Tangled Up in You

by Samantha Chase

  “How come?”

  “The last tenant wasn’t the greatest and there’s some work that needs to be done to the place. But then Quinn’s aunt and uncle came to visit with Teagan and Lucas and…” She shrugged. “As soon as I mentioned the house as an option, they all fell in love with it. Teagan’s been great and she said she doesn’t mind doing some of the work on the house, like painting and all that, but I still kind of feel bad. If you were living there, I’d give you the whole list to handle.”

  “Nice. I’m recovering and you’re looking for cheap labor,” he said with mock offense.

  “Free labor,” she corrected him. “I wasn’t planning on paying you.”

  “Such a brat,” he said with a weary sigh. “So what’s wrong with the house?”

  “Some of it’s just cosmetic. Quinn painted the whole inside before they moved in and we had a cleaning crew come in, but the bathrooms need some work. I’d love to put a new shower and vanity in the full bath.”

  He nodded. “That’s not a huge job. I’m sure Quinn could do it in a weekend.”

  “And then there’s the roof…”

  “What’s wrong with the roof?”

  “The last hurricane blew off a lot of the shingles and we replaced them, but we had Aidan go over and look at it, and he said the whole roof really needed to be replaced.”

  “He couldn’t give you a deal on that?” Bobby asked. Aidan Shaughnessy was one of the best builders in the business and Quinn’s brother. It seemed like a no-brainer.

  “He said he’d get the materials for us and help Quinn do the work himself, but we just haven’t had the time. And honestly, neither has Aidan. He’s got another new development going up and people are buying the homes faster than he can build them!”

  “Okay so roof, bathroom… What else is wrong with the house?”

  “I don’t know, Bobby, it’s just a rental, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t want to make improvements.”

  “Is Teagan complaining?” he asked, even though he was pretty certain she wasn’t.

  “Of course not, but she’s family and I guess I feel a little embarrassed that the place isn’t nicer.”

  “That’s all in your head and you know it.”

  “Some of it, maybe. But Quinn’s going over there this weekend to fix a leak under the kitchen sink. I’m afraid once this gets fixed, it will just keep going.”

  “Why are you looking for trouble?”

  “I’m a homeowner, I know how these things work. As soon as one thing breaks, it’s like the whole house knows and suddenly wants attention.”

  “Now you’re being dramatic.”

  Anna yawned and got more comfortable on the opposite couch. “Maybe. I’ll look at it when I go pick up Kaitlyn.”

  “I thought you were going to ask Quinn to do it?”

  Another yawn. “Oh, right. Damn. I probably should have napped while the kids were sleeping, huh?”

  And that was when inspiration struck.

  “Tell you what, why don’t you try and get in a short nap now and I’ll go pick up Kaitlyn. I’ve got Mom’s car, so there’s already a booster seat back there,” he said as he stood. “What do you think?”

  But his sister was already curling up on the couch. “Don’t let the door hit you in the butt on the way out.”

  He leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

  “Thanks, Bobby,” she said, her eyes already closed. “You’re a real lifesaver.”

  He wasn’t going to argue.

  * * *

  Gardening was probably Teagan’s least favorite activity, but Lucas and Kaitlyn were playing in the yard, so it made sense for her to weed out some of the overgrown flower bed to pass the time. She had already filled one giant trash bag, her hands were filthy, and there were two more beds to get to.

  Clearly, she should have thought this through before trying to tackle a job so large.

  Her mother had offered to come over and help and she definitely should have accepted the offer. Her mother had a green thumb and a love of all things “plant.” Not Teagan. She couldn’t seem to find any joy or pleasure in this particular activity, and she wondered if anyone would care if she just stopped now.

  “Knock, knock!” someone called from the gate.

  Turning, it wasn’t hard to see who it was—the white picket fence was short—and she smiled when she saw Bobby standing there. She waved and said, “Hey! Come on back!”

  And damn did he look good when he followed her instruction.

