Page 18 of The Wedding Toast
“I’m going.I’ll see you later.”He kissed the tip of her nose.“I can’t wait until I can finally say, see you later, Mrs.Jacobs.”
After he’d gone, Becca hugged herself as she looked out at the vineyards.She couldn’t wait tobeMrs.Jacobs.
~ ~ ~
When Jacob arrived back at the house a couple of hours later, he was relieved to see that Becca’s Range Rover wasn’t parked with the other cars behind the kitchen.He was excited to tell her about Alara and the arch, but he wanted to meet the woman first, make sure that she and her daughter were people he’d be comfortable having around the estate over the next few days.
He also wanted to make sure that Alara was going to commit to making the arch before Becca got excited about it.The last thing he wanted was for her to end up disappointed.He ran up the kitchen steps and let himself in, smiling when he found Becca’s mom and Elena in there laughing together.
“Morning, ladies.It sounds like you’re having a good time,” he greeted them.
“Oh, we are,” said Elena.“I was just trying to convince Darlene that she and Chuck should stay.”
Darlene laughed out loud.“Don’t go saying things like that.We don’t want him calling off the wedding for fear that his in-laws might want to move in with him.”
Jacob smiled.He loved Chuck and Darlene, but he couldn’t see sharing his home with them.“I’ve told you before, I think it would be a good idea for you guys to have a home here.And I’m happy to…”
Darlene waved a hand at him.“And we’ve told you before – it’s not that we don’t appreciate the offer, but you don’t need to go spending your money on a place for us.We’re happy to come and stay for a while whenever we can.”
She made a face.“I think in the future we should find a little place where we can stay that’s not here in the house with you and Becca.But you know what it’s like with the farm.We need to be there most of the time anyway.”
Jacob nodded.He did know.He also knew that as much as they loved Becca, their other daughter and their three sons were still much closer to home back in Kansas.
“Anyway,” said Darlene, “what are you doing back here?Are there any more chores on this master list of yours that I can knock off for you?”
Jacob grinned.He hadn’t had the chance to tell them about Alara and the arch yet.He went to the door and looked outside before closing it and coming to lean on the island, gesturing for Darlene and Elena to sit.
Elena gave him a puzzled smile, and Darlene rolled her sleeves up.“What is it?”she asked eagerly.“Do you have some secret assignment for us?”
Elena nodded at her.“He’s thought of a detail.I can tell – he gets this look about him.”
Jacob had to laugh.“You know me so well.”
As Elena met his gaze and nodded, it hit him that she really did.She’d worked for the family for as long as he could remember.She was like a mom to him, and that thought made him feel bad.Perhaps he should have asked her to be his mother-of-the-groom figure rather than Alexandria.
A heavy weight sat in his chest.He needed to do something to let her know – and to show the world, or at least all his friends and family who came to the wedding – just how much she meant to him, how important a figure she was in his life.
Darlene drummed her fingers on the island.“So come on, what is it?”
He told them all about the arch.Of course, Elena was thrilled that he’d managed to get hold of Alara.Darlene didn’t look all that impressed until he took his phone out to show her the photographs.
As soon as she saw them, she was much more enthusiastic.
“But here’s the thing,” said Jacob.“I need to ask for your help – both of you.”
“With what?”asked Darlene, at the same time that Elena said, “Of course, anything.”
“I asked her to come over here this morning.”He checked his watch.“I’ll have to head down to the gate to meet her in a few minutes.She’s still not convinced that she’ll take the job.”
“Bring her up here to meet us,” said Darlene.“We’ll convince her, right, Elena?”
Elena nodded but gave Jacob a puzzled look as she asked, “What’s her problem?”
“She has a daughter – a six-year-old – and she has no one to watch her.”
Darlene rubbed her hands together.“Well, we can do it between us, can’t we, Elena?I mean, normally I’d say leave it to me.”She patted the other woman’s arm.“But for one thing, I wouldn’t want to just come in and try to take over from you.And for another, there’s going to be a lot going on that I need to help out with.”
“I know,” said Jacob.“We’re all going to be in the same boat.We’d all be happy to keep an eye on the girl, but we each have other things we need to do.”
