by Natalie Ann
“I’m hot,” Maddie said. “Can I have something to drink?”
“I’ll get you some milk,” he said, going to the cabinet and getting two glasses and filling them up, then putting Maddie in her chair, Jeffrey climbing into his. “Apple or banana?”
“Banana,” both kids said.
They had their milk in front of them and were digging through their bags of candy while he opened Jeffrey’s banana and handed it over, then started to cut up Maddie’s like Shannon always did.
“Wow,” Shannon said when she walked in the back. “Thank you. And they got milk too.”
“I’ve seen you do this enough times and I figured I might as well help you.”
“I appreciate it. Zoe is going to hand out candy for another thirty minutes then once I get the kids in bed, she’ll stop. Well, once Maddie is. I don’t want the doorbell keeping her up.”
“It will slow down by the time Maddie is in bed.”
By seven thirty most people were shutting their lights off anyway around here since it started so early.
“Mommy, I’m hot,” Maddie said. “Can I take a bath?”
She walked over and felt Maddie’s head and pulled her hand away. “You’re all sweaty too. I didn’t really want to wash your hair tonight, but we might need to. Eat your snack and I’ll run your bath.”
“Go do it,” he said. “I’ve got them. Jeffrey and I can hang out while you get Maddie ready.”
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You’ve probably got better things to do than sit here.
“I’m more sure than I’ve ever been before.”
She looked at him when he said those words, but then smiled and went upstairs.
“Do you love my mommy?” Jeffrey asked him. “My daddy always said he loved her.”
Shit, how did he answer the kid? He was pretty sure he was in love with Shannon but shouldn’t he say that to her first?
And was he ready to? She might not be ready and he didn’t want to pressure her.
She’d had love and marriage before and he was pretty sure she wasn’t looking to jump into it with anyone else anytime soon.
“I care about your mother a great deal, Jeffrey. Just like I do both of you guys.”
“So, you can move in with us?” Jeffrey asked.
“Ah, right now we each have our own houses. And though I love being here with you guys, I’ve got to take care of my house too,” he said. Maybe Jeffrey could understand that.
“Like change lightbulbs and take the trash out?”
He laughed “Yeah. Just like that.”
“Mommy does those things here, but I’m going to help her when I get older. I’ve got chores too, but not that many.”
“You’re a great help to your mother, Jeffrey. I know she’s very thankful for it. And you’re a great big brother too.”
“I have to be. I’m the man of the house. But when you’re here, I don’t have to be the man. I can be a kid.”
He put his hand on Jeffrey’s head. “You need to be a kid for a long time. I’ll take care of your mother. Don’t ever worry about that.”
He heard a noise and turned to see Shannon standing in the opening to the kitchen. She waved him over.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“For always knowing the right things to say to my kids. I’d be lost without you.”
He hugged her and said, “I might have been lost before I found you.”
24
Making It Work
“So, how is everything really going?” Shannon’s mother asked. Her parents had arrived last night and planned on staying for a week. She missed them and knew they missed their grandkids, but with them in town for Thanksgiving and then days later, it was less time she’d get to be with Ryan.
“Great. Work is good. It’s demanding but not as bad as I thought it’d be. There are times I’m working when the kids are in bed, but I do try to balance it and enjoy them after school. Zoe is doing great like I knew she would. I hope she doesn’t feel too overwhelmed and has time for herself.”
“If you’re asking me if she has complained, the answer is no,” her mother said. “You two are close enough that she’d tell you if she felt you were working her too hard.”
“She hasn’t said anything to me. I make sure she has plenty of time to go out with friends. She seems to be enjoying it here.”
“She is a live-in babysitter when you want to go out on dates,” her mother said.
She’d told her parents over a month ago about Ryan. She expected they would say it was too soon, but it was just the opposite. They were thrilled she was doing things.
“Yes. That does make it convenient.”
“So, how does Ryan feel about Tyler’s pictures all over the house?”
“He hasn’t said a word to me about it and he’s not the type to keep things in.”
She had her wedding pictures up, family photos, lots of pictures of Tyler in the kids’ rooms. She did take down the picture of Tyler next to her bed. It was in a drawer and she’d felt that would be insensitive to have it out in the open there.
Besides, she didn’t need a picture of Tyler when she dreamed of him often. Not every night, but maybe a few times a month. Enough to give her the reassurance that she wasn’t messing up too badly. That she was so much stronger than she ever thought she’d be.
She liked calling the shots, she’d found. She liked being the one in charge and making decisions.
And when she was overwhelmed she knew Ryan would be there to help her without her having to ask.
Because that was one thing she was learning. Not to ask for help if she could figure it out on her own.
“When do we get to meet him?” her father asked, coming into the room. He’d been upstairs playing with Jeffrey in the bonus room.
“He’s coming Thursday for dessert. His family eats about the same time as us. I was going to ask him over but felt that it might be too much too soon. John and Abby are flying in tomorrow night and, well, it’s a lot for him I’m sure.”
“Are they staying here or in a hotel?” her mother asked.
