A Family Come True (17 page)

“Hey, there.” Ma ambled toward him, her hands in the pockets of well-patched jeans. With a contented smile on her face and a daisy stuck haphazardly behind her ear, she looked closer to his age than her own.

“What’s up?” He threw the stick far down the grassy shoreline. Lulu took off at a trot.

“Not much. Just wanted to see how it’s going. If you were settled in, if you need anything, what the hell you’re doing springing this girlfriend thing on us out of the blue. The usual.”

Oh, yeah. Now he remembered why he had stayed away for so long. It hadn’t been all because of Carter and Taylor.

“Everything’s fine. The rooms are great.”

“And Darcy?”

“Come on, Ma. If I’d told you I was seeing someone, you would have... I don’t know.” He shouldn’t have thrown the stick so hard. He could have used a distraction at the moment. “It didn’t feel right, okay? I didn’t want to get anybody’s hopes up.”

“Ours or yours?”

“Not a fair question.”

“I’m your mother. I get to ask whatever I want and you have to answer.”

“I don’t recall any clause about that in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

“It’s in the fine print. Seriously, Ian. A little warning would have been nice.”

“I’m sorry about that part.” At least that was true. “This thing with Xander kind of forced our hand.”

“Understandable. But if Helene had been home, and Darcy and the baby had gone there, would you have opened up to us then?”

“Hard to say.”

“As I suspected.” She whistled and pulled a dog biscuit from her pocket, waving it in the air. Lulu, who had been ambling in their direction, kicked it up a notch and raced back.

“Why do you have dog treats? You don’t have any pets.”

“Carter and Taylor have one.”

“They do?”

“Yep. I think it was Taylor’s way of easing him into the realities of feeding and walking and poop.”

“How’s that working?”

She shrugged. “You know Carter. Brilliant in the office, clueless in real life. I hope he watches you with little Cadence. He’s going to need all the fathering help he can get.”

Oh, hell, there it was. Janice North claimed to be down-to-earth and practical—and in most matters, she was—but when it came to her sons she had a fanciful streak wider than the St. Lawrence.

Maybe he could distract her.

“I thought that wasn’t public knowledge yet.”

“There’s public, and then there’s a woman who survived multiple pregnancies watching another woman racing for the bathroom every twenty minutes. I know how to connect the dots. When were you going to tell us about Darcy?”

“When it felt right. You know, Hank is right here in town. He can give Carter the heads-up on being a dad.”

“Yes, but he hasn’t dealt with a baby in a long time. Though, between you and me, I have my suspicions about Brynn.”

“You think she’s pregnant, too?”

“Not positive yet. But if she isn’t, I think they might be at the trying stage.”

“Well, that would be nice. Cousins the same age. Now all you have to do is get Cash settled and your work here will be done.”

She gave him the look he remembered well from his youth—the one that said he was as dumb as a box of rocks. “Seriously, Ian? You think that’s how it works? I see the way you are with Cady. Do you think you could ever stop worrying about her just because she found someone?”

Maybe he should start laying the groundwork for the springing of the truth. “That’s not going to be my call. She has a father.”

“Don’t be an ass. If you love the child, which you obviously do, then she will always have a place in your heart. Furthermore, you’re already playing a bigger role in her life than her father is. I know there are reasons for that, and things are shifting. But if you and Darcy are serious—”

“I am not having this conversation.”

“Oh, yes, you are. If you two are serious, well, biology isn’t always destiny. Xander doesn’t know what he’s in for yet. Not really. He may turn out to be an excellent father, and if so, bully for him. It’s impossible for a child to have too many loving people in her life. But she and Darcy are a package deal. If you’re involved with one, you’re involved with both.”

“Is there a point to any of this? Besides telling me things I already know, I mean.”

“Of course there is. I’m too busy to wander off on tangents without a point.” She stepped closer and squeezed his shoulder. “Are you happy?”

Such simple words, but coming from her they carried more meanings than he cared to separate out.

“Yeah. I am.”

“Really?” She looked him up and down. Just in case a truth fairy was hiding behind his back, maybe. “Or are you saying that so I won’t worry?”

“If I were trying to spare you, you honestly think I would say anything else?”

