She could make this work. They could make this work. Tonight she would tell him that he was right, that she could find a way to ease Xander into Cady’s life so he could become part of a routine, not a disruption.
And then she would kiss Ian slowly and steadily and tell him that she loved him.
* * *
EVEN AN EXTRA-LONG run by the river wasn’t enough to wipe out the over-over-over chant pulsing through Ian’s brain. Dripping and defeated, he let Lulu lead him across the yard and to the house.
One step at a time. Just like when things fell apart with Taylor. Just like when he found out the truth about Carter. One step at a time. Go upstairs. Shower. Get dressed. Come down and smile and don’t let anyone figure out that pretty soon you’re going to walk away from your own personal sun.
Lulu circled back and gave him a get moving bark. He dredged up a laugh for her.
“Thanks, girl. You want to come with me this morning, help load those picnic tables onto Hank’s truck? I might need you to keep me on track.”
Especially as Carter would be there. But Hank and Cash would be there, too—to lend muscle, Ma had said when she’d roped him into it—so surely this first brothers-only task would be survivable.
He dragged himself past the sunporch only to be stopped by a high-pitched squeal.
“Eee!”
Cady stood on Xander’s lap, holding his hands and bouncing to her own unheard music.
“Morning!” Xander called over the shrieks, then turned back to Cady.
“You want Daddy to do the horse thing for you again. Don’t you, pretty girl?”
Cady spotted the dog. “Ru! Ru!”
“Where’s Darcy?”
“Upstairs. She asked me to look after Cady while she got dressed.”
So they had a few minutes. This might be his best chance today to grab some time alone with Xander and propose the idea that had come to him as he’d run—an idea that both made perfect sense and made him wish he could yank his heart from his chest and lock it in a freezer so he wouldn’t have to feel it break.
He dropped to the ottoman and sat on his hands to keep them from reaching for Cady. “Listen, Xander. You’ve probably figured out from the talk around here that I’m moving back to Comeback Cove.”
“I heard things, yeah.” Xander shot him a fast glance. “I didn’t want to ask.”
“Yeah, well, it’s happening.”
“So you and Darcy—”
God, get him through this. “We’re still working out the details.” At the swift panic in Xander’s eyes, he rushed to add, “Look, this all happened before you came back, and everything’s been so crazy since you showed up. Not your fault, just the nature of the beast. But, anyway, don’t worry. Cady isn’t going to leave Stratford the minute you get settled.”
“That’s good to hear. Not that it’s all about me,” he added with a laugh.
“Anyway, I was thinking.” Ian said it fast, before he could change his mind. “With your plans getting rearranged and everything, you probably don’t have a place to stay yet. So maybe you might want to talk to Darcy.” He swallowed hard. “About renting the garage apartment.”
“Your place?” Xander tore his eyes away from the bouncing baby long enough for Ian to see the surprise.
“Well, it’s not like I’ve really been using it for a while now.” And why the hell hadn’t he figured that out earlier? “It would make a ton of sense. For you and for Cady. Probably the closest you all could come to that white picket fence thing.”
Because even if Xander didn’t need that, even if Cady didn’t—Darcy did.
* * *
CLEAN, DRESSED AND as ready as she ever would be, Darcy set out to help with desserts. For the sake of everyone who would end up eating the food she was about to prepare, she hoped the recipes were written down in very clear language.
“Good morning!” Brynn all but sang the words as Darcy entered the kitchen. Taylor paused in the midst of setting out measuring cups, spoons and pans to offer a wan smile.
“Hi, Darcy.” Taylor seemed a little more reserved than she had the other day. Given the paleness of her face, she might simply be having a particularly bad day of wrestling morning sickness.
Or it could be that her stomach, like Darcy’s, was fluttering over the fact that—thanks to their plotting—Carter and Ian were about to find themselves alone together.
