The Return of Brody McBride

by Jennifer Ryan

  Rain’s cheeks flushed immediately. Owen smiled broadly. The girls looked at each other, then Dawn asked, “You slept at Dad’s last night?”

  Before she left last night, she hadn’t told the girls she’d stay at Brody’s. She wasn’t sure she would, or if it would be a good idea to give in to her need for him when there was still so much unsettled between them. Besides, she didn’t want to get the girls’ hopes up too much.

  “Your dad and I had a lot to talk about last night. Let’s have breakfast. We need to talk to you about a few things. Your softball game is later today. When we get home, your dad can set up your computers.”

  “Ah, Mom. Can’t we set them up now? Just one game?”

  “You heard your mom. After the softball game. Let’s eat. I’m starving.” Brody smiled to let her know he was on her side. They were a team.

  “I’ll bet you worked up quite an appetite,” Owen said with a knowing grin.

  “Jealous.” Brody took his seat next to Rain at the table and brought her hand to his lips, kissing her palm. She brushed her fingertips over his cheek and smiled.

  “Actually, yeah. She’s been mine for more than four years.”

  The truth of Owen’s words settled into her heart. They’d been a family these last years, Owen helping her out with the girls, picking them up from school, coaching softball, breakfasts, dinners, Saturdays at the mall, or out for a movie. He didn’t have romantic feelings for her, but still, they’d been close. If the girls couldn’t have their father, he was the next best thing because he was there, and he told the most wonderful Brody stories.

  Rain wanted to say something to add weight to Owen’s casually spoken words. Brody spoke first, showing her just how much he’d changed. Gone was the wisecracking, take-next-to-nothing-serious man he’d been. This Brody understood where his brother was coming from, because Brody understood everything he’d missed with the girls and everything his brother hadn’t.

  Brody leaned forward and braced his forearms on the edge of the table and looked Owen in the eye. “I know it seems like I’m taking your place in the girls’ lives.”

  “You’re their father. Your place is with them.”

  “It’s where I’ll stay, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a place here for you. I’d really like it if you and I could stick together to take care of them. We may have had our differences, but we’ve always had each other’s back. What you did for Rain and my daughters while I was gone, well, there are no words to thank you enough. We always wanted to have a real family when we were young.” Brody looked at all of them sitting around the table, pancakes, eggs, and bacon piled on platters. “This is it, Owen. We finally have it.”

  “This is your family, Brody. I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

  “It wouldn’t be a complete family without you,” Brody admitted.

  Rain hadn’t ever heard the two brothers talk like this. They’d never been so open and honest. At least, not in front of witnesses.

  “Brody’s right. We need you, Owen. Who else will play catcher, or take the girls out on dates. They love spending time with you.”

  “She’s right,” Brody added. “I can barely make it upstairs. There’s no way I can play ball with them.”

  “I look forward to the time we share, having breakfast together, sharing our days over coffee. You’ve got the juiciest gossip in town,” Rain added.

  Owen laughed. “Is that a roundabout way of saying I’m your best girlfriend?”

  Not rising to the joke, she gave him the serious answer. “You’re my best friend. You have been all these years. Just because Brody’s back and we’re trying to work things out, that doesn’t mean I don’t need my best friend. Besides, if he gets out of line, I expect you to come to my defense.”

  “Seems only right,” Brody said around a bite of syrup-dripping pancakes.

  “Uncle Owen is really good at playing checkers. He lets me win,” Autumn said, and gave her uncle a huge smile.

  “He said we could sue David Murphy for defamation of character if he called me ugly on the playground again,” Dawn added, and everyone laughed.

  Smiling, Owen conceded. “Well you, my little hothead, will need me to defend you if you stomp on his foot and pull his hair again.” Owen grabbed Dawn and hugged her to his side and gave her a kiss on the head. “You’re your father’s daughter.”

