A Family Come True

by Kris Fletcher

  “You want to walk, don’t you, Bug?” He lowered her to the ground and slipped his fingers into her fists. She shrieked something he couldn’t understand, held tight and slapped one foot in front of the other in her version of a beeline for the door while he duck-walked behind her.

  “You’re getting good at this, kid. Soon you won’t need me to hold you up.”

  What the hell. He’d been debating moving home to Comeback Cove anyway. Maybe Xander’s reappearance was some kind of message that it would be okay to go. Ian’s work here was done, and all that crap.

  They had reached the door—well, as close as they could get to it with Lulu doing her best to claw her way through the window. Darcy’s hot-pink top danced at the edge of his vision, but he refused to look at her. He would hand over Cady and take himself and Lulu to the garage, where he could control the fire.

  Decision made, he nudged the door open and marched Cady into the sunshine.

  “Hello, sweetness!” The forced cheer and slight breathlessness in Darcy’s voice made him wonder if maybe he should have checked the backyard action before walking out. His imagination, helpful as always, offered up some vivid pictures of the reunions he and Cady might have interrupted.

  Oh, yeah. As if that was gonna help.

  “Here you go.” He could do make-believe happy as well as the next person. “She’s fed and as clean as she ever will be.”

  “Did you have a good lunch, lovey? Oh, but you must have painted your clothes with it, right? That’s not what you were wearing a few minutes ago.”

  He risked a glance in Darcy’s direction. She didn’t seem any more rumpled than she had when he’d left. “Nope. Can’t blame this one on sloppy eating.”

  “Uh-oh. Did you get stuck with a blowout?”

  He checked on Xander, who was hovering behind Darcy and staring at Cady as if he wasn’t sure she was real. That diaper would have grounded him pretty fast. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

  “Sorry.” Darcy squatted and held out her arms. “Come here, Bug. We, um, I need to introduce you to someone.”

  For one wild minute he considered grabbing Darcy, calling Lulu and hauling everyone into the house before locking the door—with Xander on the other side. Then Cady released his fingers and lurched into Darcy’s embrace.

  He was the outsider here. He was the one who wasn’t part of the family.

  He was the one who needed to make himself scarce.

  “Well.” He stepped aside, patting his leg to call Lulu, who had parked herself between Darcy and Xander. At his signal her ears perked up but she didn’t move. It hit him that she was giving Xander the kind of you should run now look that he wished he could hand out.

  That did it. Next lifetime he was coming back as a dog.

  “Okay.” He made himself meet Darcy’s gaze, forced a hearty grin. “Well. If you’re all set I’ll get out of your—”

  Darcy’s eyes widened and her lips clamped tight. Her sideways glance toward Xander was fast but unmistakable.

  Holy crap. Unless he missed his guess, this wasn’t an entirely joyous reunion. In fact, if he had to pick one word to describe the vibes he was getting, that word would be panic.

  He didn’t know what had changed in the past half hour, but something sure had shifted. Which meant his intentions of firing up the forge and going all Neanderthal on a piece of hot metal were going to have to wait until he was sure Darcy wanted him to leave.

  “Come on, Lulu. Let’s play.”

  With that he grabbed a tennis ball from the bucket at the edge of the concrete patio and wandered toward the garden—far enough to give the illusion of respecting their privacy while staying within earshot. Darcy didn’t scare easily. Nor did she willingly ask for help. If she was acting skittish, there was a reason.

  Not that he thought Xander posed a physical threat. The man had grown into a con artist with delusions of invincibility, but Ian had never known him to be the violent type. He got queasy playing “Grand Theft Auto.” And when it came to women, well, given the number of nights Ian had spent sexiled to the futon in their dorm’s common room, he was well aware that Xander had something that appealed. No, whatever had happened between Xander and Darcy, Ian was pretty certain it had been consensual.

  But something had her spooked. So until she indicated otherwise, he wasn’t going anywhere.

  He tossed the ball. It bounced into the garden, disappearing in the twisted vines of Darcy’s snap peas. Crap. Lulu and the garden were a scary mix.

