Harbor Nights (14 page)

“Promise, and good night, Ned.”

“Good night, Rose Fairy,” Ned whispered as he closed her door and backed away from the car.

She started the SUV, gave him a quick wave and a smile, and pulled away. Thick trees were on either side of his driveway, but her headlights cut through the darkness and into the night.

The Jeep bounced over a couple of rough spots. Ancient shock absorbers screeched from the abuse. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Ned standing on the steps to the porch watching her leave.

She turned the bend in the drive and finally felt the blacktop of the road under the wheels. It would be smooth sailing all the way into town.

It was a real shame her relationship with Ned was going to be anything but smooth sailing after her column on the lumber industry hit the mailboxes.

Ned watched Norah as she pushed Tyler on the tire swing he had hung in the backyard this spring. Amanda was drooling on his shoulder, and Morgan and Hunter were trying to do somersaults while waiting for their turns again. Norah had been pushing for about half an hour, but she was still laughing with the kids and having a fun time. For what Norah lacked in height and weight, she made up for in sheer endurance. Norah could match any one of his sisters-in-law in the child care department.

He lightly patted Amanda's back. “Come on, young lady; you owe me a burp.” She also owed him about three hours of sleep. He now understood why Paul and Jill had seemed so excited to get away for only one night. Being a parent to an infant wasn't conducive to a good night's sleep. At least Morgan, Hunter, and Tyler all slept through the night. He had actually gotten a shower and shaved this morning at six o'clock while all four kids were still sleeping. He wanted to be at least clean and presentable before Norah and that delectable mouth showed up on his front porch bearing donuts.

Those delicious sweets, which she had driven all the way into Sullivan for, had made her friends for life with the kids. Flipper had particularly enjoyed the frosted one with sprinkles that Tyler had slipped him under the table. The dog had probably gained five pounds this weekend.

Amanda bobbed her head and then let out a good, hearty burp that made him smile. She was definitely her father's daughter. Paul would be so proud. He used the spit-up cloth and wiped the drool of formula from her tiny rosebud lips before it got on his shirt. Today, he was trying to stay clean.

Eventually his brothers would show up and collect not only their children but also all the paraphernalia that was cluttering his home and overflowing his refrigerator. How one tiny baby required so many bottles of formula was still a mystery to him. The amazing part was that there were barely any full ones left. Amanda was also running out of diapers. Her parents better get their butts here before either one of those essentials ran out.

They had said they would be back before dinner, and it was almost that time now. Once they had all cleared out, he and Norah would be left alone for the remainder of the evening in peace and blissful quiet. He had a couple of steaks in the freezer that he could throw on the grill. Slide a few potatoes into the oven; toss a salad; open a bottle of wine; and presto, a romantic dinner for two. He could almost taste that steak and picture them enjoying the meal out in the screened porch with a few candles flickering nearby.

Standing in the screened porch, he watched as Norah brought the swing to a stop and Tyler jumped off and ran for the house. Norah, Hunter, and Morgan followed him at a more leisurely pace, with Flipper right on their heels. Tyler barreled onto the screened porch like he was on fire. He didn't see any tears or blood, which was always a good sign. “What's wrong?” The screen door slammed, causing Amanda to jump and begin fussing.

Tyler sped by him and into the house without a word.

He absently rubbed the baby's back and looked at Norah, who was smiling. “What's wrong with Tyler?” It couldn't be anything serious if she was smiling.

“He had to go potty.” Norah and the kids came into the screened porch and plopped down on the chairs.

“We're hungry,” Hunter said.

“Me too,” Morgan added. Today, her hair looked much neater since Norah had been the one to comb it and put it up in pigtails this morning. Morgan also had on all her clothes and pink sneakers. Potty trips still required a complete strip down, but his niece was at least listening to Norah and putting her clothes back on.

Tyler, looking relieved, came back out of the house. “What's for dinner, Uncle Ned?”

Visions of that nice romantic dinner with Norah started to blur around the edges. Where were his brothers?

The ringing of the phone saved him from answering the kids. “I'll be right back.” He headed into the house and picked up the kitchen phone. “Hello.”

