“I came because there was no one else. I wasn’t planning to assume guardianship initially.”
The saltshaker stopped. “What do you mean?”
He’d lost the attitude. Those eyes bore straight into hers. The light overhead cast a warm glow on his face.
“They may be my siblings, but I’d never met them, and I knew they had an uncle they were close to. I only planned to stay until he returned.” She could hardly believe she’d been there almost six weeks. So much had changed.
“What happened?”
She shrugged. “He never returned, never so much as called. And the more I heard about him, the more I realized he wasn’t suitable. I mean, his own sister has been dead for almost two months, and he hasn’t a clue.”
Jake looked away. His jaw hardened, and a shadow danced in the hollow of his cheek. She felt spurred on by his reaction.
“The children could’ve used some familiarity, you know? Someone who knew and loved their parents. Clearly, he’s self-absorbed and irresponsible. I can’t leave the children with someone like that.”
She felt better just saying it. Better than when she’d told Stephen, who only seemed interested in the bottom line: when was she coming home?
“So you”—he cleared his throat—“initially planned to give him guardianship, then changed your mind when he didn’t show.”
“Well, that’s part of it. I don’t think he’s suited for the responsibility of three young children. He goes gallivanting over the states all summer, and what kind of life would that be for the children?”
“Maybe he’d settle down.”
“Eva and my father apparently didn’t think so. Besides, he hasn’t even called in two months. Why would I think he’d make a huge lifestyle change?” She twisted the diamond upright and folded her hands on the table. “Anyway, I’ve grown fond of the kids. It won’t be easy, but I’m not putting these kids through—”
“Putting them through . . .”
She’d almost gone too far, said too much. He wasn’t Stephen, she couldn’t confide in him, trust her wounds to him.
“They deserve a safe and settled childhood. Every child deserves that, and I’m more than capable of providing it.” Confident words from someone who’d often felt like she was crumbling these past weeks.
“What about your fiancé?”
The children were rounding the corner carrying their sundae dishes, mounded high with whipped cream.
“Stephen will come around.” Even as she said the words, she whispered a prayer that it was true.
Jake put the ball up and watched it swoosh through the net. Around him, the night was dark, but fortunately Wyatt had left the porch light on when he and Willow left.
Jake dribbled the ball around the court, faking to the left, then put up another shot. The ball bounced to the ground as Wyatt’s Dodge Caliber pulled into the drive. Jake moved aside as the garage door lifted and waved at his friends as they passed. Willow stepped from the car, stunning in a blue dress. “Hey, Jake, how are you?”
“All right.”
“Liar,” Wyatt said. “I can see right through you.”
“Come in for a while,” Willow said. “It’s chilly out here.”
After a nice night out, the couple probably wanted to be alone. He should’ve left long ago. “No thanks, I need to get back.” He tossed the ball to Wyatt.
“Be there in a minute, hon.”
“Night, Jake,” Willow said before entering the house.
Wyatt dribbled the ball to Jake. His sport coat flapped in the breeze. “Okay, what’d she do now?”
“How do you know it’s Meridith?”
“Same way you knew ‘she’ was Meridith.”
He had a point.
“HORSE?” Wyatt tossed the ball to him.
He couldn’t usurp Wyatt’s whole evening. “Make it PIG.” Jake dribbled to the edge of the drive and put up a shot. Score.
He tossed the ball to Wyatt. “Meridith is selling Summer Place.”
Wyatt put up the shot and made it. “She tell you that?”
“Not exactly.” Jake dribbled the ball to the free throw line. Swish.
“Found a Realtor’s business card and papers from an inspection.”
“‘Found’ them?”
He shrugged. “Launched a little investigation.”
“You snooped through her private stuff. Dude.”
“She’s selling Summer Place.” Jake planted his hands on his hips, watched Wyatt’s shot bounce off the rim. P.
“What about the kids?”
“Isn’t it obvious? She’s taking them to St. Louis. I can’t let that happen.” Jake missed a long shot and tossed the ball to Wyatt.
“Wonder what her fiancé thinks about that. It’s not every guy who would agree to raising someone else’s kids.”
“She hasn’t told him.”
“You find that out by snooping too?” Wyatt missed his shot.
Jake gave him a look. “I asked.”
“Novel idea.”
Jake lined up for a three-pointer and made it. “She was going to turn the kids over to ‘the uncle’ initially. But when he didn’t return, she decided it was up to her to raise them.”
Wyatt made the shot. “She was going to give them to you?”
What an idiot he’d been. If he’d just come back and told her he wanted the kids, maybe he’d have had a prayer of convincing her he was the best person for the job.
“Gotta say, you’ve risen to the occasion. Never thought I’d see the day you’d settle down, much less take on your niece and nephews.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” Though obviously Eva had felt the same, as Meridith had so kindly pointed out. Shoot, even he hadn’t realized he was capable of that level of responsibility. “I guess losing Eva showed me what’s really important.”
“Too bad Eva didn’t see this side of you before. It’s kind of shocking she agreed to leave them to Meridith.”
