“You’re not helping, Kat.” Though she was right.
“Does he know?”
“Of course not! And I won’t be telling him because it doesn’t matter.”
“I disagree. If he’s asking you to move there, I can’t see him being mad about working with you everyday. You’d be right where he wants you.”
“If only things were that simple.” Admittedly, Faith expected that she and Brandon would work well together. And because she knew nothing about home safety, she had no problems letting him have the final say on any issues that might come up. But she was fairly certain he wouldn’t sit still long enough for her to communicate that to him. “Thanks for letting me vent. Brandon will be here any time, so…” Her cell beeped with another call. She took a quick peek at the display. “Kathi, Thad is calling on the other line.”
“Go talk to him. Keep me posted and I hope things work out for you and Brandon.”
“Thanks.” Faith ended the call and clicked over. “Hi, Thad.”
“Hey, Faith. I wanted to see how you’re doing and find out if you’ve had a chance to talk to Brandon.”
“I’m okay and no. He’s on his way over, so I’ll tell him then. I tried to tell him earlier, but he had to leave for a meeting.” Brandon had invited her to meet his siblings and the only thing on her mind had been running into Thad. If Thad had seen her, no way would he have pretended not to know Faith. She was glad he or someone from Brandon’s family hadn’t come down to the café. “I don’t think it’s going to go very well.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. Brandon understands the importance of family legacy. Besides, if you two have grown as close as I think, he’ll be happy to have you near. I know I would,” Thad said with a little laugh. “Nothing wrong with having a pretty girl around every day.”
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Yeah, I bet.”
“Well, you don’t have too much time because the meeting is on Tuesday.”
Faith sighed heavily. “I know. Is this a board of directors meeting?”
“There isn’t a formal board of directors. Since we don’t have investors or shareholders, we have more of what would be described as an advisory committee and we typically meet three to four times a year. Aside from me, Nolan and his five children, there are four experts in the field of home safety who give input on trends, risk management and other things.”
“I see. Will they all be there on Tuesday?”
“Yes. I suspect DeAnna, as well as Siobhan and Morgan’s husbands will be there, too.”
“That’s a lot of people.” She recognized Brandon’s mother’s and sister’s names and remembered Thad mentioning the two sisters were married. This was getting worse by the minute. Families tended to stick together on an issue and if Brandon didn’t agree with Faith being there, chances were his siblings and parents wouldn’t, either.
“Faith, I know you’re a little nervous, but everything will work out fine. I’ve known Nolan and DeAnna for over thirty-five years and they’re good people. As I told you before, both are anxious to see you again.”
“What about Brandon’s siblings?”
“They’ll welcome you with open arms.”
She wished she shared his optimism. She opened her mouth to ask him another question and heard a knock at the door. Brandon. “Thad, I think Brandon’s at the door.”
“Okay. Let me know how it goes. If you need me, call me.”
“I will.”
“I love you, Faith, and will always be here for you. Never forget that.”
“I won’t.” How could she? Most men would have given up searching for and hoping to reconnect with their child after a few years, but not Thad. She said goodbye and went to answer the door.
“Hey, beautiful,” Brandon said, smiling as he entered.
“Hi.” The man seemed more irresistible each time she saw him and Faith couldn’t decide which attire she liked seeing him in more—the tailored slacks and dress shirt or a T-shirt and shorts. He had obviously come from work because he had on the former. Once they were settled on the sofa, butterflies took flight in Faith’s stomach.