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Bobby smiled even harder. “Perfect. Wit, too. You’re perfect.”
“Perfect for what, Mr….um…?”
“Bobby McAllister. Just consider me your new right-hand man.”
She glanced at Caleb, who looked uncomfortable, and then at her mother and sisters, who sat there wide-eyed and uneasy. “So what is this plan I’m not going to like?” She looked to Caleb.
He reached out, took her hands and drew a deep breath. “Believe me, this is not the way I would have…gone about this, given the choice, Maya. But…” He paused, looked at the men around the table, then at Vidalia. “Maybe it would be better if I could speak to Maya alone.”
“Good thinking, son,” Vidalia said with a smile of encouragement. “The family room is empty.”
Caleb drew a breath so deep it made his chest expand. Then he blew it out again, got to his feet and reached for Maya’s hand. Frowning, she took it and let him help her up. “This better be good, Caleb,” she told him. “Getting up out of a chair is no small effort, you know.”
He shot her a look and a slight smile. A nervous one, though. And he kept hold of her hand as he led her through the doorway to the left, into what they called the family room. It held a wall of bookshelves, a sewing machine and several baskets full of half-finished projects, a writing desk, and an air hockey table. A smaller table in the corner held a propane burner and a double boiler. Strings tacked to the walls like miniature clotheslines had hand-dipped candles suspended from them to dry. And in yet another small alcove, a TV/VCR combination sat near a rocking chair.
Caleb stood in the center of the room, looking around at the odd collection and smiling.
“It’s…” Maya began.
“No, no…let me. The sewing stuff is yours. My crafty, talented baby-quilt maker. The candle making setup has to be Selene’s. Actually, I’m surprised it’s not a Ouija board or something.”
“Mom makes her keep that in her room.”
He smiled. “The air hockey has to be for Mel. And the books and television must be Kara’s.”
“She lives for fantasy,” Maya said.
“The desk is your mother’s.”
She nodded. “Getting to know this family fast, aren’t you?”
“I hope so.” He walked to the most comfortable chair in the room, turned it slightly and nodded at her to sit on it.
She did. “What’s Bobby’s brilliant plan, Caleb?”
He stood in front of her for a minute. Then, finally, he took her hands in his and dropped down to one knee. “Maya…”
“Oh, come on—” She tugged her hand against the grip of his and wished he wouldn’t say what she thought he was going to say.
He held on tighter and said it anyway. “Let’s get married.”
She closed her eyes. “That’s got to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
He licked his lips, lowered his head. “Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for, Maya.”
“Caleb, we barely know each other!”
“Maya, you’re having my kids. Two of them. And…and, hell, if I had to choose a wife today, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather marry than you.”
“If you had to. The point is, you don’t have to.”
“No. I don’t have to. And neither do you. But if you’ll just listen to my argument here, I think you’ll see that it’s the logical thing to do.”
“The logical thing to do would be to get up off the floor, Caleb.”
He frowned at her, but got up. Pushing a hand through his hair, he turned and paced away, then paced back again.
“So, present your case, already. I can’t wait to hear this.”
