Minor Adjustments

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Minor Adjustments Page 11

by Rachael Renee Anderson


  Jack snorted. “I might still have hair if I’d stayed single and never had children.” He walked around the table and took a seat beside Ryan, who was dumping sprinkles on his cookie.

  “You’re really good at decorating,” Jack said.

  “I know. My mum said I’m the best in all of Australia.”

  “Well, now you’re the best in America too,” Jack said. “Hey, pass me those candies, will you?”

  While grandfather and grandson frosted cookies, Lydia helped Devon bring in the bags and take them to his room. The bed looked soft and welcoming.

  “Ryan’s adorable,” Lydia said. “He’s going to fit right in—cute little accent and all. Your father is already smitten.”

  Devon fell back onto the bed and tucked his hands under his head. “What am I doing, Mom? I don’t know the first thing about kids—or parenting.”

  Lydia sat beside him and patted his knee. “No one does when they first become parents. It’s a learning and growing process. If something works, you go with it. If something doesn’t, you learn the hard way never to try it again. You get to know your child and what works and won’t work with him. The problem is that as they grow, they change.” She chuckled. “It’s definitely challenging, but you’ve always liked to be challenged.”

  “You’re not helping.” Devon’s eyes drifted shut. He couldn’t keep them open any longer.

  “Tell me more about Stella. She sounds nice. Is she smart . . . pretty?”

  Devon yawned. “All of the above, but don’t go getting any matchmaking ideas. Australia is literally on the other side of the world.”

  “I know, but a mother can always hope.” Lydia paused. “Have you heard from Beth yet? She called last week.”

  Devon’s eyes flew open. The bright light fixture burned his eyes, but he didn’t care. Devon cleared his throat and tried to make his voice sound normal. “What’d she want?”

  “Your new cell number. I guess she ran into Brady a few days ago and heard about your trip to Australia.”

  “Does she know why I was there?”

  “I assume so, but she didn’t say much and we didn’t talk long,” Lydia said. “She hasn’t called you yet?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  Lydia leaned over and kissed his forehead. “I’m so happy you’re back and that you’ve brought Ryan with you. Why don’t you get some sleep, and I’ll make sure Ryan goes to bed when he gets tired.”

  “He might not want to sleep alone in a new place.”

  “If he doesn’t, I’ll bring him in here. Now get some shut-eye, will you? Everyone’s coming over tomorrow night.”

  Lydia turned off the light, leaving him alone in the dark, empty room. Devon hadn’t slept much on the flight and needed rest, especially since his two loud, crazy sisters and their families were coming tomorrow. But he wasn’t tired any longer.

  Beth had called.

  Beth, the girl he’d once been crazy about. The girl he’d almost married. What did she want? It had been over eight months since she’d spoken to him; eight months since she’d broken off their engagement. Had she changed her mind? After the way Beth had ended things, Devon couldn’t think of any other reason she’d call.

  Groaning, he rolled to his side. If Beth still loved him, if she wanted to try to make it work again . . .

  Well, he honestly didn’t know how he felt about that.

  ⇐ ⇑ ⇒

  Stella snapped a file shut and glared at her cell phone, willing it to ring. The afternoon sunlight hid behind dark, graying clouds, a perfect complement to her mood. Devon and Ryan had landed ages ago, so why hadn’t they called? For the past three hours, Stella hadn’t been able to concentrate. Didn’t Devon realize she’d be worried about Ryan? About him? One quick phone call. That’s it. Only a few minutes, a brief sentence or two, and Stella could rest easy. But did Devon care? Obviously not.

  Well, Stella wasn’t one to sit around and wait for the phone to ring, at least not for more than three hours, so she took a breath and picked up her phone.

  “Yeah?” Devon’s groggy voice answered.

  Oh great, she’d woken him up. “Hi, it’s me.”

  “Beth?” He sounded half awake.

  Who is Beth? “Um, no, it’s me, Stella.”

  “Stella?” Devon flattered her with a yawn.

