She flushed because the answer to that was a flat-out no. “Not until they call for subbing jobs once school starts.”
“Great.” He paused, looped their joined hands around her back and faced her. “Can you drive up to Casa Blanca tomorrow morning? The kids would love to see you.”
He didn’t add that they needed to say their goodbyes. He didn’t have to add it, because as the calendar days marched on, September loomed with all the sensibility of scheduling that fall required. “I can do that.”
“Good.” He held her hand like that, their arms looped around her, and if he wanted to pull her closer, he could.
He didn’t. He brought her arm back around and finished his cone as they walked up her driveway. “Thanks for walking with me.”
“Thanks for the custard.”
He touched a finger to the brim of that old baseball cap. “My pleasure.”
He crossed The Square, got into his car, merged with busy commuter traffic and disappeared to the south.
She sank onto the garden bench, wondering.
He’d flirted with her. Held her hand. Invited her over.
Why?
Did his heart jump rhythm like hers did whenever he was around? Or was he just being a really nice guy to the woman who’d helped teach his children?
She wasn’t sure, but she knew one thing: whatever he was doing, she liked it.
* * *
Tyler, Badge and Jim had delivered three expectant nanny goats to the newly fenced and cleaned goat barn the previous morning. Just seeing those three lovely ladies climbing the staged rocks and tree stumps made Cruz smile.
What if she says no? What if she tells you and your inflated ego to take a hike?
Life was full of chances. So was romance. But Rory sure did seem to like walking and talking.
Maybe it was the stuffed waffle cone. He was willing to admit it was really good custard.
But maybe it wasn’t just the frozen treat, or the walk along the sandy beach. Maybe—just maybe—it was him.
* * *
Rory pulled into the newly sealed front lot the next morning. The place looked good. So good. Fresh and white, the expansive house stood in stately fashion, full of charm. The grounds were golf-course pretty, with the grass cut, green and smooth. The whole place looked beautiful, like she remembered from so long ago.
She smiled and bent low when the kids raced toward her. “Hey, darlings, how are you? I’ve missed you so much!”
“Cruz got us a s’prise!”
“But we’re not supposed to tell,” added Lily. She scolded Javier with her hands on her hips, total Rosa. “Cruz said we needed to wait. Did you forget?”
“Sowry!”
“Hey, you got the r sound in that one!” She high-fived the little guy and hugged him. “Well done, my friend! And remember what we learned about good secrets?”
Javier put a finger to his mouth. “Shh.”
“Yes, so don’t say another thing about it, okay?”
“’Cept it’s hard because it’s such a good s’prise!”
She stood back up. Cruz was eyeing the kids with a rueful look and he rubbed his chin the way he did when he was musing something. “Remind me to never discuss business dealings with them around, okay?”
“I’ll send regular memos to Manhattan.”
He nodded. “Perfect. Hey, these guys wanted to take a walk along the creek, and I figured our time is going to wind down soon. Care to go with us?”
Two adorable kids grabbed her hands. “Please, Rory!”
“Yes, pwease?” Javier tipped those big brown eyes her way. “You never do fun stuff wif all of us anymore, and I miss you so much.”
“So do I.”
Cruz didn’t just say that, did he? One quick glance his way confirmed it.
She took Javier’s hand on one side and Lily’s on the other. “Lead the way, darlings.”
“Fank you!” Such a simple thing to make a little guy so happy. They walked to the low-level creek and strolled along the grassy knoll just above the water.
“I found fwee fwogs yesterday.” Javi held tight to her hand and peered over, into the water. “They were right there!” He pointed and almost upended them both into the creek.
“Whoa.” Cruz snugged an arm around her.
It felt good and right to be there, in the safety of Cruz’s arm, the scent of spicy soap and morning coffee a delightful combination. If she turned, just so, she’d be face-to-face with him, kissably close.
But why tempt fate?
She took a step back from the edge, drawing Javi with her. “Let’s avoid getting wet this morning, okay? I didn’t bring any extra clothes with me.”
“Cruz! Can we go show Rory our new friends?”
“Which ones?”
“You have a bunch of new friends?” She tipped Lily’s chin up and made a skeptical face. “How can this be, my little gingersnap?”
A noise sounded just then. A blatting noise, from back toward the barns behind them. “What was that?”
Cruz put up his hands as if warding off the question.
Lily and Javi turned around and tugged her back toward the farm. “Some of our new friends, Miss Rory! You are going to love them so much!”
“One is gway, one is white and one is so many colors!” Javi leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I fink she’s the pwettiest one of all.”
They turned the corner from the creek, facing the lower barn. New fencing ran along the small pasture’s edge, and three rounded goats blinked a welcome from the other side of the fence.
Rory blinked right back.
“I told you we had a s’prise!” Javier pumped her hand. “Cwuz got them for us because he said goat milk was good for kids and candy.”
“He said that?” This wasn’t making sense...unless...
