Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set

by Claire McEwen

  Danny shuffled his feet and mumbled a reply, unintelligible to Natalie’s ears. Her heart went out to Aidan. He was trying, and yet, Danny had been through so much. If he moved away with Aidan, she wouldn’t be there for him. And she’d be letting Shelby down.

  “What’s wrong? Yesterday you were happy to see your uncle.” Natalie knelt beside Danny, her bare knees touching the still wet grass.

  Danny shuffled his feet once more, a far cry from the cheerful child who’d once given away hugs like they were going out of style. “If I’m with Uncle Aidan, I can’t be with you.”

  Her heart zinged. He had to stay in Hollydale. She squeezed his hand. “We have lots of time.” I hope.

  If she couldn’t convince Aidan that Hollydale provided Danny with much-needed stability, could she stand in his way, Shelby’s instructions to the contrary?

  “I’ll be right here while you have fun with your uncle, who will come get me if you need me.”

  “I want to stay with you.”

  Danny clung tight, and she glanced over her shoulder at Aidan. She mouthed, Help.

  Aidan came over and patted Danny on the shoulder. “I like your attitude. Work first, play later. We’ll have more time for outings now that I’m staying in Hollydale for a month. Lieutenant Colonel Thrasher approved my request.”

  A small spark ignited in Natalie at his intention to remain here for a longer period. A month to get to know the enigmatic major. A month for him to get to know Danny and see the benefits of consistency with a side of fun thrown in for good measure. Then again, she tamped down that spark. He was staying for Danny’s sake, not hers. In fact, this delay might cost her dearly. What if she and Aidan formed a bond? The beginning of something between them wasn’t lost on her.

  Then where would she and Danny be when he returned to active duty?

  Danny stood back, and she gave him a smile for reassurance. “We can work with that, right?”

  Aidan removed his windbreaker and placed it on the wooden table. “So, where’s the plan? What are you using the chicken wire for?”

  Plan? She had it all in her head at this point.

  “This morning I’m improvising and modifying the original plan and taking it up a level. Once the structure is built, the overlay will involve more glitter and color. Next will come the frame and wallboard. It’s going to be a reach for the stars extravaganza.” She walked over to the duffel bag and unzipped it. Reaching inside, she pulled out wads of tissue paper and scissors. “Today I’m working on the part that will go around the sides and hide the frame. It’s an idea for making the display more colorful and eye-catching. I hope it works.”

  Aidan raised an eyebrow. “Tissue paper? What if it rains?”

  “Then the parade will be rescheduled.” Natalie brushed an imaginary piece of lint off her colorful tunic. “Holidays are such happy celebrations. And represent everything you’re fighting for.”

  She had to keep believing that. This float was more than just a float. It was a way forward. She missed Danny’s laughter so much. Others might find her silly for putting this much weight into prepping a simple parade float, and yet, sharing and laughing and just being together in a special moment counted for so much.

  “Paper schematics? An inventory list? Supplies on hand?” Aidan glanced at her duffel bag. “Some of the engineers I’ve worked with have taught me a thing or two about simplification. We can examine whatever you have and find ways to streamline your project.”

  His expression implied she was supposed to have a detailed plan and a backup and maybe even a plan C. She shrugged. “It’ll come together.” Searching the nearby ground, she found three smooth pebbles and picked them up, laying them atop the piles of red, white, and blue tissue paper. “I planned to cut these into long strips while you frolicked at the splash fountain.”

  She and Danny turned toward Aidan. His outfit of pressed cargo shorts paired with a long-sleeve shirt with a collar was hardly conducive to getting wet.

  “You’re not wearing swim trunks.”

  He returned her shrug. “Your text said he’d get wet. You didn’t mention anything about me.”

  “Next time, I’ll be more specific.” Before the words were out of her mouth, she knew that was a switch. It was Aidan’s tendency toward details, not hers. Her tendency was to dream big, the bigger the better.

