Bright sunshine spilled through the parted bedroom curtains, a happy start to a happy day. Shannon rolled over and smiled at the roses she’d placed on the bedside table before turning in last night. She wanted them to be the first thing she saw, the first thing she smelled in the morning. The buds were just starting to open. So beautiful.
Sliding her legs out from under the sheets, she sat up and stretched. All was right with the world, her world. For the first time in her children’s lives, she could envision a future that involved a complete family. Dean wasn’t a deadbeat dad. He was a loving, compassionate man who cared for her children just as she did.
She couldn’t wait to tell the kids that they had worked things out yesterday. They’d finally be done with “Mean Mommy.” Maybe they could ask Dean and his friends, band mates (now that was going to take some getting used to), to the beach. It was perfect weather for it. Wait. Would they get mobbed by fans? Maybe they should pick someplace quieter? It didn’t matter. She just wanted to spend time with him and get to know his friends.
Whistling, Shannon practically skipped down the hallway to the kitchen. When the triplets finally began stumbling from their rooms, she’d almost finished their happy face pancakes. She was confused when they didn’t seem more enthused with the special breakfast treat.
“What’s with the sour pusses this morning?”
“He didn’t even say hi.” Brian pouted.
“Why’d he leave so fast? You made him leave.” Brady was downright mutinous.
“I don’t understand. Mr. Dean and I had a nice talk.”
“He doesn’t love us anymore. You messed things up, Mommy.” Brenna shoved her plate away and folded her tiny arms across her chest.
“I’m sure you all are just misunderstanding things. I made things all better at the party. Well, he did. It doesn’t matter.” Shannon wrinkled her brow, shaking her head. “I don’t know why he didn’t come over to say hi to you guys, but maybe he was just distracted.”
“Call him. Call him and tell him we want to see him.”
“I was planning on it.” Shannon stopped just short of sticking her tongue out at her cheeky son’s bossiness.
Snatching up the phone, she punched in Dean’s cell number. She turned to see that three expectant faces were watching her closely. She smiled big, to make up for their dubious frowns. Dean answered on the second ring.
“Hey there. It’s Shannon … and the kids. We were hoping you and your friends could join us for something fun today. It’s so beautiful out.”
“Thanks, that’s nice of you. But I don’t think it’s a good idea. I was just going to take everyone around for a little sightseeing.”
“Um, yeah, of course. But who better to show them around than a native, right?”
“I just want to spend some time with them before they have to leave. Maybe we’ll bump into you in town or something.”
“If that’s what you want, sure. Maybe we’ll see you around.”
“Shannon? I appreciate your calling, but I really think it’s best if we keep our distance.”
“But I thought we had cleared things up yesterday? I thought you missed us.”
“I do miss you. I always will. But things definitely got cleared up. I’ve got to go. Enjoy that beautiful weather.” The hum of the ended call was obnoxiously loud in her ear.
The kids had heard her end of the conversation and had gotten enough out of it to learn that they would not be seeing Dean that day. Chairs scraped against the linoleum as the army of three trooped out of the room. No one so much as looked at her.
Shannon began to clean up the breakfast dishes in a fog. What had that been about? He’d sounded so sad. She should have given him the chance to explain things that first night. She’d waited too long. But why had he come to tell her the truth, then, if it wasn’t with the understanding that he wanted to pursue a relationship? Once again, she was left with the feeling that she was the odd man out, the only person who hadn’t been given all the pieces to the puzzle.
• • •
Once again Dean found himself in the role of tour guide, though his heart really wasn’t in it. He kept thinking back to his call from Shannon. Why had she called? It had been childish to give her the brush off like that. But seeing her, seeing the kids, and knowing they were all moving on with Vince, it was just too much.
Besides, she’d invited his friends to go with them. That meant she probably intended to bring Vince. The more the merrier, right? He’d had to shut that one down fast.
“You’re just going to let her go that easy? I thought you had more balls than that.” Jax, sitting in the front seat of the rented Suburban, shook his head.
“He’s their dad, Jax. I can’t compete with that.”
“No, you can top that. The jerk left his pregnant wife to raise their triplets—not one, but three babies—by herself. She is much better off with you.”
“Okay, ideally, yeah. But he’s made this freak reappearance. I’m not sure why now, after all these years. But don’t I owe it to her to let her figure things out in her head?”
“Hell, no! This is where you let him know she’s already taken—Shannon and her kids. Too bad, so sad. He had his chance. Screw him!”
