by Marta Perry
“And I sleep in Mia’s.” Harper looked up from the pretend stove. “That’s Noah’s mommy.”
“His real mommy,” Ivy said.
Eden stifled a chuckle. “Yes, I know. Mia was my sister. And I’m glad you like your rooms.”
“Mommy’s going to come visit us soon.” Ivy took the doll back and attempted to wrap it in a quilted blanket before placing it in the crib.
“How wonderful.” It would be good for the girls to see their mother. Eden could picture Lily Haviland—not that she’d ever met the woman. She’d watched every episode of Courtroom Crimes Lily had starred in, and she’d seen most of her movies, too. The actress seemed so warm and kind and vivacious and beautiful. Eden couldn’t imagine what it would be like to actually meet her. “We’ll have to plan something nice for your mommy. We could do some projects. Then you’d have something to give her.”
Rendezvous would likely be seeing a lot of Lily Haviland now that Ryder had arrived. She’d have to ask him when Lily planned on coming. It must be difficult for her to be away from the girls so much.
“Yay!” Ivy threw her hands in the air. “I want to give something special to Mommy.”
“Of course.” Eden ticked through her mental list of projects the girls could do. “What do you enjoy? Drawing? Painting?”
“Yes!” they shouted in unison.
Eden laughed. “Harper, why don’t you make us a big chocolate cake while Ivy feeds the baby her bottle, and I’ll get my binder of ideas out.”
“I can only make pretend cake.” Harper had a worried look in her eye.
“I don’t have a bottle!” Ivy’s tone held an edge of panic.
“Pretend cake is extra yummy, Harper.” Eden pointed to the purple basket in the cubbies. “Bottles, bibs, diapers and everything the baby needs is in there, Ivy.”
Harper took out a plastic mixing bowl and pretended to pour flour in it, while Ivy lined up the baby supplies. Eden took the opportunity to go to her bedroom closet where she kept binders of project ideas, worksheets and games for children. She brought two thick binders back to the play area.
“You better cover that baby, Ivy.” Harper reached for the manual mixer. “When I beat this cake, stuff is going to go flying.”
“Wait!” Ivy found a scarf to put over the crib. “Okay, she’s safe.”
Harper made buzzing noises as she cranked the pretend mixer, and Ivy clapped her hands. “You’re doing it, Harper! I can’t wait to have a big piece.”
“Well, it has to go in the oven first or it’ll be all soupy.” She made a big production out of pouring the imaginary batter into a pan. Then she opened the plastic oven door, shoved the pan inside, kicked it shut and wiped her hands dramatically. “Ivy, that kid stinks. You better change its dipey.”
The girl held the doll up, bottom first, and took a sniff. “Hooey.” Ivy waved her hand in front of her nose and grabbed one of the Velcro diapers from the cubby.
Eden enjoyed their interaction. They played instinctively. Every now and then they’d argue over something, but they quickly resolved it and returned to their make-believe.
What a precious gift to watch these children play.
Poor Lily. She was missing it all.
Had she fought Ryder about bringing the girls here? She probably saw the twins often in LA. Why would Ryder move them so far away?
It was none of her business.
To be fair, he did have full custody of them. And he’d mentioned Lily was on location somewhere. Eden had no idea what their arrangement was. He didn’t talk about his ex-wife. Ever.
“It’s done!” Harper, with her arms covered to her elbows in oven mitts, flourished the pan.
“It so chocolatey.” Ivy pretended to smell it.
“Harper, why don’t you serve each of us a slice? And Ivy, the teapot is behind you. Let’s have a tea party.” Eden steepled her fingers below her chin. The girls’ mouths formed Os as they hurried to the cubbies for the play dishes.
As they oohed and aahed over the imaginary cake, Ivy poured them pretend tea from the plastic teapot and Eden asked them about their favorite toys, activities and movies. Harper claimed she loved chasing butterflies, playing the running game—Eden wasn’t sure she wanted to know what that entailed—and riding Daddy like a pony. Ivy, on the other hand, loved coloring, playing with her stuffed animals, and dressing Daddy up fancy with makeup and a feather scarf.
Eden hadn’t pictured Ryder as the type to let the girls put makeup on him or ride him like a pony, but then, she didn’t know him well. She really didn’t know him at all.
“We should have a tea party with Daddy tonight,” Ivy said to Harper.
“I’ll bake another cake.” Harper stretched her arm as high as it would go. “This big.”
Eden wished she could freeze this moment in time. Five-year-old children were a lot of fun.
“Did you know I have a friend who’s a real baker here in Rendezvous?” Eden said.
“Really?” Harper lifted shining eyes to her.
“Maybe we can talk her into letting us stop by one day so she can show you how she bakes.”
“Oh, yes, I want to go!” Harper said.
“Do you know what else?” Eden asked.
“What?” They watched her with rapt attention.
“She has three babies. Triplets.”
“Like us.” Ivy pointed to Harper.
Harper nodded. “Except one more.”
“And they’re real babies?” Ivy asked, looking skeptical.
“Yes, they’re real babies.”
“Can we hold them?”
