“Then this really has nothing to do with the kitten?”
She laughed and shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. “You don’t get it, do you? And by the way, the vet called. Stormy’s a little fighter. She’ll be coming home tomorrow. This isn’t about that or anything, really. My parents took the three of us siblings to Miss Louise’s once a week during the summer. It’s just a way to be grateful for today.”
“Maybe we should go back and get the frame finished first. That was your goal for today, wasn’t it?” At this rate, the float would be ready for the Christmas parade.
She linked her arm through his and then disconnected from him like she’d come in contact with a hot iron. “I’ll have time to work on it tomorrow. Going out for ice cream tonight is totally unplanned, totally unexpected, totally wonderful.”
Their gazes met, and her cheeks reddened into a most becoming shade of pink. Two surprises on this day, three if you counted the kitten. “I haven’t finished my dinner yet.”
“Come on, Murphy. Live a little.” She stood back and tilted her head. “Hmm. Cup or cone? If I had to guess, I’d say cup since it’s neat and organized and not prone to drip.”
She nailed his usual choice, but he refused to answer.
Danny tugged at his hand. “Uncle Aidan, it won’t be the same without you.”
Looking at Natalie, Aidan begged to differ. He and Danny wouldn’t be the same without her. With every passing minute, he connected more and more with the vivacious redhead who made every minute lighter, happier.
“Isn’t it a little late for ice cream?”
“It’s never too late to celebrate a beautiful day.”
“Just so this doesn’t become a nightly occurrence. Wait here a minute.” He hurried back to his house, grabbed his wallet and locked up.
They strolled along Oak Street, and he absorbed everything around him. He’d spent time on almost every continent, but this place seemed different. A band tuned their instruments in the gazebo, and Natalie tapped her forehead.
“I forgot about the Summer Country Music Series. It happens once a week until Labor Day. The line at the ice cream parlor will be a little longer, but we’ll enjoy some good country music while we wait. The Smoky Sirens are playing tonight. They do covers of Keith Urban and Tim McGraw. Do you mind?”
Danny looked at him as if expecting Aidan to throw water over his bonfire.
He couldn’t disappoint either of them again today. “Not at all.”
Old habits died hard, though, and he scanned the perimeter. A father threw a blanket over the last patch of unclaimed grass. Nearby, a young couple clinked tall glasses of what looked like champagne. A group of kids danced as the band tuned their instruments. To his surprise, people greeted him by name. He nodded in return.
“You’ve made quite the impression.” Natalie kept up with his brisk pace, not winded at all.
“So have you.” The words slipped out, but he wouldn’t take them back. “I met most of those people while working on the parade security project.”
“Which, according to Sheriff Mike, is now ahead of schedule. Why doesn’t that surprise me?” The twinkle in her eye matched her tone as they arrived at Miss Louise’s Ice Cream Parlor.
He ushered them inside and didn’t have far to go as the line wound around several ropes and back to the entrance, with half of Hollydale already ahead of them.
She held Danny’s hand and smiled. “It’s worth the wait. I promise.”
The person in front of them turned around and greeted Natalie, and the two started talking. Danny released Natalie’s hand and joined him. “This could go on awhile.”
He spoke from experience, it seemed.
Aidan stifled a laugh and nodded. “Natalie likes to talk. Nothing wrong with that.”
“What was my mommy’s favorite flavor?”
The breath escaped from Aidan’s lungs. Shelby had only been gone for three months, and Danny had either forgotten or never had time to find out.
“When she was your age, it was chocolate. When she was ten, she tried butter pecan and never looked back.”
Danny squeezed his hand and looked at him with those big eyes. Shelby’s eyes. Danny must have been satisfied with the answer because he started talking about his time at Diane’s that afternoon.
Finally, the people ahead of them placed their order, and Natalie returned her attention to them. “What did I miss?”
“Uncle Aidan told me Mommy’s favorite ice-cream flavor was butter pecan.”
Natalie smiled and nodded. “When your uncle was on a date, she tagged along as sort of a reverse chaperone, perfect, really, since she was younger and constantly asking questions. She thought Aidan would like her more if she ordered the same flavor. Turned out, she loved it.”
He’d never known Shelby’s side of the story before as he’d been rather upset at Shelby’s presence as a third wheel. They stepped to the counter and ordered from a harried-looking teenager, while another scooped out cones and handed them over. With no empty tables remaining inside the parlor, Natalie suggested they walk and lick at the same time, and he agreed. She grabbed bunches of napkins and stuffed them into her purse.
Outside, soft music filled the air, and Aidan swayed to the tempo, although he preferred jazz to country. They strolled along, and he kept a close and constant eye on Danny, with crowds of people milling about.
The sight of his nephew walking and trying to lick at the same time brought out a tenderness he’d never felt before. Drips of ice cream melted down Danny’s cone, and Aidan noticed someone leaving a nearby bench. Before anyone else could take the spot, the three of them squeezed in tight. From the looks of it, it was the only open spot around.
“Danny, watch me.” He demonstrated how to lick the side of the cone.