“I’m not really into the whole caveman routine, Jax.” Dean grinned at his friend. “And I find it odd that the person giving me advice on getting the girl is the person who runs as fast and furious from a commitment as he can get.”
“Well, yeah … different strokes for different folks, ya know?” Jax coughed into his fist and feigned interest in something just outside his window.
Dean smiled. He’d really missed these guys. They’d all been through a lot together. Now marriage and kids. Well, for him it’d be the other way around. A ready-made family. Jax was right. He had to fight for what he knew was his. He was a better fit for Shannon and her triplets. She could count on him. He’d never leave.
As though thinking of her had magically conjured her presence, Dean spotted Shannon in the small dirt lot beside a local farmer’s market. She was screaming and she looked absolutely terrified. The kids! He yanked the steering wheel, kicking up gravel, as he tore into the parking lot, threw the SUV into park, and yanked open his door.
“Hey, hey, I’m here, how can I help?” He gripped her shoulders and forced her to pay attention.
“I was picking out corn from the big cardboard bin. They were standing right beside the cart. I wasn’t more than a few seconds. When I stood up, they were gone. All of them. My babies.” Shannon was close to hyperventilating. Her head whipped back and forth and she searched the parking lot, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Okay, let’s look around. They’ve got to be around here someplace. It’s not that big.” He started to head into the market.
“Dean, I’ve been looking for half an hour. They aren’t here!” Shannon swiped at her tear-streaked face. “I think … what if … ” Her voice trailed off and Dean felt a burning sensation deep in his gut.
“Hollis Bainbridge.” His voice had turned deep, menacing.
Face white as a sheet, she nodded.
Dean ran to the SUV and filled everyone in. He told them to park and spread out, looking for the triplets. He suggested a few of the beach shops that he knew they loved and were within walking distance. He explained that he and Shannon had a lead and they were going to check it out.
Taking the keys from Shannon’s trembling fingers, Dean led her to her minivan and helped her into the passenger seat. Running for the driver’s seat, he gunned the engine and peeled out onto the road, waiting for her to lead him to the Bainbridge residence.
“Have you called Vince yet?”
“No. Why?” Shannon looked perplexed.
“He’s their father. He’ll want to know his children are missing.” Dean tried to state the obvious as gently as possible.
“I’ll fill him in after this is all over.” Shannon pointed right when the road branched in two.
“Well, where is he? We can pick him up on the way.”
“He left sometime last night. He’s back home in upstate New York now.” She sent an irritated look his way. “Why are you trying to involve Vince in this? He has his own life now. These are my kids that have gone missing. And if Hollis Bainbridge had something to do with it, Heaven only knows what I’ll do to him.”
Wait, so Shannon and Vince weren’t reconciling? There was hope for him after all! A wildly inappropriate urge to let out a joyous whoop was only squelched by Dean’s fear for the welfare of Shannon’s children. He shared in her protective need to find them safe and sound. There would be time to celebrate later—as a family.
They pulled up to a white raised ranch on a side street in the center of town. The driveway was empty, but Dean could see a couple of vehicles in the attached garage. Someone was home. Shannon hadn’t even waited for the van to stop before she’d flung herself out the door, already running for the porch steps.
“Hollis Bainbridge, get your ass out here!”
“Shannon? What on earth has gotten into you?” An older woman stepped out the front door, hands on her wide hips. Could this be Eden Bainbridge, Hollis’s wife and Vince’s mother? She was looking at Shannon as though the young mother had lost her mind.
“Where is he, Eden? Where are my kids?” Shannon’s voice was raw with unshed tears. Dean had managed to catch up to her and gripped her hand tightly, lending her his strength.
“Well, isn’t this revealing? Give this woman a Mother of the Year award. She’s managed to lose not one, but three kids. That’s talent, folks.” Hollis had appeared behind his wife.
“What did you do with them?” Shannon would have been in the man’s face if it weren’t for the restraining arm Dean flung around her waist.
“I don’t have your kids, you crazy woman! Why would I take them?”
“Because you’ve threatened it. Because you wanted Vince to steal custody from me. Because you’ve told horrible lies to everyone you love just to ruin my life.” Shannon was sobbing now.
Eden shot a glare over her shoulder as she reached for Shannon. The hate in her eyes told Dean this probably wasn’t the first time the older man had played with his family’s emotions. The younger woman collapsed in her arms. “Hollis, you have a lot of explaining to do once this is over.” She straightened Shannon up, wiped the tears from her face, and hugged her hard. “Young lady, you go home and wait by the phone. If the police have any leads, they will call you there. Hollis and I will do anything we can.”