  “Really? You’ve forgotten me already?” Stella said. “I’m the girl you promised to call when you arrived.”

  “What? Oh, yeah, I’m sorry. You woke me up, and I’m a little out of it. How’s it going?”

  “I was just about to ask you the same question. You never called or sent a text. I was worried . . . about Ryan.”

  “Sorry,” Devon repeated. “I didn’t sleep much on the flight, and I was so tired by the time we got here, I fell asleep before I thought to call. If it makes you feel any better, I’m still wearing my clothes.”

  Stella smiled. Oddly enough, it did make her feel better. “Sorry for waking you. I just wanted to make sure you arrived safely and that Ryan’s doing okay.”

  “He’s more than fine. My parents already love him.”

  Of course they did. It was Ryan, after all. Who wouldn’t love him? Stella ached to snuggle with him, to be the recipient of one of his treasured kisses and hugs. America was too far away.

  “Stella?”

  “Sorry.” Stella hoped he couldn’t hear the sadness in her voice, the misery. “I’ll let you go back to sleep now. Just promise to keep me updated.”

  “I will.”

  Proper etiquette dictated she say good-bye, but Stella couldn’t make her mouth form the words. She didn’t want to end the call. She wanted him to tell her about the flight. What had they eaten? What did they watch? When did he plan to fly back to Chicago?

  And who was Beth?

  “Stella?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Tell me something.”

  “What?”

  “I don’t know. One of your random facts. I’m feeling brain-dead and could use something to get me thinking.”

  “You’re serious,” Stella said.

  “Deadly.”

  “All right, you asked for it.” She thought for a moment. “Did you know there’s no real word in the English dictionary that rhymes with ‘month’?”

  “There has to be,” Devon said.

  “Tell me one.”

  “I’m thinking.”

  Stella waited a few seconds. “You’re wasting your time. There really isn’t any, I promise.”

  “I’ll get back to you on that one, but I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

  “It has to be a real word, you know.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Devon said. “In the meantime, how was your day?”

  Stella paused. Should she be honest or make something up? Honest. He’d probably see right through anything else. “Lonely. I think it’s going to take some time to adjust to life here without you or Ryan.”

  “If it helps any, I wish you were here with us. My parents would probably want to adopt you too.”

  “They sound wonderful. I hope I can meet them one day.”

  “Well,” Devon said. “You’ll never guess what my dad was doing and wearing when we showed up.”

  “Tell me.”

  Devon launched into a description of just the sort of details Stella craved to hear. He told her about Ryan’s reaction to his new grandparents and how quickly he’d made himself at home. Then he told her about the flight and their overly perky flight attendant. He told her how Ryan wanted to see the X-ray machine’s monitor at the airport and about how he’d tried to ride on the carousel with the luggage.

  Stella’s laughter filled her small office, and a few rays of sunlight actually peeked through the clouds. It was enough. “Give Ryan an extra hug for me.”

  “Will do.”

  “Oh, and Devon?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thanks. I needed that.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  As promised, E
mily and Cora, Devon’s two perky sisters, arrived the next evening for dinner. They both lived about an hour away and usually only came for Sunday dinner, but that week they’d made an exception.

  Devon and Ryan were out back grilling steaks when Emily’s voice echoed through the house. “H-e-l-l-o! We’re here!” she called. “Where’s that big brother of mine and my new little nephew? Come on, show yourselves people! My kids have been dying to meet their new cuz!”

  Ron, Emily’s husband, mumbled something about hearing loss.

  Pretending he hadn’t heard, Devon ruffled Ryan’s hair. “I think it’s time to turn the steaks. Ready?”

  Dressed in a child-sized Home Depot apron, Ryan looked like a miniature Bobby Flay. He held up a spatula that was almost as tall as him. Devon grinned and picked him up, helping to turn the steaks.

  “There you are!” Emily had found them. “Guys, they’re out back!”

  Ryan gripped Devon’s neck when Emily threw her arms around them. “So good to see you! We’ve been so excited to meet you, Ryan!”

  “How’ve ya been, sis?” Devon said.