“I don’t know,” Eden said. “We’d have to ask permission.”
“I’m not touching a real dipey.” Harper furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head.
Eden laughed. “Don’t worry. She’ll handle the diapers. Now, I understand you girls have been going to preschool…”
For the next couple of hours, Eden had them do activities to determine their learning levels and interests. They were up to speed on their letters, colors, shapes and numbers.
After lunch, they began to argue more often. They were probably tired. The three of them snuggled on the couch and watched a Disney movie.
Her thoughts went to the upcoming week. Once again, she couldn’t help thinking her apartment, while spacious enough for a single woman, was awfully small to babysit three children in. And she didn’t want them to be cooped up all the time when the weather got nice, either.
Her own childhood on the ranch had been wonderful. She and Mia would run around their big backyard, ride horses with their dad and help their mom bake and cook in the kitchen. The ranch had given her freedom, space, family and more.
She stole a peek at the girls on either side of her.
She wanted them to have a childhood like hers. Not stuck in an apartment while their mother was far away and their dad was working cattle.
It wasn’t up to her, though.
There was nothing she could do about it, but it bothered her just the same.
* * *
“Daddy! Daddy!” The twins raced to Ryder after Eden let him into her apartment later that afternoon. They hung on his legs, both talking at once. Their happy faces pushed away the troubles of the day and took the edge off his doubts about making such a drastic life change.
“Easy does it. One at a time.” He put his hands up in surrender, and they let go of his legs to hop up and down.
“We had a tea party, and I’m going to make you the biggest cake ever.” Harper propped her little fists under her chin in excitement.
“I like cake.” He was used to Harper being the first to jump in with whatever was on her mind. The kid tended to do everything heart first, head later. Her enthusiasm made life sweet, even if it did give him heart palpitations at times.
“I poured the tea.” Ivy spun in a little circle. “And we watched a movie with kitties, and I want a fluffy white kitten so I can put a pink bow around her neck and she can sleep with me every night.”
That was his Ivy. Always wanting a kitten. Now that they were living in the country, he could probably make it happen. The barn cats weren’t tamed or he’d bring one of them inside for her.
“Sounds like you had a good day.” He met Eden’s eyes then, and his pulse roared to life. She was actually smiling. Man, she was pretty when she smiled.
“We made lots of pictures, Daddy.” Harper took his hand and dragged him to the dining area. “See?”
He took in the table full of drawings and craft projects.
“We did our small letters, too.” Ivy took his other hand and pointed to the stack of paper lined for handwriting.
“You were busy.” Real busy. He couldn’t believe they’d done so much in one day. They typically colored a picture or two with the nanny back in LA. That was it.
“You can take these with you, girls.” Eden had paper clipped two piles, one for Ivy and one for Harper. “The other ones we’ll bind into books for you to give to your mother when she comes to visit.”
“Yay!” Ivy cheered. “I can’t wait to show it to Mommy.”
“Me, too!” Harper said.
Their mother? He wasn’t sure why Eden was having them make books for her, but if it made the twins happy… “Well, girls, get your coats on while I talk to Eden a minute.”
They raced to the closet at the end of the hall.
“I can’t believe you did all this.” Ryder looked at the table again. “You’re really organized. I’m impressed.”
“It’s nothing.” Her lips were still curved, making her look young, happy, serene. “I enjoyed it. Harper and Ivy are delightful. But I’d better warn you I don’t know how much we’ll be able to get done on their special books before Lily arrives. I’ll do my best.”
“What do you mean?” Was he missing something? She acted like Lily was coming in two days.
“I’ll have the girls do some finger painting, collages, drawings, that sort of thing. We can include some of their letters and numbers, too, if you’d like.”
“Lily isn’t—” He realized the girls were standing behind him. He straightened his spine. “She’ll love them.”
“Great.” Eden handed each girl her backpack. “Maybe we can talk later. I have a few questions, and I want you to have time to consider them before giving me your answers.”
“Should I be concerned?” He guided the girls down the hallway.
“No, it’s about field trips.”
“Field trips? Oh. Okay.” He opened the door. “Tell Miss Eden thank you.”
“Thank you, Auntie Eden,” they chimed, giving her a big hug. Then they held hands, went outside and made their way down the staircase, holding on to the rail and laughing all the way.
“Do you mind if they call you Auntie Eden?” He paused on the landing. “They picked it up from Noah.”
“Not at all.”
“I’ll call you after supper. We can discuss the field trips and…whatever.”
“Sounds good.” She began to shut the door, and he had to force himself to move forward. It had been a long, hard day, and he wanted nothing more than to tell her about it. But they weren’t friends, not really. And she was already doing him a big favor.
“Hey, Ryder,” she said.
“Yeah?” He turned back, hope rumbling through his chest.
“Get some rest. Ranching this time of year, well, it’s not easy with all the new calves.”
“Thanks, Eden. I will.” His spirits bounced back as he descended the steps. Maybe she didn’t hate him. It was a start in the right direction at least. And working with those calves had been exhausting.
