by Ana E Ross
“I know.”
It was a halfhearted response, filled with questions and negations. Bryce picked up the empty mug and coffee pot and took them into the kitchen. “Is everything okay over there? Are your aunt and sisters up yet?” Anything to avoid the obvious.
“I don’t know. I just woke up.”
Wonderful. He’d slept through the night. Bryce set the dishes in the sink and glanced at the range of snow-covered hills outside his two-story penthouse suite in Hotel Andreas. The slopes would soon be teaming with skiers and snowboarders—favorite sports Michael and Lauren would never again enjoy with their kids. He walked toward the stairs. “Did you sleep okay, buddy?”
“I miss them, Uncle Bryce. I miss Momma and Daddy so much. Why did they have to die?”
The sobs and the pain in the boy’s voice tore at Bryce’s heart. He collapsed on the stairs like a beaten-down soldier returning from battle, incapable of taking another step with the unbearable weight of war on his shoulders.
If things had been normal, at this exact moment, Lauren would have been waking up Jason for school, and Michael would be cooking breakfast for his family. Michael believed a child should start the day with more than a bowl of cold cereal, especially in the winter. Jason and Alyssa always looked forward to the Mickey Mouse or Garfield-shaped pancakes swimming in hot maple syrup, delicious omelets, or whatever Michael decided to prepare that day. Many times, Bryce had stopped by for breakfast unannounced before going on to his office at Fontaine Enterprises. They were such a happy family.
“Uncle Bryce? Are you still there?”
Bryce stifled a moan. “I’m here, Jason. I’m here.”
“Can you come over? Please, Uncle Bryce. I need you.”
“I’ll be there, son. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
* * *
“I want oatmeal.”
“I’ll make you some as soon as I finish feeding your sister, Alyssa.” Kaya glanced at the pouting child. She’d poured her a bowl of cold cereal, but Alyssa had knocked the bowl to the floor. She had turned into the little girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead who when she was good, she was very, very good, but who when she was bad, was horrid. Alyssa wanted oatmeal, and that was final.
Kaya knew Alyssa’s behavior had little to do with the oatmeal and everything to do with the prolonged absence of her parents.
“You love Anastasia more than me, Auntie Kaya.”
The unshed tears in her eyes tugged at Kaya’s heart. “That’s not true, Alyssa. I don’t love Anastasia more than I love you.”
“Then why can’t you make me some oatmeal? Daddy makes me oatmeal. I want my daddy. I don’t want him to be in heaven no more. I want him to come home and make me oatmeal.” Alyssa dropped her head on the table and began to sob.
Kaya knew it would get worse before it got any better. Anastasia had awakened screaming at the top of her lungs, and Kaya had brought her downstairs so she wouldn’t wake Jason.
She’d just popped the bottle into the screaming infant’s mouth when Alyssa sauntered into the kitchen, demanding oatmeal. She had to choose between making Alyssa wait, or have Anastasia cry herself into a fit. Had she made the wrong choice?
One child was hostile, one was demanding, and the other was totally dependent on her. Her eyes itched from sleeplessness. Her mind burned with worry. And her body ached from fatigue. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this haggard. Is this what being a mother was all about?
“Sweetheart, what’s the matter?”
Kaya tensed at the deep, masculine voice, and turned to see Bryce heading toward Alyssa. He set a brown shopping bag on the table then knelt on the floor and gathered Alyssa into his arms.
“I want oatmeal.” Alyssa sniffled into his neck. “And I want my daddy and my mommy, Uncle Bryce. I don’t want them in heaven no more. Can you tell God to send them home?”
“I would have made her oatmeal,” Kaya stated when Bryce pinned his dark gaze on her. “But I had to feed Anastasia. You know how she screams when she’s hungry.”
His features softened as he gazed at the suckling infant. “Michael made them a hot breakfast every morning. They aren’t used to cold cereal or a single-parent home.” He picked up the bowl Alyssa had knocked to the floor. “Change is never welcomed, and patience is a learned art.” He scooped Alyssa from her chair and strolled to the walk-in pantry. “Get your stuff, darling. We’ll do it just like you and daddy used to.”