  “Mom taught me the foot-stomping thing. It works real good.” Dawn gave Brody a huge smile, her eyes pleading for his approval. When he gave her back a huge smile, she sat even taller in her chair. Rain laid her hand over Brody’s and squeezed it to let him know she appreciated his show of pride in their daughter’s less than reputable, but very much like their father’s, behavior.

  “Yeah, David couldn’t play kickball for two days.” Autumn nodded her approval to Dawn and both girls shared one of those looks that says so much without saying a word.

  “Eat your breakfast, girls.” Rain had trouble eating her own. She kept looking at Brody and everyone else at her table, wondering how they’d gotten to this point so quickly. She’d been so angry with him for what he’d done. Yet, she’d found it easy to forgive him, fall back into bed with him, and start planning a life with him. Well, not really plan. They’d only had a few words about the future, but still, it seemed so set in her mind. Here they were sitting around the breakfast table. So normal. She had no trouble imagining this is how things would be from now on.

  Thinking forward, she pictured them in the house Brody was building. The girls in their own rooms. Brody would have his office and work from home. He’d be there when the girls came home from school. They’d have dinner together and talk about their day. She’d sleep in his arms every night.

  Memories of last night surfaced. The way he’d been so apprehensive about her seeing his scars. How they’d come together with such intense heat and need. The feel of his hands, his mouth on her breasts, the weight of him covering her, his heat sinking into her bones, the way he filled her body and at the same time her heart to the point it went beyond pleasure and into some kind of melding between their souls. Maybe that’s what happened years ago, but in her youth she hadn’t recognized it for what it was.

  She’s spent the last several years waiting for him, because for her, he was her everything.

  Brody’s fingers slid along her cheek and into her hair. He pulled her head to his and whispered into her ear. “If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to eat you up rather than my breakfast.” His hand dropped between them and he squeezed her hip and sent heat into her belly.

  “Mom, are you okay?” Dawn asked.

  Brody let her go, his hands not leaving her without touching every inch of her skin at his fingertips.

  Turning to Dawn, she smiled softly, her mind still spinning with thoughts of Brody and the future. A future they had to plan carefully because their daughters’ happiness needed to be considered.

  “I’m fine, honey. I just got lost in thought. It’s been a crazy few days.”

  “Because Dad’s back.”

  “Yes. Your dad and I had a long talk last night, but we still have a lot to discuss and work out. Nothing has really been settled.”

  “Although I’m home, it’ll still take time to earn your mom’s complete trust. We need time to get to know each other again,” he said to the girls. “I’m adding on to the cabin, turning it into a real house. Eventually, I’d like your mom and you to come live with me on the ranch.”

  “With the horses?” Dawn asked.

  “Eventually. The house and stables will take time to build. During that time, we’ll get to know each other. Your mom and I will plan our future, learn to live with each other.”

  “Are you going to get married? She’ll be my real mommy then.” Autumn’s eyes held so much hope.

  Dawn leaned forward, waiting for Brody’s answer.

  Rain loved Brody as much today as she did years ago. More. Not just because of their daughters. Since the moment she�
��d seen him lying in that hospital bed, burned and so near death she could feel it in the room, she’d known her life, her happiness, her reason for being was him. When she’d seen him at the shop the day he’d come to pick up his truck, she’d seen the pure joy and wonder and gratitude when she’d told him she’d had his child. She’d also seen the relief that Dawn bound them together. He needed her, and she needed him, too.

  “Autumn, baby girl . . .” Brody began, and paused searching for the right words.

  It was a loaded question, and Brody didn’t want to make promises when things were so fresh and new between them. They had a foundation of love, but they still needed time to build on it.

  Roxy was coming back. Brody knew as well as she did that meant trouble.

  Frustrated, Brody ran his hand over his hair. He opened his mouth, but closed it again. Rain didn’t say a word. She’d spent the last four years trying to console Autumn and make her feel safe. Nothing worked for long. Something always made Autumn feel like any minute Roxy would pop out of a dark corner and take her back to hell. This time, Autumn had a very good reason to fear, and they hadn’t even told her Roxy was coming back to town. No doubt to see Brody. Maybe to try to get him back into her bed. Certainly to get as much money from him as she could.