The expression of pure concentration on Danny’s face touched something even deeper, and Aidan knew there was no way he’d ever give up his nephew. A musician started plucking a banjo, and someone introduced a new tune. Dusk surrounded them, the warm pink rosy glow from the mountain sunset bringing out the burnished auburn of Natalie’s hair. Twinkle lights switched on.
She wasn’t part of his plan. He’d had everything tied up with a nice neat red bow on that flight, and she made him question every dotted i and crossed t.
“Penny for your thoughts.” Her voice held bemusement, even though her eyes reflected something deeper, almost contemplative in nature. “Or, in your case, a nickel and a day planner.”
Was he that obvious about everything?
He pointed toward her cone. “Vanilla ice cream? That’s the last flavor I would have expected you to order.”
“So, I’m a woman of mystery?” She licked her cone, bliss coming over her heart-shaped face. “Vanilla gets a bad rap as plain and boring. There’s nothing boring about rich texture and delicate flavors.”
He could say the same about her.
Danny held up his cone. “Butter pecan is my new favorite, Uncle Aidan.”
His nephew wore most of his ice-cream cone on his face and hands, and Aidan restrained his laughter. Natalie shoved a wad of napkins their way. He wiped Danny’s face while fiddles and guitars melded together for a smooth sound in the background.
During a lull between songs, Danny bounced on the bench. “Gigi’s waving at me. Can I talk to her before we go home?”
Danny looked at Natalie, then Aidan, before biting his bottom lip as if he didn’t know whose permission to ask.
“Of course. Have fun,” she said.
“Stay on the green where we can see you. A moment of safety is an hour of security.”
Their voices overlapped, and Danny came close to tears, obviously unsure of what they said.
Natalie waved at Gigi’s mom, who nodded and pointed to Danny, then Gigi. Natalie leaned over and kissed Danny’s forehead
. “Stay with Miss Kris until we get there. We’ll join you as soon as we’re done with our cones.”
Aidan watched Danny join Kris and Gigi. Then he focused his attention on his cone as the next song started. Anything to keep his mind off Natalie as she scooted closer to him to make room for someone else on the other side of her. His awareness of her heightened in the damp coolness of the evening.
She crunched into her cone as a couple passed and waved their hellos to him. Aidan remembered the woman from the security assignment and responded accordingly.
“One week and you’re already beginning to fit in. Isn’t Hollydale wonderful?” Natalie spoke loud enough for him to hear but not in a way to disturb those around them. She lifted her cone and polished off the rest.
Aidan savored the next lick, the buttery richness of the treat melting in his mouth. “Natalie…”
“Hold that thought. I like this song.” She held up her finger, a napkin attached to it, and her slight laugh broke the growing tension. She swayed in time to the music, and he enjoyed watching her.
He crunched the last bite of the cone, while she handed him a napkin. The song ended. She turned to him, his gaze still on Danny sitting still next to Gigi. “By the way, a bunch of tomorrow’s volunteers had to cancel.”
“What about finishing the float? How will you get it done in time?”
“It’s coming along, and there’ll be more volunteers this weekend. We still have a week left to finish it. It’s going to be beautiful.”
“But you mentioned that Stormy’s coming home tomorrow. Where will the kitten stay while you’re at the float?” His palms itched at Natalie’s easy acceptance of two things that needed serious focus and engagement. “The framework isn’t completed, and an abandoned kitten needs care.”
The band announced intermission, and people started standing and stretching. Natalie rose from the bench and Aidan followed suit. She faced him. “I’ll love the kitten and give her a good home. Isn’t that what’s important? Speaking of home, it’s time to get that little boy and head that way ourselves.”
They collected Danny, thanking Kris and Gigi before Danny yawned, a sign they’d best be going.
Aidan gripped Danny’s hand as the three strolled along Maple Drive. They turned left onto Hollyhock Street, which would lead them to Marigold Lane. Danny reached out to Aidan, and he picked him up. The faint chords of the next song filled the air, and Danny nestled in, his head fitting snugly on Aidan’s shoulder.
This was what he didn’t know he’d been missing.
Before he knew it, he was in Danny’s room, helping Danny into his dinosaur pajamas. He was about to tuck in his nephew when Danny looked at Aidan through half-slit eyes. “I want Aunt Natalie to do it.”
Natalie brushed past him, and Aidan backed away. That was probably his cue to head next door to Shelby’s, but he didn’t want to leave just yet.
A minute later, she settled on her couch, and he lowered himself onto her comfortable love seat.
“Aidan, I’ll figure out a way to take care of Stormy and finish the float.”
He lifted one eyebrow, and she clutched a bright purple throw pillow to her chest.
“Before I go to sleep tonight.”
“A kitten is a big responsibility.”
“I’m more than capable of taking care of a kitten.” She huffed out a breath and threw the pillow aside. “And Danny. Everything doesn’t fit into a nice neat package, Murphy. Take tonight. Danny now has a new memory of his uncle, and you had a good time, whether you want to admit it or not.”
Fun only went so far, though. It didn’t keep people safe. It didn’t help him sleep at night. It didn’t last.
One look at Natalie’s face made him wonder if what they had, what they could have, might have a chance at being long-term. Nothing came with guarantees, but was that any reason to give up something that held so much potential?
