5. Raina

Jack finally called back the next day. Raina was in the nursery with Val, who'd spent the night in the upstairs spare room, sleeping on the pull-out sofa. When Raina saw her ex-husband's name on her phone, she had Charlie in her arms. Grandma Val had taken over with Lily, gazing into the crib, even though the baby was sound asleep.

"I'm going to take this call," Raina said, pushing up from her rocking chair.

"Then I'll take Charlie." Val turned and stretched out her arms.

"I'm fine," Raina said, knowing the switch would be all this baby needed to howl. "'Scuse me."

With that, she went down the hall into her bedroom as she answered the phone and quietly kicked the door closed.

"Hey, Jack."

"Raina, I only have a minute. We have an open house and I'm late to unlock. What's up?"

Even the sound of his voice and the first of what would surely be a litany of excuses scratched against every nerve in her body.

"Your mother's here," she said simply, walking out to the balcony and closing that door, too, for added privacy.

"Yeah, I know."

She dropped onto the chaise, slowly, with one hand steadying the baby, a frown forming. "You know?"

"She wanted to see your kids. You said you wouldn't have an issue with that."

Your kids.She swallowed against the light gut-punch. "I don't think she just wants to see them, Jack. She wants to move into my house and be my live-in nanny."

He was dead silent. So much so, she suspected he'd muted the call. Probably to confer with the great and powerful Lisa Godfrey, Raina's replacement.

"What do you want me to do about it, Raina?" he finally asked.

"I need her to understand that she can't live here, certainly not in my house and preferably not on Amelia Island."

He huffed out a noisy breath. "I don't know if she'll listen to me. She got crazy up in New Jersey and Eileen said she went off the deep end. She's having some kind of late-in-life crisis. Just humor her, okay?"

Humor her? There was no humor with Val. Plus, didn't he get how intrusive this was? How grating she was and…and bothersome? She was judgmental, passive-aggressive, and never missed an opportunity to blame Raina's work ethic for the three miscarriages she'd endured.

Did he really think it was just fine if his mother lived here?

"I'm not her family, Jack. You are."

"They are," he fired back, and just the way he said it made her recoil. They? He couldn't even say their names?

As if she sensed Raina was upset, Charlie started to writhe and mew.

"Jack, why did she have to go anywhere? Why did she leave New Jersey?"

"I don't know. She got some bug up her butt and wouldn't say what it was. Eileen thinks it's dementia, but I don't know. Maybe you can figure it out."

In other words, he didn't want her. Or Lisa didn't, more likely.

"She and Lisa were like oil and water," he muttered, confirming her suspicions. "Worse than you and her."

Raina leaned back with a grunt, stroking Charlie's head, not sure what to say to that.

"And Lisa put her foot down," he added. "She cannot live with us or near us, or those two would kill each other."

"So you sent her here?"

"All I did was tell her you had twins. She flipped out, packed up, and left."

She didn't even know before that? Sympathy for Val and fury at the woman's son twisted through Raina's gut.

"So you gave her my address and didn't bother to call me?" Did he really think that was fair to his own mother or to her? Forget the kids he didn't want to acknowledge.

Good heavens, he was trash. How had she loved the man for sixteen years?

"I know you have that big family, Rain. And they are her grandchildren, whether you like it or not."

Were they? Legally, if he'd given up rights…

But she put the brakes on that train of thought before it left the station. They were Val's grandchildren, and they were already being denied their biological father. Raina wouldn't deny them anyone or anything—even Valerie Wallace.

"I gotta go," Jack said. "Let me know if things blow up or you need money for her or whatever. Talk soon."

With that, he hung up and the only thing keeping Raina from spitting out a dark curse was the darling baby in her arms.

She rested Charlie on her lap, getting another smile from the baby who'd clearly mastered her new expression and liked that it melted her mama's heart.

"I'm sorry your father is the lowest form of life," she said in a sing-song voice that might as well have been a nursery rhyme. "I hope I figure out a way to break that news to you someday, precious. But now, let's go tell Grandma Val that she can…"

She could…what? Stay? Move out? Find a place in this town? Stick around and be a witness to Raina's rookie year of mothering? And don't forget her budding, complex, lovely relationship with a man who might be run out of town by an old mother-in-law that he didn't want or need.

No, no. Valerie had to leave. She'd ruin everything if she didn't.

Charlie started to kick and whimper, so Raina lifted her again and pushed up from the chaise, heading back to the nursery.

