by Ava Miles
Her mama looked her in the eye. “That man…I never expected to find anyone to love after your daddy left. I sure as heck never planned on marrying again.” She laughed. “But he has a way about him. Never asks for anything. Only loves you to pieces and hangs on your every word.”
Sadie imagined her stepfather was inside the house, listening to everyone like usual. He never said much, but his presence was always felt.
“I’m glad you found someone, Mama,” she told her, feeling like they were speaking woman-to-woman for the first time. “The way it feels…to be loved by a man and to love him…”
“The only kind of love to equal that is the one you have with God and with your children,” Mama told her. “I imagine should you and Riley continue to love each other, you’ll experience that kind someday too.”
Sadie wouldn’t say so out loud, but her mind had gone to marriage a few times before she could rein it back in. She blamed it on the magazine aisle in the grocery store, which was surely overstocked with bridal magazines. The images of happy couples in bridal attire had seemed to jump off the shelves.
“There’s…” She wasn’t sure what to say. She wouldn’t have made love with Riley if she hadn’t believed they could have forever, and he likely knew it.
“If you two love each other, keep moving forward together,” her mama told her. “He was right to bring Jess to meet us. She needs to keep moving forward too.”
Riley was racing after the girls with Jess’ ribbon wand now in his possession. She was laughing as he caught her and lifted her up in the air. Mama had a point.
“What should I do to help Jess with that?” she asked.
“When it comes down to it, kids only believe in actions,” her mama told her. “Words are all good and dandy, but she’s at an age where she starts to see the divide we all come to see as we grow up. Some people are worth their words and others aren’t. Show her with your actions that she can count on you and that you care about her and her father. She wants him to be happy too.”
Annabelle launched herself at Riley, and he boosted her up in his free arm. The three of them laughed in tandem as he made a zigzag through the grass, the girls’ delighted shrieks cresting along with the breeze.
“You don’t remember it since you were so little, but after your daddy left, J.P. got downright protective of me. If a man at church came my way, he would stand in front of me like my little knight. I imagine Jess wants to protect Riley some too, even if it’s unconscious.”
That made sense to Sadie. Jess was tough. She knew that, had seen evidence of it. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Now, I’m going to have a quick chat with your man,” her mama told her. “I want him to feel welcome here. I imagine he was a little concerned about my feelings about Paige and the past.”
“Of course, he was, Mama,” she said. “We all are.”
“I’m getting to it my own way,” Louisa said. “I mean, Shelby has been working on me to come with y’all when you next visit Preston’s mama. If I can face Lenore after all these years, surely I can speak with my children’s half-sister.”
So Shelby had shared their plans with Mama. “We’ve been putting off the visit, hoping either you or Paige might come with us. We thought… Well, it might close the circle of the past for good.”
Her mama looked off in the distance. “It might at that.”
Sadie watched as her mama headed off. Riley paused in his jogging for a moment, his head turning toward them. J.P. called the girls over and asked if they would come inside with him for some lemonade. Annabelle took his hand immediately. Jess looked at Riley, who nodded, before stepping forward and heading to the house.
Tough? Yeah, Jess was tough. J.P. wouldn’t be put off though. Her brother would win the trust of that little girl.
“Can I meet Rye Crenshaw?” Jess asked as the group neared her. “I haven’t seen him yet. I met Mr. Lassiter though, and he’s nice. Real quiet like. Your sister, Susannah, was with him, and she talked most of the time as we looked for a vase. She has tons of them, just like Annabelle said.”
Sadie cast one last look at Riley and her mama. They had their backs turned to the house so she couldn’t get a glimmer of what was going on. She hoped Riley would tell her later. It will be fine, she assured herself.
“Sure thing, Jess,” she said. “Let’s find Rye. He’s probably with his new baby son.”
Her mama’s words flashed through her, and she reached out to Jess before the girl could take off. Jess’ green eyes lowered, and there was a stillness in the air as she decided what to do. J.P. caught her gaze and gave an encouraging smile. Sadie held her breath as the moment lengthened.
Then Jess took her hand, and they went inside together.
Chapter 23
Riley knew things were getting mega-serious with Sadie when he met her family, especially since he ended up having what he’d term a soft interview with her mama.
But when his brother offered to fly out with his family to meet her, their relationship seemed to take on a new meaning.
“Tyler seems to think I’m gonna marry Sadie,” he told Mark during one of their morning runs.
“Is that so?” the man drawled, biting his lip to contain his smile.
He punched his friend in the shoulder. “Is everybody thinking that?”
Mark kept his eyes trained forward. “Everybody is a fairly broad term.”
“Fine,” Riley said, stopping on the street. “Do you and Paige think that?”
Mark circled him, continuing to jog. “The only person whose opinion matters here is yours. Well, yours and Sadie’s.”
“You aren’t answering my question,” Riley said. “Meeting people’s families is a big deal.”
“I expect you knew that when you agreed to meet hers,” Mark said, punching him in the bicep and encouraging him to start running again. “Why’d you do it?”