  He was tall and trim, and in the faded jeans and snug black T-shirt he was wearing, she could tell he was pretty muscular. Then she gasped.

  “Your arm! No more sling!”

  He smiled and she felt her knees go a little weak. Okay, so her memory hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d thought about him. He was truly that good-looking. Sandy brown hair that was just a bit shaggy, and a killer smile—he made one very yummy package.

  Oh crap! Am I blushing?

  Teagan’s hands flew to her cheeks just in case.

  “Yeah, I got the news today that I only have to wear the sling for a couple of hours a day,” he said. His voice was deep and warm and right now, he sounded genuinely happy.

  “Good for you!”

  “Thanks.”

  They stood there for a moment before Teagan finally found her voice again. “So, what brings you by?”

  “Oh, uh… I was over at Anna’s today and she mentioned Kaitlyn was here. She was exhausted, Bailey and Brian were napping, and since I’m allowed to drive again, I offered to come and pick up Kaitlyn so she could catch a couple of z’s.”

  “That was very sweet of you.” And he’s a nice guy to boot? She didn’t think men like him existed.

  Bobby glanced at the flower bed. “You put a good dent in that mess. Do you enjoy gardening?”

  She chuckled. “Not even a little bit, but the kids were out here playing, so it seemed like the thing to do.” Before she could say anything else, Kaitlyn and Lucas spotted him and came running over.

  “Uncle Bobby! What are you doing here!” Kaitlyn said as she jumped into his arms.

  Teagan immediately noticed how he turned so Kaitlyn would land more on his right side and she couldn’t help but feel for him.

  “Your mom needed to take a nap, so I said I’d come and pick up my favorite girl,” he said, tapping a finger on his niece’s nose. “Maybe you and I can grab some ice cream on the way home.”

  Kaitlyn’s blue eyes went wide. “Really? And I don’t have to share with Brian?”

  He shook his head. “Nope. It can be a special Kaitlyn-only treat. So what do you say? You up for a date with your old uncle?”

  “Yes!” she cried.

  “Mom,” Lucas said from beside her. “Can we have ice cream too? We have a bunch of it in the freezer. Maybe Bobby and Kaitlyn can stay and we can make sundaes! Can we? Huh? Can we please?”

  She crouched down next to her son. “I don’t know, Lucas. It sounds like Bobby has plans with Kaitlyn and—”

  “I want to stay and make sundaes here!” Kaitlyn chimed in, squirming out of Bobby’s arms. “Can we stay, Uncle Bobby? Please? Pretty please?”

  When Teagan looked up at Bobby, he had a lopsided grin on his face that was almost as comical as the look on both the smaller faces. “If it’s too much trouble,” he said, “we can totally take a raincheck.”

  Part of her liked the idea of him wanting to come back again. She rose slowly to her feet and looked at the three of them with a smile. “No trouble at all. Although I don’t think I have all the makings for sundaes, but we can improvise.” She led the way into the house and directed the kids to wash their hands in the bathroom while she did the same at the kitchen sink. When she was done, she pulled open the cabinet doors beneath the sink and groaned.

 
“Problem?”

  She shut the doors and sighed. “Not really. There’s a small leak under the sink and I’ve got a pot under there to catch the water so the cabinets don’t get damaged, but it looks like it’s getting a little worse.”

  “May I?” he asked, coming to stand beside her. Stepping back, Teagan watched as Bobby crouched down, opened the cabinet doors, and looked inside. Then she took another step back and found herself admiring how snug his jeans fit across a very fine ass.

  The sound of feet running down the hallway had her instantly turning around guiltily. “Okay, let’s see what we have to choose from!” she said, knowing she sounded overly enthusiastic.

  The next time she looked, the upper half of Bobby was under the sink. He was on his back and now she had to admire how snug his jeans were in the front.

  “…and I want chocolate ice cream with a banana and chocolate syrup and nuts and sprinkles and a cherry on top! Mom! Mom!! Did you hear me?”

