A Family Come True (28 page)

“Oh, that was easy,” Taylor said. “Brynn promised we would stay out of her way while she made the salads if she left us alone to do this.”

“You can do that?”

Brynn shrugged. “Here’s the thing about Moxie. She’s tough and smart and a little sneaky, but she’s fair. If you are willing to negotiate, she’s always willing to talk.”

“Kind of like a hostage situation,” Taylor said, and she and Brynn burst into laughter. Darcy couldn’t help but join in.

Was this what it was like to have a family? Not just mother-father-kids, but the whole shebang, with cousins and aunts and uncles. To have something like this for Cady, for herself...

Ian
had
to patch things up with Carter. A family such as this needed to be preserved.

But thinking about what might be happening with Ian made her stomach twitch. She forced herself to focus on Taylor and Brynn and vanilla and flour, until she saw with a start that almost an hour had passed.

“I should probably check on Cady.” She gave her hands a quick wash. “Don’t have too much fun without me, okay?”

With laughter echoing in her ears, Darcy went in search of Cady and Xander. She knew all was well. If not, Xander would have come hunting. But she still needed to see for herself. Not just to be sure Cady was okay, but to watch them in action together. To remind herself that Xander could bring things to Cady’s life that she couldn’t—at least one aunt, maybe more grandparents, maybe even cousins. She would love for Cady to have cousins.

She could handle this. It would be like...like when she started sending Cady to day care. That had been an adjustment. And, yeah, she had indulged in a pity party over the fact that finances wouldn’t allow her to extend her maternity leave as long as most mothers got. But she had managed. She had organized and planned and learned to compartmentalize her life into Cady time and work time and—usually thanks to Ian—Darcy time. So now she would simply learn to add Xander time.

And, if she were lucky, maybe some regular, frequent Darcy-and-Ian time.

She found them outside tossing a ball with Lulu. Cady’s welcoming squeal left her all gushy inside. Damn but she loved this kid.

Xander had a mildly frantic air about him, and there was no denying the relief that bloomed on his face at her approach, but she saw no evidence of either blood or tears on any of them, so she called that a win and pulled Cady into her arms.

“Hey. Sorry I was gone so long. I started working with Brynn and Taylor, and we got laughing, and, well, I guess I was more in need of a gabfest than I thought. Thanks for being a great babysitter.”

“My pleasure. And I wasn’t babysitting. I was playing with my daughter. Big difference.”

She swallowed her flutter of panic. “Did you have fun, Buggy Boo?” She held Cady over her head and wiggled her back and forth. “Did you have so much fun with your—with Xander?”

“She led
Daddy
all over the yard. I probably know it better than the Norths do at this point. And remind me to tell one of them that there’s a groundhog hole by that maple tree that they might want to fill in before the party.”

“Sure. Listen, if you want to find one of them now, take a few minutes to recharge, you go ahead. I can put her in the high chair in the kitchen and give her a snack. She’d probably like that.” She lowered Cady to her, nuzzled her nose. “For at least five or ten minutes.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that. I’m still building up my daddy endurance.” He took a step toward the house, hesitated and turned back. “Darce, Ian said something this morning that made a lot of sense. Maybe I could...”

“What?” He seemed nervous all of a sudden, though she wasn’t sure why. If Ian had suggested it, it was probably one of those ideas that would leave her smacking her forehead and asking why she hadn’t thought of it herself.

“He told me about him moving back here, and not using the apartment over the garage. He thought it might be a good idea if...”

No.
No.

“If I moved in there.”

She pulled Cady close to her chest, folded her arms around her. “He came up with this himself?”

“Yeah. I never would’ve... And look, if you don’t like the idea, I understand. This has been a lot all of a sudden, and if you don’t want me to...”

No. No, I drew the lines, I talked myself into believing it would be fine as long as I colored inside those lines, and now Ian wants to erase them? Ian, who knows why I need them?