“Of course not. But I’m well aware that my sons will go to great lengths to keep from worrying me, never realizing that when it blows up in their face, I only worry more.”

He bent over in an elaborate search for Lulu’s stick before Ma could read the truth in his face.

“Things are good. You don’t have to lie awake at night over me.”

“So, you are happy with Darcy, even though you didn’t see fit to share this relationship with us?”

“Forget the guilt trip, Ma. It’s not gonna work.”

“So you say. How are you doing with the Xander factor?”

“I’m dealing with it.” Though his gut told him that helping Darcy deal was going to be the most difficult piece of this pie. “It’s not a great situation, but it’s still new. Give us time.”

“Fair enough. Let’s talk about something that
has
had time. How is it being back here?”

There it was—the six-million-dollar question.

“It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done.” The short blast of a cruise ship horn pulled his attention to the river and the last bits of daylight dancing on the surface. “But it’s not the hardest, either.”

Her nod was the short, brisk type that let him know his answer had been measured and found acceptable. “Given the circumstances, that’s probably appropriate.”

He tossed the stick and waited, pretty sure at least one more question was on the horizon.

“So this job Moxie wants you to take. What do you think of it?”

Bingo.

“It sounds interesting.” He walked slowly along the shore, following Lulu’s path. Ma matched his pace. “I think it’s great that Moxie wants to add a charitable foundation to Northstar. And, yeah, it was a nice surprise when she asked if I wanted to be part of it.”

“No surprise at all. Your heart was always more inclined toward helping people than making money, though you did a fine job of that part when you were at the dairy. This would let you blend both.”

“Yeah. It has a lot going for it.”

“You think you’re ready to come home?”

He shrugged. “Can I get back to you on that one? Say, after I’ve been here longer than five hours?”

“Five hours and a whack of surprises.” She bumped against his shoulder. “You can have another day or so.”

“You know what I love about you, Ma? Your patience. Oh, and your generosity.”

“Bite me. What about Darcy?”

“What about her?”

“Would she come with you?”

Yep. One meeting and Ma had them married off, raising a family and probably picking out rocking chairs for the porch of their retirement home.

“We’re not at the point of discussing that.”

“How can you not be— Oh, Ian.” Dismay colored her words. “Don’t tell me you haven’t told her about it.”

“I haven’t said anything to her yet. No.”

“Why not? You’re old enough that I can’t say your age anymore because it makes me feel ancient. You had a lousy curve thrown your way, but you’ve come back from it, and, honestly, I think you’re happier with Darcy than you ever were with Taylor.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa. What the hell?

“But you can’t keep this from her. Forget that Moxie could be telling her all about it even as we speak. This is the kind of thing that—”

“Time-out.” His head still whirling from her earlier comment, Ian struggled for sense. “Look, for one thing, Darcy is a lot more understanding than you give her credit for, especially when it comes to privacy and...and things like that.” Good God, she’d practically invented the concept of secrets. “Remember, she wasn’t supposed to come on this trip at all. The whole idea was for me to test the waters on my own. If it was going to be too hard to be here, then the topic would be moot anyway.”

“So you were planning to come home for a few days, make up your mind and then go back and say, ‘Guess what I decided, honey?’” Janice stared at him. “And here I thought you were the smart one.”

“You said Carter was the brilliant son.”

The whack she delivered to his arm wasn’t the usual playful one that she had developed over the years of parenting four sons. This one had some muscle behind it.

“Hey!” He rubbed the spot where her fist had connected. “You been hitting the gym, Ma?”

“Sometimes I swear the only way you boys will pay attention to me is if I smack you first. Now listen. You are a levelheaded man who had his life yanked out from beneath his feet, but who then put that behind him and built something that looks pretty damned wonderful from where I sit. I like all of that. You seem happy again, and I really like that. So don’t blow it by turning into an idiot now.”

“But I—”

“No buts, Ian.” She pulled another biscuit from her pocket and tossed it toward Lulu. “Honey, you’re a family man. You always have been. Some people are happiest when it’s just them, or maybe them and one other person. That’s not you. You’ve always needed strong bonds all around you. You need to be settled with someone, to have a mess of kids climbing all over you and driving you up the walls, just like you and your brothers did to your father and me.”