  Except Lulu wasn’t there.

  He swiveled in time to see Lulu bare her teeth and let loose with a deep growl as Xander’s outstretched hand hovered in midair a few inches from Cady.

  “Lulu?” Darcy’s voice echoed his surprise. “It’s okay, girl. Xander is... It’s okay.”

  Lulu’s response was to snarl louder. Her message couldn’t have been clearer. Stay away. Mine.

  Xander’s head twisted from the dog to Darcy to Ian, then back at Lulu. “Hey, Ian? Could you give us a hand here?”

  Well, well, well.

  Ian crossed his arms and took in the scene before him. It probably wasn’t smart to feel smug over the turn of events, but at this point he would take what he could get.

  “What’s the matter, Xander? Your dog doesn’t remember you?”

  The flush in Xander’s cheeks didn’t do anything for his appearance, but it sure made Ian grin.

  “Cute. Call her off.”

  “Sure, sure.” He took his time ambling forward and stooped to run a hand down Lulu’s back. “Easy, girl. Everything’s fine.”

  She continued to glare at Xander. A fraction of the rigidness eased from her stance, but she didn’t move. No doubt she was waiting for some sort of signal. In that case Xander was screwed, because Ian was pretty sure that the only messages Lulu might pick up from him were ones of frustrated protectiveness.

  Unless...

  Unless maybe he gave Lulu a reason to think that she could stand down because he was stepping up.

  He straightened slowly and caught Darcy’s attention—not difficult, as she seemed transfixed by the dog. Certain he couldn’t be seen by Xander behind him, Ian tapped his chest.

  Trust me, he mouthed.

  She didn’t nod or move, but like Lulu, some of the tension seeped from her shoulders. Message received.

  He petted Lulu again, gave her a “good girl” and then—slowly, deliberately—pushed runaway cinnamon curls behind Darcy’s ear.

  Behind him, he was pretty sure he heard Xander choke.

  Darcy’s eyes flickered to meet his gaze, her expression changing from confusion to acceptance in the literal blink of an eye.

  Lulu dropped to her haunches.

  Encouraged, Ian shifted to face Xander while taking a step back and sliding his arm around Darcy’s waist. She barely hesitated before snuggling against his side, soft and warm and a whole lot more pliant than was good for his long-deprived body.

  Damn. This might not have been such a smart idea after all.

  But Lulu had stopped glaring, and Xander’s jaw seemed about ready to hit the pavement, so Ian counted this as a win.

  “Wait a minute.” Xander’s laugh brimmed with disbelief. “Are you telling me that the two of you...?”

  “I don’t know why you seem so surprised.” Ian placed a possessive hand on Cady’s arm.

  “But you said...”

  Ian was well aware of what he had said when Xander asked him two summers ago if Ian had any designs on his landlady. Ian’s “Are you out of your tree?” had been equal parts She’s involved with someone else and I just got dumped by my fiancée, dumbass.

  “Yeah, well, that was then. This is now.”

  Darcy set Cady on the ground, straightened, then reached around his back and hooked her thumb ever-so-casually in the waistband of his jeans. His pulse spiked. Oh, hell.

  She tilted her head to rest against his shoulder. “I didn’t have a lot of experience with babies, and Ian had help
ed with his niece so he kind of taught me what to do, and I started relying on him more and more, and the next thing you know he was spending more time in the house with me than in his apartment over the garage. And then it was like— Well, I guess I don’t need to spell it all out.”

  All true, but damn. When she said it with that little laugh in her voice he could almost believe it himself.

  “Yeah. I guess so.” Xander shook his head. “Look, it’s been a hell of a day, and I’ve already been here longer than I planned.”

  That’s right, Xander. Leave. Now.

  “But I...” Xander glanced at Ian and Darcy once more, and then shifted his focus to Cady pulling herself upright on Ian’s leg.

  “Could I hold her?”

  Ian glanced at Darcy, who bit her lip but gave a quick nod.

  Damn it. Why did Xander have to come back and put her through this?