Oh, why did this have to become her problem? And why couldn't Raina—the Great Problem Solver—figure out what to do?

Charlie quieted as they walked, dropping her tiny head in the crook of Raina's shoulder. The only sound was Valerie's soft voice chattering to sleeping Lily…who wouldn't be sleeping for long if she didn't stop talking.

Just outside the nursery door, Raina paused, listening.

"And that's just how it's gotta be for me, young lady," Valerie whispered. "My husband's dead, my son doesn't want me, my daughter thinks I'm a beast, and my daughter-in-law is dancing on coals trying to think of a nice way to tell me to get out of Dodge."

Raina winced, not liking being part of that list.

"Well, I'll get out soon enough. In a long pine box. Six months is what they gave me, and for those six months, I'm going to stay right here and love you all I can. Then I'll watch you from heaven, because I'm pretty good with Jesus now, and I'm hoping he'll take me."

If Raina hadn't been holding the baby, she might have collapsed to the floor.

Valerie was dying?

She stifled a whimper of shock and pain, instinctively holding the baby tighter in her arms.

"Is that you, Raina?" Valerie called, her voice clear and loud now, and almost instantly, Lily cried. "Oh, dear. I've gone and woken the baby."

Raina walked in, not sure if her face gave away the emotions that rocked her. "Valerie…"

Val picked up Lily, quieting her instantly, and smiling as if she had absolutely no clue that she'd just revealed her secret.

And something deep inside told Raina it would have to stay that way, at least for the moment.

"Are you done with your call? Work, no doubt. I'm sure you're anxious to get back in the office. It was always your happy place."

Raina sighed. "Can you keep a secret, Val?"

A flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes, and maybe a split second of guilt. "I can," she said.

"I'm having second thoughts about working full-time."

"Oh?" She made a face, turning her lips down. "Well, aren't you full of surprises."

Yes, she was. Surprises and solutions and sympathy, all of which swamped her at the moment.

"Then here's another one," Raina said softly. "Let's get a bed in that room down the hall so Chase can crash there, and you can be nice and comfortable in the first-floor guest suite."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"I think that would be just fine…for now."

"Oh, Raina," she said, the first crack of real emotion in Val's voice. "That's very kind."

"Family is…family," Raina whispered. "That's how Wingates feel, and up here? You'll be surrounded by them."

"Thank you." She turned, but not quite fast enough. Raina saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes.

Takingthe babies out of the house was no small feat for any woman. It required a bag the size of a steamer trunk, bottles of breast milk chilled in a cooler in case Raina couldn't nurse, two car seats, and more arms and strength than most people had.

Reeling from a shock and desperate to talk to someone about it, Raina made the Herculean effort.

"You can leave them with me," Val said, but she sounded doubtful, likely as uncertain as Raina that she could handle two infants on her own.

Raina didn't know what was wrong with Val—she'd find out eventually—but she couldn't take any chances and let her babysit.

"Oh, no, we love to take little trips together," Raina assured the other woman as she breezed past her in the kitchen, doing a mental inventory of the warehouse-worth of stuff two eight-pound infants needed.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just running a quick errand." She turned, snagging her bag, checking for her keys, and then…remembered the babies. "After I bring them down."

"I'll help you—"

"I got them!" Raina called, rushing toward the stairs, which, now that a significant amount of baby weight had disappeared, she could take with speed and grace.

Finally, she was loaded up, babies on board, and they took off for the Ocean Song resort. As they hit the main road, both babies cried. Lily gave up after less than five minutes, but Charlie held out and screamed until right before the turn into the resort. Only then did she conk.

But what would happen when Raina parked? She called Chase as she circled the lot, whispering her unexpected arrival into the dashboard when he picked up.

"You're here? With the babies?" His voice rose in excitement.

"Shhh. They just went to sleep and you're on speaker. Can you pop into my car while I drive around, because I really need to talk to you."

"Is everything okay, Raina?" His voice, always warm and welcoming, had that extra tender note of concern that always made her purely grateful to know him.

"Everything is fine, but I have to tell you something. Oh…" At the first sound of a baby whimper, she looked at the carriers, unable to see their faces in the rear-facing seats. But she made an educated guess who was fussing. "Shh. Back to sleep, Charlie."

She could hear Chase chuckle. "Her least-favorite instruction," he said. "Raina, bring them in here. It's quiet in my offices and Jules would love to see them. Everyone would, if you don't mind."

