldn’t tell Lynn was the rent she’d charged was so little Ethan had gladly lent a hand to make up for it.

  “Thank you, Mom.” She didn’t want to be a burden to her family, but she did need their help. But, all that could be dealt with after Nettie’s big day. “Is big brother Marc going to make it to the wedding? He didn’t come for Micki’s.”

  “That boy works too hard,” Nettie grumbled. “He said he’d try to get here Friday evening.”

  “I can’t believe he got married and didn’t invite any of us.” She looked at her mother with a frown. “Or, was it just me who wasn’t invited?”

  Nettie’s forehead crinkled in a frown of her own. “No, none of us were invited. It sounded like their wedding was spur of the moment. I know he’s busy, but you would think he could bring his bride home to meet us.”

  “Did you ever meet Micki’s first husband?”

  “Once. I went down after her friend, Nancy, was killed. Micki was a mess. Her friend was dead and Micki was worried about the girls. Both had been injured, and the father, Denny, couldn’t make a decision to save his soul. It all fell to Micki to handle.” She drew in a deep breath. “I closed the shop for two days and went to see if I could help. All I really did was get in that man’s face and tell him to grow up and stop leaning on his wife’s bereaved friend. I never expected Micki to end up married to him.”

  “Guess you didn’t go that wedding either?” Lynn’s lips curved slightly in a near-smile.

  “She didn’t really have a wedding. They went before a judge so it was legal, then back to business as usual. I don’t know how much of a real marriage it was. Charley once told me her daddy always slept on the couch.”

  This time, Lynn’s smile was genuine. “I sincerely doubt that’s the case with Micki’s current marriage.”

  Nettie’s eyes twinkled with her answering grin. “I know it’s not. They’ve spent a night or two here before the wedding.” A knock sounded, preventing Lynn from voicing a comment. “That’s probably Gusta. Just so you know, we didn’t really hear anything when Ethan stayed over, but no one could miss those satisfied smiles the next morning.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lynn removed the last of the cookies from the oven then stepped to the bank of windows looking over the pastures behind the house. She never would’ve guessed when she returned home she’d be discussing her sister’s sex life with her mother. Come to think of it, they’d been close to discussing her mother’s sex life with Wil.

  The eeww factor didn’t hit. Sisters should be able to discuss sex. So should mothers and daughters. Maybe because Wil wasn’t her father she didn’t feel icky about the thought of her mother and Wil together. She was happy her mother had found someone who so obviously adored her and wasn’t afraid for the world to know it. She just didn’t need details.

  Being completely honest with herself, she had to admit she was a tad jealous. Her sex life was non-existent and when she’d had one it turned out to be disgusting.

  Not that she’d thought Donny was disgusting at the time. Selfish was the best way to describe him, in and out of bed. The disgust came when she discovered she’d been part of a threesome. Donny hadn’t just been sharing her bed but also her roommate’s. Make that former roommate and best friend. She sure as hell didn’t need friends like that!

  She’d been staring blindly out the window, but movement beyond the glass made her focus. What a sight to focus on.

  Worn jeans cupped the roundest male butt she’d ever laid eyes on. A plain white tee shirt stretched over broad shoulders, the short sleeves unable to contain the bulging biceps. A breeze caused blond hair to dance around the neck of the shirt beneath the green ball cap. He was walking away from the house between rows of freshly turned earth, so she couldn’t see his face. But her fingers itched with wanting to feel the strands of all that hair between them, and she’d give most anything to run her palms over all that prime male flesh.

  A surprising reaction for a woman who’d sworn off men.

  “Mom,” she said when footsteps sounded behind her. “Who is that in your yard?”

  “You should know him.” Nettie stood close to Lynn peering out the same window. “You went to school with JC.”

  “That’s JC Benjamin?” She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the gorgeous sight. He’d been more than good looking in high school, but she sure didn’t remember all those muscles. “What’s he doing here?”

  “He rents the pasture. Last week he tilled up that area,” she pointed toward the rows of earth the man in question now walked, “so Wil and I can plant a garden. I’m always so busy during the summer it’s been hard for me to make a go of one, but with Wil, and all my girls, we’ve got a good shot.”

  “So JC’s still living at home with all his cows?” From what Lynn remembered JC had little free time because he was always helping his father on his dairy farm. She didn’t know why she was surprised to learn he still lived there. In trut
h, she’d known very little about him or his dreams. They’d practically been neighbors—and he’d avoided her.

  “The farm is his,” Nettie answered, “but I’m not sure about the cows. JC is a busy, hard-working man.”

  “What are we looking at?” Gusta Webster strolled into the kitchen, a baby cradled in her arms. She stopped next to Nettie, craning her neck a bit to see what had captured their attention. “Oh, my.”

  “Gusta Webster,” Nettie said on a laugh. “You’re a married woman.”

  “Very happily married,” Gusta purred. “But, I’m not blind nor dead to great scenery. I appreciate sunrises and sunsets, blue skies, flowers in bloom, and a handsome specimen like the one before us. No matter the age. I’m not even window shopping, just enjoying the sights.”

  “You’re only a couple of years older than JC, so you don’t qualify as a cougar.”

  “Oh, ho! You do. And, on the eve of your wedding,” Gusta teased.

  “Like you, I appreciate great…um…scenery.”

  “Yeah,” Lynn breathed. “He’s got a great…scenery.”

  All three burst into giggles.

  “Lynn and JC were in school together.”

  “Have you had a chance to catch up?” Gusta swayed, rocking the baby, and tilted her head toward the window.

  “No, but I plan to stay, so there will be plenty of time for getting re-acquainted. May I?” Lynn held out her arms for the baby. As the transfer was made, she asked, “What did you name her?”

  “Emma Alice, for her great-grandmother and grandmother.”

  “Sweet,” Lynn murmured as she nuzzled the baby’s head.

  Nettie sighed. “We could admire the scenery all evening, but Gusta would probably like to know why we called her over here.”

  The women gave a last look out the window at JC striding through the ankle-high grasses of the pasture before turning to the matter at hand.

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