  “If she fusses don’t take it personally,” she said as Ian pried Cady from his calf and handed her to Xander. “She doesn’t meet too many new people, so she’s kind of shy with strangers.”

  Xander held Cady at arm’s length for a breath or two before pulling her closer. His elbows stuck out at an awkward angle, his knees seemed frozen in position and his face held a mix of terror and reverence.

  “But I’m not a stranger,” he said, directing the words to Cady. “I’m your dad.”

  Ian reached for Darcy’s hand, lacing his fingers through her clammy ones. Her smile was determined but he saw the fear in her eyes.

  Cady reared back, staring at Xander’s face without blinking. A hint of a smile lit his face.

  “You look like my little sister,” he said softly. “Bethie. I guess she’s your aunt Bethie.”

  Ian hid his wince. Darcy—no doubt motivated by her own status as a lonely only child—had mentioned more than once that she wished Cady had a big extended family to dote on her and shower her with frilly pink things and make her feel as though she was the most amazing thing on the planet. Still, he was pretty sure this wasn’t the way she would have chosen to add to Cady’s relative count.

  “So, does she talk?” Xander asked. “Or walk or...? I don’t know much about babies, either. Nothing, really.” His laugh was a little stronger, if rueful. “Maybe you’ll need to teach me, too, Ian.”

  Darcy opened her mouth, but no words came out. Ian rubbed the small of her back. This had to be killing her.

  Ian had been still digging himself out of the mess his own life had become when he’d realized she was pregnant. He hadn’t had a lot left over to focus on anyone else’s problems.

  But then it had become obvious that Jonathan—the supposed father—wasn’t in the picture. And Darcy’s own mother had reluctantly agreed that pregnancy and a baby were not compatible with the work she needed Darcy to do. Darcy had put on a brave front while slowly developing a crease in her forehead that had rivaled her belly for size.

  Still, it wasn’t until after Cady’s birth that he’d put it all together. He’d come home from work one hot afternoon in late June and found Darcy huddled under the umbrella he’d installed, shaking with silent sobs while Cady slept in her arms. For the first time it had hit him how alone she was, how lost and scared she must have felt.

  He had taken the baby and ordered Darcy to get some sleep. And somewhere in the year that followed, he’d figured out that Darcy wasn’t the only one who had benefited from his involvement.

  His issues didn’t matter at this moment. Right now his job was to step up and get them through this. The rest could wait.

  “Oh, Cady isn’t shy about letting anyone know what she can do,” he said to Xander. “She doesn’t walk by herself yet, but she pulls up on furniture—”

  “And legs,” Darcy added softly.

  “And then she cruises. You know, pulls herself sideways,” he added in response to Xander’s blank look. “She can crawl faster than Lulu can run, though she’s letting up on that.”

  “She has a couple of words.” Darcy’s voice shook a little, but there was an underlying determination that made him want to cheer for her. “She says Mum mum, and Eeeee, which I—we—think means Ian. And Ru for Lulu, though we don’t know if she’s trying to say her name or imitate the sound of barking.”

  “You sound like a smart one, Cadence Joy.”

  The pride and wonder in Xander’s voice made Ian pull Darcy tighter against his side. She molded herself to him. He was pretty sure that this time she wasn’t seeking to deceive Xander as much as to hold herself up. Didn’t matter to him. As long as he was helping he didn’t much care about the details.

  But he couldn’t help but notice how perfectly she fit against him.

  Absolutely normal. Proof you’re over Taylor. Biology reminding you that you’re still alive.

  It had been hard enough to make himself swallow that line the past few months, noticing Darcy from a distance. Now, with her warmth and softness glued to his side, he was almost grateful for Xander’s presence. At least with an audience Ian was less likely to throw caution to the wind and do something really stupid.

  Cady let out a whimper that he recognized as the prelude to a lungful of protest. Darcy moved out of his embrace. The places where she had pressed against him seemed to blink in shock.

  “Here.” She scooped Cady from Xander and cuddled the child tight against her chest. “Don’t want her getting scared off at the first meeting, right?”