  Three small children ran out, then stopped to stare at Devon and Ryan. They looked so much older to Devon than they had at Christmas.

  “Hey guys, come and meet Ryan,” Devon said.

  They stood rooted to the stairs, saying nothing.

  “Where’s Grandma?” one of them finally said, taking a step back toward the house.

  “She and Grandpa ran to the store for a few things. They should be back soon.”

  Emily shook her head at Devon. “They’re still afraid of you, you know. If you would’ve at least tried to talk to them at Christmas, they would probably like you.”

  Devon frowned at the kids. “You guys don’t like me?”

  They shook their heads and ran back inside, tripping over the threshold in their rush.

  “Why don’t they like me?” he asked Emily. “I wasn’t mean to them.”

  “You didn’t play or talk to them either. To them, you are a big, scary man who stares.”

  What? Devon was not. Leave it to Emily to be so dramatic. He lowered Ryan to the ground. “What do you think, Ryan? Am I a big, scary man?”

  “No.” He giggled. “You’re a big, scary meat pie!”

  “Meat pie?” Devon said. “I’ll show you who’s a meat pie!”

  Ryan squealed and ran, but Devon was quicker. He grabbed the little boy, hoisted him over his shoulders, and ran in circles around the backyard. Then he somersaulted Ryan down to the ground and chased him again.

  One by one, Emily’s children crept through the patio door and watched. When the oldest tentatively stepped into the yard, Devon chased him too. The other two soon followed, and Devon allowed them to tackle him to the ground.

  “Emily, help!” Devon said.

  But no help came. In fact, the opposite happened. Two more squealing girls ran into the yard and jumped on him. Cora’s family had arrived. Devon wrestled, tickled, and chased all of the children until he couldn’t anymore. Out of breath, he searched for some sort of help; at the very least, something to distract the kids. But Emily, Cora, Ron, and Jeff only stared from the sidelines, open-mouthed.

  “Who are you, and what have you done with our brother?” Emily called.

  Devon pointed toward the house and yelled, “Oh look, I think I hear Grandma and Grandpa inside. I bet they have treats.” The kids all ran for the house. Even Ryan. Whew. It worked.

  Ron slapped his shoulder. “Good to see you, man.”

  Devon nodded, trying to catch his breath. “I thought I’d show your kids I’m not so scary, after all. Please tell me Mom and Dad are back.”

  “You’re in luck,” Jeff said. “They came in with us.”

  “I hope they have treats.”

  “They always have treats.” Cora gave Devon a hug. “I wish I would have caught that on camera. I’m still in shock.”

  Pointing to the smoking barbeque, Ron said, “Uh, you may want to check on those.”

  Crap. Devon darted toward the grill and lifted the lid, cringing at the charred meat.

  “Yeah, that’s how Dad cooks them too,” Ron said, looking over his shoulder.

  Jeff clapped Devon on the back. “Don’t worry. I think I’ve pretty much decided to become a vegetarian anyway. At least on the days we eat here.”

  Ron laughed. “Yeah, me too.”

  Later, when they gathered around to eat, Devon tied the apron back on Ryan and lifted him to his shoulders. “I want all of you to know that chef Ryan here helped man the grill. And since he’s new to the family, I’m sure you’d all love to show your appreciation by eating the steaks.”

  Ron and Jeff glared from across the table.

  After dinner the kids ran off to play, leaving the adults to clean up. As Devon wiped down the table, he realized that for the first time in a long while, he felt as though he fit in—like he belonged again. It’s not that his siblings had ever intentionally excluded him, but there were only so many conversations about potty-training, sleep-deprivation, or school assignments he could tolerate before excusing himself to find something more interesting to do.

  But now things were different. Now Devon could relate to some of their tales of parenting and he even contributed once or twice. It was nice, and he had Ryan to thank for it. Somehow, the boy had helped Devon to span a gap that he couldn’t on his own.

  Well, almost span.

  Ron hugged Emily from behind while she rinsed dishes, and Jeff playfully snapped a dishrag at Cora.