“You make it sound so appealing.” Which, unfortunately, was the truth.

“But, Ian, let’s get real. You’re not getting any younger. If you want the kind of life that will make you happiest, you need to get it in gear. Kids are a miracle, as I’m sure you’ve found with Cady, but being the kind of parent they need takes a hell of a lot out of a person. You don’t want to be dealing with teenage drama when you’re sixty. Trust me on this.”

“So I should snap up Darcy and start making babies, just so I have enough energy to keep up with my future potential children?”

“Of course not.”

Huh. Could have fooled him.

“You’re not ready.”

“Are you forgetting what you said, oh, fifteen seconds ago?”

“No, Ian. I’m not senile yet, though God knows how I have any brains left after raising this crew. I don’t want you to miss out on something wonderful by dragging your feet, but before you even think about forming a new family, you should make sure you’re good with the one you’ve got.”

“Ma, I—”

“No. Just listen for a minute, will you? I believe you’re happy with Darcy. I believe you’re finding your way back to us. But the fact that you’ve been doing your level best to keep her in one part of your life and us in the other, that tells me you might not be as ready to move on as you think you are. Add in Xander, and, honey, I’d be lying if I said I think you’re in any position to make solid decisions right now.”

Much as he wanted to dismiss her words, a tightness in his gut made it impossible.

“You can’t drift through this one, Ian, and you really can’t run away from it. Make sure you’re as good as you think you are before you do anything permanent.”

“You feeling philosophical in your old age, Ma?” But he kept the words light, knowing she would understand that he wasn’t blowing off her advice. Not by a long shot.

“You know how it goes. You live long enough some stuff eventually starts to make sense.” She shuddered. “But don’t tell Moxie I said that, okay? I don’t want her to know that I think she might really be onto something most of the time.”

* * *

W
ITH TWO YEARS
of togetherness to draw from, why the heck had Ian chosen the Christmas tree memory, the one most guaranteed to screw around with her mind?

Kneeling before the bathtub, Darcy squeezed water from a sodden washcloth, sending it dribbling over Cady’s head. Cady’s sputters and splashes kept Darcy laughing but couldn’t hold her runaway thoughts at bay.

Did he have any clue how close she had been to following him out of the car that day and kissing him the way she had hoped to hell he would kiss her? How was she supposed to fall asleep beside him tonight with the echo of those crackling moments in the car pounding through her and nothing but a jelly roll and good intentions between them?

Her frustrated sigh sent bubbles flying. She should have invited Xander to start his Parenting 101 lessons right away and join in bath time. She would have had to give directions and explain things and teach him the words to the tubby songs. Auto-distraction.

But Cady could deal with only so many changes at once. And even though Darcy’s head was very aware that Xander was indeed Cady’s father, she wasn’t ready for him to be the daddy. Not yet. And not here in Comeback Cove, where “Daddy” had a very different meaning for her.

“Ian’s dad knew your grandpa, Bug. They were great friends.” She squeaked a ducky. “He knew me when I was your age, too. Kind of hard to imagine.”

Cady batted at the duck. Darcy wiggled it just out of her reach, laughed at the indignant frown, then allowed Cady to grab it before dancing it away again.

Seeing Robert was almost like getting a glimpse of how her own dad might have changed over the decades. Paul Maguire had been a little more boisterous than Robert—at least in Darcy’s memory—but when Robert had smiled over Cady banging things at the table, then slipped her a new napkin ring after Darcy took the first one away, well, for that moment she could have sworn she’d heard her dad’s laugh echoing in the room.

“He would have loved you so much, Bug.”
Squeak, squeak.
“He would have known how to make this right. He had this parenting thing solid.”

Bath finished, she rocked Cady, humming little tunes while dispensing the bedtime bottle, and tried to keep from panicking over the impending bedtime. She had to be practical. Sleep was essential and it was her best defense. The key was to fall asleep before Ian came upstairs. So as soon as Cady was settled, Darcy pulled on her nightgown—giving thanks that she had tossed one in her suitcase instead of relying on her usual soft, ripped and too-short T-shirt—and climbed between line-dried sheets that took her immediately back to those summer visits with Dad and Nonny.