“Still no excuse for rudeness. But thank you for your kindness.” His eyes were shadowed, and she felt an ache in her throat as she held his gaze.
Tanner smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow. It was nice meeting you both.”
He turned to walk away, the dog loping along beside him. They’d been so young—Garrett and Devin in middle school, Tanner barely twenty-one. He would’ve had to be strong to keep his brothers together after losing their parents, especially while dealing with such a tragic blow himself. Strong in another way to admit he was wrong today and apologize.
Eve hefted the large basket to her hip, her eye catching on a jar of what looked like dried herbs and flowers, a handwritten note tied around the top. Chamomile and spearmint tea. Good for muscles sore from moving.
She smiled to herself. Sweet gesture, one that belied that imposing exterior. The contradictions intrigued her. Not in that way, of course. Maybe he had rugged good looks. And maybe she’d felt something when she put her hand in his. So what?
He showed no sign of being interested, and she had no time for relationships or dates and such even if he was. Her hands were full running her small home business and being a single mom to Alice.
So that settled that. But, she thought, as she tucked Alice back into bed, she could use a friend. And it seemed like maybe Tanner Cole could use one, too.
Chapter Two
When Tanner came into the farmhouse to wash up after chores the next morning, the delicious aroma of cookies baking drew him to the kitchen. His sister-in-law Lacey was slowly adding flour to the commercial-size mixer they’d invested in last year as demand from the farm stand had grown. “Wow, I missed you guys.”
“You missed my cooking? You’re more desperate than I thought.”
“I missed my daily quota of cookies, for sure, and Devin’s help with the chores, but it was too quiet around here with you two in Oklahoma. I know your dad enjoyed some time with you, though.”
“He did. And Devin made some good contacts. Turns out more than a few people buy an unbroken horse and have no idea what to do with it. It’s a good thing we’re building a new barn. We’re going to need it.” Lacey’s hands never slowed as she rolled the dough. “I heard we have a new renter in Garrett’s cottage. What’s she like?”
Tanner thought of Eve, the wide green eyes that seemed to understand so much. The kindness she’d shown to him even though he’d been less than welcoming. “She’s nice. And she has a little girl who’s four.”
“Aww. I’ll have to go by and say hello when I get caught up.” Thirteen-month-old Phoebe pulled up on Lacey’s leg with a cranky cry. Her face was red and streaked with tears. Lacey glanced down. “If I ever get caught up.”
“I’ve got her. Just let me wash my hands.”
Lacey sent him a harried smile. “She wants milk, but she still won’t take a sippy cup. I’ll grab her a bottle as soon as I get this batch cut and in the oven. Our supplies for the farm stand are dangerously low.”
“Want me to get the milk?”
“Yes, please. Give me a minute to actually get something accomplished?” Lacey brushed loose tendrils of hair away from her eyes with a weary forearm.
Phoebe’s twin brother, Eli, was in the high chair finger painting with what Tanner was reasonably sure was banana yogurt. When he looked closer, he realized most of the yogurt had ended up in Eli’s hair. “Um, Lacey?”
When she glanced up, he realized she looked more tired than normal mom-with-toddler-twins tired. Her eyes were dark with shadows, face pale with fatigue. They’d gotten home in the middle of the night, so maybe it was just that. He smiled. “Never mind, I got it.”
She reached to dump a spoon in the sink and missed, the spoon clattering to the floor. She swayed, her fingers grasping for the edge of the countertop.
“Lacey!” Panic rose, a flash flood in a dry gulch. He snaked an arm out, catching her before she could crumple and guided her into a kitchen chair. “Don’t move. I’ll call Devin.”
“Don’t.” Her voice was wan, but firm. “Please?”
Lacey gulped air, her head drooped over, dark hair hiding her face.
Pulling his phone from his back pocket, Tanner keyed in a text. He filled a glass of water and placed it in front of her before reaching down for little Phoebe, who was still crying.