The kids and Norah followed him in. Norah reached for and carefully took Amanda from him as Paul's voice boomed in his ear. “Ned, that you?”

“Of course it's me; who did you think you were calling?”

“How come I'm not hearing any kids in the background?”

“Because I tied and gagged them all.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head at Norah, who was giving him a funny look.

“That's good,” said Paul cheerfully. “Hey, we're stopping in Franklin on the way back. We voted on picking up a bucket or two of chicken.”

“Who voted? No one asked our opinions.” His older brothers were always making decisions for everyone else. “We didn't get to vote, and we've been doing all the work.”

“Who's we?”

“Norah Stevens and I.” He flashed Norah a quick smile when she turned and looked at him. He prayed his brother wasn't going to make mountains out of molehills.

“The cute redhead?”

“Yes, Mom's neighbor.” He knew Norah couldn't hear what his brother was saying, but she knew they were talking about her. “Make sure you bring enough for Norah. I'm sure she'll appreciate it.” He wanted to end the conversation fast. He could hear both Kay and Jill in the background asking questions. “See you in about forty minutes,” he said and then pressed the disconnect button.

“Looks like chicken for dinner, kids.” He swung Morgan up into the air. “That was your parents, sweetie. They are on their way, and they're picking up dinner. Think you can last that long?”

“Yes!” Morgan squealed with delight.

What was with girls and their high-pitched squeals? Hunter and Tyler both shouted, but they didn't squeal. He looked over at Norah and shrugged apologetically. “Hope you like chicken.” He set Morgan back down on her feet and rubbed his ear.

“Chicken's fine.” Norah looked apprehensive for a moment as she watched the three kids race into the living room to stare out the front windows. “I'm not causing any problems by being here, am I?”

“No.” He stepped closer to Norah but didn't touch her. Today, she smelled like lavender. He watched her eyes, but not a trace of fear showed. The fear that he sometimes glimpsed in her beautiful green eyes bothered him. He relaxed and gently played with Amanda's hand, which was resting against Norah's bare shoulder. His niece's tiny fingers grasped one of his fingers and held on tight. “You do realize that there is going to be a lot of speculation as to why you are here.”

“We'll tell them the truth.” Norah's eyes sparkled with mischief.

“And that is?” He liked seeing her so relaxed and teasing around him. He definitely was going to have to kiss her more often.

“That you called me up begging for help with the kids. You couldn't handle them.”

He laughed. “Do you think my brothers are going to believe that?” His brothers were smart enough to take one look at Norah and know exactly why he had called her yesterday morning. Norah had looked beautiful and comfortable yesterday dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top. Today, she looked hot. Sexy hot.

Norah had traded in her shorts for a denim skirt that was short on material and long on temptation. Her plain green tank top from yesterday was gone, replaced with a skimpier, lacier white top. There was nothing indecent or out of the ordinary about her clothes. Hundreds, if not thousands, of women were probably wearing the same type of outfit today. However, on Norah's slim, compact body, the clothes should have come with a warning. A heat warning.

“Maybe not”—Norah's mischievous eyes sparkled brightly—“but your sisters-in-law will.”

“Ouch.” He bent forward and quickly kissed her surprised mouth while the kids weren't watching. “That's dirty pool. Kay and Jill won't let me watch them again if they think I can't handle them.”

He had purposely kept his distance from Norah all day long. The need to taste her kisses had followed him into his dreams last night. Every time he had gotten to an interesting part in his dream, Amanda's cries had pulled him from Norah's arms. His frustration was running high, and he didn't need the kids running to their parents with tales about Uncle Ned kissing Norah.

“You like watching them, don't you?” Norah cradled Amanda.

“I'm only going to have so many nieces and nephews, so I like to get to know them. What about you—any nieces and nephews?” He didn't know too much about Norah or her family. Her parents were recently divorced, and she and her mother had moved to Maine, but that was about it. That and the fact that she didn't like to talk about her father. There was something to that, but as of yet, he couldn't quite put his finger on what had gone wrong in that relationship.

“I'm an only child.” Norah sounded like that fact didn't bother her, but he had the feeling it meant something.