  Aidan arched his eyebrow but added little else while sitting across from Danny. She showed them the length and width of what she had in mind, and the three of them got to work. Aidan’s nimble fingers made quick work of his pile.

  “So, Danny, how was kindergarten?”

  “Okay, I guess.”

  Aidan looked at Natalie. “Is he ready for first grade?”

  While Hollydale Elementary was smaller than average, it did boast four kindergarten classes. She hadn’t had the pleasure of having Danny in her class. Still, she knew everything about him, including how he doodled anywhere, anytime, but put off reading for hours.

  “Yes, he’s smart and expresses himself best with a sketch pad and pencil.” She filled Aidan in on Danny’s educational progress. By the end of his pile, Danny had started opening up to Aidan.

  Danny placed his scissors on his pile of completed strips. “Before you leave, Uncle Aidan, I’m gonna draw a really nice picture for you. This time you’ll remember me and won’t stay away so long.”

  Aidan rolled up his sleeves before rushing to lower them again, his scar peeking out for a second. “I’ve never forgotten you. You’re a piece of my heart.” He looked at Natalie. “Didn’t you tell him…”

  “I think Danny’s earned a break.” Natalie jumped up and stretched her legs. She didn’t want Danny to know she and Aidan had different viewpoints on where he should live. Not just yet. “How about we walk to the playground? See if the swings are free?”

  “What about all these strips? They might fly away or someone might take them.” No sooner did the words come out of Aidan’s mouth than a gust of wind blew some of the tissue paper off the table, scattering the strips about the grass.

  Once they’d gathered and secured the tissue paper in the duffel bag, the three of them set off toward the playground. Danny skipped ahead, and she glanced at the handsome man walking alongside her. If it weren’t for his standoffish glare, it would almost be like they were a couple on this beautiful summer day, the birds chirping, the slight breeze ruffling the light fabric of her tunic. Any hopes for a partner of her own had disappeared with the solemn news of Francisco’s death from his parents.

  She pushed the memory away and focused on Danny. She was so proud of the brave little boy.

  “Hollydale is prospering and coming into its own. Timber River is better than any amusement park, and the hiking trails around here are second to none.” Inside, Natalie groaned as she sounded more like a tour guide than a teacher.

  “Good to know.” Aidan jammed his hands in his cargo shorts pockets and marched along the path, his gaze never leaving Danny. “Why did you interrupt me back there? I have the distinct impression he doesn’t know I plan to fight you for custody.”

  The man was direct. She’d give him that much.

  “Aunt Natalie!” Danny climbed to the top of the slide. “Watch me.”

  She clapped when Danny slid to the bottom. Then she pointed to the empty swings, the silence in contrast to the cheerful cries from the splash area. “Want to join me on the swings?”

  Danny shook his head and shouted, “You guys swing,” before he ran over to the rock-climbing area.

  She reached for Aidan’s hand and pulled him along. “Come on. When was the last time you went swinging?”

  Her cheeks warmed at her awkward phrasing, but that didn’t stop her from escorting him over to the swings anyway.

  “Are you always this persuasive?”

  “Only on days ending in y.” She smiled as she c
limbed onto her swing, making sure he joined her on the one next to hers. After pumping her legs a few times, she glanced over and glimpsed a small glimmer of a smile before he masked his face again. “You can have fun in Hollydale. It’s not only allowed, it’s encouraged.”

  “You keep mentioning the town.” Aidan’s gaze wandered over to the rock-climbing area, and Natalie didn’t have to look in that direction to know he was watching Danny.

  “If you give the town half a chance, you’ll find it’s a great place to raise a family.” She wasn’t only talking about Hollydale. It wasn’t often she had to prove herself to someone, yet gaining Aidan’s trust was worth it. “Shelby wanted Danny to grow up here.”

  “Young children are resilient. He won’t even remember Hollydale by the time he’s grown up.”