“They are only here for a few days. They decided to stay at a hotel even though I said there was more than enough room.”
“This house is massive. It’s not too much for you to care for?” her father asked. “With the snow coming soon, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to hire someone to take care of it just like I’ve got someone to do the lawn. I hate spending the money on those things, but the truth is I don’t have enough time in the day to deal with it. As for the house, as you can see it’s nice and clean.”
Zoe walked in laughing. “You can tell who lives where. The downstairs isn’t messy, but Shannon rolls her eyes when she goes through the living room to the exercise room down there. So what if I leave dishes and glasses on the coffee table? I wash them eventually.”
“Your sister has always been a neat freak,” her mother said to Zoe. “But it seems you two are making it work.”
“We are.”
“Grandpa,” Jeffrey said. “Do you want to see the signed hat I got from Harris Walker? He’s so cool and has taught me so much. I’m still going to his clinic over the winter. Mom said I could.”
“I’d love to see you in action. Maybe if it’s nice tomorrow we can go in the yard and play some catch,” her father said.
“We could go now,” Jeffrey said.
“It’s getting dark out,” Shannon said. “And we are taking Grandma and Grandpa out to dinner tonight.”
“Is Ryan going too?” Maddie asked. “I want to see Ryan.”
Her mother looked at her and raised her eyebrows. “The kids really like him. No, Ryan is busy tonight. You don’t see him much during the week, Maddie. On Thanksgiving he is stopping over. That’s in two days.”
“Ryan has breakfast with us on the weekends. Sometimes he brings donuts over and other times he’s cooking with Mom in the kitchen when I get
up.”
Zoe started to cough and Shannon shot her a look to not even think of talking about it.
Ryan had spent the night twice now. For a few times he’d come over before the kids got up and brought donuts and now they didn’t know if he was there all night or not. The last time he’d spent the night, he ran out and got bagels and was walking in the door as Jeffrey came down the stairs. Her son had no clue Ryan had spent the night.
“Well, it does seem like you’ve got a good handle on it so I guess I’ll let it drop for now.”
“Thank you,” she said.
But on Thursday morning when John and Abby arrived at the house she wasn’t so sure she had anything under control.
“I need more coffee,” John said, making another cup. “The hotel stuff wasn’t good at the breakfast they provided. I suppose it wasn’t smart to take the red eye and get in so late, now I can’t wake up.”
“You’re used to not sleeping much,” Abby said. “I’m not sure how you did it with Tyler, Shannon. Did you two ever talk?”
She knew Abby hadn’t thought much of her words, as they just came naturally. They weren’t used to her having a boyfriend. She suspected it was them lapsing back into the four of them always together.
“We talked plenty but a lot of it was about work.”
It wasn’t until those words were out of her mouth that she realized it. That there wasn’t a huge separation between work and home life for them back then.
Maybe she’d been missing it for years and never really knew.
But they worked so hard to get the company where it was.
“I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me to ask,” Abby said. “Even though it’s been a year and a half, when I’m around you I still feel like it’s the four of us. When it was the three of us, it was like Tyler was just out of town.”
Shannon reached her hand over to pat Abby’s. “I know.”
“Shannon and I talked about this,” John said to his wife. “You look good. You said I’m doing better and I’d like to believe I am. I think as much as it hurts, we needed this break so we could get past some of the grief. So we could start new routines.”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever forget a thing, but I do feel like I’m not sinking in a hole daily.”
She hadn’t felt that once since she moved here, which was another surprise now that John brought this up.
Not since she met Ryan. Even though they weren’t dating right away, he’d come over to show her around the house and she knew she could call him or his family to answer any questions she would have had on the house.
She had Zoe and the kids were adjusting.
Life wasn’t that bad at all.
“I know that feeling,” John said, pulling her away from everyone and into her office. “Have you heard from Walt at all?”
“No. Whatever you did or said worked. I’ve only gotten that one email and one phone call. Has he contacted you?”
“Not since I had words with him after he left that message. He wouldn’t give up how he got your number and I know you would have blocked it, but I wanted to make sure he wasn’t pestering you.”
“Nothing,” she said. “Anything else you wanted to talk to me about that we had to come in here?”
“I haven’t told Abby about Walt. She hated the guy. And I didn’t think your parents knew so no reason to worry anyone.”
“Good point.” She went into his arms and hugged him. “Thank you for taking care of it. For taking care of me. I know this is hard on you too. You and Tyler were like brothers. Being in the office without him...”
“It’s hard but getting better. I swear at the oddest times he’s there with me. I’ve even had a few dreams. Funny things just encouraging me on stuff I might doubt. You know him. He was always the cheerleader of the group. The softer one.”
“It’s funny you say that,” she said. “I haven’t felt him here, but I have dreams about him. The kids do too. I’m glad about that. I don’t want them to forget him. It’s one of my biggest fears.”
“Are they trying to replace him with Ryan?” He looked at his watch. “Eight hours until I meet the guy? He couldn’t come for dinner?”