  “Rain, you want to help me out here?”

  He’d never outright asked her to marry him, even though he’d made himself clear on what he wanted. Her. So she smiled and said, “I believe Autumn just asked what your intentions are.”

  “Maybe we should get Eli over here, too. I’m sure he’d like an answer to that question.”

  “Oh, I think he’s got your number.” Owen gave Brody a wolfish grin. One brother always loved seeing the other backed into a corner.

  “Okay, baby girl, you want to know if your mom and I are getting married. The answer right now is I hope so.” Autumn and Dawn both wanted to interrupt, but Brody held up his hand to stop them. “I love your mother. I love her more than anything. I came back to find her and a way to take the best of our past and see if we can turn it into a future together. Your mom and I talked last night and even managed to take a step toward that future, but a couple of dinners and one good long talk isn’t enough to build the future I want with her.”

  “Why not? You said you love her.” Autumn’s eyes remained intent on Brody. It had been a long time since Rain had seen her this worked up and forward.

  “I love both of you, and I love her. I know your mom. I believe she forgives me for what I did to her. I also know she needs time to think about what my coming home and being a part of her life means to her.”

  “You’d be our dad all the time. We’d live together and Roxy couldn’t take me. It would be two against one. We’d win then.”

  “Autumn is right,” Brody. I need your help this time. I have possession of Autumn. I’ve raised her as my own. She’s my daughter as if I gave birth to her myself.

  “Roxy is still her biological mother. She has rights.” Rain kept things vague so as not to frighten Autumn, but the message was clear. A judge could grant Roxy visitation, or the unthinkable, full custody.

  “You have to marry him,” Autumn burst out. “You have to. You can’t let her take me.” Sobbing, Autumn flung herself into Rain’s lap and wrapped her arms around her neck, holding tight. Dawn’s eyes were glassy, the tears ready to fall for her sister’s pain and anguish. Rain had no doubt she wanted what Autumn wanted: she and Brody married to save them from Roxy. Too bad life was never that simple.

  Brody looked wrecked. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Like most men, he had no idea what to do with a crying female, especially one so small and traumatized.

  “Sssh, baby. It’s all right,” Rain crooned to Autumn, rocking her in her arms.

  “Baby girl, listen to me. Marrying your mom will not make Roxy stay away. As much as I want her to be my wife, I want her to marry me because it’s what we both want more than anything and not because it will make things easier in dealing with Roxy.”

  “She’ll marry you. She wants to. Tell him, Mom.”

  Rain held Autumn away from her and smiled softly. “I’ve told you and your sister how much I will always love your dad.”

  “See,” Autumn said over her shoulder to Brody.

  “Listen to your mother,” Brody replied, reading Rain as well as he used to.

  “Your dad and I aren’t saying we aren’t getting married. We’re saying we need time. I haven’t seen your father in eight years. I’d like some time to get to know him again. Discover all the wonderful things about him I fell in love with years ago, all the new things I don’t know yet. I’m sure your father would like to discover those things in me.”

  “You’re easy. We live in the same town he grew up in. Only now you’re our mom.”

  Rain tried not to laugh, but some of it escaped. Leave it to a child to put things so simply. What more was there to her than the fact she was their mother. They didn’t see her as anything more. Maybe that was the safety and security every child needed.

  “He knows what being your mom has meant to me over the years. Besides being your mom, I’m a woman. That’s very different to a man than being a mother.”

  “You mean the kissing stuff,” Dawn said, her cheeks turning pink and her lips turning into a sour pucker. Brody, Owen, and Rain laughed.

  “The kissing stuff along with a lot of other things. When your father and I get married, we’ll live together for the rest of our lives. Before we do that, we both should make sure that’s what we really want. What if he leaves his socks on the floor and puts mushrooms in the spaghetti sauce?”

  “Ew,” both girls chimed.

