Project: Parenthood. Trish Wylie

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СКАЧАТЬ just been hoodwinked. ‘They’ll need—’

      ‘They have everything they need right there. It’s all pretty self-explanatory. And Meggie is potty trained now, so she just needs a nappy on at night. It’s a pull-on, so you’ll be grand.’

      She was still scowling while her sister became a hurricane around the room, hugging and kissing the children and moving towards the door. ‘We’ll only be a few days. Mac has booked some lovely country hideaway for us.’

      ‘How will I—?’

      ‘Thanks, Teagan. You really are a star.’

      And she was gone.

      Teagan blinked at the closed door. What had just happened? Not half an hour ago she’d had a bubble bath, scented candles and a glass of good Chardonnay planned for her evening. Now she was staring at three small faces that looked as bewildered as she felt.

      She pinned a bright smile on her face as she approached them. But it took about thirty seconds for the smallest one to crumple.

      ‘Oh, no, honey. Don’t do that.’

      And then the second one began to sniffle. Only Johnnie remained impassive.

      It was Teagan’s worst nightmare.

      Brendan hated moving days. This time would definitely be the last one for a few dozen years if he had his way.

      He lugged a box from his rental van and made his sixth trip into the house before rolling up his sleeves and heading out to repeat the trip.

      At least his life wasn’t as chaotic as it looked for the poor woman across the street.

      She was making her third trip from the house to the car. This time with a screaming toddler in her arms. And from the way she was moving he could tell she wasn’t having much fun. No sign of a dad to help out either. Maybe he’d had sense enough to head out for work earlier, before the chaos kicked in.

      If it had been Brendan, he’d have relished that kind of chaos.

      He shook his head. He should have bought a damn apartment in some new complex filled with single people. People who didn’t make up perfect little family units in a hive of houses filled with similar perfect family units.

      Hell, he’d have been better off with a paper cut and some nice lemon juice to pour on it.

      But the house was a good investment.

      The woman leaned in through the car door and soothed the screaming child until there was silence. Then, running her hands back through her dark hair to tame it, she closed the door and started around to the driver’s side. But halfway around the car she stopped, and there was a frustrated scream and a stamp of one high heel. Her hands rose for a moment and then dropped to her sides. ‘No, not this morning! Don’t do this to me!’

      He stepped away from the van and looked where she was looking. A flat tyre. That sucked.

      Well, he shrugged to himself, that was one way to get to meet the neighbours. And Lord knew she looked as if she could do with being rescued.

      So he did the decent thing and jogged across the street. ‘Hi. Do you need a hand?’

      She jumped when he spoke, and swung to face him, her hair swinging across her face. ‘I have a flat tyre.’

      Brendan looked down at the offending object and nodded wisely. ‘Yep, I’d say you do, all right.’

      ‘I can’t fix a flat tyre in this outfit.’ There was a brief pause while she joined him in looking at the tyre. Then she took a breath and her voice changed. ‘I don’t suppose I could possibly ask you—?’

      The male in him noted the shift in her vocal tone immediately. How it had changed from annoyed to beguiling in the space of one sentence. She was trying to flirt with him to get him to change the tyre. Typical woman. Obviously some ditzy housewife who had never learned how to change a tyre because her husband always did it for her.

      He smiled and looked at her as she brushed her hair back from her face. And his breath caught.

      ‘Teagan.’

      Her eyes flickered up to meet his, then widened. ‘Brendan.’

      Blond brows quirked at the guarded way she said his name. He tried a wider smile. ‘Well, this is a surprise.’

      ‘What are you doing here?’

      ‘I’m moving in across the road.’

      ‘You bought the house across from me?’ Her eyes moved to look at the half-unloaded van. ‘When did that happen?’

      ‘Got the keys the day before yesterday. I have to say if I’d been given a list of people I might bump into when I got here—’

      ‘Mine would have been the last?’ Her chin rose as she looked back at him, a small, tight smile on her lips. ‘That’s nice.’

      Her cool stare brought his back up. Okay, so she was having a bad morning—obviously—but that really was no excuse to be rude. After all, he’d come over to help.

      ‘Well, it’s been a while.’ He folded his arms across his broad chest and nodded.

      ‘Yes, it has.’

      He made another attempt at lightening the mood. Not that she really deserved it. One long finger pointed towards the car, where at least the crying hadn’t started up again. ‘About three of those ago, apparently.’

      Teagan snorted out a brief laugh. ‘Oh, they’re not mine. They’re my sister’s kids.’

      ‘You stole them?’

      The smile she gave him was a little more relaxed. ‘Nope. Why would a person do that, exactly?’

      ‘Well, they’re cute.’ He waved through the window.

      ‘Yes, they are that.’ She waved herself, and was rewarded by three smiles. ‘But they’re also really hard work.’

      ‘I’d heard that rumour.’

      She glanced at him in the reflection of the glass, seemed to take a moment or two to think and then asked, ‘Look, I’m sorry to ask you this, but is there any chance you could give me a hand with the tyre? I’m going to be really late to work at this rate.’

      ‘You’re taking them with you to work?’

      ‘No.’ She laughed again. ‘There’s a daycare centre nearby, and they’ve said they can take them today for me to help out. After that I’m on my own.’

      Brendan took a breath as he turned to look at her. He blinked as he thought, his eyes moving over her profile while his mind remembered what she’d looked like the last time he had seen her. Nine years hadn’t done her any harm. She looked great, if a little on the harassed side.

      When she turned her face to his she blinked up at him with her large green eyes and he remembered more about the last time СКАЧАТЬ