“It made a lot of sense to me. You know, make it easier for me to be a real part of her life, for us to share child care and, you know, everything. I’m thinking, in a couple of years, it might be nice for her to be able to run back and forth between us instead of me needing to set everything up ahead of time.” His laugh was short and strained. “Hey, if we pull it off, it could end up being almost like a regular family. Right?”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I
AN STOOD BESIDE
Hank’s beat-up old truck and scowled at the note propped on the windshield.

Sorry, guys. Millie needs school stuff and I have a big crew checking in today, so this was my only chance. The key to the truck is inside. Carter has the house key. I’ll try to get back in time to lend a hand.

“Sure you will.” Ian crumpled the note. The rough noise echoed the crowded sensation in his gut when he spotted Carter sitting on top of a picnic table in front of the Wolfe cabin, staring at the river as though he owned it.

“Hey.” Ian shoved his hands into his pockets, shot Carter a fast glance, then decided to study the water himself.

“’Morning.”

“Don’t suppose Cash is showing up.”

“Nope.” Carter lifted the phone from the tabletop. “Just got a text. Twisted his ankle.”

Despite himself, Ian snorted. “He never could lie worth beans.”

“Moxie must have forgot to give him a full script.”

“Oh, I’m not pinning this one on her.” Memories tumbled through his head; lowered voices at the dinner table, Darcy asking if he’d seen Carter at the dairy, Darcy making an oh-so-subtle remark this morning about things being easier once they were out in the open. God, he was an idiot. “I think this was all Darcy and Taylor, with some help from Brynn.”

“And they conned both the guys into going along with them?”

“Conned? No. Threatened, more likely.”

“You’re probably right.” Carter leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, intruding into Ian’s peripheral vision. “But since they went to all this work, maybe we should...”

Oh, no. No way in hell was he going along with this. Sure, for a minute there it had been almost like old times, almost joking around together again. That had been okay. But more than that? Uh-uh. Not going to happen.

Forward, North.

“Why are you just sitting there?”

“Huh?”

“We’re supposed to be loading tables. Let’s load. Unless your ass has developed magical powers and can do the job for you.”

“I— Sure. Whatever.” Carter pocketed his phone in obvious preparation for climbing off the table. Ian resisted—barely—the temptation to do the magician thing and yank it out from beneath Carter. He wouldn’t mind seeing someone hit the dirt about now.

“Get it in gear,” he said.

Carter frowned but complied, slowly circling to the other side of the table.

“On three.” Carter grabbed his end. “One...two...”

Ian pulled the table toward him. Carter stumbled forward.

“Oops. My bad.”

“Right.” Carter brushed his shorts and took a deep breath. “Look, Ian. There’s something I need to say.”

Ah, shit. Not now.

“It looks like things are working out for you, and that’s good. I mean, you could have knocked me over with a feather when you showed up with Darcy. But, hey, if you’re gonna be surprised, better a good one than a lousy one, right?”

“Jeez, Carter.” Ian held his brother’s gaze. “You really think you should be the one telling me that?”

Dull red rose in Carter’s cheeks, but like the stubborn idiot that he was, he plowed on. “I’m just trying to say, even though I know it’s going to be...awkward...for a while, it’s good to have you back. And I hope you take that job. I think it’s a solid fit for you.”

On that, Ian could agree. Not that he was going to, but it was the truth.

“So, I’m just saying, you and Darcy and Cady—I know things are messy, with Xander and all, but those things can be worked out. I’m just glad for you.”

“Of course you are. It makes life a lot easier for you, doesn’t it?”

Carter blinked. “What does that mean?”

Ian wasn’t really sure. But something nasty had coiled itself in his stomach, something as poisonous as a snake, and he realized—too late—that he couldn’t let it out.

What the
hell
had Darcy been thinking?

“It means exactly what you think it means. Now are you going to help me move tables, or are you going to stand there yammering?”

“Ian. Come on. We need to—”

For one sweet second, Ian let himself imagine how good it would feel to take the muscles he’d developed in his arms—muscles born of hours at the forge, long afternoons spent hammering away the pain of what had been done to him—and use them to shove his fist into Carter’s face.

But he wasn’t going to be the one to ruin Ma’s party. “We need to get these tables on the truck, drive it to the house and unload them. That’s it. That’s all.”