Alyssa grabbed the container of oatmeal, a small box of raisins, a bottle of honey, and some cinnamon. She stacked them on Bryce’s chest then hugged her arms around his shoulders to keep them from falling to the floor.
Kaya assumed that was exactly how she and Michael used to do it. She had so much to learn about these children—their likes, dislikes, the routine of their daily lives.
“Can I help, Uncle Bryce? Daddy let me help.” Alyssa beamed, happy again.
“You don’t think I’m going to do all the work, do you?” He kissed her forehead, then set the ingredients on the counter and Alyssa next to them. “Don’t move,” he warned, as he began collecting pots, dishes, and utensils from the cabinets and drawers, and milk from the fridge.
Excitement replaced Alyssa’s blues as Bryce helped her measure oatmeal and milk into the measuring cup then poured them into the pot he’d placed on the stove.
“Can I have more cimmamon?” Alyssa asked.
“Just a little bit. Too much of one thing is good for nothing, my mommy always says.”
“Okay, Uncle Bryce.” She shook a little bit more of the brown powder into the pot. “Is that ’nough?”
“Perfect. I’m going to turn on the stove, and you know you can’t touch the pot nor put your hands near the flame, right?”
“I know. Daddy tells me a one hundreds of times.”
Bryce placed a wooden spoon in her hands then placing one of his over hers, he began to stir the pot.
Alyssa grinned. “This is gonna be yummy in my tummy.”
Kaya couldn’t help but smile as she watched the huge man and the little girl work together. Bryce’s tenderness amazed her. He attended to Alyssa as if she were his only concern in the world. It was the same attentiveness he’d portrayed with Anastasia yesterday. Then last night, he’d given his full attention to Jason when the boy needed him.
He would make a wonderful father and committed husband, she thought, admiring his Herculean physique, dressed in perfectly fitted jeans and a pale yellow sweater that accentuated his broad, strong shoulders.
Any woman who captured and managed to hold his attention would have no doubt that she was loved. He would devote his heart and soul to her one hundred and ten percent. She was certain he’d been like that with Pilar—whoever she was.
“Air will give her gas, you know.”
“Huh?” Kaya caught his gaze in the mirrored wall behind the stove. She glanced down to find Anastasia’s bottle was empty. She pulled the bottle from her mouth and hoisted her over her shoulders.
Bryce had been watching her while she’d been studying his physique from behind. How embarrassing could that be? Color crept into her cheeks as she became acutely conscious of her flannel pajamas and uncombed hair haphazardly pulled back into a ponytail. She hadn’t even had time to wash her face before she’d rushed a wailing Anastasia downstairs.
She must look a sight.
She hadn’t expected Bryce this early in the morning. In fact, she hadn’t expected him at all. They’d agreed to meet at Samantha’s office. If she’d know he was coming by, she would have gotten up earlier and showered and dressed before coming downstairs.
Anastasia expelled a long, loud burp that would make a sailor blush.
Unable to help herself, Kaya burst into giggles.
“Hard to believe something that gross could come out of something so small and sweet,” Bryce said, turning with a grin on his face.
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Kaya replied, transferring Anastasia to the cro
ok of her arm and wiped the spit-up from the corners of her mouth.
“How did she sleep last night?” He opened the box of raisins and handed it to Alyssa.
“She awoke around two for a feed, then slept until early this morning. So, I’d say well.”
He gave her a swift once-over. “What kept you awake, then?”
Kaya averted her gaze. She must look far worse than she thought. “I—”
“Uncle Bryce, I think it’s done,” Alyssa announced.
“I think you’re right, pumpkin.” He turned off the stove and poured the porridge into a bowl. Then, scooping Alyssa up, he took the porridge to the freezer, placed it inside, and set the built-in timer on the freezer door. “You were saying,” he said, walking back to put Alyssa into her seat.
“What’s in the bag?” Kaya changed the subject, not wishing to be the topic of conversation. Thinking about the way Jack had dumped her and trying to figure out how she was going to take care of the children on her own had kept her awake last night. But since Jack had removed himself from the equation, there was no need to tell Bryce or anyone else about him.