When the front door flew open, Lacey sighed.
“Sorry,” Tanner muttered. He left her sitting there and met Devin in the living room. “She almost passed out in the kitchen.”
“Lace?” Devin rushed into the kitchen. Tanner heard Eli’s squeal of joy when he saw his dad and the indignant protest when Devin instead went to Lacey. “Hon? You okay?”
Tanner wasn’t sure what to do. He glanced down at Phoebe, who’d nestled in and fallen asleep almost as soon as he’d picked her up. There was probably some rule about timing of naps and all that stuff, but if so, he didn’t know what it was. He walked her back to the sunny yellow room she shared with Eli and placed her in the crib, glad that for the time being Lacey and Devin were still living in the farmhouse while building their house. They’d still be close, just beyond the pond, on the back forty acres, but still.
Back in the living room, Tanner saw that Devin had moved Lacey to sit on the sofa. Tanner jerked a thumb toward the kitchen, where Eli was crying. “I’ll get Eli.”
“Thanks.” Devin didn’t look up from Lacey’s face. She was pale. Too pale.
“Hey, little buddy. Did you think we all left you alone?” In the kitchen, Tanner reached for the latches on the high chair tray and then remembered the yogurt. “One second.”
He took a dish towel from the drawer next to the sink and held it under the water. Devin walked into the room, saw the wet rag in Tanner’s hand and took it. “Thanks.”
“She okay?”
Devin shrugged, but his face was serious. “I think so. She says she’s been feeling off the last few days. Maybe all the travel?”
“Maybe.”
Devin hesitated. “If she can get an appointment at the doctor this morning, do you think you can watch the kids?”
“Of course.” As a rule, his brothers, Devin and Garrett, tried to avoid asking for his help with their babies. Tanner guessed they figured maybe it would remind him of what he’d missed with his own.
And maybe he used to think that, too, but the truth was, nothing would make him miss Caleb less. Instead, being able to help with his nieces and nephew made him feel more needed. More a part of things.
Tanner frowned at the running water, pulled another towel out and wet it. Once he’d squeezed it out, he turned back to Eli, who’d stopped crying and was watching him with a wary expression. “Yeah, you’re not going to like this.”
He managed to get most of the yogurt off Eli with one large swipe. Before the little dude could even get a good yell going, Tanner unhooked the high chair tray and picked him up.
“We’re heading out,” Devin called back from the living room.
“Keep me posted.” Tanner walked through the door with Eli just in time to catch a glimpse of Lacey’s scowl.
“I’m not sick, Devin. Seriously. I need to make cookies.”
“The cookies can wait till later.” Devin opened the door, and she walked through it.
Tanner looked down at Eli. “Well, dude, it looks like it’s you and me. Let’s see what we can get into.”
He watched from the front door as Devin pulled away from the house with Lacey in the front seat of their crew-cab pickup truck. She might protest all the way to the doctor, but Devin’s face was carved into worried lines. They’d all experienced so much loss. They needed to know she was okay.
A pudgy baby fist grabbed his nose, forcibly pulling Tanner from his own worried thoughts, and he chuckled. “We can handle things here. Right, Eli?”
From inside the house in the direct
ion of the nursery, he heard a wail.
Maybe he’d spoken too soon. He cracked open the door to the nursery. Phoebe was standing in the bed, her face scrunched up and damp with tears.
He looped one arm around her and hoisted her into his arms, opposite Eli. She stuck her thumb in her mouth, her eyes suspicious.
“No worries, munchkin. Uncle Tanner knows where the bottles are. And then we’ll go outside.” There. A plan. He totally had this.
* * *
Eve meandered down the road that, from all appearances, ran straight down the middle of the farm. Fields stretched out alongside the road, cows on one side and wildflowers on the other. It was beautiful. Peaceful. And maybe it was silly, but she felt like she could breathe better here than she could in the city.