  Teagan looked at her son in mild confusion. “Um…what?”

  “My sundae! I just gave you my order for my sundae!” Then he started cracking up. He and Kaitlyn were sitting at the kitchen island on the two stools she kept there. “It’s like we’re at an ice cream shop and you’re working behind the counter, right, Kaitlyn?”

  The little girl giggled and nodded her head.

  “Okay, so you wanted plain vanilla ice cream, right?” Teagan teased and when both kids started laughing all over again, she couldn’t help but join in.

  “Mom.”

  “Oh, no—wait, it was…strawberry ice cream with…raisins!”

  “Yuck! No way!” Lucas said between laughing fits.

  “Wait…wait…now I remember,” she said, touching a finger to her chin. “You wanted some peanut butter and pickles instead!”

  “Ew, gross, Mom!”

  She sighed dramatically. “Then I guess you’ll have to remind me because I have no clue what you wanted.”

  “Me and Kaitlyn both want chocolate ice cream with a banana—”

  “Like a banana split!” Kaitlyn said.

  “—with chocolate syrup and nuts and sprinkles, with a cherry on top!”

  “Hmm… That sounds like a really big sundae,” Teagan said thoughtfully. “You sure you’re going to be able to eat it all?”

  Both kids nodded.

  “Okay, two chocolate banana splits coming up!” When she turned to walk to the freezer, she glanced over at Bobby, who was still under the sink. Rather than bother him with silly questions and distractions, she’d wait until he was done.

  The kids were chattering as she pulled the ice cream from the freezer. Bowls, toppings, spoons—she began making the kids’ sundaes first. Just as she was placing their bowls in front of them, Bobby stood up and washed his hands in the sink—watching the water continue to drip into the pot below.

  “Well? What do you think?” she asked, handing him a towel to dry his hands.

  “I’m no plumber, but it all looks bad. I can see some spots that look loose, so I’d say we should start by replacing some of the fittings.”

  “Fittings?”

  He nodded. “It’s not a big job. I can run to the hardware store and grab everything I’d need.”

  “Oh,” she said, somewhat flustered. “Quinn said he’d come by this weekend and do it.”

  But he waved her off. “It’s not really a big deal. Why wait? Besides, I know how busy Quinn is and I’m sure Anna would appreciate him being home with her and the kids.”

  It made sense, but she felt bad putting him to work.

  “Besides,” he went on, as if sensing her hesitation, “I used to live here too. When Anna bought the place, I lived here with her for a year to help out with some of the work and the bills. I’m familiar with the plumbing here.”

  “Are you sure? I feel really bad asking you to do this. Your first day of sling freedom and you want to work on my home repairs?” she asked with a nervous laugh.

  He chuckled and shrugged. “It will feel good to be productive after sitting around for so long.”

  Again, it made sense, so maybe she should just say thank you and move on.

  Bobby leaned on the island, looking at the kids. “So neither of you is willing to share, is that what you’re saying?” he teased. “Just one bite?”

  Lucas was laughing and Kaitlyn—begrudgingly—scooped a tiny bit of her sundae onto her spoon and held it out to him. “Just one,” she said firmly.

  For a minute, Teagan thought he’d tell his niece no or to forget about it, but instead he took the spoon and ate the small amount there while making silly lip-smacking noises that delighted both kids.

  “You’re funny, Uncle Bobby!”

  “I know, I know,” he said, straightening. When he turned to Teagan, he said, “If you don’t mind Kaitlyn hanging out here for a bit longer, I can run to the store now.”

  “I don’t mind at all, but what about your ice cream?” she asked and suddenly felt very lame.

  He smiled and it was lethal. “I’ll save it for when I’m done.” With a wink, he was on the move. At the front door he turned back. “Would you mind calling Anna and letting her know I’ll have Kaitlyn home a little bit later?”

  “Um, sure. No problem.”

  And then he was gone. Teagan stared at the door for a solid minute before Lucas got her attention.

