BRODY WALKED INTO the dining room again, Owen at his back. Rain sat beside Pop at the head of the table. They talked about work and a repair job Rain started that day. Brody placed the bakery box on the table and lifted the lid. Dawn and Autumn oohed and aahed over the beautifully designed cupcakes.
Rain stood and tried to pass him. Just because he wanted to touch her, he put his hand on her arm to stop her. “Where you going, sweetheart?” He almost smiled when she glared.
“To get some plates and napkins. You’ve never seen two little girls make a mess like they do with cake and frosting.” A glimmer of a smile touched her rosy lips.
“Yeah?” He gave her a smile, letting his hand slide down her arm until he took her hand. “I bet they’ve both demolished a cake on their birthdays.”
When her gaze came up to meet his, it was plain as day. She regretted every birthday he’d missed.
“When they turned one, I made them each a little round cake and let them go to town. They ended up with more cake on them than in them.”
Linking his fingers with hers, he squeezed her hand to let her know he understood everything she wasn’t saying. “You loved watching every minute of it.”
“Almost,” she whispered and pulled free, fleeing into the kitchen. When he looked back at Owen, he caught his brother’s nod of approval. He’d connected with her for a second. Now, all he had to do was keep at it, until she no longer wanted to break the connection, but build on it.
Dessert became an orchestrated affair. Rain directed the girls on subjects to talk about, ranging from how they were doing in the second grade, about their teachers and friends, to the things they liked to do in their spare time. It was obvious the girls were not only sisters, but best friends. They did everything together, Dawn usually in the leader’s role.
The only times Rain interrupted or stopped them from telling something was when it had to do with Roxy.
Unable to let things go, he had to get Rain alone if he wanted to find out what happened after he left town.
“Dad . . .”
God, how he loved hearing them call him Dad.
“Do you have a computer? Uncle Owen said you have a company, and you’ll work from your house.”
He was getting used to the way Autumn looked to her sister to be the speaker for them both. He didn’t miss the conspiratorial look they shared when they asked about his computer. “I have a laptop and a desk computer. Why? Do you guys know how to use one?”
“Mom got us one for school and to play on some kid’s websites. We have some games,” Dawn began.
“It was so slow,” Autumn added. “Mom got it from the secondhand store and now the screen is fuzzy and half the time it doesn’t boot up right and we get weird errors.”
“Can we use yours?” Dawn asked, finishing both girls’ request.
Brody listened to the girls, but watched Rain. She couldn’t afford a new computer. An easy guess. What he didn’t get, she made a good living at the garage. Paying for things for the girls took up a good portion of her paycheck, he assumed. She had her inheritance from her family, the money she hadn’t used for college. Either she was leaving that money in the bank for the girls to go to school later, or it was already gone. He wanted to talk to her about the money he had, the money he owed her for child support he should have paid. Now wasn’t the time, and throwing it in her face he could and would buy the girls a new computer wouldn’t score him any points.
“When you come out to the cabin you can use mine.” He tried to be diplomatic and not promise the girls something Rain might object to. As far as he knew, at this point he’d get to have the girls at his place sometimes. Shared custody was a long way from the family he wanted, but he’d do what Owen said and take baby steps toward what he really wanted.
“Your dad and I will talk. You have school during the week, but maybe once he’s got the cabin ready for you to visit, you can spend the weekend with him.”
“Won’t you stay with us?” Autumn asked, her eyes round and worried.
“We’ll talk about it, Autumn. No matter what, you’ll be safe with your dad.”
Brody stared at Rain, the obvious question in his eyes. Why wouldn’t Autumn be safe? Did she think he couldn’t take care of the girls, his mind was so far gone he’d hurt them or neglect them? Or did this have something to do with Roxy?
Ignoring the elephant in the room, Rain changed the subject. “Girls, why don’t you show your dad your room and the photos you want him to see.”
Rain grabbed up the frosting-smeared plates and dirty napkins while the girls got up, excitedly chattering at him about coming upstairs. Each girl grabbed one of his hands and pulled.
Rain noted the slow, deliberate way Brody placed his right foot on the stair tread and carefully pulled his weight up.
“He’s doing better, Rain,” Owen said.
“He knows we’re keeping something from him.”
Pop grasped her hand. “So, you’ll tell him what it is when you’re alone with him.”
