A Forever Kind of Family. Brenda Harlen

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      Ryan sipped his coffee and considered the question that niggled at the back of his mind. He’d come to Andrew for information and advice, but he didn’t want to appear insensitive. Although his cousin had moved on with his life and was married to Rachel now, he didn’t imagine it was easy to talk about the loss of his first wife—or the impact of her death on their daughter.

      But he finally ventured to ask, “Does Maura remember her mother at all?”

      “I’m not sure. She was only three when Nina died. There are pictures of her in Maura’s room, and we talk about her at appropriate times. And, of course, her maternal grandparents are always telling her how much she looks like her mother and reminding her how much Nina loved her.”

      “But she calls Rachel ‘Mom’ now, doesn’t she?”

      Andrew nodded. “That was her choice. I think because all of her friends have moms, it meant a lot for her to have someone in that role, too.”

      “Oliver still doesn’t say very much, so what he’s going to call me and Harper in the future isn’t really of concern right now.”

      “What is?”

      “Everything else,” he admitted.

      His cousin’s smile was wry. “Welcome to fatherhood.”

      “I thought I had a lot more years before anyone would say those words to me.” He scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I don’t know if I can do this—be a father to my best friend’s little boy.”

      “Except that you are doing it,” his cousin pointed out.

      “I have these moments—a lot of moments—when I find myself floundering and wish I could call Darren. From the minute that Oliver was born, he instinctively knew what to do.” He stared at the dregs of coffee in the bottom of his cup and quietly admitted, “I miss him. Every single day, I miss him. And then I think about Oliver, about how lost and confused he must feel. In one fell swoop, life as he knew it was destroyed—and somehow, I’m supposed to help him pick up the pieces.”

      “You don’t have to do it on your own,” Andrew said.

      “I know, but Harper and I seem to work better together if we’re not.”

      “I’m sure it’s been a difficult adjustment for both of you—instant parenthood under a shared roof with a virtual stranger.”

      “Neither of us is getting much sleep because Oliver’s up several times in the night.”

      Andrew winced. “I remember those nights—a lot of those nights. They’re not fun for anyone.”

      “Least of all Oliver,” Ryan agreed. “It breaks my heart when he wakes up asking for ‘mama’ or ‘dada.’”

      “As hard as it was for both Maura and I when we lost Nina, we at least had one another.”

      “Poor Oliver’s stuck with me and Harper.”

      “I’d say Oliver’s lucky to have you and Harper.”

      “He’d be luckier—and drier—if she knew how to change a diaper,” he grumbled.

      His cousin looked surprised. “She doesn’t?”

      “I’m actually not sure. Every time he needs to be changed, she shoves him at me.”

      Andrew chuckled. “Apparently she’s as smart as she is beautiful.”

      Ryan didn’t doubt that she was. Smart and beautiful and sexy and sweet, and she was frustrating the hell out of him—which was not something he intended to talk to his cousin about.

      He set his empty mug aside and stood up. “Since I’m here, I should spend some time in my own office and let you sneak out of yours.”

      “Sounds good to me,” Andrew agreed. “But if you ever need anything, anytime, let me know.”

      Ryan nodded. “Thanks.”

      He wasn’t in the habit of dumping his problems on his family, but it was nice to know that they were there if he needed them. As he intended to be there for Oliver—and Harper.

      Because the more time they spent together, the more he was beginning to realize that she needed them every bit as much as they needed her.

      * * *

      Harper had been in the habit of spending an hour at the gym after leaving the studio each day, but she hadn’t been doing that since she moved into Melissa and Darren’s house to take care of Oliver. While Ryan had been great about manipulating his schedule to accommodate her work hours, she didn’t think it was fair to put him further behind in his own schedule for her personal workout. So for now her exercise was walking with Oliver.

      Thankfully, he was content in his stroller, happy to watch the world go by as he was pushed around. She’d usually take the long way around to the park, and then she’d let the little boy play on the toddler climber and baby swings for a while before they headed home again.

      Today when she unbuckled Oliver and helped him out of the stroller, he bypassed the climbing structure and raced over to the baby swings.

      He grabbed hold of the plastic seat. “Whee! Whee!”

      The slender blonde woman pushing another little boy on the adjacent swing chuckled in response to Oliver’s demand. “He knows what he wants, doesn’t he?”

      “He certainly does,” Harper agreed. She smiled at the blonde as she lifted Oliver into the swing, then did a double take. “Have we met?”

      The other woman nodded. “At the funeral. I’m Kenna Garrett—my husband, Daniel, is Ryan’s cousin. And this—” she gave her little boy another gentle push “—is Jacob.”

      Harper fastened the belt around Oliver’s middle. “I’m usually pretty good with names, but there were so many people there that day.”

      “No need to apologize,” Kenna assured her. “You had a lot of more important things on your mind that day.”

      “Whee!” Oliver demanded.

      “Whee!” Jacob echoed.

      Kenna chuckled and Harper pulled back Oliver’s swing and set it in motion.

      “How is Oliver doing?” Kenna asked.

      “The days are good,” Harper said. “But he still wakes up in the middle of the night almost every night crying for his mama.”

      Kenna’s eyes misted. “Poor fella.”

      Harper nodded.

      “That’s got to be hard on you, too. I remember how constantly exhausted I was before Jacob started sleeping through the night.”

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