“Not really. Blood was everything to Eva. After being raised in foster homes, she wanted her kids raised by a relative. That pretty much narrowed it down to me and Meridith. I guess I did a pretty good job convincing her I wasn’t father material.”
“Why don’t you just tell Meridith who you are, man?”
“Because she thinks the uncle is irresponsible and self-absorbed.” Jake missed.
Wyatt snorted. “She tell you that?”
Jake scowled.
Wyatt put up another shot, this one from the left side—Jake’s weak spot. The ball swished through the net.
“Besides, after I’ve been there all these weeks incognito . . . I don’t think it’s going to go over well.”
Meridith may have been skeptical of him at first, but she’d come to trust him. And not only with the repairs. Just that she’d opened up at the café was proof of that.
“Anyway, I still don’t know for sure she doesn’t have bipolar disorder.”
“The kids want to be with you, though, right? That has to count for something.”
Jake shot and missed, then passed Wyatt the ball. “You’d think. But kids have to be fourteen to make that decision legally. Noelle won’t be fourteen until next February, never mind the boys. Maybe the fact that Meridith’s planning to take them from their home would sway the judge?”
Wyatt dribbled to the free-throw line. “It’s not going to look so good that you’re working there under false pretenses.”
The thought had occurred to him more than once. “I am a licensed contractor.”
“Not to mention the way you finagled your way into her home. You’re living there, dude.”
“I wanted to be near the kids. It’s for their own good.”
“Not sure a judge would see it that way.” He put up the shot, and it rolled around the rim before falling through the net. “I think you should wait until she tells her fiancé. I have a feeling it’ll hit the fan.”
Jake put up the ball. It hit the backboard, bounced
off the rim, and landed in Wyatt’s hands.
“PIG,” Wyatt said.
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Twenty-five
Jake entered his room and unbuttoned his shirt. Meridith and the kids weren’t home from church yet, and he wondered if she’d keep them on the go all day again. Golf lessons, bike riding, a trip to Sconset. It had just been him and Piper the day before. He’d given the dog extra attention on his lunch break, and looking into her big brown eyes, he’d wondered if she missed Eva and T. J. Poor thing didn’t even know what had happened to them.
He heard the front door open, then the kids clomping up the back stairs. He laid his dress shirt across the doily-covered dresser next to a shell-filled vase.
He hoped to sneak some time with them today. He was worried about Noelle. Her feisty behavior had changed. Rather than being excited about a week off school, she seemed sad. A normal part of grief, he knew, but she didn’t have anyone to talk to.
By the end of this week he’d be finished with the two jobs Meridith had agreed to. He dreaded leaving the kids. Even if he didn’t spend much time with them now, at least he was present. He could see for himself how they were doing. If he couldn’t stay and work on the house, he wouldn’t see them at all. The thought nearly tore him in half.
“Knock-knock.” Noelle stood in the doorway, looking way too grown up in her bright pink sundress. Her hair was growing out, and her bangs swooped to the side, falling over one of her sad brown eyes.
“Hey, squirt,” he whispered. “Where’s Meridith?”
Noelle padded into his room and sat at the desk. “Downstairs making cinnamon rolls. She’ll be awhile.” Noelle’s toes played with the rug’s fringe. She’d painted her toenails the same pink as her dress. She and Eva used to paint their nails crazy shades like green and purple.
“Where are your brothers?”
She shrugged. “Outside, I guess.”
“Church okay?”
“Sure.”
Jake lowered himself to the bed’s edge and planted his elbows on his knees. He studied his niece’s face, so like her mother’s. Her skin was still winter-pale, the freckles from last summer faded.
“Missing your mom and dad?”
Her lips quivered, and she nodded.
“Ah, honey. I am too.”
She was in his arms in a split second. She held on so tight it brought a lump to his throat.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.” Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “You’re almost done and you’re going to leave and we’ll never see you, and Meridith is still here and the Daffodil Parade is coming up and Dad’s not here.”
How could he have forgotten about the parade? Noelle and T. J.’s annual tradition. It was one more loss.
Noelle pulled away and wiped her face. “I don’t want you to leave.
I like having you here.”
“I like being here.”
“Have you found anything that’ll make a judge send her away?” Noelle plopped on the desk chair.
“Nothing conclusive.” He couldn’t tell her what he’d found when she was already upset. When her face fell he added, “But I haven’t given up, and neither should you. In fact, I’m going to see if Meridith will let me stay longer. Let me work it out, okay? Do you trust me?”
She nodded, and it did his heart good. At least someone had faith in him.
“As much as I miss Mom and Dad, I’m glad they’re together in heaven. They’d be really sad if they were apart.”
“That’s something to be grateful for.”
“And you, Uncle J. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too, munchkin. Me too.”
Meridith kneaded the soft dough and checked the time. Less than a minute. As her hands worked, she watched Max and Ben toss a green Frisbee back and forth in the backyard. Piper played man-inthe-middle, making the boys laugh when she intercepted the disk.
Outside, the cloudless sky seemed to remember it was spring. The sun sparkled off the sound like a million diamonds. The daffodils in the yard had fully bloomed, coloring the yard with splashes of yellow.