“I don’t want to be alone with him.” Both men’s faces lit up with amused smiles. “Shut up,” she snapped. “Do either of you want to tell him what Roxy tried to do with his child?” When both men looked away and frowned, she got the reaction she’d anticipated. “Right. Who wants to hurt him like that after everything he’s been through, is still going through. Have either of you noticed how many times he’s rubbed his hand over his leg. He’s hurting and trying to hide it.”
“The doctors said he needs time,” Owen said.
“After the accident the other day, I don’t want to add to his anxiety by telling him about Autumn and Roxy. It’ll only agitate him.”
“Roxy will hear he’s back in town.” Pop reminded her of what she already knew and dreaded happening.
“Do we know for sure where she is now?” she asked Owen.
“Last we knew for sure, living in Las Vegas with an ex-rodeo cowboy.”
“That information is over a year old,” Pop pointed out.
“It’s the best we’ve got. She stayed in Vegas the longest. I think she finally found a place that suited her,” Rain said, scorn laced in every word.
They all fell silent. Every one of them considering the possibilities of Roxy coming back to town now. And the many reasons she’d return. Every dollar she could get her hands on.
“Lay it out for me, Owen. How much could she expect to get from Brody for Autumn?”
“For his daughter.” Owen fixed a pointed gaze on her. “You know the answer to that question. You answered it for her the day Autumn was born looking exactly like Brody.”
“Every dime he has,” she answered her own question. “Damn. How can I stop her this time? She’s stayed away because she knows I don’t have anything left. When she finds out Brody is back and he’s got some money . . .”
“Not some,” Owen interrupted. “A couple million at his fingertips, tens of millions if he sold out his piece of the company.”
Rain combed both hands through her hair, pulling the thick mass away from her face and concentrating on her thoughts. Millions. Staggering to think about.
“We can’t let her take his money. It’s a source of pride for him to come back a success, knowing the people of this town will always look at him first and foremost as the young man he used to be.”
“You’re fooling yourself, sweetheart, if you think he worked this hard to make something of himself because he cared about what anyone but you thought.” Owen pointed out the cold hard truth. It was a truth she didn’t want to face. Not again.
“Can we please stick to the subject?”
“You know what you have to do, Rain,” Pop told her.
“Why am I the one who has to do all the dirty work and clean up all the mess?”
“You’re the mother,” her father told her. “And you’re a damn good one. You know what’s best for those girls and no matter how hard or how many sacrifices you have to make, you’ll always do right by them. Tell Brody the whole ugly story. Make him a part of their lives. But this time, honey, take a little something for yourself.”
“Sleeping with him is what got me into this mess,” she said truthfully, not caring what her father thought of her bluntness. No hiding the way Brody made her feel every time he came near her. She was surprised she hadn’t disgraced herself more by drooling over him while he sat across from her at dinner. Every time he pulled her close and kissed her, it was all she could do not to tear his clothes off, kick his feet out from under him, and land naked on top of him.
“If that’s all you take from each other, you’ll both be shortchanging yourselves. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, Rain, you love that stubborn fool.”
“Who’s the fool if I go back to him?”
“I’ll watch the girls Friday night, so you can talk to Brody alone,” Owen called. She walked away without answering to go upstairs and put the girls to bed.
Owen turned to Pop. “Those two are a powder keg sitting in the middle of a thousand firecrackers going off. One spark and they’ll ignite.”
“Ask me, I think they could both use a knock-down-drag-out fight to get them where they both want to be.” Owen waited, knowing the rest of Pop’s thought already. “Right back in bed, which will only lead to her giving up her heart to him all over again.”
“Why do you think she’s the one who’s got to give in?”
“All you have to do is look at Brody. He’s willing to give her anything, do anything to have her and the girls. This is what he’s been working toward, what he came home for. Nothing and no one will stop him from having it. It’s too important to him.
“He finally feels like the man Rain always thought him to be. Before, it was a lofty aspiration to achieve the status she put him at. Now, he’s got his military background, a business, money, and the pride in knowing he worked his ass off to make himself the man she deserves.”
Owen sat quietly and listened to the sounds of the family upstairs. He took a sip of coffee and settled into the realization Pop was right. Brody finally had his act together. All he had to do was convince Rain, get past her defenses, and not screw it up like he’d done in the past.