  “Well, the military has drilled into me how to be neat and organized, so I don’t leave my socks on the floor. Who would put mushrooms in spaghetti sauce? Yuck,” he agreed with them, earning a giggle from both girls. “So, those two questions are answered, but your mom and I have a lot of other things we need to learn about each other. This won’t happen tomorrow, but we aren’t saying it won’t happen soon.”

  Brody gave her a look that told her he agreed with them taking some time, but he wouldn’t be patient for very long. Rain had a feeling he already had a timeline in his head. Look at the way he was dealing with the cabin. He intended them to live in the house within months. A house with several extra, unfilled bedrooms. Brody had come home intending to win her back, make her his wife, and have babies with her. She had to admit the more she thought about that house, those empty bedrooms, carrying his child again, the more it grew on her. The girls were getting so big. They’d gone from babies to second graders in the blink of an eye. She’d been an only child and dreamed of having a family with several children. Time to stop the spinning, settle all her thoughts, and figure out exactly what she wanted. Soon, Brody would ask her to answer that question, and she needed a good answer, or he’d tell her what she was going to do, because he already knew what he wanted. His wife and children under the same roof.

  “Be patient girls. We aren’t saying it won’t happen.” Rain laid her hand over Brody’s where it rested on her knee.

  Hugging Autumn close, Rain kissed her temple. “Autumn, your dad and I have something to tell you. I know you’ll be upset, but I want you to know we’ll keep you safe.”

  “Roxy is coming back.” She guessed the news easily. “Because Dad came home.”

  “That’s part of the reason. Your dad has worked very hard to open and run a very successful company.”

  “So he could come back and be with us?” Dawn asked.

  “I started out helping a friend of mine,” Brody answered. “But in the back of my mind, I knew if the company did well, I could come back and prove to your mom I had grown up and was responsible. I can take care of her . . . and you.”

  “Because you have a job?” Dawn asked.

  “Yes. And with that job I earn a very big paycheck.”

  “Roxy wants more money.” Autumn spoke the cold hard truth. Even a ch
ild understood the bottom line when it came to Roxy.

  Rain cupped her face and met her wary gaze. “Yes, baby. She wants money.”

  “She never wanted me.” Autumn’s lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears.

  Rain’s heart ripped open and bled. Her own eyes glassed over, but she fought the tears. “I’m sorry, baby. I know it hurts you a lot to know Roxy didn’t want you. Always remember I want you very much.”

  Brody kneeled beside her chair and rubbed his hand up and down Autumn’s back. “I want you, baby girl. More than anything. I love you so much. If you ask me, you got the best mom in the world. You’re a very special girl, and you deserve to have a great mom. I want you to know something else. If I had known Roxy was pregnant with you, I would never have left you with her. I would have taken you and made sure she never hurt you in any way.”

  “Really.”

  “Yes.”

  “But you were gone.”

  “That’s why I’m so grateful Rain raised you and loved you until I came back to love you, too.” Brody wrapped his arms around both of them and kissed Autumn on the side of the head. He slid his hand up Rain’s back and cupped the back of her head and drew her to him. His lips brushed hers. “Thank you,” he said against her lips. He kissed her then, slow, soft, a wealth of love seeping into her skin, spreading warmly through her system. She melted.

  Brody ended the kiss. Before he stood to take his seat again, she ran her hand over the side of his head, his short hair brushing her palm and fingers.

  “So, Autumn and Dawn, I want you both to be extra careful when we’re out. If you see Roxy, you let me know. The two of you stick together. Stay close to us. When Roxy arrives, your dad and I will talk to her. We’ll settle this once and for all. Okay?”

  “Okay,” both girls answered.

  “Why don’t you both go and watch TV. Your dad and I need to talk with Uncle Owen.”

  Rain waited for the girls to leave the kitchen. Cartoon music and high-pitched character voices played on the TV in the family room. She took her plate and coffee mug to the sink. Her gaze fell on her garden blooming outside the window in the bright sun. The sight usually made her cheerful. Not today. A black cloud had descended, overshadowing everything in her world.