  His words sent a chill through her, and he seemed oblivious to what he’d said. If Danny had no memories of Hollydale, he’d have no memories of Shelby either.

  Aidan kept pumping his legs, and she didn’t know how to get through to his heart.

  “Danny’s therapist says this is a delicate time.” She switched her attention from the uncle to his nephew, whose heart she did seem to impact. “Anything unexpected can rattle him, more than we even realize. Until the custody and living arrangements are finalized, telling him about our differences will only worry him.”

  “Differences? That’s a light way to phrase it. Only one of us can get what we both want.” The defensiveness in Aidan’s voice rose, not that she blamed him.

  How he was holding it together so well was beyond her. These adjustments would devastate anyone with less inner strength than the man beside her. His quiet gentleness had made a positive impression and, if it had been any other situation, she could have found herself rooting for him to take his nephew with him.

  She shifted her weight, continuing to move her legs back and forth. The breeze in her hair invigorated her, the sweet smell of summer filling something deep within her, something that had been dormant since her fiancé Francisco’s death. The man beside her had an edge to his quiet intensity. Letting down her guard might allow him the chance to become who he needed to be and she needed to have in her life.

  A mother arrived with her two children and looked grateful for a few minutes alone on the bench while they played. Natalie kept her voice low. “Danny has great potential. Taking him from me and my home, which has become his in the past three months, could be devastating.” For him and for me.

  Guilt rippled through her at thinking of herself when she should only put Danny’s needs first. The truth was, Danny needed Natalie and Hollydale, and they needed him. There was nothing wrong with that. At least she hoped there wasn’t.

  “Having him told his uncle doesn’t care enough to take him with him could also be devastating.” The undercurrent running through his words meant Natalie wasn’t quite sure whether he meant that for Danny or himself.

  This day was slipping away, just like her hold on Danny’s future. “When was the last time you had fun for fun’s sake?”

  “We’re talking about Danny.” Aidan clenched the metal links of the chain so hard his knuckles turned white.

  “Are we?” Natalie tried infusing their conversation with the same bright intensity of the sun peeking through puffy white clouds. Although there was no sign of bad weather on the horizon, she’d nip any sign of bad blood between them if she could. “I was under the impression we’d found something in common.”

  “Something other than Danny or Shelby?” Irony laced his voice.

  “Neither of us wants to let go first.”

  “You mean lose. You don’t strike me as the competitive type.” Aidan slowed his pace as his feet dragged along the dirt.

  “Appearances can be deceiving. From the way I see it, though, you think winning is the best alternative to losing, whereas I’ve learned there are other ways not to lose. It’s the how you play the game that changes your perception of what a win is.”

  Growing up with a twin who was a star soccer player should have dulled her competitive edge. To a certain extent that was true. However, she’d also learned there were other strategies to winning besides scoring more than the other person or landing on Park Place and Boardwalk. “Danny’s not a game or a sport. We have to work together.”

  “Do we?” Aidan asked.

  The trouble was, she didn’t know Aidan well enough to know how to appeal to his sense of compassion. Besides, Danny deserved better than a compromise. He needed someone in his corner who’d teach him what was important in life.

  She and Aidan had different perceptions of what was important. For her, raising Danny in an environment where love and nurturing would help him blossom was everything. For Aidan, his status as uncle outweighed all the other benefits.

  She jumped off the swing and sent him a smile. “Sometimes taking a moment to breathe when your world falls apart around you is a win. That’s what Danny needs right now. A chance to breathe and find his support system.”

  “I’m his uncle. I’m his support system.”

  There was no denying he was Danny’s family, but so was she. Danny reached the top of the rock-climbing wall for the first time. Celebrating that was important. A win for Danny was having someone in his corner.

  For now, she was that person.

  * * *

  AIDAN WIPED AWAY a bead of sweat with the fabric of his long-sleeve shirt. How did he get stuck sawing new wood for the frame of the trailer chassis? Somehow, Natalie had crooked her little finger, and he did her bidding. From the utility shed, they’d taken two sawhorses and made a makeshift construction zone where he now worked.