  Suddenly Devon missed Stella.

  ⇐ ⇑ ⇒

  Stella smiled when her Skype account rang. One o’clock—right on time.

  Since that first night, Devon had called almost every night before Ryan’s bedtime. The call coincided with her lunch break, so Stella was able to close her office door and enjoy a nice little chat with her two favorite guys.

  Today, however, there was only one set of brown eyes watching her. “Where’s Ryan?” she asked.

  “In bed. He had a busy day and was . . . well, let’s just say that cranky is putting it nicely.”

  “Were there any fish involved?” Stella teased.

  “No, and please don’t mention fish around him. I know I promised to buy him some more once we got here, but he hasn’t asked about it yet, and I’m hoping he’ll forget.”

  Stella laughed. A lone blue Betta swam in a fishbowl on her bookcase next to a few goldfish in another bowl—a good-bye gift from Ryan. Stella had promised to take good care of his pets, but so far, five goldfish had died. At least the Betta still seemed to be healthy. “Two goldfish were dead when I got to the office this morning,” Stella admitted. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

  “They miss Ryan.”

  “They must. Maybe I should frame a picture of him and put it on the table next to them. Do you think that would work?”

  “Would you want it to?”

  Stella shook her head. “Probably not. I don’t mind the Betta, but the goldfish are boring and pretty disgusting when they’re floating on top of the water. If they didn’t remind me of Ryan, I’d have dumped them down the loo days ago.”

  “So the truth comes out. You’re not all heart after all.”

  “Not where fish are concerned.”

  Devon chuckled and then cleared his throat. “Um, there’s a reason I called without Ryan tonight. I need to talk to you.”

  “What about?” When he didn’t answer right away, Stella’s heart thumped a little faster. Was something going on with Ryan? Was he okay?

  “I’ve decided to take Ryan with me to Chicago.”

  Stella blinked. “Why? Who will take care of him while you’re at work?”

  “Beth.”

  Beth. That name again. The way Devon looked away from her made it sound ominous. Like he was preparing her for something bad, something Stella wouldn’t want to hear. Then don’t say it.

  “She’s a girl I used to date . . . uh, used
to be engaged to.”

  Engaged? Devon had been engaged? When? Stella stifled the urge to slam her laptop shut. Normally, the poor resolution of the webcam bothered her, but today she was grateful for it. Maybe he wouldn’t see that her smile was fake.

  “Used to be engaged to?” she asked. “How long ago?”

  “Eight months,” Devon said. “Beth broke off the engagement, and I haven’t heard from her until a few days ago. She wants to give our relationship another try.”

  If there was a proper response to this, Stella didn’t know what it was. Congratulations? Yippee? Golly-wolly? All of them sounded absurd, not to mention phony. So Stella did the only thing she could do. She nodded and tried to look interested. Glad even. Which was exactly what she should be. Happy. Happy for him and happy for Ryan. Maybe Beth was exactly what they needed.

  If only it didn’t hurt so much.

  “She wants to date again and see where it goes from there.”

  “Oh.” Why was he telling her all of this? Devon couldn’t possibly know how much she cared or he wouldn’t say such things—at least not until she had time to mend, to move on.

  “Stella?”

  “Yeah?” She fought for a calm, collected composure.

  “I don’t know. I guess there’s not much more to say. Now that Ryan’s a part of my life, Beth wants me to bring him to Chicago so she can meet and spend time with him. I just thought you should know.”

  Ryan. Beth wanted to meet Ryan. Get to know him. Why? Who was this girl who thought she could waltz back into Devon’s life and expect to be part of Ryan’s? And why was Devon okay with it?

  “Are you sure it’s a good idea to introduce Ryan to her now? Before you know if it will work out?”

  “No,” Devon admitted. “But I already know Beth and I know what we’re like together. What I don’t know is if Ryan will change that. I mean, how can I know if Beth’s still a good fit for me if Ryan’s not around? Does that make sense?”

  In a depressing way, it did. “Why did she break up with you if she still had feelings for you?”

 

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