Brynn, who was in on the plan, pushed a bowl of pistachios toward Darcy. “Here. Put some of that nervous energy to work and shell these. We need them for the biscotti, and the store didn’t have any of the naked ones.”
“You sure you don’t need me to cream something by hand, or punch some bread dough?” Darcy picked up a nut and squeezed. “It seems a shame to waste all this angst.”
“You guys are wusses,” Brynn said. “You’re doing the right thing. Ian and Carter will be a little ticked off when they figure out they were hoodwinked, but they’re smart enough to know this is for their own good.”
“I hope so,” Taylor said with a sigh. “I know Carter will be. Darcy, don’t take this the wrong way, but he’s been on edge ever since you guys arrived. I think he’ll be glad to have this out in the open.”
Darcy wasn’t so sure that Ian would be as grateful. But there was nothing to be done about it now. He was already on his way to Hank’s.
A pointed piece of shell poked her finger.
“How did you guys convince Hank and Cash to go along with this?” she asked.
Taylor’s grin was a little bit more believable this time. “I called Cash and played the pregnant card.”
“Shameless,” Brynn said. “And clever.”
“Oh, yeah? How did you convince Hank to play along?”
Brynn’s blush was all the answer Darcy needed.
“Okay. We have to talk about something else or I’m going to freak out. So...how were you guys able to do this—” she gestured toward the bags and canisters “—without Moxie insisting on being part of the production?”
“Oh, that was easy,” Taylor said. “Brynn promised we would stay out of her way while she made the salads if she left us alone to do this.”
“You can do that?”
Brynn shrugged. “Here’s the thing about Moxie. She’s tough and smart and a little sneaky, but she’s fair. If you are willing to negotiate, she’s always willing to talk.”
“Kind of like a hostage situation,” Taylor said, and she and Brynn burst into laughter. Darcy couldn’t help but join in.
Was this what it was like to have a family? Not just mother-father-kids, but the whole shebang, with cousins and aunts and uncles. To have something like this for Cady, for herself...
Ian had to patch things up with Carter. A family such as this needed to be preserved.
But thinking about what might be happening with Ian made her stomach twitch. She forced herself to focus on Taylor and Brynn and vanilla and flour, until she saw with a start that almost an hour had passed.
“I should probably check on Cady.” She gave her hands a quick wash. “Don’t have too much fun without me, okay?”
With laughter echoing in her ears, Darcy went in search of Cady and Xander. She knew all was well. If not, Xander would have come hunting. But she still needed to see for herself. Not just to be sure Cady was okay, but to watch them in action together. To remind herself that Xander could bring things to Cady’s life that she couldn’t—at least one aunt, maybe more grandparents, maybe even cousins. She would love for Cady to have cousins.
She could handle this. It would be like...like when she started sending Cady to day care. That had been an adjustment. And, yeah, she had indulged in a pity party over the fact that finances wouldn’t allow her to extend her maternity leave as long as most mothers got. But she had managed. She had organized and planned and learned to compartmentalize her life into Cady time and work time and—usually thanks to Ian—Darcy time. So now she would simply learn to add Xander time.
And, if sh
e were lucky, maybe some regular, frequent Darcy-and-Ian time.
She found them outside tossing a ball with Lulu. Cady’s welcoming squeal left her all gushy inside. Damn but she loved this kid.
Xander had a mildly frantic air about him, and there was no denying the relief that bloomed on his face at her approach, but she saw no evidence of either blood or tears on any of them, so she called that a win and pulled Cady into her arms.
“Hey. Sorry I was gone so long. I started working with Brynn and Taylor, and we got laughing, and, well, I guess I was more in need of a gabfest than I thought. Thanks for being a great babysitter.”
“My pleasure. And I wasn’t babysitting. I was playing with my daughter. Big difference.”
She swallowed her flutter of panic. “Did you have fun, Buggy Boo?” She held Cady over her head and wiggled her back and forth. “Did you have so much fun with your—with Xander?”