  He was a major in the army, a trained military ops specialist. Under normal circumstances, he delivered orders in one of six languages. Military training had impressed on him the importance of teamwork, and he thrived on a set timeline and instructions to achieve every goal. A place for everything, and everything in its place.

  Natalie was turning his settled world upside down. More than ever, he longed for the shelter of the plane that would take Danny and him back to the world he knew. Even he could see the irony in wanting to return to a military base for safety and security.

  The latest overseas assignment had occupied his every moment for three months, allowing him to keep his grief at bay. Seeing Shelby’s favorite blanket on her couch and not hearing her voice had shaken him to the core. Why had he survived fifteen years of military service, including two tours in Afghanistan, while his sweet sister died of natural causes before her thirtieth birthday? The reality of Shelby’s death had sunk in at her house.

  So, too, had his resolve to have Danny near him. Aidan had been there when Shelby lost her first tooth and when she cried over their father’s last army transfer. Danny had her smile and made the same eye-squint whenever he concentrated on something. Aidan couldn’t miss out on the rest of his firsts, too.

  Exerting extra force on the board snapped it in two a bit sooner than he’d have liked for a smoother edge. No matter. He’d sand down the rough edges.

  He opened the toolbox Natalie had provided and checked the supplies. While the hammer and screwdrivers had wear and tear on them, the quality was good. He rifled through the sandpaper, passing over the extra-fine pieces and choosing a square of medium coarseness.

  Sitting with his back to the side of the shed and his legs bent, he made himself as comfortable as possible. This seemed as good a way as any to pass the time until Natalie and Danny returned with lunch. He’d gladly agreed to this tradeoff. He would do dinner with Danny tonight instead, and in return she’d wrangle volunteers and write down revised plans for the float.

  The rhythmic motion of passing the paper over the rough surface calmed him like little else so far on this trip. He wasn’t sure whether the reunion with Danny or meeting Natalie riled him more. There was something in the air whenever he sparred with
the pretty redhead, and he needed to focus his entire attention on his nephew. He didn’t do anything halfway, and he wasn’t about to break that streak now.

  “Excuse me. Major Murphy?” A bald man in khakis paired with a light blue shirt and navy blazer approached.

  “Yes, sir, I am.”

  The no-nonsense gait, along with his jacket, created an air of authority, triggering Aidan’s curiosity.

  The man closed the rest of the distance and extended his hand. “Welcome to Hollydale.”

  Aidan set the wood and sandpaper beside him and rose from the ground. He waited until after the handshake to dust the dirt off his legs. “Thanks, and you are?”

  “Wesley Grayson. Everyone calls me Mayor Wes.”

  Aidan’s gaze wandered over the construction area. “Before I leave, I intend to clean up my mess and put away the materials. If the sawhorses—”

  “This does involve the parade, but not in the way you’re thinking.” The mayor laughed and ran his hand over his jaw. “Glad to see you’re helping with the elementary school float. Marisa Garcia called me last night with the update that Natalie was taking over and going with the theme of ‘Reaching for the Stars.’ I like that. You’re staying in our good town for the parade, then?”

  By the Fourth of July, he and Natalie should be able to come to some sort of agreement regarding Danny’s future. It would be his first stateside Independence Day in a couple of years. “Yes, sir.”

  The mayor’s smile widened. “Do you like pie?”

  Is that some sort of rhetorical question? “Can’t say as I’ve turned down many slices of pie in my day.”

  Mayor Wes came closer and patted Aidan on the back. “I have an offer you’ll hopefully find hard to resist, son. All the pie you can eat by some of the finest cooks around.”

  “What’s the catch?”

  “No catch. It’s an honor. I’d like you to be the official pie judge for this year’s contest.”

  “Surely someone else, someone who lives in Hollydale, would be a better choice.” Aidan wiped the sawdust off his fingers.