“I don't know if I should envy you or feel sorry for you. Growing up with three older brothers wasn't the easiest thing, but I wouldn't have it any other way.” He took Amanda from her and started to change her diaper. “We're all pretty close.”

“So why didn't Matthew help out this weekend?”

Ned looked up from what he was doing and grinned. “Because I didn't call him.” He knew his brother would have dropped whatever he was doing this weekend to come help with the kids if he had been asked. Ned hadn't asked because he would have rather spent the time with Norah. He had counted on the kids acting as chaperons and making Norah feel a lot more comfortable with him. His plan had worked. She no longer jumped when he accidently touched her, and the fear was gone from her eyes.

“You called me instead.” Norah's lips twitched with a smile she was trying to suppress.

He gave her a playful wink. “You're cuter,” he said before turning all his attention back to a half dressed Amanda.

 

 

An hour later, he decided there were some merits to being an only child. His house was overrun with relatives. Paul had also called Matthew, who had shown up for dinner ten minutes before the food. The kids were running around like crazy, and his brothers were nudging each other like they had never seen a woman in his company before. To make matters worse, his sisters-in-law, who he used to like, were grilling Norah.

Norah looked a little shell-shocked. He couldn't blame her. The Porters en masse did tend to overpower people, both in their physical appearance and sheer numbers.

“Where did you say the playpen was?” asked Paul, glancing around the family room.

“In my office.” Ned got up from the table and what remained of the Porter family dinner—one lone extra crispy chicken leg and two spoonfuls of cold mashed potatoes. “I'll get it for you.”

He glanced at Norah, who was holding Amanda while Jill was loading all of the bottles into a bag. Kay was in the living room rolling up sleeping bags and passing them to John to carry out to the cars. Tyler was wrestling Flipper in the middle of the hall, and Hunter was bouncing on the couch. He didn't see Morgan, but she probably was outside loading the car with her dad.

He was trying to figure out how to get the playpen to close when Matthew joined him. “I think you have to remove the pad first, then unclamp the sides.”

Matthew hadn't seemed surprised to find Norah at Ned's. Which meant Paul had told him on the phone. Ned wasn't quite sure what to say to his brother. Even with the dismally low ratio of women to men in the town, they had never competed for the same woman before. He didn't want to start now, but he distinctly remembered overhearing Matthew ask Norah out. He also remembered Norah's very polite negative response.

He handed his brother the pad from the playpen, unclamped the sides, and gave the nylon loop at the bottom a tug upward. The playpen folded up nicely. “Thanks.”

“You're welcome.” Matthew started to shove the playpen into the nylon tote it had come in. “Norah seems right at home here.”

His brother was being extremely nice. Too nice. He knew no one had missed the way Norah had set the table and how she seemed to know where everything was in the kitchen. He had seen Jill raise her eyebrows and give Kay a knowing look. Speculation on what other rooms of his house Norah might know her way around was flying fast and furiously through the Porter family. He'd be lucky if Norah ever talked to him again. “She's been helping with the kids all weekend.”

“She seems nice.” Matthew was waiting for him to fold up the cushioned pad.

“She is.” He met his brother's gaze.

Matthew busted out laughing. “You still don't get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“At Mom's cookout a few weeks ago, who do you think Norah was staring at the entire time?”

“I have no idea.” He handed his brother the rolled up playpen pad. He refused to admit that the tightening in his gut had anything to do with jealousy.

“You, little brother.” Matthew chuckled as he tucked the pad into the tote bag. “She couldn't take her eyes off you.”

He stared at his brother as if he were insane. He hadn't noticed Norah looking at him. “So that's why you asked her out—because she was watching me?”

“Nope, I asked her out so you would overhear and get jealous enough to ask her out yourself.” Matthew zipped the tote closed.

“How did you know I'd overhear?” He had been in his parents' living room while they had been in the kitchen putting away leftovers. “You couldn't have seen me.”

“Didn't need to actually see you to know you were there.” Matthew picked up the bag and headed for the door. “Flipper was sitting in the doorway where I could see him. Your dog was staring right at the spot where you were standing.” Matthew chuckled and gave him a wink. “You've got my blessings on this one, runt.”