As it was, he was choosing to take the job in DC since it was a solid idea with a low degree of risk. There was no use in changing that plan and having something else possibly go wrong. Even if he did change his plan, where was the certainty that would work out in the end either? “My service to my country makes a difference. My next job will also make a difference.”
“What does that have to do with admitting you had a good time tonight?”
Everything, and nothing.
“I guess it doesn’t.”
She tilted her head as if waiting for more of an admission from him.
“Okay, I did enjoy myself, but I have to keep an eye on what the future holds. For me, that’s in Fort Lewis and then DC.”
Inspiration struck him.
He should ask Natalie to move closer to them next year after he received his honorable discharge and accepted the job in Washington, DC. That plan made sense. In a year, she could reconnect with Danny and also be part of his own life as well. The thought both terrified and captivated him.
Was it too soon for that kind of commitment? Unsettled with all the recent events, he’d almost abandoned his steady self. No one rearranged their lives for someone else this quickly.
Surely Natalie would come to the same conclusion?
“It’s okay to keep one eye on the here and now every so often.” Her voice softened. “And you’re not doing a disservice to your fellow troops. You deserve this time to grieve for your sister and make some new memories.”
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
She shrugged and picked up the pillow once more. “I did have a heads-up on your personality from Shelby, you know. Did you know I lived in Raleigh for five years? I was even Teacher of the Year there. As soon as the Dalesford County School District posted the kindergarten teacher position, though, I submitted my application, and they snapped me up. I missed my friends and family too much to stay away.”
One more reason she couldn’t move to wherever he and Danny lived. She needed her support system. People she could depend on. People who loved her.
Unlike him, she couldn’t flourish where those were nonexistent.
“You can choose where to teach and serve others.” Come to think of it, though, they had that in common. They both wanted to help make the world a better place, him through service and her through education. “The security firm has government contracts and is centered in Washington. It doesn’t have branches in Hollydale.”
“Serving people is what counts. Serving people you care about while helping them enjoy their lives is a bonus.”
They were at yet another impasse. Any chance of her relocating to Washington washed away before it had any chance to take root. He should have known the evening’s cozy glow wouldn’t last. Cease-fires often preceded renewed combat.
“That’s my cue to leave.” He rose, and she escorted him to the door.
“I haven’t told Danny about Stormy. I’m not seeking your permission either, because I think having new life around will help his therapy. He still hasn’t laughed, you know, and kittens bring smiles and giggles to most. Who knows? A kitten might break through his defenses.”
He opened the door, and she reached out and touched his arm. “Do you want to take him to his therapy session tomorrow while I pick up Stormy?”
He recognized her peace offer. Nodding, he looked back one more time before entering the cool comfort of Shelby’s house.
* * *
“AUNT NATALIE, MY tummy hurts.”
Natalie rolled over in her bed. Just five more minutes. She reached for the pillow to put it over her head when Danny’s words registered in her brain. The minute they did, she jerked to a sitting position in her bed and turned on her lamp. Hunched over, Danny stood in the doorway, pain etched on his face.
Aidan had told her it was too late for ice cream. Why hadn’t she listened to him?
She bolted out of bed, the cherry hardwood cool agains
t her warm feet. Running over, she reached Danny and led him to the bathroom.
“Wait here a minute.”
Taking her phone off the charger in her bedroom, Natalie dialed and waited. Her mother had raised three children and would know best even if it was one o’clock.
“Natalie. What’s wrong?”
“It’s Danny.” Retching noises came from the bathroom, and she winced. “I let him eat ice cream too late, and now he’s sick. What should I do?”
Sure, she had taught enough kindergarten classes where she’d witnessed a similar scene before, but this was Danny.
“I’ll be right over.”
Natalie replaced the phone on the charger before running to the bathroom.
The second Danny saw her, he cried. “I want my mommy.”
Her heart broke as she held him, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, his tears gushing out along with choking sobs of anguish. She tightened her grip and rocked him, singing to him in a murmur as soft as a mountain breeze.
“Natalie? Danny? I’m here!” Her mother must have let herself in with her spare key. Her mom’s head popped into the bathroom doorway.
Tears burned Natalie’s eyes, and she did everything in her power to stem them. “It’s my fault, Mom. Aidan warned me it was too late for ice cream, but I forged ahead.”
Danny was paying the price for her impulsive ways. He shivered, and she clutched him to her chest.
Diane came over and placed the back of her hand on Danny’s forehead and then on the nape of his neck. “He’s hot. I think this is a stomach bug, not something he ate.”
“Oh.” Natalie repeated her mother’s actions and blinked. The teacher in her took over, and she helped Danny to his feet. She and Diane cleaned him and helped him change into fresh pajamas. “Back to bed with you.”
A quiet rap on the front door startled her, and she glanced at Diane. “Did Dad follow you over?”
“He would have let himself in. I’ll check the peephole.” Diane hurried away.
Natalie ushered Danny to bed and looked up to find Aidan in the doorway. “I heard a car pull in and looked out the window. I saw the lights go on and recognized your mother’s car.”
Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set Page 59