The smell of yeast reminded her to check the time again. Done. She gave the dough one last turn, covered it with a towel, scrubbed her hands, then replaced her ring. Breakfast dishes still sat in the sink, plus the ones she’d used making the dough. It was Noelle’s turn to wash. Maybe they could do them together. It would give them a chance to talk.
The girl had been too quiet lately, even through the golf lessons yesterday. Meridith was worried about her. She hung up the towel, checked on the boys one last time, then went upstairs to get her.
Noelle’s bedroom was empty, the light still on, her church shoes lying where they’d been kicked off. She flipped off the light and noticed the door between the wings was open. Meridith had only been locking it at night, as Jake needed full access to the upstairs.
She walked through the doorway and down the hall. She heard Noelle’s voice and followed it to the seashell room—Jake’s room. At the doorway, her stomach did a flop.
Noelle sat in the desk chair, and Jake perched on the bed’s edge.
Two sets of eyes darted to the doorway, and Noelle stopped talking midsentence.
The girl’s eyes widened and her lips parted. She looked to Jake as if seeking help.
Meridith didn’t like it. Not one bit. She made an effort to keep her voice calm. “Noelle, can you come do the dishes, please?”
Noelle sprang to her feet, then squeezed past Meridith. The fact that she didn’t argue was proof something was up.
She couldn’t believe Jake had let Noelle into his room. It was beyond inappropriate. She knew she should confront him, but she had no desire to get into it now. Or ever.
Jake stood, looking too attractive in his white T-shirt and bare feet. “I need to change.”
Meridith headed back the way she’d come. Why had Noelle been in there? And why had she looked so . . . caught?
Meridith could hear her trotting down the back steps, setting off a cacophony of squeaks and groans on the old stairway. She had been smiling when Meridith entered Jake’s room, a rare occurrence, especially lately.
Meridith’s feet faltered on the first step. Of course. Noelle had a crush.
The child was going to get her heart broken—the last thing she needed. And Jake should know better. Surely he could read a girl’s signals. She was sure he had plenty of them tossed his way—she’d seen it herself, with that server at the Atlantic Café.
But what if . . . what if he was . . . some kind of . . . ?
No, not Jake. He wasn’t a pedophile.
But what if . . . ?
She recalled an article that had appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last year. The manager of one of her restaurants convicted of child molestation. He’d have been the last person she’d have suspected of such a horrible crime.
She stopped midway down the steps. She couldn’t take any chances with Noelle. She didn’t want to confront Jake, but this was nothing to be careless about. She had to lay down some rules. And get him out of the house as soon as he finished the fuse box, which she hoped would be soon.
She drew a lungful of oxygen and released it through her mouth. Just get it over with. For Noelle’s sake. Turning purposefully on the stair, she retraced her steps.
When she reached Jake’s room, he was shutting the door, wearing only his pants and his leather corded necklace.
Meridith’s eyes fell to the floor. Her face was hot, and she knew her cheeks were blooming with high color. Great.
“Need something?”
“It can wait until you’re—” She waved her hand in the general direction of his chest.
He opened the door fully and strutted back into his room, snagging his shirt from the dresser. He shrugged back into it.
Meridith stayed in the doorway. She crossed her arms. “I came back to ask why Noelle was in your room.”
Jake leaned against the windowsill. “Think she just needed to talk.”
“Odd that she chose you.” With him silhouetted against the window she couldn’t read his face.
“Thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
“She lost her parents. She doesn’t seem to have many people to confide in.”
She tried not to take offense, but what was she, chopped liver? “I think there’s more than that.” She wished he’d step away from that window.
“What do you mean?”
Was he really so oblivious? “Surely you see it’s inappropriate to have her in your bedroom.”
He came off the sill, seemed to stretch taller and broader. “You are not thinking I’m some kind of—” He struggled for words.
She didn’t have to see his face. The anger was right there in his voice. “She’s a child.”
His anger eased her mind, and she went back to her first response. “It’s not unusual for a girl to develop a crush on an older man. I don’t want Noelle getting hurt. She’s been hurt enough.”
“The last thing I’d do is hurt that child. You’re worried about nothing. She just needed to talk.”
He seemed sincere. Now that he’d stepped away from the window she could see he was making eye contact with her. He looked as serious as she’d ever seen him.
“Nonetheless, Jake, I can’t have her coming in—”
“I won’t let her in here again. You’re right. I wasn’t thinking.”
He had been helpful and honest so far. She had no reason not to trust him.
“Just be careful not to give her special attention. I don’t want her misreading your signals and getting confused.”
He held up a palm. “I understand.”
“Just so we’re clear.” She gave him a final nod and retreated, glad that part was over. Now she just had to deal with Noelle.
The girl was not going to like Meridith prying around her private life. But maybe Meridith could use this as a chance to bond with her. Maybe, if what Jake said was true, she did need someone to talk to. Maybe Meridith could be that person. If Noelle would only give her a chance.
Meridith checked on Max and Ben on her way to the sink. They were rolling on the ground with Piper, who wasn’t letting loose of the Frisbee. At least they’d changed from their church clothes.
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