“She led Daddy all over the yard. I probably know it better than the Norths do at this point. And remind me to tell one of them that there’s a groundhog hole by that maple tree that they might want to fill in before the party.”
“Sure. Listen, if you want to find one of them now, take a few minutes to recharge, you go ahead. I can put her in the high chair in the kitchen and give her a snack. She’d probably like that.” She lowered Cady to her, nuzzled her nose. “For at least five or ten minutes.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that. I’m still building up my daddy endurance.” He took a step toward the house, hesitated and turned back. “Darce, Ian said something this morning that made a lot of sense. Maybe I could...”
“What?” He seemed nervous all of a sudden, though she wasn’t sure why. If Ian had suggested it, it was probably one of those ideas that would leave her smacking her forehead and asking why she hadn’t thought of it herself.
“He told me about him moving back here, and not using the apartment over the garage. He thought it might be a good idea if...”
No. No.
“If I moved in there.”
She pulled Cady close to her chest, folded her arms around her. “He came up with this himself?”
“Yeah. I never would’ve... And look, if you don’t like the idea, I understand. This has been a lot all of a sudden, and if you don’t want me to...”
No. No, I drew the lines, I talked myself into believing it would be fine as long as I colored inside those lines, and now Ian wants to erase them? Ian, who knows why I need them?
“It made a lot of sense to me. You know, make it easier for me to be a real part of her life, for us to share child care and, you know, everything. I’m thinking, in a couple of years, it might be nice for her to be able to run back and forth between us instead of me needing to set everything up ahead of time.” His laugh was short and strained. “Hey, if we pull it off, it could end up being almost like a regular family. Right?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
IAN STOOD BESIDE Hank’s beat-up old truck and scowled at the note propped on the windshield.
Sorry, guys. Millie needs school stuff and I have a big crew checking in today, so this was my only chance. The key to the truck is inside. Carter has the house key. I’ll try to get back in time to lend a hand.
“Sure you will.” Ian crumpled the note. The rough noise echoed the crowded sensation in his gut when he spotted Carter sitting on top of a picnic table in front of the Wolfe cabin, staring at the river as though he owned it.
“Hey.” Ian shoved his hands into his pockets, shot Carter a fast glance, then decided to study the water himself.
“’Morning.”
“Don’t suppose Cash is showing up.”
“Nope.” Carter lifted the phone from the tabletop. “Just got a text. Twisted his ankle.”
Despite himself, Ian snorted. “He never could lie worth beans.”
“Moxie must have forgot to give him a full script.”
“Oh, I’m not pinning this one on her.” Memories tumbled through his head; lowered voices at the dinner table, Darcy asking if he’d seen Carter at the dairy, Darcy making an oh-so-subtle remark this morning about things being easier once they were out in the open. God, he was an idiot. “I think this was all Darcy and Taylor, with some help from Brynn.”
“And they conned both the guys into going along with them?”
“Conned? No. Threatened, more likely.”
“You’re probably right.” Carter leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, intruding into Ian’s peripheral vision. “But since they went to all this work, maybe we should...”
Oh, no. No way in hell was he going along with this. Sure, for a minute there it had been almost like old times, almost joking around together again. That had been okay. But more than that? Uh-uh. Not going to happen.
Forward, North.
“Why are you just sitting there?”
“Huh?”
“We’re supposed to be loading tables. Let’s load. Unless your ass has developed magical powers and can do the job for you.”
“I— Sure. Whatever.” Carter pocketed his phone in obvious preparation for climbing off the table. Ian resisted—barely—the temptation to do the magician thing and yank it out from beneath Carter. He wouldn’t mind seeing someone hit the dirt about now.
“Get it in gear,” he said.
Carter frowned but complied, slowly circling to the other side of the table.
“On three.” Carter grabbed his end. “One...two...”
Ian pulled the table toward him. Carter stumbled forward.
“Oops. My bad.”