  Everyday words, but he could only guess what they had cost her. He wasn’t sure if he was more amazed by the casual way she tossed them out or by the fact that she returned to his side. He needed no prompting to nestle her against him once again.

  Ah, that’s better.

  He pushed the traitorous thought aside. Time to convince Xander to leave so he and Darcy could go inside and figure out what to do next. Especially about this fake relationship they had just invented. The one he had to remember was only that—fake.

  “So, Xander. What’s next for you? Are you staying here in Stratford?” Say no. Say no.

  Xander’s usual confidence switched to uncertainty. “I— Jeez. I have something lined up, a job in cottage country, but...” He ran one finger gently down Cady’s arm. “Things have changed.”

  Yeah, they had. Ian could give him that one. Maybe even a few points for rethinking his plans now that those changes had hit him.

  But Ian wasn’t backing off until Darcy gave the word.

  Cady whimpered and burrowed her head into the cleft between his shoulder and Darcy’s. Xander’s hand dropped away. Ian wasn’t sure if he should feel guilty, victorious or ashamed, so he settled for giving thanks that—for the moment, at least—he was still in the picture.

  Darcy spoke up. “She’s getting tired. Xander, why don’t you give me your number and we’ll set up a time to get together again. Let’s see, today is Tuesday, so maybe—”

  “Tomorrow?” Xander had never sounded so excited about anything for as long as Ian had known him.

  Darcy stiffened a little in Ian’s embrace. “I’ve got a lot going on over the next couple days. How about the end of the week?”

  A lot going on? Darcy worked from home and had no appointments other than delivering Cady to and from her mornings at day care. He knew for a fact that she had kept the next few days open, because he was her usual hairdresser-and-dentist babysitter, and he was heading to Comeback Cove Thursday morning.

  If Darcy was putting Xander off, it meant she wanted time. For what, he didn’t know. But he’d be damned if he would let her set up something for the days he wasn’t going to be around.

  Unless, of course, that was what she wanted...

  But no. He hadn’t imagined that wariness that had come over her. Until he knew she felt safe, he was going to stick to her like the snap pea vines clinging to Lulu’s coat as she slinked out of the garden.

  “Hang on, honey.” He thought fast. “Did you forget that we’re leaving in the morning?”

  “I—”

  He turn
ed to Xander, watching them with way too much curiosity. “We’re going up to see my folks, spend Father’s Day with my dad. So it’ll be next Monday, Tuesday, before we get back.”

  “Oh, right.” Darcy laughed and elbowed him in the ribs while adjusting Cady. Accidentally? “How could I forget? Like I said, teething, not enough sleep.” She shrugged. “It does a number on me.”

  Xander studied them, skepticism apparent in his crossed arms and narrowed eyes. Ian’s stomach clenched. The truth would have to come out at some point, but damn it, he didn’t want that to happen until he’d had a chance to talk to Darcy and find out what she needed.

  He slipped sideways, turning to slide his hands around a droopy, half-asleep Cady. “Here. I’ll take her in while you get Xander’s number.”

  Darcy nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

  He paused, considered and then—before he could talk himself out of it—brushed a quick kiss against her mouth.

  He kept it light. Fast. Barely long enough to register the hint of ginger on her breath, nowhere near hot enough to account for the rush of God, yes that hit him even as he reminded himself that it was all for show. It was clumsy, so awkward that if Xander had been taking notes, he probably would have seen through them in a heartbeat.

  But, damn, she tasted good.

  And, whoa damn, when her lips parted—purely from shock, he knew—he had to drag himself away.

  And, hot damn, but if this was a mistake, it was the best one he’d made in a long time.

  CHAPTER THREE

  TEN MINUTES AFTER saying goodbye to Xander, fifteen minutes after Ian had bestowed the third surprise in her hat trick of shocks for the day, Darcy pulled down the shade in Cady’s room and started the recording of acoustic covers that passed for lullabies chez Maguire. With all the routines accounted for, she turned on the monitor and tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind her and leaning against it while she breathed.