He met her look of surprise and nodded. “My mother had a thing for goat’s milk. It seemed fitting to bring a few ladies back on board.”
“But—”
“They’re pretty, right?”
She laughed because having Cruz call goats pretty seemed out of character and delightful. “Lovely, actually. Do they have names?”
“We helped Cruz name them!” Lily wrung her hand, excited. “Guess what their names are?”
“Out of thin air? Out of the millions of possibilities? You want me to come up with random names?”
Cruz leaned close. “Think royal females familiar to small children.” He stressed the word royal and winked.
Princesses.
She smiled up at him, then pointed. “Belle.”
“How did you know?” Lily stared at her, dumbfounded.
“Because you love Beauty and the Beast,” Rory replied. “And Elsa.”
“Nope.”
“Anna.”
“Yes!” Lily and Javier both laughed. “But you don’t know the third one, and I don’t think you’ll guess it,” Lily decided. “She’s different.”
Cruz pinched his thumb and forefinger together in a silent clue. A tiny princess...
“Tinkerbell.”
“I can’t believe you got it!” Lily grabbed hold of her and spun her around. “Rory, you are the smartest person about princesses I know!”
“Well, we all have our gifts, I suppose.” She couldn’t avoid a wry tone, because there probably should be more important gifts than naming fairy-tale heroines, but if it made a beautiful child happy, she was okay with that. “I think this is one of the coolest surprises ever, guys.”
“But we have another one, too,” Javi exclaimed, then clapped his hands over his mouth. He couldn’t stay quiet, so he whispered around the little fingers. “It’s a very cool s’pwise!”
“It is,” Cruz admitt
ed. “I think it’s even better than the goats myself.”
“Better than goats?” Rory smiled up at him and nudged him with her elbow. “What could be better than goats? And who’s going to take care of the goats when you’re away?”
“Cwuz!” Javi jumped on him. “Are you going away?”
“Nope. I’m not, little man, I’m staying right here with you.” He held Javi snug in his left arm. “And did you forget what I said?” He bumped foreheads with Javi until their eyelashes touched. “Shh.”
Javi giggled, then pushed his face into Cruz’s neck, laughing.
It was a beautiful sight, man and boy, connecting in the very same spot that Cruz had run and played as a child. He noticed her approval, then bumped her shoulder with his. “You like the goats?”
She reached out and ran a hand across Tinkerbell’s head. “I love the goats. They’re perfect. And they seem quite at home.”
“I thought so, too.”
“And I think I’ve seen these goats before, when they were younger ladies. At Tyler’s farm?”
“You’ve got a good eye for goats.”
“That, and he’s the only one nearby raising dairy goats. Gosh, they’re darlings. Three pretty goats.”
“And their babies,” Lily explained. “So six little goats. Or more, if they have twins!”
“Good point. So that’s a bit different, isn’t it?”
Cruz put a hand beneath her arm as they moved up the hill. “Busy, but good. I have it on good authority that being busy is in children’s best interests.”
It was, of course, but the children would be hours away. Not exactly available for goat care.
A car pulled into the half-circle drive. It parked and Clint Jackson got out and came their way, looking like a man on a mission. Clint’s construction crew handled jobs ranging from remodeling old homes to building new neighborhoods. His firm had been the general contractor on Kimberly and Drew’s new house. “Cruz.” He shook Cruz’s hand and smiled at Rory. “Rory, hey. How’s it going?”
“Well, thank you. Good to see you. I know you’ve been busy with those new developments just out of town. Kimberly and Drew love their house, Clint.”
“Dad and I are glad of the business, that’s for sure. Cruz, are you ready to see the ideas I worked up?”
Cruz nodded as Rory edged away. “I can keep the kids busy and leave you to this.”
“Actually I’d like to run these ideas by you. That’s why I had Clint come by now.”
“You’re doing something for the kids?”
Clint let Rory precede him into the sprawling house. He turned right and moved toward the bigger party room, farthest from the living side of the house. “Kid-oriented, yes. Rory, I’m not a father, and I don’t know a ton about little kids, so your advice is crucial.”
“I’ll do what I can, of course.”
The kids had come inside with them, but when Regina’s daughter called them for freeze pops, they dashed that way.
Cruz moved up behind her, close enough so if she moved, they’d touch, which meant she didn’t dare move.
Clint moved to a table and unrolled the plans. He pointed to the wall just inside the door. “I was thinking of a cubby wall here. A work area here, with space to move because this room is huge. Prayer circle/reading circle here, and that extends into the open play area that’s fed with natural light all year long, even on the gloomiest and shortest days of winter. And because this room is huge, I thought we’d turn it into two rooms, and do a mirror image on this side.”
“Two rooms? For two kids? Couldn’t the front room become a den or a study or something? That would make more sense.”
“You make a good point.” Cruz stayed silent for long ticks of the grandfather clock counting time in the extended foyer behind them. “But what if it wasn’t just two kids?” He leaned closer and lowered his mouth close to her ear, so close that his breath tickled her cheek. “What if it was more like a dozen kids or so, in each room. Coming to school here, morning and afternoon?”