Pride imbued every word—pride for Raina's children—and, as always, that touched her. "You want chaos in the Ocean Song management offices?"

"More than I want anything. Just pull up to the front, we'll let the valet get everything but the babies. I'll be right out."

Relieved, she followed the instructions, not surprised that Chase instantly appeared at the glass doors under the porte cochère that protected guests from rain or sun. He came around her car as one of the valets opened the driver's door, stepping closer to greet her.

"What an awesome surprise," Chase said, and from the size of his smile and the light in his eyes, he meant it.

Instantly, Charlie stopped crying, making them share a look and a laugh. He slipped to the back door and opened it, reaching in for the baby.

"Hello, Charlie girl," he said, deftly unsnapping the whole carrier with the ease of an experienced father. "You hold her," he said to Raina as he pulled out the baby seat. "I'll go get Lily."

And this, she thought on a shuddering sigh, was why God gave children two parents. And a valet, who carried her gargantuan baby bag into the hotel and disappeared in the direction of Chase's office. Another man took the car and parked it, while Chase and Raina sailed in, each with a baby carrier, like it was no trouble at all.

The whole thing was completely the opposite of getting these two munchkins out the door and into the car.

He stopped at the front desk and showed off Lily, then Charlie, reintroducing Raina to two of his staff who she'd met way back when she was pregnant. As the women cooed over the babies, Chase stepped back, putting a light hand on Raina's back.

He did that, she supposed, to put her front and center, the parent of these two VIP guests. But it felt protective, even a tad possessive—which she didn't hate—and very personal.

Letting all those feelings send a few zingers down her spine, she chatted with the ladies, beamed at her babies, and glanced around the upscale boutique hotel that had been open for a few months.

She spotted a few guests in the lobby, more by the pool outside, and two checking in. With only twenty-some ocean-facing suites, the full-service, high-end hotel offered luxury, privacy, and a host of amenities demanded by the most well-heeled travelers.

Even though Chase had built it on property just a stone's throw from the world-class Ritz-Carlton, he didn't seem to have any problems finding the right clientele.

"Come on," Chase said, ushering her toward his office. "Let's get back there before Jules bursts with jealousy."

His assistant, a lovely sixty-something-year-old who could run Ocean Song alone if she had to, had become a good friend to Raina since the babies were born. She'd brought paperwork and tasks to Chase at the house on the days he didn't want to come down here, and had already offered to babysit multiple times.

After giving Jules a chance to fuss over the babies, they took the carriers into Chase's spacious office, where a bank of sliding glass doors opened to the ocean breeze.

"Too much air for them?" he asked as they settled the carriers safely on a long white sofa.

"No, it's fine. And I'm sorry to barge in like this."

"I think you can tell it's the highlight of everyone's day," he said, laughing. "Especially mine. Are they okay?"

She glanced at the babies and nodded. Lily was in and out of snoozing, like an absolute angel. Charlie looked around, taking in the new environment with a gaze so purposeful, she might be the next employee.

"And you?" he asked, coming a little closer. "Are you okay?"

She whooshed out a breath, remembering why she'd gone through the last hour of mayhem. "I have to tell you something, and maybe get some help on how to handle it."

He searched her face, a frown pulling. "It sounds serious."

"It is."

He pulled the two extra chairs closer to the sofa and gestured for her to sit where they could talk and keep an eye on the babies. "Talk to me."

"I think Valerie is dying."

He drew back, eyes wide. "What?"

She shared what she'd heard in the hall, word for word, as best as she could remember it.

"So she has a terminal illness?" She could see the color fade from his face, no doubt because his grandmother's death was still so fresh. But Nonna had been in her nineties. Valerie was younger by more than two decades. Raina couldn't remember her exact age, but she guessed sixty-nine or seventy.

"What did Jack say about this?" he asked.

"I don't think he or his sister know," she said. "Apparently, his new girlfriend and Val didn't get along at all."

"Are you surprised?"

"No. Honestly, she's never liked a woman Jack dated. I mean, I only heard bad stories about his girlfriends before me, and she certainly didn't care for me."

"She doesn't seem to have an issue with you now."

"I'm her only hope," Raina said, and even as she did, the words hurt. What a situation for a woman her age. "She's always been critical of me and can have a terribly grating personality. She constantly implied that the miscarriages I suffered were my fault because I worked too much." She flicked her hand. "It's history. It doesn't matter. She's dying and I want to help her."

"Any way we can," he agreed, having no idea how kind that made him sound, and how much she appreciated it.