Dean reached for Shannon’s hand and drew her with him to the minivan. She kept looking back at the house, back at Hollis. He knew how she felt. It was their only lead and it hadn’t panned out. Now they truly had no idea where the triplets had gone. Doing as Mrs. Bainbridge had suggested, Dean headed for the cottage.
“I didn’t even wait for the police to arrive at the Farmer’s Market, Dean. They need pictures. I’m not doing this right.” She looked lost, so young and so lost.
“We’ll find them. We’ll find them together.” He reached for her hand and she grabbed it for the lifeline it was.
“I knew I could count on you, Dean. I knew it was safe to trust you with my heart, my kids. I love you so much. Don’t ever leave.”
She was babbling. Dean would give anything to know those words were true, but Shannon was under an incredible strain and probably wasn’t even aware of what she was saying. When this was all over, and the kids were safely back home, he hoped to hear those words again.
• • •
A police car awaited them in the driveway. Did they have her children? Were they safe? Her throat was closed so tightly she couldn’t even cry. Her stupid fingers wouldn’t work on the door handle. She slapped ineffectually at the window. The door opened from the outside and Dean reached in for her, lifting her bodily from the car.
“Mommy!”
Shannon slid from his arms and looked around, desperately, for the source of that sweet little voice. A police officer had opened the door to the back of the cruiser and all three of her little angels were tumbling out. They met in a tangle of arms and bobbing red heads. She kissed every surface she could find, searching for injuries.
“Ms. Fitzgerald? I’m Officer Eaton. I found your children at the Farmer’s Market down by the beach.” He shook her hand and gestured to the kids. “I believe they have something to tell you.”
Shannon sat down in the driveway, sobbing. She gathered everyone into her lap at once. Holding on so tightly, she had to remind herself to be careful not to hurt them. She closed her eyes, absorbing the warmth of their little bodies, the sweet smell of their hair. Her babies were home. They were safe. She could breathe again.
“We were bad, Mommy. You should punish us.” Brady took the lead on this one.
“It was my idea. You said Mr. Dean was gonna be at the beach too. I thought we could go find him. We just wanted to see him again. Spend time with him.” Brian held tightly to her neck and mumbled into her throat.
“But we aren’t allowed to cross the street by ourselves. We got away from you and went out to the street and saw that we couldn’t go anywhere.” Brenna’s eyes were huge, brimming with tears.
“Then you were running around and screaming. We were in a ton of trouble. We got scared.”
“And so we hid from you. But then it got quiet. We came out of the back room and you were gone. Our van was gone. You left.” Brady’s lower lip was quivering as he looked to his mother for answers.
“Oh, baby, I thought someone took you. I thought I knew who did it and I rushed off like a fool to go take you back.” Shannon stroked her son’s hair, sending an apologetic look at the police officer, who had taken out a small notebook when he heard this.
“I should never have left the market. I didn’t know.” Shannon dropped another round of kisses on cheeks, elbows, and sweaty foreheads. Dean crouched down beside her.
“Your mom was doing what she thought was best. She loves you so much and you all gave her a very big scare.”
“Mommy, Mr. Dean, we’re so sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you.” They all hung their heads in shame.
Brenna sniffled, reaching out her hands so that she held one of her mother’s and one of Dean’s. “Do you still love us?”
Dean gathered the little girl into his own lap and reached for Shannon’s free hand. He dropped a kiss onto Brenna’s head and smiled at Shannon. “Yes, of course we still love you.”
• • •
Shannon tucked the covers around one side of her big bed, while Dean did the other side. She left one of the bedside lamps on and joined him at the foot of the bed. He gathered her into his arms and they stood quietly for a moment, watching the triplets sleeping peacefully. Part of her wanted to stay there, ever vigilant. She knew today’s scare would stay with her the rest of her life.
“Come on out here. I think today’s adventures call for a nice glass of wine,” he whispered, taking her hand as he led her from the room.
“Dean, this could have turned out so much worse. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost them, really lost them.”
They were seated on the couch, shoulders and legs touching. Shannon gripped her wine stem tightly and laid her head on Dean’s shoulder.
“Don’t think about it. They’re safe. They’re home. We’re not going to let anything happen to them … ever.” He pressed his lips to her hair, the kiss lingering.
“We?” She took a sip of the dry Chardonnay. Just that morning she’d dared to hope that she could have her own happily ever after. But then he’d told her it was better that they keep their distance.