“Coffee, fresh donuts, bagels, and cream cheese from Mountainview Café.”
“Libby told me about that place. Ethan’s grandmother owns it.”
“It’s the best coffee and bakery shop in town. The bagels are still hot from the oven. I don’t know what you like, so I brought one of everything. Last night, I noticed the scarcity of food in the house, so I also went ahead and ordered a variety of luncheon dishes from Andreas. They’ll be delivered around the same time we get back from Samantha’s.”
“Thanks, Bryce.” She was warming to the thoughtful man underneath the hard exterior. “What are you doing here, anyway? We were supposed to meet at Samantha’s office.”
“Jason called me. He’s not doing well.”
“I didn’t even know he was up.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Alyssa, who was busy talking to Snoopy. “What’s going on between you and Jason?” he asked in a lowered voice. “Yesterday afternoon, you avoided each other like the plague. And last night when you offered him a slice of pizza, he almost bit your head off. Did you say something to upset him?”
“What could I have said, Bryce? He just lost his parents. He doesn’t understand why. He’s mad at the world. Can you blame him?”
“Actually, he’s only mad at you, Kaya.”
The implications in his tone told her he was all too eager to point out the obvious. “I guess that’s why we’re going to see Samantha. Maybe she can shed some light on his attitude toward me.”
“I know these kids better than anyone, Kaya. Samantha included. I know what they need.” He looked her over from her rumpled curly head to her fluffy-slippered feet. “I don’t need a psychiatrist to tell me how to take care of them.”
“I know, Bryce. I appreciate all that you’re doing for them—”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You appreciate all I’m doing for them? How big of you.” He paused. “I may as well tell you now that I’ve made a decision about the children’s future.”
She balked. “You made a decision?”
“Yes, for you and the children. I’ve decided that you—”
“Hi, Kaya. Boss? I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Bryce’s mouth tightened into a grim line. Kaya looked past his imposing stature to smile at Libby, who’d snuck in undetected.
“Boy, it’s cold out there.” Libby rubbed her hands together. “The road is one long sheet of ice.”
The timer went off, and when nobody moved, Alyssa shouted, “Can somebody get my oatmeal from the freezer, please?”
Another silent moment dragged by before Libby responded to the child’s request. “Well, it seems I came just in the nick of time.” She got the bowl from the freezer and placed it in front of Alyssa.
“Can you please put some honey in it, Miss Libby?”
Libby squeezed a spoonful of honey into the porridge. “Looks yummy. Can I have some?”
“No-ah.” Alyssa grabbed her spoon and stirred the oatmeal. “Me and Uncle Bryce made it. Only he can have some. You want some, Uncle Bryce?” she asked around the first spoonful, bits of oatmeal flying from her mouth.
He turned, his face softening only for her. “It’s all yours. Enjoy it.”
“We’ll finish this later,” he said to Kaya. “You should get dressed. You heard Libby. The roads are bad. I suggest you plan on driving into town with me,” he said on his way out.
“What was that about?” Libby whispered, rescuing Anastasia from a dumbfounded Kaya. “The tension in here is as thick as cheese. Is he upset about something other than—you know, you taking them to Florida?”
Kaya stood up. “I have no idea. The man’s moods change like the wind.”
“Did he do that?” Libby pointed to the spilled milk and cereal on the floor.
Kaya chuckled at Libby’s sense of humor. She grabbed a roll of paper towels and some cleaning fluid and got down on her hands and knees. “I wish all the mess in my life could be cleaned up this easily.”
“Come on. It can’t be that bad.”
Oh yes, it can.
A sister she’d only met once was dead. She’d inherited three penniless children whose wealthy godfather’s new mission in life was to make hers miserable. Her career was in jeopardy, her fiancé had dumped her, and Bryce was making decisions about her life.
It was that bad!
Kaya dumped the soggy paper towels into the garbage, washed her hands, and pulled a cup of coffee from the bag Bryce had brought. “You heard the man. I should get dressed. Help yourself,” she added, pointing to the bag. “Compliments of your boss.”