"I offered her your room downstairs." She grimaced, not sure how he'd react to that. "I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? I'm ashamed I didn't think of it first," he said.

"Well, we thought she was here for a day, not…the rest of her life, however brief it might be."

He grunted softly at that.

"We'll put a bed up in the spare room so you don't have to sleep on a pull-out," she added, her brain clicking through the problem and solution.

"I have extra beds in storage here," he said, proving his brain worked the same way. "I'll get one delivered. We'll make do. It's not the end of our world, Raina, just hers."

She closed her eyes and sighed, relieved at his response and so grateful for it. "I wish I could help her."

"You already are, and that just makes you a good, good woman."

"Just one with a beating heart. She's run out of family, and that is simply not a place anyone should ever be. Especially when she's facing the end."

"I wonder what it is," he mused. "Cancer? Wouldn't she need treatment? Why didn't you ask her?"

"She had no idea I heard, and it felt like an intrusion," she admitted. "Maybe she'll tell me on her own."

"I would guess she'll have to, eventually."

Raina leaned back, eyeing each of her daughters, but her mind was on Valerie. "She couldn't tell her own daughter. Can you imagine?"

"Maybe she just wants to keep it a secret. Maybe that's easier for her," he suggested.

"Probably. She sold everything—which apparently upset Eileen—and came down to Florida. She tried staying with Jack and that blew up. Then he told her I had babies that were biologically but not legally his. She didn't even know! And then he gave her my address." She rolled her eyes. "That fulfilled his obligations, I suppose."

Chase shook his head, clearly unable to understand what made Jack Wallace tick.

"Raina, I think we should sit her down, tell her we know, and see what she needs in the way of medical attention, special treatments, even a bar in the shower."

Raina felt her whole face soften as tears threatened.

"No? Bad idea?" He leaned closer, reaching for her hand. "Or just hormones?"

She laughed—through tears—and held his hand. "Why are you so stinking perfect?" she asked, a crack in her voice.

He blinked, then relaxed into a smile. "I'm not, but I love that you think I am."

"Because, Chase, you do realize this woman is about to come in for an indefinite amount of time—just long enough to die—and truly upset our apple cart."

Charlie cooed and waved her hands, a master at getting his attention.

"Oh, you do need to be held, don't you?" Chase went right to her, unsnapping her safety straps and lifting the baby in his arms. He was so natural with both babies, already skilled at holding something as fragile and unpredictable as an eight-pound infant.

"Raina, you know our apple cart is teetering on the brink of total disaster at any given moment. I'm holding the real apple cart tipper right here."

Raina laughed, looking up at the two of them, her heart swelling with affection.

"You're not mad?" she asked, realizing that was why she'd loaded up her Things, dragged them to the beach, and sat here right now. She had to be sure he wasn't angry or put off by this new and massive change.

"Mad? Raina? It's your house and your family."

She stood, putting one hand on his arm and one on the baby. "But you're living there, too."

"So I am." He looked down at her, their gazes locked, the connection arcing with electricity. "And I'm grateful you haven't kicked me out."

"Not a chance," she whispered.

A slow, easy smile lifted his lips. "Then, Rain, we have time and space. The babies are infants, and Val is…in crisis. We need to help her and, in the process, we get to be together. A win all around."

She slipped a little deeper into his gaze, her heart shifting. "Again, I need to ask, why are you so perfect?"

He slid a look at Charlie, who'd dropped her head contentedly on his chest. "You know what, Charlie?" he asked with amusement in his voice. "I think your mother has a little crush on me."

Raina felt the heat in her cheeks. "Just a little," she confessed with a laugh

He smiled at her, holding her gaze while he dropped the lightest kiss on the baby's head. "Then we can figure anything out. Together."

She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned her head into the shoulder currently not occupied by a baby.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You want to talk to Val when I come home tonight?"

She considered that, then shook her head. "Let's give it a few days and I'll see if I can figure out what's wrong with her."

He drew back. "You know you can't fix everything, right, Raina?"

Well, that never stopped her from trying. "We can make her last months happy ones, no matter what that means."

"And we shall," he promised her. "Because, in my book, a nonna is a nonna and they deserve love and respect and time with their grandbabies." He grazed her cheek with his knuckle. "It won't hurt us, Raina. I'm pretty sure we can weather any storm."

She sighed into his touch, a little lost, hoping their young, tender, and not-yet-defined relationship could withstand the force of Hurricane Valerie.