The girls stood next to his truck, and he opened the door and lifted each of them into it. Once they got settled in their booster seats, he checked to make sure they were buckled properly. Then he climbed into the driver’s seat and fired the engine.
“Who wants burgers?” he asked.
“Me! Me!” they shouted.
Good, because he didn’t have an ounce of energy left to cook.
Later that evening after the twins had conked out in their beds, Ryder sat on the couch in sweatpants and a long-sleeved T-shirt. It was the first moment he’d had to digest his day, and he’d rather forget it ever happened.
Right away he and Chris had fed and checked the cattle, then moved on to other chores. It seemed as if every five minutes ten new questions came to mind. They’d gone over the calendar so he’d know what to expect, and then Chris had excused himself to work on a busted piece of machinery. Ryder had left himself voice memo after voice memo of things to check into, and he still felt clueless even after studying the previous six months of books that Bill Page, Eden’s father, had graciously left for him.
To say he was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the century.
He scrolled through his phone, noting the seventeen voice memos he’d left for himself, and decided they could wait. It was high time he called Eden. She answered on the third ring.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He held his breath, anticipating a snippy reply.
“Nope.” She sounded friendly. Huh. There was a first time for everything. “I’m so bored I’m watching a television special on what causes crop circles.”
He chuckled. “Crop circles, huh? Any answers?”
“Besides teenage pranksters? No.”
“Want me to let you go? I’d hate for you to miss anything.”
Her laugh was a melody to his ears. “Watching this program is a new low for me. How are the girls? Did they seem okay tonight?”
Wait. Was he having an actual conversation with Eden? The woman who’d refused to give him the time of day since they’d met?
“They’re great. They wouldn’t stop talking all through supper. You must have tired them out, though, because neither one gave me any grief about bath time or going to bed.”
“I’m glad. They’re amazing little girls.”
Hearing her praise his babies filled his chest with pride. He loved those kids, but he worried he was failing them. The women in their lives hadn’t been very reliable. Lily refused to share custody. She visited them when it suited her, which wasn’t often. And every nanny Ryder hired had left for greener pastures within six months.
Eden continued. “I wondered if you’d be okay with me taking the girls to the library once or twice a week. I also thought they’d like to have a baking session with Nicole. It would give them a chance to see the triplets. This morning, Harper zoomed over to the play kitchen, and Ivy clearly loves babies. I think it would be fun for them both.”
Gratitude flooded him. In one day, Eden had recognized Harper’s and Ivy’s different interests and wanted to make a special outing for them.
The woman was something.
All the ways Lily had misled him rushed back. She’d wanted kids right away, wanted to stay home with them, wanted to take a break from acting.
He’d thought Lily was something, too.
Until she’d proven him so spectacularly wrong.
“That would be great.” He wasn’t going to judge Eden based on Lily’s behavior. “You have my permission to take them wherever you’d like. As long as it’s local, I’m fine with it.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t have any overnight stays planned at this point.” There it was again—Eden teasing. He wouldn’t have thought it possible a week ago. “On a serious note, though, I’ll let you know ahead of time if we’re planning something out of the ordinary.”
“I appreciate it. But if it’s a matter of going to the park or library or whatever, don’t feel like you need my permission.” He realized he hadn’t discussed her expen
se account. He always gave the nanny a credit card to buy the girls’ lunches or to go out and have some fun. “By the way, I have a credit card for you to use. For, you know, if you want to go out to lunch or grab some Dipping Dream ice cream.”
“That isn’t necessary, Ryder.”
“It is.” He wasn’t going to have her pay for his children’s fun. And he also needed to clear the air about Lily visiting. He wasn’t sure why Eden assumed she was coming soon, but he figured the girls had said something. “Earlier you mentioned making books for Lily.”
“Is that a problem?” Her tone shifted from friendly to ice-cold in an instant. He already missed the banter they’d been enjoying.
“No, not at all. It’s thoughtful of you. But Lily isn’t coming right away.”
“When is she coming?”
He raked his hand through his hair. Lily was a touchy subject between him and Eden. He didn’t want to make things awkward. He’d have to choose his words carefully.
“She’s been on location in New Zealand. I’m not sure when shooting wraps up or when she’ll be able to get away.”
“Oh, I see.”
From her quiet answer, he doubted she saw at all. But what was the point in setting her straight? He’d accepted that Lily Haviland’s number-one priority in life was herself. She wasn’t a bad person. She said the right things when she came around, but she’d let him and the girls down too many times to count.
He had no faith in his ex-wife at all. But it would do the girls no good for him to bad-mouth their mother to Eden or anyone. It wouldn’t do him any good, either. A lot of prayer had helped him get to this point, and he wasn’t about to backslide now.
“When I have a firm date, I’ll let you know,” he said.
“Okay.”
What could he say to get them back to a good place? “I guess this means it will give the girls more time to make the books.”
“Yes.” Her voice brightened. “I’ll come up with some fun projects for them. Don’t you worry.”
Like he’d ever worry with her in charge of the girls. He’d seen her close relationship with Noah. And she always seemed to be babysitting for her friends whenever he came to town. She had a special touch when it came to children.