And maybe she just wanted to believe it, but Alice seemed to feel a little bit lighter, too. The four-year-old ran a few steps ahead, Sadie the rottweiler trotting along beside her. When Eve opened the front door early this morning, Sadie had been lying on the mat, waiting. She’d nosed her way into the house and lain on the floor by Alice’s bed.
Since Alice woke, the two had been inseparable. Eve had even heard Alice humming as she played with her paper dolls, Sadie right beside her on the rag rug. It wasn’t healing, not yet, but it was a start.
At some point, though, Tanner would be looking for his dog. Eve figured it would be better if they found him first, rather than him coming to the cottage. The memory of her blurted sentiment about his family made her cheeks heat even as it came to mind now.
She could hear the baby squeals before she could see the babies making them. If she remembered right, one of the Cole brothers had twins. “You hear the babies, Alice?”
The little girl nodded, her eyes sparkling.
“It sounds like their mom has them outside. Let’s go see.” But when the farmhouse came in sight, it was Tanner outside underneath a huge oak tree pushing two toddler swings hanging from one of the large lower branches. As the twins would swing toward him, he’d try to grab a foot and they would go into gales of giggles.
“That looks like a fun game,” Eve said as they approached the swings.
“It is, for them. You’d think they’d get tired of it, but no, they don’t.” Tanner smiled, a hint of amusement playing around his lips as he nipped one of the babies out of a swing. “I wondered where my dog wandered off to.”
“I have no idea why, but she was waiting outside my door this morning. She and Alice are now firm friends.”
Alice unearthed a ball from the flower bed and threw it for Sadie, who loped after it, picked it up and returned to drop it at Alice’s feet. The little girl patted Sadie’s head and tossed the ball again.
“See what I mean?”
Tanner shrugged. “Sadie has kind of a sixth sense for people and animals. Maybe she thinks your daughter could use some extra love with the move and all.”
“Maybe.” It was a startling thought. But maybe Sadie did sense that Alice was fragile and needed a friend. Changing the subject, she said, “Niece and nephew?”
“Yep, the one in the swing is Phoebe. And this is Eli.” He indicated the baby in his arms. “He’s not a fan of Uncle Tanner on a good day.” As if to emphasize the point, Eli scowled and let out a grumpy sigh.
With a laugh, Eve held her arms out. “Can I try? I love babies.”
“Yes, please.” He handed him over to Eve. “I’m a little out of my depth with both of them. Lacey wasn’t feeling well, so Devin took her to the doctor.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“You’re doing it. These guys are off their nap schedule and I think Eli’s ready for a break, but Phoebe won’t let me put her down so I can get him to sleep,” he said, taking the second twin out of her swing. They walked to the front porch of the farmhouse.
“Garrett mentioned they’ve been on a trip, too. I remember when Alice was a baby, traveling was a nightmare.” While they chatted, Eve kept her eye on the four-year-old, who was jumping from the bottom step to the ground over and over again, a look of intense focus on her face.
“But you...” Tanner shook his head slightly as he shifted the baby to the other arm. “Never mind. None of my business.”
“But I had Alice’s dad with me then?” Eve guessed that’s what he’d been about to say. “It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about it. He was in the army. Alice was born while he was overseas.”
He’d gone very still, his dark eyes on her, face carved into granite-hard lines. “He didn’t come back?”
“No, he did. Physically, at least.” She looked down at the baby in her arms. Eli was heavy, a limp, sleepy weight. All she could see of him was the profile of his chubby toddler cheek.
Alice had wandered across the lane to pick the wildflowers—weeds, really—that grew around the base of the fence posts. “I think it must be very hard to go from being a war fighter to dirty diapers, nighttime feedings, TV on the couch. Brent tried, but he just couldn’t make it work. After some time with us, he moved back to his parents’ home. Six months later, he re-upped. He was killed in action less than a month later.”
Tanner was quiet for a long minute, her words floating in the air between them. As the silence stretched, she opened her mouth to reassure him that it was fine. She was fine. But then he spoke.