Dean blew out a gusty sigh that tickled as it made its way down her neck and straight under the ribbed tank top she wore. He set his wine glass down on the coffee table, gently slipping hers from her fingers and placing it beside his own. He twisted on the couch cushion, reaching for Shannon’s hands. His thumbs rubbed circles into her knuckles.
“I guess I need to back up a bit, huh?” He waited for her to meet his eyes. The warmth and sincerity she saw there had her leaning closer.
“Maybe a little.”
“So, your birthday party … that I crashed with all of my friends,” he began.
“You were invited. I meant to invite you. I should have …” She dropped her gaze to her lap, chewing on her bottom lip as shame infused her cheeks with a prickly heat.
“Shh … I’m not done.” He placed a finger on her lips for a fleeting moment and brushed a thumb across her cheekbone before taking hold of her hand once again.
“I messed up so bad. I lied about who I was. I created the perfect life here in this little town with you and I was so scared that if I told you who I was, you’d see me differently. I asked my bandmates to help convince you that I wasn’t this deadbeat jerk of a celebrity. I figured if you saw how they’d traded fame for family, you could see that I could do it too.”
“You sure you didn’t invite them out here to reassure yourself that you could become a family man?” She tilted her head to the side, her left brow raised high as she waited for his answer.
“Didn’t have to. You showed me that. You and Brady and Brian and that little flirt, Brenna.” He squeezed her hands, the love in his eyes squeezing her heart.
“But I thought everything was okay. I was so happy when I woke up this morning. Then the kids told me you didn’t even speak to them at the party. They wanted to know what I’d done. Only, I didn’t know.” Just remembering it made it a little hard to breathe.
“I was so stupid, Shannon. I saw Vince at the party. I wasn’t even sure if he was there because you’d gotten back together or not. It didn’t matter. I’d convinced myself that he deserved to be their father more than me. He’s their biological father, after all. I was trying to be this noble freaking gentleman and back off. Telling you no this morning was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“Oh, Dean.” She melted against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding on for dear life. After a moment, she raised her head and gave him a watery smile. “I should have explained. Vince wanted to meet them, but on my terms. The kids don’t even know he’s their father. They thought they were just meeting an old friend of mine. Yeah, it scared the hell out of me when he emailed to announce he was coming to town to visit. I wanted to talk to you about it. But I wasn’t speaking to you.” She rolled her eyes, disgusted with herself.
“I wish you had.”
“Me too.” She traced a finger across his knee, grinning at his quick intake of breath. “Vince was here looking for absolution, or something like that. He’s getting remarried. He was definitely not here to pick up where we left off.” Shannon took a second to sneak in a gulp of wine. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, a bright smile in place. “He likes you, you know. I told him how good you are with the triplets. He’s happy that they’ve got such a good male role model.”
“I don’t need his approval,” Dean growled. The hard set of his jaw showed determination, possessiveness.
While it was a tad caveman, Shannon couldn’t deny that his reaction was an incredible turn on. She squirmed on the couch, taking another big sip of wine to cool her parched throat.
“Even if I hadn’t found you in the parking lot of that produce stand, I intended to come by today. I was going to convince you that I’d make the better dad for those kids. Just because he donated sperm, doesn’t make him a father.”
“Preaching to the choir, babe.” She winked, then sobered. One last question was still bothering her.
“Are you sure you’re staying here in Scallop Shores? Won’t you miss all the perks that come with living in Southern California?”
“Of course I’m staying here. I’m the new music teacher at the elementary school, remember?” His smile was teasing.
“It’s just that, at the party, I heard everyone talking about some reunion special taping in LA. I thought you were going back.”
“Yeah, the reunion show. I didn’t want to do it, but I promised the guys that if they came out and helped me win you back, I’d do the stupid show … for them. Tit for tat, ya know? But that’ll take a weekend, tops. The kids are going to love the West Coast. Have they ever been on a plane? Oh, we’ll have to include Disneyland. Okay, maybe we need more than a weekend.”
Shannon set her glass down on the coffee table and turned to Dean, who was still chattering excitedly about all the different theme parks in the Los Angeles area. Her smile was bemused.
“You want us to come with you? All of us?”
“Of course. I’m not going anywhere without you … all of you. Because we’re a family now. Or at least I think of us as a family. I mean, if you want to come with me. I didn’t even ask.” He wiped sweaty palms on his cargo shorts, his eyes darting between Shannon’s face and the wine glass he’d abandoned just inches away.
“You’re right. You aren’t going anywhere unless we all go—as a family.” She traced his rugged jaw with her index finger. “I love you, you know.”
“And I love you—all four of you.”