Carter held his gaze. A perverse part of Ian wished Carter would push this. He almost—
almost
—wanted to see what would happen if he finally let go.

Luckily or not, Carter let out his breath and lowered his eyes. “Fine.” His voice was tight and clipped. “Whatever.”

Ian grabbed the table and heaved. The sooner they got this done, the sooner they could get to the house.

And once he got there, he and Darcy were going to have themselves a talk.

* * *

R
ATTLED BY
X
ANDER’S REVELATION
, Darcy was barely focused on her actions when she took Cady to the kitchen. Which explained how Cady managed to dive-bomb the bowl of frosting. Which was how Xander finally got his first introduction to bath time in the middle of the day. Which was why he was now downstairs doing lunch duty, aided by a very willing Brynn and Taylor, while Darcy showered chocolate frosting out of her hair.

Of course, she wasn’t sure what was creating more steam: the hot water or the thoughts bubbling in her brain.

Did it make sense for Xander to live in the garage? In theory, yes.

Did Darcy want him there? More to the point, did Ian—
Ian
—have any right to make that suggestion?

She snapped off the water, swore at the towel, snarled while she yanked on fresh clothes. She pushed the comb through her hair and tugged at the knots and froze when she heard familiar footsteps on the stairs.

Maybe the frosting fiesta hadn’t been a total waste of time and sugar. At least now they would have some privacy while she set him straight.

The door opened with a bang. She lowered the comb, drew in her breath and went to meet him.

“Lock it,” she said evenly.

“Already did.”

And why the hell did he look so—

Oh. Yeah.

The Carter-Ian reunion had slipped her mind. From the way Ian’s eyes were flashing, she was pretty sure it hadn’t gone according to plan.

From the way her jaw was tightening, she was positive she didn’t give a rat’s ass.

They stared at each other. The words that had poured through her in the shower seemed to have been washed away. All that remained was the heavy, white-hot burn of betrayal.

“Why did you tell Xander to move into the apartment?”

He blinked, as if he couldn’t believe she had to ask. “Because for one thing, I’m moving out and the lease says I can sublet with your approval. For another thing, it makes sense. Now.” His eyes narrowed. “Who the hell thought it was a good idea to strand me alone with Carter?”

“It doesn’t matter who thought of it.” No way was she offering up Taylor to him. “You two need to talk, and since you were being too stubborn to do it on your own—”

“Hold on. I’m stubborn?” He leveled a finger in her direction. “What gave you the right to set me up that way?”

Love, that was what. Love and watching him hurt for two years and knowing in her gut that Carter had hurt him far worse than Taylor had, and that until he realized that, there was no way this family was going to heal.

But she’d be damned if she’d tell him she loved him when she was ready to toss him in the river.

“Your entire family sees how you’re hurting. You want to move back here, fine. That’s huge. But just being here isn’t going to do a damned thing to get your family back on track if you won’t admit—”

“I don’t need to admit anything. I’m not the one who broke anyone’s trust.”

“Which is all the more reason—”

“But,” he carried on as if she hadn’t spoken, “I’m the only one who can see that dragging it out again will be like...like hauling something dead out of the ground. All it’s gonna do is lead to a whole bunch of stink.”

“That is so wrong.” She tried to wall off her anger, but it spilled over anyway. “You think you can walk around and rearrange my life, mess up everything I’m trying to do with Cady and Xander even though you know how much I’m trying to give her a stable home. And then you get pissed off when someone dares to remind you that your stubbornness is going to hurt your family even more than what Carter did?”

“What the hell?” He scrubbed his hands over his face as though he was trying to wipe away the truth. “I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, Darce, but you are so wrong—”

“You’re right.” At his blank look, she pushed on. “You’re not stubborn. You’re scared.”

Something flickered across his face. Panic? Relief? But it was pushed aside by a mirthless laugh.

“Oh, God. You are so... I mean, jeez, Darce. You think because you’re terrified to let anyone near Cady, that the rest of us are walking around like that? Jesus. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.”

“I’m not terrified to let Xander near her. I’m just trying to make it easier for all of us.”