“Last night when you said anniversaries are hard, you were speaking from personal experience.” It wasn’t a question.
She nodded slowly. “I truly didn’t mean to compare what you went through to my life. But I do understand, at least a little bit.”
That dent in his cheek deepened. “So what brought you to Red Hill Springs?”
“Alice had a traumatic experience a couple of months ago. I thought a change of scenery would do her good. And Brent’s parents live about an hour away. They adore her, and it’ll be nice to have the support.”
A shiny black truck drove in and pulled to a stop in the driveway. Alice ran back to Eve, attaching herself to Eve’s leg. Eve cupped Alice’s head, tousled her hair and reminded herself that slow progress was still progress.
A petite woman wearing jeans and a T-shirt slid out of the passenger side. Her long brown hair was in a braid that fell over one shoulder.
The man who got out of the driver’s side had to be Tanner’s younger brother Devin. He stepped out from behind the door, and she realized he walked with a cane.
Tanner quickly introduced Devin and Lacey to Eve before he focused a look on Devin. “Everything okay?”
Devin looked down at his wife with a smile. “Everything okay, honey?”
Lacey sighed and pulled a thin slip of paper out of her pocket. She held it out to Tanner. He stared at it.
Eve smothered a laugh. She knew what that grainy picture meant.
“Need me to translate?” Devin’s grin grew wider. He pointed. “That little blob right there is a baby.”
Eyes wide, Tanner stuttered out his congratulations before hugging Lacey. “Are you happy?”
“Shell-shocked. Scared, a little. You know my body doesn’t much like being pregnant.”
Devin took Phoebe out of Tanner’s arms and blew kisses into her cheek before settling her in the crook of his arm. “The doctor said Lacey’s going to have to take it easy, especially for the next month or two.”
Lacey was already shaking her head. “I don’t have time for taking it easy. I have thirteen-month-old twins. The farm stand to bake for. Not to mention the big Christmas party we’re having for the foster kids. It’s only a month away.”
“We may have to let go of some things, Lacey.” When she scowled, Devin shrugged. “Just being realistic, honey.”
“Be realistic about something else. We’re not giving up the party.”
“I can help.” Eve heard the words come out of her mouth. She felt just as surprised as the three f
aces looked as they swung simultaneously toward her. She was almost positive they’d forgotten she was standing there.
Tanner shook his head. “We’ll figure something out.”
Devin snorted. “You’re not exactly full of Christmas spirit.”
Crossing his arms, Tanner ignored his brother. “We’ll figure something out.”
Eve shrugged, with a smile. “I was an event planner, before—well, before. Plus, a party for foster kids sounds like something I’d want to help with anyway. You guys think about it and let me know. I’m gonna head back to the cottage and get supper started for me and Alice.”
Gently, she transferred a sleeping Eli to Lacey’s arms. “I’m happy for you guys, and it’s really nice to meet you both.” To Alice, she said, “Come on, sweet girl.”
As they walked toward the cottage, Sadie fell into step beside Alice. Eve stopped. “Sadie, go back.”
She started walking again. Sadie started walking, too, keeping pace beside them.
Eve turned back to Tanner, throwing her hands up.
“I don’t mind if she goes with you, as long as you don’t. She’ll come home when she’s ready.”
Alice tugged at Eve’s hand. “Please?”
The voice was as soft as a feather, but Eve heard it. How could she say no? “Okay, then. I guess we have a guest for supper.”
Alice’s face lit up, and Eve laughed. She glanced back as she turned the corner toward the cottage. Lacey and Devin each had one of the twins in their arms. Tanner was standing with them, but slightly off to the side, and she wondered if he felt that distance.
What would it be like to have lost your family and watch as your brothers found theirs? He was the cornerstone that kept their family together, that much was clear, and it was admirable. But Eve couldn’t help but wonder, was that strong, dependable exterior hiding fault lines?
A Daughter for Christmas Page 2