  “Mom, I think the ice cream’s melting on the counter!”

  That spurred her into action and in minutes the ice cream was cleaned up, all the sundae makings put away, and both kids were covered in chocolate.

  “Go wash up and then you can play,” she told them.

  “Can we watch a movie?” Lucas asked and Teagan agreed.

  “I’ll pull up Netflix while you two get cleaned up, okay?”

  “Yay!”

  Ten minutes later, the kids were sitting quietly on the couch watching The Secret Life of Pets. Once she saw they were settled, she called Anna and told her what was going on.

  “That’s so weird,” Anna said.

  “How come?”

  “Because Bobby and I were just talking about all that and he knew Quinn was going to take care of it this weekend. Why would he offer instead?”

  “I don’t know, but it seemed like he was excited about having something to do. I mean, I didn’t ask him for help,” she quickly explained. “He just happened to be in the kitchen when I checked the pot under the sink.”

  “It’s okay, Teagan.”

  “I don’t want you to think I was complaining or I was being ungrateful or anything.”

  “That wasn’t what I meant at all, but—”

  “And then he was gone before he could even have his ice cream, and I’m sure it’s not going to take long and—”

  “Wait, ice cream? What ice cream?”

  After a brief explanation about how they came about making sundaes, she heard Anna laugh. “What’s so funny?”

  “My brother has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I’ve ever met. He must really be desperate for something to do if he was willing to wait to have a sundae.” She sounded amused. “I never thought I’d see the day Bobby would put off dessert. Miracles never cease, huh?”

  “Kaitlyn gave him a small taste of hers.”

  “And knowing my daughter, it was a very small taste. She takes right after him, the little stinker. She never even lets me have a bite of her dessert.”

  “She made him work for it, believe me,” Teagan said, laughing as she remembered how silly he’d been.

  “Oh, he doesn’t mind that. He’s great with the kids. I know Kaitlyn, Brian, and Bailey are his biological nieces and nephew, but he treats all the Shaughnessy kids the same. He’s the fun uncle and they all go wild when he’s around. I’m glad he’s finally coming out of his funk, because the kids were all
getting a little freaked out.”

  “Well, I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for him. Especially being the fun uncle and not being able to play with the kids like they’re all used to.” She thought of how he’d shifted to pick up Kaitlyn and knew the last two months had probably been even harder to explain.

  “It was rough. Every time we saw him, I had to remind the kids to be gentle. One day, Brian jumped on him and I swear I thought Bobby was going to cry. I saw it on his face. Brian didn’t mean to hurt him, but he’s little and doesn’t really pay attention to the rules sometimes.”

  “One time, when Lucas was about three, my dad had thrown his back out. He was miserable and in so much pain. We went over to visit, and as much as I warned him not to jump on Pop, he ran in the door and did just that. It was the first time I ever saw tears in my father’s eyes.”

  “Oh man. That had to be hard.”

  “Big time.”

  Anna sighed. “So Bobby’s going to fix the sink, and you’re sure you don’t mind Kaitlyn hanging out longer?”

  “She’s been great. No trouble at all.”

  “I hate taking advantage.”

  “You’re not,” Teagan said lightly. “She and Lucas are watching a movie, and by the time it’s over, Bobby should be done with the repairs. I promise to call when they’re leaving here so you’ll know when to expect them.”

  “Thanks, Teagan. And next time the kids can play here so you can have some time to yourself.”

  “I don’t even know what I’d do with myself!”

  “There’s a great salon in town about a block over from the pub. They do hair and nails, and it’s the perfect spot for a little pampering. If you’re interested, I’ll text you their number and whenever you want to go, Lucas can stay and hang out here with us, okay?”

  It sounded glorious.

  It wasn’t as though she never got time for herself, because her folks were usually willing to babysit when she needed them. But after all the work with the move, it seemed like maybe she was a little more desperate than usual to have some time just for her.

  “I’m definitely going to take you up on that. Text me their number and I’ll make the appointment and get back to you.”