“Coming to school?” She looked at him, because he couldn’t possibly mean...
Close. So close. His dark eyes and thick brows, and the much darker hue of his skin tone after working the vineyards with her father.
He smiled at her. Right at her. Then he indicated the plans in front of them. “See, I heard there was this amazing woman, a teacher, looking for funding for a preschool to help kids get a great start in school and life. I was told she needed a place to set up this school, and I happen to have this big beautiful space just sitting here. It would be a shame to let it go to waste, wouldn’t it?”
Oh, what an opportunity.
A site, a permanent site, just what she’d hoped for. Set on a verdant hill, surrounded by beauty on all sides, and with access and parking for parents. But how hard would it be to come to Casa Blanca every day, thinking of Cruz and the kids and what could have been?
You talk about sacrifice all the time. Maybe this is meant to be yours. This isn’t just a good offer, it’s a great offer.
She knew that. But she also knew that most things came with a price tag attached. “How much are we talking in rent?”
“Negotiable.”
She shook her head quickly. “You’re a lawyer. You know it’s not in my best interests to enter a business deal without agreed contract stipulations.”
“Good point. So maybe we could agree on them right now.”
“I’m listening.”
Clint eased away while they faced off, which was probably a smart move on his part.
Cruz pointed to the beautifully appointed room. “I offer you free lifetime use of the room in exchange for making me the happiest man in the world.”
What?
She frowned, but as he dropped down to one knee, her heart did a flip and her palms grew moist. “Cruz.”
“Rory Gallagher, I’ve had enough of the big city, and my work can be done from most anywhere, so I’ve decided I’d like to do it here. I’d like to stay in Grace Haven, marry the most wonderful woman on earth and raise cute kids with you. If you’ll have me, that is.”
Have him? Was he serious? She locked eyes with him. “The school room is part of the deal?”
He nodded.
“And no rent?”
He laughed. “None. But I will use it as a tax write-off against your business.”
She put one hand on either side of his face, leaned down and kissed him, slow and sweet. And when she was done kissing him, she tilted her head as if still considering. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“I’ve been told that before.” He was still smiling.
“But you kiss really well.”
“On that I plead the Fifth,” he told her, and stood. He wrapped her in his arms and held her gaze. “So what do you think, Rory? Will you marry me and run your school here and be my wife forever?”
She kissed him one more time. “I most certainly will.”
“Perfect.” He kissed her back, long, slow and sweet, and then gathered her into the hug she’d been missing these past few weeks. “Shall we tell the kids?”
She drew back and pointed toward the kitchen, where two little faces peeked around the corner. “I think they figured it out.”
The kids giggled out loud, then raced their way.
Rory tipped her head back and gazed up at him. “You’re really okay with staying here?”
“I’m opening an office opposite The Square with one of my colleagues, and that’s exactly where I want to be, honey. From this day forward I want to be at home in Grace Haven with you. And them.” He winked as the kids tackled into them. “And I’m pretty sure there won’t be a dull moment for the rest of our lives.”
“Which only makes it better.” She reached up and pulled him dow
n for one last kiss before hugging the kids. “Welcome home, Cruz.”
His smile said the words made him happy. “Glad to be here.”
Epilogue
A vineyard wedding.
His vineyard wedding.
Cruz refused to be the least bit nervous, but as people began filling the white-draped chairs on either side of the stone walk, his hands went damp.
A few months ago he’d driven upstate in a total funk. He hadn’t wanted to return, face his mother or fix someone else’s mistakes.
Somewhere along the way he’d grown a heart, or maybe found one he’d had all along.
The music started. Chen moved up alongside, to stand with him. Chen’s wife and two kids were in the second row, surrounded by New York friends and families.
Badge, Tyler and Jim were there, too, and they looked pretty proud. Sadie and her husband were sitting beside them, and old Miss Belker sat to their right. When Tinkerbell and Anna began bleating in the lower pasture, the three old-timers grinned and high-fived one another.
The chairs were full of people from town, the voluminous Gallagher family, neighbors, several of his mother’s friends from the Mennonite community and a few New York dignitaries.
All of that faded into the background when Rory stepped into the yard.
Javi came forward, carrying rings. He tried to walk slowly, like they’d practiced, but the minute he spotted Cruz, his feet sped up.
Lily followed in a pretty pink dress, sprinkling colorful rose petals along the path, winning hearts as she strolled forward.
Emily and Kimberly followed, and then his bride.
His bride.
Pete escorted her along the walk as the congregation stood to welcome her.
Beautiful.
She’d left her hair down, for him. She didn’t wear a veil, but a tiny crown of handwoven rosebuds and greens circled her head.
And as her father brought her closer, she smiled at Cruz. Just at Cruz.
He reached out, took her hand and broke every rule by feathering the lightest of kisses to her lips. “Nice to see you.”
Their Surprise Daddy Page 17