* * *
“So, when were you going to tell me about him?” Bryce suddenly asked.
Oh so now he wanted to talk, Kaya thought after several attempts to engage him had failed. They’d driven along Route 80 West for at least twenty minutes, most of which Kaya had spent gazing out in silence upon the white hills and thick forests that made up the White Mountain Range on the right side of the road and the skyscrapers of downtown Granite Falls on the left.
“Kaya?”
Kaya turned and caught his gaze. “Tell you about whom?”
“Your boyfriend, or should I say fiancé?”
Kaya cleared her throat. She was surprised his answer hadn’t sent her into a panic. Instead, she felt somewhat relieved that he knew about Jack. Yep, just as she expected, he already had a private investigator on her tail. “How do you know about Jack?”
“He called you last night.”
“You were eavesdropping on my conversation? Of all the lowdown dirty rotten tricks I expect from you, I never thought you would eavesdrop on my private conversation, Bryce.”
“First of all, I was not eavesdropping on your conversation. And second, I could not care less whether or not you have a boyfriend.”
“Then why are you getting so worked up?” If the veins in his neck got any fuller with blood, they would pop.
He crossed the Aiken River Bridge and turned left onto Industrial Drive. “I’m worked up, Kaya, because you’re planning to raise my children with some man you haven’t even mentioned.”
“They’re not your children, Bryce. And besides, Jack and I—” She stopped herself. If he’d heard the entire conversation last night, they wouldn’t be having this one today. She sighed, grateful he hadn’t heard Jack ceremonially dumping her. That would have been humiliating, and it would give him another reason to force her to give up the kids.
“Who is he?”
“Nobody.”
“You’re marrying a nobody? That’s just fantastic. Nobody is going to be a father figure to my children.”
“Jack isn’t—” Kaya clammed her mouth shut again. What was the use of explaining anything to him? He was determined to fight her tooth and nail for the children, whether or not Jack or any other man was part of her life. It didn’t matter what she did or what she s
aid, she couldn’t win with him.
He shot her a lethal glance. “Jack isn’t what?”
Kaya sighed as they passed Fontaine Conference Center on the left and Andretti Industries on the right, two monstrous skyscrapers that occupied entire blocks. From the center of the town, the steeple of Granite Falls Community Church loomed above the skyline like a beacon of hope to the residents and visitors of the area. Libby had told her that the church was as old as the town, but that it had recently undergone a complete renovation and expansion. Compliments of Fontaine Construction.
The man was an enigma to Kaya. He built a house he didn’t live in, and he renovated a church he didn’t attend.
“What about Jack, Kaya?”
Kaya turned her head. “I don’t want to talk about Jack. Right now, my main concern is Jason and what Samantha has to say about him. That should be your main concern as well.”
He made a right turn, cruised around the Esplanade, and parked in a space in front of the row of red brick buildings that lined the riverfront. He shut off the engine and grabbed her arm, his rapier glance penetrating deeply. “Why so secretive, Kaya? What are you hiding? Nobody in this town knows anything about you. Yet we’re supposed to trust you with three children we hold dear to our hearts.”
Kaya lowered her gaze to her arm, where he held her firmly. Even through the thickness of her sheepskin jacket she could feel the heat from his touch. They’d been at odds since the moment they met, and she was so tired of it. Why couldn’t he just accept that Michael and Lauren had chosen her over him? Maybe if he tried to be nicer to her, more understanding of her feelings as she has been of his, he might get somewhere with her. “Their parents trusted me. Shouldn’t that be enough, Bryce?” She yanked her arm from his grasp and opened the car door.
The instant her foot hit the pavement, she knew it was a mistake. She felt herself flying and fumbled for the door handle. She missed.
“Damn stubborn woman.”
Kaya let out a gasp as two strong hands closed around her waist and lifted her back into the car. Her body collided with a wall of hard, warm muscles that smelled intoxicatingly male. She remained in the strong prison of his arms for a few breathless moments until her heart returned to its normal pace. Swallowing her pride, she gazed up into his face. “Thank you.”