'Dani? It's Katherine. How are you?'
Katherine should be the one person Dani was avoiding these days, yet she actually felt pleased to hear her voice.
'I'm good. How are the kids?'
'Great, and they're why I'm calling. They know about you. Obviously. Poor Bailey is sick about what happened. When I think about that reporter, I want to jam him in my microwave and hit full power. It makes me furious. Which is not the point of my call. It would be so nice if you could get to know the children.'
Dani didn't know what to say. 'I-I'd love that.'
'Perfect. How about dinner one evening? I'll check my calendar and get back to you. I believe Mark mentioned you work?'
'I'm an assistant manager at a restaurant. Bella Roma. I mostly handle the lunch shift, but I do work a couple of evenings a week.'
'All right. Let me get some dates and we'll find a time for you to come over.'
'Thank you, Katherine. For everything. You're being so gracious and kind. I appreciate that.'
'You're family, Dani. What else would I be? Bye.'
Dani hung up, then stepped out of her car. So much was happening so quickly. She felt as if she were living inside an emotional tornado.
Taking a second to relax, she stared at the restaurant in front of her.
Buchanan's was the steak house in the family restaurant empire. It had been around longer than she'd been alive and it had always been her secret dream to run the place. She loved everything about Buchanan's, including the glass and wood doors that welcomed guests to a unique steak house experience.
She glanced at her watch and saw she was right on time for her meeting with her brothers.
The interior was cool and cozy. There were booths rather than tables, plenty of wood and fresh white linens. The smell-a combination of leather, steak and great wine-was a heady perfume. Afternoon light sparkled through the windows, but at night candles flickered at every table.
Back home, buried in the back of her closet, was a notebook filled with ideas. Ways to improve the service, the menu, the wine list. She'd even played with a few recipes and had asked Penny to work them up for her.
Foolish dreams, she told herself. She wasn' t truly a Buchanan anymore and this restaurant would never be hers. Her words-not theirs. As far as her brothers were concerned, nothing had changed.
She saw her brothers seated at a booth in the back. As she approached, they slid out and each hugged her in greeting. Cal held on a little longer before kissing the top of her head.
'How's it going?' he asked.
'I'm hanging in there.'
He stared into her eyes. 'You need anything?'
If she did, he would be there in a heartbeat. They all would. As they'd told her over and over, she might have a different father, but she was stuck with them for life. Thank God.
'I'm fine,' she said. 'I believe we're here to talk about Walker's wedding in the land of twinkle lights.'
Walker passed her the open bottle of wine and a glass. 'I'm not talking about twinkle lights. That's Elissa's thing.'
Dani poured herself some wine, then glanced at Reid. 'Rumor has it you're eloping. Is that true?'
Reid nearly choked. 'Who said that?'
'Lori.'
Cal and Walker leaned forward. 'When were you going to tell us?'
'There's nothing to tell. We've talked about it. There aren't any plans yet.'
Dani sighed happily. 'I love knowing something first. It never happens. This is a good moment.'
'Brat,' Reid grumbled good-naturedly.
'That's me. Just don't elope before Walker's wedding. That would distract everyone and not be fair to Elissa.'
'I already know that,' Reid told her. 'We're waiting.'
They discussed wedding details until Walker said he couldn't take it anymore. Cal turned to Dani.
'What about you?' he asked. 'You've been in the paper. How's that working for you?'
'Ugh. I hate it. I'm normal. Normal people do not make the front page of a newspaper. Do you know the campaign people have been running polls on what my appearance means to the American people? Because they now get a vote in my personal life.'
'But it's worth it?' Cal asked. 'With Mark?'
She shrugged. 'I have no idea; I'm happy to know who my real father is. Sure. But it's not what I thought. Mark isn't… He's just different.'
'Different how?' Walker asked.
'I thought we'd bond or feel a connection. I like him, but I don't know him. I'm not sure I ever will. I had unrealistic expectations, I guess. I blame television. Too many family sitcoms. Maybe if we had a soundtrack when we were together.'
'It takes time,' Reid said. 'It's only been a few weeks.'
She eyed him. 'I'm not comfortable with you being the emotionally sensitive one.'
'It's just how I am. A real special guy.'
Cal nearly choked and Walker made a gagging noise. Dani smiled at her brothers. At least she had them. This part of her life was totally secure.
'Somebody said something to me earlier,' she said. 'About the campaign. That I could lose it for Mark.'
'Not possible,' Cal told her. 'His ability to govern has nothing to do with having a kid he didn't know about.'
'But will anyone else agree with that? More than one presidential hopeful has been derailed by a scandal.'
'You're not a scandal.'
'Not yet. But if I became one…' Dani hated that Fiona had planted that particular seed in her head, but she couldn't seem to get rid of it.
'Let it go,' Walker told her. 'Worry about what you can control.'
'Where Mark's concerned, that's exactly nothing.' She drew in a deep breath. 'His wife, Katherine, called. She's invited me over to get to know the family better. I want to go. I like the kids and she's great. She could have joined the ladies who lunch crowd. Instead she's taken in all these special needs children and made them her own. That takes a kind of courage not many people have.'
Reid put his arm around her. 'You have good qualities, too. I can't think of any, but I'm sure you have them.'
She punched his arm. 'Gee, thanks. I feel so special.'
'You are,' Cal said.
Walker nodded and raised his glass to her. Reid did the same.
Dani felt a tightness in her chest, but it was a good sort of ache. It was as if her heart was so full of love, it couldn't possibly hold any more.
CHAPTER NINE
The dining room table at the Canfield house looked about a hundred years old. It was solid wood, with elegantly carved legs and space for twenty. But instead of a sophisticated dinner party, schoolbooks filled the surface.
Ian sat at one end, his wheelchair replacing a regular chair. He worked slowly, carefully recording his answers on a pad of paper. Bailey had a sheet of math problems in front of her. Trisha read a history book. Quinn practiced his writing, Oliver looked at a picture book while five-year-old Sasha colored.
'Controlled chaos,' Katherine said over the din of six children working and talking. 'It's like this all through the school year.'
'I'm impressed,' Dani said and meant it. 'That they are all so willing to do their homework and that they do it