“Right.” Carter brushed his shorts and took a deep breath. “Look, Ian. There’s something I need to say.”
Ah, shit. Not now.
“It looks like things are working out for you, and that’s good. I mean, you could have knocked me over with a feather when you showed up with Darcy. But, hey, if you’re gonna be surprised, better a good one than a lousy one, right?”
“Jeez, Carter.” Ian held his brother’s gaze. “You really think you should be the one telling me that?”
Dull red rose in Carter’s cheeks, but like the stubborn idiot that he was, he plowed on. “I’m just trying to say, even though I know it’s going to be...awkward...for a while, it’s good to have you back. And I hope you take that job. I think it’s a solid fit for you.”
On that, Ian could agree. Not that he was going to, but it was the truth.
“So, I’m just saying, you and Darcy and Cady—I know things are messy, with Xander and all, but those things can be worked out. I’m just glad for you.”
“Of course you are. It makes life a lot easier for you, doesn’t it?”
Carter blinked. “What does that mean?”
Ian wasn’t really sure. But something nasty had coiled itself in his stomach, something as poisonous as a snake, and he realized—too late—that he couldn’t let it out.
What the hell had Darcy been thinking?
“It means exactly what you think it means. Now are you going to help me move tables, or are you going to stand there yammering?”
“Ian. Come on. We need to—”
For one sweet second, Ian let himself imagine how good it would feel to take the muscles he’d developed in his arms—muscles born of hours at the forge, long afternoons spent hammering away the pain of what had been done to him—and use them to shove his fist into Carter’s face.
But he wasn’t going to be the one to ruin Ma’s party. “We need to get these tables on the truck, drive it to the house and unload them. That’s it. That’s all.”
Carter held his gaze. A perverse part of Ian wished Carter would push this. He almost—almost—wanted to see what would happen if he finally let go.
Luckily or not, Carter let out his breath and lowered his eyes. “Fine.” His voice was tight and clipped. “Whatever.”
Ian grabbed the table and heaved. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they could get to the house.
And once he got there, he a
nd Darcy were going to have themselves a talk.
* * *
RATTLED BY XANDER’S REVELATION, Darcy was barely focused on her actions when she took Cady to the kitchen. Which explained how Cady managed to dive-bomb the bowl of frosting. Which was how Xander finally got his first introduction to bath time in the middle of the day. Which was why he was now downstairs doing lunch duty, aided by a very willing Brynn and Taylor, while Darcy showered chocolate frosting out of her hair.
Of course, she wasn’t sure what was creating more steam: the hot water or the thoughts bubbling in her brain.
Did it make sense for Xander to live in the garage? In theory, yes.
Did Darcy want him there? More to the point, did Ian—Ian—have any right to make that suggestion?
She snapped off the water, swore at the towel, snarled while she yanked on fresh clothes. She pushed the comb through her hair and tugged at the knots and froze when she heard familiar footsteps on the stairs.
Maybe the frosting fiesta hadn’t been a total waste of time and sugar. At least now they would have some privacy while she set him straight.
The door opened with a bang. She lowered the comb, drew in her breath and went to meet him.
“Lock it,” she said evenly.
“Already did.”
And why the hell did he look so—
Oh. Yeah.
The Carter-Ian reunion had slipped her mind. From the way Ian’s eyes were flashing, she was pretty sure it hadn’t gone according to plan.
From the way her jaw was tightening, she was positive she didn’t give a rat’s ass.
They stared at each other. The words that had poured through her in the shower seemed to have been washed away. All that remained was the heavy, white-hot burn of betrayal.
“Why did you tell Xander to move into the apartment?”
He blinked, as if he couldn’t believe she had to ask. “Because for one thing, I’m moving out and the lease says I can sublet with your approval. For another thing, it makes sense. Now.” His eyes narrowed. “Who the hell thought it was a good idea to strand me alone with Carter?”
A Family Come True Page 22