He thought about it for a moment. Mark had a way of peeling the proverbial onion of someone’s motivations. “I met them because they’re some of the most important people in her life.”
“Like you’ve become,” Mark added, turning around to face Riley and running backward.
Damn if Mark didn’t know how to cut to the chase. “Yeah, like I’ve become.”
Sadie lit up like a Christmas tree whenever she caught sight of him. Her expression wasn’t too different than Jess’, he’d come to realize. Both of his girls were always happy to see him. He probably had the same excited expression on his face whenever he caught sight of them.
“What are you most afraid of?” Mark asked, continuing to jog backward.
Riley cut his pace down so his friend wouldn’t trip on something unseen and fall. “Shit. You would ask that.”
Mark skidded to a halt. “It’s a relevant question.”
Yeah, it was. “I’m…” He rubbed the back of his neck. This wasn’t the time for a pat answer. “I’m afraid something might happen to ruin everything. I’m afraid…that I’ll get hurt again.”
Shit, was he really such a coward underneath all his blustering and superhero talk?
“And with Jess too,” he added. “I couldn’t protect her last time, but this time…I can’t let anything happen to her.”
“You did protect her, Riley,” Mark said, getting in his face as much as he ever did. “When are you going to realize that? Some people might have gone along with the abortion even if they didn’t want to. Not you, Riley.”
When his friend thrust a finger at his chest, he felt his eyes widen. “Are you mad at me?”
Mark blew out a loud breath. “Honestly, it seems like I am. Riley, I have listened to you blame yourself for not protecting Jess from her mother time and time again. Every time I tell you that you did protect her. And you argue with me every damn time. I wish…”
Riley stood there speechless in the face of his friend’s outburst.
“I wish you’d realize you have a lot to give someone like Sadie. Hell, you give to me and
Paige and Haley every day. I know you think you need us more than we need you, but dammit, you’re wrong. Besides Paige, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, my wife considers you her brother, and my daughter… Riley, you hang the moon in her eyes.”
His heart was thundering in his chest. “Are we having a personal moment?”
Mark shook his head. “Don’t be dense. There’s nothing wrong with two friends sharing how they feel about each other.”
No, there wasn’t, which was why Mark was his friend in the first place. Riley had been teased at school for being sensitive, but that very quality was something the Bradshaws seemed to value about him.
“Besides my brother, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had too,” Riley said.
A car slowed down on the street as it went by, and Mark stared down the driver. “Great. Now they think we’re either having a confrontation or reenacting a scene from Brokeback Mountain.”
“You’re in a pretty good mood, aren’t you?” Riley asked, fighting a smile.
“I’m…pissed off about a boy’s situation at school, and what’s going on with you and the McGuinesses is pinging me.”
“Sorry,” Riley said, starting to run again. “I’ll think about what you said. Okay?”
Mark caught up with him. “You’d better. Sadie is the best thing that could happen to you. And Jess. Do you really think everybody’s lucky enough to find a love like that? You’re old enough to know better.”
“Man, when you want to put me in my place, you don’t pull any punches.”
Mark glared at him. “Do you believe Sadie would be a good mother to Jess if you got married?”
“Yes, but…”
“But what?” Mark pressed.
“I’m still not sure how Jess is going to handle it,” Riley said, “and that’s what scares me. She’s been talking to this girl at school and it’s giving her bad ideas.”
“Betty,” Mark said. “Yeah, Haley has mentioned her to me and Paige.”
“She has?” Riley asked, his footing suddenly unsure.
Mark sighed. “Yes, Haley’s been asking us questions about what happens when a man who has a daughter from a previous relationship marries someone new. She’s not buying into Betty’s stories, but…”
“But Haley is still a little scared for Jess,” Riley finished, his heart thudding with pain. “Dammit, that makes me feel like shit.”
“Haley is only a little scared because Jess is,” he told him. “That’s only natural. You’re both going through a big transition. Opening yourself up to someone new is a big deal.”
“I should be able to make it easier for her.” Some days being human and being a dad were incompatible, if you asked him.
“You are, trust me, and you couldn’t have a better back channel than Haley. She’s crazy about Sadie. She keeps telling Jess that Sadie is beautiful—inside and out.”
“I love that kid,” Riley said, getting choked up. “How do I make Jess feel less scared? Sadie’s mom told her actions are more important than words, and I agree, but how does that work in practice? Do we just keep on loving her?”
Mark cut his pace back, and Riley knew he was about to deliver a real whammy. He stopped again, and so did Mark.
His friend put his hand on his shoulder. “Jess will most likely stop being afraid when you do.”
Riley hung his head. “You’re always saying our kids echo our emotions when they’re young.”
“It was Jung who said that,” Mark said, “but yeah, there’s no getting around the truth.”
“So how do I conquer my fear, sensei?” he quipped, his guts raw.
“You do what every superhero does,” Mark said, clapping him on the back. “You reach deep inside you, find your inner strength, and do what you know what you must do.”
Mark only used superhero talk when he was really desperate to get through to him. He hissed out a breath. “I love Sadie, and I want her to be in my life.”
“I know you do.”
He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Like always in my life.”