“I didn’t think it was wise. The kids adore him, but they’ve missed you and my parents. It was best they weren’t conflicted over where to spend their attention.”
“You’re worried about Ryan’s feelings?”
“Maybe. But he’s a tough guy. He can handle it.”
At least she hoped so when he walked in the door after they’d finished eating and the kids and the puppies charged him like they always did yelling his name as if it’d been years rather than days since they’d seen him.
“Hey, there,” he said to Maddie as she hugged his legs. Ryan tried not to be nervous over coming here, but it was hard not to be. Her parents and her late husband’s best friend were ready to meet him and he had a feeling if they didn’t like what they saw, they’d have no problem informing Shannon of that.
For someone who never wanted to get attached or be in a long-term relationship, he found he was having a hard time staying away from this house.
Especially when the kids greeted him like this every time he walked in the door.
“Pick me up,” Maddie said like she always did. She liked to be held and carried and he had no problem doing it.
“Ryan,” Jeffrey said. “I hit the ball to the back of the fence today when Grandpa was pitching to me. I want to show you. Can we go outside and do it again?”
“Not now, Jeffrey,” Shannon said, getting control of her kids like the boss she was. It always made him grin to see her be firm when he knew how soft and sweet she was. “Maybe tomorrow or over the weekend. Everyone, this is Ryan Butler, Ryan, my parents, Leslie and Frank Milton, and John and Abby Mann.”
“Nice to meet you all,” he said, shaking hands.
“Ryan built this house all by himself,” Jeffrey said.
He laughed. “Not quite, but I’m glad to know you think that.”
“Shannon has told us a little bit about you and your family,” her father said. “She seems happy now.”
“She always looks happy to me,” he said, looking over and giving her a grin.
“Ryan isn’t much of one to smile so anyone who does more than him is happy,” Zoe said.
“He smiles at me,” Maddie said, still in his arms and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“That’s because you’re like a ray of sunshine.” He wasn’t just saying that either. She had her mother’s blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was always smiling and giggling and it warmed his cold heart. Jeffrey took after his father in coloring, but it didn’t matter to him in the least.
“How was dinner at your mom’s?” Shannon asked.
“Filling. Everyone was there today. My aunt and uncle and cousins.”
“Was Harris there?” Jeffrey asked.
“He was,” he said.
“Mom, why couldn’t we go there?” Jeffrey wailed.
He grimaced. He didn’t look at Harris as the ex-pro pitcher for the Mets. It was just his cousin’s husband in his eyes.
“Harris Walker is married to Ryan’s cousin Kaelyn,” Shannon said. “I’m not sure if I mentioned that or not.”
“Interesting,” John said.
Ryan wasn’t sure what to make of that comment.
John wasn’t a big guy. Maybe five foot ten. He looked bigger than Tyler from what he could tell of the pictures around the house. Nothing intimidating, that was for sure. Wealth aside, of course.
Everyone seemed to settle down and talk. It was going better than he thought it would.
Or at least he hoped it’d be this good.
“Do you have a minute to talk with me?” John asked.
“Sure,” he said, anticipating this from Shannon’s father, not Tyler’s best friend.
They went into Shannon’s office. “I need a favor.”
“What?” he asked, not expecting this. He hoped John didn’
t tell him to leave Shannon. That sure the hell wasn’t happening.
“Can you promise me you’ll keep an eye on Shannon and the kids?”
“Of course,” he said. “But something tells me there is more to this request than you want me to know. Does it have to do with this guy that wanted her help?”
“You know about Walt?” he asked.
“Not much. Just that you were taking care of it. Now I’ve got to wonder if it wasn’t taken care of.”
“I took care of it. But I haven’t heard from him in a few weeks. I’ve got people watching him and he’s nowhere to be found. That doesn’t mean anything though. And I’m not about to tell Shannon that and worry her.”
“She has a security system here,” he said.
“I know. I also know you aren’t that far away and your family lives around here too. I’m just saying, maybe be a little bit more aware until I know where he resurfaces.”
“Is Shannon in danger?” he asked. “If she is, she should know. I don’t like keeping her in the dark like this.”
He wasn’t one for secrets and Shannon was a tough cookie. She had to be aware in order to know what to look for.
“I don’t think she is. But I don’t like that guy. I’ve always felt he had a thing for Shannon, even when Tyler was alive. There is no reason for him to be contacting her and he is. He’s trying to guilt her into talking to him, but she won’t fall for it. I know once he gets his foot in the door he won’t leave and she doesn’t need that either.”
“She’s strong enough to keep him out.”
“She is,” John said. “Those are my God kids out there and Shannon is like a sister to me. If things don’t work out between you two and you break her heart, you’ll have to answer to me. And I’ll want to know because if you aren’t around, I’m hiring someone to keep an eye on her and I don’t think she’d appreciate it.”
“No, she wouldn’t,” he said firmly. Ryan was itching to lose his temper that he’d been so good about keeping under control. Then he realized in the past few months there hadn’t been a reason to lose it.
Until now.