Boone turned around to see B.J. standing there, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Hey, buddy, look who’s here,” Boone called out, his too-cheerful tone a sign of his nervousness.
Rather than running to meet them, B.J. remained where he was.
“Oh, boy,” Boone murmured under his breath. He took Emily’s hand. “Let’s go face the music.”
“Hey, B.J., don’t I get a hug?” Emily asked.
After a moment’s hesitation, B.J. flew into her arms. When he released her, though, he gave his father a quizzical look. “Dad, how come you were kissing Emily?”
“For the same reason you just hugged her,” Boone said. “I’m happy to see her.”
“You were happy to see Aunt Cheryl the other day, but you didn’t kiss her like that.” B.J. said, proving once more that he took in everything.
Emily had to swallow a chuckle at Boone’s blushing reaction. “Yeah, Boone, why didn’t you kiss Aunt Cheryl like that? And who, by the way, is Aunt Cheryl?”
“She was my mom’s friend, not a real aunt,” B.J. chimed in helpfully. “She doesn’t live here anymore, but she came home for Thanksgiving.”
Emily lifted a brow. “Is that so?”
“And she’s married to an ex-football player who’s built like a truck and she has five children,” Boone supplied. “And that is why I didn’t kiss her the way I just kissed Emily.”
“Yeah, I guess Uncle Dave wouldn’t like it, huh?” B.J. said.
“No, he wouldn’t,” Boone confirmed. “Any other questions?”
Emily and Boone waited as B.J.’s expression turned thoughtful.
“You used to kiss Mommy like that,” B.J. said, his tone wistful.
Boone sighed and hunkered down in front of him. “Yes, I did,” he said softly. “Because your mom was the most important woman in my life for a very long time.”
“Does that mean Emily’s important now?” B.J. asked.
Boone glanced up at Emily, then nodded, looking his son in the eyes. “It does. Is that okay with you?”
“Is she going to live with us?” B.J. asked.
“Maybe someday,” Boone told him. “But right now we’re really good friends.”
B.J. seemed to absorb that news, nodding eventually. “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat.”
“Yes, let’s go eat,” Boone said eagerly. “Go on in and let Ms. Cora Jane know we’re here.”
“Oh, she knows,” B.J. said. “She’s been watching out the window.”
Of course she was, Emily thought, barely containing a laugh. If they thought B.J.’s cross-examination had been awkward, it was probably nothing compared to what was in store.
* * *
Boone watched closely as Sam Castle greeted Emily as if she were a business colleague, rather than his youngest daughter. His hug was superficial, his words little more than the expected “Hello. How are you?”
Emily’s response was just as restrained, though Boone thought he saw the longing in her eyes for more. The hug she received from Jerry was far more exuberant and heartfelt. Surely Sam Castle had to see that and recognize what genuine affection looked like.
“Mother, can we eat now?” Sam asked with a touch of impatience. “Or are we waiting for Gabriella, too?”
“Gabi won’t be here,” Cora Jane said. “It might be nice, though, if we gave Emily and Boone a minute to have a glass of wine and an appetizer before we rush them in to the meal.”
Emily gave her grandmother’s hand a squeeze. “It’s okay. I know Dad wants to get back home. He gets palpitations or something if he’s away from work too long.”
Cora Jane didn’t seem impressed. She scowled at her son. “This is Thanksgiving, a time for family to be together and to count our blessings. It is not a day to rush through a meal on a time clock.”
To Boone’s surprise, Sam looked vaguely chagrined by the criticism. “Sorry, Mother.”
Samantha and Emily exchanged a stunned look that Boone interpreted to mean his apology had to be a first.
Just then the phone rang and Cora Jane reached for it at once, her eyes filled with worry. “Gabi, is that you?”
Boone glanced at Emily, who appeared to be hanging on every word of her grandmother’s end of the conversation. She held out her hand.
“Let me speak to her,” she commanded.
Cora Jane waved her off. “Your sisters are here. They send their love. We all miss you. And I expect you here for Christmas. No excuses. Is that understood?”
Boone gave Emily a quizzical look. “What’s going on with Gabi?”
“We have no idea, but Samantha and I are convinced something is. I stopped by her place before driving over here and there was no sign of her. She didn’t offer any real explanation for not being with us today, at least not to Samantha or me.”
Cora Jane disconnected the call just then. “Well, she told me she had to be at work first thing tomorrow, so the drive over here for the day just didn’t make a lot of sense.”
“Then she is at home?” Emily said. “Why didn’t she come to the door when I knocked?”
“I didn’t question her about where she was spending the day,” Cora Jane said. “She’s a grown woman. I assume she’s with friends.”
“Gabi doesn’t have friends,” Samantha said. “She has coworkers. I don’t think they’re close.”
“Like somebody else I know,” Emily said with a pointed look at her father.
Boone saw the scene deteriorating rapidly. Apparently Jerry did, too, because he stood up. “Cora Jane, let’s get that turkey on the table. You’ve outdone yourself this year. We don’t want the meal spoiled.”
“Good idea,” she said at once, following him into the kitchen.
“Let us help,” Boone said.
Emily and Samantha were on his heels.
“We’ll all help,” Emily said.
The only person who hung back was Sam Castle. Boone saw the lost expression on his face and almost felt sorry for him. Whatever his reasons for distancing himself from his family over the years, he had a hunch Sam had come to regret it but had no idea how to go about fixing it. Since Boone had the same sort of dysfunctional relationship with his parents, he recognized the signs.
“Give your father something to do,” Boone encouraged Emily, nodding in her father’s direction.
She seemed startled by the suggestion, but