When he looked at his friend, Mark was smiling. “There you go.”
“Does it matter that we haven’t known each other very long?” Or that we’ve made love less than a hundred times, he thought in silence.
Time again. Whenever he sat down to work on his female superhero, that was the word he kept hearing. She did something with time. Only he still hadn’t nailed down the nuances of her powers.
“What do you think? Aren’t you the one always telling my daughter that time is an illusion? That we can bend it with our minds?”
Busted. And yet he believed every word. Maybe that was the power he needed to give his superhero. “It’s…ah…”
“Make-believe? You know better, my friend.”
“You know, when you get pissy, you’re a pain in the ass.”
Mark barked out a laugh. “That’s what Paige always says. But I tend to feel better once I’ve spoken my piece.”
“Feeling better now?”
“Much.” Mark puffed out his chest. “Are we going to run or are you going to stew some more?”
Riley stood a little taller. His feet felt more anchored into the earth suddenly. His mind flashed him a picture of Sadie laughing with him, and he remembered what else superheroes did. They followed their heart.
“No, I’m done stewing.”
Chapter 24
Sunshine filtered over Sadie’s eyes when she rolled onto her back. She was still sleepy, so she snuggled under the covers and kept her eyes closed. Maybe she’d fall back asleep.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” she heard a husky male voice say beside her. “I’ve been waiting hours for you to wake up. We only have a few hours before I have to go home…”
Right. He had to go home. Riley had surprised her with an overnight date. Of course, he’d had help. Paige had given him Shelby’s number, and her sister had packed her a bag for the night while she was at work. She couldn’t wait to thank her sisters in person.
Last night…
Well, if they asked her about it, she would tell them Riley was the most romantic man ever. He’d found them a lake house for the night, saying he wanted to wake up with her as the sun rose.
“Guess I missed sunrise,” she murmured, turning onto her side.
“Considering when we went to sleep, I thought you deserved a pass on the romantic sunrise I had in mind.”
She snorted out a laugh. “We were like animals last night.” And darn it all if she hadn’t enjoyed every single minute of it.
He nuzzled her ear. “Amazing what a difference complete privacy makes. No one to hear. My ears are still ringing from all the screaming you did.”
That popped her eyes wide open. She punched him. “You’re bad to say that.”
“But not bad enough to have woken you up so we could recreate it,” he said, trailing his finger along her collarbone. “I’ve been lying beside you, listening to you breathe and wanting you like crazy, and do you know what I found myself thinking about?”
“Besides all the ways you want to make me scream again?”
She wiggled next to him and smiled when he reached for her leg and drew it over his hip. He was hard, all right, and she felt her body turn warm and willing in response.
Pushing her mostly tangled hair behind her ears, he gazed into her eyes. “I thought about how nice it would be to do this every morning.”
She drew back. “You did?”
“What would you think about that?” he asked, lowering his gaze. “I mean, I know we have some things to work out with Jess, but I… Mark said I needed to stop putzing around basically, and it’s all I’ve thought about all week.”
“Riley,” she said, sitting up in bed, pulling the sheet over her breasts. “What are you saying here?” Because this was one moment when a woman wanted to be sure. Really sure.
“I’m not proposing this moment,” he said, sitting up as well. “I can do a lot better t
han this, and you deserve something really special, but I guess I…”
“Riley. What?”
“I guess I’d like to know whether you’d ever consider marrying me,” he said, ducking his chin. “I mean, I know I have a complicated past—”
“A complicated past?” She snorted. “Riley, this is where your superhero language isn’t helping you.”
He lifted his shoulder, and she caught the vulnerability he was trying to disguise. “You know what I mean. Jess is the best thing in my life, but so are you. I know she’s not yours, but… I guess I wanted to see how you’d feel about her. Long term. You know? Some women…don’t want to raise other people’s kids.”
Her heart grew sore in her chest, and she lifted his chin so she could see his eyes. “Riley, I love you, and I love Jess. No, she’s not my child, but I’ll always love her and take care of her and help you with her. I’m…sometimes at sea about what my role will be, but I figure loving her and cherishing her for being herself is the best approach anyone can take.”
He blew out a long breath and hugged her to his chest. “Good. That’s good. I was afraid I might be making it too complicated, but she’s my daughter. I have to—”
“Put her first,” she supplied.
He kissed her on the top of her head. “Not first anymore. It’s different. I can love you both. That’s easy. It’s only… She’s still growing up, learning how to be herself. You’ve got that down. I don’t worry about you, Sadie.”
That was so sweet, she had to kiss him. When she did, he pulled her onto his lap, and their kisses turned slow and soft. Her heart seemed to fill up with warm water in her chest, floating happily on a sea of pleasure.
“I know you worry about Jess,” she said when they broke away. “I do too. But we’ll love her and figure things out. Are you going to talk to her about this?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I want to know what’s best to say in this situation. Some friend at school keeps telling her how everything’s changed at home now that her stepmother has taken over… I hate that. It’s made me wonder if that’s where some of her questions about Mandy are coming from. I want to be her main influence in life, you know?”
