When they ran out of salad dressing, Jamie got up and retrieved a bottle from the fridge. It didn’t seem to mean anything to Hallie, but it was monumental to Kane. After Jamie came home, wrapped in bandages, his wounds healing, there had always been someone nearby to get whatever he needed. Now he was on crutches, his leg in that big, cumbersome brace, but he was doing his own fetching. Neither he nor Hallie seemed to think his physical problems were an excuse for him to sit and be waited on.
“I nearly forgot,” Hallie said. “We have to move the dresser in the tea room.” When Jamie sat back down, she took his crutches and leaned them against the wall.
“Why?” Jamie asked.
She looked startled. “I just realized that I haven’t told you about my dream! I saw the ladies. After I told Uncle Kit about it, he said we have to get some Taggerts to move the dresser to see if what I dreamed was real.”
“You told my uncle but not me?”
Kane took a big bite of his sandwich to keep from laug
hing at his son’s tone of disbelief, and maybe even some hurt at being left out.
“It was that morning when I woke up in your bed and the kids were jumping on us, then your naked cousins showed up. I was so dazzled by them that I forgot all about the dream. If you hadn’t—” Breaking off, she looked at Kane. “Sorry. They weren’t really naked. Not then, anyway.”
Kane raised his hand. “Don’t mind me. Say what you want.”
Jamie was glaring at Hallie. “You could have told me later. You could have taken a break from your harem and told me about your ghost dream.”
“You were hiding out with your brother, remember? I couldn’t find you! I asked everyone where you were, but they wouldn’t tell me. I still don’t know where you were.”
“Busy,” Jamie said. “So what was your dream?”
“I’m not going to tell you now. I’m going to wait until tonight and tell everyone.”
“But you just said that Uncle Kit has already heard it.”
“Yes, but I got an email from him saying he was reading the research material your mother brought and that at dinner tonight he’d tell us about it. And he says your aunt Jilly is taking a break from wedding activities to look more deeply into the Hartley family tree. Tonight she’s going to tell us what she found out. I am certainly looking forward to the dinner. What do you think we should cook? Scallops? They’re local.”
Jamie was staring at her in open-mouthed astonishment. “Uncle Kit gave you his email address?”
“Yes. Don’t you have it?”
“No, I don’t. He is a very private person.”
For a moment the two of them looked at each other as though they were going to get into a serious argument. Kane thought maybe he’d have to step in, but then the two young people started laughing.
“So now you’re going to run off with Uncle Kit?” Jamie asked, teasing.
“No. I’m after Raine. Think I could sweet-talk him into moving that big dresser?”
“I could—”
“Oh, no, you can’t,” Hallie said. “You could injure your knee again and my arms are still sore from a morning of working on all of your incredibly tight muscles. You’re not going to use any muscles while I’m around.”
“I thought you liked my tight muscles.” His meaning was clear.
“Not on a massage table! Right now we need Raine and another one of your bull-sized relatives to move that cabinet.” With a gasp, she turned to look at Kane. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to disparage anyone.” Her face turned red.
“At least we Taggerts are good for something,” Kane said as he got up. “Jamie, get your phone and tell Raine to come over here and we’ll see what we can do about the furniture. Hallie, come with me and show me this thing.” He looked from one to the other. “If you two can bear to be parted, that is.”
“I can walk and text at the same time,” Jamie said as he reached for his crutches, obviously not wanting to be left behind.
But when he stumbled, Hallie said, “Give me the phone.” He did and they went into the tea room.
Chapter Thirteen
Kit arrived with Raine, who was carrying a big file box. The three Taggert men looked surprised when the tall, elegant man kissed Hallie on both cheeks. “You look well, my dear,” Kit said.