“That’s hardly fair,” Mitch’s mother commented. “Seth isn’t here to defend his side of the argument.”
“Wouldn’t matter. He’d be wrong,” Mitch stated firmly, making Alice giggle again.
“I wish they were here,” Doreen remarked with exaggerated wistfulness. “We haven’t seen them since their wedding. I was sure we told them then when we’d be here for a visit.”
LaDonna shook her head firmly. “You said then that you were thinking about coming in September. It was only after Meagan and Seth made their travel arrangements for Europe that you switched the date to this week. The change worked fine for my schedule, but Meagan and Seth couldn’t just cancel or reschedule their one chance at a belated honeymoon trip.”
Mitch knew his mom would get chippy if her sisters-in-law continued to criticize Meagan and Seth, even in subtle jabs. He was relieved when Madison, ever the peacemaker, spoke up quickly.
“Jacqui, this cake is absolutely decadent. Sin on a plate but worth every calorie.”
Mitch saw the flash of pride in Jacqui’s eyes before she replied in a stage whisper, “Don’t tell any of the others, but it’s actually a healthy recipe. It’s low-fat, low-sugar. Applesauce and crushed pineapple are what make it so moist and sweet.”
“You’re kidding! Then maybe I should have a second slice,” Madison teased. “Really, it’s delicious.”
The others all added their compliments to the dessert, although Mitch noticed Kathleen, the pickiest eater in the family, now eyed the cake with a little more suspicion. Both the twins were heavy, but Kathleen was the bread-and-sweet fanatic, refusing to even consider gentle suggestions that she should make healthy changes in her diet. He found it amusing that she’d been wolfing down the rich-tasting dessert with enthusiasm until she’d heard it wasn’t actually so bad for her.
Jacqui really was an excellent cook. He’d heard Meagan and Seth comment about how much they enjoyed the meals she prepared for them. Seth’s former housekeeper had been more of a traditional meat-and-potatoes chef, leaning heavily on Tex-Mex recipes. Although Seth had confided that he’d loved Nina’s cooking, he had also admitted that Jacqui’s lighter touch with fresh vegetables and fruits and leaner meats was a much healthier diet for him and his daughter.
Jacqui took as much pride in her work as any of them did, Mitch mused. Yet he suspected she was as aware as he was that housekeeping hadn’t been listed in the potential careers for Alice. It was a perfectly respectable and worthwhile job, but he had to admit it wasn’t one that immediately came to mind. He would like to know more about how Jacqui had ended up in this particular career—and if she had any plans to do anything different in the future—but she was so darned skittish about personal questions.
Was it that evasiveness that made him so increasingly curious about her? Was she simply an intriguing puzzle he was drawn to solve? He’d always liked a challenge. But it felt as though there was more to his attraction to Jacqui. Had been from the start. Even though she hadn’t given him even a hint of encouragement.
Well, not specifically, anyway. He thought of that moment when their paths had crossed on the stairs and he’d gotten the feeling she felt some sparks between them, too. Had that been entirely in his own imagination?
“Your mother pointed out Seth’s house that’s for sale across the street, Mitchell,” Doreen remarked, seemingly out of the blue. He felt a muscle tense in the back of his neck. “It’s a very nice place,” she added. “You should consider buying it for yourself now that you need a new home.”
Kathleen nodded energetically. “It’s lovely to live close to your sister, Mitchell. Doreen and I have never lived more than ten miles apart in our lives, and we don’t regret it for one moment.”
“Twelve miles.”
Kathleen turned to her twin with a frown. “What?”
“The house I lived in with Gerald— That was my second late husband, Jacqui, God rest his soul. Anyway, that house was twelve miles from the town house you lived in then. You told Mitchell we’d never lived more than ten miles apart.”
“Oh, good grief, Doreen, there’s no need to get that specific. What does it matter if it was ten or twelve?”
“Well, you said ten.”
Though he’d hoped the tiff would distract her, Kathleen turned determinedly back to Mitch. “The point is, it’s nice to live close to your family, even if they drive you crazy sometimes,” she added pointedly. “I think it’s a sign that the other house is still available just when your apartment burned down.”
Kathleen had always been led by “signs” and “feelings.” Despite her own resistance to any well-intentioned guidance toward herself, she didn’t mind giving frequent advice to others, something the rest of the family tolerated indulgently. Most of the time.
Although her twin had been widowed twice, Kathleen had never married. She claimed she’d had a lifelong “feeling” that she was meant to stay single and in a position to offer helpful, objective advice to others on maintaining their marriages and raising their children.
Mitch had always figured that for the sake of the twins’ relationship, it was just as well Doreen had never had children with either of her husbands. Kathleen would have certainly been compelled to give her sister guidance on how to raise them, which Doreen would probably have resented eventually. As it was, both Kathleen and Doreen had been active, if long-distance, observers of their brother’s family life, asking questions and tendering parenting critiques whenever they visited. Mitch wondered if his dad had chosen to move from his childhood home in St. Louis to take a position at the university in Little Rock specifically to get a little farther away from his lovable but meddling older sisters.
He didn’t voice that pondering aloud, of course. “I said I would think about it.”
“A man—a doctor, to boot—should have his own house,” Doreen commented.
“And a family to fill it with,” Kathleen added with a sage nod. “You’re over thirty now, Mitchell. Time passes before you realize it.”
He kept his smile in place with an effort. “I’ll keep that in mind, Aunt Kathleen. Thanks.”
He shot a glance at Madison, silently urging her to change the subject. But she merely gave him an exaggeratedly innocent smile in return, probably glad the aunts weren’t quizzing her about her life choices instead.
“Even if you don’t buy Seth’s house—and I can’t imagine why you aren’t jumping at that chance, he’d probably make you a