To Have And To Hold: Made for Marriage / To Wed a Rancher / The Mummy Proposal. Helen Lacey

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СКАЧАТЬ of times before removing her hand. Once she’d broken the connection her womb flipped again, but differently this time. She felt empty, bereft.

      She looked at Noah then and saw he was watching her with such searing intensity she had to lean against the counter for support. But to have his child? An adorable child like Hayley. What a dream that would be.

      Not a dream. A fantasy.

      “Hayley, take your seat,” Noah said quietly. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

      The kids all whooped and raced for their favorite spot at the table.

      “This is done,” Callie said and grabbed the bowl.

      Meals were usually a quiet affair for Callie. She ate alone most of the time, unless Fiona was around or she offered to make lunch for Joe. But this was something else. The kind of meal she remembered from her childhood, when the kitchen had been the centerpiece of the home. Lots of laughter, lots of spillage and wipe-ups and grubby faces.

      Family.

      Another woman’s family, she reminded herself.

      But I’m here … and I feel such a part of them. Like somehow … I was made for this.

      Callie’s salad was a success, with Jamie kindly telling her it was the best he’d tasted—even better than his Aunt Evie’s.

      Afterward, she volunteered to load the dishwasher while Noah put the twins to bed with a story. Jamie chatted to her as she worked, telling her about school and how Fiona was his favorite teacher and how he liked to make things and that he wanted to learn to play the trumpet. Then he told her he would choose a movie to watch and disappeared down the hallway. By the time Noah returned, the kitchen sparkled and the coffeemaker gurgled.

      “I helped myself,” she said. “Although I can’t find any cups.”

      He opened a high cupboard, extracted a pair of matching mugs and placed them on the counter. “Milk, no sugar.”

      The way she liked hers, too.

      Jamie reappeared, clutching Madagascar in one hand and a Harry Potter sequel in the other. They unanimously chose Madagascar. Callie took her coffee into the living room and sat down in the corner of the long sofa. She placed her coffee on the side table. Jamie said something secretly to his father then excused himself and raced down the hall.

      “He likes you,” Noah said quietly as he set up the DVD player.

      “How do you know that?”

      He turned his head and smiled. “You’ll see.”

      Jamie returned a few minutes later. He asked her to hold out her hand and dropped something onto her palm. She stared at the thin leather strip threaded with dark, shiny stones.

      “It’s a bracelet,” he said, pointing to the stones. “They’re hematites.”

      Callie touched the smooth stones. “It’s lovely.”

      “I made it,” he announced proudly. “You can have it.”

      “You made this?” she held it up. “You’re very clever. But I couldn’t possibly take it.”

      He looked so disappointed she longed to snatch the words back. “You don’t like it?”

      Callie rubbed the stones again. “Of course I do. I just thought that if you made something this pretty you might want to give it to someone … like a girl.”

      Jamie frowned. “You’re a girl.”

      “Smart kid,” Noah said as he sat at the other end of the sofa. “My sister Mary-Jayne makes jewelry,” he explained. “She lets the kids craft pieces when they stay with her.” He looked at his son. “He doesn’t part with them easily.”

      Noah watched her reaction. She looked increasingly uncomfortable. Jamie was a warm, generous child and incredibly easy to love. And although she’d interacted appropriately all evening, he sensed something else was happening to her.

      His suspicions were elevated. Was it him making her nervous? Noah couldn’t be sure. In the kitchen she’d been relaxed and chatty. When it was just the two of them she usually looked fired up and ready for anything. But then Hayley had hugged her, and Noah had witnessed reluctance in her response to his daughter. The realization landed on his shoulders.

      The kids … it was the kids. He felt sure of it.

      How can she not like my kids? They’re unbelievable. Everyone likes my kids.

      Finally, she spoke. “In that case, I would love to keep this. Thank you.”

      That settled, he flicked the play button and sank back into the sofa. With Jamie between them she seemed light years away from him. Which was probably exactly how she wanted it.

      Jamie fell asleep after about twenty minutes. Noah gathered him up and carried him to his bedroom. He tucked him in bed, kissed his forehead and returned to the living room.

      She hadn’t moved. He flipped the DVD to a CD and waited until the music filtered around the room before heading back to the sofa.

      “Would you like some more wine?” he asked before he sat.

      She shook her head. “I should probably go home.”

      Noah glanced at the clock on the wall. It was barely nine o’clock. He didn’t want her to go. He had to say what was on his mind. “I’m not a threat to you, Callie.”

      She looked into her lap. “I know that.”

      “So why do you want to leave?”

      She expelled an unsteady breath. “Because being here I feel … involved.” She stopped, looked away. “I feel involved with you.”

      Suddenly there was something very raw about her. “Would that be so bad?”

      She looked back toward him. “No,” she said on a breath. “Yes … I can’t—”

      “I’m not your ex, Callie,” he said bluntly. “And if you screwed up, and if you chose the wrong person to give your heart to, don’t feel alone. Just get in line.”

      “Did you screw up?” she asked.

      “With Margaret?” he nodded. “For sure. But I should never have married her in the first place.” He shrugged. “She was pregnant with Lily,” he explained. Not, I loved her. To say he’d truly loved Margaret would have been a lie. “We had a baby coming. It seemed the right thing to do.”

      She smiled fractionally. “It was the right thing to do.”

      In the beginning he’d believed so. Especially the day he’d held his newborn in his hands. But later he’d wondered if they should have considered a shared custody arrangement of their daughter instead of a marriage between two people who were never suited to one another.

      She looked at him, hesitated, and then took a steadying breath. “My fiancé СКАЧАТЬ